Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Explosive Decompression by John L. Sheppard

★★★★

Explosive Decompression by John L. Sheppard is an intense, wry and wonderfully written novel.

From the very start of Explosive Decompression, author John Sheppard welcomes readers into a fantastical new world, hundreds of years into the future, and proposes a unique premise – a dystopian Earth that has experienced and persevered past the Great Collapse, a period of nuclear war, environmental disaster and global chaos. Canada, an unlikely national hero, has become one of the strongholds of humanity, and has now extended into what was once the United States of America, ravaged by soaring sea levels and rimmed […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-11-15T06:14:30+02:00October 13th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction|

Review: Bridget’s Hanging by Sheila Duane

Bridget’s Hanging by Sheila Duane is the author’s presentation of the historical account of the life and times of Bridget Deignan (a.k.a. Durgan or Dergan) who was sentenced to hang in the town of New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1867. An Irish immigrant from a Catholic upbringing ousted from her home at the age of 22, she became a domestic worker for Coriell in 1866, and she would be charged with the murder of Mrs. Coriell the following year – a crime of which the local community would unerringly find her at guilt for, with or without substantial evidence.

The […]

James Grimsby2019-02-11T09:32:47+02:00October 11th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: History|

Review: Leading People Safely by James T. Schultz and Brian L. Fielkow

★★★★½

If you are interested in learning to better your leadership abilities, utilizing up-to-date safety methods in your working life, and looking to get an edge in your business, then Leading People Safely: How to Win on the Business Battlefield covers all the bases, and then some. James T. Schultz and Brian L. Fielkow introduce us to the world of safe and effective leadership in business through “safety culture” in their debut guide.

The two authors have close ties as co-managers of a waste management service and they’re long-time friends besides, however that is by no means their only claims […]

James Grimsby2016-10-12T04:12:42+02:00October 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Business, Leadership|

Review: Always Picked Last by Kevin Kearns

★★★★

Most authors write in order to tell a story that is bottled up inside – whether it is fiction or not. In many cases, the story they need to tell is some version of their own life, because they believe that it will be interesting, helpful, or even cathartic – both to readers and themselves. In Always Picked Last, Kevin Kearns recounts his life as a bullied child, and delves into his journey to seek self-confidence, come out on top in life, and use his knowledge to help thousands of others.

Losing his father at a young age, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2020-02-21T05:54:27+02:00October 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Bullying, Memoir|

Review: Corkscrew by Peter Stafford-Bow

★★★★½

Boasting casual storytelling mastery and the sharp-tongued wit of Tom Robbins, Peter Stafford-Bow presents an incredibly amusing and unpredictable tale in Corkscrew. For wine lovers or those who simply love a great story, this is a mad ramble through the tangled world of wine, taking readers across two continents and countless adventures of one exceptional character, Felix Hart.

The ability of Stafford-Bow to create memorable and visceral characters is notable, and along Felix Hart’s climb to the highest echelons of international wine retailing, there are plenty of other eccentric and unique foils that keep the plot moving along. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-11-09T02:35:09+02:00October 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir|

Review: First Kill: An Eli Quinn Mystery by Robert Roy Britt

★★★★★

Most private eye mysteries have a tendency to fall into common tropes and expected stylization, and there is rarely a reboot within the genre. Robert Roy Britt, the author of First Kill, works against that common grain and has created a believable and likable private eye in Eli Quinn that doesn’t seem like a cliché stepping out of a film noir classic. With two books about Quinn firmly under his belt, the author has settled into a comfortable writing style, seemingly effortless, which drives this book’s unpredictable plot forward at a perfect pace.

When a woman named Madison […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-24T19:43:01+02:00October 3rd, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Detective Fiction, Mystery|

Review: The Prouds by Laith Taher

★★★½

Fantasy literature is in a Renaissance at the moment, and many new authors from around the world are doing their best to tap into this resurgent realm and engage that readership. In The Prouds by Laith Taher, readers are welcomed into a vaguely recognizable world of power struggles and royal conflicts that we see so often in fantasy sagas. The plot is about as straightforward as it can get in the fantasy realm, possibly revealing the fact that the author is making more of a philosophical statement than a literary one.

Following an epic battle between Jarvis and King […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-11-03T09:47:33+02:00September 30th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Fantasy|

Review: Death of a Temptress (A Dave Slater Mystery Book 1) by P.F. Ford

★★★★

In what could have easily been a gritty crime drama surrounding a rugged detective with a chip on his shoulder, author P.F. Ford instead delivers an amusing and engaging thriller with a buddy-cop feel in Death of a Temptress. The author writes with a savage passion and an attention to detail that keeps the suspense boiling up and the action bursting.

DS Slater comes on the scene as a rough around the edges cop that has been recently dealt a blow to his ego and reputation. When he tries to edge his way back into some good graces […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2016-11-03T09:41:02+02:00September 29th, 2016|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery, Thriller|