Quick review of The Secrets of Life and Death by Rebecca Alexander

I highly recommend this book for various reasons but 2 in particular. 

The story takes place in two different times but both times are connected. 

One year is 1585 the other is 2013.

In my reading of this book it also pulled me into two different types of reading. 

What I mean by that is that when I was reading the parts that took place in 1585 I felt a sense of reading a classic like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or Bram Stroker's Dracula. In terms of it being a bit dry & forcing you to pay attention to every detail which I found odd because the writing was not dry but it was just the way my mind had operated as I immersed myself in the book. 

Then when it would jump to 2013 I was back in time with many of today's writing & still highly immersed in the book waiting to turn the next page. 

The author Rebecca Alexander successful pulls you into these two world, forcing you to dive deep into each of the lives involved. 

It starts with the murder of a girl & a Professor Felix Guichard being called in to examine symbols that have been painted on the body. 

The symbols look similar to those on a metal disc in a museam that go with a "journal" of sorts written by Edward Kelley who was the assistant to a noted alchemist by the name of Dr. John Dee who in 1585 had been summond by the King of Poland to help his dying niece. 

It was a world full of magic that the two were not prepared for and now it looked like it had come about again in the year 2013. 

With the help of a mysterious woman Jackdaw Hammond, Felix tries to solve the mystery of the dying woman that the answers date back almost 400 years ago. 

But like every good mystery the answers could cost them their lives. 

I give this 4.5 out of 5 stars & recommend it for any lover of mystery, occult & intrigue. 

I have received this book free from bloggingforbooks in exchange for my honest review. 

Shovel ready by Adam Sternbergh review

Sorry I have been away for awhile but I was in a writing competition. This is partly  why it took awhile for me to finish this book. I would like to say it is the only reason but as much as I liked the premise of this book the simple things like the lack of using quotation marks drove me bonkers! 

As a writer myself I know the most important thing is to allow the reader to "see" the action. As I reader I also enjoy being immersed inside the pages that takes me along for the journey. Now with that being said I do not like when it feels as though I am reading a screenplay in the wrong form which a lot of this book was written like. 

I get the lead character Spademan has lost his lack of sympathy and it is brought on page in very clipped sentences. But I found between that and no use of quotation marks disturbing for the fact I spent more time trying to figure out is he thinking or actually talking to someone? 

During my journey of reading this book I felt my mind wonder but not into the story. It wondered on things that needed done. This was not a good sign but I needed to finish this book and so as I started reading today being on page 89 of the 243 pages I had to force myself to focus and get through the book if anything just so I can go on to the next one on my pile. I have to say once I got the no quotation/ short sentences in my brain & forced passed them I felt okay about the novel but not great. 

So what is it about: 

It's about a garbage man who turns to a hit man after a dirty bomb goes off in New York.  He has no sympathy and does not want to hear anyone's story as to why they want someone killed (which made me think of the Transporter, don't open the package), that is until he is asked to kill an evangelists daughter who went on the run and the evangelist is the one who wants her dead. 

When Spademan finds her he sees she is pregnant and this makes him think back to the wife he lost in the bombings. 

The evangelist has found a way to give the people a taste of heaven by what they call "tapping in" think in terms of total recall and the matrix. It is what it reminded me of. 

But I did finish the majority of this book in a day and it started to hold my interest but I faultered too much along the way so I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars. 

I received this book free from bloggingforbooks.org to read and give my honest review