A Vicky Hill Exclusive! – Hannah Dennison

Posted on August 30, 2012 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) Buy it! Imagine that a young journalist is stuck in a small town working for a small newspaper, but is plagued with a huge imagination and a tendency to stumble into even bigger predicaments. You say you’ve read it before? Don’t answer so quickly. Let me continue… Young journalist Vicky Hill…

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Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Comments Off on A Vicky Hill Exclusive! – Hannah Dennison

Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders – Gyles Brandreth

Posted on August 10, 2012 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) What happens when the self-indulgent, romantic poet Oscar Wilde joins the reserved and pragmatic Arthur Conan Doyle to solve a mystery at the Vatican? You get Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders, a fun read featuring two brilliant literary minds . In 1892 Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the Sherlock Holmes…

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Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Modern Literary Fiction | 2 Comments

Through These Veins – Anne Marie Ruff

Posted on July 31, 2012 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) Imagine that a cure for AIDS is well within our reach but research is halted and discoveries kept from the public because it may not be lucrative enough.  Author Anne Marie Ruff explores this premise as well as the exploitation of natural resources in underdeveloped countries in her mesmerizing debut novel…

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Posted in Culture, Modern Literary Fiction, World Issues | Tagged , | 1 Comment

A Conversation With Denise Hamilton

Posted on July 6, 2012 by J D Jung

Crime novelist Denise Hamilton's latest novel, Damage Control, is an  exciting thriller featuring Maggie Silver, a "crisis manager" in a prominent PR firm. I spoke with Denise about the book, inspiration and her career. JDJ - With a background in journalism, what prompted you to write crime novels? DH - As a journalist for the LA Times, I…

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What You See in the Dark – Manuel Muñoz

Posted on July 2, 2012 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) “The woman had to live before she could die...Even if it was the vulgarity of real life—the needs and the mistakes, but also the desire to correct them, the effort toward a forgiveness of herself. A woman like that. All those lonely hours. All the things people do to try to…

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Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged | Comments Off on What You See in the Dark – Manuel Muñoz

Elevating Overman: a novel – Bruce Ferber

Posted on June 21, 2012 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) *Buy it!* Veteran sitcom writer Bruce Ferber is switching gears with his debut novel, Elevating Overman. This clever,  off- beat, kooky story centers around a 55-year-old loser who is experiencing a mid-life crisis. He realizes the wrongs of his past and tries to make amends for his shortcomings. Ira Overman quits…

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Damage Control – Denise Hamilton

Posted on June 13, 2012 by J D Jung

Reviewed by JD Jung Buy It! “Does the past ever really go away?...Or does it remain inside us, hidden under calluses of age and experiences but still affecting everything we do the rest of our lives?” Thirty-two-year-old Maggie Silver works tirelessly for the Blair Company, a prominent Los Angeles PR firm, specializing in “crisis management”.…

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Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | 4 Comments

3 to Kill – Jean-Patrick Manchette(Translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith)

Posted on May 27, 2012 by J D Jung

Reviewed by JD Jung Acheter ce livre! Shit happens. OK, that’s probably an understatement as it relates to Georges Gerfaut. Then again, maybe not. Gerfaut, a rather ordinary 30-something businessman, discovers how twisted life can get in the late Jean-Patrick Manchette quickie thriller, 3 to Kill. It all begins—well, not really, "… what used to…

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Berlin Noir: March Violets; The Pale Criminal; A German Requiem – Philip Kerr

Posted on May 14, 2012 by J D Jung

reviewed by Lillian Thurston Buy It! Did you ever wonder what it was like to live in Berlin during the reign of the Nazis? If you weren’t a Nazi, how did you survive? Berlin Noir, a trilogy by British author Phillip Kerr is a must-read for history buffs and anyone who loves a great, well-written…

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Now You See Me – S. J. Bolton

Posted on April 29, 2012 by J D Jung

Reviewed by Glenda Anderson Get this book! Murder most foul in good old foggy London... In Now You See Me," author S.J. Bolton has continued her first-person narrative series. Detective Lacey Flint finds a dying woman in the process of finger-painting fresh blood over her car: the dark red stuff having just spewed forth from…

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Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | 1 Comment