Summer Reading from LaPuerta Books Gets Hot Reviews

Early critical praise has been effusive for two recent releases from LaPuerta Books and Media: Preacher Finds a Corpse: An Evan Wycliff Mystery, releasing August 12, and Clifford's Spiral, a psychological literary novel, released on June 28. Both are by Gerald Everett Jones, who is also the host of the GetPublished! Radio Show.

Jones wrote Preacher in the mystery-thriller genre and intends for it to be the first in a series. Amateur-sleuth Evan Wycliff is a lapsed divinity student who returns to his roots in farm country to find his best friend shot dead in a cornfield. It looks like suicide. The crime might not be murder – but at the very least some third parties had murderous intent.

Roberta Edgar, co-author of The Perfect Play: The Day We Broke the Bank in Atlantic City, says Preacher is "a smart, thoroughly entertaining, and suspenseful mystery novel, which is not so much a who-done-it as a how-and-why. The characters are universally well-drawn and quirky, and the relationship between Evan and Naomi is fresh and romantic. I loved it."

Respected critic Diane Donovan, who blogs at California Bookwatch and also covers new works for Midwest Book Review says, "With its roots firmly grounded in an exceptional sense of place and purpose, Jones has created a murder mystery that lingers in the mind long after events have built to an unexpected crescendo. Murder mystery fans will find it more than a cut above the ordinary."

Advance readers on trade site NetGalley describe the read enthusiastically: "It's twisty, dark, gritty, gripping and exciting. The characters are eclectic, complex, sinister, and deeply flawed. Preacher Finds a Corpse is a righteously compulsive read!" (Kelly W.) and "This is an excellent read… a brilliant book!" (Edna G.).

The BookLife Prize, a competitive review sponsored by Publishers Weekly, noted, "There's no shortage in the mystery genre of amateur sleuths, and this story's narrator, a preacher manqué, slides inventively into the stack… Jones' sturdy narrative eventually unfolds at a steady pace, replete with logical twists and turns."

If Preacher Finds a Corpse is twisty, Jones' literary novel Clifford's Spiral is a mind-bending tangle. It's about a stroke survivor's efforts to piece together fragmented memories of his life, loves, and lusts.

Another critic for The BookLife Prize judges Clifford's Spiral: "The plot here is well paced. While drifting in and out of Clifford's consciousness and memories has the potential to become confusing, it ultimately does not. The concept of piecing together one's life through sifting memories and battling one's own consciousness has seen much potential in storytelling. The author has developed this idea into his own remarkably well, though. Following one character as he battles within his own mind might be fairly therapeutic for the reader, as will be going along on a journey of growth and development, even at an older age. Seeing the father-son relationship develop through a metaphor in the mind of Clifford was also well done by the author."

Marvin J. Wolf, author of the Rabbi Ben mysteries, including A Scribe Dies in Brooklyn, has compared Gerald's writing to bestselling authors John Irving and Jane Smiley. Don Sloan, critic for Publishers Daily Reviews, is equally impressed: "We've seen and noted the comparison of this author by other reviewers to literary giants like Roth and Vonnegut. And we can't disagree. Yet we feel there may be yet another strata for Gerald Everett Jones, who arguably is doing the best work of his career. We predict that he lacks only a mention in the The New York Review of Books or, better yet, Oprah, to become a nationwide bestselling author. Five-plus stars to Clifford's Spiral, a true literary novel if ever there was one. We say in all seriousness that if you only read one novel this year, this should be it."

Clifford's Spiral and Preacher Finds a Corpse are available in ebook and paperback versions from booksellers worldwide. Preacher is also available as an Audible audiobook.

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Cover photos (L) Jose de Jesus Cervantes Gallegos © 123RF.com (R) konstantynov © 123RF.com]