Chaotic Ninja

Kim Stone. Middle name: Badass. She’s the fierce detective with a no-nonsense approach to solving crimes. She comes across as cold and calculating and emotionally closed-off, but reveals bits and pieces about herself and her real state of mind. This makes her a fascinating character full of contradiction and ambiguity.  Then, of course, there’s her team – a cast of characters with quirky personalities but work together with clockwork efficiency. A love interest that may or may not have a future cuts through the grittiness and gruesomeness of the crimes committed by a dangerously unstable serial killer. Play Dead  by Angela Marsons is a tightly written story with impressive forensic details that make you feel you’re really in the middle of a crime scene investigation and actually understand what’s going on. The dialogues and the banters are as natural as they come.  It’s an exciting read that gets the blood pumping. It’s a shame that it took f...

THE BETRAYAL by Linda Tweedie The Coyles and The McClellands – two feuding families intoxicated by power and fueled by revenge. The hatred for each other have sparked bloody encounters that leave a trail of dead bodies, injured relatives, missing family members, and an incarcerated scion. Though the Coyles appear to have a united front, the dysfunctional family dynamics tell otherwise. It’s reminiscent of The Sopranos and The Corleones , but a little less charming and more muscle and grit. The McClellands, on the other hand, may appear to be the weaker of the two, but they are much more cunning and devious, setting the wheels of revenge in motion like clockwork. The Betrayal is a compelling read, especially if you’re into crime family saga where characters have combustible personalities. The overlapping story arcs make for a fascinating read. There’s always the thrill of not knowing full well where the story is heading, then everything ties up nicely (and co...

Reviewing The Girl Who Broke The Rules  by Marnie Riches   is hard. Let me explain. All the elements I love in a crime thriller are masterfully depicted against the backdrop of the seedy underbelly of Amsterdam. The suspense is relentless; the characters unyielding. Shifting timelines and switching points of view offer reprieve from the most gruesome depiction of madness and perversion. The feverish storytelling never lets up and the palpable sense of danger and menace lingers like a shadow with a scythe. Then there’s Georgina McKenzie. George. The feisty and sometimes irreverent heroine who brings emotional turmoil to an already besieged Chief Inspector Paul van den Bergen, who’s at his breaking point. For a heroine, she’s not all that likeable. Therein lies the rub. It’s difficult to reconcile the fact that I love this sequel so much, but have a hard time “liking” George.  But liking a main character is never a rule to enjoying a twist...

Welcome to Episode 27 of  Conversations over Milk & Cookies  hosted by Kindle Ninja.  Hi, Kindle Ninja here. You know, the ninja who occasionally stalks indie authors and invites them to Conversations over Milk & Cookies.  What is this madness, you ask? It's my way of supporting indie authors, and now, publishers! We interact with them everyday, directly through tweets, or indirectly through re-tweets, but we don't really know much about them. Their personalities really don't shine through in 140 characters.  Of course, that changed considerably when the Milk & Cookies segment was born. Since its inception, we've seen the funny side, silly side, dark side, and all other sides that these wonderful authors don't let show.  Today, I'm having a conversation with author and publisher Daniel J. Dombrowski of 33rd Street Press . D an (we can call you Dan, right?) is running a Kickstarter for Nonlocal Science Fiction #...

  A look at the year that was Some numbers...   March 2014 Kindle Ninja Book Reviews was born 61 Posts 23,423 Page views 5,199 Page views of the most popular post 70 Books read 64 Books reviewed 2,382 Twitter followers   4451 Tweets  25 Conversations Over Milk & Cookies (Author Interviews) 573 Cookies consumed during those conversations (probably more). 4 Books I've read that were written by the same author  1 Video Review created Some specifics... Most Popular Post : Episode 15 Conversations Over Milk & Cookies - Danica Cornell               Most Popular Review : Between Octobers by AR Rivera [Two Reviewers, One Book - Joint Review with Author Wendy Storer]   Most Commented Post and Most Google +: Episode 24 Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Effrosyni Moschoudi             ...

Snobby Reader Visit Ninja Sauce Gallery at Strip Generator .  

No Snobby Reader was hurt in this conversation. SNOBBY READER: What are you smiling about? KINDLE NINJA: Just finished my list of top 10 books for the year. SNOBBY READER: Let me guess, 9 of 10 are crime and mystery books by Koontz, Patterson, Lehane, and Brown, and one token outlier, possibly a memoir. KINDLE NINJA: Hah! Not even close. These are mostly indie books. Here, have a look - from #10 to #1.   SNOBBY READER: Ah, obscure titles, from unknown authors. KINDLE NINJA: Is that disdain I detect? SNOBBY READER: You know how I feel about crappy books. KINDLE NINJA: There will always be crappy books, indie or not. SNOBBY READER: I read books that challenge the mind. KINDLE NINJA: Calculus books do that, but they’re no fun. You should try to read books outside of your preferred genre. Meet obscure authors. Mingle with the commoners, your Highness. SNOBBY READER: They don’t measure up to the Classics or the Nobel winners. I take plea...