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Book Review – Impeachment

Recently, I received an advance copy of Impeachment, by Mark Spivak, and published by City of Light under their Blacklight Press imprint.  If you are a fan of politics, or even just vaguely aware of what is going on right now, this is one you don’t want to miss.

It’s a story of maneuvering by two obscenely rich brothers who reshape the political scene to give them the result they want for America. It’s a story of dirty tricks and backstabbing. It’s a story of the difficult subject of immigration and what to do about it. It’s the story of a well-meaning president who is convinced he is doing the right thing and a substantial segment of the population agree with him, but it’s the politicians and money, not the voters, that determine the outcome.

The plot evolves easily and naturally. The characters are fully developed with some that are likeable, some you can’t stand and others you just feel sorry for. The dialogue is well-written and relatable.

Impeachment is a book for our time and when you are finished reading, you may find yourself wondering what really does go on behind the scenes.  It may be closer to fact that fiction. That’s the sign of a well-written book, in my opinion.

Watch for Impeachment on October 15.  

Free E-Books? Yes or No?

Have you ever wakened in the middle of the night with a random thought that seemed to come from nowhere? It used to happen to me a lot when I was working. A solution to a problem would come to me in the middle of the night and I kept a notepad beside my bed to capture the moment. It doesn’t happen as frequently now, but when it does, I get up and write it on a white board in my office. Sometimes, I can even decipher it the next day.

A thought came to me last night, although I didn’t write it down. I must have been thinking about writing a blog post before I went to bed. My thought was actually a little more complex than usual because it was in two parts: Why am I, as a reader, expecting to read e-books for free and why, as a writer, am I occasionally offering my e-books for free?

As a reader, I think the answer is because they are there. Check out Amazon and you will find free e-books every day of the week. It’s kind of like a professional athlete who is offered a $24 million contract. They are not going to turn it down. I’m not going to turn down a free book. Maybe there is an expectation that if is the author is unknown, we don’t want to invest anything in their work. We can read to our heart’s content and never spend a cent. But is that right? Is it fair to the author?

Reading is a hobby. So is golf and a golfer will spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on equipment and green fees. Fishermen spend money on gear. Skiers spend money on equipment and lift tickets. Moviegoers spend money for a two-hour movie. Even if our hobby is sitting in a coffee shop, we will spend exorbitant amounts on specialty coffee and we will sit there and read an e-book on our device that we downloaded for free. But why should a book that offers around six hours of entertainment be free when there is a cost attached to any other hobby you can think of?

Indulge me while I put on my author hat. There are some questionable benefits to authors to offer free books, and some that are worthwhile. Let’s start with the questionable ones. Authors need reviews so when books are offered for free, the hope is that readers will at least provide some feedback. But thousands of free downloads will provide a return in reviews that can be counted on one hand. Amazon counts free downloads as sales so a free day or two can boost the author’s profile temporarily. The key word is “temporarily.” The boost is fleeting. If the author is exclusive to Amazon, he or she is paid for page reads. There is always an uptick in page reads after a free day, but that peters out after about three days.

There are some tangible benefits to offering free books in certain situations. The main benefit is to introduce a reader to an author. It makes sense for an author to offer the first book in a series or a short story introducing characters. The reader might be enticed to purchase other books by the same author. It’s a valuable marketing technique.

As readers, we shouldn’t be reluctant to try new authors, even if they are independent. E-books by independent authors that are not free are usually in the $2.99 to $4.99 range compared to $16 for a well known author. That’s less than a specialty coffee! There are some great authors who have remained independent or extracted themselves from contracts because traditional publishers are not providing the same services anymore. We may pay for the occasional book we can’t finish, but we have also paid for a specialty coffee we couldn’t drink. It doesn’t mean we will stop drinking coffee.

Authors invest their talent and considerable time and money in writing, editing, book cover design, and marketing and they deserve to be compensated. I, for one, am offering my short story, An Interview With Marcie Kane, free for signing up for my newsletter. The first book in The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection, The Vanishing Wife, is available at a reduced price. The rest of the series will only be offered at a reduced price from time to time. But not free! I hope other authors will consider doing something similar.

Damn the 3 am epiphanies!

New Low Price For The Vanishing Wife

If you haven’t already done so, now is a great time to get started on The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection. Here is what some Amazon customers had to say (including misspellings of my name) :

“…not one disappointing moment in any of the books. Fast paced, lots of action and intrigue. Great Character’s. I will be read more Barry Finley books!!!!”

“Once I started read each book I had to finish. I love the plot and characters. Very suspenseful.”

“Good books Sure hope findlay writes more about Marcie. She sure gets into trouble!”

Get Book One at Amazon for $1.99 or read the whole series FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Book Review – Last Know Contact

Last Known Contact by Phillipa Nefri Clark is a fast-paced thriller with a variety of twists and turns. When Ellie Connor returns from a business trip to find out her father has disappeared, it sets off a series of events that will have you turning the pages.

The characters are extremely well developed and the reader is left guessing to the end as to whether Ellie’s father is dead or alive and the reasons behind his disappearance.

This book has all the ingredients of a good thriller and you won’t be disappointed if you pick it up. Highly recommended.

Book Review – Farewell, My Lovely

As an author of crime and police procedural novels, I’m always interested in what and how other people write. One day I searched for the best crime books of all time. Of course, there are many lists, but one on Wikipedia included Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and three books by Raymond Chandler in the top 15.

I decided to read Farewell, My Lovely by Chandler to see what would place him on the list. The book was written in 1940 and the reader has to remember it was a different time. There are racially derogatory terms that are a bit shocking by today’s standards. There were also a few more typos than I would have expected in the e-book I read.

The story line is clever with peaks and valleys and a few murders, corrupt cops and rich women. The dialogue, while again from another time period, is excellent. Marlowe has a tough, no nonsense personality, but his flippant, and often witty remarks add to the enjoyment of the read. However, aside from being a page-turning thriller, what sets it apart, I think, is the use of descriptions. The synonyms, metaphors and descriptive terms make you feel like you are right there with Philip Marlowe. The description of the city and neighborhoods is excellent.

Farewell, My Lovely is not today’s crime thriller. With the racial epithets, I’m not even sure it would be published today. But setting that aside, it is a well written book and I will be reading more from Raymond Chandler and authors of that era.

New Short Story

Here is a new offer for signing up for my newsletter. My newsletters only go out when there is something new in my writing world so don’t worry about being bombarded with emails. I try to keep them light and engaging. As a thank you, a download of my new short story will be available the minute you sign up. Don’t hesitate!

Newsletter signup

Sign up for an occasional newsletter from Barry Finlay's writing world and receive a free copy of the short story, An Interview With Marcie Kane.

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Thank you for signing up! Please download your free copy of An Interview With Marcie Kane here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JWQ60Fliie9LK-NhS34soIcy9f7SYczm/view?usp=sharing. 

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Book Review – Proof Positive

Proof Positive by Philip Margolin is an interesting and engaging book about a forensic scientist who falsifies evidence to put the bad guys behind bars and leave them there. His misguided antics worsen when he’s on the verge of getting caught and he takes extreme measures to ensure he can continue doing the work he considers necessary to protect society. The problem is that innocent people are getting hurt or worse.

The book is well written and the plot kept me turning the pages. The method the scientist uses to falsify the evidence is interesting and left me wondering about the controls in place to ensure something like this doesn’t happen. The central characters are well developed and believable, in my opinion. I did find that some of the many lesser characters who float in and out of the storyline were difficult to keep track of. Nevertheless, this is a good book to be enjoyed by fans of the genre.

Famous Books That Were Self-Published

While self-publishing is gaining a foothold in modern-day literature, I still notice people at my signings who will flip the book over, presumably to check the publisher, and then quickly set it back down again and walk away. Those of us who self-publish, whether it is our decision or not, are still seen by some as miserable failures as authors.

It’s true that there are some really bad books out there and self-publishing has contributed to that. It’s possible to slap pretty much anything together, give it a title and cover and publish it. The only real control is the reader who will hopefully provide an honest opinion about the quality of the book. On the other hand, I’ve read a few classics that make me shake my head as well. Sometimes it boils down to promotion. As consumers, if we are told often enough that something is good, we tend to think it must be. We are kind of gullible that way.

My point is that there are some really good books that have been self-published and some bad books that have been traditionally published and vice versa. It’s interesting to note that some famous books started out being self-published before they were picked up by traditional publishers. The article below refers to 5 of those. You may not agree they are all good books, but they are all famous.

So, for the self-published author, there’s always hope if you want to be traditionally published. For the readers, I urge you to give self published authors a chance. They may never become famous, but they just may become your next favorite author.

5 Famous Books You Didn’t Know Were Self-Published

Book Review – American Dirt

American Dirt is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. While the book has received its share of criticism for being stereotypical, opportunistic and lacking authenticity, I found it to be eye-opening and entertaining. Jeanine Cummins relates the story of Lydia and her son who are in a desperate race to get away from a vengeful cartel leader and cross the border from Mexico into the States. The cartel leader has already killed sixteen of Lydia’s family members, including her reporter husband. It leads to a compelling read that alternates between fear and hope while offering the reader some timely insight into the plight of migrants. The writing style is imaginative and interesting. American Dirt is an entertaining work of fiction that tells a story that needs to be told. I highly recommend it.

Book Review – A Year In The Life Of Leah Brand

Lucinda Clarke has created a psychological thriller that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. As if Leah Brand doesn’t have enough problems with the death of her family, a spoiled stepdaughter and a husband who doesn’t seem to care, weird things start to happen in her house. It’s enough to make anyone question their sanity. The reader will wonder whether her family is responsible for the things that are happening or if there is some other malevolent force at play. A Year In The Life Of Leah Brand is a well written psychological thriller with characters that tug at your emotions.