Book Title: Why?
Author: R. H. King Jr.
Publisher: Walden Road Publishing
ISBN: 9780990340003
Reviewed by Michele Tater of The Couch Tater Review

 “The world today doesn't make sense, so why should I paint pictures that do?"
Pablo Picasso

Why indeed. What causes a Professor to come to class with two guns and without warning, start shooting at his students. Surely, he must be insane to have committed such a crime or was he? Dan Jackson just wants answers just like the town does, but going to trial to is the only way he sees in finding them. Just another court room drama theme book right? Wrong so very wrong. Wait for the end, that holy crap what just happen conclusion. The reader with go from why? to What the f*** just happen?

Think this might just be the normal book about a terrible crime and the justice system righting the wrong book, I was going to rate it a 4 out of 5. What changed my mind was the ending that I didn’t see coming---at all. I can not even hint at what it is because I don’t believe in giving spoils in my reviews. So guess what? Yes that is right....you will have to read the book. No cheating and only reading the ending either, trust me it is more dramatic when you read the entire book. Here is hoping Mr. King has some more amazing books in the making; I am planning on reading them.

 

Book Title: Colster’s Branch
Author: Robert L. Hay
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing
ISBN: 9781500467029
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review

“You should not see the desert simply as some faraway place of little rain. There are many forms of thirst." William Langewiesche

What evil lurks in the desert that surrounds the tiny town of Closter’s Branch. What is happening to the children of the townsfolk, who or what is taking them. Even though the answers are right in front of Sheriff Abraham Stone, it only appears in his nightmares and strange visions. The law can not be based on dreams and mirages. He knows he needs proof and fast before more go missing. How? Oh, I will not tell, you know the drill, you have to read it yourself to find out.

I took this book with me on a recent trip on a plane to Richmond, Virginia to first my oldest son and I was wishing that the flight was longer. I didn’t think that I would enjoy a story of terror set in a western time frame, but I was pleasantly surprise. I won’t have given it the time of day if I had know before hand the details, fortunately, I try not to read too much about a book before I read it for reviewing purposes.

Written with the grit of the desert sands and the toughness of the old west itself. It is the first book of a planned series of books, so there is more to come...which I am looking forward to reading.

I'm back.......finally. Sorry I had some personal and heath related stuff to get through before I was able to restart this review thing again. I will try my best to keep the reviews coming without too much delay. I do have a cafe/bookstore business in the beginning phases--thinking on 2015 or 2016, which should cause problems right now anyway. Look forward to reading and reviewing again...M

Book Title: The Games We Play
Author: Sean Hayden
Publisher: Untold Press
ASIN: B007B5X7BG
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review

“Games lubricate the body and the mind.” ~Benjamin Franklin

Ever though this a rather short short story, it is filled with steamy and racy context. It is about two seeming strangers meet in a bar. One wants to play a game of cat and mouse. The other has no choice but to play.

I didn’t find it too predictable--I did not see the end coming, I was pleasantly surprised. A quick read with a lot of heat.

I love the dedication page--very heartfelt!

Book Title: Curb Chek
Author: Zach Fortier
Publisher: Self Published
ISBN: 9781466231979
Reviewed by Michele Tater for The Couch Tater Review

“The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” ~Robert Peel

Life as cop--that is what the author wanted to write about, and I think he was successful. A cop’s job is not glamorous, and the crimes are not easily solved. Police sometimes have to stoop as low as the criminals they are trying to find to bring them to justice. Each chapter of this book is an on  job situation that any cop could face and shows how that cop would react to that event. In some instances the good guys may have to take the law in their own hands and do things that are not “by the book.” They treat the criminal as the scum they appear to be to the officer. Sometimes this life shapes a person into something he never thought he would ever become--it’s the risk of the job. When you live and work with the dirt and filth of the world, some of that soil stays on someone, no matter how often they try to get clean.

This book is a gritty and to the point, look into this career few know about and even few want to know about. The author doesn’t mince words when given a detailed description of what he experienced. Everything is exposed and left to the reader to came to grips with. Reading it is like a car or train wreck, our morbid curiosity keeps us looking and wondering what happen. Not everyone will appreciate what this author has written, but I am glad he had the stuff to do just that.

Book Title: Portland Short Stories
Author: Raud Kennedy
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781463521738

“A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?” ~Albert Einstein

I had to think for awhile how I was going describe this book. Well here is what I came up with...It is like looking into the strange and weirdness of ordinary people, who are far from ordinary behind closed doors. So, it is almost like reality TV in book form. These are the stories of the dark side of people lives, that they may or may not want exposed. I really hope this is a book of fiction, just saying. The opening story is about a woman that is getting her toilet fixed, and mentions that her husband had died on it. She saves something from that faithful day. I am not telling, you will have to read it, I had too, it is only fair. Let’s just say that it is disturbing to say the least. Now you can only imagine what other interesting and entertaining tales this author has up his sleeves, or in this book. He puts a witty and humorous spin on the secret lives of people with the taste for the oddities of live.

The author compares this book to chocolate, you can’t eat just one piece. Not saying I don’t love me some chocolate, but I would like to compare it to a favorite flavor of chips, salty and very addictive.

Book Title: Every Goose Thinks His Wife is a Duck
Author: Robert Sullivan
Publisher: The Irish Letter
ISBN: 9781466493131

“Walls for the wind,
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks beside the fire --
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire!"     Irish Blessing

I am a quote junky. Anyone who has ever read my other book reviews know this. I start each review I write with, what I feel, a related quote. That being said, when I was given the opportunity to review this green gem of a book, I was ecstatic to say the lest. This book is filled with quotes, proverbs, adages, and sayings written by the Irish or other persons who wish they were. Who knew so many Irish were so humorous and witty even during of the worst times they could have experienced in Ireland. It is like a history lesson in the highs and lows of Irish living and how resilient a people were and still are. I was pleasantly surprised with some of the quotes from and/or about the musicians, authors and actors from Ireland. The author took painstaking time and energy to compile such a wonderful array that you do not have to be Irish to enjoy. From Irish Philosophy to Writer’s Block and so many other topics in between. Though it is a thin book, it is filled with great lore to be read over and over again.

I know I will be reading this book off and on again through the rest of my years, and I hope it will be handed down to the next generation to enjoy the awesomeness of being Irish.