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book reviews |
A Detective Riley Scott Novel Multi-volume, law enforcement forensics detective Royce Wilson introduces us to “Recreational Murder”: Some murders are for hire. Others are for fun. Tampa Detective Riley Scott thinks he's working a local homicide—until the FBI shows up with chilling news: his case is part of a nationwide killing spree. The murderer is using the dark web to take contracts on some victims… while choosing others at random, just for the thrill. When a former Tampa cop is abducted, the manhunt becomes personal. Racing against a sadistic timeline, Scott and the FBI must decipher the killer’s twisted logic before another body drops—this time, one of their own.  An amazing story! Law enforcement procedurals are becoming a favorite sub-genre for me. I already like cozy mysteries a great deal, but the procedural aspect of the story is fascinating. The grief they experience over unsolved cases is nearly palpable. Their dedication to uphold the law is quite admirable. How often do they reach a breaking point, and are the rigid boundaries flexible? This story attempts to shine some light on that issue. This book is written so well that I felt like I was looking over the detective's shoulder. No spoilers from me so I can say no more, other than read this book! I give 4.9 stars.  You can buy this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Recreational-Murder-Royce-Wilson-ebook https://www.goodreads.com/-recreational-murder-royce-wilson You can connect with the author: https://twitter.com/royce_csi https://www.roycewilsonmysteries.com https://www.facebook.com/royce.wilson https://www.instagram.com/royce_wilson_csi Copyright © 2025 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction
74 Comments
10/20/2025 05:26:30 pm
I do not use a pen name. When I first started writing, a few people suggested that I do because of my former career, but there was something about seeing my name on a book that I had written that appealed to me. I think it felt more like an accomplishment that way.
Mark
10/20/2025 05:51:56 pm
You're welcome. I enjoyed your book so much. I have been trying to decide what my fifth favorite genre should be and police procedurals might be it. 10/20/2025 06:03:50 pm
Well, during my life I've been a pool player traveling from state to state playing for money, I've worked as a cook in my father's restaurant, I've been a college professor, teaching Death Investigations and Criminal Forensics, and I retired from my career in law enforcement forensics to write crime mysteries, and I've enjoyed every step and every mile.
Mark
10/20/2025 06:08:56 pm
Tournament pool is an interesting way to make money. You must have been really good at it. It strikes me as a very scientific game that requires lots of practice and a good eye. 10/20/2025 06:35:32 pm
I was never into tournament play. I would typically travel from town to town looking for "action" in pool halls and bars. A very seedy life, I have to admit. And yes, it takes a lot of practice and a keen eye, along with excellent eye-hand coordination and good instincts.
Mark
10/20/2025 06:41:40 pm
A pool shark leads an even more interesting life, I think. I imagne the instincts helped keep you alive once or twice. 10/20/2025 07:01:14 pm
Yes, there were some touch-and-go situations when I was "on the road," as it is called. I truly had a blast at the tournament, and those players are amazing.
Mark
10/20/2025 07:08:37 pm
People who are the top players in any sport usually give amazing performances. it's also true that they probably devoted untold hours in practice drills to perfect their game. 10/20/2025 07:16:52 pm
Yes, as a reader, I get a great deal of pleasure from the adventure. BUT, if someone was reading alongside me, I'm afraid they wouldn't get the same amount of pleasure, as I am always being overly critical of the writing.
Mark
10/21/2025 09:49:39 am
For a lot of people, reading does lead to writing. The reading can't help but improve an author's ability to write. 10/21/2025 02:18:21 pm
I've had a number of influences in my life, but I think my biggest influence was my mother. But to fully answer your question, my best friend, Art Picard was the one who pressed me to write a book for publication. He is no longer with us, but I think about him often and I thank him for his influence.
Mark
10/21/2025 04:32:58 pm
For many of us, our mothers were very influential. My mother gave me a love for reading and for books. She was always reading and she shared her books with me as I could read them. I learned to read before going to the first grade. A retired teacher lived behind us and I think she loved having one more student who was eager to learn. 10/21/2025 04:52:09 pm
I will certainly continue to write in the crime mystery / detective genre, and I have two books in the mystery-thriller genre, which will also be the genre of my next two novels. I am also working on a nonfiction book detailing what the job and life of a crime scene investigator is like. It seems to be an area of interest for a lot of people.
Mark
10/21/2025 08:19:12 pm
That sounds good. You have published 10 books so far; your fans will be pleased. I bet your CSI book will be well received also. 10/21/2025 08:41:06 pm
I have not, at least not that I can say was something we all call a UFO or UAP. Without question, I have seen things in the sky which I had no idea what they were, but nothing I would call a UFO or UAP.
Mark
10/22/2025 09:10:35 am
Most writers declare they haven't seen a UFO. My sisters claim we saw one as children, but I have no recollection of that event. 10/22/2025 09:50:37 am
No, I can honestly say I have not. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking.
Mark
10/22/2025 11:31:18 am
Cryptids seem to be in many different places in the world, and they frequently have different names in different locations. The Loch Ness monster is well known, and so is Bigfoot or Sasquatch. There are sightings of creatures like Bigfoot in many countries. Even in Florida there have been multiple sightings of a mysterious, upright creature. 10/22/2025 01:46:20 pm
You could literally pick up any of the books and enjoy the journey. If I was going to start, I would go to the first book, Atropos. It features homicide detective Riley Scott. After you make it through that series, go to The Diamond, the first book in the Preston Hollis crime thriller series. Either way, I hope the reader enjoys the adventure.
Mark
10/22/2025 02:19:13 pm
Thank you for clarifying that. Sometimes it's essential to read in sequence, and sometimes it isn't. 10/22/2025 03:04:45 pm
OMG, I figured it out one time and now I'd guess that each book goes through 40-50 drafts or iterations before the published version. It can be painful at times lol. I'm all over the place when it comes to my process. I'm usually working on two or three books at the same time, some I have a rough--very rough--outline, but typically I just sit down and start writing.
Mark
10/22/2025 03:35:49 pm
That's a lot of drafts. If I were a writer, I would likely be in that ballpark for the quantity of drafts. 10/22/2025 07:46:16 pm
Yes, definitely a pantser.
Mark
10/22/2025 08:13:27 pm
There is nice unity with your covers. They don't all look the same, but they have a similar ominous, hulking glow. 10/22/2025 08:26:32 pm
Coming up with the titles is a bit funny, at least, as far as mine go. Some of the titles came into focus as the story was developing. But there were others where I had the title before I ever typed the first word. One of my works in progress, The Spook Rises, is an example. I knew I wanted to do another book with my main character, Preston Hollis, a former Delta Force operator, and former undercover detective with the sheriff's office. Spook is an industry term used to describe an undercover agent. The title came to me before the plot was anywhere on my radar. A previous release, Dark Money, was originally going to be The Grey Warrior, and then it was going to be Grey Money, but eventually, the title came to me and I'm very glad it did.
Mark
10/23/2025 09:16:21 am
Your experiences coming up with titles mirror those of so many other authors. 10/23/2025 10:38:49 am
Coming up with the right name is more difficult than most people realize, at least for me. I have a document on my laptop that is several pages long, consisting of first and last names that I've come across throughout my life. When I need to name a character, I start scrolling through the list until a name jumps out at me. that's one way. But sometimes, I'll just meet someone or hear a name and say to myself, 'that's perfect for this character or that character." Often, I'll go to a local coffee shop to write. One day, the waitress walked by my table and I saw her name, Taylor, just as I was trying to come up with a name for a female character. Bam! Taylor it is.
Mark
10/23/2025 12:16:42 pm
Many authors struggle with character names. Quite a few use websites that specialize in popular baby names for each year. Some of those sites have lists going back hundreds of years. For those times, these lists have likely been compiled from church records or tax rolls. 10/23/2025 12:52:40 pm
Man, oh man, wouldn't I like to be a fly on the wall of that family gathering.
Mark
10/23/2025 01:41:18 pm
Local, in-person events are a good way to sell books. But the viral jolt to large popularity is quite elusive. 10/23/2025 02:19:52 pm
Thank you for the tips, Mark. I really appreciate it. There were definitely some ideas I had not thought of.
Mark
10/23/2025 03:43:49 pm
You're welcome. 10/24/2025 09:24:44 am
That's an interesting question. AI brings a lot of intrigue with it and a lot of potential. However, I take a great deal of pride in the fact that I do not use AI at all in my writing. I can say without reservation that every single word, every page, and every punctuation mark is mine. If I reach a point in which I cannot come up with the words or story on my own, I'll take it as a sign that I need to move on to something else in my life.
Mark
10/24/2025 10:12:27 am
I appreciate your stance on AI and writing. So do many other authors. 10/24/2025 11:23:44 am
Not sure if they would qualify as being a troll, but I've really only had two negative reviews, and they bother me to this day.
Mark
10/24/2025 12:57:43 pm
The first one doesn't sound like a troll. 10/24/2025 01:47:10 pm
I had a newspaper route, but I wouldn't call that a job. I worked on a farm when I was in 5th and 6th grade, so I guess I was 19 and 20 years old. Just kidding. I was probably 11 and 12 years old. It was much harder work than you might imagine.
Mark
10/24/2025 03:10:17 pm
I grew up on hobby farms. While not growing anything to make money, we did have large gardens and some chickens, ducks and peacocks. We also had one sheep that I had to stake out every morning close to the house to protect her from coyotes. I have a good idea about the work you might have done. I helped a neighbor with their one milk cow when they went on vacation. Milking a cow by hand is not as easy as it looks. 10/24/2025 03:43:27 pm
I'm one of those weird creatures that doesn't mind speaking in front of a group. That hasn't always been the case though. I was very shy and introverted growing up, and to this day, still am in a lot of ways. But when I became a CSI with the Tampa Police Department in 1976, I found myself having to testify in front of courtrooms that were often packed with spectators and news cameras. It was baptism by fire. Then, when I began teaching at the university after retiring from the sheriff's office, I became very comfortable speaking in front of audiences.
Mark
10/24/2025 05:34:08 pm
You are part of a select group, no question about that. You know the secret to enjoying public speaking, probably without realizing you have that knowledge. 10/24/2025 05:43:18 pm
Excellent tips on speaking, Mark!
Mark
10/24/2025 07:43:19 pm
Wise choice of words, legitimate. Some are and some are not. I have not investigated any of them. That is something that takes time. I think looking for reviews or comments about them would be a good place to start after identifying a few contests. You would want an intellectual-property lawyer to check the contract before signing because the really shady contests will try to steal your IP rights. 10/24/2025 08:49:59 pm
None of my family are writers. I do, however, have friends who are authors. I met all of them after becoming an author myself. Some of them have become some of my favorite people and I hope our friendship endures. I don't know of anyone who would list me as their inspiration, but I can think of no higher praise for an author.
Mark
10/25/2025 09:50:53 am
Not many authors have family or friends who have also written; a few do. The same for inspiring others to write. 10/25/2025 12:14:56 pm
Kindle Unlimited is a roller coaster ride. There are periods where I'm making money from pages read, and other times when I am getting no love at all. I'm now thinking of rolling the dice and going wide to try to reach readers on the other platforms. But man, oh man, this marketing stuff for an indie author is quite perplexing and quite the moving target.
Mark
10/25/2025 01:15:22 pm
I thought you could go wide after a few months. It might be worth asking KU customer service. 10/25/2025 01:41:28 pm
That's a dangerous question, Mark. I could go on and on about food, but I'll spare you. If I were to pick one food type as my favorite, it would be Mexican, but it really comes down to the given day. I also like seafood, Italian, Cuban (I'm originally from Tampa), steak, fried chicken, and...oh, heck, I like it all.
Mark
10/25/2025 03:39:53 pm
We are a lot alike. I like just about every food out there also and Mexican is in my top three. 10/25/2025 03:50:49 pm
That's a no-brainer: Liver! With tuna coming in second. When I was a kid, we had to stay at the dinner table until all our food had been eaten (and we didn't have a dog). Long after my brothers and sisters were outside playing, there sat little Royce, staring at his plate of liver until my mother gave up and felt sorry for me and excused me from the table.
Mark
10/25/2025 05:11:33 pm
I love my mother, but what she did to liver should be criminal. With lots of catsup, I could choke it down. Tuna, I loved tuna. Actually, I loved almost every food, besides cottage cheese, rutabagas, and eggplant. I am an adventurous eater, and I have had snails, many kinds of raw fish, Japanese style, and other exotic fare. 10/25/2025 05:34:58 pm
When I first met my wife, she tried to get me to eat sushi. I refused. Eventually she had me try a piece made with tempura shrimp. Now I can't get enough, but I'm still not trying the raw stuff.
Mark
10/25/2025 06:34:08 pm
Don't worry about the raw stuff. That leaves more for me. 10/25/2025 06:56:25 pm
If there is such a thing as a pleasant rejection, I got them. They said I was a great storyteller and they appreciated my forensic expertise, but at the time, it was not what they were looking for. I appreciated them letting me down gently.
Mark
10/25/2025 08:13:14 pm
I think you are smart to remain self-published. Some famous traditionally published authors are going on the self-publishing route. Here is a copy-and-paste link about that. https://kriswrites.com/2020/07/22/business-musings-the-kickstarted-game-changer-part-two/ Yes, it is five years old, but most of it is relevant today. More TP authors are following Brandon Sanderson's footsteps since that post. Kathryn Rusch has a lot of great information still. 10/25/2025 08:27:42 pm
No, back then (It was 10-15 years ago that I submitted my queries), there was a rather large book that had the names, contact information, and genre being sought for every agent, editor, and publisher in the industry. I can't recall the name of the publication now, but I purchased it and inside were numerous examples and guides for completing query letters. I used those.
Mark
10/26/2025 07:46:07 am
Buying that book was how it was done for many years, decades, even. The internet has changed all of that. A printed book like that is already on its way to becoming obsolete before it is even printed. 10/26/2025 08:05:11 am
No, I never considered an independent or hybrid publisher. I saw that road as having a lot of landmines. Instead, I went directly to KDP and self-published without a true imprint or press, but I know authors who did start their own imprint, which is probably a good idea, if for no other reason than the optics. Now that we've discussed it, it is fresh on my mind and I will look deeper into it.
Mark
10/26/2025 09:47:54 am
I think you are right about the optics of an imprint for an author. 10/26/2025 10:15:53 am
I think it's difficult at best to separate your own ego from reality when you are comparing your work to another's. Having said that, I think my books are better than the majority of other authors writing crime mysteries, if for no other reason than the fact that I spent nearly four decades in the trenches. I have been up close and personal on homicide scenes, was a member of our cold case team, and taught death investigations and criminal forensics at the university level. I don't have to Google it to know how to describe a scene or to walk the reader through an investigation. I lived it, and I draw from my experiences when I write.
Mark
10/26/2025 01:56:18 pm
Most indie authors go to great lengths to publish a quality story, and you are no exception to that. Your book is every bit as good as a book published by a big-name publisher. 10/26/2025 02:34:39 pm
If you're asking about books of mine, then yes, the ending in The Domino Effect causes an emotional response when I read it, even though I'm the one who wrote it. It still does.
Mark
10/26/2025 05:58:28 pm
The Richard Cloud story sounds excellent. I already know The Domino Effect will be a great read. 10/26/2025 06:22:55 pm
Mmmm...that's a tough question. I can't really think of any. I mean, I have read books (most of them, in fact) that I have learned something from, but I can't recall any of them changing my mind about a topic.
Mark
10/26/2025 07:47:52 pm
I think I might get rid of that question. I cannot recall an interesting answer. Everyone says about the same thing. 10/26/2025 10:19:29 pm
When I was younger I read a lot of books about the Civil War and people from that era, like U.S. Grant, George Custer, Sitting Bull, and so forth. I didn't really have a favorite book as much as a favorite genre.
Mark
10/27/2025 08:04:36 am
Knowing history is important. Too many people ignore history, thinking it is dead and buried when it is actually a mirror and a predictor of likely trends. The human race has hardly changed at all over the millennia. We must still deal with tyrants and that requires brave people. 10/27/2025 08:47:19 am
What a great question, Mark! I would simply ask if they had been on an entertaining journey.
Mark
10/27/2025 11:26:11 am
Every author answers that question in a similar fashion. Authors pour their heart into the story, and knowing that people are enjoying the story is fulfilling. 10/27/2025 11:51:30 am
It is generally cathartic for me, depending on the story I'm writing. I've had to reach deep into my career and dredge up some things that I had not planned on. There have been many a time I have sat staring at the screen as my thoughts have unwound and untangled themselves.
Mark
10/27/2025 12:09:18 pm
Sometimes space is needed to get the thoughts straightened out. I understand. 10/27/2025 12:16:58 pm
I think to the extent the writer taps into the emotions of the characters, so does the reader. If you, as a writer, want your readers to feel a connection and investment in your characters, and thereby your stories, then you must tap into those emotions. If you are not able to do that, your story will come across as very one-dimensional.
Mark
10/27/2025 12:36:46 pm
That is a great description of the importance of characters' emotions in a story. Without evident emotions, the characters will seem flat and uninteresting. That will lead many readers to close the book without finishing the story. Leave a Reply. |
Who am I?An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller. I am a husband, father, and grandfather. Archives
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