Review of Cafe Respect: a mystery novel (Paperback)

Had Ms. Anna Beth Roper, the proprietess of Cafe Respect, suspected complications with the baggage of the homeless drifter, drop dead gorgeous Laura Bellows who dressed like a New England debutant, she'd have headed for the San Jacinto mountains faster than an Olympian gold medalist. Instead, she gave the young woman a job as waitress to replace another who'd quit simply by vanishing. Still, Ms. Roper would surely have thought twice about adding Laura to her menagerie had she known that her previous waitress lay under the drifting sand not two miles away with a dagger lodged in her pretty neck.

Indeed, the peculiar magnet she had that attracted unusual humans had populated her diner with a singular collection of strays, customers as well as employees. Manny Ortiz, the Hispanic cook, offered up indescribably half-Spanish/half-American concoctions, not the least of which was his daily fare of Chili Cinnamon breakfast rolls so piquante they'd bring tears to a grown man's eyes. Not to be outdone for queerness, Honey, the Cafe Respect cashier, warbled a bizarre mixture of song and bird calls as she added up the meal check for each diner. Curly Bill Smuin, as bald as a billiard cue, sported an endless repertoire of fedoras to top off his shiny pate while another patron, Ramon Patencio, a native of the Cohuilla Indiana Band, owners of the town's largest gambling casino, had never been seen without sartorial splendor from the town's most exclusive haberdashers. Although he'd been a regular breakfast client from the cafe's earliest days, no one knew just what role he played in tribal affairs or for that matter what he did at the Casino where he spent his time seven nights a week.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Laura has a past as checkered as linoleum tile. It seems theyoung woman had left university studies in botany for a job as a high priced courier for an unnamed company. While her job description did not seem to include prostitution, Laura allowed herself to dally between the sheets when a gentleman contact had that certain energy that has brought men and women together since the beginning of time. We also come to know that her appearance in Palm Springs was not just a random choice of vacation retreats: in fact, Laura has been sent to Palm Springs and the Cafe Respect on a mission.

As the bodies begin to pile up, unrelated to one another save for the knife/throat handiwork, the Cafe Respect is caught up in a maelstrom of its habitues, Roper and company, and a tangle of local police with the added confusion of the FBI and a shoot out rivaling the Okay Coral.

Two features most distinguish Steve Scott's writing, his "writerly" style and his way of bringing together some of the most improbable characters you'll ever meet in the same plot. No one ever brought the desert to life more vividly than Mr. Scott and no one else could make me believe in a Native American shaman in a business suit and an honest-to-God seance wielding spritualist with a daughter who sings out poety about a restaurant bill. Scott does it and you'll "suspend incredulity" in the pages of his novel, Cafe Respect.

Product Description
When Anna Beth Roper hires the beautiful Laura Bellows to replace Jane Evans, a waitress who failed to come to work one morning, Roper soon realizes there's more to Laura than just a pretty face. After Jane and a slick gambler turn up murdered, Palm Springs detectives begin to show up at the Cafe Respect on a regular basis.

Roper is the ringmaster at the cafe, but it's her customers who perform-Ramon Patencio, the handsome Indian big shot from the Spa Casino; Virginia, his dart-throwing secretary whose projectiles might include more than just four-letter words; Roxanna, Roper's fortune telling mother; the bald-headed Curly Bill Smuin, proprietor of the Glad Hand Saloon up the street; a Puerto Rican cook whose chili-soaked specials once caused a law suit; the FBI-and does Palm Springs Detective Logan Kind only have one hand?

The Palm Springs in Cafe Respect isn't about golf courses and movie stars-it's full of suspect friendships, slow mystery, poignant love, Indian Casinos that sprout up in the desert faster than the yearly crops, and a knife-wielding killer whose shrewd disguises blend in with longtime losers.

About the Author
Steve Scott was born in Vernal, Utah, and moved to Los Angeles at eighteen. After a career in real estate, he moved to Palm Springs, California, in 1992. He is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller, Echo Park.

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Review of Our Father: Recollections of a Small Town Boy (Paperback)

What a wonderful book. I have never felt that wonderful feeling of going back to my childhood to explore all the pranks and laughs all over again.I think of the Wonder Years, Dennis the Menace and That 70's show when I flip through these great pages.It is important not to go into this book looking for a begining, middle and end but to just read it as a type of journal documenting the best parts of a someones life. Joe Brucato is a well kept secret in the author business.Be looking for his latest book A Rose in Feilding....gonna be a good one im sure!!

Product Description
For a third generation Italian-American boy life takes on a number of twists and turns as he matures from a child into a teenager. He must cope with the pressures imposed by a strict dad and a younger brother whose antics are intolerable. In his journey into adulthood Nicholas D'Napoli encounters a number of bizzarre people and episodes that will leave you laughing or crying. The characters are hilarious. In this walk down memory lane you'll witness the escapades and pranks of people that defy normalcy, like the transvestite who dresses like Greta Garbo, or the voyeur who plays peek-a-boo while hiding in the neighbor's bushes. Through Nick we're reminded of our first kiss or the embarrassment of blowing that special moment with the love of our dreams. D'Napoli guides us through our own youths; old friends, the bully in the schoolyard, first loves and broken hearts.

About the Author
Joseph Brucato holds a B.A. degree in History from the College of the Holy Cross and a M.Ed. from Worcester State College. He is presently a Social Studies teacher and its department chairman at Milford High School where he has worked for the past twenty-two years.

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Review of Go Fast, Go Crazy (Paperback)

Appealing and quirky characters, a real sense of place, and genuine suspense are all present in Smith's sophomore novel. Smith makes you laugh, both with and at his finely developed characters, as they make their way along a journey of discovery. You can see and almost smell the desert landscape that Smith describes -- a lonely place where kids, and adults, don't have a lot of obvious options. And the ending will have you guessing.Will decisions made and secrets revealed lead to disaster or redemption? A great read!

Product Description
Set in 1995, in the southwestern desert, known as the Four Corners, Go Fast, Go Crazy is the suspenseful cross-generational story of one family's secrets and the redemptive value of discovering painful truths. The novel follows the trail of Cliff and Jimmy, two inseparable twenty year olds with uncertain futures. Feeling persecuted by the local sheriff, they steal their '68 Camaro from the police impound lot and cruise into the desert where they meet the beautiful Monique, a French tourist with a camera and car problems. After joining forces, the trio play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the police as they go on a small time crime spree, until they take refuge at crazy Uncle Milo's ranch, where they discover all is not as it seems. In the final showdown with the police, everyone must make decisions that will affect them all forever. If the truth does set you free, the road to the truth can exact a heavy toll. This explosive second novel deals with some of the uncomfortable legacies of the 1960's on today's youth, from a fresh and contemporary perspective. It is a rite of passage from which there is ultimately no escape.

About the Author
Lory Smith is a writer, artist and filmmaker. He was one of the founders of the Sundance Film Festival, author of his twenty year memoir of the event, Party In A Box. (1999) His first novel was the comedic Something For Nothing, about the last town to get television. (2005) His 1995 short film comedy Three Things I've Learned was in 13 international film festivals and was considered one of the most successful short films of the year. His artwork is in over 75 collections and can be seen at www.lorysmith.com. He lives in New York City and in Cold Spring, NY with his wife Andrea Torrens and their two cats.

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Review of Louisiana Red: "Club Sense" (Paperback)

This book is somewhat a continuation of "Draumatized". Hannah's sole purpose was to move to Houston to obtain an education. In Miss Scott's first book, Hannah became a stripper to make fast cash. Along with the lifestyle, she gets caught up with a violatle boyfriend. An accident can re-route her life if she doesn't find out the truth.

It's a very interesting book. Miss Scott is very descriptive of an average night for a stripper. You see Hannah at work and then you see a softer side of her at home. You wonder how she manages both worlds. Her motives are almost the same as Diamond in "Player's Club".

Product Description
Hannah Triland is on a fast road to hell in this mind- twisting novel about strip club fantasy love. Club Sense is about a court- case that can leave Hannah in prison for years if she can't prove her innocence to a jury. Kevin Haykelia, the white male, who stole Hannah's heart on September 11th 2001, harbors a horrible secret that Hannah has to uncover if she wants to live to see her twenty-third birthday. The car accident caused by Hannah and Kevin put Larry Potter in a coma. Hannah is charged with a DWI and vehicular homicide. Hannah has to pay restitution to the victim's family. Also, Hannah has to fight for her life in this highly emotional drama about a black exotic dancer living life in the fast lane. She meets Antoine Hill, a very handsome doctor, who sweeps her off her feet and gives her more than she could have ever dreamed, but only one thing stands between them, he is married. Hannah is the most lovable female protagonist of all time because through all the intense drama she still manages to make it to class. Hannah will fight with wit, intelligence, and the hustler's mentality that lives inside her soul to overcome the vicious circle of destruction that Kevin Haykelia, the antagonist, has set up for her. Acclaim"When you read this book you will not want to put it down until you have read the entire book. It is a modern day work of literature that takes you inside the mind of the young and beautiful Hannah Triland." ------------ Danielle Thomas

About the Author
Ronder Patrice Scott grew up in Northern Louisiana, in a small town called Minden. Her family raised her on the Penal Farm Road until her mother died as a result of poverty and alcoholism. By the time she was seven she moved in with her grandmother where she grew very fond of literature. She read library books and romance novels on every occasion she could find. She is the youngest child in a huge family of nine. She moved from Minden in 1998 to attend Texas Southern University, and major in Telecommunications. She graduated at the age of 25 from the University in the year 2005. Her novel, Draumatized, was published March of 2004. She has won the editors choice award for the poem, "Will", she wrote when she was seventeen. The poem was published in A Symphony of Verse (1998). She enjoys writing screenplays and movie shorts. She produced her first short film, Hater Proof in 2005. She continues to write on a daily basis and will publish more books in the near future.

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Review of JUNK (Paperback)

While I usually try to avoid self-published books, I accepted the opportunity to read Michael Goodwin's "Junk." We all know that print on demand publishing potentially hides a host of horrors. Occasionally you do find a gem in the rough, but more often a trip through the pages of one of these books reveals shoddy editing, mismatched typeface, and just plain bad writing. If you can't get a book published through traditional channels, is the book really worth putting out in the public sphere? Hundreds of would be authors answer that question with an enthusiastic yes. Heck, I would probably do it too just to see my name on the cover of a glossy, professional looking tome. Besides, who knows what could happen if your book garners enough attention. You just might end up with a real publishing deal. From what I read in "Junk," Goodwin isn't ready for the big leagues just yet. He is, however, batting solid numbers in the minors. One or two more good games and he may get a wink and a nod from the higher ups soon.

Goodwin's book focuses on Martin Stallworth, a young black bond salesman with a good education, a job on Wall Street, and a salary in the six figures. As the story opens, Goodwin introduces us to a typical day at the firm of Worman Skeller & Company. He also wins points for dropping a reference to the song "I Don't Like Mondays" from the Boomtown Rats on the first page. Anyway, the protagonist feels the pressures of his job as soon as he walks through the door on a Monday morning. We meet several of Stallworth's co-workers, almost all of them hard charging personalities in desperate need of a straight jacket and a three-month stay at the funny farm. We also learn that Martin and his cronies need to sell a half billion dollars of Lodestar satellite bonds or they'll all be out of a job. Stallworth scores a coup when he unloads twenty five million in Lodestar to a decidedly unfriendly chap in New Jersey not known as a big spender. The book then follows Martin's co-workers as they lie, cheat, and steal in an effort to get anyone they know to buy the bonds. These early chapters essentially develop the characters and describe the setting of the story.

The book veers off on a tangent when one of Stallworth's fellow salesmen, Hap, decides to approach the Chinese consulate in the hopes that they will buy some bonds. Is this an unintelligent thing to do? You bet, but Hap's desperate to sell anything so he can keep his job. Besides, his immediate boss just got the axe in a scene illustrating how humiliating a firing at the company can be. Hap gamely gives the hard sell to the Chinese government and is delighted when the officials there put him in touch with a high roller named Jo Hu. Hu offers to buy the outstanding number of bonds, roughly three hundred million dollars worth, which turns Hap into the hero at Worman Skeller & Company. As often happens when something to good to be true occurs, Hap finds himself in hot water when Hu threatens to back out of the deal. Why? You'll have to read the book to find out, but it is safe to say that the unfolding tragedies soon ensnare Martin Stallworth, who must reconnect with his alienated brother to come up with a plan to save his life. The book concludes with a series of situations so far from how the story starts that it's amazing to think it all happened in a mere 180 pages.

While I liked certain segments of "Junk," I found many of the situations difficult to swallow. What's good is worth mentioning. The characters, for instance, are largely likeable in a strange sort of way. Even the head honcho at Worman Skeller, a scoundrel named Moore, is fun to follow because he reminded me of the guy Alec Baldwin played in "Glengarry Glen Ross." Martin Stallworth is an intriguing character as well, and Goodwin adequately expresses the dual personality of his protagonist as he struggles to reconcile his feelings about being the only black man at his firm with his love for literature and his brother's links to gang life. Martin, in the midst of serious troubles, soon learns that his skills as a big shot salesman do translate into fulfilling other goals and desires.

What doesn't work as well is worth mentioning, too. Despite the extensive character development of the early chapters, important figures remain elusive. Mihra, for example, is a Pakistani woman who catches Martin's eye early in the story. She plays an important part later on but receives only superficial attention. Moreover, the story veers too wildly into strange worlds. I kept thinking as I read the book that Goodwin should have fleshed the story out a bit more. While I was amazed at how far the story went in the short number of pages, I thought the book would have been better with a few more chapters. Finally, "Junk" really, really needed a good proofreading. Errors abound on nearly every page of the story. I'm not comfortable criticizing someone for this problem since I am a lazy editor myself, but you need to either do it yourself or find someone to do it for you if you're going to publish a book. Lots of mistakes tend to distract a reader, drawing his or her attention away from the story by disrupting the flow of the narrative. Despite these issues, I'm still happy to have read the book. "Junk" is an unusual story that entertains, amuses, and makes you think all at the same time.

Product Description
Martin Stallworth is a black man trying to make it on Wall Street. As a junk bond salesman with the investment bank Whorman Skeller & Co., he has a chance to prove his worth when the firm plans to launch a major high yield bond deal for a satellite communications company called Lodestar. Because Lodestar has important connections to the US Department of Defense, Martin and the other junk bond salespersons know their jobs are on the line if they donÂ't sell the deal. Their desperation to do so leads to an act of espionage and murder. Martin somehow finds himself as the accused perpetrator of both. Both the cops and a gang of Chinese thugs under the command of a rogue hedge fund trader are hot on his trail.

Junk combines a satirical send-up of a typical investment bank with elements of a fast-paced thriller. While the narrative action is riveting, GoodwinÂ's characterizations and descriptive writing attain the level of serious literary fiction.

About the Author
Michael Goodwin has worked for several years on Wall Steet in the high yield ?junk? bond business. He presently resides in Connecticut with his wife and three children. Junk is his second novel.

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Review of Callie & the Dealer & A Dog Named Jake (Paperback)

We have vacationed in Nags Head a lot over the last 6 years.I felt like I was right there again.This was a great first mystery.I look forward to reading the next in the series.

Callie is a great character.She has a haunting past which by the end of the book she is starting to put behind her.I do hope that in future books she will start to make friends who can help her sleuth.

A restaurant at Nags Head is a great location for a mystery series and look forward to a long running of this series.

Highly recommend this book.

Product Description
Callie, a restaurateur on North Carolina's Outer Banks, has problems.Someone is stealing from the storeroom, her past is haunting her and a hurricane is blowing in...but things really get interesting when she finds a dead man in her freezer.

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Review of The Girls (Paperback)

Thankfully, The Girls is not one of those books. The main character, Joe Nash, is a first-time novelist with one success under his belt and a crumbling marriage. Looking both for inspiration for his next book and escape from his distant, spiteful wife, he finds himself walking into the only strip club in town. In doing so, he dips his toe into a cold, menacing ocean of trouble, to find himself quickly tugged under by forces beyond his control.

The characters in the book are well fleshed-out and believable, each with their own limitations and imperfections. Nash is smart enough to know he should stay away, and weak enough to create justifications for returning. His friend, Lieutenant Duffy, hides his own secrets behind his gruff manor and dour ideology.

The story unfolds like a shot of espresso on a rickety roller coaster, and before you know it, you're plummeting with Nash into a tailspin of thugs, prostitutes, corrupt clergy and sensationalists.

Hopefully we haven't seen the last of Joe Nash. Like a good roller coaster, his story left me waiting in line for the next ride.

Product Description
Desperate for literary inspiration and seeking refuge from a less than inspirational home life, Joe Nash finds himself lured into the dark world of prostitution and white slavery.

A one time best selling author, Joe is intrigued with the lifestyle of exotic dancers within his own sleepy community in Washington State. Joe convinces himself his interest is only the necessary research for his long awaited second book. Then his association with a young dancer, Sarah Michaels, challenges his middle class, middle-aged attitudes towards sex and relationships.

SarahÂ's body is found on the mud flats of Puget Sound after one of their meetings and then Joe learns that he has been named as a suspect. He is abandoned and accused by his wife, his friends and his community. Determined to defend himself and discover why and by whom Sarah was murdered Joe begins a dangerous journey. Joe once again finds himself drawn to one of the girls and together they enter a realm beyond his imagination. He discovers what is supposed to be a haven, but is instead clearing house where young girls are passed around for profit and from which there is no escapeÂ-a lesson Sarah Michaels learned all too well.

About the Author
Michael Richmond, after completing a tour in the Marine Corps, fought forest fires and fished commercially in Washington State until the industry collapsed in the mid 80s. He was a contractor until he retired. He and his wife live in the Northwest, where he is working on his next book.

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Review of Golf Balls Are Female (Paperback)

It has been a while since I read this book, but much of the humor has stayed with me. I wrote about it previously (maybe for the author) and mentioned that while it is a laugh out loud tome on almost all things male, it is notably free of flatulence. Most "guy books" about drinking, whoring, and football would have some mention of the inevitable outcome of too many beers, too much bad food, and a total lack of manners.
In the end, this is a "bromance", a story about strong male bonds and friendship. I won't ruin the ending for those who plan to purchase this literary masterpiece, but suffice it to say that the book ultimately shows itself to be something of a paean to a lost friend and to days gone by.
It is, also, the book that will get Bob fired...

Product Description
I realize that anyone sufficiently intrigued by the title so as to open the cover of Golf Balls Are Female has probably already conjured up some ideas as to its contents. To end the suspense, I will tell you that Golf Balls Are Female is simply about the three greatest pleasures in a man s life drinking, golf, and the OU-Texas football game. Unfortunately, life requires a lot of living in between these most gratifying of pursuits, so Golf Balls Are Female is also about public humiliation, immaturity, emotional desperation, broken engagements, deceit, stupidity, sexually transmitted diseases, cybersex, lovesick lunacy, divorce, one-night stands, heartache, and partaking of the world s oldest profession. Although there are numerous incidents that stretch to the limits of plausibility, the book is based on real life stories. In fact, bona fide concerns about personal retaliation have convinced me to actually leave out some of the more incriminating details. Some readers may find our humor irreverent, others may deem our lifestyles to border on misogynistic, both would be correct. However, those that read beyond the outrageous behavior will find that Golf Balls Are Female is really about friendship. Most importantly, this book answers one of modern man s most enduring questions golf balls are definitely female!

About the Author
Robert C. Knox is a recognized expert in the field of ground water contamination and has won several national awards for excellence in engineering education. He is an avid in-line skater and, currently, a nineteen handicapper.

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Review of Their Wildest Dreams: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Several stories of varied characters converge in a literally explosive climax in this extraordinarily well written novel. On the Mexican US border outside of Tucson, lives Mackie Larkin, a divorced housewife who dreams of owning a dance studio but after a failed real estate deal, desperately needs money just to make ends meet. Her daughter, Lianne falls for an older man who works at the same ranch her father does. Nicholas Loeb is a mystery writer who travels to rural Arizona to get hands on experience in law enforcement. Buck Samsonov is a crime lord who runs a couple of strip joints in the region. All their paths converge in this very clever crime novel. The question is who will be on top in the end.
After a slow start the plot becomes increasingly fast paced once we get to know each of the characters and their separate problems. Alternate chapters are used initially to reveal the individual characters. Part of the change in momentum occurs when the characters' lives converge making the separation by chapter no longer necessary.The characters, a major strength of the work, are all original creations. The conclusion is a bit problematic and unrealistic. However, this one is well written and very much worthy of a reader's time.

Product Description

"Peter Abrahams is my favorite American suspense novelist."
-STEPHEN KING

"Mackie dreaded the mail." From this simple beginning, Peter Abrahams opens the curtains on a mesmerizing world down on the Mexican border, a world of complex and passionate people whose ambitions will lead them on a relentless collision course, a desert world that rises to the mythic in Their Wildest Dreams. The suspense will grab you and not let go, the surprises will shock you, but in the end it will be the wonderful characters who linger in your mind.

Characters like Mackie Larkin, a suburban mother desperate for money, who finds she can earn it as a stripper; Kevin Larkin, her ex-husband whose get-rich-quick schemes left her with a mountain of debt, and who now dreams up an even better one; Lianne, their beautiful, impulsive teenage daughter, for whom almost anything, even bank robbery, is possible; Jimmy Marz, the wrangler she loves, who gets a dangerous onetime offer that could take him to the life he's always wanted; Buck Samsonov, the charismatic strip-club owner building a southwestern empire in the lawless style of a 19th-century robber baron; Clay Krupsha, a twenty-first-century captain of detectives in a border town where no crime is what it seems; and Nicholas Loeb, a struggling mystery writer whose encounter with an unstable muse entangles him in a web of true crime more mysterious than anything he imagined.

Utterly original, multilayered, and marked by the gripping suspense, sharp wit, and fascinating psychological insights for which Peter Abrahams has been acclaimed, here is a major work-a riveting story of modern-day desperadoes living their wildest dreams.


From the Hardcover edition.

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Review of Now You See Me (Mass Market Paperback)

Sixteen years ago, Olivia Howe was kidnapped by a madman, and though she was rescued, lost her sight from a blow to the head. However, she gained another kind of sight, one that has allowed her, over the years, to tap into the emotions of other children in trouble and lead to their rescue. It has happened again, ironically sixteen years to the day after how own kidnapping. Olivia is the first to know that little Phaedra has been taken, somehow by the same maniac who stole her sight.

Although telling the police what she knows brings Olivia into focus and the prime suspect, she is compelled to do all she can to save another child's life. Lead detective, Max Callahan is drawn into believing her, and to the psychic herself. As he grows closer to her and more involved in the case, Max discovers an eerie connection he has to the case and to Olivia herself. Past demons reach out to grip all involved, and a race against time ensues to prevent the kidnapper from becoming a killer.

***** Unexpected twists and heart stopping suspense make this a book you will want to read in one sitting. Beyond that, you are offered unique insights into the world of the blind with a fascinating and believeable heroine that is portrayed by Olivia. Max is a tower of strength who has overcome a terribly scarred past to live life as a true hero. You will definitely put this on your keeper shelf. *****

Reviewed by Amanda Killgore



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Review of Replica (Paperback)

Bill Clem writes riveting action scenes. He grounds his story in reality and makes it so believable its all the more frightening. It would make a great movie.

Product Description
Off the Indonesian coast, a 747 plunges into the Pacific Ocean, leaving a handful of survivors that wash ashore onto a deserted island. Unbeknownst to them, the island is home to a secret genetics lab where Dr. Peter Carlson has attempted to resurrect a long-extinct mammal. But something has gone horribly wrong and soon they realize that surviving the plane crash was the easy part. Something more sinister than anything they could have imagined is stalking them. And it is determined to see that no one makes it off the island alive.

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