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Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Better Part of Darkness (Charlie Madigan, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS by Kelly Gay
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Crime Thriller, Romance
Rating: 5/5
My Summary: Charlie isn’t your average detective/police officer—she works for the new futuristic law enforcement department called ITF. The world has changed since the other dimensions have been discovered. Aliens (who hate being called aliens) now live on earth with humans, and some humans possess supernatural powers. Charlie and her Siren-partner, Hank, have been working on a disastrous case—trying to track down the source and destroy a new drug that is putting people all over Atlanta in comas. But after they begin digging deeper, they discover a whole new level of their assignment: one that puts Charlie, her ex-husband, her daughter whom she loves more than anyone or anything in the whole world, everyone in Atlanta, and the rest of the world, at stake… and only Charlie Madigan can save them.
The Better Part of Darkness is a fast-paces riveting debut novel that holds you by the neck until the last page. I’ve never enjoyed science fiction so much in my life.
This book had the perfect combination of sci-fi, crime, thriller, and romance to make it an addicting read to lover of any genre. The writing makes it wonderfully plausible and incredibly witty, and the characters were the kinds that you cheered for.
Charlie was my kind of girl—totally kick-butt in every way, shape, and form. She was tough as nails, rock-hard, dedicated to her job, but she had her soft spots for those that she held closest to her.
I will be sitting on the edge of my seat for the sequel of this book, titled “The Darkest Edge of Dawn.” 5 stars and two thumbs up to you, Kelly Gay: you just made my bookshelf.
Content: This book is not for the easily offended. There was language and sexual aspects of the book that make it an adult novel, though there were no sex scenes.
Recommendation: Ages 17+ to anyone who wants to read a really exceptional book.
**Thank you to Sarah from pocketbooks for supplying my review copy!**
~Haleyknitz
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Crime Thriller, Romance
Rating: 5/5
My Summary: Charlie isn’t your average detective/police officer—she works for the new futuristic law enforcement department called ITF. The world has changed since the other dimensions have been discovered. Aliens (who hate being called aliens) now live on earth with humans, and some humans possess supernatural powers. Charlie and her Siren-partner, Hank, have been working on a disastrous case—trying to track down the source and destroy a new drug that is putting people all over Atlanta in comas. But after they begin digging deeper, they discover a whole new level of their assignment: one that puts Charlie, her ex-husband, her daughter whom she loves more than anyone or anything in the whole world, everyone in Atlanta, and the rest of the world, at stake… and only Charlie Madigan can save them.
The Better Part of Darkness is a fast-paces riveting debut novel that holds you by the neck until the last page. I’ve never enjoyed science fiction so much in my life.
This book had the perfect combination of sci-fi, crime, thriller, and romance to make it an addicting read to lover of any genre. The writing makes it wonderfully plausible and incredibly witty, and the characters were the kinds that you cheered for.
Charlie was my kind of girl—totally kick-butt in every way, shape, and form. She was tough as nails, rock-hard, dedicated to her job, but she had her soft spots for those that she held closest to her.
I will be sitting on the edge of my seat for the sequel of this book, titled “The Darkest Edge of Dawn.” 5 stars and two thumbs up to you, Kelly Gay: you just made my bookshelf.
Content: This book is not for the easily offended. There was language and sexual aspects of the book that make it an adult novel, though there were no sex scenes.
Recommendation: Ages 17+ to anyone who wants to read a really exceptional book.
**Thank you to Sarah from pocketbooks for supplying my review copy!**
~Haleyknitz
Sheridan (209 KP) rated All I See Is You (2017) in Movies
Feb 3, 2019
Decent acting (1 more)
Beautiful visuals
Confusing storyline (3 more)
Doesn't deliver
A lot is implied
Weird sexual parts that make no sense
A Poor Attempt at a Romantic Thriller
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'd never heard of this until it popped up on my Stan account. The summary sounded like it was going to be a gritty romantic thriller - boy was I wrong! While the acting was decent and the 'blind' effects were gorgeous, the storyline left something to be desired. Their marriage was clearly a disaster, the husband is needy and posessive and her complete personality change when she was able to see with one eye was jarring to say the least. The doctor was able to restore her sight in her right eye, but not once did they touch on how difficult it is to just see with one eye. Your balance is off, your perception is off - it's a complete disaster until you become used to it, yet they gave her the ease and impression that she could see with both eyes again. A lot is heavily implied (him messing with her eyedrops to cause blindness again, him staging a break in to get rid of her dog Ginger, her cheating on him with Daniel, her lying about being able to see etc.), there is never a confrontation between the pair about any of it. At the end you get the impression he's dead and she has the baby, but none of it is actually confirmed. It's just an utter mess. Nothing comes together and the story falls flat. There's also a lot of very unsettling sexual overtones from the get go which are never explained or understood. It feels like these were added as part of the story that was never revealed - maybe left on the editing floor - so they don't make much sense. The movie could have easily happened without them so why have them there when they didn't serve an actual purpose? Overall, it was a confusing, slightly disturbing mess that just - didn't work. It had a lot of potential but just didn't deliver. I wouldn't bother with it if you're looking for something good to watch, it just isn't there with this one.
Caffeinated Fae (464 KP) rated Murder Notes (Lilah Love #1) in Books
Apr 15, 2019
Meh.
When I heard that Lisa Renee Jones had written a mystery I have to admit, I was a little confused. I’m not a huge fan of mysteries and I tend to hate how predictable they. With that said, I do love a good suspense thriller every now and then. I was a big fan of Lisa Renee Jones’ romances so I was hoping that this might be a mystery that I loved. I truly had hopes that the author would delve deeper into the thriller aspect of this book. Unfortunately, it seems like this book just fell flat for me.
One thing that seemed off to me was how many redundant phrases there were. The author really seemed to love “Murder Girl,” “Devil in the Details,” and “Otherworld.” These were used constantly and it became annoying after a bit. The writing was not my favorite either. It could be that Lisa was taking on the Mystery genre so she was trying hard to change her voice, unfortunately, it seemed to fall flat to me.
The plot was interesting and it did keep me guessing but though intrigued, I never felt the need to pick up this book. I wouldn’t have read it as fast as I did if it wasn’t for the fact that I was on her ARC team. There were no moments where I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It’s a little disappointing how slow this story was.
The redeeming part of this book was how intricate the plot line was. Though it was slow, it was elaborate and interesting. I never knew what to expect and I appreciated it. There were, of course, a few no brainers with the book but I enjoyed how thought out the plot was. It kept my attention even though it was a slow read.
All in all, I won’t be continuing on in the series. Though the plot kept my interest I was definitely not impressed.
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
One thing that seemed off to me was how many redundant phrases there were. The author really seemed to love “Murder Girl,” “Devil in the Details,” and “Otherworld.” These were used constantly and it became annoying after a bit. The writing was not my favorite either. It could be that Lisa was taking on the Mystery genre so she was trying hard to change her voice, unfortunately, it seemed to fall flat to me.
The plot was interesting and it did keep me guessing but though intrigued, I never felt the need to pick up this book. I wouldn’t have read it as fast as I did if it wasn’t for the fact that I was on her ARC team. There were no moments where I was on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. It’s a little disappointing how slow this story was.
The redeeming part of this book was how intricate the plot line was. Though it was slow, it was elaborate and interesting. I never knew what to expect and I appreciated it. There were, of course, a few no brainers with the book but I enjoyed how thought out the plot was. It kept my attention even though it was a slow read.
All in all, I won’t be continuing on in the series. Though the plot kept my interest I was definitely not impressed.
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Kyera (8 KP) rated There's Someone In Your House in Books
Feb 1, 2018
This young adult thriller brings the feeling of Scream to a captivating if a bit on the nose book. I liked the characterization in the book, as each person felt unique but they weren't developed in any meaningful way. As a result, it was an enjoyable and quick read but you're likely to not connect strongly with any of the characters.
One of the toughest things in a book versus a visual story when building suspense is that everything needs to be laid out for the reader. You can't just expect the reader to notice an out of place egg timer as they might when watching a tv show, you need to expressly tell your reader that it keeps moving to strange locations. I feel like this could have been executed more smoothly in the book, but as I am not an experienced thriller writer (nor reader), I don't feel I have enough knowledge to know for sure. It just seemed like the author tended to tell, rather than show throughout the narrative. The clues and scares were shoved in your face, rather than letting the creep factor build on its own.
A lot of readers have mentioned knowing "whodunnit" the moment that character appeared on the page, but I did not have that same experience. I felt that there was enough misdirection thrown your way and too-obvious clues pointing to certain characters that it was able to remain a mystery for a while. The only problem I had with the reveal is that it seemed to occur much too early in the book. It seemed to be about halfway into the story and we already knew who the killer was. As this was an incredibly short, easy read that makes the reveal feel premature.
I would be a little hesitant to recommend this book to younger readers or anyone who is squeamish about gory scenes because there were a number of them in the book. In general, she wasn't vividly descriptive but her clinical detachment while describing the scenes might be off-putting to some. Some of the murders are incredibly violent and others are just very stabby.
One of the toughest things in a book versus a visual story when building suspense is that everything needs to be laid out for the reader. You can't just expect the reader to notice an out of place egg timer as they might when watching a tv show, you need to expressly tell your reader that it keeps moving to strange locations. I feel like this could have been executed more smoothly in the book, but as I am not an experienced thriller writer (nor reader), I don't feel I have enough knowledge to know for sure. It just seemed like the author tended to tell, rather than show throughout the narrative. The clues and scares were shoved in your face, rather than letting the creep factor build on its own.
A lot of readers have mentioned knowing "whodunnit" the moment that character appeared on the page, but I did not have that same experience. I felt that there was enough misdirection thrown your way and too-obvious clues pointing to certain characters that it was able to remain a mystery for a while. The only problem I had with the reveal is that it seemed to occur much too early in the book. It seemed to be about halfway into the story and we already knew who the killer was. As this was an incredibly short, easy read that makes the reveal feel premature.
I would be a little hesitant to recommend this book to younger readers or anyone who is squeamish about gory scenes because there were a number of them in the book. In general, she wasn't vividly descriptive but her clinical detachment while describing the scenes might be off-putting to some. Some of the murders are incredibly violent and others are just very stabby.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Girl Before in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Another day, another thriller with the word "Girl" in the title. There isn't really much to differentiate this one from all the others. We have a small cast of characters whose fates are intertwined and whose stories take place in alternating timelines as one learns more about the other. First up chronologically is Emma, who moves into One Folgate Street with her boyfriend after experiencing a violent break-in at her previous flat. The new house is modern and immaculate but is part of a beta-test for a smart-home concept that comes with a very lengthy list of rules, some stranger than others. Next up is Jane, who has her own reasons for needing a fresh start in a new place. She finds herself living in One Folgate Street as well, after the tragic death of its previous tenant. Also interacting with the 2 "girls" is the architect who thought up the home's whole concept, whose intellect and good looks attract both of them to him, despite his odd and aloof demeanor. You can probably guess where the plot is headed from here. Jane has a few odd encounters and they lead her to begin wondering what exactly happened to Emma, whose timeline chronicles the events leading to her death. Who killed her, or was it just an accident? Secrets come out and there are a few decent twists leading up to the somewhat abrupt finale. It was all compelling enough to keep me reading, despite a few odd moments that almost felt like something out of an E.L. James "novel". Nothing here was especially new or exciting, except for perhaps the house itself, and the implications it brings up about privacy in our current hyper-connected age. Though one could make the case that even that part, and possibly most of the rest of this book, was a little too close to the so-bad-it's-good 1990's erotic thriller "Sliver". If you're bored there are far worse ways to pass the time, but otherwise I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to read this one.
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Painless in Books
Jul 2, 2018
Very Cool Book!
Excuse me for a second, while I go barf. OMG this book. Holy heck the gruesome descriptions of blood and gore and guts was SO RAD. I found myself cringing and fidgeting and yes, even feeling a bit nauseous in some spots - but totally in a GOOD WAY! Painless was exactly what I wanted in a super-unique, creepy, shocking horror-thriller.
Greg Owens is in pain. A LOT of pain. He fell off a ladder on a construction job, injuring his back, and his entire life has gone to shit. He lost his wife, his kid, he can't work, he's addicted to pills. He's desperate, and can't find anything that will help him get relief, so he can return to construction, or any job he doesn't need "Pills to pay the Bills" in order to to work. His addiction is keeping him from his little girl and he's resorted to getting pills illegally from dealers, just to make it though the day.
Dr. Dante Menta is running an exclusive clinical trial. He's been working on a pain relief technique for years, and promises a complete cure of all physical pain. Sign me up, right? We meet all the patients involved in the trial who have arrived before Greg. There are even animal patients. Some of them are seeking relief from back pain, or car accident injuries, others from auto-immune things like Lupus - and even chronic migraine headaches.
The patients are taken in one by one to get the procedure and at first, it's exactly as promised and the results are impressive! But soon, shit starts hitting the fan. Patients are starting to act really strange, obsessive, destructive. Things start to go horribly, horribly wrong. And it's incredible awesome to watch!
I thought this story was really different and the premise was immediately intriguing - it was a quick read, but written really well, and explores a dark side of both how people deal with pain management and also Dr. Mentas obsession with his life's work to find a cure. I would love to see this translated to a horror movie, and I'd be first in line to buy a ticket!
Greg Owens is in pain. A LOT of pain. He fell off a ladder on a construction job, injuring his back, and his entire life has gone to shit. He lost his wife, his kid, he can't work, he's addicted to pills. He's desperate, and can't find anything that will help him get relief, so he can return to construction, or any job he doesn't need "Pills to pay the Bills" in order to to work. His addiction is keeping him from his little girl and he's resorted to getting pills illegally from dealers, just to make it though the day.
Dr. Dante Menta is running an exclusive clinical trial. He's been working on a pain relief technique for years, and promises a complete cure of all physical pain. Sign me up, right? We meet all the patients involved in the trial who have arrived before Greg. There are even animal patients. Some of them are seeking relief from back pain, or car accident injuries, others from auto-immune things like Lupus - and even chronic migraine headaches.
The patients are taken in one by one to get the procedure and at first, it's exactly as promised and the results are impressive! But soon, shit starts hitting the fan. Patients are starting to act really strange, obsessive, destructive. Things start to go horribly, horribly wrong. And it's incredible awesome to watch!
I thought this story was really different and the premise was immediately intriguing - it was a quick read, but written really well, and explores a dark side of both how people deal with pain management and also Dr. Mentas obsession with his life's work to find a cure. I would love to see this translated to a horror movie, and I'd be first in line to buy a ticket!
Darren (1599 KP) rated Alien 3 (1992) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: How do you follow up two of the best sci-fi films or all time? This struggles to keep up with the atmosphere created in the first two. It offers nothing new to the series either. As a stand-alone film this would struggle to be a good sci-fi thriller. It’s only positive I can think of were a couple of surprise deaths. (5/10)
Actor Review: Sigourney Weaver – Ripley back to kick the alien’s arse. Sigourney has created one of the biggest icons in female cinema, but this is not the chapter anyone would be remembering. (6/10)
ripley
Actor Review: Charles S. Dutton – Dillon leader of the religious movement on in the prison. One of the good guys who protects Ripley from the bad prisoners. He does an ok job but doesn’t have enough to work with. (6/10)
dance
Actor Review: Charles Dance – Medical officer with a dark past on the road to recovery. Good supporting role is used well to create a good connection between Ripley and the prisoners. (6/10)
Director Review: David Fincher – The great director disowned this film after it got changed post production and I don’t blame him. (4/10)
Action: Slow moving action throughout. (6/10)
Sci-Fi: Take out the Alien it offers very little in the world of sci-fi. (5/10)
Thriller: Not very thrilling compared to previous offering. (5/10)
Special Effects: Poor special effects too. (5/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Settings: A prison on a planet with nowhere to run creating a great isolation setting for this sci-fi horror. (9/10)
Suggestion: I only say try because it makes the first two look even better and it is nice to see how the characters you grew to love, well their next chapter. (Try It)
Best Part: Lead scene.
Worst Part: Loses suspense element.
Action Scene of the Film: Final scene.
Kill Of The Film: Clemens
Oscar Chances: Nominated for one Oscar for visual effects
Chances of Sequel: Did get a sequel.
Overall: Poor addition to the franchise.
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/01/29/alien-3-1992/
Actor Review: Sigourney Weaver – Ripley back to kick the alien’s arse. Sigourney has created one of the biggest icons in female cinema, but this is not the chapter anyone would be remembering. (6/10)
ripley
Actor Review: Charles S. Dutton – Dillon leader of the religious movement on in the prison. One of the good guys who protects Ripley from the bad prisoners. He does an ok job but doesn’t have enough to work with. (6/10)
dance
Actor Review: Charles Dance – Medical officer with a dark past on the road to recovery. Good supporting role is used well to create a good connection between Ripley and the prisoners. (6/10)
Director Review: David Fincher – The great director disowned this film after it got changed post production and I don’t blame him. (4/10)
Action: Slow moving action throughout. (6/10)
Sci-Fi: Take out the Alien it offers very little in the world of sci-fi. (5/10)
Thriller: Not very thrilling compared to previous offering. (5/10)
Special Effects: Poor special effects too. (5/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Settings: A prison on a planet with nowhere to run creating a great isolation setting for this sci-fi horror. (9/10)
Suggestion: I only say try because it makes the first two look even better and it is nice to see how the characters you grew to love, well their next chapter. (Try It)
Best Part: Lead scene.
Worst Part: Loses suspense element.
Action Scene of the Film: Final scene.
Kill Of The Film: Clemens
Oscar Chances: Nominated for one Oscar for visual effects
Chances of Sequel: Did get a sequel.
Overall: Poor addition to the franchise.
https://moviesreview101.com/2014/01/29/alien-3-1992/
Darren (1599 KP) rated All Superheroes Must Die (2013) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: All Superheroes Must Die starts as the superheroes Charge (Trost), Cutthroat (Till), Shadow ((Merkley) and The Wall (Valmassy) all awaken with an implant in their wrists with a message from the villainous Rickshaw (Remar).
Rickshaw sets the heroes tasks they must complete to save innocent lives of their city even if it means break their own rules along the way. We are left to watch as our heroes must work together as they are torn apart by this mastermind villain.
Thoughts on All Superheroes Must Die
Story – The story is simple and all it needs to be, we have vulnerable superheroes finally against a villain who has a play that is solely against the superheroes. Each test feels like a genuine threat to the heroes with the villain safely out of danger which only adds to the idea that the film is giving us. The idea theses heroes must learn to fight without their powers also adds to the concept behind the film. The story really does take the superhero genre to a new direction and one we haven’t seen before.
Sci-Fi/Thriller – The world is filled with superheroes with powers we don’t get to see put into action but the thriller side of the film really does keep us guessing from start to finish.
Characters/Performance – The characters are all created well to feel like superheroes in everyday life with the villain as always needing to be the stand-out character of the film outsmarting the heroes along the way. Performance wise everything is good with each star becoming their character almost effortlessly.
Settings – The settings are all inside a small town that has different stores for our heroes to complete their tasks inside which shows us the number of victims there could be if the villain wins.
Special Effects – We have good special effects for the budget which is all good for the film which tries to make everything practical effects.
Final Thoughts – This is a refreshing take on the superhero genre that brings us into the story to see them take on a villain that isn’t afraid to kill.
Overall: Enjoyable superhero film that fans can enjoy
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/05/02/all-superheroes-must-die-2011/
Rickshaw sets the heroes tasks they must complete to save innocent lives of their city even if it means break their own rules along the way. We are left to watch as our heroes must work together as they are torn apart by this mastermind villain.
Thoughts on All Superheroes Must Die
Story – The story is simple and all it needs to be, we have vulnerable superheroes finally against a villain who has a play that is solely against the superheroes. Each test feels like a genuine threat to the heroes with the villain safely out of danger which only adds to the idea that the film is giving us. The idea theses heroes must learn to fight without their powers also adds to the concept behind the film. The story really does take the superhero genre to a new direction and one we haven’t seen before.
Sci-Fi/Thriller – The world is filled with superheroes with powers we don’t get to see put into action but the thriller side of the film really does keep us guessing from start to finish.
Characters/Performance – The characters are all created well to feel like superheroes in everyday life with the villain as always needing to be the stand-out character of the film outsmarting the heroes along the way. Performance wise everything is good with each star becoming their character almost effortlessly.
Settings – The settings are all inside a small town that has different stores for our heroes to complete their tasks inside which shows us the number of victims there could be if the villain wins.
Special Effects – We have good special effects for the budget which is all good for the film which tries to make everything practical effects.
Final Thoughts – This is a refreshing take on the superhero genre that brings us into the story to see them take on a villain that isn’t afraid to kill.
Overall: Enjoyable superhero film that fans can enjoy
https://moviesreview101.com/2017/05/02/all-superheroes-must-die-2011/
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Midsommar (2019) in Movies
Jul 5, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
This will contain spoilers
A group of friend's travel to a remote Swedish village to study their ancient midsummer festival and, let's be honest, if you've seen more than a few horror moves you know it's not going to go smoothly.
Midsommer is a film by the same people who made Hereditary and, almost from the start you can see the similarly in tone, theme, music and cinematography. Midsommar shares some of the same themes as its predecessor, touching on mental illness and ramping up the drug use but it's main focus is on family, customs and tradition.
Midsommar is different film to Hereditary being more of a thriller in the style of 'the Wicker Man' than an out and out horror, relying more on a growing tension than on any outright supernatural threat. People die but, with only one exception you never see them killed and, in most cases the deaths are not treated with much importance (except where there is specific plot relevance).
As I said, Midsommar is similar to 'The Wicker Man' but only in the same way the film 'Battle Royal' is based on 'Lord of the Flies', the film has taken some of the basic ideas and updated them leaving us with an atmospheric thriller with traces of slasher (with no slasher) and psychological movies which works to create a beautiful, disturbing movie which takes you on journey of friendship, love and family.
There are moments in the film which point to the strangeness to come but, unlike Hereditary there are some moments where the tension lets up (If only for a few minutes) most of which are provided by the character Mark who i found seemed to be slightly out of place. He didn't seem gel with the other characters well and, I felt he would have been more at home in a traditional slasher.
I found that there was a familiarity to Midsommar, influenced as it is by 'The Wicker Man' but, with a run time of almost 2 and half hours there is plenty of time events to play out how they do.
A group of friend's travel to a remote Swedish village to study their ancient midsummer festival and, let's be honest, if you've seen more than a few horror moves you know it's not going to go smoothly.
Midsommer is a film by the same people who made Hereditary and, almost from the start you can see the similarly in tone, theme, music and cinematography. Midsommar shares some of the same themes as its predecessor, touching on mental illness and ramping up the drug use but it's main focus is on family, customs and tradition.
Midsommar is different film to Hereditary being more of a thriller in the style of 'the Wicker Man' than an out and out horror, relying more on a growing tension than on any outright supernatural threat. People die but, with only one exception you never see them killed and, in most cases the deaths are not treated with much importance (except where there is specific plot relevance).
As I said, Midsommar is similar to 'The Wicker Man' but only in the same way the film 'Battle Royal' is based on 'Lord of the Flies', the film has taken some of the basic ideas and updated them leaving us with an atmospheric thriller with traces of slasher (with no slasher) and psychological movies which works to create a beautiful, disturbing movie which takes you on journey of friendship, love and family.
There are moments in the film which point to the strangeness to come but, unlike Hereditary there are some moments where the tension lets up (If only for a few minutes) most of which are provided by the character Mark who i found seemed to be slightly out of place. He didn't seem gel with the other characters well and, I felt he would have been more at home in a traditional slasher.
I found that there was a familiarity to Midsommar, influenced as it is by 'The Wicker Man' but, with a run time of almost 2 and half hours there is plenty of time events to play out how they do.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Midas Code (Tyler Locke #2) in Books
Nov 20, 2019
The story of King Midas is a Greek Legend warning on the folly of greed where everything the king touches turns to gold - including his daughter. But at the heart of every story is a grain of truth. What if King Midas was real and there really was a Midas Touch that could turn other things into gold? How much would it be worth? And more importantly how far would some people go in order to secure it?
Jordan Orr is in a race against time to secure this ancient and valuable artifact but he is missing two important pieces - an expert in ancient civilisations and an engineer able to decode centuries old mechanisms. He therefore puts Stacy Benedict, scholar and presenter of a popular TV show on ancient cultures, and Tyler Locke into a situation where they have no choice but to help him. Can Locke outsmart Orr? And does the Midas Touch really exist?
The second of the Tyler Locke thrillers sees Morrison once again explore the theme of an old story and imagining a what if situation of there being some truth to it. He then adds Tyler Locke - ex army engineer, mechanism and explosives expert and Grant Westfield, ex pro-wrestler and ex Army Ranger to the mix. As Benedict, Locke and Westfield move around Europe following the instructions laid down in a codex written Archimedes it seems Orr is always one step ahead of them. Locke must use all of his ingenuity to try to thwart Orr in his plans.
As with his other novels Morrison doesn't let up for one second and he relishes pushing his heroes to the limit. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' has nothing on this.
It would be easy to write a thriller of this sort and be sloppy with the details but Morrison is as always well-researched and keen to show off Locke's scientific and engineering credentials and is effortless at making ancient stories seem like they could - just about - be true.
Overall another absolutely brilliant book. Could Morrison be the best thriller writer working today? It's not something I'd discount.
Jordan Orr is in a race against time to secure this ancient and valuable artifact but he is missing two important pieces - an expert in ancient civilisations and an engineer able to decode centuries old mechanisms. He therefore puts Stacy Benedict, scholar and presenter of a popular TV show on ancient cultures, and Tyler Locke into a situation where they have no choice but to help him. Can Locke outsmart Orr? And does the Midas Touch really exist?
The second of the Tyler Locke thrillers sees Morrison once again explore the theme of an old story and imagining a what if situation of there being some truth to it. He then adds Tyler Locke - ex army engineer, mechanism and explosives expert and Grant Westfield, ex pro-wrestler and ex Army Ranger to the mix. As Benedict, Locke and Westfield move around Europe following the instructions laid down in a codex written Archimedes it seems Orr is always one step ahead of them. Locke must use all of his ingenuity to try to thwart Orr in his plans.
As with his other novels Morrison doesn't let up for one second and he relishes pushing his heroes to the limit. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire' has nothing on this.
It would be easy to write a thriller of this sort and be sloppy with the details but Morrison is as always well-researched and keen to show off Locke's scientific and engineering credentials and is effortless at making ancient stories seem like they could - just about - be true.
Overall another absolutely brilliant book. Could Morrison be the best thriller writer working today? It's not something I'd discount.