Necessities Book Review & Giveaway

Today, I am excited to share my review of Necessities, the 4th book in Boyd Taylor's, Donnie Ray Cuinn series.  We recently shared a spotlight of the entire Donnie Ray Cuinn series--and I  was looking forward to reading this book.    Check out out review, take a look at the spotlight of the books of the series, learn about author Boyd Taylor and enter for a chance to win a prize in the book tour giveaway at the end of this post.

Category: Adult Fiction, 225 pages

Genre: Suspense Crime Fiction

Content Rating: PG-13 + M (There is a murder and allusions to sex. Some mild cursing.)

About the Book

Donnie Ray Cuinn returns to Austin to defend a war hero accused of murder. David Lewis lost both legs in Iraq, but he has overcome his nightmares and his disabilities by sheer willpower. He has learned to run and to box and is a successful newspaperman with a beautiful wife and son. Now the nightmares have returned and he must stand trial for murder. With twists that never seem to end, this gripping legal thriller is filled with suspense and indelibly drawn characters dealing with love and betrayal.

My Review

Boyd Taylor Offers a Unique Storytelling Format for Necessities.  I have not read the other books in this series--so, I cannot say if the format of Necessities is similar to Taylor's other novels.  The format of this novel; however, is a little unique to me in comparison to most novel series with a consistent "series star." This novel begins with, and really maintains its "star" focus on David Lewis--and not entirely on our attorney lead.    It reminds me of murder mystery movies where viewers see interactions between the victim and the accused--and a crime or crimes occur before we bring in the movie or television star to solve the crime or defend the client. In Necessities, readers gain a lot of insights into Lewis, his life and the characters surrounding him and really become attached to Lewis and his plight.  I enjoyed this style, and I was able to develop a relationship with Cuinn (alongside his client)--rather than feeling that I should have known so much more about the attorney from his previous adventures that I had not read.  

Readers will Settle into the Story--and Another and Another.   At first, I was concerned that I wouldn't build a strong enough bond with Cuinn to want to follow him on for more cases and adventures without knowing everything about him.  Taylor's writing style does not allow that in the least!  Readers will be quickly and easily drawn into the world of David Lewis--and continue to feel just as connected as the story shifts to focus more on Cuinn, on the trial and the story's resolution.  It did take several pages to adjust to the shift in the story as I moved away from David's perspective to a more 3rd person view.  Having said that, the narratives, character dialogue, and the plot twists and revelations keep the reader fully invested in seeing this novel to its end.   Of course, in the end, it is time to move to a new a case and new adventure--and the author's writing style certainly draws readers to want to follow Cuinn further.

Would I recommend Necessities? I am actually planning to read the other books of this series--not because I felt that I was missing something that I needed for this book--but, because I really enjoy Taylor's writing style and his crime novel development.  Necessities isn't a clean murder mystery--there are references to sex and violence and, of course, murder--but, nothing graphic or overdone--and certainly nothing that isn't really necessary to the case at hand.  If you enjoy a well organized, human nature based crime drama--without a lot of sex, violence and such--with some surprises--this novel is well worth a spot on your reading list.   

To read reviews, please visit Boyd Taylor's page on iRead Book Tours.

Buy the Books

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble

Add to Goodreads

Watch the book trailer for Necessities 

Meet the Author

BOYD TAYLOR lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and their Havanese dog Toby. Necessities is the fourth novel in the Donnie Ray Cuinn series. In a former life, Boyd was a lawyer and a corporate officer. A native of Temple, Texas, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in government and an LL.B. from the law school.

Boyd's first novel "Hero" was prescient in its story about fake news. His second novel, "The Antelope Play," dealt with drug trafficking in the Texas Panhandle, an unfortunately accurate forecast. The third, "The Monkey House", involved commercial development of a large green space in the center of Austin, all too familiar to Austin residents. Whether his upcoming novel "Necessities" predicts future events with the accuracy of the earlier books remains to be seen.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook

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Ends March 7, 2018

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