White Jade

Alex Lukeman's White Jade is an espionage thriller that is as plausible as today's headline news. This novel earns the phrase, "you can't put it down" and you wonder about its implications long after the story is finished.
Ungovernable ambition and the quest for power are a combination that wreaks havoc across the annals of humankind as does the suppression of the masses to achieve those goals.
A millionaire's cruel death trigger events that range across the Pacific Ocean and deep into the mountains of Tibet.
Selena Conner is the niece of the murdered man. She is content with her life of study and teaching of ancient languages until she meets Nick Carter, an operative for the low profile Project. Project personnel answer only to the president of the United States. Selena knows the location of an ancient text her uncle was tortured to obtain. Together they set out to obtain the text, prevent it from falling into enemy hands, and to unravel its significance to a modern regime.
The fine details of ancient history, combat, terrain, and equipment set White Jade above its competition. I found myself laughing during a tense scene when the author mentioned "GE turbofans" engines. My husband transported and x-rayed those jet engine fan blades in the 70s to insure they were perfect prior to assembly.
White Jade is a thriller that lives up to its genre to join the legions of Clancy and Flemming. This is one you won't want to miss, I enjoyed it so much I bought the sequel, The Lance to find out what happens next.
Visit with Alex @Alexlukeman on Twitter. His exciting stories are available on Amazon Kindle for $.99. Its a big bank for your buck.
Nash Black, author of Visitors and Sandprints of Death.

E-Force

James D. Kellogg's E-Force is a genuine thriller. Many titles are labeled with the term thriller, but fall far short of being any thing more than an ordinary mystery/suspense works. Not so with E-Force.
Make sure you reserve a block of time sufficient enough to finish the novel. If you don't you will find yourself reading well into the night and early dawn.
Colt Kelly's employer EcoFriends is moving to the far left with its philosophical trends. Mixed with a change in direction is the misappropriation of contributions that has reached money laundering proportions. Colt pledged his loyalty to the group, he is guilty of transfering funds, and it now caught in a fraud scheme which could send him to prison.
E-Force is a ecoterror group that vows to destroy the resort communities built by AmeResorts. The group operates outside the law, their attacks are well planned, well financed, and have acquired the support of Marla Wells, a local TV reporter. In her broadcasts, she portrays the commandos as victims of the establishment who have been pushed beyond the edge.
E-Force is a political thriller that draws the reader deep into the lives of each individual well-drawn character. No thread, subplot, or scene is isolated, each leads to a satisfying whole of plot integration, which is writing at its best when the reader can live within the pages of the story.
Politics aside this is one of the finest thriller novels to reach the public in a long time. I'm delighted James D. Kellogg found me and requested a review. I'll be back for the sequel.
E-Force is available from Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.com both in print and as an e-book. Visit with James D. Kellogg at http://jamesdkellogg.com/
Nash Black, Sandprints of Death.

Dumpster Dying

Lesley A. Diehl's Dumpster Dying is a cozy/traditional mystery set in Florida's interior where cattle and cowboys are the treat of the day. No beach bikini bimbos or sand fleas, instead a fun mystery where the older generation must face their past to stop a killer and stay out of jail.
Emily Rhodes was all set to live out her golden years with Fred Costa, her long time companion when Fred went for a run from which he didn't return. Fred "the rat" never managed to write a new will and his ex-wife inherits their assets including a portion of Emily's down payment on their home.
To keep a roof over her head and pay the bills Emily acquires the skill of mixing drinks and takes a job at the local country club. She is taking out the trash when she discovers the body of Marcus Davey in the dumpster.
Snow bunnies are not welcome in rural Florida, their only value to the natives is what money they can be induced to part with before leaving.
Characters may be slightly stereotyped but they read like real people you'd meet in the grocery store or at the local watering hole.
Did I mention no psychics, no recovering drunks , no vampires, etc? Plain fun for a great read without of the quirks, but a well paced whodunit with a surprising twist. Maybe just a touch of romance, no bed of roses, but then no matter how sweet they smell roses have thorns.
Delight with Emily and her friends as they hunt for a killer before he finds them.
Nash Black, Sandprints of Death

Spycatcher

Matthew W. Dunn's Spycatcher is an espionage novel that reads like reading eye-witness newspaper reports from the Middle East.
Due to be released in July, Mr. Dunn brings years of experience in the field as an M16 operative who writes under his own name. Spycatcher is not a biography, but fiction that will keep you glued to you chair as Dunn sweeps you from Central Park across Europe and back again in an outstanding thriller of the dark side of undercover work.
Will Cochrane knows he must kill his contact to Iran before the man is captured and tortured to reveal secrets no man must divulge. The contact is not a friend in Will's friendless world, but his job and the safety of many others demands he must act with hesitation.
Will is wounded in the resulting gunfire and pulled from the fray in time to save his life. He awakens in a blank room and is confronted by a man who knows about his entire life. As they sit on the floor of a bare room Will knows the stranger must be a CIA operative who has a use for him outside of the conventional bonds of spying.
Patrick knows of his code name, Spartan. This is a position that can be held by no other man while he lives. His controller, Alistair is one of the most senior officials of M16. Only the British prime minster authorize the release this name. Patrick is a powerful and trusted man in the world of international intrigue.
Between Alistair and Patrick they send Will on a mission that will uncover his own past to flush out an operative high in the Iranian command to convince him to "betray" his country or die. Betrayal is a two-way street when power and wealth beyond imagination are at stake.
Spycatcher moves with the speed of jet planes and each character has an agenda that must be completed. The innocent become embroiled in the morass of empire decaying and rebuilding. No life is too valuable to be allowed to be a hindrance to success. I lost count of the bodies that fall across the landscape as Will endeavors to bring Megiddo out of hiding before he can complete his plans for world domination.
Nash Black, author of Sandprints of Death.

Sandprints of Death

Nash Black's Sandprints of Death opened to a five star review from Alina Holgate, a resident of Australia. I normally talk about other writer's work on Bird's Eye View, but this time I want to toot our own horn and share with you Alina's review.

"Set a While"

"The best thing about this book for this Australian was that reading it was like going on holiday. I was transported to an island off South Carolina, rich in unique history where various members and neighbors of the Young clan have congregated to lick their various wounds. A series of murders occurs on the island thus trapping them together. They are further trapped by the weather. In the course of dealing with these challenges the Youngs become integrated into the local community and the history of the Young clan and the island is revealed.
"The murder mystery, which is the occasion for all these different characters being thrown together in a particular locale, could have been more carefully plotted and its resolution seemed rushed. However the strength of the book is not a great murder mystery. The strength of the book is the beautifully drawn characters and their intricately portrayed clan stories that make you feel connected to them like family. The strength of the book is in the incredibly atmospherically drawn portrait of this island, its history, its inhabitants, and the constantly shifting mood ot the weather and the sea that seeps into our characters bones. The strength of this book is that it makes you want to set a while and just listen to the cadences of the stories and the voices in which they are expressed and watch as island life passes you by.
"I think if you like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: a Novel you would like this. It has a similar feel in terms of becoming drawn in to an isolated, self-reliant community of loveable people who have a tough life but who welcome the right kind of strangers into the fold.
My best recommendation is that I immediately rushed off to buy more of Nash Black's books. And there is a recipe at the end of this book that's worth the price of admission alone."

Thank you, thank you Alina.

Nash Black (Irene & Ford)

Traveling with Pomegranates

Sue Monk Kidd's Traveling with Pomegranates written with her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor is a writer's memoir about traveling (physical and metaphysical) and relationships.
This reader does not have children and does most of her traveling in an armchair, but the experiences of Ms. Kidd were easy to identify with from a writer's point of view.
Greece is their destination, both mother and daughter are caught up in the history and the myths of the islands as they explore the ruins. On the first journey they are locked within themselves as they attempt to make life changing decisions.
I read The Secret Life of Bees several years ago and as I read Ms. Kidd's narrative of the visceral development of the book I was tempted to retreat and read it for a second time now that I understand the nuisances of its development.
Their second trip to Greece is about the awakening of communication between the mother and daughter. The trip through France in search of the black Madonnas is fascinating from both an artistic and a cultural standpoint.
A good read at anytime, for any reason, and you don't have to agree with Ms. Kidd's conclusions to appreciate their expression.

Nash Black author of Sandprints of Death coming soon.

Small Business Taxes Made Easy

I wish I'd had a copy of Eva Rosenberg's Small Business Taxes Made Easy forty years ago when I first opened my own business or even later when I started teaching business accounting and financial management.
Ms. Rosenberg's broad experience in the field of business planning shines through on every page with clear, concise descriptions and examples.
Are you a beginner with a great web idea who is just getting your feet wet on the Internet? She takes you through each step of organizing you work with scads of resources to extend your learning curve.
Are you the frantic CEO of your own company looking for a solution to a specific problem? The index for this volume is outstanding and easy to use to put you on the right page for mastering the art of business reports and every type of tax problem.

Today 'online' is where the business world operates. Where is your Nexus (the place where you do business) located? It is essential for you to understand the idea as more and more states fight for lost sales tax revenues due to Internet sales. Page 219 will get you started. I'm not trying to frighten you, but in WAASB I made the statement that "the Internet was the best free enterprise system since the Constitution of the United States was written," which for the time being is still true. Look at your phone bill and add up the taxes already in place for Internet usage.

Do like I did when I received my copy from the publisher. Take it to bed and read it in small portions. Underline, make marginal notes, and use Post 'Ems to create your own tab index of items important to your individual needs.

Through out the text, Ms. Rosenberg provides excellent definitions for terms, but a glossary of book-keeping terms begins on p. 79. This threw the reviewer who looks for this aid in the back of the book.

This is one volume that no business owner can afford to be without.

Visit with Eva Rosenberg at http://taxmama.com/.

Nash Black, author of Indie finalist Writing as a Small Business.