5.0 out of 5 stars A fun story with good, thought-provoking messages
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"Algernon" is a cute story about an anteater who loves ants of any type or size until he accidentally discovers chocolate covered ants in a jar. The problem was, he didn't know where to find more of them. Algernon was quite clever and creative. He decided to brush up on his reading skills, hoping that would solve the problem of where to find more of his favorite chocolate treat. One day, Algernon discovers the circus is in town. Thinking that would be a fun adventure, he discovered some skills he thought could be included in his circus act. The story will help children with imagination, problem-solving and more. No doubt they will cheer for him throughout the story. Highly recommended
* A received a gift copy of this book and chose to review it without compensation.
Reviewed by children's author Deanie Humphrys-Dunne

​"The Void", the first true paranormal short story written by Marta Moran Bishop, is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock or The Twilight Zone of later days. It will take you deep into the mind and heart of someone either living through a serious mental illness, or something mysterious and dangerous residing in the void.
Many years earlier, Altori and her sister Helen moved into the village. Last year, during the night of no moon, Helen went out into the void and nearly died. A terrible disease spread through her body. She ran away to escape the possibility of death at the hands of the frightened villagers.
Will Altori survive the void and find her sister? Did Helen ever exist, or is Altori suffering from mental illness?

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Mind-Bending Story

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Does Altori suffer from a multitude of mental illnesses or is something stranger lurking in the darkness? Her affliction could certainly be described as delusional paranoid schizophrenia with a tendency to inflict wounds upon herself.

The author takes a great deal of time and effort into stimulating the reader's senses, but ultimately where is she leading us in this short prequel? Ultimately, "Brigadoon" and then "The Knowing" came to mind, but the again are we just eaves dropping into the mind of a mental patient?

The Void is an absolutely brilliant mind-bending story that will keep you guessing!

​The people in the neighborhood called him Crazy Ed. He sat day after day on an ashcan in the alley staring at the dirty brick wall. Most didn’t know where he had come from or why he was there, but Ed was a quiet man with silver hair, and a sad expression on his face, so they left him alone. Few noticed him and most paid no attention what-so-ever to him.
Once in a while if a spare moment presented itself they wondered who he was, until one day Ed disappeared.

Fluid, Charming and Bright
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This is a small story of Ed. But more than love story of Ed and Isle, it is another vehicle created by Marta after the In Between Times which is meant to transport you to a different and hopeful world. While the story is to short for one to thoroughly enjoy the beauty of Marta's writing, like Ed, we readers regret coming back to this side of the wall as the story ends. Enjoyable read..

​"Marta Moran Bishop’s Darkness Descends is powerful, gripping work! It’s a compelling, sometimes scathing prequel to her first series title, The Between Times. Set in a dystopian city-state, Bishop indicts a patriarchal oligarchy that feeds a rape culture at the same time as it plots the overthrow of the rule of law with the anarchic rule of a well-managed mob psyche. The Roman people were given bread and circuses. The crowds in Darkness Descends are handed Rebecca, Jewell’s mother, and a crucial charter character of the series, who faces public torture, humiliation, assault, and finally, auto-da-fé, burning at the stake, which she accepts as her fate as the ultimate sacrifice for a greater good. Bishop pulls no punches. The blows land all the harder when one realizes she is not working solely from imagination. She has incorporated into her literary tapestry the warp of today’s culture, with the weft of actual history, including a chilling early Twentieth Century plot by brutal American financial moguls to overthrow the United States government. Who knew?! This book is devastating. I’m praying for an uplifting third installment to arrive in my Kindle soon, but given Bishop’s dim view of humanity and history, I’m not holding out too much hope for a Pixar ending. Every win in Bishop’s world comes at a great price, and the brilliant Darkness Descends is no exception. Of course, I absolutely can’t wait to see what Bishop will come up with next!" (Robert Blake Whitehill, author/screenwriter, the Ben Blackshaw series)

​Jade Lazlow

5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting Story with a Shocking Twist
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2022
I was intrigued by the idea of a story begun by the late author, Helen Diessner, and finished as a work of love by Marta Moran Bishop. I also enjoy horror fiction. The story of George Haint pulls you in with its haunting melancholy beginnings. George worked in the gold mines and lived with his wife in their isolated mountain cabin in the desert. The story opens after her death, and George mourns alone. This part of the story was reminiscent of works by Henry James, such as The Romance of Certain Old Clothes or the ambience of The Turn of the Screw. And just when I settled into my expectations, the story took a horrifyingly dark turn. It's not often a story shocks me, but this one did. It's a short work, but well worth the read...with the light on.

​Sara Jones, dead-set on wiping out organized crime, continues her quest to destroy an illegal drug plant in Albuquerque. But it’s been moved. Worse, a friend’s daughter disappeared along with the plant.
Tracking the new plant owner to Kansas City, Sara infiltrates his inner circle to gain information and uncovers a broader plot of murder and deceit. On a date with the owner’s nephew, Sara unexpectedly comes face-to-face with Conner Crussett, her crime boss boyfriend. He claims they have the same goal—to destroy the illicit plant. Last time he made that claim, things didn’t go well. Sara believes he has an ulterior motive for showing up in Kansas City.
Complicating an already dangerous game, word comes that an imprisoned Tegen, who blames Sara for her boyfriend’s death, has escaped. An enraged Tegen wanting revenge is capable of anything. Can Sara find the missing girl, destroy the illicit business and stop the vindictive Tegen?

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrills, chills, spiders, and a whole new race of beings!

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The Tegen Hunt is a unique genre-crossing story, book 4 in the Tegens series. Combining mystery, fantasy, suspense, and horror, this novel is a compelling page-turner with outstanding scene painting that can invoke instant shudders or thrills.

Ms. Goss has created a new race of humans who have spider-like qualities and who live in partnership with spiders they carry in cages wherever they go. The culture is full of shocking ceremonies which the members need to survive. The heroine, Sara, is a complex being who belongs to this race of Tegens and who is on a mission to gain righteous vengeance for terrible deeds perpetrated by a powerful drug dealer while concurrently being hunted by a man determined to kill her.

The author keeps you guessing. Are the Tegens evil or good? There are plenty of twists to keep you wondering what’s around the corner. In addition, the main character, who is on this noble quest, also dates two very different men, one of whom is a crime lord. Needless to say, Sara’s life is complicated.

Sara also has the ability to don disguises at a moment’s notice, which comes in very helpful in her adventures with nefarious villains. Because of her spider skills, she can scale the tallest building when she gets cornered.

Inge-Lise Goss is a fine writer. I read and very much enjoyed Compelled, by Ms. Goss, a thriller with paranormal twists that I highly recommend. Tegen Hunt is a horse of a different color, and definitely not for the faint of heart!

If you love horror and thrills, Tegen Hunt is the book for you.

​Thrill of the chase, but first they have to find out who is chasing whom!

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Inge-Lise Goss has a talent for combining spiders, an occult, and mobsters into an enthralling novel, Tegen Punishment (Tegens Book 3). The introduction gives you enough information about what Tegens for this novel to standalone, but may characters within its pages where key plans in previous books. Sara Jones broke the rules and her punishment could be serious, but they gave her a choice to bring in a rogue Tegen enforcer as her sentence.
 
Though I am not a fan of spiders, I could not put Tegen Punishment down until I read to the last page. Inge-Lise Goss keeps the plot around Sara while developing the other characters more. Sara found she is effective working with Tegen enforcers but I love how she is more sensitive towards mortals and strives to keep innocent people unharmed. She does well working with several groups at one time though she is too trusting. I loved the theme and characters and would love to read more from this author.