"Chasing Alexander", by Christopher Martin

A Marine journey’s journey across Iraq and Afghanistan

Martin guides us in his memoirs through the history of Alexander the Great while chronicling his own journey from an out-of-shape grunt to an action-hungry corporal. From boot camp through his deployment the everyday military life including excitement, boredom and tragedy is told in minute details.

Each chapter opens with interesting snippets of Alexander the Great conquest. Martin admires Alexander’s militarily genius and his diplomatic skills and “Chasing Alexander” draws deeply on the life of the king. Telling a little bit of his biography does not bog down the flow or the impact on the author’s story. Actually it is a great touch.

This memoir is written with tact and clarity, he talks about his friends, family and his unit in a compelling manner. The trauma and hardship of Marines’ existence is captured as well as the grief, terror and agony they experienced. The vague notions of what means to be a Marine is put aside, replacing it with the reality of life in service.

If you are interested in military life this book may be for you. I had a hard time getting into it I found it boring, too many details and not enough action till reaching half way when Martin saw some action. Pages after pages of boot camp training ...once you read a military story boot camp is boot camp. Although I appreciated the simply words Martin used to make us see what the war was like for the regular Americans. Definitely the author can write.

A good book but it was not for me.

An advance review copy was provided by the publisher, Notional Books via Edelweiss for an impartial and honest review.

"The Necklace", by Matt Witten

The story in a few words:

A small town waitress, Susan Lentigo, sets out on a road trip to North Dakota to witness the execution of the man who killed her daughter twenty years ago. This is a heart-pounding crusade for justice and as the clock ticks down on Curt Jansen`s life we follow Susan on a journey towards the inevitable. Along the way she meets people pulling her out of multiple predicaments she faced.... especially meeting her ex and the retired cop who made the original arrest.... Janson always maintained he was innocent, now at the last hours Susan wonders if they have the right man behind bars and pinpoints all her energy on finding the truth.

My thoughts:

This story if very predicable I easily pictured what was coming long before I read it. Haven said this, Mr. Witten has nevertheless written a very suspenseful and captivating drama I enjoyed quite a bit. We follow two timelines: one set twenty years ago, when the crime occurred. The second timeline is present day when Jansen is days from being executed.

“The necklace” is a fast-paced thriller hard to put down and is told from the point of view of Susan. The writing style is very direct no flowery language to slow down the prose. Even with its dark and dreary subject matter the story is not a depressing read. Susan character is multi-layered and human. She makes mistakes and takes risks; it is so easy for us to root for her all the way.

The necklace plays a key part of the plot and why is this simple piece of beaded jewellery made by Susan and worn by the daughter just days before her murder so special.....the simple answer: the necklace was never found during the investigation....an intrigue that follows us till the very end.

Although this story is a fiction, the author has based some parts on different events and people and had made a true page-turner with few twists to derailed most of us.

This is a good read I enjoyed passing time with.

I wish to thank Oceanview Publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"When Summer was Ours", by Roxanne Veletzos

Hungary 1943 to the tensions of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.

This epic tale filled with passion and hope takes places mainly during WW11 and focuses on the toll the war took on civilians.

Eva César, a young woman from an affluent family awaits the return of her fiancé and is counting down her last days being single when by pure chance she meets Aleandro, a Romani artist, and falls in love with him. WW11 is raging on and the two are torn apart at summer`s end.....Aleandro is captured and sent to a concentration camp. Eva stays put and gives birth to their daughter, a child Aleandro never knew of..... This is a summer they will never forget.

The author recreates the atmosphere in Hungary at the time while the couple struggled to survive in a world where the Romani people where considered less then rodents and suffered terrible treatment from everyone. This story is filled with tragedy during the war and long after when Hungary was under Soviet occupation. A good part of this story covers the uprising and what came out of it.

We also follow each of their life after the war and share in their success as well as in their heartbreaks. Even if they were apart for many decades, Eva and Aleandro love never faded.

The narrative is unique and the mellow tempo is steady for most of the book although picks up when the two are separated. We have a mix of suspense, some passion, lots of love, too much sacrifice...array emotions to break the heart. Although at time Eva choices were iffy...in a way it places you in her shoes...We have a gamut of players well drawn and true to life: Dora the maid, a domineering father, Eva’s two men in her life: Eduard and Aleandro and many more that crosses the pages.

In conclusion, the author’s notes tells us that her fictional story has roots in real people lives and has let her fertile imagination run free...

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book: these are my thoughts.

"Labyrinth of Lies", by Irene Hannon

Triple Threat book #2

A Christian romantic suspense novel

To start with I would mention although this book may be characterized as being a Christian novel the story does not overwhelm with religious connotations so whether you are Christian or not “Labyrinth of Lies” is very captivating and a joy to read.

The action starts when a young girl goes missing at an exclusive girl’s boarding school. Detective Cate Reilly is sent undercover as a student to see what happened to this young lady. While investigating she reunites with a former colleague Zeke Sloan who is also there working undercover trying to flush out the members of a drug ring. Although each is on a different assignment, teaming up to help each other is the best way to go but they soon discover that no one is really who they are and danger waits at every turn....and along the way, Cate and Zebe rekindle their love for each other...

This story is an attention grabber one that is so filled with intrigues, twists and turns... the suspense is killing.... so many dangers awaits Cate and Zeke and of course a little bit of romance helps smooth things out. Although I have read some books with a similar theme in the past following the two on their quests gave a totally different spin to the shenanigans played out behind the walls of a ritzy school...

Ms. Hannon pens a soft mystery told in a clean language and give her plot a moderate tempo easy to follow and populates her story with charismatic characters. Well-done.

I received this ARC from the publisher Revell through the First Review Program I am happy to share my thoughts.

"Hostile Intent", by Lynette Eason

A contemporary romantic suspense

Danger Never Sleeps book#4

What this book has to say:

Ava Jackson recently discharged from the military joins FBI Special Agent Caden Denning on assignment to catch a serial killer targeting military families. Caden needs her help before anyone else is harmed. He thinks Ava may hold the key to the murders of three families of men who defected from Russia during the cold war. The investigation becomes very personal when Ava is attacked leaving her mother’s nursing home triggering a fight to survive......

What I think:

This books although part of a series stands well by its own. The focus in this series was on group of friends discharged from the military after serving in Afghanistan, each book tells a different story. “Hostile Intent” ends this wonderful series with a bang.....

This book does not disappoint, it is well-written in a clean language and gives us a plot filled with non-stop-action and plenty of suspense .A real page-turner that provides us with a tad of teasing romance throughout but leaves out hot crazy scenes we sometime read...We have enough twists and turns to keep us guessing and us turning page to see if we are right...There is a lot of tension and the pacing is perfect for this scenario. This is cleverly thought-out thriller. Entertaining and one that kept me attention from cover to cover...well-done

I enjoy being a member of the first reviewer program and I wish to thank the publisher Revell as well as Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"The Devil's Choir", by Martin Michaud

A Victor Lessard Thriller book #3

(La Chorale du Diable), book#2, the French version

An orgy of bloody violence and ghosts from the past haunts Victor Lessard on his latest investigation. What a nightmarish chamber with horrific murders he faces while he struggles to solve the puzzle and put an end to this insanity. Where does Lessard fit in this equation? What is his connection between missing girls and the savage murder of a family and who are the lethal operatives behind a highly secretive organization the detective needs to evade?.....

What an exciting read this well-run thriller is. The author writes with a rather particular rhythm; not hectic, but rather jazzy. The background is bloody, the heroic character just right and the intrigue very complex. The plot is super well put together with the perfect ending: original and well flared. I particularly liked the fact that behind this family drama hides a twisted secret and reality about today's world. At the forefront: pedophilia, rape, murder, Satanism, belief and Catholicism. Surely not a pleasant topic meant for everyone. What a complicated investigation with so many characters that cross the pages no wonder at times I couldn’t picture what was going on...but as in any good mystery it all comes together slowly and by the end leaves you very satisfied....The predominant character is Montreal City with its good and bad. In vivid cinematic scenes the beauty of the vibrant city shines in the author’s words. The atmospheric and chilling details give goose bumps.....

If you like a dark and thrilling mystery played by well-rounded although complex characters you will enjoy "The Devil's Choir"

Thank you Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the ARC

"Hangfire", by Ty Patterson

Cutter Grogan Thrillers Book #3

Ty Patterson’s thrillers never disappoint. In this latest we have Cutter in Washington DC answering an urgent request from Amy Breland, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to find her grand-daughter who has gone missing. What he finds ....is political shenanigans...

The action is well paced and very suspenseful. Drop by drop the information unfolds making an intriguing read very hard to put aside. Finding a sex-trafficking ring with high ranking senators and Russian ties can only pique one’s curiosity...those dirty old men...When Cutter, ”the Fixer” starts pocking around he soon turn into the most wanted person in the country.....and we are into a very captivating cat and mouse game.

The plot is cleverly developed and filled with visual imagery and colourful characters. The storyline is a riveting one and could easily be ripped from headlines. This is by far not a boring story from the first chapter till the very last many hurdles are jumped leading into one crazy scene after the other and giving us lots of excitement.

Once again this is a white knuckle thriller that flows well and is played out by smart characters.

I have been a huge fan of this author for years now and enjoyed every single book I had the pleasure to receive for review.