The Dangerous Edge of Things

Tina Whittle's debut novel, The Dangerous Edge of Things will keep you on the edge of your chair enthralled by her precise yet vivid descriptions of Atlanta, GA. Ms. Whittle's characters do not depend on their southerness for their uniqueness, but evolve with the modern city.

Teresa Ann "Tai" Randolph inherited half of a Confederate gun shop and moved from Savannah to explore the possibilities of her inheritance. One week in town, crashing at her brother Eric's home she discovers the gunshot body of a young woman.
The belated welcoming party gets worse as Eric is in the Bahamas and doesn't answer her frantic messages when subsequent events prove he is acquainted with the victim. Eric is employed by the security firm Phoenix and in typical older-brother fashion provides his impetuous baby-sister with a body guard and employment she does not want.

Enter the body guard, Trey Seaver is one of the most original characters in modern mystery fiction. Ms. Whittle builds Trey with adroit descriptions that fascinate and create empathy with Tai's frustration while she attempts to communicate with "the Iceman."

Tai and Trey must work as a team to keep her alive and unmask a killer. Her approach to anyone in authority is to argue and ignore while he is subservient to unreasonable demands. Tai has yet to find a box and Trey can not function without one. The tug-of-war between them is explosive until the very last word. The action's pace is faster than his Ferrari; it will drive you into the midnight hours.

Visit Tina at http://www.tinawhittle.com.

Tina Whittle's The Dangerous Edge of Things is soon to be released by Poisoned Pen Press to book stores and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

The Day of Small Things

Vicki Lane's lyrical The Day of Small Things is the perfect book to curl up with at anytime, a hammock in summer or by the fire when winds are brisk. This reader is delighted that Ms. Lane took the time from her outstanding Elizabeth Goodweather series to explore in depth the engaging character of "Miss Birdie."
Fan's of the Goodweather series demanded more of Miss Birdie because in the brief sketches a real person shown through who was worth every moment they spent exploring her character.
The Day of Small Things is not a small story, but a saga of a young woman who against all odds learns to love and comes to grips with the divergent aspects of her own heritage. Least was her given name and her expectations did not exist until her aging Cherokee grandmother gave her five years of undivided love and the teachings of her people.
Her mother's bitterness and anger fueled a devastating revenge against her youngest child, Least. The mother's death gave the young woman a chance to explore the outside world if she can stay ahead of the sheriff. Her mother had signed papers committing her to a institution to be sterilized.
Each obstacle Least encounters on her journey to become "Miss Birdie" will keep you turning the pages, reading every word for the story, the customs, the atmosphere, and the charm that shines through some dark days.

This is a book you will not want to miss and it is one you will want to keep on your shelf to dip into when you need a glimpse of the perseverance of the human soul.

Visit with Vicki Lane at http://www.vickilanemysteries.com/. Vicki's books are available in the paperback book section of book stores and on line from Amazon.com.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

Susan Wittig Albert's The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree transports the reader directly to the 1930s and a woman's gardening group.
The country is in the midst of the Great Depression, but the ladies of Darling, Alabama have their hands deep in the soil and the lives of each inhabitant of this southern community.
Life isn't easy as their pennies are tight, but they are determined to restore Mrs. Blackstone's family home and the gardens that she left in their care. The work is hard because the old place was sadly neglected during Mrs. Blackstone's declining years.
Everyone is talking about the escaped convict and it isn't a surprise when reports of a ghost digging the gardens near the cucumber trees are reported. Nothing is ever what it seems in a good cozy mystery and the ladies are not about to put up with any nonsense from a ghost.

Mrs. Albert is an established writer with two successful cosy mystery series under her belt, but The Darling Dahlias may be her best yet. Her work reminds me of another great cozy writer Charlotte MacLeod. Mrs. MacLeod wrote an exceptional funny gardening series as Alisa Craig, an example is The Grub and Stakers House a Haunt.

If you enjoy a break from horrific murder and mayhem with a yen for gardening either of these two authors will give you hours of pleasure.

Susan Wittig Albert's books are available at bookstores everywhere and on Amazon.com

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

Spookiest Stories Ever

Roberta S. and Lonnie E. Brown have spent a lifetime collecting stories of actual experiences with ghosts. They have complied these stories from family and friends in Spookiest Stories Ever: Four Seasons of Kentucky Ghosts published by The University Press of Kentucky.
Encounters with the paranormal does not occur just at Hallowe'en, but at any time when the veil to the world beyond has a window in time. Roberta and Lonnie recognizes this and have arranged their tales of phychic phenomena as to when they occurred.
Lonnie tells of his first encounter with something beyond the grave in The Cold Touch when the newly dead left a flower to indicate their presence.
Roberta tells of her experience at the Tab in Ghost of Berea College. I recognized the old theater building; it was there when I was a member of the library staff and teacher at Berea. A young boy could see the ghost, but Roberta could only hear his footsteps.
A suicide that keeps on dying is the subject Ghost Chains. No one has been able to live in the house in south Central Kentucky since the death occurred. It is a dripping, dripping, chilling tale of death; a perfect story to read on a warm summer's night.
When an event is of extreme importance to two individuals it isn't unusual for the dead to visit the living. From the winter section Roberta retells a story of the bond that existed between a young woman graduating from college and her father.

I've cited a sampling of these eerie true stories for each season. This is a book to savor and put down, pickup and reread as you visit with some very spooky haints.

Roberta Simpson Brown is a noted folklorist, oral story teller, and author. Other books by her are Queen of the Cold-Blooded Tales and The Walking Trees and Other Scary Stories. Her husband Lonnie E. Brown is a musician and author of Stories You Won't Believe. They currently live outside of Louisville, but were born in Russell County, KY.
Look for their books in bookstores and on Amazon.com as they are a perfect gift at any time of the year.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Nancy Pichard adds one more stunning mystery to a long line of successes. The Scent of Rain and Lightning sparks across the Kansas plains with storm flashes as Jody Linder prepares to enter the world of professional work as an English teacher.
Jody has been sheltered by her grandparents and uncles. They have love and protected her since the night her world was blown apart by Billy Crosby. Billy was tried and convicted of the murder of Jody's father and sentenced to life in prison.
The burning question for Laurie is what happened to her mother the night her father was killed. Laurie Linder disappeared; her body was never recovered; she was never seen again. Throughout her childhood Jody has been drawn to Testament Rocks and collected artifacts from the soil and sand to discover a connection to her mother.
Old vague memories rise out of the past to haunt Jody when she learns that Billy Crosby will be released from prison and return home for a new trail that was arranged by his attorney son, Colin.
The cadence of the novel pounds like the thud of hail on a tin roof as Jody relives her childhood images and discovers a new direction for her heart that leaves her head spinning with shock before justice is served.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning is available at bookstores everywhere and visit with the prolific author at http://nancypickardmysteries.com/.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

Broken

Karin Slaughter's Broken will be her next award winner. The complex story of depression, revenge, greed, disabilities, and hatred is told with the stunning brilliance of a master writer.
There is never any let-up in this fast-paced police procedural. A young woman is murdered and the young man who is arrested for her killing commits suicide in his cell.
Their deaths reunited some of Slaughter's most intriguing characters as Dr. Sara Linton calls the state crime division to report Detective Lena Adams for negligence and lying about the circumstances surrounding the arrest. Dr. Linton believes this previous behavior of evading responsibility caused the death of her husband and she wants Lena punished.

Special Agent Will Trent is sent to the scene to investigate and is thwarted at every turn by the members of the force to prevent him from doing his job. He must turn both to Sara and Lena for help after the boy friend of the murdered girl is also killed by the same methods. The conflict between the two woman is detrimental to his efforts to complete his investigation, but for both women an internal devotion to their respective jobs finally supersedes their hatred of each other.
Slaughter exhibits a fantastic talent for descriptive prose that will have you putting the book in your lap to savor her images. Her strength shows in the small ordinary experiences of life and vividness of the surroundings. She handles the raw scenes of death with the crisp flat style of a police report, never broaching sensationalism.

I had the privilege of sharing a head table at a writing workshop with Karin. One of the things we discussed was, "Why are women never taught to protect and respect themselves as children?" It is a question I've not forgotten and for which I still seek an answer.
Broken will be available in bookstores everywhere in late June, until then you can visit with Karin, who loves to get letters at http://karinslaughter.com/.

Nash Black, author of Writing as a Small Business and Haints.

Devil's Island

Carl Brookins continues the story of Mary Whitney and her husband, Michael Tanner in Devils Island.
Brookins gives the reader an inside view of a strong relationship between two unique individuals through his complex suspense/thriller. There is never any question in the story line as to who is the bad guy. He is Mary's ex-husband. Edwin Tobias can not endure to let Mary live after escaping from his domination.
Michael Tanner and Edmund Hochstein (director of Whitney Enterprises) do their best to protect Mary from the danger they foresee on the horizon, but how far does one go without becoming the same oppressive menace Mary escaped from when she left Tobias?
A planned vacation to Lake Superior divides Michael and Mary. He has obligations on the West Coast, which can not be ignored or postponed. Mary travels to Minnesota alone for a few days of sailing and research to trace her family's early logging interest on the islands of the lake.
Mary enjoys her time on the lake with the aid of a young woman who is a novice sailor. Then this fast paced story churns the turbulent waters even faster as Tobias plays cat-and-mouse games before moving in for the kill.
The conclusion is one of the most exciting and illuminating I have read in a long time. You must read the story for yourself to understand the gallant respect Michael has for Mary despite his own fears for her safety.

It is a gripping tale from start to finish. Put it on your must read list.
Devils Island is available on-line and from http://www.echelonpress.com/.

Carl is a professional reviewer, a member of the Minnesota Crime Wave, and you can visit with him at http://carlbrookins.com/.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.