Book Review: "High Society Down" by C. R. Moore

When a well-to-do couple retires to a small town in Mississippi, they connect with others who have the same concerns: society is crumbling and those who are wise must prepare for the fall of everything. Using this premise as a starting point, author C.R. Moore has written ‘High Society Down,’ a debut novel filled with parties and preparations. Consider the theme as “Surviving with a Flair.”

Read the review in its entirety here.

Drugs and Adventure Lead the Way in 'Gray Ghost' by C.L. Swinney

C.L. (Chris) Swinney, a real-deal narcotics investigator, takes readers deep into the worlds of fly fishing and the war between drug smugglers and law enforcement in his debut novel "Gray Ghost."

Miami narcotics detectives Dix and Petersen have headed to the Bahamas for a long-overdue vacation. They've planned a simple agenda: some sleeping, some fishing, some drinking, more fishing. What they stumble into turns into a major drug operation that involves friends of their resort hosts. Although out of their own jurisdiction, they quickly find a Miami connection that brings them ever deeper into the web of murder and lies surrounding the sunken speedboat Gray Ghost.

Read more about the adventure here.

"Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon" by Debbie Fuller Thomas

Mother love is a powerful force, even when misdirected. For Marty Winslow, the death of her beloved middle daughter is a severe blow. The cause of death, a genetic disease, is the catalyst for a second blow – the child was not hers.

Two baby girls, switched at birth, are the seeds from which “Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon” sprouts. The relationship between Marty and Andie, the child she actually bore, is the bud on the vine.

Debbie Fuller Thomas switches between the perspectives of mother and daughter with deceptive ease, true to each persona yet neatly meshing the story. Against the backdrop of the Blue Moon Drive In, we see the heartache and angst of strangers trying to get to know each other. The relationship between mother and thirteen-year-old daughter is a difficult one at best. Without the foundation of familiarity and love, it takes on new dimensions.

Tuesday night is Family Night at the Blue Moon. Marty’s father owns the aging drive in. The theater is as much a character in the story as the family members who operate it. Andie learns about her new family as she joins them on the ticket line and behind the snack counter.

“Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon” is not a high-powered adventure novel. Instead, it is a thoughtful exploration of emotions and what makes a family, an identity. As Thomas’ debut novel, it sets a high standard for her next offering.

Tuesday Night at the Blue Moon
By Debbie Fuller Thomas
Published by Moody Publishers
ISBN – 13: 978-0-8024-8733-9

© 2009 Mary Beth Magee