Opine - Book Reviews

11/04/2023

Review - The Class Assignment is Murder by Carolyn Kleinman, Published by Sunbury Press, Inc., Milford House Press Date: 10/04/2023

The Class Assignment is Murder was written by Carolyn Kleinman and was published October 4, 2023 by Sunbury Press, Inc., Milford House Press.

In fairness, I expected very little from this book based on its title alone … class assignments … geez ….; perhaps I still harbor some deep-seated resentment from a college assignment gone wrong or forgotten. Who knows …. but after reading this little gem, I am so happy to admit I was absolutely wrong. I like to think I better understand the adage “Never Judge A Book By Its Cover.”

The book focused on Hannah Stein as she taught a summer pre-Freshman term paper writing class to a small group of local scholarship recipients. In helping 3 students come up with term paper subjects, they unwittingly opened a Pandora’s Box of sorrow, childhood trauma, vice, violence, greed and death that the small town of Parkerville, PA hoped would remain locked. The book was fast paced (I finished in two nights) and well written. The plot never let down and I enjoyed how the author developed the “realness” of Hannah and her students.

So, register soon for this class by Carolyn Kleinman – you will be glad you did!

I award this book a rating of 4 Stars.

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

11/01/2023

Review – Lenore’s Last Funeral by J.M.Donellan, Published by Level Best Books Date: 10/31/2023

Lenore’s Last Funeral was written by J.M. Donellan and was published October 31, 2023 by Level Best Books. This book was bizarre. The concept was bizarre, the characters were bizarre and the writing style was ludicrous. The author attempted to create a cerebral wordscape by using $20 words in a $2 story line. At first, I was glad I was reading the book on a pc so I could easily use the dictionary’s look up feature, but after a while, I grew bored of that and just skipped over the pompous language. I don’t know if the author was just fond of the thesaurus or was intending to belittle the reader – either way, I did not like it.

As to the story . . . Lenore was paid to attend funerals and grieve. Her brother was a long-term co**se in a ‘movie’. Her bestie was a single mother of 2 and an online do******ix. Adding to this mix was a plot revolving around eternal life, cryogenics, a ‘wealthy rule the world cult’, henchmen, thugs, a strong superhero-like snake-skinned high school student and a haunted house. Oh, I left out the guy who thought he was a ghost who could not transition to the afterlife. Bizarre.

I usually enjoy unique and creative books but this one just flops. The one good thing I can say is that I finished the book; as such, I award this book a rating of 1 Star.

Rating: 1 Star ⭐

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

10/26/2023

Review – The Fatal Folio (The Cambridge Bookshop Series #3) by Elizabeth Penney Pub Date: 10/24/2023

The Fatal Folio (The Cambridge Bookshop Series #3) was written by Elizabeth Penney and was published October 24, 2023 by St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books. This was one of the more interesting reads I have had in a while. The premise of the book is about retribution, both in the story and in the book revealed within the book. The author did an amazing job keeping me interested in both! While I have had trouble in the past picking up a new author in the middle of a book series, I had no trouble with this one. Characters were fully developed and the plot, for the most part, was devoid of references to past books. All in all, a fun and thought provoking read. I award this book a rating of 4 Stars.

Rating: 4 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

10/15/2023

Review – The Secret (A Jack Reacher Book) by Lee and Andrew Child (Delacourt Press, TBP Oct. 24, 2023)

The Secret (A Jack Reacher Book) written by Lee and Andrew Child will be published October 24, 2023 by Delacourt Press. Fans of Lee Child and Jack Reacher will love this book. It’s got all you expect from a Reacher book – clear good guys and bad guys, interesting side characters and of course lots of gritty justified violence for the sake of justice and country. The book was a good read, even if it suffered from split personality disorder. The first third of the book read like an NCIS episode, which I really didn’t mind; I love NCIS. The real story though, began after NCIS ended. The second story moved quickly and had some unique twists and turns. The protagonists were devious. As I neared the end, I kept looking for something to tie the two stories together but it wasn’t there. So … look at it this way Jack Reacher fans – you get a two-fer! I award this book a rating of 3 Stars.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

09/28/2023

Review – The Lost Colony: The Hennepin Island Murders by Steve Berg (Evets Publishing, TBP Oct. 2023)

The Lost Colony: The Hennepin Island Murders, written by Steve Berg, Journalist and Reporter, will be published mid-October by Evets Publishing. What an exceptional read! The plot line moves quickly as the author weaves together a Presidential assassination, a brutal Satanic-like slaying, murder for hire, Russian conspiracies, kidnapping and delusions of grandeur, not to mention a love interest involving a cop turned priest. I found all the characters dysfunctional in some strange and intoxicating way. Based on the high stakes adventure with imaginative and vivid writing, I would be surprised if this thriller did not make its way onto a large screen sometime in the future. I award this book a rating of 4 Stars.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

09/26/2023

Review – A Body in the Cottage by P.F. Ford (Joffe Books, TBP Oct. 2023)

I am not a young person (by age that is, not by heart) . . . you would have thought that I had learned by now not to start a book series 5 books in. That is the mistake I made in starting A Body in the Cottage by P.F. Ford. This book was set in West Wales and the author did an excellent job in establishing atmosphere and locality. I found the characters a bit stiff; perhaps the characters were developed more in earlier books in the series? All in all, it was a solid police procedural with some interesting twists along the way.

Rating: 3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐

p.s. I am grateful to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy. The opinions expressed in this unpaid book review are solely mine.

09/21/2023