Engadine Aerie

Today is the release day of the new installment of the Hardy Durkin travel mystery series, Engadine Aerie! Enjoy this launch day review!

Synopsis:
Hardy Durkin heads to the pristine Engadine Valley in Switzerland with the Ski marathon in mind, but is detoured by a body in the snow and an exotic beauty. While assisting TIGRIS in the hunt for a terrorist arms buyer he narrowly escapes two attempts on his life and meets a new and very deadly nemesis in Engadine Aerie.

Review:
It seems trouble follows Hardy Durkin, or rather, he knows how to find it even when it's hiding in plain sight. In this installment of the travel mystery series, Hardy is helping a friend, Abby, on her first trip as a ski group leader. As Hardy has led many hiking treks around the world, Abby trusts Hardy to offer support while participating on the slopes. Though, there's quite a few members of the group using the trip as a means to their own ends. This is unbeknownst to Abby, but Hardy picks up on it pretty fast, considering he uncovers a dead body on their first outing.

Hardy is a persistent, curious, and cautious man who has dealt with uncovering crime in the past. Having read one of the previous installments of this series, I kind of knew what to expect from this book. Beautiful descriptions, well-rounded explanations and information, and of course, surprises around every corner. Even though the history gets a little dense, Bluette Matthey gives readers everything they need to know it order to understand the story line and enjoy the adventure. As Hardy seems to be a natural born leader, readers will follow his line of thinking and understand his motivations. Though Hardy's character really does seem to always find himself in heaps of trouble, it gives the book a fun though serious aura. Even though it seems unlikely that a trek leader would find himself in the middle of an arms deal, murder plot, and terrorist attack in the same vacation... I guess crazier things have happened.

Overall, Hardy is a likeable character. He's friendly, supportive, and intrigued by anything mysterious, which keeps the book a little bit spicy. There were a couple of disturbing parts of the book including the twins who take their relationship to an illegal level as well as the brother-sister villains who pretend to be each other. Even with these uncomfortable caveats, I did enjoy reading the book. I think I would have liked it more had the plot felt more connected. I could see the web that Matthey was creating and it works but something felt disjointed, perhaps even forced. I think there were too many factors and too many moving pieces to believe that Hardy could just stumble into the plot and figure it all out as easily as he did. Not that it's completely over, and not that I wouldn't read the next installment. The intrigue and adventure is there to pull the reader in, even when the lack of connection is causing issues. My favorite part about the book is the fact that Matthey actually visits all of these places in order to write more honestly about the location. I think that really shines through in this novel. The descriptions are very enjoyable and that helps build the setting that houses so much chaos around this ski trip.

Rating: 2.5/5 Cups

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Decent Bomber

In a world where travellers are made walk barefoot through airport security in case there’s a bomb in their heels and we’re told 100ml of liquid is dangerous, what happens when a man capable of making bombs that weigh a tonne is torn out of retirement and forced to resume his old trade?

Carnage. That’s what.

Pat O’Carolan has been a farmer these past twenty years, living on a remote smallholding with his ghosts and occasional visits from his beloved niece. When he’s forced by Somali terrorist turned extortionist The Accountant to make a series of bombs using materials stolen from forgotten IRA caches, Pat joins the War on Terror as only he knows how.

New terror meets old terror in a deadly clash with only one winner.

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

Alexander McNabb delivers, yet again, a harrowing tale of bravery, courage, and chaos in his novel, A Decent Bomber. Though I don't claim to be a lover of war stories or terrorist plots, I always enjoy McNabb's stories and writing style. Oh, and his characters, of course.

 

Pat O'Carolan has changed since his early days of rebellion and bomb making. Haunted by his past, he has lived for twenty years on a farm, trying to make peace with ghosts. Pat is a man who created destruction and lost what he loved. Readers may not like his troubling past. It's quite hard to like a man who deals death with handmade explosives. It's easier to like a man who regrets doing so. Pat is such a brave, strong, deadly character who slowly wins over his readers. Especially when they witness his relentless protection of his niece, saving her from terrorists and understanding her heartache when the woman she loves dies. Readers will see the heart of Pat as he remembers losing his own partner.

 

Though Pat is the main character, readers will also connect with his niece, Orla, who plays a very important role in the novel. Orla accidentally gets swept up in her Uncle's dangerous world and after surviving a bombing that her dearest Roisin died in... well, as they say, 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' She's determined, heartbroken, courageous, and stubborn as all hell. Readers will feel her loss, share her wariness, and understand her need to see this through.

 

The plot of A Decent Bomber is tangled and a bit confusing. The main gist is that Pat is pressured into making bombs for a terrorist group from hidden caches of supplies that the IRA didn't turn over to the proper authorities. After making them, Pat knows that he cannot let them go off, eventually the terrorists will realize that he designed the bombs to not go off, and fix them so they do. With his niece by his side, and all his old friends being murdered, Pat must right the wrong and save the innocent. Though the details become muddied to a reader not used to such detailed terrorist plots, the writing style of McNabb explains it so that it is easier to understand. The high volume of characters sometimes got a bit confusing but the important players are bold enough to follow along with. A Decent Bomber is a thrilling action-packed novel that chills readers to their core. With torture descriptions and draped heavily in death, this novel is not for the unseasoned reader.

 

Rating: 3.5/5 Cups

 

Platform 21 - Blog Tour

Synopsis:
Luke’s life is about to take a dangerous turn.
But first he has to die.

In the year 2052, high school sophomore Luke Gibson considers himself an average teenager in a world on the brink of monumental change. Joining his parents and sister, Laura, at the first World Energy Initiative Conference, he is among thousands gathered in a Denver arena to celebrate free renewable energy when a massive earthquake strikes killing everyone in the stadium. The last thing Luke sees before his death is a girl reaching out to him—a stranger whose face he remembers from his dreams.

The end, however, is not the end. Suddenly, inexplicably, Luke is back home in Ohio and everything is different. His sister is gone, the victim in an unsolved homicide years before. Angela, his mysterious dream girl, is here also, and the only person besides Luke who recalls the previous reality. And now their determination to uncover the truth about Laura’s murder and their transformed world is making them targets—forced to flee for their lives from a nameless shadow organization and a government seeking vengeance for an unthinkable act of terror—as they stand on the threshold of a dark conspiracy that threatens all humankind.

Review:
T.R. Patrick combines global crisis and murder with his novel, Platform 21, the first in his Beyond the Veil series. As the world turns to chaos after a terrorist attack killing thousands, Luke awakens from death to find a new life awaiting him. A life in which his sister was brutally murdered and the criminal never caught. With the need to decipher his sister's death, Luke and Angela join forces when they discover they both survived the terrorist attack. Though, now that they're alive, the government seems to want to place the blame on their teenage shoulders.

Though Luke tells most of the story from his point of view, both he and Angela are the main characters. Readers will enjoy Luke's unwavering fortitude. He's intelligent, loyal, brave, and a little superhuman. He perseveres through every obstacle the government throws at him, uncovering connections to his sister's death that is ultimately the key to the global conspiracy.

Angela is the perfect partner for Luke. She's incredibly strong, both physically and emotionally. Angela is the character readers will cheer for. As she survives death during the terrorist attack, losing her best friend, falling in love, being abused, and being declared treasonous, Angela keeps her strength. Though readers will connect with Luke, Angela is the one readers will form an unbreakable bond with.

The plot of Platform 21 is a creatively chaotic layering of interwoven mysteries. While the terrorist attack is the push-off point of the novel, the murder mystery that comes after is the real focus. The mystery unravels to reveal multiple (seemingly) unrelated deaths which don't add up to equal the global conspiracy. It's an intricate plot that doesn't seem to come together until the very end. Though, the confusion is worth the wait as the novel reaches its climax and the series-plot is actually unveiled.

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Author Bio:
Author Timothy R. Patrick, born in 1985, started writing when he was only nine, delivering his first short story to his Mom for her birthday. Since then, writing has been an incredible passion. Every chance he could write, he took it. He even scratched out a few stories in Naval Boot Camp at Great Lakes, Illinois.

Tim spent four years in the Navy achieving the rank of Petty Officer 2nd class. He served three years aboard USS Chosin and was deployed twice in support of the Global War on Terror, and Iraqi Freedom. However, he would always be remembered as the guy who sat in the corner of the mess decks writing a book he would never release. He said it wasn't good enough.

After his time in the Navy, Tim became a Test Engineer working for companies like Scientific Research Corporation and Hewlett Packard. During this phase of his life he moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he bought a home and tried to settle into the American Dream. But Tim wasn't content with that, he wanted to do something more than work the 9 to 5. So, he tried his hand at politics and ran for Dorchester County Council as an Independent. They said he was too young and verbose. After losing the election, he decided to try his hand at writing instead.

Today, Timothy Patrick is the author of, Platform 21 - the first installment of the "Beyond the Veil" series. Platform 21 is a novel set in the near future which follows a young man on a journey to solve his sister's murder in the midst of global conspiracy. His current project is, The Vorago Initiative - which picks up right where Platform 21 left off.

Giveaway:

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Lest the Dew Rust Them

Homeland Security Director Robert Grimmson faces the task of catching five men in New York City. They call themselves the Sword Masters with a single minded plan of terror through decapitations.
Barely has the task begun when a new arrival at JFK is a man importing thousands of swords! Alexander Suten-Mdjai is a trainer in the deadly art of swordsmanship and Robert cannot help but believe there is a connection between him and the Sword Masters.

As he goes about the task, each step in his search is made more difficult through the interference of politicians, the media and his own government.

Robert’s examination constantly draws him back to Alexander who regales him with a tale of swordsmanship from his lineage featuring events of mankind’s bloody past and often oddly having a connection to the case before him.

With the clock ticking as New York collapses into a deep panic, he must catch the Sword Masters before it is too late!

*May Contain Spoilers*

Michael Drakich turns terrorism into an in-house threat with his novel, Lest the Dew Rust Them, when a group of Americans vow to spread their belief that the foreign terrorist policy isn't up to par. 

Robert Grimmson, the Homeland Security Director is one of three main characters. He's undoubtedly good at his job though is subtle enough to surprise those around him. Robert is a dedicated character with a creative outlook on crime suspects. He works hard at the detective role he's been pulled into. With a wide gaze and great logic, readers will respect this character.

Alexander Suten-Mdjai is a master of sword fighting, training, and teaching. With over one thousand swords, he looks rather guilty when sword decapitations become headline news. As a character, he is patient, strong, incredibly intelligent, and skilled in sword history. Readers will love the mystery behind Alexander - as he is an immigrant with newly obtained citizen status. 

David Crombie is a member of the Sword Master terrorist group, and the third main character. He has an uneasy past that he can't remember and is psychologically unstable. He is the intelligence and the drive behind the acts of terrorism in New York City as he tries to justify the past he has no memory of living. Readers will empathize with his mental and emotional plight but will struggle to connect with his hate and misery throughout the main story line. 

The plot is thrilling as detectives, directors, and NYC's finest try to track down the terrorist group. At times the story seems a bit sluggish (often times in Alexander's history lessons) but each part adds to the ending when every character finally meets in a single room and it comes down to a single swing of a sword. Recommended for those who enjoy crime novels with an air of mystery. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Lest The Dew Rust Them

Book 4 (Crime Genre) for the 2013 Genre Variety Challenge