Death is Not an Option: So Why Doesn't the Assassin Know That

by Michael J. McManus

Clayton Trace is the head pro at an upscale mountain country club. Most people would look at his lifestyle and say that he has it all. His thirty-something girl companion is tall, pretty and appears to not care about the other women in his life. He drives a great car, lives steps away from a championship golf course and is respected and admired by the members of the country club and the citizens of the small community called Mountain Greens. Unfortunately, he also has a target on his back. Somewhere in his past he made a mistake and ticked the wrong person off. That person now wants him dead and will go to any length to see that happen. His assailant wants to kill him, but Clayton doesn’t see that as an option.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 29, 2013

About the author

I grew up in Southern California in the 60s, a very exciting and somewhat turbulent time. After one year of college I entered the US Army and served in Germany for two years. I did not start writing seriously until 1987 when I purchased a computer that had a decent editor. In the 60's I had watched my dad write his great American novel on a manual typewriter. It looked all too awful for me to get involved. My first three novels were so embarrassingly flawed they have been deemed "not for human consumption". It was not until I complete book number four (Separate Truth) that I encouraged people to read it. I also submitted it to several dozen publishers with no success. After I finished my fifth novel (Framed, but Not Forgotten) I got busy with my other career (the one that was paying me) and shelved my writing. That went on for more than a dozen years. That has all changed. My last two books are published and available on Amazon, and I am writing the second of a series that stars my alter ego, Philip Crisp. The working title is Almost Forgotten.

Reviews

[Linda Susan Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts

I loved this story. The characters are vivid and likeable. The story was very appealing and kept me tied to the book until the end.

[Keshia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will always hold sentimental value to me because the copy at my local branch has a dedication page to my Poppy from his graduating class after he passed. I liked the overall premise of the story and it was an easy read. All that being said, there was no editing in this book! Random punctuation in the middle of sentences, obvious wrong words used, sentence fragments and run-ons. They just glared out at me from every turn. And some of the back and forth between characters seemed so misplaced in how the story was flowing. For example, the conversation about how Penny got her name. It was in such a random place in the book that it made no sense. Like an after thought. By the end of the story I was so focused on the grammar errors I couldn't focus on the story.