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for mature audiences
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The novel's 2nd edition is two steps beyond the manuscript that Kirkus Reviews Quotations from the book:
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Reviews: As the author, I’d prefer you just jump into these stories with no preconceived ideas about what to expect — more discovery, more surprise. But most of us lead busy lives. We have to make decisions about how to spend our time. We need some clues. Sometimes we get spoilers too. So maybe cut it short with some of these reviews, but if you’re sitting on the fence, read on . . .
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Kirkus Reviews In the first volume of this California-based mystery series, middle-aged rookie cop Dylan Blake gets pulled into a murder case that recalls his own painful past. . .First-time novelist Babka weaves a multilayered tale that has shades of California noir à la Chinatown. Blake’s desire for connection as well as escape through nature is affectingly portrayed, and his interactions with the damaged Allison are particularly touching. . .There’s rich material to mine in this strong start to a new series. Accomplished, ambitious crime fiction launching a sensitive, complex hero and a promising array of supporting characters. — Kirkus Reviews
5 Stars Meet Dylan Blake, a tough police detective who minds his own business and is currently enjoying a well-deserved camping vacation after solving a particularly difficult crime. He enjoys the freedom of the outdoors, but as he is preparing to return to his northern California home, he receives a request from his police chief asking that he take a look at a nearby crime scene before returning home. What follows is a non-stop, action-packed adventure as Blake overcomes several attempts on his – and his loved ones – lives and becomes deeply entwined in investigating two murders, a litany of sexual assaults, lies, charges, counter-charges and outright hatred. Blake takes the investigation in stride while fighting for answers from northern California, to Salt Lake City to a small town on the Georgia/North Carolina/Tennessee border. The cast of suspects include an over-sexed divorcee named Kathryn "Kate" Winslow, who, in addition to holding clues that may solve the murders, is constantly making passes at Blake; her alcoholic, shady ex-husband, Phillip – an investment counselor who could be involved in shady dealings; her multi-millionaire self-righteous and controlling brother, James Kilmer, and her oldest daughter, Allison, who ran away from home after dropping out of college, and now works as a hooker and blames her parents for the way her life turned out. Author Daniel Babka’s characters are real, gritty and in one particular case, farcical. For example, his portrayal of Tony Moriano, an ex-mobster with a shady background but a heart of gold, is so over-the-top, it almost makes him believable...The novel is split into mostly short chapters marking easy breaking points to stop reading and still stay interested in the novel, however; it is difficult to put down because readers want to know what will happen next to Blake and learn more about him and his life. No More Illusions is a well-written, action-packed police mystery with a likeable and believable lead character and a cast of shadowy characters.” -- Reviewed by Jack H. Durschlag for IndieReader.com
No More Illusions “…is a murder mystery in the style of Elmore Leonard, complete with puffed-up, larger than life characters, a full cast of beautiful women, and a hard-boiled detective, Dylan Blake, at the center of it all...Babka is clearly a talented writer, and he's given us a compelling, well paced story, with some excellent characters -- some we root for, and others we're happy to see in a body bag. A fun story, perfect for a day at the beach, or a long rainy weekend at home. Watch out for the next iteration in the Detective Dylan Blake series.” — San Francisco Book Review No More Illusions In Dylan Blake, the health conscious cop of “No More Illusions,” Daniel Babka has created a protagonist caught in the duality of our time. Blake — a small town northern California cop — keeps his gun in a bread box, munches on raw almonds, and listens to NPR like a good liberal, but his anger at old injustices and a new rich-makes-right social order is as fundamental as a black eye. Checking on a businessman’s suspicious suicide off the cliffs of Big Sur, Blake barely escapes an attempt on his own life. It won’t be the only time Blake is nearly killed to stop his dogged pursuit. At its heart is Kathryn Winslow, the outwardly devout business partner of the murder victim. Winslow is a worthy opponent to Blake, more than willing to use Blake’s attraction to her to stop Blake from peeling back the layers of duplicity that surround not only Winslow but her treacherous ex-husband and her billionaire brother James Kilmer. Babka uses Blake’s investigation to introduce us to Blake’s life: the schoolteacher girlfriend Julianna with as many buried demons as Blake; Freddie Roosevelt, the would-be delinquent boy he befriends; Tony, the aging mafioso with a yearning for a good fight; Cooper, the small town police chief; even a shaggy mutt of a dog appropriately named Watson. -- Lonon Smith, Author, Wise Men and Dirt On Fire |
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© Daniel Babka
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