Book Review: The Jacq of Spades

Indie author Patricia Loofbourrow offers The Jacq of Spades (The Red Dog Conspiracy) (Volume 1) as part 1 of a series she describes as “steampunk neo-noir,” which is a new genre for me. Like many of the books I’ve read recently, it’s a self-published debut novel and I’d say it falls about in the middle of the pack for me. The book takes place in the fictional city of Bridges, which is split into four sections, each “governed” by a crime family. The protagonist, Jacqueline Spadros, is the seemingly well-off and glamorous wife of a family heir but actually lives a restricted life under the microscopic watch of her father-in-law, who kidnapped her from “the pit” to marry his son. We see Jacqui manage her small-time private eye business as she investigates the disappearance of her deceased best friend’s little brother. As she investigates she becomes embroiled in a growing conspiracy in which a new gang, the Red Dogs, are framed for the kidnapping.

The story is engaging, as are the main characters as we follow their emotional growth. The story takes place against a backdrop of failed governance, powerful criminal enterprises, social and class divisions, and underlying social discontent with the status quo. As a former student of a sociology-based criminal justice program, I found some of the social, legal, and criminal discussions interesting and mostly on target. Ultimately, though, the story is an engaging mystery. I looked forward to reading it in the evening, and I still sometimes think about the characters, which means the author crafted a compelling story.

There were a couple of significant drawbacks for me, though. Firstly, there were occasions throughout the book where I just wasn’t sure I was following all the elements of the story correctly. Loofbourrow uses a sort of “flashback” technique, where we see instances from Jacqui’s past in italics. Through those flashbacks, we slowly piece together her history and how she got to her current position. On occasion I felt like those flashbacks were more confusing than enlightening, but the issue mostly sorts itself out by the end of the book. Secondly, I was dissatisfied by the end of the book because I felt like things were left unresolved. That may have been on purpose, though, since the book is designed to be the first in a series. I would assume that reading the second book, when it comes out, will shed more light on those unresolved elements.

Jacq of Spades is the first book with dark themes that I have read in a long time, because I intentionally avoided such stories for the past many years; I typically don’t like how I feel after reading about evil. I was generally entertained by the book despite the violence and dark themes, but I can’t say I learned anything from the story, which is my usual criterion for reading. I’m on the fence about whether I plan to read part 2, but I’ll probably be swayed in favor by my desire to find out what happens!

My star rating: 3 stars

Buy the book: The Jacq of Spades (The Red Dog Conspiracy) (Volume 1)

Author webpage: http://www.pattyloof.com/blog/

**Thank you to author Patricia Loofbourrow for providing a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Elephants of Style

Knowing that I’m doing freelance editing work, my good friend Stephanie gave me Bill Walsh’s The Elephants of Style : A Trunkload of Tips on the Big Issues and Gray Areas of Contemporary American English as a Christmas gift. It’s a surprisingly easy read for a book about grammar, and I actually read the whole thing, cover to cover. Essentially, the book is meant to cover the gray areas of grammar, which Walsh calls the “elephants.” His goal is not to settle the ambiguity, but instead to “find a consensus on what doesn’t look stupid—at least for now” (xiv).

Some of his preferences offend my purist nature—for example, using “they” as a gender-neutral, singular pronoun instead of “he”—but I grudgingly take his larger point: written English evolves just as spoken English does. There isn’t an English-language authority as there is in other languages, and after a time it starts to look ridiculous to stick to outdated usages, even in writing. I don’t like it, but I think he’s right (grr).

The book is full of useful grammatical information, such as punctuation distinctions between American and British English and an explanation of when to use “due to” vs. “because of.” Most of Walsh’s recommended grammar “rules” follow practicality rather than long-held convention, but he occasionally goes the other way and rants against loosening standards too far. Rather than making him appear confused, I generally perceived his rants to be well-founded. For example, when he discusses the use of hyphens in compound modifiers (such as “real estate salesmen” vs. “real-estate salesmen,” which is technically correct), he complains that “a casual approach to compound modifiers robs the language of nuance” (133).

One drawback to the book for some readers may be Walsh’s emphasis on newspaper style conventions. He spends a lot of time talking about Associated Press style vs. Washington Post style vs. New York Times style and so on, and many of his text examples involve subjects typically covered in a newspaper. These sorts of things weren’t really useful to me, but they make sense given his history as an editor for the Washington Post. For me, it didn’t detract from the overall usefulness of the book.

I love precision of language. The Elephants of Style provides me with a balanced approach to writing and editing that allows me to seek that precision without appearing stilted and outdated, in a readable and sometimes humorous manner. Four stars!

Book Review: Running Home

Running Home by Lizzie Steel is not only one of the best self-published books I have ever read, it is also one of the best fiction books I have read in recent years; it has the quality of a traditionally-published book, and hopefully one day we will see it on bookstore shelves. The book’s varied plot elements are seamlessly tied together to make one complete and nuanced whole, a rarity in self-published literature. Running Home is a historical romance set in British colonial India, and tells the tale of forbidden love between an English Lady, Clara, and an Indian plantation owner, Sachin. Steel expertly deals with serious subjects—to include physical and sexual abuse as well as racism and bigotry—while crafting a compelling, heart-warming love story between two good-hearted characters.

Clara and Sachin, as well as Clara’s father, Lord Reynolds, share a kindness and a wisdom that is edifying for all. Their self-reflections and corresponding actions throughout the book elevate what could be a mere love story to a treatise on kindness, fairness, and social justice. After meeting Sachin and witnessing his care for others, Clara reflects, “I realised that I was in that privileged position, too. That simple revelation was empowering but daunting – what was I doing to help anyone?” The reader sees Clara’s natural instinct to do good grow into self-assured assistance to others and defense of her beliefs, especially to her bigoted mother. In Lord Reynolds, we see an example of a man who sees beyond social convention, and transmits that openness to his only child. His love for Clara surpasses all else, and his reflections on parenting really stuck with me: “You know, when you are a parents, it seems like every action you take and every decision you make moulds your child. Then one day they are grown up, and you realise it was their personality all along.”

I have tried above to point out some specific example of what makes Running Home worth reading, but the biggest endorsement, I think, is how I just could not stop reading! I was so absorbed in this book that I read it in one day – something that has not happened since I had my first child over four years ago. More compelling, even, is that I was so wrapped up in reading that I failed to notice my two and four year old children unpacking the ornaments and redecorating the Christmas tree… I have no idea how long I stood reading at the kitchen counter, but I can tell you: it was worth every minute of having to repack those Christmas decorations!

Please read Lizzie Steel’s Running Home – you’ll be glad you did!

Five stars!

Find Lizzie online and on twitter.

***Thank you to Lizzie Steel, who provided a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.