New Book Alert: Redlined: A Novel of Boston by Richard W. Wise; Thrilling Mystery Explores The Importance of Community

 New Book Alert: Redlined: A Novel of Boston by Richard W. Wise; Thrilling Mystery Explores The Importance of Community

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Redlining is when federal, state, or municipal governments selectively raise prices within certain communities. This causes stricter criteria and outright denial of goods and services, primarily in poor minority-led communities escalating disadvantages within the community. It was particularly used in the housing industry by mortgage companies to suppress minority populations from receiving home loans to buy homes in other neighborhoods and deny funding to improve their homes. It is a classist and racist policy which ,despite the Fair Housing Act of 1968's attempts to challenge it, is still very evident in many cities causing segregation in all but name and spacial isolation against minority communities. 

Richard W. Wise's novel, Redlined: A Novel of Boston, is a suspenseful and effective mystery thriller. However, what stands out in the book is the theme of community and how members gather together during times of trouble and how they combat redlining. 

The novel is set primarily in the Jamaica Plains district of Boston in 1974. Community organizers are investigating a series of  suddenly raised housing and property prices and suspiciously started fires in the Jamaica Plains area. Community worker, Sandy Morgan investigates one of the buildings that is about to be torched when she is caught by some unidentified dangerous characters and burned alive inside the building.

Her colleague, Jedediah Flynt, hires Harvard grad student,,Alex Jordan, as a researcher, to help him communicate with community members about the redlining situation and to find out what happened to the burnings and who was really responsible for Sandy's death.

Redlining is one half mystery and one half social commentary and New excells at writing both. The mystery is pretty solid as Alex and Jed investigate possible leads to solve the mystery behind Sandy's death. Things get pretty tense when they learn that there is a conspiracy involving certain wealthy Bostonians, political figures, and organized crime members. Like in any true conspiracy novel, there are plenty of moments of slamming doors and abrupt endings of phone conversatios before Jed and Alex learn the truth that these people don't mind sacrificing whole communities and residents for their own gain.

There are some exciting moments such as when Jed has a one on one fight with an assassin using his skills as a Vietnam vet to take on a much younger and more fit man. Another exciting moment occurs when Alex is kidnapped by the same people who did away with Sandy. 

Since we read the points of view of the protagonists and antagonists, the Reader is ahead of Alex and Jed. This effect allows suspense to build when Jed or Alex confides in characters that are revealed to be involved, such as Monsignor Bendetti, a man of the cloth who is not exactly holy. He acts smooth and caring while in previous chapters, he accepted blood money from corrupt businessmen "for the good of the church," of course.

The multi points of view also reveal the hypocrisy of the more antagonistic characters and the exact means that they use to intimate the poorer community members. Sometimes they use violence, but more often their means are much more subtle. For example, Banking Commissioner Louise Winthrop Gray insists that there is no such thing as redlining. From her privileged Boston Brahmin viewpoint, she has never experienced such a thing so to her, it doesn't exist. This elitism is very real, especially to Readers who have experienced such behavior in real life.

What stands out more than the suspense is the importance of community and how the residents of Jamaica Plains work together to combat redlining and the degradation of their neighborhood. Jed is a leader who is able to bring diverse members together and visualize such possibilities. He recognizes each community member's contributions to organize and save the space around them. 

Alex is an outsider from a wealthier background but is very politically active and inspired to help others. She is new to community organization but is able to prove herself by researching various details and interacting with Jamaica Plains' residents.

They aren't the only ones who help build the Jamaica Plains community. Sheldon Trapp, a Methodist minister from Chicago wants to implement many of the same strategies that he used there for Boston and has experienced first hand the ends results of a redlined community. Willie-Joe Patrizzi, an attorney, is able to use his street smart attitude and legalese as a bridge between the people in Jamaica Plains and the wealthy Bostonians. Mary Kavanaugh, an Irish-American housewife, has plenty of brilliant ideas such as the concept of greenlining, getting neighborhood residents to move their savings accounts to a bank that will specifically lend money for Jamaica Plains.

The loyalty that the characters have for Jamaica Plains shows a different side to these so called dangerous neighborhoods. These neighborhoods aren't born that way. They become that way because of systemic racism and classicism leading the citizens to become desensitized. The characters in Redlined, just like real life counterparts, recognize something of value within that community. They feel that loyalty and friendship through adversity and pull together to fight against that adversity.

Redlined is a great novel that explores the themes of community involvement and builds an exciting suspenseful thriller plot around it.

New Book Alert: The Sounds of Fall: Reilly's Story by Karin Wyman Vardaman;. Beautiful Tail Exploring The Love Between Human and Pet

 New Book Alert: The Sounds of Fall: Reilly's Story by Karin Wyman Vardaman;. Beautiful Tail Exploring The Love Between Human and Pet

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: To Karin Wyman Vardaman, the hills are not only alive with the sounds of fall, but those sounds are credited with helping her find her dog, Reilly. In the beautiful and touching book, The Sounds of Fall: Reilly's Story, Vardaman explores the loving almost psychic connection shared between humans and their pets.

In November 1994, Vardaman's four year old English Black Lab, Reilly, went missing. Like any pet owner, Vardaman was devastated but determined to find Reilly. The book covers Vardaman's active search for the dog trying everything from putting up posters, to searching the nearby Hot Springs Canyon, to consulting a parapsychologist to search for her four legged furry best friend.

Animal lovers will be moved by the book and will relate to Vardaman's anguished search and fury when others tell her that Reilly is "just a dog." To Vardaman, Reilly was more than a dog. He was her friend, companion, and baby. He gave unconditional love, was pleased with his cushy bed and beloved stuffed toys, and never asked for anything but a brisk walk and a gentle pet on the back.

Vardaman's guilt is well realized as she blamed herself for Reilly's departure. She was haunted by the times when she left leaving her saddened lab behind waiting for her to come home. In one moving passage, Vardaman described her anticipation and hope that Reilly would come home on his own. She wrote, "I did not know if (Reilly) was alive or dead, in pain or afraid. Was he lost or in those hills or had someone taken him? Staring down the driveway, I visualized him trotting toward me, happy to be home but excited about his adventure the night before…..I waited, but it was now clear that Reilly would not be coming home on his own."

A lot of animal stories often contain beautiful descriptions of nature, and The Sounds of Fall is no exception. The opening paragraphs alone are a treat for the senses. Vardaman poetically wrote:

"The last golden leaves clung to the trees in defiance of winter's call. Angled shadows foretold shorter days and longer nights as autumn gave way to the season of slumber through nature's transitional window.

The night had surrendered to day, yet the crickets droned on, their declarations stirring an image of fatigued soldiers whose marching cadence is merely carried on by discipline. The stream stilled, the bird's song subdued, dry bush crackled under a scurrying rodent. These sounds were as distinctive as the change of color in the leaves, the shift of the sun's rays, and the cooling of the air. They anticipated the coming of winter and echoed the passing of summer. These were the sounds of fall."

It was the sounds of fall that allowed Vardaman to locate Reilly. In an act of desperation to find any clue to the Lab's whereabouts, Vardaman contacted parapsychologist, Dr. Vivien Lee-David. Lee-David predicted that Reilly was alive and that Vardaman would find him. She had a vision in which Reilly was injured, weak, hurt and waited for Vardaman near a peak southwest of her house close to water. Most importantly, that since Vardaman and Reilly were spiritually connected, she should listen to his silent cry. Based on Lee-David's suggestions, Vardaman took a makeshift pendulum that connected with her subconscious and listened to the sounds around her.

Vardaman took a long taxing trip through the nearby canyons to search for her friend. It was a journey that was physically and emotionally draining for her. There are a few chapters where Vardaman doubted her search and Lee-David's advice. The only thing that kept her going was that she was Reilly's only chance for rescue and survival. Those who are close to their pets will completely relate to the toll that the search had on Vardaman and Reilly.

But during the search, Vardaman heard and focused on the sounds around her. Her senses became more acute and she interpreted the meaning behind each sound. "I could discern the difference between a rodent scurrying under the brush and a bird rustling in the sage," Vardaman wrote. "Any change in the pattern of the sounds drew my instant attention. I felt like one of those wild animals living in the chaparral, tuned to recognize the signs of predator and prey."

While searching the ravine, Vardaman heard the trickling water,  rustling sage, clinking of a tag, and the unmistakable panting and crying of a beloved dog. 

Vardaman and Reilly's reunion melts the heart as she found her buddy with an injured hip and bruised paws and found the strength to carry him out of the canyon ravine. She hitched a ride to take them home. Reilly was treated by a veterinarian and within three months made a full recovery. 

The Sounds of Fall: Reilly's Story is a heartwarming story that reveals how deep the connection can be between human and animal. That connection allows them to hear and sense each other's presence even from great distances, to rescue one another, and to bring them home.

Weekly Reader: The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook by Robert New; Mystery Anthology Is Bright With Color Theme

 

Weekly Reader: The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook by Robert New; Mystery Anthology Is Bright With Color Theme

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: The color of death might be black as the symbolic color of mourning like seen on the robes of the Grim Reaper. It might be red, the color of blood when it comes outside of a body. In some cultures, the traditional color of mourning is white. However, according to Robert New's The Colours of Death: Sgt. Thomas' Casebook, death comes in a variety of colors.

Colours of Death is a suspenseful mystery anthology with an interesting premise: each short story takes the theme of a specific color. The colors in the title are revealed as a symptom of the murder (blue skin revealing that the victim has been poisoned as seen in "Blue: Blue Bloods" ) or a specific trait about the murderer or victim in question. (One of the characters has flaming red, almost orange hair, in the short story, "Orange: The 11th Killer.") 

The stories fall into a mostly predictable pattern. A murder occurs somewhere in Perth, usually seen through the perspective of the potential victim or one of the eyewitnesses. Something odd happens or some unidentified character with a unique trait appears to make what the character sees even more bizarre. Then Sgt. Brad Thomas and his colleagues are called in to investigate the crime. The color element is introduced during the investigation describing either the cause of death or the victim or killer's appearance. Thomas interviews suspects and searches the scene of the crime to gather evidence and find probable solutions. He also discusses the case with others including his mentor, Prof. Engels, forensic pathologist, Sally Summers, and his fiancee, Amy Stevenson. Thomas uses his deductive skills or intuitive reasoning to come up with a Eureka moment, connected to the color. He discovers the killers' identity and gets them to confess in a final interview. Thomas is then left contemplating his dangerous career and upcoming marriage to Amy.

While the stories are formulaic by nature, the colors are made to explore all of the interesting ways and possibilities in which a murder can occur. New does a brilliant job of making each story unique in execution, connecting the story with the rest of the anthology, and also allowing the story to stand on its own as an interesting case in its own right.

The stories run an interesting gambit of murderous possibilities. In "Black: Black Death," Thomas investigates the murder of Johnny Smyth, a man who had his bones broken, organs damaged, and had been beaten so much that the bruises on his skin appeared black. ("It's like he was sandwiched between two trucks or fell from the sky from a parachute," Sally observes.) Thomas uses information that he gathered investigating images and memories from his own rural background to reason that Smyth had been killed and dropped into a mine that was owned by Athol "The Fugue" Fugate, a local crime boss posing as a legitimate businessman and reoccurring antagonist in Thomas' series. This is among the more gruesome cases, but it stands out because of the one on one struggle between the opposite sides of the law. Those sides are found in Thomas' Sherlock Holmes-like deductive reasoning and empathy towards the crime victims vs. Fugate's smooth ability to do away with his enemies and making his name known and feared by the general public while literally getting away with murder.

Thomas has a fascination with psychology and criminal profiling. That profiling comes into play in "Orange: The 11th Killer." Thomas engages in a conversation with Paul over an investigation in which 47 different hair samples are found around a series of dead bodies. Thomas reasons that the person is obsessed with hair. Perhaps he could be bald or has a unique hair color in which he was noticed or mocked for. (The orange in the title refers to hair color.) Thomas also notes that the killings occurred on the 11th of each month as an important date in the killer's life. Of course he is found to be right. There is almost something psychic about this approach to crime solving and the short length makes Thomas' observations a bit too quick and obvious. However, this story reveals how crime solvers get into the killers' minds to learn what they are obsessed with and what compels them to take such a dangerous path.

Another brilliant case is "Yellow: The Storyteller." Aaron Stevenson, Thomas' future brother in law, is contacted by a local serial killer known only as The Storyteller. In Jigsaw like fashion, the Storyteller kidnaps a family member of the chosen target and then calls them to tell them that they have exactly 45 minutes to solve three riddles or said family member would perish in a fire that the Storyteller would start. (Yellow as in flames. Thomas and co.'s only possibility is that the Storyteller is a firefighter because they know the exact time of fire progression.) During a tense three way conversation, Aaron,Thomas, and Engels reason their way through the riddles to save the life of Aaron's son, Jethro. The three men use their vast knowledge to determine the solutions. One example involves the clue "Franklin's 51st theft stole the credit for this." Instead of the more obvious choice of Benjamin Franklin, Engels comes up with the theory that the clue refers to Rosalind Franklin, whose photo fifty one revealed the helical structure of DNA and who was not given credit for the discovery until after her death. The story is almost a process of figuring out who is smarter: the criminal who gets people to play their games or the officers who are trying to end the game.

One of the more heartbreaking cases in the anthology is that in "Blue: Blue Bloods." A toxin is released during an awards ceremony at Sangre Azul School causing hundreds of deaths, most of them children. The blue in the title is a double meaning revealing the blue skin which is a symptom of the toxin and that the school's name is French for "blue blood." This is another case that is largely dependent on Thomas' rural background and knowledge of poisons, but what stands out is the emotional tone of this story. It is matter of fact but carries a sense of sadness about the realization that a whole school full of children, almost a generation, will never graduate and ascend to college, never be with their families, or never hang out with their friends, because of one person's hatred and vile actions. Hundreds of families are greatly affected by this tragedy including parents and siblings. The short story calls to mind real life mass murders such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in which the majority of the victims were children.

New captures the senses well with his writing. The colors themselves capture sight and the many of the murders affect the victim's senses of smell and taste. 'White: Sting'' is one that activates the sense of touch not only in the victim but subconsciously in the Reader. Sally investigates the body of Grant Dillon. The cause of death was a self inflicted gunshot to the head but what confuses Sally is the body's appearance. Why was Dillon hairless all over and why was his skin red raw as though it had been waxed several times? Why was their one folder in his medical cabinet marked "Pain" which contained several receipts for prescribed and over the counter pain medication and alternative treatments? Dillon was clearly under a lot of pain that may have resulted in his suicide but what?

After talking to his doctor, Sally learns that Dillon had been infected for a year because of the stings from the white hair of the Gympie Gympie Tree, native only to Queensland. The hairs of the tree can embed in the skin and cause unbearable pain that can last for up to two years. ("It's like being burnt with hot acid and electrocuted at the same time," Dillon's doctor states.) Someone clearly wanted Dillon to suffer. 

Readers with a low tolerance for pain or are extremely touch sensitive to rashes and bruises are advised to read only with plenty of aloe gel nearby to soothe the psychosomatic pain that will inflict in becoming too involved into this story.

Besides an interactive sensate experience thanks to New's description, the characterization in this story stand out. Both Dillon and the person who contributed to his death are written very sympathetically. Unlike many of the previous stories, there is a clear motive and understanding towards why someone would want to cause such suffering. 

Also Sally emerges as a real hero in this story. In most of the previous stories in this anthology, Sally's role is to be Thomas' sidekick just to provide forensic analysis and be amazed at Thomas' observations and solutions. This time Thomas is in the back seat, preparing for his wedding and giving only a few suggestions to propel her investigation in certain directions. Refreshingly, "White: Sting" gives Sally a chance to do some real legwork, interview suspects, and come up with a solution based on her own medical expertise.

The Colours of Death is an anthology that reveals that death cannot only wear many faces, but it can be many colors as well.

 

New Book Alert: Orange City by Lee Matthew Goldberg; Terrifying Science Fiction Dystopia Will Scare The Colors Out Of You

 

New Book Alert: Orange City by Lee Matthew Goldberg; Terrifying Science Fiction Dystopia Will Scare The Colors Out Of You

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Lee Matthew Goldberg's previous novel, Slow Down was an ironic title of a book. It was a fast paced almost hallucinatory drug trip of a novel in which Noah, a young ambitious screenwriter gets involved with a creepy director's film project which involves several actresses becoming addicted to a drug called Fast which turns them homicidally violent.

So in this, his fifth novel, Orange City has Goldberg taken the predecessor title's advice and slowed down? Well, no. Instead he just has a wider more imaginative arena in which to explore these strange, bizarre, terrifying worlds.

Orange City is set in the future in a dystopian city called, original name, The City. The City is ruled by an omnipresent figure who is literally called The Man. (Thankfully, the common nouns used as proper names device ends there. So we don't run into other characters called The Woman, The Boy, The Girl, The Dog and don't encounter The Bar or The Restaurant.)

The Man is a creepy figure. He wears the same black suit and is fed a strange orange liquid intravenously, so he doesn't eat. His legs are distorted because of surgeries to make him taller. He has several arms connected to his body that are thin and branch-like giving him a spidery appearance. His red eyes are able to cyberoptically view the entire city. He has spies, technology, and a psychic seeming intuition that allows him to keep everyone and everything in the city under his watch and control. Anyone who disobeys can lose their appendages and end up in The Zone, the homeless district, or The Man's Scouts can send them to The Outside World, the area outside The City. The Man's appearance and demeanor are sort of like what would happen if 1984's Big Brother decided to retire and give control of Oceania over to Slenderman.

Underneath The Man's control are the Finances, districts with CEO's that control the banking, business, and advertising. In one way or another everybody works under The Man's ultimate direction, so yes they are in fact slaves to The Man. 

One of those workers is Graham Weathered, a meek little man who works for the advertising firm of Warton, Mind, and Donovan. Graham has been living in The City since he was 19, a scared abused former foster kid from The Outside World. He was given the option, as all convicted criminals are, to remain in the desolate war torn Outside World or start a new life with a job that promises benefits and constant surveillance in The City. Naturally, the naive Graham chooses Option B.

Years later, Graham is given his first real assignment. Warton, Mind, and Donovan are promoting a multi-flavored soda called Pow! His boss, E, wants him to test the various flavors and let them know what the results are. Graham needs some recognition from his employers,  would like to get ahead and does not want to be sent to the Zone. Plus, Graham has the spine of an amoeba and the nerves of a terrified toy dog, so he agrees. The only problem is that Pow! is addictive, really addictive, and it produces some strange side effects. It alters a person's emotions depending on the flavor.

Orange City is a brilliant novel that is a tribute to the Science Fiction Dystopia genre and a satire on advertising, greed, and corporate control. As Graham drinks the Pow! flavors, he takes on various facets of his personality. The orange flavor makes him passionate and sexual. Lime green makes him jealous and ambitious. Blueberry makes him depressed and thoughtful. Cherry Red makes him aggressive and homicidal. All of the emotions that a lifetime of abuse and constant surveillance and control have repressed have finally broken through and overwhelms him.

This book is a wonder to imagine and is one of the few that I would like to see become a movie or limited series because of how impressive it would look. One of the more visually captivating images are the constant changing colors around Graham. Each time he drinks a specific flavor, his eyes zero in and focus on that color on the walls, neon signs, and on people's clothing. Each time he is attracted to women wearing those specific colors or is invited to a club or a bar with that color name (The Citrus Club, Lime Lounge, Blue Moon, and Red Rum.) It would be neat to see any potential filmmaker engage in some interesting details like the walls in Graham's apartment changing color or the neon lights blazing in the background, unavoidable like stars. Goldberg clearly had a lot of fun writing the process of Graham and his mood swings and the shifting environment around him.

Besides setting, Goldberg also creates a memorable protagonist in Graham. Similar to characters like Winston Smith, Guy Montag, Offred/June, or Bernard Marx, Graham just accepts the System at first. He thinks that if he plays along and doesn't cause trouble, then he will live another day, without realizing that it doesn't matter how much he plays along. If that System sees those under them as less than human, they are expendable and completely disposable. They will be killed or exiled anyway, because they have no value as a human being or an individual. 

Graham follows the Man's orders, even temporarily accepts a higher position, more luxurious apartment, and larger stipend to be the Pow! spokesperson/product tester/guinea pig. When he becomes hopelessly addicted and characters appear and reappear to monitor him, even appearing in lucid dreams is when he starts to question what he got into. He also learns some revealing things about his past and what The Man's real goals are.  That's when he can no longer remain a passive participant and slave to The Man. He becomes an active rebel and fighter against those that have controlled him for most of his life.

Orange City is a book with a terrifying premise that questions how much advertising, corporations, and our own self interests control us. It could be as real as tomorrow. That thought is enough to scare the colors out of the Reader.

New Book Alert: The Ghost of Villa Winter (Canary Islands Mysteries Book 4) by Isobel Blackthorn; Engaging Murder Mystery Set On A Beautiful Island

 

New Book Alert: The Ghost of Villa Winter (Canary Islands Mysteries Book 4) by Isobel Blackthorn; Engaging Murder Mystery Set On A Beautiful Island

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

When last we left the lovely but intriguing Canary Islands in Isobel Blackthorn's A Prison in the Sun,  ghostwriter Trevor Moore found a backpack of stolen money, a manuscript about a gay man imprisoned during Franco's Spain, and a dead body. In short order, he kept the money for himself, translated and edited the manuscript and kept the credit, and was left the target of sinister figures who were probably responsible for the dead body.

In Blackthorn's latest caper, The Ghost of Villa Winter, Trevor is in prison and his only remaining friend, Clarissa, is fighting a so far fruitless endeavor to get him released. Clarissa knows Trevor well and knows that he is innocent of the murder. Okay, sure he's a literary thief for passing off the manuscript as his own. Sure he was foolish and greedy for not reporting the money. And sure, he's well….kind of a bumbling idiot, but a murderer? Never!

Clarissa is staying with her niece, Claire and Claire's husband, Paco while she waits to visit Trevor in prison and reopen his case. Claire and Paco want her to forget about Trevor for a while and just enjoy herself. So, she takes their advice and notices a flier for a guided tour of Villa Winter. She decides to take the tour and gets to know a group of eccentric tourists and their tour guide, Francois. It is on the trip to this historical building with a sinister past, in which it was the farmhouse of Gustav Winter, a member of the Nazi Party, where things take a dangerous turn. She and novelist, Richard Parry, get separated from the group and discover the corpse of a murdered woman inside the Villa. Even more terrifying is that the apparent time of death had to be within the last few minutes, so the woman's murderer had to be a part of the tour, but who?

The Ghost of Villa Winter is just as effective a murder mystery as its predecessor. Blackthorn once again provides a real strong sense of place throughout the book. Unlike Prison in the Sun which took advantage of the gorgeous beaches and outdoor views, most of the action is set in and around Villa Winter and the village of Cofete. However, the setting never feels claustrophobic or contained as there is always something new to explore.

Villa Winter is itself described as an imposing building. Blackthorn writes, "Villa Winter presented its visitors with a very high and imposing stone wall that appeared to serve as the dwelling's foundations. The two corners of the wall were finished off with square turrets, each sporting a small casement window set about two-thirds of the way up the front wall-too high for anyone outside to peer in-and topped with a stone parapet. The house itself sat above a stone wall and sported a somewhat austere veranda contained within a series of stone arches. A low pitched roof of terracotta tiles completed the look. Attached to the front of the house on the far side was a large round tower. The whole edifice was more imposing close up than (Clarissa)'d imagined viewing photos on the Internet."

Between the stone wall, tower, the strange bunkers on the lower floor, and a kitchen that looks more like an autopsy room, Villa Winter leaves a general impression that no one comes in and no one comes out. 

The setting isn't the only thing that leaves a memorable eerie impression on the Reader. The tour group are an odd crew that would be at home in an Agatha Christie locked room mystery. From the mean looking tour guide, Francois, to the know it all married couple, Fred and Margaret, to the oddly quiet, Helen, to the thrill seeking backpackers, Dave and Steve, to the gossipy Vera, to the no nonsense, Carol, to the mysterious, Simon who seems unsure even of his name at times. These characters give off a bizarre vibe particularly when they enter Villa Winter and seem to engage in a verbal competition over who knows the most about Gustav Winter, WWII trivia, and conspiracy theories. These are people who constantly bicker and don't mind showing off their knowledge to anyone who asks, and to anyone that doesn't. Anyone of them could be a murderer and their odd behaviors suggest that no one could be ruled out.

The only character that Clarissa finds completely trustworthy is Richard and that's because he is too much of a sniveling wimp to be a murderer and he hasn't left Clarissa's side since they entered Villa Winter. (He had no time to steal away and murder the young woman the way the others would have). 

There are some genuinely suspenseful moments that evoke a Hitchcockian film. Clarissa and Richard are abandoned by the tour group and trapped in the tower where they hear footsteps and the sounds of someone turning on the crematorium down below. 

They also plan a daring escape from Villa Winter that requires a long climb downhill as the sun threatens to set. Then,  they find that the road out of Cofete is closed so they are trapped in a small village with no electricity and no phone, with their tour group, one of whom is a murderer. The chapters are designed to keep the Reader clenched in suspense throughout this tour.

Even though there is a dark undercurrent, particularly with the murder and the history of Villa Winter, the protagonists keep things light-hearted veering this book towards a cozy mystery more than its darker predecessor. In particular, Clarissa is a great lead character. She has some unique traits such as her interest in astrology. (Really she should have known there would be trouble with the arrangement of Saturn, Pluto, and Mars and a Scorpio Moon present). She has a gift of being a good of judge of character, such as her initial observations of the tour group, that is seldom proven wrong. This gift seems to border on intuition, a sixth sense, love of mysteries, and good common sense that comes with age. That's how come she knows that Trevor is innocent. She knows him well.

Clarissa is also a brave and physically fit woman. She is like Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher juiced up. When she and Richard have to escape Villa Winter, she proves her mettle by pushing herself and her cowardly companion outside of the Villa and harm's way. Most of that mettle is proven by carrying Richard's useless weight around as he spends most of the time, sniveling, whining, and contributing very little to their survival or solving the mystery around them.

Clarissa shows a protective streak towards Richard and Trevor, showing more competency than either of them. She isn't romantically attached to either one (Richard because of his personality and Trevor because of reasons that are revealed in A Prison in the Sun.) She has a sisterly protectiveness that wants to care and look after these guys. This leads to a heartfelt and sweet reunion between Clarissa and Trevor that strengthens their friendship.

The Ghost of Villa Winter is an engaging follow up to A Prison in the Sun that shows in scenic locations all may not be Paradise. Not with terrifying histories, dead bodies, and curious odd tourists and locals lurking around every beach and villa. 

Weekly Reader: Mylee in The Mirror by Ellie Collins; Sweet YA Romance Starring The Goddess of Love By Promising Teen Author

 Weekly Reader: Mylee in The Mirror by Ellie Collins; Sweet YA Romance Starring The Goddess of Love By Promising Teen Author

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I am impressed by the work of young authors. I am even more impressed when authors are barely in and out of their teens.

Take Ellie Collins for example. Her debut novel Daisy, Bold & Beautiful, was written in 2018 when she was 11. Her second book, Mylee in the Mirror, was published later that year before Collins entered 7th grade and turned twelve. Last year, she published her third book, Mad Max and Sarah, at the age of fourteen.

Despite her youth, Collins has a gift for mixing modern characters and conflicts with Greek mythology. Each of her books feature a modern girl having problems with parents, friends, potential love interests, and siblings with the help and sometimes hindrance of a specific Greek goddess that uses their connections and abilities to help the young girl with her problems.

In Daisy Bold & Beautiful, Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and daughter of Demeter, Goddess of Nature and Harvesting, help D.J. who is struggling in her relocation to a new place and using her gardening talents to relate to other kids, who are too fascinated with the latest gadgets. In Mad Max & Sarah, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, uses her personal struggles with her numerous siblings to help Sarah who is arguing with her troubled older brother, Max.

Now we come to Collins's second book, Mylee in the Mirror. In this one, the Goddess Du Jour is Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love & Beauty. In this sweet YA novel, Aphrodite helps Mylee, a teen who has problems with love both at home and at school.

Mylee encounters Aphrodite as her grandmother gets sent to a retirement community, a move which Mylee is against but can do little about. She's also tired of her pushy mother forcing things, like cheerleading, on her when she would rather be on the trampoline and tumbling team. Her mother tries to set Mylee up with Sam, football captain and the most popular boy in school. Mylee is confused and uncertain about her feelings towards Sam, especially when her friend Lilith also likes him and her male friend, Ty, is starting to imply that he wants to be more than friends with Mylee. On top of this love confusion at school, Mylee has more trouble at home when her mother announces that she and her father are getting separated.

This time of anguish over love is the perfect environment for a certain Greek Goddess to make an appearance and appears she does. Aphrodite is seen inside one of the mirrors in Grammy's antique hand mirror collection. Grammy accidentally ended up with Aphrodite's mirror after it was stolen by the Trickster Messenger God, Hermes. Aphrodite wants her mirror back and she wants Mylee's help. In the meantime, she will listen to Mylee's problems. 

This is one of those fantasies where a modern person seeks advice from a unique spiritual advisor, like a ghost, a fairy, or in this case a Greek Goddess. Aphrodite is written the way that she usually is in most stories, vain, aware of her looks, sometimes superficial, and practically gushing over the thought of love and romance. She has a more formal elevated way of speaking that sets her apart from the modern characters. ("You've also weeded out an imposter friend because she would have said hurtful things about you...On top of that, you managed to make your mother happy.") Then suddenly, Aphrodite throws out a sudden slang term, revealing a childlike nature and an adaptability to keep up with a world around her that no longer reveres her. ("Umm...win, win, and win!")

Aphrodite helps Mylee by telling her details of her own life. Even though she, like Mylee's mother, wants Mylee to date "the handsome" Sam, the Goddess tells the mortal teen of her own love life, such as her unhappy marriage to Hephaestus, the Blacksmith God, and her affair with Ares, God of War. Mylee uses these examples from Aphrodite's experiences to solve her own problems. Perhaps Aphrodite is subtly telling Mylee what not to do.

Usually these type of books share the same problem, the spiritual advisor is such a large presence to the book that the Reader wants to see more of them. The chapters without them seem like filler. That is true to some degree in Mylee in the Mirror. It would be nice to see more conversations between Mylee and Aphrodite. Maybe the Goddess could play a more prominent active role than sharing details of her marriage and affairs so Mylee can learn from them.

Usually, the desire to see more of the spiritual advisor is because the modern characters are lacking in comparison. Thankfully, Collins pulled a surprising trick by making both leads interesting.

Mylee is a confused emotional young girl navigating her way through her first love while dealing with the end of her parents' love for each other. The plot falls sometimes to the typical teen angst of crushes, gossip, and what happens when suddenly you see that your close friend is actually very attractive. Some of it causes Mylee to be overwhelmed with angst and sarcasm (She refers to her and Sam's date as "The Date Heard Round The World", because of her mother's endless chattering about it).

There are some sweet cute moments, particularly that concern Ty's crush on her and Mylee trying to process her friends growing affection for her. The subplot concerning Mylee's parents's separation keeps the book from being too overtly sweet, fluffy, and teenagerish There are genuine moments of heartbreak and sadness that are the results of their separation. In one chapter, Mylee is left stranded in the rain waiting for her father who forgets to come and get her.

 Mylee doesn't always handle her problems in a mature manner and no one expects her to. She is processing all of these emotions, just at the time when her body is going through various changes. On top of that is the added stress of the decline of her parents' marriage and her mother's overbearing nature. Mylee doesn't always know how to deal with her problems and exhibits sadness, rage, irritation, embarrassment, and nervousness, sometimes all at once. It's easy for Collins to capture those feelings when she is no doubt going through them herself. 

In some ways, Mylee and Aphrodite fill a need for each other. Mylee needs an adult figure that understands her, listens to her, and accepts her as she is including her interests, friendships, and potential for love. Aphrodite also wants acceptance and understanding, maybe a daughter figure who looks beyond her glamorous facade and sees a figure who had been hurt, had flaws, and needed to learn a few lessons. Together, they fill that need and change for the better. Mylee finds ways to improve her relationships with her friends and parents. Aphrodite finds someone who still believes in and appreciates her.

In only her second book, Ellie Collins, has shown a true understanding of character development, literary allusion, plot, and theme. At 14, she can write as well as authors twice her age. It would be amazing to see how her writing talent will evolve and adapt as she grows.

 

Weekly Reader: More Than Words by Christina Benjamin; '90's Indie Grunge Scene Steals The Show From The Budding Romance

 

Weekly Reader: More Than Words by Christina Benjamin; '90's Indie Grunge Scene Steals The Show From The Budding Romance

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Ah yes, I remember the '90's music well.

I was in Middle School when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out and in high school when Kurt Cobain died. I remember when the local St. Louis radio station 105.7 The Point played nothing but Alternative and Grunge music, except during lunch when they played Retro. I remember the groups and singers like Alice in Chains, Radiohead, Sound Garden, Jane's Addiction, Garbage, Tracey Bonham, Leah Andreoni, Candlebox, Butthole Surfers, Nerf Herder, Eve 6, and of course the granddaddies, Nirvana and Pearl Jam. I remember the multigroup concerts like Lollapalooza, PointFest, Lilith Fair, Horde Fest, and many others. I envied those who went to PointFest. (Now with my overdeveloped crowd anxiety, I'm glad I never went.) High schoolers flocked to Vintage Vinyl, the St. Louis record store to listen to the music from their favorite bands.

The music was stripped down and sometimes acoustic. The lyrics expressed frustration,anger, depression, and emotions right out in the open that moved beyond romance and break ups. There was honesty in the music and those who promoted it. They expressed their love of the music by performing in clubs and with indie labels. Their fans spread that love through word of mouth and ezines, without corporate influence. (And this was before Social Media did the work for them, kids.)

 Admittedly, some groups did branch out and played on MTV and major record labels. How else could a bookworm geeky teenage girl who lived in Northern California and the Midwest at the time have heard of them? I wasn't exactly old enough to go to the clubs or savvy enough to hear them before they were well known. I admit that I found the term "sell out" to be frustrating for that reason. ("When does a group sell out," I always wondered, "When I like them? You're allowed to like them, but I'm not?")

However, now that I have gotten older and am actively involved in the indie book publishing scene, I understand that feeling that the indie music fans had at the time (and many still have). You want to be there right at the moment when it's fresh, exciting, and isn't bound by rules, restrictions, and packaging. You want to discover someone new and promote the heck out of them, because you love the work and the scene. 

You want nothing, but the best for the artists you love, the fame and money. But at the same time you hope that they don't change too much, that they don't forget the people that they were, and remain honest. You miss the original scene now that others have discovered it. In trying to be more welcoming, the indie scene lost what made it great in the first place: the honesty, the rawness, and exclusivity. 

As an artist, you want fame to be recognized, but not too much fame that it's overwhelming. You want to make enough money to live comfortably and to live off of your chosen profession, so you don't have to take another job. But you don't want to be too fabulously wealthy so that you can't control yourself or the parasites who hang about you because of your money. You want to appeal to a wider audience so your chosen art can reach others, but still want to maintain artistic integrity so you can continue to reach your original fanbase.

It is the indie Grunge scene of the early '90's that is the backdrop of More Than Words, Christina Benjamin's contemporary romance about a pair of college students who fall in love while exploring the Seattle Grunge scene. While the lead protagonists are compelling, it is the setting and time period that really make this book. It is just as much a love letter to the musical genre that many grew up with as it is a love story between two people.

It is the typical romance between opposites. Kristin is the daughter of lawyers who think that she will combine her love of music and attorney influenced background to study at the University of Washington to become an entertainment lawyer. What they don't know is that their daughter is spending her time away from classes and exploring the clubs to listen to Grunge music. To her credit, she isn't just going to hang out, listen to some great tunes, and become a groupie. 

Kristin has a real ear for music and knows how to promote, manage, and book local bands. Her greatest dream is to work for a major indie record label as a producer. Unfortunately, her dreams took a backslide when her boyfriend, Nuno, lead singer of the group Deafgraffiti, left Kristin's management and romantic attachment behind when he signed with a major label. He became famous and forgot all the people who helped him along the way, like ex-bandmates and Kristin.

Phinn is a student from rural Oregon, experiencing city life and its club scene for the first time. He is also a music fan and an aspiring musician himself. When Kristin is practically dragged to a frat party by her roommate, she encounters Phinn. The two bond over a mutual love of the band, Dominion and then agree to meet again at the Back Booth to hear Dominion play.

Kristin and Phinn are a couple that are developed just as much by their love of music as their interest in each other. They have different approaches to the art form that reflect their talents and differing personalities. Kristin is more hard core and introverted. She wants to be behind the scenes but at the same time reveal her dedication to her craft. She knows what's good and which bands deserve to have more recognition.

Phinn is more outgoing and open minded. He is a more welcoming personality that draws people in, even the more withdrawn Kristin. He is the perfect person to be in the center either playing or greeting people at a club. While he has a talent for playing music, his warmth and openness also could be displayed as a club owner or agent. Phinn is foreground while Kristin is background, but together they reveal their love of music. 

This book also shows that you don't have to be a performer yourself to express a love for a certain art. You can spot the perfect bands, manage a club, host featured acts, and that still makes you a part of that world than if you picked up a guitar and sang into a microphone.

Of course, Kristin is revealed in her network of musicians, clubs, and record labels. She recognizes talent when she sees it, like when she sees Candlebox and is ready to promote them.

While Phinn plays the guitar, he is also able to use his welcoming nature to make an abandoned frat house, which he and his friends live in, into a club that of course is perfect for Candlebox to perform. 

Take away the 1990's time period and the grunge music and the Candlebox subplot could almost be one of those old movie musicals, where the principal characters put on a show and fall in love while planning to make it big on Broadway or Hollywood.

All joking aside, the subplot is instrumental in revealing Kristin and Phinn's mutual love for music.Through that love, they begin to understand and develop a love for each other. One of the more telling conversations reveals that. Kristin tells Phinn how much she loves music and wants to have a career in it and nothing will stop her. What about love? Phinn asks. Would you give music up for love? Kristin's answer could be summarized as no, she loves music too much and if any guy really loved her, then he would understand. Luckily, Phinn is that guy.

The real star of this book is the indie club scene and it is extremely well written. From the club goers dressed in black clothing and boots, to the loud pulsing music, to the smell of pot and alcohol in the air, there is a sense of togetherness and cosmic energy as the bands and club goers are there to play and hear the music in its raw and real form.

Real bands, like the aforementioned Candlebox exist alongside fictional ones, like Deafgrafitti to give More Than Words a real sense of authenticity. These are characters who try to live a life free of establishment and corporate rules (such as going to Cafe Allegra rather than the already growing Starbucks). But there is also the growing anxiety that this is only a moment and things will pass. Kristin sees the growing attendance at the clubs including the trendy college kids and worries. She fears that someday her world will be sanitized and packaged into something clean and safe. In their drive to welcome larger crowds, execs, record labels, and owners will change it with rules, standards, image over substance and she won't recognize it. The only thing that Kristin and Phinn can do is enjoy the indie music world while it lasts and make sure that in the future, they can use their careers to create something authentic that lasts beyond the moment and the changes. Their influence in the indie music genre will help the music keep to its roots.

The title, More Than Words, comes from a line in which Kristin reveals that she loves music "more than words." Of course the fact that it is also the name of the 1990 acoustic love song by Extreme, which extols using more creative means to express love rather than just using the words "I love you,"  perhaps gives it a double meaning. (Also the fact that the band members of Extreme themselves said that the song was "a blessing and a curse." It was so different from their usual style, that they alienated their old fans and offended new fans who were drawn to that specific song when they refused to play it. This echoes into the book's theme about the struggle between being authentic and changing oneself to attract a larger audience.) 

This is more than a book about love between two people. This is about a love of music and other art forms. It is about using one's talents to give artists and other talented people a gift. The gifts represent the gratitude for all of the time spent being enraptured by that art. It is about finding the right career path that allows you to engage in and express that love in ways that are important to you and the artists. It is how one's first love isn't always necessarily a person. Sometimes it's an art form whether it's books, photography, painting, sculpture, comics, films, or music.

And if you find someone along the way who also shares that love and wants to develop that artform with you and you fall in love with each other as well, then that's all the better.