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Discovered #1
Calculated
An investigative journalist gets an unlikely tip from a mysterious informant. Dismissing it as impossible, she disregards the information and drops the story. Until the informant turns up dead, as predicted.
Plunged into the murky waters of a seedy underground prostitution ring, this psychological thriller provides twist upon dark twist in a story that would ultimately pin the church and several government officials in the largest murder cover-up the city has ever witnessed.
But is it true, or has the journalist merely been used as a pawn in a greater scheme? And how many people is she willing to sacrifice trying to figure it out?
Plunged into the murky waters of a seedy underground prostitution ring, this psychological thriller provides twist upon dark twist in a story that would ultimately pin the church and several government officials in the largest murder cover-up the city has ever witnessed.
But is it true, or has the journalist merely been used as a pawn in a greater scheme? And how many people is she willing to sacrifice trying to figure it out?
213 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 29, 2013
119 people want to read
About the author
R.S. Novelle
11 books302 followersRenee Novelle is a published journalist, author and photographer who enjoys exploring the creative space. She is currently working on her next manuscript.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 15, 2013
I am totally stunned and almost speechless. It seems as if what was ‘calculated’ about this book was the ending. My stomach is pretty much all twisted up in knots as I suspect that will happen to others, but the trip and the tension were taut and exciting. The writing and pacing was top notch. I suggest ‘Calculated’ be read with some stiff drinks ready to help everyone manage the finale! I recommend it but with reservations for folks who might find a surprise ending upsetting.
Ana Meyers is one kick-ass journalist, who has a tendency to get her own butt in a sling. However, the scent of a great story and the righting of some horrible wrongs are simply not to be passed up. How can that possibly compare to her re-assignment? She never gives up, but she is in for one strange awakening. We all are.
Ana does get a really nice mini-respite when she hooks up with a previous lover, Reilly, who is a totally focused computer research geek and a hot partner between the sheets. This is Ana’s only chance at a little comfort when she cashes in with her friend for free research service for all the chicken Zingers Reilly can consume. Reilly is a really fun interlude and helps Ana get some additional, important information, too.
Enjoy this strange, but delightful story as I did. Keep in mind; your innards are going to get scrambled. Isn’t that what a great thriller should do? Give this wild one a chance!
NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Ana Meyers is one kick-ass journalist, who has a tendency to get her own butt in a sling. However, the scent of a great story and the righting of some horrible wrongs are simply not to be passed up. How can that possibly compare to her re-assignment? She never gives up, but she is in for one strange awakening. We all are.
Ana does get a really nice mini-respite when she hooks up with a previous lover, Reilly, who is a totally focused computer research geek and a hot partner between the sheets. This is Ana’s only chance at a little comfort when she cashes in with her friend for free research service for all the chicken Zingers Reilly can consume. Reilly is a really fun interlude and helps Ana get some additional, important information, too.
Enjoy this strange, but delightful story as I did. Keep in mind; your innards are going to get scrambled. Isn’t that what a great thriller should do? Give this wild one a chance!
NOTE: This book was provided by the author for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
January 16, 2014
This is a modern day murder mystery. The book opens with a distraught, young broken hearted man and we immediately witness his murder. Ana Meyers is a reporter renown for digging deep to get her story, she's just recovering from a sensational story about a rogue cop which didn't go down well with a few influential people and she is being reassigned to the "Weddings" section of the newspaper.
When a frightened witness called Mara forces her way in to see Ana, she nudges Ana's reporter instincts. Mara has no evidence of her suspicions and Ana is prepared to dismiss her story until a body is found the next day resembling Mara. A taped message sent to Ana sets her reporter nose off sniffing out her next big story and fingers are being pointed at The Living Waters Community Church.
The number of dead is increasing as Ana finds more and more eye opening evidence. Ana is attacked and ends up in hospital but she won't give up. Daring and foolhardy she forces through her evidence and demands that the police take action.
I really enjoyed this book and didn't want to put it down, it was well paced and kept me enthralled always willing Ana on from the side-lines.
When a frightened witness called Mara forces her way in to see Ana, she nudges Ana's reporter instincts. Mara has no evidence of her suspicions and Ana is prepared to dismiss her story until a body is found the next day resembling Mara. A taped message sent to Ana sets her reporter nose off sniffing out her next big story and fingers are being pointed at The Living Waters Community Church.
The number of dead is increasing as Ana finds more and more eye opening evidence. Ana is attacked and ends up in hospital but she won't give up. Daring and foolhardy she forces through her evidence and demands that the police take action.
I really enjoyed this book and didn't want to put it down, it was well paced and kept me enthralled always willing Ana on from the side-lines.
November 21, 2013
Review by Ryder Islington, author of ULTIMATE JUSTICE, A Trey Fontaine Mystery
If you're looking for a good suspenseful mystery, check out CALCULATED by R.S. Novelle. The characters are well-rounded, and the plot thickens to a full-blown conspiracy, with murder, politics and money at its heart. I really enjoyed this one, and look forward to more from Ms. Novelle.
The main character, Ana, is a reporter who has written a book, an expose that gets under the skin of local politicians and cops. Then someone comes to talk to Ana. A woman named Mara, who tells her about the murder of several young men. Mara doesn't give her last name, and doesn't have any hard evidence, so Ana tells her there's not enough to go on. But after Mara leaves, Ana has to admit to herself that the story the woman told is intriguing.
Ana has a boss who is not happy with the book, and two friends at the paper who support her efforts to find the truth, but fear for her life if she doesn't stop. And there's a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Either I'm slipping, or up and coming authors are getting better at this!
If you're looking for a good suspenseful mystery, check out CALCULATED by R.S. Novelle. The characters are well-rounded, and the plot thickens to a full-blown conspiracy, with murder, politics and money at its heart. I really enjoyed this one, and look forward to more from Ms. Novelle.
The main character, Ana, is a reporter who has written a book, an expose that gets under the skin of local politicians and cops. Then someone comes to talk to Ana. A woman named Mara, who tells her about the murder of several young men. Mara doesn't give her last name, and doesn't have any hard evidence, so Ana tells her there's not enough to go on. But after Mara leaves, Ana has to admit to herself that the story the woman told is intriguing.
Ana has a boss who is not happy with the book, and two friends at the paper who support her efforts to find the truth, but fear for her life if she doesn't stop. And there's a great twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Either I'm slipping, or up and coming authors are getting better at this!
September 7, 2013
Amazing first book by this new author! I could not stop reading this page turner who's plot has more twists and turns than Lumbard Street in San Fran! Just when you think, wow, that was a wild ending, the plot takes off again in a direction you never saw coming. The characters are engaging and well developed. You are pulled in from the first page and get to know them well enough to call them friends, worry for their lives, root them on, amazed by their quick minds....Well, you just have to read it for yourself. I guarantee you won't be disappointed!
October 5, 2013
Wow, this was an amazing book and can you believe this is her first novel? Holy smokes, this was good!! The plot was so freakin crazy and gripping! I was lost in the pages and I could not put this book down. I stayed up all night reading it just to find out how it ends! I am so proud of R.S. Novelle for writing such an exquisite and extraordinary piece of literature. I am definitely going to check out her other books! I don't want to give up too much of the plot because you seriously just have to read it yourself.
All I can say, is that I loved the protagonist, Ana. She is smart, witty, hilarious, brave, strong, and fierce! This book was all about uncovering the truth beneath all of the lies and conspiracies. My type of book! I thought I had this book down-packed and was like" typical" but then all these twists and turns happened..I was like "holy goodness! what is going on??!!"
Seriously, this book is great! I highly recommend it!
All I can say, is that I loved the protagonist, Ana. She is smart, witty, hilarious, brave, strong, and fierce! This book was all about uncovering the truth beneath all of the lies and conspiracies. My type of book! I thought I had this book down-packed and was like" typical" but then all these twists and turns happened..I was like "holy goodness! what is going on??!!"
Seriously, this book is great! I highly recommend it!
October 1, 2013
I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.
I was pleasantly surprised by Calculated by R.S. Novelle. It is a very suspenseful story with a lot of action and some incredible twists. Absolutely no summary here because it would ruin the suspense! You just have to read the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this page turner about a female journalist who exposes local crime and corruption. I hope that Girl Friday, Ana, will be back for more adventures. If you're a fan of whodunits, you will want to add this book to your library.
***this review was done in conjunction with Nerd Girl Official. For more information regarding our reviews, please visit the fan site:www.facebook.com/NerdGirl.ng***
September 16, 2013
A fantastic read - R.S. Novelle did a great job of keeping you hooked. And just when you think you've got it figured out - you find out you're wrong! There were just enough characters to keep up with, and the pace was well delivered. A very entertaining writer.
I'm not going to spend time here telling you the plot; it's already up there in the description!
Looking forward to your next book R.S. Novelle!
I'm not going to spend time here telling you the plot; it's already up there in the description!
Looking forward to your next book R.S. Novelle!
October 17, 2013
Book – Calculated (Book 1, Discovered series)
Author – R.S. Novelle
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
Would I read it again – Probably not.
Plot – okay, bit predictable
Characters – okay, a little regular
Movie Potential - ★★★★☆ (probably better on screen)
Ease of reading – easy.
**I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW**
So this was a confusing read for me. I was a little surprised and confused by the first chapter, because it wasn't at all what I expected, then the character I was just getting used to was murdered. So bye bye, interesting character.
To start off my review, let me say that there was a little too much description in this story for me. It wasn't just throughout the story, there was far too much description put in one bit after another. There was so much description in one paragraph that I was getting a little cross-eyed trying to force my imagination of this character to change to conform to the author's description of her. It ruined the flow of the story for me, to continually adapt my imagination to the writer's decisions. The descriptions were so focused and so intricate that there was really no way of allowing your imagination to run free.
I have to say that I wasn't really that interested in the main character Ana. She seemed a little self-centered and career driven (not necessarily a bad thing) and lacking a conscience. She did things that drove the story forward, sure, but a lot of her reactions were odd and uncalled for, or really naïve. I couldn't root for her at all.
I'm not sure if it's because I just came from reading a fast paced, lovable main character driven story with limited detail, but Calculated seems slow and overly detailed to the point that it detracts from the story. The author has said and done all the right things in all the right placed, adding intrigue, curiosity, mystery etc and the chapters are short enough for a quick pick up every now and then, making it a quicker read, but it just didn't draw me in.
As for the story, we're never told what Ana's big 'secret past' is and I'm really not sure that Book 2 will give me those answers either. I may not be interested, but it is a bit of a plot gap. In my opinion, the entire case is left unsolved, as well, with key persons left free to walk the world and never face the consequences of their actions. No-one is held responsible and not one of the bad guys, even the little ones, are caught.
Apart from innocent men getting murdered (for a pretty elaborate reason, in an elaborate way, with a pretty strange background) we're really given no reason to care about the story. We don't get to know any of the victims, not enough to care that they're being slaughtered needlessly. We don't get to really know anything about Ana that makes her relatable or likable, so when she's in danger, I didn't really care what the outcome was.
Author – R.S. Novelle
Star rating - ★★★☆☆
Would I read it again – Probably not.
Plot – okay, bit predictable
Characters – okay, a little regular
Movie Potential - ★★★★☆ (probably better on screen)
Ease of reading – easy.
**I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW**
So this was a confusing read for me. I was a little surprised and confused by the first chapter, because it wasn't at all what I expected, then the character I was just getting used to was murdered. So bye bye, interesting character.
To start off my review, let me say that there was a little too much description in this story for me. It wasn't just throughout the story, there was far too much description put in one bit after another. There was so much description in one paragraph that I was getting a little cross-eyed trying to force my imagination of this character to change to conform to the author's description of her. It ruined the flow of the story for me, to continually adapt my imagination to the writer's decisions. The descriptions were so focused and so intricate that there was really no way of allowing your imagination to run free.
I have to say that I wasn't really that interested in the main character Ana. She seemed a little self-centered and career driven (not necessarily a bad thing) and lacking a conscience. She did things that drove the story forward, sure, but a lot of her reactions were odd and uncalled for, or really naïve. I couldn't root for her at all.
I'm not sure if it's because I just came from reading a fast paced, lovable main character driven story with limited detail, but Calculated seems slow and overly detailed to the point that it detracts from the story. The author has said and done all the right things in all the right placed, adding intrigue, curiosity, mystery etc and the chapters are short enough for a quick pick up every now and then, making it a quicker read, but it just didn't draw me in.
As for the story, we're never told what Ana's big 'secret past' is and I'm really not sure that Book 2 will give me those answers either. I may not be interested, but it is a bit of a plot gap. In my opinion, the entire case is left unsolved, as well, with key persons left free to walk the world and never face the consequences of their actions. No-one is held responsible and not one of the bad guys, even the little ones, are caught.
Apart from innocent men getting murdered (for a pretty elaborate reason, in an elaborate way, with a pretty strange background) we're really given no reason to care about the story. We don't get to know any of the victims, not enough to care that they're being slaughtered needlessly. We don't get to really know anything about Ana that makes her relatable or likable, so when she's in danger, I didn't really care what the outcome was.
November 14, 2013
This was okay. I just couldn't get to the point where I really liked any of the characters. I didn't dislike any of them, just couldn't get attached to any one. I was surprised by the ending. Sure didn't see that coming.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews