"The Candidate" by Daniel Pembrey

Daniel Pembrey's "The Candidate" is a wonderfully evocative novella that puts you right in the middle of the action and slowly winds fingers of dread and uneasiness up your back. With its spare prose and sense of impending doom, you follow along with protagonist Nick as he tries to pinpoint what has happened to him and what's going on.

The pace is fast and the action unfolds quickly, but that's mostly due to its shorter length, which is my only regret with the book. I feel the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more; however, they were fully drawn and easy to identify with. The author says a whole lot with a little. I'm definitely looking forward to more from his pen.

Seductive and Compelling......

“Dangerous Illusions,” the first novel by Joseph J. Gabriele, has a sensuous seductive pull that draws you into the story, slowly narrowing the fascinating cast of characters and suspects until you find you’re furiously reading the last few pages to find out who and why. I found myself mesmerized by these people and their lives and I sincerely hope the author see fit to create more stories around some or all of these unique individuals.

As a particular fan of noir, I found this novel to embody more of the atmosphere and language of that genre than novels that are actually billed as such. New York City became its own character and I found myself wrapped in her embrace as I walked the streets along with the protagonist. From the glitz and glamour of the upper echelon to the grimy underbelly lurking just beneath the surface, this story will take you on a ride you won’t want to miss.