Showing posts with label intrigue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intrigue. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2015

5 STAR REVIEW OF THE DEAD GAME

Book
5.0 out of 5 stars deliberately leads the reader into a Pandora’s Box, creating a paradoxical effect that is most imaginative and rare…….., February 17, 2015
This review is from: The Dead Game (Paperback)

Usually I don’t like vampire stories, their trite and Susanne Leist’s “The Dead Game” is like a scavenger hunt with a twist of the board game “Clue”. Every character is like a chess piece and just when you think you’ve got checkmate, you realize the game isn’t over yet. Leist has added a refreshing twist with this with a lot of plot twists which prolongs the suspense aspect which keeps the intrigue intense. It’s like Hollywood story meets “The Munsters.” Starting with the haunted house deliberately leads the reader into a Pandora’s Box, creating a paradoxical effect that is most imaginative and rare. Very creative!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

GREAT 5 STAR REVIEW OF THE DEAD GAME On My Birthday!

 
 
 
 

 
on February 17, 2015
 
Format: Paperback
 
Usually I don't like vampire stories, their trite and Susanne Leist's "The Dead Game" is like a scavenger hunt with a twist of the board game "Clue". Every character is like a chess piece and just when you think you've got checkmate, you realize the game isn't over yet. Leist has added a refreshing twist with this with a lot of plot twists which prolongs the suspense aspect which keeps the intrigue intense. It's like Hollywood story meets "The Munsters." Starting with the haunted house deliberately leads the reader into a Pandora's Box, creating a paradoxical effect that is most imaginative and rare. Very creative!

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

5 STAR REVIEW OF THE DEAD GAME


on January 27, 2015
Format: Kindle Edition
The Dead Game begins with a splash of horror introducing us to the End House, a modern day ‘House of Usher’ in the idyllic coastal town of Oasis. Five years later, new uni graduate Linda Bennett has arrived in town after losing her family. She rents out the local book and coffee shop but soon discovers things are not right in Oasis. After she receives a mysterious invitation promising an evening of intrigue and mystery to a party at the End House, her fears are confirmed as the party escalates into a night of terror.

Susanne Leist has a strong visual imagination, vividly depicting the coastal town, strange citizens and the gothic End House. The brief vampiric ‘romance’ scene with Wolf and Linda was especially convincing and suitably creepy.

Friday, August 15, 2014

A GREAT 5 STAR REVIEW OF THE DEAD GAME! WOW!

 
 
5.0 out of 5 stars Manchurian Candidate for the Vampires, August 14, 2014
This review is from: The Dead Game (Kindle Edition)
Shana, " This town is full of secrets, and you don't know which wall has ears...they're afraid that I will unearth all of their horrible secrets. But I'm staying until the bitter end--" This is the quote that allows the whole story to unfold. Linda and her friends are the driving force for the unraveling of these secrets. The plots unravels at a fast pace and maintain the momentum until the very end.

So the story goes. Linda arrives in a Town called ‘Oasis’ to open her book store. Just as she thinks she has found her paradise and desired lifestyle, many unwarranted bad events happen to the town. Even though curiosity kills the cat, the group of friends led by Linda is determined to get to the bottom of a town's supernatural events that have caused unexplained deaths, and many many bizarre incidents. As Manchurian Candidates for the Vampires, they are used as candidates and tools in a murderous, wicked exercise. You cant tell the good guys from the bad guys. Reality, Illusions and nightmares entangled into a tightly woven suspenseful thriller that keeps you edgy, sweating and perhaps screaming.

Its a good read for Vampire Lovers because the plots are not the usual stuff you find in the same genre. Its a good read for non Vampire Lovers because she has a different take on Vampires and Ghosts and every time just when you think the story line becomes clear, you are hitched for another big ride again.

Monday, July 21, 2014

PICTURES TO LIFE

º♪☀♫°✿Imaginile, Vorbesc, Transmit º♪☀♫°✿

 



Beautiful pictures of nature inspire us.
They delight and intrigue us.
They inspire me to write.
Words are empty unless they bring
pictures to life.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

5 STAR REVIEW -- I LOVE IT!

 THIS REVIEWER UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS GOING FOR IN MY BOOK.
5.0 out of 5 stars You are invited to an evening of intrigue..., May 29, 2014


This review is from: The Dead Game (Kindle Edition)

Some books take an eternity to get things kick-started, using slow burn tactics to ramp up suspense or develop story lines, some almost to the point where you almost feel like giving up on them with the thought the ultimate payoff is never going to culminate.
Susanne Leist’s debut opus ‘The Dead Game’ is not one of those books.
From the very moment it gets underway, starting off with a sinister, tempestuous and enthralling prologue section which takes place five years prior to the main story, it launches directly into chills and thrills and lays out a wonderfully dark and engaging foundation on which to build all ensuing events.
After these cataclysmic events in the residence known as End House in the seemingly idyllic Florida town of Oasis, the story now begins in earnest from present day revolving around chief character Linda Barnett who has relocated to this very town in a bid to discover a simple, peaceful existence.
For a while, that is exactly what she finds in this apparently ideally named township, but that is all going to change and soon enough it does, with Oasis becoming plagued by a host of strange and mysterious occurrences, deaths that occur once the sun goes down.
The mysterious invitations to a party hosted by unknown persons, received by Linda and her bunch of compatriots are the spurring agent to initiate events where the worried townsfolk embark on a nightmarish expedition to uncover the dark secrets lurking behind the perfect innocuous facade of oasis.
Leist is a great natural storyteller and she exhibits her skills here, weaving a cornucopia of elements into the fabric of the tale, developing a cast of intriguing characters who engage the reader and draw them into their various stories and agendas.
This is a supernatural thriller, predominantly involving things of a vampire nature, but it is far from your standard generic vampire by the numbers piece, it is skilfully crafted to involve romantic overtures along with lashings of action and loads of building suspense, as well as some atmospheric horror, all neatly balanced without sacrificing any of the components.
Rolling along with a suitable undercurrent of menace and portentous threat, The Dead Game keeps things interesting with a host of plot shifts and moments to maintain a strong desire to continue reading and become absorbed in the frightening secrets engulfing those who dwell in Oasis.
For the most part, the characters are extremely well fleshed out, in particular those in main roles such as pivotal soul Linda herself as well as the mysterious and wealthy Todd, the vivacious Shana Logan and the others in the core group of friends, and the author ensures we care about what happens to these folk, though having the knowledge that not all is right at End House means we’re helpless to warn them against having anything to do with it.
Susanne Leist has constructed a thoroughly engrossing debut novel here and those who enjoy atmospheric supernatural thrillers with a taut and deftly written story will find plenty to captivate them here.

Thursday, December 26, 2013

REMINDER OF MY SALE

REVIEW OF THE DEAD GAME BY TOP1000REVIEWER Dii

The Dead Game by Susanne Leist

The Dead Game
by Susanne Leist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publication Date: August 29, 2013
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc
ISBN: 1478704489
Genre: Adult Paranormal Mystery
Number of Pages: 325
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Overview:
Linda moves to a small town to live a quieter and simpler life. She opens a bookstore and makes new friends. Life is simple–that is until the dead body washes up on shore. Linda is horrified to find out that dead bodies and disappearing tourists are common for this town. As soon as the sun sets, she and her friends are stalked by dark shadows. But this is only the beginning.
Linda and her group receive an unsigned invitation to a party at the deserted house on the hill. They are afraid of the unfriendly hill residents, who only venture out of their homes at night. They attend the party. They are pursued through revolving rooms and dangerous traps, barely escaping with their lives. Two of their own remain trapped in the house. Or so they think.
The Dead Game has begun.
The Dead Game
My Review:
The Dead Game by Susanne Leist
Doesn’t the name Oasis sound like an idyllic place to live? The perfect calm and relaxing place to settle down, Oasis has small town charm, small town neighbors, and even a mysterious and foreboding house about which horror stories are told, oh and bodies are being found, drained of blood. Who or what would drain the blood of its victims? What is the dark secret surrounding the town and its inhabitants? A newcomer to Oasis, Linda can’t help but get involved, especially after a harrowing experience at the End House. Is there a serial murderer going around acting out a vampire fantasy? Is it possible vampires are real? Are there good vamps and bad vamps? From the day Linda entered Oasis, her life was set on a path she could never have imagined, and her boyfriend just may be part of the nightmare she is now living.
The Dead Game by debut author Susanne Leist makes a bold statement by crossing the genre lines, serving up one scoop mystery, one scoop romance and topping it off with a dollop of dark paranormal fantasy. Have you ever been somewhere, listening to someone drone on, while carrying on your own mental conversation, full of snark and attitude? There is lots of that going, lightening those dark moments with a little quirky humor. The main character, Linda is inquisitive to the point of putting herself in danger, as well as her friends who are all on board for playing paranormal super sleuths. They form a rag-tag band of amateur P.I.s playing cat and mouse with some serious evil that has been hiding out in town, waiting to make their play for power and control.
The attention to detail is very strong, from the settings to the characters themselves, mental images are easy to conjure, as well as the actions each character is making. While it doesn’t slow the story down, (which by the way is twisting and convoluted right up to that last page), it does require paying attention, as does the dialogue, which at times seemed too calm and intelligent when I would have been a babbling fool!

Monday, December 16, 2013

THE CLOSED DOOR

I love doors! When they’re closed, aren’t you curious what lies behind them?
That is why I put a door on my book. It plays a part in my book of mystery and intrigue.
I love doors! When they’re closed, aren’t you curious what lies behind them?
That is why I put a door on my book. It plays a part in my book of mystery and intrigue.