Buzz - The Reviews
by John Wolf
“Bones of the Dead”
By Elle Newmark
This is a period piece centered in Venice, Italy, where an urchin is plucked from the streets by the wealthy mayor's chef to become his apprentice, which leads to many secrets being revealed and many kept hidden, but the intriguing motives push you along. It is difficult to stop reading until the last word. Elle has graciously used clever chapter titles to give the story a more antique feeling and punctuate the theme of each segment.
There are street thieves, gypsies, secret police, and men of evil intent woven throughout the story that give our protagonist a run for his ducats. His passion for a young woman clouds his judgment. He learns life’s hard road one cobble stone at a time, while avoiding lobbing off a finger chopping vegetables. The people you meet in the narrow streets have plans of their own. Luciano and his cat Bernardo hear many secrets, but only Bernardo keeps quiet. Chef Ferrero has secrets he wants to pass on, but those that speak too loudly are overheard and that becomes a dangerous thing. You feel the steamy broths, the rich aromatic atmosphere, and you see before you the life of medieval times among the canals of Venice.
I can’t give away the premise of the story, but trust me; it is a clever thought. I will never look at another gourmet meal again and not think of the chef’s plan for my future, his influence on my life, through an appetite that can’t resist his culinary delights and the seductive ingredients he uses.
This is a wonderful story and I recommend it highly. It would be nice to be lying relax on the steps of a cathedral in some magnificent piazza in Venice while reading this, but be warned not to go near the men in black capes – Dio indeed. You haven’t seen adventure until you walked in the majordomo’s shoes. Grazie Elle.
Review provided by
John Wolf
www.johnwolfbooks.com
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John Wolf keeps the kennels clean at the Fox&Quill Hunting Club |
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"Police Procedure & Investigations
A Guide For Writers"
By Lee Lofland
Writer’s Digest Books
The subtitle for this book indicates that it was written primarily for the writers of crime books and crime-related short stories. But that is a much too narrow focus. This book is for anyone who is interested in police work, criminal investigations, and all of the aspects that fit under those two general categories. And it delves into these areas to a much greater depth than the ever-popular and ever-growing list of television programs that claim to be “reality-based” crime shows.
Nearly everybody is now familiar with terms such as crime scene investigation, autopsy, the exclusionary rule, blood spatter analysis, flash-bangs, DNA evidence, and the Miranda warning. But if you want to know what kind of equipment crime scene investigators need, what kind of training goes on in police academies, how long rigor mortis affects a corpse, what a “sally port” is, what kind of chemicals are used to make meth, or the difference between ASPs and shock sticks, this is the book for you.
Author Lee Lofland is well known to writers of crime novels mainly because of his expertise in the field, but also because of his clear, concise, and jargon-free writing style. He is a writer’s writer, but he is also a reader’s writer. His prose is clean and direct, his organization logical, and his coverage comprehensive.
I highly recommend this book for anyone—writer or non-writer—who wants to know what REALLY goes on during a criminal investigation, inside a courtroom, or behind prison walls.
Review provided by
Russ Heitz
www.russheitz.com
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Russ Heitz is a writer who lives in Sarasota, Florida and writes suspense novels. Check out his work at www.russheitz.com. |
Thanks Russ for the review... John Wolf
