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Toni Pike is a multi-genre author who enjoys writing page-turning fiction for adults, hilarious books for children, and non-fiction. She also loves travelling and being with family and friends. She lives in Australia and firmly believes that coffee and long walks are an essential part of any day.
Do you like books that you can’t stop reading? Pike is the author of LINDA’S MIDLIFE CRISIS, DESOLATION BLUFF, DEAD DRY HEART and The Jotham Fletcher Mystery Thriller Series: THE MAGUS COVENANT, THE ROCK OF MAGUS, THE MAGUS EPIPHANY and HOLY SPEAR OF MAGUS.
The Brody Cody Series is for children aged 6-9: BRODY CODY AND THE STEPMOTHER FROM OUTER SPACE and BRODY CODY AND THE HAUNTED VACATION HOUSE.
She’s also the author of two non-fiction books. THE ONE WAY DIET is a no-nonsense guide to losing weight. HAPPY TRAVELS 101 is a short book of travel tips with advice for anyone who wants to travel overseas.
To find out more, her website is tonipike.com.
Reviewed by Lucinda E Clarke for Readers' Favorite
Desolation Bluff by Toni Pike tells the story of a successful blind author who falls deeply in love with his beautiful assistant Vanessa. We first meet them when they are on their honeymoon in Paris and she is describing the view of the Eiffel Tower from their hotel room. Oliver is wealthy, kind and considerate and you can easily fall for him as the hero in the book. It’s a little difficult to give more of the plot without spoiling the story. There are other characters, such as the elderly housekeeper Helen, and Ray, Oliver’s business manager. At the start of the book, life seems idyllic, but things had begun to unravel long before the reader comes on the scene. Just as I was sure I had guessed the end of the story, the plot twisted again and there was yet another layer to the story I didn’t see coming. I like the way the characters were introduced. Not once did I have to reread to work out who was who. For me, that is the sign of a well-constructed book, excellent characterization, and realistic dialogue.
At intervals in Desolation Bluff, there were readings out loud of the romantic happy ever after novels that Oliver – under the pen name of Fidel Amore – churns out four times a year. I loved these ‘badly written’ excerpts along with the equally trite titles. A bright, lively read with several cliff-hangers and believable characters which kept up a satisfying pace. There are plenty of tongue in cheek moments, giving light and shade to the more dramatic parts. A little different from Pike’s Jotham Fletcher mysteries, so this book took me by surprise. Toni Pike is an author whose books I enjoy and I will read everything she writes. A well deserved 5 stars from me.
