Category Archives: Mystery

Jennifer McMahon’s “Promise Not to Tell” Captivates, Grips and Compels

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Promise Not to Tell
by Jennifer McMahon
Reading level: Mature Audiences
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (April 10, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-0061143311
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x .6 inches
Genre: Mystery/Horror

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“Promise Not to Tell” by Jennifer McMahon caught me by surprise. I did not expect the book to grab me the way it did. McMahon’s tale of the potato girl and her long-reaching shadow is nothing short of stunning. Here is a look at why I have become a fan of Jennifer McMahon’s writing and why “Promise Not to Tell” is a book I simply couldn’t put down.

The story of the Potato Girl
Kate Cypher, the novel’s lead character, has long been haunted by a figure dubbed The Potato Girl. A childhood friend of Kate’s who met a terrible fate, The Potato Girl’s real name is Del. Since the death of Del, Kate has felt haunted by her actions in the days leading up to her friend’s demise, even though she left town as soon as she could and never looked back.

Decades later, as her mother is battling Alzheimer’s, Kate returns to her home town just in time for a brutal murder, very similar to Del’s. The chain of events that follows is disturbing, stirring and at times, very creepy. Whether Kate expects it or not, her past has come back to haunt her in a very big way.

McMahon’s Storytelling Abilities
I was tremendously surprised by Jennifer McMahon’s storytelling ability. I found myself wanting to check the front cover to see if this story was based on true events; it was not. The book is marketed as pure fiction. The story is masterfully weaved, switching from present to past in a flawless and graceful manner. “Promise Not To Tell” felt more real to me than any other fiction book I’ve read.

A Note on the Ending
Overall, “Promise Not to Tell” is a compelling and gripping novel. The only part I did not love about this amazing read was the ending. While the ending tied up all the loose ends, I felt like it was a bit rushed through the last few chapters.

A Final Word on “Promise Not to Tell”
I could not put this book down. From start to finish, McMahon’s writing kept me interested and the story of the Potato girl took hold of me and never let go. This book sent shivers down my spine and with each turn, captivated me further. If you are looking for a great mystery, give “Promise Not to Tell” a chance. The Potato girl is sure to keep you up at night.

-Amanda Haury

Ghosts of Coronado Bay by JG Faherty

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Ghosts of Coronado Bay
A MAYA BLAIR MYSTERY
by JG Faherty
Published by: JournalStone, June 10, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-936564-09-5
Trade Paperback
160 pages
Mystery/Ghost Story/Young Adult

ebook version, ISBN: 978-1-936564-10-1

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Maya Blair is a modern 16 year-old growing up in the seaside town of Coronado Bay. She thinks she’s expected to put in too many hours at her parents’ Diner. She just dumped her football player boyfriend, Stuart, because he was much too possessive. And now she doesn’t have a date for the Homecoming Dance. To make matters worse, Stuart can’t seem to let go: he keeps confronting her, saying nasty things and getting physical (she has the hand-print bruise on her arm to prove it). It’s like he’s turned into a creepy stalker.

Her best friend, Lucy, thinks Maya should grab a cute guy, invite him to the dance and have some real fun: sex being Lucy’s primary choice when it comes to having fun. Now, Maya isn’t a member of Virgin-a-Teens, a local group which promotes chastity for teenagers, but neither does she believe in the “3 date rule” as a guideline for when to have sex. She would just like to be in love when it happens.

Little does Maya know that her virginity is about to become the source of incredible terror for her, her friends and the entire town. You see, the museum has put up a display of recently rescued items from a ship that sunk in the bay 100 years ago. And with that display came a group of ghosts, one of them an evil sorcerer who’s searching for a key, a book and a virgin witch. Bad news. You see, Maya can help the wizard achieve all three.

In some circles, Maya would be considered a witch. She has the ability to see ghosts, and when she’s close to them, ghosts become solid, just like the living. The wizard can use Maya to become solid long enough to find the key and the book. And legend has it that her blood, the blood of a virgin witch, will make him human again.

Will Maya solve the mystery posed by the Ghosts of Coronado Bay and save herself from having to choose between losing her virginity or possible death? Even if she figures out what’s going on, will Maya have the strength to fight the evil sorcerer and save her friends from outright murder? Then there are those who are already dead. How’s she supposed to deal with that? Thank goodness she has the support of a couple of good looking guys who have just shown up in her life…

I enjoyed reading Ghosts of Coronado Bay. It felt fresh and authentic. Teenagers who talk and treat sex as casually as they do buying a dress for the Homecoming Dance. Raging hormones, poor choices unexpectedly followed by difficult, even valiant ones. Everything at high speed and often accompanied by a lot of drama. An interesting bad guy so focused on what he wants that the reader may be surprised by his casual brutality. Even the three supporting characters have some interesting facets that lend themselves well to the plot.

The writing in Ghosts of Coronado Bay is confident, well edited, and JG Faherty doesn’t “write down” to his audience (girls 12-15 would be my guess). The only reason Ghosts of Coronado Bay is classified as Young Adult is that it’s a story about young adults, with young adult problems, who are thrown into an extremely adult situation, one that most adults would be hard pressed to deal with.

If I had to pick one thing which impressed me more than any other in Ghosts of Coronado Bay, it would be Faherty’s treatment of “The Ghost Story.” I have often said I don’t like Ghost Stories. They tend to move slowly, with many of them striving to reproduce a more simple, more formal time. The language plods. The pace plods. And the payoff, unfortunately, is not usually enough to compensate for the cost of reading the story. Not so in Ghosts of Coronado Bay. The pace and language is such that I can envision adults stealing the book from their daughter’s bookshelf.

The one thing I would have had the author fix is what happens to Maya’s grandmother. I won’t discuss this in exact terms, as it would be a spoiler. Let it suffice to say that during the climax something happens to Grandma that is extremely upsetting, yet as the author winds up all the loose ends, he negates what happened to Grandma, which should be impossible and is jarring enough it kicked me right out of the story. What a bad time to lose me. I’m still trying to figure out if the author made a mistake or if his writing is such that I misunderstood what happened. It was, and is, a disturbing moment in an otherwise flawless story.

In any event, I’ll be giving Ghosts of Coronado Bay 4 stars over at goodreads.com. Well done, Mr. Faherty.


Copyright, Clayton Clifford Bye, 2011

Review of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE MURDEROUS

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The Good, The Bad And The Murderous
Chester D. Campbell
Night Shadows Press
ISBN: 978-0-9846044-4-9
264 pages
November, 2011
Detective Fiction



http://www.chesterdcampbell.com/

As the Plot Turns
The Good, The Bad And The Murderous is the second installment of the Sid Chance mystery series by octogenarian author Chester D. Campbell. Readers, who have been pining for Chance and the indomitable Jaz LeMieux, leave the Jill and Greg McKenzie series behind for yet another breakneck speed, action-packed, Chance storyline.

A wrongfully accused ex-con, dirty cops, Medicare fraud, racial tensions, false accusations, and a gun for hire are just some of the elements the story contains. Chance and LeMieux hunt for clues to clear their client and themselves of wrongdoing. Yet things have to get a whole lot worse before any hope of resolution can take root.

He Did it Again!
Kind readers know that I am a fan of Chester Campbell’s writings. He “gets” detective fiction on a gut-level. There is no contrived dialog, questionable literary tactic or predictable plot turn. Mystery buffs, who are strong aficionados of the Chekhov’s gun technique, most certainly celebrate the author’s solemn dedication to not litter the plot with confusing and pointless elements. Instead, there is no hole in the plot and all loose ends are tightened neatly before the last page. (Did I mention that this book is superbly edited?)

The Second Rail
Another aspect that makes the storyline quite endearing is the topic of police corruption. It is tackled with respect for the profession but a candor that bespeaks a reality, which we frequently prefer to ignore. Although fictional, the frustration and anger that corruption at this level leaves behind is palpable in Campbell’s writings.

Pick up a copy of The Good, The Bad And The Murderous for yourself and also buy some for the whodunit lovers on your holiday or special occasion shopping list.

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For the sake of full disclosure: let the kind reader please take notice that I received a copy of The Good, The Bad And The Murderous, free of charge, from Mr. Chester D. Campbell, himself.