The Crossover
Eddie Clay III
New Paradigm Publishers, 2014
ISBN 978-0-9891548-1-9 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-9891548-6-4 (paperback)
251 Pages
Fiction

Eddie Clay III is honing in on his own brand: reality based fiction spiced with unique, recurring topics, well-established returning characters, and a maturing writer’s voice.   All these ingredients embody a great strategy for retaining existing fans and attract new readers.

The plot is simple.  Retired Marine Eddie Thompson, who lives in England, reunites with the love of his life, Monet Dawson (The Seduction of Monet Dawson, 2013) after twenty years, and they begin a new chapter in their love affair.  They have a son together, and their long-distance relationship is dotted with transatlantic journeys.  If you think Gunnery Thompson was romantic during his first encounter with Monet, get this: his first date with old love Monet includes a dozen roses, a personalized, passionate card, dinner for two at the Olive Garden, and two guest passes to Maxine’s Spa and Massage.

Eddie Thompson established and maintains pleasant, long term relationships with his U.K. neighbors who provide all kinds of excitement in his life.  The kaleidoscope of minor characters include a cancer stricken American writer and a chain-smoking, serious family man who works for Scotland Yard and who eventually involves Clay Thompson in a high profile local case.

Hypnosis is still one of Clay III’s main interests, but he takes a step further and leads the reader into the world of occult, bringing ghosts into the circle of interesting characters.

True to his artistic tradition, the author often derails from the central storyline to chronicle everyday episodes of the main character’s personal life, such as buying a mobile phone in the U.K., staging a makeover of his neighbor/friend, helping another friend quit smoking by hypnotizing him, and even participating in the hunt for and capture of a lurking serial killer rapist.  These seemingly unrelated accounts may slow down the action, but at the end most will make sense and contribute to the resolution.  Also in accordance with his creative past, Clay touches on several topical issues, such as gay marriage, PTSD, the Facebook invasion, and old favorites like domestic violence, infidelity, and personal sex-tapes.

The author’s voice have matured notably since the beginning of his publishing career, and his efforts of creating a brand by connecting to past novels and infusing new topics into his craft will undoubtedly expand his fan base.

The bottom line is that Eddie Clay’s newest book is hypnotic, this time pun intended.