Category Archives: Thriller

Only the Strongest Survive

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by Ian Fox

Product Description:  The novel opens with a hair-tingling scene, as two men kidnap Emely Donnovan, one of the wealthiest women in America, and bury her alive.  What is behind this horrific crime?
Raised in a strict religious institution, Emely never knew her parents.  Fearing a life of poverty, she starts up a small business that deals mainly with buying and selling stocks.  Thanks to her extreme dedication and knowledge, the company grows over time into a major conglomerate. In her desire for ever greater financial security, this beautiful, ambitious CEO has accumulated a number of enemies.

But now she finds herself locked in the basement of a remote house in the middle of a forest, watched over by one of her captors who makes her buy and sell stocks for him so he can get rich. Her challenge to survive becomes even more complicated when Emely’s captor falls in love with her.

My Take:

Only the Strongest Survive was a very different type of mystery/thriller.  Most mystery/thriller books/novels spend most of the time on the introduction of how it happened, the back story of the individual(s), possible suspects, and so on.  Only the Strongest Survive dives right into the kidnapping of Emely Donnovan and very little time is spent on the back story, or even trying to actually find Emely for that matter.  In some instances I felt things were a little off because no one was looking for Emely, but as I kept reading it didn’t matter.  The whole of the book [to me] was what happened between Emely and her captors after she was kidnapped, and most of the characters in the book were well developed and memorable; others, not so much.

I received this book free from the author and was asked to give my honest opinion.  I did enjoy reading Only the Strongest Survive and would read other books by Ian Fox.

 

 

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Web of Evil

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by J. A. Jance

Product Description:

The New York Times bestselling author of Edge of Evil is back with another masterful thriller featuring Ali Reynolds, an ex-television journalist who finds herself in a twisted web of mystery and murder.

Fired from her dream job as a Los Angeles new anchor and still recovering from the truth about her cheating husband, Ali is content to lick her wounds far away in Sedona, Arizona.  But before she can leave the past behind, she must return to L.A.: her ex, Paul, is in a hurry for a divorce so he can marry his very young, very pregnant fiancee.  But the day before the final proceedings, Paul’s bound and broken body is found in the Palm Springs desert.  Ali finds herself the sole heir to his wealthy estate – and the prime suspect in his brutal murder.  As the evidence piles up against her, she must navigate a torturous path strewn with danger – and bodies – to expose the real cold-blooded thriller.

Web of Evil is the first book I’ve read by J. A. Jance and I intend to read more by this author.  Web of Evil was a very thrilling, suspenseful read.  I’ve noticed other reviews that classify the book as “Hokey” but I thoroughly enjoyed reading of Ali’s adventures.

 

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Virginia Creeper

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by Laura Wright

What other have said about Virginia Creeper

“. . . Laura Wright weaves suspenseful stories, which are full of local color and action . . . Wright . . . offers readers a fiction cocktail with a splash of The Twilight Zone and a twist of Hannibal Lecter. Wright takes readers on a paranormal journey through life, death, and something in between . . .”  -Scott County Virginia Star

“Just finished your book, couldn’t stop reading. You sure created a
‘page turner.’  -Poet, Donna Flood

“Before I read Ms. Wright’s book, I thought of stalking as an ‘inconvenience,’ one that could easily be handled by our justice system. Her story, an eye-opener, reveals the truly frightening scope of physical and emotional damage possible.” -Ms. Mary Ellen Knox, editor and publisher, Free Fiction

“The story is utterly compelling. I had to keep coming back for a few
chapters every day and I am still assimilating it. Very rich and well written.
Your characters are well drawn, realistic and believable and the horror that
Karen went through is chilling and yet uplifting because we know she
survived it!”  -Meg Britton

Virginia Creeper

This is a very well-written psychological thriller.  The paranormal facets nicely tie both the plot and the characters together throughout the book.  Just when you think you’ve figured it all out, a new twist will spiral you into another ghostly world of the paranormal.  An interesting and unpredictable read for those who appreciate an intense personal experience into the world of horror and unfathomable mind games.  Virginia Creeper will keep you guessing throughout the book; you will not stop until you reach the very end!

You may also like other works by Laura Wright

I also read “Timeslips & Terrors” and found that Laura Wright has a way of writing that makes you think twice about some of your Déjà Vu moments in life.

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The Last Refuge: A Dewey Andreas Novel

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by Ben Coes

Product Description:

With time running out to stop the nuclear destruction of Tel Aviv, Dewey Andreas must defeat his most fearsome opponent yet.

Off a quiet street in Brooklyn, New York, Israeli Special Forces commander Kohl Meir is captured by operatives of the Iranian secret service, who smuggle Meir back to Iran, where he is imprisoned, tortured, and prepared for a show trial.

What they don’t know is that Meir was in New York to recruit Dewey Andreas for a secret operation. Meir had been tipped off that Iran had finally succeeded in building their first nuclear weapon, one they were planning to use to attack Israel. His source was a high-level Iranian government official and his proof was a photo of the bomb itself.

Dewey Andreas, a former Army Ranger and Delta, owes his life to Meir and his team of Israeli commandos. Now, to repay his debt, Dewey has to attempt the impossible —to both rescue Meir from one of the world’s most secure prisons and to find and eliminate Iran’s nuclear bomb before it’s deployed—all without the help or sanction of Israel or America (at the near certain risk of detection by Iran).

Unfortunately, Dewey’s first moves have caught the attention of Abu Paria, the brutal and brilliant head of VEVAK, the Iranian secret service. Now Dewey has to face off against, outwit, and outfight an opponent with equal cunning, skill, and determination, with the fate of millions hanging in the balance.

My take:

If you’re a fan of books filled with covert operations that seemingly fit into today’s military/political events then you should read “The Last Refuge”.

I read this book utilizing the text-to-speech feature on my kindle and found the writing to be very explicit in its characterization of people and events so much so that I was able to visualize the events as they played out, awesome.  This is the first book that I’ve read by this author, which happens to be the third in the series for Dewey Andreas.

“The Last Refuge” by Ben Coes “is” a page-turner, you’ll not want to put it down.

 

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