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Author HERB HUGHES worked in the computer industry for over two decades then built a successful private business before retiring to write novels. He has published four nonfiction books as well as numerous articles and short stories. THE JOYSTICK MURDERS is his second novel and is the first in the Drake Blast series. Each Drake Blast novel is self-contained. They can be read in any order!
His first novel, TENNESSEE YANKEE, is historical fiction set during and in the years after the civil war.
Both novels are available in eBook and paperback on Amazon.com.
Reviewed by Cheryl E. Rodriguez for Readers' Favorite
Herb Hughes pens an action-packed futuristic mystery in The Joystick Murders: A Drake Blast Novel. The year is 2042 and Drake Blast is working a security detail. It is seemingly a low-level assignment, until a Secret Service agent murders the front runner for the 2044 World Presidency race, followed by his head exploding, spewing human carnage everywhere. A murder suicide? Within days, another leading politician is assassinated in a similar manner. Why were the least likely of suspects going rogue and killing the world’s prominent politicians? This is exactly what Detective Drake Blast must find out. No suspects. No motive. The deeper Drake goes into the investigation, the more he realizes none of it makes sense. Too many questions, not enough answers. Going undercover, Blast hopes to discover who is behind these heinous crimes. However, nothing prepared him for the sadistic evil he would face.
The Joystick Murders: A Drake Blast Novel takes its reader into an advanced world of government and technology. Hughes uses his years of working in the computer industry to pen a tale of revolutionary gadgets, human communication implants and automated travel. This not-so-far-off world is slightly far-fetched, but entertaining. The novel is written in first person narrative; therefore, you are in the head of the main character. The protagonist's long winded narration often interrupts the story’s flow. His thoughts and opinions take the reader down rabbit holes of information. Needless to say, this is a unique method of storytelling. The action flows steadily and there are a few well timed twists and turns in the plot. Some are predictable, others are rather surprising. The story starts its descent after the climactic discovery of the antagonist. However, with the revelation of the villain, the conflict heightens, creating depth in the plot. The conclusion is a bit drawn out, but leaves the reader anticipating the next mysterious adventure. “The end of the beginning” sums it up nicely.
