Saturday, September 27, 2014

Senior News Newspaper Book Review Column-- September 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. For September I went with The Contractors by local area resident Harry Hunsicker who I have been a  huge fan of since reading his first book, Still River. For the non-fiction book I went with Playing with Stencils: Exploring Repetition, Pattern, and Personal Designs by Amy Rice. For a number of years before Sandi had cancer she did a lot of stencil work. These days her eyes as well as her hand/eye coordination won’t allow it, but she still looks at the books when I bring them home for use in the column and on the blog. Longer reviews of both were run here on the blog earlier this year and can easily be found by clicking on the above book titles.

Included below are the relevant book covers for my September 2014 column…  



The Contractors: A Thriller
Harry Hunsicker
Thomas & Mercer (Amazon)
ISBN-13: 978-1477808726
E-Book (available in paperback and audio)
514 Pages

Anyone who has read the Lee Henry Oswald series by Harry Hunsicker knows that the author does not write the Dallas Chamber of Commerce ad copy type of books. Bad things happen to all on the streets of Dallas in his books. The Contractors: A Thriller raises that bar to all new levels.

While nearly everyone has heard of the private contractors working in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere overseas, they also are working here at home. Jon Cantrell and Piper are contractors for the DEA as well as being romantically involved. As the book opens, they are on the trail of Lisa, a missing 14 year old teenager. Hired by a retired crooked cop named Sinclair they need to find the girl and get her back home. Not only will that get them paid, it will allow them to focus on another job where their violent skills will be put to the test.

Those who expect a serious mystery in the style of the excellent Lee Henry Oswald series will be disappointed in The Contractors: A Thriller. This is a fast paced action orientated novel where nearly everyone has very few redeeming qualities. A thriller in every sense of the word where character development is limited and told in occasional bursts of backstory to give readers a break from the frenetic forward pace. The Contractors: A Thriller by Harry Hunsicker takes readers on a violent and bloody rampage from one end of Texas to the other in a read that constantly twists and turns in ways that should keep readers hooked to the very end.




Playing with Stencils: Exploring Repetition, Pattern, and Personal Designs
Amy Rice
Quarry Books (Quayside Publishing Group)
ISBN# 978-1-59253-829-4
Paperback
144 Pages

Playing with Stencils: Exploring Repetition, Pattern, and Personal Designs by Amy Rice features variety in design of others while teaching readers how to go about creating their own personal touches in various projects. Along with plenty of information there are a number of photographs depicting the various ideas covered in the book.

Broken into three main sections along with several resource sections the book features projects that go from floor to table and runs the gamut. While skill level is not addressed in this 145 page book it is clear that like any other art form patience and practice will be needed to perfect the image you are trying to create. This is a good resource featuring plenty of colorful projects to help you get started while also providing plenty of inspiration.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

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