Two Xlibris authors stand a chance of securing a major publishing deal after self-published book reviewer BlueInk Reviews considered their works to be “of exceptional quality and particularly worthy of representation” – yet another reason for Xlibris Publishing to celebrate our authors’ success. We also highly recommend readers to add these titles to their must-read list.
Described as a good thriller and “tautly written,” North to Prosperity by Xlibris Author Ollie T. Moye promises to be a page-turner. BlueInk Reviews tells us why:
“Matt Tolliver has a temper. That much is established in the first few sentences of Ollie T. Moye’s first novel, North to Prosperity. “You’re going to kill somebody with that temper of yours. But it ain’t going to be me,” screams Matt’s wife, Lisa, as she storms out of his life for good. Thus, the stage is set for this tense thriller, a story that propels readers into the dark world of a troubled loser who finds that the best way to get ahead is to kill the people who get in his way.
Lisa has paid for Matt to get his real estate license, and he had kept her in his life with promises of how things would turn around when he began selling houses. But there are no commissions yet, and Lisa is done with their shabby home, the empty promises, and most of all, Matt’s barely contained temper.
With her leaving, Matt decides to reinvent himself, and for a brief time, he does. His best friend, successful realtor Mark Abernathy, generously gives Matt some listings. His first customer is a beautiful woman who is struggling in her marriage and whom Matt believes is attracted to him.
Readers are given bold clues of what’s to come from the beginning of the story: mentions of guns that Matt keeps stashed; thoughts he has of violence; glimpses of his temper. But because Matt has sane — even thoughtful — moments, readers are led to forget about his dark side, further swayed by his laudable aspirations. He wants to be like his successful friend. He wants to leave his shoddy life. In addition, he’s a man from a troubled childhood who never had a chance at a healthy relationship.”
As the story unwinds, its twists and turns won’t disappoint, nor will its ending. Like all good thrillers, North to Prosperity is tautly written, fast-paced — and hard to put down.
For those into forensic investigation or the CSI TV series, non-fictional title Twenty-Five Murders (And Probably More): Looking for a Reason by John B. Dickson takes you to a cold case serial murder back in the 1970s.
“The crime was unspeakably brutal: twenty-five men stabbed, slashed or shot, buried amid the orchards of California’s Central Valley, presumed killed by a 37-year-old Mexican farm labor contractor whose signature was on receipts found among the graves.
The trial of Juan Corona was riddled with legal errors. As John B. Dickson writes in Twenty-Five Murders, his fascinating account of Corona’s two trials, both of which ended in convictions: “One has to remember the time was 1971, the location was a rural county, and experience in this type of case – anywhere – was almost nonexistent.” The case, based solely on circumstantial evidence, was so badly bungled by both sides that the alleged murderer at its heart became almost an afterthought.
“There was basic investigatory procedure in 1971, but it appears to have been either ignored in this case or unknown by the deputies and their superiors in the field,” writes Dickson, a retired civil lawyer who delved into the archives after a talk by a district attorney ignited his curiosity.
Investigators mixed up victims’ identities and the locations of their graves. They handled much of the evidence before it could be fingerprinted. No competency hearing was held before the first trial, despite Corona’s history of involuntary commitment as a paranoid schizophrenic. The judge didn’t suppress evidence that had been improperly seized or impose sanctions against prosecutors for failing to share it with the defense. The lead defense attorney obtained rights to Corona’s life story, an obvious conflict of interest. The resulting book, Burden of Proof, was one of four written around the time of the trials.
Dickson’s is the fifth, a noteworthy addition to the libraries of armchair forensics experts, true crime aficionados and readers with an interest in American justice. His legal background, exceptional research and compelling writing style make Twenty-Five Murders a riveting, remarkably suspenseful read, all the more impressive given that we already know how it ends.”
Congratulations to Xlibris authors Ollie T. Moye and John B. Dickson!
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