Broken Cogs by S L Koch

Broken Cogs by S L Koch is about a salesmen, Harrison, who finds his friends mysteriously dying. The more friends that die the more promotions for Harrison and his secretary. Coincidence or maybe is the statement, 'you can never escape your past' coming into play? That's for you to find out in this gruesome tale of murder and love. I would like to share more of the story, but that would take away from the fun of reading the book.

When I first read the author's description of the book, I was taken back a little. I was not sure that I wanted to read the book. Based on the description the book appeared to be more horrific than expected. I decided I was up for the challenge. Don't get me wrong, the book does have some gruesome parts in it, that you need to have a strong stomach to read.  It also, has some NC 17 parts as well.

I am, also, not a huge fan of love stories intermixed with murder mysteries. I often times find that the love story over powers the mystery. I was pleasantly surprised, that the love story was subtle and relevant to the story.

I found myself struggling a bit to get past the first 20 pages of the book. Once I reached page 30, I did not want to put the book down. I found myself chuckling, cringing at the victim's pain and the hair on the back of my neck standing throughout different intervals of the book.

S L Koch, is wonderful at using subtle foreboding hints. He also uses metaphors in a manner that is not overdone. Generally, each chapter, leaves you with a little or large cliff hanger to entice you to keep turning the pages.

I am looking forward to reading more books by S L Koch. Keep an eye out for more of his books on my blog.

Empty Mansions By Bill Deedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. is the biography of Huguette Clark, the daughter of multi millionaire W. A. Clark. W.A. Clark was an ingenious man, who made his fortune by mining for copper at the start of the telephone boom. He attended school to learn to mine after he purchased the mines. He was always ensure that he was educated enough to continue growing his fortune and changing with the times.

Huguette became a recluse after the passing of her mother. She was never photographed after 1920. She had multiple homes worth millions each. The majority of the home, she never lived in. later in life, she was taken to Beth Israel, for cancer treatment. She never checked herself out of the hospital. Instead, she insisted on living at the hospital until she passed away. While she was there she had few visitors.  

The Clarks were very generous people, always helping out those in need. Sometimes, Huguette, was too generous and he lawyers would often times remind her of this. People, would have the audacity to attempt to take advantage of her kind heart. At one point of her life, Beth Israel Medical Center, attempted to swindle over 100 million dollars out of her to keep the hospital open.

I generally am not mesmerized by a biography, especially that of an extremely wealthy individual. I found Empty Mansions to be a quick read that held my attention. The introduction was decent. I found myself struggling to get passed the first two or three chapters. Once, I did pass the chapters, I was sucked in for the remaining of the book. 

I enjoyed the fact that part of the book was written by her cousin, Paul Clark Newell, Jr. I also, enjoyed the personal items that were included in the book such as letter and telegraphs she wrote and pictures of dolls she collected.  These touches, allowed the reader to connect with Huguette Clark on a personal level. It may be just the archaeologist in me, but this was my favorite part of the book.

I feel this is a book to add to everyone's bookshelf. The book not only teaches you about Huguette Clark as a person but also provides life lessons.

                                                                                                                                                              

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing by P.D. Viner

Generally, when I finish a book, I know immediately that I liked the book or was not a fan. I do not think I have found a book, that I have not at least appreciated. So needless to say, I at least appreciated the book for what is was. When I finished, The Last Winter of Dani Lancing, I sat for a few moments pondering about my reaction to the book. of course, knowing that the publisher and other potential reads would want to know my thoughts of this book. I think I have come to the conclusion, I need to read the book again to determine my level of liking the book. 

The Last Winter of Dani Lancing, is about Dani Lancing, who goes missing after Christmas break while in college. Twenty years, after her death, the case is still unsolved, her parents are divorced and her mom is a wreck. Her dad sees Dani's spirit and converses with her as if she is still alive.

Dani falls into hard times due to experimenting with drugs during her first year of college. Her father is the only one in her family that finds out about this. 

The author uses flash backs in the book. However, the flashbacks are not in sequential order and often times become confusing. The author does list, at the start of the chapter, the date, the event is occurring. I found myself often times referring back to previous chapters to determine how the events were falling into place. For the longest part of the book, I thought the spirit of Dani was the real person. I feel, I may have missed some subtle hints, eluding to her being a spirit. 

I feel the book has potential but needs some more work. I felt the ending was very drawn out. I think it could have either had more action or took up less of the book. The book is supposed to be a murder mystery, but the end seemed like people were sitting around talking about how the crime occurred. Much of the forensics was lacking detail. In one part of the book, the character mentions that the body was washed. The forensics team, should have been able to determine that the body was washed.

I would like to hear feedback from others, on your thoughts of the book.