Authors on Authors June 2008 Reviews

The Rainy Day Room is happy to introduce "Authors on Authors", a new review page to afford the Independent Authors of good books additional exposure. We'll try to put up interesting overviews of their work that goes a little beyond the normal reiteration of content or plot. I don't see authors as in competition with each other. The readers can read the books faster than we can write them if they only know they are 'out there', so be sure to share the link to this page with the readers on your 'lists'. We welcome submissions from anyone with a favorite book they'd like to introduce to others because of the impact it had on them as a reader or an author. There will be no 'ranking' number assigned, as the intention is to share, not to judge.

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RayRyder.com

The Rockwater Mountain Murders

by Ray Ryder

Synopsis:

The small town of Rockwater Mountain had gone thirty-one years and three months without a killing. That is, until Johnny Tom Mitchell, an ex-Viet-Nam sniper, decided to snap one night. Having caught his man and then let him escape, Chief Harry Tucker's easy-going small-town life becomes a tireless, unrelenting search effort to re-capture the killer before he strikes again. But that is just the beginning of his problems. When Johnny Tom pulls the trigger on the nephew of the don who runs the Philadelphia mob, Harry suddenly finds himself turned from the hunter to the hunted.

About the Author:

Ray Ryder began writing fiction in 2002. He is currently the author of two novels: The Rockwater Mountain Murders, and The Spirit of Whiskey River, both of which are available through Xlibris Publishers and all major on-line booksellers. He is currently working on a third killerbook (untitled as of yet) and also has written a collection of short stories called Corridors to Christmas. (Nobody gets killed here). In addition to writing he enjoys belonging to the Sarasota Florida Fiction Writers, the Sarasota Authors Connection and the Florida Writers Association.

Review

For those who relish the intrigue of a 'hall of mirrors' kind of crime mystery, Rockwater Mountain Murders has a different twist. Instead of the more traditional 'who done it', the reader knows almost from page one who the culprit is; the myriad of twists coming in a series of continual switchbacks in the ensuing manhunt.

I am always fascinated at the ability of a mystery writer to roll out so many different skeins of yarn and end up with a close-knit sweater of intricate color and design without so much as a dropped stitch. Ray Ryder is another of the genre that is a master weaver.

From the mountain caves of North Carolina and 'Festus-type' rural law enforcement, we are taken on a journey through the FBI, the streets of South Philly, the wilderness of Wyoming, the jungles of Viet Nam, and to the insider 'mob' of the Teamsters Union. There are times when we could almost tire of the journey, but the next day brings yet new interest in the landscape and return to cool mountain air teases from the horizon. For those drawn in more by twists and turns than intensity, this story is a challenge. It's one where one may find themselves rooting for the hunted or the hunter only to have their roles reversed. One where compassion for the victim may switch back to an embrace of vigilanti justice back to compassion for the victim. A trek through a curvy mountain road to be sure.

Susan Haley

Author of Rainy Day People