 Slow Down by Lee Matthew Goldberg  This was a book I got from Blackthorn Book Tours. I gotta tell you, they have access to some pretty incredible authors. This is the second book by Goldberg that I have read in the last three months. He does NOT disappoint. Ever. This is the blurb that enticed me to read the book: How far would you go to make your dreams come true? For budding writer and filmmaker Noah Spaeth, being a Production Assistant in director Dominick Bambach’s new avant-garde film isn’t enough. Neither is watching Dominick have an affair with the lead actress, the gorgeous but troubled Nevie Wyeth. For Noah’s dream is to get both the film and Nevie in the end, whatever the cost. And this obsession may soon become a reality once Dominick’s spurned wife Isadora reveals her femme fatale nature with a seductive plot to get rid of her husband for good. Slow Down, a cross between the noir styling of James M. Cain and the dark satire of Bret Easton Ellis, is a thrilling page-turner that holds a mirror up to a media-saturated society that is constantly searching for the fastest way to get ahead, regardless of consequences. ***(We don't yet have an Amazon buy link yet as this is a re-release.)*** Okay? So, right away I identified “key elements” that automatically gave the plot promise.
I could go on, but you get the idea. So, I’m thinking this has some serious potential. That’s why I signed up to review it. I swear to you, it was so difficult to put this book down. Noah is quite the broodish young man with a dream he can’t wait to bring to fruition. Not to mention, he has a crush that runs so deep on Nevie that he basically salivates like one of Pavlov’s dogs every time she speaks to him, touches him, looks at him…name your stimuli. If it comes from Nevie, Noah will do anything for it…and her. Now, Nevie and Noah have known each other a long time. She doesn’t see him the way he sees her. So, she’s sleeping with Dominick, an arrogant, blustering, braggard who says he has a vision for the next big thing in movies. Luckily, because of Nevie, Noah becomes not only Dominick’s Production Assistant, but also his sounding board, his confidante, his friend…I suppose. Remember, Noah is out for Noah. And Nevie. But working with Dominick gives Noah the backstage pass he needs to get his feet wet in the industry. It also lets him keep an eye on Nevie. That is until Dominick’s wife, Isadora, decides she wants in on the action too. And Dominick and Isadora obviously don’t have much of a marriage. Dominick thinks he’s the Hugh Hefner of the film industry and as such, he parties, drinks, drugs and sleeps with whatever or whoever he wants. And he flaunts it in front of Isadora, having these parties at their house. The biggest thing that bothers Noah is that Nevie has this yellow circle tattoo on her lower back. It’s not that she has a tattoo or where it is that irritates him. It’s what the tattoo represents. The more involved Noah gets with Dominick and the making of his movie, the more tense things become. Everyone involved has their own agenda. Nevie wants to be famous. Dominick wants to be an icon in the filmmaking industry. Noah wants what Dominick wants…and has. And Isadora wants to get rid of Dominick. That’s where the twists and turns start happening, people start making plans behind others’ backs, and everyone is getting suspicious. It’s only a matter of time before wires start to get crossed and things blow up. Who will be left standing in the aftermath of this cataclysmic whirlwind of desire, jealousy, pleasure and pain? THE END  I loved this book. I am quickly becoming a fan of Lee Matthew Goldberg. He truly has a way of not only pulling things together and building a story, but he can also manage to make almost every page in the book a necessity to read, because you don’t want to miss a thing. And honestly, it’s almost as if each page holds some little piece of important information that is critical to the story. The suspense is spectacular and, at some points, leaving you with this feeling of “Wait…what? What happens? Turn the page! Turn the page! Quickly!”, like if you don’t you ARE going to miss out on something killer in the story. Personally, I really liked the Noah character. I think Goldberg did a fantastic job creating this person and bringing him to life. He’s so relatable. He’s raw and vulnerable. And he’s hungry for his success. That brings a lot to the story. If it weren’t for Noah, the very lifeblood of the entire plot would be exsanguinated. He’s the reason you keep reading. You want to know what he does next, what happens next, is he okay, how he feels. He’s truly a massive character. There’s much more in the story that is absolutely intriguing and strange and weird in such a wonderfully entertaining way, I just don’t want to spoil it for anyone.  Here’s a little about the author: Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE DESIRE CARD, THE MENTOR, and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming in 2020, along with his first Sci-Fi novel ORANGE CITY. His new endeavor will be as the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe Press and Fringe Digital, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at leematthewgoldberg.com. Website – Leematthewgoldberg.com FB – https://www.facebook.com/leemgol IG – https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/ Twitter – https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG I suggest following him on social media or visit his site for release dates for this newer version. What is available on Amazon right now is the older version, without the new pages. RATINGS 5/5 Stars  If you would like to read other reviews of this book from my fellow reviewers on the tour, here is the schedule. Each name is the google search term to find their website.
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  Hippie Cult Leader The Last Words of Charles Manson By James Buddy Day This was an interesting read. The author of this book was in touch with Manson during the last year of his life. He has personal contact with Manson via email and phone calls. So much so that even during a holiday dinner the author stopped eating to take a call from Charlie. There is certainly some new information in this book. It is extremely well written and from a different perspective than what we normally get. This is what Charlie says, not what others say about him. And it’s different from other Manson books because it’s like he knows he’s dying so he is just going to tell everything and let it ride. Not like they could do anything else to him. The author has also taken a lot of time to find various former Manson Family members and cultivate professional relationships with these people in order to get the real story, as he hears it. He spent time talking to people like Manson himself and other family members or friends of the family, extensively. It obviously took a lot of time to compile all of this information. There’s a lot of behind the scenes kind of information about the trials and strategies, plea deals, paroles, politics, the family, witnesses. Day really delves into the mystery of Manson head first and comes up with a lot of excellent information that pulls a lot of things together. You even get Charlie’s perception of the Helter Skelter trial and subsequent trials on other charges. This book also puts a new light on Linda Kasabian and her testimony. We’ve always been told her testimony was key to the Helter Skelter trial. At the same time, the book highlights mischaracterizations of various people like Bobby Beausolei and even Manson himself. Additionally, this book covers everything from Charlie’s version of the Tate/LaBianca trial to Charlie’s prison mentality. We also hear from Charlie himself his own definitions of certain words and relationships, like “friends”. We even read about cons Charlie runs while in prison after the Tate/LaBianca verdict. It is rare that I find a book or documentary about Charles Manson where I find out new information. So often they all contain the same old material, over and over. This is different. Like I said, it’s like the mask has come off because Charlie knows he’s dying and he wants people to know who he really thinks he is…what he thinks he is. Truly a fantastic book full of information, amazement and even a little amusement too. RATINGS 5/5 Stars   |
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