Book Review: Cache a predator by M. Weidenbenner

by in Book Review, Geocaching and tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Cache a Predator by M. Weidenbenner

A Thriller/Mystery Novel published by Random (01/07/2014)

 

Summary:

Young cop Brett will do anything for his five-year old daughter Quinn. If that means violating the protective order his ex-wife Ali took out on him, he’ll do it. If that means proving to the courts that Ali is an incompetent mother to gain full custody of Quinn, he’ll try to be patient and maintain his temper to do it. Brett’s fight to protect Quinn is made more complicated when they are both thrown in the middle of a crime where a vigilante is gruesomely targeting sex offenders: by hiding their wankers in local geocaches.

Keywords:

Vigilante, Sex Abuse, Thriller, Geocaching, Predators, Cop Father, CPS

 

My Review:

Cache a Predator has everything a thriller needs to make a fast-paced read that will pull at your heartstrings. I couldn’t put the book down. The characters are compelling and complex, with real motivations. Quinn will make you want to save her. Brett will bring you to his side. Ali will tug at your sympathy even as you want her daughter to be taken away from her care. The vigilante will make you take a second look at sex abuse victims… and make sure your door is locked. As this is a thriller with a who-dun-it context, I thought that by paying attention to every character I could figure out the ending, but it turns out the author was a lot more clever than I was and was able to surprise me with the climax.

The intro was setup in an intriguing way. Almost from the very beginning I knew what happy ending I wanted to see, where all ends would be tied sweetly together. I’m sure you’ll have some of the same yearnings, but you’ll have to read to find out if it all turns out the way you expect and desire.

This book blew all my expectations out of the water and although I picked it up for the geocaching element, I was not let down when I found out there was very little geocaching involved because the book was so thrilling and very well written. My only comment would be to cut out the last chapter.

 

This novel was published by Random 01/07/2014 and is available on Amazon here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 5.0

 

Links for more information:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18192713-cache-a-predator

Website: www.randomwritingrants.com

Nano ’14: Day 24 Update

by in NaNoWriMo, Rachel Barnard and tagged | 4 Comments

Winner-2014-Web-Banner

Word count for the day: 1,747

Total word count: 64,540

Total Words to Write to be on track: 40,000

I’ve officially completed my first draft of Donuts in an Empty Field/Leave Your Mark

Vanessa was a shy, introverted girl before she found out she wouldn’t live to graduation. It had always been her best friend Nichole who dragged her out of her shell, but now it’s Vanessa with her list of Challenges who is learning to pull Nichole along. From sneaking into strip clubs, construction areas, and into trouble Vanessa learns to cope with death and dying. When everything falls apart in a school showdown Vanessa will have to give up herself completely to save those she loves. Will this be the mark Vanessa is hoping to leave on the world or will she be gone before she has time to leave her mark?

Book Review: The Siren Suicides Series by Ksenia Anske

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Book Review: The Siren Suicides Series by Ksenia Anske

I Chose to Die (Siren Suicides) (Volume 1)

My Sisters in Death (Siren Suicides) (Volume 2)

The Afterlife (Siren Suicides) (Volume 3)

A YA Fiction Series published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (8/5/13)

 

Summary:

It all starts with a death wish, hope for paternal love, and Ailen wanting to get revenge on her father for what he did to her and her mom. Ailen Bright was the daughter that was supposed to be a son. She was the woman who was a weak creature needing to be controlled lest she decide to charm off men’s pants and make them do stupid crap (according to her father).

Ailen turns into a Siren, the embodiment of an otherworldly thing that feeds off men’s souls, but she is not alone in this world. She was created by the Siren of Canosa and the three underling Sirens: Pisinoe, Ligeia, and Teles. They hunt for souls and are hunted themselves by Siren Hunters. Will Ailen learn to accept who she is? Will she be able to accept the life she jumped out of?

 

Keywords:

 Suicide, 16-year olds, abusive relationships, violence, Sirens, Otherworldly Creatures, Teen Issues, Regret, Love

 

My Review:

I hold a special place in my reader’s bookshelf for Ksenia Anske. I have read Rosehead and Irkadura and I know she is a special person and a special writer. The Siren Suicides was written as a three part book, as Ksenia pointed out at a live reading, because it was too long to be one book. The point being that a reader cannot simply read one book, but needs to read the entire series as if it is one lengthy novel. This review, then, is of the entire three-part series.

There were so many aspects of the Siren Suicides that I loved that it’s difficult to even start writing a review. I’m in awe of Anske’s talent as a writer. I always wanted a writer like Neil Gaiman, who would write something I wanted to read, something with the sympathies of a plot and characters on the verge of reality that could hold my attention, even while the author’s imagination is running wild. I have found that in Ksenia Anske. She is everything a reader could ask for, and I’m glad that she quit her day job to devote herself to writing.

Anske perfects a writing style devoted to beautiful phrases and well-crafted words that I cannot believe she didn’t grow up with English as a first language. I only wish that I didn’t read so fast so that I could savor the sounds and images Anske creates. This is a book well worth listening to as an audiobook if ever the author converted her novels into audiobooks.

“My saliva is acid syrup. My blood is concentrated seawater pumped through my veins by a dead heart. My power is my voice, and I’m using it—using it plenty. Eating my dinner, humans served live, their souls draped over the garnish of soulless siren. It’s supposed to satisfy me, but makes me hungrier still, as if it’s the last meal I’ll ever eat.” (Page 31 of book 2).

The concept of a Siren is not new, but the image and voice Ksenia gives to this creature is creative, a new spin on the vampire/werewolf genre with their incessant need to feed off of humans. Ksenia’s Sirens are not always the beautiful ethereal creatures that call to sailors from the depths of the ocean, they personify people and travel on land and water. They have powers of oneness with the water, not superpowers, but a true calling with the natural element. What baffles me about the Sirens is how they are not discovered by any other than the Siren Hunter(s) when they presumably have killed so many. Sirens feed on souls and Ksenia gives life to the very essence of a person using all her senses so that the reader is enveloped in a short truth of a person: their soul. No wonder sirens find them so tasty.

“I try to imagine the sound of his soul, to bring back that feeling of home—the clatter of food cooked on the stove, the clanking of dishes, the shuffling of feet in slippers on a wooden floor, laughter, the anticipation of a meal, birds chirping behind an open window, the buzzing of insects basking in rays of the morning sun. Vivaldi’s Summer, its violins.”  (Page 241 of book 3).

Ailen is not the perfect character. She bugs me at times throughout the books. She is moody and stubborn. In the first book I’m not even sure I can trust her feelings and I’m not sure she can think clearly about the world, but by the second book I’m believing everything she sees and feels. I want to sympathize with her so badly that I believe everything. When she gets upset at herself for her shortcomings and when she breaks her promises to herself, giving in to her weakness, I want to tell her that she is not perfect and that is alright. I want to give her the words she craves from her father. Anske has a knack for creating characters you want to comfort and protect.

Ailen Bright is such a strange troubled character that I held my breath as I wondered what she would do, what would happen to her next. At times I worried that Ksenia didn’t have a final purpose or point to the book, or even a good conclusion because Ailen doesn’t know what is going on or what will happen. We are left at the mercy of this poor sad teenager’s unending fantasy nightmare… Until the last chapter. Anske delivered the only logical conclusion to the story. I was disappointed because she tells us over and over throughout the series what will happen and when I’m given the end I can’t help but think it was coming all along, even though I wanted something else, something different. Even as an author myself, I couldn’t think of a better conclusion that I would have been satisfied with, it just isn’t possible. There is only one possible ending and I’m glad Anske delivered it, because any other ending would have been terrible.

The only major shortcoming was the length of the three novels combined, as they only work as parts of a whole.

On a final note, this series is based in Seattle and is entirely true to the environment of Seattle and the characteristics (including weather) one can find in this place and for that I love Anske.

I recommend this book for anyone who enjoys the imagination of Neil Gaiman, the seduction of a vampire book, anything else by Ksenia Anske, or a fantasy suicide novel.

This novel was published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform August 5th, 2013 and is available on Ksenia Anske’s Website here.

 

TLDR Star Rating: 4.50

 

Links for more information:

Ksenia Anske’s Website

Goodreads Profile

Book Review: Irkadure by Ksenia Anske

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Irkadura by Ksenia Anske

A YA Fiction Novel published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (11/03/14)

Summary:

You know who you are, Irina Myshko? You’re not a mouse and you’re not an eagle, you’re just a dumb mute dura. You’ve never talked and you never will. (Locations 2920-2921).

Irkadura is not dumb, she just said the wrong word at the wrong time to the wrong woman (Locations 917-918) and at the age of two was scarred into a PTSD like silence. Her silence travels with her, affecting her life and how people view her. Most think of her as crazy, stupid, without opinion or protest, or as an invalid. The government has issued her a certificate of disability, which she uses to get a job at a local theatre. Irina is not just mute, but she refers to people as animals. Her mama is a catfish, the man who raped her is a boar and the boy who she is entranced by is a butterfly. Irina herself is a mouse, a timid creature that is stomped and crushed and bitten.

Keywords:

 Russia, Hard Times, Struggle, Teen Issues, Strong Female, Mute, Magical Realism

My Review:

What is Irina’s reality? She escapes as much as possible from the unbelievable horrors of her life through the animals that she imagines inhabiting her environment. Her reality is so horrible and unreal that the only way she can escape is by doing something drastic, to take her mind away. For this, most think she is stupid or crazy. The big finish at the end will toy with your reality and make you wonder what’s really going on.

Just as Irina is a master of making reality disappear in the vividness of her animal descriptions and actions, Ksenia Anske is adept at her vivid descriptions that make the environment and characters seem real. Anske makes Irina come alive through the telling of this harsh and at times depressing story. Anske has created a world that is brusque and to the point. The world for Irina is dim and dreary and hard to survive in. On top of this compelling narrative is the side story of the political environment where the story takes place that flows in and out of the background, intermingling with and influencing Irina’s story. She may be indifferent to what’s going on, but it does have a significant impact on her story.

Irkadura tells more than the story of Irina or the political upheaval in Russia, but of a world where women don’t get to be independent and free. This fact that most people in my world (the USA) take for granted is a fact that does not even register in Irina’s mind because it is not a possibility for her. She has to rely on the charity of others. She has nothing. She owns nothing. She does not even possess full control of her own body. This is like the worst nightmare for any strong independent woman. Irina never got a chance to be one in the traditional sense, but she has her own fight to win. There is a point where she can take control of a part of her life, but she has to overcome so much to get there. There is an immense struggle in Irina’s life, starting from the time she was two and became mute up until the moment she must decide whether she has a future.

Irina has her own kind of strength. She is stubborn. She runs away. She makes plans for revenge… Her triumph is in speaking the truth (at least writing it). She grows her wings off the truth, because in this sordid world she lives in, that’s all she has.

My only unease in the book is the author’s insistence that Eaglet is male because he conforms to the male stereotypes, but I thought the story could have been just as strong had Eaglet been female because then both the females would be getting their revenge. Still, I didn’t think this detracted from the novel at all, just my personal opinion in finding the book’s only criticism.

This novel was published through CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform November 3rd, 2014 and is available on Ksenia Anske’s Website here.

TLDR Star Rating: 4.75

Links for more information:

Ksenia Anske’s Website

Goodreads Profile

On Amazon