- Barry Finlay

Jake Scott Mystery Receives Great New Review

From The Online Book Club

Review of The Guardians of Truth

Post by Hubre De Klerk » 22 Feb 2023, 03:40

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of “The Guardians of Truth” by Barry Finlay.]

Book Cover

5 out of 5 stars

A secret organization, a missing person, a body, a police investigation, and a retired reporter—if these words don’t get you excited, I don’t know what will. This book is full of suspense, action, and a bit of romance. When Cassie tells her daughter that she must stop someone from hurting other people and then doesn’t return home, a missing person’s file is immediately opened for her. Jake is a retired reporter and a “family friend” of Cassie’s daughter through his relationship with her friend’s mom, Dani. Jake knows that the police are busy with their investigation, but he also knows that they are short-staffed. He decides to dust off his retired gloves and conduct his own investigation in order to assist. He had no idea how far he’d get himself involved or what danger awaited him.

This was such a fun book to read, and it was full of descriptions and easy-to-follow protocols. I enjoyed being part of the investigations and seeing how they unearthed new evidence. I couldn’t help but put myself in Haley’s teenage shoes and imagine the worry she had to go through when her mom didn’t come home. It was also easy to grasp Dani’s frustration when the clues to help them figure out what happened were so few and it felt like the case was at a standstill. Jake was my favorite character by far, with his empathy for others, his being a true friend, and his tenacity to help. He made me think of a bull terrier that just won’t let go after he has locked his jaw.

I enjoyed everything about this book. This book has been excellently edited, as I only found two minor errors throughout the whole book. There was nothing I disliked or would have changed. The book was fast-paced and didn’t have any slow-moving parts. I had my ideas about who the culprit was, but I was still surprised at the end of the book. I was entertained and hooked from the start of the book until the end.

I would rate The Guardians of Truth by Barry Finlay a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. There is absolutely no reason to give this book anything but a perfect score. This book also showed me how important the people in your life are and the importance of being there for each other. I know I have felt shallow when someone is going through a traumatic and emotional time, and the only words I had to offer were that it will get better and that I am here for you. This book showed me both sides, and that the person receiving those words may appreciate them a lot more than you can even imagine. Families and friends are important, and they are what keep you sane when things get tough.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy crime, action, and mystery books. This is a fun afternoon read that immerses you completely. You feel like you are part of the investigation, and you feel all of the emotions running rampant in this book. I really enjoyed it and would love to read more of this author’s books.

Win a digital copy of Searching For Truth

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.

An Inspiring Weekend

It never ceases to amaze me when things pop up in our lives that we can use for inspiration or motivation for whatever it is we want to do, whether it is writing or anything else.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Canada Army 5K Run. It was a first for me and something I’ll never forget. There were runners of all ages, shapes and sizes and in all kinds of physical condition. Some pushed strollers, others were in wheelchairs or walked with canes. The disabled group went out ahead of the section I was in so I didn’t get a chance to see them, but I can just imagine the challenges some of them face and they still took on the run. In total, close to 20,000 people participated. It’s impossible not to be inspired by it all.

When we sagged a little during the run, bands and cheering sections high-fived us or rang cowbells or waved banners and signs spurring us on. My favorite sign was one that read, “When you sweat, you look hot!” I was certainly sweating, so…

I entered for personal reasons. I wanted to challenge myself, of course, but I also wanted to raise money for “Support Our Troops.” The money raised provides the Canadian Forces members and their families with a variety of opportunities that may not be possible otherwise. Their programs range from children’s camps, to vacations to scholarship opportunities.

Organizations like “Support Our Troops” focus on gaps left by governments everywhere that seem to have let the troops down. Our veterans don’t get the recognition they deserve and especially if they have been wounded while on duty.

I set my fundraising goal low and didn’t really make that much of an effort to raise money, but because we have some wonderful supporters, my wife and I received an invitation to a “Top 50 fundraisers” reception Saturday night at the War Museum in our home town and the nation’s capital of Ottawa. We heard from and met some of the beneficiaries of the program and again, their stories were truly awe-inspiring.

One told us he had severe PTSD and lost everything as a result. He was homeless for a while and drank a quarter of a bottle of rum every day. He eventually got the help he needed and, while he still has a long way to come back, he will now participate in the Invictus games. There were many other similar inspirational stories.

It was a tremendously heart-warming weekend and one that I’ll draw inspiration from for a long time. Watching people run who are far less physically capable was amazing to see. Hearing the stories of people who have been to the end of their rope and fought their way back makes some of the challenges faced by most people minuscule by comparison.

I not only gained valuable motivation and inspiration, but I’m applying this to my new book by giving one of the characters PTSD. I’m about 30,000 words into the story, and I hope, in some small way, to raise awareness of the severity of mental illness and ways to overcome it. It will be woven into a work of fiction, but I hope that it may also be educational.

When faced with a challenge, we always need to think about what others are going through. With a little thought, we can always think of someone who has it worse. Not that someone else’s misery should make us feel better, but maybe it can be a reminder that if others can get through their challenges, so can we.

The Evolution of Marcie Kane

Marcie Kane is, of course, the lead character in my Marcie Kane Thriller Collection. While the books stand alone through the collection, Marcie evolves. One reviewer recently commented that he was disappointed that her circumstance change from one book to the next, but isn’t that what life is about?

Without giving away the story, I wanted to write a little about the evolution of Marcie throughout the series. Marcie is known to readers as a strong, independent woman who often finds herself in trouble. The reader is introduced to Marcie in the first book in the series, The Vanishing Wife, where she is recently divorced from a professional basketball player whom she refers to as He Who Shall Not Be Named. She is enjoying her newfound freedom after the burden of a bad marriage. She is witty, sarcastic and smart and that helps her try to track down her friend who has vanished from the face of the earth.

However, in the second book, A Perilous Question, the incident of the previous story has given her nightmares and she becomes more reckless as she stumbles upon a human trafficking ring. She is unsure of the direction her life should be taking. She is still trying to do the right thing by contributing money to fund an orphanage in Africa when she finds out that some of the girls are being spirited away. She foolishly tries to do too much on her own until a love interest enters her life and calms things down.

The third book in the series finds Marcie in a better place – more relaxed and ready to settle down. She helps her new fiancé, FBI Special Agent Nathan Harris, solve a crime using her brain. She is a little older and perhaps a little wiser as her life takes off in another direction. With the help of Nathan, she finds a career she loves, but still manages to find trouble.

She will continue on in a fourth book, tentatively entitled Flight Risk, in which new life challenges and dangers will be presented to her. How will she react when her life is turned upside down? We will have to see when the book is released in 2020.

Cynthia the Centipede

For those who have read Remote Access, you may remember a reference to Cynthia the Centipede. Here is how that came about.

While I was writing the book in 2017, we had the good fortune to spend some time in Barbados with good friends Brian and Jean. They had visited this beautiful island many times and they showed us around extensively. One day Brian introduced us to the Marizayra Sanctuary and its owner/operator Ryan. There were many amazing local birds and animals, but one that really made an impression was Cynthia the Centipede, an 11-inch behemoth that enjoyed eating mice among other things. I had never seen anything like her so she had to make a cameo appearance in Remote Access.

Sadly, Brian’s lovely wife Jean passed away in 2018, but Brian returned to Barbados this year with a signed copy of Remote Access for Ryan. This is what happened, in Brian’s words:

“I gave Ryan the book and when he read the relevant passage he got quite emotional and teared up a bit. He asked me to thank you very much, he will treasure your book.”

So, what happened to Cynthia? Brian followed up with Rashid, one of Ryan’s employees and asked about her. Brian reported the following: “He said she died about a year ago. So I enquired about the smaller one. “Cynthia ate her” he replied with a bit of a grin, “I was a few hours late feeding her one day”.

Brian added, “In a way I’m not too upset. She was a bit too close to the house for comfort!!!”

Cover Reveal

The readers have spoken. Some fans of the Marcie Kane Thriller Collection were shown options for the cover of my upcoming novella featuring Nathan Harris. I’m thrilled to reveal the winning cover below.

Never So Alone takes the reader back in time before Nathan meets Marcie. He is an FBI Special Agent on an undercover assignment to find the kingpins of a meth operation. His assignment initially takes him to a small town in Manitoba, Canada where things go horribly wrong.

Stay tuned. Never So Alone will be released very soon.