Richard T. Burke

It’s been a while since I read a book with the same level of edge-of-the-seat anxiety and anticipation as that possessed by Assassin’s Web. Kudos go to Richard Burke for excellence in writing tales of high suspense.

A high school English teacher without a clue inadvertently picks up a piece of paper while walking. On it is written a cryptic web address and odd login credentials. Curious?
Or cautious? Which would you be?

A couple is murdered in their home; a home located a few yards away from where the note is found. Connected? Or not? How could he know? Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it would not have mattered.

But now, suddenly it does matter; and as the cliché says “curiosity killed the cat”- or curious English teachers.

Told in the first person, the main character finds himself at the mercy of unknown antagonists seeking to kill him. Through flashbacks, readers know our hero has an unhappy family past; the operative question being how is his past germane to the current story? The author is gifted at telling two seemingly unrelated parallel stories and kneading them together when appropriate. A reader may begin the suspect the perpetrator, but may not suspect the whole story until it is revealed at the end. Throughout, the main characters are sufficiently developed to fulfill their roles in a believable manner. In the case of the main characters, readers can easily empathize with their circumstances.

Assassin’s Web is teeth-gnashing entertainment from a writer of fine suspense novels and will take its place among his best. It should be enjoyed by any reader of suspense, thriller, police action, murder mystery, or other adventure novels.… (más)

I thought this was seriously good book. It contains a vulnerable victim who is constantly at a disadvantage, a family who is, for the most part, clueless; and detectives trying to sort out several separate related crimes one of which happened more than a year before…all of which is complicated by the victim’s amnesia and the ancient history of two brothers.

Injured in an auto accident, Annalise, contrary to everyone’s expectations, wakes up after a year-long coma. Her family, but most of all her old boy-friend, Mark, who was with her in the wrecked car when she was injured, and her seventeen year old sister, Beatrice, were shocked by her unexpected recovery. Another person, a mystery man named Steven was as shocked as anyone but recognized opportunity when he saw it.

Annalise, too, was shocked. She was shocked that she could suddenly read human auras; shocked by Mark and Beatrice’s response to her recovery and shocked to find she may be charged for the fatal auto accident that had injured her a year before.

Color of the Soul is a riveting, well-told tale of suspense and psychopathic drama of which Annalise is, more or less, a victim of collateral damage. Her character is complex and forced to sort out multiple issues but in the end it is her determination that brings matters to a head. Her father, Dan, is helpful and her mother, Sophie, supportive. Her sister, Beatrice, confused; her boyfriend, Mark, bound tightly to his past. It is easy to feel good about Annalise. Not so easy to feel good about Mark and Beatrice.

I’ve read some excellent books in the past year or so, but this is one of the best. It will grab you and never let go. Color of the Soul is recommended for everyone who loves suspense, psycho-thrillers, mysteries, and crime action novels.… (más)

What a heck of a ride! Mr. Burke has given us a hopeless scenario and shown us that it is the result of megalomania.

Antimone is a paraplegic and confined to a wheel chair as a result of a traffic accident. She is pregnant by a rape that occurs at a party under the influence of drugs. No woman on Earth has survived pregnancy and child-birth in nearly twenty years…the future of the human race is threatened by a virus that remains dormant until childbirth and then kills the mother.

Rosalind Baxter is CEO of Ilithia Biotechnology Corporation. She and a colleague, Dr. Perrin are allegedly seeking a cure of the dread virus. However, Baxter has another agenda…and Jason, her son, together with Antimone and her baby, hold the key to the future…a future that Perrin’s son, Max, inadvertently and out of anger has simultaneously threatened and assured.

Decimation is a novel of wheels within wheels, plots within sub-plots and subversion at the highest level. The characters are fascinating. Antimone and Jason are very likable and it is easy to cheer for them. The reader will stay on the edge of their chairs with fear for Antimone and Jason. Rosalind is a madwoman and total narcissist by any definition. She is really easy to hate as is her security chief…until even he begins to question her judgement. Dr. Perrin is clueless and pathetic, blinded by his work. Max is an idiot who winds up playing a key role.

Decimation is a great thriller that is generally well-written and edited. It would be a great read for anyone who loves suspenseful books!… (más)