Kick by John L. Monk

This book is far from a kick.  It makes you consider the consequences of you actions.  Dan Jenkins face reality through eyes other than his own and sees the consequences of their actions.

This is an unusual book.  It is vignettes of violence interspersed with introspection.   I’m struggling here to describe the book without giving away the basic premise.   Dan’s life is a living hell or perhaps purgatory.   He discovers there is more to his internal self image than he ever imagined.

Imagined is a good word as Mr. Monk has imagined a very interesting scenario.  There are parts of the book that are not for the faint of heart but they fit the plot so plow on through.

I recommend this book!

Web Site:  http://john-l-monk.com/

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER

have a bearing on my recommendations.

A Guest Post by M.J. Rose the author of The Hypnotist"

What Inspired The Hypnotist – by M. J. Rose

Growing up, I didn't want to be a writer; I wanted to be an artist. We lived a block away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and I started taking Saturday morning art classes there when I was just seven years old.

I've often felt art is my religion and that museums in general, but the Met specifically, are my temples of choice. That's where I go to be renewed, refreshed and inspired. I don't think I've ever gone longer than a month without visiting there.

So it’s not all that surprising that sooner or later I'd write a novel with a museum as one of my main characters and that I'd pick the museum that was in my backyard when I was a kid.

But how I got idea for The Hypnotist is surprising, at least to me. Sometimes I find it reassuring. Other times frightening. See what you think.

One day about three and a half years ago, on one of my regular pilgrimages to the Met, I headed straight for one of my favorite spots. The Mastaba Tomb of Perneb is a tiny bit of Fifth Dynasty Egypt transplanted to Manhattan, a gift from Edward S. Harkness to the museum in 1913.

You can enter the limestone tomb from the left or the right. One doorway leads to the main offering chapel. I took the other, which leads to a second ritual chamber. The space is very small and only three or four people can fit at the same time. I was lucky to be in the intimate ritual chamber alone and looking through the slot in the wall at a wooden statue of Perneb in the room beyond known as a serdab. In ancient times this passageway allowed for family and priests to offer up incense and chants to the deceased.

I heard footsteps. A little girl about seven or eight had entered and came up beside me to look through the slot. She had long blonde hair and was wearing a school uniform. I watched her examine the space, giving every section careful attention.

"It hasn't changed much at all," she said finally in a wistful voice.

I asked her what she meant.

"Since the last time I was here," she said.

Something about the way she said it made me curious. "When was that?" I asked.

"When I lived in Egypt."

"You know this tomb has been on display in this museum since 1916." I said.

"I lived in Egypt way before that," she said and smiled. She was about to say something else when from outside the chamber an older woman's voice called out.

"Veronica, it's time to go. Now. Please."

The little girl ran off, quickly, without looking back, without giving me a chance to ask her anything else.

Even though I write about reincarnation, I haven't had any meaningful reincarnation episodes of my own. I don't get visitations. I've never seen a ghost. But I'm not sure what happened that afternoon.

I can picture Veronica in her navy jumper and white blouse that had a dark smudge on the collar. She had a one-inch scratch on her left hand. Her hair was pulled off her face with a silver barrette. A lot of curls had escaped. She had a child's voice but it was so charged with adult emotion.

It was that emotion which sparked the idea for my novel, The Hypnotist. And the paintings and sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum that fueled it.

If you go the Met, please go visit Perneb's tomb. And if you see a little girl there with long blonde hair and a blue school uniform... ask her if her name is Veronica... and if it is, thank her for me.

Thank you Ms. Rose for your guest post!

The Hypnotist" by M.J. Rose

A mayhem fest sets the stage for an FBI art crime investigator.  A search for memory tools to prove and facilitate reincarnation, leads to death, destruction and redemption.

Lucien Glass lives with loss.   His life has been defined by his loss.   Ms. Rose paints Lucien’s pain and pathos with diligence.   You have to be made of stone not to feel for the guy.   His perseverance in his work is fuel by his frustration and loss.   

The story had subtle levels of deception that touched on current events while titillating with the bizarre and macabre.   Iranian terrorists, monomaniacal philanthropists, demented movie moguls combine for a delightful bouillabaisse to tickle the literary palate.   And lest I forget, a poignant love story to round out this excellent book.  

I highly recommend the book.

Body of work of M.J. Rose

Web Site: http://www.mjrose.com/content/index.asp

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

A grisly murder brings FBI agent Leia Bines to a small town in Connecticut. Agent Bines specializes in child cases. She meets Dr. Peter Gram, a local child psychiatrist who has a very special patient. Together the two face tragedy, terror and unexplained happenings in an engrossing mystery.

Grandhi has created a nail biting psychological thriller. His characterization of the slaaf is simply chilling. Dr. Gram’s skepticism is well played and justified, considering what he is dealing with and what he finds out about himself. Agent Bines soul searching would be inevitable considering that in her work a mistake may mean the life of a child. The story was laid out well and the outcome was certainly not predictable. It was a good read, not necessarily a comfortable read based on the subject matter, but an engrossing, compelling story none the less.

I recommend the book.

Body of work of Preetham Grandhi

Review

Web Site