Two Mini Book Reviews

THE MINE (Northwest Passage Book 1) by John A. Heldt (3.5 stars)

Having just graduated from college in 2000, Joel Smith explores an abandoned mine and emerges in 1941, a few months before the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were engaging and the plot interesting. How Joel managed his situation was plausibly developed and there was just enough happening throughout the story to keep my interest. Most of the story revolved around Joel finding the love of his life decades before he was born. I liked how the author resolved Joel’s conflict between wanting to return to his own time and not wanting to abandon his love.

My main quibbles with this book were some consistency issues and not knowing whose head I was in while reading. Most of the story is from Joel’s point of view, but there were times where I suddenly found myself in another character’s head without a scene or chapter break. This caused a few speed bumps where I had to go back and read through a few paragraphs more than once. The book could stand another edit.

Overall, I think most will find this a fun read, especially if you like time travel.

* * *

3 a.m. (Henry Bins Book 1) by Nick Pirog (4 stars)

HENRY BINS has a sleeping disorder named after him. Henry sleeps 23 hrs a day and is only awake from 3 to 4 a. m. regardless of the time zone. So in order to have any kind of life, he has to regiment his time very carefully—every second counts. Then one day, his life is turned upside down when he hears a woman scream from the apartment across from his. When he goes to investigate, he finds a dead body.

Despite the improbability of Henry Bins and his disorder, I found it very easy to suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the well-crafted story. The characters were well fleshed and unique and the plot was a doozy. So kick off your shoes, leave your skepticism under a rock, and enjoy the read.

Review: To Kill a Mocking Dog

To Kill a Mocking Dog by Angela Cowan

209 pages

Kindle Edition

Book Description from Amazon:
Dead serial-killer Martin Hollis gets one last chance at life - only it’s more of a living hell for him. The Committee decides that as part of a new trial initiative, Marty will travel in time, find would-be victims and become a serial-saver. The alternative is spending eternity in black nothingness.

To say he's not best pleased would be like saying Genghis Khan was a bit cranky, but Marty wants another chance and agrees. Then he discovers he won't be travelling through space and time alone...and when he meets his new partner, the whole black nothingness thing suddenly doesn't seem quite so bad.

Review:

Redemption?

I have to admit, I was both intrigued and turned off by the premise of turning Marty, a serial killer into a serial saver, but Angela Cowan’s skillful writing made me identify with and like Marty and his partner Weedgie the mocking dog. I was able to suspend my skepticism within a few pages.

Despite the serious aspects of this book, Cowan wrapped it with humor and whimsy making it deceptively easy to read and hard to put down. I appreciate it when an author gets her point across without bludgeoning me with her position on morality.

If there was one thing I would fault, is I felt the reason Marty became a serial killer a bit too convenient and not entirely convincing to me. That did not affect my enjoyment of the book, however.

So if you are looking for a fun read with some substance, I heartily recommend this book.

Review: Blood Lance by Jeri Westerson

BLOOD LANCE

Jeri Westerson

Release Date: Oct. 16, 2012

Minotaur Books

334 pages

In BLOOD LANCE, Jeri Westerson delivers the fifth fast-paced medieval noir mystery featuring Crispin Guest, a degraded knight reduced to earning a meager living in the mean streets of late 14^th-century London as a tracker, finder of lost valuables. However much Crispin tries to stick to finding lost objects, murder and relics that some think are worth killing for will find him, or as it transpires in this novel, fall into the Thames before Crispin’s eyes.

Westerson’s characters come alive in a medieval London that I could see, hear, and touch in my imagination. Still clinging to the Chivalric code, Crispin is challenged to question these beliefs, and through his questioning, grows as a person. We also get to enjoy the developing relationship between Jack Tucker, a reformed cutpurse, who Crispin took in, mentored and taught to read English, Greek, and Latin. Jack is also growing both in character and literally. Now 14, he is experiencing his first bouts with puberty. Crispin has his hands full.

We even get to see a heart stopping joust that I found more exciting the reenactments I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in person. Westerson’s description was so vivid that it was like I was the knight on the horse, feeling the impact of the lance as it struck. I won’t reveal more about the joust, but I hope you relish it as I did.

Jeri Westerson

I received an advanced digital copy of BLOOD LANCE for review.

Joan Szechtman