jbronderbookreviews

Security to the Haunted House by Dana Huse

A group of amusement park security guards dream up a great prank to pull off in the Haunted House. Perfectly harmless. Nobody gets hurt. But they overlooked Oooonnne thing and now they’re trapped and don’t dare reveal themselves.

Author’s Bio

(1955 – so far, so good) Born in Hoboken, NJ, Dana has wandered the United States as a child, finally settling in Ventura, CA, which is a pretty cool place to live. He does not surf, the water is too darn cold. Currently he lives in his own house with two dogs and a huge mortgage.

He gets along well with his parents, who are both dead.

He had a career doing things with computers. He’s working on winning any award for any accomplishment.

Interesting things happen to him, which he writes about. He’s building a collection, so keep checking his list of books. Right now he’s going for short, humorous fiction because most of his life happens in short, funny chunks.

He recently got his black belt in Taekwondo. He doesn’t enjoy being kicked but he keeps going because it does good stuff to his body and brain. Sometimes his age is higher than all the rest of the class combined.

He does Tarot readings. Not about what your future will be, but about what you have to do to get the future you want.

He has constant computer problems.

Don’t get him started on the roommates he’s had.

Things that happened to him that weren’t his fault:
His dog brought him a rat as a gift. It wasn’t dead.
Ended up in the middle of a rail union riot … in Brussels, Belgium.
Taught English in China.
Had a cell phone stolen by a motorcyclist in Ho Chi Minh city.
Lost a cell phone by leaving it on top of the hood of his so-called car.
Left a cell phone in a movie theater in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Ran through the main glass door in the biggest mall in Huntsville, AL at a peak hour.
Majored in computer science.
Majored in theater
Majored in business
Majored in psychology, which he actually got a degree in. All this took thirty-three years.
Showed up for a flight in the wrong airport in the wrong city in the wrong state. This story won the “Stupid Traveler’s Tricks” contest in Salon.com.

As Kurt Vonnegut said, “And so it goes.”

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My Review

5 stars

Tommy and Dana had the idea that as soon as they graduated from high school they would move from Huntsville, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and work for an amusement park. It would be cool, work during the day and ride the rides for free on their days off. On their orientation they learn from the veteran security staff how the customers are not as wonderful as you would think. Dana didn’t want to think of them that way but by the end of the week he is about fed up with them too.

After work the employees find themselves in a local bar and reminisce about their days and past events. While talking they come to the realization that one of the senior staff must have a fear of the Haunted House even the group finds it lame. So they set up a plan to scare him. But thinks don’t go the way they planned.

For anyone that has worked with the general public, you will understand this book. It is a tough job yet funny how these high school kids learn the hard way about work. And the surprise, I loved it. Not what they thought they were going to get but a fitting end to the prank.

This is a humorous short story. I laughed at the different things they went through and could relate to a prank gone bad. If you want a good laugh give this short story a read.

I received Security to the Haunted House for free from the author. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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The Matchbook by Brent Jones

Corbyn Thurber, seventeen, meets the love of his life while passing through the small town of Wakefield—he just doesn’t know it at the time.

He returns years later in search of the woman he never forgot only to discover she has a dark secret. And tracking her down under the watch of judgmental locals is only half as antagonizing as his sense of self-doubt.

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Author’s Bio

From bad checks to bathroom graffiti, Brent Jones has always been drawn to writing. He won a national creative writing competition at the age of fourteen, although he can’t recall what the story was about. Seventeen years later, he gave up his freelance career as a social media manager to pursue creative writing full-time. Fender and The Fifteenth of June are his first two novels.

Jones writes from his home in Fort Erie, Canada. He’s happily married, a bearded cyclist, a mediocre guitarist, (sometimes) vegetarian, and the proud owner of two dogs with a God complex.

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My Review

5 stars

When Corbyn Thurder was seventeen he found himself in the Platinum Paradise, a strip club. There he got to experience a dance from Sapphire. Afterwards she wrote her name and number on a matchbook. Corbyn has never forgotten her and now finds himself back in Wakefield tracking her down. There is clearing something going on with how the locals react every time he asks them about her. But when he finds her his illusion is shattered by the truth.

Not everything is as it first appears. Corbyn hunts down Sapphire, almost in a stalking manner, but he means the best for her. He was not expecting what he finds. I can relate. I moved states away from my original home and returns years later. It’s amazing how what we knew years earlier don’t have the same meaning and luster that I remembered.

This is a great short story that will make you think about things you remembered in the past and how much they have changed.

I received The Matchbook from the author for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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In The Blood by Leslie Welsh

Are you looking for a breathtaking crime thriller full of shocking twists? Then try the gripping and unmissable In The Blood.

Grace Dobbs, a champion at her local gun club, lives a quiet life in Western Australia with her mother.

But when a violent spree killing in the neighbourhood sees Grace come to the rescue, she is catapulted into the limelight as a local heroine.

However, her fame spreads much further than the local town, bringing her to the attention of someone in Britain who is very keen to meet her.

But what does this person want? And can they be trusted?

As Grace travels to England to discover her true heritage, she is about to learn the real meaning of danger.

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Author’s Bio

Lesley Welsh was a freelance writer whose work appeared in numerous UK magazines over several years, including Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire. She later teamed up with her editor partner to run their own London-based magazine publishing company Moondance Media until 2008.

She moved to Spain, where she began writing novels, and working as a publicist for a charitable organisation which helps fund shelters for victims of domestic violence.

Her first novel, (published under her own name, Lesley Ann Sharrock) The Seventh Magpie, was published in the USA in 2012.

She then changed genre and, as Lesley Welsh, her debut crime novel, Truth Lies Buried, was published to great acclaim by Thomas & Mercer in June 2016.

Lesley went on to write The Serial Killer’s Daughter, which was published by Bookouture in June 2017. At her untimely death, Lesley had just completed a further novel, In the Blood, which is now available with Bloodhound Books.

My Review

5 stars

Grace Dobbs is a champion at the local gun club. But when a heist goes wrong, Grace is there to save the day. This makes her quite famous, internationally. She is then contacted by someone that is very interested in meeting her. Grace travels to Britain and starts learning about her heritage. It seems that someone things they can use her to get ahead and Grace just wants to go back to her old life.

Grace lives in seclusion in her neighborhood in Australia until her act of heroism launches her into the media. She has no idea who wants her but she is willing to see if they may have some information about her past. I love Grace. She is independent and a strong woman yet she has a nativity to her that makes it easy to fall for what some people tell her.

This is one bloody thrill ride. You have knives and guns and a group of nasty people that want to get ahead by the most violent path they can follow. If that is not enough, the book’s plot is all over the place but it is written so you won’t be confused or lost. This is a great story and one I am happy to add to my shelves.

I received In The Blood from Bloodhound Books for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

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