Ninie Hammon

Well, I am sure glad I grabbed a copy of Black Water by Ninie Hammon. I have not read any of her work, until now. There is a lot going on and the story is told my multiple points of view. A novel like Black Water, with the title and the cover, lures me in. I love any books that deal with water, whether on it, in it, or under it.

It all starts with Bailey Donahue moving into the Watford House. She is on the run from the Mafia and Witness Protection landed her in the small town of Shadow Rock. She has no intention of being there for long…suicide is on her mind, but she has not met T J and Dobbs…yet.

This unlikely cast of characters, T J, Dobbs, and the sheriff, Brice, come together when Bailey shoots herself. I love the mix of the paranormal and supernatural world, along with realistic characters and the situations they find themselves in. Their need to do something about a danger only they can see does not allow them to turn their back. They risk their lives to save innocent people from losing theirs.

The whole ‘coal country’ crap had me so pissed off, I wanted to do…something. I believe this type of thing continues to this day, companies walking away, leaving their toxic waste behind, leaving it for someone else to clean up. This being the twenty first century, I am amazed that it still happens. What does that say about those who are supposed to be the watchdogs, keeping us safe? I could continue to rant about this part of the book, but there is more to the story and I want you to experience it for yourself.

Through the beginning of the book, I read along, no sense of urgency, but I was curious and the characters quickly began to grow on me. The slow build up made it easy for Ninie Hammon to catch me off guard when the danger overflowed the pages, making the last third or quarter of the book unputdownable. Even though it ended in a predictable manner, sort of, I was happy at the outcome and breathed a sigh of relief when the last word was read.

Bailey finds her purpose, as do T J, Dobbs, and Brice. I love that Black Water is part of the Through The Canvas series. I can see where the series is headed and hope to be along for the ride.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com… (mehr)

“Don’t never underestimate the power of doin’ the right thing, Reverend. Sometimes, it’s the only gift life gives you.”
― Ninie Hammon, Five Days in May

Of all the books I have read for my book club, I think this was one of the best. The book is historical fiction and centers on a small rural town in Oklahoma. There is a tornado hurtling toward the town.

The focus of the book..for most of it..is not the tornado although the reader is made aware of it..it's some of the people who inhabit the town. Each one of them is grappling with a life or death situation, independent of the tornado.

The book shifts around and we get to know these individuals. As each person deals with their own circumstances, ever so closer does the tornado come. In the end, the tornado will change, drastically the lives and thinking of just about everyone.

I did take one point off, not because the story was anything less then a five but because of one horrific scene of animal brutality although, to the writer's credit she does not actually kill the animal. Still close enough and that brought the story a wee bit down for me although it is still incredible and a masterpiece of writing.

I loved this book. And although I will not give spoilers..this one is best gone into knowing as little as possible, I will say my favorite character was Princess. She was just a remarkably crafted character with stunning depth to her. I so enjoyed reading her story..all their stories.

Five Days in May is a great piece of writing. Highly recommended.… (mehr)

I should say at the top of this review that I’m not a big fan of horror except in movies but I requested The Jabberwocky mainly because of the cover. & I did like the idea of this book - a small town trapped literally in the middle of Nowhere USA by some unknown...something. I also liked most of the characters. The story was, for the most part, entertaining although I really didn’t need all the references to bodily fluids.

However, my biggest complaint & for me it’s a big one, I don’t mind a cliffhanger at the end of a book as long as I feel there has been a satisfactory ending to whatever part of the story is being told here. I didn’t feel that here. There are apparently seven books to this story but I think I’ll stop at one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review… (mehr)