The twins are turning twelve years old and will have a choice to make, but it is not a choice like human children make and it will definitely be life changing…but this ends in a cliffhanger and you will have to read more….
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Rite of Passage by Emily Martha Sorensen
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Twelve-year-old twins
Jaeda and Kaedin are preparing for their society’s rite of passage.
Kaedin’s hoping to get magic. Jaeda just wants to survive. But neither
are prepared for the surprise awaiting them.
“Rite of Passage” is a 1,900 word short story. It can be purchased here, or read on the author’s website for free.
ABOUT EMILY MARTHA SORENSEN
Emily is a prolific writer with many titles to choose from. She
writes of fairies, dragons, fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, world
peace in short stories and flash fiction.
Talion: ex talionis – the law of talion – punishment of an injury by inflicting a similar injury on the offender, an injury similar in kind and degree.
Love the cover for Eye for Eye by J K Franko. Sure does foreshadow what’s inside!
It started thirty years ago, with the death of Joan, an eleven year old girl that only wanted to have fun at summer camp.
Now…we come to a spoiled rotten kid The scenario is one that always ticks me off royally. Can do the crime, but will do anything not to do the time. And so would his father, the Senator. I think we all know where that’s going. But… a ‘chance’ meeting and a plan is born.
Someone has to pay!
Want to commit a murder? Let’s start with PH1, the guidebook.
As the characters play their roles, I think I see where we’re going. HAH! Was I in for an awakening. The suspense came early and I was eager ‘to turn every page’. But police procedurals and psychological thrillers usually don’t make me have an intense feeling of danger,and urgency like dark, action packed, suspense thrillers. Maybe I’ m more of an adrenaline junky, even though I prefer to get my thrills through osmosis.
Everyone has secrets and as they are revealed are marvel at J K Franko’s imagination. He too Stranger on a Train and blew it away.
A stupendous surprise ending and I loved every minute of it. It put a smile on my face and that may expose a piece of my personality. LOL
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Eye for Eye by J K Franko.
4 Stars
ABOUT THE BOOK
“NEW TWIST ON STRANGERS ON A TRAIN” ~ THE SUNDAY TIMES
Book Details:
Genre: Crime & Mystery Published by: Talion Publishing Publication Date: June 22nd 2019 Number of Pages: 400 ISBN: 1999318803 (ISBN13: 9781999318802) Series: Talion #1 Purchase Links:Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
When I try to piece together how this whole mess began, a part of me thinks it may have started over thirty years ago. At least the seeds were planted that far back, in the early 1980s. What happened then, at that summer camp in Texas, set the stage for everything that was to come.
Odd, how something so remote in time and geography continues to impact me here, today.
Sometimes I try to imagine her, how she felt—that eleven year-old girl—as she ran, stumbling and tripping through the woods that night. I try to put myself in her shoes. When I do, I wonder if she was frightened.
Did she understand the consequences of what she’d gotten herself into? I imagine it felt otherworldly to her, like a dream. But not a good dream. No, one of the bad ones—the ones that make your heart machine-gun as you try to outrun some dark thing that’s chasing you. But the faster you try to run, the slower you go, your legs feeling leaden, clumsy, useless.
Panic sets in. Tears of frustration form. Fear takes hold and won’t let go. You open your mouth to scream but realize, to your horror, that you’re paralyzed. It’s not that you can’t scream; you can’t even breathe. Not a dream—a nightmare.
Then again, all that may simply be my imagination. It could just be me projecting what I might have felt onto Joan. Maybe she wasn’t scared at all.
True, it was dark out. The night smelled of rain, but there was no lightning, only the far-off rumble of thunder hinting at a distant storm. There were no trail lights, no visibility but for the moon peeking out intermittently from behind a patchwork of clouds. But, Joan had been down this trail before. She was running toward the main cabin.
She had been at Camp Willow for almost two full weeks. She had been up and down that trail at least ten times a day, every day. Of course, that was during the day, and always with her buddy, or a camp counselor (the children called them troop leaders). Joan had never been on the trail at night. And never alone.
Maybe I imagine Joan was scared because, as an adult, I believe that she should have been. I would have been terrified.
J.K. FRANKO was born and raised in Texas. His Cuban-American parents agreed there were only three acceptable options for a male child: doctor, lawyer, and architect. After a disastrous first year of college pre-Med, he ended up getting a BA in philosophy (not acceptable), then he went to law school (salvaging the family name) and spent many years climbing the big law firm ladder. After ten years, he decided that law and family life weren’t compatible. He went back to school where he got an MBA and pursued a Ph.D. He left law for corporate America, with long stints in Europe and Asia.
His passion was always to be a writer. After publishing a number of non-fiction works, thousands of hours writing, and seven or eight abandoned fictional works over the course of eighteen years, EYE FOR EYE became his first published novel.
J.K. Franko now lives with his wife and children in Florida.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
Enter The Giveaway!!!:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for JK Franko. There will be 6 winners. Two (2) winners will each win (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. Two (2) winners will each win a signed copy of EYE FOR EYE by JK Franko (Open to U.S. addresses only) and Two (2) winners will each win a Knife set (Open to U.S. addresses only). The giveaway begins on July 22, 2019 and runs through September 22, 2019. Void where prohibited.
Willow Rose is a fabulous thriller author and when I saw this gorgeous cover, there was no doubt I had to have it. Human traffickers, terrorists and a cult abound and it’s hard to decipher who is doing what to who.
Someone took her daughter, Olivia, and Eva will stop at nothing to get her back. Her famous sister, Sydney is be her side as they hunt down the Iron Fist, a human trafficker. She walked away from her family and her lover, Matt, a cop who is trying his best to save her from Carter, a cop that will do anything to catch her and make a name for himself.
Time is precious and its running out for Olivia.
Has Eva crossed the line? Because of her treatment of the first trafficker Eva came across, there is a warrant out for her arrest and it’s all downhill from there. Eva’s friends will stick by her….no matter what. What has she done to earn their loyalty, admiration you will have to find out for yourself.
I think I see where Willow Rose is going with her dual storyline, both of which are horrendous and frightening and all too true in our current times. Truth is stranger than fiction and real life plays out on the pages as trafficking, gas attacks and the cult stories play out.
By the time I get to the halfway mark, the pace picks up and I begin to read faster.
Olivia..oh Olivia…my heart bleeds for you, yet I admire your courage, bravery, and determination to find your way home.
Matt, OMG, I cannot imagine the agony he goes through as he tries to save Eva from a ruthless cop, Carter, who is out to make a name for himself. Carter has tunnel vision and his sights are set on Eva. I think I see how she may survive and I am eager to find out if I am right.
Emma…what a fabulous surprise. Willow Rose does surprises well. The first surprise is quickly followed by a second. A villain is exposed and the surprises keep on coming. The twists and turns make my head spin.
Never Ever is the rawest writing I have read of Willow Rose’s and the first half didn’t ratchet up the suspense like the second half. For that reason I rated it a 4, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the rating went higher after the final edits.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Never Ever by Willow Rose.
4 Stars
Former FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas returns in Willow Rose’s most
hair-raising thriller yet.
Ex-agent Eva Rae Thomas is on the run. The past month she has done
things she never knew she was capable of while hunting for her
kidnapped daughter.
Eva Rae has risked everything,
-her career,
-her newfound love,
-her freedom.
She’s looking for the man they call the Iron Fist.
The trail has led her to Miami.
Meanwhile, Miami is under attack. Hundreds of passengers in the Metrorail are
exposed to a deathly nerve gas on a peaceful Monday morning. When Eva
Rae Thomas sees her daughter on the surveillance footage from the
attack, she knows it is no coincidence. But by the time she uncovers
the chilling truth of how it is all connected, it might be too late.
NEVER EVER is the third book in the Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Series
and can be read as a standalone.
The Queen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author
and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 60 novels.
She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror,
Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy.
Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won’t
see coming. Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 10 of
ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three
million books.
Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast with her husband and two daughters.
When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and
watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
I have seen E J Stevens name bandied about and even follow her newsletter, so why I haven’t read or reviewed any of her work before surprised me. LOL So I set out to correct that and picked up a review copy of Craven Street, which was released 6.25.19.
The cover has an eerie vibe and I do I love the location, Whitechapel. It made me feel as if Jack The Ripper was looking over my shoulder as I walked the streets…or should I say ran, because there be monsters here.
I also love that the Whitechapel Paranormal Society has an all female unit.
We have plenty of action and sometimes our enemy will be our friend, as the bodies pile up. Gritty, dangerous action in this other worldly battle between good and evil.
Though there is not a cliffhanger, the story is far from over.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Craven Street by E J Stevens.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In this spellbinding
novella, E.J. Stevens weaves a tale of murder, necromancy, and demonic
possession that brings together characters from her Whitechapel
Paranormal Society Victorian horror series and award-winning Ivy Granger
Psychic Detective urban fantasy series on the fog-shrouded cobblestones
of 36 Craven Street.
The discovery of bricked up skeletal
remains at 36 Craven Street point to something more diabolical than an
illegal anatomy school. The tool marks on the bones, arcane sigils of
great power, indicate more than mere butchery, more than enlightened
experimentation. The signs, omens, and portents support the crown’s
greatest fears. A great evil is being unleashed upon the gaslit streets
of London, a blood-drenched shadow reaching skeletal fingers beyond the
slums of Whitechapel.
We must stamp out this demonic plague
for the sake of our Queen, our Country, and our immortal souls. – Cora
Drummond, Whitechapel Paranormal Society
Collecting human
souls is a thankless job, nearly as tedious as acting as solicitor to
the fae. But when the demon Forneus enters an opium den searching for
men eager to trade their souls for the ill-smelling weed, he stumbles on
a plot so devious, so heinous, he’s jealous that he hadn’t thought of
it himself.
There’s nothing like a maniacal plot to unleash
Hell on earth to break the boredom of immortality. – Forneus, Grand
Marquis of Hell
The Whitechapel Paranormal Society series is
a Victorian horror “dreadpunk” series set in London’s East End. The Ivy
Granger Psychic Detective series is an award-winning urban fantasy
series known for heart-pounding action, quirky characters, and
supernatural horrors.
Whitechapel Paranormal Society novels Eeper Weeper and One for Sorrow coming July and October 2019.
Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne is an apocalyptic/dystopian novel where zombies run AMOK and aren’t the only bodies that will be falling. The series does need to be read in order.
Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne is the third book in the Rememdium series and I do recommend reading them in order. That being said, how do I write this review without giving any of the good stuff away?
Ashley Fontainne included a cast of characters in the beginning of the book and it picks up where Book II, Tainted Reality left off.
Tainted Future starts out with three bloody, gory deaths and a flaming missile that obliterates the town. They are on the run. Where do they go?
And it only gets worse. A bullet to the head. Brains splatter.
My emotions ran hot. I was filled with fear, smiles and hope, watching the characters face their personal demons and rise above them was inspiring. I only wish I would do the same in a dire situation.
People will be exposed for who they really are. Some will change for the good, others… Some characters are filled with great courage and sacrifice, at least those that are not out to rule the world. I hate that Ashley Fontainne has the need to kill so many of them off, but hey, I’m not surprised at all. Be careful of who becomes your favorite, because they might not make it.
One of the greatest scenes was in the Humvee, racing over the terrain and anything else that gets in the way. Bodies were thrown side to side, as they bounced their way into the next hair raising end of the world scenario.
We don’t end up with a cliffhanger, but we do need to read Book IV, Tainted World to find out what happens next. Will it be the final chapter? I am already bummed at some of the characters that had to bite the dust and I am afraid to find out who will be next…but, I have the book on my Kindle and will begin reading…NOW.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Everything they know is gone. The old world obliterated in less than forty-eight hours. They soon discover they aren’t alone, and other dangers besides the undead lurk in the forests. The new law of the land: kill or be killed.
Dr. Everett Berning and his team seek refuge in the underground lab in the Ozark Mountains. The first week after the collapse of civilization, those who made it out alive struggle against the odds to survive.
Only a handful escaped the devastation in their hometown of Malvern, Arkansas, and they grapple with the new reality. Tired, frightened, and mourning the loss of loved ones, they attempt to regroup and cope with the life-altering changes.
When one suffers a debilitating injury, they are thrust into a tenuous relationship with Dr. Berning’s group. Other survivors battle the odds as they flee treacherous cities destroyed by the government and crawling with reanimated corpses.
Unfortunately, they all are about to discover the roaming dead aren’t the only threat they face. As the world plummets into darkness, things will never be the same. Ever.
ABOUT ASHLEY FONTAINNE (from her website)
Award-winning and
International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of
mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her
youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse
the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within
us are her favorite reads.
Her muse for penning the
Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre
Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write
her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy.
With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a
person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous
acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero
Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge
has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How
far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries
answered that question: far and wide.
Her short thriller
entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world
of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in
fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards
contest and is currently in production for a feature film.
Her paranormal thriller
entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book
Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film
entitled Foreseen.
Ashley’s decided to delve
into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel,
Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty
Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with
Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder
mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book,
Blood Ties, is due out the Summer of 2015.
Ashley also hosts The WriteStuff, a popular BlogTalk Radio show, each Friday night at 10 p.m. CST.
Jane Blythe and Amanda Siegrist are two amazing authors that I have had the fortune of finding through blogging. They write of love, loss, danger and death, not necessarily in that order. I am excited to have the opportunity to read their first collaboration, Drowning in You, a part of Sweetest Obsessions Boxed Set, which was released on August 20, 2019.
Imagine…locked up in the dark…you make an escape…before you can get out the door, you are yanked back into an even worse horror than you had been in, before trying to get away. Will he kill you now?
Carter and Jade, homicide partners…a lake, a dead body and for Carter, painful memories.
Rose and Evelyn had been chosen by the same foster family and quickly became best friends. They are complete opposites. Rose is quiet, and rather spend a night at a home than go out. Evelyn is outgoing, ready for a party.
When Carter and Rose meet, there is an immediate attraction. Carter wanted to take away her sorrow and pain, to protect her. Rose felt safe when she was near him.
The beginning of their relationship, the feeling out period, is so sweet. They are like a couple of teenagers and the writing brought the innocence to life. They had both suffered devastating losses, so trusting in love is very difficult for them. They protect themselves and their secrets. I loved watching them learn to share, to communicate.
The serial killer is so much more than just a serial killer. Killing people is not his motivation, but he has no qualms about getting rid of anyone that gives him a problem. Are serial killers capable of love, or is it some twisted interpretation?
I am in a state of suspense. What is he going to do next? I know it won’t be anything good.
I didn’t see it before, but at 66% something triggered my monster meter and I know who he is. Maybe I could have picked up on him sooner, if I was trying harder. Jane and Amanda’s writing has a way of taking me along for the ride and I am enjoy the journey so much that I forget to decipher the clues. I knew the one guy was too big of a scumbag, ya know, too obvious. I wasn’t falling for that red herring. But I really hope he gets his before the story ends.
80%…I know what’s coming and I’m racing through the pages. I can’t stop myself. I need to see how this plays out…NOW.
Want a HEA? Come on in!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Drowning in You by Jane Blythe and Amanda Siegrist.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
He has a choice to make. Face his fear … or watch her die.
For
Rose Gowan the death of her best friend means she no longer has a
confidante—someone to keep her secrets, someone who knew all her
insecurities—and she’s not sure she’s brave enough to let anyone else
in. Until she meets the detective working her friend’s case. He gives
her hope for a future she had thought she’d never have, but he can be
possessive, and she promised her best friend that she would never let
anyone control her again.
Death is a part of life. It’s not
something Detective Carter Dixson likes to dwell on, but working in the
homicide division, he has no choice. He does his job, and he does it
well. When his latest case brings Rose into his life, he finally has
something other than his pain from his past to focus on. She makes him
smile, his heart beat faster, and actually feel happy for the first time
since his brother died. He’s not afraid of falling in love too fast.
But he is afraid of one thing—losing Rose the same way he lost his
brother.
This novel is included in the Sweetest Obsessions Boxed Set, which will release on August 20, 2019.
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
Jane
has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark
and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in
because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series,
Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.
When she’s not writing Jane loves to
read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies.
She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears.
She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and
Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!
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*
I believe this is my first novel by Ann Cleeves and I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review The Long Call.
I love the cover for The Long Call by Ann Cleeves and am always on the lookout for a good mystery. That being said, I really wanted to love this, but…
Maggie loved talking to her friend but one day he didn’t show up. And so her mystery begins and she wants answers.
The characters are gay, lesbian, mentally challenged…
Everything, good and bad, centers around the Woodyard, a community center.
It held no tension or suspense for me. I couldn’t get excited by the story or the writing but I am curious…so I will read on. I know a police procedural is not as exciting as a thriller, but I would put down The Long Call, read something else, come back to it, put it down…well, you get the picture. I was bored and my mind kept drifting.
I did finish it and because I had to know the ending, I gave it 3 stars, for satisfying my curiosity.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Long Call by Ann Cleeves.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
For the first time in 20 years, Ann Cleeves—international bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—embarks on a gripping new series.
In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.
Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a
call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a
man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.
The
case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left
behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past
and present collide.
An astonishing new novel told with
compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of
Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.
ABOUT ANN CLEEVES
Ann is the author of the books
behind ITV’s VERA, now in it’s third series, and the BBC’s SHETLAND,
which will be aired in December 2012. Ann’s DI Vera Stanhope series of
books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective
along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann’s Shetland series bring us DI
Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful
Shetland Islands…
Ann grew up in the country, first in
Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school
teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary
jobs – child care officer, women’s refuge leader, bird observatory
cook, auxiliary coastguard – before going back to college and training
to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird
Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting
ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle
of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room.
Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny
tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only
residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the
mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person’s not heavily
into birds – and Ann isn’t – there’s not much to do on Hilbre and that
was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features
the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are
seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters
moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for
many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie
lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their
ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year
of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library
authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid
for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups
in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham
Literature Festival’s first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working
with libraries. Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann’s
short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television
Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award –
once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the
Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first
winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime
Writers’ Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland
Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA’s Gold Dagger award,
and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world’s largest award for
crime fiction.
Ann’s success was announced at the 2006 Dagger
Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London’s Aldwych, on Thursday
29 June 2006. She said: “I have never won anything before in my life, so
it was a complete shock – but lovely of course.. The evening was
relatively relaxing because I’d lost my voice and knew that even if the
unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So
I wouldn’t have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!”
The
judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown
MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray
(an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime
fiction), Heather O’Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer
for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime
fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann’s
books have been translated into sixteen languages. She’s a bestseller
in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical
acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin
Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
FBI agent Brock McGovern is going back to a place that holds bad memories. He had been arrested for murder and his young love had been swept away.
Three women are missing and it is his job to find out why. Is there a curse waiting to deal him a dose of justice….or a murderer waiting to be caught?
The History Tree…I love trees. I don’t know why, but anything about them makes me curious and a tree with a cursed history…well, I gotta know.
This is a convoluted mystery that spans decades. All the players are together again and I am crossing them off my bad list, one by one.
Heather doesn’t make it easy as she sends me off on one false trail after another…and I am happy to go down those trails…all the way to the end.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Tangled Threat by Heather Graham.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A body hanging from the infamous History Tree unraveled their teenage love. Now Maura Antrim is again tangled up with Brock McGovern. Twelve years later, they’re back where that murder occurred—where Brock had been arrested and then released, where Maura had run, too scared to stand by his side. But with two women missing, and Brock now an FBI agent, Maura is determined to help. Together, they’ll have to confront a threat that never died and see if their passion has withstood the test of time.
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham
majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a
stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and
bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began
to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some
trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and
since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas
including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire
fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the
launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows,
and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.
Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter
of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with
all revenues going directly to children’s charity.
She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty
languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B.
Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and
more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the
Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such
publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared
on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.
Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a
certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the
mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she
also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is
grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for
a living.Website / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube
P M Terrell writes some fabulous stories and just looking at the cover makes me want to enter those dilapidated gates and find out if Hayley will be the next victim or not.
P M Terrell writes some amazing stories and her historical fiction makes me feel as if I can see the ruins, hear the cattle, smell the crisp air, and feel the fear of Hayley as she tries to figure out what the ghost wants from her. I love to anticipate the adventure, a ghost or two, and a bit of an education.
Hayley had been researching her lineage online for a historical novel, and now it was time to make the journey to discover it for herself.
Ireland has a complex history and I have always been confused by it. P M Terrell explains things in a way that I can begin to understand. Religion is a touchy subject no matter where you live, pitting brother against brother.
P M Terrell has a marvelous ability to bring to life the characters surroundings with vivid descriptions. I can see the stone fences and the patchwork quilt of the countryside. I felt like I was walking the meadows and the ruins. Desolate, burnt to the ground, making me want to know what happened to the people that lived there.
Hauntings seem to fit right in with a rainy, misty, foggy Ireland that is steeped in a confusing, at times brutal history. Violence continues to this day.
At the end, wrapped in a pretty bow for a sometimes ugly story, Fergal put a tear in my eye and a smile on my face.
P M Terrell has history in Ireland and weaves fact and fiction seamlessly. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you will want to check out her work. I love the personal touches she adds to her stories. It May have you questioning what’s real and who are the restless spirits.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of April in the Back of Beyond by P M Terrell.
4 Stars
BLURB
Writer
Hayley Hunter has arrived in Ireland to complete a book on Irish history. When
she discovers the old carriage house she is renting is haunted, she is
determined to uncover the truth behind the burned ruins of a nearby manor house
and the abandoned British barracks it overlooks. With the assistance of Shay Macgregor,
an Irish historian, her quest will take her to 1919 and the Irish War for
Independence, exposing the murders of two young men and why their mother, April
Crutchley, refuses to leave the back of beyond even in death. With a budding
romance and the opportunity to begin life anew, Hayley finds her own life is
now in jeopardy as she gets closer to a truth the villagers have long sought to
bury.
EXCERPTS
When I heard the soft sobs, I realized I had drifted off
once more and in my half-awakened state, I thought the cries were connected to
my discordant dreams. I lay there with a groan on my lips not quite ready to
spill out and wishing I could simply sleep peacefully before it was too late
and I would be forced to arise for the long day ahead. I felt the bedcovers
slip away from my bare shoulders and I fought to open my eyes.
When they finally did open, I discovered that I was
completely uncovered. The bedcovers had been pulled to the foot of the bed and
were shivering inches from my feet as they lay heaped into an unkempt triangle
about three feet in height. I blinked once and then twice, my mind not grasping
what my eyes were witnessing, for surely it must be a trick of the eyes to
think the covers were still moving.
It was then that I realized the soft sobs had continued even
after I had fully awakened and they were not part and parcel of my overactive
dream state but they were real and they were coming from the direction of the
blanket.
“You don’t understand,” came the sound of a woman’s voice,
wracked with anguished sobs. “They are still here.”
“No, sweet darling,” returned a weary man’s voice that
sounded so close I nearly jumped out of my skin. “They are with God now.”
“I’m telling you they are not,” the woman answered, her
weeping growing more tormented. “They’ve never left. They’re still here.”
Within the space of a single heartbeat, I saw myself just a
few nights ago, convinced the voices came from outside my window. Then I was
pulled into the present to fight the horrifying realization that I was sharing
my bed with two apparitions.
I slid my feet away from the covers in excruciatingly slow
progress, afraid at any moment my movements would alert the phantoms of my presence.
I tucked my feet and knees close to my torso as I came to an uneasy seated
position, almost fetal in an attempt to occupy as little space as possible.
The room had become an icebox despite the radiators and I
found myself shivering almost in tandem with the blanket. I had no idea how
long I sat there, curled against the headboard and pillows, watching the foot
of the bed and listening to the disembodied voices that filled the air. But
then something seemed to snap inside me, fully awakening me to the present time
and despite my fear, despite my trepidation, I grew impatient with myself. I
reached a trembling hand toward the bedcovers, intent on pulling them over me
to fight the chill as well as reassure me that they were not wet.
But at the precise moment I felt the dampness under my fingers, the sobbing stopped, replaced by a gasp that was not my own. I yanked the covers to the side, determined to discover what mechanical device lay beneath. The material jerked away from me as though I was engaged in a tug-of-war and the gasp was replaced with a woman’s blood-curdling scream and a man’s shouts.
ABOUT P M TERRELL
p.m.terrell is
the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 23 books in multiple genres,
including contemporary suspense, historical suspense, computer instructional,
non-fiction and children’s books.
Prior to
writing full-time, she founded two computer companies in the Washington, DC
Metropolitan Area: McClelland Enterprises, Inc. and Continental Software
Development Corporation. Among her clients were the Central Intelligence
Agency, United States Secret Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department
of Defense. Her specialties were in the detection of white collar computer
crimes and computer intelligence.
A full-time
author since 2002, Black Swamp Mysteries was her first series, inspired by the
success of Exit 22, released in 2008. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in
the 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The
Pendulum Files was a national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014.
Her second series, Ryan O’Clery Suspense, is also award-winning. The Tempest
Murders (Book 1) was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book
Awards, cross-genre category. Her historical suspense, River Passage, was a
2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so historically
accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville Government
Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee. Songbirds are Free is her
bestselling book to date; it is inspired by the true story of Mary Neely, who
was captured in 1780 by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough (now Nashville,
TN).
She was the
co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising
public awareness of the correlation between high crime rates and high
illiteracy rates. She was the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual
event held in the town of Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase
literacy and reduce crime and served as its chairperson and organizer for its
first four years. She also served on the boards of the Friends of the Robeson
County (NC) Public Library, the Robeson County (NC) Arts Council, Virginia
Crime Stoppers and became the first female president of the Chesterfield
County-Colonial Heights Crime Solvers in Virginia.
For more
information, book trailers, excerpts and more, visit the author’s website at
www.pmterrell.com.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
Fabulous cover the Ward of the Vampire by Kallysten drew me into this vampire story with characters that captured me, making me want to know more as they took me to a wonderful place of magic and romance.
Forgot to mention the cliffhanger. This is more like a preview or a tease of what is to come in the series, which is complete and available as a set and you can get it HERE for $4.99 on Kindle
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
It’s THE party of the
season. Socialites, artists and A-list stars have been invited to Morgan
Ward’s birthday bash, including Angelina’s boss, Delilah.
For
months, Angelina has been looking at the preparations from afar, but
never did she imagine that, come the day, Miss Delilah would put her in a
gorgeous gown and bring her along as her ‘plus one.’
Wandering
from crowded room to crowded room in the sumptuous mansion, Angelina
grows overwhelmed and escapes onto a balcony, only to find it occupied
by her host. That first meeting leaves her struggling for her very life,
but she soon gets an unexpected do-over.
Meeting Morgan Ward for the first time all over again, Angelina finds herself falling into his arms… But is it all only a fantasy?
