Review – The Fatal Mind by N J Gallegos @DrSpooky_ER

Amazon / Goodreads

N J Gallegos’ real life medical knowledge comes in handy in The Fatal Mind.

Shawn Gilbert’s NBA career ended when he suffered a head injury. The constant migraine headaches are relentless, ruining any semblance of a normal life…until…

Dr Absinthe has created an experimental chip that inhibits migraines and as soon as Shawn learns of it, he’s on board, FDA approval or not. I have headaches, but Tylenol does the trick for me. Would I want an experimental chip implanted into my brain? I don’t think so.

Some of Dr Absinthe patients don’t react so well to the implant. I figured her patients couldn’t all survive, otherwise we wouldn’t have a story. I am just along for the ride, letting the author take me where they want, instead of trying to anticipate the characters’ every move.

I was shocked, yet I smiled, at the brutal conclusion of Shawn and Rachel’s story. I never saw that coming, and I love it. N J Gallegos kept the pacing at a steady rate, keeping me reading page after page. I had to know how she would end the story.

That last sentence…well…

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Fatal Mind by N J Gallegos.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

Dr. Aldea Absinthe’s experimental chip-implant procedure inhibits the migraine pain of her patients, releasing them from debilitating chronic pain. When she performs her new procedure on Shawn Gilbert, a former NBA superstar whose career was cut short by headaches, Gilbert becomes her biggest advocate, launching the brilliant and beautiful neurologist to national stardom. But when Gilbert’s wife Rachel sees Gilbert’s personality become darker by the day, it becomes a race against time to uncover the deadly secret behind Dr. Absinthe’s miracle cure in this Black Mirror meets Frankenstein medical horror thriller.

  • Genre: Fiction, Horror
  • Format: 236 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication: October 15, 2024 by Winding Road Stories

N.J. Gallegos is an Emergency Medicine Physician who enjoys horror, medicine, and wicked women looking for revenge. Put all three together? Now we’re talking! She lives in Illinois with her wife and two cats. In her spare time, she enjoys binging reality trash tv, brewing beer, and running while listening to EDM so she can drink said brewed beer.

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$40 GC – #HotAndHandy by Lynne Hancock Pearson @xpressotours

#HotAndHandy
Lynne Hancock Pearson
Publication date: October 15th 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Everyone in town loves the handsome handyman.
Everyone except his new neighbor.

Out of jail and desperate for work, Vincent scrapes by with odd jobs. He’s hired to help the gray-haired lady move in next door but stumbles when he finds nothing old or feeble about Hilary.

Rejected by her husband after her body rejected implants, the breast cancer survivor shuts out Vincent until a kitchen appliance crisis forces her to accept his help. Convinced that he could do better, she keeps the younger man at a distance, but he persists, building her confidence and coaxing her out of her colorless cocoon.

With the hot handyman by her side and in her bed, Hilary develops a community program bringing at-risk youth into the building trades. But not everyone wants to see the ex-con succeed. An old foe is determined to derail Vincent, and Hilary is caught in the chaos.

She’s ready to retreat. Ready to leave everything behind—including Vincent.
Can he convince her to stay?

#HotAndHandy is a small-town, reverse age-gap romance between two people starting over after being kicked to the curb by life and love.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

It was Friday, and Vincent hadn’t seen Hilary all week, even though they shared the same address. They’d texted, though, and agreed to happy hour on her deck, with him bringing the drinks and her providing the food. Taking the stairs two at a time, he smiled at his own eagerness. Last week was great. Her enthusiasm for setting up the training program was contagious. Tonight, they would work on a proposal to present to Iris and Ali, to get KBS on board. And hopefully, they’d do some more kissing. He stopped himself from thinking beyond that. After all Hilary had been through, he did not want to rush her. His cock argued otherwise; thus Vincent started and ended each day with a cold shower.

He shifted the six-pack of beer and bottle of wine in his arms to rap on the door. No one answered. Glancing over to the driveway, he confirmed Hilary’s car and bicycle were both there. Through the windows of the French doors, he saw her purse and car keys sitting on the counter so he tried the doorknob. Unlocked, he pushed the door open and called, “Hey, you okay?”

“Not really. Can you come back here?”

Dropping the booze on the table, he hustled to the bedroom, expecting more blood. The room was empty. “Hilary?”

Her voice came from the en suite bathroom. “In here.”

He peeked in to find her rooted to the floor, arms crossed over her chest, facing away from the door. Seeking her reflection in the mirror, he caught the disgusted look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“There was a huge-ass spider. It startled me, and I dropped my glass, which shattered on the floor. I can’t move because I’m afraid I’ll cut myself.”

“I’m thinking you should give up day drinking,” he said, taking in the broken glass and Hilary’s bare feet.

“It was a glass of water.”

“Maybe buy plastic stuff. You and glass don’t seem to get along.” He grinned at her growl of annoyance.

From his examination of the floor, his eyes moved upward and widened. She wore bright pink panties and a matching camisole. Nothing else. He swallowed. With clothes, she was hot. Without, she was dynamite. Long firm legs, tight rounded ass, flat belly, and toned arms. She may not have tits, but Hilary was sexy as hell.

“Are you going to stare, or are you going to help me?” Bright red dots sat high on her cheekbones.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, umm…give me a second.” He pulled off his T-shirt and placed it on the floor at the base of Hilary’s bed. Then he leaned into the bathroom and grabbed a hand towel from the rack. “I’m going to wipe down the backs of your legs in case there are any pieces of glass on them.” Glass crunched beneath him, and he was thankful to be wearing shoes. He crouched, and carefully ran the towel down the backs of her thighs and calves. She tightened at his touch, and he heard a sharp intake of breath. He spoke gently as he would to a wild animal, “Your legs look fine. I’m going to pick you up and put you on the end of the bed. We’ll do the fronts of your legs, and then your feet.” He glanced up to catch her nod, then tossed the towel over his shoulder as he rose to stand next to her. A pulse beat rapidly in the hollow of her throat. He grinned at her reflection. “I promise not to drop you.” With one arm behind her knees and one arm around her shoulders, he scooped her up and carried her to the bed. He placed her down so her feet were above his T-shirt on the floor, and knelt in front of her. Her slim foot was silky smooth, and he concentrated on looking at the skin of her legs and feet, trying not to inhale the provocative scent emanating from the juncture of her thighs. “I didn’t know you were afraid of spiders.”

She huffed and crossed her arms again. “I’m not afraid. It startled me. Did I not mention it was a huge-ass spider? It had to be the size of a dinner plate.”

“Really?” He sat back on his heels, trying not to smile. “And what happened to it?”

“I don’t know.” She waved an arm in dismissal. “It probably scuttled back down the drain, laughing at me. I’m surprised you didn’t hear me scream.”

He picked up his T-shirt and wrapped the towel in it, chuckling as he stood. “I didn’t see any glass, but I’m going to shake these out over the garbage can and put them on the washing machine. Then I’ll grab the vacuum cleaner. Don’t move until I get back. There might be bits of glass in the carpet by the door.” Looking up, he caught her gaze on his chest and abs…and lower. He slowly straightened, not bothering to conceal the proof of his arousal.

The red spots were back in her cheeks. “Fine. I’ll be here.”

Author Bio:

Lynne Hancock Pearson writes fun, flirty, feel-good fiction that simmers at low heat. Set in the Pacific Northwest, they are stories of people finding their way, even if it takes a while to get there.

She lives near Seattle with two and a half finicky felines and one long-suffering husband. She is a left-handed middle child who grew up in the Great White North and is a proud member of the Métis Nation of Canada.

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Review – The Space Person by Catherine Kuo #catherinkwo #timberghostpress

Amazon / Goodreads

I want to thank Timber Ghost Press for the opportunity to read The Space Person by Catherine Kuo. As soon as I saw the cover, I had to have it. It’s a quick read, at 77 pages.

Human civilization had immigrated to Mars after using up all the resources on Earth and the Moon. Now they are in search of resources that can keep civilization going. They think they are in luck when they discover a moon that has the life sustaining fuel they so desperately need. Sometimes things are too good to be true.

It’s not long before the crew begins suffering affects from The Space Person. No one is safe.

Horror runs rampant before the story is over and I love when an author is not afraid to kill off their characters. Will anyone survive? You’ll have to read it to see.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

Deep in the waters of uncharted space, Captain Annie Chou and First Officer Jasmine Donnelly pilot the exploration ship Shiro Oni in search of resources to sustain the remnants of human civilization back on Mars. Humanity has already been driven from Earth by its own hubris, and now it faces the threat of extinction. By an enormous stroke of luck, the Shiro Oni crew discovers a moon they can mine containing life-saving fuel, and it almost seems too good to be true. Not long after they begin drilling, anxiety, restlessness, and agitation plagues the crew with no discernible cause. The only thing they have in common is a recurring dream involving a mysterious and unsettling “space person.” Driven by Captain Chou’s ambition for fame and glory, and Donnelly’s desperate bid for her people’s salvation, the crew presses on even as the afflicted begin turning to violence. As blood flows through the corridors of the ship, the survivors must ask Is it worth it?

  • Genre: Horror, Novella, Science Fiction
  • 77 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication December 10, 2024 by Timber Ghost Press
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Sherry’s Shelves 10.6 – 10.12.24

Hi Everyone. Another slow week, which I love. It has started to cool down at night, so I guess you could say that fall is here. I did get in the pool and it was in the low 80’s. It’s cooling down rapidly. We need some work done on it, but I’ve been waiting for the season to turn. Hopefully it will be quick and painless. LOL Nothing about having work done on the pool is painless. It’s a boat – break out another thousand. I have been putting it off, so it is no surprise. I need to get into the dentist this week. I broke a tooth when I was in the hospital. The pain was so intense and I was gritting my teeth, it broke. It doesn’t hurt, but the year is counting down and Mr Wonderful *my hubby) and I both want to get all our medical procedures done this year. He’s getting his hip replaced come the 22nd. I have my fingers crossed that all goes easy for him. Then I have to have another surgery. I will admit I am concerned. It didn’t go so well the first time. I don’t know if I’m going to meet my Goodreads challenge. I went two and a half months without picking up a book or my Kindle, so I may come up short.

Anyway, have a super week.

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • $15 GC – Meditation And Mischief by Elizabeth Pantley
  • Review – The Space Person by Catherine Kuo
  • $40 GC – #HotAndHandy by Lynn Hancock Pearson
  • Review – The Fatal Mind by N J Gallegos
  • $20 GC – A Broken Reflection by Shelly M Patel
  • Review – Mafioso’s Promise the Jade Styles
  • $10 GC – The Bluff by Bonnie Traymore
  • Review – Her Deadly Rose by Carolyn Arnold
  • $20 GC – The Chemical Detective by Fiona Erskine
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$15 GC – Meditation And Mischief by Elizabeth Pantley @dollycas

Meditation and Mischief: Magical Mystery Book Club by Elizabeth Pantley


Meditation and Mischief: Magical Mystery Book Club
by Elizabeth Pantley

About Meditation and Mischief

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Meditation and Mischief: Magical Mystery Book Club
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – A resort on a tropical island
Better Beginnings, Inc. (September 15, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 349 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8339068211
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CVW72ND4

When this club selects a book, magic happens!

This book club does more than read their books – they are absorbed into them to become the amateur sleuths! In order to leave the book, they must solve the mystery and reach The End.

In this journey they travel to The Golden Island Wellness Retreat for yoga, meditation, workshops, and spa treatments. They’ll bond with nature and improve their spiritual wellbeing. They’ll find their inner peace – and a dead body, of course.

Graduates from an acting college have gathered at the retreat for their ten-year reunion. Old friends reconnect, but apparently, so have old enemies. The book club must evaluate the attendees to determine whose baggage has led to murder.

About Elizabeth Pantley

Elizabeth writes well-loved cozy mysteries in two series: The Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the Magical Mystery Book Club series.

Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest and Arizona, two very different places. Both are rich, gorgeous, natural places, and inspire the settings in many of her books.

Author Links

Purchase Link: Amazon

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Giveaway – Murder She Wrote – A Killer Christmas by Terrie Farley Moran @dollycas


 Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas
by Jessica Fletcher & Terrie Farley Moran

About Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas

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Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas
Cozy Mystery
59th in Series
Setting – Maine
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (October 8, 2024)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593640721
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593640722
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CRTW3Z9N

It’s Christmastime in Cabot Cove, but there’s more homicide than ho-ho-ho in the newest entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series.

Christmas is not an easy time to sell a house, but in Boston tycoon John Bragdon, Cabot Cove Realtor Eve Simpson has found a buyer for the old Jarvis homestead. Unfortunately, Eve gets a lump of coal in her stocking in the form of Kenny Jarvis, who has been missing for years and presumed dead but has now come back to stop his sister from selling their childhood home.

Eve presses on, organizing a welcome dinner for Bragdon and his wife, Marlene, to meet the leading citizens of the town, including Jessica Fletcher. Dinner is interrupted by an uninvited guest—not Santa but Kenny, who threateningly promises Marlene she will never live in his house.

When Marlene is found dead a few days later, Kenny is the natural suspect. But Jessica isn′t so sure he′s on the naughty list . . .

About the Authors

Along with Jessica FletcherTerrie Farley Moran co-writes the Murder She Wrote mystery series including  Murder, She Wrote: Killer on the Court. She is the author of the Read ‘Em and Eat cozy mystery series and also co-writes the Scrapbooking Mysteries with Laura Childs. Recipient of both the Agatha and the Derringer Awards, Moran has published numerous mystery short stories. The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren.

Author Links – Webpage   Facebook 

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org – PenguinRandomHouse – 

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Review – Third Time’s The Charm by Amanda Siegrist @amanda_siegrist

Check out the fun book bag that came with my signed copy of Third Time’s The Charm. Isn’t it fabulous? You can check them out at AS Books & Crafts.

Amazon / Goodreads

When I opened the pages to my wonderful book, I never anticipated the depth of the story. It’s not an overly long book, but it contained so much deliciousness, I couldn’t put it down. Amanda Siegrist writes clean romance and this time she has tossed in some ghosts and vampires to create The Third Time’s The Charm.

Kade’s first wife died in a car crash on a winter’s night. He was the driver. His second wife just happened to fall down the stairs of their home. How could the third time possible be a charm? We’ll have to solve the mystery of the deaths, plus the enigma that is Bailey.

Near the end of the book, Amanda had me worried terribly for Bailey. I thought I knew what was going to happen with her, but she had me second guessing myself. Good one, Amanda.

In comes the Ghostbusters, Mason and Mona. I quickly great to add them to my list of inquiries. I wanted to know their story, and it looks like I’m going to get it, in The Paranormal Chronicles, Volume I. Will I learn of Donnie and Joe? Will they get their own story? And Charly? She was a complete surprise for me. I was leery of her, suspicious of her motives for dropping in with goodies for Kade to sample. Like Bailey, I wanted to yell, “Don’t eat the pie….Don’t eat the cookies.”

So many fabulous characters I can only hope they will all get to tell their stories.

It’s rare when a clean story can earn five stars from me, but Third Time’s The Charm by Amanda Siegrist kept on giving, right til the very last word was read.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

From USA Today bestselling author Amanda Siegrist comes a new paranormal series that is going to be hauntingly suspenseful fun!

He’s not running this time…

Kade thought nothing could be worse than when his wife died in a car accident—especially because he’d been behind the wheel. To forget the pain, he moved on. Maybe too quickly. Now he’s the prime suspect in the death of his second wife. But they have nothing on him because he didn’t kill her.

Buying a house that needs more repairs than it’s worth seems like a good escape. When he meets Bailey, despite everything telling him to look away, guard his heart, he can’t help but fall under her charm. There’s just one problem. She’s a ghost. There can’t be any harm in loving a ghost, right? Nothing can hurt her, not even him. Except there’s another presence in the house. One that terrifies her.

Between contending with a pesky detective determined to peg him for murder, a ghost he’s falling in love with, and the mysterious accidents that keep happening to him at work, Kade fears he might be joining Bailey on the other side sooner rather than later.

  • Genre: Fiction, Ghosts, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Vampires, Witches
  • 264 pages, Kindle Edition
  • Published October 13, 2023
Amanda Siegrist

Love! Gimme some love and heaps of romance. I have a sappy heart that just loves two people meeting, going through the cycles of a relationship, and ultimately, falling in love. Give me a good book like that and I’m a happy camper:)

I write contemporary and romantic suspense, but I am partial to suspense. I just love a good mystery.

Besides writing, I love baking, crafts, and baseball…oh, and meeting new people. *smiles*

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook / Instagram

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Review – Yours Truly by R M Demeester @rmdemeester

Amazon / Goodreads

I kept seeing the cover for Yours Truly by R M Demeester and finally decided I had to have it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I got more than I bargained for and I loved it.

Lilac and her mother have a rough life, living paycheck to paycheck. Lilac met Chad while working at a dead end bar. She feels she finally caught a break, because he comes from a wealthy family and he wants her. BUT…

Sarah, Chad’s ex fiancee has something to say about that. Think Fatal Attraction.

All three families carry a lot of baggage. I do love damaged characters. I, especially, love villains, and we have our fair share of wrong doers in Yours Truly. One pops up that never caught my attention until the end. I love it. The villain does a good/bad thing for a selfish reason and it works out well for everyone….everyone but Sarah. That’s okay, though. Sarah needs to be locked up. She is a danger to anyone who gets in her way.

The suspense and pacing kept me hanging on the words and I love that I wasn’t able to figure everything out. It seems so simple. Girl meets boy and they fall in love. Girl dumped isn’t happy about it…BUT it goes so much farther than that.

The ending…I couldn’t help but shake my head and smile.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

Love finds us, but so does she.


I know what it’s like to be underestimated. At almost twenty, I’ve learned that life isn’t easy on people like me—a high school dropout working in a dead-end bar. So when Chad, from an influential family, walks into my life, I think I’ve finally caught a break. But, of course, things are never that simple.

Then there’s Sarah, his ex-fiancée. She can’t, or won’t, let him go. Chad says she’s just struggling to move on, but I’m not so sure. Sarah is everywhere. She’s inserting herself into our business, and her behavior crosses lines I can’t ignore. I try to tell myself she’s just obsessed and harmless, but deep down, I know better.

Now I’m wondering how far she’ll go to get him back and what it will cost me. I’m worried I’m risking my happiness, my sanity, or even my life.

  • Genre: Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Thriller
  • Kindle Edition
  • Expected publication October 11, 2024

R.M. Demeester, from Saskatchewan, loves being a mom, reading books, and writing. She’s been writing since she was very young. Today, she’s known for her stories in women’s fiction, romantic suspense, and thrillers. She also has a rescue dog named Gainer, a chocolate lab who passed away recently, but is still very much loved and missed. Her newest book, “The Girl Once Known”, comes out in February 2024.

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Giveaway – Burnt Ends by Laura Wetsel @partnersincr1me @LauraWetsel

Burnt Ends by Laura Wetsel Banner

BURNT ENDS

by Laura Wetsel

September 23 – October 18, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Burnt Ends by Laura Wetsel

Murder is juicier with a side of barbecue sauce.

Private Investigator Tori Swenson gets a strange accidental death case that looks like murder at one of her uncle’s drive-ins and decides it’s time to get revenge on her estranged family. Pretending to want a reunion, she appears at her uncle’s party to secretly investigate them. When her uncle suddenly dies, Tori’s case takes a sinister turn that makes her a suspect in her uncle’s death and the killer’s next target. To uncover who dethroned the barbecue king, Tori will have to face her own fiery demons while pursuing a killer who wants to make dead meat out of her.

For fans of Knives Out and the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

Praise for Burnt Ends:

“Quirky and entertaining, this book and its unforgettable characters, tight plotting, and clever twists make for a reading experience as suspenseful as it is satisfying. A toothsome treat of a book by a debut mystery writer.”
~ Kirkus Reviews

“Fire up the grill! Laura Wetsel serves up a delicious debut of grills, thrills, and chills.”
~ Riley Adams, author of the Memphis Barbeque Series

“Jessica Jones meets Succession with a side of coleslaw, this is the kind of book you want to sink your teeth into and not let go. Laura Wetsel bursts onto the scene with a mouthwatering mystery that will have readers begging for more.”
~ Moriah Richard, Writer’s Digest

“Charred and bloody to perfection, Laura Wetsel’s Burnt Ends is smoking hot!”
~ Jamie Stachowski, Meat America

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery (private investigator)
Published by: CamCat Books
Publication Date: September 24, 2024
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780744311211 (ISBN10: 0744311217)
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books

Read an excerpt:

Chapter One

There it was—smoking meat, the sweet stench of my childhood. Hickory, molasses, tomato, brown sugar. Kansas City’s love letter to everyone but me.

Darnell, my best friend from our early rehab days, drove us into the parking lot of Rocky’s BBQ Smokehouse, and I gagged on the meat-thickened air. Don’t toss your waffles, Tori. The giant statue of Rocky the Pig— “Rocky the Cannibal”—smiled down at me in his chef hat and apron, holding a platter of ribs like he was trying to turn my stomach.

Darnell parked his truck with a displeased grunt. “Seriously, Tor,” he said, wiping the sweat from his bald head. “I said I’d help you move, not run a stakeout in a hundred degrees.”

“Don’t worry.” I took a gulp of Topo Chico to help settle my queasy gut. “My target should be here soon. Then you can help me move into my aunt’s place.” I twisted the zoom lens onto my digital camera and aimed it at a family tottering out of the restaurant with sauce-splattered shirts.

“Fine, then I’m running in for some brisket,” Darnell said. “At least, assuming they’ve got any with the meat drought they’ve been—”

“Hold up,” I cut him off and nodded at a green sedan rolling into the lot. “That’s her.” I pointed my lens at the driver’s door, getting ready to fire away. When a woman stepped out with crutches, I groaned.

“Guess she wasn’t lying.” Darnell shifted the car out of park. “The brisket will have to—”

“Wait.”

Darnell hit the brakes, jerking us forward. “Now what?”

“I want to see if she uses them inside. It would be hard in a buffet line.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He raised his brows at me. “If you go in there with that huge camera, there’s no way she’s ditching her crutches.”

“That wasn’t what I was thinking. I only knew to come here because my target’s sister posted this online.” I pulled out my phone to show Darnell the selfie post of Sasha Wolf with the caption, Waiting for @GinnyWolf. #RockysBBQ #SisterLove.

“Okay,” Darnell said. “Am I supposed to be seeing something here?”

I tapped on Sasha’s photo, zooming in on her sunlit head. “See that sunlight shining on her ponytail?”

“Yeah, and?”

“She’s under an atrium, which means I’d have a great shot from the roof.”

“The roof? You’re not seriously thinking of climbing Rocky’s, are you?”

“Why not?” I said, tying my blonde curls into a fist of a ponytail. “You’ve seen me scale walls and trees before. I’m a nimble little freak.”

“I meant about trespassing.” Darnell pointed to his police badge like he might arrest me.

“You know us private eyes don’t have to follow your rules.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Just have a smoke, and I’ll be back before you’ve even put your butt out.”

“One cig, Tor,” Darnell warned, tapping a pack of Marlboro Lights on the face of his watch. “Otherwise, have fun moving by yourself.”

For a recovering addict, Darnell was a horrible liar. I knew he’d never abandon me, not for anything. Hanging my camera around my neck, I hopped out of the truck into the afternoon sun, where I already felt like I was sucking meat-flavored steam through a cocktail straw. I’d just have to deal with the nausea. I hustled toward the black and orange pavilion, noting its unclimbable plastic siding and security cameras mounted at the entrance. Maybe I’d have better luck in the back.

I circled around and found luck in the form of a supply truck parked right beside the restaurant. No driver, no cameras, no people. This was my way to the roof.

I hoisted myself onto the hood and made my way up the windshield to the top of the truck. The gap between the truck and building was only two feet, so I made the easy jump. Soon as I hit the roof though, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. This wasn’t an ideal time to take calls, so I let it ring out while I got on my hands and knees to crawl toward the atrium.

When I got to the glass, I peered down below at a buffet hall where six dozen carnivores were dressed for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend and savagely stuffing their smeared, sticky faces with brisket, thighs, and ribs. My stomach surged at this familiar scene. I’d been avoiding the barbecue world for nearly fifteen years, and now that I was looking down on it like some floating deity, I remembered why I’d stayed away. Barbecue didn’t just upset my stomach. From my head to my chest to my teeth, it made me mad everywhere. But I didn’t want to think about why. Not after what I’d done last night.

As I searched the crowd of meat-eaters, I found Ginny, my target, at a table with her sister, her crutches against the wall. I raised my camera to my eye and focused on Ginny’s face. She was teasing Sasha, lifting her brows and puckering her lips, and as she stuck out her tongue, a memory flashed in my head—I was a fourteen-year-old again in an inflatable pool of barbecue sauce with my cousin Annie. My hands shook, releasing the camera, but I jolted my neck back before the camera hit the roof.

That memory was another reminder why I avoided meat, but it made sense why the past was on my mind when Annie was the reason I was on this stakeout. She’d filed her case to investigate Ms. Wolf with my agency yesterday afternoon.

I had no idea though who this Ginny Wolf was to Annie as I placed the burning hot camera back on my face and snapped pictures of Ginny, her crutches, her gold pendant and butterfly tattoo, all material things identifying her.

When she stood up for the buffet, leaving her crutches behind, I videoed the fraudster walking free and easy without them. As I’d thought, another liar.

***

Excerpt from Burnt Ends by Laura Wetsel. Copyright 2024 by Laura Wetsel. Reproduced with permission from CamCat Books. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Laura Wetsel

Laura Wetsel holds bachelor’s degrees in Russian and English literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a master’s degree in Russian literature from Northwestern University. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her two cats, Sasha and Ginny Wolf.
While this story is fictional, Burnt Ends was inspired by Laura’s uncle, who ran a successful burger drive-in chain in Ohio, as well as her experience living in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Review – Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell @1pcornwell #netgalley #grandcentralpublishing

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Kay Scarpetta has been around long enough, that many of the characters are familiar to me. I have enjoyed each and every moment with them. I want to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell.

An abandoned amusement park.

A mutilated body.

A message sent.

Kay Scarpetta finds out the victim is someone she knows. Someone she once loved. Sal Giordano. I do like when an author isn’t afraid to kill off a character that I know, as long as it enhances the story. This death hits very close to home for Kay.

Mystery surrounds Sal Giordano’s death. Does it involve aliens? Just your run of the mill human murderer? Or could it be someone from their past getting their revenge?

Identity Unknown by Patricia Cornwell seemed different from the usual Kay Scarpetta novels, but may I’ve just missed too many to see the storyline clearly. Either way, I enjoyed my time with the characters. The mystery is deep, complex, and I didn’t see what was coming.

I found it hard to rate Identity Unknown. I wanted to love it, but I couldn’t quite get there. Whether it’s the or me, I can’t say. I will say this, if you are a Kay Scarpetta and Patricia Cornwell fan, I recommend reading Identity Unknown

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

Autopsies can reveal the secrets of the dead.

And this victim is sending Scarpetta a message…

Summoned to an unnerving, abandoned theme park to retrieve a body, Dr Kay Scarpetta is devastated to learn that the victim is a man she once loved. While teaching in Rome during the early days of her career, Scarpetta had an intense love affair with Sal Giordano that led to a lifelong friendship.

The murder scene is bizarre, with a crop circle of petals around the body, and Giordano’s skin is strangely red. Scarpetta’s niece Lucy believes he was dropped from an unidentified flying craft. Scarpetta knows an autopsy can reveal the dead’s secrets, but she is shocked to find her friend seems to have deliberately left her a clue.

As the investigators are torn between suspicions of otherworldly forces, and of Giordano himself, Scarpetta detects an explanation closer to home that, in her mind, is far more evil . .

  • Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
  • 400 pages, Hardcover
  • Expected publication October 8, 2024 by Grand Central Publishing
  • Series: Kay Scarpetta, #28

Patricia Cornwell sold her first novel, Postmortem, in 1990 while working as a computer analyst at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Richmond, Virginia. Postmortem, was the first bona fide forensic thriller. It paved the way for an explosion of entertainment featuring in all things forensic across film, television and literature.

Postmortem would go on to win the Edgar, Creasey, Anthony, and Macavity awards as well as the French Prix du Roman d’Aventure prize – the first book ever to claim all these distinctions in a single year. To date, Cornwell’s books have sold some 100 million copies in thirty-six languages in over 120 countries. She’s authored twenty-nine New York Times bestsellers.

Patricia’s novels center primarily on medical examiner Kay Scarpetta along with her tech-savvy niece Lucy and fellow investigator Pete Marino. Celebrating 25 years, these characters have grown into an international phenomenon, winning Cornwell the Sherlock Award for best detective created by an American author, the Gold Dagger Award, the RBA Thriller Award, and the Medal of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters for her contributions to literary and artistic development.

Fox 2000 bought the rights to Kay Scarpetta. Working with producer Liz Friedman, Marvel’s Jessica Jones and fellow Marvel EP and Twilight Saga scribe Melissa Rosenberg to develop the film and find Scarpetta a home on the big screen.

After earning her degree in English from Davidson College in 1979, she began working at the Charlotte Observer.

Cornwell received widespread attention and praise for her series of articles on prostitution and crime in downtown Charlotte. From the Charlotte Observer, Cornwell moved to a job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia – a post she would later bestow upon the fictional Kay Scarpetta.

When not writing from her Boston home, Patricia tirelessly researches cutting-edge forensic technologies to include in her work. Her interests span outside the literary: Patricia co-founded of the Conservation Scientist Chair at the Harvard University Art Museums. She appears as a forensic consultant on CNN and serves as a member of Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital’s National Council, where she advocates for psychiatric research. She’s helped fund the ICU at Cornell’s Animal Hospital, the scientific study of a Confederate submarine, the archaeological excavation of Jamestown, and a variety of law enforcement charities. Patricia is also committed to
funding scholarships and literacy programs. Her advice to aspiring authors: “Start writing. And don’t take no for an answer.”


Social and Digital Outlets

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  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
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