The Dish Dog

     

The Dish Dog

By  Peter Davidson

ISBN: 9798351893662
324 Pages
Available in Paperback and on Kindle

Synopsis:

Someone is operating the largest stock market insider trading scheme in the history of the United States, that is making millions of dollars in illegal profits. Whoever it is has access to secret information about numerous major corporations before the information is made available to the general public. Perhaps it is a nationally-known radio or TV host of a financial program, a financial journalist, or maybe even a Pulitzer Prize winner.

The perpetrator of the insider trading scheme has hidden their identity and covered their tracks through layers of elusive actions that all seem to lead nowhere. But, the perpetrator may not have planned on a brilliant FBI forensic accountant, Dr. Kimberly King, doggedly leading the investigation to uncover their identity and to put them out of business.

My Thoughts:

The Dish Dog is a whirlwind tale told from a few different perspectives. It opens with a thirty-something busboy, Harley Ross, receiving a letter from the mysterious "Emerald Investment Strategies" with a hot tip on a stock to buy to make loads of money. These missives come sporadically and nobody knows who is behind the elusive investment newsletter, but they always pay out. Another narrator is the secretive stock tip sender. However the highlight character of this book is Dr. Kimberly King, known as K.K. to her peers. K.K. is a forensic accountant for the FBI, and has been tasked with investigating this case of potential insider trading and market manipulation. 

And so we get to follow K.K. on her first major investigation, as she follows leads to try to suss out who exactly is behind Emerald Investment Strategies. She has to struggle to get information from participants like Harley, who are reminded with every newsletter that "loose lips sink ships." At the same time, we get to learn more about the EIS prodigy, including how they have operated for so long without being caught, and why they are doing what they do. The adversaries travel around the country (sometimes further) trying to stay ahead of each other and intrigue abounds. Will K.K. crack the case and become a successful forensic accountant? Will EIS get their happily every after? Will Harley be stuck as a busboy forever?

When I started reading The Dish Dog, I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to feel about it. First of all, the setting and topic was something that I am mostly unfamiliar with. I've traded penny/partial stocks here and there, but pretty much everything I learned about the stock market was from playing Wall Street Kid on the Nintendo as a youth.  That's actually the first video game I ever beat, which probably says a lot about how boring I was as a child. But I digress. As expected of a book focused on the stock market and financial crime, there were a lot of numbers. And I mean a LOT. At some points, my dyslexic brain had to take a pause, or re-read a portion multiple times.

Another reason I was unsure about this book is that while I have read other books that I would consider light thrillers and enjoyed them, mystery and thriller are not my go-to genres. Mostly because I always figure out the twist or surprise reveal before it happens. (And indeed I did.) So the non-favored genre choice combined with the unfamiliar setting - not to mention the abundance of numbers - could have been a recipe for disaster. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised. It did not take too long for the story to pull me in and it kept me invested - pun intended. ^.^

Overall, The Dish Dog was an enjoyable read. Despite figuring out the reveal before it happened, the story that gets you to that point was entertaining, and the characters were mostly likable. (I'm still on the fence about the dentist...)

The Dish Dog was released on January 30, 2023 and is available at Amazon. I received a complimentary copy from the author Peter Davidson in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Parent's Guide:

This book is complex, but the story is interesting. There isn't any real questionable violence, or any adult themes that would be seen as controversial - other than in the crime sense - but it is a mature topic. The setting could be seen as real world relatable for much older kids, especially those interested in finance or criminal investigation. I would consider this book as upper teen friendly in complexity and entertainment value.

The Anatomy of Ghosts

    

The Anatomy of Ghosts
By  Andrew Taylor

ISBN: 9781401302870
412 Pages
Available in Paperback, Hardcover, Audible Audiobook, and on Kindle
Trigger Warning: Violence, Death, Suicide, SA/R, Ethnic Slurs

Synopsis:

1786, Jerusalem College, Cambridge

The ghost of Sylvia Whichcote is rumored to be haunting Jerusalem ever since student Frank Oldershaw claimed to have seen the dead woman prowling the grounds and was locked up because of his violent reaction to these disturbed visions.

Desperate to salvage her son's reputation, Lady Anne Oldershaw employs John Holdsworth, author of The Anatomy of Ghosts -- a stinging account of why ghosts are mere delusion--to investigate. But his arrival in Cambridge disrupts an uneasy status quo as he glimpses a world of privilege and abuse, where the sinister Holy Ghost Club governs life at Jerusalem more effectively than the Master, Dr. Carbury, ever could.

And when Holdsworth finds himself haunted--not only by the ghost of his dead wife, Maria, but also by Elinor, the very-much-alive Master's wife--his fate is sealed. He must find Sylvia's murderer, or else the hauntings will continue. And not one of this troubled group will leave the claustrophobic confines of Jerusalem unchanged.

My Thoughts:

Anatomy of Ghosts, the book that took twelve years to read. No, seriously. This book was the first ARC that I ever won from the LibraryThing early reviewers platform when I started reviewing books in 2010. I won a physical ARC and I was so excited to read it. It came in the mail right before we left on a trip to go visit my parents for the holidays, so I brought it with me to give me something to do on the 3 and a half hour drive. Sometime during the next few days, the book disappeared. I was pretty sure that I left it in my mom's car, but she insisted that she couldn't find it. Mind you, this was before the book was even published, so I could not easily get another copy. So I shelved the review, sure that the book would resurface eventually. Time went on, my youngest ended up being way more hands on than expected, my mental health took a nosedive, I dealt with nightmare house situations, I lost my home to a hurricane flood, the covid pandemic hit - you know, life happened. The book was forgotten. Then in early 2022, I was visiting my sister and I spotted the ARC on her bookshelf. My mom found it at some point and sent it home with her assuming it was one of her books (which it obviously wasn't, but nobody in my family will turn away a free book...). I have no idea how long she had it. But I finally was able to reclaim it. At which point I attempted to read it, but gave up very fast. I was not in the same headspace that I was when I first received it, and the content was really dark. I feared that this book would become my second official DNF. But after some reflection, I refused to let that happen. So back in September, on a whim, I checked out the audiobook from my library, and FINALLY completed the read.

Now, as for the content of the book itself - the premise was interesting, but I struggled getting into it each time I attempted the read. The writing is good, but the pace starts out very slow.

The driving plot of The Anatomy of Ghosts is an attempt at personal redemption for the main character, John Holdsworth, who experiences financial struggles and then loses his wife. He is hired by Lady Anne Oldershaw, who learned of him from knowledge of his book "The Anatomy of Ghosts", to attend to her son Frank. Frank has seemingly lost his wits after seeing what he claims is the ghost of a friend's wife. Lady Anne hires Holdsworth to both counsel her son and convince him that ghosts aren't real, and also to organize her late husband's library. With nothing else going on, and no other place to go, Holdsworth accepts her offer and travels off to the fictional setting of Jerusalem College in Cambridge, to investigate the ghost matter.

What follows is a story of conspiracy, intrigue, upper class secret societies, and murder. The narration is done in such a way to create lots of suspense, and there are plenty of twists and turns - which I appreciated because I'm disappointed when books are predictable. At points, Holdsworth finds himself questioning his own reality and wondering if the ghosts are, in fact, really there. The gothic imagery used to describe the college helps to support the overall feel of the story, reinforcing the dark vibes. This works well because the events occurring within the story are also very dark, and in some instances psychologically disturbing. This book has descriptive depictions of murder, sexual assault, and other questionable content; and is not for the faint of heart. 

Despite the mystery, and the abundance of lore, the book still fell flat. None of the characters were really likable, and honestly, in this day and age with how the world is going around us, hearing more tales of rich white men abusing their power with no repercussions is just mentally exhausting.

Overall, The Anatomy of Ghosts was an interesting read, but it takes time to get into and because of the slower pace you may have to really like the genre or have a connection to the setting to maintain interest. It wasn't so bad that I wanted to abandon the read, but some days I just wasn't eager to pick it up and continue.

Parent's Guide:

This is not a book for kids. Much older teens, maybe. The content is dark and at times quite disturbing.

That Thing in the Sky

 

That Thing In the Sky
By  Christopher Francis

ISBN: 9798624706729
152 Pages
Available in Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, and on Kindle
Trigger Warning: Mentions Cancer, Death of a loved one

Synopsis:

There's nothing in the sky, except that.

Kidnapped by an alien, fifth-graders, Margaret and Bailey fear for their lives and the fate of the world.

Thinking the world is coming to an end, Bailey and Margaret watch a strange object hurtle from the sky. The two nervously investigate the mysterious crash and discover an alien has landed on earth. A teenage farm boy named Sheldon joins them as they try to help the lost creature return to its home. However, they soon realize this alien is not alone.

My Thoughts:

In That Thing In the Sky, childhood friends Bailey and Margaret get the adventure of a lifetime when they face an active alien invasion. What starts out as a normal day quickly unravels when they witness an unknown object crash land on a local farm, discover that the crashing object was an alien craft, and then work with a teenager from the farm to attempt to return the alien to his home.

This story is presented as a fun E.T.-esque children's read, but it is written like an action packed thriller, or a horror story. There are literary jump-scares. One of the children is injured with the mention of blood. During the invasion, they believe that friends and loved ones have been killed. There are several moments where they are clearly afraid for their own lives and safety. The underlying theme is panic and terror.

This children's book also covers the heavy topics of parental illness and loss. One of the children has a parent dealing with cancer. Combined with the stressful situation of the invasion and its associated concerns, that's a lot for little kids. That Thing In the Sky is supposedly targeted at ages 6-11, but I don't know that I would have let my kids read a story like this at that age. When I read this, my first thought was that any child out there who deals with childhood anxiety (which is a very real and valid thing) would definitely not have a good time with this book. For older kids, like 12 and up, some will probably find it quite enjoyable. But I have to question it's place at the targeted age group.

I read this book in e-book format, so I am only able to comment on the book that was presented to me. Which sadly, had several typos and grammatical errors in the form of such things as unnecessary apostrophes and one-sided quotations - basic editing failures. Hopefully these things were addressed before it went to print.

I have not seen the actual book in print, but according to the promotional materials I have seen, the print edition of the book is very dyslexia friendly, with a larger font and cream colored paper. I find this significant to note, because lot of books don't take this into consideration and, as a dyslexic reader myself, I would have loved to have more books like that as a child.

I received an advanced review copy of this book via StoryOrigin in exchange for a fair and honest review, and all opinions are my own.

Parent's Guide:

This story is intended for children, but consider the information in the above review and use parental discretion.