Every month, I pick a book from my TBR jar (which consists of books sent to me through my blog) and read it. This past month, I picked out Children Of Wrath by T.A. Ward and let me tell you….it was fantastic!
Synopsis:Five years after working triage during America’s terrible Day of Destruction, Philadelphian Dr. Ethan King wants nothing more for himself and his wife than a normal life. In the aftermath, however, life is anything but normal. The mysterious nerve gas unleashed during the nationwide terrorist attack has left its disturbing mark among the millions of victims, namely brain abnormalities in unborn children. These children, dubbed Inexorables, live up to their name: they are ruthlessly violent, irrepressibly psychopathic—and incurable. They kill without thought or remorse, and inflict torment on their victims with childish glee.
In his pursuit of a normal, peaceful life, Ethan tries as best he can to put these grim realities to the back of his mind. But one cold night, when he comes face to face with an abandoned Inexorable freezing to death in the snow, he must make a choice that could cost him everything, and unravel a thread of dark woven secrets. As he races to find a cure for whatever is creating a generation of doomed children, Ethan discovers that doing the right thing in an evil world is never as clear and easy as it seems.
I had no idea what to think going into this book and was super surprised. I mean it deals with a chemical warfare attack that pretty much sets off a neurological imbalance in babies born after this attack and it seemed so similar to the whole pandemic that we are going through right now so it was super creepy.
The characters were likable and even though you didn’t get to know an overwhelming amount about them, you were given enough to feel something for them. This was a kind of dystopian that I have not experienced in a book so far and it was scary how similar it was to our own reality but it was written very well and I applaud that.
I have a whole new appreciation for anyone working in the medical field after reading this book and seeing how much they have to endure and keep going through in their day to day life. I would not be able to handle that and feel like I would have a breakdown.
I felt like I was kept on my toes during the entirety of the book and when it ended, I messaged the author right away to let them know that I liked the book and needed to know what happened next.
I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a dystopian thriller with some family struggles thrown in. Honestly, it is a good book and worth the read.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author in physical format to read and give my honest review.
Check out this book called Dork by my author friend Will Winkle about a guy trying to get his crush’s attention while navigating his life as part of a fraternity house!
Anyone feeling nostalgic? Well, I have some good news. I will be a co-host for the Bookemon Readathon and we are going to be kicking it back like the ’90s. Join us in our fight to defeat Team Rocket! Check out this video for all the info!
Welcome to the blog tour for Constable Outreach 35 by Jay Cadmus! Read on for book details, and a guest post from the author!
Constable Outreach 35
Publication Date: April 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Thriller
Insurgency forces build against the Sandinista Government of Nicaragua. Story opens in Tegucigalpa during Contra War in 1985.
A covert airdrop malfunction leaves C-123 Loadmaster in Sandinista territory. Troop supply by air delivery the next phase in this operation. Agency Operations Manager uses all available resources in locating…setting scenes of interaction between unlikely partners. Opposition forces appear as foreign ideologues and members within the U. S. Administration they serve. A little used document is constructed to reset international and regional diplomacy. The downed American flyer – and other human assets – become pawns in a war of ideology. Some characters find themselves imprisoned within the ideology they serve. Personalities fall and rise. Knights surface in seeking to serve the White House. Others fall as a normal course by their purging. Quote: “In honor or disgrace, death of my adversary is with me forever.”
“…U. S. agency operates an aviation unit from Honduras during the Contra Revolution in 1985. While on an inaugural mission, a flyer – loadmaster designated a “kicker” – is swept from C-123 Provider aircraft.
The incident occurred during an insurgent re-supply mission. Falling from the aircraft left no time for a parachute to open. His fall cushioned by the freight being supplied to the insurgents. His body mangled and mind unconscious. Sandinista citizen-soldiers lead by a battle-hardened guerilla capture the American.
Initially, he is taken to a farm outside the Nicaraguan town of Jalapa. A Cuban military advisor comes on scene through association with Juanita Maria Perez-Velasquez. Reluctantly, she allows the enemy soldier in her home temporarily. Sandinista ranking officers interrogate their prisoner.
Parallel and intersecting stories unfold with all primary characters in this slice of history story presented in a fictional frame. As he is nurtured back into consciousness, clashes occur between diplomatic partners.
Juanita Perez is further drawn into this historical international thriller. Her son is ‘kidnapped’ by unknown forces. As each character arc is provided, a human-asset trade becomes a necessity. The captured-asset trade is arranged through a Diplomatic Memorandum of Understanding. Its agreement also resets the sides in their military-economic quest for control of the region.
War takes on many faces as countries thrust and parry. All parties finding themselves imprisoned in the ideologies they serve.”
– Jay Cadmus
About the Author
Jay Cadmus is the author of novels “Anger’s Journey” and “Constable Outreach 35.” He has been a trucker, a teacher, a serviceman, and a salesman.
He is a decorated Combat Airborne Infantry Vietnam veteran, and a veteran Desert Storm Flight Engineer with Air Medal for combat sorties. He has worked as a C-141 Loadmaster in the U.S. Air Force and for three different commercial airlines. He has instructed flight engineers in the Air Force Reserve, in classroom and on aircraft. He has conducted classroom and live fire training in a Combat Arms Unit. He has hauled household goods and taught moving techniques for a major moving company. He has sold real estate and new cars and has written for community newspapers. That diverse experience fuels his singular voice.
“I hope that by writing stories based on history and modified incidents, the reader stops in the middle of reading to ponder. Thinking of what they would have done.
“Learning from my own writing experience, I know the story is given to me to tell. As is true in life, a writer gains more from his mistakes. From that, I know that I can start anew tomorrow. That is, until my tomorrows don’t come anymore.”
Written by Steve Miller, News Writer, New York State
Check out this book called Dork by my author friend Will Winkle about a guy trying to get his crush’s attention while navigating his life as part of a fraternity house!
If any of you out there like Brandon Sanderson, then you should check out my latest video. It is a reading vlog of his book Skyward and I had quite a time reading this one!
It’s about time that I got back into thrillers! I recently read Tell Me Why by Ruth O’Neill to satisfy this craving that I have been having for the genre.
Synopsis:Lauren Adams is just an ordinary single girl, until one split-second decision throws her life into crisis.
When she meets the handsome and intriguing Max Davies during a girls’ weekend away, she can’t believe her luck. But it soon turns out to be her biggest mistake. Max gets accused of murder, a murder that allegedly happened on the same night he and Lauren met.
Is Max really the man she thinks he is? Is he really innocent of murder? And why does Lauren hear him late at night, building something in the basement – a basement he’s made clear is out of bounds?
Tell me why follows a woman who just wants to be loved, but who instead ends up in a tangled web of lies, deceit, and terror. A chilling read you won’t stop talking about.
I have found a love for thriller books and this is now one I can add to the shelf of decent books from that genre.
I liked Lauren as the main character but I found that she didn’t have that much depth to her. It was told in mainly her perspective with little snippets into the mind of Max (the secondary perspective). A lot of the decisions that were made by Lauren were questionable but I can see how she would have come to these conclusions in her decision making considering the position she was put in.
It was also a pretty easy read considering it was not that long. I kind of wish that some of the characters introduced at the beginning had a more present role in the book to add some more diversity to the cast. It would have made it a little bit less predictable.
That being said, there were definitely parts of this book that creeped me out (and I love that)! Some of the things that the characters endured were not pleasant and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. That feeling of desperation and needing an escape are why this genre is so gripping to me.
Overall, I would recommend this as a starter into the thriller genre to get a taste for it.
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author in an e-book format to read and give an honest review.
It’s a new year and a new me! This is the year I will crush my TBR jar….hopefully. Check out what I am reading this month and let me know what you are reading 😋
It is about time that I got back to some good old fiction! I recently read And Hell Followed With Him by J.M. Bedard and it was pretty decent.
Synopsis:Winter is approaching fast in the windswept plains along the Canada/US border; the landscape is bleak, but the prospects of the people living there, even more so. Dave returns home for the first time since he left as a teenager and finds his family in disarray; the Mathises, once reigning over all criminal aspects of the area, have begun to lose their grip. Palmer, the patriarch, has only gotten more bloodthirsty in his old age, an influence that has begun to rub off on Dave’s brother, Jed. It seems that the more the Mathises try to manage their own affairs, the stronger things spin out of control. Soon nearly everyone in town is drawn into the mess, from morally bankrupt cops to teenagers, to Dave himself.
Loyalties and grudges, left to fester, underpin every decision. Family binds together, then wrenches apart- and Dave, not quite a local but not a stranger, cannot fully cleave himself from it all.
He will try- and the results will leave no one untouched.
This book started off with such an intense scene and it pulled me in. I found it to be quite an interesting read with all the perspectives you were able to explore as the reader. The mafia-style family that has control over the town is in such a mess with all their drama and it kept me reading to see what happened with them. I haven’t seen many episodes of this show but I would compare it to Bloodline from Netflix.
There is one character called “The Canadian” and they are supposed to be this ominous, powerful, menacing character which I find really funny because I am Canadian and I just picture him being very nice and saying sorry a lot (which is a stereotype but a lot of us do that ;P).
I wasn’t a huge fan of how it ends. I’m not sure if there are going to be more books added to this or if it is just a standalone but it seemed like there would be more. There are a lot of unanswered questions I have which is why I think I feel this way.
I would read more books by this author to see their journey as a writer. I will say that they could pull off some of the personas of their characters really well. All in all, I did like the book and it kept my attention enough to read the whole way through.
Book Rating: 3/5
You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads. Check out the author’s Instagram to keep up to date with her!
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author in the ebook format to read and give my honest review.
2019 was a year full of reading and I compiled a list of the top 10 books of the year that I read. Watch the video and let me know if you agree with any of them!
Congratulations to author, Barbara Elle, on the release of her exciting thriller, Death in Smoke! For more details, be sure to read on!
Death in Smoke (The Cape Mysteries #2)
*Each book in The Cape Mysteries can be read as a standalone novel
Publication Date: Dec. 5th, 2019
Genre: Psychological Thriller
A bloodied body buried in a snow bank on a remote island off Cape Cod.
A cold case in Kansas.
What’s the connection between two unrelated murders over a thousand miles away and decades apart?
In Death In Smoke, the thrilling sequel to Death In Vermilion, artist Leila Goodfriend unravels the truth about two brutal killings.
From Cuttyhunk Island to a Native American casino in Kansas, Leila tracks a trail of blood and revenge, littered with smoke screens and stone relics of a faded past.
Once again, Leila has to trust her instincts, which puts her at odds with Detective John Grace—a relationship of attraction that, in the end, reveals a tragic secret from her own past.
Despite the detective’s warnings, Leila puts her life at risk, obsessed with proving her friend’s innocence, at least of murder.
Death In Smoke, the new psychological thriller from acclaimed author Barbara Elle, takes readers on an inner and physical journey across clashing cultures and time, challenging assumptions about what is truth—what remains a mystery.
In her stunning debut thriller, Death In Vermilion (The Cape Mysteries Book 1), acclaimed author Barbara Elle paints a clever and twisted picture of women and sisters, whose lives are entwined by a brutal murder in a Cape Cod town. Who can you trust?
Now, Death In Smoke (The Cape Mysteries Book 2) asks what’s the connection between a bloodied body buried in a snow bank on a remote island off the Cape and a cold case in Kansas? Can artist and amateur sleuth Leila Goodfriend solve this new mystery?
Barbara Elle fell in love with books and writing at a young age, honing her writing chops as a copywriter at major publishers and as a freelance journalist.
Growing up in Boston, but she became a New Yorker as an adult. Her writing draws on people and places she remembers, setting The Cape Mysteries on Cape Cod, a place of memories.
Barbara Elle continues collecting characters and plots, often traveling the world with her touring musician husband, the musical director for rock and roll icon Cyndi Lauper. In her travels, Barbara has explored Buddhist temples in Beijing, crypts in Vienna and Kabuki Theater in Tokyo.
2019 was a year full of reading and I compiled a list of the top 10 books of the year that I read. Watch the video and let me know if you agree with any of them!
If you’re still searching for the perfect Halloween read, check out this collection of chilling tales! Murder in Montague Falls will have you reading long into the night!
Murder in Montague Falls
Publication Date: August 29, 2019
Genre: Anthology/ Noir/ Dark Fiction
WHITE HOT THRILLS! PITCH BLACK DEEDS!
3 TALES OF TEENS TACKLING THEIR DARKEST RITES OF PASSAGE
Acclaimed storytellers Russ Colchamiro, Sawney Hatton, and Patrick Thomas each present an original novella brimming with enough danger, intrigue, and murder to get readers’ blood pounding and hearts racing.
In Colchamiro’s RED INK, a paperboy with an overactive imagination witnesses a brutal killing on his route—or has he taken his fantasy spy games a step too far?
In Hatton’s THE DEVIL’S DELINQUENTS, a trio of teenage misfits in pursuit of success, power, and revenge practice amateurish occult rituals… with deadly consequences.
In Thomas’s A MANY SPLENDID THING, a sultry high school teacher enrolls one of her students to get rid of her husband. But will the young man really graduate to murder?
Natalie exits her room with the ritual kit, locking the door behind her.
Her father, swathed in a cornucopia-pattern quilt, sits in his wheelchair in the den, positioned near enough the window so that he can be in the daylight. Maybe he enjoys it, but one cannot tell for certain since his face registers no enjoyment, nor any other emotion.
Natalie kneels down before him, flips up the quilt, and undoes the bottom three buttons of his shirt, exposing his stomach. Between her fingertips, she wields the double-edged blade for a safety razor. She carefully nicks the skin above his father’s belly button. She looks up at him, detects no reaction.
She makes intersecting six-inch-long slices into his stomach, then carves a large circle around the lines, working around the seeping blood. Upon finishing, she evaluates her work and nods.
“I’m going to bring you back, daddy,” Natalie says to him, kissing his knuckles. “I promise.”
Splendid Thing
Rosa went from smiling to bawling in less time than it took to blink. I pulled her in and held her against my bare chest. She pounded my ribs with her closed fists.
“Why won’t you understand! There is no other way! If we don’t kill him soon, you’ll come to school one day and find that he killed me. How are you going to feel then? Especially if he figures out that you’re my lover! You would follow me to the Pearly Gates.”
“Rosa, this talk of killing is crazy.”
She pushed herself back and slapped me hard across the face. “You think I’m crazy?”
Have you ever heard of a book having its own soundtrack? Well this one does!
About the Authors
RUSS COLCHAMIRO is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany sci-fi backpacking series Finders Keepers, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, editor of the sci-fi mystery anthology, Love, Murder & Mayhem, and contributing author for his newest project, Murder in Montague Falls, a noir novella collection, all with Crazy 8 Press.
Russ has contributed to several other anthologies including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, They Keep Killing Glenn, Altered States of the Union, Thrilling Adventure Yarns, Brave New Girls vols. 3&4, Camelot 13, TV Gods 2, and Footprints in the Stars.
He is now finalizing the first in an ongoing SFF mystery series featuring his hard-boiled private eye Angela Hardwicke and has several other SFF, crime fiction, and children’s book projects in the works.
Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, their twin ninjas, and their crazy dog, Simon.
For more on Russ’s works, visitwww.russcolchamiro.com, and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @AuthorDudeRuss.
SAWNEY HATTON is an author, editor, and screenwriter who has long loved playing in the dark. His published works include the Dark Comedy novel Dead Size, the YA Noir novella Uglyville, and the Dark Fiction short story collection Everyone Is a Moon. He also edited the Sci-Fi Horror anthology What Has Two Heads, Ten Eyes, and Terrifying Table Manners?
Other incarnations of Sawney have produced marketing videos, attended chili cook-offs, and played the banjo and sousaphone (not at the same time). As of this writing, he is still very much alive.
For more semi-unseemly insights into Sawney, visit his website at www.SawneyHatton.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
PATRICK THOMAS is the award-winning author of the beloved Murphy’s Lore series and the darkly hilarious Dear Cthulhu advice empire.
His 40+ books include Fairy with a Gun, By Darkness Cursed, Lore & Dysorder, Dead to Rites, Startenders, As the Gears Turn, Cthulhu Explains It All, and Exile and Entrance. His is the co-author of the Mystic Investigators series, The Santa Heist, and the Jack Gardner mysteries.
Patrick is the co-editor of Camelot 13 (with John French), New Blood (with Diane Raetz), and Hear Them Roar (with CJ Henderson), co-created The Wildsidhe Chronicles YA series and is the creator of the Agents of the Abyss series.
He has had more than 150 short stories published in magazines and anthologies, with his work for YA and children including the Ughabooz books, the Undead Kid Diaries, the Joy Reaper books, and the Babe B. Bear Mysteries as Patrick T. Fibbs.
Welcome to the super huge, A Fool’s Circle MEGA giveaway!!! Check out this amazing Domestic Thriller by Suzanne Seddon, and enter to win this fantastic haul!
A Fool’s Circle
Publication Date: March 17th, 2019
Genre: Thriller/ Domestic Thriller/ Suspense
Kate Sanders has suffered many years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her abusive husband Alan, and convinces herself that she is only holding the family together for the sake of her eight-year-old daughter. If it wasn’t for her best friend Jill Reynolds, she would have taken the suicide option a long time ago.
As she desperately seeks a way to escape, she is contacted by a solicitor. Kate’s old aunt has died and she has been left a small fortune.
For the first time, she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. She dreams of a fresh start, a new home, a new life. What Kate doesn’t know is that Jill and Alan have their own secrets, and are both desperate to get their hands on her money.
Kate soon finds herself falling for the charms of Jonathon Jacobs in what she believes to be fate finally intervening and offering her a second chance, unaware that each move he makes has been directed, orchestrated and well-rehearsed as he begs her to leave her husband Alan.
But is it all too late, as she finds herself in the frame for murder?
Suzanne Seddon was born in 1968 in Islington, London. After leaving school she had many interesting jobs, from swimming teacher to air hostess, and was able to travel the globe. Now a single mum to her teenage daughter Poppy-willow, Suzanne spends her days writing and has written several articles for magazines and newspapers.
Growing up, Suzanne witnessed mental and physical abuse within her own family which strongly influenced her when she wrote her first play, A Fool’s Circle, when she attended the famous Anna Scher Theatre. Suzanne, however, was not content to leave it there and decided to go ahead and transform her play into a novel.
Not one to shy away from exciting challenges, she also wrote, acted, directed, cast and produced a trailer for the book around her hometown in Islington with the support of local businesses, who recognised the drive and importance of Suzanne and her work.
Suzanne is a passionate writer and she is determined to be heard so that the issue of domestic abuse is raised amongst the public’s consciousness, empowering others to speak out. She wants those who suffer at the hands of another to have their voices heard, loud and clear.
If you are looking for the ultimate book to read on Halloween night, look no further!
Welcome to the blog tour for Laurel Hightower’s Whispers in the Dark. This tale will give your goosebumps goosebumps! Follow along for exclusive content and a chance to win a signed copy (US only) or a digital copy in your preferred format (International)!
Rose McFarland is a trained killer–a Memphis S.W.A.T. sniper with a secret. Her team knows about the burn scars that lurk under her clothes, a legacy of the house fire that killed her father and brother sixteen years before. Her supervisors know that she spent two years in a rehabilitative facility, healing and learning to cope with the emotional trauma of the fire. But no one knows about the visions that drove her there, angry spirits that consumed her childhood, alienated her from her family and made her doubt her own sanity–the Whispers.
When Charlie Akers, a half-brother she never knew, ends up on the wrong side of Rose’s rifle, she unwittingly sets off a chain of events that puts her family in the middle of increasingly dangerous paranormal visitations. Charlie won’t stay dead, and soon ghosts from Rose’s past are creeping back into her life. People she’s killed in the line of duty, family she thought long buried, every one of them under the influence of Rose’s greatest fear, the Whispers themselves.
As the walls between our world and the world of the dead grow thin, Rose will have to face her old nightmares to stop the Whispers from breaking free. If she can’t, it won’t just be Memphis that falls to the dead–there will be no safe place left on earth for the living.
Laurel Hightower grew up in Kentucky, attending college in California and Tennessee before returning home to horse country, where she lives with her husband, son and two rescue animals, Yattering the cat (named for the Clive Barker short story) and Ladybug the adorable mutt. She definitely wants to see a picture of your dog, and often bonds with complete strangers over animal stories. A lifetime reader, she would raid her parents’ bookshelves from an early age, resulting in a number of awkward conversations about things like, “what does getting laid mean?” She loves discovering new favorite authors, and supporting the writing and reading community.
Laurel works as a paralegal in a mid-size firm, wrangling litigators by day and writing at night. A bourbon and beer girl, she’s a fan of horror movies and true life ghost stories. Whispers in the Dark is her first novel, though there are always more in the pipeline, and she loves researching anything horror related. She can usually be found working on the next project into the wee hours, sometimes as late as ten at night, as long as her toddler allows. Follow her on social media, even though she’s really bad at it, and she’ll follow you back. Plus you’ll be rewarded by pictures of cute dogs and kids.
How cool is this cover?! It’s perfect for a collection of spine-tingling stories inspired by none other than The Twighlight Zone!
Ten Tales of a Dark Tomorrow
Expected Publication Date: October 21, 2019
Genre: Speculative Fiction/ Sci-Fi
Ten speculative fiction stories inspired by the original Twilight Zone series, including cautionary tales, horror, science fiction, and more.
In the spirit of that iconic, timeless show, these mysterious and gripping narratives explore parallel worlds, faraway planets, dystopian societies, and unsettling reality.
• A toddler shifts through parallel worlds, changing into different versions of herself. What would a mother do for her daughter?
• A chef finds an alternate food source on a remote world. When the new chef arrives, will he be forced to reveal a horrific secret?
• A twelve-year-old Earth girl is randomly chosen to rule the galaxy. Why are galactic administrators so desperate to stop her?
• Humanity is on trial, annihilation at stake. Can an underdog alien lawyer save us?
• Time seems to stand still as a young boy bikes with his troubled friend. Is the friend causing this phenomenon—and what if he doesn’t stop it?
Explore space and time—and confront humanity’s deepest fears—with Ten Tales of a Dark Tomorrow.
She says nothing, content to burrow into my chest. I look at the top of her head: thick blond hair, a line of pink scalp at her part. She’s wicked smart for her age, and I’m still trying to get used to that. The doctors have used words like gifted, genius, and prodigy. She plays piano pieces that most couldn’t master at any age. She can multiply three-digit numbers in her head instantly. She reads voraciously and beat me in chess the first time we played. People say she is a gift. I smile, but only I know what she is. She’s my child, but she isn’t—she’s a version, a duplicate.
Kevin A. Kuhn is a proud member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. His first novel, Do You Realize?, won five independent literary awards and spent time as a number one Amazon best seller in four countries. He is also a retired technology executive who currently teaches at a major business school. Kevin lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with his wife, Melinda, and their five kids—three human children and two schnoodles.
Welcome to the blog tour for exciting Adventure Thriller, Dawn of the Assassin, by Bill Brewer! To celebrate its launch, we have loads of exclusive content including a guest post from the author, and an AMAZING giveaway to enter — A signed copy of the book and a $25 Amazon Gift Card (U.S. Only)! International readers will have a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Dawn of the Assassin
Expected Publication Date: October 15, 2019
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Thriller
Dawn of the Assassin is an action/adventure thriller in which David Diegert, a young man of mixed race from a dysfunctional family, is coerced into becoming a hitman for an immensely wealthy, powerful man.
Thrust into violent situations, he surprises everyone, including himself, with how deadly he can be. After successfully completing trial missions, Diegert is selected for an advanced training program. The fate of the one person he loves, the reputation of his trainer and his own life depend on his ability to prevail in the final challenge of the program, the tournament of assassins.
With fast-paced writing, immersive action scenes, and surprises for Diegert around every corner, Dawn of the Assassin, is sure to keep thriller fans turning the pages.
“Just remain calm. They may not take anything or find us very interesting.”
“These guys are pussies. Let’s kick ass.”
“Oh no, you don’t. You start a fight with them, and they will simply scuttle the whole boat, leaving us without even a life raft.”
“Bullshit.”
The Somalis shouted for them to stop talking. There were three pirates on board and three more in the skiff. The small size of their open-hulled, rundown old boat surprised Diegert. It wasn’t more than ten feet long, and Diegert wouldn’t have wanted to cross a Minnesota lake in that thing, let alone the Indian Ocean.
One of the pirates went belowdecks and searched for valuables. The other two stayed above and kept their AK-47s in their hands. The pirate belowdecks let out a loud ululation and rejoiced for whatever he had found. The pirate guarding Barney shouted down to him, and when the other pirate shouted back, he couldn’t stop himself and went down below. The single pirate on deck was also distracted by what was going on below. Diegert seized the moment. He elbowed the pirate in the chest, bashed him in the mouth, grabbed the back of his head, and drove his face into a cleat on the mast, splitting his cranium on the rigid piece of metal.
Barney motioned for Diegert to stop, but the younger man stripped the AK off the dying pirate and descended into the cabin. The two pirates belowdecks were so amazed with the case of guns they’d found that, when they turned to see who was coming, Diegert struck the first one with a buttstock to the face. The second received a hand blade strike to the larynx. Both were dazed, and Diegert wrapped the strap of the AK-47 around the first guy’s neck and backhauled him over his shoulder. The force of the maneuver broke the pirate’s neck, and Diegert knew it when he heard the vertebrae snap. The second guy was coughing and struggling to breathe. Diegert noticed a knife on the man’s belt. He grabbed the man’s knife, slashed his throat, and plunged the blade into his chest. The pirate crumpled to the floor as blood bubbled out of his neck.
Three down, three to go. Diegert took the AK-47s and ascended the stairs. He tossed one to Barney and proceeded to the stern where the pirate’s skiff was tethered to the Sue Ellen. The men in the skiff were confused by the commotion on board. Diegert took full advantage of their lack of communication and their expectation that sailors wouldn’t fight back to open fire with the AK. The volley of bullets cut down two while striking the legs of the third.
With the dull illumination of the stern safety light, Diegert could see the third man was wounded, having fallen onto his back in the boat. Diegert’s weapon had a flashlight taped to it. Turning it on, he could see the remaining pirate better. The guy was young, maybe fifteen or sixteen, yet he had a rifle and was pointing it in Diegert’s direction. The defender of the Sue Ellen hesitated to see if the boy made any gesture of surrender. When the wounded pirate leveled his barrel at Diegert, he sealed his fate. With a rapid burst, the young sea robber’s life ended with bullets to the chest and head.
From the moment the second pirate went down into the cabin until the last shot was fired, barely two minutes had passed, and six lives had ended. Diegert’s adrenaline was on full blast, and he was still on point, making sure there were no other threats.
“Relax,” said Barney. “They’re all dead and we’re OK.”
Bill Brewer is a member of the Faculty of the College of Health Sciences and Technology at RIT where he serves as the Director of Exercise Science within the Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition. His areas of instruction include Anatomy & Physiology as well as numerous courses in Exercise Science.
Bill is a family man, happily married and the proud father of a son and two daughters. He lives in the South Wedge of Rochester NY. and loves to find outdoor adventure in the Adirondacks and in the Frontenac region of Ontario, Canada.
Constable Outreach 35
A Fool’s Circle
Dawn of the Assassin
