Mini Review: A Pius Man by Declan Finn

Summary:  As the head of Vatican security, Giovanni Figlia must protect a new, African Pope who courts controversy every other day. The Pope's latest project is to make Pius XII, "Hitler's Pope," a saint. Things haven't gotten better since the Pope employed American mercenary Sean Ryan.

Then a body fell onto the Vatican doorstep.

Soon, a pattern emerges-- people who go into the Pius XII historical archives are dying. Each time, a priest has been in the background-- a priest close to the Pope. One of the victims was an al-Qaeda operative, drawing Scott "Mossad" Murphy of Israeli intelligence to Rome.

Soon, Ryan, Murphy and Figlia must join forces to unravel the mystery around the Vatican, as even the man Giovanni is supposed to protect looks like a suspect. To get out of this alive, they must discover if Hitler's Pope was a Nazi collaborator, or a pious man.

Excerpt:

At that moment, part of the building they were passing exploded out and down on them. From six stories up, a set of windows shattered, pouring debris down on their vehicle.

And a moment later, a heavy object landed on the car hood, smashing the windshield. Giovanni Figlia instinctively swerved away from the explosion, and braked hard. The object on his windshield stayed there …

After a few seconds, Wilhelmina and Giovanni got out of the car and studied the scene, wondering if it was safe to go check the damage. She bounced up on her toes to check what had killed Figlia’s car. It was the body of a young-looking, olive-skinned male...without a face.

“Between 25 and 35?” Figlia asked.

“...Sounds like a serial-killer profile,” she answered.

Giovanni grunted and again wanted to reach for his gun. He glanced at the short, pixie-like woman and muttered, “Damn Americans. Here for fifteen minutes and Dante’s Inferno rises to surface level.”

The only carabinieri in the area ran to the scene, leaving his motorcycle behind. He let out a small string of curses, ran back to his vehicle, and immediately radioed for help.
The police were the first responders, followed immediately by the fire department. The firemen quickly moved to douse the flames with the fire hose when Giovanni Figlia tackled the main man on the hose, grabbing him before he could attach the hose to its water supply.

“What are you doing?” the fireman growled. He tried to fight back, but Figlia had already locked one arm into place, totally immobilizing him.

“You’re going to wash away all evidence of the bomb. Use a fire extinguisher or buckets.”

Figlia released him and pulled out his badge wallet before someone pulled a weapon on him. He flashed his identification. “Commandatore Giovanni Figlia, Vatican’s Central Office of Vigilance. That body over there is dead, and not only is my car a secondary crime scene, do you see that line?” He pointed to a white painted line on the cobblestone street. “Sixty years ago, the Nazis put that line down to clearly mark the territory. This side, right now, is Rome.” He sidestepped to in front of his car and pointed toward the colonnade of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Where I’m standing now is Vatican City.”

Mini Review:  If you enjoy thrillers that are big on excitement and action, and heavy on detail with a lot of research well applied, then A Pius Man is for you.  

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Blog Tour: It Was Only Set on Stun by Declan Finn

Blurb:  When security specialist Sean A.P. Ryan agrees to protect actress Mira Nikolic at a Science Fiction convention, he thinks it can't be all bad. It's only a three-day weekend with some colorful characters in costumes.

But Sean is hardly prepared for what awaits him; the costumes, the fanboys, the freaks and geeks are only the beginning. There are actors with attitude problems, writers with rabies, and how do you spot an assassin when everyone is wearing a mask?

This doesn't even account for the real threats. When his client left Europe, she had been a figure of peace in a region that didn't want it. Now that she's an international celebrity, factions from the old country see her as the start of a reunion tour, with guns. Not only that, but she is being stalked by Middle Earth's Most Wanted Elven Assassin; he thinks that the actress is actually an Elven princess, and will do anything to prove it to her, including murder.

And what is that body doing in the middle of the vendor's floor with a sword-cane through his chest?

AUTHOR BIO:  Declan Finn lives in a part of New York City unreachable by bus or subway.  Who's Who has no record of him, his family, or his education.  He has been trained in hand to hand combat and weapons at the most elite schools in Long Island, and figured out nine ways to kill with a pen when he was only fifteen.  He escaped a free man from Fordham University's PhD program, and has been on the run ever since.  There was a brief incident where he was branded a terrorist, but only a court order can unseal those records, and realloy, why would you want to know?  It Was Only On Stun! is his first novel

MINI REVIEW:  I'd like to preface by saying that I am a picky reader who has been known to put down books even by best-selling novelists.  However, I have to be honest—despite the con setting and the humor, this really wasn’t my kind of book.  By the third chapter, I was convinced that the MC was a sociaopath with a violent temper, and I could not see how the other characters thought he was a level-headed guy who would avoid a fight if possible.  He reminded me more of my son’s bounty hunter on Star Wars: the Old Republic than a contemporary Mal Reynolds.    

Having said that, however, I can say this book promises the excitement of a first-person shooter game, and some fun scenes.  Declan Finn has a wry wit and definitely knows how to craft a good—and logical—fight scene.  I give him BIG KUDOS for that.  The premise looks to be a lot of fun, as well.  I’d suggest checking out the blurb at http://apiusman.blogspot.com/2011/05/fcbd-story-one-way-to-stay-out-of-jail.html and judging for yourself.

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Keep off my back, Uncle Sam, notice:  I received an electronic review copy of this book for free.

Review of The Bishop by Steven James

Summary from the Publisher:

FBI Special Agent Patrick Bowers's cutting-edge 21st-century geospatial investigative techniques and impeccable logic have helped him track some of the country's most grisly killers. But those skills are pushed to the limit in this new installment of the highly-acclaimed, award-winning The Bowers Files series. This time it's a congressman's daughter who is found dead even as her killers launch a spree of perfect murders in the Northeast. With nothing to link the crimes to each other, Agent Bowers faces his most difficult case yet--even as his personal life begins to crumble around him. Known for his intricately woven, masterfully plotted novels of high-octane action and spine-tingling suspense, Steven James delivers once again. The Bishop is a gripping, adrenaline-laced story for readers who are tired of timid thrillers. Strap on your seatbelt and get ready for a wild ride. The game is on.

Review:

I got this over the weekend from the publisher because I volunteered to review it. I love James' books. This time, however, I was planning to give it a quick look, as I had a busy weekend before my writer's conference.

"Quick look" led to staying up until 1:30 a.m. James' novels are totally engrossing, and I was fooling myself to assume any different.

The description has it right: masterfully plotted, high-octane action, spine-tingling suspense. I know you're going to find plenty of other reviews of Steven James that will tell you the same thing, so I won't repeat.

One thing I love about James' writing is that his characters are very intelligent and deep thinking, and not just about their case or their relationship. They ask big questions, about the meaning of life, about the basic nature of Man, and they always have interesting insights. James does a great job of brining in a lot of views without pushing an agenda, too. Because of that, I always find the Patrick Bowers Files books compelling on more than one level.

If you love intelligent, well-written, can't-tear-your-eyes-off-the-page thrillers, get The Bishop. In fact, get any of his books in this series. You wont' be disappointed.


Incidentally, he's having a party on Facebook. Come join us.