The Vintage Club has now been out two weeks and the reviews are starting to come in. It’s kind of nerve wracking waiting to see how people are going to react. So far, the reviews have been great. I’ve posted some of them from Amazon below.
You may have noticed there was a little debate on the Amazon site about one of the reviews and whether I paid to have it reviewed. Of course, I didn’t and I now think that’s all been straightened out. If anyone else would like to provide a review, I’d love to have you post it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, etc.
Here are some of the reviews on Amazon:
What if you could make a wine from the same seeds that made the wine that Jesus served at the Last Supper? Would it transform you? Would you live forever?
In the vein of Dan Brown, Darin Gibby’s debut novel asks questions of our more sacred stories, and what secrets they might hold for our present day. I love the idea that the Bible is full of coded messages, and Gibby’s in pursuit of a very interesting one, the idea of eternal life. I really love the idea that drinking wine might hold the answer. Talk about a win-win proposition.
The main hero of this story is Reggie Alexander, a young husband and father, who’s been ‘rescued’ from a life of poverty and despair by a billionaire philanthropist, who gathers together a group of boys into the church of The Living Waters, to offer them mentoring from the congregation. Reggie, who is an orphan with a terrifying history of violence, who finds sanctuary with Walter and Sherri Trudell, a wealthy couple with no children of their own.
Reggie succeeds in life with some hard work and the opportunities he’s been given, and now works at the patent office. When his mentor, Walter is murdered one night, Reggie’s world falls apart in a hurry. Dealing with acute anxiety from his dysfunctional upbringing, Reggie finds that all he’s worked for is in jeopardy, including his wife and young son. Going on the run with no idea of who to trust, Reggie dig deep within himself to overcome his fatal flaw in order to rescue his wife and son.
Fast-paced, in the tradition of Dan Brown, The Vintage Club is a near perfect read. Since this is Darin Gibby’s first novel, it’s not as sooth as The Di Vinci Code, but then that book wasn’t Dan Brown’s first, more like his third, I believe. On the other hand, for a first novel, this is a first-rate effort and at the rate Gibby is going, he’s going to be a best seller in no time.
Full of information about patents, which Giggy is an expert in, and good characters that are relatable. I loved Reggie Alexander. He was brave, and sweet and deserves another installment in his story.
I really enjoyed this book. A previous reviewer indicated that it reads somewhat like a John Grisham novel. I would add that with the religious quest for the veritable fountain of youth, represented by the wine, it also throws in some aspects of what I enjoyed reading in Dan Brown’s novels. The characters are believable with their real world problems and flaws woven through the story, though not overly so.
I started this on a Monday and read half of it in three hours and didn’t want to put it down. I bought the Kindle edition and there were very few editing flaws in the version, with only a few missing spaces. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, fast-paced thriller.
Who wants to live forever? Most people if you ask them. This is a very entertaining book with some interesting science which will probably be available at a liquor store near you in the near future. Exciting with great character development, left me wanting more. Wondering when the next book is coming out.
What a fantastic novel. The author has the unique ability to describe in words each scene to the point that you feel as if you were there. Once you start reading the book, it is hard to put it down. I highly recommend the book to all who love the thrill of a good mystery. This novel is comparable to John Grisham’s writings.
Not your typical thriller. A fresh story that keeps you involved from the very beginning. It has a way of bringing you into the story with its details.
Engaging action-packed Brownian thriller, December 12, 2013
The Vintage Club Darin Gibby Koehler Books, Dec 1 2013, $18.95 ISBN: 9781938467653
Reggie Alexander knows he comes a long way from his impoverished life as a DC orphan thanks to affluent Walter and Sherri Trudell who gave him shelter and sustenance from the street violence as one of their “projects”. Now married with a wife and son in Rockville, Reggie takes the o-dark commute to his work in Washington as a bureaucrat at the Patent Office.
Reggie’s safe family façade collapses when someone murders Walter; as the philanthropist’s associates at the Vintage Club believe he killed his savior. Not long afterward, Reggie’s wife and son vanish while he goes into hiding to avoid the assaults on him that emotionally take him back to his brutal childhood before the rescue. What Reggie is unaware of is that the Vintage Club members seek the Last Supper wine of immortality and think he killed Walter for it.
This Brownian thriller is an action-packed tale that removes a young man from his heavenly middle class existence and places him in hell with the return of his childhood PTSD; turning Reggie into an unconfident David facing presumptuous billionaire Goliaths. Though transitions are choppy (hazard of first books), fast-paced with fascinating interpretations from the bible, fresh use of customized nanotechnology, insight into patent law, and child trauma haunting the adult; readers will relish this engaging novel.
