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DiDonovan
, September 03, 2015
(view all comments by DiDonovan)
Zach Turner is home from Afghanistan and the horrors of war; but getting away from conflict just isn't on his horizon. While all he wishes to do is forget the past, it's right on his tail in the form of a speeding red Camero operated by a former best friend who accuses Zach of betrayal and treachery.
In a chase scene typical of the classic detective/noir thriller style, Zach races through L.A. with a hapless girlfriend at his side. And that's just the opening salvo in a nonstop staccato action noir fiction story that, in less than a hundred pages, packs in a mystery/thriller that can't be beat.
From the dry, dusty L.A. basin atmosphere to the perceptions of a wounded veteran whose combat doesn't end with service, events of the war return to haunt Zach's life at home.
It's not easy to capture and build atmosphere while crafting a complex noir plot using a limited number of words; but what might take other writers hundreds more pages to spin, Paul D. Marks creates with just a few deft swipes of his pen.
A superior writer can create believable protagonists, settings, and inject a smoky, fast-paced mystery into everything using a minimum of words to describe and capture experiences. Vortex lives up to its name, quickly creating a maelstrom of action and purpose to draw readers into a whirlpool of intrigue and mystery centered on a believable protagonist and his dilemmas.
Noir detective readers looking for a short work that is immediately gripping and well-written will find the perfect item of choice in Vortex, but be forewarned: once picked up, it's nearly impossible to put down before the end.
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