Wolf - Review by Martha A Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
"Hell, Warren! You've got to do something." shouted Emma at her husband. "That's six chickens gone in a week, it's got to be a wolf, just look at those tracks."
"Yeah, I've been looking, Em," Warren replied, "and there's something strange about them, I just can't quite put my finger on it."
"They're wolf tracks alright Warren, just you mark my words. They are, and you'd better be doing something about that killer, and fast."
Warren and his wife Emma had given up their careers in an attempt to 'get back to nature' and in the process they acquired a few chickens, horses and Billy the goat. Now something was running off with the chickens. Warren's concern is that 'if' this is a wolf, why didn't it go after one of the horses or the goat. Well, nothing else to do but track this killer and put an end to the thefts.
I've read many of this author's books. Most of them, such as A Study in Red and Glastonbury, have scared the heck out of me by bringing to light that there really are some crazy, dangerous people living in our world. I've also seen the softer side of this author with his books like Tilly's Tale which is the story of an abused dog that was lucky enough to be rescued. But I've never read a story like Wolf. I have to tell the truth and say that I actually cried while reading this beautiful story. And the ending, you won't believe.
Author Brian L. Porter is one of the most versatile authors I've ever had the pleasure of reading. He can go from the worse events in the world to the best and most loving.
Wolf also contains a superb educational section full of facts about the wolf as an endangered species, highlighting the surprising number of wolf species that are already extinct in our world. Perhaps books like this will help today's youth to take steps to help redress the balance in favor of this magnificent creature.
"Hell, Warren! You've got to do something." shouted Emma at her husband. "That's six chickens gone in a week, it's got to be a wolf, just look at those tracks."
"Yeah, I've been looking, Em," Warren replied, "and there's something strange about them, I just can't quite put my finger on it."
"They're wolf tracks alright Warren, just you mark my words. They are, and you'd better be doing something about that killer, and fast."
Warren and his wife Emma had given up their careers in an attempt to 'get back to nature' and in the process they acquired a few chickens, horses and Billy the goat. Now something was running off with the chickens. Warren's concern is that 'if' this is a wolf, why didn't it go after one of the horses or the goat. Well, nothing else to do but track this killer and put an end to the thefts.
I've read many of this author's books. Most of them, such as A Study in Red and Glastonbury, have scared the heck out of me by bringing to light that there really are some crazy, dangerous people living in our world. I've also seen the softer side of this author with his books like Tilly's Tale which is the story of an abused dog that was lucky enough to be rescued. But I've never read a story like Wolf. I have to tell the truth and say that I actually cried while reading this beautiful story. And the ending, you won't believe.
Author Brian L. Porter is one of the most versatile authors I've ever had the pleasure of reading. He can go from the worse events in the world to the best and most loving.
Wolf also contains a superb educational section full of facts about the wolf as an endangered species, highlighting the surprising number of wolf species that are already extinct in our world. Perhaps books like this will help today's youth to take steps to help redress the balance in favor of this magnificent creature.
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com
Dead Man Ohio - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
The thing in front of us drew himself up and glared at me. I could tell it was male - or at least projected a male appearance. Bare skin gleamed in the overhead light as though he'd smeared himself with bear grease, and there were no breasts other than the small brown nipples on his muscular chest. The rest of his body rivaled pictures I'd seen of men with toned but not over-blown bodies. He exuded maleness, even beneath his outlandish facade. Still, no amount of projected masculinity could overcome my senses. Mr. Muscles had been dead for a long while.
Yet, the image was a ghost, spirit or whatever you want to call him. And as it turned out, he wasn't the only one lingering around Alice's Aunt Twila's home and that of her neighbors. Turns out that this spirit was called Free Eagle and he had been dead for centuries.
Alice had been called by her ex-husband to 'please' come to Ohio to see if she could help out her Aunt Twila. Apparently there was a spirit that had been causing her trouble and she didn't seem to be able to gain control over it. That was all it took for Alice and her neighbor and friend Granny to jump into the car and make the trip from Texas to Ohio. And it didn't take long for Alice to discover that there was more than one ghost to be dealt with.
Then there are the Ohio Grassmen. Story goes that they live in the area, are covered with grass and stand 8 - 10 feet tall. They are big! Just like the 'thing' that was seen depositing a body on Twila's property the night Alice and Granny showed up. Turns out that he had been murdered and he refused to leave until he found the person who killed him.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Alice and Aunt Twila are 'ghost hunters.'
I think I've read everything paranormal this author has written and I can't get enough. Be it her series with Alice and Twila or her true Ghost Hunting Diaries, I have a hard time putting them down. This author is addictive and I hope I'll have another fix coming my way from her soon.
Avenue of the Dead - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds, A Book and A Dish
The remaining hours of that first day of the investigation proved as frustrating as they did fruitless for the two detectives. Little progress was made by any of those involved in the investigation. A painstaking search of the area surrounding the site of the discovery of the body had revealed no physical or trace evidence whatsoever. They were nowhere nearer to identifying the unfortunate victim, and Doctor Hernandez had telephoned Tamayo to inform him that the autopsy results wouldn't be available until the following day.
Mexican Police Captain Juan Morales decided to take a vacation after the death of his brother Father Rodrigo who had spent his last years in the sanctuary of the seminary. Rodrigo had been a Priest who fell from the bell tower and never recovered mentally nor physically. Juan's vacation came to a halt when his old time buddy Tamayo received a call informing him that a body had been found at the ancient ruins of the city of Teotihuacan. With Juan tagging along, Tamayo finds himself standing on the Avenue of the Dead looking at the horrific sight of a corpse whose chest cavity shows evidence that the man's heart is missing. Now the search is on to find the identity of the man as well as his killer before he kills again. As Morales finds himself being drawn ever closer to the beautiful archaeologist Sophia, developments in the case lead the two of them into grave danger as the killer senses an opportunity for another outlet for his (or her) escalating bloodlust."
As I read the story about the Priest Rodrigo whose mind kept seeing the devil I couldn't but feel that even after his death, there had to be a connection to the body with the missing heart. Then another body turned up making me truly believe there was a connection. Could this be the Priest coming back? Could it be that the devil has decided to visit yet another human? Or is this the doings of a truly sick person on their own? I will tell you this, I stayed on the edge of my bed the whole time I read this book. It really grabs at your heart!
The remaining hours of that first day of the investigation proved as frustrating as they did fruitless for the two detectives. Little progress was made by any of those involved in the investigation. A painstaking search of the area surrounding the site of the discovery of the body had revealed no physical or trace evidence whatsoever. They were nowhere nearer to identifying the unfortunate victim, and Doctor Hernandez had telephoned Tamayo to inform him that the autopsy results wouldn't be available until the following day.
Mexican Police Captain Juan Morales decided to take a vacation after the death of his brother Father Rodrigo who had spent his last years in the sanctuary of the seminary. Rodrigo had been a Priest who fell from the bell tower and never recovered mentally nor physically. Juan's vacation came to a halt when his old time buddy Tamayo received a call informing him that a body had been found at the ancient ruins of the city of Teotihuacan. With Juan tagging along, Tamayo finds himself standing on the Avenue of the Dead looking at the horrific sight of a corpse whose chest cavity shows evidence that the man's heart is missing. Now the search is on to find the identity of the man as well as his killer before he kills again. As Morales finds himself being drawn ever closer to the beautiful archaeologist Sophia, developments in the case lead the two of them into grave danger as the killer senses an opportunity for another outlet for his (or her) escalating bloodlust."
As I read the story about the Priest Rodrigo whose mind kept seeing the devil I couldn't but feel that even after his death, there had to be a connection to the body with the missing heart. Then another body turned up making me truly believe there was a connection. Could this be the Priest coming back? Could it be that the devil has decided to visit yet another human? Or is this the doings of a truly sick person on their own? I will tell you this, I stayed on the edge of my bed the whole time I read this book. It really grabs at your heart!
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com
All Because of the Tip of a Needle - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat; Think With Your Taste Buds; A Book and A Dish
An excerpt from the book- This last six years was a mentally draining one for me. I had everything I lived for - horse racing, my family, and my wife and kids - taken away from me. All I could do was wait and wait and wait. The lawyer told me not to talk to anyone, including my family, about what had happened. He said it would hamper our case.
Sam Newman, twenty-one years of age, became known as 'Sam-the-man' at the track because he won with regularity. He was disliked by some, and apparently, hated by more. His young life was going just as he dreamed it would. Using the advice his grandfather had taught him he found the best ways to work with horses and also to make them work for you. He had learned well and it was paying off in more ways than one. Thanks to his success he was able to marry the girl of his dreams, have kids, and most importantly to him, he was winning at the tracks of his hometown, Chicago, Illinois. His special 'way' with horses allowed him to spot a rundown horse and turn him back into a winner. How did he do this? He just had a way with the equine, but if you talked to the other owners and drivers of Chicago they would tell you it was because of a needle and a drug known as Etorphine, an elephant tranquilizer also known as M-99. This drug was rumored to make the horses run, fast and straight, to the finish line.
Sam's longtime vet, known as Doc Brown, turned against him when Sam replaced him with another vet. After losing his temper, he made a promise to Sam's brother, Dave. His threat was "Payback is a bitch..." and apparently this threat was carried out. It wasn't long after the threat was made that officers from the Illinois Bureau of Investigations searched Sam’s barn area and discovered a hypodermic needle in his car. After supposedly testing it, it was confirmed that the needle had contained the M-99 drug.
This book is written as fiction but it based on the 'scandal' back from the 1980's between Scott Nance, the Illinois racing board, and the owners of the harness tracks in the Chicago area. From what I've read, it leads me to believe this young man was 'thrown under the train' due to revenge and greed of others. I'm a horse lover and from this man's story I feel he had a special gift in dealing with them. I find it hard to believe that with the constant testing of the horses, anyone can train and/or drive in over 2,000 races in eight states and two countries, have 300 winners with many seconds and thirds, and still be accused of drugging his horses.
A recommended read for harness fans, conspiracy fans, and just the everyday reader.
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com
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