SEARCH ENGINE RESULTS You searched for Words in our titles, subtitles, blurbs, extracts and keywords Your search for crime produced the following results
| Death Drop John Klawitter Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Action/Adventure Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback A financial advisor and amateur rock collector gains control of a ski resort only to discover the person he’s outsmarted is better at murder than money.
Thus begins a web of intrigue, action and adventure where greed comes up against deceit and crime.
Words: 70000 Ebook Price: $5.95 | 
| Pages: 316 Paperback price: $11.42 | 
| | | 
More By This Author | Death Drop John Klawitter Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Action/Adventure A financial advisor and amateur rock collector gains control of a ski resort only to discover the person he’s outsmarted is better at murder than money.
Thus begins a web of intrigue, action and adventure where greed comes up against deceit and crime.
Words: 70000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.42 |
| |
More By This Author Death Drop John Klawitter Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Action/Adventure Words: 70000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $11.42 |
| | | A financial advisor and amateur rock collector gains control of a ski resort only to discover the person he’s outsmarted is better at murder than money.
Thus begins a web of intrigue, action and adventure where greed comes up against deceit and crime.
| | Rite of Death The Damien Palmer Investigations - Book 2 Stuart Holland Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: Crime Fiction, Thrillers/Suspense Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback To Damien Palmer, the request seemed pointless. The police had found Heather Burnston standing over the body of her husband. The kitchen was covered in his blood and she was still holding the murder weapon when the police knocked the door down. Yet she protested to her solicitor, John Manning, that she was not guilty. So it was that one morning in early spring, Damien Palmer decided to accept the solicitor’s request to investigate this hopeless case. Words: 81100 Ebook Price: $3.45 |
| Pages: 314 Paperback price: $8.93 |
| | | | Private Investigator Damien Palmer is on the case! Alibi The Damien Palmer Investigations - Book 1 Stuart Holland Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: Crime Fiction, Thrillers/Suspense Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback When a young woman knocks on Palmer's front door one evening and asks him to find her an alibi for a particular evening sixteen months previously, Palmer thinks it will be an interesting case.
Time is of the essence and Palmer wastes no time in getting started. Within hours his worst fears are realised and he begins to understand that this will be anything but a routine case.
Palmer had no idea when he took on the case that finding an alibi for the young woman would be the least of his problems. Words: 69000 Ebook Price: $3.45 |
| Pages: 264 Paperback price: $8.93 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Private Investigator Damien Palmer is on the case! Alibi The Damien Palmer Investigations - Book 1 Stuart Holland Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: Crime Fiction, Thrillers/Suspense When a young woman knocks on Palmer's front door one evening and asks him to find her an alibi for a particular evening sixteen months previously, Palmer thinks it will be an interesting case.
Time is of the essence and Palmer wastes no time in getting started. Within hours his worst fears are realised and he begins to understand that this will be anything but a routine case.
Palmer had no idea when he took on the case that finding an alibi for the young woman would be the least of his problems. Words: 69000 Ebook Price: $3.45 |
| Paperback price: $8.93 |
| |
More By This Author Private Investigator Damien Palmer is on the case! Alibi The Damien Palmer Investigations - Book 1 Stuart Holland Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: Crime Fiction, Thrillers/Suspense Words: 69000 Ebook Price: $3.45 |
| Paperback price: $8.93 |
| | | When a young woman knocks on Palmer's front door one evening and asks him to find her an alibi for a particular evening sixteen months previously, Palmer thinks it will be an interesting case.
Time is of the essence and Palmer wastes no time in getting started. Within hours his worst fears are realised and he begins to understand that this will be anything but a routine case.
Palmer had no idea when he took on the case that finding an alibi for the young woman would be the least of his problems. | | Technology is not inherently evil - but some men are! The Galileo Project Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Crime Fiction In 1999 several billion internationally are invested in counter measures to combat the much anticipated, widely dreaded world-wide Y2K computer virus.
Amidst these counter measures several banks in New York and London take the daring precaution of secretly stashing several billion in cash in armored cars in secret locations around the cities in anticipation of their computers collapsing at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
When the virus doesn’t materialize and the armored vans are recalled the next day all but one of them returns. Pages: 626 Paperback price: $19.71 |
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More By This Author | Technology is not inherently evil - but some men are! The Galileo Project Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Crime Fiction In 1999 several billion internationally are invested in counter measures to combat the much anticipated, widely dreaded world-wide Y2K computer virus.
Amidst these counter measures several banks in New York and London take the daring precaution of secretly stashing several billion in cash in armored cars in secret locations around the cities in anticipation of their computers collapsing at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
When the virus doesn’t materialize and the armored vans are recalled the next day all but one of them returns. Paperback price: $19.71 |
| |
More By This Author Technology is not inherently evil - but some men are! The Galileo Project Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Thrillers/Suspense, Crime Fiction Paperback price: $19.71 |
| | | In 1999 several billion internationally are invested in counter measures to combat the much anticipated, widely dreaded world-wide Y2K computer virus.
Amidst these counter measures several banks in New York and London take the daring precaution of secretly stashing several billion in cash in armored cars in secret locations around the cities in anticipation of their computers collapsing at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
When the virus doesn’t materialize and the armored vans are recalled the next day all but one of them returns. | | In a world where everyone is guilty, the only crime is getting caught!
The Wolves of Calabria Book 2 in the Operation Underworld trilogy Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction, General Fiction Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB Also available as a paperback The Italian Wolf, also known as the Apennine Wolf, was originally described in 1921 as subspecies Canis lupus italicus by Italian zoologist Joseph Atobello. However, following WWII it was believed to be extinct. It was not.
After the war the wolves spread west from Sicily to the island of Corsica and then on to Southern France and finally across the Atlantic and into the United States through New York City.
By 1946 the wolves, led by a cunning and ruthless leader, were planning to devour the youth and disenfranchised of the U.S. Words: 129000 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Pages: 598 Paperback price: $17.80 |
| | | 
More By This Author | In a world where everyone is guilty, the only crime is getting caught!
The Wolves of Calabria Book 2 in the Operation Underworld trilogy Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction, General Fiction The Italian Wolf, also known as the Apennine Wolf, was originally described in 1921 as subspecies Canis lupus italicus by Italian zoologist Joseph Atobello. However, following WWII it was believed to be extinct. It was not.
After the war the wolves spread west from Sicily to the island of Corsica and then on to Southern France and finally across the Atlantic and into the United States through New York City.
By 1946 the wolves, led by a cunning and ruthless leader, were planning to devour the youth and disenfranchised of the U.S. Words: 129000 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $17.80 |
| |
More By This Author In a world where everyone is guilty, the only crime is getting caught!
The Wolves of Calabria Book 2 in the Operation Underworld trilogy Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction, General Fiction Words: 129000 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $17.80 |
| | | The Italian Wolf, also known as the Apennine Wolf, was originally described in 1921 as subspecies Canis lupus italicus by Italian zoologist Joseph Atobello. However, following WWII it was believed to be extinct. It was not.
After the war the wolves spread west from Sicily to the island of Corsica and then on to Southern France and finally across the Atlantic and into the United States through New York City.
By 1946 the wolves, led by a cunning and ruthless leader, were planning to devour the youth and disenfranchised of the U.S. | | Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB PDF Also available as a paperback In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . Words: 101600 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Pages: 412 Paperback price: $16.52 |
| | | 
More By This Author | Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . Words: 101600 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $16.52 |
| |
More By This Author Politically Erect Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Humour Words: 101600 Ebook Price: $6.95 |
| Paperback price: $16.52 |
| | | In 1971 there were only three ways out of the soul-crushing, abject poverty of the Jersey City shithole of a slum they called the Duncan Avenue Federal Housing Project; prison, the military or the likely end to both – death.
In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Billy Chance had a dream: to become a doctor.
All he’d have to do is finish high school, (something no one else in his family had ever done before), find a shit load of money, (something else no one else in his family had ever done), and get accepted to college, something no one . . . | | There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB PDF From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. Words: 34700 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
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More By This Author | There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. Words: 34700 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| |
More By This Author There's An App For That Combined Edition Paddy Kelly Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Historical Fiction, Humour Words: 34700 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | From the author of the political, historical novels Operation Underworld, The American Way and The Wolves of Calabria comes a tongue-in-cheek look, punctuated with serious overtones, at some of the main events of the past which have strained, shaped and directed the course of Western culture of the Sixties and Seventies.
This collection of short stories and essays takes a private and personal POV at various events which, although experienced by the author, have affected tens of thousands. | | Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour This is an audio book. Run time is approx. 05 Hrs 05 Mins 51 Secs . There are 18, parts to download and the total download size is approx. 109.2 Mb Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Audiobook Price: $5.95 | 
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More By This Author | Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| |
More By This Author Check Mate The Audio Book Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| | | Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... | | World War 3 looks imminent! The Rescue of Beloved Mirror-Walker II Mitchell Micone Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: General Fiction, Action/Adventure Available Formats to Download: MOBI EPUB MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback David Malone’s special skill of going through mirrors to find people enabled him to rescue the First Lady when she was kidnapped by an unknown group bent on starting a war with China. That sinister group is back with plan B. This time, however, they are making sure that David can’t derail their evil plans. Their first step as they move to put their new plan into action is to kidnap David and lock him away under twenty-four hour guard someplace where there are no mirrors and no shiny surfaces.
What they didn’t realize was that David was not alone when they struck. Words: 50334 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Pages: 190 Paperback price: $8.92 |
| | | 
More By This Author | World War 3 looks imminent! The Rescue of Beloved Mirror-Walker II Mitchell Micone Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: General Fiction, Action/Adventure David Malone’s special skill of going through mirrors to find people enabled him to rescue the First Lady when she was kidnapped by an unknown group bent on starting a war with China. That sinister group is back with plan B. This time, however, they are making sure that David can’t derail their evil plans. Their first step as they move to put their new plan into action is to kidnap David and lock him away under twenty-four hour guard someplace where there are no mirrors and no shiny surfaces.
What they didn’t realize was that David was not alone when they struck. Words: 50334 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.92 |
| |
More By This Author World War 3 looks imminent! The Rescue of Beloved Mirror-Walker II Mitchell Micone Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: General Fiction, Action/Adventure Words: 50334 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.92 |
| | | David Malone’s special skill of going through mirrors to find people enabled him to rescue the First Lady when she was kidnapped by an unknown group bent on starting a war with China. That sinister group is back with plan B. This time, however, they are making sure that David can’t derail their evil plans. Their first step as they move to put their new plan into action is to kidnap David and lock him away under twenty-four hour guard someplace where there are no mirrors and no shiny surfaces.
What they didn’t realize was that David was not alone when they struck. | | The President's Wife is Missing Mirror-Walker I Mitchell Micone Click For Book Page and Excerpt Click Here For All Books In This Series Genres: Science Fiction, Crime Fiction Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback David Malone is a private detective with a unique specialty–he can find anyone, anywhere in the world providing he has a picture of them, he knows their name, and they are near a mirror. They have to be near a mirror because he finds them by staring into the special mirror on his bedroom wall and coming out near them as a mirror walker. Words: 31137 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
| Pages: 116 Paperback price: $7.64 |
| | | 
 - Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
 -
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto this
reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight (interviewed here),
was already in my review queue for some time now with an older recipe
but, as her newest book came up for sale, I decided to take up this
newest dish instead. So is this near-future military sci-fi with a
side of wit and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the Starving Review
creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the
genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line between using
humor to flavor a serious dish and overseasoning with humor to ruin a
dish. Comedy, especially dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even
harder. So, let me put this particular dog to bed and say that the
sugary sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There is
a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic elements, as
well as that dry British wit to the whole affair, and it sits well in
this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of this meal.
Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters and handles those
characters quite well. Even the occasional stock minor characters is
gifted with a particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit
more three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the chef to
make the characters more than the title of their jobs, no matter how
stereotypical they may seem at first blush, and that defiance of
stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe of
‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a classic by
this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in the realm of
near-future technology. The initial start is a bit more mellow than I
expected it would be. In fact, it veers dangerously close to an
extended info-dump, yet it wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was
a thick crust of necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the
pacing turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its stride, the
courses come along well, properly seasoned, with dutiful wordsmithing.
If I have any stylistic complaints, it’s the occasional slip of
British turns-of-phrase in a distinctly American setting. Naturally,
most readers probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit
of an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most people’s
meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish there was a
bit more done from the haywire military robot’s point-of-view. Not
much, but there were a few bits early on that gives the reader some
flashes of what is going on and I found those particularly brilliant
while not giving away the overarching plot. Some more scenes like
that I think would have added a bit of needed spice at points during
the last half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future military
romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots! It’s not *quite*
perfect, but it’s really quite good and I can gladly recommend this
meal to any lover of science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly
British dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind the
book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp mixing some
dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5 (visitor) More By This Author | | Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Also available as a paperback Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Pages: 178 Paperback price: $8.92 |
| | |
-
- Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
-
-
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto this
reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight (interviewed here),
was already in my review queue for some time now with an older recipe
but, as her newest book came up for sale, I decided to take up this
newest dish instead. So is this near-future military sci-fi with a
side of wit and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the Starving Review
creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan of the
genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line between using
humor to flavor a serious dish and overseasoning with humor to ruin a
dish. Comedy, especially dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even
harder. So, let me put this particular dog to bed and say that the
sugary sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There is
a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic elements, as
well as that dry British wit to the whole affair, and it sits well in
this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of this meal.
Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters and handles those
characters quite well. Even the occasional stock minor characters is
gifted with a particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit
more three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the chef to
make the characters more than the title of their jobs, no matter how
stereotypical they may seem at first blush, and that defiance of
stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe of
‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a classic by
this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in the realm of
near-future technology. The initial start is a bit more mellow than I
expected it would be. In fact, it veers dangerously close to an
extended info-dump, yet it wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was
a thick crust of necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the
pacing turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its stride, the
courses come along well, properly seasoned, with dutiful wordsmithing.
If I have any stylistic complaints, it’s the occasional slip of
British turns-of-phrase in a distinctly American setting. Naturally,
most readers probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit
of an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most people’s
meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish there was a
bit more done from the haywire military robot’s point-of-view. Not
much, but there were a few bits early on that gives the reader some
flashes of what is going on and I found those particularly brilliant
while not giving away the overarching plot. Some more scenes like
that I think would have added a bit of needed spice at points during
the last half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future military
romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots! It’s not *quite*
perfect, but it’s really quite good and I can gladly recommend this
meal to any lover of science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly
British dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind the
book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp mixing some
dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5 (visitor) More By This Author | Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.92 |
| |
-
- Average 4.0 from 1 ratings
-
-
From jbgarner58.wordpress.com:
Happy coincidence has brought a recently-released dish onto
this reviewer’s plate today. The chef, Michelle Knight
(interviewed here), was already in my review queue for some
time now with an older recipe but, as her newest book came
up for sale, I decided to take up this newest dish instead.
So is this near-future military sci-fi with a side of wit
and comedy make for a fabulous meal or some bland tinned
biscuits?
Before we cut open the MRE package, let us recite the
Starving Review creed:
I attempt to rate every book from the perspective of a fan
of the genre
I attempt to make every review as spoiler-free as possible.
Here’s the rub, my literary foodies, there’s a fine line
between using humor to flavor a serious dish and
overseasoning with humor to ruin a dish. Comedy, especially
dark comedy, is hard. Good comedy is even harder. So, let
me put this particular dog to bed and say that the sugary
sprinkles of comedy are properly used in this piece. There
is a certain Doctor Strangelove sort of feel to the comedic
elements, as well as that dry British wit to the whole
affair, and it sits well in this Reviewer’s stomach.
With that clear, let’s attack the rest of the components of
this meal. Check Mate presents a diverse cast of characters
and handles those characters quite well. Even the
occasional stock minor characters is gifted with a
particular spark of flavor that makes them just a bit more
three-dimensional. There was obviously care taken by the
chef to make the characters more than the title of their
jobs, no matter how stereotypical they may seem at first
blush, and that defiance of stereotype is appreciated.
The plot takes some interesting turns in the classic recipe
of ‘military-killer-robot-goes-haywire’ (and yes, that IS a
classic by this point!) while keeping its feet grounded in
the realm of near-future technology. The initial start is a
bit more mellow than I expected it would be. In fact, it
veers dangerously close to an extended info-dump, yet it
wasn’t to the point of off-putting. It was a thick crust of
necessary exposition but, past that initial bit, the pacing
turns into a even and consistent flow of action and events,
leading to a rather enjoyable final course.
Stylistically, Check Mate is solid. Once it hits its
stride, the courses come along well, properly seasoned, with
dutiful wordsmithing. If I have any stylistic complaints,
it’s the occasional slip of British turns-of-phrase in a
distinctly American setting. Naturally, most readers
probably won’t catch these, as I barely did and I’m a bit of
an Anglophile, so I don’t see this detracting from most
people’s meals.
My one real quibble with this particular meal is I wish
there was a bit more done from the haywire military robot’s
point-of-view. Not much, but there were a few bits early on
that gives the reader some flashes of what is going on and I
found those particularly brilliant while not giving away the
overarching plot. Some more scenes like that I think would
have added a bit of needed spice at points during the last
half of the book (into which I can delve no deeper because
SPOILERS!).
To bring it all together, Check Mate is a tasty near-future
military romp mixing some dark comedy with killer robots!
It’s not *quite* perfect, but it’s really quite good and I
can gladly recommend this meal to any lover of
science-fiction or enjoys a splash of distinctly British
dark humor with their meals! Remember, again, to check out
the Starving Interview to get a glimpse into the mind behind
the book.
FINAL VERDICT: **** (A tasty near-future military romp
mixing some dark comedy with killer robots!) 4 out of 5
(visitor) More By This Author Check Mate Michelle Knight Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Science Fiction, Humour Words: 52000 Ebook Price: $5.95 |
| Paperback price: $8.92 |
| | | Life is a game of chess and we have been programming our computers to play it for generations; each time honing the programs to work smarter, faster, with more efficiency and higher accuracy than ever before.
A stroke of fate saw two memory cards being swapped. In a military laboratory, the most powerful game of chess ever written was accidentally loaded in to an experimental, highly agile, weaponised robot. From the moment they hit the run command, that robot had only one purpose ... to win the game... | | The South African Connection John E. Poulson Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Crime Fiction Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF A 747 was on final approach into Heathrow from Johannesburg, a woman screamed as the passenger next to her slumped in his seat dead.
A case for Chief Inspector Alker of New Scotland Yard. During the autopsy it was discovered that he died from a massive dose of cyanide, and that he had 2 million pounds worth of uncut diamonds in his stomach. Cyanide works in seconds yet there were no puncture wounds in his body so it wasn't injected, nor had he eaten anything for the last hour. Words: 80227 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author | The South African Connection John E. Poulson Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Crime Fiction A 747 was on final approach into Heathrow from Johannesburg, a woman screamed as the passenger next to her slumped in his seat dead.
A case for Chief Inspector Alker of New Scotland Yard. During the autopsy it was discovered that he died from a massive dose of cyanide, and that he had 2 million pounds worth of uncut diamonds in his stomach. Cyanide works in seconds yet there were no puncture wounds in his body so it wasn't injected, nor had he eaten anything for the last hour. Words: 80227 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author The South African Connection John E. Poulson Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: General Fiction, Crime Fiction Words: 80227 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
| | | A 747 was on final approach into Heathrow from Johannesburg, a woman screamed as the passenger next to her slumped in his seat dead.
A case for Chief Inspector Alker of New Scotland Yard. During the autopsy it was discovered that he died from a massive dose of cyanide, and that he had 2 million pounds worth of uncut diamonds in his stomach. Cyanide works in seconds yet there were no puncture wounds in his body so it wasn't injected, nor had he eaten anything for the last hour. | | Crime is alive and well in The Zone The Zone Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF John Collins was born with the proverbial silver spoon. He was trained and coached from birth to take over the company business but while in college something happened. John Collins, II, heard the call. He veered from the path chosen for him and joined the Army as an officer. That got him disowned by his father but not his grandfather.
The old man made sure that John would have his share of the money generated by the giant company. The old man went as far as holding stock in trust for John. Words: 77777 Ebook Price: $3.95 |
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More By This Author | Crime is alive and well in The Zone The Zone Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction John Collins was born with the proverbial silver spoon. He was trained and coached from birth to take over the company business but while in college something happened. John Collins, II, heard the call. He veered from the path chosen for him and joined the Army as an officer. That got him disowned by his father but not his grandfather.
The old man made sure that John would have his share of the money generated by the giant company. The old man went as far as holding stock in trust for John. Words: 77777 Ebook Price: $3.95 |
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More By This Author Crime is alive and well in The Zone The Zone Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Words: 77777 Ebook Price: $3.95 |
| | | John Collins was born with the proverbial silver spoon. He was trained and coached from birth to take over the company business but while in college something happened. John Collins, II, heard the call. He veered from the path chosen for him and joined the Army as an officer. That got him disowned by his father but not his grandfather.
The old man made sure that John would have his share of the money generated by the giant company. The old man went as far as holding stock in trust for John. | | The Headless Horseman Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF This is a police detective yarn but it is also a celebration of love and friendship. Furthermore it is a character study of some very odd characters.
A hard-charging city chief of police, a perplexed county sheriff, some incompetent deputies, an evil crime boss, and well meaning friends just to mention a few.
"Headless Horseman" takes place in the small to medium-size town of Mapleton. The chief of detectives of the two person squad is Justin Hackler. Words: 107544 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author | The Headless Horseman Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction This is a police detective yarn but it is also a celebration of love and friendship. Furthermore it is a character study of some very odd characters.
A hard-charging city chief of police, a perplexed county sheriff, some incompetent deputies, an evil crime boss, and well meaning friends just to mention a few.
"Headless Horseman" takes place in the small to medium-size town of Mapleton. The chief of detectives of the two person squad is Justin Hackler. Words: 107544 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author The Headless Horseman Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Words: 107544 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
| | | This is a police detective yarn but it is also a celebration of love and friendship. Furthermore it is a character study of some very odd characters.
A hard-charging city chief of police, a perplexed county sheriff, some incompetent deputies, an evil crime boss, and well meaning friends just to mention a few.
"Headless Horseman" takes place in the small to medium-size town of Mapleton. The chief of detectives of the two person squad is Justin Hackler. | | Boxwood Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Available Formats to Download: Palm MOBI EPUB Sony Reader (LRF) ;MS Word PDF MS Reader Text RTF Detective Cody Ridges left his former employment under a dark cloud. He found himself employed in a much smaller police department. The Boxwood County Sheriff was willing to hire him but it was a tremendous step backward career-wise for the big city detective.
Suddenly his bad luck changed to good the moment he saw Catlin Talent a beautiful lawyer.
He had not even settled in to his new home, which was in a barn, when he was baffled by a series of home burglaries, a killing of two innocent people, a jail escape and one crime right after another. Words: 75000 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author | Boxwood Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Detective Cody Ridges left his former employment under a dark cloud. He found himself employed in a much smaller police department. The Boxwood County Sheriff was willing to hire him but it was a tremendous step backward career-wise for the big city detective.
Suddenly his bad luck changed to good the moment he saw Catlin Talent a beautiful lawyer.
He had not even settled in to his new home, which was in a barn, when he was baffled by a series of home burglaries, a killing of two innocent people, a jail escape and one crime right after another. Words: 75000 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
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More By This Author Boxwood Jack Coleman Click For Book Page and Excerpt Genres: Crime Fiction Words: 75000 Ebook Price: $4.95 |
| | | Detective Cody Ridges left his former employment under a dark cloud. He found himself employed in a much smaller police department. The Boxwood County Sheriff was willing to hire him but it was a tremendous step backward career-wise for the big city detective.
Suddenly his bad luck changed to good the moment he saw Catlin Talent a beautiful lawyer.
He had not even settled in to his new home, which was in a barn, when he was baffled by a series of home burglaries, a killing of two innocent people, a jail escape and one crime right after another. | |
