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Mountain Heat
Mountain Heat follows a woman named Charley who’s ex-husband goes missing while researching a group of Apache Native Americans to help them reclaim sacred land in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Unfortunately, Charley wasn’t informed until he has been missing for weeks, which means she’s well behind others already looking. Bad quickly turns to worse.
Charley and her friend Nash go to Las Cruces immediately to find out what happened to him, but quickly realize that trouble is lurking around every corner. Thankfully, Charley meets an Indian man named Black Hawk who becomes a much-needed ally to their cause. While uncovering the fate of her ex-husband Jimmy, they stumble onto a world that is both corrupt and unjust and realize there is more at stake than just one life.
Mountain Heat was well written and I felt for the characters, including feeling so sad that I had to stop reading for a moment and gather myself to not be upset with the characters performing such cruelty to others. That type of writing has an impact on readers and showcases the writer’s talent for being able to transform her characters and the story in such a way that you feel the aspects of the book. Not all authors can do this, and it shows the passion for storytelling that Natrelle Long has.
The ending was what I had hoped for. I wanted to feel closure for all of the characters, but particularly for Charley. I would have liked to get more backstory on why Jimmy and Charley broke up, but the author gave us enough to guess the situation and how the outcome came to be. I also thoroughly enjoyed Nash and Black Hawk. Both are serious and rugged, but Black Hawk had moments of sarcasm and humor that could rival Charley’s in the best way.
Charley was my favorite character. She does things I don’t agree with, but you can understand why she does what she does. She believes in right and wrong, and I could guess a few of her moves, but I’m glad that she’s also the kind of character who can reign in her emotions and see what’s important. I love her sarcasm because I am a naturally sarcastic person in my life. I found myself relating to her moods in the book in certain areas while feeling I would have pushed the envelope with my words just as she did. I genuinely believe that the author did a great job in this book and could only find fault with one area of the book that was just too heartbreaking for me and seemed unnecessary in regard to a single character.
Mountain Heat was an engaging and thoroughly entertaining book that I would recommend to fans of crime fiction and urban fantasy.
Pages: 97
TheLongWriters.com
Tested and Punished
Natrelle Long Author Interview
The Tattooed Cat follows Charley on a hunt for the person that abused a cat, but finds more than she expected. What was the inspiration for the setup to this novel?
I have been an animal lover all my life, and the slightest thought of animal abuse upsets me more than any other imagined thought. It was no surprise to me several years ago when I read a study that documented the connection between childhood animal abuse and adult violence. Research has proven that all of the infamous serial killers tortured animals in their youth. I am especially fond of cats, and it was painful for me to write about the torture, but I wanted to connect animal abuse with human abuse—they are both horrible and no punishment is too severe.
Charley is an interesting and deftly developed character. What were some ideals you wanted her character to embody?
Charley appeared in my head three years ago. I envisioned a smart, strong, independent woman who, at the same time, is flawed—a woman who has been tested and punished, a woman who can be the best friend ever or the worst enemy ever. She is the first to risk everything to help those who deserve it and the first to punish those who deserve it. The scars on her body speak for themselves.
I felt like this novel was able to capture both the darkness and beauty of humanity. What were some themes you wanted to explore in this book?
I’m glad you saw both sides of the actions and characters. Loyalty is definitely one of the themes that accompanies Charley in every book, and I’ve found that readers respond strongly to the characters who have become part of her “team.” Justice, a theme that is generally attached to crime novels, provides both satisfaction and confirmation—whether delivered by the legal system or by a beautiful blond woman who often creates her own system.
What is the next novel that you are working on and when will it be available?
The fourth novel in the Charley Anderson Crime Series if tentatively titled Homegrown Heat. It should be available within a year—Charley’s not a patient character and trouble has already found her.
Author Links: Website | Facebook
![The Tattooed Cat: A Charley Anderson Novel by [Long, Natrelle]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51EoLAyqVFL.jpg)
“What begins with a cat ends with a corpse. Rescuing a maimed cat thrown into traffic on New York’s Fifth Avenue is just the beginning. As Charley hunts the torturers, she discovers layers of abuse and corruption that reach an ocean away.
Maybe it’s the ca, maybe it’s the fact that Charley is so determined to unravel the mystery. . . that makes The Tattooed Cat by Natrelle Long so interesting. Once your attention is grabbed there is no escaping the desire to read every single word and find out…how the cat and the nefarious deeds of a single man are interconnected…This is a book you won’t regret picking up.” Literary Titan
The Tattooed Cat
It all begins innocently enough: a woman finds an animal that has been the victim of inexplicable torture. However, neither the cat nor the woman are average in Natrelle Long’s The Tattooed Cat. This short novella grips readers from the get-go as it plunges directly into the meat of the story. Charley, our bad-assed protagonist is elegant and rough all at the same time. She is determined and passionate. She will find who exactly has hurt the cat she saved. The journey will lead her face-to-face with the darkness of humanity as the man-hunt reveals much more is going on than animal abuse. What begins with a cat ends with a corpse.
This is the perfect kind of book to tuck into during a quiet afternoon. The short length of the book lends itself to easy reading and the story is perfectly contained within the minimal pages. There is no room for filler or other such garbage in this tale. Every sentence has purpose and each character has meaning. The characters Long creates are true to modern interpretations of humanity. The characters speak like real people, especially Charley, and it all drives the point home.
It’s a quirky book in that there is enough content to write something even twice as long, but yet the ending is neatly wrapped and perfectly delivered that the need to drag the story out disappears. By being able to devote attention and detail to this short book Long still succeeds in creating a whole world with minimal building. Many novellas have the issue of limited time to grab a readers attention and explain the world to them at the same time.
Maybe it’s the cat, maybe it’s the fact that Charley is so determined to unravel the mystery she finds herself knee-deep in that makes The Tattooed Cat by Natrelle Long so interesting. Once your attention is grabbed there is no escaping the desire to read every single word and find out once and for all how the cat and the nefarious deeds of a single man are interconnected. We are reminded of humanity’s darkness and weaknesses and that the world is not a beautiful place. But we also get to see the beauty of a single person working towards polishing this ugliness. This is a book you won’t regret picking up.
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LITERARY TITAN 