Cash Burn by Michael Berrier

From the Publisher

Billions of dollars flow through Jason Dunn's banking office each year. When he suffers a series of career setbacks and his marriage begins to crumble, he and his attractive new assistant devise a plan to disappear with a slice of the bank's cash flow. The unwelcome appearance of his brother on the scene, just released from prison, threatens to sidetrack Jason's plans. But Jason's brother "Flip" has his own problems with a parole officer who isn't fooled by this dangerous parolee. In the race to the jackpot between Jason and Flip, and the unwinding of their troubled history, the question soon becomes, Who will get burned?

My Take

I have to say this book was difficult to “get into”. The story line was kind of sluggish for the first 100-125 pages and it was tough to keep going. Once the story line picked up, it was pretty good. However, there was a lot of discussion about the banking industry and Jason’s job. I’m an ex-auditor by trade (insurance, not banking) but I do know a little bit about banking. Some of the processes talked about in the book were even a little confusing to me. I understood the gist of the process—enough to know about the plot (don’t want to spoil it!)--- but I think some readers would be even more lost reading it.

The thought process going into the money theft from the bank was pretty interesting and I liked how some of it was actually thought out. After the way Jason had been treated in some of his bank dealings, I could understand some sort of vendetta against them. When the story line was moving quickly, it was a page-turner but the momentum wasn’t always there.

I think Berrier is technically a good writer, has done his research and can describe a picture very well. In my opinion with his writing and maybe a modification to the story line, this could have been a very good book. I hope he writes another one soon—I’d like to see how he grows throughout his career.  I’m giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars based on the effort put into the writing.

Tyndale has provided me with a complimentary copy of Cash Burn in exchange for my personal, unbiased review.

ONE GOOD MAN by Virginia Foster

SURPRISING PLOT TWIST!! THOUGHT PROVOKING!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:

Dr. Diane Redfield seems to have it all: beauty, brains, good friends, and a thriving psychology practice. She is dedicated to her patients and spends her free time enjoying the California weather with her loyal dog, Paul. But despite her full life, she has yet to find success in love--until she meets Dr. Bob Callahan, a highly respected psychiatrist and widowed father. The two begin a passionate affair.

As the relationship progresses, Diane struggles with her own fears as well as her professional ethics. Then she begins to realize something very sinister is going on. The more she learns, the deeper she falls into danger.

One Good Man is a page-turner full of romance and suspense. Join Dr. Diane as she struggles to survive the darkest places of the human mind--and to keep her faith in the possibility of love.

MY TAKE:

Don’t tell anyone, but I love a good romance novel now and again! So when I saw One Good Man offered at Dorrance Publishing, I knew it was the one for me. 

A very interesting plot evolved for the couple. Both psychologists, the story utilized their profession all the way from their meeting to their involvement in shared cases, to the unusual twist in the plot (that I won’t give away!). It is a topic that is rarely written about in a romance novel much less contemporary novels. I found it out of the ordinary and thought-provoking for a subject I didn’t know much about.

Ms Foster has a very good writing style—easy to read and follow with attention to filling in all the “gaps” involved in such a story line. I would definitely pick up another of her books in the future.

I’m going to give this a 4-star rating for it’s lovely tale of new love, intriguing story line, and the way the book flowed.

I received a complimentary copy of One Good Man by Virginia Foster as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

The Beginning of End's Beginning by Charlean Fletcher

From the Publisher

Life has never been easy for Sharla Fisher. Hardworking and strong-willed, she has little time or patience for friends. She saves her affections for her mother and her older brother, Jerry, a professional sports phenom.

After graduating from high school, Sharla and her family plan a vacation to celebrate, but at the last minute, Sharla is offered a promotion at work and she stays behind. It is a decision that will forever change her life.

Her family is killed in a car accident while on the trip, and Sharla is left to fend for herself. Hardened by life, she struggles to find people she can trust. This becomes even trickier when Sharla realizes just how much money her brother left her.

Even after she meets the charming Richard Crane, she remains uncertain about ever opening her heart. And the more people find out about her money, the more difficult everything becomes.

My Take

Reading the description of this book on Dorrance Media’s website, it sounded intriguing. Everything included in the description actually does happen in the book---Sharla definitely had a hard life growing up, going without many things since her mother didn’t make much money. She also had almost an estranged relationship with her sister and other brother but loved her older brother, Jerry. Sharla’s high school years were very bumpy as many are in a small town—cliques of girls shunned her (quite traumatic to a teenager), even her cousins.

Sharla is lucky enough to get a job with the telephone company two towns away during her summers. She becomes a hard working and dedicated employee so when she’s offered a promotion, she reluctantly gives up her family vacation in order to work. While her family is driving to their destination, they are involved in a horrible car accident that kills them all. For some reason, her older brother, Jerry, had proactively set his financial house in order before the vacation and Sharla inherits his immense fortune.

After the death of her family, Sharla begins her plan of revenge on all those people who snubbed her and attacked her during her young life. The only thing she is missing in her life is love and emotional attachment. She won’t allow anyone into her heart or life for fear they will turn against her. Even when Sharla meets Richard, she can’t fully commit her emotions to him. His family finds out about the fortune she inherited and everyone wants a hand-out. Sharla steps up her complicated retaliation plan with the help of Richard’s father and they set the wheels in motion.

I have to say this was a difficult book to read for several reasons, the first of which was the size. In an 8.5x11 format, it was cumbersome to hold unless you were sitting at a table. The actual writing was very stilted with no contractions used—people don’t talk that stilted or formal, especially in the region where the story takes place.

It wasn’t easy to determine the point in time when the story took place. The discussion of becoming a telephone operator and extensive use of Greyhound buses leads the reader to believe maybe the era was the 1950’s or 1960’s. At one point, Sharla sells her family’s home for $36,000. Even in today’s economy, that’s a very low value for a home. On the flip side, there was discussion of CD players, cell phones, and laptops which implies a current time frame.  I found it very confusing not knowing the period of the story.

Another problem in reading the book was the editing. There are numerous edit errors involving punctuation, sentence structure, and quotation of the character’s discussions. Most of them could be ignored without impacting the storyline. However, when it comes to where the quotation marks were missing or out of place, it was hard to follow the conversation.

There were other issues with the writing style, but I think you get the idea. As for the plot of the book, sometimes I wondered where it was heading. I’m not sure there was really an obvious climax and resolution. After reaching the end of the book, I was left feeling disappointed—was that it? Where was the conclusion to all the loose ends?

Unfortunately, I’m going to have to give this book a 2 out of 5.

About the Author

Charlean Fletcher is retired and currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is the mother of one son, Shawn, who encouraged her to write The Beginning of End’s Beginning, her first book.  Charlean worked for the telephone company which gave her insight to her character.

Authors: Charlean Fletcher
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing
Published Date: 2010-06-30
ISBN-10: 1434907201
ISBN-13: 9781434907202

I received this book free from Dorrance Publishing as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."