REVIEWS PAGE
LESS DEAD
Suspense Thriller
ISBN: 9781603180405
L & L Dreamspell
RAVES FOR LESS DEAD
Fifteen-year-old Jessica Keeling's eyes stung as she forced them open. Milky eyes stared into hers, the eyes of a dead man. For a moment she couldn't breath. She opened her mouth to scream, but instead tasted death. The smell of stale urine and dried blood filled her nostrils.
Jessica, or Jade as she called herself, was a street kid and had been since her father dropped her off at a Starbucks and never returned. Now she was in big trouble. The one person who said he knew her father and would help bring them together was dead. But this wasn't just any man, this was a Councilman. Did she kill him? She couldn't remember. In fact she couldn't remember anything after having a drink at Numbers, the club where they were to meet. Now she's on the run.
Rube is Jade's only friend in the world and he's worried. He's not seen her in a week and that's just not like her. He turns to the only person that he feels will help - Niki.
Niki is an ex-policewoman who works as a counselor at Open Palms which is a shelter for run-away kids. Jade had been there before and Niki had seen the potential in this young girl through her ability to dance. So through her sources on the street and through Open Palms, she and Rube strike out to find Jade. Their fear for her survival climbs as other young street girls are molested and murdered. Will they find her in time or is it already too late?
Less Dead turned out to be a book that I really had problems putting down. Every page brought a new problem for Niki and Rube. And every time I thought I knew who was to blame for the murder of the Councilman and the street girls I found that I was wrong. Less Dead will really keep you on the edge of your seat and turning the pages.
Less Dead is the 1st in the Niki Alexander series. Lost Witness will be released September 26, 2009. I can't wait!
Reviewed by Martha A. Cheves; A Book and A Dish
. . . Elvebak delivers a gritty mystery focusing on the sad and traumatic lives of runaway teens. Plenty of red herrings are offered along with a suspenseful plot and realistic characters. Elvebak’s credible dialogue enhances the story, which moves at a fast pace. Visual imagery is at times graphic, although essential to this well-written thriller.
Midwest Book Reviews
By Reviewer Christy Tillery French
Less Dead “…doesn't pull any punches about what happens to teenagers who are homeless. The story reveals why it is so very difficult to reach these kids and make a difference in their lives. Niki's devotion may be built out of guilt, but it is sincere, and the reader roots for her to succeed in finding the girl and making sense of everything that has happened.”
Full review at WPBookReviews
A good mystery, a good read. Elvebak writes very well. This is especially fun for Houstonians, who see their city as a backdrop.
Julie Martin (Baltimore)
. . . As this occasionally very graphic novel in terms of language and the descriptive imagery of abuse and dead bodies unfolds, author Laura Elvebak casts an unflinching look at the teen homeless problem. Set in Houston before Hurricane Ike, the novel considers those that are truly are "Less Dead" and left to fend for themselves by any means necessary. In so doing, she also considers those who would prey upon such children as well as the many types of people who make up the street scene.
Along the way she tells a twisting story of murder and abuse primarily through Niki and Jade. While both characters come from different walks of life both are just trying to survive day to day in their different economic situations. For the street teenager Jade, the hope that she might be reunited with her father keeps the spirit alive inside of her. For the counselor Niki, she seeks redemption for the past and a chance to get put a tragedy for which she feels no end of guilt behind her. While the physical threats and internal emotional demons are different, they are no less real, and it becomes questionable whether either character will survive body and soul. Author Laura Elvebak creates characters that readers come to care about.
Kevin R. Tipple, reviewer
Full review at Kevin’s Corner
Lost Witness, A Niki Alexander Mystery
ISBN: 078-1-60318-144-0
2009, L&L Dreamspell
Available now at Murder By The Book, Amazon.com (in print and on Kindle), B&N.com, Fictionwise, and Cash’s Closet.
Lost Witness is the story of murder, love and betrayal, and the child who will rip open the lives of a society matron, two feuding brothers, and threaten the future of Open Palms, a Houston teen shelter.
Lost Witness - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
'Barky looked forward to celebrating his sixteenth birthday by getting high. He grinned at his reflection in the storefront window, admiring the Mohawk he had shaped with a discarded razor in the Shop-N-Stop restroom. With a furtive sweep of the street, he veered off onto a gravel drive behind a strip mall. Satisfied no one could see him, he two-fingered the blunt from his jeans pocket. Soo-weeeet!... A noise distracted him and he coughed out smoke. His eyes snapped open. He froze. Sounded like a rat. Barky hated rats, terrified they'd find him asleep in some doorway and use his skinny-ass body for an appetizer.'
Barky is a street kid and when he picks up a tire iron and goes in search of the rat that interrupted his birthday celebration he found instead the beaten body of a woman. But that's not all he found. Hidden behind the dumpster was the woman's child who clung to Barky like glue. Wednesday was "Street Church" night so when he spotted Niki in the crowd he decided she would be the perfect person to turn his little friend over to. Niki is an ex-police officer who works as a counselor at Open Palm, a shelter for street kids. Barky was one of her "kids" so he knew she would take good care of the little boy.
After talking to the police, Niki learns that the child's mother was a drug mule smuggling drugs from Mexico into Houston. As much as she would love to keep him, Niki knows that she must turn him over to social services who will place him in a foster home. But when he turns up missing, she will leave no rock unturned until she finds him.
Lost Witness is a spellbinding story that involves murder, drugs and love. It gives you the insight of what really goes on in the minds of the kids that have been swept out into the streets by parents and society. It gives you hope that people like Niki really do exist and their devotion to these kids will making a difference. Plus, Lost Witness will make you realize that the drug dealers will stop at nothing to acquire their drugs and make their sales. This was a very intense book that I couldn't put down.
Lost Witness - Review by Christy Tillery,
Midwest Book Reviews
Niki Alexander, counselor of runaway teens at the Open Palms Shelter, becomes involved in the investigation into the murder of a young woman from Mexico when Barky, a runaway, finds the woman's body near a small boy hiding behind a dumpster. Barky, afraid he will be blamed for the murder, turns the boy over to Niki. The traumatized boy refuses to talk but connects with Niki and she is reluctant to hand him over to child protective services. Not long after he is placed with a foster family, he disappears and Niki, feeling guilty, is determined to find him. So are homicide investigator Luis Perez and his partner Nelson Spalonetti, who suspect the dead woman was a drug mule and that the small boy may have witnessed her murder. Niki turns to the street for answers to the boy's whereabouts while peripherally teaming up with Nelson Spalonetti. As they follow clues to a case that becomes more complex as it develops, the attraction between Niki and Nelson heats up, as does the unknown danger awaiting them.
Lost Witness is Elvebak's second thriller featuring teen counselor Niki Alexander. Niki is an intriguing character, a former police officer who quit the force after tragically shooting a teenage boy and now is committed to helping runaways so they don't suffer the same fate. Elvebak delivers a well-written mystery, set against the colorful backdrop of Houston, Texas. The galvanizing plot is filled with twists and turns and enough red herrings to keep the reader guessing throughout. Characters are realistic and credible, and Elvebak's portrayal of runaways insightful and empathetic.
“Searching For Rachel”
in:
A Death in Texas
A Final Twist Writers Mystery Anthology, L&L Dreamspell
ISBN: 978-1-60318-0511
The disappearance of Rachel changed her younger sister Tracy's life forever. Now after two years, Tracy has no one. After her father walked out on the family, her mother gave up. Now alone and scared, Tracy is out on the street searching for the runaway Rachel, certain that if she finds her, her father would come home.
“Dying For Chocolate”
in:
A Box of Texas Chocolates
A Final Twist Writers Mystery Anthology, L&L Dreamspell
ISBN: 978-1-60318-140-2
First Place in the Anthology Category in the New England Book Festival.
A meek child care provider suspects that one of her employers is having an affair with her husband and vows revenge with a special box of chocolates.
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