Review: Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah & Joel Shlian

How Ironic, he thought sadly. As an old man, he finally realized change was essential to launch China into the twentieth-first century. He looked at Chi-Wen, appreciating his fear, wondering how to make him understand that without the cycle of ages, change would never occur. [pg 103]


Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah & Joel Shlian
Oceanview, 2008
Crime Fiction (S/T); 356 pgs


In May of 1949, China was on the brink of monumental change. Engulfed in civil and international war, Communist leader Mao Zedong brought with him the promise of change and hope while at the same time creating a sense of unease. Dr. Ni-Fu Cheng was as uneasy as the rest of them, unsure of what the future would hold. He sent his only child to the United States to live with an aunt, hoping to protect her until it would be safe for her to return.

Only that time never came. Dr. Ni-Fu’s daughter would never return to China. She settled and married, having a daughter of her own, Lili Quan. Su-Wei tried to raise her daughter in the Chinese tradition, but Lili rebelled, refusing to learn Chinese and rejecting her Chinese roots. She was American and that was all she wanted to be. Upon her death bed, Lili’s mother asked her daughter to return home to China. Caught up in grief and guilt at not being the daughter her mother wanted her to be, Lili decided to make the trip.

Su-Wei was not the only one who wanted her daughter to travel to China. Several forces were working to try and persuade the young daughter to make the trip. She was to be a pawn in an ongoing power struggle for an elixir that promised longer life. Powerful people in China feared the tide was changing as the young people began to revolt, protesting peacefully, and demanding change. Greed and the desire to maintain their power spurred them on. There were others as well whose greed was so great that they would stop at nothing to get their hands on the secret recipe.

The one person who held that secret had kept it close to his vest for over forty years. Believed to be dead by his family, imprisoned in a hospital and forced to continue his research, Dr. Ni-Fu continued to hold out despite all efforts to make him give up what he knew. Bringing his granddaughter to China was the last resort.

Deborah and Joel Shlian could not have found a more fitting time period in which to set their novel. Set in the seven weeks leading up to the tragic events that would take place in Tiananmen Square in June of 1989, as the students began to organize and question, demanding answers and desiring change. The past was colliding with the present and the promise of the future. The Chinese government became desperate to hold onto the past and onto their power. They did not care who they stepped on in the process, or how many innocent lives they destroyed. This tied in nicely with the story of Rabbit in the Moon and the search for the secret of long life and the continuing struggle between the old and the new.

Just as the authors write of the ugly history of the People’s Republic of China, of the Cultural Revolution, the class differences, and the heavy hand of the government, they also paint a beautiful picture of the people themselves, the culture and the land. China is as vast as it is diverse and that comes across well in this novel.

On a more basic level, Rabbit in the Moon is a story of self-discovery. Lili has fought being Chinese all her life. Her visit to China forces her to take a look at a side of her she most wanted to suppress. Not only does she learn more about herself, but she also discovers that China is not the backwards place that she thought it to be. There is value in the lessons she can learn from the doctors and people there.

The characters in the novel are complex and well developed. Lili has a strong sense of justice and her independent spirit carries her through a number of difficult situations. There is also a naivety and vulnerability to her that softens the rough edges of her personality. Her grandfather, Dr. Ni-Fu, is as wise as he is charming. Chi-Wen, Dr. Ni-Fu’s assistant is perhaps one of the more complex of the characters. He is a product of the Cultural Revolution who has had to compromise his own beliefs to protect his remaining family. There is David Kim who lives in his father’s shadow, wanting to prove his worth and yet his own vices may well be his downfall if he is not more careful. These are just four of the interesting characters to be found in Rabbit in the Moon.

The novel offers a variety of perspectives as the story unfolds, and so while Lili remains in ignorance of the danger she is in, the reader knows it well. This increases the intensity of the events as they unfold, building the suspense and anticipation for what is to come.

All of this is wrapped up in a thrilling novel that pits a corrupt government, the mob and other bad guys who are willing to kill for the elixir of life against a young doctor and her elderly grandfather. The danger is great, the suspense is nonstop and even the reader will not know who to trust. Rabbit in the Moon is an entertaining novel that will leave the reader breathless at times and always wanting to know what will happen next. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: Rating: (Very Good)

You can learn more about the authors and their work on their website.

Review: Watches of the Night by Sally Wright

An American Army combat photographer, a Staff Sergeant named Bobby Talbot, stood in a filthy wet uniform with his back to the Saar River, as chunks of ice floated past on its cold grey skin. [First sentence]


Watches of the Night by Sally Wright
Severn House, 2008
Crime Fiction (S/T); 245 pgs

University archivist, Ben Reese, has been harboring a grudge of sorts for over 15 years. He served as a scout during World War II, putting himself in dangerous situations, sometimes leading teams of technicians in to obtain important documents and technology behind enemy lines. On one such mission, he encountered a colonel with a shady past and questionable methods. He had buried his suspicions for the sake of his bride and his health after the war, needing to focus on his own life and recovery from his war injuries. When his Scottish friend, Kate Lindsay, asks for his help in uncovering who mailed her the eye of her husband, who had died in the war some 16 years earlier, dark memories of Ben’s own time on the front line resurface.

Despite the fact that his job at the university is hanging by a thread, Ben sets out to reach into his past in hopes of finding the truth to what happened those many years ago. While he does what he can to uncover clues in the United States, Kate puts her own investigative skills to use in Scotland, searching out a medic who may know something about the unexpected gift. Only, someone else has other ideas, wanting the secrets of the past to remain buried. This someone will go to any length to protect those secrets, including committing murder. Kate and Ben must watch their step the closer they get to the truth.

Watches of the Night is the fifth book in Sally Wright’s Ben Reese mystery series. The novel is set in the early 1960’s, not long after the building of the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s decision to send advisors to Vietnam. The author takes the reader back to 1945 through remembrances, which offer the reader a glimpse into Ben’s harrowing past during the Second World War, a time that was often harsh and brutal. It was also a time of great heroism, where men risked their lives for their comrades in arms, fighting with all they had to survive.

The characters are well developed, from the minor characters to the more prominent ones. Kate Lindsay, a suspense/thriller novelist herself is both intelligent and resourceful. She balances Ben Reese’s character well. He is no slouch himself, quick on his feet and in mind. His love for horses and his strong sense of doing what is right make him even more endearing. According to the acknowledgments at the end of the book, the character of Ben Reese is based on a real life person, John Reed, who also was an archivist and had been a scout during World War II.

Author Sally Wright has written a compelling mystery novel. Her writing style flows easily as she paints a beautiful picture of the landscapes her characters encounter, including Ohio, Kentucky, Scotland and Italy. She packs a lot of detail into her story; however it never feels overwhelming or too busy. It is obvious the author did her research and aimed for accuracy in even the smallest of details. It was curious that phone conversations were presented as being only one-sided although the novel is written in third person and jumps in points of view from one character to another.

Watches of the Night makes for interesting reading. It is suspenseful while at the same time maintaining a steady pace that allows readers to take in all the details and stay on top of the events as they unfold. For series readers who may wonder if this book can be read out of order, the answer is yes. It seems to stand well on its own. Sally Wright has demonstrated that she is a talented writer, and I look forward to reading the earlier books in the series as well as reading future books. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: (Good +)

Check out the Sally Wright's website for more information about her books.

Review: Tragedy in South Lebanon by Cathy Sultan

It is late afternoon in the tiny village of Qana, six kilometers southeast of Tyre in South Lebanon. The United Nation’s blue and white flag hanging over the compound usually billows in the breeze. Today, its torn scraps snap harshly at the same light wind, signaling something horribly amiss. [Prologue]


Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006 by Cathy Sultan
Scarletta Press, 2008
Nonfiction; 172 pgs

When news reached the United States about the war that broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, my heart sank. Stories of civilian casualties flooded the news. In today's political climate with the Middle East being a hot spot, I jumped at the chance to read Cathy Sultan's Tragedy in South Lebanon: The Israeli-Hezbollah War of 2006. I wanted to better understand what was happening in that area and perhaps gain insight into what was behind the war.

The author shared her experience during the Lebanese civil war that began in 1975 in her book, A Beirut Heart. She was an American who had moved to Lebanon with her children and husband several years before. She currently lives in Wisconsin and serves on the Executive Board of the National Peace Foundation. In her most recent book, Cathy Sultan takes a hard look at the events that took place in Lebanon during the summer of 2006. She spoke with civilians and soldiers on both sides of the conflict and examined the history that led up to the war. Lebanon has been a pawn throughout history, in the middle of a tug-of-war between powerful countries, each wanting their own stake.

On July 12, 2006, two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah. This was common practice along the border, both Israel and Hezbollah taking turns kidnapping and holding civilians or soldiers hostage with the expectation of making a trade. Only this time, Israel's leaders were unwilling to play along. In a show of force, Israel attacked Lebanon, hoping to wipe out Hezbollah once and for all.

Some say that the Israeli's wanted an excuse to fight and had been preparing for war for some time. Yet they sent their soldiers into Lebanon ill-prepared. Their equipment was old and many of the newer soldiers were untrained. They were thrown into battle against a guerrilla army that knew their country's homeland inside and out. Hezbollah also knew its enemy well, having studied them for decades during the Israeli occupation of its southern lands. To complicate matters, Hezbollah had a huge stockpile of weapons, armed by Iran and Syria.

Israel felt threatened by Hezbollah and their rising strength. Hezbollah was first organized as a resistance group to fight against Israeli occupation in Lebanon decades before. Hezbollah has a reputation of being a terrorist group, not to mention they had once vowed to destroy Israel in its entirety, a threat that Israel took very seriously.

The 2006 war was not all about the threat of one group on the other, however. The water sources and portions of land in Southern Lebanon would be a boon to anyone who controlled them. Israel has a desperate need for water and control over a portion of the Litani River would be quite beneficial. It runs through Lebanon, however, and it would severely hurt any chance of Lebanon getting fully back on its feet if the river was no longer considered theirs. The Shebaa Farms are another bone of contention for the Israelis and Lebanese. Syria gave the land in question to the Lebanese people; however, Israel contests the right of Syria to do such a thing. The United Nations has since proclaimed that the Sebaa Farms are in fact Lebanese land and Israel, who still has a presence there, has been ordered to pull out.

The role of the West in all of this is obvious but not always so direct. Further, the politics of the United States, Israel, Iran and Syria all continue to play a part in Lebanon’s future. And the people continue to be in the middle of a tug-of-war with no end in sight. The true victims on all sides are the civilians. These are people who are trying to survive as we all are. They want to work, love, raise their children and feel safe.

Lebanon still is trying to recover from the chaos left over from the war two years ago. The war caused such an upheaval that it left the Lebanese government in near shambles. The entire infrastructure of the country was nearly destroyed. Major transportation highways, hospitals, schools, and publishing houses were left in ruins. The drinking water continues to be contaminated by oil, phosphorous from munitions, and sewage as well other chemicals, all the result of the war of 2006. People's homes and businesses were completely wiped out. Cluster bombs sit like time bombs waiting for the unsuspecting child to discover it any day now--or ten to 30 years from now. The effects of the 34 day war will be felt for many years to come.

Israel says Hezbollah used civilian structures to hide both themselves and their armaments; however there has been no evidence to support such a claim when examined by independent groups. Israel has been asked for information on where the missiles carrying cluster bombs were dropped, but Israel has yet to turn over the reports despite the UN resolution ordering them to do so. Such information is vital to the deminers who are trying to clear away the threat of future deaths of innocent people due to these insidious bombs. The loss of viable farm land has hurt the economy significantly and ecologically, the country is in dire straits. This once beautiful and lush country has been deeply wounded. Just when Lebanon seems to get on its feet, it seems to be knocked down again.

Hezbollah is no less guilty in all of this. They too used cluster bombs in urban areas and killed civilians. They toyed with the Israelis despite making a promise to Lebanon that there would be peace as Lebanon entered into one of its most prosperous times in recent history. The tourist business was on the upswing and Lebanon seemed to be thriving. All that changed very quickly, however, with the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers.

The focus of the book is on Lebanon and the damaged suffered by the Lebanese people. The author went into the Israeli casualties on a smaller scale, and so the book comes across as slanted more in one direction than the other at times. The author, however, tries to make it clear both sides were at fault and that it is the politicians, the leaders, who need to be held accountable for their actions.

Cathy Sultan does not gloss over the responsibility of anyone in Lebanon’s current woes. Her information is well researched and documented. War is an ugly thing. Innocent people are caught in the middle and those in power seem only to care about strategy and winning the battle. Tragedy in South Lebanon offers an honest and much needed perspective on a war and country that is too often ignored amidst the talk of current Middle East issues. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: (Good +)

Check out the Cathy Sultan's website for more information about her books.

Beneath a Buried House by Bob Avey

People go missing. Llewellyn knew that as well as anyone but when a whole family fell victim to such a fate, that tended to get his attention. [pg 7]


Beneath a Buried House by Bob Avey
Deadly Niche Press, 2008
Crime Fiction (M); 226 pgs

Bob Avey’s mystery novel, Beneath a Buried House, was the perfect choice for a lazy Sunday--murder, blackmail, a touch of romance and enough twists and turns to keep this reader on her toes. This is the second book in the author’s series featuring Tulsa, Oklahoma Homicide Detective Kenny Elliot.

Detective Elliot lands a case after the body of an unidentified man is discovered in an apartment. If appearances are to be believed, the death is most likely a drug overdose; however, Detective Elliot believes otherwise. The scene is a little too perfect and the victim seems out of place with his surroundings. The carvings in the wooden table, an observant neighbor, and a mysterious man leaving the building when the police arrive offer promising leads.

The stakes are raised, however, when the body of a prostitute is discovered that looks like the woman last seen with the murder victim. A search of her home provides a possible motive for her murder, but how does it tie in to the other murder or is it completely unconnected? With only days left to solve the crimes before his captain puts him on another case, Detective Elliot must work quickly.

To complicate matters, Detective Elliot finds himself distracted during his investigation by a rather beautiful and mesmerizing woman. The intensity of their attraction to each other from the first moment is a bit too strong to be believable. Perhaps such a powerful reaction had more to do with the fact that it reminded him of a painful part of his past, involving lost love and regret.

Kenny Elliot is both intelligent and a gentleman, but he is not without his own vulnerabilities. He knows how to hold his ground when he or someone he loves is threatened. He is a man with good instincts when it comes to the job. He listens to his hunches, which at times almost seem to be like premonitions, and is often right on the mark. This earns him a bit of hazing from his superior and colleagues who repeatedly remind him that evidence and facts are needed to solve an investigation. That does not stop the detective from tracking down leads and collecting the evidence to back up his gut feelings.

Bob Avey takes on the subject of faith, touching on aspects of paganism as well as its relationship to Christianity in this novel. He does not fall into the trap of stigmatizing paganism, but rather makes a point of suggesting that it is the individual’s interpretation and twisting of the beliefs that can take faith, regardless of type, into a dark place.

I was immediately drawn into the story, finding it well written and compelling. The author takes the reader into some rather dark places without being overly graphic. Beneath a Buried House is one of those novels that keeps the reader turning the pages right up to the very end. If his first novel is as suspenseful and intriguing as this one, I definitely will be seeking it out. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: (Good)


Visit the author's website for more information him and his books.

Lost Prince by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro

First Sentence: Oh the flames were glorious, competing with the splendor of the sunset as it faded over Valladolid.


Lost Prince by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
Borderlands Press, 2008
Fiction; 316 pgs

The Spanish Inquisition was a dark time in Spain’s history. Religious persecution for those who were not Catholic was common practice during that time and the monarchy and Church leadership were intolerant of any deviation from their strictures. Originally written in 1983 under the title, The Godforsaken, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s tale of the Lost Prince is completely fictional, however, there are threads of truth that run through the novel that are more horrific than the horror story she sets out to tell.

Don Rolon carries the burden of his father’s curse, a curse that was laid upon El Rey Alonzo, the king of Espana, by a woman burned at the stake for being a heretic. The king ostracized his son, fearing the curse and feeling repulsed by it. Don Rolon spent his life living in the shadow of his bastard half brother, Gil, who was highly favored by the king. It is no wonder then that Don Rolon has a sadness about him. He wants nothing more than to please his father and earn his love and approval, and yet his father wants little to do with him.

Realizing, however, that his son is the only rightful heir to the throne, El Rey arranges for Don Rolon’s marriage to a noble woman from Venezia. The marriage will create a welcome alliance and strengthen both countries’ positions in the world. It is with great reluctance that Don Rolon agrees to his fate, knowing he has little choice in the matter.

His reluctance to marry comes from the weight of the curse. He worries about fate of any children he might father as well as a certain madness that seems to befall him each time the moon is full. Although he does not fully understand what is happening to him at first, he does know that a change overcomes him on those nights, one that transforms him into a beast that wrecks destruction and creates fear in its wake.

Don Rolon is limited in who he can trust and so his friends are few. The friends he does have are devoted to him and will do what they can to protect and keep their prince safe from those who wish him harm. Those who are greedy and power hungry are the greatest external threat to Don Rolon and they will stop at nothing to bring him down.

Don Rolon is a sympathetic character; a lost soul who has taken many licks throughout his brief lifetime. There is a wary intelligence about him. He is resigned to his life and his fate, struggling to come to terms with what is going on around him. It is his friends who truly move the story forward as they do what they can to protect their friend and future king. The court jester, Lugantes, is one such friend, a dwarf who knows what it is like not to be taken seriously. He is both clever and tough.

The religious tenor in Spain at the time was oppressive and strict. The church leadership in the novel used their position to gain power, claiming righteousness where there really was only ambition and greed. The real horrors were in the actions of the Church and the abuse of that power. Lest it be thought that this book disparages the Catholic Church in general, that is not so. There were Catholic monks and priests in the novel who were not caught up in the power struggle and who did not abuse their power.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is careful to keep most of the violence and destruction off of the page, while at the same time alluding to it in such a way that it cannot be overlooked. Perhaps though the greatest horrors in the novel are not what may happen when Don Rolon is no longer himself, but the ease in which accusations and condemnations of those in power are used against those without it and in what becomes of those accused.

It is a shame this book was so wrought with typographical errors and the like. The story itself is quite intriguing. The author is formal in her writing, but it serves the tone and setting of the book well. Lost Prince is a haunting and dark tale, one that kept me entranced even beyond the last page. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: (Good)


Visit the author's website for more information about this and other books.

After Hours at the Almost Home by Tara Yellen

First Sentence: The Almost Home, the bar and grill at 2nd and Middleton, was not an old building or a new building, it was somewhere in between—built quick and sturdy, gray brick, steel trim, the type of place you’d overlook if it wasn’t smack-dab in the middle of Cherry Creek, Denver’s affluent shopping district.


After Hours at the Almost Home by Tara Yellen
Unbridled, 2008 (ARE)
Fiction; 272 pgs

Tara Yellen’s After Hours at the Almost Home is a day in the life type novel, set in the Almost Home Bar and Grill in Denver, Colorado. It is a cold and snowy day in January, Super Bowl Sunday as a matter of fact, and the Almost Home is jam-packed with customers from all walks of life, including the down and out regulars like India, a storyteller who can tell your fortune. Business is hopping when young JJ begins her first shift. She is immediately caught up in the whirlwind of the bustling restaurant, trying to keep everything straight, at times failing miserably. This is a fresh start for the young woman, however, and she is determined to make it work and to fit in.

Understaffed and dealing with the hole the bartender created when she walked out unannounced and an inexperienced trainee on the floor, the wait staff at the Almost Home are struggling as best they can on one of the busiest days of the year. Amidst the hustle and bustle, the loud voices, the game in the background, the orders coming in and being delivered to the tables, Tara Yellen transports the reader into the middle of that bar and grill where it all comes to life. When the customers are gone and the last of the closing chores are done, the wait staff are able to relax and unwind after a hard day and night of work.

Bit by bit, the author introduces the reader to the characters, peeling back the layers of their lives as they work, interact with each other and recall snatches of their past. The characters are ordinary people with every day hopes and fears, always wishing and dreaming for something more. The staff seem in their element while working, at the same time trying to forget their realities for a short while but never quite succeeding. A cloud of loneliness and heartache hangs over each of them. They hurt each other, love each other and are almost always drawn to each other.

There is Colleen, a widow struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband two years ago, and Colleen’s fourteen year old daughter, Lily, the most vulnerable of all and yet also one of the strongest, who is much too grown up and yet still very naive, wanting only to get out and away. There is Lena who likes to take charge and puts on airs of a confidence she does not really possess; Keith, who longs for something different and wears his heart on his sleeve; Denny who is down and out on love, always the cool one; and Marna, a free spirit, who is ever present in the Almost Home, even when she is not really there at all. Tara Yellen breathes life into her characters, capturing their doubts, fears and hopes. At some point in our lives, haven’t most of us felt exhausted of life, surviving as best we can, wanting and wishing for more?

The Almost Home is almost home for many of the characters. Their coworkers are their family. I could not help but feel a part of the family too as I reached the last page of the novel. Tara Yellen is a talented writer. After Hours at the Almost Home is not without its disturbing moments nor is it a happy story. It is a day in the life story about ordinary people struggling to get by, disappointed with life and yet hoping for more. Originally published at Front Street Reviews.

Rating: (Very Good)