Review – Loose Ends by Terri Reid @terrireid10 #paranormal #mystery

Posted on January 20, 2023 by fundinmental

I got Loose Ends (Mary O’Reilly Series Book 1) by Terri Reid on an Amazon free day. I downloaded it on 5.13.12, so it has been waiting a long time to be read.

Amazon / KindleUnlimited / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Loose Ends is my first book by Terri Reid, but I will keep her on my radar. I love paranormal mysteries, and Mary O’Reilly is a ghost whisperer. She had been shot, died, and was given a choice. She could stay dead or come back, though things would be different for her. She sees and hears ghosts. They come to her for help and she is happy to oblige.

She is a private investigator, a former Chicago police officer, using her gift to solve mysteries. The hardest part is getting real evidence, evidence that will hold up in a court of law. She has two close friends, Stanley and Rosie. I love when peripheral characters are allowed to shine.

Twenty four years ago a woman drowned in a State Senator’s swimming pool. The ghost is seeking help. When Mary gets involved, the mystery becomes deeper. Is there a connection between the young woman in the pool and five little girls that went missing twenty four years ago, the mystery never solved.

Mary meets the police chief, Bradley Alden, in a funny moment. Bradley had his won reasons for moving to the small town of Freeport, Illinois. I do enjoy humor with my mystery and Terri Reid keeps the smiles on my face, except in those dangerous moments when they are dodging bullets and running from death.

“I’ll be there in five minutes, he said, “Don’t go down there alone.”

I was waiting for her to go down in the basement, by herself, but she didn’t. That really stuck with me, until…She may run through the woods alone, but the basement…no way. LOL We gotta have the hunky guy come to the woman in distress, don’t we?

Cozy mysteries, for the most part get a 3 rating from me (easy reading and light on the mystery), but as the danger and depth of the mystery grows in Loose Ends, so does my interest in learning more. Seeing there are twenty books in the series, it seems like that won’t be a problem.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Dying is what changed Mary O’Reilly’s life. Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it.

Now, a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary’s trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job. Her challenge is to solve the mysteries, get real evidence (a ghost’s word just doesn’t hold up in court), and be sure the folks in town, especially the handsome new police chief, doesn’t think she’s nuts.

Twenty-four years ago, a young woman drowned in the swimming pool of a newly elected State Senator. It was ruled an accident. But now, as the Senator prepares to move on to higher positions, the ghost of the woman is appearing to the Senator’s wife.

Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases, twenty-four years later, are still all unsolved. As she digs further, she becomes the next target for the serial killers’ quest to tie up all his loose ends.

ABOUT TERRI REID

Terri Reid is the author of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mysteries. An indie author, Reid uploaded her first book “Loose Ends” in August 2010. By the end of 2012, “Loose Ends” had sold over 82,000 copies and, as of the writing of this bio, was the number one bestselling book in Amazon’s ranking of Ghost Stories in the Book/Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction/Horror/Ghosts section and the number two in the same area in the Kindle eBooks section. She has eight other books in the Mary O’Reilly Series and has enjoyed Top Rated and Hot New Release status for many of them in the Women Sleuths category through Amazon US. Her books have been translated into Spanish and Portuguese and are also now also available through CreateSpace and Amazon in print versions. She is also working on an audiobook for “Loose Ends.”
Reid has been quoted in a number of books about the self-publishing industry including “Let’s Get Digital” by David Gaughran and “Interviews with Indie Authors: Top Tips from Successful Self-Published Authors” by Claire and Tim Ridgway. She was also honored to have some of her works included in A. J. Abbiati’s book “The NORTAV Method for Writers – The Secrets to Constructing Prose Like the Pros.” She has also had the distinct privilege of guest blogging for Joe Konrath.
Reid is from Northwest Illinois, near the town of Freeport, the home of her fictional characters. Her background is in marketing and public relations. She is married, is the mother of seven children and the grandmother of eleven. Her constant writing companions are Riley, a Bernese Mountain Dog-Golden Retriever mix; Hans, a German Shepard mix; and McDuff, a Siamese cat.

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Giveaway – Sleigh Bell Serenade by Shanna Hatfield @XpressoTours

Posted on January 20, 2023 by fundinmental

Sleigh Bell Serenade
Shanna Hatfield
(Winter Wishes, #2)
Publication date: January 19th 2023
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

He keeps his heart heavily guarded.
She meets everyone with a friendly smile.
Will the attraction sizzling between them pull them into the space between their two worlds?

Burdened by too many responsibilities, Bowen Jensen struggles beneath their overwhelming weight. Between raising his teenage sister, running their family ranch, and managing Sleigh Bell Tours, he barely has time to sleep, let alone do something just for himself. He can’t even recall his last date. Then a chance encounter with a beguiling woman leaves him pondering if there isn’t more to life than trudging through one lonely day after another.

Juniper Haynes appears to have it all with a successful real estate career and a picture-perfect life. In reality, she’s tired of dealing with demanding clients, wary of her so-called friends, and secretly longs for the peace she finds at her sister’s mountain home. After a magical New Year’s Eve kiss with a cowboy she barely knows, she realizes true happiness might only be found outside her comfort zone.

Can Bo and Juniper find the courage to embrace change and explore the possibility of a future together?

Find out in this sweet winter romance full of small-town charm, memorable characters, laughter, hope, and love.

Goodreads / Amazon

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EXCERPT:

“What a mess,” the woman said, brushing at her coat with the napkin Sassy handed to her. “I’m not usually such a klutz.” She gave up dabbing at the cider soaking into the white cashmere and looked to Bo again. “Thank you for catching me before I fell. I’m Juniper, by the way. Juniper Haynes.”

“Juniper,” Bo mumbled, finally managing to gain a miniscule amount of control over his tongue. However, his heart pounded so fast and loud, it echoed like a bongo drum in his head.

“That’s an awesome name,” Sassy said, with the enthusiasm summoned by a teenager impressed by someone older and more worldly. “I’m Sassy, and this is Bo Jensen.”

Juniper’s smile widened as she looked up at him. Even with her high-heeled boots, she barely came up to his chest. Then again, at six-four, he tended to tower over a lot of people.

“Sassy and Bo. It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you, again, for catching me. Happy Christmas Eve.” Juniper turned away and took a lopsided step, but her foot slid on a patch of hidden ice. She would have fallen if Bo hadn’t caught her a second time, his arms looping beneath hers from the back. She tilted her face upward and offered him a look of gratitude.

Something that felt like an electrical current trailed up his arms, threatening to short circuit what few working brain cells he had left.

Words.

He needed words.

To speak—to say anything—but nothing seemed to be able to work its way from his overloaded brain to his mouth. The sharp elbow Sassy jabbed into his side didn’t help any more than her questioning glare to rattle something loose.

Bo stared at the woman, fascinated.

Juniper.

What an intriguing name for an entirely captivating woman.

Author Bio:

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield writes sweet romances rich with relatable characters, small town settings that feel like home, humor, and hope.

Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

When this farm girl isn’t writing or indulging in rich, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her husband, lovingly known as Captain Cavedweller. She also experiments with recipes, snaps photos of her adorable nephew, and caters to the whims of a cranky cat named Drooley.

To learn more about Shanna or the books she writes, visit her website http://shannahatfield.com or find out more about her here: linktr.ee/ShannaHatfield

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