A former Navy Intelligence officer now working for Medici Studios in New York Julian Peale is entering the art world as an attempt at a new start in life.  Russian art smugglers are wreaking havoc on the New York art scene and Julian is tasked to run a sting operation in cooperation with NYPD.  The sting does not quite go as planned but an interesting clue emerges in the form of an art catalogue with some graffiti type markings on various pages.  When Julian begins to investigate the markings it takes him on somewhat of a wild goose chase as he learns about art auctions, street and performance artists as well as the seedier side of the art world including forgery and organized crime.  Coincidentally it also leads him down an unexpected path allowing him to try and resolve some ugly family history.  Julian never believed the accusations of stealing works of art made against his grandfather when he was involved with WWII’s “monuments men”.

 

Always intrigued by books dealing with the art world the book description caught my attention right away.  I must admit that I was also quite captivated by the cover image, although the book has nothing to do with the infamous art theft in Boston, it did bring to mind the empty frames hanging in the Gardner.

 

This book is well written, filled with interesting insights into the art world (and it’s underworld) yet not bogged down with facts.  Mr. Witham weaves his research and knowledge expertly into the story so it never feels like a lesson in art history.  I did enjoy the chase of the bad guys, the insight into the inner workings of the art auctions and the under story involving organized crime and forgery, but the part of the book that really took off for me was the part tying in the “monuments men” and the looting after WWII.

 

Julian Peal is an interesting character and Mr. Witham included just enough of his personal life to keep me invested in what happens to him during the book.  An obviously well thought out plot, the ending leading right back to the beginning, rounds out the rest of the book nicely.  Well-done Mr. Witham.

 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who, like me, enjoys a fast paced mystery set against a backdrop of the art world.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from his website)

 

Larry Alan Witham is a veteran journalist and author in the Washington D.C. area who has covered current events, history, religion and society, science, philosophy, and the visual arts. He is currently exploring new writing and visual arts projects, following a decade of full-time writing and editing of books. He is the author of fifteen books, editor of a ten-book series, and in 2007 served as editor of the bimonthly magazine Science & Spirit. His latest three books have been on the visual arts and art history. From 2011 through 2012 he wrote a weekly art blog, "Artschooled."

 

A native of Los Altos, Calif. (born June 1952), Witham earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from San Jose State University (1974). He and his wife, Kazui Yamamoto, live in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C.

 

An artist by avocation (painting and drawing), Witham's artworks may be seen at: www.larrywithamart.blogspot.com.

 

 

 

 

This book is described as an “edge of your seat suspense novel” and it certainly lives up to it’s billing!

 

Brooke was last seen two days ago.  Her roommate thought she was at her mother’s house and her family thought she was in her dorm.  When Brooke missed attending her sister’s school concert it was a sure indication that something was very wrong.  She was last seen in a bar, where she went to see her high school boyfriend Jesse, who she heard was back in town.  Brooke’s mom, Marissa, had never liked Jesse.

 

The police don’t seem interested in investigating a college student who has only been off the radar for a couple of days.  But Marissa knew her daughter would not just go off without letting someone know … especially without her life saving insulin.

 

Life had never been easy for Marissa and her girls but despite her bad choices and failed relationships the one thing that was a certainty was that Marissa loved her daughters and nothing would stand in the way of her finding Brooke.

 

I found “In the Dark” to be a well-written, extremely suspense filled book with plenty of twists, turns and red-herrings to keep me guessing right up until the point that the author wanted me to know the “who” in the “who-dun-it”.  I suspected everyone until slowly, at exactly the right point, Ms. Patchell let me know who the bad guy was.  But rather than slow down at that point the story picked up to an exciting ending.

 

I would highly recommend this to any reader who enjoys a truly suspenseful read.

 

My only two (very mild) criticisms would be that some of the descriptions the author uses were a little questionable.  So much so that sometimes I had to stop and reread them to make sure I had actually read what I read.  This made for a bumpy read in some sections in a book that was, in all other ways, a real page-turner.  One example was a passage describing a main character, the police detective.  Our character describes the scene … “The pre-dawn air smelled like car exhaust and bacon grease.  A line of squad cars set the perimeter.  Blue and red light flashed in the muddy gray dawn.”  It just jumped out at me that “bacon grease” might not have been the best descriptor for a scene where many police officers were in attendance.  It seems a bit nit-picky (and I found it humorous) but there were other instances as well.   Also, although the love interest and job prospects came as no surprise and did serve to move the story along, some of Marissa’s actions had me questioning whether this would be the way a mother would react if her daughter was missing.  Small things that should not stop anyone from picking up this book.

 

All in all a good read and I’m giving it 3 ½ stars … I liked it … and I definitely plan on picking up Ms. Patchell’s other book, “Deadly Lies”.

 

I received this ebook at no charge in exchange for an honest review.  I would also like to apologize to the author and Bostwick Communications for taking so long with my review.  The ebook got a little lost on my Kindle.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from Amazon)

 

When Chris Patchell isn't hiking in the Cascade Mountains or hanging out with family and friends, she is working at her hi-tech job or writing gritty suspense novels. Writing has been a lifelong passion for Chris. She fell in love with storytelling in the third grade when her half-page creative writing assignment turned into a five-page story on vampires. Even back then Chris had a gift for writing intricate plots that were so good her father refused to believe she didn't steal them from comic books. Years later, Chris spent long afternoons managing her own independent record store and writing romance novels. After closing the record store and going to college, Chris launched a successful career in hi-tech. She married, had kids but amid all the madness, the itch to write never really went away. So she started writing again. Not romance this time - suspense filled with drama, and angst, speckled with a little bit of blood. Why suspense? Chris blames her obsession with the dark on two things: watching Stephen King movies as a kid and spending ridiculous amounts of time commuting in Seattle traffic. "My stories are based on scenarios I see every day, distorted through the fictional lens. And my stories come with the added bonus of not having to be restrained by socially acceptable behavior." Recipient of the 2015 Indie Reader Discovery Award for DEADLY LIES

 

 

STOP THE DIET, I WANT TO GET OFF by Lisa Tillinger Johnasen, MS, RD

 

Who hasn’t been on a diet?  As Ms. Tillinger-Johansen states in this book it is probably easier to count who has not been on a diet than tally those who have.  The word “diet” itself does not denote the desire to lose weight – diet simply refers to what we eat and drink every day.  A specialized eating plan can be made up to help attain certain goals achieved through what we eat – a healthier lifestyle, prevention of diabetes or high blood pressure and, yes, weight loss.

 

I have been a TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) group leader for a number of years and I enjoy my group but sometimes I find it difficult to come up with an interesting meeting topic to discuss each week; a topic that will not only be interesting for my members but that will also keep them (and me) motivated until next week’s trip to the scale.  I requested this book hoping it would give me some ideas.  Well, if you are looking for a common sense, easy to read, packed full of information and often amusing book about dieting this is certainly one to pick up.  Having read through this book I feel quite certain there is not one aspect of sensibly eating (diet, if you must) that this book does not touch upon.  Ms. Tillinger-Johansen includes obesity statistics from other counties (staggering!), she discusses fact versus fiction when it comes to dieting and touches on the plethora of diets out there (many some of which can do more harm than good both for your health and your waistline).  There is even a diet that promotes eating baby food … I’m pretty sure I didn’t even want to eat baby food when I was a baby!

 

 

What would a diet book be without discussing the evils of distorted body image brought on by Hollywood, advertising, beauty pageants and even Dr. Oz.  Personally, don’t even get me started on him.

 

All the important subjects are covered including protein, starches, fibre, WATER, fats, fruits and vegetables, vitamins and portion size.  Have a question about their importance and the answer can be found in this book.

 

 

 

On the back cover of this book it states “We’re caught in a never-ending merry-go-round of weight loss plans, fueled by celebrity endorsers, TV doctors and companies angling for a piece of a $60 billion industry.  But do these diets really work?  And how healthy are they?”  If you want to get off that merry-go-round and start eating for your health this book is an excellent resource on how to do that … and most importantly … it does that without being preachy or weighing you down (pun totally intended) with guilt.

 

I still find this book, packed full of solid information, an excellent resource to us for my TOPS group. 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR (from the book jacket)

 

 

Lisa Tillinger Johansen is a registered dietician who counsels clients on a wide range of health issues.  Her debut nutrition book, “Fast Food Vindication”, received the Discovery Award (sponsored by USA Today, The Huffington Post and Kirkus).

 

She lives in Southern California.

 

 

“… the world has improved since the day he was sworn into office.”

 

“… managed to wipe out national debt and create a budget surplus by the end of his first term as commander-in-chief.”

 

“ … Southern borders have finally been sealed off and jobs were no longer being outsourced to China …”

 

“ … even Putin himself spoke highly if his inherent awesomeness on a number of occasions.”

 

He moved with “ninja stealth”.

 

He “utilized his ultra-keen hearing powers”.

 

.

 

 

The Amazon.com link is HERE

 

 

Those of you who have read my reviews know I don’t often write scathing, negative reviews so be warned – this is my version of a “scathing, negative review”.  This review might make you wonder if I don’t have a split personality.  And, I’m going to do things a little out of my usual order.  I want to say something positive (before I get into my rant) so I’ll start with the basics.

 

The premise of this book had a lot of promise towards being a really good horror story.  I understand that this was a “novelette”; by its very description, short by design, but the parts of the story that were to be the horror element had little to no suspense leading up to them.  They sort of struck you in the face … and rather than be shocking they just left me feeling rather flat.  A little bit of lead-in and emotion goes a long way into making a scene terrifying.  The writing was passable for, what I understand, is a first effort by Ms. Norman.  A good editor would have been able to pare down a sentence such as “As I got closer to the lady, I looked over her shoulder and saw she was holding a bloody baby that was bleeding profusely.”

 

Despite all that I was quite prepared to give this book a 2 ½ to 3-star rating because of Ms. Norman’s premise and her effort, which I still think are pretty strong.

 

Now?

 

I’m so pissed off I don’t even know because I cannot avoid my personal feelings getting in the way of an honest rating based on the book itself.  The last time I had such a strong negative reaction to a piece of creative endeavor was at a modern art exhibit when I came across a snow shovel hanging on a wall with a title card next to it reading: "Prelude To A Broken Arm".  The shovel still had a home hardware price sticker on it.  I think I started to hyperventilate.