Extinction Event

Book Title:  Extinction Event

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISBN  9781466163317

Part of Series:  First of two-book series – See Chain Reaction

Author:  Nicole Stuart

Available at:  Smashwords , Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple, Diesel, Baker-Taylor, Sony

Price:  $5.99

Number of words (approximately):  214 109

Star Rating (of five):  Five

Summary:  Helen Lindstrom, a volcanologist, is studying the massive super-volcano under Yellowstone.  Her latest set of measurements indicate an imminent explosion.  She discusses her findings with a new friend, John Carter, and he realizes that the impending catastrophe will probably bring an end to the world they know.  Their warnings to the Government fall on deaf ears, so they set out to establish a place where they will be able to survive, gathering a group of people to form the basis of a ‘colony’ of civilization.

Extract: 

- “Yellowstone sits right over a hot spot in the Earth’s crust, a spot where there is an upwelling of magma to a point closer to the surface of the Earth than normal.  Hawaii is another hot spot, where the lava breaks through and causes the volcanoes.  Hawaii’s tectonic plate is moving to the east, so the hot spot appears to travel to the West, causing new islands to be formed over the upwelling.”  She paused, looking at John to see whether he was following her.  “Now, look here.  This is the profile of the land around the lake four years ago.”  She traced her forefinger around the graphic display of the lake, then pointed to the table below.  The column was headed ‘N-S’, then she pointed to the column labeled ‘E-W’.  Her finger moved down to the two lines on the graph below, each one labeled in the same way as the columns.  “I’ve taken readings every four months since then.”  She touched the keyboard, and a new set of lines was superimposed on the original ones.  “These are four months later.  You can see how the land has lifted to the south side, and dropped on the north.” She tapped the keyboard again.  A new set of lines appeared.  “These profiles show a small but significant increase on an exponential, cumulative basis.  Each new set of lines has moved at an increasing rate.”  She tapped again, and again.  “Look at the trend.”  She pointed to the small graphs below the profile lines.  It showed a smooth but rapidly rising trend.  “The trend is clear.  The rate of growth is increasing.  Now look at this.”  She tapped repeatedly on the keyboard, and the lines denoting N-S lifted ominously on the south end, and dropped slowly on the north end.  Then suddenly both sides heaved upwards at a rapidly increasing rate.  The E-W lines, which had been relatively stable, suddenly moved upwards.  “This shows that the whole cauldron is lifting, not just displacing laterally.  The upward movement has covered several miles in each direction from the lake.  The cauldron is growing laterally as well as vertically.  The cauldron is expanding, and new magma is flowing into it.  Yellowstone is getting ready to blow!”

John stared at the screen, digesting the implications of what Helen was saying.  His mind raced as he considered the effects of what he saw, effects that would extend far beyond the physical effects of the explosion, and his face paled.

“What will you do now?”

“I have to slot these values into my thesis, and consider what changes they make to the prognosis.  It is clear that the process is speeding up, and I have to try to figure out what the time line is likely to be.  Then I have to get the findings to the university, so that the authorities can be notified.  We have to warn people about what is coming.” -

Reviewer’s Comments:

Structure:  The book is well-written, with good grammar and syntax, a sensitive use of words and a comfortable format.

Content:  The story tells of the development of the couple’s relationship in a pressure-cooker situation, with the threat of a collapse of the world economy likely at any time.  It explores the elements that go to make up our present world, and ways the characters find to meet and overcome the challenges of a situation that could come about at any time.

Reviewer’s Comments:  I loved this book!  The characters are real, the places credible, the events possible.  It raised so many questions that one will never consider until the time comes, when it will be too late!  The threat that is central to this story exists in reality.  The volcano under Yellowstone exists now.  It has exploded in the past, an event that caused one of the major species-exterminations of the world, and the signs are that it could happen again.  As one scientist has put it: “It will explode.  The only question is ‘when?’  It could be in five hundred years, or it could be tomorrow!”  Extinction Event gives us an opportunity to consider the problems ahead of time.  Even if we never do anything about it, this book asks us, in an entertaining way, to consider how we will react.

I have read this book several times, from cover to cover.  It is one of those books that one keeps returning to.

Karin B

The Downloading of Adrian Squire

Book Title:  ‘The Downloading of Adrian Squire’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISBN: 9781780690346

Part of Series:  No

Author:  Catherine Pearce;]

Available at:  Smashwords

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88726

Price:  $2.99

Number of words (approximately):  85 783

Star Rating (of five):  Five

Summary:  Adrian is retrenched from his job in the City, a job that has shaped who he is, and that has become the focus of his life.  He finds that being a stay-at-home husband is not as easy as it appears, and his ego is gradually demolished by the removal of his work persona.  His forcefulness, developed by his demanding job, becomes overbearing, and his family starts to fall apart.  His good fortune in having a loving wife, a delightful daughter and two very dissimilar friends enable him to ride out the storm, and to find his feet again.

Extract:

- Adrian shrugged, a shifty look in his eyes. Gavin’s frown deepened and he pushed his glasses up slowly and sighed.

 

“Are you telling me that you and Georgie haven’t discussed it?”

 

Helen rested her chin on her hands and looked at Adrian from beneath her long lashes, a slight smile curling her lips.

“Georgie didn’t know until this morning,” he admitted.

Gavin’s face contorted in disgust.

“You didn’t tell her!”

“No, there was so much going on that it just slipped my mind. Anyway if she hadn’t been gallivanting with her bloody boss then she’d have known, wouldn’t she.”

Gavin shook his head.

“Please tell me you didn’t say that to her?” He threw Helen a furious glare. She smiled silkily back at him and placed her hand on Adrian’s arm, gently stroking his taut muscles. He felt the beginning of a growl forming in his throat and coughed.

“Well?”

“Yes actually I did, it’s the truth.”

“The truth according to Adrian Squire, you mean,” snarled Gavin, shaking his head.

Adrian bristled with affront.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that I love you like a brother but you can be a spoilt bastard at times,” he explained calmly.

Adrian’s jaw gaped.

“Spoilt bastard!”

Helen decided to enter the fray.

“Tut, tut, I think Gavin has a soft spot for Georgie.” She gently squeezed Adrian’s arm in sympathy.

“Shut up, Helen.” Gavin glared as she gave him a glowing smile. “Look, Adrian, all I’m saying is that you and Georgie need to be in agreement over the kids, and if you’re that bothered about her working then I suggest you get yourself a job and stop moaning.”

Adrian recoiled as if slapped and then his shoulders slumped in defeat as he admitted miserably, “I know, but there’s definitely nothing in the city for me.”

Gavin stamped down on his impatience and cajoled him as you would a child.

“Well try something new; you never know, you might even enjoy it.”

Adrian’s eyes lit as a light bulb went off in his mind and he smiled at Gavin excitedly.

“That’s it, I’ve got an idea.” He jumped up, rudely dislodging Helen, and clapped Gavin on the back. “Thanks, mate, I’ve got to go. See you later,” and yanking on the lead he hurried off, dragging Max behind him.

Gavin smiled at the look of indignation on Helen’s face.

“Not losing your touch are you?”

She wiped the scowl from her face and leant across the table, breasts straining against the flimsy material and looked pointedly from them to him.

“You tell me,” she purred and licked her lips, very slowly.

He flushed and jerked to his feet, tearing his eyes away angrily. He forced himself to relax before he replied.

“I think maybe you are.”

She smiled and shrugged.

“We’ll see.”

He turned and walked away, thrusting his hands into his pockets to prevent them from throttling her.

“Bye darling,” she cooed to his retreating figure. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

Structure:  The book reads well, with good formatting, use of language, grammar and syntax.  It is written in colloquial English, and is unmistakably set in England.

Content:  The book tells the story of Adrian, a high-flyer who is retrenched and has difficulty coming to terms with his new reality.  He finds that he knows less about his family than he suspected, and the tension at home compounds as his search for employment remains fruitless, his suspicions about his wife increase, and hers about him.  It is a magnifying mirror of many families’ lives.

Reviewer’s Comments:  ‘The Downloading of Adrian Squire’ is a rollicking tale of domestic bliss and conflict, with lots of action and emotion.  It is easy to identify with most of the characters, and to empathise with them.  The author has managed to portray real people in a very convincing, uncontrived way.  The book is fast-moving and entertaining.  I read until midnight, then carried on at four the next morning!  It is enjoyable, engrossing, fun, and certainly worth reading.  I have put Catherine Pearce on my list of authors to look out for.

Karin Buechler

Thin Ice by Alexander Keena

Book Title:  Thin Ice

ISBN 9781780690803

Part of Series:  No

Author:  Alexander Keena

Available at:  Smashwords

(https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/214737?ref=ebookspublisher)

Price:  $3.12
 

Number of words (approximately):  57 797
 

Star Rating (of five):  Three
 

Summary:

A group of students leave a remote hotel in a snowstorm.  A suspicious car causes them to crash, leaving them stranded on the ice of a lake.  The situation worsens as the personalities of the people come to the fore.
 

Extract:

- “It’s the country, isn’t it? There must be a farm or something?”

“We’re on the edge of the moors. There are no farms here… just… Moors,” Sam said, looking straight at Matt.

“Well there’ll be a Petrol station… or something.”

Sam looked cynical. “I doubt it.”

“Oh, let him go if he wants,” Mya said, without even looking at him properly.

“I wasn’t asking for permission,” Matt said and, with that, he turned away, “you stay here and hold hands or something, losers’.

Without any thought to what he was actually doing, Matt began striding out across the ice. They’d all realised the inherent danger in wondering off onto the moors but only Sam had actually considered that there was a more obvious and far more immediate threat.

Matt had got about five feet when that threat became a reality. The ice started to emit faint splitting sounds, which seemed amplified because of the silence in the air and the sudden danger it represented.

“I wondered if the ice was strong enough,” Sam said calmly.

“Come back, it’s too dangerous!!” Essie yelled.

Matt paused but then continued anyway. He’d only got a few more steps when there was a much louder series of cracks from below. Almost defiantly, he kept going… Until, a few feet later, the ice in front of him actually split across and freezing water welled up through the rift. With nowhere to go, Matt stopped in his tracks.

“DON’T MOVE!” Essie yelled.

“WHAT IF ALL THE ICE BREAKS?” Mya screamed, panicking as she looked at the ice beneath her.

”Then I guess we’ll all get wet, won’t we,” Matt said, glancing back at her without moving the rest of his body.

Essie crouched down and looked along the ice towards Matt, “Just stay there for a moment, okay.”

“What, till I sink you mean?”

It was obvious something was going on and, inside the wrecked car, Lisa tried to turn to see what was happening but found she couldn’t.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?!”

“Nothing, don’t worry,” Sam said quickly, as he bent down next to Essie, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking… he’s only got one way to go.”

“Back?”

Essie nodded.

By now, Matt was getting impatient and rather agitated, ”So what do I do?! I’m not just gonna stand here while you have a fucking meeting!”

“Walk back this way,” Essie said, standing up, “BUT… very slowly.”

“But that’ll crack the ice here!!” Mya said, with no interest in how she sounded.

“Don’t worry, bitch… if the ice does break, I’ll try to fall backwards.”

Although Matt was generally full of himself, even he was fully aware of the dangers of falling into freezing water and, very carefully, he turned back to face the way he’d just come. As he looked at them watching him, he didn’t really know if any of them really wanted him to make it back, and if he’d sunk into the lake right there and then, without a trace, he was sure none of them would have cared too much. This made him feel both angry and confused. As far as he was concerned, HE’D been the one helping them all out by giving them a lift and it was HIS car that was totalled. If anything, HE was the biggest victim there. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

Structure:  The book is formatted pleasantly, making for easy reading.  The language used is largely colloquial English, adding to the atmosphere of the story, without impeding the flow. 

Content:  The build-up of the characters is good, the story gripping, leading me to read the book in one sitting.  There is an interesting series of twists at the end.

Reviewer’s Comment:  The story is gripping and the characters credible – I have known people just like these, and found it easy to relate to them.  The ambiance is well-described, with an ability to put the reader into the scene.  The structural failings noted above are minor in the whole picture, and the book is certainly worth a read.  The publisher describes the book as a psychological thriller, and that is certainly accurate.  I think that this book will remain on my bookshelf for another read with a cup of hot chocolate some cold winter’s night.

Teaching with Chopsticks - TEFL from the Frontline by Jonathan Last

Book Title:  Teaching with Chopsticks – TEFL from theFrontline

ISBN-9781780690353

 

Part of Series:  No

Author:  Jonathan Last

Available at:  Smashwords

Price:  $2.99

Number of words (approximately):  73 756

Star Rating: (of five):  Four

Summary:  A young Englishman with no teaching experience takes a year-long job in Korea teaching English to young children.  The book tells of his experiences, the people (both Korean and expats), the country and his development as a person.

Extract:

‘An-yong ha-seyo,’ I stammer at Sam Kim. I haven’t slept for two days and several time zones, but I want to get my greeting right.

Sam, who’s done countless airport pickups, beams as if I’m witty and original.

‘Ha-ha, very good! Anyong Haseyo, Jon!’ My delivery was nothing like his; well, at least I remembered to bow.

We creep out of the airport car park and cruise along the motorway, past mountains, rice-paddy fields, more mountains.

Sam has a convertible Kia. All the other cars I see on the road are Korean too: Daewoos, Hyundais. On the dashboard is an in-car TV, made by LG. Sam’s shiny mobile’s a Samsung.  With his black suit, grey turtleneck, slicked-back hair and sunglasses, Sam Kim resembles Chow Yun-Fat. He could be twenty-five or forty-five. He talks non-stop – reassuring and informing, papering over my nerves.

We pass a power plant of some kind.

‘Korea, very big recycling,’ Sam says. Koreans are proud of their country. I like this.  We’ve been driving for over an hour when we enter the Sanbon district of Gunpo, a commuter town for Seoul. The landscape doesn’t get any flatter; the mountains are simply replaced by apartment blocks – dozens of cream-white, twenty-odd storey monoliths dotted with black windows, inverted dominos reaching far into the sky. I don’t see a single isolated home, and wonder if words like house and garden actually exist in the Korean lexicon, the same way cousin and sibling are virtually obsolete in China.

It’s half three in the afternoon, GMT+9, and I’m looking forward to checking into my new apartment and collapsing. However, my chauffeur has another stop to make first.

We pull into a car park cast into near-darkness by the ubiquitous apartment blocks  There’s a much smaller building in the centre, which I find myself stumbling up to behind the striding Sam.

The ‘school’ is really an academy or hagwon, a place where parents send their children to get extra English tuition each day, straight after their regular schooling. The stereotypical image I had had in my mind of red brick buildings spread around a playground is shattered; the reality is the top floor of a four-storey block, the outside walls of which are busy with multi-coloured Hangul (Korean writing) signs, English being happy speak language institute.

Up the lift we go, and I see my new workplace for the first time. -

 

 

- It just so happens that I’ve arrived in time for the hagwon’s winter trip, so the next day I find myself ferrying tightly wrapped balls of scarf, hat and mitten onto two coaches, heading for local theme park Ever Land.

‘You can get to know the children better,’ Soon-yi nods meaningfully, her glasses opaque.

The place itself is a real Disney World rip-off: cartoon characters, parades, jolly songs played from speakers, huge castle motifs. This is the year of the golden pig, and images and souvenirs celebrating the fact surround us.

Soon-yi and I are in a group together, and I cling to her more dependently than any of the children. Presently, however, I’m caught up chatting with two of my charges. Anna is a really sweet girl who gives me chewing gum and clutches my hand firmly; James wears thick specs and never runs out of questions.

I’m just telling Anna about fish ‘n’ chips and dull British winters, when James says: ‘Jon Teacher, where is Soon-yi Teacher?’

I look up. No Soon-yi Teacher. It’s just me and a dozen children – we’ve wandered away from the pack. Even though the kids have worked out where we are on the map, I can’t read it. And the battery on my Korean mobile’s dead.

The children don’t panic; little Anna simply produces her own mobile and dials Soon-yi.  She appears over the horizon soon enough, all smiles. ‘Thanks for looking after them, Jon,’ my supervisor says.

‘We were lost… I guess we fell behind,’ I stammer.

‘We helped Jon Teacher,’ says a beaming Anna.

‘He was lost but we telephone Soon-yi Teacher,’ adds James.

‘You had your first experience as a real teacher,’ Soon-yi laughs.

‘You’re not wrong’, I say to myself, as we head off to the zoo enclosure, my heart still pounding in my chest. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

Structure:  The book is well-structured, reading pleasantly and with no obstructions.

Content:  The book tells a number of stories simultaneously.  It covers Jon’s development as a teacher and as a person.  It tells of the characters who are drawn to these teaching jobs (as a fill-in, as a way to earn enough money to return home with a nest egg, as an experience of the foreign culture), of the life of a stranger in a strange land, of the influence the children have on the teacher.  It is written frankly, with an engaging style and a command of the language that is enjoyable as well as comfortable.

Reviewer’s Comment:  This book examines the sensations of being a foreigner in a strange culture, as well as many other things.  It is sympathetic of the many differences between cultures, not gloating about the author’s ‘superiority’ at the same time as it describes how hard it is to break through from one culture to another.  It is a must-read for anyone planning to change countries, and it is a book that can be enjoyed repeatedly.  It is made for delving into, and for reading snippets out to friends, particularly foreign friends, or friends who are foreign in that land.  I enjoyed every page, and I look forward keenly to Jonathan Last’s next book.  I recommend it unreservedly.

Parallel Worlds - Nothing is as it seems

Book Title:  Parallel Worlds – Nothing is as it seems



 

Part of Series:  The Ringing Cedars

 

Author:  Heather Macauley Noëll

Available at:Smashwords 

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/29932

Print:  aspaceoflove.com

Audiobook:  aspaceoflove.com

Price:  Free at Smashwords

Number of words (approximately):  77 012

Star Rating (of five):  2

Summary:

This book is an explanation of the teachings of Anastasia, a mystic Russian woman.  It tells of a pair of young people who, trapped on a mountain at night, find themselves transported to another world and to different lives.  A series of fantastical events ensues as they move from one reality to another, linking events through different times, places and embodiments.

Extract:

- Matthew realized that Ammon had not intended for his thoughts to bring the world to the brink of destruction; he had been sure the Mother Goddess would reveal her secret as soon as She saw what he and the other priests were capable of. But over the millennia, Ammon’s image had taken on a life of its own.

Matthew saw how what had started as a seed of an idea planted by the priests – the simple notion that there is not enough for everyone, more is better, and people have no choice but to accept that ‘that is just the way it is’ – slowly snowballed over the years as people who were lost in their quests for more lost sight of the truth of how much they were loved.

The further people distanced themselves from the truth, the more fearful they became – they put their faith in doctors and religions instead of in themselves and nature’s divinely devised remedies and insights. They created seemingly necessary inventions, things they said they couldn’t live without, that polluted the natural beauty of the world and that needed resources which would someday disappear, adding immense fear over time and feeding ever more into the priests’ dream.

Most of all though, Man was made to worship money. He was shown that money was freedom, money could buy love, and money was power. And whether individual people loved or resented money itself, they believed in its supremacy; and because of that, they believed in their own powerlessness. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

·         Structure:  The book is quite difficult to read, jumping from scene to scene, often without logical connection, until the finale, which purports to bring it all together.  The writing is fair, although several times words are used not in their correct meaning.

·         Content:  The book contains sections of great writing and sections of fairly mediocre descriptions of events that remind one of a fantasy movie.

·         Reviewer’s recommendation:  If you’re into fantasy and feel-good movies, you’ll probably enjoy this book.  If you’re a hard-headed realist, there are sections, if you can force yourself to read that far, that might make you think that there really is an alternate reality.  I am pleased that I read it, but I would not keep it on my bookshelf.

John Smith: World Jumper. Book One: Portal to Adventure

Book Title:  JohnSmith:  World Jumper.  Book One: Portal to Adventure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of Series:  John Smith:  World Jumper Series

Author:  E Patrick Dorris

Available at:  Smashwords - JohnSmith: World Jumper  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/219/?ref=NickA

Price:  Free

Number of words (approximately):  63 930

Star Rating (of five):  Three

Summary:

John Smith, an American soldier in World war One, is seriously wounded.  He falls into a portal that transports him instantly to a different world, fully healed.  There he undergoes a series of adventures, gradually gaining control of his ability to accelerate to a high speed and to move from place to place through portals.  

Extract:

- I took a second to look around. Luckily my eyes had adjusted as well as could be expected to the darkness, and I saw several large four legged shapes moving through the darkness. With my legs free I stood, thankful that I still wore my fatigues and boots. However, other than the small knife I wore at my belt, my other equipment including my pack, rifle and other accoutrements was missing. They might have been inches away, but in the darkness I had no hope of finding them by sight.

Thinking rapidly, attempting to formulate some sort of strategy, I felt around the lower end of the fur lined platform which extended several feet further towards the ground. I was heartened to feel the frame outline of my backpack, but of my rifle or ammunition pouch there were no sign.

Much closer than I had expected, I heard a low growl, very canine, yet also distinctly from a large animal.  Even as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and not because of the cold, the mammoth decided it was done with waiting and began walking rapidly away. I followed the beast thinking being near such a large animal was preferable to facing unknown attackers alone. At the same time I wondered where the woman rider and other mammoth were.

My predicament seemed truly dire.  I am not one to panic, but as other growls became audible in the darkness, interspersed with occasional perplexingly deep and voluminous barks, I must admit to coming close to doing so. Facing a known opponent when armed is one thing, facing an altogether different and unknown threat, when unarmed in the dark, is something else entirely. -

Reviewer’s Comments:

·         Structure:  This eBook is well structured and easily readable, although with several irritating typos and a number of incorrectly-used words.

·         Content:  The story holds together well, and moves at a rapid pace from adventure to adventure.  It is exciting reading, though not profound, and with no ‘points to ponder’.  It makes the reader want to buy the sequel and carry on with the story.

·         Reviewer’s Opinion:  My father had a treasured collection of the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series.  I loved reading them, as a distraction for my mind from the stress of studying for my degrees, and as a way of relaxing for half an hour.  This book is a worthy successor to those books.  It is told in the first person, with beautiful Princesses and evil bad guys, horrible monsters and, of course, several heroes!  Download it and read it one evening – you’ll love it.

'Run!' by Nicole Stuart

Book Title:  Run!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of Series:  Integra Series, which includes:

Integra

Run!

Ransom

Tsunami

Hydrocarbon

Lost!

Escape

Population

Meteor Impact

Recovery!

Virus  

ISBN 9781465719430 

Author:  Nicole Stuart 

Available at:

Smashwords  Smashwords 

Apple / iTunes  Apple / iTunes 

Kobo  Kobo 

Sony / Reader’s Store  Sony / Reader's Store 

Barnes & Noble  Barnes & Noble   

Price:  $4.99 

Number of words (approximately):  64738 

Star Rating (of five):  Five 

Summary:  A beautiful young Chemical Engineering Consultant is looking for a project.  Her last one in South Africa did not work out, as the company went into liquidation while she was en route to take up the position.  A man who claims to be the agent for a group of investors requests her to fly urgently to Germany to evaluate a refinery that his clients are about to buy.  Sandra does that, and is caught up in a severe high-speed accident on the Autobahn.  When she recovers consciousness, she is in a hospital in Munich, without any memory of who she is, without any money or identification, friends or background!  She comes under the protection of a genial, gentle Bavarian couple in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a unique village in the German Alps, and is plunged into a maelstrom of murder, deceit and corruption, as she fights to recover her memory.

Eventually, as pieces of her memory start returning, she works out that she has a key role to play in the prosecution of a number of highly-placed politicians and officials in South Africa and company officials in Germany, Italy, France, Britain and Sweden, companies that paid huge bribes to get massive munitions contracts in the early years of the development of South Africa, a time that saw the rise of organised crime in the country.  Her knowledge poses a risk of large fines and lengthy imprisonment for the culprits, something that they are determined to prevent!  As her knowledge of what has occurred grows, so do the threats to her and her associates!

Extract:

- As they came closer, the helicopter came in sight, still hovering at its station.  They slowed down further, watching.  Then the helicopter lifted its tail and accelerated towards the service station.  They watched fearfully as the aircraft sped towards the building.  In horror, they saw a puff of smoke appear at the side of the aircraft as a rocket sped out of its tube.  Another puff appeared a second later, and the two rockets sped towards the blue lights, trailing a line of blue-grey smoke.  There was a massive explosion, closely followed by a second, and the Police car lifted into the air, its doors and trunk lid blown off.  The car thumped to the ground, burning furiously.   Red and yellow flames were shooting through the cloud of greasy black smoke rising from the wreckage.  Wilhelm drove past the entrance to the service station, and Sandra watched as the helicopter turned, and headed down the road in the direction they had come from, towards the bridge.  Before they lost sight of the service station, they saw that one of the cars, the one from the back, exited the service road and headed in the same direction, towards the border, while the second car turned across the median strip a short distance behind them, and hurtled down the road, flashing past them at high speed.-

Reviewer’s Comments:

‘Run!’ was my entry into the ‘Integra’ series, and I loved it.  It is well written, with good character development, an exciting and gripping story related to real-life events.  It is easily readable and un-put-downable. 

Structure: 

The essentials of a good, well-written book are all present – good use of grammar and syntax, no clichés and slang, no spelling errors or typos.  I read it in the Epub format, and it reads well.  It is also available in all other standard formats.

Content:  The book sets out a realistic story, based on a huge corruption relating to the purchase of armaments by a Government.  The main character is a young woman Chemical Engineer who is caught up in a plan to launder the proceeds of that corruption.  There is a high-speed accident on the Autobahn, and she loses her memory.  As she struggles to recover her identity in a strange country, she becomes the target of a group of criminals who fear what she can reveal.