The Sand Fiddlers by Les Burns


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 strangers are drawn closer throughout the day and night, only for him to discover the circumstances of the former friend aren’t what they seemed. Torn between reality and fantasy, his realization that he has fallen in love may have come too late to save the developing romance.

Review

Alex Driscoll has spent the last eighteen months on a mission of revenge in the jungles of Vietnam.
 
Following the completion of his unauthorised killing spree he is returned to the US and is about to be discharged.

Whilst awaiting the final papers he goes for some rest and relaxation on a nearby beach where he meets a mysterious blond woman who throws his plans into disarray.

This short read is very well written. The main character is shown with all of his flaws open for scrutiny and we see the struggle he goes through trying to adjust to the real world after years in a war zone.

The dialog is realistic and the interaction between the two main characters maintains the reader’s interest.

I thoroughly enjoyed Alex’s story and it raised interesting questions about returning veterans and their subsequent mental health as they seek to reintegrate into society.


The Author

Les Burns is a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces. He retired after thirty years as a private investigator specializing in criminal and post-conviction investigations.

During his time as an investigator, he opened and operated the first licensed Counterintelligence Service in the State of North Carolina—License #CI-1.

After leaving investigations, he obtained his paramedic certification and worked in EMS until 2012. He is currently a writer, an editor, a published author, and book cover designer.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wings Unfurled by Rebecca Gomez Farrell

Image
  Wings Unfurled BOOK 2 of the WINGS RISING duology Rebecca Gomez Farrell 5 Stars RELEASE DATE: December 6, 2022 GENRE: Epic Fantasy PUBLISHER: Meerkat Press Blurb The vicious claren that used to plague the reunited countries of Medua and Lansera are long gone. So what are the new dark patches appearing in Lady Serra's second sight? She rushes to King Albrecht to report the danger, only to discover that he's ailing and Vesperi, Prince Janto's wife, has fled far to the north to grieve her disappeared daughter. Vesperi still wields the silver flame, possesses all the authority she's ever wanted, but nothing can heal the wound of a missing child. When the silver moon Esye begins to fade, a gnawing fear preys on her for the first time since she escaped her father's cold rule. Ominous creatures once thought mythical are now rampaging through the countryside. Janto sends Serra to investigate. But without her friendship and Vesperi's love, he fears he cannot slay this ...
Read more

Favourite Books of 2023

Image
With 2024 now nearly a week old, I thought I'd compile a list of my top ten books of 2023. Unfortunately I've not been able to whittle it down to just ten so I tried to make it my favourite ten authors. Once again I failed as there are so many great books I didn't want to leave out. Even so I've had to be harsh and leave out many that would've made last years list (what do you mean I didn't publish a list last year? Yeah, I know, I was too busy reading and writing reviews and I completely forgot) My list is composed of 15 authors and contains 42 books from a variety of genres (it could easily have been 60 books from the 400 I read last year (ok, some of those were quite short and I've not got much else to do) Lets get on with it I hear you yell, so without further ado and in no particular order, these were my favourite reads of 2023 Scratch that. I'm going to list them in alphabetical order by author surname so no further favouritism can be gleaned from ...
Read more

Second To Sin by Murray Bailey

Image
  Second to Sin Blackjack Book 2 Murray Bailey 5 Stars Pages: 352 Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Historical Published: 06 March 2023 Publisher:  Three Daggers an imprint of Heritage Books Publisher's Blurb "It only takes a second to sin," Father Thomas said. He believes in saving souls, but Charles Balcombe is beyond saving. His control over his killer instinct appears to be weakening. BlackJack has killed again and more questions are being asked of Detective Inspector Munro. He is under increasing pressure to solve the murders, especially when he picks up more cases from Kowloon rather than solving his own. As Balcombe battles with his demon, he investigates the death of a young woman. Was it an accident or did she kill herself? At first Balcombe thinks it's straightforward but as he digs, other cases reveal an evil in Hong Kong. One that could consume them all. Set in 1954, this is book 2 of the series. It can be read as a stand-alone but the author recommends boo...
Read more