No Good Deed: Book One of the Mark Taylor Series (A Psychological Thriller) [Kindle Edition]

M.P. McDonald (Author)

Book Description

Mark Taylor discovers first hand that no good deed goes unpunished when the old camera he found during a freelance job in an Afghanistan bazaar gives him more than great photos. It triggers dreams of disasters. Tragedies that happen exactly as he envisions them. He learns that not only can he see the future, he can change it. Then the unthinkable happened and everyone ignored his frantic warnings. Thousands die. Suddenly, the Feds are pounding on his door and the name they have for Taylor isn't urban hero. It's enemy combatant. And, it means they can do anything they want to him. Anything at all. 

Mark Taylor is the quintessential reluctant hero. With a camera that snaps photos of the future, he has a day to change the photos--to prevent tragedies from happening. His attempts to prevent 9/11 bring him to the attention of the authorities, but they don't believe that he was trying to prevent the attacks. Instead, they label him an enemy combatant and lock him in the brig. With the camera gone--taken by the Feds--he must find a way to prove his innocence, but with no trial and no rights, will he ever get the chance?

*Mark Taylor: Genesis, the prequel to No Good Deed, is now available for Kindle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner of 2011 Red Adept Reviews Indie Awards for Thriller/Suspense

5 Stars  "The plot to the novel was not only unique, but it was wonderfully executed. Mark Taylor was a deep, complex character. He was a good hero, but had enough flaws to be completely believable." --Red Adept Reviews

 
"The author also makes you sit back and think about what is going on in the world of our anti-terrorism policies. Prior to reading this book, I had one set of preconceived notions of what is acceptable or not for those labeled as enemy combatants; about a third of the way through I found myself rethinking my own idea of what is the right thing to do. From the plot lines, getting into the head of the character, and the overall writing style I found I didn't want to put this book down." ~Michael Gallagher (Amazon Top 10 Reviewer, Hall of Fame Reviewer)

"I certainly will not complain about self published authors, I love them and their works. What I will say, is that I am surprised this book has not been picked up yet by a major publisher. This book in well crafted on all accounts. It is immensely readable, and will grab your attention and refuse to relent." ~Ionia Martin (Amazon Top 500 Reviewer)

"Twenty years ago this book couldn't have been written. Partly because the events of 9/11 figure into the plot, but more importantly because the actions of the government would have been unthinkable pre-9/11. "No Good Deed" is both entertaining and suspenseful, but, regardless of your politics, should get you thinking."  ~BigAl (Amazon Top 1000 Reviewer)

From the Author

Growing up the fifth child of eight and I was the quiet one in the family. Most of the time, I could be found curled up in a chair reading a book. I was never the most popular person in my classes, but I've always had one best friend and a couple of very good friends. It's still that way today. In fact, I met my best friend freshman year of high school. Thirty-four years later, we are still best friends.

That may not seem significant, but I think not having to worry about popularity allows some freedom because I didn't wonder too much about what others thought of me.

When I began writing, I stumbled into it in a similar way. I started writing in the mid-90s and had no clue, but a wonderful writer took pity on me, and offered to beta read my next few stories. She basically taught me how to write.

I got the idea for No Good Deed initially after reading in the newspapers about the American enemy combatant, Jose Padilla, aka, the Dirty Bomber. I found more information about American enemy combatants and wondered what would happen if someone completely innocent was caught up in a modern day witch hunt--substituting terrorist for witch. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 463 KB
• Print Length: 348 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B003PPDB8K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,372 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #91 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Metaphysical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 153 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book You Can't Put Down June 8, 2011

By Michael Gallagher HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book was highly recommended on one of the "What Are You Reading on Your Kindle" informal polls, so I tried out the free sample on my Kindle, enjoyed it, then bought the full book. For 99 cents, this is an excellent value: I certainly received as much - and probably more - value and entertainment out of this book than most of the "major publisher" authors, and you will, also.

The author does an excellent job of getting you into the head of the characters, where you quickly can relate to the main character. I think I had just about every range of emotion possible while reading this book, and I distinctly remember at 62% of the way through the Kindle version feeling a little depressed because Mark was depressed, then around the 80% mark feeling elation because Mark was elated; this was a consistent happening throughout the book. To me, anytime the author can literally grab you and make you feel as if you are playing the role of the main character is a good thing.

The author also makes you sit back and think about what is going on in the world of our anti-terrorism policies. Prior to reading this book, I had one set of preconceived notions of what is acceptable or not for those labeled as enemy combatants; about a third of the way through I found myself rethinking my own idea of what is the right thing to do. From the plot lines, getting into the head of the character, and the overall writing style I found I didn't want to put this book down - I'm still thinking about it 24 hours after finishing it!

Bottom line to me is this is a great book and certainly worth more than the 99 cents, and I have purchased the next book in the series eagerly awaiting to see what else happens to Mr. Taylor.

300 of 319 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book! October 10, 2010

By Toni R. Adkins

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a prolific reader who nearly always reads the reviews here on Amazon before purchasing a book, but I have never reviewed a book myself. Thought about it often, but have never actually taken the time to write one. I'm also a new Kindle owner who has spent a lot of time searching the kindle book discussions here and at Kindleboards.com before my kindle arrived, looking for cheap, but interesting books to download. I have to say that I was highly skeptical about downloading books from indie authors, mistakingly thinking that the books would be of low quality. On the other hand, I have found many books by indie authors that looked interesting and had good reviews. I went ahead and downloaded around 20 books, all under $3.00( I have to say that price was a big factor since I was trying to stretch out an Amazon gift card to the max). No Good Deed was the first one I read and I was not disappointed. This book had everything that I always look for in a book, well developed characters that were beleivable and made you care about what happened to them, a captivating story that had me glued to my kindle to the end, a little action, a little romance, and that paranormal element that often atracts me to a book. The only thing I was disappointed in was the length....I didn't want the book to end.

I'll never judge a book again by whether the author is published by a publishing house or on e-books. I'm sure there are many other good indie authors out there and I'm looking forward to discovering them. I'm also looking forward to more books by Mary McDonald and hope there's a new one out soon.

86 of 91 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars From "Red Adept Reviews" January 23, 2011

By Lynn ODell

Format:Kindle Edition

Plot/Storyline: 5 Stars

The plot to the novel was not only unique, but it was wonderfully executed. The book opened with Mark Taylor, the main character, trying to find a specific apartment. Soon, I learned that he was actually looking for a baby that would die if he didn't get there in time to warn someone. The book only got better from there.

After Mark was arrested, I thought the tension would lessen, but Ms. McDonald managed to keep ratcheting the suspense with every chapter. The story unfolded skillfully, giving me just enough information at the right times to keep me wanting more without making me feel like I was being dragged. I just couldn't put the book down. I had to know what happened to Mark and how it would all turn out.

One thing that I really liked was how the author handled the political question of whether torture is a viable means of getting answers and information from terrorists. Through different character viewpoints, she showed both sides of the debate. Rather than taking one side or the other, the book allows the reader to really think about the issue and make their own conclusions.

There was one instance of severe coincidence that allowed Mark's girlfriend to save some of his personal effects. It was just a matter of lucky timing, I guess, but after so long, it was really lucky timing. I think that portion could have been done differently to somehow avoid the happenstance measure.

I think the description gives away too much of the storyline. So, if you happen to be reading this review on my blog, or reading it prior to reading the description, to get the most out of the suspense, skip the book description on the Amazon Page. I was lucky in that I hadn't read it when I started the book....

The ending was especially nice in that, while it wrapped everthing up nicely, it didn't meander around to explain later events. It ended abruptly at a perfect point in the story.

Characters: 5 Stars

Mark Taylor was a deep, complex character. He was a good hero, but had enough flaws to be completely believable. The way he handled his time in prison portrayed him as just a regular guy and pretty much followed that route throughout the book. This gave him a particularly sympathetic feel to which readers could relate.

The other characters were pretty well done for side characters. The book mainly focused on Mark, so too much development in the rest would have been tedious. There was just enough information given about one of Mark's "jailers" to give the reader some empathy on that score, but not so much as to overpower the story.

Writing Style: 4 3/4 Stars

The sentence structuring was wonderfully fluid with a skill belying a first time novelist. The descriptions were so well done that I could have been watching a movie. The dialogue was great in the first half, but it inexplicably went downhill in the third quarter when Mark seems to develop a Southern accent of sorts. This did clear up by the last quarter. Read more ›

More About the Author

M.P. McDonald was born and raised in Waukegan, Illinois and now lives with her family in a small town in Wisconsin.The author of four books in the Mark Taylor Series, she began writing when she got her first PC in the early 90s.

You can reach the author at [e-mail] or visit M.P. McDonald's blog at http://www.mmcdonald64.blogspot.com. Since she is an internet junkie, she will probably write back within a few hours--or minutes.

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