Senior News Newspaper Book Review Column--August 2014

For my monthly newspaper book review column in the Senior News Newspaper, I usually make sure to choose one fiction and one nonfiction book in the hopes of interesting more readers. This month I went with The Splintered Paddle by Texas resident Mark Troy (highly recommend this book and anything else has done) and When Your life Is Touched By Cancer: Practical Advice and Insights for Patients, Professionals and Those Who Care by Bob Riter. As anyone who has read the blog knows, cancer continues to dominate our lives over everything else. Longer reviews of both books are available here on the blog. Included below are the relevant book covers for my August 2014 column…  

The Splintered Paddle

Mark Troy

Five Star Publishing (division of Cengage)

ISBN# 978-1-4328-2859-2

Hardback

304 Pages

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.

That situation is just a small part of what is going on 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 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 Second place winner 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 50^th state in the union and is more than ready to protect the defenseless.

When Your life Is Touched By Cancer: Practical Advice and Insights for Patients, Professionals and Those Who Care

Bob Riter

Hunter House Publishing

ISBN# 978-0-89793-679-8

Paperback                    

145 Pages

Around here we know something about cancer and its impact. More than we ever wanted to know. So does Bob Riter, cancer survivor. He is also the executive director of Cancer Resource center of the Finger Lakes in Ithaca, New York. The nine chapters of this book are made up of various columns he wrote for the Ithaca Journal newspaper about his cancer as well as cancer in general. He wrote about, not only his experience, but the various cancer questions he has heard from patients or their loved ones over the years. The short chapters are designed to be read here and there as the mood or need strikes.

All I can say is When Your life Is Touched By Cancer: Practical Advice and Insights for Patients, Professionals and Those Who Care by Bob Riter is an incredible book. I hope and pray you will never need it, but if you ever do, it’s good to know it is out there and can help ease everything just a little bit.

Kevin R Tipple ©2014

Author of Mind Slices and contributor to the Carpathian Shadows, Volume II Anthology