Review: The Turkish Connection: A Birth of an Assassin Novel by Rik Stone ★★★★★
Another job for Levent Pasha, his friend joining him as they drink by the Golden Horn of Istanbul. He is anxious, eager to get back to his son, Mehmet. Dulled by the Raki, he takes to the job, alone, sluggish. His mistakes have piled up and he is caught for the last time. His friend, back from drinks, is made a part of the plan to tie up the loose end of the fool’s life and, the next day, Mehmet is left without a father.
With no family left to rely on, Mehmet must rely on himself in the dirty, […]
The Dead Bank Diary by Anna Shlegel is an intense, true to life (maybe true!) look at the bank fraudsters of Russia in the 00s, at a point in history where the police and government of Moscow were deeply corrupt, and old money and new oligarchs were investing their riches in “pocket banks,” small private holdings run by provincial managers – this meant that banks could be bankrupted by one transaction from their richest customer, and bought out on debts from anyone else in a few hours, even people that had no real money, just by a little bit of […]
The Test by B.A. Sherman is the riveting novel of a good cop gone bad, and the first in the Greg Dorn series. Greg Dorn is a good-guy cop working in a small town, reducing traffic accidents by 35% and generally loving every minute of his job. He’s also the victim of a tragic history: his mom and sister died in a car accident when he was young. When Dorn decides to move to the big city – Denver, Colorado – things take a turn for the worse. He sees road rage and bad behavior wherever he turns, and a […]
Bone Box, by Jay Amberg, is a fast-paced religious thriller that will make many question not just their religious beliefs, but their personal beliefs as well.
Losing Heart by Donna Brown is a fast-paced novella that covers a wide range of emotions in a small number of pages. Helen is facing the most difficult of issues: she is in need of a heart transplant and has only five months to live. Cut to 6 months later and Helen is very much alive and isn’t quite worried about living life on the edge: she’s having an affair with her doctor, Jack, while her husband and the mother of the donor become more and more suspicious.
Moscow Venture, by A. K. Celer, is a good old-fashioned spy thriller.
The Dissector, by L. L. Spriggs, is medical school mystery that will make most readers think twice the next time they see their doctor.