I didn’t realize I had this on my Kindle from an Amazon free day, when I read the second book, Stranger Still by Michaelbrent Collings. Any questions I had from the second book were answered here, but I feel both books could stand alone.
Horror of horrors, trapped in your house, no way out, a stranger dead set on playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. Who or will anyone survive?
The bogeyman…
The punisher…
Do you run? There’s nowhere to go.
Do you hide? There’s nowhere to hide.
Strangers is a psychological thriller that ranks up there with Dean Koontz and Stephen King. The horror is nonstop, nail biting suspense that makes each person face their shortcomings…and maybe pay for them in a gruesome way.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
You wake up in the morning to discover that you have been sealed into your home. The doors are locked, the windows are barred. THERE’S NO WAY OUT.
A madman is playing a deadly game with you and your family. A game with no rules, only consequences. So what do you do? Do you run? Do you hide?
OR DO YOU DIE?
ABOUT MICHAELBRENT COLLINGS
Michaelbrent Collings is an internationally-bestselling novelist,
multiple Bram Stoker Award nominee, produced screenwriter, and one of
the top indie horror writers in the United States.
He hopes someday to develop superpowers, or, if that is out of the question, then at least to get a cool robot arm.
Michaelbrent
has a wife and several kids, all of whom are much better looking than
he is (though he admits that’s a low bar to set), and also cooler than
he is.
Michaelbrent also has a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MichaelbrentC…
and can be followed on Twitter through his username @mbcollings.
Follow him for cool news, updates, and advance notice of sales. You
will also be kept safe when the Glorious Revolution begins!
Secret societies, hidden tablets, unbreakable codes, remote viewing, immortality…from a crumbling bridge over a deep crevasse in United States to a jungle in Burma, and to Egypt for a magical elixir, this was a wild Indiana Jones type of mystery that kept me ‘flipping pages’.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Maverick archeologist Dr. Sky Wilder has never proven any of his controversial fringe theories — until now. When he breaks what had been an impenetrable code, he unearths a long-buried Egyptian stone tablet in Arizona’s Red Rock country. Whoever possesses all three hidden tablets holds the key to locate an ancient alchemical text containing a formula for physical immortality. The bodies pile up as Wilder finds himself caught between opposing covert agencies and secret brotherhoods that have been warring for centuries. Tasked with keeping Sky Wilder alive at all costs, Diana Hunt, the U.S. military’s most accurate remote viewer – a psychic spy – knows that the players in this deadly game are not what they appear to be. As the trail leads to Asia and with a political assassination looming, Sky and Diana confront powerful forces of Nature and Man as they unravel the conspiracies and expose the true unseen forces behind their opponents – and allies. “A real page-turner rivaling The Da Vinci Code.” — Phenomena Magazine “A spellbinding thriller that will keep you riveted well past midnight” — The St. Louis Post-Dospatch
ABOUT ED KOVACS
ED KOVACS is the author of six novels, including the critically-acclaimed Detective Cliff St. James series set in New Orleans, post-killer hurricane.
LOCKED DOWN, Nicole Grant #1, is now available as an e-book at most of the online retailers.
“When a former NSA analyst is targeted for assassination by rogue elements of the Chinese and U.S. governments, shes forced to team with a renegade CIA spy and fight back using technology to extract the ultimate form of justice. The tension and suspense locks in on the first page and doesnt let up until the last.”
I have been binge reading the Jane Hawk series, checking them out from the library.
The danger increases for Jane Hawk. ‘They’ dog her every step. In this day of the digital footprint, she strives to stay off the grid, but even burner phones could lead to her destruction.
She finds some unlikely allies along the way, always on the run.
Jane Hawk is a character that hits all the high marks for me. To say she is strong is putting it mildly. It takes all the skills she possesses to stay one step ahead of those who want to take her down. She does not want to kill, but will do so when necessary. She plots and plans each step she takes, but when she has to make a quick decision, her mind quickly runs through her options and she commits to her course of action.
The books are loooooong and richly detailed. Sometimes I just wanted to skim through to get to the action, but as I walked…or ran…step by step with Jane, I felt it also increased my anticipation, knowing something wicked this way comes.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Jane Hawk — who dazzled readers in The Silent Corner and The Whispering Room — faces the fight of her life, against the threat of a lifetime in this electrifying new thriller by #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. “I could be dead tomorrow. Or something worse than dead.” Jane Hawk knows she may be living on borrowed time. But as long as she’s breathing, she’ll never cease her one-woman war against the terrifying conspiracy that threatens the freedom–and free will–of millions. Battling the strange epidemic of murder-suicides that claimed Jane’s husband, and is escalating across the country, has made the rogue FBI agent a wanted fugitive, relentlessly hunted not only by the government but by the secret cabal behind the plot. Deploying every resource their malign nexus of power and technology commands, Jane’s enemies are determined to see her dead . . . or make her wish she was. Jane’s ruthless pursuers can’t stop her from drawing a bead on her prey: a cunning man with connections in high places, a twisted soul of unspeakable depths with an army of professional killers on call. Propelled by her righteous fury and implacable insistence on justice, Jane will make her way from southern California to the snow-swept slopes of Lake Tahoe to confront head-on the lethal forces arrayed against her. But nothing can prepare her for the chilling truth that awaits when she descends the crooked staircase to the dark and dreadful place where her long nightmare was born.
ABOUT DEAN KOONTZ
Acknowledged as “America’s most popular suspense novelist” (Rolling
Stone) and as one of today’s most celebrated and successful writers,
Dean Ray Koontz has earned the devotion of millions of readers around
the world and the praise of critics everywhere for tales of character,
mystery, and adventure that strike to the core of what it means to be
human.
Dean,
the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern
California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the
enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.
Keep Writing by Chrys Fey includes tips that everyone can use whether
you are an author or not, such as reducing stress, especially in these
turbulent times.
Setting goals is huge. Set short, medium and long range goals.
Short chapters written in easy to understand language.
Her tips are sparks, to ignite you, to set your passions on fire.
All of us bloggers are writers and I have dabbled in writing since I was a young child too. Will I ever write…my book? If I do, Chrys Fey shares easy to follow suggestions for us to pick and choose what works best for us. If I don’t, Chry shares sparks for destressing and dealing with depression.
Chrys draws from her personal experiences. Some tips may work for you and some may not, but I feel there is something for everyone in this gem.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Keep Writing by Chrys Fey.
4 Stars
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Catch the sparks you need to conquer writer’s block, depression, and burnout!
When Chrys Fey shared her story about depression and burnout, it struck a chord with other writers. That put into perspective for her how desperate writers are to hear they aren’t alone. Many creative types experience these challenges, battling to recover. Let Keep Writing with Fey: Sparks to Defeat Writer’s Block, Depression, and Burnout guide you through:
• Writer’s block • Depression • Writer’s burnout • What a writer doesn’t need to succeed • Finding creativity boosts
With these sparks, you can begin your journey of rediscovering your creativity and get back to what you love – writing.
Chrys Fey blogs at Write with Fey
and edits for Dancing Lemur Press. She’s also an partnered with the
Insecure Writer’s Support Group and runs with Goodreads book club.
At the age of twelve, she started
writing her first novel, which flourished into a series she later
rewrote at seventeen. Fey lives in Florida where she is waiting for the
next hurricane to come her way.
Every day, she can be seen with a pen in
my hand or pounding away at her computer. Although she doesn’t restrict
herself to a single genre, she mostly writes suspense stories whether
they are romances or fantasy.
Crushed Ruby by Jane Blythe is Book II in the Broken Gem romantic suspense series. Each story is about one of the ‘broken’ sisters and it may even break your heart too.
Ruby and her four sisters had been sold to sex traffickers…by their parents. I can only imagine the terror and sense of betrayal they felt, knowing no one would be looking for them.
She was not a virgin, so there were no hands off signs on her and the kidnappers took advantage of that. She was a sex object. On call. Anything goes. She can’t say no. How many times can she let her mind go before she would never be able to get it back.
It had been four years and it still felt like yesterday when she would hang out with her friends doing things seventeen year old teens do. She especially missed her twin. She felt used up at 22. She didn’t care any more. No friends, no family. She’s done.
Four years…a chance at escape appears….and she takes it.
Seven years later and Sapphire, her sister is getting married. Even though one of them is still missing, Emerald, Ruby feels hopeful, though the biggest part of her life is lost in books, shelf after shelf, floor to ceiling books.
This took a twist I didn’t see coming. Jane Blythe is great at book surprises.
A Skull. A Black Cat. A Witch. A Ghost.
Judah and Zeb hadn’t been partners for long, but they clicked, working together seamlessly. The case they are working now is urgent, but will become more personal as the days pass and Judah will be more drawn to Ruby.
Ruby is still a prisoner…in her own mind. Will she be able to allow him entrance? Suicide calls to her. Will she ever be normal? She feels tainted, poisoned, unworthy. Ruby has no idea how strong she really is and when the time comes, will she be able to save herself?
I love when Ruby was reading, looking for a plot twist, because I was too. And I got it.
Jane Blythe writes some of the most suspense, nail biting, mind twisting romantic suspense novels and I am always eager to grab the next one. She doesn’t fail to give me more than I am expecting, and characters that I grow to love and worry and fret over.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Crushed Ruby by Jane Blythe.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Betrayed. Sold. Tortured. Now she’s fighting to rebuild her life.
Ruby Hatcher escaped human traffickers, and she has her life back, but a nagging voice at the back of her mind keeps telling her the world would be a better place without her in it. When a home invasion throws her together with Detective Judah Willow, she learns that she’s not as alone as she thought.
Judah wants to ask Ruby out, but he knows about her traumatic past and won’t push her into doing something she isn’t ready for. But when Ruby gets mixed up in his latest case, he is determined not only to keep her safe but also to prove to her that not all men treat women like property. Earning her trust and her heart will push him to confront his own turbulent past, but if it helps Ruby, it’s worth it.
↝ Trigger warning – mature content, issues of sexual assault/abuse, violence ↜
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!
I have been lovin’ the Harry Hunter character and I am happy to be back for another mystery. We start out with a bang…in church!
Harry Hunter has a full plate. His teenage daughter is a handful, his wife has miraculously awakened from a long term coma, and his love interest, his next door neighbor, Jean, is stepping aside to give Harry and his wife a chance to find the love they lost.
Camille, his wife, has a story to tell, but the question remains, will she recover enough to be able to tell it. AND will it make a difference to their lost relationship.
His dad is a rock, and his faith in God never wavers and helps him deal with his turbulent life. His religion is a part of his character and does not come across as any way preachy.
Human traffickers, corrupt cops, Harry has put himself and his family in the line of fire by vowing to take them all down.
Willow had me hemming and hawing at the head honcho. It’s impossible to tell who is good and who is bad, and I love that about her writing.
As the lines converge and the fireworks explode, we come to a riveting conclusion with danger, chases, and all out war raining down on Harry and his family.
While I was reading, No Other Way, I kept thinking of Serpico. Would Willow allow Harry to die? I love that she has me even considering it.
Willow includes snapshots of real life events and the depravity and despicability of humans is exposed for the world to see.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of No Other Way by Willow Rose.
4 Stars
Shocking evidence hits close to home for Miami PD’s Detective Harry Hunter as Willow Rose’s bestselling series continues.
Three women went on a road trip to Key West. Only two returned. When asked what happened, their stories don’t completely match.
Who is telling the truth?
What are they hiding?
Detective Harry Hunter of the Miami PD is in church on a peaceful Sunday morning when a young teenager pulls out a gun and shoots his own father.
Once the shock is gone, Harry starts to ask himself the question no one else seems to care about: What makes a young boy want to kill his own father?
When more blood is shed, Harry suspects there’s a secret buried in this town that no one wants unearthed. What are the people around him not telling him?
NO OTHER WAY is the third book in the bestselling Harry Hunter Mystery Series.
This novel is the first book in Willow Rose’s electrifying new Harry Hunter series.
Detective Harry Hunter of Miami PD’s homicide squad throws himself into a case no one asked him to solve.
Four teenagers from one of Miami’s affluent neighborhoods are murdered on a boat. Another is found in a dumpster. All five of them go to the same school and are on a list of witnesses to another crime.
Because he’s in bad standing with his boss, Harry is given the task of protecting a possible future victim, but Harry isn’t always known to follow his boss’s orders.
Soon, he’ll risk everything while racing to stop a killer who has left everyone else in the homicide squad shaking in terror.
ALL THE GOOD GIRLS is the first book in the Harry Hunter 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 am new to audiobooks and it took me a very long time to listen to the entire book. I feel my review may not reflect my true feelings about the story, because of my brain wanting to wander all the time. Anyway….
I did spend a lot of time laughing, especially with the dialogue. Jonathon Cook did an awesome job with the narration. He had me laughing my head off with Bob’s accent and made it easy to determine who was talking. Tegon Maus has created an interesting storyline and the missing girl is much more than she seems. Peter Anderson’s search for her leads him on a wild adventure, filled with danger and new friends.
I voluntarily reviewed a free ecopy of the audible for Bob by Tegon Maus.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
After 27 years as a newspaper man, Peter Anderson’s career is slipping away, at least it was, until he stumbled upon the story of a lifetime. Sent to do a fluff piece about lights in the night sky over Arizona, he discovers far more than he ever expected when he comes upon a mysterious young woman held prisoner in a basement. After helping her to escape, she disappears before he can learn the truth about who she is or where she came from. His search for her leads him back to the lights in the sky and leaves him with more questions than answers. The only thing he knows for certain . . . the only thing he can count on are the two words offered repeatedly by his friend and guide . . . “IS BELT.”
ABOUT TEGON MAUS
I was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends I could conjure.
The first thing
I can remember writing was for my wife. For the life of me I can’t remember
what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in
my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married me shortly after
that. I spent a good number of years chasing other dreams before I got back to
writing.
I do enjoy a good cozy mystery and Easter Hair Hunt by Nancy J Cohen is the perfect one for the season. This is the 16th book in the series. Such a fun cover.
Easter Hair Hunt by Nancy J Cohen has everything I expect from a cozy mystery. Some fun characters, an interesting location and a mystery with plenty of suspects to keep me guessing.
Marla was looking for her client, Blinky, who is dressed as the Easter bunny for the egg hunt. When she finds the bunny, surprise, surprise, it’s not Blinky in the costume, but the wearer is dead. She also finds an eggcellent surprise lying close by. Could this be the reason for the murder?
Marla is pregnant and married to Detective Dalton Vail, but she just can’t leave the investigating to him. He knows there is no stopping her, so they work together.
This isn’t her first investigation and I have a feeling it won’t be her last.
I followed her around town as she eliminated suspect after suspect, all the while looking for Blinky.
Cozy mysteries lack the dark side of murder that I love so much, but every once in a while I want something easy reading with some humor and fun.
I do love that cozies often include some recipes, so if you are a bit hungry, Nancy J Cohen supplies some.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Easter Hair Hunt by Nancy J Cohen.
3 stars
GOODREADS BLURB
When hairstylist Marla Vail attends an Easter egg hunt at historic Tremayne Manor, she’s only there to fix hair for a client, Bonnie “Blinky” Morris. But when she’s asked to comb the grounds for leftover goodies, Marla discovers more than just a few dyed eggs. The dead body in the bunny costume is definitely not having a good hare day. And Blinky seems to have disappeared down a rabbit hole.
When trying to solve a murder, everyone needs a friend who’s all ears. For Marla, that’s her husband, homicide detective Dalton Vail. They make an eggcellent team. Dalton isn’t the kind to leap to conclusions, but with his wife seven months pregnant, and knowing Marla finds crime-solving to be irresistible, he worries about her running off on another hare-raising adventure.
Marla’s peeps are hoping for a happy ending, but she may have found a basketful of trouble this time. Can she crack the case before Blinky becomes the next victim?
Recipes Included!
ABOUT NANCY J COHEN
Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won a Readers’ Favorite gold medal, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won a gold medal at the President’s Book Awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.
A wild cast of characters, a cute fur ball…and secrets are exposed. Savage Sourdough is a bit different than the other light hearted mystery stories in the Cozy Corgi series. It will take a lot more than Fred and Watson to solve this mystery.
Fred and Watson have settled into the small town of Estes Park. Not every loves them, but that’s okay. That’s just life.
She has her beloved book store and above it is her best human friend, Katie, and her bakery. They are a perfect fit.
I knew there was a secret surrounding Katie, but like Fred, I let it go figuring when the time was right, she would tell. NOW… Death and danger surround her and she realizes the time is right.
Fred’s family is quite the collection of quirky characters. There are too many to describe individually, but when they circle the wagons around Katie, it makes her realize how much she is loved and accepted.
Romance…there is always something in the air, we are just not sure what….
Mildred Abbot has kept us all guessing at who could be behind the mystery. Of course, we have plenty of chuckles and sweet moments while investigating. After all, it is a cozy mystery. The more time I spend with her wacky family and her sweet furball, the more I love them. Even as I type these words, I have a smile on my face.
It doesn’t matter the order read, they all stand alone, but why wouldn’t you want to start at the beginning?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Savage Sourdough by Mildred Abbott.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Opening the Cozy Corgi in Estes Park is a dream come true: small-town charm, fresh-baked bread, hours by the fire reading mysteries, and… murder.
For Winifred Page and her devoted corgi, Watson, the puzzle pieces of life are falling into place as they settle into their home in the Colorado mountains. Surrounded by family and friends, Fred begins to relax into the charm and beauty of being the owner of a bookshop and bakery.
The buzz of possible romance—though Fred wasn’t looking for a relationship—has quieted as one of her suitors is no longer a viable option while the other has moved into the friend zone. But all thoughts of romance, wanted or not, fly out the window when Fred finds a dead body in the Cozy Corgi bakery… again.
Things get stickier when Fred’s main suspect turns out to be a family member of one of the local police officers—the one who already despises Fred and her little dog. Determined not to let past grievances cloud her judgment, Fred tips her detective hat and pokes deeper into the murder investigation. But in a mystery that becomes smoke and mirrors, nothing is as it seems.
The revelations Fred unveil threaten not only her picture-perfect world but her very life….
ABOUT MILDRED ABBOTT
Reading the Cozy Corgi series is pretty much all you need to know
about Mildred. In real life, she’s obsessed with everything she writes
about: Corgis, Books, Cozy Mountain Towns, and Baked Goods. She’s not
obsessed with murder, however. At least not at her own hands (nor paid
for… no contract killing here). But since childhood, starting with
Nancy Drew, trying to figure out who-dun-it has played a formative role
in her personality. Having Fred and Watson stroll into her mind was a
touch of kismet.
Andy and Rebecca had been told to stick together, but when he went into the library and Rebecca refused, the worst happened. He came out and she was gone.
I know many of us have had that annoying sibling…the one that keeps hanging on, following us around, and just down right making a pest of themselves. The funny thing…I was the annoying pest. I latched onto my older sister like a leech. LOL
In books, nothing ever happens by accident – there is always deeper meaning.
This quote definitely applies here.
Andy goes out every night…looking for Rebecca…looking for the elusive yellow van no one believes was there.
Told from multiple points of view and that always works for me. I love to get the view from each characters perspective, their thoughts and feelings.
WOW! This took a wild turn making me rapidly ‘flipping the pages’ to see what the outcome will be…and another wonderful twist that has me hopeful for a good outcome.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Nick Clausen.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Monsters are real. And they steal children.
A young girl disappears without a trace. The police have no clue as to what might have happened. The severed family is thrown into despair as weeks go by, and still no sign of her. The girl’s older brother begins looking for her on his own. Soon he becomes convinced that a supernatural being has taken her. Unfortunately, it turns out he’s right …
The Girl Who Wasn’t There is a gripping supernatural thriller.
ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN
Born 1988 in North Jutland,
where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest
childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up
until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been
studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of
psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a
much more powerful pull on me.
I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In
fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book,
Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at
14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got
praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and
trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should
be an author.
That day I made a promise
to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and
started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a
half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the
rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could
feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The
thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the
publisher and came out a year later.
I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot
of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more
free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That
way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the
characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come
from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.
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