. The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.
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A messy bookshelf is the norm around the Fundin household. I just cannot help but pick up another book and another and another…
I am a big fan of horror, suspense and thriller novels, so John Saul is always on my must read list.
The door swung open, a man was shoved inside, and then the door was pulled closed again.
(Page 56 in hardcover,1st edition, published in 2001)
Book Beginnings
Time had finally lost its meaning.
Weeks could have passes. Or months.
GOODREADS BLURB: In Manhattan Hunt Club John Saul plumbs the depths of the Manhattan underground–the network of subway tunnels and secret caverns and chambers where the homeless denizens of the city have created their own society. It’s a world Jeff Converse, a young college student convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, never knew existed until he is plunged into it after an “accident” that occurs while he is being transported to prison. He soon realizes that it’s no accident, but the opening move in a deadly game being played by some of the city’s most powerful men and women, a game in which he is the prey and they are the hunters. Jeff’s only chance to make it to the surface and survive lies in allying himself with a homicidal maniac who’s appointed himself the young man’s protector, but whose designs on Jeff are almost as lethal as those of his enemies in the Manhattan Hunt Club.
Saul made his reputation in the horror genre, but he now focuses on psychological terrors rather than things that go bump in the night. His narrative gifts are displayed to great advantage in this heart-stopping thriller; the pacing is flawless and the central characters are very well developed. What keeps this from living up to its fullest potential is the inadequate motivation of the villains, who are largely one-dimensional cardboard cutouts. But that won’t keep this otherwise topnotch thriller off the bestseller lists, where Saul (Nightshade, The Right Hand of Evil), like Stephen King, is a perennial contender for the number one spot. –Jane Adams
No One Knows by J T Ellison is worth reading for the ending alone!
Aubrey’s ex is declared dead, but I know I have to ask, “Is her really?”
Daisy, her mother in law, needs to get a life. She is a miserable bitch. Is there a sinister reason his mother insists on declaring him dead? I am curious and very suspicious.
First the accusations, then the waiting, waiting, waiting for him to come home.
Josh and Aubrey are both kinda wimpy. I just wanted to tell them to buck up and get over themselves.
Aubrey needs to quit her whining and move on. I find it hard to put myself in her shoes. I love her carefree friend, Meghan, a true free spirit that will drop everything when Aubrey needs her.
I have a feeling Josh is far from perfect. And shortly after writing that, I felt that if I never heard of him again I would be happy, but I am still curious.
The back and forth, past and present got a bit annoying and disrupted the flow. The chapters were short and I no sooner got involved then I’d have to change gears.
Okay, I like this isn’t going quite the direction I thought. I do like a twist in my stories. Another twist in the tale and it is a doozy. Marvelous, simply marvelous.
I had been disappointed with the first part of the book. I had felt before I even began reading it would be better, because I have read some of her other work. Now, I have finally come to what I have been waiting for and I”m a little more than halfway through.
OMG. I so missed the ending. Totally got me. My mouth is hanging open and I have a smile on my face for the fantastic, creative and mind boggling ending. That last 10% was so suspenseful, with twist and turns that kept on coming.
Could there be another Jewel story? I can see her…..
I voluntarily reviewed a free ARC copy from Net Galley of No One Knows by J T Ellison.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB:
In an obsessive mystery as thrilling as The Girl on the Train and The Husband’s Secret, New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison will make you question every twist in her page-turning novel—and wonder which of her vividly drawn characters you should trust.
The day Aubrey Hamilton’s husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring closure so she can move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn’t want to move on; she wants Josh back. It’s been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marriage—they were happy, weren’t they?—screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in his disappearance. Five years of emptiness, solitude, loneliness, questions. Why didn’t Josh show up at his friend’s bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysterious yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting her new life?
In No One Knows, the New York Times bestselling coauthor of the Nicholas Drummond series expertly peels back the layers of a complex woman who is hiding dark secrets beneath her unassuming exterior. This masterful thriller for fans of Gillian Flynn, Liane Moriarty, and Paula Hawkins will pull readers into a you’ll-never-guess merry-go-round of danger and deception. Round and round and round it goes, where it stops…no one knows.
I found Jezebel by Gordon A Kessler through my sister, Laura @ fuonlyknew, and after seeing the cover, I had to have it, so I actually broke down and bought the hardcover.
I thought it was a Doberman Pinscher, but it is a Great Dane and looks pretty evil regardless of the breed.
I knew we would have a devil dog, but I never saw the savagery and resulting chaos right out of the gate, every sentence oozing with foreboding, making me anticipate the next attack from around the corner of the house, behind the opening door, down the cellar steps and all I could think of when I was done…What about the critter lying beside you at night while you sleep…
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB:A madman has come to town seeking a diabolical revenge and large dogs begin attacking their masters for no apparent reason and with heinous results.
Animal Control Director Tony Parker must find out why and stop the murderous attacks. Meanwhile, Jezebel, a huge black Great Dane has killed her master and is loose, terrorizing the city and stalking Parker and his family. Parker and Sarah Hill, his beautiful and seductive young assistant, attempt to unravel the mystery and stop the terrible carnage while dealing with their own demons and lusty desires.
The attacks must be stopped. Jezebel must be found-and soon, you see–there is one other complication. Parker seems to have come down with an annoying little virus. No, it’s not one of those irritating summer colds. It’s certain death.
She’s a murderess, huge and black as a hell-bound night.
. The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.
~~~
~~~
Next up on the shelf is Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.
I have loved each and every Hannibal Lecter book and movie. Serial killers are some of my favorite villains and Hannibal Lecter is at the top of my list.
MY FRIDAY 56
There was an opinion he wanted. A very strange view he needed to share: a mindset he had to recover after his warm round years in the Keys.
The resons clacked like roller-coaster cogs pulling up to the first log plunge, and at the top, unaware that he clutched his belly, Graham said it aloud.
“I have to see Lecter.”
(page 65 in hardback)
MY BOOK BEGINNINGS
I want to tell you the circumstances in which I first encountered Hannibal Lecter, M.D.
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Will Graham stands in a silent, empty house communing with a killer. An FBI instructor with a gift for hunting madmen, Graham knows what his murderer looks like, how he thinks, and what he did to his victims after they died. Now Graham must try to catch him. But to do it, he must feel the heat of a killer’s brain, draw on the macabre advice of a dangerous mental patient, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, and follow a trail of microscopic clues to the place where another family has already been chosen to die–and where an innocent woman has found the Dragon first.
~~~
I am a “cover girl”.
This is the oldest cover on Goodreads. Which do you prefer?
Night Court by Ashley Fontainne is a psychological thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat, unable to quit reading. My knuckles were white, I held by breath. I love vigilante characters and I am behind her 100%, right from the opening pages.
Judge, Jury, Executioner
An irresistible tagline that sucked me in. I had to know…Who? What? WHY?
Merry trained herself to ignore pain and steel her heart. Addiction ruined her life and someone was going to pay. She lived for one thing…revenge.
Where was her justice? Did no one care? The legal system had failed her.
What happens when you step outside yourself seeking justice?
I am behind her from the opening pages. What would you do to get justice?
Her brother, Derek, is a cop, but things don’t go down the way you will imagine.
Ashley Fontainne’s Night Court is full or surprises and not all of them are good. Her ability to describe the characters and their feelings, like the judges eyebrows and Merry’s thoughts, bring them to life in my heart and mind. I can’t help but smile.
Everything’s going according to plan, but I don’t believe it will continue.
Love Merry, I can understand and relate to her. How much can the human heart and mind take before it breaks? Have you ever felt the pressure building inside yourself, struggling to hold it in, to act normal, to keep it together, unable to sit or stand still, pacing, like a volcano waiting to erupt? What would be the final straw that would break your back? How long can a person function under that kind of pressure? What happens when the explosion comes?
I feel her rage and want to punch something or someone. This can’t end well, can it?
She finds some solace in an unlikely friend, but this is one of the gems that I would like you to discover for yourself. You will thank me for not sharing.
And life gets shittier.
I never saw how far down the rabbit hole Ashley Fontainne would take me. I couldn’t help but scream out WTF!!!! How could you do that? That fucker is SCUM. OMG! I can’t believe it. Poor Merry. My heart aches for her.
I’m at 90% and I can only see this ending one way. Will I be right?
Night Court is a masterpiece and Ashley Fontainne’s writing is so good, I’m caught so off guard with how far she went. I am so engrossed in Merry’s life now, that I am not ready for the end, but here goes.
Oh no, enough already. Ashley Fontainne has to snatch my feet right out from under me, leaving me stunned, silenced, my jaw dropping to my chest. The gut wrenching ending leaves me smiling through my teary eyes.
Night Court by Ashley Fontainne delves into the human psyche, not allowing the monsters to stay hidden. The twists and turns are amazing and surprising, so don’t think you know where this will end. If you want to cry for a character, scream at a character, beat a character to a pulp and then beat him again, this is a story for you. My emotion roiled, boiled, screamed and raged to be let loose. CAUTION: May make you want to throw your ereader!
I received a copy of Night court by Ashley Fontainne in return for an honest review.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Judge Merry watches, her presence cloaked by the shroud of nightfall. Nothing moves except her eyes which focus on her target. No remorse. No regret. No second guessing the decision to end the lives of the monsters who turned her into a killer. Jury The peddlers of death from potent chemicals are found guilty. Punishment for their crimes–death. Appeals denied. Sentencing to commence immediately. The leeches who sucked out the life of addicts with each snort, shot, swallow, and injection will now pay the ultimate price. Executioner The idyllic world of Merry Marie Hall, once the loving wife of Harold and mother to their only child, Joshua, is over. Extinguished when Joshua overdosed and Harold died of a heart attack at the funeral. Now Merry hunts down the guilty parties, and one by one, carries out her internal court’s orders. Court is now in session. *This book was inspired by one mother’s journey. A trip down the dark path paved by the demon that came looking for her son-and found him. Her boy’s life turned from the pursuit of a football scholarship to the relentless need for heroin. His life was stolen by the demon. What’s a mother to do? What can a mother do? This fictional mother did what so many only dare to consider behind closed eyes, in their nightmares, and in their dark fantasies.*
ABOUT ASHLEY FONTAINNE (from her website)
Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.
Her muse for penning the Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.
Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.
Her paranormal thriller entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film entitled Foreseen.
Ashley’s decided to delve into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel, Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book, Blood Ties, is due out the Summer of 2015.
Ashley also hosts The WriteStuff, a popular BlogTalk Radio show, each Friday night at 10 p.m. CST.
Ashley Fontainne has offered an amazing giveaway…ALL HERE EBOOKS. Entry is easy, leave your email and answer the question:
Have you ever felt the pressure building inside yourself, struggling to hold it in, to act normal, to keep it together, unable to sit or stand still, pacing, like a volcano waiting to erupt? What would be the final straw that would break your back?
Magic or madness? Can your dreams really take over your life?
Falling Awake is the story of a book and the power of imagination to turn two lives upside down.
When Mary Parker finds an unusual book everything in her life changes. As she reads, she dreams, and the quiet, repressed woman is transformed.
She gives the book and the phenomenon a name, ‘falling awake’. The existence of the book seems to make others act out of character too. Joe’s usually dour father gambles with the factory where Mary works, and Joe, the romantic daydreamer, engages in a sexual eternal triangle to keep the dull routine of the accounts department at bay. The dominant partner in the triangle is Clem; dark and dangerous.
Extricating himself from Clem, Joe meets Mary. They fall in love and marry in haste when Mary falls pregnant, but this is no happy ever after tale. Their joy turns to misery when Mary miscarries and she turns inward to her darkening ‘falling awake’ world. Then Joe’s father dies, and he has to fight for control of the factory. He falls into Clem’s clutches again, and to make things worse, he believes Mary is going mad, and the people and places she remembers all just dreams dreamt inside her insanity. But then how can Joe remember them too?
Magic or madness?For Mary and Joe, the impossible – or the deadly – might only be a breath away.
Falling Awake is a brain teaser, an atmospheric mystery, an exposition of madness; an examination of the impossible, a fantasy, a ghost story, a psychological thriller, a love story, and a story of intrigue and sudden death. It will keep you awake at night, wondering, and pausing during the day, questioning …
One editor has already described it as:
“In the best traditions of Audrey Niffenegger and Carlos Ruiz Zafón…”
And others comment:
“…one of the most original, quirky manuscripts I’ve read for a long time…”
“…I especially like the fairy-tale and myth undertones that creep in from time to time throughout the novel: Sleeping Beauty clutching her book with echoes of Snow White in her glass coffin, the transformative red mac with its Red Riding Hood connotations, Mary’s Cinderella transformation from emotionally abused child to confident woman, the mermaid dress, Mariam’s Scheherazade dance, and especially the gambler as Rumpelstiltskin…”
“…a light, authoritative touch with both …story and characters.”
Debrah Martin is a British author writing under three different pen names and in three very different genres. She plots fast-paced thrillers as D.B. Martin, with the first in the Patchwork trilogy, Patchwork Man, having been recently awarded a coveted B.R.A.G. Medallion. Her YA teen detective series is penned as Lily Stuart – THE teen detective; irreverent, blunt, funny and vulnerable. Webs and Magpies are the first two books in the series. And as Debrah Martin she writes literary fiction. Her first literary fiction, Chained Melodies, a startling transgender story to rival The Danish Girl, and described pre-release as “…a beautiful book about love, acceptance and self-discovery…” was also released earlier this month.
Net Galley reviewers can access an ARC of Falling Awake there from 27th October, and all reviewers can obtain a copy and more information about Debrah’s other works by contacting her at the email address below.
For the first thirty reviewers to post a review of Falling Awake on Amazon, if you email Debrah with a link to the review, she’ll send you a bumper bundle (digital) of her other adult fiction books, including the award-winning Patchwork People series. Reviewers are also invited to contact Debrah for review copies of any of her books.
But apparently she could. It was the unusual challenge to the premise that had brought him here against the inclination to evade responsibility and slip home to his own dreams. She’d slept continuously for days now, without the need for water or sustenance; her only requirement, seemingly, a book. He peered curiously through the viewing panel as the attendant hovered behind him.
‘That’s her,’ the attendant announced as if pulling a rabbit from a hat. ‘Mary Parker.’
‘She’s very pretty,’ the tall young man declared, deep blue eyes narrowing to slits as he studied her. The woman’s long red hair cascaded over the side of the bed like blood streaming to the floor, her face a marble effigy of life. She reminded him of Millais’ Ophelia as she floated downstream on her layette of wild flowers – except this frozen beauty was merely asleep, not dead. He wondered what she was dreaming about. She seemed very familiar in a strange half-forgotten way.
‘Yeah, she is – and quiet now, but she weren’t once. Blimey – you should have seen her then, screaming and hollering. Wasn’t until we found that old book and gave it back to her that she shut up.’ The attendant picked at his nails and watched the tall young man lean in closer still. The corner of a book poked out from under the tightly clasped hands. ‘Then she just slept,’ the attendant added, shrugging his shoulders.
‘What’s its significance?’ the young man asked. He could just make out a title scrawled longhand across its spine. He wondered if the woman had written it on herself. He could only decipher the first word – ‘Falling’.
‘Not a clue, Mister; it’s just an empty book.’ The attendant shifted impatiently, as if tired of waiting, then asked, ‘How’d you know her again?’ He flipped the visitors’ page back to read the tall young man’s entry.
22nd Sept ’92: Time in – 5.45pm. John Hathorne, Director: Geo. Tooley & Sons.
‘I don’t really. She worked at the factory, that’s all. We have to be seen as caring employers so I’m here to check on her before we sign her off the books.’ He paused. Now he came to think of it he might have met her once. There had been a girl with bright red hair like hers the day he’d been shown round the factory. He’d been surprised by her scarlet mac because of the colour clash. He dragged himself from his reverie.
‘You said she had no family?’
‘Nope, apparently the mother died a while back and the neighbours say she’s been a bit odd ever since. Before they brought her in here she was wandering the graveyard down the road babbling about how she couldn’t find herself any more. Shame – when you got no-one.’
‘How do you think she can do it?’
‘What?’
‘Not eat or drink for so long – just sleep.’
‘Beats me. Maybe she’s not really there and we’re just imagining her.’ The young man stared at him. The attendant laughed. ‘Only joking. You done then?’ The attendant looked expectantly at him, and the young man found himself involuntarily offering his business card before collecting his briefcase and coat.
‘I suppose I could see if I can do something to help her if she comes back to the land of the living.’
The attendant turned the card over and read aloud, ‘Bespoke leisure wear and stage costumiers; themed event supplies a speciality.’ He studied the tall young man. ‘Versions of reality, huh? You’ll be getting a lot of custom soon, then.’ He sniggered. Outside the midweek rush hour traffic distantly hooted on its way home. The light had dimmed to the half-dusk of early autumn, but fallen leaves and skeletal trees said winter was already in the air.
The tall young man had spotted the now redundant leather straps on the side of the bed when he’d been trying to decipher the title of the book. The reddening round her wrists indicated where no doubt they’d been clasped until recently. ‘Halloween does tend to be a busy time,’ he agreed, suddenly uneasy. The place was oppressive and the sight of the comatose and confined woman depressed him. ‘Such a waste. Will she ever recover, do you think?’
‘Don’t know, mister. Not sure if she’s actually ill. Probably just the stresses of life – grief and disappointment. They do strange things to us, don’t they? Perhaps if she had someone to look after her, she’d get well again, but then who knows when anyone recovers from life.’ He laughed mirthlessly. ‘Maybe it’s better to just dream?’ The tall young man considered the idea for a while.
‘No, reality is always better, no matter how hard.’
He went back to the viewing window and studied the young woman for a few minutes more before gathering up the Essex County Gazette he’d brought with him and stuffing it under the arm carrying the briefcase. The pages creased and he made to flatten them, but stopped abruptly and tossed the paper back on the table the attendant had been sitting at when he’d arrived. He peered at his hand as if there was something wrong with it before shaking his head. The attendant cleared his throat meaningfully and opened the unit’s outer door.
‘I hope her dreams are sweet,’ the young man added sadly as the attendant ushered him out. The attendant flicked the light off and the room behind them sank back into shadow.
Neither saw the frozen figure thaw, stir, and open her eyes – deep green pools of luminescence. They fixed on the door and she listened intently to the low rumble of the tall young man’s voice as he made his goodbyes. The marble features creased to a frown and the slack body tensed. The book still clutched in her hand shivered.
‘No!’ she murmured. ‘No, no, no!’
——————————
GIVEAWAY:
Two (2) print copies of Falling Awake by Debrah Martin (INT)
Ends November 19th
Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible.
Jonathon Kellerman’s books, like his latest, The Murderer’s Daughter, are always on my must read list. No second thoughts, no hesitations, just, yes, please.
I was very surprised at Jonathon Kellerman’s twisted novel, The Murderer’s Daughter. I loved the rollercoast ride of emotions as I struggled to understand Grace. I wonder, did she have a brother named Dexter? For those of you who don’t know, Dexter is a book and TV series characters that walks on the dark side of suspense, as does Grace. I love to read of a flawed protagonist, a hardass female and Grace appeared.
Grace is a complex character, a bit twisted, to say the least. She was born and raised in violence and death. All she had ever known is surviving, so she had a knack for figuring things out quickly. She grew up to be Dr Blades, a psychologist, and she was special at that. She was a prodigy and fast tracked through her PHD. She even took a seminar taught by Alex Delaware, you could say he was her inspiration. (For those of you who don’t know him, Alex Delaware has his very own series, courtesy of Jonathon Kellerman) She’s a loner and likes it that way. She keeps tight control of her life. Is she a psychopath? Well…she does have feelings, though they are buried deep to hide any vulnerability. She will not show weakness.
I love a strong female protagonist with flaws and Grace has her share. I liked how Grace developed from a severely traumatized child prodigy, neglected and abused, to a fully functioning adult trained in a complex profession as psychology, using her experience and knowledge to help others.
In matters of healing, the body initiates and the mind follows.
This is an ARC, so the phrase may change, but I loved it, so I shared it.
The Murderer’s Daughter did not go where I thought it would, but took me to a scary place all the same. Man can be evil, but…
The mention of the good and bad side of Child Services sounded all too read, as does the greed and corruption of the Elite. Then, as the cherry on top of the sundae, we have a psychopath on the loose that revels in the evil he does.
Jonathon Kellerman has a wonderful ability to twist and turn a story so it keeps me alert and on edge, waiting for the next shoe to drop or the next monster to pop up on the horizon or from around the corner.
The twists and turns, beginning with the flawed character, stirred up deep emotions. Feelings of anger, rage and sorrow are overcome by pride, confusion and hope for Grace. I wonder, will she have a relationship, you know, meet a man, marry… I can’t say and if you asked her, she would tell you she is doing just fine.
I do believe we have moments in time where we can make a difference in someones life, whether its with a simple smile or a word or two in passing. We never know what small gesture could turn a person’s life around.
Jonathon has the ability to create characters that touch me and feel real. I felt Grace’s fear, but when on those rare occasions she smiles, maybe even laughs, I want to laugh with her. It is so much better to laugh with someone than alone. Makes me think she is lonely, her life empty and all she craves is knowledge, absorbing it like a sponge. If you have ever watched the TV show Scorpion, where the main character is above genius and cannot relate on a “human” level with others, allowed me to easily spend time with Grace.
I guess you can tell by now, that my focus was on Grace. She grabbed me by the throat and never let me go. The Murderer’s Daughter is dark and suspenseful, with everything you could want in a thriller. The story unravels and the pacing builds, so don’t think this will be a cozy mystery.
I received an ARC of The Murderer’s Daughter by Jonathon Kellerman from the publisher in return for an honest and unbiased review.
5 Stars
SYNOPSIS
1 New York Times bestselling master of suspense Jonathan Kellerman delivers a riveting standalone thriller featuring the unforgettable Grace Blades. Master psychologist by day, seductive adrenaline junkie by night, Grace has a very dark past—one that’s about to bleed into a terrifying present.
ABOUT JONATHON KELLERMAN
Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction.
Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA.
IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan’s former students, continues to break ground.
Jonathan’s first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD.
In 1985, Jonathan’s first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a t.v. movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999.) Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.
The fantastic book trailer for Method 15/33 only gives you a glimpse of what is to come. As she sits on the bed and raises her head, I thought of Poltergeist. I expected her to reach out and…
Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk is an amazing, top shelf, must read suspense thriller that will have you wondering, will the prey become the predator. I can hardly believe Method 15/33 is a debut novel for Shannon Kirk, it is so damn good!
Winner Of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award For Suspense!
Finalist in the 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition as novella 15/33. Method 15/33 is now a full-length novel coming from Oceanview Publishing.
I heard about Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk through a friend and reached out to her. The novel sounded like one of my favorite type of reads and I could hardly wait to pick it up. The suspense had me holding my breath, rooting for her, then afraid of her.
She is a pregnant teenager, abducted and held captive. Her mother had filled her with self esteem and confidence. Is she a sociopath? She is able to turn her feelings on and off, like a light switch. As Shannon describes her attempts to mimic feelings and doing the right thing, it makes me think of Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory.
The vivid detail of the trip to her cell makes me able to picture the wild daisies and devil’s paintbrush on the side of the road. I felt the breeze as she prepared to exit the van. I could smell his stale body odor and his sewer breath.
No matter, she loves her baby and will not give up. She has hope. Her hurt and rage would help her to do what is necessary to exact her revenge. Escape wasn’t enough. They would pay and pay dearly.
My first asset is terra firma…thus begins her plotting – Escape/Revenge Plan 15.
It had been 20 days, but she was constantly thinking, planning. As she runs through scenarios, it made me think of the computer in Person of Interest, going through scenarios, changing them, ruling one out and trying another. She knew she could outwit him.
Alone, locked in a cell, praying the butterfly in the window will calm her, save her. She doesn’t know what loneliness feels like, is this it?
Butterfly (c) Sherry Fundin
She may have her issues, but I love her. My empathy is such, that I want to wrap my arms around her and offer her comfort. She tries and means well…sometimes. Isn’t that what we all do? Even dysfunctional families have their moments of humor, love and togetherness.
Shannon Kirk’s words allow me to feel HER pain, HER loneliness, HER anger and HER rage. I want to scream, yell and cry with her.
FBI Special Agent Roger Lui and partner, Lola were assigned the case. They have been together for five years and know each other better than a spouse would. He is a flawed hero, carrying heavy baggage with his failure to find Dorothy Saluce, an abducted, pregnant teen, deja vu. Lola is someone I can relate to, a tough, no nonsense, one of the guys kind of woman.
She counts seconds, minutes, steps, inches, plotting, planning…a piece of elastic, a pail handle…She didn’t know what would be valuable, so she collected it all. I wonder if she used to watch MacGyver too.
The kidnappers…a fantastic surprise. Twisted. Evil.
She makes herself sick and Shannon Kirk’s mastery of words makes this so gross and disgusting it makes me want to puke too.
33 is water. You will be surprised at its use and importance.
They escape, but OMG, Shannon, you didn’t. My heart fell. I can’t believe it. What an awesome twist. I felt complete terror for her, wanted to yell, hurry, hurry, what the hell are you waiting for? As if it isn’t bad enough, Shannon makes it even worse. How can that be? It just keeps coming and coming, the badness rolling over me like a tsunami wave. Overwhelming, the pacing gripping me as if I’m on a runaway train and hanging on for dear life.
Method 15/33 keeps getting scarier and scarier, the badness goes on and on…out of the frying pan and into the fire.
I love the characters, right to the end, especially HER. This 16 year old sociopath stole my heart.
I don’t know what to say about the emotion roiling inside me as I reach the end. I can’t help but just sit…thinking…thinking…
Shannon wove an awesome story that has left me screaming for more.
To love someone so much you are heartbroken just to look at them.
This, is to have a child.
5+++++
I received a copy of Method 15/33 from Shannon Kirk in return for an honest review.
GUEST POST
I am so excited to have Shannon Kirk here today. I love her debut novel, Method 15/33 and I could not help but fall for the main character, Lisa Yyland. I also, would like to congratulate Shannon on Method 15/33 is being devloped for a feature film. How cool is that? I, for one, can hardly wait to see it!
LET’S TALK ABOUT PSYCHOPATHS
-By Shannon Kirk
Let’s talk about psychopaths. Or, maybe you prefer sociopaths. I’m no psychiatrist, so what I’m talking about are persons whose brains are physiologically wired in such a way that they do not experience emotions as others feel joy, fear, excitement, happiness, remorse, guilt. I’m not talking about people who may be deemed “sociopaths,” not from the physical construction of their brains, but because of environment, a traumatic childhood for example.
What I understood from reading the non-fiction book, The Sociopath Next Door, is there are persons who simply do not understand the sensation of effervescent bubbles rising in your chest when a baby giggles at you, and you giggle back. They might, however, understand the action of smiling in reaction to a baby smiling, the simple physical learned act of social parroting, which is very different from feeling the urge to giggle or smile because of that elusive thing called happiness.
As a lay person, far from being a licensed psychiatrist, I had to read articles and books of the very real medical condition of psychopathy so as to form some basis for the main character in Method 15/33. She holds the traits of a clinical psychopath; for example, she disassociates, lacks empathy, feels no remorse, and plans actions in a way to benefit herself and minimize risk. She’s exceptionally practical in all she does and thinks.
We see this type of character all over popular culture. Hollywood just loves the psychopath. But psychopaths are very real, and indeed, as suggested in The Sociopath Next Door, could be living right next door. The book suggests that some folks who seek out management and politics might hold the common traits of the psychopath or the sociopath. Is this any surprise? How could a billionaire business baron axe 25,000 jobs and the next day be golfing in Tahiti, a smile on his face, and a mai tai with umbrella in his hand? I’m not saying all bosses and all politicians are psychopaths, but when I’ve raised this premise to any group, someone always raises their hand and says, “Oh damn, that’s my boss. He totally fits those traits.”
What got me thinking after reading articles and books on psychopaths was how this condition can exist simply by how someone’s brain is constructed. And if that is so, what natural variations exist in our population? We know that not all psychopaths are “evil,” not all kill women for sport, and not all stalk and kill bad guys according to some “code” (Dexter). So is there a spectrum of psychopathy? On one end you would have Heath Ledger’s Joker or Christian Bale’s American Psycho, on the other you’d have Ms. Whiney Crybaby. You know, the girl who cries at every Kleenex commercial, who yells and stomps and throw pillows and jewelry if her man so much as looks at another woman. No emotion vs. Too much emotion. So what’s in the middle of the spectrum? Normalcy? There must be a middle and ripples from there. This idea, I got stuck on this idea.
I wanted to explore the idea of a spectrum of psychopathy in a fictional way. For example, what if a psychopath was wired in such a way that she could choose to feel emotions? If a person can be wired in a such a way that they physically cannot feel emotions, then why couldn’t a person exist who can control when they feel certain emotions? Also, what if there are people who sometimes slip into a form of psychopathy, while at other times are fully emotionally functional. Have you ever been so absorbed in a work project that you cannot understand why a person is crying in your doorway about the same work project until you stop what you’re doing, calibrate your mood, take a minute to absorb, and then when you take a breath or two, you finally empathize? If that is possible for most everyone, then what if such moments of disassociation are prolonged in certain people? I have to believe this is possible. In the very least, the idea, this spectrum of possibilities with psychopathy, is a breeding ground for fiction.
In my novel Method 15/33, I chose to contort the medical condition of psychopathy and create a character that controls emotions. She often chooses not to feel any emotions, and because of this, like true psychopaths, has had to “learn” appropriate social reactions. I then wanted to meld with this condition another condition in psychology having to do with “cross modal neuroplasticity”—essentially, how a person who loses one sense, gains a “super” sense in something else, such as how a deaf person might have exceptional eyesight. What I wanted to explore, again entirely on a theoretical fictional basis, basically I just made it up, was a psychopath character, who controls emotions, and her emotions are “senses”, such that since she often lacks them, her other senses are somewhat enhanced. For example, although she is blindfolded, because she is not experiencing fear or any other emotion, her smell of the air and her feel of the temperature, the precise weight of her steps on the ground, tell her the type of terrain she’s on, how long a stretch of forest is through which she is forced, what specific trees scrapes her arms, and what the nature, climate, look, and use of the land is where she is taken, as if she were seeing it with her very eyes.
So while any psychiatrist could probably poke a thousand million holes in my writer’s theory, I do actually believe that in our world, there is a wide spectrum of psychopathy, of cross-modal neuroplasticity, and that emotions just may be some form of “sense.” Who knows if we’ll ever crack the code to our brains, and frankly, I hope we don’t. It’s just too much fun to make up stories, twisting the boundaries of psychology we think we know.
SYNOPSIS
Kidnapped, pregnant teen turns the tables. Who is the victim and who is the aggressor?
.
Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who’s just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped…
Alone…Terrified.
Now forget her…
Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn child and to exact merciless revenge.
She is methodical—calculating— scientific in her plotting. A clinical sociopath? Leaving nothing to chance, secure in her timing and practice, she waits—for the perfect moment to strike. Method 15/33 is what happens when the victim is just as cold as her abductors.
The agents searching for a kidnapped girl have their own frustrations and desires wrapped into this chilling drama. In the twists of intersecting stories, one is left to ponder. Who is the victim? Who is the aggressor?
Praise
“Method 15/33 is crowded with fascinating characters—even the spear carriers pop off the page—but the standout is the kidnapped pregnant teenager. Her captors want her baby. Little do they know they’ve brought an insanely brilliant, angry, vengeful, borderline sociopath under their roof. Somebody’s in big trouble… and it isn’t the teenager.” —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Santa Jack
“Completely original and totally kick ass! Shannon Kirk pulls no punches in this adrenaline rush of a thriller where the victim is the one to watch, while the kidnappers learn to fear. Loved it!” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times best-selling author of Fear Nothing
“What happens when infant traffickers kidnap the wrong pregnant teen? You get Method 15/33, a cross between The Lovely Bones and Silence of the Lambs. Shannon Kirk’s debut thriller is a dark, literate page-turner, utterly compelling. I read it in one sitting.” —Leonard Rosen, Award-winning author of All Cry Chaos and The Tenth Witness
“Wow. Ridiculously good. Crazy good. Brilliantly heart-stoppingly nail-bitingly original, this is a true thriller tour de force. Shannon Kirk is an instant star.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan Agatha, Anthony winning author of Truth be Told
ABOUT SHANNON KIRK
Shannon Kirk is a practicing attorney and a law professor. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan and St. John’s Universities, is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, and was a trial lawyer in Chicago prior to moving to Massachusetts. She has been honored three times by the Faulkner Society in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, a physicist, and their son. Method 15/33 is her first novel.
ALERT: Due to illness, I was unable to promote this properly so I am extending the giveaway for another week. Be sure and enter know for your chance at a copy of Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk.
Shannon Kirk is offering a a print autographed copy of Method 15/33 to a US or Canadian resident. To enter, leave your email and answer the question:
What would be your first response if you were kidnapped?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page.
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
CLAY by Tony Bertauski
MY TEASE
(9% on Kindle)
They’re not men and women.
They’re bricks.
Fabricated men and women – black skin, white skin, Asian, Hispanic – ignore the onlookers and gather at the front door.
It’s possible Nix could have fooled them.
SYNOPSIS
Jamie wants to be a halfskin.
Her life has become dull and pointless. If she had more biomites, the synthetic stems cells that promise hope and healing, she could take control of her life. But Jamie’s body is already 49.9% biomites. The rest is clay—her God-given organic cells. Anymore biomites and she becomes a halfskin. And halfskins are shutdown.
But there is a way.
Black market biomites, called nixes, can’t be detected by the government. She’d have to sacrifice her clay, but nixes can make her halfskin without anyone knowing. But first, she has to find them.
Nix Richards can help. He’s the first halfskin to escape the government and Jamie has something he wants. He’ll need her to help him find a fabricator to build a human body. He’ll betray anyone to get it, even those closest to him.
This psychological thriller will keep them second-guessing every move while they elude Marcus Anderson and the governing agency that seeks to rid the world of biomites. But in the end, they’ll all discover just how deep the betrayal goes.
GUESS THE TRUE STATEMENT & WIN JESSICA BELL’S THRILLER, WHITE LADY! (Statement #68)
To celebrate the release of Jessica Bell’s latest novel, WHITE LADY, she is giving away an e-copy (mobi, ePub, or PDF) to the first person to correctly guess the one true statement in the three statements below. To clarify, two statements are lies, and one is true:
One of Jessica Bell’s idiosyncrasies is that she …
a. hates having water on her face
b. can’t wear the same clothes two days in a row
c. must wash her hands every time she touches a door handle
What do you think? Which one is true? Write your guess in the comments, along with your email address. Comments will close in 48 hours. If no-one guesses correctly within in 48 hours, comments will stay open until someone does.
Want more chances to win? You have until October 31 to visit all the blogs where Jessica will share a different set of true and false statements on each one. Remember, each blog is open to comments for 48 hours only from the time of posting.
If you win, you will be notified by email with instructions on how to download the book.
White Lady by Jessica Bell is a psychological thriller that starts out slow. It seems as if the people are your normal, run of the mill people, just trying to get through life but, WHOA! I sure did not see that happening! The ending caught me off guard and left me speechless.
We start out with all the issues teenagers have – bullying , weight gain, friends, desertion by a parent……
The more I read, the tension rises. These people are seriously fucked up.
Mia – I used to be hot, now I’m not. She used to be the school slut, but since her mother left she has become a chubette. She has self esteem issues and loathes what she has become.
Nash is Mia’s dad and a teacher at her school.
Celeste is the mother who deserted her and her father.
Sonia is also a teacher at the school.
Mick is her son. His father has deserted their family too. He is way out of control. I thought he needed a slap up side the head.
Kimiko is an exotic beauty, a fellow student.
Who the heck is this Ibraham that everyone’s talking about?
I had a feeling about Sonia, but is anybody sane?
All the characters come together and things that seemed like the usual life and death dramatics in a teen’s life, change to real danger.
I went back and forth with this book. Twenty per cent through, I was ready to quit. I kept reading and by thirty percent it began to capture my attention . By sixty percent I’m hooked. And the ending…WHEW! That is why I try to finish every book I read. I cannot anticipate what secrets are hidden in the pages and I don’t want to miss anything good. 😆
The book changed from the growing pains of teenagers to an adult psychological mystery. The characters are manipulated and the push and pull as they try to find their way takes them down a path that will have severe repercussions.
I received a copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
3 Stars – Would Recommend To Others
ABOUT THE BOOK
*This novel contains coarse language, violence, and sexual themes.
Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she’s rehabilitating herself as a “normal” mother and mathematics teacher, it’s time to stop dreaming about slicing people’s throats.
While being the wife of Melbourne’s leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she’s determined to make it work.
It does work. Until Mia, her lover’s daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia’s back. It isn’t long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them.
Jessica Bell, a thirty-something Australian-native contemporary fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter/guitarist, is the Publishing Editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal and the director of the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca. She makes a living as a writer/editor for English Language Teaching Publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, MacMillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning.
The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
I am a big fan of horror, suspense and thriller novels, so John Saul is always on my must read list.
Amazon 
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
3 Stars
Add me to Goodreads now.
Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction.
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