Epinions Recent Reviews for kevintipple

Parker/Spenser going through the motions in "The Professional"

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:14:49 GMT

rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Back in high school, while I wanted to be a football stud, there was no question that I was a nerd. Unathletic, nose in a book all the time, good grades, etc made it clear what I was to one and all. At some point in college, all that nonsense didn't...

Lincoln Perry hits the streets again in "The Silent Hour"

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:14:57 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - "The Silent Hour: A Lincoln Perry Mystery" opens with Private Investigator Lincoln Perry working solo while his partner Joe Pritchard mends in Florida. Perry is receiving letters from Parker Harrison, convicted murder, who is seeking his help. When the...

Quite a variety in "Killers" edited by Colin Harvey

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:15:50 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Anthologies are notoriously difficult to review from a reviewer's standpoint. If you review the book as a whole and mention just a couple of authors in it in any detail, sometimes the other authors involved get hurt feelings because they weren't...

Holiday Crime Anthology

Sat, 7 Nov 2009 15:03:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - On one of the writing lists I am on the subject of "reviewer bias" came up this week. While some argued that a reviewer should have absolutely no bias and only good reviewers had none, I briefly argued that every human being has bias and reviewers are no...

Back to Sea Haven in "Whack A Mole" by Chris Grabenstein

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:07:44 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - A consistent criticism by some of this mystery series is the fact that it is written in present tense. According to some of the writing experts on various lists I am on, as well as what is published in various writing magazines on the topic, supposedly...

Brady and Beaumont together again in "Fire And Ice"

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:38:30 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Much has been written regarding the fact that the last time Brady and Beaumont got together in "Partner in Crime" there was heat between the two characters. Both are far different people now and author J. A. Jance is a far different writer. Which isn't...

Once more into Eden.......

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:34:44 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Something I have never understood is why some authors get great hype and publicity and yet what they have created is at best average while far superior authors and works are almost ignored. Somehow, some authors can create a book or series in a certain...

Walt's back and a little off his game....

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 19:56:25 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - I wrote in another review about noticing writer tricks. Not only are writers no longer supposed to write "prologues" but instead call those bits at the beginning of books "Chapter One," these days the consensus advice is that one has to have...

A BIG HEAD isn't Bad at all

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 18:56:47 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Being self published used to have a major stigma against it. Choosing Book Surge for producing your self published title used to be a sure sign of a disaster. With the way the world is in publishing these days, I am no longer sure if that is as true...

Defending What Is Indefensible

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:09:34 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - After the birth of my oldest son who was several weeks premature and had multiple health problems including the fact that his heart would periodically stop beating, I found I could no longer stand books that had bad stuff happen to kids. It had always...

Returning to the world of criminal profiler Sarah Armstrong of the Texas Rangers

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:37:28 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - When I first started reviewing back in 1998, I was also new to writing in general outside of academic stuff. As the years have passed and I have read lots of books and had more than a few stories and non fiction articles published, I don’t read...

Use it all Up!

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 14:19:30 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Designed for using up those stray fabric pieces and other assorted sewing items, this book features numerous colorful ideas. From making "Animal Friends" such as a small horse or fish to "Scented Sachets" or "Party Bunting" and "Flower Power Lampshades"...

The Ninth is NOT the charm

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 13:25:19 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - One of my biases and every reviewer have them whether they admit it or not, is I am predisposed to like books set in the west featuring law enforcement such as park rangers, game wardens, etc. When I was a kid, we used to go camping a lot during the...

A read that will make you hungry!

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:25:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Several years ago, I reviewed "Eye of Newt" by Denise Dietz here and elsewhere. http://www.epinions.com/review
/Eye_Of_Newt_by_Denise_Dietz/c
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The novel tells the...

When Living Pets Won't Do

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:58:06 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Beyond a column I do every month for the Texas version of "Senior News" my wife makes and sells a number of craft items online and privately. She does baby bears, Christmas quilts and regular ones, jewelry of all types, ornaments, and quite a few other...

Forget cookies. Give A Mouse A Gun.....

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 15:32:09 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Awhile back, Chris Grabenstein was on one of the many lists I am on for writers and lamenting the loss of his publisher. The publisher was part of a bigger company that had been absorbed into another and the new ownership group didn't want Chris' books...

Fun Reading that also Teaches

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 17:54:00 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Racism and perceived racism are the third rail of not only American politics and life in general. As recent events have shown, some things are handled one way if one has a certain stature and another way if one is of a lower economic position. Over the...

Jack Reacher returns in "Gone Tomorrow"

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:58:20 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - It was in the novel "Killing Floor" that readers were first introduced to the character of Jack Reacher. A former military policeman who found himself traveling America carrying nothing much more than the clothes on his back and a toothbrush in his...

It Is Not Bosch---But, It Will Do

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 18:11:07 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - I remain a big fan of Michael Connelly after stumbling across him years ago when I worked in a local bookstore. "The Black Echo" and "The Black Ice" blew me away and I routinely hand sold each book into the double digits every week. Not one customer ever...

Got Thirty Minutes? Cook Something!

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 15:34:21 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I grew up learning how to cook, sew, and do laundry because my Mom believed every guy should know how to do those sorts of things. This was fine with me though some of my buddies kidded me about it until they came...

Reviewing: "Pilikia is My Business" by Mark Troy

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:51:58 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Written by 2002 Shamus Award Nominee Mark Troy, this fast paced and suspenseful novel revolves around Hawaii based private investigator Val Lyon. An ex cop, ex-con, and former pro basketball player, Val Lyon doesn't tolerate idiots and has little...

Get going with "The Container Gardener's Bible"

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:59:46 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Broken into four sections, this book is designed to teach you everything you every wanted to know about container gardening. The first section is about design and how to come up with a workable design for your gardening area. Before it gets to that...

John Ceepak and Danny Boyle begin in "Tilt A Whirl" by Chris Grabenstein

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:38:55 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Sea Haven, New Jersey is an eighteen mile long barrier island consisting of motels, beach houses, bait shops, etc. For twenty-four year old Danny Boyle it is home and he works part time as an unarmed summer cop who helps with the influx of tourists in...

The Duchess is back in "The Duchess To The Rescue"

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:36:27 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - At first Bones thinks it has to be a joke. Bones used to be a cop in the small town of Ephesus, Pennsylvania. He got fired for doing a good thing for a homeless woman. He's made the local police and especially the police chief look weak by solving cases...

Reviewing: "Hose Monkey" by Tony Spinosa

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:49:41 GMT

rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author kevintipple - Mid February 2004 finds Long Island, New York cold and dreary. So too is the life of former NYPD Detective Joe Serpe. His life is a wreckage of shattered dreams and hopes. His fifteen year marriage has collapsed with no hope of reconciliation. His former...