Romine's Review - Sold By Blair Denholm

Blurb

The Gold Coast swelters in record temperatures, and car salesman Gary Braswell's hot under the collar. With sales at rock-bottom, and up to his neck in debt to loan shark Jocko Mackenzie, Gary's sweating on a fat commission from a mysterious Russian couple.

If the loan is not repaid, there's more than Gary's kneecaps at stake - his long-suffering wife's also in peril. But Jocko demands more than repayment and has sinister plans for the hapless salesman.

Gary turns his skills to real estate and is soon embroiled in the murky world of money laundering. With the federal police sniffing around and Jocko on his tail, Gary concocts an audacious scam.

0Success means money - lots of it.

Failure means death.

But can hard-drinking, cocaine-snorting Gary pull it off?

20th Century Noir at its Most Entertaining!

Very much enjoyed this superbly paced, well written and engaging novel.

The author presents Gary as an ordinary man, with an ordinary life. As you read further you peel back the layers of Gary and his life, uncovering a severely flawed human being.  And while you want to hate the man for being a scoundrel and an idiot you feel sympathy for him.  The author, Blair Denholm carefully crafted this story with realism and subtle conscious you do not easily find in today’s genre piece.

The writing is blunt, frank and unapologetic, just like the character and yet there is a conscious grace and style that pulls you in and makes you want to know more.

A page-turner from the beginning, the author makes very logical choices in an illogical and sometimes absurd situation that is unnervingly realistic. You chuckle and enjoy while knowing that out there somewhere a poor sucker is mirroring Gary Braswell’s life.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves an exploration of the human condition and examining life choices and the sometimes – albeit subconscious—consequences. As I was reading, I was reminded of the shows Better Call Saul, Shameless, Breaking Bad, and the acclaimed novel “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”.

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Reiki - Get in Touch with Your Soul

In my new book Finders, the main character, Claire Westin, suddenly finds herself interacting with the dead, her abilities suddenly awakening from a dormant sleep. In developing the character and experiences of Claire Westin, I began researching Mediumship and Physical Mediums. Reiki is a recommended practice for keeping balance and clarity within the soul. 

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy." So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security, and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense but transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. Successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.

To learn more about Reiki, visit http://www.reiki.org.

Finders is coming Fall 2019 – When demonologist Luke Melloy meets ghost hunting producer Claire Westin sparks fly, and the devil himself takes notice. What makes this pair so special?

Read a Sneak Peek of Finders Here!

 
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Finders Bucket List - Haunted Poveglia Island, Italy

In my upcoming release, Finders, the Finders Ghost Hunting team have been all over the world investigating paranormal events. One of the places on their ghost bucket list is Poveglia Island, Italy and here is why --

Poveglia Island was home to a small community until seemingly abandoned in 1380. Allegedly haunted by the ghosts of plague victims, it is a small land mass situated in the Venetian Lagoon between the cities of Venice and Lido.

When the Bubonic plague hit Italy in 1576, thousands of dead bodies were piling up in Venice, and the stench was terrible. Drastic measures were taken, and the dead were hauled to Povelia and dumped in large pits or burned on huge bonfires. As the Black Death tightened its grip, people panicked, and those showing the slightest symptoms of the plague were dragged screaming from their homes. These living victims, including children and babies, were taken to the island and thrown into the pits of rotting corpses and left to die in agony. It is estimated as many as 160,000 tormented souls were disposed of during the Black Death.

The soil on Poveglia island, combined with the charred remains of the bodies,

formed a layer of sticky ash on the land. The top layer of ash has dried in the sun to form a fine dust that swirls in the breeze and catches in lungs. Part of the island core consists of a layer of human remains. Fishermen avoid this area, as the chances of catching a body part or two are high.

A psychiatric hospital emerged in 1922. The hospital was an imposing building with a magnificent bell tower. The patients immediately reported seeing the ghosts of the plague victims and of hearing whispers echoing off the walls. Their harrowing reports dismissed, as the patients deemed demented and mad.

The hospital was run by a doctor who was very ambitious. He decided to make a name for himself by experimenting on his patients in a bid to discover the cause of their insanity. The doctor’s methods were crude, and lobotomies were performed using a basic hand drill or hammer and chisel.

After several years on Poveglia, the doctor himself began seeing the ghosts of the plague victims. Allegedly these ghosts led him to the bell tower, where he threw himself off. According to a nurse, the fall did not kill the doctor as he lay writhing in agony as the base of the tower; a fine mist swirled up around him, entered his body, and choked him to death. Rumored he is bricked up in the bell tower, and on a still night, the bell can be heard tolling across the bay.

The hospital has since closed down, and the island is uninhabited. It is not open to tourist, and its ashy beaches remain deserted. Most boats refuse to call at the death Isle, another of its names, but those who have landed report treading on ashes, hearing screaming, seeing moving shadows and having the urgent desire to flee. Recently a family sought permission to visit the island, hoping to buy it cheaply and build a vacation home. The family left before the night was over and have refused to comment on the reason for their abrupt departure; the only fact known is that their daughter's face was ripped open by "something" and needed twenty stitches.

A few people have dodged the light police patrol that guards the island, and all have sworn never to return. They say the moans and screams that reverberate around the island are unbearable, fishermen tell of seeing mystery lights on the island. There is a feeling of the most intense evil, and one misguided thrill-seeker was told by a loud disembodied voice, "Leave the hospital immediately and do not return."

 
 Find out more here.

Read and an exclusive excerpt from Finders now!

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