by Jason Joyner | Dec 3, 2008 | Blog, books, CFBA, fiction, reviews, suspense
I’ve taken a little time off from reviewing books in order to avoid commitments I can’t meet. However, I couldn’t pass up this week’s book from the CFBA: Dark Pursuit by Brandilyn Collins. This is her first book (a stand alone) since her lauded Kanner Lake series.
Darell Brooke is the King of Suspense, having written 99 books. Since his car accident two years ago, he is a shell of his former imposing self. He needs a cane to get around and he can’t concentrate enough to hold a plot. He badly wants to reclaim his glory and write book #100, but he can’t push through the mental fog.
When his estranged granddaughter Kaitlan returns to his door, with a tale of a murderous boyfriend after her, he wants to help her. He’s a police officer and has hid the evidence, so she can’t go to the local police. Can the King of Suspense help save his only family and reclaim his fame with the plot inspiration drawn from the trap?
I admit it was a little different reading this book. I was invested in the lives of the people in her Kanner Lake books, so it was a shift to get into the characters of Dark Pursuit. Brandilyn continues her expert pacing and building of suspense. The book never fails to be a page turner.
The new characters grew on me after a while. Darell Brooke is a prickly old man, bitter about his new circumstances, and it is hard to empathize with him initially. Kaitlan is a sympathetic character, and she’s easier to root for, especially when she is in danger.
I also struggled with the apparant direction of the book for a while, because it seemed un-Brandilyn. The reader knew everything up front, and it seemed like I was just following along. I should’ve known better. I don’t want to give away anything more than there’s more than meets the eye, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the end. The twists and turns are very satisfying.
I had a little problem with the obsession of the killer, but this comes into focus better at the end. Still, it seemed a little too outrageous to me. There was also some repetition of phrases describing the suspense that caught my eye after a while, distracting me.
Up until the last part of the book, it wasn’t my favorite Brandilyn Collins book. It was a worthy enough suspense, but I wasn’t savoring it. After finishing it this morning, it really turned it into a very enjoyable, satisfying read. She sucks us in, then pulls a fast one. I shouldn’t be surprised. Her fans will find this new book continuing her tradition of Seatbelt Suspense, while new readers should find this a solidly entertaining suspense.
Also, for more behind the story, check out this interview with Brandilyn in the Christian Fiction Online Magazine. You can also read the first chapter of Dark Pursuit, HERE.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 22, 2008 | Blog, CFBA, fiction, reviews, suspense
A clever, suspenseful tale that will keep even the best bloodhound following his tail a few times.
This week’s feature book for the CFBA Tour is Less Than Dead by Tim Downs.
Tim Downs is know for his “Bug Man” novels, featuring Nick Polchak as a forensic entomologist (that’s a guy who studies the insects that are found with dead bodies, very CSI–ish). When a field owned by a U.S. Senator who is a candidate for president is excavated and a couple of old bodies are found, the FBI has an explosive situation on their hands. Agent Nathan Donovan, famous since he stopped the “Plague Maker” in New York City, is sent to oversee the investigation. He calls Nick to the small Virginia town of Endor to help him identify how long the bodies have been there.
After a mysterious discovery, Nick calls for a cadaver dog to be brought in to search for other possible graves. When the purebred FBI dog fails, he follows up on the rumor of the “Witch of Endor“, a woman who lives alone and supposedly talks to animals, to see if her mongrel can aid in the investigation.
Unfortunately, there are people who want buried secrets to stay buried, and soon Nick is trying to figure out these secrets before he becomes one himself.
I mentioned Less Than Dead a couple of weeks ago in my post about the benefit of blog tours. I had read Tim Down’s Plague Maker a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, but had not gotten around to reading any more of his work. When I saw Less Than Dead on the blog tour list for October, I knew it would be the only book I’d request this month.
I’m so glad I did.
I’ve read a lot of books this year, and I keep finding books that I think, “Wow, this is the best book so far this year.” Well, Less Than Dead has left them all behind. I really enjoyed Plague Maker but Less is from top to bottom a tightly woven suspense, keeping my head twisting around until I about got whiplash. There were a few times that he had me totally thrown by what he was doing – in a good way! The surprises were great and kept me on my toes and invested in the stellar plot. I thought that having a politically-themed book was a little disingenuous during an election year, but this book is not thinly written like other election-related books I’ve read.
Nick Polchak is a great character, fully comfortable in his own awkward skin. The bonus is that every other character stands on their own as well, with none of them acting as “filling”. It was great to have Nathan Donovan from Plague Maker make an appearance here, as Nick did in that book. Very good touch, and it even gives a little epilogue to Plague that I appreciated greatly.
The other thing that stands out is the humor of the book. Many books have a sarcastic hero, but Nick carries it off very well with his idiosyncrasies. I was laughing out loud at many spots in the book, and it added to the richness of the book every time.
I’ll have a “best of” list at the end of the year, and so far, against very stiff competition, Less Than Dead is the leader of the pack. Don’t miss this book if you enjoy suspense, clever writing, or forensics-type shows/books. Actually, just don’t miss it!
If you would like to read the first chapter of Less Than Dead, go HERE.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 22, 2008 | CFBA, fiction, reviews, suspense
A clever, suspenseful tale that will keep even the best bloodhound following his tail a few times.
This week’s feature book for the CFBA Tour is Less Than Dead by Tim Downs.
Tim Downs is know for his “Bug Man” novels, featuring Nick Polchak as a forensic entomologist (that’s a guy who studies the insects that are found with dead bodies, very CSI–ish). When a field owned by a U.S. Senator who is a candidate for president is excavated and a couple of old bodies are found, the FBI has an explosive situation on their hands. Agent Nathan Donovan, famous since he stopped the “Plague Maker” in New York City, is sent to oversee the investigation. He calls Nick to the small Virginia town of Endor to help him identify how long the bodies have been there.
After a mysterious discovery, Nick calls for a cadaver dog to be brought in to search for other possible graves. When the purebred FBI dog fails, he follows up on the rumor of the “Witch of Endor“, a woman who lives alone and supposedly talks to animals, to see if her mongrel can aid in the investigation.
Unfortunately, there are people who want buried secrets to stay buried, and soon Nick is trying to figure out these secrets before he becomes one himself.
I mentioned Less Than Dead a couple of weeks ago in my post about the benefit of blog tours. I had read Tim Down’s Plague Maker a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, but had not gotten around to reading any more of his work. When I saw Less Than Dead on the blog tour list for October, I knew it would be the only book I’d request this month.
I’m so glad I did.
I’ve read a lot of books this year, and I keep finding books that I think, “Wow, this is the best book so far this year.” Well, Less Than Dead has left them all behind. I really enjoyed Plague Maker but Less is from top to bottom a tightly woven suspense, keeping my head twisting around until I about got whiplash. There were a few times that he had me totally thrown by what he was doing – in a good way! The surprises were great and kept me on my toes and invested in the stellar plot. I thought that having a politically-themed book was a little disingenuous during an election year, but this book is not thinly written like other election-related books I’ve read.
Nick Polchak is a great character, fully comfortable in his own awkward skin. The bonus is that every other character stands on their own as well, with none of them acting as “filling”. It was great to have Nathan Donovan from Plague Maker make an appearance here, as Nick did in that book. Very good touch, and it even gives a little epilogue to Plague that I appreciated greatly.
The other thing that stands out is the humor of the book. Many books have a sarcastic hero, but Nick carries it off very well with his idiosyncrasies. I was laughing out loud at many spots in the book, and it added to the richness of the book every time.
I’ll have a “best of” list at the end of the year, and so far, against very stiff competition, Less Than Dead is the leader of the pack. Don’t miss this book if you enjoy suspense, clever writing, or forensics-type shows/books. Actually, just don’t miss it!
If you would like to read the first chapter of Less Than Dead, go HERE.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 15, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction
I’ve wanted to blog more about this topic, but I haven’t had the time to sit down and come up with a coherent post discussing Christianity and Culture. However, there have been some recent articles and books out on this topic, and I want to at least bring them to your attention.
The Point blog discusses Christian art and movies like Facing the Giants.
Christianity Today has a cover article discussing “The New Culture Makers”. There is an excerpt from Andy Crouch’s new book Culture Making. There is also a review of the book Christ and Culture Revisited.
I’ve recently purchased Culture Making and another book on the subject, Dick Staub’s The Culturally Savvy Christian. I’ve started Staub, and it already is quite thought-provoking.
If you’re so inclined, check out some of these resources. Hopefully I can get my head around some ideas (head not so stretchy this month, it seems…) and discuss them with a little more depth soon.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 15, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog, fiction
I’ve wanted to blog more about this topic, but I haven’t had the time to sit down and come up with a coherent post discussing Christianity and Culture. However, there have been some recent articles and books out on this topic, and I want to at least bring them to your attention.
The Point blog discusses Christian art and movies like Facing the Giants.
Christianity Today has a cover article discussing “The New Culture Makers”. There is an excerpt from Andy Crouch’s new book Culture Making. There is also a review of the book Christ and Culture Revisited.
I’ve recently purchased Culture Making and another book on the subject, Dick Staub’s The Culturally Savvy Christian. I’ve started Staub, and it already is quite thought-provoking.
If you’re so inclined, check out some of these resources. Hopefully I can get my head around some ideas (head not so stretchy this month, it seems…) and discuss them with a little more depth soon.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 8, 2008 | Blog, blogging, CFBA, CSFF, fiction, reading
I’ve been a member of two blog tours, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and the Christian Sci-fi and Fantasy Tour, for over two years now. I’ve had the privilege to review many good books and enter into some great discussion with others out there in the blogosphere.
Even though this has benefited me, what about the authors? Do the writers who have offered up their work for review get a measurable boost from the coordinated focus of a blog tour.
So far I’d have to say there’s no direct benefit to a blog tour.
I come to this conclusion from from two sources. Brandilyn Collins has been involved with the CFBA tour since its inception, and I recall her blogging that she hasn’t seen specific movement of more books associated with a blog tour. However, with her marketing experience, she knows the value of getting her name and books out there with visibility.
Also, I was involved with a tour for Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture by Mary DeMuth, and Mark Goodyear tracked measurable stats regarding the tour. They tracked how many books were sold directly through Mary’s site. His conclusion was that there wasn’t a large increase in sales from the well-organized tour.
However, does this mean blog tours aren’t worthwhile?
I would say that there are benefits to blog tours that aren’t easily measurable, at least not directly. Maybe people don’t rush out and buy the book from Amazon right away, giving noticeable statistics.
My argument is that it is worthwhile for authors to do blog tours in order to get their book out there and find some people that could turn into influencers. I suggest this can be a big benefit for authors.
I can think of several authors whose books I would not have read if not for getting their book for review: Rene Gutteridge, Lisa Bergren, John Aubrey Anderson, and Tom Morrisey to name a few. All of these authors have won me over with the quality of their writing and their interesting stories. What has happened is I have become their advocate. I continue to think of them as I refer people to good authors.
Not only that, but I support them more than I would have earlier. Even though through the blog tours I generally receive the books from the publisher to review, I have purchased books from the writers above. Either I’ve purchased other books in their catalog, or I buy the books I’ve already read to give away to others. I also lend out books so others can given them a try and hopefully get interested enough to purchase other books in the future.
Of course this can happen randomly. Maybe I would have picked up one of these books in Barnes and Noble (I have no local Christian bookstore). I do recall looking at Anderson’s first book, Abiding Darkness, at B&N. But I never bought it. I don’t think I would’ve walked out with any books from the others I listed there. But I’ve purchased all of Anderson’s work since to give away. I just bought an older book of Gutteridge’s, outside of the series I’ve been enjoying so much. I reviewed Bergren’s first book for a tour, and made sure I bought the others so I could finish the series. Early this year I purchased Robin Parrish’s Merciless because I couldn’t wait an extra month for the blog tour to get it.
Just last week I read a new book from Tim Downs, Less Than Dead. I had read his book Plague Maker on my own and really enjoyed it, but had forgotten about Downs until reading his latest for the tour. I was so delighted to “rediscover” him that I fully plan on completing my collection of his books.
Maybe I’m strange (no comments Mark…), but I can’t help but think this type of situation happens with others for blog tours. My conclusion is that an author won’t know what type of people they will reach with a blog tour. If they get the right person, they will have an influencer who will carry on promotion that goes beyond the investment the author made by sending some books out for a blog tour.
If anyone reading this has been influenced by any of my posts, I’d love to hear from you on this topic. If you have any thoughts on blog tours, I’d also encourage you to speak up. Coolness.
