Travis Casey

Trouble Triangle is not like any book I've ever read. For one thing, it takes a while to warm to Tyler Chambers. He's a cocky kid who joins the Navy to avoid jail and his cockiness continues as he presumes he is God's gift to women. That aspect is not that unusual in a bad boy romance. But it was the girls who fascinated me. There are a lot of books out there about guys coming out of the closet but this is about women having to suppress their sexuality in the 1980s military. And one way for show more women to deny their orientation is to have a man—and Tyler is that man.

Although the book is focused on Tyler and told from his point of view, Debbie and Holly tell the real story, in my opinion. And tell it very well in a subliminal way. Holly was hard to warm to. She is an arrogant, snippy little madam, who like Tyler, thinks she's God's gift to the universe. So naturally their relationship is fiery. And that's when I really started enjoying the story watching their relationship develop—but they both had very different reasons for wanting this relationship. And at times it was hilarious! Debbie was a wild card. I never knew what would happen next when she was on the page.

I enjoyed watching Tyler grow. His character slowly evolved from a typical drunken sailor into a caring individual. Besides trying to balance two relationships, he befriended a homeless guy and tried to impress Holly's dad—a TV fire & brimstone preacher. I have to admit the characters in this book were outrageous at times and had me laughing out loud on several occasions. In the end, I loved it! show less

I received a free copy of this book as part of Early Reviewers.

Isaiah Hightower is a well-respected black community leader in South Carolina. He is the principal at his high school and a deacon at his church. But, as readers, we are first introduced to Isaiah’s darker side. He is a member of an exclusive ‘gentleman’s club’ and is having an affair with one of the entertainers. His wife Yvette, and the rest of the community, only see the positive side of Isaiah, the role-model.

The show more novel has a Coen Brothers-esque feel to it. It moves with pace as Isaiah makes personal decisions that place him into deeper predicaments. He cleverly manoeuvres a way out each time until…

I liked the weave of the story and particularly how Isiah conjures up credible alibis at each turn. The opening chapters throw you quickly and deeply into the story.

Where I struggled was with the characters of the boxer and his manager, who were on the verge of being artificial and contrived, and took away some emotional punch.

If you like noir fiction then this will be of interest. show less

Fantastic, fast written two-days-read that makes you laugh, laugh even louder and read on.

It's the classical betrayal of a marriage story told in modern words. An Afro-American high school principal and expert fundraiser for the black cause is going astray by being attracted a few flings too much by a former student gone expert stripper.

Highly interwoven and expertly built into the racial background.
Four stars for pronounced writing skills and exceptional storytelling!

Not the worst book I've ever read, but still so bad I didn't finish it. Made about 50% way through and had had enough. Incredibly stilted style all telling no showing, unpleasant characters being unpleasant. There was supposed to be some investigation and redemption but as there were no signs of that by half way I gave up.