Books

Book Review: ‘Fatal Rounds’ by Carrie Rubin

/ Peter Martuneac / 3 Comments

Fatal Rounds is a medical/criminal thriller by author Carrie Rubin, and it lives up to its genre by being truly thrilling!

The story follows one Liza Larkin, a young medical student starting out her residency at a new hospital. It wasn’t her original preferred choice, but when she discovered that a man who mysteriously appears in not one, not two, but three family pictures is a doctor there, she makes the switch. She may not be a detective, but she’s determined to find out who exactly this man is and whether he has wicked designs for her family.

Liza was a wonderful character, easy to like and root for. Her father died tragically shortly before the story begins and her mother is in assisted-living, barely clinging to sanity. Liza is an interesting individual who performs many kind and caring acts, but I don’t know if I would actually call her ‘kind’ and ‘caring’. Her entire life she’s had trouble fitting in and socializing with people, seemingly unable to understand how people might react to what she says or does. One might even call her a psychopath or sociopath.

But over the years she’s become a pro at mimicking what other people do, acting and speaking in a manner she thinks a ‘normal’ person would. And that helps her fit in for the most part, even if socializing still sucks the life out of her.

The antagonist was an excellent character as well, but I won’t divulge any information for fear of spoilers. As for other characters, they ranged from nice supporting roles to people who probably got a little bit too much ‘page time’.

The story was a bit of a slow burn, with no major revelations or explosive confrontations early on, but it picks up quickly and when it does, you better hang on to your seat! Tension dials up to an 11 as Liza begins to push her actions in pursuit of the truth farther and farther past her original line in the sand.

I would love to talk about the ending, but obviously I can’t do that. If Carrie reads this review, I’d just like to say that it ended exactly how I’d hoped it would. The final plot twist was the chef’s kiss on top of a fantastic story!

You can find it here on Amazon for only $4.99, and I highly recommend it!

Paperbacks are Here!

/ Peter Martuneac / 3 Comments

I finally received my physical copies of Mandate of Heaven over the weekend, and they look great!

I was also struck by the size difference between this book and my other, self-published works. Mandate of Heaven clocks in at about 73,000 words; standard fare for the action/adventure genre.

Now compare it to my longest work, Her Name Was Abby.

Her Name Was Abby ended up being about 160,000 words, well over twice as long as Mandate of Heaven. But that was a different, more niche genre, plus I stand by the size of my self-published works. They’re long stories but I wouldn’t have them be any shorter!

I’m a firm believer that stories should be just as long as they need to be. I won’t chop down or fluff up a work just to meet a certain word count. The story always dictates word count for me, not the other way around.

If you’d like a paperback copy of Mandate of Heaven for yourself, they’re only $17.95 and can be found on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

Mandate of Heaven: Now Available!

/ Peter Martuneac / 3 Comments

Ethan Chase’s past has finally caught up with him, and the entire world’s future now stands on a knife’s edge.

The first book in my new Ethan Chase series is now available! Join Ethan on his exciting hunt for the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, an ancient Chinese artifact that is rumored to grant its bearer godly powers. Joining him are his childhood friend, a Federal agent, and a gorgeous treasure hunter, but they are not the only ones looking for the Seal, and some will cross any line, betray any loyalty, for a shot at ultimate power…

Paperbacks will be available soon! For now, you can download Mandate of Heaven for $4.99 on Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and more! See all options here!

September Wrap-Up

/ Peter Martuneac / 3 Comments

As the release day for Mandate of Heaven inches closer, I managed to have an extremely productive month of writing! I set a goal to add 10,000 words to my current work-in-progress (Book 3 of the Ethan Chase series, Gold of the Jaguar) by month’s end, but I ended up adding 20,000 words as of this weekend. That brings the manuscript to just over 50,000 words and near the end. Just this morning I was able to finish a chapter that puts Ethan and company into place for the exciting, climactic scenes.

I also had the pleasure of being interviewed by fellow blogger and author Berthold Gambrel! He will be releasing that interview on October 10th, the same day that Mandate of Heaven drops, and I’ll be sure to share it here and on Twitter, as well.

They say that writers have to be readers, and I’ve been doing my best to live up to that standard this month! I finished reading George W. Bush’s presidential memoirs, as well as a biography on Dwight D. Eisenhower (I’ll review that one later this week), and I’m about a quarter of the way through the audiobook version of Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs. Also, this weekend I picked up a two-book collection of arguments about the US Constitution and the Constitutional Convention that my brother gave me, and that has been fascinating to read!

Well, fascinating to me, anyway. My wife and children roll their eyes when I open that dusty, boring tome.

As always, thank you all for being loyal readers of this blog and my works! It’s officially one week until Mandate of Heaven is released and I’m brimming with excitement about it! It’s one of my best works to date, and I think you all will find it easy to fall in love with these new characters.

Mandate of Heaven: Now Available for Pre-Order!

/ Peter Martuneac / 3 Comments

At long last, the first entry in my new Ethan Chase series of thrillers is available for pre-order through Evolved Publishing!

You can find Mandate of Heaven just about anywhere you get your ebooks: Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and more! Just click on those links to go to their respective websites where you can place your order now!

I’ve run out of words to describe how excited I am for you all to finally get a glimpse at Mandate of Heaven. The Evolved Publishing team did a great job on it, and I think you all will really enjoy this new series and fall in love with these characters.

My self-published series His Name Was Zach was a darker, bit more niche story; Ethan Chase should appeal to a much wider audience of readers, so whether you enjoyed my previous works or not, this new story might be right up your alley! Read on for the description:

Ethan Chase’s past has finally caught up with him, and the entire world’s future now stands on a knife’s edge.

Ex-Army Ranger Ethan Chase breaks his oath of allegiance to the military when he deserts from the Army while deployed to Afghanistan. Years later, he’s captured and sent to military prison, but the director of a shadowy government agency takes him into his direct custody. They offer Ethan his freedom and a blank slate, but only if he can track down and retrieve the lost Heirloom Seal of the Realm, an ancient Chinese artifact believed to grant godly powers to any ruler who possesses it.

With little choice, Ethan takes on this quest, joined by three cohorts: his best friend, the federal agent who arrested him, and a beautiful treasure hunter. Yet they’re not the only ones seeking the Heirloom Seal, and some will cross any line, betray any loyalty, for a chance at supreme power.