Maye West Mysteries
Book 1: Murder on Lake Haverly
Maye’s business is booming, even though women were not wanted or welcomed in the Real Estate business!
She sells a personal Shangri-la of all the lots surrounding beautiful Lake Haverly! The first three signatures are easy-peasy! James Crandall challenges her but finally signs and abruptly leaves town!
A body is discovered floating in Shangri-la, believed to be Crandall’s! The plot thickens when he crashes his own memorial, madder than hell!
As the story unfolds, a homeowner is murdered by his stolen Crossbow, two Deputies tracking the shooters are ambushed, left for dead, jail breaks, and uninvited guests at a housewarming!
Will shooting the uninvited guest between the eyes when he strips Lavonne, to her undies, land Maye in Jail?
Maye is starting to think that real estate isn’t so much fun anymore!
The final straw is Maye’s BBF, Lavonne, and John, who, while visiting his newfound Dad, James Crandall, fall madly in love, and he lives in Texas! The personal relationships in this story will keep you turning the pages
Maye West Mysteries Book 2: Options
Nate Harris struck a deal with a seller and asked Maye to draft the contract. Easy-peasy, right? Maye’s expertise closes it fast!
The seller’s ex-husband manages to threaten her life and those who help her despite being in prison.
Friends meet gruesome fates, and the seller vanishes with the books that could guarantee her ex-husband serves more than the mere ten years for beating her nearly to death!
A slick jailbreak sends FBI Agent Ward Stone and Sheriff’s Deputy Frank Singleton, Maye’s ‘friend with benefits’, to search for the ex, the seller, and the books! The search spans from Florence Prison to a vast Texas Ranch and back to Phoenix.
Maye, driven by her stubborn determination, demands to confront the kidnappers of her loveable pain-in-the-ass Lavonne ALONE, risking everything to save her friend and the books!
As the story hurtles towards a high-stakes conflict, the outcome remains uncertain. Someone is going to get shot, and we’re hoping it’s the bad guys!
The End of the Road
Amanda used to love swimming!
Until she was thrown overboard on her anniversary cruise into the icy ocean off the Oregon coast, wearing only her filmy negligee! She wakes up on the floor in the Ladies’ Restroom at a truck stop; her past is a blank canvas.
Who is she? How did she get here? And what compels her to walk South on I-5?
The first snowstorm is a cruel reminder of her vulnerability. But she is determined to survive.
Turned away after begging for a meal, she slinks toward the door. Getting smacked on the head by that door is the best thing that has happened to her!
She embarks on a tumultuous journey of personal recovery, navigating the treacherous waters of trust and self-discovery.
It is touch and go!
Memory recovery, her stolen business, and surviving grieving her father’s death. The more she remembers, the bigger the question haunts her.
Why did her very healthy father die so suddenly?
Immortal Enemies
Marissa was warned!
That her live-in pool boy, landscaper, and full-time lover, Mario, is an agent of SASHA (Seek and Save Humans from Aliens).
He intends to expose the secret of their immortality!
Dr. Sanderson, head of RAPT (Regenerists Are People Too), books her a month at SAROS (South American Regeneration Organization Spa) or she will grow old and die!
Mario loves the abundant sex and high-paying job, but he will be a celebrity when he reveals video evidence of Marissa’s regeneration in living color!
The game of ‘who’s fooling who,’ will end badly!
This isn’t a story about conflict between the good guys and bad guys; it’s a struggle for survival between humans and aliens.
Spirited One : The Protector
You may think “The Spirited One is a ghost story, but it is a fiction with a supernatural twist, a blend of Sci-Fi and the unexplained!
Anger issues thrust Jena into court-appointed therapy by the police! A journey that leads her to confront the horror of her past. She struggles to remember the names of the jocks who murdered her boyfriend, beat and gang raped her, leaving her for dead, which still haunts her nightmares!
A unique blend of psychological trauma and supernatural elements. Jena’s Spirited One resides in a beautiful silver bracelet with no clasp! It was presented to her after she beat the crap out of three young men who were hell bent on beating an old Asian man to death.
Jena Andrews accepted that her lot in life would never be easy, but she could never have imagined the unexpected twists and turns her journey would take!
Spirited One Book 2: James
Lieutenant James MacDonald’s family needs him!
The Task Force needs him; he only wants to crawl into a hole and die! The Spirited One can’t mend his shattered heart!
Jack’s wild ride knocks sense into him, until bombings, shootings, rapes, and murders happen!
How much pain can one man bear? The rape kit vanishes from the evidence room, and without Jena to testify, the Task Force is in a desperate struggle. Mama Celeste’s Restaurant explodes.
The mole is damned good at her job! Sending Young Aiden to find out who she works for might backfire, and it does!
James is mad as hell, and he needs revenge by the law or Cowboy Justice, a personal code of conduct that he struggles to uphold in the face of overwhelming grief and anger!
#BookReview.
Options: Maye West Mysteries, Book 2, by Brenda Colbath
reviewed by; Stuart Aken, Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Opinion, Reading
Kidnapping Crime Fiction/Crime Action Fiction/Murder Fiction
I came across this author and her books via comments on websites I visit. I tend not to read much crime fiction, but the comments led me to expect a good story from this author. And that was the case.
The story is full of action, conflict, some hot romance, a spot of police procedure, and many insights into the lives of a certain group of well-off Americans, along with much information relating to real estate, and descriptions of meals that had my mouth watering. At the risk of being accused of sexism, I venture to suggest some female readers will find the clothes also of interest! So, a worthwhile read in many ways.
The characters, the single most important aspect of any novel for me, are well drawn, various, and easy to see as real people. Survivors, fighters, evil men, plucky women, and inventive people populate this story of single-minded, utterly selfish vengeance and the courage of those who oppose it.
One aspect I found unsettling as a UK reader was the obvious ready access to firearms, their abuse, and their function in ending disputes without dialogue. For me, it illustrated the readiness to use killing machines in the US. I’m not suggesting their use was unjustified, or even avoidable, in the context of this story, just wondering if easy availability of such weapons is a fundamental reason for the level of violence and murder in this land of great contrasts.
The writing style reminded me a little of early crime writers such as Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane, with a real mix of action, dialogue and description.