Monday Mixer Flash Fiction Challenge

I actually had quite a lot of fun channelling the character of this story, so I hope you have as much fun reading it.

“Ah…Another customer…”

Camilla manned the postern leading into her brothel, her vibrant red nails taking a place of precedence on the doorframe. She watched seductively as a man walked toward her, through the dilapidated streets of the town she had known all her life. His head was down, eyes avoiding any contact with the ruffians in tattered rags who stared at him.

Camilla observed the clothes he was wearing. Black suit; tie; crisp, white shirt…He looked like a very wealthy man…someone who would not want her to bruit about him being there.

She smiled. Keeping secrets like this was her specialty…as long as they had the money to pay…

When he reached the doorway, she could see he was tremulous. Whether it be from nerves, expectation, or fear, she could not tell.

No matter.

She sensuously led him in, and shut the door behind them both.

150 words @bookwormattack

The Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly

As stated in the title of my review, The Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly is the third installment in the Jack West, Jr. thriller series. The first two books in the series are Seven Ancient Wonders and Six Sacred Stones, and provide many thrills and chills following Jack West, Jr.'s travels as he attempts to save the world from impending doom.

More specifically, he must find six pillars, cleanse them, and place them in six locations on certain dates and times, completing what is known as The Machine. All this must be done before the arrival of the "Dark Sun." A phenomenon which could mean certain death for everyone if Jack fails. However, this mission of his will not be as easy as it might seem, seeing as how there are so many people out to keep him from succeeding.

When we meet Jack in this book, he is falling down into the depths of a black abyss, alone, all except for a deadly enemy, and away from his fellow comrades.

Hope seems lost for our hero, until a surprise swoop-in by his trusty falcon, Horus, brings back his determination. Therefore, he makes it out of harm's way, for the time being.

Throughout the rest of the book, with the help of his team of misfits, Jack goes on the hunt for the final four pillars and their locations. There is much action, shooting, death among friends and enemies, and even quite a bit of betrayal and self-preservation.

I have loved the books before this one, and so it was not surprising that I loved this one as well. I hope that, as sort of implied in the Q & A portion at the back of the book, that Matthew Reilly writes some more on the story of Jack West, Jr. and his team. However, if it is not in the cards, I am happy to end on this one.

Frozen Heat by Richard Castle

I was very excited when, earlier in the year, I was finally able to buy this installment in the critically acclaimed Heat/Rook Detective series. Now, in past books of this series, Nikki Heat has not been as personal and emotional in her cases.  Yeah, she has shown some emotion, but we have never really known much about her own life besides the fact that her mother was murdered years before.
In Frozen Heat, however, Nikki must delve into her mother's past. Possibly far deeper than she may want to go.
When a woman is found inside a suitcase, dead and frozen in a fetal-like position, this seems like any other case. But things take an unexpected turn when Nikki finds that the suitcase the woman is stuffed in turns out to have belonged to her mother, Cynthia Heat. It was the suitcase taken from her apartment the day she was murdered.
Nikki begins the book in denial about the two cases possibly being connected, but with the help of Rook she finds that the past may just be the answer.
The author takes us through a story of  friendship, secret lives, and the possible betrayal of a nation. And we find that nothing is always as it seems, especially when it comes to tourists and photography.
I absolutely was not disappointed in this book. I was, in fact, shocked by some of the plot twists and turns, and always was anxious to turn the page and find out what was going to happen next.
Cannot wait at all for the next book, Deadly Heat, to be released this September. Have to know what happens next!

Murdock Tackles Taos by Robert J. Ray

At first glance, Murdock Tackles Taos by Robert J. Ray seemed like every other murder mystery I have ever read. There is a crime that is committed or a body that is found and someone attempts to figure out what happened before the perpetrator can strike again. However, what actually forced my hand in picking up this book to read it was a line in the description provided with the story. A girl had been found in the hills of Taos with an arrow sticking out of her back. Now, obviously, this isn't the exact line, but you get the gist. It got me wondering...why was she shot with an arrow? Why was she left in the hills of Taos? Who could have done this and what exactly is their agenda? So...I endeavored to find out the whole story...

In Murdock Tackles Taos, the sixth installment in the Matt Murdock Mystery Series (whew! Try to say that five times fast), we once again meet private eye Matt Murdock. He is searching high and low for a friend's daughter who has been missing for some time. While scouring for evidence concerning her disappearance, he comes across a hiker named Helene Steinbeck who is currently being targeted as a human dart board for some archers down wind. After saving her life from a deadly arrow-tipped fate, and causing the potential killers some well-deserved harm, he finds the cause of the archers targeting Helene. She had come across the body of a dead girl with an arrow in her back.

After much deliberation, Steinbeck and Murdock rightly deduce that there has to be a connection between the girl and the archers. Could they have killed her? If so, who are they and why did they do it? Could this be a human game of cat and mouse?

Murdock and Steinbeck come across potential suspects in the case when they stumble upon a cult who believes that the weak are fair prey. On top of that, the leader of this group has a gigantic pull with the rich community who believe that money can solve anything. Can the two sleuths give the dead girl the justice she deserves, or will the cult and their benefactors push the crime back into the shadows?

And can Murdock find his friend's daughter, or will her disappearance be permanent?

I absolutely loved this book. To me it had a different feel to it than some others of the same genre. It was faster paced than most, and told three different perspectives on the story. Helene's, Murdock's, and a third whose identity you will have to find out for yourself.

I give this a GIGANTIC 5 out of 5.

Recommended for people who love the thrill of the chase, and the feeling of catching the bad guy in the act.

Courtesy of ireadabookonce.com

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I have to say that I was a bit reluctant to read this book at first. The main reason for this was that I had gotten a sample of the book quite a while ago, and at the time it just did not seem to interest me at all. However, when I found it in my local library I decided that the story deserved a chance to be heard. So I gave it that chance.

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy a read this book really was. It went quickly for me, and I was a bit sad to reach the end. Luckily for me, though, there are two more to read. Yay! Let's learn a bit more about Divergent shall we?

In this book, we are introduced to Beatrice Prior, a girl from the faction of Abnegation. She is a bit nervous, because she is about to go through a range of tests to determine what faction she will eventually live the rest of her life in. What are factions? Well, they are groups of people who devote their lives to certain virtues. The people of Amity reflect peacefulness, the people of Candor reflect honesty, the people of Dauntless reflect bravery, the people of Abnegation reflect selflessness, and the people of Erudite reflect intelligence. It is said that these factions are supposed to eliminate the chance of warring between people. They are there to keep a balanced world.

This system has supposedly worked...until now that is.

We discover early on that there is an unease between two of the factions. The Erudite suspect the Abnegation of using their virtue to hide their true intentions. This unease is starting to create a rift that could possibly destroy the balance, and cause even bigger problems.

We also discover that after her testing concludes Beatrice finds out something about herself that she must keep hidden. Her results, if revealed to anyone, could potentially mean the death of her as it has to many before her.

Can she keep her secret and find her place in the factions?

This book was a fast read for me, and a wonderfully vibrant one at that. I enjoyed every moment of this story, and cannot wait until I read the others.

I reccommend this to anyone who loves action, adventure, and the suspense of the unknown.