Book Reviews by Ehlen Administration

The New Lease: a conspiracy thriller by John Stryder My rating: 3 of 5 stars Fae thinks she is flexing her journalism muscles as she takes a class assignment very seriously by traveling to meet a man who seems to be the key to all the recent fortunate world policy decisions. Little does she know that she will learn more about herself and an insidious old idea that one man is trying to make new again, and possibly alter the future as we know it. The New Lease is a thought provoking thriller that incorporates psychological concepts from tantric philosophies as well as some new ways to make old concepts savory to a modern crowd. Of course I had my concerns while reading it as to whether or not it was someone really trying to promote the idea of eugenics and population control as a good idea, but chose to see it as a lesson on how people can talk themselves into just about anything. It’s a really well written story, and my only complaint about the writing was the switching to first...

End of Eternity by Loretta Lost My rating: 3 of 5 stars Walking in on your husband’s lifeless, post suicide body swaying in the breeze of the open door is bad enough, but pregnant Carmen now has to deal with both the funeral and her sister’s car accident on the same day - as well as take care of her father while he deals with her sister’s crash as well. Can she navigate the stress as well as the obvious attempts of the men in her life to soothe a grieving widow? I was intrigued by the idea of an inner monologue for someone experiencing life that included suicide, pregnancy and potential fatal car crash of someone she loved, but quickly found myself disenchanted with Carmen’s character. I honestly thought she was well written and well developed, just not someone I could relate to, personally. While I could not predict how I would react in the same circumstance, I just had a hard time processing the obvious lust and inappropriate relations with what seemed like any man who wasn’t ...

Rotville by Bryce Bentley Summers My rating: 4 of 5 stars Subject 501 may be it. The one that demonstrates the perfect outcome of all their hard work. Now they just have to make him obedient, and fortunes will follow. But Subject 501 has other plans, and unknown friends that may just help him escape. Titus is not about to let all his hard work and the countless hours of research and experimentation go to waste all because of one subject and a couple of kids. Rotville is an excellent post apocalyptic thriller that mixes pathogen outbreak, zombie mania, advanced neural tech and political hubris to create a compelling story of a human experiment who is able to save the innocents. There is a lot of action that is well described (although it did get a little tedious for me at the end) which enhances the story well. The plot is both easy to follow and still surprising, and I was so happy to see that the author accounted for the obvious in certain points, such as noting the necessity o...

The Screaming by David Graham My rating: 3 of 5 stars Teenagers are mysteriously and creatively coming up with ways to murder their parents and commit suicide, and no one can figure out the impetus. When officer Dale Franklin with the Kansas City Police Department walks in on a gruesome scene and finds himself an unwitting extra in the deceased’s YouTube video, a multinational whirlwind investigation leads to his partnering with the CDC, MI5, and a boy genius from Kenya to uncover the reason these teenagers brains are shrinking and causing them to commit vile acts. The Screaming is a thriller that is fast paced and graphic (for those of you with weak stomachs, this might be one to preview first.) Both the murder-suicides are written in gruesome detail, but also the scenes inside the teenager’s heads depict an awful environment that leads to their own destruction, which is necessary but intensely sad. While well written, I still found myself having to willfully suspend my disb...

Found, Near Water by Katherine Hayton My rating: 4 of 5 stars Christine leads a support group for women, like her, who have lost their children. Some are known deceased, others are unknown. Over time the support group dwindled to a few women who became fast friends as they bonded over their shared grief. But what will happen when Christine, a victim support advocate, has to be there for a new mother who has also lost her child, and a curious psychic tells her that the child is dead, and the body will be found, near water? Will Christine be able to support her and deal with her own past and present, and will the women she calls friends still be able to rely on their own stories to get them through the ensuing scandal? As a mother, one of the worst fears is that of your child being abducted, dieing of some horrible disease, or being killed in an accident. No parent should have to outlive their child, regardless of how old the parents or the child. I think that’s what made this boo...