Do a Little Wrong by Dan Dahler

Do a Little Wrong is a standalone novel in the thriller genre and has elements of detective work, spies, kidnapping and corporate espionage.

The story begins with a young boy who is being held in Brazil due to financial influence and red tape. Cue Kyle and an organisation known as the Foundation. This secret organisation exists, but as a ghost. There is no paper trail, no official registration and certainly no payment. The organisation exists solely to help those who are desperate and have no other means of recourse. As more cases come to the Foundation, so does the threat to their anonymity grow bigger. The newest missing persons case may just prove to be the cherry on the top, as the more Kyle and his colleagues get sucked in, the more they uncover just how deeply this cover-up goes. With the so-called good guys now hot on his trail, and the bad guys from a previous case still out to get him, will this be the end for Kyle and the Foundation? After all, if the highest powers in the land want you gone – where can you run to?

“With all due respect. That’s not the right knife.” This opening line grabbed my attention and I immediately wanted to know more. Finding out that it’s a knife Kyle is being threatened with, and he is telling them they are using the wrong one, sets the tone for a fast-paced thriller. I loved the idea of his secret organisation (a la Batman style, complete with cave) and the lengths they were willing to go to help someone. The members of the Foundation were all great characters and worked well together within the context of the story. Even though it sounded stereotypical with the tough guy, tech geek, legal adviser and financial backer they all played their parts exactly the way the story needed them to. Kyle was an absolute rogue and impossible to dislike. I loved the descriptions of the locations they landed in, the crazy stunts they pulled to get out of situations, and the way they manipulated scenarios to get what they needed. The violence was not over the top and it was easy to read past the few editing mistakes that crept through.

This was a book that kept me hooked, with a fast pace, the right ratio of comedy to action and a good underlying story. Highly recommended, and we need more Kyles in this world.

Murder in Memory by Mike Thorne

Murder in Memory is a standalone novel and deals with murder and a possible hypnotic link to them.

Two young girls are murdered horribly on campus and Grady Noland is doing his best to solve the case. As with many small town murders, secret details are leaked and shared. Snippets of info lead Grady to suspect Jon Evans, a college professor whose wife may or may not be having an affair. Jon seeks psychological counselling and hypnosis from Henry Andrews on a regular basis, and Henry seems eager to share some info about Jon to the police. So begins a tale of real and implanted memories and the effects it has on the justice system.

I must say that I enjoyed this book a lot. Apart from some silly editing and punctuation mistakes, it was an interesting idea. Even though the murderer is revealed relatively early on, it does keep you guessing until then. The idea that something like this could happen is quite scary and makes you think about how little we know of the brain’s workings. The happenings to the members of the county and how they tie in together are typical of smaller communities and many conversations between spouses made me smile. The ending was clever as even though you suspect it would happen, you sort of hoped it wouldn’t. A very enjoyable, well-written detective novel.

Graced 1943 (The Grace Family Chronicles) by Courtney Williamson Milford

Graced 1943 can be read as a standalone novel, but will lead into a further story. It tells the tale of family and friendship with a large paranormal theme running through it.

Set against the backdrop of WW2, the Grace family uses their powers to keep the family safe and maintain their fortune. A child who has one of the most rare powers is kidnapped, and many secrets about the family’s history are about to be uncovered in the bid to rescue him. The story chronicles the love (whether old or new), the arguments, the ideas, and the schemes the family endures. There is an element of time-travel, shape-shifting, healing, and a multitude of gifts that seem centred around an exclusive group of people.

I can’t say that I enjoyed this book. Apart from the many editing errors and a plethora of characters, the story was very convoluted and unrealistic. Whilst no stranger to fantasy or paranormal elements, it felt as though the author had taken all her ideas for the series and crammed them into one book. Gifts of knowing and seeing etc are fine, but when a character has several gifts and should in essence be in charge of the Justice League, I draw the line. With some of the talents floating around they should have been invincible. While I know that the book portrayed people in the 1940s, the women came across as simpletons and it was implausible that so many of them fell pregnant at the same time, and that so many characters were having affairs was beyond me. I found myself skipping over parts that had too much of an info dump and being confused when other scenes were not explained well enough. There was also an issue of child abandonment which didn’t sit well with me.

I finished the book but wouldn’t really recommend it.

Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants by Caleb J. Boyer

Island Games is a standalone novel and written by a young man who was so inspired at a young age by reading, that he wanted to write a book to share his ideas with the world. Island Games is the product of these ideas and was published when he was 12 years old.

Matthew and Ryan, who are best friends, wake up one day to find themselves stranded on a beach in the middle of nowhere, with no recollection as to how they got there. As they search for food, water and any means of survival they find themselves being moved between different environments and having to battle strange creatures and overcoming their own fears. As they complete tasks that they believe will get them off the island, they realise that their friendship and working together to a common goal is the key to getting out of there.

The book has a bit of a Hunger Games/ Mazerunner feel to it. You can tell that the tale it written by a younger author, but the concept and indeed the message the author learns about life, friendship and working to where you want to go is very important. A light afternoon read recommended for YA readers.