Covey and JayJay Get Educated by Shelton L. Williams ~ Notable Quotable ~ Part of the Lone Star Literary Book Blog Tour!

COVEY AND JAYJAY

GET EDUCATED

by

Shelton L. Williams

Genre: Murder Mystery / Social Thriller / Amateur Sleuth
Publication Date: September 1, 2019

Number of Pages: 209 pages
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Amateur detectives, Covey Jencks and JayJay Qualls, are drawn into a triple murder on the campus of Baker College in West Waverly in the Texas Hill Country. Both end up taking positions at the college: Covey as an adjunct instructor and JayJay as a visiting actor.

Initially they believe that money is the motive for the murders, but over time they learn that the college is a cauldron of political and social intrigue. The college's new president and his beautiful wife, various staff members, a prominent trustee, and parties not associated with the college have the motives, opportunities, and wacky agendas that might implicate them in the murders. It turns out that a white nationalist group may be using a college house for its nefarious activities, but are they more talk than action? 

The West Waverly police are little to no help in the investigation, and Covey himself has to depart the college to deal with his father's death. JayJay takes over and makes a critical breakthrough. Upon Covey's return, the couple must rely on deception, a bit of luck, and martial arts skills to solve the crimes and to try to prevent a high-profile assassination.

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Shelton L. Williams (Shelly) is founder and president of the Osgood Center for International Studies in Washington, DC. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and he taught for nearly 40 years at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He has served in the US Government on 4 occasions and he has written books and articles on nuclear proliferation. In 2004 he began a new career of writing books on crime and society. Those books are Washed in the Blood, Summer of 66, and now Covey Jencks. All firmly prove that he is still a Texan at heart.

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GRAND PRIZE: signed copy of each of the author's books

SECOND PRIZE: signed copy of both Covey Jencks and Covey and JayJay Get Educated

THIRD PRIZE: Audio book of Covey and JayJay Get Educated

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DECEMBER 10-20, 2019

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VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

12/10/19	Notable Quotable	Texas Book Lover
12/10/19	Notable Quotable	Kelly Well Read
12/11/19	Review	Librariel Book Adventures
12/12/19	Author Interview	The Page Unbound
12/13/19	Review	KayBee's Book Shelf
12/13/19	Playlist	Chapter Break Book Blog
12/14/19	Review	Bibliotica
12/14/19	Excerpt Part I	The Clueless Gent
12/15/19	Excerpt Part II	All the Ups and Downs
12/16/19	Review	Forgotten Winds
12/16/19	Notable Quotable	Hall Ways Blog
12/17/19	Review	That's What She's Reading
12/18/19	Scrapbook Page	StoreyBook Reviews
12/19/19	Review	Book Fidelity
12/19/19	Review	Reading by Moonlight

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Execution in E by Alexia Gordon ~ Cover Reveal!

Lone Star Literary Life EXCLUSIVE!

Lone Star Literary Life is honored to present the cover

of the fifth book in the Gethsemane Brown Mysteries

by Alexia Gordon & Henery Press.

To be released March, 2020

PRESENTING . . .

ABOUT THE BOOK:   Romance is in the air. Or on the ‘gram, anyway. When an influencer-turned-bridezilla shows up at the lighthouse to capture Insta-perfect wedding photos designed to entice sponsors to fund her lavish wedding, Gethsemane has her hands full trying to keep Eamon from blasting the entire wedding party over the edge of the cliff. Wedding bells become funeral bells when members of the bride’s entourage start turning up dead. Frankie’s girlfriend, Verna, is pegged as maid-of-honor on the suspect list when the Garda discover the not-so-dearly departed groom was her ex and Gethsemane catches her standing over a body. Gethsemane uncovers devilish dealings as she fights to clear Verna, for Frankie’s sake. Will she find the killer in time to save Frankie from another heartbreak? Or will the photos in her social media feed be post-mortem?

EXECUTION IN E TO BE FEATURED ON LONE STAR BOOK BLOG TOURS MARCH, 2020

Visit the tour page now on Lone Star Literary Life 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: A writer since childhood, Alexia Gordon won her first writing prize in the 6th grade. She continued writing through college but put literary endeavors on hold to finish medical school and Family Medicine residency training. She established her medical career then returned to writing fiction. Raised in the southeast, schooled in the northeast, she relocated to the west where she completed Southern Methodist University’s Writer’s Path program. She admits Texas brisket is as good as Carolina pulled pork. She practices medicine in North Chicago, IL. She enjoys the symphony, art collecting, embroidery, and ghost stories.

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Sarah Jane by James Sallis

Sallis, James. 2019. Sarah Jane. New York, NY: Soho Press. ISBN 978-1641290807. $23.95 USD.

I read another librarian's review of this short novel and was intrigued, especially when I learned it was around 200 pages and I knew I could finish it without too much effort. What started as a "let's see what it's all about," led to a deep dive into an incisive and profound character study the likes of which I rarely encounter.

Sarah Jane is a mysterious character, and the reader knows they are in for some surprises when she says, "...I didn't do all those things they say I did. Well, not all of them anyway." Sarah Jane grew up with her father and a mother who kept disappearing; so it's not too much of a surprise that she has trouble staying in one place herself for long. She floats around in her youth, gets in some trouble, and ends up in the military rather than jail, those being the only options granted her at the time.

After her military tour, Sarah Jane supports herself as a cook, and ends up a bit on the run later in life after realizing someone she's married to is not who she thought he was. She changes locations and names like changing clothes, just keeps moving forward, almost instinctively. Ultimately, she finds herself working in law enforcement and filling in for a sheriff in a small town when he goes missing. This is where the mystery story begins. Because it IS classified as a mystery, and there are mysteries that do get solved. Some more definitively than others.

What surprised me, kept me intrigued, and also challenged me so much about this novel was the author's construction of his chapters. He starts a paragraph almost in the middle of the story, and the reader doesn't really understand what's happening right away. But, by sticking with it, we gradually fall into the narrative: the characters and action and clues - it all starts to make sense. Well, most of it, anyway. There is plenty of ambiguity here, but it works in this story. The novel also is not straight forward chronologically, but slips back and forth in time in a way that can be a bit jarring, but it all comes together eventually. Well, most of it anyway :/

It's really incredible what the author has done here in a little more than 200 pages. We are given a snapshot of various stages of the main character's life: click, Sarah's a child keeping a journal and scratching her arm open because she heard the phrase, "beauty is only skin deep," and went looking; click, Sarah is in a far away country in an unnamed war, lying in hot sand after an explosion, having killed an enemy so young, she has to imagine something different to live with it. And she does; click. And on the story goes, through interactions, connections, incomplete beginnings and leavings. We get a glimpse of some of the things Sarah did do, and wonder what she did not.

The writing is really something, and I found myself taking screenshots of sentences and paragraphs I wanted to re-read. Since I had checked this book out from the library, I couldn't write in it or turn down pages. But I wanted to. And will buy my own copy to re-read someday. Because it deserves to be read more than once.

I saw on Amazon some one star reviews, and a five star review that said, "people who slam this book just didn't get it." Reading is subjective, of course, but I think I understand what the author was attempting to accomplish: an unusual character study in which we learn many things about the main character, but in such a removed way, that we barely get a chance to know her before it's over. And she's worth knowing. There are glimpses of violence, but also touches of redemption that provide the payoff I needed to be satisfied as a reader.

I don't think this book is probably for everyone. The narrative is bit chaotic, and the confusing way the chapters begin could be off-putting. But it worked for me. I tend to be drawn to books with unusual structure for some reason - maybe I just like the challenge. But this book reminded me why I love reading, fiction especially. Other books that I ended up loving due to an interesting narrative structure were Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong, The Current by Tim Johnston, A Key to Treehouse Living by Elliot Reed, and Costalegre by Courtney Maum.

The critical reviews of the book, from sources such as The Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Star, Bookpage, Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, and Booklist, among others, are incredibly good. And I don't always agree with critical reviews. This time around, I concur. And I'm just sitting here, right now, imagining whom I will recommend it to next at the library.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. I hope you enjoy some down time, and perhaps a good book. Like this one.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Maggsie McNaughton's Second Chance ~ Frances Maynard

Maynard, Frances. 2019. Maggsie McNaughton's Second Chance. London, England: Mantle Publishing, a division of Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-1529014013.
Amazon link: https://amzn.to/33P6CX9

I first discovered author Frances Maynard in a Guardian article last Spring when I was researching the genre of books called "UpLit." I had noticed that my library customers were asking for this kind of story, which seemed to gain popularity after Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was published. There is not a specific definition for UpLit; however in most of the books in this category the main characters struggle with complex issues, but ultimately seem to find redemption and hope in the end.

I noticed that Ms. Maynard's novel The 7 Rules of Elvira Carr was mentioned in the article, so I bought it, read it, and reviewed it here: https://kellywellread.blogspot.com/2019/03/a-little-about-uplit-genre-and-book.html. I was pleased to get to know Evvie Carr, who is quite a unique character. There are also more UpLit titles mentioned in the above book review, as well as a more thorough explanation of the genre.

When I read the summary of Maggsie McNaughton's Second Chance, the new novel by this author, I purchased it from Book Depository, as it was not available in the US. at the time. I did notice that it can be purchased on Amazon now, and I've included the link above.

About the book:

Maggsie McNaughton is not your typical heroine of a novel. She's a 4' 10" uneducated, dyslexic ex-con with anger management issues, a drinking problem, and really bad teeth. But I fell in love with Maggsie, and rooted for her the entire time I was reading this book.

Marguerite McNaughton grew up in a very dysfunctional home, and due to her dyslexia had a difficult time in school - unsympathetic teachers and teasing by her classmates. She had two early tragedies in her life as a teenager, which let to acting out and going down a road of repeated incarcerations and lashing out at anyone who tried to make her feel "small" - and not due to her size alone.

As the book opens, Maggsie has just been released from another prison term. She is working at low-level job with a company known for giving ex-cons a second chance, and she's sharing a home with some other women who are also on probation. We experience some flashbacks into the life Maggsie led "inside," including the relationship she formed with one woman in particular who began teaching her to read.

Maggsie is tough and a hard worker, but she doesn't make friends easily, and often alienates those who try to get close to her. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is the wonderful cast of characters that surround Maggsie as she comes to experience the titular "second chance." Maggsie grows and learns, makes mistake, and changes little by little into the person that ultimately she can be proud of.

This book reminded me how important literacy is, and as a librarian I am privileged to be part of a profession that advocates and provides resources for those learning to read, no matter what the age. The reality of what living life in this world is like for those who cannot read is readily on display in this novel, and I was impressed to learn that the author teaches English to adults with learning disabilities, including dyslexia.

There are quite a few British slang words used in this novel that I needed to look up, like "ruddy" and "poxy" and something about soldiers! But once I got used to it, I could hear Maggsie's voice so distinctly in the narrative. One part at the end of the book required a bit of suspension of belief; but I was so invested in the lives of the characters and the outcome by that point that I really didn't mind at all.

I'm so glad I got to know Maggsie. You will want to meet her, too.

Happy Reading!

The Dog on the Acropolis by Mark Tedesco

Tedesco, Mark. 2019. The Dog on the Acropolis. Academia Publications. 

Amazon link: https://amzn.to/2OP5EpR

Indie author Mark Tedesco has taken a interesting true-to-life situation - the stray dogs in Athens, Greece - and turned it into a dual-timeline fictional novel set in ancient and present-day Greece that explores the lives of two families and communities and the dogs that bind them together.

I didn't know about these stray dogs until I saw an article on Twitter about them, then went on the hunt to research them further. Apparently, due to the financial crisis in Greece, many people could not afford to care for their pets; but the communities and the government have stepped in to care for them. You can read  more about the issue here: https://www.lifewithdogs.tv/2013/06/greeces-stray-dogs-loved-and-cared-for-by-many/

About the book:

In present day Athens, a dog named Draco, who begins as a narrator of the story, sees as his job and work to lead tourists up the steps to the Parthenon. He is fed, watered, and bathed by the shop owners of the "plaka," and in this part of the book he becomes very attached to a baker named Akil, his wife, Maria, and their son, Jason, who are experiencing some dysfunction as a family. Through this family's interactions with Draco, the entire community is changed.

But when Draco sleeps at the top of the steps each night, he dreams of Daria, his first canine ancestor on the Acropolis, and through those dreams we come to know stone cutter Adelino, his wife, Diana, and their son, Tiro, whose lives revolve around the building of the Parthenon and the statue of Athena designed by architect, Pheidias. 

The author does a great job of giving voices to the various characters in the book, both canine and human. I enjoyed getting to know them all and learning more about a culture and time different from my own.

Draco and Daria have many adventures through their stories, and the author reveals themes of community, family, faith, and loss - and what a gift a single life, be it human or canine, can be.

If you love dogs and books that explore other locales, cultures, and times in history, you would probably enjoy The Dog on the Acropolis.

Happy Reading!

The Middle Sister by Jesse Miles, Book 3 in the Jack Salvo Series

Miles, Jesse. 2019. The Middle Sister. ISBN 978-0-9904740-4-3 $8.99 USD 

Amazon Link: The Middle Sister

I have been a fan of the Jack Salvo series by Jesse Miles for quite some time. I read the second book, Church of Spilled Blood, a few years ago when it was a "read now" title on NetGalley, and was completely impressed that it was self-published since I had not read many indie authors up until then. I immediately bought and read the first book in the series, Dead Drop. They can each be read as stand-alones, as I didn't even realize I had read them out of order. You can read my reviews of both those books here:
https://kellywellread.blogspot.com/2017/01/church-of-spilled-blood-jesse-miles.html

I heard from the author a couple months ago that his third novel was close to being published and he graciously sent me a print copy to review. I was not disappointed in this addition to the series, though it was a slower read for me this time around. That may be because I have so many other reading commitments and had to put it aside briefly for a while. In any event, the main character, Jack Salvo, is just as entertaining as he was in the previous two books: a tenacious private eye who also teaches philosophy one night a week at a community college. His internal and external voice are always a pleasure to read, and he develops the other characters in this novel very well. 

Jack is hired by a wealthy family to locate one of three sisters who has gone missing (the titular "Middle Sister"), and finds himself on the trail of series of disreputable characters in his efforts to find out what happened to her. The author has done an amazing job, once again, in his description of the Los Angeles setting, and creates quite visual pictures in his writing. The plot unfolds gradually as Jack follows the clues, and the characters he meets, to solve this mystery; and the ending was completely unexpected, always a plus in my book (so to speak). I do feel the very end of the book was not quite as tightly resolved as I might have wanted to see, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the story as a whole.

I would recommend this entire series from indie author Jesse Miles, and am still surprised that it hasn't been picked up by a major publisher. I could see it doing very well with those who enjoy the Nils Shapiro series by Matt Goldman (Gone to Dust) and the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais.

Pieces for the Left Hand ~ J. Robert Lennon

Lennon, J. Robert. 2005. Pieces for the Left Hand. St. Paul, MN: Graywolf Press.
ISBN 978-1-55597-523-4  $14.00

I've been buried in books lately, as usual. As a librarian in charge of selecting all of the Fiction and Romance titles for my library system, I have to read a lot of book reviews from professional journals, as well as galleys of forthcoming books (a joy)! But I end up reading quickly for work, rather than slowly, for pleasure; and lately it has felt somewhat like a chore.

When I saw an article online from Publisher's Weekly a while back titled, "The Best Book You've Never Read is Pieces for the Left Hand by J. Robert Lennon," of course I was intrigued.
Described as "micro essays," what the author has actually done is create a series of vignettes which are told as the narrator is taking long walks around the town where he lives in upstate New York. Written in a conversational style, with a pace that feels almost ambulatory, the author enchants and surprises on almost every page - for the first half of the book.

I rarely dog-ear pages of books, but in this case I have many pages folded down that contain sentences or phrases that I knew I wanted to go back and read again. One of them I even used as my #SundaySentence on Twitter, and the longer version is this, in the essay titled "Leaves:"

"The one saving grace of all this is the spring, when the new leaves arrive. They've never failed to do so. They start out green, like mint candies, and for a short time they are ours alone. And then in summer, even when wind and sun and hail tear through them, even then they stay right on the trees and make a sound like applause, all summer long."

The essay is about when the tourists come to see the leaves change and sort of take over the town. But when I read the end of it which I quoted above, I was absolutely filled with hope about the changing of the seasons and new growth and the eternal nature of it all.

There are many other wonderful one to two page essays (rarely longer) that I just adored, some with surprising twists at the end, in an O. Henry-like fashion. And the beginning of most of the essays/vignettes just pulls you right along on the walk the narrator is taking, using phrases such as, "When I was young;" "A small town not far away;" "Our local university; "One [night, day, morning, year, week]" and the reader just comes alongside and listens to the story. It was such a pleasure to read the first half of this book.

The second half became something quite different, as the tone of the stories changed from a positive, mostly pleasurable experience to something darker, more depressing and hopeless, and even nihilistic at the very end. I struggled to finish it, and almost gave up a few times, but the writing was still incredible, and I'm glad I did finish it.

I would highly recommend the first part of this book, as I've never had a reading experience quite like it. I am sure the author had a reason for changing the tone of his essays, but for this reader the second half was a disappointment. It will not prevent me from reading further works by this author, and I actually read not long ago a story he wrote for The New Yorker called, "The Loop." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/26/the-loop which reminded me of a cross between The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and the existentialism of Albert Camus.

J. Robert Lennon is an immensely talented author, and I felt I had been in the hands of a master when I read this unique work.