suspense novel

The Killed Conscious, Book Review 📚

Today we celebrate the latest release from author Jordan Antonacci!   The Killed Conscience

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Investigative journalist Emilee Weathers is hungry for the perfect story and not too particular about how she has to get it. Asked to help find new evidence for a convicted serial killer’s appeal, she heads for the mountain town of Pigeon Forg

 When she discovers the body of a recent victim, the questions come thick and fast. Has she happened upon the work of a copycat? Is the real killer still out there? And is there anybody in this neck of the woods she can trust?

 

 

My Review

The Killed Conscious 

Jordan Antonacci 

4.5/5 stars

Emilee Weathers is fresh out of college, with her newly printed degree in Journalism and in a relationship that has lasted too long past its prime, when she gets a call that will change everything.

Detective Nichols from Knoxville PD has reached out to Emilee because of her investigative skill set, and her ties to her home town of Tennessee. A dangerous convicted serial killer has been granted an appeal and may be released unless Emilee can uncover new and compelling evidence against the notorious Valentine Day Killer, better known as VDK, Patrick Liftmen. 

This is the dream shot Emilee has been waiting for, a chance to prove to herself, and her father, that journalism was the right choice. A chance to build her career and an opportunity to be reunited with her childhood friend, Sebastian. As she dives into the details of the case, she realizes that everything is not what it seems. Emilee begins to doubt that the real killer is in custody, and as new victims are unearthed, begins to question her role in the investigation. 

Can Emilee find the proof needed to stop a monster from reentering society? Can she find the strength to end her abusive relationship? And, can she sort through her unresolved feelings for her childhood crush? 

A Killed Conscious is the second novel by Jordan Antonacci. I confess that I have not read his first book and did not know what to expect of his writing style. What a pleasant surprise! Antonacci balances these storylines beautifully. He easily created suspense and thoughtful characters which propelled the storyline forward. I found myself wondering where the narrative was headed and which, if any, of these characters were truly trustworthy. This was a fast read, which for me is a signal of a great story. I constantly wanted to know what happened next, and there were twists and surprises right up to the last sentence. 

The ending is abrupt, so much so that I contacted Jordan to check that I had the entire manuscript! After he assured me that this was, indeed, the end of the novel, I understood and appreciated the tactic.  I will be reading the sequel! I look forward to learning more about Emilee, and enjoying Antonacci’s writing, as he continues to develop as an author.

 

Purchase your copy today!

You can pick up your copy and read more reviews through the links below!

Connect with the author, Jordan Antonacci

Jordan’s blog is Mrhushhush on WordPress.

 

Father Figure: A Book Review📚

Father Figure

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James J. Cudney

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4.8/5

Amalia is 18 and ready to leave her isolated life in rural Mississippi. She is desperate to escape her oppressive and abusive mother, and begin her life while attending college. She is excited, and scared, to have her first romantic relationship. Unprepared and inexperienced she forges her way into the life she hopes is waiting for her.

Brianna is also preparing to leave for college and is looking forward to discovering more about herself and life beyond New York City. Unlike Amalia who had a brother and father, Brianna has only her mother, Molly, who is painfully secretive about her own upbringing. Brianna is naturally curious about the father she never knew and Molly constantly dodges Brianna’s questions regarding her paternity. 

Both Amalia and Brianna are desperate to know more about their place in the world, if they will find love and how to navigate romantic relationships.  Their journeys are separated by two decades, yet are deeply intwined. Will Amaila be strong enough to escape her manipulative mother and find happiness? How will Brianna force her mother to reveal her secretive past and allow her to have a relationship with her father? 

The second novel from James J. Cudney has been a stellar success! You may recall that in my review of his debut novel, “Watching Glass Shatter”, I included the statement that I believed his writing would continue to elevate as he evolved in his craft. What I did not know, at that time, was how quickly that process would occur! Cudney’s literary transitions, balanced so eloquently through these parallel timelines, are both seamless and compelling. There is a delicate edge that an author must maintain to preserve the reader’s interest, and to move the story line at a credible pace. Cudney also ties up loose threads from early on in the narrative, that I did not recognize as significant at the time. I love these surprises! 

James J. Cudney has created a depth and connection to these characters that will hold you captive until the final page! 

Purchase your book today!

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Father Figure

 

Watching Glass Shatter

 

About the Author

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James is my given name; most call me Jay. I grew up on Long Island and currently live in New York City, but I’ve traveled all across the US (and various parts of the world). After college, I spent 15 years working in technology and business operations in the sports, entertainment and media industries. Although I enjoyed my job, I left in 2016 to focus on my passion: telling stories and connecting people through words. My debut novel is ‘Watching Glass Shatter,’ a contemporary fiction family drama with elements of mystery, suspense, humor and romance. To see samples or receive news from my current and upcoming books, please subscribe with your email address at my website: https://jamesjcudney.com

What do I do outside of writing: I’m an avid genealogist (discovered 2K family members going back about 250 years) and cook (I find it so hard to follow a recipe). I love to read; between Goodreads and my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, I have over 500 book reviews which will give you a full flavor for my voice and style. On my blog, I started the 365 Daily Challenge, where I post a word each day that has some meaning to me, then converse with everyone about life. There is humor, tears, love, friendship, advice and bloopers. Lots of bloopers where I poke fun at myself all the time. Even my dog has a weekly segment called “Ryder’s Rants” where he complains about me. All these things make up who I am; none of them are very fancy or magnanimous, but they are real and show how I live every day.

A bit of humor: Everything doubles as something else when you live in NYC. For me, it’s the dining room, my favorite space in the apartment, where more than just my cooking is on display! As I look out the windows onto a 12th floor terrace, various parts of nature (trees, bushes, flowers, bugs & animals) inspire me to write. Ryder, my 10-year old shiba inu, usually lays on my feet, growling when I shift positions too many times or when I forget to share my food! Although he’s only 20 pounds, he’s quite strong and pushy. But how else can you pen the best story possible without these things by your side?

Connect with Jay

Author Links

Blog:https://thisismytruthnow.com

Author Website:https://jamesjcudney.com

Social Media Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/James-J.-Cudney/e/B076B6PB3M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jamescudney4

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JamesJCudneyIVAuthor/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jamescudney4/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamescudney4/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/jamescudney4

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescudney4

Watching Glass Shatter: A Book Review, A Conversation and Breaking News!

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Welcome, to the Watching Glass Shatter Blog Tour!!

Today we celebrate the debut novel by James J. Cudney

 

 

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Book Review

Watching Glass Shatter

James J. Cudney

4.5/5 stars

Most first time novelists will keep their story simple and the number of characters to a minimum, in order to manage the task of development and continuity within the narrative. This strategy makes perfect sense and has been successfully employed, many times, by young writers looking to produce a strong, first effort.  Numerous moving parts can be difficult to pull off even for seasoned writers, so many debut novels will be lacking a particular depth, or breadth, within the story itself.  James J. Cudney boldly ignored that safe path and crafted a story full of colorful, flawed and relatable people who have, not only their own demons to wrestle, but issues to resolve that affect the future of their entire family.

Watching Glass Shatter revolves around Olivia, the proper and controlling matriarch of the Glass family who, until the death of her husband, has been under the assumption that all was well with her five sons and their respective families. The sudden and unexpected death of the beloved Ben, husband and father of the Glass clan, throws the presumed perfect family into an uncertain future, one that neither the sons nor Olivia are prepared to handle. What will become of the family business and legacy? How will Olivia move on without her husband of 40 years? The reading of Ben’s will only presents more problems as two mysterious letters are bequeathed to Olivia, and she alone controls the power held within those pages, knowledge that will forever change the dynamics of the Glass family. She has some tough choices to make regarding the son Ben speaks of in those letters. Which of her 5 sons will have his world come crashing down?

Cudney weaves the story lines of these many characters together brilliantly. The first few chapters are a lot for the reader to absorb as each new family member is introduced, but soon you will find yourself wondering what will happen next to Olivia and her sons Caleb, Teddy, Ethan, Matthew and Zachary, as Cudney draws you further into the Glass family dynamics. The cliffhangers are well timed, as is the overall pace of the story. There is no dull moment, there are twists and turns and unexpected, even tragic, revelations.

Watching Glass Shatter is the first effort for James J. Cudney and his writing will only elevate as he evolves into a more seasoned story teller, and I can’t wait for his next  publication. I highly recommend Watching Glass Shatter.

Book Purchase

  • Available in both electronic form (PDF, MOBI or ePub) and physical form
  • Buy @ Amazon

 

A Conversation with the Author

James was gracious enough to answer some questions that I had after finishing the book. I wanted more time with the Glass family, so much had happened and a few of the unresolved issues were niggling at my brain!

Q: Where did the inspiration come from for the characters in the Glass family?

A: “Completely made up as I am an only child…I am detail oriented, so I just kept pushing myself to think of relatable people we all knew on some level.”

I then began asking very specific questions to which James answered quite honestly.

I wanted to know more about the contents of the second letter and its impact on the other family members.

Will the Glass men resolve their problems or will they go off course again?

Has Olivia really changed her controlling ways or does she fall back into her old habits?

And, so many more! I can’t include them here as they are huge spoiler alerts and I am not going to ruin the story for anyone! However, I did mange to get some news out of him that he will allow me to share now, with you!

BREAKING NEWS:

James will be publishing a sequel to Watching Glass Shatter!!! The timeline will be announce in early 2018!

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Now we will all get to see what happens to the Glass family, thank you James!!

 

 

 

Be sure to follow James on the rest of his blog tour by clicking here for daily post updates.

 

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More fun ways to support James!

Giveaways

  • Jina @ Author Inspiration is hosting a GIVEAWAY for a free e-copy of the book. Feel free to share her post; you can see the guidelines and enter here.
  • I will announce a Goodreads Giveaway free signed physical copy available for entry from 11/10 thru 11/30.

Goodreads Debut Author Award Nominations (By 11/5)

  • If you want to vote for Watching Glass Shatter in the Goodreads Choice 2017 Book Awards, the book is eligible for many categories, including as a write-in vote for ‘Debut Goodreads Author.’ You can vote here for Round 1 by 11/5 by scrolling to the bottom and entering in Watching Glass Shatter, then clicking Submit.

Favorite Character Poll

  • Enter the poll to choose your favorite character thru 11/20. You can choose from all the major family members or submit your own write-in vote.

Subscribe to Newsletter

  • Subscribe to my newsletter to receive special content and plans for 2018.

 

I am sure you will all join me in congratulating James on this tremendous accomplishment! 

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Have You Read Jay’s Novel Yet?

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Our very own James J. Cudney has written his debut novel, “Watching Glass Shatter”. The moment I read the synopsis, I knew I had to get involved!

From Jay’s website: This is my truth now

Book Summary

A contemporary fiction novel focusing on a New England family’s drama set in current times. The wealthy Glass family has lost its patriarch, Benjamin Glass, sooner than expected. Benjamin’s widow, Olivia, and her 5 sons each react to his death in their own way while preparing for the reading of his will. But it is Olivia who receives a very unexpected confession from her late husband about one of their sons that could shatter the whole family.

Prior to revealing the secret to her children, Olivia needs to figure out which boy Ben is referring to in the confession he left her in his will. While the family attorney is searching for the mysterious Rowena Hector whom Ben says holds the answers, Olivia asks her sons to each spend a week with her as she isn’t ready to let go of the past. But when Olivia visits her sons, she quickly learns that each one has been keeping his own secret from her.

Olivia never expected her remaining years would be so complex and life altering, but she will not rest until she is able to bring her family back together after Ben’s untimely death. Will she be able to fix them or will the whole family implode? We all need family. We all want to fit in. We’re a mix of quirky fun!

I knew this was going to be good, but I didn’t realize how much I would be drawn into the story from the first chapter! Jay is clearly a talented story teller and, while my version was purchased before further editing, I am confident that any literary alterations will only enhance an already superior body of work.

Jay will be starting a blog tour to promote his novel and I am honored to say the Invisible No More will his first stop! I want to encourage you all to read “Watching Glass Shatter” before he kicks off  the tour so we can all talk about the story, appreciate his interviews and we can all say “we knew him when”!

I purchased his ebook from Amazon, it is currently only available in this format. I don’t own a Kindle but Amazon has a free Kindle reader app which can be downloaded so you can start enjoying the story right away! It was easy to install and worked great, I am now reading his novel on my iPad.

Here is the link to purchase the book: Watching Glass Shatter

I will be posting a full review prior to the blog tour kick off, the schedule is below.

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You are going to be hearing a lot about this next month, so why not get a head start and see what all the (much deserved) hype is all about!