Death Unmasked by Rick Sulik

Blurb:

A reincarnated evil is stalking the women of Houston. With each murder, the madman quotes an excerpt from the Oscar Wilde poem, “The Ballad of Reading Gaol.” A huge smokestack belching smoke, a ragged flea market double-breasted wool coat, and an old antique picture frame, bring the distant past back to haunt Houston Homicide Detective, Sean Jamison. With those catalysts, Jamison knows who he was in a past life and that he lost the only woman he could ever love. Searching for his reincarnated mate becomes Jamison’s raison d’être as he and fellow detectives scour Houston for a brutal serial killer. The memory of timeless love drives Jamison’s dogged search for a serial killer, determined to finish what he started decades earlier.

Each clue brings Jamison closer to unmasking his old nemesis. Tenacious police work, lessons learned in the past, and intuition may be the only weapons he has in preventing history from repeating itself.

About the Author:

Rick Sulik was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. After completing high school in Boardman, Ohio, he enlisted and served four years in the United States Air Force Military Police. After receiving an Honorable Discharge, he worked three and a half years with the Houston, Texas Police Department, twenty-two years with the Pasadena, Texas Police Department, and ten years as a courthouse bailiff with the Gonzales County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, before retiring in 2013.

Review:

Death Unmasked was an interesting mix of paranormal, police technique, and suspense. It begins when a man named Emil and his beloved Laura awaken on the morning their country is invaded. A Nazi officer rapes and kills Laura in front of Emil, and as he is about to enter the furnace to be burned to death, Emil gouges out the officer’s eyes.

Decades later, a serial killer stalks women in Houston, Texas. Sean Jamison is a homicide detective nearing retirement. A belching smokestack and tattered old coat bring back memories of his past life as Emil, and somehow he knows the serial killer is his old Nazi nemesis. He also knows Laura is back, and she’s the man’s next victim. He has to find her and save her.

Death Unmasked was tautly written and fast-paced, with twists and turns that even I didn’t see coming at the end. Part of me, however, thought Darn! I should’ve seen that coming! The reasons I’m giving the book four roses is that the dialog was stilted and unrealistic. Since when does a cop say things like, “Seems to me this joker is determined to put fear in people so he can get away with anything he so desires.” “So desires?” Really? How about, “This joker’s trying to scare the $#@! outa people so he can do whatever he wants.”

Another one is: “I’m hearing my sentinel inner voice, and it’s cautioning me that something terminal is about to occur.” Huh? Wouldn’t a cop be more likely to say, “My gut’s telling me something bad’s about to go down.”? Please, save the thesaurus for the narrative, Mr. Sulik. Or better yet, just dump it. Be sure your grammar’s correct (unless the person speaking’s an illiterate perp), and write a bit more normally.

Aside from the dialog, I would recommend Death Unmasked. It’s an interesting thriller.

Author Website:  N/A

Warnings:  Violence

Length:  265 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $14.99

Digital:  $6.99

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/Death-Unmasked-Rick-Sulik-ebook/dp/B017OMVKGE/

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Raining Embers by Jessica Dall

Blurb:

Palmer Tash always follows the path of least resistance. He has an unusual disability involving his hearing. But in theocratic Latysia, being different isn’t a good thing, so he conceals his problem.

Brier Chastain’s malady is even more debilitating, and she often must take to her bed for long periods. Her days are spent in meaningless pursuits as she awaits an arranged marriage.

When Palmer and Brier are kidnapped on the same night, they meet and discover that their so-called disabilities are actually budding powers. They are the incarnations of Order and Chaos. With their country on the brink of war, the two must step into their predestined roles and learn to take control of their own destinies.

About the Author:

Jessica Dall finished her first novel at the age of fifteen and has been hooked on writing ever since. In the past few years, she has published two novels, The Copper Witch and The Porcelain Child, along with a number of short stories that have appeared in both magazines and anthologies.

In college, Jessica interned at a publishing house, where her “writing hobby” slowly turned into a variety of writing careers. She currently works as both as an editor and creative writing teacher in Washington, DC.

When not busy editing, writing, or teaching, Jessica enjoys crafting and piano, and spending time with her friends and family. She can most often be found at her home in Maryland with a notebook and her much-loved, sometimes-neglected husband.

Review by Rochelle:

The basic story of Raining Embers was pretty good, which is why I kept reading it, but I had difficulty figuring out when it took place. I’m a lapsed Mensan. I can’t afford my dues, but my IQ is still high enough to qualify, so figuring out when a book takes place should be easy. After all, I had almost two hundred pages in which to do so.

I realize Ms. Dall has built a separate world here. Latysia doesn’t exist except in Raining Embers. But even fictitious worlds need to exist in time and space and this one doesn’t seem to have a specific time period. My brain wanted to compare it to actual Earth times, since the people speak a real language.

At first I thought it was around the time of ancient Rome. The people live in a mild climate, believe in many Gods, and turn to Seers for guidance. But they speak Italian, not Latin. So maybe it takes place a bit later? They live by candlelight and use fireplaces for heat. But they still bury their dead in catacombs. And the final monkey-wrench? “Just saying.” I don’t think either the ancient Romans or medieval Italians used that phrase, and that’s one of my pet peeves in historical-era novels.

Its saving grace is that it stands on its own, and does not have a cliff-hanger ending. I think I might have given it thorns if that had been the case.

I couldn’t truly enjoy Raining Embers. Trying to figure out when it took place was a major distraction.

Author Website:  http://jessicadall.com/

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  187 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $11.99

Digital:  $5.99

Buy Link:  http://redadeptpublishing.com/#!/Raining-Embers/p/51710456

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive 5-10%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10, if the publisher gets 70%. That’s before taxes. Delete more if Amazon deducts for sales tax.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

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