My Blog

Retirement. Publishers, thank you for the many years of reading pleasure you gave me, but all good things must come to an end. Due to failing eyesight I am forced to retire. I can no longer review your books, and any that you send will be donated to the local library, unread. Do not send any more. I can only read for a couple hours every day, and this does not allow me to finish a book in reasonable time. I will be devoting time to my own books from now on, and reading on a personal level. Books that interest me. I prefer paperbacks and hardbacks, not eBooks. My eyesight has been failing the last few years, and I cannot handle hundreds of review books any more. My books are still available for review. Anyone interested in reviewing any of them, they are found in the Link to Tom’s Books On Amazon. Contact me for pdf copies at fadingshadows40@gmail.com

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

The Secret Cabal

Ben Casey, a fired crime reporter, stumbles upon the story of a life time. A story that illuminates who is responsible for all the evil acts that take place in the world. He discovers a conspiracy that puts his life in jeopardy, but he is determined to see it to the end and write his story.
Making an appearance in this story is private dick, Harvey Valentine, who helps Ben Casey reach his destination and get his story.
No one is above THE SECRET CABAL.


The Secret Cabal (Hardboiled)
By R. Archer
Hardboiled
ISBN #978-1515130611
Price $10.99 (paperback)
152 Pages
Rating 5-Stars

Fired from his newspaper job, Casey is looking for something to do when he chances upon a drunk in a bar hitting strangers up for drinks by telling them a weird story about his downfall from politics by a secret organization once known as the Illuminati, now calling themselves the Secret Cabal. Since this looks like a story Casey might sell to another newspaper he buys the man drinks and gets leads that he can follow up on.

The trail leads Casey to an island where he finds an underground complex with a mystifying entrance. Finding the mysterious bunker empty, he leaves, but spots a black helicopter en route to the island as he departs. The chopper was unmarked. Did they see him? Deciding he needs help collaborating his story he brings in private detective Harvey Valentine. Casey takes Valentine to the island, but they now find the compound occupied – by armed men dressed as clowns.

This was a fun story, as only R. Archer can spin a tale. Although there were some editing problems, my only complaint is a personal one. I wish the author would tone down the profanity a bit. I’ve always thought an author was a master of words, not mastered by them. I appreciate good dialogue, and an overuse of profanity will ruin the dialogue for me. I view profanity as a weakness, and I want strong dialogue between the characters. Hardboiled fiction refers to tough detectives with a rough attitude towards the establishment, but the original writers could show that toughness in words other than profanity. But for the fun of the story, and as an admirer of the author’s work, I highly recommend this for the hardboiled fiction lovers.

Tom Johnson

Author of CARNIVAL OF DEATH

No comments:

Post a Comment