Erased by Malcolm Pierce

What would you do if you went to work and no one knew who you were? This is what faced Jeff Demarzo at the start of this fast-moving thriller. Then he discovers his whole identity has been erased. He is unable to make contact with family, friends or work colleagues. His bank account no longer exists and he has no social media accounts. Fortunately, Jeff is a professional hacker and needs to use all his skills to get to the bottom of his problem or accept he is unbalanced.

He finally meets up with Sarah who remembers him and helps with his plans to find the answers he needs. But, is she real or a figment of his imagination?

Pierce’s writing holds the reader’s attention with his descriptive prose and page turning suspenseful moments. Erased is fast moving but does not leave out details or put unanswered questions in the reader’s mind.

I am no technical geek so I can’t say how accurate the book is in this area but it certainly held my interest and was exciting. Usually when I am reviewing a book I make notes along the way. In this case I was too engrossed to take many notes. That is always a good sign of how a book holds my interest.
Congratulations Mr Pierce! This is indeed a 5* book.

Reverse Gear by TR Robinson

Reverse Gear is the second in the “Bitches Short Story Series”. Each story depicts how women can act in ways that fulfil the title of the series. Like the first story in the series, Her Next Door, it is drawn from the author’s own unusual life story.

Jealousy is generally the result of thoughts and feeling caused by insecurity, fear and anxiety. It is often related to a personal relationship. It is also the emotion that is the central emotion in Reverse Gear.

A beautiful woman, Tara, who works in the local pub is a popular topic of conversation with the men customers. In this story one wife’s jealousy goes to an extreme that threatens her marriage and Tara’s life.

Having experienced similar doubts about a relationship, although not the homicidal thoughts, I sympathised to some degree with the wives of the husbands.

At the same having had close men friends in my life I also understood the naivety of Tara and the impact that friendship can have on relationships. While Tara may be naïve about the impact her beauty and charm has on men, she is the one who sees the true feelings of love in the couple.

I won’t mention where the title comes from because that is giving away too much.

It is well written short story that I enjoyed reading in one sitting. It moves along smoothly and quickly without neglecting descriptions of emotions and thoughts. The physical side of romance is treated tenderly and sensuously without any offence to the reader.

There is a moral and a lesson here that we could all heed in our relationships whether they are romantic, friendship or family.

This short story deserves its 5* rating.

The Adventures of Sherlock Bones: Dog Not Gone! (The Adventures of Sherlock Bones #2) by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

I have to admit I was very disappointed with Dog Not Gone! After thoroughly enjoying the first in this series Doggone, and rating it 5*, I was looking forward to an equally entertaining children’s story. 

Here is the link to that review: http://pambookreviews.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/the-adventures-of-sherlock-bones.html

The fun and wonderful characters including, Sherlock Bones (the greatest detective in the world), Dr. Jane Catson (his offsider and who’s house Bones has decided to move into), Mr Javier (a turtle who is employed as butler and cook) and the delightful Baker Street Regulars (a group of puppies led by Waggins) are all still there.

The story is a follow on from the first book and if you haven’t read Doggone there is no real purpose to read Dog Not Gone! This is because the book is taken up with Bones telling the story behind the mystery he had previously solved. I was getting bored by about halfway through but kept reading in the hope it would spark up.

There is also one additional character, Bones arch enemy, Professor Moriarty, a squirrel, but he only makes a couple of brief appearances that are not relevant to the story line. Such a pity.

I sincerely hope Lauren Baratz-Logsted continues with her Sherlock Bones stories with a return to solving another mystery or murder.

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I feel this story is only worthy of 2*