5.0 out of 5 stars It's a conspiracy!, March 3, 2015

Charlie Flowers "Charlie Flowers" (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: View From the Sixth Floor:: An Oswald Tale (Kindle Edition)
OK, cards on the table- I'm a massive JFK conspiracy fan. So I approached this intrigued- would Elizabeth Horton-Newton be able to pull off a new slant on the massive Kennedy assassination scene? And I think she has. What starts as a weird hybrid of middle-aged romance cum road trip, turns into a paranoid thriller in the style of The Parallax View, and gets faster and faster to a breathless denouement.
Full marks also for accurate descriptions of spies' "tradecraft". Loved it.

5.0 out of 5 stars 
By Angelksses in MD

A funny thing happened to me as I was reading this novel – I became a convert, at least for this author. I’ll be honest. I don’t go out of my way to read romantic novels, novels where the main characters are in their twilight years, or conspiracy novels. Newton shattered all my thoughts on these types of novels. I loved her book. Let me say that again – I loved her book.

As I began to read, Newton convinced me that a romance novel does not have to have a lot of bodice ripping to be romantic. Then she got me to thinking that just because a man is hitting 70, he can still be hot stuff. I ended up believing that the passion that bound Olivia and Bill was just as real as the passion felt by Rose for Jack in the Titanic movie.

The author’s characters are authentic. She doesn’t limit them or give them the usual gimmicky characteristics that some other writers like to employ. Newton made me trust that every action they took made sense for that character. I especially liked that she made the relationship between Olivia and her sons realistic. Olivia didn’t have the “I love you both the same way” relationship with them. Instead, she had unique memories and special feelings for each. With each character, she wove and intertwined their individual views and opinions with her story making it a very rich read.

By mid book, I was more than willing to suspend my beliefs about conspiracy theories and just let myself enjoy the book. For those few hours, I believed in Olivia’s need to find out the truth and Bill’s reluctance to relive those horrors.

I am very happy I had the opportunity to read this novel. I would suggest it to anyone wanting a read that is rich with life and the possibilities that come with a grand conspiracy theory

5.0 out of 5 stars
By Andrew Wilson

This review is from: View From the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale (Kindle Edition)
An excellent read. Is it a love story wrapped around a conspiracy, or a conspiracy wrapped around a love story? It doesn't matter, it will appeal to readers of both. It is well constructed, well written and has that great 'plausibility' factor about it that should make anybody think twice before discounting the possibility of it being more fact that fantasy. There are a handful of minor formatting/editing errors BUT these do not detract from the flow or the story at all. Not only are the main characters well developed, the cameo appearances of Officials/Corrupt lawyers and even waitresses are in perfect keeping with the peripheral activity that creeps into the main plot. I would recommend this as a cozy but intelligent read, difficult to put down once started.

5.0 out of 5 stars Did Lee Harvey Oswald Assassinate JFK? 
By Larry Winebrenner
This review is from: View From the Sixth Floor: An Oswald Tale (Kindle Edition)

When Olivia [Livvy] begins to tell her own story related to Lee Harvey Oswald and JFK's assassination, I thought it was a Forward by the author telling about why she wrote the book. "OK, so she had a reason," I thought. "Let's get on with the story." I moved on to the first chapter. Wait a minute. It said Chapter Two. Looking at the previous page showed me that Chapter Two followed what went before, so I paged back, page by page to find where Page One was. I ended up where I thought the author was giving the reason for writing the book. Did I say book? I meant masterpiece.

I only include this minor embarrassment to show the skill with which the author Elizabeth Horton-Newton begins her book to show the skill with which she creates a realistic feel to her writing in this book.

Early in the book Livvy's husband George dies, but references to him live, for next door is his best friend Bill. On his deathbed he has Bill pledge to protect Livvy. Protect? From what? The author doesn't say, but the reader knows something in which George and Bill are involved is a potential threat to Livvy.

Bill does all the neighborly things for Livvy like mowing the lawn, but there is no hanky-panky going on between them. Bill does not drive, so Livvy takes him shopping and on errands. They become fast friends. But when Livvy announces her desire to go to Dallas on the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination, Bill is adamant about her not going. She decides to go anyway and Bill accompanies her. To protect her? From what?

Most of the book then is about the trip to Dallas with Bill and Livvy eventually becoming lovers and Livvy discovering what Bill has been running from for 50 years. The trip is thrilling and suspenseful, as reported above---a masterpiece.

This 5-star book is highly recommended.