by Glenn | Oct 3, 2026 | General
“Lords of the Dais”
Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers’ Favorite
Lords of the Dais by Glenn Starkey is a police investigation/crime novel with plenty of action and twists to keep the reader guessing. Detective Sergeant Lewis Malcolm is a retired Marine Corps veteran and one of the officers in Morgan City’s small police department. When a modern-day “Jack the Ripper” style serial killer is stalking the citizens and toying with the police by leaving bogus clues lying around, Lewis and his new partner, Detective Marsha Hennessey, must calm people’s fears and deal with political interference. Still, their most important task is to stop this maniacal killer before he strikes again. The pair need to profile the psychology of a serial killer and hopefully discover some clues that will give his identity away.
Lords of the Dais is fast, relentless, and incredibly compelling reading. Author Glenn Starkey has created a wonderful scenario in which Lewis and his partner are under immense pressure to identify and capture this mysterious “Jack” before another victim is discovered. The characterization is well done, especially as told from the perspective of “Jack” himself. This split perspective in the narrative takes readers deep inside the damaged psyche of a serial killer, and that, more than anything, gives the entire narrative a sense of inclusion and believability. I particularly enjoyed the detailed analysis of police procedure as they attempted to unravel the mystery and find something that could point them in the right direction. The writing is tense, very graphic, and will immerse readers in the horrific scenes left in the aftermath of a murder. For me, the highlight of the entire story was the showdown and the reveal of the serial killer’s identity to a shocked and surprised public. This is a tense, exciting, and thoroughly enjoyable read that I highly recommend.
by Glenn | Feb 26, 2025 | General, Novels
“LORDS OF THE DAIS” — COMING IN SUMMER 2025
Detective Sergeant Lewis Malcolm, a former Marine Corps veteran, never thought he would one day be at the center of a modern-day Jack the Ripper investigation. The residents of Morgan City live in terror at the horrors of seemingly random butcheries left by the killer. And with the city council’s political games, making demands and interfering at every step, Malcolm is forced into standing against the tsunami of fear enveloping everyone.
With the assistance of Police Chief James Matthews, rookie Detective Marsha Hennessey, and prominent criminologist Dr. Robert Edwards, Lewis opens old wounds from past investigations and delves into the mindset of an insane predator nicknamed ‘Jack.’
The madman could strike again, anytime any day, and Lewis Malcolm has orders to stop him at all costs. But Jack is like a ghost that comes and goes in the night, leaving panic behind when he vanishes.
Lords of the Dais is a mystery thriller, a psychological page-turner that will keep readers wanting to know who the modern-day Jack the Ripper is—and when he will be captured.
“Lords of the Dais” will be available on all major online booksellers in eBook and print formats…
by Glenn | Sep 2, 2024 | General
I’m often asked, “Which of your books should I read first?” We all have different interests. Action, thriller, historical fiction, romance – the genres can seem endless. Most of us already know what we like. In a bookstore, we head straight to those aisles. Yet every now and then we seek a new author with a fresh variety of stories. So here are brief descriptions (one-liners to capture interest) for each of my novels. Hopefully, they will assist in your search. For in-depth descriptions, and to see the awards a book has won, select one of the books here on my website. My books are available in eBook and print formats at all major online booksellers. Autographed editions are at 1820 Coffeehouse in Alvin, Texas. There are seventeen books to choose from, and I hope you will enjoy them!
Glenn
LORDS OF THE DAIS – A modern-day Jack-the-Ripper prowls the streets, killing at random, terrorizing the city, and Detective Sergeant Lewis Malcolm must stop him at all costs. But ‘Jack’ is like a ghost that comes and goes, leaving only a bloody trail to follow… and no clues as to who he is.
THE DEVIL’S CONTRACT – Abandoned on the streets, a boy is raised to be a governmental assassin and must endure the contract for life. In time, conscience overcomes him, and he breaks away knowing he will no longer be a predator, but the prey.
SOLOMON’S MEN – A professional thief is duped into stealing the true burial shroud of Jesus from an ancient order, then finds himself hunted by militant monks.
THE HONJO – sequel to “Solomon’s Men.” A priceless ancient sword is the ransom for Valdez’s daughter-in-law, forcing him to return to being a thief.
BLACK SUN – A boy grows to manhood in his quest for survival during the bloody Mexican Revolution of 1910.
WHEN THE VIOLIN WEEPS – From the Warsaw ghetto to a Treblinka extermination camp, Jacob Liebermann endures Nazi atrocities in hopes of one day exacting revenge for his murdered wife.
THE DAGGER MAN – Two men born the same night, under the same star; one becomes the Messiah while the other becomes a zealot group’s assassin.
MICAH – Stalin’s experiments to breed apes with humans to create a super soldier go astray when creatures are born and escape into the mountains.
McKENNA – An investigator’s daughter is caught up in a human trafficking ring and he must find and free her before she vanishes into the underworld.
INTO THE CAULDRON – In the midst of the Civil War, a Union cavalryman battles Indian tribes, Confederate guerillas, and unforgiving environments to protect settlers along the Santa Fe Trail.
AMAZON MOON – A man seeks redemption or death in his journey to find sanity through a war, government deceit, and a hideous creature lurking deep within the Amazon jungle.
THE COUNCILMAN – In 1956 Texas, a young man returns to his hometown in search of his mother’s murderer and finds corruption at every turn.
CHARON – In a dying East Texas town, five teenage boys discover their fates are entwined when they unleash the demons of a Ouija board upon their community.
STEEL JUNGLE – A terrorist attack on a refinery forces a lone security guard and his veteran friends to halt the bloodbath.
COBRA AND SCARAB – An Egyptian Queen steals control of a kingdom from her nephew until the day of reckoning comes.
YEAR OF THE RAM – In a time of savage war, a Mongol general finds a son he never knew was born and must risk losing him while saving his nation against the onslaught of a massive greed-ridden army.
THROUGH THE STORMS: THE JOHN G. SLOVER DIARY – non-fiction – a Civil War veteran’s life is detailed in the personal diary he carried in his saddle bag.
by Glenn | Aug 29, 2022 | General, Novels
My Civil War based novel “Into the Cauldron” was awarded a Silver Medal at the 2022 Military Writers Society of America Conference in New Orleans. I’m truly excited about this award, as I am with all awards I’ve won for my writings.
After four cruel years, the Civil War still raged without peace in sight. The Union Army’s manpower was stretched to its limits fighting on two fronts; one on the eastern battlefields against the Confederacy, the other to protect the Santa Fe Trail and western expansion of citizens from marauding Indian tribes and vicious Confederate guerrillas.
Jonah Gustafson’s family was dead, leaving him to aimlessly wander. Rather than wait for the coming draft, he joined the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, expecting to be sent east into the war between the states. Instead, his regiment went west to ‘Bleeding’ Kansas and war-torn Missouri. There, along the Santa Fe Trail, they fought every major Indian tribe and Quantrill’s Raiders, a roaming, bloodthirsty guerrilla unit. Horrid weather and deplorable living conditions were the lonely troopers’ constant companions. Death always lurked near whether from disease, a bullet, or an arrow. But the cavalry of the frontier fulfilled its duties against all odds.
“Into the Cauldron” is the life of Trooper Jonah Gustafson based upon true events written in the pages of a Civil War diary by a Wisconsin cavalryman that served on the frontier. It is a novel to enjoy and learn from; one that will carry you back in time to feel the joys, heartaches and anguish of those days.
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Into-the-Cauldron
by Glenn | May 16, 2022 | General, Novels
“Into the Cauldron” received its first award from the Book Excellence Literary contest !!!
1864. After four cruel years, the Civil War still raged without peace in sight. The Union Army’s manpower was stretched to its limits fighting on two fronts; one on the eastern battlefields against the Confederacy, the other to protect the Santa Fe Trail and western expansion of citizens from marauding Indian tribes and vicious Confederate guerrillas.
Jonah Gustafson’s family was dead, leaving him to aimlessly wander. Rather than wait for the coming draft, he joined the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Cavalry, expecting to be sent east into the war between the states. Instead, his regiment went west to ‘Bleeding’ Kansas and war-torn Missouri. There, along the Santa Fe Trail, they fought every major Indian tribe and Quantrill’s Raiders, a roaming, bloodthirsty guerrilla unit. Horrid weather and deplorable living conditions were the lonely troopers’ constant companions. Death always lurked near whether from disease, a bullet, or an arrow. But the cavalry of the frontier fulfilled its duties against all odds.
“Into the Cauldron” is the life of Trooper Jonah Gustafson based upon true events written in the pages of a Civil War diary by a Wisconsin cavalryman that served on the frontier. It is a novel to enjoy and learn from; one that will carry you back in time to feel the joys, heartaches and anguish of those days.
Available in eBook and print at all major online booksellers.
BookBaby Amazon KOBO
by Glenn | Nov 10, 2021 | General
A woman’s headless, limbless torso is discovered floating in Chocolate Bayou. When Abe Davis, a Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department Investigator, is assigned to the case, he never realized the trail would lead to a sex and drug trafficking ring, international war criminals, political corruption, and the rescue of his fourteen-year-old daughter from captivity.
More news to come on “McKenna” release date…
