Boulevard Dreams by E Ryan Janz - Book Review

Boulevard Dreams by E Ryan Janz

Synopsis:

Down and out private eye, Joe Nails, has a problem.
He endures a brief series of surrealistic dreams, in which his long-lost friend pleads for his help before turning a gun to his head and firing. Joe discovers the suicide did occur, a month before his dreams began, so he deepens his probe beneath the mystifying and smoky noir underbelly of 1958 San Francisco, and encounters rising walls of lies and heartbreak from amorous and anguished women alike, and stumbles across incomprehensible goons and vicious killers longing for further bliss, and where his long slow descent painfully binds him to a ruthless yet respectable kingpin bent on reigning over him.
Joe Nails has a problem all right, an entire shopping list of them, but as he speeds down an unrelenting road of murder and mystery with no off-ramps, he just may solve a few…providing the approaching.357 yearning for another victim allows it.

Review:

Boulevard Dreams by E Ryan Janz is an exceptional one-of-a-kind story filled with intrigue, mystery, mayhem, and suspense, in which readers will love and revel in.

It is 1958 in San Francisco’s smoky noir world, and private detective, Joe Nails is having reoccurring lucid dreams about his friend crying out to him for help, and then he puts a gun to his head and kills himself. Joe finally becomes concerned, and goes out to find his friend, but discovers that he has gone missing, and it has been a month since he has been seen. Joe begins to investigate and finds many shock-worthy things about his friend’s life, and some peculiar people that try to convince him of his friend’s supposed death. As Joe digs deeper in his investigation, the plot thickens. Soon, Joe finds himself deep in a world of deceit, murder, lust, suicide and suffering. Joe must face the truth of his friend’s horrific choices and actions, and in the end, the torment of his own.

E Ryan Janz has created a dramatic dark world of mystery, deception and death set in the nostalgic time of 1958, in a city that is known for its intrigue and worldliness. Boulevard Dreams is a fabulous read and one that readers won’t soon forget. Skillfully written, it has all the right elements of a smart crime and mystery novel. Then, goes beyond that and gives readers a chilling, thrilling and suspenseful ride with a fast paced, well developed and deep storyline and plot. The suspense is unsettling and very enticing. The characters are fully developed with quirky, curious and interesting personalities. Their clever, and sometimes humorous, dialogue is written in such a way that only an intelligent writer with a creative, original voice could think up. I connected with the characters and felt that author E Ryan Janz put his heart into them.

I couldn’t put Boulevard Dreams down, and turned the pages rapidly, fully engaged, to find out what would happen next and how Joe would solve this mystery without becoming a desperate man himself.   E Ryan Janz seems to have great detective skills himself, as it is clear in this story filled with twists and turns. The brilliant mystery plot had me guessing all the way through. My mind really became engulfed in this one, and I didn’t want it to end. I absolutely loved the setting and descriptive writing. Boulevard Dreams is an exciting page turner that readers won’t be able to put down until they have devoured the very last page. Boulevard Dreams is one of the best books in its genre that I have read in a long time. When I saw the cover, I had a feeling I would love the book – and I wholeheartedly did! Well done! Artisan Book Reviews highly recommends Boulevard Dreams by E Ryan Janz to all mystery and suspense lovers – and those who want to escape into the passion of the past, and a smoky noir world filled with intrigue, and crime in San Francisco!

Purchase Boulevard Dreams by E Ryan Janz today!

Severed: A Novel by VL Towler

Severed: A Novel by VL Towler

Synopsis:

Dismembered fingers. Lives cut short. A local investigation will upset the tranquility of a small Louisiana town. Dr. Lula Logan has been asked by her former boyfriend, a detective with whom she had just broken up, to investigate the appearance of severed fingers left at police department headquarters. Then another dismembered finger surfaces at the home of a local producer/writer and his business partner. The writer has been AWOL, and no one knows where he is. As the investigation of the mysterious fingers deepens, we will learn that many people affiliated with the missing writer’s production company, including his wife, have a stake in his disappearance. Notes, emails, and flower deliveries with written threats arrive, received by different individuals who want their involvement in the intrigue to remain undetected.

Set in a contemporary rural pocket of Northwestern Louisiana, [fictional] Nakadee is a university town with a population under 15,000. The citizens of Nakadee, whose ancestors have lived there for several hundred years, while trapped in its relative remoteness, are thankful for its quiet refuge. They purposefully wish to live life in the slow lane. The town is a mix of Creole, Cajun, Black and European inhabitants. Nakadee is a sleepy hollow (near Cane River country), and is likely to grow in leaps and bounds given an anticipated natural gas pipeline construction project which will change its moribund economy.

Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Lula Logan is reluctantly drawn into the forensic investigation concerning a severed finger left at the Nakadee Police Department by her ex-boyfriend, a police detective. She goes through the process of her forensic tasks in her lab:  taking measurements of the amputated fingers, boiling the human tissue [a corpse is found in the woods with a gash in its head], and studying the striae of the bones to identify the type of injuries sustained by the victim. She must also try to identify the weapon or object that might have been used to kill the victim. Dr. Lula works closely with her colleagues, Aggie Sheaf, a Medical Examiner and “Tom-Tom,” a Forensic Entomologist, both of whom become involved in the investigation.

The Entomologist’s information helps uncover the mystery of the warring species of blowfly and black soldier fly maggots that cover the corpse found in the woods. The maggots hold the key to unlocking the mystery of which individual(s) among the small town’s citizenry could be the killer(s). We will learn about the role that flies play in the process of decomposition, their relevance to poultry farm rendering stations used for animal carcass disposal, and which flies are attracted to which type of once-living remains.

Two members of the House of Representatives, Congressmen Matt Killian, who represents a powerful Hollywood constituency, and an up-and-coming Congressman, Ambrose Girabeaux, a black Republican, are trying to negotiate their votes concerning upcoming Markup legislation involving the Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, which Killian chairs. The congressmen are fighting over the entertainment industry which has sought Matt Killian’s assurances that he will protect its interests. At the Markup, the two legislators will debate the practices of the industry.

The investigation will also reveal that power comes in all manifestations, sex being one of the most flagrant in the entertainment industry. Powerful men and women who are straight, gay, and pedophiles figure prominently in the playground of the entertainment gods, and they can also filter into the lives of people in rural outposts like Nakadee, too, as hungry and naïve innocents crave to become a part of Hollywood.

 Review:

Compelling, Intriguing and Intelligent!

 Severed: A Novel is a well written first novel by VL Towler. It is an extraordinary, multi-layered story about crimes perpetrated in a small, rural, Northwestern Louisiana university town named Nakadee. The residents there have an ancestral lineage that goes back for several hundred years. They have a certain passion for their quiet, peaceful, existence and purposely choose to live their quiet lives in the remote rural area. The cultural makeup of the town is a mixture of Cajun, Creole, Black and European inhabitants.

Dismembered fingers, murder, and an invasive investigation will disrupt the small community and set everyone on edge.

Dr. Lula Logan, a highly educated Forensic Anthropologist, is called in to investigate a dismembered finger. She uses all of her resources to investigate and determine not only the victim, but also the murder weapon. She works closely with several colleagues to get to the bottom of the incident. But there is much more going on than just a murder, and there are many individuals and aspects involved in the horrific crimes.

 Severed: A Novel is an extremely intellectual read. Readers are educated on an abundance of things, such as forensic anthropology, the fascinating, intertwined lives of the Cajuns, Creoles, Blacks and European inhabitants, and also the political complexities of the small town.

Author VL Towler has a way with writing dialogue, and I was very impressed. I felt as if I were right there hearing everything that was being said. She also uses various dialects, which I found unusually interesting and very brilliant.

In Severed: A Novel, the plot is comprehensive and deep. It flows effortlessly and is steady and captivating. The mystery narrative continues on, step by step, adding up clues and intensifying awareness of the entire plot. It’s one of the best mysteries that I have read in a long time. All the while, VL Towler weaves within the storyline, like a fine vivid painting, the emotional difficulties that exist within American culture: individual and societal issues, prejudices, conflicts, and complications.

The eccentric and diverse characters are interesting and intriguing. They are exceedingly well developed, and multifaceted. The characters all have their place in the storyline and are cleverly woven throughout. They have a substantial importance in the ending and are tied up in an orderly and tight method, which displays VL Towler’s exceptional and creative writing skills.

The descriptions of the various scenes, people, and more are vivid and alluring. The story is full of intriguing twists and turns, with intricacy and intensity building on every page. It is a compelling page-turner that I couldn’t put down. The ending was a pleasant, satisfying surprise that I wasn’t expecting. Severed is one book that I would read again. I give Severed: A Novel 5 big stars.

Purchase Severed: A Novel by VL Towler @Amazon Today