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Lia Metal
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Guest Reviews
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On this page you will read new reviews written by some other reviewers.
Have fun!
FATAL ENCRYPTION
An Alex Bellamy mystery
DEBRA PURDY KONG
Gypsy Moon Press 2008
ISBN-13: 978-0-9699211-1-0
Format: paperback 21.1*14*2.3, 370pp
Price: $19.95
Suspense/ Mystery/ Murder
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
About the author
Debra Purdy Kong has a Diploma of Associate in Criminology from Douglas College but prefers to write about crime rather
than work for the Criminal Justice System. She lives in Port Moody, British Columbia with her family and is a very devoted
mother. Debra has published more than eighty short stories; some of them are mystery, some humorous and some horror. In addition,
she has published essays and articles. Her first mystery novel is “Taxed to Death” and among her pieces
of work is “Chicken Soup for the Bride’s Soul” and “The Vancouver Sun”.
She has also won writing awards that include: First Place Short Story with “The Taste of Peppermint”,
Second Place Essay with “Success and the Worthy Cause”, Honourable Mention for Short Story with “Some
Mother’s Child”. You can contact her at Debra_Kong@telus.net or visit her site and blogs: www.debrapurdykong.com
, www.authorsden.com/debrapurdykong , www.myspace.com/debrapurdykong and at
http://writetype.blogspot.com .
About the book
Alex, a former system-analyst at Revenue Canada, is asked by his girlfriend to accept the job at the McKinley’s
Department Stores. His mission is to find the hacker who threatens to encrypt and destroy every e-file of the company unless
ten million dollars are handed to him. Who has delivered the anonymous letters? Is the head of security involved in the pranks
and what are his motives? It’s the 16th of November and Alex must do his best till the 1st of December. Time runs
out and things become more complicated as he discovers that the McKinleys are in a constant battle for the control of the
family business. Very soon he realizes that a murder is closely connected to the McKinley’s problems. Perhaps the
only witness to the murder is a young girl but will she reveal what she saw that night? Will Alex believe her? Moreover, he
has to find out whether the hack and the killer is the same guy or not. The mystery seems not easily solvable when the latest
analyst at the McKinley’s is killed in a car accident that turns out not to be an accident and Alex has to solve
one more murder. The deadline is close and there hasn’t been much of a progress. The closer he comes to an answer,
the more at risk he finds his and his friends’ lives. There are a lot of suspects, mostly people who have been laid
off and who probably want a payback for being fired. Will Alex save the company and become the hero he always wanted to be
in the eyes of his family? Is he brave enough to face the extortionist and the murderer?
Fatal Encryption is divided into 36 chapters. It caters to readers who love suspense, and murder stories as it is a well-plotted
mystery full of unexpected events, power plays, affairs and family problems. Furthermore, action is present throughout the
book so the reader doesn’t get bored; not even for a moment. What really stimulates the reader’s interest
is that nearly all of the characters are plausible suspects. S/he never stops guessing but cannot identify the culprit and
this makes it a riveting, exciting and entertaining book till its very end. Finally, the characters could be the people next
door and especially Alex is a guy the readers will definitely identify with. I strongly recommend it to mystery lovers as
I’m sure it won’t disappoint them at all.
The book is available from: gypsymoonpress@gmail.com,
www.amazon.com , www.AuthorsDen.com , www.deadwrite.com
and from www.debrapurdykong.com .
The Hostel
Liana Metal
www.lulu.com, ISBN: 978-1-4092-2574-4
167 pages, 6" x 9", paperback, perfect binding
17.74
Download 1.25
Fiction/ Romance/Lifestyle/ Young Adults
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com
Very Highly Recommended
Liana Metal is an EFL teacher, writer, reviewer and artist from Corfu, Greece . She has written many children's stories
and non-fiction books as well as ELT books for classroom use and a lot of articles. Among her books are: Flowers for women,
Writing Basics, Bedtime Stories, The Internet in the EFL Classroom. Visit her at http://liamet.tripod.com
The story takes place in London in the 70's. Nina is a Greek student staying at a nuns' hostel where she meets many new
friends. Some of them are Isabel, Nina's best friend, Zara, Collette and Marie. Of course, many other girls come and go each
one for their own reasons and problems.
The girls do their best to help each other and to adapt to their new way of life but they are not always successful. However,
as Nina is a friendly person she quickly becomes close friends with Maria, a girl of her age who works as a cashier at the
supermarket near the hostel and whose mother has died. Whenever Maria has a day off they meet and have fun together; so it
happens that on one of Nina's visits to Maria's place, she gets to know her father Phil who is an artist and offers to give
her drawing lessons.
Nina falls immediately in love with him but it is the first time she feels that way and Phil apart from being her friend's
father is much older than her, too. She faces a very serious dilemma but soon things even more complicated when Henry, a young
man is decided to do whatever it takes in order to be with Nina.
Will she be able to cope with the unexpected events happening in her life? Will she follow her heart? Will her stay at
the hostel change her life for ever?
The story is divided into 20 chapters. It is written in a simple and clear way without fictional exaggerations so that
it can be read by everyone. It caters not only to young adults but to everybody interested in romance as well. The characters
are everyday people and the readers will not find it hard to identify with them.
Moreover, there are a lot of dialogues throughout the novel that make it more appealing and stimulate the reader's interest.
Finally, both the characters and the places are described in such a vivid and detailed way that brings the plot to life. Young
adults will certainly love it.
Get the book from www.lulu.com/content/3674018
Maria Gouna
ESL teacher \ book reviewer
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com/
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STORY TIME! THREE STORIES FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES!
Liana Metal
www.lulu.com, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4092-2451-8
Publisher: Lulu.com
Language: English
Country: Greece
Edition: First
8.5x8.5 Paperback 18.26
Instant e-Book Download 2.50
Children Stories/ Fiction
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com
Very Highly Recommended
Liana Metal is an EFL teacher and freelance writer from Greece. She has been writing articles, childrens stories, non-fiction
books and short stories, as well as ELT books for classroom use for a very long time. Among her books are: The Hostel,Bedtime
stories,Writing Basics, Flowers for Women. You can visit her at: htpp://LianaMetal.tripod.com and at her blog: http://LianasKerkyra.blogspot.com.
The book, as the title itself suggests, contains three stories. The first story, The White Snail, is about a snail that
differs from the others in that he is not brown but he is white and so he thinks that he is not as beautiful as the rest of
the snails. As a result, he decides to paint his house brown! But what will happen? Will he be able to achieve his goal? Will
the other snails laugh at him or accept him as he is? And finally, will he ever realise that to be different is not bad?
In the second story, Let s Bake a Cake, the twins Nadia and Toby and their friends decide that they have to do something
for Tom s birthday because he is staying with his grandmother and consequently he will not have a birthday party or presents.
What they come up with is to bake a cake and organise a surprise party in Nadia and Toby s backyard. How are they going to
bake the cake? They do not know how to cook or any cake recipes. Is the party going to be a success or a complete failure?
Will Tom be happy to have such good friends?
Finally, the last story, Achilleas Pet, is about a young boy (Achilleas) who loves animals and has already got four pets
but he desperately wants one more; a tortoise that he found in the fields. However, his mother does not allow him to keep
it at home, so he has no choice but to hide it in a flower pot. Unfortunately, one day the tortoise is nowhere to be found.
Will Achilleas find it? Will he convince his mother to keep it?
Story Time is an excellent example of the writer s ability to enter the childrens world of imagination. Written in a simple
language without difficult verbal images or exaggerations and double-spaced, it is a book that is suitable for very young
children as well as for the older” ones.
Moreover, it is fully illustrated by the writer herself and this is an aspect that makes the book more interesting and
entertaining. Most important of all is the fact that the writer tries and succeeds in introducing young readers to concepts
such as discrimination, racism, friendship, love for animals and being helpful in an amusing and easy way. Through these three
stories Liana Metal conveys three different morals. It is absolutely a book that caters to everyone!
Get the book from: www.lulu.com/content/3577463
SNAPPING THE STRING
Robert Paul Blumenstein
Outskirts Press, Inc.
http://outskirtspress.com
Paperback 5.5*8.5 $15.95
ISBN 9781432715205
Hardback 5.5*8.5 $29.95
ISBN 9781432709075
pp.260
Instant e-Book Download $5.00
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc
Pub. Date: December 22, 2007
Fiction/ Psychological thriller/ Mystery
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com/
Highly Recommended
Robert Paul Blumenstein lived in both Carolinas before finding his way to Virginia where he completed his graduate studies
in theatre and now resides. He worked in the mental health care system assisting the state in deinstitutionalizing long-term
mental health patients. Therefore, his experience served as an inspiration for writing Snapping the String, which is the second
book in The Ascension Trilogy. Some of his other works include Flirting with Jesus and Storied Crossings. Visit him at www.outskirtspress.com/robertpaulblumenstein_SnappingTheString
Snapping the String is about Peyton Costello, an eighteen-year-old teenager whose father is a research chemist and works
for a pharmaceutical company. Peyton, after experimenting with drugs, returns home just to find his parents brutally murdered.
The police discover him blood-soaked and hidden in the fireplace and from then on he is considered the prime suspect. Due
to his mental condition he is wrongly diagnosed as mentally ill and therefore he is admitted to Mid-Virginia Mental Hospital
where he has to face various kinds of treatment such as electroconvulsive shocks, hypnosis and tranquilizers.
However, he has to be declared mentally competent to stand trial! His only hope appears to be Sonja Day an advocate who,
in cooperation with a criminal defense lawyer, tries to give Peyton a chance to establish his innocence of his parents’
deaths. Will they achieve their goal? After almost two decades in the Mental Hospital how will Peyton cope with freedom and
with the truth behind his parents murders? Is he able to face reality? Will he ever find peace or will the medical and legal
system work against him?
The novel is divided into sixteen chapters and being written in a simple style it is easy to read by everyone but it especially
caters to readers who love mysteries and psychological thrillers. There is action in every incident and this is what keeps
readers glued to the page. Its a book full of twists and turns and certainly with the most unexpected ending. Its plot is
very well constructed and stimulates the readers interest. Finally, I would definitely recommend it to those who look for
an opportunity to broaden their mind.
Get the book from: http://outskirtspress.com/
White-Metal Murders
J. Bruce Monson
Outskirt Press, Inc., http://outskirtspress.com
ISBN: 1432715402
ISBN-13: 9781432715403
Format: Paperback, 244pp
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Pub. Date: December 2007
5.5 x 8.5 Paperback $14.95
Instant e-Book Download $5.00
Murder/adventure/mystery
Reviewed by Maria Gouna
http://mariasbookreviews.blogspot.com
Very Highly Recommended
J. Bruce Monson is the author of The Scorpion Sapphire. All the Marbles, Crimson Ice, Sugar and Spice which are Action/Adventure
novels and A 'Roo Rat's Tale which is a children's book. Mr. Monson has been confined to a respiratory hospital for 12 years
with complications due to muscular dystrophy. He uses a mouth-stick to type and/or voice recognition software. His books are
movies in his mind described in great detail by his unique and clever imagination. White-Metal Murders is his first murder
mystery.
White-Metal Murders is about Max Gumpers a man who wakes up next to a gorgeous young woman but cant remember her or anything
at all of his life. As a result of his amnesia he has to find out who he really is; who this woman is and how he ended up
at her place. As it turns out, Gumpers is a private eye investigating two murders that of Douglas Roosevelt Jr., the President
of the Roosevelt Mint that produces car models and that of Dieter Mastaff, the Production Manager. Are the two murders connected
and how? Who is the woman wearing a lilac perfume and having deep-red toenails and why does she keep banging him on the head
every time he finds a new clue?
Things become even more complicated when Gumpers discovers a map with X-es numbered from 1 to 23 hidden in his shoe heel.
What he cant figure out
is how the map got there. Will he be able to nose out what the X-es stand for and why they are numbered? After a lot of
adventures he unearths that at least one of the murders has to do with drug smuggling. Will Dale Frescott, a young detective,
help him solve the case and if so will the perpetrators be caught?
The book is divided into 30 chapters, it is written in a simple style that can be read easily by everyone and it caters
to readers who love murder mysteries and adventures. It is a well-crafted story with lots of unexpected events as well as
funny turns that will entertain and amuse even the most fastidious readers. Furthermore, the descriptions of the scenes taking
place are so detailed, vivid and colourful that the reader will not get bored or tired till the very last line of the novel.
I definitely recommend it to murder-mystery and adventure lovers.
Get the book from http://outskirtspress.com
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