Review by VicReadJ+ -- The Darkness at Decker Lake
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VicReadJ+
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- Latest Review: The Darkness at Decker Lake by Martin H. Zuckerman
Review by VicReadJ+ -- The Darkness at Decker Lake
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Darkness at Decker Lake" by Martin H. Zuckerman.]
Retirement is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy your remaining days doing what makes you happy. For some, transitioning from city-life to a more serene rural area in a remote, quiet village is just like what Decker Lake residents had in mind. They moved to the reserved area in upstate New York into small houses far away from any neighbors at Deckersburg so they could have privacy and quiet life.
That is until, things started to change. Decker Lake slowly became a place where residents began to hear whisperings, feel nauseated, and become depressed. It seemed for no reason at all. Except it was because Harvey Paul, a new resident and newly appointed president of the homeowners association who began the scheme to steal the properties of the residents. He and his partners plotted to encourage residents who were anxious to leave Decker Lake to sell their homes below purchase price. Once the residents decided to sell, they received a deal to move to Sunshine Forever Home, a retirement home in Florida. Harvey would even provide transport for them to the home in Florida, where more of his partners would take over and proceed with Medicare and Social Security fraud and even murder.
For Harvey Paul, his parents in prison for cons they committed, did all of this for the love of the con game, not for the money. Unlike his partner, Barry was all in for the money and had no remorse for any of his crimes. Ivan Pochenco, an alias for Karl Romanz, was a vicious criminal with a penchant for murder from his days in Romania. He was wanted for murder there too.
The Darkness at Decker Lake is the first mystery novel written by Martin H. Zuckerman. It is easy to read and leads the reader on a journey of crime, embezzlement, fraud, and murder. An even more sinister crime occurs, which takes the residents by surprise and leads to Harvey's scheme totally unraveling.
What impressed me about The Darkness at Decker Lake was how Mr. Zuckerman unraveled the mystery. There are a couple of twists included, but these add to the puzzle. The story began on one path and then took a turn to illustrate the criminals' plan and how they involved partners in Florida. The wording was simple and easy to read. Some profanity occurred, but it was not excessive. Violence and murder are prevalent in the story, so this novel is more suitable for adult readers. There are several graphic descriptions of one of the crimes in the book. These descriptions may make some readers squeamish. It caught me off guard a little.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. There are a few errors, but overall it was very well edited. The last twist of the book makes the reader think, will there be a sequel? Will Ivan finally be caught and prosecuted for his crimes? What happened to the Florida partners' daughter? I highly recommend this book for adult readers and look forward to a sequel or the next mystery book from Mr. Zuckerman.
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The Darkness at Decker Lake
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Retirement is supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy your remaining days doing what makes you happy. For some, transitioning from city-life to a more serene rural area in a remote, quiet village is just like what Decker Lake residents had in mind. They moved to the reserved area in upstate New York into small houses far away from any neighbors at Deckersburg so they could have privacy and quiet life.
That is until, things started to change. Decker Lake slowly became a place where residents began to hear whisperings, feel nauseated, and become depressed. It seemed for no reason at all. Except it was because Harvey Paul, a new resident and newly appointed president of the homeowners association who began the scheme to steal the properties of the residents. He and his partners plotted to encourage residents who were anxious to leave Decker Lake to sell their homes below purchase price. Once the residents decided to sell, they received a deal to move to Sunshine Forever Home, a retirement home in Florida. Harvey would even provide transport for them to the home in Florida, where more of his partners would take over and proceed with Medicare and Social Security fraud and even murder.
For Harvey Paul, his parents in prison for cons they committed, did all of this for the love of the con game, not for the money. Unlike his partner, Barry was all in for the money and had no remorse for any of his crimes. Ivan Pochenco, an alias for Karl Romanz, was a vicious criminal with a penchant for murder from his days in Romania. He was wanted for murder there too.
The Darkness at Decker Lake is the first mystery novel written by Martin H. Zuckerman. It is easy to read and leads the reader on a journey of crime, embezzlement, fraud, and murder. An even more sinister crime occurs, which takes the residents by surprise and leads to Harvey's scheme totally unraveling.
What impressed me about The Darkness at Decker Lake was how Mr. Zuckerman unraveled the mystery. There are a couple of twists included, but these add to the puzzle. The story began on one path and then took a turn to illustrate the criminals' plan and how they involved partners in Florida. The wording was simple and easy to read. Some profanity occurred, but it was not excessive. Violence and murder are prevalent in the story, so this novel is more suitable for adult readers. There are several graphic descriptions of one of the crimes in the book. These descriptions may make some readers squeamish. It caught me off guard a little.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars. There are a few errors, but overall it was very well edited. The last twist of the book makes the reader think, will there be a sequel? Will Ivan finally be caught and prosecuted for his crimes? What happened to the Florida partners' daughter? I highly recommend this book for adult readers and look forward to a sequel or the next mystery book from Mr. Zuckerman.
******
The Darkness at Decker Lake
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Darkness at Decker Lake by Martin H. Zuckerman
