About
KathRussell enjoyed over thirty-five years in marketing and communicationsmanagement in the biotechnology industry. She was an executive with one of thefirst genetic engineering companies. Russell also was president ofRussell-Welsh Strategic Life Science Communications, Inc., and founder andchief executive officer of an ecommerce company offering services for maturecompanion animals and veterinarians. Russell received her bachelor’s degreefrom Northwestern University, her master’s degree in journalism from BostonUniversity, her master’s of business administration from the Kellogg School ofManagement, and earned her certificate in creative writing from the UCLAExtension Writers' Program.
Description
The "Gastar" series is four novellas when completed. The stories follow teen assassin Shevata as she travels through history of the city of Gastar to seek redemption for her past actions and to regain her soul. The first, "Act of Redemption" was published in 2009, the second, "Children of Discord" will be available in a few weeks. Recommended age is 13+ for intense battle scenes, not erotic, minimal profanity. ebooks and kindle versions available.
Reviews
A Pointed Death is a very well written, compelling mystery that brings
together murder, corporate intrigue, bioscience, and one truly fine
pointer dog named Skootch. In the interest of full disclosure, I must
reveal that the author was kind enough to provide me with a copy of her
book in exchange for a fair and honest review. I must also state that I
have never given a five star rating to a first time author with a self
published novel. This one is truly deserving.
<br /><br />I started this book with much trepidation. I know nothing about the
biotechnology business or finance, two areas that play a large role in
this story. For the first thirty pages or so, I was feeling a bit lost
as the author seemed to be providing me with too much information. It
wasn't long however until her characters of Nola, Janie Belle, and of
course Skootch had me completely invested in the story. When Nola
discovered a headless body that just happened to belong to a disgraced
ex-employee, I was intrigued. When she met Harrison, fraud detective
with caramel eyes, I was even more intrigued. When she started playing
amateur sleuth and began discovering all the intricate threads that
connected into a very ugly web of corporate and international crime I
was totally hooked.
<br /><br />The author has a very readable writing style that flows well. She
infuses her story with quite a bit of humour, often provided by Skootch
the totally lovable dog. Nola is a fierce middle aged woman, often
despairing of her current situations, but ever confident in her own
abilities. She's a great character; a woman of intelligence and talent
who steadfastly refuses to take herself too seriously. Her relationship
with Harrison was very nicely portrayed in a way that added further
unexpected depth to Nola's character.
<br /><br />The author obviously loves San Francisco as she includes a lot of
descriptions of the city and it's surroundings. I was initially a bit
put off by this, but soon came to appreciate the role the city played in
the story. Her descriptions are so well done she has essentially
created another character. By the end, I felt that I had actually been
there.
<br /><br />As with all mysteries, in the end, the plot is the thing, and that
is perhaps what surprised me most about this book. It is just expertly
paced and plotted. There were no gaping holes of implausibility, no
chapters that should have been left out or repetition of facts, or any
of those other elements that often plague first time writers. This is a
great example of mystery storytelling. I now know a bit more about
finance, biotech, San Francisco, Episcopal Church Services, and Pointer
Dogs. I was also late for work and fixed my kids frozen pizza for
dinner so I could finish this up and find out how it ended! The author
states in her final acknowledgements that this is a "silly escapist
book". Perhaps I will only add that this is in fact a thinking person's
escapist book. It was a fun ride and one that I would recommend to any
mystery lover.<br /><br />Reviewed by J. Prather