jbronderbookreviews

Blood on the Bayou (Andy Broussard/Kit Franklyn Mystery – 2) by DJ Donaldson

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) DJ Donaldson brings us to the famous French Quarter with our favorite dynamic detective duo in this gripping thriller. New Orleans’s chief medical examiner Andy Broussard and his assistant, criminal psychologist Kit Franklyn, set off to investigate a series of violent serial murders. Examinations of the victims have led them to discover that each one’s throat had been ripped out with two tools: a garden fork and something unrecognizable. Something no man could have made, but a myth could have. Could it be that a werewolf has descended upon the city?

The story starts with Andy Broussard getting an early morning call from the police. A body has been found. It looks like the throat has been ripped out. To find the killer, Andy ends up returning to his hometown. Kit Franklyn has been kicking around the idea of quitting and moving to be with her boyfriend. When she meets Teddy she starts to reconsider moving.

It seems that someone is suffering from lycanthropy, being a werewolf. That they are tearing out the throats of their victims. Now Andy and Kit are on a race of time to try and stop the killer before the body count adds up.

I love DJ Donaldson’s Andy Broussard and Kit Franklyn mysteries. I have read several books in the series but not in order. It was a nice treat to see how Kit meets Teddy, he’s one of the characters that I think just adds that little bit to the story. Of course how can you not like Andy? He is obsessed with food, which is shown in his size, and he is almost like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to deduction.

The story is really good and, like with all of the books I have read in this series, I didn’t know who the killer was until at the end. My only complaint would be Kit. She gets herself into trouble with her bad decisions. Although she is Andy’s counter part and smart in her own sense, she just seems to keep falling into situations that she needs to be rescued from. I do get frustrated with her.

If you like mysteries, be sure to check out Blood on the Bayou or the other books in this series.

To purchase Blood on the Bayou or for more information on this series be sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and DJ Donaldson’s website.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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The Asylum by John Harwood

3 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Confused and disoriented, Georgina Ferrars awakens in a small room in Tregannon House, a private asylum in a remote corner of England. She has no memory of the past few weeks. The doctor, Maynard Straker, tells her that she admitted herself under the name Lucy Ashton the day before, then suffered a seizure. When she insists he has mistaken her for someone else, Dr. Straker sends a telegram to her uncle, who replies that Georgina Ferrars is at home with him in London: “Your patient must be an imposter.”

Suddenly her voluntary confinement becomes involuntary. Who is the woman in her uncle’s house? And what has become of her two most precious possessions, a dragonfly pin left to her by her mother and a writing case containing her journal, the only record of those missing weeks? Georgina’s perilous quest to free herself takes us from a cliffside cottage on the Isle of Wight to the secret passages of Tregannon House and into a web of hidden family ties on which her survival depends.

A young lady wakes to find herself in a strange room. She learns that she is at Tregannon House, a mental asylum. The doctor tells her that she admitted herself the night before under the name Lucy Ashton but then had a violent seizure. But this can’t be right, her name is Georgina Ferrars. But when the doctor brings her the belongings she brought with her, everything has LA on it even though none of it is familiar to Georgina. Georgina convinces the doctor to send a message to her uncle, her only surviving relative to confirm her identity. But the reply comes back that Georgina is safe at home and that Georgina/Lucy is an imposter.

Then her voluntary admittance becomes involuntary. Clearly something is wrong with Georgina and she needs to be treated. While still insisting that she is not Lucy, Georgina finds some letters and a diary in her belongings. This starts the flashbacks and jumps to explain what is going on. But things are still murky. Then we start the mad pace to the end with a surprise, twist ending.

I was really curious about how this book would go, but I had a hard time trying to get into it. I was curious about Georgina and what could be the reason behind the story. When she finds the letters and diary I was hoping that this would clear things up but it just got worse. They jumped around all over the place and I was completely lost.

This was an interesting story but I will admit that it just wasn’t one that I liked. It’s not bad and I do see a lot of other people really liked it. I think this is one of those books that you either really like or don’t. I think if you really like the gothic thrillers this would be the book for you.

To purchase The Asylum or for more information be sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

I received this book for free a long time ago in exchange for an honest review.

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Zombie Attack: Rise of the Horde (Book 1) by Devan Sagliani

5 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) When 16 year old Xander’s older brother Moto left him at Vandenberg Airforce Base he only had one request – don’t leave no matter what. But there was no way he could have known that one day zombies would gather into groups big enough to knock down walls and take out entire buildings full of people. That was before the rise of the horde!

But Xander is far from alone. Traveling with him are Benji, a 12 year old comic book geek, and Felicity Jane, a childhood celebrity with wild mood swings. Will they make it together in one piece to the safe zone or will they become the next meal for a hungry horde of wild zombies?

The zombie apocalypse has happened and Xander is suck at Vandenberg Airforce Base. But when the base is over run, Xander grabs Benji and they high tale it out of there. The only place that Xander thinks to go is to Port Hueneme to get back to his brother. But there is a lot of miles and the starts of zombie hordes between Xander and his brother Moto.

Along the way Xander and Benji will find some other survivors from Vandenberg Airforce Base just to loose them, a Neo-Nazi group, crazy bikers, heavy metal rock star, a movie star, and a religious cult. And just when things start looking up, it all goes to heck.

This is a great, fast paced story. Xander has had some martial arts training from his brother Moto and a katana which keeps him ahead of the zombies, barely. There was lots of action and no time to rest. I really liked how Xander runs into all of these crazy people but he keeps fighting and trying to keep Benji safe.

This is a great zombie story, the first in a series. And the ending, a perfect lead into Zombie Attack: Army of the Dead. I can’t wait to get reading that one.

To purchase Zombie Attack: Rise of the Horde be sure to check out Amazon, Goodreads, and Devan Sagliani’s website.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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(Excerpt from Goodreads) How dare you? How dare you hold me captive?

13-year-old Teodor was taken by the vicious Battle Borgs of Dome and now he must fight to survive.

13-year-old Guy Erma has been offered a chance to fight for his place in the Dome Elite. Only who will be his opponent? Will he face a Battle Borg of Dome?

Once they were heroes. These men died as heroes in battle. Now they have been reincarnated as the fearsome vanguard of the Dome Elite. They are the Battle Borgs of Dome

Two boys as different as any two boys might be. They face the same enemy, the same danger, the same fear – dare they trust each other?

Sally Ann Melia is life-long Science Fiction fan. She was Star Wars as a child and has loved Space Opera fiction and tales of huge Galactic Empires such as Frank Herbert’s Dune series and Iain M. Banks Culture. Guy Erma and the Son of Empire is her first full-length novel to be published.

She lives in Farnham, Surrey with husband David, and has two children and 3 gerbils.

Review

5 stars

Theo is still missing, we know that he is alive. Karl Valvanchi has offered Sayginn, the Queen Regent, the opportunity to find Theo and all signed are pointing to the Dome Elite and Chart Segat. His plan was to kidnap Theo to keep Sayginn from dissolving the Dome Elite. But Sayginn has other plans for the Dome Elite. I just hope she is strong enough to keep fighting

There is so much going on in this book. Theo is still missing, he is shuffled around from location to location until he is finally cleaned up and put in a ring to fight Guy Erma. Guy is trying to do whatever it takes to get into the Dome Elite, but thing keep happening and he is trying to follow orders but knows something bigger is going to happen.

Sayginn just knows Chart Segat has something to do with Theo’s kidnapping and that it has something to do with the vote on disbanding the Dome Elite. Sayginn is trying to stay strong. Then Karl Valvanchi offers to help her with his telepathy and so much more. But when the vote goes badly things go from bad to worse. Chart Segat is going to return Theo to Sayginn, the question is if he will be alive. Will Karl be in time to save Theo?

I love this series. There is so much going on. It’s not just Theo getting kidnapped; it’s how he is also being used to make Sayginn let Chart Segat maintain control of the Dome Elite. Guy Erma is trying his best to get into the Dome Elite but he is starting to see that there is more going on. Karl is more a side character in the story but you are starting to see more and more about him.

This is a great story with lots of actions and a quick pace. I finished it in one sitting and can’t wait to see how the series goes in Exile.

To purchase Hunter: Guy Erma Part 2 or for more information on this series be sure to check out Amazon, Goodreads, and Sally Ann Melia’s website.

I received this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

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Dark City Lights (Have a NYC – 4) by Lawrence Block

4 stars

(Excerpt from Goodreads) Famed detective and mystery writer Lawrence Block (A Walk Among the Tombstones, 8 Million Ways to Die) takes the helm as guest editor for DARK CITY LIGHTS, the fourth edition of the Have a NYC series. Twenty-three thrilling, hilarious and poignant short stories—all based in New York City—written by new and acclaimed fiction masters, including Robert Silverberg (Hugo and Nebula Award multiple winner; grand master of SFWA); Ed Park (author, Personal Days; senior editor, Amazon’s literary imprint, Little A); Jim Fusilli (rock and pop music critic, Wall Street Journal; author, Closing Time and A Well-Known Secret); Parnell Hall (author, Last Puzzle & Testament); SJ Rozan (Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero and Macavity award-wining author); Brian Koppelman (co-writer, Ocean’s 13 and Rounders); Elaine Kagan (author, No Good-Byes; actress, GoodFellas), and more. A brilliant book that redefines the New York of today—and tomorrow.

Dark City Lights is a compilation of 23 short stories based on New York City with lots of diversity between the authors. The stories range from every day events that you might find in New York to the strange and bizarre like alien invasions and goddesses. There is a little bit of everything that will appeal to everyone.

I like reading anthologies because you get introduced to many different authors and you get a variety of styles. I also like the short stories to pass time between appointments and errands without the risk of reading until all hours of the night and not accomplishing anything. Some of the stories range from a couple pages to upwards of 20.

I admit that I’m bias and liked Lawrence Block’s story Keller the Dogkiller the best. But I really like Lawrence’s stories and this was just as good. I loved how his assassin gets himself out of a strange situation. Plus Lawrence does a great job selecting all of these stories for this collection.

I admit some of the stories were better than others, but that is what you get with an anthology. The best part is I got to learn of new authors that I’m going to check out more of there work. Over all this is a great compilation. If you like stories based on New York this would be a great book for you.

For more information or to purchase this book be sure to check out Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

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