Kim Pritekel

I'm one-third through the audiobook. I picked up this author because Kim Pritekel came recommended in a list. I wasn't expecting what seems to me so far to be an old-fashioned novel with an old-fashioned romance, albeit a lesbian romance.

The narrator is Heidi Bindhammer who has a pleasant voice that suits the material. That may sound like a harmless comment, but embarrassing as it is to say, I almost always prefer a male narrator, especially if the choice is between an American male or female voice.

I'm enjoying the setting of a near abandoned old mining town, Wynter, in Colorado, and am picturing a town we drove through on a driving holiday through Colorado.

I ve waded on and on and on expecting the novel to finally provide something special but it didn’t. Zero heat, and not enough else to compensate.… (mehr)

I read a lot of books, but they tend to be set in places like Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Europe, or somewhere in Great Britain and Ireland. I have read more books set in New Delhi or Greenland than what I've read set in my own hometown. So, it was an interesting experience reading a book set in Pueblo, Colorado. I would not say this book is the best I've read, though it was pretty good, but it sticks out in my reading for being so local without making a big deal of the fact. I thought a bit about the experience of colonialism in literature while reading this book, and how easy it is to think one's hometown and local experiences are boring and not worth examination when literature is ALWAYS about someplace else. The fact that so many Americans come from families that emigrated from somewhere else maybe means that we are a nation colonized by the rest of the world, absorbing everyone else's stories while discounting our own lived stories as unimportant by comparison. In any case, this book was good, a story about a lesbian woman who returns to Pueblo to bury her childhood best friend. It deals with issues of identity, loss, and the nature of various sorts of relationships.… (mehr)

It's weird, I feel like I've read a Kim Pritekel book before, and yet, I haven't (or any of the stories that she has posted at the Royal Academy of Bards either. But as I was reading this book I just couldn't shake the feeling like I'd read her stuff somewhere.

That weird feeling that I can't explain aside, this was a pretty cool book. It was a thriller, just as good if not better than any James Rollins, Raymond Khoury, Tess Gerritsen thriller that I've read, and, to add to its awesomeness, it had a little bit of LesFic Romance in it too. That's never a bad thing. Oh, who am I kidding, I picked it up for the latter reason (as well as the fact that the summary blurb said something about the main character working at a library, and I'm a sucker for any story that has a librarian in it) and was happy that it was such an awesome Thriller too.

It's the story of Burton. She had been a reporter, until a horrific attack took so much from her. She retreats to a small mountain town in Colorado and changes her entire life, becoming a librarian. But, her old job and an old mystery that she didn't get to look into because of the attack sucks her back in, and suddenly she finds herself on the hunt again for the story, and it takes her far away from her new oasis of calm and solitude. I won't give away too much about the romance part of the plot, since I really liked that I was sorta surprised at how it unfolded. I had suspicions, but, then I wasn't totally sure. But, the romance was good, and was seamlessly intertwined with the rest of the story. One flowed into the other. And I really liked the end too, again, I had had thoughts about what was going to happen at the end, and I was presently surprised that I was only sorta right.

I did think that the librarian parts were well done, the interaction with the older lady who wanted the Nora Roberts but didn't want her husband to know because he didn't quite approve was spot on (comes up more than you'd think). I was a little bummed that she was taking a spot from a librarian with a MLS, but, even that was written around quite deftly by Pritekel. (What can I say, I just know too many librarians with MLSes who don't have full time jobs, so, non MLS'd peeps taking one of those jobs sorta got under my skin in a way that had nothing to do with the fictional story and everything to do with real life).

It was thrilling, it was heartfelt at times, it was scary at times, and on occasion I just wanted to punch some of the characters on the page. And through it all I definitely couldn't put it down. If you want a thriller that's not a "Boys Club" sort of Cotton Malone, SIGMA, etc. thriller (not that they're bad), then this is the thriller for you!!

I got this galley via Netgalley on behalf of Sapphire Books Publishing.… (mehr)

Blinded is an action-adventure novel that keeps your heart pounding and the pages turning. Set in the high-octane world of broadcast journalism, the novel chronicles the drive present in good journalists and the high received from getting that tough story.
The main character is Burton Blinde, reporter from a Colorado television station. Burton possesses the tenacity of a bulldog and, once aware of a story, will keep digging until the truth is found. Coupled with her uncanny instincts and ‘gut’ feelings, Burton has made a name for herself, locally, nationally, and internationally. As the story begins she has just landed her dream job at CNN, but the tenacity that defined her personality demanded that she finish some items that she had already started. In an impromptu interview with a controversial Senator, a grenade is tossed under the limo, killing the driver and the Senator and badly wounding Burton. Her news career in Colorado literally went out with a bang.
The explosion did more than just cause physical damage. It did something to her psyche as well and she lost the drive that had once been her greatest asset. She turned down the CNN job, moved to a different town,, and retreated into relative obscurity. Years later, she finally decided to go through the box of belongings gathered when she left the television station. When she looked carefully, she found a cryptically coded message for her help from someone in a small European nation. It seemed her reporter’s instincts and drive were not killed after all. This was possibly the most important story of her career and the lives of thousands depended on her alone. Would she have the right stuff to prevail?
I thought the story line was very good and presented in such a way that I wanted to see what would happen next. The one thing that concerned me was the gay love affair portrayed in the book. Being a traditional guy, I was unsure how I would react to this aspect. However, Ms. Pritekel’s presentation was quite tasteful. It seemed like a natural extension of the story and, in my opinion, was very well done.
Overall, 4 of 5 stars from me. Of course, if you do not like sex in your reading then this book is not for you. If you are averse to gay sex, I would urge that you to give this a try. You may find new insight into the lives of the LGBT community and discover that they are not so different from you or I.
Thanks to NetGalley, Kim Pritekel, and Sapphire Publishing for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.… (mehr)