Customer Reviews

Best Seller

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine you are a writer. You love to write, but you find that success keeps itself at least an arm's length away. Magically, one day you meet your favorite author, and he changes your life and offers you the ability to write the greatest best sellers the world has ever read. With something this great, there has to be a catch, and this is no exception. Your best sellers eerily depict the real life situations and deaths of people close to you. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself, is being a best-selling author more important than the lives of your friends...and possibly, yourself.

This is the scenario for Hope C. Clarke's wicked, psychological suspense novel, BEST SELLER. When Kurt Daley, an aspiring writer, receives a mysterious book titled BEST SELLER from her favorite best-selling author, Kurt's literary career sparks wildly. Not all is golden, however, because Kurt's friends are dying and their deaths strangely link to the macabre best seller she pens. Before another friend, or her new boyfriend, Robert dies, Kurt finds herself on a mission to learn of the secrets hidden behind being a best seller before time runs out.

I have to say that Hope C. Clarke has one of the most original storylines I have read in a while. She plays a bit with metafiction as well in that this is a book within a book that -- in its own way -- deals with the writing of fiction or its conventions. Clarke is an author that definitely is not afraid of stepping into the dark side. Her writing is frightening, fast-paced, and intriguing. Oddly enough, I found myself more engrossed with the story within the novel (Kurt's novel) than with the "real" story. I wondered if Clarke intentionally wrote the novel like that.

Despite my enjoyment of the storyline and of the pace/techniques of BEST SELLER, there were many things in the novel that bothered me and made me lower my rating. Most of these things are technical/grammatical in nature, like getting lost in the dialogue and not knowing who is speaking. Several times, I noted misuse of quotation marks and without tags, I did not know who was who. Also, a few name changes in significant spots in the novel (especially with David-Daniel) had me going back and trying to figure out what was going on. There were also tense changes within paragraphs; far too many for me to just move past them. The ending was a bit flat for me as well. I felt the story warranted a stronger ending; I also wanted MORE pages to the story. Not to give anything away, but by page 25, Kurt meets her favorite best-selling author, Dean, and she receives the book. I was willing to buy this whole scenario, but I needed more in the beginning of the story, some development of character prior to this moment, so that I could feel centered in such a greatly weird premise.

Overall, I give HIGH marks to the unique storyline, the metafictional style of the novel, and Clarke's stark, unencumbered writing style; however, I had too many questions in regards to the technical and grammatical issues I noted to give this novel a higher rating. I do recommend that others read BEST SELLER, and I will end by saying that I would love to see this done as a movie. It is very visual, and it is rare to find a storyline like this where the characters are African American. I look forward to reading more works by Clarke.

Shon Bacon

I got the feeling from reading Best Seller by Hope C. Clarke that this book was a lot of her dreams on being a best selling author and how she hopes this goal comes to fruition. While different storylines are going in the book, one of the main stories is how she meets her favorite author Dean Koontz and he gives the protagonist a book that advises her on how to achieve the status of being a best selling author. This book also has some extraordinary powers associated with it that is not all good.

The main character Kurt Daley is an aspiring horror suspense author. She is also employed in an office and has several close friends who work in the office. Somehow their lives find its way into Kurt's book though she writes about the events before they happen. All of these coincidences spook Kurt and she finds the only way to rid herself of this negative force is to return the book to Dean.

It appears that the author wanted to appeal to all readers so she covered the main genres of sisters/friends, romance, and a little mystery. The main character was writing a sci-fi novel and the snippets that were present in the fictional book, Passion's Frenzy were actually more interesting than the book itself. I wish that story could have been expounded on more. I had some problems with some of the actions in the book being believable. In one instance the character had been shot, had surgery and was hospitalized. Never once did she mention family until it was time for her to go home and then she and her son walked out of the hospital and into a waiting car. No wheelchair, no nurse, they just walked out of the hospital. Another was when Kurt was going out on a date. Why would one get all dressed, put on her make-up and heels, then strip the bed and put on new linen. Wouldn't you do that before you got dressed? The characterization of the sisters/friends and the romantic scenes between Kurt and Robert Earls were good. Initially, I rated this book a 2.5 on the APOOO scale, but I think it has enough potential to warrant a 3 rating. As Ms Clarke hones her skills with other novels she already has in the works, maybe one day she will put out a best selling novel.

Jeanette
APOOO BookClub

Hope Clarke is beyond just any ordinary writer. Her style, her theories, her creativity, her storylines, her novels will keep you reading and guessing. There is no way to categorize this author. She is amazing.

Best Seller is yet another one of Hope Clarke's novels. Watch as she weaves her tales and keep you captivated.

Bravo

Best Seller
Reviewed by: Wanda Starkes, C&B Books

Hope C. Clarke does a wonderful job combining mystery and romance in her novel, Best Seller.

Kurt Daley, writer/author dreams of writing a best seller, the one book that will bring her the success and fame she really wants. Hoping to get some writing insights, and the chance to meet the author that she idolizes, Kurt attends an authors' convention where she gets more than what she'd bargain for!
Leaving the convention, Kurt takes home with her a very unique gift; something she was better off leaving behind. Kurt's life takes a
sudden turn filled with locked doors, twists, and turns that will chill your spine.
Will Kurt find the key needed to unlock the door-of-eerie and unexplained events before it is too late, will she be able to stop the time-that-bind and save the people that she loves the most including the man in her life or will she have to pay the price for wanting to write a Best Seller; time will tell and time is running out!

I really enjoyed Ms. Clarke's novel. It gave a whole new meaning to a helping hand turning into a touch one will never forget!

Ms. Clarke has a writing style that is truly unique to the African-American contemporary/mystery genre...I was captured by her ability to tell multiple stories in one, while putting us in Kurt's world..Without telling too much as some reviews tend to do, hold on! You'll definitely want to check out "Pent Up Passion" / "Not With My Son" and "Shadow Lover"! Go, Hope!

Once again, Hope proves herself to be a very promising young literary voice.

Best Seller shows that the author has potential to be among some of our best mystery writers. For those of you who enjoy books like: Shadow Lover, The Between, and Thunderland, I highly recommend Best Seller. You will not put the book down. There is something going on in every page. Very suspenseful.

I'm definitely look forward to the author's next book. It seems like she just gets better with time.

With a penchant for writing about her close friends and their state of affairs, aspiring writer Kurt Daley is dying to create the greatest best seller. Only, dying is just what she may have to do. In BEST SELLER, Kurt attends a major writer's conference in Chicago where she meets her all-time favorite author, Dean. She considers herself a protégé of Dean, and knows that his help and influence with her current manuscript will help get her a foot in the door of a major publishing company. Once she meets Dean, he gives her something that turns her entire writing career around.

Kurt's writing improves and she instantly has her best seller. She also makes a connection with her handsome neighbor, Robert Earls. As the two embark on the beginnings of a relationship, Kurt's friends and associates are beginning to die. Pretty soon she notices a correlation between her friends' accidents and her gift from Dean. Working together, she and Robert discover the real danger will be keeping the gift.

To say that Hope C. Clarke held my attention in this novel is an understatement. She grabbed it, worked it and didn't let go until the end. I was completely enthralled in this psychological suspense thriller. The tales that the main character, Kurt, wrote were just as entertaining and gripping as the main story. The only negative comment about this book was that at times the transition between Kurt's writings and the story itself was not very clear and concise. Be that as it may, this was a very interesting creation by Ms. Clarke. (RAW Rating: 3.5)

Reviewed by Brenda M. Lisbon
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers