Mark Troy

Private Investigator Ava Rome has no idea in the beginning that she is being hunted. She has no idea at all a man from her distant past is in the islands watching her every move. Fantasizing over and over again what he is going to do to her once he finally gets her alone. His name is Norman Traxler and he is coming for her--- after he eliminates whatever she cares about a chess piece at a time.

Ava's latest client, sent by Moon Ito, is a young woman named Jenny Mordan. Battered an assaulted by a corrupt cop named Ron Nevez she wants and needs Ava's help. The fact that Jenny is a freelancer in the world's oldest profession is not a factor for Ava Rome. Jenny is defenseless and Ava's business is to protect the defenseless as it was under Kamehameha the Great before the annexation of the islands by the United States in 1898. That first law of King Kamehameha, the law of the splintered paddle, is still ingrained in the islands and its people and serves as the very personal mandate of what Ava Rome does each and every day. The defenseless will be guaranteed from harm--period. Using your badge as a weapon is considered official suppression and Ava's isn't about to put up with that.

That issue isn't the only thing she isn't about to put up with in this complicated mystery featuring multiple story lines. Written by Texas author Mark Troy who spent a number of years in Hawaii before moving to Texas, this new series features an intense take no prisoners heroine committed to solving mysteries from the past and present despite the many complications involved with both. Ethical and principled, willing to go it alone if and when she has to, Ava Rome always advances and never retreats. That might be something that comes from her family and the way she was raised.

Featuring a strong and interesting cast of supporting characters, this complex read features four separate and distinct story lines that gradually interweave as readers are slowly filled in on Ava's often difficult past. A past that has driven many of her choices through her life. Choices that have created at least some of the increasingly dangerous situations she now finds herself in today.

Second place finisher at the 2012 Claymore Awards at Killer Nashville, The Splintered Paddle: An Ava Rome Mystery is one of those rare books that pulls you deep inside a world far from home right from the beginning. It isn't all sundrenched beaches, cool waters, and happy days in paradise. Ava, also seen in the very good novella The Rules, knows something about the dark undercurrents at work in the 50th state in the union and is more than ready to protect the defenseless.

The Splintered Paddle
Mark Troy
http://marktroymysterywriter.com/
Five Star Publishing (division of Cengage)
http://www.cengage.com
June 18, 2014
ISBN# 978-1-4328-2859-2
Hardback
304 Pages
$25.95

ARC supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014… (plus d'informations)

Though readable, THE RULES suffers from a male writer who has no idea how to write about a female protagonist, especially in a first person narrative. Ava Rome is hired to protect the son of a Mexican gang boss while the son attends an American University. The book seems to focus more on Ava's attractiveness than anything else, however, and the sexual tension is a lot more prominent than the rest of the plot. An unexpected twist toward the end provides whatever distinction this poorly written novella deserves--which isn't much. Even the Hawaiian setting doesn't make up for the other shortcomings.… (plus d'informations)

In The Rules Ava Rome is a protection specialist. She keeps her clients alive while doing whatever is necessary to stop the threat. To protect her clients she has to know everything about them up front. The fact that she knows her latest client, “Paul” is lying about his name and possibly other things is not a good sign. The issue with the name could be for good reason. According to the father, a wealthy and powerful businessman most likely from somewhere in South America, the threat against his son is very real and he is willing to pay top dollar for someone of Ava’s skills.

All Ava Rome has to do is attend classes and other functions with Paul while he works on his master’s degree in renewable natural resources. Paul only needs one semester in Hawaii and then he goes back home. Ava will be paid very well for the job with half now and half at the end of the semester if Paul is still alive. All she has to do is keep him alive and not break any of her rules.

Much easier said than done.

Readers familiar with the work of Texas author Mark Troy and specifically the excellent Pilikia Is My Business and other books will recognize Ava Rome as very similar to Private Investigator Val Lyon. Both women are very good at their jobs while dealing with the occasional personal temptation as well as men who don’t take them seriously. While the former can generate internal conflict, the answer to the latter is often a simple hands on demonstration of reality. Ava Rome is not about to forget her gun in the cookie jar at 3 AM and she certainly isn’t about to trust everything she is told.

Featuring plenty of action, interesting characters, and a heroine readers will love, The Rules is a powerful mystery packed into a short story. It also gives readers a glimpse of Ava Rome who will be back next summer in the mystery novel The Splintered Paddle from Five Star Publishing.

The Rules
Mark Troy
http://www.marktroy.net/
Ilium Books
September 2013
ISBN# 978-0-98480813-7
E-Book
50 Pages (estimated)
$0.99

Material supplied by the author in exchange for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2013… (plus d'informations)