Title: Murder in Concrete
Author: Arthur Coburn
Genre: Mystery
Book Blurb:
High school gossip...a death glare from a rival girl? Charlie takes them in stride.
But her mother’s murder and her dad’s disappearance send her off the rails. Therapy sessions get her to college, where she spots her missing dad in a film and races to Los Angeles to find him.
A lead takes her to a low budget zombie movie production in the desert. The crew say her dad died, but Charlie keeps investigating. Could the aging film star or the creepy man who writes in Russian Cyrillic script help lead her to her father? Or will Charlie find another truth, one she doesn’t want to hear?
My Review:
Can Charlie find the answers she’s been seeking about her dad’s disappearance, or will her search lead her somewhere she doesn’t want to go? Murder in Concrete is an intriguing mystery. The descriptive narration propels the plot. The characters are shrouded in mystery and there’s a young woman searching for answers. Murder in Concrete reads like a movie script and will keep your imagination engaged.
Let’s start with the descriptive narration. Every scene is very detailed, so the reader encapsulates the mood, emotion, tension, and action at the same time. The narration is also emotional, so it becomes the vehicle to connect with the characters.
The characters are well-written and emotive. I connected with Charlie right away. Her POV is deeply emotional, and the reader sees everything from her viewpoint. Her reactions are realistic.
The rest of the characters fill out the plot nicely. While some characters are complex and shrouded in darkness, other characters are easy to figure out.
The writing is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s like reading a movie script, which is understandable considering the author’s background. It’s different but in a good way. The writing kept me reading late into the night. This author is one to watch.
If you like mind-bending mysteries in a unique style, you’ll enjoy Murder in Concrete as much as I did.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
Arthur Coburn grew up in New Jersey, went to Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, passed the Washington bar, exam spent two years in the U.S. Infantry as a first Lieutenant, and survived a three-year law career, before bailing out and landing a job for King Screen Productions, a filmmaking Division of the KING Broadcasting Company in Seattle. His first assignment there was to make a chart of all the proposals for peace in Vietnam. He progressed to directing commercials, industrials and documentaries; later to writing educational film scripts for the same company. When the division closed, he worked as a freelance writer – doing environmental impact statements, and as a freelance still photographer.
After he left the law, Arthur wrote dramatic educational film scripts, and won a local Emmy for a documentary, then moved to Hollywood, where he edited more than two dozen films, including Spiderman, A Simple Plan and The Cooler. He is a member of Sisters in Crime and MWA; and he goes to writing conferences. He has taken a screen writing class John Truby, studied with poet and novelist Jim Krusoe at Santa Monica College. He took a class with author Kris Neri in mystery writing, and two courses with novelist and short story writer Tod Goldberg at UCLA. He has written five novels: Murder in Concrete (to be published in 2024) Murder in Madrona (currently in revision); and several awaiting care and review: MaBoys Will Be Boys, Mostly (general fiction), Rough Cut (a thriller). He won the Novel Prize at the Southern California Writer’s Conference in June 2005 for Rough Cut. His short stories, Some CreatureI Care About, and Backswing, appeared in Sisters in Crime Anthologies: LAmarked for Murder and Ladies Night.
Arthur is a member of the Motion Picture Academy and the Foreign Film Committee for which watches dozens of domestic films and upward of fifty films from all over the world in order to vote for best foreign film.
He has traveled and worked in Morocco, Poland, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Canada and France, speaks serviceable French and Italian and watches the French and Italian channels on cable. He learned enough Polish to order tomato soup without rice and enough Swahili to order hot water for a for a show in a desert encampment. Arthur skis, road bikes, and has a pilots’ license. Plays a little classical guitar and can improvise on the piano and Hammond organ. He has a B2 and a Leslie speaker at home.
He worked as a film editor in Hollywood on more than two dozen features.
His current novel, Murder in Concrete, was picked up by The Wild Rose Press largely due to the sympathetic eye and efforts of his fabulous editor, Dianne Rich of TWFP. She saw the novel’s value from the start and guided him past various hurdles to bring it home.
Social Media Links:
Website https://www.arthurcoburn.com/
Newsletter https://www.arthurcoburn.com/about
Reviewed by: Nancy