The Family Pool
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| Available for download at Smashwords: |
Mary Jenkinson’s marriage to John Adams was more than she bargained for. The Family Pool by Lyz Russo is an excellent short story of family drama, mystery, and intrigue. Mary found out that once you married into the Adams family, all that glittered was not gold. Even though John appeared to be the man of her dreams, his family legacy held a deep dark secret. On the outside the family possessed wealth, but on the inside there were rules and regulations that all family members obeyed in order to maintain their lifestyles. The family ruler and patriarch, Uncle Daniel, called all the shots in the family, from where the members would live to that of the in-laws. Mary reveals to the family, by mistake, that she's pregnant and begins to wonder upon this announcement what all the whispers and disdain are about. What Mary did not realize is that by her being pregnant she was violating the family's laws of order.
I enjoyed reading The Family Pool by Lyz Russo because not only was it a great story, but Lyz was able to deliver the story, plot, and ending all within this short read. If Alfred Hitchcock was alive, I believe that The Family Pool by Lyz Russo would be one of the stories that he would chose for his mini movie series collections. If you do not like the original ending, Lyz has offered an alternative ending that you may enjoy. I personally liked the original ending because it added an element of suspense to the story. However, the alternative ending can be used as a sequel. If you like family drama, mystery, and suspense tales, get a copy of The Family Pool by Lyz Russo. I am sure that you will enjoy it.
The Mystery of the Solar Wind:
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| Available at Smashwords |
I really enjoyed this imaginative, creative, futuristic
pirate story. But it's so much more than just a pirate story: dark
governmental controlling forces, relationships, genetics, and a total
sense of adventure. Russo's characters are great and totally credible. I
was surprised how long it was, and there were very few errors for such a
long book, so I just dove right in and enjoyed the ride, or, sail.
The Assassin:
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| Available on Smashwords |
This was a fantastic sequel to The Mystery of the Solar Wind.
Action-packed may be a cliché but this book was full of action, emotion
and nail-biting moments. Loved it from start to finish. Our favourite
characters develop more, and happy endings for good people don't always
win out so there is gritty realism.
Why not five stars? Well, if you are going to write in Spanish, it's a good idea to get it right. There were errors. And, there was some repetitive phrasing that should have been tightened up. And some silly little proofing errors. Understandable in a long book. Also, I got lost with the assassination targets. The numbers seemed to change. What happened to the ones in Hong Kong?
Otherwise, it was a top notch read, recommended.
Why not five stars? Well, if you are going to write in Spanish, it's a good idea to get it right. There were errors. And, there was some repetitive phrasing that should have been tightened up. And some silly little proofing errors. Understandable in a long book. Also, I got lost with the assassination targets. The numbers seemed to change. What happened to the ones in Hong Kong?
Otherwise, it was a top notch read, recommended.
:-)
What did happen in Hong Kong?
“Now we’ve got him,” said
Sandringham. “Locate that signal!” He punched a few coordinates
into his hand-held console.
“Bad publicity for us though,”
replied Fu. “The man is clever.”
Genevieve smiled sweetly. “We
don’t need publicity.”
“He’s outsmarted himself this
time,” said Reverend Smithler. “We know where he is now.”
“Who is he anyway?” asked
Genevieve. She was the youngest of the Inner Circle. The youngest –
but one of the smartest, thought Fu. The stepdaughter of the
Reverend. She came up with ideas that even the Inner Circle found
cruel! She was also highly active in the Eradication Squad. Fu
didn’t trust her too much. One of those.
He also wondered if
she didn’t already know the answers to each question she asked –
if everything she did was a front. But the Reverend had sponsored
her – so she was in.
“This man who keeps breaking
our forces! Think he’s dangerous?”
“As hell,” replied
Sandringham. “Radomir Lascek. Old pirate. But he’s become
blasé. We’ve got him now. Thought he could con the whole
Unicate.”
Genevieve eyed Sandringham,
running a pink tongue over her well-pampered pink lips. He thought
Radomir Lascek was the threat! These little clubs the old men had
were amusing; it was fascinating just how ridiculously wrong they
could be about the facts.
The door opened. Genevieve
glanced – and realized her error. A semiautomatic discharged a
single burst of four bullets. Around her, the three men collapsed to
the floor, lifeless. As her own life leaked away, she acknowledged
every last mistake she had made.
Number one. She had let him get
away out of the garden. Number two. She had followed him and his
bonded double instead of quietly making a dash for terminating them,
by any means, even ordinary means, in the grasslands. Her native
curiosity had prevented her from taking action. Number three. She
had thought him amusing – underestimated the Bane. The old legend
was true! She had failed to trigger the Clans in the Hub, out of
pride. Number four. She had failed to alert the entire
Unicate the second he had stolen the Peeping Tom. Out of fear, by
then. And the worst mistake of them all: Number Five. She had told
nobody that he was on the prowl. They might have protected her.
This body was finished. She
sighed. She’d have to wait. This was taxing.
Federi pocketed his gun and
glanced guiltily at his young partner-in-crime.
“That was it,” he said. “End
of Federi’s list!”
Paean stared at the four fresh
corpses. Their souls hadn’t understood yet. She glanced at
Federi. Hell, he didn’t look good! His face was grey.
“Hate terminating girls,” he
said, studying that young woman on the ground. Paean peered at her.
She looked a bit familiar. “She was one of those… others,
those sharp ones,”
added the Assassin. “Like Anya Miller. And that Dahlia. This
one’s bin following us since Miami. We lost her when we stole the
Peeping Tom.”
“Gosh,” emitted Paean,
shocked. So that was why he’d been so badly on edge there in the
Hub?
“There’s something about
them,” added Federi. “I don’t understand it. The rest of them
are – window dressing. Unnecessary killings.”
“Innocents?”
“No, not exactly. Filthy
criminals, dictators and so on, murderers like that creature in
Honolulu… but…”
She gazed at him, his transparent
brave face…
“The day I understand it,” he
said, “Federi can give the Unicate another shot. Meanwhile…”
She shook her head. “No more
killings for you,” she said decisively. Federi laughed softly.
“Then how am I supposed to keep
you safe, starshine?”
“With the sleeping virus,”
she replied.
Federi sighed. “All this was
terribly bad for you!”
“I’ll be fine, Federi. And
you?”
“Sure. We’ve cleared the
path for Captain, little songbird. But…”
It was hard to explain. His
mission was accomplished. But he knew he hadn’t achieved what he
had personally set out to do. The Unicate was still the Unicate. He
hoped that Captain’s political take-over would be enough to ease up
living conditions for most people on Earth. That the eradication
program was averted – that stood to reason; they had killed the
military leadership. Those were the guys who thought in bombs. He
doubted that someone like Genevieve, or Dahlia…
Radioactivity in Nemiscau? And
then, that Hub… Hub of what? He reached for Paean’s hand and
turned away from the scene of the crime.
Hours later when the maidservant
came in with the first light to open the curtains, she found three
dead officials on the floor.
*
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