I have read numerous books by Michaelbrent Collings and will grab anything I see by him. I love, love, love creature features that read like B movies and The Deep definitely fits that bill. We have good characters, bad characters, and a down right evil one. Treasure? Desires? The ocean is a vast mystery and when you seek, you will find. Just what you will find is the question.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Deep by Michaelbrent Collings.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
There are places we were never meant to go…
A woman searching for a sister lost at sea. A man bent on finding lost treasure. A mother who has lost all hope. A maniac who believes all life exists for his pleasure. The man who would keep them all safe.
Together, they will all seek below the waves for treasures long buried, and riches beyond belief. But those treasures hide something. Something ancient, something dark. A creature that exists only to feed on those that would enter into its realm. A creature… of The Deep.
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!
Anyone that has been hanging around fundinmental knows that I am a huge fan of Carolyn Arnold and her police procedurals. She always has great covers to go with the wonderful stories inside.
I am always excited to read another Carolyn Arnold novel. She manages to hook me early and keep me flipping pages. I am just along for the ride, eager to go wherever the story takes me.
Amanda came home with more than fun after a night’s out. Too bad the romantic night she had anticipated is brought up short when a dead body is found on the bed they planned to use. Guess that would bring anyone up short.
Amanda is a detective , working homicide for the Prince William Sound County Police Department. Her first call is to dispatch, the second to her partner, Trent Stenson. Poor Trent. I feel the both have feelings for each other, but because they are partners, they fight the attraction.
Even though Logan is a suspect and Amanda is too close to be working the case, I know that won’t stop her.
The crime scene is too neat, too simple, all the clues lined up for them to see. They know crime is messy, complex.
Amanda is like a bulldog. She doesn’t give up until the case is closed. She may WANT to find the killer, but Trent NEEDS to solve the mystery. He has to find the answers, solve the puzzle.
Last Seen Alive is another success story for Carolyn Arnold.
I voluntarily reviewed and ARC of Last Seen Alive by Carolyn Arnold.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The woman lies so still as her blood soaks into the soft bedcovers beneath her. A tear runs down her face as she looks at the wedding band on her finger. She had loved her husband so much…
When Detective Amanda Steele unexpectedly reconnects with an old boyfriend, the last thing she expects to see lying on his bed is the dead body of his wife, Claire, who walked out on him four years ago.
Logan begs Amanda to believe he’s innocent. But she doesn’t miss the gun on a nearby table, and she’s torn when forensics reveal that not only was this the murder weapon, but Logan’s fingerprints are all over it… Could he have been framed? Or is he using his connection to Amanda to get away with murder?
Determined to uncover the truth, Amanda retraces Claire’s last steps and finds that she visited her best friend the day before her death. But Amanda is devastated to discover that the friend died in a car accident just hours after meeting with Claire. What deadly secret connected them, and could more women be in danger?
But the killer is closer than Amanda realises, and when her beloved daughter, Zoe, is threatened, she’s suddenly in a race to find the final clue before the person she loves most pays the price…
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She currently lives north of London, Ontario, with her husband and two beagles and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
I have read Forgotten and Reckless, Books I and II of the Shattered Sisters series by Maggie Shayne, and loved them. I am so excited to get my hands on Broken.
Caitlin Rossi awakes after a car accident and can’t even remember her name. She may have amnesia, but she still feels a great loss and a menacing threat. I think I would be paralyzed with fear, or run away as fast as I could. I can’t imagine what it would be like. Who do you believe? Who do you trust? Especially when you meet the rest of your dysfunctional family and realize you are worth a lot of money.
I feel the danger comes from someone close, someone very close, but Maggie Shayne does throw out a red herring. I already know who ‘they’ are so that doesn’t distract me, but there are enough suspects to keep me guessing.
Caitlin has amnesia, but she still has a working brain. She is determined to get to the bottom of things. I love the character…and Dylan isn’t too shabby either. Secrets…they always come out, one way or another. Maybe that’s a good thing. They can be a heavy burden to carry.
Sure, I expect a happy ending, but I am so loving the twisty journey I will have to take to get there. Broken reads like a true crime story. A rich bitch and her money, and those who hate her. How far will they go to get it? Can’t she save her marriage to Dylan?
It’s Chapter 8 before Toni and Joey are mentioned, then they disappear…until the end. I can hardly wait to read Book IV, Hollow. I wonder how the series will end. How many sisters are there? Surely, the sisters must all come together.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
Caitlin Rossi’s near tragic accident was no accident at all. With her memory wiped clean, she returns to a houseful of strangers who claim to be her family, and not one of them seems glad to see her. Least of all her darkly handsome husband, Dylan.
Her gothic mansion is cold and filled with secrets. One member of this hostile household wants her dead—and unless she can regain her lost memories, they might just get their wish.
***A substantially revised edition of the story originally titled Kiss of the Shadow Man***
ABOUT MAGGIE SHAYNE
I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire–it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day–there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we’ve acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the “Monster Moon.” Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She’s tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I.
Liz and Kee have the opposite taste in men. From the opening pages, they had me busting out with laughter with their funny dialogue.
Indira works for a company that harvests your data and uses it against you. I mean, you do need that 20th pair of shoes, don’t you? Privacy? Pshaw. What’s that? (my thought)
Mallory Riggins works at the Daily Grind. She knew Tim and his missing girlfriend, Katie Lord, from them being customers. She attended college, taking business classes. She was also dating the teacher.
Amar is Indira’s brother. They are from India and she battles her mother’s attempts to marry her off. She wants freedom, eats meat, and drinks beer. Amar toes the line, sort of. He’s vegetarian, soon to be wed. I am sure they are not allowed to have affairs, even if their culture believes in arranged marriages.
I have my eye on a couple of suspects for Katie being missing.They both act suspiciously. I feel it’s too obvious for a Chris Patchell novel, so I am still on the lookout. I have a feeling the police will go in a wrong direction.
At page 152…Oh No! I felt this coming, yet I am so bummed about it. A woman is found murdered. I usually don’t get to know a murder victim as well as I got to know her. I knew it was coming, but that doesn’t change how bummed I am about it.
I feel The Perfect Brother is different from other Chris Patchell novels I have read. I didn’t find it full of action packed, in your face, suspense and thrills. The dangers were more subtle with gross injustice and a bit of vigilantism on the technical side. A terrifying glimpse into how easy it is for someone to access your information and stalk you, all because of a company gathering your data, sharing your patterns, and is too easily accessed.
The investigation, if you could call it that, is tunnel visioned. They found a suspect and never looked any further. I have had a spidey sense feeling since early on, but I have no clues to use against him. Another suspect arises and I think I now have my eyes on the murderer.
Unputdownable, because I HAD TO KNOW. Chris Patchell sure did weave a tangled web. I found The Perfect Brother to be more of a mystery, than thriller. This ARC had 433 pages of deliciousness. I only stopped when necessary. Though I rated it a 4, I think when it has been polished it could be a 5.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Perfect Brother by Chris Patchell.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
A scandalous liaison. A killer on the loose. Can a young woman save her sibling from going down for murder?
Vancouver, Canada. Software engineer Indira Saraf refuses to march to her traditionalist parents’ old-world drum. Resentful of her brother’s golden-boy acceptance but still a devoted sister, she encourages him to confess his secret affair before he ends up married to a woman he doesn’t want. So she’s horrified when his student and lover is slain and he’s arrested for the gruesome crime.
Repurposing her own AI technology to prove his innocence, the unorthodox rebel scours the dead college girl’s life for clues. But when Indira discovers another missing co-ed and the suspects pile up, she learns the hard way that her digging has drawn deadly attention…
Can she hunt down the culprit before she takes a fatal fall?
The Perfect Brother is a chilling standalone suspense thriller. If you like dogged heroines, complex family relationships, and dangerous twists, then you’ll adore USA Today bestselling author Chris Patchell’s riveting tale.
Chris Patchell is an award-winning USA Today Bestselling Author who started writing to curb the homicidal tendencies she experienced during her daily Seattle commute. She writes gripping suspense thrillers with romantic elements set in the Pacific Northwest and believes good fiction combines a magical mix of complex characters, compelling plots, and well-crafted stories.
Over the years, she has written numerous popular books and series, including bestsellers Deadly Lies, In the Dark, and her most recent collection of small-town crime novellas, the Lacey James Series. Along the way, her writing has won several awards, including a 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Award, an IndieReader Discovery Award, and a Pacific Northwest Literary Award.
When she’s not writing, you can find Chris reading books, hanging out with her family, watching football, and struggling to keep up with her workout regime, all while shushing her incessantly yapping Yorkies. She lives in Oregon with her husband and two kids.
Woo Hoo…Another Threecon Sci/Fi novel by Carmen Webster Buxton. I have loved exploring the worlds she has created, so I am really looking forward to The Nostalgia Gambit. I love the creative cover and I wonder what…or who…the red pawn represents.
Carmen Webster Buxton comes up with some of the best, most unusual characters. Tychon Altair Damiano is the star in The Nostalgia Gambit. He doesn’t know who his father is, seeing his mother’s ‘career’ made it hard to figure out. He is a fence, dealing with stolen goods, and has spend some time in prison. His friends consist of hookers and thieves, until…
Carmen Webster Buxton writing has created a world of vast richness, with detailed glimpses into life on a planet of the future. I find it fascinating, getting lost in the detailed descriptions.
When I started reading, I thought, I know it will be good, but how can Carmen come up with something new and exciting. I am a blood and guts kind of girl. I love reading about serial killers, vampires and shapeshifters, but have found science fiction taking a larger piece of the pie than ever before. It’s because of authors like Carmen.
Threecon is like our United Nations, though there are no nations, only planets. To join, you must be a unified planet. One for all and all for one. The Palatinate, Kallisto’s ruler, was determined to join Threecon. Good for him. I’ve spent several novels visiting other planets and loving every minute of it. I find the Threecon world Carmen has created fascinating. Even more so the characters, and their interactions. They come alive on the pages, drawing me in, becoming involved in their life, as if they are real. I empathize and sympathize with them…at least most of them.
I loved The Nostalgia Gamibit by Carmen Webster Buxton, another unique and highly entertaining read!
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Far future science fiction: Tychon Damiano makes a living, of sorts, fencing stolen goods. He’s especially proud of dealing in items stolen from rich aristos. On the other hand, the hookers and lowlifes in Prime, the largest city on Kallisto, are his friends. They send him enough business to keep himself fed and clothed, and help him stay one step ahead of the law. And then one day Ty walks into the wrong bar and finds his life forever changed. Now he lives a life of luxury in a palace, with fine food on the table, servants to wait on him, and a virtual girlfriend on tap. There’s only one problem. Ty can’t leave.
ABOUT CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON
Carmen Webster Buxton spent her youth reading every book published by Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein and Georgette Heyer. This combination of far-future worlds, alien cultures, and old-fashioned courting customs influenced her writing, especially in her ThreeCon series.
Carmen was born in Hawaii and experienced a peripatetic childhood, as her father was in the US Navy. Having raised two wonderful children, she now lives in Maryland with her husband Charlie, and a beagle named Cosmo. She writes science fiction (often including a romance, and mostly set in the far future), and the occasional fantasy.
Carmen has published many books:
WAKANREO SERIES Alien Bonds Alien Vows Alien Skies
HAVEN SERIES The Sixth Discipline No Safe Haven
THREECON SERIES (can be read in any order) The Nostalgia Gambit Saronna’s Gift Shades of Empire Tribes Worlds Apart
ALTERNATE HISTORY King of Trees
YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION Turnabout Drifters
FANTASY Where Magic Rules Bag of Tricks Hidden Magic
THE NAMELESS WORLD SAGA (coming in 2021) The North Edge of Nowhere Oaths and Promises
Carmen often blogs about ereaders, digital publishing, writing, and speculative fiction. Visit her blog to see what’s coming out next! To ask questions or to provide feedback on her books, send email to carmen.webster.buxton (at) gmail.com.
I have read a couple of Amanda McKinney novels, though I didn’t review them, and enjoyed them. When I saw Buried Deception on NetGalley, I quickly grabbed it. Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake for the opportunity to read and review Buried Deception.
I have read a couple of Amanda McKinney’s books, but never reviewed them. This is the best I have read…so far.
Mia is a psychologist, who owns and runs The Dragonfly Clinic, specializing in Ptsd and criminal profiling.
Chief is the founder of the LYNX Group, a combat tracking facility and search and rescue team. He has been called out by Skull Country Sheriff McNamara to help find Courtney Hayes, who is lost in the swamp. Could the Black Cat Stalker have upped his game. Instead of raping and walking away, he now rapes and kills.
I laughed at the way Chief’s operatives scare trespassers off his land.
I did have issues with some of her characterizations of people in the beginning of the book. It doesn’t fit with anything I’ve seen on true crime and rescue shows on TV. BUT, it is fiction and artistic license does apply. Maybe there is a reason. I vacillated between a three and four rating, but because I could not put it down until I found out the ending, it earned that extra star.
Once the mystery got going, I was so into it, I could hardly stop to, well, you know. I love looking into the human psyche and reading about damaged characters dealing with extreme trauma, and villains who deserve every bad thing that comes their way.
Amanda dealt with delicate topics, like brutal trauma, PTSD, rape, grief, loss, and so much more.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Buried Deception by Amanda McKinney.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
In the pulse-racing first installment of the On the Edge series, a criminal psychologist teams up with a former marine on a deadly wildland mission. Not even their hearts can stay out of harm’s way.
In the swamps of East Texas, alligators aren’t the only danger lurking in the shadows.
After a young woman is brutally attacked on a popular hiking trail, the evidence points to the notorious Black Cat Stalker. The town of Skull Hollow enlists Dr. Mia Frost to provide a psychological profile and assist in the investigation.
When another person goes missing, Mia partners with Easton Crew, former marine and current CEO of a tactical tracking company. Both Mia and Easton are stubborn, strong-willed, and independent, but neither can deny the smoldering attraction between them.
As professional lines blur, Easton starts to question Mia’s motives and worries she’s getting too close to the investigation. The mystery begins to unravel, but so does Mia’s mental health as the clues dredge up her own haunted past.
It soon becomes evident that things aren’t as they seem … and people aren’t always who they say they are.
ABOUT AMANDA MCKINNEY
Amanda McKinney is the bestselling and multi-award-winning author of more than fifteen romantic suspense and mystery novels. Her latest book, Rattlesnake Road, was named one of POPSUGAR’s 12 Best Romance Books to Have a Spring Fling With, and was featured on the Today Show. The fifth book in her Steele Shadows series, Jagger (Steele Shadows Investigations), was recently nominated for the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
Amanda wrote her debut novel, LETHAL LEGACY in 2017, after walking away from her career to become a writer and stay-at-home mom. Her books include the bestselling series, STEELE SHADOWS SECURITY, the multi-award-winning BERRY SPRINGS series, BLACK ROSE MYSTERIES, and many more to come.
Set in small, Southern towns, Amanda’s books are page-turning murder mysteries peppered with steamy romance She lives in Arkansas with her handsome husband, two beautiful boys, and three obnoxious dogs.
Text AMANDABOOKS to 66866 to receive Amanda’s newsletter and get the latest on new releases, promos, and freebies!
I found Maggie Shayne through some freebies. Can’t remember if it was her newsletter or someone else’s promoting her work. Doesn’t matter…because now she is a must read author for me. I find a little bit of her personal life leaks into her novels, so be sure and check her out. She writes in several genres, and does them all very well.
I love a series that follows each character in a complete standalone novel. Shattered Sisters has hooked me, and this is my second read in the series. Though it is the first book, it didn’t matter that I read Book II, Forgotten, first. The covers are all fantastic and create a theme.
I love that Toni is an author, writing about a character she wishes she could be. She is tenacious and when she makes up her mind, she does not waver.
Nick is on a mission, but never planned on meeting someone like Toni.
Two damaged characters, brought together by…fate? A mobster that both are determined to bring down.
Romantic suspense is one of my favorite genres. It doesn’t matter if I can figure out the ending ahead of time…boy meets girl, falls in love, happy ever after…maybe even a puppy. It is the journey that I revel in and I look forward to many hours of reading pleasure with Book III of the Shattered Sisters series, Broken.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Reckless by Maggie Shayne.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
Toni del Rio specialized in turning real-life crime into bestselling fiction, and she was aware that danger came with the territory. This time, however, she was in over her head. While researching the New York underworld for her latest book, she’d witnessed a mob hit. Now a thug was pointing a gun at her in a shadowy alley, and she knew she was a goner….
Undercover FBI agent Nick Manelli wasn’t about to kill anyone, but if he didn’t hide the woman immediately, they would both be dead. So he brought her to the only haven he knew — his place.
Alone with Nick in close quarters, Toni couldn’t help fantasizing about her rugged captor — and the desire, she soon discovered, was mutual…
ABOUT MAGGIE SHAYNE
I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm.
My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire–it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone.
No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day–there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!)
That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else!
And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!)
Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we’ve acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the “Monster Moon.” Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat.
Glory is not amused.
She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She’s tolerating the newcomers. Barely.
My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I.
D V Berkom is a must read author for me. Just wanted to let you know, if you would like to get to know her and have Kindle Unlimited, you can grab it HERE, or you can grab Book I, A Killing Truth, HERE.
Leine Basso is a badass. She used to be an assassin and now works for SHEN– Stop Human Enslavement Now – an anti trafficking network, rescuing those who are unable to save themselves. I wondered how D V Berkom would come up with something new for Leine. Trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes. She is a master at rescuing herself, but, this time…I’m not so sure she can do it solo. Not and bring down those who have conspired against her. She has been betrayed…in a very big way.
Leine is missing. Betrayal. A secret organization.
I never imagined the roots of the problem coming for Leine. D V Berkom did come up with a way to keep me enthralled, flipping pages, wondering how in the hell Leine would get out of this mess.
From the opening pages, D V Berkom had me hooked. I felt a kinship to Valentina.
I quit taking notes early on, because I was afraid of spoiling things for you. I wanted to tell you so much, but I will stick to the basics. The danger and suspense is at a high level. Valentina is not aware of those who conspire against her, using her for their own ends. Can Leine Basso save her when the shit hits the fan?
I was bummed at the loss of a man who helped her. Leave it up to D V Berkom to get my emotions riled up. She’s not afraid to kill off a character. Sometimes a character may seem bad and I wonder, can they be redeemed? Others, their greed rules their life. They will stop at nothing to get what they want. Never enough power. Never enough money.
The Leine Basso books can stand alone, but I highly recommend beginning at the beginning, with A Killing Truth, to follow Leine Basso’s life as she morphs into so much more than an assassin, yet those skills will be life saving. I wonder where D V Berkom can go from here. Will Leine always have to fight? Will she ever find a life of love, romance, and safety?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Fatal Objective by D V Berkom.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A missing assassin. An unlikely betrayal. A secret cabal, sowing chaos.
Leine Basso’s missing.
She’s not answering her calls. Or texts. Lou and Santa fear she’s been compromised. According to her operational contact, she’s fine, just busy. When she finally responds it doesn’t sound like her.
The two men who know her best aren’t buying it. Something isn’t right.
Leine Basso’s missing.
And Lou and Santa are going to find out why.
ABOUT D V BERKOM
DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.
Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves (and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned contractor, and writes every chance she gets.
For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.
First off, a round of applause to Alaina Urquhart for her debut novel, The Butcher and the Wren. I am suitably impressed. I loved the title, but once I saw the cover, I had to have it. And the fact that there is something dark lurking in a Louisiana bayou, oh yeah. Just keeps getting better. I love when authors draw on their experiences to pen their work. It helps create a sense of reality, filled with accurate details, enriching my reading experience.
I love that Detective Leroux, who Wren works with to solve serial killer cases, is a bit different from the usual police officer, and you will need to find that out for yourself.
I love the way Alaina Urquhart wrote The Butcher and the Wren, because when I found out what really happened to Emily in the beginning of the book, I was about sixty percent and it hit me hard. I think I see what’s coming and it would have been too easy to see if she hadn’t written this the way she did.
Books like this is why I keep my ‘heavy’ drapes closed.
I would love for part of the book to be fleshed out more, more detail, more evil. I missed the cringing, spinetingling menace that oozes off a five star read, for me.
I must warn you, though. It isn’t a fingertip dangling cliffhanger, but you will need the next book to know the ending. I wish authors and publishers would make that known from the getgo. I look forward to seeing how Alaina Urquhart’s writing career develops and what the outcome will be for Wren and her fellow characters.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid, a thrilling debut novel told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following where his trail of victims leads
Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou: a methodical killer with a penchant for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, taunting the authorities who desperately try to catch up.
But forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner’s office, she’s never encountered a case she couldn’t solve. Until now. Case after case is piling up on Wren’s examination table, and soon she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase with a brutal murderer getting more brazen by the day.
An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter.
ABOUT ALAINA URQUHART (From Amazon)
Alaina Urquhart is the science-loving co-host of the chart-topping show Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. As an autopsy technician by trade, she offers a unique perspective from deep inside the morgue. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her wonderful husband, John, their three amazing daughters, and a ghost puggle named Bailey. She is about 75 percent coffee, and truly believes she and Agent Clarice Starling could be friends.
Before writing her first psychological horror novel, she received degrees in criminal justice, psychology, and biology. When she isn’t hosting Morbid, she hosts the Parcast original show Crime Countdown, and a horror movie podcast called Scream! Her days are usually spent either recording or eviscerating. The way she sees it, when she hangs up her microphone for the day, it’s time to let the dead speak.
I grabbed Long Flight Home by Cassandra Cripps on a free day. It is available on Kindle Unlimited and it was a very pleasant surprise, and I highly recommend it.
Long Flight Home by Cassandra Cripps is sooo much more than I had hoped for.
I’m sure I grabbed Long Flight Home by Cassandra Cripps because of the location, Alaska, the wild frontier. I have watched several TV shows located in Alaska, even a couple shows about the charter business in Alaska.
Their past is tragic, but their love is forever. How they find themselves and the suffering they go through to get to the place they feel they belong is wonderful. The vivid, detailed description of the location, Alaska, made me feel the wind and the cold, and revel in the beauty. It is rare when I get lost in a romance novel that doesn’t include murder and mayhem, so this was a wonderful surprise that I highly recommend to all readers.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
TK
I live my life by rules – too many fucking rules. But, it’s the only way. I messed up once. I slept with the wrong girl. Never again. The rules are my life, my guide. Until she walks in, and one by one, they all crumble. She doesn’t creep her way in like a worm. No, she soars in, like an eagle, refusing to be ignored and digging her claws into my heart. Leaving me vulnerable, wanting more. Wanting her.
Gracie
Home. Happiness. The words used to mean something. Until that night – over a decade ago. When they were stolen from me and my parents forced us to move. Now, I’m back in Alaska, flying bush planes for Homer Air. And, I’ll fight every step I take until those words are real again. The only problem is the reclusive fisherman whom I can’t stop thinking about, despite us fighting every time I see him.
ABOUT CASSANDRA CRIPPS
We all live in the illusions of our own realities. Cassandra’s reality lies between the quiet bridge of complex and chaotic. A single mother to two amazing boys, graphic artist, industrial sewer, author, avid home gardener, baker, reader, and introvert, her hats are many. A refined goth, she’s obsessed with tattoos, shoes, hair dye, chocolate, metal and hip-hop music, and all things dark and creepy except bugs, those are too creepy. Each of her books contains a piece of her reality. Tiny fragments laced with forbidden romance, defining miniature slices of her truths.
