Praise

Review of Orca: Enjoyed reading this suspense novel about hired assassin, Stone Ayers, who is assigned a hit on a target headed for an exploration voyage in the Antarctic region. There is some back story of the lead character and a great description of an Antarctic cruise ship trip which I have never taken. Stone explores the ship in an attempt to carry out the perfect disappearance of his bad acting target. One feels like you are on the cruise and know the passengers and crew. I will not give away the ending, but you can see there will be more for Stone Ayers in the future. You will also want to sign up for an Antarctica trip after hearing about the voyage and wildlife.

Review of Avenging Angels: JC Norton again brought me along to a niche travel destination -- this time it was Kentucky horse country. Like the two novels before, JC dove deep to the culture of the place. And I am here for it. The background was well researched. The plot was completely plausible. Kudos to the tech consultant. The characters, especially everyone's main man Stone Ayers, were as charming as ever.
I'm off to have a Lagavulin! Where to next, JC?

Review of Dieter Haus: JC Norton is a highly skilled author. He had me hooked when the mysterious character James arrives in this first chapter. Dieter Haus is an intriguing, visceral, and emotional story. The characters are complex, detailed, and filled with humanity. I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy being immersed into a fascinating world with interesting characters and an engaging plot. I only wish that I could see one of the buildings that Klaus designed!

Review of Two Novellas: Two novellas, each about the life of the title characters. Terse, wonderful prose.

Review of Never Scot-Free: Never Scot-Free: A Stone Ayers Novel, written by JC Norton, is a thriller set in San Francisco. The protagonist, Stone Ayers, is the focal point of the book; he is an attractive thirty-three-year-old ex-military who served in Afghanistan. Stone now works for Dominic Balducci, a successful businessman involved in illegal activities, as an all-purpose fixer and henchman. The suspenseful plot unfolds as Dominic suspects that his brother-in-law, Peter DelBino, is stealing from him. If this proves to be the case, Peter’s punishment could be death, and Stone would be the one to carry out the dirty deed. But this is as far as I can go without giving away spoilers.

What I liked the most about this novel was its character development. The author developed the main character very well. Stone is a multidimensional and ambivalent hero, the kind that makes readers question their moral values. Throughout the book, I kept asking myself if he was a hero or a villain. He does, after all, kill people. But Stone is not a bad guy; he is smart, traveled, and charming. Although his job description involves killing people, he does it skillfully and charmingly. The protagonist lives a comfortable life and gets well-paid for his services. He usually feels no remorse for taking out the people he targets, for he believes they aren’t worthy. He does feel bad about not telling his girlfriend, Gudrun Weimar, the truth, though.

Another noteworthy positive was that San Francisco was more than a setting in this story. The author masterfully works with its distinctive features, making them an integral part of the narrative. For instance, “the elegant span of the Golden Gate Bridge was visible from the Marin side all the way to the Presidio.”

On the other hand, I felt that some of the author’s descriptions of Stone’s physical prowess were a bit over the top. For instance, “He pulled up his tank top and studied his abs, satisfied with their size and definition, the thick oblique muscles forming beautiful curves as they framed his lower abdomen.” These descriptions felt overdone and detracted from the novel’s overall quality. This aspect was what I disliked the most, making me take a star away from the rating.

Thus, I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I’m not giving it the highest rating due to the over-the-top descriptions previously explained. Otherwise, it is an entertaining and well-structured novel that seems professionally edited, and I recommend it to fans of crime thrillers. On account of its adult themes and profane language, I wouldn’t recommend it to younger audiences.

Review of Christine's Cruise: The author totally captures the experience of cruising and I almost felt as if I had gone on the cruise with Christine. I love the way JC writes and his characters are so interesting and personable. I just can’t say enough how much I enjoyed the book....I am reading it now for the third time and am finding new little insights every time I read it!

Review of Orca: I recently purchased and read all three in this series. This is the first of 3. They are well written and hard to put down. In my humble opinion they should all be made into a movie! This one sets the scene for the relationships of the recurring characters. The Antarctica location on an expedition cruise is fantastic. Makes me want to book one now, but on a plane to avoid Drake's passage. Bravo to the author. Look for my comments on the other 3 in this trilogy. Thanks JC for 3 great reads.