Rook

The Chess Club #1

by T.K. Eldridge

Billionaire logistics magnate Grant Foster hasn't been back to Lakeridge, North Carolina in over a dozen years. Not since his father's funeral. Now he's back for another funeral - one for his old high-school friend, Wes Davenport.

Most people wouldn't understand why Grant and Wes would be friends, but their high school Chess club became family until their teacher was murdered two weeks before graduation. That had broken something, and they all scattered far and wide - except for Wes, who'd stayed in Lakeridge. 

Now Wes is dead and the Club is returning to bury their friend - and help figure out who killed him.

For Grant, coming home brings back a lot of memories and a lot of pain. All the money in the world can't fix that, or the loneliness in his life. He'd let himself forget what family truly meant and being back with his Club brothers is a sharp reminder.

Will coming back heal what's broken in him, or break him worse than before?

Genres: Mystery, Ebooks, Romance, Thriller, Contemporary, Suspense, M M Romance

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 11, 2022

Reviews

[Cécile Smits · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the opening story of this suspenseful series,and i found it on Apple Books for free.
The Chess Club’s members left town,apart from Wes,and are now all returning for his funeral.
He’d been working on an invention for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for the US government) when he was murdered.
His uncle was his handler,and he was close to all the members of the club.
Now that they’re back,he wants their help to find Wes’ killer.
Grant has taken his parent’s florishing company and built it into a large international one,giving him connections that are very useful.
Having suffered personal loss in the past,he’s reluctant to start a relationship,but once he meets the local police sergeant Ellery Adler,he has to reconsider….
She’s being harassed by assistant sherrif Byron Halstead,a member of the family responsible for a lot of very bad things,including the death of Grant’s father.
But they’re not responsible for Wes’s death…..so,who is?

The Halstead family is the first to face justice in this story,but it doesn’t end there.
A large,influential,group called the Confederation is behind a very evil sceme,and the Chess Club has only just scratched the surface of what they’ve done.
With Grant’s mother running for mayor,and club member Chase running for sherrif,at least some bad influences are solved locally,but what else will happen?

A good start to the series,the stage is set,the players are known.
This series has a sweet love story,but mostly focusses on the suspense,and that’s well done.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was... readable and at times engaging, but there was a lot of sitting around making plans and talking about decorating new homes. It must be lovely to be able to just plop houses for all your friends on your own land like it's no big deal...

The characters were the best part of the book, their connections, old and new, to each other and their personalities were a delight to read.

HOWEVER:

1. The author has no clue what non-binary is and how enby people perceive themselves and others. Ellery is called enby once and then from there after it's "she" "her" and woman. And for someone we were told "didn't fit into anyone's box" she acted as a fairly typical female character/damsel in distress. Overall the build up for the character fell very flat when we actually met them.

2. Grant seemed to get over his guilt and trauma from the murder of his teacher pretty quick with a couple words from his friend after carrying that cross for 10 years. We were told that it had messed with his ability to have a relationship and unwillingness to come home, but magically it was all gone with two lines of dialogue.

[Natalie Hernandez · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's nothing that ruins a story more than awkward dialogue used to advance a scene rather than leveraging internal monolgues or narration - it's so unnatural and completely takes you out of the book 🙄

[ines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading buku ini sekali duduk dan dapet gratis di Amazon. Walaupun tulisannya agak amburadul, tapi ceritanya not so bad lah. Buat yang kepengen baca romantic suspense under 300 pages, tapi setiap halaman pendek-pendek jadi bisa langsung kelar, bisa nyoba baca ini. Judulnya Rook.

Penulisannya ga padet, ya lebih ke dialog, to the point ga detail, jadi of course banyak plot kosong. Tapi gatau ya kalau diceritain kembali ke buku lainnya, soalnya aku ga ikutin serinya 😅

Point plus yang bikin aku tetep baca sampe akhir:

- Ini tentang konflik satu kota aja, which is drama banget—victim & criminal di satu lingkup itu aja, dan aku suka 😂

-Slight action-nya ga menye, si Grant ini walopun pengusaha, selain otaknya brilliant, pun jago bela diri

-Karena si Grant ini billionaire, jadi ngebangun AI sendiri—wes, kek si Tony Stark aja bayanginnya hehe

-Eh tapi buat aku ceritanya ga kemana-mana, walopun ga banyak detail, jadi bisa langsung paham 5W+1H-nya

-Endingnya masih ada misteri, tapi pas lah bagi aku

[Alexis Andrews · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @58%

[Beka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the book for me. I was intrigued in the first chapter as it jumps straight into the action but it lost me fairly quickly.

I couldn't figure out what time period this is set in, it spelled everything out and just wasn't my vibe. It gave too much detail about things that didn't matter and not enough about the stuff that did. It just felt a bit rushed.

I liked most of the characters but I didn't feel like I really got to know them well enough to have a strong opinion on them. The chosen family element was nice though.

[Brenda Shirley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read that dragged for me because of the writing style. I found it insufficient in getting a flowing storyline across. Also it read very poorly in certain spots, such as the characters learning about each other in one paragraph to kissing in the next, but as if they’ve known each other for years, but without telling you that’s how they feel. Yes, confusing.

I will not continue the series.

[Soraya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mystery set in a vaguely sci-fi world. The immediate setting feels near future, but the characters talk about space stations and colonies from time to time. This sci-fi setting is a bit muddled for me by the addition of a ghost that, for me, didn't add anything to the story.

I did enjoy the full cast of characters and the mystery. It's definitely meant to be read as a series.

[Sydney Wagoner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf at 36% not for me

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am writing this here to explain ... i will say this that Amazon is getting freakin' money (actually they have always been MONEY HUNGRY, they are increasing PRIME because they are gonna charge you for an ad experience, what a joke ...Amazon you are so silly. the price just keeps going on up but what you are you getting as a consumer, i mean i have so much wrapped up in them that it doesn't seem smart to go to another provider of this kind of service but i can imagine you get my point. i have a kindle don't have a desire to switch to another device. geez louise, it is a gigantic pain in the rump. we consumers have to watch. every one out there is a money hungry individual. i wanna have my plate full too but i don't do it. LOL!!) hungry ... explain now ...i found a page thanks to Kaylee Ryan's newsletter ...so that is a list of bunches of authors with FREE books ...so i can not find this book ...'cause i am not gonna go through the billons of books again ...but i would assume it is under the "mystery" genre headline ... i watch Amazon like a hawk because they have done this in the past ...i will advise you as a reader to look as well ...they will charge you ...now whether is the author or whomever ...but they said it was FREE ...so each email i get from Amazon ...saying i made a purchase said all books i got were in fact free ...so i delete them. i will check my trash file ...but suddenly i see that i have been charged .99 cents ... i know not that much ...but when you have a gift card from Christmas on your account and magically it is be reduced ...you think what the hell??! any who ... this book is not free on Amazon ... (apparently on Apple ibooks it is, i see that in someone's review of this book) strange right??! RUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! any who .. i might read this author (this book) in the future ...but it sure is heck puts a mean hateful taste in you mouth about it all ...as i said ... i read each email and i do this because it has happened in the past ...and i would recommend you doing the same ...watch them ... Amazon is money hungry. HUNGRY!! (i will say that i see now how i was mistaken, in that if you read the purchase email, it will show that gift card being charged but i will say that means when you do kindle full ups like this read it carefully and know what you are buying. but that seems really odd ...because i am so much more careful. but apparently i need to be even more care, like a BIG EYED hawk, nuts!! nuts i tell ya!! NUTS!! we readers just wanna read, not be taken for, our hard earned money. tissues please. but i am still pissed off ...it did say ZERO cents because it deducted it from my GIFT CARD and was a free book ...but i am still not understanding why it was said to be FREE from this group of authors but it is not in fact FREE on AMAZON) BE WARE folks. be aware!! sad face. darn snot happens. laters. i gotta pick myself up. too many Legos to play with, rain is pouring here in VA. bye. happy reading folks. may you find books that are in fact FREE in the book world. bye.
(i am still thinking on this ..so when you get onto the Amazon book page for each book you are buying they list the multiple ways you can buy a book ... kindle, hardback, etc. so it just doesn't make sense to me ...this is totally the Twilight Zone ... i don't understand????????????)

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this book up for free during a Kindle sale. This is a book about Grant Foster, who was part of a chess club at school until their teacher got murdered and he left for years. Now he's back for his friend's funeral, who also got murdered. This is set in a vague future with various sci-fi setting additions as well as some supernatural elements (with a ghost hanging around).

And the thing was this book is - the premise is really fun. A group of chess club people, Grant coming back to town after not coming back for ten years (there is some hidden guilt in that reasoning), a mystery which includes two murdered people, a group of friends coming back together and having to deal with the awkwardness of getting to know each other as adults again. Even the sci-fi setting could have been interesting.

But it wasn't. The writing was awkward, the book was really weirdly paced, the villains were caught/dealt with because of their own stupidity rather than anything her heroes did, the romance was dull, Grant and Ellery's character arcs (Grant's guilt, Ellery's romantic past) were a thing up until they had one conversation with someone and then they were all fixed. The chess club didn't really come up a lot, I thought there would be more flashbacks or discussion about why they bonded so much together as a chess club.

I'm going to give this an extra half star because the potential was there and the premise is really fun, but the author just didn't do anything with it (the book could be set in the present time for all the importance the sci-fi setting had).

1.5 stars!

[Britt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hilariously bad - "The Room" of books

All the dialog is wooden and unnatural. The descriptions of food are hilarious, like fried chicken and ice cream as the height of culinary refinement. The plot is ridiculous. I do not need to know every time a character drinks coffee, chews, and then swallows their food. The main character is a Mary Sue. Every plot point gets resolved through the incredible ineptitude of the villains. The attempts at world building are maudlin. There is absolutely nothing at all about chess in this book despite the title and pictures of a chess board before every paragraph. A random ghost who appears to narrate backstory and dialog. I kept thinking this must be a children's book, with its mawkish writing, but then randomly inappropriate content. Despite attempts at inclusivity the women in this book are helpless victims.

This is not a good book on any level. But 2 stars instead of 1 because it is so hilariously bad I got many unintentional laughs, and did finish it. Also because writing is hard and this book has given me a new appreciation for good writing.

[Reads lotsa stuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like small town living. Murder, corruption, drugs and organized crime infest this small town in North Carolina. Set with a view of the mountains an idyllic small town shares its undesirable underbelly. The murder of a friend brings a group home for a funeral. The revelations that are exposed require the resources and skills of several members of an old high school chess team. The mystery is slow to be solved but there is plenty of twists to keep the story interesting in the meantime. While much of the good, the bad and the ugly seem very familiar the timeline is many years in the future and thus bring some new technologies into the story which don’t detract from the overall tale.

[Julian White · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Kobo: 1230005606764 (EPub 3 DRM-Free) 175 pages

As the Chess Club members gather for the funeral of one of their number it becomes obvious that not all is well in Lakeridge - and that Wes' death (murder) is just a hint of wider problems...

An engaging mystery, set in a very near future which has all-too plausible roots in current developments in US. The Chess Club members, outsiders they may have been at school, are talented and seem to have prospered after leaving their hometown...

[Suzanne]

1 star

I skipped most of this book. The only reason for reading the end, was b/c it was first in a series.

So, the writing jumps all over the place. Multiple points of view, including the deceased, multiple plots, unclear time lines - seemed juvenile. Maybe?

Whatever, not my favorite.

First in the series of five probably since there are five members of the club.

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great clean Thriller

Enjoyed the hunt and unwinding of the corruption in the town. As the club takes over the control of the community they find the corruption is bigger than they expected. Ready for the next book.

[Dorothy Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Excellent Book

TK was a new author to me but when I started to read the books I can not get enough this book was another one it should be a ten star book I highly recommend this book to everyone and can not wait for the next one to come out Dorothy Schaefer

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting mystery set in North Carolina sometime in the future (not entirely clear when, but there were references to futuristic devices and finally a character mentioned her grandfather talking about the war in the 2020s). The unanswered issue of when the story was taking place irked me throughout. It was not a dystopian world, per se, but there were some elements of dystopia, like a giant drug-dealing corporation that controls local governments. Romance, intrigue, murder. The characters were pretty flat.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, good execution, nicely developed characters you want to root for. Though this is a relatively short book, T.K Eldridge put a lot of action in it, all plausible, which kept the pages turning. I initially said I wouldn't read the rest of the series, but now, I'm looking forward to them.

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

This book wasn't t what I suspected it to be. It was fabulous! It has all the ingredients for a real crime series or mystery one. The book held my interest and if weren't for me having to go to sleep, I would've read it in one day.

[Lisa Robison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a little bit of everything in it. It starts off with the death of Wes one of Grant’s Chess Club friends. Once at the funeral the book takes you on a lot of twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down.

[Zondra.Hallyahoo.Com · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Couldn't put it down. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is intriguing thus far. I really enjoy the characters. The Wes thing is a bit strange but it is fiction lol. It is a series so I must continue to see how it all ends.

[Dee Renee Chesnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

I downloaded this for free from Barnes and Noble when it was offered as a #FreeFriday promotion.
I enjoyed the story and the characters.

[Mathea Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, didn't really keep my attention for the whole thing but a nice story overall

[Alice Bloomfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This seems like the start of what could be a good suspense series. The chess angle is different to others I’ve read and I’ll be curious to see how it develops.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the characters and enjoyed the story

[Jolynn Kuhlman · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent

This was really good, I started it and just kept reading , great twist, I enjoyed the hunt and unwinding of the corruption in the town ,this was excellent.

[Valentina Ghost Lynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I refuse to keep going ngl, by chapter 5 I cringed so bad I imploded like a mini bigbang

[Gracie]

bad