Monthly Archives: August 2022

Aug17

Unholy Night- Seth Grahame-Smith- a Review

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A mash up of the book of Luke in the Bible and a thriller. It’s gruesome in parts, funny in parts, moving in parts, and maybe partially sacrilegious. Maybe.

What an interesting idea this author had to make the three wise men into common criminals who find themselves in a situation where they are protecting a newborn baby and his parents from King Herod and his soldiers. Pontius Pilate as a young centurion makes an appearance in this tale. We also come across John the Baptist as a child.

As the story progresses, we learn more about the main protagonist, Balthazar and how he became embroiled in a life of crime. He became a legendary thief called the Ghost of Antioch. A price on his head, part of the adventure is the chase as Herod sends his men after not only all of the male children under two years of age in Judea, but sends them out to find the Antioch Ghost as he wants to kill him as well. He feels the Antioch Ghost has made a fool of him and Herod wants his revenge against the man.

Lots of violence in the story which can get a bit over the top—some gore, rape, and child murdering takes place so beware of that—but it was a lawless time for many in that era. Or maybe not lawless, but dangerous and life was easily lost with the Romans in charge of the world. Man’s inhumanity to man is pretty obvious in this story. The common man and woman really didn’t have any rights—especially the women. They were forced to do things against their wills in this strongly patriarchal society. The author touches on that in the scenes related to the harem of Herod.

If this sounds depressing, I don’t mean for it to. I liked the story and the hero’s journey was satisfying as it progressed to the ending. Balthasar had a lot of issues—some rooted way back in his past, but the reader gets to enjoy watching him grow as a person and learn that violence doesn’t have to be the answer—unless the whole Roman Army is trying to kill you…

This author has a unique voice and is very clever and creative.  This book was compelling and well written. As a lover of thrillers, I was entertained by this one. Lots of excitement, but also tender moments as well as a bit of humor mixed in. A good read if you can get past the violence and the sometimes disrespect for Mary, Joseph and the baby.  

Aug8

A Haunted History of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes- A Review

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Interesting, informative, and sometimes insulting.

I am somewhat torn about this book. There were some things to love about it and some things to hate as well.

Being someone who is intrigued by the spiritual and historical and having read/enjoyed some of Leanna’s fiction work, the premise and authors of this book intrigued me and led me to want to read it.

Quite a number of the ghost tales were known to me—in fact, one of them was very well known as I spent a semester at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama in high school in a program called Step Ahead where incoming high school seniors could take two classes (for credit) in the summer. I was pleased that one of the first tales told in this book was about the red lady from there. That summer I lived on campus, we used to walk down to the dorm (Pratt Hall) where the poor girl supposedly died and talk about how tragic that was. A few times, it seemed there was a face at one of the windows on the top floor. Perhaps a flight of fancy since we were told the room had been boarded up. Nevertheless, it was nice to see the story in this book.

Clearly, the authors did a wonderful job fully researching the various stories they chose to share. The way the tales were sorted into categories made sense and the organization was well done. The book had a nice flow to it and a good variety of stories.

Some of the prose was a bit too woke and strident for me. There were also some places that it seemed as if the authors were lecturing or looking down on the reader. It was odd to me for them to basically attempt to shame the very demographic of people who would be attracted to reading the subject matter of this book. It was also strange since one of the authors owns a ghost tour company and the other one leads ghost tours. If you make your living from the industry, how can you legitimately look down on your customers? Seems a bit cynical to me. I almost stopped reading a couple of times because of this, but eventually picked it up again as the actual ghost stories and histories of the places were intriguing.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I recommend the book for the stories and thorough historical research. Just skim over the parts where the writers’ judgment of the reader is problematic. I’m giving this one 3.5 stars for the historical detail and quality of the tales.

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. September 27, 2022 release date.

Aug5

The Double Agent- William Christie- a Review

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WWII Iran, 1943

The story opens with the hero in dire straits in Iran. He’s in a cell being held at the British embassy and he’s doomed if he doesn’t take action to protect himself.

The hero, Alexsi, warned the British about a plot to kill Churchill ordered by Stalin. As his ‘reward” for doing so, the British intend to send him right back into the fray as a spy for them. A sure fire way for Alexsi to be killed himself.

A clever man who has had a rough existence, he finds a way to survive. But fate has a way of chasing this man and it isn’t long until he’s back in peril. In fact, this whole book is basically him going from one perilous situation to another. Such is the life of a spy in WWII.

Excitement abounds, the story teems with edge of the seat scenarios, and the violence is sometimes stunning and off the charts.

I enjoyed this book for the storyline as well as the hero. He’s smart, industrious, witty and very likeable. Almost like a violent McGyver. He finds his way into scrapes and back out using the resources to hand.

Clearly, the writer of this story has a great way with words and figuring out a way to get his protagonist out of scrapes. I liked the sheer audacity of some of the hero’s actions.

This appears to be book two of a series and it seems there will be a book three since the war isn’t over in the timeline of the story (and even though the ending was satisfying, it is clear this character has more to do). I was pleased to find I didn’t need to have read book one to jump right into book two. There was no confusion about who this man was and why he was in the situation he was in. That being said, I’m planning to go back and read the first one since I’m intrigued by the character. And I eagerly await the next installment.

I would warn readers that the book is quite violent so if you’re squeamish, be wary. Otherwise, be ready for an interesting ride-along with Alexsi.

I received this book from Net Galley in exchange for an unbiased review.  It comes out November 15, 2022.