Never Go Back by Lee Child #JackReacher

Never Go Back

by Lee Child

(Bantam Press)

Synopsis:

After an epic and interrupted journey all the way from the snows of South Dakota, Jack Reacher has finally made it to Virginia. His destination: a sturdy stone building a short bus ride from Washington D.C., the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. It was the closest thing to a home he ever had. 

Why? He wants to meet the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner. He liked her voice on the phone. But the officer sitting behind Reacher’s old desk isn't a woman. Why is Susan Turner not there?

What Reacher doesn’t expect is what comes next. He himself is in big trouble, accused of a sixteen-year-old homicide. And he certainly doesn't expect to hear these words: ‘You’re back in the army, Major. And your ass is mine.’

Will he be sorry he went back? Or – will someone else?

 

Links:
Amazon
An excerpt from Lee Child's "Never Go Back", MSNBC
Lee Child's WebSite

Enjoy!

CYM

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Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Synopsis:

Cult horror director Stanislas Cordova hasn't been seen in public since 1971.

To his fans he is an enigma.

To journalist Scott McGrath he is the enemy.

To Ashley he was a father.

On a damp October night the young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Her suicide appears to be the latest tragedy to hit a severely cursed dynasty.

For McGrath, another death connected the legendary director seems more than coincidence. Driven by revenge, curiosity and a need for the truth, he finds himself pulled into a hypnotic, disorientating world, where almost everyone seems afraid.

The last time McGrath got close to exposing Cordova, he lost his marriage and his career. This time he could lose his grip on reality.

Book Trailer:

Links:

RandomHouse

Amazon

MarishaPessl

-CYM

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Launch of a Novice Fiction Writer’s Path – Part II

How Does It Feel to be a Newbie?

In this series of posts, I thought it would be interesting for me to trace my feelings about commencing a fiction career. As I noted in Part I, I have written several thriller manuscripts over the years, self-published Riddle of Berlin in 2008, and then decided that I would take advice of successful thriller writers and undertake to develop the skills and habits of a successful fiction writer.

I should also note that I am age 67 and have had successful careers as an international tax lawyer, author of taxation books, and director of a family company that has become a major multinational. Success in other areas, of course, means nothing on a new path.

When people on planes, beaches, or otherwise ask what I am doing when I am writing or editing, I inevitably answer that I am learning to become a fiction writer. After asking what genre and how many stories have you published, the next question is usually “how does it feel to be a nobody.” Actually, the comments are far more polite, but this is the underlying questions. I often think that these questions come from the commenter’s own self-question of “could I do that.”

I answer these questions based on my feelings of the moment. As I now head down this path with patience and persistence, I have thought about what it does feel like to be a newbie, rookie, novice, neophyte, or whatever other terms one chooses to describe someone at the precipice of beginning. 

The answer is that it feels good. I am proud of myself for learning that I have a hobby that is relaxing and joyful (I did it for about 15 years before deciding to get serious). I am not one whose hobbies are television, watching sports, hunting, fishing, or other pastimes. My hobby became fiction writing.

I am also proud that I have taken the time and coaching to prepare myself for striving to achieve my dream of becoming a skilled fiction writer. One benefit of age (life experience) and success in other areas, I think, is that I can approach this process with perspective. I will have fun regardless of whether my stories become bestsellers. If there is such success, via reviews or royalties, that will be great, of course. 

At ThrillerFest each year, new published authors are introduced. This year, there were 60 of them. My immediate dream is to be so introduced one year in the future. It may be that I will be the oldest newbie on the dais, but there will be no one happier and prouder to say a few words.

Another question that I am often asked is whether, as a newbie, I am prepared to “have fun.” This is a polite way of asking whether I am prepared to be a critical and commercial non-event. It is another good question, to be addressed in the next blog of this series.

Warms, Cym

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Winner of the 4 book GIVEAWAY!!

     
*all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *

And the winner of the 4 book bundle giveaway from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Create with Joy!!



Be sure to check out Create with Joy and leave a comment!


Warms-
CYM

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Author Spotlight: T.C. Southwell (The Queen's Blade) #epicfantasy

The Queen's Blade

by T.C. Southwell

(Genre: Epic Fantasy)

Book Blurb:

A doomed kingdom, a young queen’s sacrifice and a killer who will bring an empire to its knees... In a world where men share kindred with beasts, an ageless seer predicts a child who will end the Endless War. One man is the instrument who will change fate. He will usher in a time of strife and pain that will live in legend, and forever bear his name... the time of the Queen’s Blade.

Buy the Book:

Smashwords

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

T. C. Southwell was born in Sri Lanka and moved to the Seychelles with her family when she was a baby. She spent her formative years exploring the islands – mostly alone. Naturally, her imagination flourished and she developed a keen love of other worlds. The family travelled through Europe and Africa and, after the death of her father, settled in South Africa. T. C. Southwell has written over thirty novels and five screenplays. Her hobbies include motorcycling, horse riding and art.

Website

Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Thank you Tammy for being this week's author spotlight!

Stay in touch...

CYM

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Book Review Party Starts NOW! Link-up for a Chance to win a 4-Book Prize Pack

This week's prize pack!!

Strong Vengeance by Jon Land
Japantown by Barry Lancet
Murder In Thrall by Anne Cleeland
Riddle of Berlin by Cym Lowell

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog will be included in the giveaway). Permalinks from Amazon & other Book Review Sites are permitted.
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a simple link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, Thriller - or whatever you want to say!

4. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
5. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included. This week will include 4 Books, as seen in the above picture!

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list. 

International included. 

-CYM

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The Lower River by Paul Theroux #BookReview

The Lower River 
by Paul Theroux 
(First Mariner Books 2013)

Have you ever looked at your life and wondered what you are doing? In that process, do you think back to an earlier time when you recall being happy, perhaps even remembering a sweetheart in such a period?

What do you think it would be like to return at a later stage of your life? Would it be as you remembered? Better or worse? Could you find new life?

Hock spent two years in Malawi. He enjoyed the people, became an expert snake handler, and thirsted with love for an unrequited sweetheart, Gala.

Upon the death of his father, he returned to Boston to take over the family mens’ clothing store. He married and had a daughter. Ultimately, the business failed, his wife wanted a divorce after discovering messages with other women on Hock’s cell phone that she insisted he use (never consummated, just discussion), and in the divorce his daughter insisted on her “cut” of his estate in case he married again. Hock was divorced from his family and life.

He returned to Malawi and the village of his memory, Malabo, in the Lower River country. His bag contained his life, clothes, money, and what not. He meets Gala again, an old woman by then. A tall thin “twig”, Zizi, is assigned to care for him. She is granddaughter of Gala

Of course everything has changed. In the end, Hock finds his own redemption.

The story line in The Lower River is a trip through depression and an effort to find meaning in a soured life. Zizi loves and adores him. She would do anything for him. She is a virgin, placed on a pedestal in the Malabo. Can she bring Hock happiness? At what cost?

In the end . . . well, you need to read this lovely story. I found myself thinking through my own life. There are many parallels. It is such a joy to read a story that triggers emotions of life in the reader. This is a great read. It cries out for discussion in a book club gathering.

Warms, Cym

Amazon
NY Times Review
Paul Theroux

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