Deception Island

Deception Island by J D Boss

Published by Publish America

ISBN  978-1-4241-7312-9

This tale of intrigue begins in Afghanistan at an archaeological dig, but the action quickly transfers to the Antarctic, where an unusual body has been discovered in an ice cave.

Rachel, our heroine, who is an anthropologist, is requested by a colleague to travel to the icy wastes to help investigate the mysterious cadaver.  They are based near Deception Island, where there is a long abandoned whaling station, and strange happenings keep everyone on their toes.  There are stories told of a Nazi wartime facility below the ice, but these have never been proved.

Rachel’s fiancé Richard suddenly appears at their base, when he should be in Rhode Island.  Rachel has become close friends with her colleague’s nephew, Trevor, and Richard’s arrival leaves her confused.  Why was he there?  Why is he acting so strangely towards her?  Why does she doubt her feelings towards him?

While excavating the site in Afghanistan, Rachel had discovered a pendant with symbols which appeared to move.  The markings on the pendant are almost identical to some found near the body they are investigating, and the mystery deepens.  After the occasional shooting and stabbing, the goodies and baddies battle it out for the secret that only Rachel is the answer to, though she is unaware of the reason why.

This fast paced thriller was a most enjoyable read, I was hardly able to put the book down once I had begun to read it.  Excellent writing and researching by the author with many twists and turns to the plot, which held the suspense until the very end.

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves by Larry Seeley

Published by Eloquent Books

ISBN  978-1-60976-099-1

This is an everyday tale of conmen, and conmen being conned, and conmen being very unhappy about being conned! 

Our hero, Jack Sloan, was the one conning the conmen, and he is about to feel the wrath of those conned.  He becomes involved in a new adventure to secure financing for a project in Canada with native Americans, but his plans fall apart spectacularly and he barely escapes with his life.  He feels he has let his business partners down, and vows to bring the scammers to justice - his kind of justice.

With the money from his earlier venture, he bought a large ranch and a bar in Santa Fe, and had hoped his wild days were over, but they catch up with him in a big way.  He and his friends devise a plan to get the lost money back but this turns into a long and difficult venture and not all of them come through unscathed.  Their number one enemy is a lady banker who runs financial cons on a grand scale and she is looking to avenge the death of her partner on their last job together.  She sees the hunt for Jack Sloan as not only a way to take revenge but also a way to make money along the way.  She plans an elaborate honey trap for investors with the hope that Jack Sloan will be tempted by the financial package she is offering.  Once she has located him and drawn him into her web, she plans to kill him in the most painful way possible.  She then plans to retire to enjoy the huge profits from her scams, but how often has she thought of retiring then become bored and return to the fray?  She enjoys the game too much to leave it behind.

The final showdown has some surprises for more than one of the protagonists, and there are enough survivors to continue their adventures in the sequel, 17 Degrees North, and I hope it is as good as this one.  A real page-turner.