Joel Goldman (1)Reseñas

This entry in the series is notable for the fact that Mr Dark hardly appears at all. It's another diverting thriller, not particularly edifying, but a fun short read.

A top-notch short from an author I never read before. This is a legal thriller told not from the point of view of a lawyer or a law clerk, but from the point of view of the defendant as he sits through trial. The
story feels authentic and it appears that the author has some familiarity with criminal law and procedure. I recommend this work for those interested in legal thrillers or crime fiction.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It is a top notch crime thriller novel that stands with the best of its genre. Jack Davis is an FBI agent who is newly divorced and suffering from a rare movement disorder that causes him to violently shake at the worst times. During
the investigation of a mass murder in a drug infested neighborhood, Davis is at odds with his agency. Nevertheless, he doggedly pursues justice using his own leads and his own intuition. This is a book that captures your attention from page one and never lets go. I give this one the highest possible recommendation.

whether it is a full-length novel or a short story, Joel Goldman can write. This is a short tale of two teenagers in depression-era Kansas City who go to the Electric Park every night to see the girls pose in the
fountain. This particular night a fire breaks out and the question is posed as to who has the balls to do something. The writing is crisp and this is no more than a ten minute read

This is the story of Jack Davis, a former FBI agent, who is looking into the deaths of two, then three people that are involved in a dream study. Jack is also having to deal with an unexpected landlady, a girlfriend who's not thrilled with the job, repercussions from his daughters death and of course his disability which causes his body to spasm uncontrollably - especially when his body and mind are stressed. I suspected from the beginning who the killer was and normally that would make me give a book a one or two star but in this case the the author did such a good job of writing I wanted to read anyway - mostly to find out why the killer did it. A good story and I will read the first in the series.

I found this murder mystery left me cold. The protagonist, Lou Mason, is a lawyer who gets too involved in his clients troubles. The plotting was quite torturous but in the end I just ground it out to see how the author resolved the cases. I don't think I will try another by Goldman.

For Travis Runnels every single day is a knife fight. Being in jail is just an occupational hazard for him. It is a public defender like Alex Stone who Travis is going to have to rely on to get him out of a death penalty murder case. The fact that she is a Jew and lesbian doesn't impress him any more than the fact he is an African-American impresses her.

It is an election year and Diego Hernandez is dead. That means the local district attorney, Kevin Watts, is running a tough on crime reelection campaign and isn't going to deal. Especially considering Travis’ prison record and the mountain of evidence against him. He is going to trial and all his attorney can do is sling some mud and hope to put a shadow or two of doubt in the minds of the jury. Travis and Alex are stuck together for the duration in more ways than one in Knife Fight: An Alex Stone Short Story by Joel Goldman.

This short story is a good one featuring plenty of courtroom action as well as quite a lot of action outside the courtroom. A number of characters and conflicting motivations are at work in a story that also offers up quite a few surprises along the way. The read is a good one.

Knife Fight: An Alex Stone Short Story
Joel Goldman
http://www.joelgoldman.com
Self-Published
ASIN: B00A1D1I0M
E-Book
22 Pages
$0.99

Author provided a PDF of this short story a very long time ago for my objective review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2014

Recommended by: Joel Goldman
Read on January 04, 2014, read count: Twice

Thanks Joel for sending me this to read, thoughly enjoyed just like I do with all your stories. Such a quick read that I managed to lose myself in it for a while which was nice.
Please Keep them coming

If you enjoyed this story, check out his other books from Amazon, whilst looking at his blog

'Is it ever ok to cross the line? Just how far would you go to protect those you love?'
[...]

[...] Words Can Make the Difference In 2014
Posted December 26, 2013 by Joel Goldman & filed under Inspiration.½

The Dead Man is another one of those mysteries with such a preposterously over-the-top plot and cast of characters that at first all you can think to do is shake your head and wonder what the author was thinking. There is a man, a previous FBI agent of course, with a mysterious disorder that causes him to periodically 'shake' uncontrollably, a young man with Alzheimer's, and an ex-cop/thief. As far as the plot goes, all you need to know is people are being murdered in the way they dream of dying.

Despite the initial ridiculousness, it didn't take long for the hooks to set in. It seems like these kinds of books do 1 to 2 things. They start out great and rapidly crumble, or start off horribly and turn into exciting and enjoyable reads. The Dead Man is the latter. The whole dream thing isn't as farfetched as it sounds - the murders take place a dream research facility and the participants are being killed after they relate a dream in which they die. The characters were still a little...out of the ordinary, but I quickly grew to like them!

In the end I really liked the book. As far as wildly over-the-top mysteries go, this is one of the better ones I've read in some time. An exciting, fast-paced, and very satisfying read!

The Dead Man… another name for a crime scene.

The main character, ex-FBI Agent Jack Davis, tells the story in a compelling, comfortable, and believable way. Normally a first person novel, for me, can seem too narrow, but it didn’t take long before I found myself seeing things as if through Jack’s eyes and experiences.

Jack is hired by billionaire Milo Harper to investigate the deaths of two people that were participating in a dream study at his facility, The Harper Institute of the Mind. Both have died under what appear to be normal circumstances, but Milo is concerned because they dreamed their deaths, just as they happened. Jack soon figures out he's become involved in something much worse than "dreamed deaths". There's a serial killer loose.

To further complicate matters, one of the deaths implicates Jack, dredging up tragic events from his past. With the police and FBI now on his tail, he must prove himself innocent as well as find who is behind these dream related deaths.

I live in the Kansas City area and am always looking for a good mystery that takes place here. This one did not disappoint. Though this book stands alone I definitely will next be reading the first Jack Davis novel, Shake Down.½

I like it that the setting takes place in Kansas City.