BOOK REVIEW - Savage Highway - Richard Godwin

Savage Highway by Richard Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

DISCLAIMER: I received, at my request, an ARC of Savage Highway from the publisher. This has in no way influenced my review. I give only honest reviews; my reputation depends on it. Thank you. vmls

Richard Godwin’s Savage Highway is an intense, shocking and riveting blend of contemporary noir fiction and Faustian drama. Sparingly drawn characters and short, sharp dialogue, trademarks of the master storyteller that Richard is, tell a story so brutal and visceral one hopes that such things could take place only in the realm of the fiction writer’s dark mind.

The thing about fiction though… it all springs from at least a grain of truth.

The setting for Savage Highway is a desolate area of the American Southwest where a group of men, yearning for “more than earthly meat and drink" take their fill from the lost souls unfortunate enough to stumble across their path. These men, from both sides of the law, have little regard for women, seeing in them little more than an entrée to satisfy their twisted appetites.

From the beginning of the story and Patty’s ‘encounter’ in a truck stop restroom to the startling conclusion, the pace of Savage Highway is not unlike that of one journeying one of the highways in the American Southwest. One moment moving at breakneck speed as the protagonists race to prevent another death… or escape their own… and then slowing for the curves and hills of the rolling landscape ahead as Richard introduces another twist and turn to the story.

The duality of several of the characters… constantly shifting between responsible, law-abiding citizens and sexual sadists… is something that the author does quite well and is one reason his stories are so absorbing and memorable. The characters Richard draws are indelible and one of my favorite parts of any Godwin tale.

Well-paced action, sharp dialogue, and terse descriptions of both character and place make Savage Highway a story not easy to put down and will leave imagery in the reader’s head long after.

I hesitate to use such over-played phrases as ‘pulse-pounding’, but it is apt in this case as Richard brings us a story filled with suspense, danger and virtually non-stop action. If this doesn’t get the adrenaline surging through your veins, you’re probably dead and just haven’t fallen over yet.

Savage Highway is ‘five-star’ in every sense of the word and well-deserving of accolades. This is classic noir… taut and unapologetic.

Savage Highway is Richard Godwin at his ‘noirest’. A must-read story I recommend without hesitation.


Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
27 January 2016


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BOOK REVIEW - A Raven's Touch, Book One in the series A Raven Wing - Linda Bloodworth

A Raven's Touch by Linda Bloodworth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Raven’s Touch is author Linda Bloodworth’s debut novel into the world of paranormal/fantasy… a world filled with gods and demons, fairies and elves, dragons and wolves, witches and humans.

And vampires.

A world where if good is to triumph over evil…. ‘good’ is going to have to get a little ‘bad’.

I am a relatively new reader to the world of paranormal. It is not a genre I usually indulge in, preferring bullets, bad guys and broads to otherworld creatures and magic. In fact, A Raven’s Touch is only the third book I have read in this undeniably fascinating genre. This is a testament to the author, who has crafted a story both brave and compelling, fast-paced and well thought-out. An ambitious story quite remarkable in the world of debut novels today where few rise to the calibre of A Raven’s Touch in originality, creativity, strong plot and engaging characters.

High school teen Justice St. Michaels has a problem. And it isn’t the school bullies she endures on a daily basis. No, Justice’s problem is not going to be solved by the principal of her high school meting out suspensions to the bullies. Fortunately, Justice has a circle of friends, her best friend Moira among them, looking out for her. Friends who are, unbeknownst to her, witches, elves and Halflings.

Which is good because things are about to go… what’s that English expression?... pear-shaped in Fallingbrook and cops, counselors, and clergy are not going to be of much help. It is going to take some ‘supernatural’… some ‘otherworldly’… powers to slay the demons and keep Hell where it belongs, deep in the bowels of Earth.

There’s something about Justice herself that lies at the root of her ‘problem’, something her parents, for their own reasons, have not told Justice about yet.

Her birthright.

Justice, it seems, has ‘abilities’. For some time Justice has felt that there was something different about her… something not right. And now she’s having dreams… nightmares might be a better word… and she is ‘changing’.

And as if life weren’t complicated enough for a teenage girl, enter stage right a stranger… a man both charming and dangerous. But then, isn’t that always the way with their ‘kind’?

Oh, and did I mention a jealous demon? Or is it demoness? You know what they say… “Hell hath no fury as a scorned woman.”

And with that, I should stop. I really, really hate spoilers.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Raven’s Touch. It has a solid plot that does not get mired in unnecessary subplots. There is a good level of suspense… I liked the ‘slow reveal’ of some of the characters and of Justice’s ‘secret’ as well. The pacing of the story was quite nice, with well written and engaging characters; the character of Darien Raventhorn was especially well done. I thought the moodiness of Justice was just right, a touch of teen angst to make the character believable but not so much that you really just want to reach out and slap the girl. And what I think really helps bring the story together… the thread of theology throughout the book. The element of theology helps to round out the story and it showcases the main character’s inner strength.

All of this points to a writer who knows her craft as well as her audience. I am quite looking forward to the next book in the series. That says a lot, coming from a girl who reads, writes, and bleeds noir.

Good job, Linda… Brava! Now get busy on Book Two. You kind of left us on a ledge here, girl!

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
23 January, 2016

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BOOK REVIEW - Wrong Crowd - Richard Godwin

Wrong Crowd by Richard Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received, at my request, an advance copy of this book from the publisher. This in no manner or form had any bearing on my review. Thank you. vmls

In this slick, fast-paced noir thriller, Richard Godwin brings the same verve and compelling narrative style that is the trademark of all of his writing, crossing genres as effortlessly as one crosses a street. Stories with sharply drawn characterizations, crisp dialogue and action that keep the reader moving as the suspense builds to its inevitable conclusion.

Wrong Crowd is a voyeuristic view of one man’s desires and the passion, if I may use such a mundane word to describe a woman who is anything but ordinary, which drives him back to a life he had thought left behind. But, to paraphrase a character in a popular American movie.... "They keep pulling me back."

That passion is Maxine. A woman who demands little and gives all. A woman whose very existence consumes Claude. Every waking moment. Every second of sleep.

Desire is a powerful force.

Claude is a man with desires... appetites… waking dreams. And neither Russian gangsters nor cheap East End hoods are going to come between Claude and the woman he would possess. Totally. At any cost.

And with each line Claude crosses, there is a little cut to his soul, a blood trail leading back to…

Ahh, but one does not want to reveal too much, does one? I will say this about Claude…

The adage 'the means justify the ends' has never been more apropos than in Wrong Crowd as Claude plumbs the very depths of his soul in his quest.

Wrong Crowd is an erotic tour de force, interwoven with cheap but deadly Russian mobsters, East End low-lifers and one man's erotic desires brought to life as only Richard Godwin can do. Godwin is like a knowing lover, his tales leaves one sated, yet eager for the next encounter.

Memorable characters, fast-paced action and more than a little ‘undercurrent’ of sex, Wrong Crowd delivers and will leave even the most die-hard reader breathless.

I recommend without reservation, Wrong Crowd. Richard Godwin often surprises, but never disappoints.

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
1 October 2015
(Writing under a large mushroom somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)

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BOOK REVIEW: The Beautiful Daughters - Nicole Baart

The Beautiful Daughters by Nicole Baart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You can run from your past for only so long. For every five steps forward you take, your past takes six, until the distance between tomorrow, today and yesterday is no more than the space between heartbeats.

************
Harper has a secret.

One that only three people in the whole world know. One of those three can't reveal Harper's secret... at least not any longer. Another won't reveal Harper's secret because to do so would reveal his own secret, and he will go to any lengths to prevent that. And the third person...?

She doesn't know yet that the secret she possesses is not the secret she is hiding.

She doesn't know yet that time and distance cannot stop the power of a secret.

She doesn't know yet that no amount of penance can still the power of a secret.

But she is about to find out. And when she does, the carefully-crafted life that she has now will be irrevocably changed.

Harper has a secret.

But she is not the only one.

************

Adri has a secret.

One that only three people in the whole world know. One of those three can't reveal Adri's secret... at least not any longer. Another won't reveal Adri's secret because to do so would reveal her own, something she is determined to prevent the disclosure of. And the third person...?

She doesn't know yet that the secret she possesses is not the secret she is hiding.

She doesn't know yet that time and distance cannot stop the power of a secret.

She doesn't know yet that no amount of penance can still the power of a secret.

She is about to find out. And when she does, the carefully-crafted life that she has painstakingly built will be changed, and there is no turning back.

Adri has a secret.

But she is not the only one.

************
In The Beautiful Daughters, the hugely talented writer Nicole Baart combines her gift for rich, textured prose with her gift of compassion and empathy for the human condition to weave a tale that is both as old as time itself and as new and fresh as this morning's sunrise.

The Beautiful Daughters is the story of two daughters... daughters not by blood, but by a bond as strong as blood. It is a story of secrets. It is a story of penance. Of redemption. And second chances.

The Beautiful Daughters is the poignantly moving and powerful story of two young women and their journey through present and past to find their future.

With her keen understanding of the human condition and a seemingly bottomless well of compassion for humanity in all its shades, Nicole tackles a subject that – sorry, no spoilers here! – will make some people uncomfortable. But, as Nicole knows all too well, fiction is a reflection of reality… one that is sometimes sharper and more defined… and writers are more than just storytellers. We are chroniclers of humanity.

I recommend The Beautiful Daughters without reservation. This is a story that will stay with you long after the last page has been turned.

Thank you,

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
16 August 2015
(Writing under a large mushroom somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)




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OUT OF THE CLUTTER OF A WRITER'S MIND - Perspective... It Is What It Is... Or Is It?

© 2015 – Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

“Nobody sees the world the way you do.” – Nicole Baart

That is probably a writer’s greatest truth.  Or at least right up there near the top of the truth list.  I like what writer and author, Nicole Baart says in her blog about how each of us brings our own perspective to the world - As You See It - Nicole Baart | Author.  We do… we all have stories to tell and each one of us brings with our stories the colorings and shadings of our own unique perspective on and of the world.

So why then are we often hesitant to share?  Why do we think our story isn’t “good enough”? 

This isn’t something that plagues only the debut writer; accomplished and much-published authors suffer the same ‘affliction’ on occasion.  Once we accept our ‘uniqueness’ and what that can bring to a story, we should want, as Nicole wrote, to “shout it from the rooftops!”.

I think it is often more than just a belief that our story isn’t ‘good enough’.  

I believe for many of us, it is the sudden and certain knowledge that we are revealing more of ourselves than we are comfortable with.  Writers, like actors, musicians and other artists, have a fairly healthy, if slightly-inflated, ego and a desire to be seen and heard… to share our craft… our vision of a part of the world that has captured our attention.

But are we ready to share a part of our soul?  A glimpse inside of us that we have, until now, revealed only to a lover?  Are we ready to reveal, even obliquely, a dark part of our past that until now we’ve kept hidden away in an old wooden cigar box way back in the corner of a seldom used closet, up on the top shelf under a pile of out of fashion cardigans?

As adults, there is an intimacy in our writing that is sometimes not as easily shared as when we regaled our fifth grade class with stories of our family camping trip in the Tetons.

And that gives us pause.

As it should. 

Reflection isn’t just what one sees in a mirror or the still water of a cold mountain lake before the sun rises too high and turns the vibrant colors of morning to midday pastels.

It reminds us why we write.  Why we took up this craft that has the potential for fame or infamy… for wealth or penury… for celebrity or solitude.

There are probably as many reasons why we write as there are stars in the sky.  Each of us has our own particular reason or reasons.  For some it is to share the blessings in and of their lives.  For others, writing is a penance… a tether to a past that won’t let go.

Writing is our raison d'etre.

We write to be remembered. 

We write to be remembered for our stories.

 

Our stories may have bits and bits of ourselves, our past and our present, but the stories themselves are not about us.  They are stories of a female police detective with a past… a New York City private eye bringing his own justice to an unjust world…  a young woman who finds her own grace through the ones that love her unconditionally.

Hmm... I seem to have drifted a bit from the topic at hand.  Let me close with this...

We will always see ourselves as less ‘interesting’ than others see us.

And a little humility is not a bad thing for a writer.

It helps keep things in perspective.

~

© 2015 – Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw

(writing under a large mushroom somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)

BOOK REVIEW: Paranoia and the Destiny Programme - Richard Godwin

Paranoia And The Destiny Programme by Richard Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When reality becomes so dark, brittle and confining... so tortured and twisted... and there is no escape... where does one go?

Dale Helix can't wake up. He is caught in a dream ‘cum’ nightmare. A dream that is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. A nightmare that is freeing and soul-twisting from one breath to the next.

Dale Helix is caught in a dream that has given him purpose... a raison d 'etre. A dream... a portent of the hero the world needs.

But is it?

A dream?

Or is it a waking, walking nightmare?

Is Dale so consumed by his own paranoia... brought on by his own failings as both a man and a husband and father... that his mind has constructed its own reality in which he is alternately the 'everyman hero' who will go to any extreme to save society from itself and the 'fallen' for whom no amount of penance can bring redemption?

Dale's world is the penultimate dystopic society, a 'brave new world' shaped by the apathy of generations past and mankind's surrender of will.
Of self.

Right up to the very end, I still could not decide. Was the only thing 'real' the madness of a man who created an world in his own head... a world he could save... or watch slide into oblivion.

Or... has Richard constructed within these pages a dystopic world beyond anything contemplated by Aldous Huxley, George Orwell or P.D. James?

Richard Godwin brings such a reality to life in Paranoia and the Destiny Programme, a perfect blend of horror / erotica / science fiction / psychological dystopia… in other words…

Signature Godwin… unmistakably Richard.

I recommend Paranoia and the Destiny Programme without reservation.

Godwin at his finest!


Thank you,

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
6 July 2015
(writing under a large mushroom somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)


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BOOK REVIEW: CONFESSIONS OF A HIT MAN - by Richard Godwin

Confessions Of A Hit Man by Richard Godwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

(Reviewer's note - My review does not show as a 'verified purchase' on Amazon because my review copy was a gift from the author. This in no way has any bearing on my review. Those who know me know that I will not review a book I have not read, nor can I be induced to provide a review that is not honest. Thank you. vmls) 

Richard Godwin brings in Confessions of a Hit Man, not a psychopath... the protagonist 'type' that predominates much of his work (The Apostle, Mr. Glamour, Meaningful Conversations, and a good body of his shorter stories)... but a character who is both more human and humane.

A point Richard makes in all of his stories, besides the more obvious ones relevant to a particular tale, is that we... regardless of class or upbringing... all have more than a tinge of sociopathy to our psychological make-up. We are all to some degree 'damaged'. Even the much-written 'everyman', humankind's 'anti-hero hero'.

In Confessions of a Hit Man, Richard's protagonist, Jack is no exception. Ex-Royal Marine commando (someone, I can't recall who now, once said that anyone who serves in the military, for patriotic or other reasons, is a sociopath. To a lesser degree than some, but sociopathic, nonetheless), Jack has a 'skill set' that makes him well-suited for a person whose 'life-view' has been altered by the realities of the world, but who still believes in certain fundamental principles of a civilised and progressive society.

Jack tells himself at first that it - the 'hit' - will be only the once and that the ends justify the means. Jack has, you see, an underlying philosophy. He believes in justice more than he believes in the law. He sees justice as black and white, and the law as having shades of grey. Paedophile, necrophile, murderer, sadists, psychopaths all... may have escaped the long arm of the law, but they'll soon enough meet their maker. Jack, you see, doesn't follow the 'niceties' of the law. And with each hit, Jack's proficiency only grows, adapting to each new situation as needed.

But, unfortunately, Jack and his little 'enterprises' have not escaped the attention of some very corrupt people in very high places. And when a woman, the first in a long, long time that has touched a place in Jack's heart he had thought lost forever... things get more a bit complicated for Jack. Dames will do that.

Confessions of a Hit Man is told in first-person narrative (Richard 'humanizing' a character some would consider a monster), a narrative that is tight and well-written, fast-paced and brilliant. Richard's writing, with its plots and sub-plots running like a fine-tuned engine, pulls the reader in immediately and keeps them there throughout, often at breakneck speed, building the suspense in true Godwin fashion.

With his characteristic wit, turn-of-phrase, and insight to the human condition, Richard brings to his audience another sure 'hit', if you'll pardon the pun. His spot-on psychology of a professional assassin does make one wonder though. When he's not writing, what exactly does Mr. Godwin do with himself? Hmmmm...

Once again, Richard Godwin brings his imprimatur to that dark place known as noir... and the reader is not disappointed!  I recommend this book without reservation!

Thank you,

Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw
(Writing under a large mushroom, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest)


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