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Ray Palen

Biography

Ray Palen


Ray Palen is an award-winning actor, drama teacher, and former executive producer/director for 15+ years of a highly successful regional theatre group that is still based on Long Island. Additionally, he is a published playwright with several short plays being registered with the Writers Guild of America. One of his short plays that featured his fictional hero, Sherlock Holmes, won first prize in a Holmes short play contest.

Ray's go-to pastime, however, has been reading. He has been an avid reader and writer throughout his life --- reading at least three books per week for as long as he can remember (a love of reading and lifelong insomnia being the dual cause of this). His book collection numbers in the thousands, and he prides himself on his rare and signed first editions. Ray has been reviewing books, movies and theatre for decades with several online and print publications.

In 2015, Ray relocated from the New York City area, where he lived his entire life, to Central Florida for a job opportunity with Walt Disney World. He also satisfied his burning itch to act again when he starred as the psychopath Harry Roat Jr. in a production of Terrence Knott's "Wait Until Dark," which was performed at Walt Disney World's Contemporary Resort. Recently, Ray has been acting at a popular theatre in Central Florida where he had starring roles in both "And Then There Were None" by Dame Agatha Christie and "Dial 'M' for Murder" by Terrence Knott. Ironically, he was cast in both plays as the villain --- which he plays off as both preferring more complex, villainous roles and relishing the opportunity to show off his native British accent! Currently he works as a Customer Operations Supervisor for the sports-tech entertainment company FanDuel.

His greatest personal production to date is his beautiful daughter, Anna, who is now seven and loves growing up in the shadow of Cinderella Castle. She already has a fond appreciation for books and reading! Ray resides just 20 minutes outside of Walt Disney World in Clermont, FL, with his wife Debbie, his little Princess Anna, and three cats (Mickey, Rory and Lorelei). There is a very good possibility that he is probably reading a novel right now. Cheers!

Ray Palen

Reviews by Ray Palen

by Sarah Pinborough - Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Anna Maybourne never imagined herself living in a place like Harper’s Creek, a nowhere town full of dusty farmland plagued by drought. It’s supposed to be a new start for her and her family. But after dropping out of college, Anna feels stuck in place --- working a part-time job, watching her little sister grow up, and taking care of her grandmother with dementia. It seems that the only interesting thing about her new town is the string of grisly murders attributed to a killer called the Farmhandman. Along with outspoken loner Melissa Laverne and handsome deputy Todd Greenbough, Anna fills her hours with the town’s darkest curiosity. But even though the prime suspect is long dead, the Farmhandman murders begin to feel too close for comfort as the anniversary nears. 

by Linwood Barclay - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

When Reece visits his parents’ house, he’s shocked to find them in bed, dead. At first glance it looks like a murder-suicide perpetrated by his father, but on closer inspection there’s clearly more to the story. For starters, inconsistencies in the crime scene suggest his dad may not have shot himself. As Reece, shaken by his horrifying discovery, awaits questioning from the police, his phone lights up with a call. It’s the last person he ever would have expected to hear from. Reeling from the day’s events, Reece finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew about his parents --- and whether he and his own family are in danger now. While the authorities work to untangle the baffling crime scene, Reece is pulled into a web of secrets linked to the unscrupulous pharma company his father worked for years ago.

by J.T. Ellison - Domestic Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

It’s the holidays, and photographer Brooklyn Locke is bound for Italy with her husband, Trey, and their two children. But when Trey vanishes from the airport, missing their connecting flight, their impromptu vacation --- and life as she knows it --- begins to unravel. Desperate to find her husband, Brooklyn accepts help from a stranger on the same flight, Eden Barrow. But Eden soon makes a shocking claim. She is the sister of Trey’s first wife, and 10 years ago he was the main suspect in her murder. Struggling to comprehend these accusations, fate delivers one more blow: a violent accident that leaves Brooklyn fighting for her life. With nowhere else to turn, Brooklyn leans on Eden for support. But each kindness feels too rehearsed, feeding her doubts about Eden’s motives and Trey’s true past.

by Tess Gerritsen - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

When a renowned disease expert and Russian defector dies mysteriously during a global affairs conference in Purity, Maine, the tight-knit band of former spies in the Martini Club once again sees their quiet coastal retirement interrupted by international intrigue. And when a waitress at the conference hotel is found murdered, Ingrid Slocum sees chilling links to a disastrous mission that nearly killed her three decades ago. Desperate to uncover the truth, Ingrid is drawn back into the game by a magnetic ex-CIA colleague --- and former lover --- who was with her on the long-ago doomed mission. He convinces her to join him, and together they head to Amsterdam to track down her would-be killer. But a clandestine network of assassins is intent on stopping them.

by Sophie Hannah - Fiction, Mystery

Jemma Stelling walks into a police station and confesses --- not to a murder she's committed, but to the one she's terrified she might. Jemma can't stop herself from thinking about murdering her stepmother, Marianne Upton. The only way to stop herself might be to confess before she snaps and does the unthinkable. But while Jemma is still giving her statement, a call comes in: Marianne has just been found stabbed to death, killed in exactly the way Jemma described. Suddenly, the woman desperate to prevent a murder has an unshakeable alibi…and a disturbingly accurate description of the crime she couldn't have committed. Is Jemma an innocent bystander? Or a brilliant, cold-blooded killer who planned everything down to the minute?

by James Patterson and James O. Born - Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

In New York City, a series of deadly bombs explodes. Across the river, a military base is burglarized for munitions. In Montana, violence and arson rock a small town outside of Bozeman. Are the incidents related? Detective Michael Bennett, army sniper turned NYPD officer Rob Trilling and the ATF investigate. A single-minded group angry with the government keeps turning up in unexpected places, insisting that they’re only trying to make the world a better place. To law enforcement, their claims seem delusional. Will words or gunpowder light the next fuse?

by Freida McFadden - Fiction, Psychological Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband. She had an alibi and no known motive, yet her unwavering protestations of innocence have always been ignored. Then one day in the visiting area, she sees a man she's certain is her husband. The person she's been convicted of killing may not be dead after all. But as the days tick away toward Talia's execution, what will it take for her to be believed?

by Jennifer McMahon - Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Suspense, Thriller

1919: Frankie O’Massey has always been the black sheep of isolated Boone’s Ferry, Vermont. Her uncle, Dr. Thomas Endicott, has been training her in the science of medicine. When a mysterious illness strikes the town, and the community suspects supernatural forces, the two desperately search for a logical explanation. Patient zero seems to be the town’s knackerman --- a recluse who collects dead and dying farm animals to make use of their parts. 2016: Siblings Ashley and Malcolm lost their mother two years ago. When their grandmother dies, they inherit a property in Boone’s Ferry and embark on a trip to their ancestral home. But some of the townspeople aren’t very welcoming --- and they have some unsettling traditions, like leaving offerings to a vengeful spirit four times a year.

by William Kent Krueger - Fiction, Mystery

Preparing for a family trip into the Boundary Waters, Cork O’Connor is troubled by ominous visions about his future. Ignoring the warnings, he uncovers signs of violence while searching for his missing friend, Cordell Bishop. Soon, he is forced to negotiate with dangerous criminals, the Kennedy brothers, who are seeking their late father’s hidden stash. Facing escalating danger and difficult choices, Cork grapples with his darkest instincts as he helps others escape and eventually takes justice into his own hands.

by Karin Slaughter - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

1601 Iris Drive looks like any other house on the quiet, residential street. But rumors are rampant about the Vickery family and what goes on behind closed doors. When gunshots ring out, Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, discover a devastating crime scene. Allison Vickery has been murdered in her own kitchen, and her teenage daughter is bleeding upstairs, left for dead. Everyone thinks they know what happened. But secrets are buried everywhere in this small town. And it’s up to Emmy Clifton to uncover the truth.