By Paul August
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Pages: 410 ISBN: 1960399810 Date Reviewed: September 26, 2023 Release Date: April 26, 2023
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Placing The Canaries in a single niche is difficult. The introductory novel by Paul August is an action-adventure mystery with a touch of the supernatural. The first-time author has created a fascinating story with touches of science, loss, and love. Basically, it includes everything necessary to make a great story.
The novel's central character, Kim Moreno, is a clinical lab technician at a leading Biopharma firm. She is successfully advancing her career while also dealing with intense feelings of sadness and anxiety over the death of her baby sister and the disappearance of her father over ten years ago. Kim is trying to cope with the trauma by self-medicating. Stolen synthetic opioids from her lab are only barely helping her deal with the pain. When her mother moves into a new home, Kim's life is suddenly turned upside down. Rescuing a drowning young girl from the nearby frozen river, Kim learns some of the secrets Julie is keeping. The rescued girl lives with a group of teenagers in a secret cave community. They are kept alive by their daily consumption of blue water that rises up from underground. Julie and the community face certain death from a massive cave-in caused by Lee Chen and the mining operation, unless they can be stopped. Kim is joined by Nick, a handsome yet trouble cowboy, as they try to save the community. A fierce battle wages. Will Kim and Nick save the teenagers? Who will live and who will die?
The community is facing two threats: an illness and the head of the mining operation, Lee Chen. The miners are threatening a cave-in to access a large deposit of a rare metal. Joining forces with Nick, Kim is thrust into an epic battle and, along the way, finds a world filled with romance, wonder, and death. The clock is ticking, and the ground is shaking. Will the community be able to survive the looming disaster? "Kim changed the topic, talking louder for him to hear. "The wholesome girl; she asked to speak to you, but I told her you weren't interested. You can thank me later. "Figures, if they can't get one, they go after the other. What was her pitch?" "Christianity, I guess. She was Chinese, so I thought there'd be a connection between us being of the same ethnicity. But she was too pushy. I couldn't get rid of her fast enough." Pushy? Chinese?" His attention peaked as he stared out the window at the neighboring condominiums. "How'd you know she's Chinese and not Korean or Japanese?" Kim laughed, "Asians can tell each other's country of origin in a second. She did have unique Chinese characters tattooed on her wrist that I found interesting. I just Googled them, and get this; they mean perfect one. Talk about loving yourself!" She returned to work on her laptop, typing away as Brad stared straight at her. He walked back into the kitchen to pour more gin into his drink and then returned to his chair. A shock had gone right down his spine."
The Canaries is one of those rare novels with something for everyone. Mystery, suspense, action, and fantasy all intertwine to create a riveting story. The story is well-written, and the characters are richly developed. Readers also are not going to have difficulty placing themselves in the caves. The Canaries by Paul August is a book worth picking up and getting lost in.
"The wholesome girl; she asked to speak to you, but I told her you weren’t interested. You can thank me later."
About the Author - Paul August
Paul August was born and raised in Massachusetts. He has been a resident of New Hampshire for over thirty years and has written short stories since he was a young boy. His goal as a writer is to weave true events into fascinating and plausible fiction to create action adventure stories. An avid hiker, mountain biker, and outdoorsman, The Canaries is Paul's first novel.
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