John Staughton, Senior Reviewer | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV

Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV

Asking hard questions about consciousness and playing out the dangers of synthetic life, Brian, Created Intelligence by AJ Pagan IV is a smart and thrilling novel about a not-too-distant world.

When Ellie Parsons is tasked with growing the perfect brain of a genius, her ambitious dreams come true, and with the help of a gifted team, Brian is born. This super-brain is much more than a piece of future tech; fundamentally, it is the greatest tool humanity has ever created – but he could also be turned into an unstoppable weapon. When that threat becomes too real, and outside forces […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-04T12:19:00+02:00September 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Suspected Hippie in Transit by Martin Frumkin

Suspected Hippie in Transit by Martin Frumkin

Detailing two months-long journeys across the Middle East and Asia, Suspected Hippie in Transit: Sex, Drugs, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Search for Higher Consciousness on the International Trail, 1971-1977 (Vol 1) by Martin Frumkin is an eye-opening wander through exotic ideas, people, and experiences in beautiful corners of the world.

Beginning in India and moving west through Nepal and northern Afghanistan, some of the most riveting scenes (and images) come from Frumkin’s time in Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat, though these sections are rather brief, in comparison to his second journey, which began in 1975. In that more extended part […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-03T12:42:10+02:00September 14th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Memoir Book Reviews, Travel Book Reviews|

The Jukebox Kid by Loren Jakobov

Reflective, profound, and haunting, The Jukebox Kid by Loren Jakobov is a powerful collection of emotionally raw verse – a free-verse kaleidoscope of hope and regret, nature, and the mind. Visceral flashbacks shared in “Summertime Dance” juxtapose with dark musings like “The Flimsy Shape of Things” and enigmatic koans such as “Born in the Mojave,” keeping the true thematic heart of this poetry a mystery. Though some of the pieces could use a proofread, purely for spelling and word usage, the experimental form makes these small slips less obvious, allowing readers to lose themselves in the fractured memories and wisdom […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-14T21:42:41+02:00September 13th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Azabu Getaway by Michael Pronko

Michael Pronko delves back into the grit, greed, and mystery of Tokyo in his latest novel, Azabu Getaway, the fifth book in his Detective Hiroshi Mystery series.

In this moody, high-stakes thriller, a desperate father kidnaps his own daughters in the hope of escaping back to America, while the vicious murder of a wealthy financial manager sends shockwaves through Tokyo’s shadowy banking sector. Though the two cases initially feel unrelated, the sinister link between money, violence, and power is hard to shake – for readers and investigators alike.

Hiroshi continues to shine as one of the most unique and […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T16:39:41+02:00September 13th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

The Fragment Murder by Andrew Bonar

A gritty, fast-paced, and sexy thrill, The Fragment Murder by Andrew Bonar is the latest conspiratorial installment of the Drew Law & Ashley Tinder mystery series. A young woman desperate to earn her place in a shadowy cabal, a steamy pair of nontraditional sleuths, a bit of mind control, conspiracy theories, and an epic McGuffin that pushes the boundaries of reality all comprise this multilayered read, which practically hums with tension and excitement. Leaping artfully through time and space, without straining credulity, the storytelling on display is impressive and refreshingly original, for a novel that defies genre and expectation.

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John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-13T15:17:58+02:00September 12th, 2022|Categories: Editorial Reviews|

Review: Automatic Stay by Mark Shaiken

Automatic Stay by Mark Shaiken

Author Mark Shaiken delivers a character-driven battle between history and finance in Automatic Stay, the second installment of his 3J Mystery series, a nuanced legal thriller that is also a love letter to Kansas City, celebrating the diversity of history, architecture, music, and culture that makes the city shine.

In an attempt to revitalize the music scene of Kansas City, the wealthy Rapinoes boldly invested in jazz clubs and the money kept rolling in, until Covid crippled the country and shuttered stages – a setup for an incredibly timely mystery. Their ambitious businesses and venues took a major hit, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-29T11:03:33+02:00September 12th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Point of Murder by Lorne Kent

The Point of Murder by Lorne Kent

Author Lorne Kent delivers a twisted mystery that puts deadly pressure on a “nice neighborhood policeman” in his intro to a new investigator series, The Point of Murder, an engrossing, well-researched, globe-hopping thriller.

When a thirty-year-old Russian activist attempts to flee the oppressive motherland, his escape sets in motion a murderous drama that plays out on the typically quiet streets of Ottawa. Driven by a stellar cast of three-dimensional characters, including a masterful assassin who kills without remorse, this is a gripping dive into evil.

DI Brian Golding is the rule-bending cop who catches the case when bodies start […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T12:28:40+02:00September 10th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Navajo Event by Rick Fishman

The Navajo Event by Rick Fishman

Author Rick Fishman takes readers on a spiritual journey through loss, miracles, and meaning in The Navajo Event: Proof of God’s Existence, an original and decidedly unorthodox exploration of faith and trust.

Following a tragic fire that took her husband’s life and left her broken and badly burned, Carli is facing a long and painful recovery. Her parents, Roland and Laura, are heartbroken, but when Roland’s cousin and some old friends from a local Navajo tribe come for a visit, seemingly impossible hope is suddenly reborn.

A legendary medicine man named Rising Sun has offered to perform a healing […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-23T13:15:24+02:00September 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Visionary Fiction Book Reviews|