Dust of Lies receives 5 star reviews

 

 

Readers’ Favorite

Review of Dust of Lies: 5 Star Reviews by 4 reviewers

 

Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

             When the old jail in Barber, Arkansas, was being demolished, Kay watched the event. She was the only reporter for the local weekly newspaper and planned to write an article about it. She and her husband Darrell moved to the small town a few years earlier to care for his elderly mother, and this job kept her busy. Kay spotted some writing on a piece of stone wall; it was a mysterious poem and appeared to be decades old. The jailed man named a woman as the cause of his problems. Kay was intrigued and felt compelled to figure out what the cryptic message meant. Her professional quest soon became enmeshed in her personal life. In Dust of Lies, written by G.K. Davenport, a complex tale is unraveled. Using a combination of true historical facts and modern-day fictional characters, an engrossing plot unfolds.

The author’s storyline engages the reader from the first page to the last. Historical facts are illuminated through complicated current relationships. As Kay works through old information, she has to determine who is telling her the truth, and who is lying. The author skillfully places clues within the context of Kay’s discoveries as to who is trustworthy – and who is not. This entanglement between the past and the present is at the heart of the story. Another interesting aspect is the natural settings that are essential to the plot – from the Ozarks to the Texas plains. Author G.K. Davenport has penned a fascinating historical mystery, peppered with facts and fiction, in Dust of Lies. For those interested in a unique mystery, this book is not to be missed!      

Reviewed by Pikasho Deka for Readers' Favorite

Dust of Lies is a southern mystery novel written by GK Davenport. Kay writes for the Barber Gazette. While witnessing the destruction of an old and abandoned county jail, she stumbles upon a block of plaster on which a poem is inscribed. Convinced that the poem had a story behind it, Kay dives headfirst into solving the mystery. Kay's investigation leads her to the door of her mother-in-law Viva, a woman with secrets who reveals far less than she knows. Viva’s old friend Bessie helps Kay discover that the famous outlaw Jesse James's illegitimate son Jesse Cole, a.k.a., Cowboy might be the key to solving the puzzle. As Kay and Vivo follow the breadcrumbs spread throughout the past, Kay unearths secrets about her husband Darrell's family that may change their lives forever.

Dust of Lies is an enrapturing tale of lies, betrayal, and lost treasure soaked in history and rich in suspense and intrigue. The characters feel flawed yet human, with well-thought-out backstories provided by GK Davenport that make them realistic and compelling. Even though the pacing of the plot is a bit slow for my taste, the character-driven narrative makes up for it as I found myself thoroughly absorbed by the characters as well as the story. I particularly enjoyed the dynamic between Kay, Viva, Bessie, and Granny, with each of them having distinct quirks and personalities. I adored Dust of Lies, and I would recommend it to readers who love southern-flavored novels. 

Reviewed by Lesley Jones for Readers' Favorite

In Dust of Lies by GK Davenport, Kay and her husband Darrell moved to Barber, Arkansas a few years ago to care for his elderly mother, Viva. As a reporter for the Barber Gazette, Kay is sent to report on the demolition of an old prison. She discovers a century old poem written by a young man called Ezra Hacker who committed suicide, blaming a teenage girl, Ora, for his fatal decision. Kay faces strong opposition when she begins to ask questions about the poem from many people, including Darrel, who want to forget the past. But she is determined to solve the mystery behind the poem and Ezra's chilling message. Her investigations reveal the town's shocking links to legendary outlaws and buried Confederate gold. Kay's search for the truth takes her from Arkansas to Texas on a historical journey revealing dark secrets that involve the people closest to her.

Dust of Lies by GK Davenport is a gripping novel that captured my interest from the beginning. I loved the intriguing layers to the plot and how they were revealed gradually. The relationship between

Kay, Darrell, and Viva was brilliant and the development was perfect. The storyline was a flawless mixture of historical events and fiction and there were also many strong sub-plots that were masterfully entwined to support the main story. The author also had an exceptional ability to create fantastic backstories for the main characters which highlighted their values, thoughts, and beliefs. The novel is filled with extraordinary female characters who possess strength, determination, and courage. There are brilliant areas of conflict throughout which made the novel even more compelling and the constant plot twists were outstanding. I cannot recommend Dust of Lies highly enough, a fantastic read.

Reviewed by Deborah Stone for Readers' Favorite

            Dust of Lies by G. K. Davenport is about a mystery uncovered by Kay, one of two reporters at the Barber Gazette in Barber, Arkansas. While covering the demolition of an old county jail, Kay uncovers secrets from the past that many would rather she leave buried in the rubble. Some encourage her to uncover the truth and others warn of the dangers if she proceeds with her inquiries. Somehow these warnings seemed more like threats. Kay’s mother-in-law, Viva, begs her to find the truth about the past, but she isn’t telling everything she knows. The search becomes entangled with family history and Darrell, Kay’s husband, is not happy with her intrusions into the past, so she and Viva move forward without him.

Local lore and historical facts begin to merge, but it is getting harder to tell the truth from fiction. Always up for solving a problem, Kay forges ahead and finds allies and enemies in unlikely places. While her investigation takes her to Texas and back, she is never out of sight of those who monitor her progress. Who can she really trust? Who knows more than they are telling? The biggest question is, who is willing to harm her if she doesn’t stop?

            Dust of Lies by G. K. Davenport is a journey through truth and lies, trust and fear, hope and hopelessness. G. K. Davenport unravels a convoluted family story that branches out to include historical figures, some benign, some infamous. Each twist and turn takes the reader deeper into the maze of lies where truth is hard to recognize. When you think you know where G. K. Davenport is taking you and you have figured out how this all ends, you will discover that the journey isn’t over yet. Filled with probabilities and possibilities of the past, this well-written novel offers intrigue, danger, mystery, and a few surprises along the way. G. K. Davenport’s style of writing and command of the English language makes this a very enjoyable read and well worth your time. While you try to unravel the mysteries.

            Copies of Dust of Lies can be found on https://4rvpublishing.com/ gk-davenport.html, from bookstores and from other online stores.

Review: Burnt Offering

 

 

 

Burnt Offering by Vivian Zabel

Review by Connie Arnold

         Burnt Offering is a thoroughly researched and well-written book by author Vivian Zabel. It contains facts from the Old Testament describing the horrors of sacrificing babies and small children to a terrible burning idol during the reign of King Ahaz. These details are woven through the author’s imagination into a compelling story of people who are willing to risk everything to save those precious lives. It draws the reader in with excitement, suspense, action and romance, and I highly recommend it.

 

           Copies of Burnt Offering and other books by Vivian Zabel can be found at
http://4rvpublishing.com/vivian-zabel.html, from bookstores, and from other online stores.

How to Improve Mysteries

by Vivian Zabel  

          I take and read several writing magazines: The Writer, WRITERS' Journal, and Writer's Digest. All of them give me ideas and advice that helps me be a better writer. As I read some of the current issues, I realized that some of the articles included suggestions that definitely apply to writing mysteries, thrillers, crime, and/or suspense novels and/or stories.

          In my reading, and from my experiences over the years, I found some writing tips that definitely apply to writing mysteries and sub-genres.

          Some of the suggestions apply to any writing; some perhaps more to the mystery genres. However, all are usable to us. At the end of this article, I'll give the sources for the information I'm using, besides my own expertise. I highly recommend that everyone read all the articles.

          Create believable and distinctive characters. Have you ever read more than one book where at least one character could be dropped into more than one story, even if the names aren't the same, and no one could notice? I mean other than in a series or a sequel that contains the same characters.

          Ways to make characters believable and distinctive are several, but a few include 1) to have characters not be predictable, 2) to make them three-dimensional rather than stereotypical or all good or all bad, 3) to "show" their personalities and characters rather than "tell" the reader what kind of person they are. An antagonist shouldn't be a "flat" all bad, evil person. A protagonist shouldn't be all good without any faults or short comings.

          Include the four elements. Every well-written novel or story needs to have 1) a strong hook at the beginning to grab the readers attention and keep it.

          2) Conflict is necessary to have a plot, a story. Of course without conflict, we would have only a narrative, and we wouldn't have anything to interest a reader.

          Conflict leads to a 3) struggle, according to Diane E. Robertson, both internal and external. The ups and downs of the struggle make the plot move forward to the 4) resolution, the end of the story. Authors need to be sure that that end is not a false finish. The end must make sense and satisfy the reader. A surprise ending should still be credible.

          Make sure the plot is plausible to the reader. Often, coincidences are thrown in to surprise a reader, but if credibility is stretched too far, the reader won't accept it. Hallie Ephron states, "... never, ever, ever make a coincident integral to the solution."

          Don't conceal clues from the reader. The reader should know all the clues as soon as the mystery solver or detective does.

         I gave a few of the many tips found in three articles and a bit of my own knowledge mixed in.

***
Sources, besides the information I've accumulated over the years:

The Writer, Hallie Ephron,October 2008 page 26-29; Paola Carso, December 2008 page 28-29.
WRITERS' Journal, Diane E. Robertson, January/February 2009 page 46-47.


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Remembering the late Tony Hillerman

by Vivian Zabel  

          Tony Hillerman, one of my favorite authors, and I met about five years before he laid his typewriter/ computer aside for a heavenly one. Anthony Grove Hillerman, born and raised in Oklahoma, was born May 27, 1925 and died October 26, 2008. He has been gone for over three years, but his words live on.  I'm going to share an tribute I wrote about Tony, who said he was prude and signed one of his books to me, "From one prude to another."  

          I've been fortune enough to meet several of my mystery/suspense/thriller writing heroes --

          I heard that. So you don't think we old fogies should have or do have heroes, huh? Well, young whipper snapper let me tell you a thing or three: Just because we have lived long enough to be considered experts or leaders or even folks who have outlived everyone else, we still have people we admire and dream of being when we grow up.

          I attended the Red Dirt Book Festival in 2003, the first one held. The featured speaker was Tony Hillerman. I not only attended all of his sessions, I was able to visit with him outside of the structured events. What a delightful man. His mysteries fascinated me because he wove the suspense into his knowledge of the Navajo culture. He autographed two of his books, but the autograph in his autobiography was personal and touching. I'll miss Tony Hillerman; Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee can be found again in the books that Tony left behind.

         One thing he shared with us that weekend years ago, some people around him in the publishing business considered him a prude because he didn’t include sexual scenes. One person told him the closest he came to sexual tension was to have a man and woman shake hands.

          Many people have written about Tony over the years, and since his death, but one article that best explains his books is an article by the author himself: “Behind the Books” by Tony Hillerman.  I advise anyone and everyone to read that essay.

          Yes, years have passed since Tony Hillerman left us, but a part of him will always remain.

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Trailer for Midnight Hours

by Vivian Zabel

I would like to share a special book trailer, created by Aidana WillowRaven for my mystery/suspense novel Midnight Hours.



Midnight Hours can be found through any book store or any online book supplier. It's also available on 4RV Publishing Catalog and the 4RV Publishing website.


NOTE:
Tomorrow's article by vehoae will be replaced by another book trailer or by a review of one of 4RV's releases. Her computer, her new computer, decided it didn't want to work. Vehoae will join us next month after her computer recovers.

Vivian Zabel