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The Wake of Forgiveness

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 25, 2012 by Karen ApplebyJune 14, 2012

The Wake of Forgiveness:

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” Paul Boese

What a fantastic debut novel, this begins in the late 1800’s with the birth of Vaclav Skala fourth son, Karel, and the death of his loving wife Klara during childbirth. We then jump to 1910 where Vaclav uses his four sons as he would horses to plow his fields. Vaclav keeps his horses rested and ready to race, the prize is a bet on a parcel of land. His youngest, Karel, is the rider in the race and he hasn’t lost yet, that is until Guillermi Villasenor shows up with his three daughters. Villasenor has come to find his daughters a husband. Vaclav’s three oldest sons are very pleased with what they see and are ready to marry them.

Villasenor challenges Vaclav to a race for a parcel of Vaclav’s land. The race is set and Karel, his youngest son, and Graciela Villasenor’s daughter will race her horse against Karel. The race will not turn out the way Vaclav expects as Karel loses to Graciela.

Now Vaclav is upset that Karel has lost and a fight ensues between Vaclav and his four sons. The three older sons fight against Vaclav and Karel. This fight causes a great strain on the relationship between Vaclav and his three older sons. It seems that Vaclav has much stronger feelings for Karel and Karel stays with and learns from his father as well as takes care of him until his untimely death.

Karel has married Sophie and has two daughters. Sophie is pregnant with their third child. Karel becomes a proud father of a baby boy. It seems that Karel is much closer to his children than his father was with him and his brothers.

The story jumps between the past and the future to encompass the way things were as they were growing up and what they’ve become in the future as adults.

What was once a seemingly happy family turns into a very strained relationship for all and as the book progresses a tragic turn of events brings the brothers and their wives back together.

The author did exceptionally well with the writing of this debut novel. I always felt that I was right there entwined in the events as they unfolded. I never lost interest as I read and highly recommend this book and will read other books authored by Bruce Machart.

Posted in Mystery/Thriller

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 24, 2012 by Karen ApplebyJune 14, 2012

“I think there’s just one kind of folks.  Folks.” ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“Inspiring Novel”

The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, the reclusive “Boo” Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and, for many years, few have seen him. The children feed each other’s imagination with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house. Following two summers of friendship with Dill, Scout and Jem find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place. Several times, the mysterious Boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but, to their disappointment, never appears in person.

Atticus is appointed by the court to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman. Although many of Maycomb’s citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus’ actions, calling him a “nigger-lover”. Scout is tempted to stand up for her father’s honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to. For his part, Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom. This danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus’ and Tom’s points of view.

Because Atticus does not want them to be present at Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout, Jem, and Dill watch in secret from the colored balcony. Atticus establishes that the accusers—Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell, the town drunk—are lying. It also becomes clear that the friendless Mayella was making sexual advances towards Tom and her father caught her in the act. Despite significant evidence of Tom’s innocence, the jury convicts him. Jem’s faith in justice is badly shaken, as is Atticus’, when a hopeless Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison.

Humiliated by the trial, Bob Ewell vows revenge. He spits in Atticus’ face on the street, tries to break into the presiding judge’s house, and menaces Tom Robinson’s widow. Finally, he attacks the defenseless Jem and Scout as they walk home from the school Halloween pageant. Jem’s arm is broken in the struggle, but amid the confusion, someone comes to the children’s rescue. The mysterious man carries Jem home, where Scout realizes that he is the reclusive Boo Radley.

Maycomb’s sheriff arrives and discovers that Bob Ewell has been killed in the struggle. The sheriff argues with Atticus about the prudence and ethics of holding Jem or Boo responsible. Atticus eventually accepts the sheriff’s story that Ewell simply fell on his own knife. Boo asks Scout to walk him home, and after she says goodbye to him at his front door, he disappears again. While standing on the Radley porch, Scout imagines life from Boo’s perspective and regrets that they never repaid him for the gifts he had given them.

The novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality. The narrator’s father, Atticus Finch, has served as a moral hero for many readers and as a model of integrity for lawyers. One critic explains the novel’s impact by writing, “In the twentieth century, To Kill a Mockingbird is probably the most widely read book dealing with race in America, and its protagonist, Atticus Finch, the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism.  Discrimination

There is so much we can all learn from “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” but will we?  Harper Lee out did herself with this book and it’s very sad that she did not continue with other writings.  This only goes to show that there’s so much to learn from the mouth of babes.

I very much enjoyed reading “To Kill a Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee and can agree that everyone should read it at any time during their life and maybe read it again and again.  It gives such a strong message of the racial indifference in the world from the past to the present.  Like little Scout Finch said: “I think there’s just one kind of folks.  Folks.” ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“We should have learnt by not that laws and court decisions can only point the way.  They can establish criteria of right and wrong.  And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism.  But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice – however much we might desire it.” Hubert H. Humphrey

Posted in Fiction

Hanged to Death

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 23, 2012 by Karen ApplebyJuly 24, 2013

When Rachel takes a college internship at a museum, all she expects to do is help with exhibits. What she doesn’t expect is to find her boss murdered.

The list of suspects includes a cranky museum director, a sweet administrative assistant, and a know-it-all board member. Throw in a cute detective who plans on shutting down Rachel’s exhibit unless the murderer is found, and you have one college intern who might just be in over her head. However, the show must go on, and Rachel finds herself getting more than college credit to find out who killed her boss.

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Posted in Mystery/Thriller, Short Story | Tagged Museum, Mystery, suspense, Thriller

The Arranger by L. J. Sellers

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on November 30, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 24, 2013

The year is 2023 and ex-detective Lara Evans is working as a freelance paramedic in a bleak new world. She responds to an emergency call and is nearly killed when a shooter flees the home. Inside she finds the federal employment commissioner wounded, but she’s able to save his life.

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Posted in Futuristic Thriller | Tagged ebook, Kindle, Nook

Rogue Wave by Boyd Morrison

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on August 19, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

A minor seismic disturbance in a remote section of the Pacific causes barely a ripple of concern for Kai Tanaka, acting director of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu. But when an airliner en route from L.A. to Sydney vanishes in the same location, Kai is the first to realize that a mysterious explosion has unleashed a series of massive waves destined to obliterate Hawaii. In just one hour, Kai will lose all he has ever known—including his wife and daughter— unless he can save them from nature’s most destructive force.

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Posted in Fiction, Hawaii, Island, Mystery/Thriller, Tsunami | Tagged fiction, Hawaii, Island, Mystery, Tsunami

Before Her Eyes

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on August 17, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

In a remote mountain community, the execution of a grocer and the abduction of a world-renowned model leave the local sheriff searching for a connection, two killers and a woman who is running for her life. In the next 48 hours, Sheriff Dove Connelly will peel back the layers of intrigue beneath the tranquil camaraderie of his mountain enclave and find that nothing is what it seems.

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Posted in Legal/Thriller, Mystery/Thriller, Rebecca Forster | Tagged Mystery, Thriller

Half-Inch

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 25, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

On a lovely spring day in April, he finally pushes her just that tiny bit too far and she snaps. Deep within her, a cold, cruel voice she barely recognizes as her own pronounces those fateful words, “I’m going to kill you, Bobby Hilts.” Ride the crazy train along with Pammy as she gleefully plots her soon-to-be ex’s bizarre demise and devises the diabolical means that ensure his body will never be found. Soon, Pammy will be free of him forever. Or will she?

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Posted in Mystery/Thriller, Short Story | Tagged Mystery, Short Story

John Gilstrap

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 16, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

Jonathan Grave Thriller Series by John Gilstrap on 7/1/09, 6/28/11, 5/1/12 Genres: Action Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller Published by Pinnacle Books Goodreads John Gilstrap is the New York Times bestselling author of No Mercy, Hostage Zero, and his newest book … Continue reading →

Posted in John Gilstrap, Mystery/Thriller | Tagged Action Adventure, Mystery, Mystery/Thriller

The Witness Series By Rebecca Forster

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 13, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

The Witness Series by Rebecca Forster Series: The Witness Series #1, , on March 23, 2012 Genres: Fiction, Legal Thriller Published by Silent C Press The Witness Series by Rebecca Forster      

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Posted in Legal/Thriller, Mystery/Thriller, Rebecca Forster | Tagged Mystery

Intoxication (As the Darkness Falls)

The Book Ends - Reviews Posted on May 5, 2011 by Karen ApplebyJuly 23, 2013

Intoxicataion by Tim Kizer on March 30, 2011 Genres: a psycho thriller, Fiction, Short Stories Published by Amazon Digital Services Format: eBook Buy on Amazon Intoxication! A short psycho/thriller that keeps you wondering with its twists and turns through unsettling … Continue reading →

Posted in Psycho/Thriller, Short Story | Tagged Psycho, Short Story, Thriller

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