The Coach House by Florence Osmund

Things aren’t always what they seem.

Tall, dark, and handsome describe the two men in Marie Marcheti’s young life. Besides being from different ethnic groups, they are worlds apart in character, moral, and ethical strength.

Marie lost her mother when she was a young girl and never knew her father. The only information her mother shared was that her father was tall, dark, and handsome. Marie had no idea until she was in her late twenties that ‘dark’ meant Negro.  Realizing she was a Mulatto in the 1940’s left Marie with mixed feelings of confusion and fear.

Richard was her tall, dark, and handsome husband. In her gut she felt there was a secretive side to him, but she married him anyway, doubts and all. They were in love and enjoyed each other’s company, but things aren’t always what they seem. It didn’t take long for Marie to decide to leave Richard.

Not taking this well, Richard stalks Marie. She desperately tries to find a place to live where he will never find her. But Richard’s secret life involved corruption and it was easy for him to keep tabs on her every move.

Marie ends up in Atchison, Kansas renting a coach house apartment. It’s located behind a beautiful Victorian home where her landlord’s family lives.

Marie is an interior designer and left a good job in Chicago when she left Richard. When she ended up in Kansas, after working a menial job for a year, she was able to thrive once again as an interior designer. She made friends easily and Karen, her new best friend, helped Marie endure her life on the run from Richard in Kansas.

The settings in The Coach House are described beautifully by Florence Osmund. Chicago and its music venues, New York City, and San Francisco, we get to travel and enjoy these cities with Marie.

The character development is Osmund’s strength in The Coach House. Each character becomes alive in chapter after chapter. It’s hard to put down the book because we get so absorbed with each character - whether it’s Marie, Richard, and Karen, or Richard’s cohort doing his dirty work.

The Coach House is a superbly written book, in my opinion. It will leave the reader thinking about relationships, adversity, independence and growth, and prejudices. It’s always nice to finish a good book with something to think about.

A Virgin in the Philippines by W.H. Johnson

A travelogue extraordinaire! What a wonderful way to learn about the Philippines. Johnnie Johnson takes us on his first eye-opening six week trip in 2011 and we share his learning experiences right along with him.

Johnnie married a Filipina, Fay, late in life. This relationship is where Johnnie opens up his heart as well as his life to a new way of living and learning.

Being an educated man, Johnnie is able to articulate to his readers all the wonders of the Philippines with ease. We get to walk the colorful countryside and visit the rice fields. We ride on Lorries and Jeepneys on our way to family get-togethers.  His wife has a large extended family and Johnnie learns to fit right in.

We share Filipino culture in the preparation of delicious meals shared and the honest conversation spoken freely representing the culture. We go to church with Johnnie and Fay where his inner most thoughts are expressed to the reader.

Johnnie enjoys his visit as any reader can tell. However, he doesn’t sugar coat the problems in the Philippines. The government is in need of major improvement. We see this as Johnnie describes the ordeal Fay goes through trying to renew her driving license.

The people are optimistic, but Johnnie can’t help wondering why at times. For such hard working people, he thinks they should be better off than they are. He finds it mind-boggling that services offered are so inexpensive. He knows this first hand because he had to visit the dentist.

My daughter-in-law is Filipino and I feel I understand her better from reading A Virgin in the Philippines. Her extended family resembles Fay’s family in many ways.

Thank you to Johnnie Johnson for such a beautiful insight to daily life in the Philippines! I wish you and Fay much happiness and many more visits back to enjoy the Philippines.

Ruins by Vanessa Mills

Blameless and Screwed

Vanessa Mills wrote a very intense short story dealing with child abuse and the court system. A family of six children, four girls and two boys, lived with their neglectful mother, Claudine, and hardworking father, Eddie.

Eddie is accused of abusing the children, when in reality it is Claudine’s sleazy boyfriend doing the abusing. The mother was guilty herself of hitting her children besides looking the other way during the boyfriend’s abuse.

The father had no control over the court system.  Trying to the best of his ability to gain custody of his children, he eventually lost. In a most despicable way, his children were brainwashed and used in court for the mother’s benefit. The result is frustrating.

There is nothing worse than feeling helpless in your own life. Not being able to prove you are the better parent must be devastating. It was for this particular father, Eddie, and his children.

Depending on one’s point of view, the ending may be uplifting. Whatever the reader’s opinion, we are left routing for the children as they made their own decision.

Vanessa Mills wrote “Intermissions” in her story. These are worth reading over a few times as they touch our inner soul. They are apropos to her story and will bring tears to your eyes.

Ruins is a well written story which will break your heart and leave you furious with the court system.

Allah’s Revenge by Pete Barber

A Threat of Nanobots

Pete Barber has given us a fiction thriller about extremists who wish to do the United States harm. It is told in current time with painstaking research as it is a sensitive subject. The terrorist attack was carried out by an Islamic militant group called Allah’s Revenge. They killed two hundred innocent people in London, England and many world leaders at a G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea. The Vice President of the U.S. was killed in the G20 summit attack.

The Weapon of Mass Destruction is a mist of nanotechnology. Once released, people breathe in the mist and are dead within minutes. Allah’s Revenge recruits an Arab named Dawud Ferran, aka David Baker in the U.S. to do his dirty work with the WPD.

The main character is a British detective named Quinn. He puts his life and job on the line to get to the bottom of the terrorist’s plot to destroy the world. He travels to Jerusalem where he manages to take control of the WMD situation. Before he heads home, once again Quinn’s bravery is put to the test. The WMD is released in Phoenix, Arizona. Is Quinn successful in saving the world? Does he get home in one piece? You will have to read Allah’s Revenge to find out.

Pete Barber created many memorable characters in Allah’s Revenge. There are detectives, reporters, politicians, and of course terrorists. We get to see the inside of a terrorist attack through Pete Barber’s accurate research.

There’s even romance in Allah’s Revenge. A good story isn’t complete without a love interest, even in the midst of a terrorist attack.

The book is a definite page turner as the suspense keeps the reader engaged. It’s a well written action thriller with historical background to be enjoyed. The characters and places come to life for the reader.

Let’s just hope it stays fictional!

The Chair by Peter Simeti

 Mind over body?

This was my first graphic novel to read and review. The format resembled a comic book. It’s drawn in black and white; I would compare it to charcoal art.

The story is about Richard Sullivan’s final days on death row. Simeti leaves nothing out when he describes prison torture, including extreme violence which results in murders, and deep psychological torment.

Sullivan always protested his innocence. This meant nothing to a prisoner on death row with a few days before being executed. He thinks about his life and how he ended up on death row. This isn’t easy as he witnesses prison guards beat and rape other prisoners. He also has learned what crimes his fellow prisoners committed in order to be on death row. It’s not a pretty picture and all this messes with his mind.

The final days are the worst for Sullivan. The guards are more violent to him physically and emotionally. He is at the end of his rope. This results in outbursts of anger as he is just shy of insanity at this point. He does lose it completely and it’s pretty horrifying.

The graphics are violent, no doubt, but it is equally violent as to what goes on in Sullivan’s mind, especially on his final day. I think it proves our minds are more fragile than our physical bodies.

The end has a twist to it which I won’t spoil for readers.

Hats off to graphic artist, Kevin Christensen, for a job well done. 

The book is labeled for adults, mature audiences. I agree.

For the Love of Sam by Derek Haines

A Woman Scorned

Talk about getting screwed over by your friends! Poor Sam goes through hell in the midst of getting a divorce. He’s not exactly innocent. He had an affair with a sexy co-worker, Susannah, some ten years prior, but his wife, Beckie, never forgot or forgave him.

It was this indiscretion that Beckie festered for ten years when she suddenly threw it in Sam’s face. Out the door he went, and into a flea bitten dump to lick his wounds.

Sam was basically a nice guy who worked for an insurance company. He didn’t revel in his new surroundings which made him feel sad, alone, and confused. This was not a good time to start a new relationship, but that is exactly what he did.

He met Gail when she hit his car in a parking lot. After a quick tea in a diner to exchange insurance information, Sam thought nothing more of it. Gail called the next day wanting to see Sam where she fell head over heels in love with him.

Not being able to say no to Gail as she protested her love for him often, Sam went along for the ride taking some kind of solace in seeing Gail. It took his mind off his divorce and neurotic wife, Beckie.

When Susannah called and asked to see him, again Sam couldn't say no. They picked up where they left off like it was ten years ago. Poor Sam doesn’t know that it is her husband who is sleeping with Beckie! He doesn’t put two and two together and realize this is why Beckie decided to throw his long ago affair in his face all of a sudden.

If that isn’t dark enough, what Sam goes through now I can’t write about because it will spoil it for the reader. Let me just say Sam went through hell. Was anyone there for him?

Nothing is predictable in Derek Haine’s novella, For the Love of Sam. While being a dark novella about relationships and so-called friends, it is a great read.

As always, Derek develops his characters so well that you can’t put down any of his books once you start reading. None of us want to live through what Sam lived through or did he?

Pick up your copy of For the Love of Sam to find out!

Destinies by Karleene Morrow

Becoming the Empress and Ruler of All the Russians, Sophie Auguste Friedrike, was only fourteen when her mother made sure she became princess of Russia. The tsarina of Russia, Elizabeth Petrovna, was searching for a wife for her nephew who would inherit the crown.

Leaving her small town of Stettin, Poland, she met the tsarina and her heir in Russia. In 1762 Sophie became Katherine II.

Known as Katherine the Great, the Empress was literate, cultured, and loved the arts. Throughout Destinies, Karleene Marrow proves how she painstakingly researched every event during Katherine’s 34 year reign.

To not only enlighten her readers with facts and knowledge, but to entertain at the same time, Karleene Morrow writes her historical novel, Destinies, using Katherine the Great’s point of view plus a young boy, Christian, who emigrated from Germany to Russia with his family and friends searching for a better life. The way Morrow skillfully does this is what makes this book extraordinary.

Katherine II is known for her sex scandals and her desire for power.  Morrow includes her political decisions and many of her lovers. During the day Katherine II was a powerhouse of a political leader, and at night she could not go without a man.

We see Christian grow up from a boy into manhood in Destinies. We meet and love his family and friends. He has strong family values and morals that he struggles with on his journey. His relationship with the Gypsy’s is my favorite. His life, along with his family and friends, is not an easy one. Emigrating from Germany and putting down roots in Russia was an unbelievable feat.

Going back and forth between Katherine the Great and Christian’s life was easily done. There is never a time where I got lost or confused. This is a longer book than most, but it never felt like it. I could not put it down. The story is terrific!

I recommend this book for readers of all ages. In my opinion, reading a historical novel that is well researched and written, is the best way to learn.

I’m hoping Destinies will have a sequel. I would love to read another historical novel by Karleene Morrow.