Dillon and the Voice of Odin by Derrick Ferguson

Written in the fashion of the classic pulp novels made popular by characters such as Doc Savage and The Shadow, author Derrick Ferguson has created a new adventure hero whose toughness and bravado will be long remembered after you finish reading this book.

Dillon is hired to retrieve a ring. There wasn’t supposed to be any trouble. He was told by his client that it was an easy in, easy out retrieval. Dillon finds out rather quickly that nothing is as unproblematic as it first appears. With a huge bounty set on Dillon’s head, he and a reluctant maiden in distress are chased throughout the countryside of England by not only a group of ruthless mercenaries, but also by the British government.

Thing worsen as Odin, a criminal mastermind, uses a destructive weapon to cause havoc around the globe. The world’s governments must turn to one man to bring down Odin and his organization, but with assassins on his trail, you will wonder if Dillon can succeed.

Dillon and the Voice of Odin was simply a thrill ride from beginning to end.

Review of Chronicles of the Liberator by Ronald T. Jones

Thomas Jackson didn't think much of himself or the world around him. As far as Thomas was concern, he was an ordinary man simply living out a life that seems to never change. But on the day he should have died, his life had changed. Transported by alien technology to a space ship, Thomas was told he was to become Earth's savior, but to do this, he must assassinate a ruthless alien leader who wishes to end peace and reignite a war. Thomas has no choice but to agree.

After receiving training, Thomas is taken to a world called Harmony. The Erza who are the inhabitants of Harmony believe that Thomas is their prophesied hero called the Liberator, who would lead them to freedom from foreign invaders.There, Thomas learns first hand the art of war as he struggles to save theErza from ruthless alien leader, Supreme Commander Konif'on, who has aspirationsof rebuilding a grand galactic military.

Author Ronald T. Jones did an excellent job with description, characters and setting the mood throughout the entire story. He actually makes you feel as if you were standing in the middle of a heated conflict as he takes the readerthrough the battle on Harmony. The story's pacing was perfect as Thomas is takenfrom his meager existence on Earth to eventual hero on Harmony.

This is a book that is definitely worth the time to read. Bravo.

Meji Book One by Milton J. Davis

Cursed the day they were born because they were twins, both Obaseki and Ndoro should have been killed. Their father, who wished to have a son more than anything, ordered the death of one of the boys. At great risk to the twins’ mother, Shani, and her two servants, Ndoro and Obaseki were rescued and taken to the village of their grandfather. He faked the death of one son, Obaseki, and gave the other, Ndoro, to his father.

Though shun by his people, Ndoro grew to be a great warrior, while his brother Obaseki inherited an amazing ability that allowed him to interact with the spirits. Neither Ndoro nor Obaseki ever knew of the other's existence. And though their lives had taken different paths, somehow they would suffer the same fate, being feared and hated by their people.

Author Milton Davis has written a fantastic tale that should be required reading. The world and characters he crafted was brought to life with his vivid details and believable circumstances. I felt for the two brothers throughout the story. I'm looking forward to reading book two in the series. I highly recommend you read Meji Book One.

In the Night of the Heat by Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes

Tennyson Hardwick has struggled to live a normal life, raising a teenager, living with his wheelchair bound father and trying to get a grasp of being romantically involved with one woman. That simple life is rudely interrupted when football legend T. D. Jackson who has received several threats after his acquittal for murder, asked Tennyson, an old college acquaintance, to look into these threats. Tennyson turns him down flat, but later regrets that decision when Jackson is found dead, presumably because he has committed suicide in his own home.

Hired by T. D’s father to investigate the death, Tennyson quickly discovers that things aren’t what they appear to be. The truth behind the football legend’s death surrounds an old football game that dates back to the late 1960’s. No one involved with the game wants to talk about the old days, not even T. D’s father. At the same time, Tennyson is trying to deal with his recent split with his girlfriend of the past year, April, who has taken a job in Africa.

Authors Blair Underwood, Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes did an excellent job with this book. The story has everything you need for a great mystery, suspense, action and clues that truly make sense by the end of the novel. I had a hard time putting ‘In the Night of the Heat: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel’ down at times, especially at the end, where the excitement and tension had me glued to my chair. This is book two 2 in the series, but you don’t necessarily have to read the first one to enjoy this but, though I do recommend you do.

The Doomsday Key by James Rollins

In my opinion, The Doomsday Key, is one of the best of the series. Once again, the evil criminal network that has caused so much trouble for Sigma Force has hacked a new scheme--one that could wipe out a large number of the world's population. Sigma Force, struggling to redeem itself in the eyes of its own government, must take steps to stop the coming disaster.

As always with James Rollins Sigma Force novels, he has two stories involving different team members, which eventually converges. Grayson Pierce must trust an old enemy, who may or may not be an ally. Painter Crowe, who has been inches for field work through several books finally gets his chance. Investigating several murders across three continents, Crowe attempts to interview a corporation head, who has openly suggested he would like to institute methods of controlling the world’s population. Several attempts are made of Crowe’s life.

James Rollins did a fantastic job with The Doomsday Key. If you’re a fan of fast-pace action and history then this book is for you.

Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

I was hesitant to buy Patient Zero at first because I’m not into zombie stories. I went so far that I didn’t even bother to pick the book up from the store shelves to read the back of the book blurb. But one day I was desperately looking for something different to read and nothing seemed to be appealing to me. Despite my reservations, I cracked open Patient Zero and read the opening paragraph:

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week, then there’s either something wrong with your skills or something wrong with your world.
And there’s nothing wrong with my skills.

To my surprise, I liked what I read and immediately turned the book over to read the description. The author, Jonathan Maberry, introduces Baltimore police detective Joe Ledger, who is reluctantly recruited by an ultra-secret government organization called the Department of Military Science (DMS) just when a terrorist group is on the verge of releasing a bio-weapon so deadly that it could kill everyone on the planet. Worse yet, the bio-weapon didn’t simply kill someone; it radically altered human DNA and changed people into vicious zombies.

What won me over with Patient Zero was that the story focused on not the zombies themselves, but the minds behind the horrifying threat to the world and the organization out to stop the outbreak. Jonathan Maberry went to great lengths to give a realistic take on the story, to the point where you might wonder if such a thing could actually happen.

The Joe Ledger series has definitely made it to my list of books I look forward to reading. Look for the second book in this wonderful series called, The Dragon Factory.

Known to Evil by Walter Mosley

Mosley has another winner on his hand with Known to Evil, which continues the story of private investigator Leonid McGill. As a favor for a powerful man, Leonid agrees to check on the welfare of a young woman, but when he arrives to her apartment building, Leonid immediately becomes a person of interest in a police murder investigation. In the apartment where Leonid was headed, a woman and a man are found dead. To prove his innocence to the police, Leonid must find out everything he can about the young woman he was supposed to have checked on, despite the adamant instructions made by the powerful man for him not to.

Leonid is also dealing with problems in his personal life. He believes his wife is having another secret affair, his ex-girl friend is dating a man, who is trying to force Leonid out of the office building, and his two sons have disappeared with a young Russian prostitute.

Mosley’s ease of writing these two unconnected stories and having Leonid deal with them makes him a master at his craft. Known to Evil was a much stronger book than the first, mostly because the readers knows Leonid McGill and the sub-characters at this point, which didn’t require Mosley to go into any deep back story on the cast of characters.

Imaro by Charles R. Saunders

Imaro’s mother surrendered her five year old son so that he could become a great warrior of the Ilyassai tribe. His mother’s people treated him with disdain and ridicule. Through it all, Imaro grew to be the biggest and strongest of the Ilyassai children. When he reached manhood and the time had come for him to truly become an Ilyassai warrior and be accepted by his mother’s people, an evil magician strip him of that reward, spiraling Imaro’s life into a world of slavery, murderous thieves, and black magic.

Charles R. Saunders takes the reader through an Africa untainted by Europeans influences, whose history is quite different than the one we have always known. Imaro is to become a great warrior in a world he doesn’t feel he is apart of. Through his adventures, Imaro becomes a threat to enemies who work within the shadows and manipulates the weak willed and innocent to do their bidding. Imaro soon realizes if he is to survive, he must take the battle directly to the evil that plagues him.

Imaro is a must read novel and is the first book in a series. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on the sequels and continuing with the further adventures of Imaro.

The Executioner's Game by Gary Hardwick

Luther Green is a government assassin working for an agency known as E-1. Luther is called off his current mission from somewhere overseas and brought back to America. The director of E-1 personally assigns him to a new assignment--find and kill the man who trained Luther as an agent, Alex Deaver.

Although Luther accepts the task, he finds that the director's behavior and the assignment odd. Deaver leads Luther on a cat and mouse chase that takes the reluctant assassin back to hometown, Detroit. It places Luther at a disadvantage because he has family and friends living in the city. Deaver's knows this and is willing to place Luther's family in the line of fire if he has to.
Deaver's leaves clues for Luther to discover while they play their Executioner's Game. And soon Luther finds that everything at E-1 is not what it appears to be.

Gary Hardwick's 'The Executioner's Game' is an exciting, fast-pace read, with interesting characters and a government assassin with a style all his own. Well worth the read.

A Deadly Encounter by K R Bankston

Kayla DeWitt thinks she's found her soul-mate in Dezi Gianni, a charismatic, handsome and very rich man. But behind all of Dezi’s allure is a ruthless crime-lord who distributes pain and death to all those that threaten his criminal empire known as The Clique.

Kayla’s innocence and beauty has Dezi instantly fall in love with her. Hidden from the dark truth of Dezi’s wrongdoings, she is prepared to spin her life with him. She is aware of his criminal life, but not the degree of his ruthlessness. The truth comes to light when FBI Special Agent Donovan Black enters her life. Black is part of a task force to bring The Clique down. While undercover he begins a friendship with Kayla, only to find himself falling for her. For Agent Black taking Dezi down has become more than professional, it’s now personal. Kayla’s heart is torn between two men who are perhaps destined to destroy one another.

A Deadly Encounter is a gripping thriller that immediately pulls the reader right into the story. Dezi is the ultimate bad-boy that women find dangerously sexy. Kayla is the woman men dream of meeting someday to take as their bride and to be the mother of their children. Author K R Bankston will one day be a name everyone will recognize and recommends to others.

Pulse by Jeremy Robinson

When you read Pulse, you have to suspend your belief system. It's one of those fun book you need to just sit back and enjoy and not think too much about reality. Since the book involves an elite military fighting force, you can expect a lot of action and detailed descriptions of the soldiers weapons. It took me a while to identify with the characters because Jeremy Robinson used call signs rather than real names, which for me took away from the individuals in the story. But that wasn't what the story was about. It was to establish the Chest Team and the world the author was creating. And knowing Pulse is book one in a series, I realized that getting to know the four member team will come with each book. If you're looking for a quick, fun read, Pulse is for you. I will definitely look for more books in the series in the near future.

This Ain't No Hearts and Flowers Love Story Pt1 by Brooklyn Darkchild

First off, I’m not a romance reader. The title of the book, This Ain't No Hearts and Flowers Love Story Pt1, clearly indicates that this would not be a typical romance novel but I had my doubts at first. That was until I read the first page. Though the book talks about the harsh realities of abandonment, drugs and sexuality, it also has its fair share of humor and overcoming hardships. I was drawn into the story by the author’s writing. The characters were described in rich details and you were made to feel as if you are a part of Baby Girl’s life. The only difficult time I had with the book was with the font size. It was too small for the pages, but that’s my beef and should not deter other readers from picking up this wonderful novel.

Vanished by Joseph Finder

Joseph Finder did follow the hero rulebook with the creation of Nick Heller:

Special Forces background (check)
Troubled childhood (check)
Has trouble with authority (check)
Can punch his way out of a situation (check)
Loner (check)
Cracks cynical jokes when a pistol is pointed at his face (check)
Tough guy with a good heart (check)

What sets Nick Heller apart from the others is that Finder places him in a business environment (Heller is a corporate investigator). Heller isn’t fighting against a corrupt politician with his own personal agenda or terrorists groups whose goals are to tear down the government. No, Nick Heller isn’t scuffling with Bob the accountant, tossing paperclips at each other in the break room either--that would have been boring. Heller does face off with well-trained, well-armed private security personnel and must locate the individuals responsible for the abduction his older brother.

There’s plenty of action, suspense, good humor and mystery to satisfy everyone. The book is a quick read and Heller is a likable character. I’m looking forward to reading the further adventures of Nick Heller.

The Man with the Golden Torc by Simon R. Green

I don't recall that I've ever read a book that even came close to the number fight sequences in this book. How, Simon R. Green managed to write a solid story with likable characters amidst the mayhem is a surprise to me.
Edwin Drood a loyal but rebellious member of the Drood family as always thought of himself as fighting the good fight. After receiving a mission from the head of the Drood family, Edwin expected danger. What he didn't expect was to be called a rogue agent and to be hunted by his own family.
Edwin teams up with one of his most hated enemy to find out the truth and to clear his name. But on the path toward the truth, he quickly finds a new danger in the world whose primary goal is to destroy the Drood family.
Man with the Golden Torc is book one in a series. Simon R. Green provided laughs, lots of actions and a family secret that changes everything for Edwin Drood.

Storm Front by Jim Butcher

This book was a fun read. Harry Dresden is hired by the police to investigate whether magic was used to violently murder a hooker and a mob enforcer during a night of love making. During the course of a few days, Harry is ordered off the case by a mob boss, confronts a vampire and must deal with his overzealous watcher, who by the way thinks that Harry is the killer.

At the same time, Harry is working on a second case involving a wife's missing husband.

Jim Butcher creatively combined classic PI detective and fantasy. I'm normally a slow reader, but the story was so entertaining, I found that I had a hard time putting Storm Front down.

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley

The Long Fall by Walter Mosley introduces a new PI named Leonid McGill. A little background on McGill: He is African-American, average height, a boxer in a previous life, the son of a communist, married to a woman who had children by other men during their marriage and used to take on unscrupulous jobs if paid the right price. With all that said, McGill is trying to make up for his past by taking jobs that won’t ruin the lives of others. But sometimes getting out of the life is hard to do.

Mosley weaved together a great story of personal redemption while maintaining an excellent mystery. McGill, with all his flaws, is a likable character that you want to see succeed. By using his experience as a former boxer and using his own interpretation of what his communist father was trying to teach him as a child, McGill fights his way through several dangerous scraps and uses insight that is uncommon in most mystery novels.

Cross Country by James Patterson

Alex Cross is thrust into an investigation unlike any he has ever faced. The killer known as The Tiger, uses children to commit terrible murders. When an old frame of Alex's is murdered, he follows the Tiger all the way to Africa, where the police are more than unfriendly. With little help from the CIA and no official authority in African, Alex quickly discovers that bringing the Tiger to American justice will be impossible.

The difficulty of catching the Tiger pales in comparison to the plight of the African people Alex soon realizes. The brutality of war, rape, and how the world is ignoring these travesties are brought out in Patterson's book for all to see.

Patterson does not hold his punches, which is why I think this story may be offputting to some people. Still, Cross Country is definitely worth reading.

Infinite Crisis - Part One by Greg Cox

Superheroes around the world are facing three threats; one from a group of supervillians who have banded together and led by Lex Luther; the second threat is from an advance security system created by Batman to watch other superheroes. The system eventually began thinking on its own coming up with its own agenda, altering human dna and changing them into unthinking cybernetic warriors, whose sole role is to hunt down and destroy super powered beings; the threat comes from an insane supernatural being called the Spectre, his goal is to destroy all magic. On top of all this danger, the three founding members of the Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman & Batman) have personal grudges against one another and will no longer fight as a team.

With a full cast and super sound effects, the audio production was excellent. I could picture all the action and felt the emotional turmoil of the characters. There was an underwater fight scene where the voices were a little annoying but it wasn't enough to distract from the story telling. I recommend this book.

Jonathan Luckett's -- Dissolve

I was immediately caught in the story, though at the beginning I had a hard time with David Sands falling for this mysterious woman he spies through a window. When I read the back of the cover, I expected more of an intense mystery but found it more of a suspenseful emotional journey and erotic romance. Still I was captivated by the characters and truly wanted to know how things were going to end. As for my reservations regarding David falling so deeply for the woman so quickly; well let me put it this way, the ending answered all my questions and quashed all my doubts.

David Baldacci -- The Collectors

Oliver Stones suspects there is a link between the assassination of the U.S Speaker of the House and the director of the Library of Congress rare books room. The Camel Club is joined by Annabelle Conroy, a con-artist who should be running for her life, but is instead aiding the group to solve this mystery.

All the members of the Camel Club lives are threaten by a ruthless enemy that once worked for the same ultra secret organization as Oliver Stone.

David Baldacci has the amazing ability to thrill and surprise in his novels and never disappoints with his Camel Club series.