The Other Side of the Mirror by Lex Jones

Carl Duggan has worked as a Detective in the city for a long time. The kind of long where you’ve seen everything, and seen it twice. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise to him when a pregnant nineteen-year-old girl washes up on the banks of the Styx.
But something about this one is different, and before Carl gets any answers, two more bodies join the pile - a corrupt Judge and a big-shot lawyer.
Carl’s gut tells him there’s a connection. There are the little things, the tiny details that others would ignore.
The bodies keep on coming, then a second case rears its head: three young men with nothing in common except their sexuality, each murdered in their own home.
Gaining little assistance from his fellow officers, Carl goes it alone into the darker regions of the City. Along the way, he makes acquaintances and enemies of the City’s more colorful residents, including the beautiful sister of the first dead girl, a Catholic hit-man dubbed ‘His Holiness’, and a shady casino owner named Dice.
The closer he gets to the truth, the more Carl’s life is put in danger, forcing him to move further and further away from the rule of law. Never once does he suspect that the two cases are so intimately linked, or that the truth could be so close to home.


A stew of seamy characters come to a boil and overflow the pages in this dark and gritty crime thriller.
This is a mesmerizing story in which a hard boiled cop and a religious hit man hold an uneasy alliance.  Carl Duggan is a tough as nails detective who won't think twice about shooting someone if he feels they deserve it but his sharp edges and brutish nature can't always hide the fact that he does have a heart. Greed and poverty can both be motivators for grisly crimes sometimes with more gruesome consequences than intended. Crooked cops, prostitutes and gangs litter the town. I loved these larger than life characters and the action barely left me time to catch my breath.
5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy for review.

Get a copy

About the author
Lex Jones was born and raised in Sheffield, north England, in 1985. A keen writer from a young age, he was always fascinated with the supernatural and is obsessed with stories. He loves films, books, theatre, videogames, graphic novels, anything with a good story that captures the imagination. His books tend to have a supernatural (or at least 'unusual') undercurrent, as this moves them away from the more boring aspects of real life.

Date Night by Samantha Hayes

Returning early from a disastrous date night with my husband, I know something is wrong the moment the wheels crunch the gravel drive of our home. Inside, the TV is on and a half-eaten meal waits on the table. My heart stops when I find our little girl is alone in the house and our babysitter, Sasha, is missing…

Days later, when I’m arrested for Sasha’s murder and torn away from my perfect little family, I’ll wish I had told someone about the threatening note I received that morning.

I’ll hate myself for not finding out who the gift hidden inside my husband’s wardrobe was for.

I’ll scream from the rooftops that I’m innocent – but no one will listen.

I will realise I was completely wrong about everything that happened that night…

But will you believe me?


One morning, out of the blue, Libby finds a note on her car that says her husband is having an affair. She debates with herself and a friend over whether or not to confront him. Eventually she decides to ask him about it. His answers or should I say non-answers certainly did not satisfy me or seem to placate Libby. For some reason this leads to their "date night" which oddly for this couple is not a usual occurrence, and is somehow meant to patch things up between them. During their evening out someone is blowing up his phone with texts and calls that he never accepts. Now for me, this is odd behavior and although there should be trust in a marriage there is also such a thing as not burying your head in the sand. Libby does ask who keeps calling but he doesn't tell her and she never actually looks at the phone until after he heads off to the men's room to delete the call history. It's hard for me to imagine any wife letting that happen.
I hate to be the only one who didn't fall madly in love with this book but for me it seemed to be a long and winding road that dragged on a bit longer than necessary. You may enjoy it more than I did if you like lengthy drawn out  reveals.
3 out of 5 stars
I received an advance copy for review.

get a copy

At Daddy's Hands by Jacob Paul Patchen

In public, Jim Handler is a well-respected, small-town hero, and homicide detective who solved the case of the Will’s Creek Massacre. But at home, in the shadows, Jim’s childhood demons come alive to feast upon his family in the form of sexual, physical, and mental abuse.

But his three teenage children have had enough. They have devised a plan for redemption.

Empowered by the legal system’s lack of accountability, a judge who offers a quiet and meager plea deal to save face, Jim feels enabled to do whatever he wants to his family. With no one to keep Jim in check, this cycle of sexual and physical abuse is rampant. It is up to Nikki, Tyler, and Ally to end the evil that is devouring the Handler family.



After years of abuse, and being failed by the system, one family takes matters into their own hands.
I want to say this book was unbelievable, but sadly, living in a time when just a month ago, a judge  admonished lawyers for not telling a rape victim she might ruin her rapists life by pressing charges and suggesting that since the rapist comes from a "good family" he should not have to face consequences makes this story feel all too real. Jim Handler, husband, father, hero, pedophile can do no wrong. The town loves him, his fellow cops love him, even his victims love him and hope that one day he will change.
Although a work of fiction I have no doubt that somewhere this story happens every day.


I received an advance copy for review.

About the author
Jacob Graham, writing as Jacob Paul Patchen, was born and raised outside of Byesville, Ohio where he spent his youth tormenting babysitters and hiding in trees. Jacob earns his inspiration through experience. Using a unique voice of wit, grit, and raw, untamed honesty, he writes about social issues, such as, family, love, humor, learning, and war. Jacob is a 5-star author, award winning poet, inspiring blogger, and combat veteran.

Jacob considers his time as a United States Marine as a major turning point in his life. Deployed to Iraq as a Rifleman in 2005, Jacob learned quickly to appreciate and love the little things that life has to offer. With a deep understanding and admiration for having a purpose in life, Jacob decided to live his life in honor of those that never made it back home by following his dreams, getting the most out of life, and encouraging good intentions.

Patchen took his pen name from his grandfather, who was blessed with four amazing daughters but no son Jacob wanted to carry on the family name and honor his grandparents who were such a prominent pillar of love, support, and knowledge. Readers will see that the importance of this foundation is at the heart of Patchen’s writing. Jacob’s roots are buried is rural poetry, where he started writing, at the age of 12, about nature, love, and his own experiences using a confessional tone.

Jacob believes that his writing career began on the day that he decided to quit an oil and gas job in order to finish his first book, Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop. Jacob has worked in several job fields, including: excavating for his father’s company, evening manager at a bowling alley, bartender, youth case manager at a behavioral health facility, marketing, and has even started his own handyman business. But none has given him purpose and satisfaction quite like writing has.

He has been published in several literary journals, including New Millennium Writings, Into the Void Magazine, The Deadly Writers Patrol, and Lost Lake Folk Opera Magazine. He has also been selected as a finalist in many poetry competitions.

Books by Jacob Paul Patchen:

Poetry
Of Love and War (Adelaide Books, 2018)

Fiction
At Daddy’s Hands (YA Thriller/Suspense – Black Rose Writing, September 2019)
Sheltered: When a Boy Becomes a Legend (Middle Grade Action/Adventure, 2020)

Children’s
Words That Matter (10 book series, TouchPoint Press, 2019)

Creative Nonfiction
Life Lessons from Grandpa and His Chicken Coop (CreateSpace, 2015)
Talking S. H. I. T. (Social, Humorous and Inspirational Thoughts) (CreateSpace, 2017)

He also writes a social and humor blog at Jacobpaulpatchen.com, and is active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Corporate Wolf by Stuart R. West

If you can't run with the big dogs…rip 'em to shreds.

It was supposed to be a corporate retreat and a series of morale-boosting exercises. It was a weekend Shawn Biltmore nearly didn't survive.
There was something else playing in the woods that night, something other than a bunch of corporate drones with paintball guns.

And it had chosen Shawn as its new chew toy.

The local authorities chalked it up to a bear attack.
So did the doctors.

Shawn knew the truth, however, as much as he wanted to deny it.
But when one of his coworkers is viciously killed, Shawn must face the truth…
He's a killer who needs to be put down.

Or is he?  

 Shawn Biltmore, junior executive at the Lerner Corporation spends his days working his boring job and most nights getting drunk at the bar with his only friend Redmond, a rather repulsive character who is also a junior executive at the same company. It is in this usual state of drunkenness that Shawn becomes separated from Redmond on a team building exercise in the woods. The next thing he knows, he is waking up in a hospital, being told that he has been in a coma after a bear attack. Shawn knows it was nothing so ordinary that attacked him in those woods and not long after he begins to feel the changes in himself one of his annoying coworkers is found dead.
I didn't really feel connected to or invested in any of these characters. I'm not sure if Shawn's clumsy attempts to date his nurse and a coworker were meant to be endearing or humorous. The only enjoyment I got from this story came from the werewolf attacks which were suspenseful, vivid, and frightening. Also, it taught me that goat yoga is an actual thing.

I received a complimentary copy for review.



Get a copy


About the author
Stuart R. West is a lifelong resident of Kansas, which he considers both a curse and a blessing. It's a curse because...well, it's Kansas. But it's great because…well, it’s Kansas. Lots of cool, strange and creepy things happen in the Midwest, and Stuart takes advantage of them in his books. Call it “Kansas Noir.” Stuart writes thrillers, horror and mysteries usually tinged with humor, both for adult and young adult audiences.

Stuart spent 25 years in the corporate sector and now writes full time. He’s married to a professor of pharmacy (who greatly appreciates the fact he cooks dinner for her every night) and has a 25 year old daughter who’s dabbling in the nefarious world of banking.

To be one of the cool kids on the block, subscribe to the Stuart R. West-Worlds newsletter for upcoming book info, free stuff, and absolutely no recipes: http://eepurl.com/c34zpv.

If you're still reading this, you may as well head on over to Stuart's blog at: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/