Month: July 2012

Summerland

Book of the Week: Summerland
Elin Hilderbrand (Author)

A warm June evening, a local tradition: the students of Nantucket High have gathered for a bonfire on the beach. But what begins as a graduation night celebration ends in tragedy after a horrible car crash leaves the driver of the car, Penny Alistair, dead, and her twin brother in a coma. The other passengers, Penny’s boyfriend Jake and her friend Demeter, are physically unhurt – but the emotional damage is overwhelming, and questions linger about what happened before Penny took the wheel.

As summer unfolds, startling truths are revealed about the survivors and their parents – secrets kept, promises broken, hearts betrayed. Elin Hilderbrand explores the power of community, family, and honesty, and proves that even from the ashes of sorrow, new love can still take flight.

Summerland
Elin Hilderbrand (Author)
ISBN: 1444723944

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The Testing Point (Eric Collins)

Featured Book Review: The Testing Point
Angela Sturm

It was clear which room he was going to. Two EMTs were wheeling a stretcher out of the room at the end of the hall. They moved quickly to the elevator, its door held open by a trooper. As the stretcher passed him, Ben looked down at a young woman, maybe in her twenties, unconscious, her face badly beaten. The girls blond hair was matted with blood that had not yet dried. A macabre combination of blood and lipstick covered her face. The sheet that draped her body was stained red where it touched her abdomen.

When beat cop Ben Grasso is called to the crime scene to taxi the suspect to jail, he is shocked to learn the alleged perpetrator is a fellow officer and not just any fellow officer, but a childhood friend.

Author Eric Collins novel starts us out in the middle of a crime scene. Protagonist Ben Grasso is a street cop who gets embroiled in a mystery so twisted it could end his life. Author Eric Collins did an excellent job capturing his readers attention. The characters are colorful, believable and easy to identify with. Unlike so many new writers, Mr. Collins restricted his use of adjectives and adverbs as descriptives, instead focusing on the details, taking us through each scene as though we were there.

The setting takes place in Tremont, Boston, where the majority of the neighborhoods are Italian. The supporting characters were well written and full of color, especially Ben Grassos partner, Dina Greenbaum who is a former Israeli Intelligence officer.

This was an excellent book and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Collins became known as the next John Sandford. I would recommend this book to all mystery lovers and look forward to reading Mr. Collins next work.

The Testing Point
Eric Collins (Author)
ISBN: 978-1475146882

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Never Had A Chance To Say Goodbye (A. Mohit)

Featured Book Review: Never Had A Chance To Say Goodbye
Rowyn Golde

Mohit’s writing is wonderfully relentless as the reader is immediately thrown into the story without useless exhibition or prologue. Mohit shows exactly where the story takes place and who the reader is following with no second guesses. The sense of place is astounding. Each detail is effortlessly placed and incorporated among the interaction of the characters. Perhaps because the characters are based in reality, they jump from the page as real people within the tale. As such, this is a story rich with probing questions and a real, heart opening tale steeped in real emotion.

The dialogue is also realistic, believable and quotable. This is partly because it never strays from fitting each character. It is not forced by any means, and therefore comes easily to the reader. Because this tale involves traveling, it works for people all over the world. The subjects presented here work beyond culture or creed and instead touch the human heart at the core.

This book tells the tale of a spiritual journey, and so it carries the reader through some very powerful concepts. However, it does not offend or bombard with over-the-head preaching. Instead, this book gently guides while still carrying a strong sense of presence. The reader can take form the story what he or she wants, and do so comfortably, yet it is still thought provoking. Intelligently written and well paced, A. Mohit’s Never Had A Chance To Say Goodbye is a solid choice for the avid reader.

Never Had A Chance To Say Goodbye
A Mohit (Author)
ISBN: 978-1475225266

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