Tag: Thriller

Book Review (SERIES): The Ridnight Mysteries

Erin Penn Leave a comment

The build on this series is intoxicating. The first book introduces us to a world on the brink of industrialization through a murder mystery in the most magical and tribal part of this fantasy world. The second book weaves in stronger political portions with a heist in a Frontier Kingdom. The amazing conclusion is located in the industrial cities which straddle democracy and corporate oligarchy with a kidnapping mystery. Each mystery is different, each locale is different, the stakes keep rising, and there is no “saggy” middle to this series.

The Ridnight Mysteries Series by Stuart Jaffe

  1. The Water Blade
  2. The Waters of Taladoro
  3. Waterfire

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for THE WATER BLADE

A brave warleader on a quest for a mythical weapon, Axon Coponiv is forced to look outside her trusted party for help when one of her own is mysteriously slain. She turns to Zev Asterling, a failed businessman, displaced aristocrat, and psuedo-detective, to help her find out who killed her man and why. The mystery deepens as Zev realizes that the killer must be someone close to Axon, perhaps even one of the others in her band.

Is it Pilot, the genial but deadly warrior who has served alongside Axon for many years? Henlio, the quiet but steady sword who has stood by her through battle after battle? Or the mysterious witch Bellemont, one of the mysterious Stolen, about whom little is known?

To get to the bottom of this mystery, Zev will have to use all his intelligence and guile, not only to find the killer, but also to stay alive as the party traverses the treacherous distance to Castle Ridnight and the legendary Water Blade, the only weapon that can stop the encroachment of the armies of the West and their mysterious god-leader known only as The Beast.

The Water Blade is the first in a new trilogy of fantasy mystery novels from Stuart Jaffe, author of the Nathan K series and the Max Porter Mysteries.

MY REVIEW for THE WATER BLADE

A fantasy and a mystery, but not exceptional in either genre to drown in, still an tasty mixture to sip. The characters were more complex than the fantasy world-building and the mystery, though the foundation laid for the gods, the politics, and the magic system look promising for the rest of the series now that the initial premise has been developed in book one.

The Water Blade follows two POV characters, one a solider in search of legendary status and one is a natural detective in search of a challenge. Neither one comes from a family that understands their ambitions. Together they might change the world.

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for THE WATERS OF TALADORO

The Shield of Taladoro. A mythic artifact recovered by the valiant efforts of Axon Coponiv along with brave adventurers from the East and the Feral Lands.

But now, during the unveiling celebration at Ridnight Castle, the Shield has been stolen. The King tasks Zev Asterling, master-solver, with finding it.

The guests, representatives from either side of the world, point fingers at each other, and Zev must navigate the lies and treachery behind someone who has taken the Shield but is still in the castle. Tensions mount as he interviews all those who had a hand in finding the Shield and getting it to the castle. If he doesn’t solve the case and find the Shield fast, a war is going to begin. Right there in the ballroom.

MY REVIEW for THE WATERS OF TALADORO

I don’t normally struggle to solve the mystery before the detective. Usually I am content to observe the master solver resolving the issue, watching it unfurl like a flower in the sun, but the interviews just begged me to peel back the layers of the mystery.

I adored the interviews which furnished flashback/backstory, supplied character development, and provided clues and plot points. The format provided a different way to approach the heist mystery than the Ridnight Mysteries Book 1 (The Water Blade), which was a murder mystery. I also appreciated different types of mysteries to be resolved in the series and am curious to what type of mystery the author has chosen for the third and final book of the series.

If you want some mystery in your fantasy, or some fantasy in your mystery, The Ridnight Mysteries are a good set to pick up.

So did I solve the mystery? … Yes and no. I had a guess and I stuck with it forever and it was kind-of right, and many of the clues I picked up were the correct ones. I would say my guess was close enough to be right, but my particular flavor … I was too wedded to it and should have been open to more options. 

Editing comments – these are just my opinions, and, in fact, IMHO more than normal. I disliked some of the modern slang and/or Earth specific slang. The Ridnight Mysteries are set in a steampunk era world, so some of the slang is appropriate, but since I was reading a fantasy, it bothered me. “Rollicking time”- very early 1800 expression, first recorded during 1805-1815 according to the dictionary, would exist in the steampunk era, from 1850-1900. The big one for me was “scapegoat” which has very specific religious significance within the Judio-Christian belief system. On the other hand, The Ridnight Mysteries series has already introduced two or three religious systems and any of them could have created the scapegoat concept as well.

Basically, any of the slang terms used fall within the possible; I personally didn’t like their use in a non-Earth fantasy novel. But that is on me. 

 

Amazon Cover

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON for WATERFIRE

The thrilling conclusion to The Ridnight Mysteries!

After returning to the East, Zev Asterling attempts to put away his Master-Solver days and rebuild his life. Political tensions have run high since the events at Ridnight Castle, and a summit between the Frontier and the East is a sliver of light that many cling to.

But when a politician’s daughter is kidnapped, Zev is called upon to do what he does best. With the help of Axon, Pilot, and Bellemont, they must find the daughter in order to avert an all-out war. Along the way, his companions will have to resolve their feelings about the gods, their nations, and each other if they want to make it out alive.

Zev will have to set aside long-held grudges and family issues to deal with a threat the likes of which no one has ever encountered before, as his investigation takes him deep into the bowels of the city, pits him against a bizarre cult, and forces him to battle rogue witches who have the power to destroy the entire East.

MY REVIEW for WATERFIRE

The third and final book of the Ridnight Mysteries slams it out of the ballpark with the culmination of the worldbuilding for the last three books. While the start is slow, setting all the pieces into position for the mystery and the political thriller, once the action starts, it does not stop, ever. By the end, you feel like you have gone through a battle alongside the characters.

I should mention while our heroes do reach a satisfying conclusion in this fantasy detective series, the author leaves enough threads trailing into the future he could create another series which I would read through my eye-teeth if he manages to pull off another conclusion like this epic ending. The world is so layered, you know that the universe is continuing beyond the words of “the end” appearing on the last page.

Each of the stories of this Mystery series has concentrated on a different type of crime. The first one was the typical murder mystery, the second a heist, and the third contains a kidnapping. Usually a mystery series gets a little same-y feeling when reading them back-to-back, but with the changing crime focus and locales (East, Frontier, West), each book of this series feels remarkably fresh.

The theme of exploring toxic family vs. found family continues strongly in this book.

Zev, one of the two main Point of View (POV) characters, can be hard to deal with as he has the full confidence of a master craftsman and the internal destruction of the imposter syndrome. Some people may ask how both can inhabit the same body; if you know creators, you know this personality – godhood and worthless-worm. It is exhausting to deal with, but very real.

I do like the fact none of the characters are good at everything. The team of found family each have their specialty and respects each other in the area of their mastery, and teases them when not working in their best area. Like three friends going shopping – one drives, another is the SHOPPER, and the third keeps the other two on schedule so they get back in time to wrap the presents for the party.

Final mention, if you have read the other series books, you know the body-horror aspect of the magic system. This book takes it to a new level as one expects in an epic conclusion. I would say this last book crosses into horror as much as it crosses over into romance and political-thriller, while always respecting the core genre of detective-fantasy.

In conclusion, Waterfire delivers on the Ridnight Mystery series. It can work as a standalone, but you will be doing yourself a disservice not to become immersed in the world before experiencing the conclusion. Because, wow, the series is as amazing as this book on its own.

Book Review: Bad Alpha

Erin Penn 2 Comments

Amazon Cover

Bad Alpha by Katheryn Moon

BOOK BLURB ON AMAZON

Eve had one job. Kill Adam.

But when her mark for the night turns out to be a gift-wrapped omega, Eve can’t resist delaying the job and enjoying the opportunity before her.

One bite is all it takes.

That’s what Adam is counting on. One bite and he might live till morning.

Success is complicated and on the run for their lives, Eve and Adam need the one thing neither of them wants. A pack.

Can three good men tame the killer and the con artist? Not if this bad alpha can help it.

Bad Alpha is a MMFMM romance standalone with a HEA, set in the Sweetverse. Warning for violence and the acts of a dangerous woman in command.

 

MY REVIEW

That was unexpectedly good. Variations off the traditional erotica-romance includes (1) omegaverse style universe, (2) thriller action, (3) redemption arc of the assassin bad girl as strong as one normally sees for male characters. (a female redemption arc is something several author friends have talked about)

Works as a stand-alone (I did not read the rest of the series … though I might now!).

Yeah, this really is a thriller with the central heroine an assassin. She is really GOOD at being BAD. Can an omega con-man and a para-military barely-there (non-shifter) pack survive the taming of this feral Alpha? Especially when she has an international human slavery ring after her?

(I think the human slavery ring is the on-going plotline connecting the Sweet Omegaverse series.)

This has the best action-fight scenes I have EVER read in an erotica-romance. I read a lot of paranormal romance, so this is actually a higher bar than you would expect for the romance genre and Ms. Moon doesn’t just break previous records, she destroys them. This book would work as a VERY good thriller if the reverse harem was removed.

But that would be a horrible loss, removing the reverse harem. All the men are distinctive personalities, strong interpersonal relationships. Characters DEVELOP and CHANGE. Grow stronger. The M-M romance within the harem is wonderfully sweet. The heroine develops different relationships with each of her harem.

Really, this book is an amazing example of its genre and completely spoils me in my expectations for other Omegaverse-style books.

Flash: Against the Sky

Erin Penn Leave a comment

Photo by Hassan Sherif on Unsplash

Rufus Orion Zerafshan showed up on time the day after Skyfall went black. As a middle manager in the recruitment and training department for Vella Utilities, his job wasn’t essential to the emergency but his particular job hadn’t been exempted from the blanket order of everyone report. He figured a day of shuffling paper in a heated office wouldn’t be a bad way to celebrate the success of his rebel cell group while everyone else ran around trying to get the power back on that they had taken down.

He had pulled it off. Nearly five years work to create the network needed. The big break happened sixteen months ago when the Home-at-Last terrorist attack showed the weakness in the grid. Then grooming and recruiting Taurus and Virga took another five months. With them in hand, the rest had fallen like dominoes.

Now he had proven himself. Make an impact, Scorpio had ordered. Have the city feel the grip of terror. Mission accomplished. Promotion within the organization should follow. Establishing a group raised him out of the general pool to middle management. Maybe next he could get an office with a window.

Rufus pressed the sensor under his name, smiling again at having his name with a permanent desk, and the door to his office slid open. “Scorp—” he cut himself off.

The man sitting at his desk said, “Close the door.”

Rufus slapped the inside sensor, then set it to private. “Is it…” he dropped his voice to a whisper, “safe for you to be here?”

Scorpio sat forward, his black Vella security uniform collar displaying two pips of a low-level patrolman. “Today no one is asking any questions of where security can and cannot be, thanks to you.” He gestured to the singular chair Rufus had in front of his desk for supplicants wanting to be hired into utilities.

The plastic molded seat had no comfort to its form deliberately, but Rufus sat quickly.

“No one will hear anything.” Scorpio touched a small box in the center of the desk. “Report.”

“Sir, it went off exactly as planned. What I submitted on Second-Day is exactly what happened.”

“I believe I told you to back off the Avery, compromising only one of their substations.”

“I’m sorry sir, but Taurus had infiltrated them first. Those devices have been in place since the summer, and the cell would have questioned if I told them not to attack Avery. The only way Vella remained untouched is by me lying about improvements being made to our internal security systems.”

Scorpio leaned back. “I didn’t realize the devices had been in place so long. You hadn’t indicated that. Weren’t you worried about them being found?”

“Virga is an artist, no one would suspect anything. And, sir, you did say to keep my reports to a bare minimum.” Rufus rocked back and forth to keep his butt from numbing. “Cell security. ‘You are an essential ingredient in our ongoing effort to reduce Security Risk.’ – Kirsten Manthrone. You said, the less people know the better.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” Scorpio squeezed his fist tight enough the mysu-leather crackled. “Well, you did amazingly well and we will need to throw a couple of sacrifices to the Christians newsies before the hunt gets too deep. Where are Virga and Taurus and how soon can you arrange another meeting?”

Rufus jerked, a light flush rising against his skin. “Sir, I followed the plan. If successful, I dissolved the cell.”

“But you still have a way to get in contact with them?” Scorpio leaned forward. “Don’t you?”

“I mean, I still have Virga’s contact information somewhere in the … no, she helped me delete all connections between me and the others.” The ex-cell leader shook his head. “I think I remember where she lives, maybe. Somewhere in the New Hope Projects. She had scored exceptional during the vo-tech testing in third grade and became a gifted-potential.”

“And Taurus?”

“Leo hired him to move something and suggested I tap him for delivery connections.” Wiggling in the steadily more uncomfortable chair he had plucked out from the catalog for just this feeling, but never thinking he would be one in the seat, Rufus continued, “He was a dayworker for the Greens organic foods. I never learned where he lived. Perfect for cell security.”

“How about their names?”

“Virga and Taurus.”

Scorpio scoffed. “No, their real names.”

“I don’t remember.”

The security’s officer fist pounded the table, making everything on it jump. “You’ve been working with them for a year, and you don’t know their real names?”

“No sir, cell security.” Rufus leaned forward. “You said to keep everything as isolated as possible and I did. I did everything you told me to. No names, not ever.” Rufus actually knew both their names, where they lived, and their family connections, but rules were rules and Scorpio didn’t need to know he could reassemble the cell if he needed to. Because if he betrayed his people, Scorpio would think he would also be willing to betray him and Rufus didn’t think he would survive that. Better to appear to be an idiot that follows the procedures than a potential leak.

“Fuck.” Scorpio stood, circling the desk.

Rufus rose to meet him. The office barely had space for two men standing.

Gripping the rebel by the shoulder, the security officer asked, “You sure? The dogs are yelping for blood and tossing them some bones could save a lot of trouble.”

“Sir, I’m loyal. I do what I’m told.” Rufus looked as earnest as possible. “I did everything asked. We did a great work. ‘Individuals do not create rebellions; conditions do.’ – H. Rap Brown. These are the perfect conditions. The FirstLanders have to listen to our needs.”

“A rebel to the end.” Scorpio frowned. “We really could use more like you in this world Rufus.”

The manager stood a little taller under the grip of the other. “Thank you sir.”

“Too bad you died resisting arrest.”

A blast blew through Rufus’ belly and traveled part-way into the next office. The Vella security officer sent a second blast through the other man’s head, destroying the brain casing to keep any Pisces psychics from looking for evidence where they shouldn’t.

(words 1,045; first published 1/7/2024)

When the Stars Align series

  1. When the Stars Align (12/24/2023)
  2. Against the Sky (1/7/2024)

Writing Exercise: 50-Word Prompts 2022

Erin Penn

WRITING EXERCISE

Time for the December 50-word prompts writing exercise.

Quick reminder of the rules: Write two 50-word flashes. Aim for 50 words, give or take five extra words. Don’t read my attempts until after you do your own. Writing them directly in the comment section below will help you focus on the flash aspect – just getting words out.

TEXT PROMPT FOR 50-WORD FLASH: Work

VISUAL PROMPT FOR 50-WORD FLASH

Photo by Luke Ellis-Craven on Unsplash

My Attempts

TEXT PROMPT: Work

“Worth it, let me work it” pounded from the speakers. Franz watched the human mass below. Some women twerking were thicc. Sipping his whiskey, he wondered if anyone would notice if his glass sipped from his fingers. He didn’t get to find outs since his assassin pulled him back from the balcony’s edge. The glass fell to the sticky upper floor.

(first published 12/27/2022; 61 words)

VISUAL PROMPT

Gliding Cliff felt like the edge of the world. Clem breathed deep. Time to try this. After standing, he cracked spine, twisting his head left and right. One last deep breath, the better to scream with if it didn’t work.

He leapt. Come up – open up, open up, open up.

(first published 12/27/2022; 50 words)

Series: 50-word Prompts

  1. Prompts 1& 5 (2/19/2017)
  2. Prompts 6 & 12 (2/26/2017)
  3. Prompts 7, 8, 10, 11 (3/19/2017)
  4. Prompts (The Mouse Roars) (3/26/2017)
  5. 50-word prompts 2018 (12/25/2018)
  6. 50-word prompts 2019 (8/27/2019)
  7. 50-word prompts 2020 (12/22/2020)
  8. 50-word prompts 2021 (12/28/2021)
  9. 50-word prompts 2022 (12/17/2022) – forthcoming

 

Writing Exercise: Tension Arrows

Erin Penn

Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash

After a read, I had the following feedback for an author:

Are you trying for thriller or horror vibe? I think the scare factor / tenseness needs to be ramped up a notch. This can be done by increasing the urgency (thriller leaning) or the uneasiness (horror). At the moment, the tenseness is steady throughout the book – might be helpful to work on building some up-and-down into the manuscript.

Tension needed to be ratcheted up within the story, but not all at once, and certainly not without some relief now and again. The roller-coaster ride needed to be put into play. In this particular case, a slow build was needed to start, but getting faster with time … taking a break now and again … then slam readers as they relax.

The tool I suggested to help visual this ride is place an arrow beside each build of tension, making sure to have at least one arrow per chapter. Adding more arrows as the manuscript progresses (3 or 4 per chapter by the end). Make a flat line or down arrow for each “break” from building tension.

WRITING EXERCISE: Write a tension-building scene. Add tension arrows once done.

My Attempt

The gun meant nothing. To him. To me. As it sat waiting between us.

Off to the side, the clock ticked, ticked, ticked. One of the old analog clocks of a bygone era, like the gun.

Peace. The world was at peace. Both of us could feel the calming emissions working their way through the layers of concrete between us and the city outside, but the scents blown up from the subway vents and billowing out of the skyscraper doorways had been replaced by mildew and dust in this time-forgotten subbasement.

We had left our cells at the entrance, before making our way down here. No tracking, no emissions.

Just us.

And a nothing gun.

He twitched. I moved faster.

The explosion pounded my chest, and I dropped the heavy metal object when the hot residual sprayed back.

(words 138, first published 11/22/2022)