Beginning of Chaz Strebor - Or Is He?

Chapter One - Strange Voices


This is the beginning of a book I wrote titled Chaz Strebor -  Or Is He?

"Stop!" I yelled, as something pushed me backward and onto the ground. "Who pushed me?"

Nobody answered me, so I struggled to locate my flashlight since I couldn't see because of the dim light in the alley. I found it and turned it on, but when I moved it around to survey the area, I didn't notice anyone lurking in the alley. I decided that whoever hid in the alley disappeared when he knew I appeared because he didn't want to be seen, or maybe he hid somewhere in the alley waiting to do something else. After a few minutes, I felt something scurrying across my leg. "What was that? Who's there?" I asked, as fear started to swell up inside me.

I still didn't receive a response, so I cautiously stood up and proceeded to shine the flashlight back and forth to see if I spotted anyone waiting to attack me. I couldn't see anyone in the alley, so I decided that whoever hid from my view vanished quickly.

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Chapter One - Christina's Unexpected Events

This is the first part of chapter one of my book, Christina's Unexpected Events.

I'm Detective Christina Ranae Stewart, a detective in the River City police station, and my boss was Detective Michael Mallory, who was single and three years older than I was. He was average weight and about my height, which was 5’7”, and he had brown hair and brown glasses. Randy Lakes, who was slender and about the same height as Michael, had brown hair and was Michael’s assistant detective, so when Michael couldn’t work on a specific day, then Randy took charge of the other detectives and officers and gave them instructions.

Besides Michael, Randy, and me, the River City police station consisted of twelve uniform officers and some crime scene officers as well as other employees who have helped with the duties at the police station so we can succeed. There were cubicles for each pair of detectives or officers, so they could have their privacy, but Detective Mallory organized the cubicles so he could observe his team through his bulletproof window. He wanted to make sure they acted professionally, and he wanted them to grow spiritually. Every morning, he gathered the officers and detectives so they could pray together before they started the day.

My partner, Jessica Harris, and I were Christians, and we attended the same church as often as possible. We have worked together for Detective Michael Mallory for the last ten years and have been challenged everyday because of the difficult life women police officers encounter on the streets.

One False Move by Harlan Coben

One False Move features Myron Bolitar, who is Brenda Slaughter's bodyguard. Brenda is a basketball start and doesn't think she needs a bodyguard because she is twenty-five-years-old, but she agrees to it. Her father is missing, and she wants Myron to locate him. Myron also finds out that Brenda's mother left her when Brenda was five-years-old. Brenda's mother had written her some letters during the past years that she disappeared.

One day, Brenda and Myron drove to her father's apartment, but when they arrived, they saw that someone had been there because of the way the room looked. After a few minutes, Brenda realized that her mother's letters disappeared, and she had received threatening phone calls.

After Myron did some investigating concerning Brenda's father, Horace, he found out that someone had broken into Horace's apartment. He also found out that Horace had cleared out his bank account before he disappeared. Brenda told Myron that her aunt Mabel Edwards, Horace's sister, might know where her father relocated, so Myron decided to visit with her to see what he could find out.

During his visit with Mabel, he didn't find out much, except that she had her from Brenda's mother, and Horace didn't want to reveal his location because he thought it would be safer for her.

Later on, Brenda and Myron went to where her dad worked before he disappeared. They found her dad's locker and removed the contents because the security guard needed to have the locker available for the new worker. They found some trash plus some important papers that contained names of two men Horace had contacted a few times. They also found a shirt with a bloodstain on it. That shocked Brenda, and Myron asked her if she knew the men, but she didn't know either of them.

Myron and Brenda were in his car, and he called Lisa, his friend at the phone company who is doing some investigation to find out who else is involved. After he found out a few things, he pondered over his clues to the case of what has happened with Brenda, her father, and her mother. He found out that someone put a tap on her phone, but he didn't know who or why. Myron thought about their conversation and wondered if someone was looking for Horace or his wife, Anita, who was Brenda's mother. He hung up and told Brenda what Lisa told him.

Later that night, Myron and Brenda went to Win's place to discuss their situation. Win invited them to stay with him in his apartment as long as they needed to so they would be safe.

Throughout the book, Myron and Brenda are confronted with different obstacles such as people who want to harm them or locate Brenda's mother and father. The plot and suspense continues to build until the end of the book. Now, you'll have to read the book to find out what happens.

Book Review: Secrets in the Shadows by V.C. Andrews

This was an intriguing book. Once I started reading it, I wanted to continue until I reached the end of the book. I enjoyed reading about Alice and wondered if she would meet other students at school.

When Alice was younger, she didn't have anyone to show her how to wear make up, or to dress attractively for the opposite sex. As a result, she became disinterested in boys and wanted to go home after school. She wanted to lock herself inside, so that nobody would harm her. She would tell people that she had to go to the Doral House, which was where she lived with her grandparents.

Alice's mother died, but her father was still alive and had married Rachel. They had twin boys, but for the sake of the new wife and boys, Alice had to pretend to be her grandmother's daughter. That made it difficult for Alice because she wanted to know her father.

One day, her father and his family came over, and Alice had been in the attic where she worked on her painting, but she had to go downstairs to greet them. A few minutes later, her grandfather took her out of the situation so they could go for a walk. He wanted to talk to her about her life and becoming involved in clubs at school instead of spending so much time alone in the attic and painting. On the other hand, he told her that she could possibly become successful with her painting because she was good.

Later on, Alice spent some time with Rachel, her step-mother, Rachel showed Alice how to apply make-up, so she would look more attractive to boys. She also bought Alice some new clothes.

After everyone left, Alice went for a walk. When she found herself in the village, she met Craig, and they started talking about the murder of Harry Pearson. Alice's mother committed the murder. Craig had done some research concerning the incidents surrounding the murder, and he wanted Alice to read the information.

I enjoyed reading Secrets in the Shadows. The author developed the characters so they were realistic. Alice was an interesting character. She wasn't interested in the opposite sex until Rachel helped her with her makeup and her clothes. Since Alice was more attractive, she wanted to meet her peers instead of going home alone and spending her time in solitude. People could relate to Alice and her struggles, especially if they experienced similar trials.

If you enjoy reading suspenseful books, you'll like Secrets in the Shadows.

The next morning, Craig picked up Alice and took her to school. The girls, who stood outside of the school, couldn't believe what they saw - Craig and Alice together.

The Robbery

This story is going to be something that I would like readers to develop. I will give you the beginning of the story, and whoever wants to add to the story can. I would like to have different readers participating in this activity. Please make sure you have correct spelling, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and punctuation.

Steven Brooks was behind the counter straightening it up when he heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up and saw a masked man pointing a gun toward him.

Review of "Hiding in the Shadows" by Kay Hooper

This is an excellent suspense book. It starts out with a whole chapter about Dinah Leighton. The next part is about Faith Parker, who was hospitalized as a result of a car wreck. She was left in a coma for several weeks. Dinah, who was Faith's faithful friend, continued to visit her and pay her bills.

When Faith suddenly woke up, she couldn't remember who she was or what had happened to her. Eventually, she could go home. However, during the time that Faith was in the hospital, Dinah disappeared. Nobody seemed to know what happened to her. Kane MacGregor, who was in love with Dinah, began searching for her. Faith also wanted to help him locate her because she continued to have visions about Dinah. She knew that Dinah was in trouble because she had a vision of a strange man she didn't know and a vision of Dinah being beaten and hidden in a dark place, but Faith didn't have any idea where the dark place was located. She wanted to locate Dinah soon before somebody killed her. She continued to gain strength from being in the hospital, but something else happened to her later on. Faith didn't know that her life was in danger, too.

One night, Faith was with Kane, and she was shot in the arm, but she was not seriously injured. Kane and Faith believed that someone was after them, but they didn't know who it was or why someone would want to harm them.

Noah Bishop, who was an FBI agent featured in Kay Hooper's books, also started investigating the Dinah's disappearance. He felt guilty when she disappeared because of what happened between them before she disappeared. Noah and Kane talked about that event, and Kane attempted to assure Noah that someone had taken Dinah instead of her just disappearing because of their conversation. That helped ease Noah's mind, but he still wanted to locate Dinah.

Now, you will have to read the rest of the book to find out what happened. Who was stalking them and why? Will Faith and Kane find Dinah? Will Dinah or Faith be killed?

At the end of the book are excerpts of "Stealing Shadows" and "Out of the Shadows." They feature the famous Detective, Noah Bishop, who was also featured in "Hiding in the Shadows."

This book was easy to read and understand, but there was some profanity throughout the book which some readers might not like. However, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense.