Houseboat

by Paul Shadinger

When Matt Preston plays poker with the guys, all bets are off. When the owner of the houseboat he won get murdered, Matt's checkered military past puts the target on him. Walking a thin line through Seattle between the cops, a beautiful stranger, the girl next door and a hidden enemy, Matt has to wonder if he should have taken that bet....

Genres: Fiction

360 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2016

About the author

Paul lives in North Fort Myers Florida with his wife Sandy and their three beautiful American Cocker Spaniels, (Samantha, Bijou and Boots) who are better known as "The Kids" and are a special part of his books.

Born and raised in Seattle and now transplanted to Florida, in addition to writing, Paul keeps busy learning to ballroom dance and working on an HO scale train layout. A graduate of Western Washington University in Education, Paul taught for 4 years and became self employed when he left teaching. Over the years Paul has owned and operated many businesses, where he met dozens of interesting people who always seem to confide the most astonishingly personal information to him, hence the varied knowledge of people. It is this knowledge that he uses to create his interesting characters, changing the names to protect the innocent of course.

Paul's book, Snooker's Legacy, recently won a Bronze Award for Fiction-Intrigue Genre. Snooker's Legacy is the fifth book of his Matt Preston Series.

His motto is "Caution: You may end up in my next Novel".

Reviews

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An aging man about town wins a houseboat in a poker game. When he goes to check it out, the former owner is dead from a slit throat. The police aren't too happy with him. The feds come in and mostly take over the investigation, but our boy keeps poking around, and finds links to Vietnam, and true love.

The story itself isn't too bad, but the protagonist is undeservedly smug.

[M.A. Appleby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Pacific Northwest, Houseboat gives a glimpse into the fascinating scene of the Seattle and Puget Sound area. This book has a little of everything, from the author's easy speaking dialogue to the love he has for his pet dog BJ. From the poker game that starts the ball rolling to the end of the book, the main character is in action. He has an affinity for large blonde women and a good drink, and it's obvious that he has a healthy libido. I would recommend this book if you like a little adventure, change of pace, and a little romance!

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

First I would like to state that I have received this book through the Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank the author for giving me this opportunity and honor in being able to read this book. When I received this book I began reading it at once. I really enjoy the authors writing style. This book was a very interesting read. I have not read any of the author’s books before but will be now. . This is a most wonderful read and I highly recommend that anyone read this book. A must for anyone's library.

[Paul Shadinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great first book. Loved the main character, Matt Preston, and his dog B.J.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book started out a bit slow,but it got really good the further I read. I was surprised at the ending.

[Ralph · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice local story

Thanks Paul!
Say hi to Sandy for me.
Looking forward to the next one!
Maybe Sakol will return in the next one?

[RoF · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a nice personalized letter from the author with the free copy of this book that I have just read.

This is an entertaining one, with an initial crime which stays unsolved during a long time, then different events that make Matt Preston move from uncommitted and quite lazy to more responsible and connected with his emotions. The money he received from his father's inheritance and his loneliness (besides his adored pet, several dates and some good friends) made him wander in his own life. But a handful of tragic or happy events change that for good.

This psychological redemption of a male individual is a little bit cliché due to the accumulation of things like the wealthy guy not working and spending money in poker games with friends, dating younger blond ladies, maintaining his classic cars collection and taking risks without being hurt directly. Another negative point would be a couple of absurd situations like the meeting between Matt, Jennifer, lawyers and some picturesque characters.