Monty's Book Reviews

The Sand Fiddlers A Rogue Green Beret's Escape From the Memories of Vietnam Les Burns 4 Stars Pages: 94 Genre: Mystery, Romance Published: 13 Sept 2021 Publisher's Blurb Alex Driscoll, a US Army Special Forces combat veteran, seeks solitude on an isolated section of beach while awaiting a discharge forced upon him due to an unauthorized eighteen-month mission to avenge the torture and butchering of his teammates at the hands of a Viet Cong death squad. A mysterious blonde-haired woman shows up unexpectedly and ruins his plans for seclusion. Suspecting she is either a war protester or sent by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Army’s Military Police, he tries to keep her distant. His suspicion dissipates when she reveals her lack of modesty and disclosure of childhood sexual abuse, retaliation, and possibly murder in a past as dark as his own. She claims she only seeks answers about the demons possessing a former friend who didn’t return from the same jungle. The strange...

Rook Takes The Queen Mandrill P.I. Vol.1 Christopher Brimmage 5 Stars Pages: 284 Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Comedy Published: 22 August 2022 Publisher's Blurb Who stops cartoons when they turn criminal? MANDRILL P.I., that’s who! MANDRILL P.I. is a hardboiled, hard-drinking private detective, and in this tale, he must solve the case of a beast that's devouring people at night. But as he investigates, he learns the obvious suspect may not be the culprit, and a monstrous conspiracy festers behind the scenes. Will he stop it in time? Or will were-beasts unleash their vicious appetites on everyone in the city? If you enjoy werewolves, Noir Urban Fantasy, Hellboy, or Who Framed Roger Rabbit, then this is the book for you. Review Mandrill P.I. is a monkey on a mission. Something is terrorising the city, a killer beast is on the loose and the hard-boiled gumshoe is on the case. This is a really fun novel that mixes a great plot with a range of strange characters as it follows Manny, our ...

The Anonymous Scribe The Vatican Chronicles Book 2 John I. Rigoli & Diane Cummings 4 Stars    Pages: 376 Genre: Historical Mystery, Thriller Published: 15 March 2022 Publisher's Blurb When the lie is two thousand years old, who, exactly, will the truth set free? While analyzing parchment fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls, grad student Susan Bauer pieces together text that indicates the existence of a stolen Secret Temple Scroll that was penned decades before the gospels. If discovered, this document could free the Jewish people from the centuries’-long blemish that they are responsible for Yeshua’s death. It could also turn Christianity on its head. From the basement of the Israeli Museum to a basilica in a picturesque French village to the ruins of Herculaneum, ex-Mossad Yigael Dorian and blacklisted archaeologists Valentina Vella and Erika Simone journey on a transcontinental chase, dodging thieves, kidnappers, cardinals, and enlisting mobsters to uncover the truth beh...

Terror's Sword Kevin Kuhens 4 Stars Pages: 364 Genre: Thriller Published: 15 March 2022 Publisher's Blurb The fate of America—and the entire world—rests in the hands of one man: Kyle McEwan. A terrorist known only by his nom de guerre is barreling toward America to attack it with an undetermined biological weapon. With millions of his citizens facing certain death, the president unleashes elite counterterrorism case officer Kyle McEwan, the desperate last measure America’s chief executives use when all other conventional methods fail to eliminate national security threats. McEwan’s blistering international pursuit links murders and kidnappings, allowing him to identify the terror mastermind and bioagent. With the terrorist on the verge of striking, can McEwan unravel the plot in time to prevent an apocalyptic global pandemic? As only an insider can convey, Terror’s Sword unveils the deep state machinations that test McEwan’s courage and perseverance and vividly depicts the extr...

  Behind The Fourth Wall Michael Solomowitz 4 Stars Pages: 295 Genre: Psychological Thriller Published: 13 Jan 2022 Publisher: Black Rose Writing Publisher's Blurb New York playwright Noah Miller had it all–a supportive wife, a precocious daughter, a promising career. Then, suddenly, all is lost. Still mourning his family, Noah reluctantly agrees to oversee the summer production of his play on Cape Cod. There he befriends a woman who sympathizes with his grief. But her true objectives run deeper–into his very soul–and Noah becomes an unwitting victim of her deception. Immersed in his production, he begins an affair with one of his actors but the guilt from their relationship leads to tragic consequences. Then, on the anniversary of his wife's passing, Noah discovers the harrowing mystery behind her unexpected death and the part he played in it. Harboring this devastating secret, his show about to open without one of its lead actors, and a dubious figure harassing him,  Behind ...

  The Vampire's Secret Emma Merrell 4 Stars Pages: 222 Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Vampire Published: 29 Aug 2014 Publisher's Blurb It’s anything but a normal day in Virginia Downey’s life when a mafia kingpin rescues her from a human trafficking ring and turns her into a vampire. Virginia is thrown into a world of wealth and danger that she never could have imagined, and given a new family she isn’t sure she ever wanted. Crime-boss Carlo and his mercurial progeny, Aiden, quickly become her only constants in a life gone haywire. Aiden takes a special interest in Virginia and they find themselves drawn to one another, in spite of Aiden’s vindictive ex-girlfriend, Colette, doing whatever she can to keep them apart. When Virginia discovers that one of her adopted family members has been lying to her from the beginning, she commits a violent crime that sends her fleeing across Europe in fear of retaliation. She is consumed by the desire to get revenge upon those who have wron...

  Meet The Dog That Didn't Sh*t Gordon S Jackson 4 Stars Pages: 259 Genre: Non Fiction Published: 13 Jan 2022 Publisher: Black Rose Writing Publisher's Blurb This set of personal reflections on English words is based partly on the author's background as a South African who grew up immersed in British English. But his odd encounters with American English (one of which leads to the book's title) are only one aspect of this blog-like compilation. Entries range from odd words, like the term for using cheese to predict the future, to problems with using spell check; from famous last words to tongue twisters; and from blunders caused by typos to a baby's first words. This expansive collection is suffused with a quirky sense of humor and numerous personal reflections — on a pun heard in high school that resonates sixty years later and the author's stand on preserving the meaning of “notorious.” Several jokes (including one about onomatopoeia) add to brightening the rea...

Dragons and Stuff Simon Carr 4 Stars Pages: 332 Genre: Fantasy, Humour Published: 27 May 2022 Publisher's Blurb In a place unknown. In a time nobody is sure of. Stuff happened, and there were Dragons. Epic dobadoobries unfold at an incredible pace around Prince Jasper and his man-servent, page, the guy who goes with him, Roulart. Can they stop the evil Queen from taking over Prince Jaspers's kingdom, and why should you care? Well, you should care! It will be a really rubbish story if you don't, put some effort in! Review Prince Jasper, yep you read that right, Jasper! I know, who’s called Jasper these days. Well this isn’t set in ‘these days’ it takes place a long time ago in a galaxy fa….sorry got my genres muddled for a minute. It’s a fantasy book, but you should’ve worked that out from the title to be fair. Anyway, Prince Jasper, remember him? You do, good. Sent away by his father to learn the infinite arts of magic and qualify as a wizard in order to protect his homelan...

Shearwater Point Denise Beddows 4 Stars Pages: 277 Genre: Detective, Mystery, Thriller Published: 9 January 2022 Publisher: PublishNation Publisher's Blurb Boston lawyer Dom Caffrey arrives in Northern Ireland to seek his biological parents, but soon finds himself arrested on suspicion of murder. MI5 intelligence analyst Carole Murray also comes to the province to bury her murdered uncle. Events lead them to Shearwater Point, a stunning spot on the County Down coast. However, the breath-taking beauty of the location hides a dark history of cruelty, human exploitation and murder. Meanwhile, nearby, a sinister, ultra-right group is plotting a major terror attack. Review Dom Caffrey heads to Ulster to trace the parents who gave him up for adoption to America at birth. He certainly doesn’t expect to get arrested for murder, nor does he think he’d get embroiled in an historic case of human cruelty perpetrated by the nuns at the maternity home at Shearwater Point. An excellent plot, well...