This is a guest review written by Shannon M. Douglas.

Genre: Horror, Science-Fiction, Dystopia

My Rating: 2 stars out of 5

I was expecting a horror book, but instead I got a book that, I felt, was preaching to me. The subject matter could be horrific providing it really happened, but it did not.

This book left me feeling ripped-off and praying for its end to near almost halfway through the book. I also found myself falling asleep, literally, during most of it.

I am extremely picky about my books and this one came highly-recommended. I gave this book two stars because it had the potential to be a great horror. The extra star came from the story not being bad, but it absolutely could not hold my interest for more than 4-5 pages at a time. I just do not like being preached to throughout a book that I bought to read for fun.

I really wanted to like this book, but it flopped to appease my expectations.

I recommend this book to vegans, vegetarians and those who are thinking about becoming either. D’Lacey preaches quite a bit about not eating meat.

I do not recommend this book to anyone looking for a good horror. This is a never-read. You will be disappointed.

A synopsis of this book can be found here.

Shannon M. Douglas

Your Personal Guide To A Cooperative, Out-of-Court Settlement

I have to admit that I was intrigued by the title of this book. The Secret To A Friendly Divorce seemed to run contrary to most peoples views on the subject. Divorces mostly seem to be acrimonious affairs with the spite and venom involved being directly proportionate to how rich and famous the people involved are.

I call it the Jerry Springer effect. Why settle a household dispute privately when you can make a complete fool of yourself on national TV? The finest examples of the Springer Effect are to be found in your local supermarket. The ubiquitous Tabloids that seem to exist on the shelves leading to every checkout in the known universe are rife with the sordid tales of misadventure by well known people.

Unfortunately the ‘Springer Effect’ is not limited to just the rich and famous, it operates at every economic and social level when divorce is the subject. Several times over the years I have been the unwilling recipient of season tickets on the 50 yard line to watch friends as they become Kamikaze pilots in the process known as divorce. Reason and logic is thrown out of the window, replaced instead with vitriol and narcissism.

That bitch is not getting one red cent of my 401k

I am going to take that b@stard to the cleaners

The battle rages. But like so many global conflicts, when the dust settles there are no winners, only losers.

The Secret To A Friendly Divorce advocates a far different approach. OK, I already hear you saying, ‘Oh just another self help book penned by an author who has no clue what he is talking about’. Well you are wrong J. Richard Kulerski is a well known and well respected Divorce Lawyer in the Chicago area. In a divorce, particularly a blood thirsty one it is the legal system that is the only beneficiary. As husband and wife launch cruise missiles at each other the legal costs mount.

As Richard so eloquently opines:

Who’s kid do you want to put through college? Your own or your lawyers?

It is because of this kind of ‘plain language’ that I have developed a great respect for Richard Kulerski. This book will not make Richard rich, quite the opposite. The Secret To A Friendly Divorce is all about avoiding many legal and social costs.

Few people in the heat of battle realize that divorce not only depletes the bank account, but also the friendship account. The more efforts are made to recruit people to your side of the battle, the more that troops go AWOL. Many people do not want to take sides.

The Secret To A Friendly Divorce makes perfect sense. Richard Kulerski bases his ideas in common sense, unfortunately common sense is often a commodity in very short supply when divorce is the topic.

This is a book that anyone contemplating divorce should read. However, it likely is not a title that you should leave on the kitchen counter or night stand in the bedroom. I discovered this at my own peril. My wife spotted the book, and stewed for a couple of days. Then finally exploded:

Is there something you want to tell me?

I escaped unharmed, she knows that I am a book reviewer. I had a cast iron alibi for having it in my possession, but it gave me pause for thought. If you are going to buy a copy, be careful where you leave it!

Richard Kulerski has a web site civilizeddivorce.com which is well worth visiting. Although a new site, it is clear that he will be adding more and more material over time. He also runs a very active column on ChicagoNow.

To order your copy of The Secret To A friendly Divorce just use the Amazon link above.

Simon Barrett

Autobiography Of A Maverick

Let me start this review with a story. As a reviewer of books, music, movies and just about anything you can dream up, I have my own rather bizarre code of ethics. I never ever read what others have said prior to me publishing my thoughts. Hell, I don’t even read the back cover of a book until I reach it!

A Simon review is one written starting with a clean slate.

I am a fan of autobiographies, Oh, not the the rich and famous, they make me want to reach for the Tum’s. I like books about real people. Everyone has a story inside them, and every story is different.

I had communicated with Dorcey Wingo a couple of times, even though his name is an unusual one, it was not one that registered in my brain. All I knew was that the book was about his career as a helicopter pilot, and as I love flying I thought I would enjoy the tales of peril that a pilot might have to share.

As I started to read The Rise And Fall Of Captain Methane a part of my memory nagged at me. I had heard the name Dorcey Wingo before, but I could not place it in context.

The chapter titled Twilight Zone revealed why the name Dorcey Wingo was one that I somehow had heard before. While making the movie Twilight Zone, actor Vic Morrow and two children lost their life as a result of a special effects scene that went badly wrong. They were killed by the spinning rotor blades of a helicopter out of control. The pilots name was Dorcey Wingo. Six long years of expensive litigation followed. Dorcey Wingo was exonerated of any blame, but it certainly took its toll on him.

In The Rise And Fall Of Captain Methane we get to take a journey behind the tabloid coverage of the Vic Morrow accident. Do not get me wrong, The Rise And Fall Of Captain Methane is not a cheap exploitation of the Morrow incident, in fact Dorcey spends a scant 40 pages on the subject.

Dorcey Wingo has had a long and industrious career in the Helicopter business, a tour in Vietnam, ‘crop dusting’ the opium and marijuana fields in foreign countries (I’ll give you a clue, he was not dusting with fertilizers!), several stints of being a heli logger and stringing high voltage cables for power companies merely scratch the surface of this pilots career.

In the 1980′s I spent 8 years working in the Canadian Oil Patch, I was the computer geek, and had to spend a great deal of time in the middle of nowhere troubleshooting problems. My mode of transport was Helos and small planes, all piloted by people like Dorcey Wingo. In the trade they were called Bush Pilots, guys who the word ‘No’ was not in their vocabulary.

I have a pretty strong stomach for flying, and that sure helped! They were not ‘wild men’ they just understood their equipment, they would take it to the edge, but they knew where the edge was.

Dorcey Wingo is the poster child for this style of aviation.

I love the no frills approach that Dorcey Wingo has taken in this book, and like all great pilots he tells the stories with a huge dose of humor!

One of my favorite episodes has to be the subject of ‘hook jumping’. This is a practice that is frowned upon by the FAA, DOT, and just about anyone who values their life. The world of Hook Jumping is found in Heli Logging. Some logging operations are in such remote and inhospitable areas that Helicopters are used to move the wood to a pick up point. This is done using a long line dangling from the helicopter that is attached to the bundle of fallen timber by some folks nicknamed Hookers! I am sure that more than one social gathering has been marred by someone asking the innocuous question “so what do you do for a living” and receiving the answer “I’m a hooker”.

I will not spoil the story by explaining what Hook Jumping entails, I will leave that to the reader to discover. But I will say this, it is not something that I want to try!

The Rise And Fall Of Captain Methane is a splendid read, it takes you to a world that few have been to. I am one of those strange people that read and think about every aspect of a book. My mother always told me ‘do not judge a book by its cover’. It took me sometime to understand the cover art of this book, however once I did, I sat and stared at it for several minutes. It is the perfect art work, it says far more than words can.

You can order your copy of The Rise And Fall Of Captain Methane by using the Amazon link above.

Oh, and in the book Dorcey explains how he achieved the nickname of Captain Methane. Once again, it would be unfair to share this information, but it has nothing to do with flying! It is a rib busting funny story though!

Simon Barrett

Elmer The Christmas Elf

For Faithful Friends

The Best Of Friends

Inside Out

No-one has ever accused me of being mainstream, and reviewing what obviously is a Christmas book in March does not bother me one iota. Christmas is a wonderful time, I for one advocate that we should celebrate it every day. The rest of the world seems fixated on not doing that, which I think is a shame.

One thing that you might not be aware of is the history of carols. We call the Christmas Carols today, but there were actually carols for every major holiday, Easter, and particularly Harvest time, or as it is known in the US Thanksgiving. So I vote we celebrate year round.

All-right, I know I am in the minority, but it is what I am good at

Marilyn Randall is no stranger to the book world, Elmer is her fourth young children’s book. I enjoyed the other three immensely and just knew I would love this one. If you have yet to experience Marilyn at work, you can find the reviews here, here, and here.

A successful children’s book requires a set of dynamics that to say the least are complex. It is a delicate line that has to join entertainment with education. A children’s book needs to impart a message. It has to turn a complex concept into a series of events that can be easily understood.

Elmer The Christmas Elf does exactly that. It shows that acts of selflessness do indeed come back in unexpected ways. The saying ‘It is better to give than receive’ is very true. Elmer toils endlessly, his joy is in his work. But Elmer also wonders about the little children that receive the efforts of his toils.

It is Christmas Eve, Santa has loaded up the sleigh and is on his way to deliver Elmer’s hard work to children across the world. It is with horror that Elmer discovers that they have missed one toy. A little boy or girl will not get a present! He has no sleigh, and no way to deliver the gift, in fact he does not even know who it belongs to.

I will not spoil the story by telling more, it may just be a young children’s book, but I like to keep some mystery to make people read the tale for themselves.

Marilyn Randall has once again done a wonderful job. I have to admit that I was not sure how this book would come out. In her previous works she has had animals as the main characters, rather than people. She has in fact done an outstanding job with Elmer. And once again she has done her own illustrations. This in itself is a rarity, I can think of very few authors in this genre that wear both the writer and illustrator hats. She also manages to capture the right style of illustration for the age group she is aiming for. That may seem a strange thing to say, but it is a very important aspect. There is a marriage and harmony required between the text and pictures that has to be achieved for a child’s book to work.

You can order your copy of Elmer The Christmas Elf by using the Amazon link above, in fact, I suggest that you order all of her books, you will not be disappointed.

Tomorrow, is the beginning of April, why not celebrate Christmas? In fact I think I will haul the artificial tree out of storage, my wife might moan and groan, but it looks so pretty!

Simon Barrett

I like Marilyn Randall’s books, I had read her first two and they were delightful. Writing a book for a young child is actually much more difficult than one might imagine. For Faithful Friends was her first foray into the young child genre (review here), and it really demonstrated her great ability. I have reviewed many books aimed at children but Marilyn is the first author that I have really enjoyed that did not just write the text, but did the illustrations as well.

She followed up For Faithful Friends with Best Of Best Friends (review here), once again she had a winner on her hands.

Inside Out is her third excursion, and she just goes from strength to strength. Although the characters are very different from the ‘friends’ series she has maintained a wonderful consistency in the style of both the prose, which is done in a loose rhyming meter, and the illustrations which are perfectly pitched for her target age group. So unique is Marilyn’s style I am pretty certain that if someone showed me 100 illustrations I could pick out the ones she had created.

The key to a successful children’s book is a complex one. Far more complex than many people understand. It is not merely a question of slapping a few words together and having some cartoonish illustrations. A well thought out children s book is a much deeper endeavor. The recipient is not the buyer! The buyer is usually a parent or grandparent. The author has to sell to an adult!

Most adults when looking for books for their young ones tend to seek out those that have some positive message. A book is a learning tool. To a young child it is nothing more than entertainment, yet in those pages can be important messages. When done well a child’s book is an educational tool that teaches some life values. A lesson learned and understood at an early age makes for a better person. As adults we understand many concepts, but what we view as concepts are often lost on a small child. However when you take a complex concept and break it into small, easy to understand ideas, the child can grasp it, and usually offer some commentary that you had never even considered.

Marilyn Randall is the King oops queen of taking a complex subject and putting it in terms that a young child can digest. Inside Out takes us into the world of how we perceive our self, and how we think others might perceive us. Beauty is on the inside, not the outside.

The best description is the one that Marilyn Randall offers in the dedication:

I dedicate this book to every child who at one time in their lives has thought they weren’t pretty or handsome enough. In our materialistic world it is easy for a child to feel that he or she isn’t good enough and we all need to know that true beauty is measured by who we are on the inside, not what we look like on the outside

In Inside Out we meet the wise old owl and the young frog. The young frog laments:

Why would God make me so ugly and green
Or for that matter, what of my warts?
He continued to cry on the bank of the brook
And his tears filled up by the quarts.

This simple stanza says much. Children are much more perceptive than people give them credit for. Todays world is a complex one, and one that is awash with peer pressure. A simple book like Inside Out might be just what your child needs. How many young children feel inadequate? In looks or achievement? They are perceptive, but often do not really understand the larger picture.

Inside Out is not triage, it is a true learning tool for a young child. Every child is going to feel some sort of rejection, it likely will be (in our grown up minds) just a minor thing.

To order your copy just click on the Amazon link above. I can say this, you will find a richness and satisfaction in this book that is lacking in many other authors that aim their works at being useful and educational to young children.

Simon Barrett

I first stumbled upon this very fine creator of young children’s books with For Faithful Friends, so taken with the book I decided to explore deeper. It transpires that Marilyn has a number of children’s books in print, The Best Of Best Friends is actually her second one of the series.

As a reviewer I have to admit that I do love children’s books. The dynamics are completely different from the adult world. Occasionally people will ask me what makes for a great children’s book. I have some theories, but they are no more than that. The adverts on the TV for a well known fast food chain talk about their secret recipe of 10 herbs and spices. In many ways that sums up the recipe for a great children’s book.

To be successful you need several elements, text that meets the age group you are aiming at, it is OK to challenge the vocabulary a little, but the new words have to be used in a context that the young reader will understand. The illustrations need to be in harmony with the story. What I mean by that is that they match the text from an age perspective. An illustration aimed at a 10 year old will be lost on a 4 year old, and vice versa.

Marilyn Randall is one of the very few authors that not only writes the story, but also illustrates them herself. This ability astounds me, few people can do this well. She has the ability to marry the text and illustrations to match the age group (pre reader – 7) with a wicked ability.

Another feature of a successful young child’s book is to include an educational component. The author is faced with a juggling act, the parents buying the book want the learning component, the child is looking for the entertainment value. This is a High Wire act for the writer. Marilyn Randall again comes through with flying colors.

As in For Faithful Friends the main characters are from the animal world, this time we have rather sedentary and bored pig, and a hyperactive bunny. They have little in common, yet become firm friends, each learning from the other. As in real life, people have different strengths, many friendships are at first glance strange, yet when you look into it a little more, you can see that 1 + 1 equals something larger than 2.

I think the reason that I was attracted to this book was actually the dedication page, a place most people gloss over. This made me sit down and think:

This book is dedicated to children everywhere. As you travel through this life, may you find your “Best of Best Friend” and keep them forever and remember always that no matter how tough things get, we must never, ever give up!

Friendship is a powerful message, and one that you cannot start teaching too early. The delightful characters in this book have very different personalities, very different strengths and weaknesses, this is just like the real world.

I could see this book being used a true learning tool by parents. I also like the way that Marilyn Randall encapsulates the segments of the story. A parent could read a page and discuss the story before moving on to the next adventure. The text itself is written in a four line rhyming poetic style. Simple concepts for young minds.

You can pick up your copy of The Best Of Best Friends by clicking on the Amazon link above.

Simon Barrett

I have a soft spot for children’s books, they are so much more fun to read than a lot of adult books and For Faithful Friends is no exception. It is a book that any young child would derive great pleasure from.

One of the unusual aspects is that Marilyn Randall not only created the text but is also the illustrator, this believe it or not is quite rare. The illustrations are done in a fairly soft watercolor style and and match the age group of the young reader very well. they are not overly complex, and convey the story line in a fashion that will appeal to any young reader.

The text is done in poetry style, a series of four line stanzas. While not in the quirky rhyming style of Dr Seuss it is most certainly pleasantly harmonic.

Children’s books are hard to create, it is the one genre where the purchaser is not the ‘end user’. It is mom and dad that have the money, and in order to appeal to mom and dad an author must try to incorporate an educational factor. In this case that is the importance of friendship. In fact, on the dedication page Marilyn says:

May you be lucky enough in life to have at least one Faithful Friend.

The story concerns a very shy little green turtle and a more boisterous field mouse. The turtle is so shy that he never ventures from out of the bramble bush that he calls home. Of course this solution works fine while his friend the field mouse brings ears of corn to eat, but what will happen when winter comes, the corn is gone, and his friend is underground sleeping?

Poor turtle must make a decision, but the open field seems like such a vast place, he can’t move very fast, and who knows what might be laying in wait to attack him.

His decision is made for him, the shadow of a cruising hawk spells danger for the field mouse, turtle must do something. By running as fast as his stubby legs will carry him, he distracts the hawks attention from his friend. He makes it to a nearby rock and hides beneath it, it is enough, his friend has made it to safety.

Also, turtles fear has gone, now he knows that while danger does lurk in the world, he can survive. A fear conquered through friendship.

At only 22 pages in length, For Faithful Friends should make for an ideal bed-time read. The text flows well, and the illustrations are very well done.

It is my understanding that Marilyn Randall has a considerable experience in the world of graphic design and that shows through in the illustrations. For Faithful Friends is actually the first in a series of children’s books by this author. I am looking forward to reading the others. I know that a new book Elmer, The Christmas Elf is rolling off the presses right now. Hopefully I can get hold of a copy soon, as Christmas is just around the corner. Based on my experience with For Faithful Friends suspect that Elmer, The Christmas Elf will be a must have for under the Christmas Tree.

You can order your copy of For Faithful Friends by clicking on the Amazon link above. Marilyn also has a web site in support of her books.

Simon Barrett

“DOUBLEBACK” marks the return of P. I. Georgia Davis as well as another very good book by Libby Fischer Hellman. It also unites Georgia and Ellie Foreman (An Eye For Murder and others) in a case that resonates for parents everywhere.

It is a morning like any other in June when Molly Messenger is kidnapped. The mother, Christine Messenger, calls a friend who in turn calls Ellie for help. The eight year old vanished from a day camp in the Chicago area. The kidnappers have threatened to kill Molly if law enforcement becomes involved and Mom is a shattered wreck. Ellie can’t help but respond to her and asks Georgia Davis to look into things. They go back and Georgia knows if Ellie’s asking for help it is a bad sign.

From the start, Georgia doesn’t want the case. The Police, The FBI, etc, should be involved but they aren’t. Christine Messenger is clearly hiding something and her various explanations don’t really explain things. In a matter of three days little Molly is back home and while the case isn’t solved, the parents ordeal is over. The police, who were working the case, have zero leads and zero reasons as to why Molly was kidnapped and with her return are moving on to more current matters. Just when all consider it over, Mom is killed in a freak accident leaving behind a motherless daughter, devastated ex-husband and some bizarre circumstances involving her job at a major bank. Wanting answers to everything, the ex-husband hires Georgia to investigate in a case that will lead her across state lines before finally coming home.

Much like “Easy Innocence” there are dark nebulous forces at work through out the novel. Slowly, author Libby Fisher Hellman reveals clues in a tale that has links to both national and local human interest stories. By using two different major series characters, the author provides an interesting and very different personality driven take on events through each of the characters. Ellie is, for the most part calm and controlled, while Georgia has a passion that drives her into dangerous and violent actions and situations. This device also turns into a drawback at different times in the novel as suspense with one character is pushed back for a chapter while the other major character is brought up to speed. The result, from a storytelling angle designed to build character nuance and complexity, does work. However, from a reader standpoint, the tactic became occasionally annoying and interrupted the natural flow of the novel.

Despite that flaw which will affect readers in different ways, the overall novel is a very good one where the author pulls you deep into her fictional world where everything becomes all too real. Billed and written as a sequel of sorts to the very good “Easy Innocence” it can easily be read as a stand alone.

DOUBLEBACK
Libby Fischer Hellmann

http://www.libbyhellmann.com/

Bleak House Books

http://www.bleakhousebooks.com

October 2009
ISBN# 978-1-60648-053-3
Paperback
300 Pages
$14.95
ARC

Review copy provided by publicist P. J. Nunn, owner of BreakThrough Promotions, in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2010

As the book opens, recovering alcoholic Bruce Kohhler is dragged out in the rain in New York in the middle of the night by his friend Barbara. Barbara works as an addictions counselor and is sponsoring a woman, Luz, in Al-Anon. Luz was being abused by her drug dealing boyfriend, Frankie, who was also a married man with kids. Luz came home to find him dead on her kitchen floor. At some point after finding the body, Luz made a semi hysterical call to Barbara telling her about the death and that the cops think she did it. So, Barbara is riding to the rescue and dragging her boyfriend, Jimmy, and Bruce along with her.

Frankie had a history of mentally abusing Luz and most likely physically abusing her which would clearly give Luz motive. Beyond the fact that the guy had the bad grace to die in Luz’s apartment, it also appears that Frankie knew his killer and let him or her in. Then there is the whole adultery angle that she was having sex with a man she knew to be married and wanted him to leave his wife. These points and numerous others make Luz the obvious suspect.

Before long, with the police focused on Luz, Barbara and Jimmy are wading to help investigate and dragging Bruce right along with them. As if Bruce doesn’t have enough to deal with concerning his own sobriety. His ex-wife, Laura, is in heavy contact with Bruce, seems to be deep in her own abusive relationship with another man in her life, and apparently off her meds for her bipolar disorder while making various plays for Bruce’s attention.

The second book in a series is frequently not as good as the first series and that certainly is the case here. While the first novel stayed away, for the most part, from jargon this one does not. It also moves far slower than the first novel. However, the biggest problem is the twin storylines of abuse.

Abuse and issues relating to abuse do not lend themselves to humor or enjoyable reading in a novel that ultimately concludes in a depressing and not at all unexpected ending. “Death Will Help You Leave Him” is a mystery that isn’t much of a mystery and therefore relies on the internal conflict Bruce has dealing with his ex-wife. This extremely slow moving sequel illustrates all too well the dangers with destructive relationships. It also clearly illustrates the long history of the experience the author has as a New York City Psychotherapist.

Death Will Help You Leave Him
Elizabeth Zelvin

http://www.elizabethzelvin.com

Thomas Dunne Books (Minotaur/St. Martin’s Publishing Group)

http://www.thomasdunnebooks.com

October 2009
ISBN# 978-0-312-58266-1
Hardback
275 Pages
$25.95

Book provided directly by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple © 2010