Interview: Mozelle Richardson

A few weeks ago I read and reviewed The Thyssen Affair by Mozelle Richardson- and loved it. It was a great cross of a bunch of things I love, Indiana Jones, James Bond, history and cowboys. Essentially the perfect book for me! So I was extremely excited to get the chance to interview Richardson about this book.

First, a mini-bio of Richardson (from the back of the book & Amazon.com)
Mozelle Groner Richardson was born a Texan but she and her husband W.T (dub) raised their four children in Oklahoma City. She know calls Sante Fe home and her favorite activity is traveling the by-ways of New Mexico with her friends. Mozelle received her BA in Journalism in 2004 at the ripe age of 90 from the University of Oklahoma.

I just finished reading The Thyssen Affair, where did you come up with the idea for this story?

There was a newspaper account of vandals stealing a German Major’s skull—buried 35 years before—from a POW cemetery at Ft. Reno, Oklahoma. A writer automatically asks “Why?” I turned to a dentist friend and wondered if one could bury a microdot film in a tooth filling. He told me how. There was my plot.

Your main character Canyon Eliot is an ex-OSS agent and current Colorado rancher who is called back into action. Did anyone inspire the character of Cane?

No. I just pictured a 60-year-old rancher (I’ve known some) and made him my protagonist.

One thing that struck me was how much information there was about so many different cultures and events. How did you go about researching all the different aspects of the story?

I did lots of research from history books on WWII, Goebel’s diaries, autobiographies, etc. I spent a month in Munich, drove through the Bavarian Alps, into Italy and into Rimini.

In addition to Cane working with the CIA, we also saw Anya (KGB), Magen (Israeli Mossad) and members of the Nazi party’s Spider group at work within the story. How did you research these somewhat secretive groups?

There was a book by Frederick Forsythe called The Odessa File that gave me ideas.

With so many different personas and aliases for Cane, Anya and Magen, were you worried about it becoming confusing for the reader?

Not really, because early on I introducted the aliases and what they could be used for.

The book ended with Cane and Anya getting together, did you know they would end up together or did it happen as you wrote?

Of course. There had to be a love interest—but not one that was easy.

You written numerous other books, do you have any plans to write any more?

I’m working slowly and intermittently on an autobiography. My children and grandchildren hope that I’ll finish it.

What are some of your favorite books and authors?

So many. Mary Stuart to start out with. PercivalChristopher Wren’s wonderful books (Beau Geste). Donn Byrn’s book Destiny Bay which I stole from the Library when I was 16 and have probably read 50 or a hundred times. Mary Renault’s books on the Ancient Greeks—if I ever lived a former life, I lived it as a Greek. Jack Higgins books. I love most all mystery writers.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions. I thoroughly enjoyed The Thyssen Affair and can’t wait to get my hands on some of your other books.

A Special Big Thank You for enjoying my book. M.R.

Contest Winner! The Secret (of happiness)

We have a winner!!!!

Congrats to ....

Cindy!

* winner was chosen using Random.org. I've emailed our winner, per our contest policy, she has 48 to claim her prize!

* Thank you to everyone who participated.

Contest: The Secret (of happiness) by Demosthenes Armeniades

A few weeks ago I reviewed The Secret (of Happiness) by Demosthenes Armediades. (here)This was a fun book that had so many twists and turns that every time I thought I had the secret figured out, something else happened to make me think again.

Rules: this contest will run until Friday, August 27th at midnight, so get those entries in. This contest is open in the US only. Please note that the winner will be receiving their book directly from The Cadence Group. For more information on my contest policies click here.

How to enter: Super easy, just fill out the form below. Winners will be drawn using Random.org on Saturday morning (8/28) and notified by email and on this blog.

Good Luck!

Contest: The Thyssen Affair by Mozelle Richardson

A few days ago I reviewed The Thyssen Affair by Mozelle Richardson. (here)To recap- LOVE THIS BOOK. I didn't put it in my review, because it didn't strike me until later, but this book, this plot, is what the last Indiana Jones movie should have been. To celebrate the awesomeness of this book I have a copy to give away!

Rules: this contest will run until Thursday, August 19th at midnight, so get those entries in. This contest is open in the US only. Please note that the winner will be receiving their book directly from The Cadence Group. For more information on my contest policies click here.

How to enter: Super easy, just fill out the form below. Winners will be drawn using Random.org on Friday morning (8/20) and notified by email and on this blog.

Good Luck!

Review: The Secret (of happiness) by Demosthenes Armeniades

Summary:

Once upon a time, Max the billionaire invited David to his private island where whiz kid golden boys zip around the globe in private jets making millions and living the dream. But all may not be as golden as it seems. Max wants happiness. David wants his girlfriend back. Marcie just wants to avoid getting fired from her cashier job at Walmart. And the Guru knows the answers—or does he? Follow them on a wild rollercoaster ride through offshore paradises, out into space, over the Himalayas, across the Russian tundra, and through an evolutionary quantum shift to a final showdown in the Texas desert.

The Secret of Happiness is a fast-paced, offbeat, fairytale thriller charged with suspense until the final word.

Review:

This was a wild ride of a book. The main charecter is David, a whiz kid who is headed to Wall Street after graduation, where he will join the ranks of the working man. He has a great girl named Dot and his future is pretty well mapped out. Then he meets Mr. Singh, who makes him an offer he can't refuse. Go to a private island and work for a billionaire named Max and essentially live the dream. David goes into it with the confidence that comes with youth, and soon finds himself up against a task that he thinks will be easy, but proves to be anything but: make Max happy. Truly happy for one moment. Accomplishing this task leads both David and Max on an adventure that spans the globe.

Parts of this book were slightly overwrought and complicated, but I think the point is that sometimes life is overwrought and complicated. there were moments that I thought the book was a bit silly, and I wished that we got more of the parts where Max was going on the initial adventure that David set up for him to make him happy.

Some of the stuff I loved (without giving too many spoilers away) were the parts where you weren't sure if it was all a set up, all part of som big game to reach the end goal of making Max happy. Was everything David did after taking over part of some master plan? I really enjoyed the fact that you were allowed to make your own assumptions for a large chunk of the book before Armeniades let you in on the secret. I also really liked the epilogue, which revealed the book to be a letter from David to Dot, an explaination of why he left, what he did and what he learned.

It's hard to tell if Armeniades is actually trying to impart a message in the end. He definitly has a point, that everything can become corrupt (like Max's life), and how you have to get back to basics to find that true happiness. That money can buy alot, but it can't buy happiness. Overall a really fun book, that takes alot of sterotypical themes and turns them on their heads. I thought it was a great read if you want suspense and a good time!

About Demosthenes Armeniades:

Website: http://www.armeniades.com/

The Secret (of happiness) website: http://www.the-secret-of-happiness.com/

Rating:

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I received this book as a review copy from The Cadence Group.

Review: The Thyssen Affair by Mozelle Richardson

Summary:

Canyon Eliot, Colorado rancher and ex-OSS WWII agent is brought back into action by a CIA friend to do a simple investigation in Munich. The problem: nothing is simple. For the first time in his career, Canyon feels like a newcomer. As someone well-known to be on top of his game in the spy business he is befuddled to find himself tracked down and set-up without any inclination of who is behind it all. In this exciting, fast-paced thriller he must go by his wits and not by his jaded experience as he enters the convoluted and twisted world of intrigue with both the Israeli Mossad and the Russian KGB.

Review:

I really enjoyed this book. As a history geek, this book really sucked me in and I flew through it. I really enjoyed the main character Cane- he made me think of James Bond mixed with Indiana Jones and a little bit Roger Murtaugh (Lethal Weapon "I'm getting to old for this shit"). Cane has long since retired to his Colorado ranch and he isn't really into being pulled back into service, but when his late son's best friend Peter asks him for help, he simply can't resist. Pretty soon he is trying to figure out who stole the skull of a WWII POW from Ft. Reno in Oklahoma, why they wanted it. Pretty soon he finds himself tangled up with Isreali Mossad agents and the lovely Anya, a KGB spy, all after the same skull. It was fun to see Cane, once on the top of his game, stumble his way through this investigation. He seemed like someone who knew what he was supposed to do, but was always a step behind, yet still managed to pull through anyways.

One thing I really appreciated was all the history that you got out of this book in addition to a great story. Cane travels all over the world, Bavaria, Italy, Oklahoma and takes on the persona of big game hunter in Alpendorf, Geologist in Italy and Oktoberfest worker. not only did the author have to know who Cane was as a Colorado rancher, but who his persona's were as well. Add on top of that Anya's persona's and all the stories that her and Cane told eachother and you could have ended up with a really commplicated and confusing story. Richardson kept it simple though and I didn't ever feel like I was lost. I liked the twists and turns this allowed for in the story.

As soon as I finished the book I handed it over to my husband, who is also a history geek, not to mention a huge Bond fan, I can't wait to see what he thinks of the book!

Rating:

Revenge Served Cold

Revenge Served Cold
by: Jackie Fullerton

Kathy Spence awakens in the middle of the night and finds herself in a living nightmare. Her husband has been run down and she is the primary suspect. With an eyewitness to the crime and proof that her car was the murder weapon, it appears to be an open and shut case. Terrified for her future, Kathy turns to amateur sleuth Anne Marshall for help. Believing in Kathy s innocence, Anne launches her own investigation, uncovering proof of a conspiracy that reaches from Kathy s past and threatens her own life. In a race against time, Anne must count on her close friends and even the ghost of her father to help her bring a killer to justice before it's too late. (from goodreads.com)

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I really enjoyed Revenge Served Cold. It is a great little murder mystery that has just enough twists to keep you interested, but not so many that you can't keep up. At the center of the story is Anne, a law student who can't seem to help getting involved in investigations, and drag everyone who's near her into it too. The book makes reference to a previous incident which left Anne battered and bruised, but even that can't stop her from becoming involved when Elliot, a friend of Anne's father is murdered, and his wife Kathy is the lead suspect.

The story moves between several characters as the truth is slowly revealed. Without giving too much away, we see Anne trying to uncover who the real murderer is; the police, including Anne's friends Shane and Maria try to build a case against Kathy; Ross and Alice, old friends of Kathy and Elliot's who have too much at stake in the investigation and Anne's father, who continues to visit Anne despite the fact that he is dead. I really liked that the point of view shifted occasionally through out the book. Although the bulk is seen through Anne's actions, being able to see what other characters are doing and thinking really let's the reader get a better idea of the whole picture, which in a murder mystery is most definitly a good thing.

I really loved the character of Anne- she was a strong, courageous lead for the story. It reminded me of the Nancy Drew character in that we had a smart and stubborn girl who uses intelligence and street smarts to figure out a crime. When you add in her father's influence and help, you really have a good main thread for the book. Anne seemed like the sort of person who could be sitting next to you on the bus, nothing remarkable or superhuman, but someone who puts her mind to something and sees it through.

There were a few minor things that I wasn't a huge fan of. One was all the references to the prior investigation that Anne had inserted herself into. I felt like I had missed something, that there was a whole other book that I should have read prior to this one. I appreciated the fact that it was to show how Anne has a history of ignoring the authority (i.e. her police officer friends) and putting herslef in danger in order to solve a murder, but there wasn't quite enough information to make me feel like I had a good idea of what exactly had happened. Second was how long it took to get the main action of the book. Again, I don't want to give too much away, but the scenes towards the end, when it all comes together and Anne is with Alice are some of the best. Alice is a pretty diabolical character and I would have liked to see more of her and what made her tick. I think more of that sort of action, and slightly less of the extensive investigation really would have pushed this book into a different league.

That being said- I still really enjoyed the plot and action in this book, I thought that it was believable (even the visits from her dad), and it was easy to relate to Anne and several of the other characters. Should there ever be another story about Anne the amatuer slueth, I would buy it. If you are a fan of mysteries and are looking for some good summer/beach reading, this book is a good bet.

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Disclaimer: I recieved this book from The Cadence Group for review.