Tripping With a Psycho-Thriller

Thought for the day:  We cannot all do great things in life, but we can all do small things with great love.  [Mother Teresa]

Today's the day for the monthly gathering at the  Cephalopod Coffeehouse, where bloggers can rant and/or rave about books, under the leadership of ye olde (not really!) host armchair squid. (He sent me the linky list thing-a-ma-bobby, but I couldn't figure out how to integrate it into my post properly, so if you'd like to check out the other spiffy book posts and maybe sign up, grab a cuppa and pop on over to his blog.) I'm strapping on my water wings and jumping into the pool with them  for the first time, but out of deference to those of you who don't give a good diddle which book I most enjoyed this past month, I'll touch on something else first, and then follow with the review. Those of you who don't give a good diddle about the something else and only came here to see the darned review, feel free to scroll down.

                                             As for the rest of us? Let's hit the road!

Courtesy of the creative folks at dribbleglass, who granted me permission to share these images with you, we're gonna take a virtual road trip to check out some make-believe billboards. Things we'd kinda like to see on the side of the road... but never will.

Ready? Um, better put your drink down. Some of these might make stuff squirt out your nose...

Okay, so which bogus billboard was your favorite? I kinda like 'em ALL. Come to think of it, that usually applies to the books I read, too. With rare exception, I usually enjoy all the books I read, and I've read about a dozen very good ones this month... as well as a couple stinkers.

But if I can only highlight one book, that's gonna be Black Chalk, by Christopher Yates. I received a pre-release promotional copy from the publisher earlier this month, and the book will be available for you guys to purchase on April first. (No foolin'!)

Here's the review I posted on Goodreads:

In this stunning character study, six college students, encouraged and monitored by the mysterious Game Soc, create and play an ultra-secretive game that tests not only the limits of their friendships, but threatens their sanity and well-being, as well. With each round, the consequences escalate. The lowest-scoring players can either fulfill the prescribed consequences... or quit. 

Friends know secrets about each other, sometimes deep, dark secrets. They know where weaknesses lie, and where the soft spots hide. The question is: how willing are these students... these friends... to use that private information to inflict public psychological pain and humiliation on each other? How far are they willing to go in an attempt to break the other players? To what lengths will they go to force other players to quit? 

What are people willing to do in the name of competition? When does it stop being about fun, and become more about survival? In a win-at-any-cost game like this, can anyone truly win?

A brilliant book. I highly recommend it.
***

I really do recommend it. Think of the Lord of the Flies kids all grown up and attending Oxford University. Brilliant kids. Competitive kids. Friends. Or so they start out...

Before I waddle off into the weekend, a quick reminder: The e-version of my book Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade went on sale today... February 28...  at 8 AM PST, and it'll remain on sale until 12 AM PST on March 6. That's on Amazon, and the price is only ninety-nine cents. (You can get to its page in a jiffy by clicking on the book's cover pic in the sidebar.) Please help me spread the word, y'all. I'd really like to treat Smarticus to a fancy dinner out, and he might like to have fries with his burger...

                                                   Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.