Dark Thriller Review - All Good Deeds

Hello again, dear readers.  I've got a review for you today for a dark, twisted thriller.  Stacy Green's Lucy Kendall series book one ALL GOOD DEEDS deals with the subject of pedophiles and human trafficking of children.  Oh yes, and murder - Old West style - so this isn't for the faint of heart.  My review is for book one in the series, but I bought and read the package deal of all four books in the series (not including the prequel novella) and recommend you do the same.

If the free first book doesn't make you squirm too much.

Book Blurb:
She's no killer. She's just taking out the trash.

Don’t call Lucy Kendall a serial killer. She’s fighting for the innocent, and she’ll do whatever it takes to bring justice.

When a child disappears, Lucy quickly discovers the link to a predator she’s faced before–a man the state of Pennsylvania decided to turn loose on the streets. Determined to find the little girl and put a criminal behind bars for good, Lucy forces her way onto the case.

As the search for the kidnapped child pulls Lucy into a web of evil beyond her darkest imagination, she’ll have to face her own dark truths to save the little girl–and herself.

Packed with suspense, All Good Deeds is a dark psychological thriller with a finely crafted mystery that takes readers into the deepest recesses of the human psyche.

My Review:
This would've been a five star if not for all of the editing errors (missing words, transpositions, wrong words used, etc.).  As is, I'm giving it four and ahalf stars because everything else about it is fantastic - if you can stomach the subject matter.

Lucy Kendall is a former social worker who quit the system when child pedophiles kept going free because of legal loopholes.  Since then she's obtained her PI license and been on a quest of her own choosing - finding and killing these repeat offenders before they can destroy any other lives.  Lucy practices justice like they did in the Old West - vigilante style.

But killing - even for honorable reasons - is taking a toll on her psyche.  Then someone discovers her secret.

Chris tags along with Lucy in hopes of stemming his own fascination with serial killers - and he has secrets of his own he can't keep in the closet.  When another neighborhood child goes missing, Lucy and Chris discover there are worse things out there on the World Wide Web - and they're in a race to bring down this child trafficking site before another little girl is lost in the ether forever.

Such dark subject matter we have here, but handled so well without short-circuiting and holding back too much or going over the cliff and showing us everything so awful about such a topic.  The plot and pacing races along, just as a thriller should.  Point-of-view is handled well without a bunch of head-hopping in each scene.  Then we are shown all the way along the gut-wrenching ride instead of resorting to a bunch of telling or info-dumping.  This book has everything a great thriller should have.  Like I said, four and ahalf stars from me.

Content warning:  Because we're dealing with the subject of child pedophiles and human trafficking of children, it's difficult to read at times and the emotions it brings out (especially for someone who has been abused) can be devastating.  There's also plenty of language and a few uses of strong language (which seemed a bit overreaching and unnecessary at times), so be aware if you dare.

Book one is free by clicking here on AMAZON.

Author Bio:
Stacy Green is the author of the Lucy Kendall thriller series and the Delta Crossroads mystery trilogy.

ALL GOOD DEEDS (Lucy Kendall #1) won a bronze medal for mystery and thriller at the 2015 IPPY Awards. TIN GOD (Delta Crossroads #1) was runner-up for best mystery/thriller at the 2013 Kindle Book Awards. Stacy has a love of thrillers and crime fiction, and she is always looking for the next dark and twisted novel to enjoy. She started her career in journalism before becoming a stay at home mother and rediscovering her love of writing. She lives in Iowa with her husband and daughter and their three spoiled fur babies. Stacy loves to hear from readers! Visit her website at stacygreenauthor.com, or Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StacyGreenAuthor.

Exploring Genetics in "Enhancement"

It's a cold and wintery fall day here in the good ol' U- S of A.  What better than to stay indoors and read a book?

Play in the snow!  There's little I like more this time of year than the anticipation of wallowing across a winter wonderland as we sail into the Christmas season.

But until such time as the wintery precipitation decides to arrive, let me take a few moments and introduce you to a book set the the future.  In Anthony J. Melchiorri's Enhancement we explore the world of genetics and biochemistry on the black market stage in the year 2058.  Join me as we step into these pages.

Book Blurb:
In the year 2058, Baltimore's latest crime epidemic is illegal genetic enhancements. Convicted dealer Christopher Morgan swears off black market genetics for good. Before he's even released from prison, he finds himself on a hit list. Someone wants him dead and he has no idea why.

Once released, Chris takes the first job he's offered. But, soon after, the new boss at his lab is murdered. Chris fears it has something to do with his past—and so do the police. He enlists the help of a close colleague, Tracy Harrow, to clear his name and search for answers. They discover a shocking connection between Chris and the other names on the hit list. In a perilous race against time, Chris and Tracy realize that far more is at stake than just Chris's life.

My Review:
The story opens during a prison riot where our protagonist, Chris Morgan, is desperate to escape the melee.  In the process, he is stabbed repeatedly before a fellow prisoner shows up to protect him from further onslaught.  After recuperating in the prison medical ward, Chris returns to his cell to discover a new bunkmate.  Unlike his previous companion, who listened to Chris' ramblings about genetics and biochemistry and spent his own time endlessly journaling, the newcomer gives Chris cause for pause.  However, just when he's convinced he'll never get another full night's sleep, the warden announces an early release.

The one caveat?  He must either take a questionable position offered by a mysterious businessman or secure gainful employment within the next thirty days or he'll be right back with the terrifying cellmate.  With a conviction involving black market genetics hanging over his head, Chris finds himself nearing the end of freedom when no one in the field will hire him, thus forcing him into accepting the businessman's proposition.

Yet things aren't so bad.  Chris quickly delves into the lab work, finds friends among co-workers, and soon garners a girlfriend.  But it all dissipates when the past returns to haunt him.  One-by-one friends old and new turn up dead.  The only common link?  Chris.

Or so he thought.

Enhancement starts off well.  The prison riot, Chris' stabbing and sudden release, revisiting the past with determination not to repeat it - all came together to immediately offer up Chris as the sympathetic character who wishes to right the wrongs in an industry run amok, where men and women can become physically stronger and more attractive than nature intended.  But only for a price.

Soon, however, this thriller loses direction and focus.  I personally think suspense would be a better genre fit than thriller because after the opening events little exciting occurs.  Chris and his girlfriend, Tracy, simply run back and forth between Chris' apartment, Tracy's apartment, the lab, and friends' apartments.  The supposed bad guys are so far off in the periphery, they seem more a pair of bumbling afterthoughts when they do show their hands.  The point of the story is easy to deduce and the real baddie is quite obvious early in the novel.

Pacing never picks up steam after the beginning sequences.  Cutting numerous unnecessary scenes would helps this somewhat, and adding in some thoughts that were merely alluded to and never fully developed might give an adrenaline shot to move the story along.  The style is written in very passive voice, which bogs pacing down as well, but it's a pretty easy editing fix to rewrite sentences to make them more active.

As far as editing goes, very similar issues pop up here as in many indie books - missing small words, duplicate words, transposed phrases, misplaced comas, then instead of than and the like.  There are far too many pronouns and overuse of the protagonist's name multiple times in a sentence, even when we're supposed to be in Chris' POV (i.e. "He didn't expect the man to answer honestly if the intent was to have Chris killed but at least, the man would know Chris was suspicious"). 

Chris was the only character who received any fleshing-out.  Most of the side players never received any further attentions other than mentions, which left them feeling very one-dimensional.  Motivations among the characters were murky at best.  We never find out the reasons behind the bad guys' actions.  At times even Chris' actions left me scratching my head as he allowed Tracy to simply lead him by the nose (or other body parts).  Then when certain characters face danger and death, there's no evoking of emotion because there is no connection with the character.

Point-of-view, however, remained constant with Chris without straying here and there into other character's heads.  I enjoyed the genetics references and actually could've used more.  Setting was handled well in many scenes without becoming overly descriptive.

The only issues of concern for younger audiences are the plentiful rough language, scenes involving drinking/partying by adults, and consensual sex between adults.  I would say this is a novel best left to those 18+.

For the promising opening suspenseful scenes, the interesting exploration of genetics, and the sympathetic character of Chris, I'll offer up a rating of three stars.

Purchase by clicking on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, and Apple.

Author Bio:
Anthony J Melchiorri is a writer and biomedical engineer living in Maryland. He spends most of his time developing cardiovascular devices for tissue engineering to treat children with congenital heart defects when he isn't writing or reading.

Read more at http://anthonyjmelchiorri.com and sign up for his mailing list at http://bit.ly/ajmlist to hear about his latest releases and news.

Enter the Assassin's World in "Next Exit, Dead Ahead"

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an assassin?  Not just any assassin, but one for the good guys fighting evil so prevalent in our world?

Now imagine the difficulties of trying to lead a normal life when your enemies are seeking retribution.

That's what we get today in C.W. Browning's latest release Next Exit, Dead Ahead.  Join me in exploring this exciting novel just in time for Halloween.

Book Blurb:

Alina Maschik expected to have a few quiet days alone in New Jersey.

She should have known better.

FBI Agent Stephanie Walker has a problem. Whenever Alina comes into town, someone ends up dead. When the enigmatic Damon Miles follows, that count is doubled. Now, a mere week before Halloween, Stephanie's main informant has gone missing. When part of him shows up in a reputedly haunted prison, the local attraction becomes the center of a macabre and baffling spectacle. As bodies start to fill the morgue, Stephanie must trust in Alina's particular skill set to prevent further bloodshed. But that trust comes with a price, as Alina and Damon bring their own brand of trouble, uncovering a sinister web of deadly intrigue reaching far beyond the familiar South Jersey suburbs.

A prison haunted by tortured souls, a puzzling federal investigation, a rising body count, and a pair of deadly assassins...what could possibly go wrong?

My Review:
Just gonna say this up front - I really, really enjoyed Next Exit, Dead Ahead!  It had equal parts creepy, intrigue, suspense, mystery, and a touch of humor and romance to make this a well-rounded read.  It's been far too long since I had the chance to review such an engaging novel.

We open with an introduction to Alina Maschik - code name Viper - as she's delivering a most important "package" back to British soil.  I assume this is closing out occurrences from the previous novel in the series (which I'd love to read also).  Alina then returns home to New Jersey, looking forward to some desperately needed off time, and finds herself dragged by her two best friends to a haunted house on the grounds of the crumbling old prison.  But nothing Stephanie and Angela can do in the fantasy world can ever scare her after everything she's experienced in the real world.

Especially where a certain hawk is concerned.

Damon Miles - code name Hawk - is a counterpart in the world of covert operations.  Rarely seeing one another since their early days of training, the last few missions have brought them into close quarters once again, and ignited a smoldering fire neither wishes to fan into a flame.  Their last mission together, however, has threatened to expose Hawk's real-world alter ego and take him out of the game played across the world's hidden stage.  Damon needs Alina's help.

Because someone besides the hawk is out hunting for blood.

The cast of characters here is wide and varied, which adds to the fun and intrigue.  Alina's friend, Stephanie, is an FBI agent who had a front-row seat to Viper's abilities in the previous novel - and now she's not so sure who this woman really is, but she definitely knows what she's capable of.  Couple that knowledge with the fact that her FBI partner, John, is Alina's former fiancee and things could get out of control real fast if Stephanie doesn't keep her mouth shut.  Angela is a completely different type of friend for Alina, which helps keep her grounded to the real world.  Whereas Alina is all black wrapped in mystery, Angela is flouncy and 100% girlie-girl.  Even dressed in a suit, she oozes feminine charm - but don't underestimate her ability to close a deal.

All the players come together when a cartel threatens to create financial Armageddon by secretly siphoning off billions from two of America's largest banks - and body parts start showing up on the haunted prison's grounds.  And just when Alina and Damon thought they were safe, the cartel comes after them and makes the mistake of targeting their friends.  Enter Viper and Hawk.

Great mystery here, with lots of little pieces coming from all different angles to keep you on the edge of your seat for what happens next.  There's a few gruesome moments, but I was pleasantly surprised how little language there was considering the genre and that we're dealing with hardened criminals and enforcement personnel.  It was a breath of fresh air not to have to weed through page after page of f-words (I can't even remember if there was a single instance here - I don't think there was but don't quote me on that).  Pacing moved along with only a few instances to come up for air - and they were needed.  Even in the midst of the crazy world of espionage and assassinations, the humor was present and accounted for on many levels - and I loved Alina's pet hawk!  Who needs a guard dog to keep the ex at bay when you've got Raven?

Even though I loved this story, there were still a few issues.

The constant back and forth usage of Alina's name and then code name in the same paragraphs at first confused me into thinking we were dealing with two different people.  Seemed strange she would refer to herself by her own code name all the time.  When in Viper persona, sure.  As Alina, not so much.

Point-of-view usage switched multiple times within scenes, a few times quite jarring, and with such a good story this was disappointing though easily remedied.  This was a pre-release review copy, so a few editing snafus may not have been caught yet such as poll instead of pole and some extra spacing at times between paragraphs (obviously not scene breaks).

As the story progressed, the eye narrowing of every single character became so prevalent I started counting them on each turn of my Kindle page, noting so many I just had to laugh after awhile to keep from groaning.  An abundant use of the words swiftly, silently, and slightly began cropping up as well the further along the story I read.  I know we authors have our favorite words and phrases, but these could be culled with another editing run-through starting from about the middle of the novel to the end.

Even with the above issues, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Next Exit, Dead Ahead and would be very happy to pick up the prequels in this series.  I can comfortably recommend this novel with four and a half stars.

Pick it up for Kindle or paperback on Amazon.  And don't forget to start with the first two in the series  Next Exit, 3 Miles and Next Exit, Pay Toll.

Author Bio:

CW Browning was writing before she could spell. Making up stories in the backyard with her childhood best
friend, imagination ran wild from the very beginning. When she moved to New Jersey from Kansas at the age of seven, those tales became written words as she adjusted to life on the East Coast. Her first full-length novel was printed out on a dot-matrix printer at the age of eight. Through the years, the writing continued as an enjoyable past-time while she pursued other avenues of interest, attending Rutgers University and studying History. In time, though, it became apparent where her heart truly lie. CW still makes up stories in her backyard, but now she crafts them for her readers to enjoy. She makes her home in Southern New Jersey, where she loves to grill organic steak and sip red wine on the patio.

Visit her at: www.cwbrowning.com
Find her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/CW-Browning

Follow her on Twitter @cw_browning

Grope the Mind of a Serial Killer in "The Sketcher's Mark"

It's a review at your doorstep today.  This novel is gripping and horrifying enough to make you want to never never leave your home shores - maybe even your home.  Let's explore Chris O'Neill's debut novel The Sketcher's Mark.

Book Blurb:

A serial killer posing as a sketch artist preys on young women traveling alone in the tourist areas of Paris.  His latest victim is the sister of driven LAPD Detective Lara McBride, a woman who hunts predators like him for a living. When she touches down in Paris to find her missing sister, an escalating game of cat and mouse leads her and the killer from the rain swept streets of Paris to the isolated countryside, where the key to the killer's Masterpiece awaits them...

My Review:
The Sketcher's Mark possesses the pace of a thriller with the psychology and gore of an extremely creepy horror novel.  At times there were familiar themes like in the movie Taken.  But the psychology aspect of the antagonist, Guillotine, wraps you in the mind of an incredibly talented, intelligent, and disturbed serial killer.  At times it was very difficult reading - especially when I knew the worst was yet to come.

Like many unknown artists in Paris, Guillotine sketches the images of visiting tourists and signs them with his mark of HH.  Unlike most other unknown artists in Paris, Guillotine doesn't do it for the money.  He's searching for perfection - angels to add to his collection as he prepares for his debut showing in a Parisian art gallery.

And to use to complete his masterpiece in time for the debut.

But his deceased aunts follow him at every turn, demanding blood as retribution for what he did years before.  It takes pain to purify - something Guillotine knows only too well.

Lara McBride, one of LA's finest criminal profilers, waits impatiently on the other side of the pond for her sister, Janelle, to return from a French backpacking expedition.  When Janelle doesn't show and Lara cannot reach her via phone, she fears the worst.

After all, she's seen the most twisted criminal minds.

With little assistance from Parisian authorities, Lara searches the local haunts and pieces the puzzle together as she searches to locate her sister before it's too late.  All the while, Guillotine watches Lara in fascination until it's obvious she's getting too close and could ruin everything.  Lara then becomes his mark.

Like I said, pacing was good for the most part and kept me reading - at times even when I didn't want to.  The disturbing trips into Guillotine's world reflected well the trauma of abuse he suffered at the hands of his two aunts who raised him, along with the willing assistance of the local parish priest in their attempts to purify him as a child.  It is no wonder he is now capable of the horrible ways in which he sees and treats others and the methodology he utilizes to kill.  For a bad guy, Guillotine is the worst - and yet even among daily life he's still rather invisible among the masses, which is the way he likes it.

I understood certain aspects of Lara McBride, the drive to do whatever she had to do in order to try and save her sister.  However, this character was rather inconsistent as the novel progressed.  There were choices she made that were simply unbelievable for one as well-trained as she.  Then the multiple ways in which Lara cheats death got to be a little too much for this reader.  But I still needed to see how the story would play out into the finale.

In addition to good pacing, the showing over telling was nice.  I got to follow along and experience the story in real time, as it was happening, which helped move the plot forward and kept me reading.  Even though point-of-view sneaked in between characters, it was accomplished in such a way that it avoided being overly jarring.  A scene break in most instances would solve this problem.

Another round of editing would be good for The Sketcher's Mark.  Pronoun usage was over-the-top excessive with almost every sentence in each paragraph for page after page beginning with 'He' or 'She' but could easily be reworded to remove many.  Several times a correctly spelled but incorrect word would be used, such as cat instead of car, taught instead of taut, and peak instead of peek.  There was also a continual refrain of phrases like 'her watched her' and 'her was intrigued by her' when it should've been 'he watched her' and the like.  I could forgive it a few times, but this occurred over and over again.

Even with the aforementioned issues, the story kept me engaged.  The pacing and showing forced me forward, not to mention the eery mind of Guillotine.  However, be warned that the story is gruesome and terrifying at times in the manner he kills, so tread lightly if gore is a problem for you.  Story always trumps structure for me - and for that I'll give The Sketcher's Mark four stars.

Pick up a copy by clicking on Amazon.

Author Bio:

Born in England, raised in the UK, the Middle East and the Bahamas, Chris O'Neill began writing short stories at a young age in primary school. By high school, he was writing and staging plays, commissioned to write an original stage play for the World War One Commemoration Festival in Leeds, premiering a play focussing on war poets Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.

He was accepted into the National Youth Theatre at sixteen, beating out competition from thousands of other young actors across the United Kingdom. While there, he was asked to write and co-direct the final showcase in London. Attending the University Of East Anglia, he studied Film and was the head of the Drama Society, continuing to showcase new plays before continuing his Film and Theatre Studies at San Francisco State University.

After graduating university, he focussed on writing screenplays and creating short films, working with various British production companies on developing feature scripts. In 2006 he moved to Los Angeles, where he enjoyed working with A-list producers, directors and production companies on developing projects.

THE SKETCHER'S MARK is his first prose novel, a labour of love which he feels is best described as Thomas Harris meets Charles Dickens. It marks the first novel featuring Detective Lara McBride.

Live on Barnes & Noble

A quick announcement today.

Piercing the Darkness is now available for your Nook on Barnes & Noble.  Yes, it's taken a bit longer for it to go live, but I'm thankful to know it's finally there.

So for you Nook owners, if you've been waiting on B&N now's your time to pick up Piercing the Darkness at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/piercing-the-darkness-d-a-bale/1114044232?ean=2940045143141

And Running into the Darkness, the first book in the series, will remain ninety-nine cents for just a bit longer.  Remember to tell your friends and family while the getting is good.

Happy reading!

An Intriguing Step Back into History with The Banker Spy

Hello again, dear readers!  Have I got a good read to present to you today - you betcha.  If you love World War II history like I do, you will be able to follow the events in The Banker Spy as if it were all happening once again.  Eerie!  So now I give you William G. Byrnes' The Banker Spy.

Book Summary:
The Banker Spy weaves history into a contemporary thriller about ex-lovers who become entangled in a web of international intrigue. Investment banker Peter Armstrong believes he’s left his past in the States. He has an exciting new job in London and is managing the largest equity offering in European history. Behind him are an incident at his old employer and a broken engagement. He thinks his only problem is his client—an automobile company desperate for cash. Then he receives a phone call from his ex-fiancée, Dayna Caymus, a beautiful and unpredictable CIA agent. When Peter discovers that his client is secretly working for the German government the two ex-lovers enter into an uneasy alliance which their past sometimes helps and sometimes hurts, all the while sorting through their feelings for each other. Dayna puts her mission first, leading Peter into a labyrinth of deception and conspiracy. Peter loses his client, his job, and almost his life as they race to learn Germany’s secrets—secrets that could start a nuclear war.

My Review:
As a lover of history, cars, and speed, the opening autobahn chase scene immediately catapulted me into this story, from the crash of a high-speed Porsche to the introduction of the high-stakes intrigue.

Meet our "banker spy", American Peter Armstrong - a man with a challenging past both in his career and his personal life.  Peter is fired after a large deal he pushed through for a friend turns south.  The sting of rejection reminds him anew of his failed engagement, ended by a calloused phone call.  Then a European bank handpicks Peter to oversee the largest international equity transaction offered by a European company, the prestigious Storch Motors.  Storch's CEO has a reputation as a tyrant, but he also has ties to the current German chancellor, which brings with it certain perks.  The Storch CEO bristles at all of the unnecessary inquiry as Peter questions the overall purpose for the massive cash influx into the company - and also the reasons for the chancellor's involvement.

Chancellor Denker secretly idolizes Hitler, but this information could defeat his reelection bid if the general public were made aware.  From the initial meeting with Peter in Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" to revitalizing and utilizing old underground research and construction facilities for missile development, Denker lives to realize the reunified Germany's return to the glory of the Third Reich.  He just never anticipated the tenacity of Storch's new banker, who questions every anomaly hidden in the company's financials.

When ex-fiance, Dayne Caymus, comes waltzing back into Peter's life, he's immediately suspicious of her desires and what she's doing in Germany, especially considering she's an agent for the CIA.  As this femme fatale enters the scene, Peter's life gets turned upside down - again.  But this time his life and the lives of tens of thousands are at stake.

I enjoyed most every aspect of this well-written, nicely plotted and paced story.  The characters were well fleshed-out and neither flat nor one-dimensional, with difficulties shaping their pasts, potential life-altering decisions in their presents, and hopes for the future.  The twists and turns kept coming, and once the action ratcheted up it didn't slow down.  Being a World War II history buff, I loved "visiting" the old tunnels and elaborate underground Luftwaffe facilities, hangars, and camouflaged airstrips.  It's truly amazing what human ingenuity accomplished to advance technology on both sides of the pond during that troubling time in our history.

The comparisons and similarities between Adolf Hitler and the fictional Chancellor Denker's antics, such as with the Sudetenland/Eastern Border Territory, were well managed and would be fairly simple to define by most readers with any knowledge of the era.  However, I felt the usage of Hitler's questionable ancestry and possible Jewish roots by the Denker character to be a bit over the top.  There was also one scene where Peter was mysteriously released from detention, which would never have occurred under the Nazis.  That felt a bit unrealistic.  However, the next time he was detained, the situation ended up being pretty intriguing in how it played out.  Ultimately it made up for the previous dismissal.

I believe anyone who loves a good international thriller will find the action and intrigue in The Banker Spy enough to keep them reading until the morning's wee hours.  It did me!

And now I'm once again dreaming of the day I can open her up full-throttle and roar all-out along the autobahn.

William G. Byrnes's Bio:
Bill Byrnes was an investment banker with Alex. Brown & Sons for 17 years. After that he was a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Finance and, subsequently, member of the Board of Regents at Georgetown University. He's founded three companies and has served on the boards of six public companies. He holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Michigan. His interests include European and Mesoamerican history, wine collecting, and automobiles. He's happiest around the water and on the tennis court. Bill, his wife, and their two poodles divide their time between Washington, DC and West Palm Beach, FL.

You can follow the Tribute Books blog tour here

http://thebankerspy.blogspot.com

Format/Price: $2.99 ebook
Publisher: Publish Green
ISBN: 9781938296345
Release: August 27, 2012

Kindle buy link ($2.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00936UHRI?tag=tributebooks-20

Final Tally

Well the final tally of free downloads for Running into the Darkness is in.

The free period for my novel ended at midnight Saturday night with a final download number of 727.  RITD was as high as #20 on the suspense/thriller genre free list.  If I must be honest, I was crossing my fingers to try and make the top ten list, but considering where we started, I'd say the top twenty wasn't too bad.

It was so much fun to be a part of this little ongoing experiment in the Kindle universe.  Running into the Darkness will be free a couple more days during the ninety day window as part of the Kindle Select program, but you can still pick it up for a bargain price in the meantime.  However, I'll be sure and let you know what the next free period on Amazon will be, that is as soon as I decide for certain when that will be.

Those of you who downloaded during this window - thank you so much for taking a chance on my work.  I look forward to sharing my short story, The Study, with you soon.  I'm also hard at work on the sequel, Piercing the Darkness.

Loving where it's going thus far and can hardly wait to share it with you. 

Happy reading!