About D. J. Swykert

“Maggie Elizabeth Harrington”

This is a wonderful book, and I loved it! It has a second book in this series coming out soon! I have a special love and connection to wolves, and I strongly identified with this character Maggie. I think it’s such a tragedy that wolves in the past (late 1800s to early 1900s) have been killed off simply because of a bad rep. The truth is not one healthy wolf has ever killed a human. Maggie finds some wolf pups during the time when a bounty was put out for killing wolves for a reward. It’s the beginning of her role as wolf-protector as a young teen. It’s a beautifully written book, and the description told from the protagonist’s point of view is vivid and lyrical. I can’t wait for the next one. Check it out.

– Valencia Redd

“Three Fingered Jack Davis”

DJ Swykert has given us another dark, at times poignant, at times raw to the bone, Detroit Dirty Fiction experience that will have you scratching right along with the addicts he so adeptly brings to life.

Swykert tells it like it is. He pulls no punches as he drags you into the hard hitting, nail biting, fight for life occurring daily on the mean streets of Michigan’s toughest city. DJ Swykert’s brilliant, “no quarter given”, look at the lives of real people fighting for their piece of the American pie is bound to move you in so many ways … it rattled my bones and I’m from Compton. JBB

–Subatticus

“The Death of Anyone”

If you’ve read a Swykert novel, you’ll know what to expect: vivid characters, great dialogue, and raw, titillating material. The author’s experience around police matters is obvious; the story’s details are authentic and believable.

Detroit detective, Bonnie Benham is driven powerfully to track down a brutal child rapist/murderer, all the while struggling with her own demons, and the effects of lost love.

There’s not a boring moment in the book, very fast-paced, no sag in the middle. Highly recommended!

– Geoff

“The Pool Boy Beatitude”

Wow! This book is so good! I couldn’t put it down.

Jack is an alcoholic. He disappoints everybody around him, especially his wife. She has had enough, and she wants a divorce. He finds himself homeless, penniless, and in dire need of a drink. He has hit bottom and can only go up, and forward. He finds himself facing a chance to rise up from the life he has known. Not one but two chances, both in different directions. But first he has to pay the price of his constant alcoholic state. What path does he choose?

This is such a good story. You’ll find yourself cheering him on, hoping he makes good choices. Don’t miss this one. It’s so worth the time it takes to read it. Great job.

– Carole McKee

“Children of the Enemy”

Children of the Enemy zips along at a quick clip due to a visually graphic, tension-filled plot that kept me turning “just one more page.”

But it’s the juicy characters that make the book sizzle. So many bad guys are featured that I found myself rooting for the least barbaric among them. Even the few good guys are willing to bend their morals and the law.

A bit of sex; a cast of miscreants motivated by greed, power, and vendettas; and a whole lot of violence–readers who like their novels roughed up and riddled with grittiness, will find it all in Children of the Enemy.

– Sue Ann Connaughton

“Alpha Wolves”

This is a story that won’t let you go. The hard lives these people live in a tiny mining town at the turn of the century is depicted very well. You can see everything clearly in your mind movie as you read the book. The book title was misleading. There were no alpha wolves in the story – just one wolf. If the author meant to portray two men as alphas, I didn’t find that. There were times the story was overwritten with repeated phrases and past memories. The ending was satisfying. I’d read a sequel.

– Dawn Ireland

“Nude Swimming”

Voices of men propel these stories and flash fictions, and that’s a welcome perspective when it comes to romance. The title, Nude Swimming, is apt as the tales and, yes, the narrators’ voices flow over the reader like water; the women’s voices are even a tad subdued as if our ears are under water.

The tales criss-cross a range of time periods, from World War of the past and into the present of smart phone fascination. They amuse, they subdue, they talk blithely of sex and alcohol, as much as they render a mirror to the miscommunication in relationships. They are commentary. They are an escape.

– Donna Vitucci