The Compass Killer is part of The Serial Killer Anthology, which will include five books, by Michael Geczi. Each book has a unique focus and The Compass Killer is about a serial killer, Travis Newsom, who has a last wish. He wants to know more about the people he killed and all those around them who were affects. Of course, I know you can’t believe what a psychopath says, but Reverend Stan McLogan feels by helping the serial killer get what he wants, he can find out about other killings. Quid pro quo. He is interested in learning more about their emotions and spirituality of those on death row.
I love reading about serial killers, but I don’t know if the why of their killings is ever answered. I love trying to decipher their motivations, which can probably never be known.
As the deadline approaches for his execution, I can’t help but think he deserves what is coming for him. As the clock ticks down, I can only think he has overstayed his welcome on this earth. Will he give the Reverend the list of his victims before he is put to death?
We learn about his killings, how his victims were chosen and how they died, leaving a compass on top of their bodies. All except one, why was that different.
As I approached the final pages of The Compass Killer by Michael Geczi, I was surprised at the fabulous ending. I never saw it coming. Well done, Michael.
I want to thank Michael for the opportunity to read and review The Compass Killer by Michael Geczi.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
The new addition to The Serial Killer Anthology! Get it today!
Facing execution, Arizona death-row inmate Travis Newsom, “The Compass Killer,” has a last wish: he tells Rev. Stan McLogan he wants to learn more before he’s dead about the families and friends of his victims as well as the family he abandoned. McLogan thinks it’s a great opportunity to identify additional victims that Newsom may have killed beyond the ones he left small round compasses on in 1998 after murdering them. He asks his friend, Santa Monica Detective Nour El Masry, if she’ll help with the research.
The task is far from straightforward, however. McLogan’s prison discussions with Newsom take surprising psychological twists and turns, reflecting both men’s own agendas. El Masry’s research raises questions about Newsom’s background and what he’s sharing. And Arizona politics put the execution at risk.
As deadlines approach, McLogan questions his involvement with the prisoner, and Newsom discovers the young minister is a formidable adversary and not the naïve soft touch he imagined. El Masry, meanwhile, finds new information about the origins of Newsom’s life of lies and violence.
The Compass Killer, the fourth book in the Serial Killer Anthology, brings together elements of the series’ three previous stories: The Deadly Samaritan (McLogan’s parents and a 1992 serial killer case); Killer Dead, Victim Alive (Santa Monica Detectives Greg Nichols and Mollie Granger), and Hunting a Cat in Dogtown (Nour El Masry, Nichols and Granger).
ABOUT MICHAEL GECZI (from Amazon)
Former Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Associated Press and Dallas Morning News writer and editor; Wall Street executive; best-selling author; communications/crisis consultant and university instructor (University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism). Also author of Futures: The Anti-Inflation Investment. Lives in Scottsdale, Arizona with his wife, Lisa.
Leah adjusted her reindeer antlers in the domed mirror that was nestled in the far corner of the store.
Her day ended in bloodshed and the race is on to find her killer. It is very sad that she was murdered, and it wiped the smile off my face. It’s one of those things, in the wrong place at the wrong time.
5:15 AM and Amanda is running out the door. Her and her partner, Trent, are on the case.
Amanda has an adopted daughter, Zoe, who is the sweetest thing, older than her years. She has a lover, Logan. Their relationship has advanced to the moving in together phase, but he is not a member of law enforcement and I foresee huge problems on the horizon. After all, it is not a 9 to 5 job. It would make more sense, to me, that her and Trent hook up. I think they are a match made in heaven. Will they? Are you just teasing me, Carolyn?
They discover that Katherine Graves, an ex police officer, was in the store and had been kidnapped. She has many enemies and it will be their job to figure out who has taken her.
Amanda yanked Lowell’s hair back, and pressed the nose of her gun to his skull, “I said, hands up!”
That is why I love Amanda Steele. She is fierce.
As the story unfolds, the past comes back to haunt Katherine, the pace picks up, the danger rises, and I am rapidly flipping pages. Carolyn Arnold does not make it easy to figure things out, leading me here and leading me there, at times fearing for Amanda’s life. Of course, I worry for the other characters, but, you know…she’s my favorite. 🙂 She does give me a satisfying ending and I always look forward to the next story.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Missing Before Daylight by Carolyn Arnold.
4 Stars
GOODREADS
She wakes surrounded by an inky black darkness and can barely breathe. A sack is covering her head, and her hands are tied behind her back. She desperately tries to struggle free as she hears footsteps walking toward her. She silently starts to cry as a chilling voice whispers “It’s time to pay for what you did…”
When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the murder scene of a young gas station clerk just before dawn, she assumes it must be a robbery gone tragically wrong. But when she discovers nothing has been stolen, she knows the motive must be far more personal.
Watching the security footage, Amanda is shocked to witness the cold-blooded killer not only shoot the clerk dead but abduct a customer. And her heart stops when she recognizes the customer as her former colleague, Katherine Graves . As Amanda breaks the news to Katherine’s heartbroken Aunt May , she vows to do whatever it takes to bring her niece home alive.
Desperate for a lead, Amanda and her partner, Trent, search Katherine’s home. Soon, they discover that despite no longer being with the police department, Katherine has a long list of very dangerous enemies. Enemies who have been sending her anonymous letters promising revenge.
The more Amanda digs into Katherine’s past, the longer her list of suspects becomes. But when May is sent a ransom demand and a picture of Katherine close to death, Amanda knows time is running out. With only hours left to find Katherine alive, Amanda is prepared to risk everything to keep her promise to May, even her own life…
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Organized Crime, Serial Killers
369 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 22, 2024 by Bookouture
Series: Detective Amanda Steele, #10
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.
I love a good Prologue, don’t you? It sets the hook, and Carolyn Arnold did a great job with the Prologue for Her Last Words, but that doesn’t surprise me. I have read a lot of Carolyn Arnold’s books and she never disappoints me. Yeah, they may not all blow my mind, but they do supply hours of entertainment.
I love Detective Amanda Steele. She is a power to be reckoned with…and, even though she is on vacation, when someone she knows is murdered, she’s on the case. Could she have prevented her murder if she had returned Felicity’s call? See carries plenty of guilt already. Does she neglect her family for the job? Isn’t that a question many of us ask ourselves?
Felicity is a successful crime novelist and Amanda was on the case. Could her success have been the catalyst? Could it be her work in progress? She was known for her in depth, detailed research. Could she has found something someone wanted to left undiscovered?
Carolyn Arnold is good at keeping the mystery alive, giving us a plentiful supply of suspects and motives, throwing out red herrings, trying to lead us down the wrong path. In the end, she brings everything together, like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle. Step by step, clue by clue. We have some danger, but it’s not the dark and depraved kind that I love so much. It’s your normal, everyday murderer that could be your neighbor, your boss, your coworker, your friend…
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The glow from the fireplace throws an eerie light over the woman’s carefully arranged body, her lifeless eyes reflecting the flames that slowly burn the evidence of who did this to her…
When Detective Amanda Steele is called to the brutal murder scene of successful local author Felicity Kelley , her blood runs cold. Because Amanda not only knew the victim, but was the last person Felicity called moments before she was murdered. Plagued with guilt that she never answered, Amanda is left wondering whether she could have prevented the murder, and vows to catch the killer, no matter what.
Desperately searching the crime scene for clues, Amanda is shocked when she discovers a Queen of Hearts playing card, suggesting the murder could be an imitation of a scene from Felicity’s bestselling crime novel. Terrified that she is dealing with a crazed fan who could strike again, Amanda’s worst fears are confirmed when another innocent woman is viciously murdered, with the same chilling calling card left behind.
But when Amanda connects the murders with a cold case from fifteen years ago, a case that Felicity appears to have been researching for her next novel, she is forced to question if the killer’s motive is even more sinister than she first suspected. But the closer Amanda gets to unearthing this motive, the closer she gets to becoming the next victim…
A completely pulse-pounding and unputdownable crime thriller, perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni and Rachel Caine.
Genre: Fiction, Organized Crime, Serial Killers, Suspense, Thriller
Format: 341 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication: October 17, 2023 by Bookouture
Series: Amanda Steele, #9, can standalone
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from police procedurals, hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives near London, Ontario, Canada with her husband and two beagles.
Protecting Hawk by Jane Blythe is Book V of the Prey, but the series is part of something so much bigger. There are many more books and authors putting their own spin on the Operation Alpha World.
About Operation Alpha
Operation Alpha is the fan fiction world for Susan Stoker’s SEAL of Protection, Delta Force Heroes, and Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Worlds. The books all have at least one of Susan’s characters in them. Check it out at Aces Press.
I have been reading Jane Blythe’s work for a long time now and her writing style fits me well. Protecting Hawk is Book V in her Special Forces: Operation Alpha – Prey Security series. I am familiar with many of the characters from previous books and am eager to see what she puts them through in Protecting Hawk.
The guys are hunks and the women are damsels in distress, sorta. But, be careful. You push them into a corner and they can bite.
A one night stand and they are unable to forget? I can sure see why she can’t. LOL I guess if you are a guy back from a military mission, one who only does one night stands because he does not want a relationship, maybe…if he met the right one…she could be unforgettable. Is there such a thing as love at first sight?
Madeline Montgomery works as a victimologist, studying the relationship between victims and their attackers, working with police across the country.
She is on the run, because her work brought her to the attention of a serial killer, but it goes so much deeper than that. I am not going to tell you why, but it does tie into an issue that Prey Security has been dealing with.
She walks in. Eight months pregnant. Seeking help. Her life and her unborn baby’s life is on the line. She knows they are the best, so here she is.
The premise is a familiar one with romantic suspense. It’s hard to get around the push/pull, (mis or no) communication and keep the story going. After all, that is usually how it leaves her open to danger. And, real life, look how well we all communicate. LOL
After meeting Madeline, Hawk has started to reconsider his military career. Maybe it’s time to retire and accept a job at Prey Security. His family had been after him to join the firm and now he has a reason to consider it…if he goes after her. With all the skills his family possesses it would not be difficult to find her, he just has to make up his mind to do it. Before he has the chance…
It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario I don’t see coming, but Jane Blythe does manage to surprise me, when Ellen walked into the room….
Thank you, Jane, for the hours of unputdownable entertainment. Keep it coming.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Protecting Hawk by Jane Blythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It was only supposed to be one night.
When Madeline Montgomery finds out she’s carrying her one night stand’s baby she’s shocked, but without his name she can’t find him, and determines to raise her child alone. With a stalker upping his ante and the cops refusing to take her seriously, she runs to Prey Security for help. Stunned to find her baby’s father is a co-owner of the company, the two grow close, bonding over their son’s birth. However a threat is hovering over them, one their fledgling relationship might not survive.
Hawk Oswald doesn’t believe relationships last, yet he can’t stop obsessing over the one night stand from eight months ago. When the woman in question shows up as a client at Prey, pregnant with his child, he realizes maybe he does want a family of his own. But someone is out to get him and his siblings, and when evidence suggests Maddy might be a part of it, he’s going to have to decide whether or not he believes in the woman he’s falling in love with before its too late.
Military, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Suspense and Thriller Fiction
Kindle Edition
Published November 22, 2022
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and heroines who are survivors. One of Jane’s most popular series includes Saving SEALs, part of Susan Stoker’s OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this genre, both within and outside of Stoker’s world. When Jane isn’t binge-reading she’s counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+ teddy bear collection!
Below is the Kindle cover for Baby Talk Book III by Mike Wells. Below that is the book cover from Goodreads and the audiobook cover. Which do you like best?
We open with Neal at the Central State Psychiatric Hospital in Midgeville, Georgia. General Sherman’s troops had camped there during the Civil War, and it has been all downhill since. He is housed with a couple hundred other criminally insane patients, BUT…
Neal knows exactly what’s going on around him, though they think he is catatonic. He is silently plotting and planning his escape. He must find Natasha and stop her.
The courts had given the baby to Susan, a nurse who had saved baby Natasha from her criminally insane father. Her mother had left her in a car with the motor running, and it didn’t end well for her either. Susan is in for a rude awakening…
I thought it was ‘funny’ that Dunwoody, Georgia was mentioned. I lived there for a short time.
Neal recruits Father Meginnis to perform an exorcism, and this is where the book took a twist I didn’t see coming…and I LOVE IT! I had to laugh.
The Baby Talk series by Mike Wells never let me go once I started reading it. Thank goodness, or should I say Mike, because I had all three books. The first is free and I highly recommend dipping your shoes into the fire.
The Baby Talk series had me thinking of Damien in the Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, Chuckie… brace yourself for the an adventure in Hell on earth. And, if Mike wanted to, the series could continue. Is Natasha still talking to you Mike? Whispering in your ear?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Baby Talk, Book II by Mike Wells.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It’s been six months since Neal Becker was convicted of the murder of his mother-in-law.
He’s been committed to the Central State Psychiatric Hospital for life.
Meanwhile, ‘poor, innocent’ Baby Natasha is in the custody of Susan Matlow, the compassionate nurse who helped ‘rescue’ her from her criminally insane father.
Neal knows what his daughter is. And he knows he only has one chance to stop her from causing more death and destruction.
He has to break out of the asylum, avoid the intensive statewide manhunt, track down Natasha, kidnap her…
…and take her to an exorcist.
ABOUT MIKE WELLS
Email me at mike (at) mikewellsbooks.com or follow me on Twitter (@MikeWellsAuthor) and get a FREE copy of one of my bestselling books. I’m an American author best known for my Lust, Money & Murder series and and written more than 25 other thriller and suspense novels. I also have taught in the Creative Writing program at Oxford. I’m known for my super fast-paced, ‘unputdownable’ books.
I love Jane Blythe’s ability to spin a tale of darkness and I am super excited to delve into her new series, Storybook Murders. Nursery Rhyme Killer takes those childhood poems we all know and love to a whole new level, and you will never look at them the same way. We will meet some familiar characters from a previous series, the Candella Sisters.
Summer and Luke both have tragic childhoods, but that is nothing surprising when it comes to a Jane Blythe novel. Summer has her secrets, lets no one know of her past. She has made friends in the past ten years, but, until Luke, let no one know the heart of her. Luke is the opposite. He has a check list and checks it twice, looking for the future Mrs Sleigh. 🙂 He wants the complete package…wife, house, kids, white picket fence….
The first part of the book, Jane Blythe lulled me into complacency. She has a tendency to do that. To let me think I know what’s coming next. Just reading along, a little mystery here, a little romance there, a little blood and guts. Then, WHAM! The plot thickens. Most of the time she has a couple of subplots going on at the same time, throwing out red herrings.
It’s hard for an author to catch me with my mouth open, but Jane Blythe can do it, Not only did the villain stay hidden for the longest time, Jane managed to throw me a couple twists that had me wanting to jump up and down with joy, though they were tragic and horrific. And she did it without Summer running off and doing something stupid. You know what I mean. In most romantic suspense novels, ‘she’ just can’t help doing something that gets in her deep shit. Am I twisted because I love the deeeeep, darrrrrrrk side of humanity? To wallow in the filth with some of fiction’s best villains?
WHEW! That ending was intense. The last quarter or so of the book bounced the rating an extra star. When you read the book, you will know why. I can hardly wait to get my hands on Fairy Tale Killer by Jane Blythe and see what damage she can to fairy tales and princesses. HA HA HA
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Nursery Rhyme Killer by Jane Blythe.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
How can she ever trust another man after what her ex-husband did?
Summer Height isn’t sure it’s worth it to risk her heart again in another relationship, not after what happened with her ex-husband and the debilitating guilt it left her with. When she meets her best friend’s husband’s brother she doesn’t know what to think, she likes him, but she’s not sure she wants to take a chance on him after what she’s been through, especially when it looks like history is repeating itself.
Luke Sleigh wants to find someone to love him, everyone else in his life has always walked away and he’s desperate to find that forever person. He has a list, when he meets a woman he mentally checks off whether or not the woman meets his criteria, but that gets thrown out the window when he meets Summer.
He might be swept off his feet but he’s about to face the challenge of a lifetime; proving that he’s not guilty of multiple murders in time to save Summer’s life.
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
USA Today bestselling author Jane Blythe writes action-packed romantic suspense and military romance featuring protective heroes and heroines who are survivors. One of Jane’s most popular series includes Saving SEALs, part of Susan Stoker’s OPERATION ALPHA world! Writing in that world alongside authors such as Janie Crouch and Riley Edwards has been a blast, and she looks forward to bringing more books to this genre, both within and outside of Stoker’s world. When Jane isn’t binge-reading she’s counting down to Christmas and adding to her 200+ teddy bear collection!
Sue Coletta has created one of my favorite villains of all time in the Mayhem series and Grafton County has its share of evil. Join her community to get 2 free killer reads. If you love thrillers, villains, and serial killers, I highly recommend checking her out.
I have been to Grafton County and spent time with Sage Quintano, her Sheriff husband Niko, their son Noah and his deputy and Sage’s best friend Frankie Campanelli. It is a pleasure to be back, though, I am sure there will be an evil villain waiting for us.
Sage recognized the pattern, when a string of murders came to the small town of Alexandria, New Hampshire. She thought it fit the profile of the Romeo killer, a serial killer who had died eight years ago…or did he?
Niko, her Sheriff husband chalks it up to PTSD, because of all the trauma she has suffered in the past years. It bothers me that he is too quick to dismiss her, but he loves every tiny piece of her, so I feel he will quickly come around. She also has rheumatoid arthritis. Being an author, means she doesn’t have, nor is she able to do, excessive manual labor.
Noah, their sweet boy, and her furbabies have their roles to play.
Frankie Campanelli, Niko’s deputy and Sage’s best friend, makes me think of a combination of Rizzolis & Iles from the TV show. She has the fashion sense of Moira Iles and the attitude and fierceness of Jane Rizzoli. Frankie is a good cop, but she walks a line that puts her career and her life in danger.
Sue Coletta does her research. In this mystery, police procedural, suspense, thriller, she show how technology has made their job more difficult. I find it terrifying how easy it is for be framed for something you didn’t do.
A feeling of menace hangs on every page. I know he’s coming for her, whoever he is. The question is: How much will he tease and torture her before he does. He is intelligent, yet obsessed, which may be hid downfall.
It doesn’t matter where Sue Coletta’s next book is located, I will be there. She can pen a story that is filled with moments of light and love, with times of distress and evil. She creates some of the best villains I have ever met, sure to delight those of us who like to walk in the dark.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Haloed by Sue Coletta.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
She may be paranoid, but is she right?
A
string of gruesome murders rocks the small town of Alexandria, New
Hampshire, with all the victims staged to resemble dead angels, and
strange red and pink balloons appearing out of nowhere.
All the clues point to the Romeo Killer’s return. Except one: he died eight years ago.
Paranoid
and on edge, Sage’s theory makes no sense. Dead serial killers don’t
rise from the grave. Yet she swears he’s here, hungering for the only
angel to slip through his grasp—Sage.
With only hours left to live, how can Sage convince her Sheriff husband before the sand in her hourglass runs out?
ABOUT SUE COLETTA
Sue Coletta is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as one of the “Top 100 Crime Blogs on the Net” (Murder Blog sits at #5) for four years in a row. And recently, she appeared on an Emmy award-winning true crime show.
Sue also blogs at the Kill Zone, a multi-award-winning writing blog, and writes two serial killer thriller series (Tirgearr Publishing) and narrative nonfiction/true crime for Globe Pequot, trade division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.
For readers, she has the Crime Lover’s Lounge, where members will be the first to know about free giveaways, contests, and have inside access to deleted scenes (if available). As an added bonus, members get to play in the lounge. Your secret code will unlock the virtual door.
BONUS: When you join Sue’s community you’ll receive two free killer reads!
Sue lives in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire with her husband, and begins each by feeding all the wildlife in her yard. Her favorite “pets” are a murder of crows who live free but come when called by name.
Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer is my first novel by B P Smythe. I have been expanding my reading, trying to include more male authors and genres that stretch my imagination. This was a good pick and I hope it will interest you too.
I included the entire Goodreads blurb, because it shares the way the book was written.
The cover didn’t do a lot for me, but that’s okay. It did make me look twice and once I read the book I knew why it was chosen. Does it make you curious?
Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer by B P Smyther is one of those books that are hard to rate for me. The way it was written, almost like it was short stories, made it difficult to follow, yet the characters were the ones that stole the show.
Mavis Bone and Gertrude Stick live together and run a private detective agency. To say they are lesbians may distract from how twisted and damaged they really are. Is Mavis a racist and drug addict? And what about Gertrude? I took so many notes, that I think they may be a spoiler, so I tossed them aside.
I will say they are fascinating characters that walk to the beat of their own drum. Their pasts created their present, but I will leave that to you to discover. They are not my usual kind of characters, but that was the allure, to walk outside my comfort zone.
The motto of the Mavis Bone Detective Agency – An eye for an eye makes the world blind.
Is there any character that stands, morally, above the rest?
I was entertained with this twisted story and its OMG moments. It was a wild ride with quirky characters that kept me on my toes. I think Mavis Bone has something for everyone: suspense, horror, paranormal, and most of all, the outlandish characters.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer by B P Smythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The book opens with a serial killer, whose evil roots were planted from a traumatic childhood. He makes an agenda to rob and kill women for financial gain, over the years 2008 to 2014. His crime spree efforts are checked and eventually foiled by Mavis Bone, a forty-year-old Australian, lesbian, private investigator. And with her lover, forty-five-year-old German secretary, Gertrude Stick, they operate the SW19 Wimbledon Broadway based, Mavis Bone Detective Agency. Mavis and Gertrude, live above the agency office, and share the top two flats. The walls of Mavis’s flat are adorned with pictures of Mario Lanza. Being a true fan, she has all his old records. Gertrude’s flat is full of Nazi memorabilia. In her teens she was a member of the Hitler youth. Using a Russian motorcycle and sidecar, nicknamed Lenin, for their mode of transport, they often turn up at a crime scene, wearing hell’s angel’s leathers and Nazi helmets. Mavis’s secretary, had recently purchased the storm trooper helmets from a Nazi memorabilia website. Included with her delivery, was a giant swastika patterned bedspread, and a black satin pillow case set, all decked out with swastikas and portraits of the Nazi leaders. Through the week, Gertrude rotates the pillows, so she can take it in turn to sleep on the faces of Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler. Chasing the `Fledgling Killer`, through his ingenious methodical killing spree, is hands on Mavis Bone, and she’s not afraid to get them dirty. This involves the death of her husband, and a problem client that could send her secretary to prison for a war crime. Dealing with her own personal issues through the years, Mavis has blood on her hands and sees it justifiable, even though the police wouldn’t. Her gender choices, along with her racist opinionated views, were moulded in her hard-Australian outback childhood, and were the motivation for killing her prostitute philandering husband. Mavis Bone is a real believable Ozzy crude character, who has a preference for strap-on lesbian sex and snorting Charlie – a cocaine habit she picked up in Columbia as a student, while backpacking around South America during her early twenties Mavis and Gertrude are lovers, and share a bond of tortured childhoods. They suffer each other, and are comparable to Holmes and Watson in their crime fighting gay relationship; while using sound racist logical reasoning and drug taking, to solve crimes.
Mavis Bone explained:
With my book, `Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer`, I hope to transform the standard thriller genre. This is achieved by using chapter heading teasers that unveil a narrative with a diverging short story structure; weaving its way through a series of connecting subplots. Subplots which are paced with peaks and troughs, through a series of scene and sequels. While never forgetting what’s at stake, through its chapter driven storyline. The novel explores in detail, Mavis Bone as a fictional lesbian detective, who is on the outside of the margins of society, while trying to achieve justice and generate change. Mavis Bone is sexualized, condescended to, and used as a pawn. And yet, when her body trembles, her gaze never wavers. Her life story is a blueprint, peppered with the ugly elements of Homophobia. The book fits into our obsession with serial killers, and our interest in their pathology, along with the suffering of their victims. Its story telling, bridges rites of passage and transformation, to create a book of terror, but not with gratuitous racism, sex or violence. A book in which, being different, is challenged, forcing us to look twice before judging another human being, whether they be a criminal, psychopath or plain mad. A book in which the human drama supersedes, and propels the plot, instead of falling victim to it. Mavis Bone’s emotions and fears, are described vividly, and the book is full of penetrating insights into her human condition, that go way beyond her sexual appetite. The moral of the story, is meant to provoke readers to see life differently, and make them understand LGBT life styles – as well as gender inequality and the inevitable discrimination, as seen through the eyes of Mavis Bone’s early sexual experiences. With this novel, I hope to achieve reader empathy – showing and creating the plotted life story of Mavis Bone. This is while inviting the reader to peek behind her intimate torrid life. Similar to a voyeur inviting the viewer to peek behind drawn blinds and through the window. And finally, drawing the reader into the psychological aftermath, revealing how killing and sexual urges can fester and go sour, when suppressed for too long.
ABOUT BARRY SMYTHE
B.P.Smythe studied engineering at Carshalton College and eventually became a member of the Institute of Quality Assurance.
Sow And You Shall Reap – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/145677171X is his first self- published novel. Last year B.P. secured a three book deal of short stories from Bloodhound Books http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/. His author bio is on their website.
From a Poison Pen
is his first book of short stories
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Pen-collection-macabre-stories-ebook/dp/B01BKWT4EE.
His second book of short stories From a Poison Pen VOL II has just been
released and is available on:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Pen-ii-B-P-Smythe-ebook/dp/B01LFM1032
This
year 2017, B.P.Smythe is shortly to release two full length novels –
The Medal of Purity and The Expired including two further books of short
stories – Short Tales with Long Memories VOL 1 and VOL 2 and a novella –
The Holocaust Experience.
Books by B.P.Smythe: For
information on obtaining free complimentary PDF, Kindle or paperback
copies, contact B.P.Smythe at barrysmythe@hotmail.com
My first book by Cailyn Lloyd was Shepherd’s Warning and I loved it. I am excited to share my thoughts about The Mill. I love the blend of a serial killer and ghosts, Cailyn Lloyd did it very well.
Chase Riddell has OCD. When something is out of place, no matter how small a change, he will notice. He has secrets and will kill to keep them.
Lili knew spirits hung at the Mill and she wanted to speak to them. She is a psychic and owner of Revelations, a metaphysical store. She doesn’t have to physically visit a place. She can astral travel.
Emma, a spirit who resides at The Mill found out Chase Riddell’s secrets, and she felt she had to do something about it. She loves to read and really gets ‘into’ it. I thought the way she did it was so cool. She loves TV and movies. She is a great character, and they more I read, the more interesting she became.
Martin is the police detective on the case.
We know the villain and what is happening, but it doesn’t lessen the suspense. A serial killer who revels in his ‘job’, but there is so much more going on than the serial killer’s story. I am only halfway through and I cannot put it down.
I wonder about Chase, I wonder about Eamon and Frank and Emma, the ghosts.
The Mill is a riveting novel, filled with suspense, and the pacing makes me read word after word, page after page, chapter after chapter, never wanting to stop. The original concept for the ghosts had me smiling and cringing and I never would have guessed how it would be wrapped up.
I loved it so much, I hope there will be another book. We could have Martin, Lily and Emma functioning as a crime solving team. Do you have an idea lingering in the back of your mind, Cailyn? Are the characters still talking to you?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Mill by Cailyn Lloyd.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
These rooms have killer views…
As a psychic, seeing ghosts is routine for Lili. She isn’t surprised to discover spirits lurking in the renovated paper mill where she just bought an apartment. What she doesn’t expect is the dark, sinister presence under the floor and the serial killer who is prowling about the mill. When a woman is found murdered and another goes missing, Lili tries to work with one of the spirits—a young girl long dead—to expose the psychopath. But not everyone can be trusted and soon, Lili fears the killer will flee, never to be found and free to strike again.
From the bestselling author of Shepherd’s Warning and The Elders Series comes a terrifying and compelling story that will keep you reading long into the night.
ABOUT CAILYN LLOYD
A lifelong writer, Cailyn Lloyd, spent three years living in a truly
haunted house and experienced first hand the nuances of strange and
eerie places. Shepherd’s Warning is her first book.
In addition
to writing, Cailyn is an accomplished weather photographer and her work
has appeared in several publications including Life Magazine and Time
Magazine. She is also a composer and musician with three album releases
to her credit. Cailyn lives near the Kettle Moraine State Forest in
Wisconsin and when she’s not writing spooky stories, loves hiking with
her children and dogs.
I like the cover, but it was the title, Conversations With Dead Serial Killers, that reeled me in. I found the blend of fact and fiction interesting. I have read my share of nonfiction books about serial killers and lots of fictional ones, so to see an author bring them together in the same story had me curious how he would handle it.
Do you believe in psychics? Derek Turner proclaims to be a psychic, manipulates people into handing over money. His life changes when Sam comes into it. She will not leave him alone, dogging his every step, wanting him to do the right thing.
The more I see Sam, the more I like her.
Clive, his brother, helps with the readings. But, he has his own agenda.
The twists are not exposed until the end, and that is always a good thing. I didn’t see the total picture. Whether Derek knew or wanted things to go down the way they did, I don’t know. I think he just wanted to make money and didn’t care too much about the cost.
I think all too often people do glamorize serial killers. I find them fascinating, but ‘regular’ people are just as interesting. I enjoy delving into people’s minds, wanting to know the why of things.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Conversations With Dead Serial Killers by Ashley Lister.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
“A clown can get away with murder.” John Wayne Gacy, the killer clown.
Derek Turner makes his living as a psychic. But, when he makes his first genuine contact with the spirit world, it is an encounter that starts him on a pathway to holding conversations with dead serial killers.
Someone is recreating the most infamous crimes of the world’s sickest serial killers: including Jack the Ripper, BTK, Charles Albright and Ed Gein. Derek learns that it’s within his power to either profit from this situation or bring it to a needed conclusion and prevent further unnecessary deaths.
But profit can be a compelling argument.
Blending the reports from true crime stories with the lies from a professional psychic, Conversations with Dead Serial Killers explores the danger and obscenity that comes from glamourising murderers.
ABOUT ASHLEY LISTER (from Amazon)
Ashley Lister is a prolific writer of fiction across a broad range of genres, having written more than fifty full length titles and over a hundred short stories. He is the co-host of Blackpool’s Pub Poets and a regular participant (and occasional winner) in their monthly Haiku Death Match.
Aside from regularly blogging about writing, Ashley also teaches creative writing in the North West of England. He has recently completed a PhD in creative writing where he looked at the relationship between plot and genre in short fiction.
