JJ Toner

Full time writer since 2007. So far (2022) I have published two Irish detective thrillers, six historical fiction spy novels, two young adult science fiction books, and a substantial number of short stories: I live in Ireland with my wife and youngest son under a giant copper beech tree.

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Website: https://www.JJToner.com/
Twitter: @jjtoner_YA
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https://www.jjtoner.com/

androids    ben jordan    crime    crime thriller    detective    detective book    detective thriller    family fiction    fiction humor    german detective    german police    german resistance    historical    historical fic    historical fiction    irish and british stories    irish detective    murder action    murder crime mystery    murder short story    mystery    mystery detective    nazi germany    police corruption    police detective    prewar germany    prewar nazi germany    sci fi satire    science fiction    sciencefiction    scifi    serial killer    series    short fiction    thriller    ww2 germany    ww2 historical    ww2 romance    ww2 spy story    ww2 story   

• The Clone Trial on Sep. 11, 2011
  
  Bill Owen's short story The Clone Trial is set in the not-too-distant future when human reproduction has hit a wall, and cloning has taken its place. Laws have been put in place to limit these activities. Also clones are prohibited from reproducing. This is where I had my biggest problem with the premise of the story, as I couldn't understand how the human race was supposed to survive under these restraints. Anyway, the story concerns itself with a human who is accused of murdering one of his clones. The jury is made up of an assortment of beings from around the Galaxy, including a shape-shifter and a being who can mesmerize others into telling the truth. It occurred to me that this last ability could have been used by the authorities to get to the bottom of the matter at hand entirely without the aid of a jury. Indeed, I would have thought the whole justice system could have had a makeover based on this ability alone. The whole thing takes place in the jury room as they consider their verdict. Notwithstanding the occasional flashes from the Cloning Commission to help explain the laws and regulations, and a couple of glaring info-dumps, this is a fun read - a sort of 12 Angry Men with aliens. I particularly liked the wonderful talking bird who seemed to suffer from Tourette's Syndrome. I think Bill could have made more of the story. It could have been as much as 100% longer, allowing more time and space to feed the background information to the reader in a more digestible form, and maybe exploring some of the alternative plot lines.
  
• Cornerstone on Dec. 08, 2011
  
  I don't usually read paranormal ya. I like ya books, but I try to steer clear of the paranormal ones. I'm glad I read this one, though. When it started, I thought Nali's mom was just off her head; I couldn't see how this aspect of the story was going to end up anywhere good. (I have a friend who hoards newspapers and his house is just the way Nali's is). The explanation and the other paranormal elements were more than a tad wacky, I thought, but the drama and romance came through. Good job, Misty.