Tiger Paw Review and Giveaway
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Once you’ve finished with the awesome trailer, please continue reading for the review and giveaway.

by Charles A. Cornell

Billionaire Matthew Colton was the fifth victim. He was found in his bathtub filled with red wine and an indecipherable script of symbols and lines ending with a bloody paw print. It was the same symbol left at all the crime scenes. His wine collection was worth over 13 million dollars. He had to watch as the killer dumped it down the drain, then filled the bathtub to drown him in it. Fits in with what’s going on today, people’s resentment of the rich and their flaunting of their wealth.

Dominic Sant’Angello looked out the window of his fancy 87th floor office of the John Hancock Center in Chicago, Illinois. He was CEO and principal shareholder of Sigma Venture Capital. He thought of two of their clients, Deuce Meredith, CEO at Razorback Software and Liang Wong, founder of Silicon Pathways, having been murdered. Now Matthew. Two deaths a coincidence? Not three. He was about to lose everything.  Bankruptcy was just a matter of days away.  He was finished.

FBI Profiler, Scott Forester had spent six months chasing a killer in Denver. He worked at the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime in Quantico, Virginia and had been called back to help when Matthew was killed.The first murder had been done in Florida, then two victims in Wyoming and now the Hampton’s.

The killer used the wine to torture Matthew and make him suffer. Was it a part of the killer’s ritual? Why? There had to be a pattern to all the murders. What was it? Deuce Meredith had been wounded and left alive, yet his guide had died instantly. Each victim had a specific torture attached to it. Was it a test? A contest? Payback? Was the killer making a statement?

I like when Scott places his order at the diner and the waitress reads it off the ticket  to Archie in the kitchen:

“One hungry man’s, over cooked eggs, foreign toast and a bottle of red wine!”

“Red wine? Are you sure? With eggs?”

“Okay, make it white.”

Made me chuckle when Scott described it as Archie’s floor show.

Doctor Rajeev Chandra was sitting with the case notes, drinking a cup of tea, in the Garden Cafe at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC and waiting for Scott and Special Agent Van Cleyburne. The Doctor had received the information and autopsy reports of the murders to examine. He told them they were meeting some people who would tell them about the killer. If they knew the motive, it would explain a lot, but if Doctor Chandra could tell them about the writing it may give them more clues. The writing was Sanskrit and the symbols were Hindu.

Doctor Chandra rose from the bench he had been resting on and they resumed their walk to the Freer Gallery, the gallery of Asian art. He wanted to show them three paintings, all different yet all the same, the God – Vishnu, Shiva and Brama. The whole exercise was designed to make them think differently. The final painting was the showpiece – The Revenge of Dvaipa. Could the killer be bringing his victims to Judgment Day?  She is the daughter of Kali, Goddess of Death and Destruction. Dvaipa in Hindi means ‘from a tiger’ half human and half tiger. The Indian government had considered the sect that worshiped Dvaipa so dangerous they closed all their temples and scattered their sacred objects. She had been exiled to America. Satanists worshiped her. She was revenge Incarnate, the unholy scythe she wields – the Tiger Paw. Below the seated Demon Goddess the letters spelled out, “I am the energy of her divine anger”. The  Signature – the incision in victims left earlobe to be able to use the victims own blood to write the message.

Miami –  De Andre Antoin had been killed by a sniper bullet on his yacht. It was the same rifle that was used in Wyoming. California – Lian Wong had been strangled by a noose made from the hot air balloon’s guy rope. It was the first murder to use the signature. Now the Hamptons. What did the victims have in common? Why was each victim killed in such a manner that they died slowly? Channels Dvaipa’s anger and becomes her instrument of revenge –  the Tigers Paw. Covers it all -Tiger Paw killer – motive – revenge.

Scott’s at the diner again:

“Heart attack on a plate with fries coming up. And a crushed dead fish salad.”

    5 STARS – Would buy for Them (lol)

I worked as a waitress and bartender for years, so maybe that’s why these funny tidbits stand out to me.

The cover is awesome. I love the vibrant colors and the photo draws you in, trying to see further into it. Good, catchy title, made me want to know what the story was about. Both the cover and the title lead into the story and with me that is always a good thing. It’s not a quick read and from the very beginning it will draw you in. You will not want to put it down.

Full of intrigue. Complex mixture of plots. Wall Street bigwigs. Greed. House of cards. Scams. Reading along thinking I know were all this is going, all of a sudden there’s another story angle intertwines with the others. Jamie was pathetic. Your typical “it’s not my fault” loser. But what would you do to protect the only family you have? The characters were well-developed and you will love them or hate them. All I kept thinking was, they got what they deserved, ignoring the 99% and thinking the world was theirs for the fleecing.

Should 401Ks, IRAs…be invested in Wall Street, which we all know is full of corruption? What doesn’t change? If you have the money, you have the power and control. Everyone’s rules are different. Things done in the name of religion, fanaticism. When I thought the fight would be over, something would happen and it would continue making me wish it would be done before something worse happened and my hero lost. .

This book had my juices flowing-my heart pounding, blood boiling, anger, rage, PISSED OFF. It had me thinking of all kinds of things. So applicable to what  is going on today. Believable. For a debut novel, I was really impressed.

I thought it was ironic that while I was reading this, Shiva was mentioned on the new TV show, Perception.

The ending had me shocked and bummed. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It has a “killer ” ending. It left me asking ????????????????????? I had to pose the question to the author who responded  ?????????????????????????????????????? No peeking. It is definitely worth waiting til you arrive at the last sentence, the last word. You will deprive yourself of an awesome ending, so once again, NO PEEKING!!!!

Giveaway – Charles has been kind enough to offer three ebooks of his debut novel, Tiger Paw. As always, entry is easy. Just leave your email address along with a comment to Charles telling him what you like about tigers. Giveaway ends August 31, 2012 so be sure to enter soon.

Please feel free to like this post and tweet it out to your friends.

It is not required. but following my blog and twitter are always appreciated.

BONUS: For an additional chance to win go to Laura’s blog: http://wp.me/p27ipo-k0

BONUS PLUS: Tigers can swim. The Jaguar is the only other big cat that likes to do this. But, there is something that tigers don’t do that other big cats can do. What is it? The first correct answer gets a copy of Tiger Paw!

THIS JUST IN. We have our three winners to the mini-giveaway- the Bonus Plus. The answer was climbing trees! The three lucky winners are: Janna –  D.H. Nevins – Jill

To see what happens when Tigers climb trees, check out this video below:

There are still three ebooks up for grabs.

I am curious to see Laura’s review. Even though we are sitting here together, I won’t be able to see her review until we push that publish button. One, two, threeeeeeeee!

Visit Charles blog to find out more about his mission to save the tiger.

About the author

Charles A Cornell was born in England, raised in Canada and now divides his time between Michigan and Florida. After 35 years of global business experience on three continents, Charles A Cornell brings a diverse and unique perspective to his fiction. His novels are mystery thrillers carved from today’s headlines, blended with action and intrigue, and cloaked in psychological suspense.

Tiger Paw, his debut thriller has been nominated for two national Best Thriller awards (from the Kindle Book Reviews & from the Royal Palm Literary Awards).

Website:  http://www.CharlesACornell.com

Tiger Paw is available now in paperback and ebook. Click the cover below to order.

Stop by Archie’s Diner for dinner.

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