Darden North, MD

“The Son – Silas Rising” introduces the world to a unique serial killer. At first glance, a stealthy political assassin driven by personal revenge may not seem to represent a new story line. But when the early back story reveals that Silas seeks payback for his parents’ premature death as the result of the newly enacted, but stingy, U.S. health care laws, the reader knows that the congressmen responsible don’t have a chance.   Of course, becoming a millionaire through shrewd investing initially gives Silas the benefit of playing the eccentric while having the resources to take down the reckless politicos in imaginative ways, including barbed wire on a Texas ranch.   The first novel of this exciting new series by Doug Dahlgren introduces Silas, the self-made millionaire and serial killer, who leaves clues to his crimes through the words of Revolutionary War heroes.  A reader must admire a new novelist such as Mr. Dahlgren who has a grasp of history and can weave it in...

Early reviewers of this novel touted it as the next “Gone Girl." However, as wonderful as Gillian Flynn's novel is, Paula Hawkins' train overtakes it well before the end of the line. Hawkins' time-stamped structure of the story told in first person by three separate, but deeply entwined female main characters, lets the mystery unravel at just the right speed. The British accents of the three superb female narrators of the audio version of “The Girl on the Train” draw the reader (or listener) into the darkness of the unique tale and its unexpected climax. The voice inflections and diction variations between the jilted Rachel, jealous Anna, and twisted Megan are at times as mesmerizing as the prose.  Alcoholic protagonist Rachel's memory lapses and her struggles with the disease are central to the story line and her human frailty is so exposed and explored that no reader could deny her empathy and sympathy. The female narrators do an outstanding job as we...

There’s good news for writers and readers alike.  Award-winning author John Hough, Jr., has compiled a new “how-to” book on writing dialogue, T he Fiction Writer’s Guide to Dialogue: A Fresh Look at an Essential Ingredient of the Craft , recently published by Allworth Press.  I was fortunate to meet John at a writing conference in Massachusetts a few years ago and benefited from his editorial services during the publication of my current novel and thriller Wiggle Room. John tells me that the new T he Fiction Writer’s Guide to Dialogue is a fun read for readers as well as writers. According to reviewer Jack Shea, Hough’s writing guide magnifies the magic of literature for readers, connecting them to the requirements of good fiction and explaining that readers must be willing to suspend disbelief. For a fiction author like me, whose other profession is rooted deeply in science, John Hough’s new book provides an easy to follow guide regarding the function of fictional dia...