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Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

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 Rougeski Reviews: My Way

The Method to my Madness  pro_reader_120

Time slips away from us more and more quickly every yea10 Book Reviewsr. As a result, the time we can allot for reading shrinks at the same speed. Because of this, readers must carefully choose which books deserve their time. In order to enhance their ability to choose wisely, many readers look to review sites to augment their decision making process. However, a good number of review sites, even highly respected ones, simply churn out simple plot outlines (that are very similar to the text on the back cover of the book) punctuated with a thumbs up or down graphic. Readers deserve more.Reviews Published

In order to help readers make enlightened decisions, the goal of Rougeski Reads is to offer a more in-depth analysis of novels. Yes, plot is very important. However, much more should be considered. With this in mind, reviews will address higher levels of analysis. These aspects will be visually broken down in a review box at the bottom of each review. Categories that will be considered include:

Plot: Is the plot intriguing and well thought out?
Characters: Are the players engaging, believable?
Setting: Is the setting interesting, and does it support the action and clearly contribute to the story?
Complexity: How deep is the text? A low score means that the read is quick and easy. A high score denotes higher reading levels which by their nature insist on a larger time investment by the reader.
Literary Quality: Does the text operate on more than a simple surface level? Does it make use of literary elements such as symbolism and foreshadowing and so much more?
Originality: Has this plot been used many times before, or has the author blazed a new trail that gives evidence of great creative abilities?

Last but not least, instead of the ubiquitous thumbs, Alphonse Alligator simplifies the whole process by offering sage advice to readers not interested in details or percentages. If Alphonse is smiling, he likes the book. If he gazes above and appears lost, he is undecided. If he glares at the book with an evil scowl, he is very unhappy with the book.

Reviews that do not include the enlightened assistance of the discerning Alphonse were most likely written by guest reviewers.

Authors who wish to request a review should join my email list.  I will post current submission details.

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

The Devil Aspect | Craig Russell | Rougeski Review

April 18, 2019 Rougeski 1

The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell has something for everyone.  It is a kaleidoscopic mélange of myth, history, politics, bigotry, psychology, romance, crime, mystery, and sublime horror with each aspect taking turns directing the action, [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

Frozen | Jay Bonansinga | Rougeski Review

April 1, 2019 Rougeski 0

Frozen (The Author’s Cut) by Jay Bonansinga goes one step beyond the conventions of the everyday tale of FBI versus a serial killer. Readers join FBI profiler Ulysses Grove as he agonizes over his inability [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

The Crooked Staircase | Dean Koontz | Rougeski Review

May 8, 2018 Rougeski 0

The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz–Conspiracy theorists will be captivated by the concept.   Mystery/thriller fans will enjoy the non-stop action and the convoluted plot. After a hard day at work, Sara Holdsteck drives home through [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

Sirens | by Joseph Knox | Rougeski Review

March 25, 2018 Rougeski 0

Sirens | Literary Noir at its best. Sirens by Joseph Knox is a wonder, finely created and highly satisfying. Hard-boiled police detective Aiden Waits takes the archetype to new lows by unapologetically revealing his many [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

Lullaby Road | James Anderson | Rougeski Review

February 12, 2018 Rougeski 0

Lullaby Road by James Anderson is a hypnotic, mystical, tale of mystery quickened by murmurs of the transcendental in the form of Los Ojos Negros. The protagonist Ben Jones is a quixotic hero who runs [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

The Chalk Man | C. J. Tudor | Rougeski Review

January 17, 2018 Rougeski 0

Sin and guilt have afterlives. The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor is a strikingly original, stunning, entrancing example of postmodern literary fiction at its very best—literary fiction that is accessible and enjoyable to all [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

Dunbar | Edward St. Aubyn | Rougeski Review

December 27, 2017 Rougeski 0

Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn is narrowly focused on a few days of conflict that test a rich, powerful, and ugly American family.  Dunbar is an obscenely rich, elderly man who built an empire in [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

The Fifth Petal | Brunonia Barry | Rougeski Review

November 11, 2017 Rougeski 0

“You know who you are.  You have always been other.”  Rose’s Book of Trees Those who have always known they are other will find a home away from home in The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry.  [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

House of Jaguar | Mike Bond | Rougeski Review

August 26, 2017 Rougeski 0

House of Jaguar by Mike Bond oozes testosterone.  It is a visceral thriller that combines elements of corruption, deceit, mass-murder, death squads, drug running, covert operations, torture, bravery, selflessness, nation building, and even a touch [more]

Rougeski Reviews-Fiction

His Vision of Her | G.D. Dess | Rougeski Review

August 2, 2017 Rougeski 0

His Vision of Her by G.D. Dess was originally published thirty years ago.  It was a different time.  Or was it? Stephen, the protagonist, manages a book store in Soho.  Perhaps out of boredom, he [more]

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Cauchemar Media

Cauchemar Media

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Publications

Behind Lace Curtains

Behind Lace Curtains  

Jake Preston, New York photographer, spent his life searching for something more, a magic he could never quite perceive--yet he always let the lens see for him.  He hungered for a revelation, but was terrified at the prospect of finding one . . . until he discovered his lover, dead on his blood-spattered bathroom floor, and on a mirror, a Cajun French message scrawled in fresh blood, the words merging with his reflection like sordid war paint.

  Even though he cannot translate the scarlet message, he knows what it means.  The murder is his fault--blood for blood.   With unblinking eyes, Jake smears the haunting words into a meaningless blur of red and then with scarlet-stained fingers transcribes the message onto his flesh, transferring the bloodguilt onto his soul, completing the ritual by painting his face with a glistening mask of red.  He knows what he has to do.  

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Books A Million

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Library Angel

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Jimmy and Julia, two college students, are haunted by oppressive memories of tyrannical, deceased mothers; Julia responds by becoming a reclusive overachiever and Jimmy, a serial killer. Their lives become inextricably intertwined by a shared fixation for a missing library book that contains marginalia detailing plans for the brutal murder of a local woman.

  Julia, believing she has uncovered information that can stop a string of serial killings, struggles to find a way to prevent the murderer from striking again, never realizing she has embarked on a perilous, unconscious quest for freedom from the past.   And Jimmy goes hunting . . . for Julia.

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Books A Million

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At the Devil's Own Game

When Gina, a former prostitute and drug addict from Chicago crosses paths with Zachary, a Louisiana Satanist posing as a defrocked priest, sparks fly.  Each has something that the other requires in order to prevail.  What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Kaitlyn suffered an abusive childhood.  Her nightmare family life drove her to become one with the Chicago night world of prostitution and drugs, all she believed she deserved.  Visions of her father naked under his black bathrobe continued to haunt her.  Years later, she ends up in prison.  A well-respected judge, mesmerized by her beauty, frees her from jail and marries her.  However, Kaitlyn is still a prisoner, owned by another man who wears a black robe.  Unable to conceive a child, she believes she is doomed to live without the only love she might ever find.  During a suicide attempt, a drop of her blood lands on a newspaper article which promises her the pure love she longs for.  She takes on the former name of her only friend, a nun, and is reborn as Gina, apostate nun, who heads to Louisiana to fulfill her dream.  But first, she must beat the devil at his own game.

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