Roses & Thorns

Roses & Thorns

Sunday, June 12, 2016

The Conspiracy of Silence by Augustine Sam

Before we get into today's review, I'd like to offer my condolences to the families affected by the tragedy in Orlando this past weekend. As a sci-fi fan and writer I have many friends and even a grandchild in the LGBTQ community. But even so, terrorism must be stopped in whatever form it takes, whether it comes from Isis or the Klan. I once took an oath to defend this country from ALL enemies, foreign and domestic, and I still take that oath seriously.


Blurb:

Sex scandals in high places…

An exposé on the murky world of high-stakes politics...a depiction of the life-and-death struggle of a young female lawyer who goes to great lengths to outwit a diabolical trio in order to save her lover from a murder rap.

The conscience of a town steeped in sexism, vanity, and hypocrisy is pricked by the brutal murder of a mysterious woman in an LA park. But the shock is transformed into a steamy, seductive scandal when the corpse turns out to be Susan Whitaker, the flamboyant wife of the governor of California.

A secret lover/blackmailer theory leads to the indictment of Hollywood’s most influential black celebrity. It is only the beginning, for Susan Whitaker, in fact, did not exist.

Little does anyone realize that this colossal fraud is a mere curtain raiser to a chilling world of ugly skeletons dating back to the assassination of a U.S. senator in a Washington hotel sauna, skeletons connected to riveting sex scandals in high places, skeletons the FBI and political kingmakers will kill for.

About the Author:

Augustine Sam is a journalist by profession, a novelist by choice, and a poet by chance. A member of the U.K. Chartered Institute of Journalists and the international society of poets, he is a bilingual writer, an award-winning poet, and the author of three books.

He was the winner of the “Editors' Choice Award” in the North America Open Poetry contest, sponsored by the National Library of Poetry, and was invited to be inducted into the International Society of Poets. He won the Merit Award from this society, as well as having two of his poems published in two international anthologies.

His poetry collection, Flashes of Emotion, was the 2015 finalist in the International Book Award Contest and is permanently listed on BookAwards.com. Augustine lives and works in Venice.

Review:

Conspiracy of Silence is the kind of book that grabs you on the first page and won’t let you go until it’s done, except for one thing. Some of Mr. Sam’s stilted dialog and strange word usage drove me nuts. In fact, I almost gave this book one rose. I kept thinking, Someone needs to teach this guy how normal people speak. Does he even speak English? The answer is yes, but not as a first language. If I tried to write a book in Italian, it would be extremely short. “Grazie.”

Rita Spencer’s lover has been arrested in the murder of the governor’s wife. The police believe he was having an affair with her, and killed her during an argument. The host of a wildly successful celebrity tell-all TV show, Benjamin Carlton swears to Rita that Susan Whittaker was a source, not his lover. Rita finds Susan’s diary, which reveals Susan Whittaker did not exist, and links her to the assassination of a U.S. Senator. And the very diary that can clear Carlton can also get Rita killed.

Again, Conspiracy of Silence had a page-burning plot, but was a somewhat slow read for me because of the stilted dialog and unusual word use. Still, I do recommend it. The ending had a couple of twists I never saw coming.

Heat Rating:  PG-R for Violence
Length:  288 Pages
Prices:
Print:  $10.99
Digital:  $2.99

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