Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Timeless Innocents by Janis Susan May ★ ★ ★ ½

 A Guilt Free eBook Pleasure

 
Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin.  This means they can bring authors and a broader range of stories to readers with more speed and versatility than their parent publisher by publishing first to e-book.
For my first sample of this e-book publisher I chose ‘Timeless Innocents’ by Janis Susan May.  It’s a novella tale of around 26,000 words with a cover that resembles the ugly Chucky doll of the suite of films. 
It’s a creepy little tale of lawyer Brianna Forte who, as executor of the Clerkwells’ (her Aunty and Uncle) estate, must catalogue and liquidate their assets.  Their possessions include hundreds of strangely life-like figurines called ‘Timeless Innocents’.  Immediately, she is drawn into the mystery of the Clerkwells’ life as she discovers, despite the Clerkwells’ modest lifestyle, the dolls they avidly collected are worth a fortune. Add to this, a constant stream of pushy people attempting to purchase them from her and we are in Twilight Zone territory. 
Her investigations are further complicated by an ex-boyfriend who is unable to accept their breakup and whose anger is rapidly escalating, and we are drawn into an intense, claustrophobic evening within the Clerkwells’ house as Brianna begins to realise something is very wrong with the dolls.
I love short stories and novellas and horror lends itself particularly well to this form.  Well written shorts and novellas should be well-paced and an exciting read from the first page to the last with a manageable stage and cast of characters. Authors just don’t have the time to be self-indulgent.
Author Janis Susan May certainly knows the rules and I spent an enjoyable two nights with Brianna Forte and the ‘Timeless Innocents’ and I look forward to reading more from this author. 
Did I mention that I love my e-reader? And no, I don’t miss the smell and feel of heavy books.  So, I commend Carina Press for embracing the digital age and offering well priced gems like ‘Timeless Innocents’.  This book will set you back the price of a cup of coffee at $3.59.  And that is a timeless bargain. 


Visit  www.carinapress.com for purchasing details.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR


Formerly an actress and singer, a talent agent and Supervisor of Accessioning for a bio-genetic DNA testing lab, Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist.

Janis married for the first time when most of her contemporaries were becoming grandmothers. Her husband, also an Egyptophile, even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies.

Learn more about Janis Susan May… http://www.janissusanmay.com

 
 

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