Blog Tour Thriller Review "The Big Exit" by David Carnoy

Title:  The Big Exit
Author:  David Carnoy

Publisher:  Overlook
Publication Date: October 11, 2012
Genre:  Mystery Thriller
Format: Hardcover 320 pages  | Kindle 513 KB

Where to find David Carnoy Online:
Website
Facebook

Twitter
Goodreads

Buy the Book:  Kindle   |  Hardcover

Synopsis: 

By the acclaimed author of the remarkable debut novel, Knife Music, The Big Exit is a suspenseful crime novel that keeps the surprises coming right up to the end.

Richie Forman is freshly out of prison. By night, he makes a living impersonating Frank Sinatra in San Francisco’s lounges and corporate parties. But then his ex-best friend—the man who stole his fiancée while he was in prison—is found hacked to death in his garage, and Richie is the prime suspect. In a murder mystery with the twists and turns of a microchip, Carnoy weaves his characters like a master. He has written an authentic, unputdownable thriller that is sure to chill and delight.

My Review

I have read a lot of Crime/Thriller novels over the past 6 months and while this wasn't my favorite, it did keep me turning pages right to the end.  It reminded me a little of Gone Girl, plot wise, but I didn't hate myself for wasting time when I was done with it like I did with Gone Girl!  I also finished this one much faster.

Richie is fresh out of prison and trying to make a fresh start when he finds himself accused of killing his former best friend.  This former best friend married Richie's ex-fiance while he was in prison for a crime he believes he didn't commit.  In real time, the time from the murder to the resolution is relatively short, but we have scenes that go all the way back to when Richie starts working for the Exoneration Foundation.  I think that the flashback scenes were nice and they helped to tell the story, but I had a hard time with the tense change as we went from past to present.  It's probably not something that will bother most people, but for some reason it did me.  In fact it may not even be noticeable to some, I am just really weird about stuff like this when I am reading!

I will say, that while I liked the story I never fully connected to any of the characters.  They were likable enough, but there was something that kept me just outside of the story throughout the whole book.  I kind of feel like I just got to know them on the surface and it never went any deeper than that.  I liked the (minor) character of Ashley the best, but she isn't explored in any depth at all since she was just a bit player in the story.  I know that this is somewhat of a sequel to Knife Music, which I haven't read, so that may be why I didn't get some of the characters.  There is a character, a lawyer, who is starting fertility treatments and there is a whole chapter devoted to her injections, etc...and then it's not really explored further.  These types of things may be connected to the first book.  I don't particularly feel the need to read the other book though.

All in all, it's a pretty fast paced read and there are some twists that you will see coming and some you won't.  I like that it had a nice tidy ending!  If you like thrillers, detective novels or anything about Silicon Valley then you may want to give this book a try.  It's not a read again book for me, but I did enjoy it!

Author Bio

While David Carnoy lives in New York City with his wife and children, his novels take place in Silicon Valley, where he grew up and went to high school (Palo Alto). His debut novel, Knife Music (2010), was a Top-10 bestseller on the Kindle and also a bestseller on the Nook. More medical thriller than high-tech thriller, to research the novel Carnoy spent a lot of time talking with doctors, visiting trauma centers, and trailed a surgeon at a hospital in Northern California to help create the book's protagonist, Dr. Ted Cogan.

The Big Exit (2012) isn't a sequel to Knife Music per se. However, a few of the characters from Knife Music figure prominently in the story. His second novel has more of a high-tech slant and reflects Carnoy's experiences as an executive editor at CNET.com, where he currently works and is trying resolve his obsession with consumer electronics products. He went to college at Wesleyan University and has an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University.

Disclaimer: Every Book received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours. 

Blog Tour Thriller Review "The Prophet" by Ethan Cross

Title:  The Prophet
Author:  Ethan Cross

Publisher:  The StoryPlant
Publication Date: October 16, 2012
Genre:  Mystery Thriller
Format: Paperback 414 pages  | Kindle 821 KB

Where to find Ethan Cross Online:
Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads

Buy the Book:  Kindle   |  Paperback

Synopsis: 

OLD ENEMIES...
Francis Ackerman Jr. is one of America's most prolific serial killers. Having kept a low profile for the past year, he is ready to return to work and he's more brutal, cunning, and dangerous than ever.

NEW THREATS...
Scarred from their past battles, Special Agent Marcus Williams cannot shake Ackerman from his mind. But now Marcus must focus on catching the Anarchist, a new killer who drugs and kidnaps women before burning them alive.

HIDDEN TERRORS...
Marcus knows the Anarchist will strike again soon. And Ackerman is still free. But worse than this is a mysterious figure, unknown to the authorities, who controls the actions of the Anarchist and many like him. He is the Prophet and his plans are more terrible than even his own disciples can imagine.

With attacks coming from every side, Marcus faces a race against time to save the lives of a group of innocent people chosen as sacrifices in the Prophet's final dark ritual.

My Review

WOW!  This book was super intense. This is one of those books that needs to be made into a movie, it would be fantastic!  It's one of those books that once you get into the story you just can't put down.  It was a little confusing in the beginning, but once you understand that Francis Ackerman Jr. and The Anarchist are 2 separate murderers then it's less confusing.  This is actually the 2nd book in The Shepherd series, but other than the initial confusion it's a great stand alone novel.  I do think that I will read the first book though, I think it will help to understand the character of Marcus a little better.

So here is the basic plot...Marcus is a Special Agent who works for a special branch of the DOJ he is on the trail of a killer who calls himself The Anarchist.  His team apprehends the worst serial killers and basically uses whatever means necessary to stop them.  Apparently he has some unknown connection to one of the worst serial killers still uncaptured, Francis Ackerman Jr.  Ackerman has taken enough of an interest in Marcus that he is even going so far as to help him with his current cases. Marcus and his team are working with the FBI in Chicago to catch The Anarchist, a serial killer who injects a paralytic into his victims before burning them alive.

Marcus reminds me a lot of Sherlock.  He is one who walks into a room and notices everything, even the most inconsequential things, and can put these things all together to tell you things that no one else could.  He also has a photographic memory which certainly comes in handy in his line of work.  The problem with all this is that it's made him cocky and he's not making any friends in Chicago, but he doesn't care.  He's there to do a job and he's not going to let anyone get in his way.  I love his character despite the darkness that he's fighting.  I don't believe that he is doomed like he does, I think he has some dark days ahead but I think he is still a good person.

There are really two story lines going on here.  There is the Anarchist story which is rife with darkness, occult, and all kinds of crazy and then there is the Marcus/Ackerman story which is as equally twisted.  There are some crazy twists in the story, some you will see coming but some will come out of the blue, but there is no doubt that you will be on the edge of your seat.  You won't be able to put this one down.  If you like a good mystery thriller novel then you are going to love this one, I know I did!

Author Bio

When a fireman or a policeman would visit his school, most of his classmates’ heads would swim with aspirations of growing up and catching bad guys or saving someone from a blazing inferno. When these moments came for Ethan Cross, however, his dreams weren't to someday be a cop or put out fires; he just wanted to write about it. His dream of telling stories on a grand scale came to fruition with the release of his first novel, the international bestseller, THE SHEPHERD.

Ethan Cross is the pen name of a thriller author living and writ- ing in Illinois with his wife, two daughters, and two Shih Tzus. In addition to The Shepherd and The Prophet, he has published two novellas––The Cage and Callsign: Knight (with Jeremy Robinson).

Disclaimer: Every Book received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours. 

{Blog Tour} "Missing Rebecca" by John Worley Simpson

Title:  Missing Rebecca

Author:  John Worley Simpson
Publisher:  CreateSpace
Publication Date:  May 29, 2012
Genre:  Crime / Thriller
Format: Paperback  | Kindle

Where to find John Worley Simpson Online:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Buy the Book:  Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble

Synopsis: 

Missing Rebecca, is a story of death and deception. After a whirlwind romance, Liam and Rebecca marry, knowing almost nothing of each other's backgrounds. Only months later, on an afternoon shopping trip to a mall in the Buffalo, New York, suburb of Cheektowaga, Rebecca vanishes, seemingly abducted. Or did she make herself disappear? Was the marriage a sham? Was Liam a dupe? This is a novel of high crimes and dark shadows, involving the immensely profitable drug industry in which exclusive access to the market for a medication can mean billions of dollars, and holding on to that exclusivity might lead to lies, deceit, corruption, payoffs, and even murder.

My Review

While I think that this story had a lot of potential to be really great, it fell a little short for me.  I think that sometimes, as a reader, I get so attuned to the editing that I don't enjoy the story and that's what happened with this book.  

This book does have a lot of plot twists and turns, deception from nearly every character and every angle.  Just when you think you have it figured out something else happens to throw you off track again and that part was really nice.  I hate it when I figure out what's happening so soon in a book and this one did keep me on my toes in that regard.  

I really had trouble with the characters overall, not because they were poorly written though.  It's more just the type of people they were.  The only thing I liked about Liam was his name and really both he and Rebecca were pretty despicable people. I only really liked one character and that was US Marshall Tony Reynolds and he wasn't really in much of the book.  Now if this whole story had been written with Reynolds as the main character telling the story from the angle of the Marshall, I think it would have been a really great read.  

Overall I think this book needed a really good edit.  As it was, there was a lot of unnecessary information given and some over telling.  I have been beta editing for another author and I found myself wanting to get my red pen out and work parts of this story over and that doesn't happen to me very often with a book that's been printed.

Here are my final thoughts. This was a really quick read.  If you are looking for something quick and you like crime novels then it may be something you will enjoy.  If you aren't picky about editing like I am then you may not even notice the things that tend to bother me!

Author Bio

JOHN WORSLEY SIMPSON is a crime-fiction writer. John was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, emigrated to Canada at the age of four and grew up in Toronto, He has been a reporter and editor in major newspapers and news services in North America, England and Ireland. He is married and lives in Newmarket, Ontario.

Excerpt from Missing Rebecca

“Okay.” The detective moved the computer mouse on the table and the screen lit up. He clicked on a folder and a video player opened; another click and the video began to play. The first scene was inside one of the mall’s entrances. In a moment, Liam and Rebecca entered the frame from the bottom of the screen, their backs to the camera.
“Is that you and your wife?” Welburn asked.
“It is, yes. It was a cold day, like today, so Rebecca wore her red, quilted ski jacket. I wore my pea coat and watch cap—hello, sailor,” Peters said, grinning vacuously, and immediately felt stupid.
“Sure. And right away you split up.”
“Rebecca likes to shop alone, which is great. As men, you must appreciate that.”
The detectives exchanged a glance and then nodded politely.
They ran the video for about an hour, various cameras picking up Rebecca in her bright red coat and ink-black hair. One scene showed Rebecca heading past the camera toward the mall exit, carrying a Lord & Taylor bag. The next scene showed Peters carrying a huge Hugo Boss bag, passing Rebecca as she re-entered the mall empty handed. He waved to her as he passed, and she turned down a side corridor that led to the restrooms.
“I took the jacket and pants I’d bought out to the car,” Peters explained. “Rebecca had a couple of outfits in her bag. She left them in the car, too. I found them later.”
Almost instantly, because of the truncating of the video by the technician, a man wearing a long, black overcoat, its collar turned up, and a sloping-brim, Irish-style, tweed hat appeared from the bottom of the screen, his back to the camera, as if he had just entered the mall. He was carrying a duffel bag. His shoulders were hunched and he walked with long, quick strides, so that he was around the corner and in the restroom corridor in a few seconds.
Welburn paused the video.
“Let me explain. I’ve watched the video before, a few times. The original showed this corner of the hall for some time. There is an emergency exit at the end of the corridor to the restrooms, and there are a couple of utility rooms. If the exit door had been opened, an alarm would have sounded, and a signal flashed in the security room. It wasn’t opened. There’s no camera in the restroom hallway, by the way. It’s only a short hall, fully visible from the main hall. Anyway, you’ll see when I start the video again that two people—the guy in the long coat—and a woman in a long coat and a wide scarf covering her hair and most of her face come out of the restroom hallway. The guy is holding the woman’s elbow. Okay, watch.”
As soon as the detective restarted the video, the couple he had described came hurrying around the corner in the direction of the camera. The hat and collar of the man concealed his face, as did the woman’s scarf cover hers. He seemed almost to be pushing her. He wasn’t carrying the duffel bag.
“Now, the entire rest of the video shows no one in a red ski jacket, or even anyone roughly resembling your wife come out of that corridor, or from straight down the hall.”
“That must have been her.”
“With the long-overcoat guy? Yeah we think so. The height looks about right, for instance. And—I’m sorry about this, but we checked with the lost-and-found at the mall, and they had a red ski jacket that looks exactly like the one your wife was wearing. It was found in the ladies washroom in the hallway we’re looking at. And the duffel bag the guy was carrying was in the hallway.”

DISCLAIMER
Every Book received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours. 

{Blog Tour} "Sweat" by Mark Gilleo

Title:  Sweat

Author:  Mark Gilleo
Publisher:  The Story Plant
Publication Date:  August 28, 2012
Genre:  Crime / Thriller
Format: Paperback  | Kindle

Where to find Mark Gilleo Online:

Website
Goodreads Author Page

Buy the Book:  Amazon   |   Barnes and Noble

Synopsis: 

When Jake Patrick took a summer internship at his estranged father’s corporation, he anticipated some much-needed extra cash and a couple of free meals from his guilty dad. He would never have guessed that he'd find himself in the center of an international scandal involving a U.S. senator, conspiracy, backroom politics, and murder. Or that his own life would hang in the balance. Or that he’d find help and much more than that from a collection of memorable characters operating on all sides of the law. Jake’s summer has turned into the most eventful one of his life. Now he just needs to survive it.

From the sweatshops of Saipan to the most powerful offices in Washington, SWEAT rockets through a story of crime and consequences with lightning pacing, a twisting plot, an unforgettable cast of characters, and wry humor. It is another nonstop thriller from one of the most exciting new voices in suspense fiction.

My Review

I have to say right off that I really enjoyed this book.  I would say it's different than the books that I normally read, but that isn't quite the truth anymore!  My taste in books is getting much more broad these days and I am enjoying that quite a lot.

I hate giving star reviews these days but they require them on most sites so I gave this one a 4 star rating, but really I have to say it's a solid 4.5 stars and I only took that 1/2 off because I was still questioning some things when I reached the end of the book.  There were a couple of things that seemed to be left open and I am one of those readers that likes to know what happened to everyone when it's all said and done.  Especially in the case of a single novel.  Barring that, I was very happy with this book!

I think this story has really great characters.  I think that Al was definitely my favorite and his back story was wonderful.  I would like to read more about him someday!  Really, all the characters were well thought out and very well developed. 

I liked the political backdrop in this story, and believe me when I tell you that's not something I ever thought I would say about a book!  This story spans the course of a little over a month and it has a little bit of everything in it.  There is a love story, political intrigue, blackmail, murder, etc... It will keep you on your toes until you get to the end and if you are like me you will still want more when you get to the last page.

I was immediately drawn in by Mark's writing style.  The whole story just seemed to flow really well, the pacing was spot on and there was never any lag for me.  I have seen other reviewers talking about one of his other books and after reading Sweat, I am going to have to get my hands on Love Thy Neighbor.  Mark Gilleo has gained another fan in me, and I will be watching for more books from him.

Author Bio

Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, hiking and biking. He speaks Japanese. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His first two novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner Wisdom creative writing competition. 

Excerpt from Sweat

As the van pulled away in a small cloud of dust, the senator inspected the main guard booth and the now present guard. Lee Chang took Peter by the arm and stepped away. The sweatshop boss dropped his voice to a whisper and looked over Peter’s shoulder as he spoke, “Interested in the usual companionship?”

Peter, in turn, looked over at the senator who looked back and nodded in approval to the conversation he couldn’t hear but fully understood. “Is Wei Ling available?” Peter asked as if ordering his favorite wine from the menu.

“Yes, of course. Wei is available. Shall I find a companion for the senator as well?”

“Yes, the senator would enjoy some company. Someone with a good command of English. I don’t think he wants to spend the evening playing charades,” Peter responded.

“No, I’m sure he wouldn’t.” Lee Chang smiled, nodded, and barked at Chow Ying in Chinese. The large subordinate walked across the front lot of Chang Industries, down the side of the main building, and vanished into the seamstresses’ two-story living quarters. The CEO, senator, and sweatshop ruler went upstairs to wait.

Traditional Chinese furnishings cluttered Lee Chang’s living room.

“Nice piece,” the senator said, running his hands across a large black cabinet with twelve rows and columns of square drawers.

Peter spoke. “It’s an antique herbal medicine cabinet. The Chinese characters written on the front of each drawer indicate the contents.”

“Tattooed reminders of a former life,” the senator said with poetic license.

Lee Chang stepped over and pulled open one of the drawers. “And now it holds my DVD collection.”

“Modernization never stops,” Peter added.

The three men found their way to the living room and Peter and Senator Day sat on the sofa. Lee took a seat on a comfortable wooden chair, small cylindrical pillows made from the finest Chinese silk supporting his arms.

The middle-aged woman who entered the room to serve tea didn’t speak. She had standing orders not to interrupt when her boss’s guests were wearing suits. The senator watched the woman skillfully pour tea from a blue and white ceramic teapot. He wondered if the woman was Lee Chang’s lover. Peter knew Lee’s taste ran much younger.
The intercom came to life on the wall near the door and Chow Ying announced that the ladies were ready. A brief exchange followed in rapid-fire Chinese before Lee Chang ended the conversation abruptly, flipping the intercom switch off.

“Gentlemen, if you are ready, the car is waiting.”

The senator took the front seat next to Chow Ying. Peter gladly sat in the back seat, squeezing in between the two beautiful Asian women. As he got comfortable in the rear of the car, Wei Ling whispered in his ear, her lips tickling his lobe. Peter smiled as his lover’s breath blew on his neck.

Shi Shi Wong, the senator’s date for the evening, looked up at the seamstresses’ quarters as the car began to move. She spotted several faces pressed against the glass of a second floor window and fought the urge to wave.

By the time the black Lincoln exited the gate of Chang Industries, Peter had one arm around each lady. He kept them close enough to feel their bodies move with every bump in the road. He leaned his torso into theirs with every turn of the car.

Peter Winthrop’s favorite table at The Palm was in an isolated corner next to a small balcony overlooking intimidating cliffs thirty yards from the back of the restaurant. A steady breeze pushed through the open French doors that led to the balcony, blowing out the candle in the center of the table as they arrived.
Peter asked for recommendations from the chef and ordered for everyone. They had spicy barbecued shrimp for an appetizer, followed by a salad with freshly sliced squid that the senator refused to eat. For the main course, the party of four shared a large red snapper served in a garlic and lemon-based Thai sauce. Copious amounts of wine accompanied every dish.

Chow Ying waited subserviently in the parking lot for over three hours. He fetched two cups of coffee from the back door of the kitchen and drank them in the Lincoln with the driver’s side doors open. With his second cup of coffee, he asked the waiter how much longer he thought the Winthrop party was going to be.

“Another hour at the most,” came the reply.

On the trip back to the hotel, the honorable senator from Massachusetts threw his honorability out the window and sat in the backseat with the ladies. Flirtatious groping ensued, the senator’s hands moving like ivy on human walls. His Rolex came to rest on Wei Ling’s shoulder. His Harvard class ring continued to caress the bare skin on Shi Shi Wong’s neck.

Peter made conversation with Chow Ying as the driver forced himself not to look in the rearview mirror. Peter, never bashful, glanced at Wei Ling on the opposite side of the backseat, their eyes meeting with a twinkle, her lips turning up in a smile for her lover. Peter smiled back.

Wei Ling was beautiful, and a sweetheart, and intriguing enough for Peter to find an excuse to stop in Saipan when he was on business in Asia. He usually brought her a gift, nothing too flashy, but something meaningful enough to keep her compliant in the sack. A dress, lingerie, earrings. He liked Wei Ling, a simple fact tempered by the realism that he was a CEO and she was a third-world seamstress. Pure attraction couldn’t bridge some gaps. But Lee Chang was proud of the fact that Peter had taken a fancy to Wei Ling. It was good business. She was a company asset. He wished he could put her on the corporate balance sheet.

Chow Ying dropped the party of four off at the Ritz, an eight-story oasis overlooking the finest stretch of white sand and blue water on the island. He gave Wei Ling and her sweatshop roommate-turned-prostitute-without-pay a brief command in Chinese and followed with a formal handshake to the senator and Peter. He waited for the four to vanish through the revolving door of the hotel and then pulled the Lincoln into the far corner of the parking lot.

The senator and Peter weaved slightly across the lobby of the hotel. Wei Ling and Shi Shi Wong followed several paces behind. The concierge and hotel manager, jaws dropping momentarily, engaged in a seemingly urgent conversation and didn’t look up until the elevator doors had closed.

DISCLAIMER

Every Book received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours.