I'm very proud (and humbled) to announce that Hallways in the Night earned a five out of five star review from "The Guy Who Reviews Sports Book Blog." This is a great book review blog run by Lance Smith, who specializes in reviewing sports books.
Most of Lance's reviews are non-fiction books, and if you are ever seeking some good recommendations on what to read and it pertains to sports, his site is a wonderful place to start. He has a template he uses for each book, which ensures that each review is thorough and also allows for "apples to apples comparison." He gives a star rating, an analysis of the book which some info on the plot and character, as well as his opinion on the pace of the book, whether or not he skimmed it and would he recommend the book.
Lance has a wide range of tastes so you might see a book about tennis, the Negro Baseball leagues, or a Hockey memoir. Definitely a great source for some good sports books.
For anyone who is also on Goodreads, Lance also posts his reviews and book ratings there. He posted his review of Hallways in the Night on Saturday, and it definitely made my weekend. It's always great to get your book reviewed, but to get a 5 Star rating on a novel from someone who specializes in reviewing sports books is even sweeter. What was so great about reading Lance's review was that he picked up on many of the aspects of the book which were my favorite.
Specifically, there is a post-verdict scene that was one of the toughest to write for me. In several earlier drafts of the novel, there was a different ending and this "reveal" was handled differently. Finally, after more thought and struggle than I want to think about, I came up with a scene that handled it in a different way. It's an important scene to the book in many ways, and one that the reviewer specifically identified as one he enjoyed reading.
Here is the actual direct quote that Mr. Smith put in his review:
"However, what really set this legal thriller apart from others I have read for me was that after the verdict was reached, Mackno and the district attorney Maurice Bass got on the same elevator. The conversation that took place there was an even better finale to the story than the verdict. Outstanding story that should be read by all fans of legal thrillers."
That quote really made my weekend because one of my goals in writing a legal thriller was to try and find a scene or event which would have more of an exclamation point after the trial. And, I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. One of the things I have always enjoyed are books that have a twist or surprise at the end. Because I like them, that's what I tried to do in my own novel. So to see that a reviewer appreciated it, was truly an awesome moment for me.
I'm not going to reprint the full review here, instead, I highly recommend you click through to see the review, and more importantly, see Lance's website. I'm confident that if you bookmark it and spend some time there you will find some great reads recommended by him. Click here to go directly to The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books website.
Most of Lance's reviews are non-fiction books, and if you are ever seeking some good recommendations on what to read and it pertains to sports, his site is a wonderful place to start. He has a template he uses for each book, which ensures that each review is thorough and also allows for "apples to apples comparison." He gives a star rating, an analysis of the book which some info on the plot and character, as well as his opinion on the pace of the book, whether or not he skimmed it and would he recommend the book.
Lance has a wide range of tastes so you might see a book about tennis, the Negro Baseball leagues, or a Hockey memoir. Definitely a great source for some good sports books.
For anyone who is also on Goodreads, Lance also posts his reviews and book ratings there. He posted his review of Hallways in the Night on Saturday, and it definitely made my weekend. It's always great to get your book reviewed, but to get a 5 Star rating on a novel from someone who specializes in reviewing sports books is even sweeter. What was so great about reading Lance's review was that he picked up on many of the aspects of the book which were my favorite.
Specifically, there is a post-verdict scene that was one of the toughest to write for me. In several earlier drafts of the novel, there was a different ending and this "reveal" was handled differently. Finally, after more thought and struggle than I want to think about, I came up with a scene that handled it in a different way. It's an important scene to the book in many ways, and one that the reviewer specifically identified as one he enjoyed reading.
Here is the actual direct quote that Mr. Smith put in his review:
"However, what really set this legal thriller apart from others I have read for me was that after the verdict was reached, Mackno and the district attorney Maurice Bass got on the same elevator. The conversation that took place there was an even better finale to the story than the verdict. Outstanding story that should be read by all fans of legal thrillers."
That quote really made my weekend because one of my goals in writing a legal thriller was to try and find a scene or event which would have more of an exclamation point after the trial. And, I wanted it to be a bit of a surprise. One of the things I have always enjoyed are books that have a twist or surprise at the end. Because I like them, that's what I tried to do in my own novel. So to see that a reviewer appreciated it, was truly an awesome moment for me.
I'm not going to reprint the full review here, instead, I highly recommend you click through to see the review, and more importantly, see Lance's website. I'm confident that if you bookmark it and spend some time there you will find some great reads recommended by him. Click here to go directly to The Guy Who Reviews Sports Books website.
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