All's Forgiven by Donan Berg Earns 5-Star Review

 

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Trust No One, but Revel in the Mystery

Reviewed by Michael P. Hartnett in the United States on November 19, 2023

Donan Berg’s All’s Forgiven is one of those wild mysteries that keeps the reader guessing to the very end. Much of the lively engagement of constantly shifting suspicions comes from the novel centering on the viewpoint of Jenny Olsen, who’s a bit loopy and is recovering from an accident that also led to the death of her niece Eileen. Jenny is often uncertain and the reader more so. I can never fully trust her intense, emotional sister Ruth, her gruff Uncle John, the police officer and possible love interest Robert, and the urbane, mysterious professor Holmes, who also might be another love interest. The plot involving that niece’s death, car accidents, a valuable brooch from Queen Elizabeth’s inauguration, and, most importantly, the kidnapping of Jenny’s mother percolates along with amusing interactions and disarming twists.

The novel is filled with gothic elements, including the mysterious basements at home and at the bookstore where Jenny works. Berg plays with these subterranean notions which such lines as, “For Jenny, someone might well padlock her future behind the wall, never to be revived.” A single boot that may or may not belong to Jenny’s kidnapped mother, a missing garage key, and that brooch whose history and provenance vex and confound are situated around a group of characters prone to lying and keeping their counsel at inconvenient intervals. That Jenny’s bookstore borders on Riddle Jewelry where sister Ruth works adds another layer of proximity to their sibling tensions.

Little wonder Jenny makes asides like, “Afraid my memory gets jittery.” Oh, the revelations keep coming in a novel that subtly considers what is counterfeit and what is genuine. Without giving too much away, the reader is guessing right up to the final pages, where he discovers he’d been given sufficient clues all along. He was just too wrapped up in the crazy family drama and the bizarre combinations of romance and manipulation to center his pleasures on piecing together the puzzle. Donan Berg has given us quite a yarn across a snowy lowan landscape, one that keeps the reader involved and intrigued throughout.

All's Forgiven is available in paperback and e-book format at major book retailers. Click Purchase e-book here. Click  

 

All's Forgiven, a novel, available now

 Author Donan Berg's latest novel, All's Forgiven, in ebook

format is available at Amazon.com and at Smashwords.com 

Official paperback release on Amazon.com will be October 2, 2023.

All’s Forgiven is an inspired family drama where thirty-two-year-old Jenny Olsen’s life spirals into chaos. Jenny’s injured in a hit-and-run car accident that kills her young niece. Thieves kidnap her mother and demand a ransom. Romance teases Jenny’s heart as she struggles with an injured foot, engages in spats with her sister, and, after a next-door theft, investigates strange goings-on at her uncle’s bookstore where she works.

Three dimensional character

 Ever read a thriller with never-ending action and conflict?

Of course you have, or one day started one, now collecting dust.

The problem is exhaustion. The character failed to breathe unless

gasping for lifesaving oxygen.

Here's a writing tip.

Think three dimensional.  The character has a past, present, and future.

In each dimension the character has internal conflicts, external conflicts,

goals, and motivations. While they can be the same, odds are they are

not. The simple explanation is that characters as well as humans mature,

learn life lessons, fail, and a myriad of other things.

Saying this is seeing the tip of the iceberg. Explore every detail to broaden

your character. You'll be glad you did.

                            Self-serving note

Multiple e-books by Author Donan Berg will be on sale starting July 1, 2023.

It's limited. There's romance, mystery, thriller, and fantasy.

A good novel to start with is A Body To Bones.

Go to:  Click here for A Body To Bones

Editing? Find your way.

 Story editing is a tiring, yet exhilerating task.

Successful completion is as wide open as the formula to get there.

Let's explore an example.

The original version:

Sculptured by the wind’s swirl, the cylinder of twirling snowflakes lifted from the curbside pile, raked an icy chill across Jenny’s unprotected facial skin. Without a desire to stop and delay her plodding morning journey to the bookstore, she ignored the stray cat’s caterwaul behind her.

 While the original imagery tries to create a mood, it overpowers if not confuses. If it's slow going for Jenny, the reader doesn't get to understand there is a Jenny until too late.

Let's try to rewrite:

Off to Jenny’s right, a windy swirl lifted snowflakes from a curbside pile. Sculptured into a twirling “dust” devil, the cylindrical funnel raked an icy chill across her unprotected facial skin. With no desire to stop and delay her morning journey to the bookstore, she plodded on, this day ignoring the stray cat’s caterwaul behind her.

The original first sentence is divided into two parts. Within three words we know we are on a journey with Jenny. The cylinder of swirling snowflakes is emphasized to be a cylindrical funnel. Not a tornado, but similar to a summer dust kickup.

The last sentence in the revision could also be split into separate sentences. Left together they may imply a simultaneous perception. All is subjective. 

Try it yourself.

Use your own examples or visit Author Donan Bert at Amazon.com . This link will take you to his Find the Girl, A Fantasy Novel where a free sample is available. If you wish, his other novels also offer free "inside the book" samples.

 

The Bones Dance Foxtrot ebook now free, but limited

 Award-winning author Donan Berg offers you an exciting oppotunity to experience his mystery series with a free ebook.

The entertaining mystery, heartwarming romance, The Bones Dance Foxtrot, is

free in ebook format for a limited time and quantity, first come, first served.

Visit this website The Bones Dance Foxtrot 

Enjoy this reading party and be encouraged to leave a review where you obtain the free ebook or at Author Donan Berg's book site at Donan Berg at Amazon.com . 

Author Donan Berg is the author of twelve novels. Award winners in romance and fantasy plus five-star reviews in mystery, thrillers, and police procedurals.

A Body To Bones Reviewer: In-depth Characters

 A Body To Bones

A review for a five-star novel by award-winning author Donan Berg

Here's what's published on Amazon.com:

"A Body To Bones by Donan Berg is a book that is the first Skeleton Series Mystery and it it immediately drew me in.

"The book is about an old secret, one that won't remain buried and threatens to not only involve Sarah's family but she is the target of a killer.

"I loved this from the start, which was set in the past. Immediately it captured my interest and made me want to keep reading - from the prologue to the end. I enjoy mysteries and this was not only written well but had depth and imagination without becoming too unrealistic. Instead, it was a story that made me want to keep tapping away at my Kindle in order to get to the next chapter.

"If you love a good mystery and characters that are rich in depth and background, this is defintely the book you'll want to read."

Click here to purchase ebook at half price*. A Body To Bones

(*Half price available until February 12, 2023.)

Click to find other Donan Berg books:

Into the Dark

Free on KindleUnlimited Lucia's Fantasy World