Book Review of 'Delirious' by Daniel Palmer

Delirious was written by Daniel Palmer and published by Kensington Books in January, 2011.

Charlie Giles is successful, intelligent, wealthy and a bit of a snob. His company has done well and his baby, InVision, is a hit. Charlie is on top of the world... until strange things start to happen.

Charlie begins to find notes in his own handwriting, that he can't remember writing. Then a woman who claims to work for his company, SoluCent, comes to him with information that his life's work is to be threatened from within the company. Charlie intends to see that this does not happen and after an embarrassing scene at a meeting of the upper echelon, Charlie finds that the woman who gave him the information, does not seem to exist.

Then, Charlie's mother has a major stroke and is hospitalized, leaving Charlie to look out for his schizophrenically-diagnosed brother, Joe. More notes in Charlie's hand writing are found and one is a 'kill list' of company heads. Is Charlie becoming schizophrenic like his brother? Is he a killer?

After a short stay in a mental facility, Charlie is on the run, trying to prove his own innocence, with his brother Joe, and Joe's therapist, Rachel, in tow. What follows is an all-out race to save lives and prove he is not a murderer, to himself, as well as to everyone else.

Daniel Palmer has penned a story that will keep you up all night reading to the very end. The story premise is fresh and intriguing and the characters are appealing and believable. Mr. Palmer has brought his techno-savvy to the brink and invited the reader on a thrill-ride that is startling, unexpected and headed straight to phsycological Hell. This novel will make you think and keep you guessing.

I am giving Delirious a 5-spider rating and praising Daniel Palmer on his exciting debut novel. We certainly can't wait to see more from the tantalizing mind of this new author.

DJ Weaver

Book Review of 'Game of Cages' by Harry Connolly

Game of Cages was written by Harry Connolly and published by Ballentine Books in 2010.

Ray Lilly is ordered into the high-stakes game that is being played out in a small town in the North Cascades. When a group of the wealthy and elite, gather to bid on a predator that is capable of making mankind 'love' each other to death, Ray, the expendable pawn of the Twenty Palace Society, is thrown to the dogs and must stop the predator before it escapes the town and infects the entire world.

But Ray is a 'one-spell' guy and bringing down the Sapphire Dog will be harder than he ever though possible. Especially since there are also a few sorcerers who want the predator alive for their own purposes. Ray, along with Catherine Little, another Twenty Palace Society alum, must face the effects of the blue dog's powers and wade through the bloodiest battle of their lives.

Harry Connolly has woven a tale of magic and murder with Game of Cages. Blood runs and bodies are piled high in this second installment featuring Connolly's Twenty Palace Society. Ray Lilly is an unlikely protagonist in this all-out battle to control or kill the strange predator and he does it with all the finesse of a ne'er-do-well James Bond. The action is tense and tight and the characters are varied and colorful. Action... Action... Action is the name of the game and Connolly does it well.

I am giving this novel a 4 spider rating. Game of Cages is a winner.

DJ Weaver

Book Review for 'The Grove' by John Rector

The Grove was written by John Rector and published by AmazonEncore in Nov. 2010. You may purchase The Grove at www.amazon.com

Farmer Dexter McCrary has always been fond of the lone grove of Cottonwood trees that run through his cornfield. But, when a night he can't remember collides with his discovery of the body of a dead, teen aged girl in his field, McCrary quickly begins to question his own sanity and wonders if... during his blackout the night before... he could have killed the poor girl that now lies dead in The Grove.

With the details of his troubled past looming maliciously all around him, Dexter begins his search into the identity of the dead girl and his own hunt for her killer. Feeling alienated from everyone and lone, Dexter has but one ally to aid him in his search... the dead girl herself.

As Dexter is plunged further into the grips of insanity, his relationship with the dead, decaying girl from the grove becomes more and more disturbing.

John Rector has penned a wickedly-haunting tale that will plow through your psyche like a tractor at harvest time. Well written and deliciously dark, John Rector has given reader's a one-way ticket into the mind of a madman and dared them to climb aboard.

I am giving The Grove a 5 spider rating. Brace yourself as you venture into The Grove.

CK Webb

Book Review for 'Now and Forever, A Love Story' by Jean C. Joachim

Now and Forever, a Love Story, was written by Jean C. Joachim and published by IUniverse in 2010.

At age 24, Callie Richards looses her best friend and fiance' to the war in the Middle East. She is alone and devastated. After grieving for two years, Callie decides to take some time and finish up her post-graduate work at a New York university. So, she takes what little she has and moves to a new town to begins classes, hoping that a new life will be just what she needs. She takes a part time job at the university's administrative office and meets Mac Caldwell.

Mac is a dean at the college, divorced and lonely, and the father of a young child. Mac is having a hard time juggling his academic responsibilities, his ex-wife and the difficulties of raising a child. Then Callie comes to the rescue with an offer to babysit for Mac and they become friends and eventually lovers, then finally marry.

This lovely story is the anatomy of a love relationship between two injured people and how they manage to withstand many obstacles to be truly happy. There is also a suspenseful undertone as the couple gets involved in solving a mystery on campus.

The characters are unique and interesting and the writing is sweet and easy to read. Jean C. Joachim's first fiction work is everything a love story should be, and more. Delightfully genuine and engrossing to read, Now and Forever, a Love Story is exactly that...a love story, but with some thrills thrown in for good measure. This book has all the trials and tribulations, and love and romance, that anyone could want in a great read. I'm giving Now and Forever, a Love Story, a 5 spider rating and recommending this book to those of you who enjoy reading a love story or a something with a little suspense. How sweet is that...?

T Lane