Plague by Buzz Bernard

Blurb:

In only a matter of days, 9/11 and the destruction of the Twin Towers will be rivaled by a lone-wolf terrorist attack on America. Atlanta is targeted as Ground Zero for the most horrifying plague in modern times.

Deep in the secret recesses of a Cold War lab, the Russians created tons of deadly bio-weapons. Now, decades later, a protégé of that Russian research is about to release weaponized Ebola into the heart of the South’s most iconic city: Atlanta, where the symbols of American “decadence” range from a happily diverse population to the Coca-Cola museum and CNN building.

A preliminary test of the horrifying virus demonstrates the unspeakable suffering of its victims—and alerts the Centers for Disease Control that a terrible pandemic is in the making. CDC Virologist Dr. Dwight Butler begins a frantic effort to track down the source before it’s too late.

For new BioDawn CEO Richard Wainwright, it quickly becomes clear that the “accidental” plane crash that killed the pharmaceutical company’s entire executive hierarchy may have some connection to the evolving threat. Suddenly Richard is being stalked by a hit woman. He and Butler join forces to find the lone terrorist at the center of a plan that could unleash a modern Black Plague on the western world.

About the Author:

H.W. “Buzz” Bernard is an Air Force veteran and retired Weather Channel meteorologist. His 2010 hurricane thriller, Eyewall, became a number one bestseller in e-book. Visit him at http://www.buzzbernard.com.

Review:

I like a good thriller, especially by an author who does his/her homework, as Mr. Bernard obviously has done. While Dr. Butler is a colorful character, he takes his job seriously, and is uniquely able to track down the bug that is plaguing the people of Atlanta. Richard Wainwright comes out of retirement to take over direction of BioDawn when the entire Board is killed in a plane crash. He’s only an interim boss until someone permanent can be found, but he still wants to know what’s going on in the guarded building the even he’s kept out of, and why funding for that research doesn’t show up on the company’s books. Even when a hit woman tells him to mind his own business. Especially then.

Mr. Bernard kept me on the edge of my seat from the first page of Plague until I finally finished it. Again, carve out a block of time before you pick up Plague. You won’t want to put it down once you do.

Author Website:  http://www.buzzbernard.com

Warnings:  Graphic Descriptions of Hemorrhagic Fever Symptoms

Length:  232 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $13.91

Digital:  $5.38

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/Plague-H-W-Buzz-Bernard-ebook/dp/B009CD14NI

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Brain Storm, Angela Richman Death Investigator by Elaine Viets @evmysterywriter #Suspense http://tinyurl.com/RTBS12-05-16

Blurb:

The ultrawealthy families of Chouteau Forest may look down on a woman like death investigator Angela Richman, but they also rely on her. When a horrific car crash kills a Forest teenager, Angela is among the first on the scene. Her investigation is hardly underway, however, when she suffers a series of crippling strokes. Misdiagnosed by the resident neurologist, Dr. Gravois, and mended by gauche yet brilliant neurosurgeon Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt, Angela faces a harrowing recovery.

It’s a drug-addled, hallucinating Angela who learns that Dr. Gravois has been murdered…and the chief suspect is the surgeon who saved her life. Angela doesn’t believe it, but can she trust her instincts? Her brain trauma brings doubts that she’ll ever recover her investigative skills. But she’s determined to save Dr. Tritt from a death-row sentence—even if her progress is thwarted at every turn by a powerful and insular community poised to protect its own.

About the Author:

Elaine Viets has written twenty-nine mysteries in three series: the bestselling Dead-End Job series with South Florida PI Helen Hawthorne, the cozy Josie Marcus Mystery Shopper mysteries, and the dark Francesca Vierling mysteries. With the Angela Richman Death Investigator series, Elaine returns to her hardboiled roots and uses her experience as a stroke survivor and her studies at the Medicolegal Death Investigators Training Course at St. Louis University. Elaine is director at large for the Mystery Writers of America. She's a frequent contributor to Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris and Lawrence Block. Elaine won the Anthony, Agatha and Lefty Awards.

Review:

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to have a stroke, you need to read Brain Storm. And if you enjoy a good mystery, you need to read Brain Storm. Angela Richman is a death investigator. She works for the coroner, going out to the scenes of various deaths around Chouteau Forest, a wealthy, fictitious county near St. Louis, and investigating the bodies. But in the midst of investigating a horrible auto accident involving drugs, alcohol, and texting while driving, Angela suffers a series of strokes.

The first are warnings, but Dr. Gravois, the affluent, well-liked, and totally incompetent head of neurology at the local hospital, misdiagnoses her headaches as a possible tumor and sends her home, telling her to call and make an appointment for a PET scan in the near future. He tells her she’s “too young and healthy to have a stroke.” Outsider, Dr. Jeb Travis Tritt saves Angela’s life, but when Gravois is poisoned, Tritt is blamed. Angela doesn’t think the man who saved her life is guilty, but she’s still recovering from her stroke. Even though she was there when Gravois died, how can she help clear him when she was a witness, and wasn’t allowed to investigate?

It was fascinating going inside the mind of a person having a stroke and then recovering from it. And to weave that into a mystery was masterful writing. The characters were all very real. Ya gotta read Brain Storm! Brava, Ms. Viets.

Author Website:  http://elaineviets.com/

Warnings:  Descriptions of Deceased Bodies

Length:  322 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $9.99

Digital:  $4.99

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/Brain-Storm-Investigator-Angela-Richman-ebook/dp/B019K2JGXK

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The Face Transplant by A. Arundel

Blurb:

An epic journey of suspense, murder, and sacrifice.

Dr. Matthew MacAulay is a facial transplant surgeon at a prestigious New York hospital. When his friend and mentor, Tom Grabowski, dies under mysterious circumstances, Matthew uncovers his friend’s secret: a new technique that allows perfect facial transplants. No incisions, no scars. Tom was able to accomplish this monumental feat with the help of Alice, a supercomputer robot with almost human abilities. While trying to find the people responsible for murdering Tom, Matthew realizes he is the prime suspect. He must flee for his life with the help of Dr. Sarah Larsson, a colleague and reluctant helper, who has a secret of her own, and Alice, who helps them make sense of a baffling series of seemingly unrelated events. The clues carry Matthew and Sarah around the world. They stumble onto a sinister plot of monumental proportions that leads Matthew all the way to the White House.

The Face Transplant is a powerful medical suspense thriller of the first order. The novel was written by a surgeon who weaves politics, medicine, and espionage into a tightly paced, intelligent thriller.

About the Author:

The Face Transplant is a novel written by R. Arundel a surgeon. The novel has an authenticity only a surgeon can bring to the story. It is set in the near future. A medical thriller, the story weaves politics, medicine and human drama into a tightly woven plot. The book crescendos page-by-page to a totally unexpected conclusion.

Review by Rochelle:

The Face Transplant is a gripping thriller with compelling characters. That said I had difficulty with the premise, even though it was written by a surgeon. I don’t see how transplanting the skin of one person onto the bone structure of another is going to create a double of the donor. Too much depends on bone structure. For instance, I have a round face, short nose, and rose-bud lips. If you transplanted Cher’s face onto mine it wouldn’t give me her cheekbones or her long nose. I never saw the movie Face Off, but I probably would have had the same problem unless I was convinced the machine sculpted the contours of the person’s face as well as exchanging skin.

Then there were head-hops. This is a new edition that has been “re-edited.” Unfortunately, the new editor must not have been familiar with the standard of staying with one point of view in each scene. The POV hops from one person to another in the same paragraph, which makes me dizzy and gives me headaches.

I really wanted to give The Face Transplant a better rating, but I’m afraid the best I can do is three roses. If you can suspend disbelief and buy the premise that planting one person’s skin onto another person’s face will make him/her look like the donor, and you don’t care how often the POV shifts, you’ll enjoy it.

Author Website:

http://www.thefacetransplant.com/about.html

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/R-Arundel/e/B00EBCQVEC/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Heat Rating:  PG-13 (V, L)

Length:  379 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $13.45

Digital:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Face-Transplant-R-Arundel-ebook/dp/B00E6XU322/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447098840&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Face+Transplant+%2B+A+Arundel

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle