2011 January 24

Book Spotlight: Said the Spider by Earle E. Van Gilder

Title: Said the Spider
Author: Earle E. Van Gilder
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Publication Date: June 23, 2010
Paperback: 292 pages
ISBN: 978-1432754334
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

From the Publisher:

Sophisticated crime syndicate parasites invade the normally solid foundation of Midwestern banking and generations of established manufacturing. Executives and management usually in control suddenly find they are masterfully manipulated into a web of irreconcilable personal and financial seduction.

From the traumatic discovery at the river’s edge to the eventual confrontational conclusion Said The Spider seduces greedy, gullible and unsuspecting prey into a deadly and graphic whirlwind of corporate disaster leading to murder, suicide and revenge.

The early exploits of the juvenile crime spree by a youthful mastermind who cleverly manipulates his prey leads the reader to the ruthless genius manipulating the city. This drama of cause and effect with no escape from the temptations of lust, greed, and ignorance has been cleverly baited.

The corporate investigative agency and police sources enter almost too late to stop this whirlpool of turbulence as the bank Vice President’s realize their own failure and the investors and corporation officers panic and retreat from the coming Armageddon.

As murder, suicide and monumental financial losses are exposed, the crime syndicate learns of an investigation which might interrupt their lucrative operation. Crime bosses will stop at nothing to successfully complete their artistic looting of a major bank and manufacturing complex.

Time is running out. Investigators are pulling pieces of the puzzle together. Corrupt and greedy bank executives are running for their lives. The syndicate is charging ahead in their goal of complete domination and eventual departure culminating in a surprise and conclusive end to fraud and murder.

About the Author:

More than 40 years Earle (Doc) Van Gilder was involved in the investigation of white-collar crime. The last 20 years he ran his own Investigative Corporation partnering with major firms, local and state government agencies and law enforcement to solve a wide range of criminal activities from internal theft and white collar crime to insurance fraud, criminal investigations and undercover operations.

Earle is also a certified Kyokushinkai Karate Branch Chief and martial arts instructor and well versed in the handling of weaponry. These experiences combined with his Marine Corp and equestrian experiences have resulted in a number of short stories which in turn led to his first novel, Said The Spider. He recently completed a second novel, Gumshoe Diary, The Month of May.

I have not yet read Said the Spider by Earle E. Van Gilder, but I did agree to post a spotlight of the book for Outskirts Press.

Book Tour and Review: Drinking Closer to Home by Jessica Anya Blau

Title: Drinking Closer to Home
Author: Jessica Anya Blau
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Original edition
Publication Date: January 18, 2011
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-0062001344
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

They say you can never really go home again. Adult siblings Anna, Portia, and Emery are about to discover just how true that is.

My Review:

Drinking Closer to Home by Jessica Anya Blau is a book I think one will either really enjoy or not, unfortunately I was in the latter category. The story opens in 1993 California where Louise has suffered from a massive heart attack and her children, Anna, Portia, Emery, along with Emery’s boyfriend, Alejandro, fly back to California and stay with their father, Buzzy, in Buzzy’s and Louise Stein’s new home, Casa del Viento Fuerte. The Stein family is the quintessential dysfunctional family, as readers will learn through flashbacks from when the children lived in Michigan in 1968 to present. Blau weaves together a witty, at times depressing yet never boring, plot. The characters are very vividly portrayed and as one would guess, quite flawed, Blau’s imagery leaves the reader with little difficulty envisioning the various settings and Blau’s creativity clearly shines through. So why did I not care for the book as much as I had hoped? I have read enough dysfunctional family books to find it more saddening than anything else and I really could not find one family member I really liked. If I had to choose, I would say I felt the most for Emery. I will caution the book contains some strong language and I would not recommend this book to those under 18. I do think Drinking Closer to Home would make for a lively discussion group choice.

About the Author:

Jessica Anya Blau is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, where she received her Masters in fiction. Currently, she is a Visiting Assistant Professor at Goucher College in Maryland. She has been awarded scholarships from Bread Loaf and The Sewanee Writer’s Conference, and fellowships from Johns Hopkins University and Sewanee. Her stories have won numerous awards and have appeared in notable magazines and anthologies, as well as the textbook The Prose Reader, Essays for Thinking. Jessica’s first novel, The Summer of Naked Swim Parties, was selected as a Best Summer Reading Book by the Today Show, the New York Post and New York Magazine. The San Francisco Chronicle, along with other major newspapers, chose The Summer of Naked Swim Parties as a Best Book of 2008.

To learn more about Jessica Anya Blau or her books, please check out her Website, and like her on Facebook.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the Book Tour.

I received a complimentary copy of Drinking Closer to Home by Jessica Anya Blau from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.