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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.
Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.
Alex Kava is a master storyteller that is on my hit list. I don’t even need to look at the book, just hear her name and I know I want it.
I was lucky enough to meet her a year or two ago and got her autograph for my hardcopy of A Perfect Evil. I love this cover and the story inside. This is the first book in the Maggie O’Dell series.
MY FRIDAY 56
“What makes you say that?” He was annoyed by her matter-of-fact attitude, She had been here only minutes and seemed to have it all figured out.
“You fell here when you tripped, right?” she said, pointing to the torn grass and the indent in the mud.
(page 56 in hardback)
MY BOOK BEGINNINGS
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned.” Ronald Jeffreys’ raspy monotone made the phrase a challenge rather than a confession.
Father Stephen Francis stared at Jeffreys’ hands, mesmerized by the large knuckles and stubby fingers, nails bitten to the quick. The fingers twisted – no, strangled – the corner of his blue government-issue shirt. The old priest imagined those same fingers twisting and choking the life out of little Bobby Wilson.
The brutal murders of three young boys paralyze the citizens of Platte City, Nebraska. What’s worse is the grim realization that the man recently executed for the crimes was a copycat. When Sheriff Nick Morrelli is called to the scene of another grisly murder, it becomes clear that the real predator is still at large, waiting to kill again.
Morreli understands the urgency of the case terrorizing his community, but it’s the experienced eye of FBI criminal profiler Maggie O’Dell that pinpoints the true nature of the evil behind the killings — a revelation made all the more horrific when Morrelli’s own nephew goes missing.
Maggie understands something else: the killer is enjoying himself, relishing his ability to stay one step ahead of her, making this case more personal by the hour. Because out there, watching, is a killer with a heart of pure and perfect evil.
~~~
I have never see this cover before. The colors sure do pop, but it looks too cheesy.
Welcome to another exciting tour with Novel Publicity. Today, I’m excited to share with you, my review of Last Light, by CJ Lyons! Also, make sure you check out the rafflecopter at the end of the post, because Novel Publicity & CJ are giving away scented candles, signed hardbacks. . . AND a KINDLE PAPERWHITE!
MY REVIEW
I love the simple cover for Last Light by C J Lyons and it has all the essentials, telling me the story will be a mystery and I do love my mysteries. It is books like Last Light by C J Lyons that are at the top of must read mountain of reading material. I loved the way the real story began…the hook. Now,.on to how we get there.
I meet the characters and feel their realness. I am being drawn into their lives, even though I was already hooked on the storyline.
Lucy used to be an FBI agent, who now works with an inexperienced crew she will shape and form to solve Cold Cases. I am a huge fan of the Cold Case Files and other crime shows, fact and fiction.
As soon as Lucy and TK got together, I felt they would click, but they both have to prove themselves to each other, above the rest of the ‘team’. I feel these two characters, each with their own flaws, weaknesses and strengths, will become tight.
I love Lucy, a person I may have been able to become, but TK is my fave…hard, pushing herself, untrusting, a loner. A person I would come to admire and respect. She is impulsive, loyal, fearless, teachable and learns from her mistakes.
A small town with asset forfeiture is a side story that had me very pissed off. It all sounds bad…is it corrupt? I can’t talk about the forfeiture storyline because I want you to experience if for yourself. I do want to mention it, because it really got me going. Just enough of a tease here and there to keep me anticipating the hammer to drop on the gang.
The suspects list kept growing and had me guessing. I can see the story playing out and I can hardly wait to get to know how the characters will solve the puzzle. I think they are the true story, above and beyond the mystery.
Last Light by C J Lyons did not blow my mind but it does have all the elements for a fantastic read and I want more of Lucy’s adventures.
I received a copy of Last Light by C J Lyons in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
About the Books
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons. For fans of Lisa Gardner, Tami Hoag, and Jeffery Deaver: “Everything a great thriller should be–action packed, authentic, and intense.” ~#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child
After leaving the FBI, life should be easy, right? Wrong–not if you’re Lucy Guardino.
Lucy has always seen herself as a normal Pittsburgh soccer mom who happened to have a job chasing the worst of the worst. But after a violent predator targets her family and she’s injured, Lucy sacrifices her career with the FBI in order to keep her family safe.
What is she now that she’s no longer a FBI Special Agent? she wonders as she begins her new job with the Beacon Group, a private consulting firm that specializes in cold cases and bringing justice to forgotten victims.Lucy fears she’s traded being a kick-ass law enforcement officer for being a civilian mother hen shepherding a team of amateurs.
What is she now that she’s no longer a FBI Special Agent? she wonders as she begins her new job with the Beacon Group, a private consulting firm that specializes in cold cases and bringing justice to forgotten victims.Lucy fears she’s traded being a kick-ass law enforcement officer for being a civilian mother hen shepherding a team of amateurs.
Her fears appear justified when she’s partnered with TK O’Connor, a former Marine MP struggling with her transition to life back home, and sent to rural Texas to investigate a case that’s more than cold, it’s already been closed with the killers behind bars for the past twenty-nine years.
But…who really killed Lily Martin, her infant daughter, and husband? Why was an entire family targeted for annihilation?
What price will Lucy pay when she fights to expose a truth people will kill to keep buried?
LAST LIGHT is the seventh Lucy Guardino novel, but they can be read out of order. If you enjoy captivating suspense, intelligent storytelling,strong and vulnerable characters, and a freight-train pace, then you’ll love this adrenaline rush of a heart-pounding thriller.
Join the millions of readers who’ve fallen for CJ’s Thrillers with Heart and grab your copy of LAST LIGHT today!
[box caption=”Learn More about the Author, Anne Zoelle ” state=”open”]
Pediatric ER doctor turned New York Times bestselling thriller writer CJ Lyons has been a storyteller all her life—something that landed her in many time-outs as a kid. She writes her Thrillers with Heart for the same reason that she became a doctor: because she believes we all have the power to change our world.
In the ER she witnessed many acts of courage by her patients and their families, learning that heroes truly are born every day. When not writing, she can be found walking the beaches near her Lowcountry home, listening to the voices in her head and plotting new and devious ways to create mayhem for her characters.
Make sure you check out the rafflecopter, because Novel Publicity & CJ are giving away scented candles, signed hardbacks. . . AND a KINDLE PAPERWHITE! a Rafflecopter giveaway
I was very excited when I won a signed paperback of A Piece of You by D M Annechino. I love books about psycho serial killers and HE is a doozy. Suspense thrillers are my favorite genre and even the cover tells me this story may hold a piece of my heart. I love jigsaw puzzles and look forward to finding that missing piece.
A Piece of You by D M Annechino has all the elements I love, from the bloody cover with the missing piece, to the serial killer running AMOK within the pages. I mean…with a line like this:
He opened his duffle bag and removed a hacksaw, a utility knife and a thick towel. He whisered into her ear as if she was still alive. “I’m so sorry Theresa…All I want is A Piece of You.”
in the opening pages, I am HOOKED.
Sometimes when the justice system lets them down, a vigilante thinks it is up to them to right the wrong. HE is making a horrific statement and feels he has nothing to lose. I feel so bad for HIM, but no matter how I twist it, this cannot end well for him and rightly so.
A Piece of You also tells Sami’s story. Have you ever wondered how big someone’s heart can be? When it comes to Sami, the answer is HUGE! . I could not do what she does and I love her for it.
Sami is a tough and righteous homicide detective that will not be swayed from doing the right thing. For some reason, serial killers have become her specialty.
A Piece of You is the third book in the Sami Rizzo Thriller series, but reading out of order didn’t affect my enjoyment. The blanks are filled in and it only makes me want to go back and read what I missed.
I know the story and writing is fantastic, when it makes me fall in love with the villain, feeling his anguish, but knowing no matter what he does, his actions are futile and the price he will pay is high and I cannot stop reading, wondering how it will end.
I want more of Sami Rizzo’s and D M Annechino’s stories and I want them now.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Homicide Detective Sami Rizzo is at it again! She never dreamed “America’s Finest City,” would be tormented by yet another serial killer, but for the third time in the last five years a depraved maniac is stalking the streets of San Diego. Based on her qualifications and prior successes dealing with multiple murders, who else would Captain Davison assign to head the investigation? Different from Sami’s past experiences, this fanatic is like no other. His methods of killing defy everything profilers think they know about serial killers. As an intense investigation begins and bits and pieces of evidence emerge, no one can understand his motivation. He’s merciful, yet brutal. And just to make things even more confusing, all of his victims are blood-related. Is he settling a vendetta? Did he randomly pick a name out of the phone book and begin a rampage? Or is there a deeper story? Based on very little evidence and a lot of gut instincts, Detective Rizzo pieces together a complex puzzle and narrows the field of possible suspects. She learns that the killings may connect in some way to powerful people within the judicial system and doesn’t know who to trust. Ultimately, she comes face to face with the killer for a battle of brain and brawn. Can she outwit the shrewd killer, or will she be his next victim?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of booksandabeat.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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A Piece of You by D M Annechino
I was very excited when I won a signed paperback of A Piece of You by D M Annechino. Suspense thrillers are my favorite genre and even the cover tells me this story may hold a piece of my heart. I love jigsaw puzzles and look forward to finding that missing piece. Review to come soon.
He opened his duffle bag and removed a hacksaw, a utility knife, and a thick towel.
“I’m so sorry, Theresa.”
“You really didn’t deserve this, but I had no choice.”
“All I want is A Piece of You.”
(page 7 of paperback)
GOODREADS BLURB
Homicide Detective Sami Rizzo is at it again! She never dreamed “America’s Finest City,” would be tormented by yet another serial killer, but for the third time in the last five years a depraved maniac is stalking the streets of San Diego. Based on her qualifications and prior successes dealing with multiple murders, who else would Captain Davison assign to head the investigation? Different from Sami’s past experiences, this fanatic is like no other. His methods of killing defy everything profilers think they know about serial killers. As an intense investigation begins and bits and pieces of evidence emerge, no one can understand his motivation. He’s merciful, yet brutal. And just to make things even more confusing, all of his victims are blood-related. Is he settling a vendetta? Did he randomly pick a name out of the phone book and begin a rampage? Or is there a deeper story? Based on very little evidence and a lot of gut instincts, Detective Rizzo pieces together a complex puzzle and narrows the field of possible suspects. She learns that the killings may connect in some way to powerful people within the judicial system and doesn’t know who to trust. Ultimately, she comes face to face with the killer for a battle of brain and brawn. Can she outwit the shrewd killer, or will she be his next victim?
I also have a fabulous new review and giveaway that began…right now. Check it out HERE.
Hidden Chamber of Death by Hawk MacKinney is Book I of the Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series. I love murder, mystery and suspense, so let’s see if we can solve this one.
I love to learn more about authors than what is listed in their bio and Hawk MacKinney is here today to share some of his thoughts. Welcome, Hawk.
What is your next project?
The Cairnes of Sainctuarie Series sci-fi… Volume 3
The Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series…Book 2/Book 3
The 3 manuscripts are in edit. Try to keep 3-5 manuscripts going at the same time. Lets me edit one while the others are on the shelf.
What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
Funny in hindsight…at the time definitely NOT…early-teens…where one knows all the answers before learning one doesn’t even know the questions. Title this Halters and Bits. We raised horses and mules, mainly Quarter Horses…for rounding up/herding cows, calves, colts, heifers/heffers, & assorted yearlings. It was fall, corn cribbed; hay baled; fields ploughed & harrowed…which proved a good thing. My job…corral those brought from the pastures…among our colts—one young colt-stallion. Bareback was an okay-ride…NOT with the gaps down, a rope halter, no bit, and fence gates to the feed stalls wide open. It was plowed cornfield; the stallion decided he wanted me OFF; top of his stall would strike me right about my waist. He went to a full-out gallop. I bailed. Spit dirt clods, corn & corn shucks for a good 10 minutes. Never rode that sucker again without a bridle and spurs.
What is (your) writing schedule?
Up early before the crack of doom, 4-4:30a. Break for lunch, 3-4 hrs afternoon, another break, a couple of hrs. Turn in by 9:30-10p and loose my fantasies to resolve any conundrum dropped into the plot, or have a character I like do the unexpected. ALWAYS keep a note pad by my nightlight
What do you do for fun when not writing?
Read historical non-fiction or the latest quantum revelations out of CERN…there’s some outstanding quantum physics writers that have a gift few ‘scientist-researchers’ possess…their writing is understood by the person in the street.
Have you a favorite actor?
Ingrid Bergman, Katherine Hepburn, Ava Gardner…I’m dating myself, but these actresses don’t need paparazzi or media blitz of so-called stars. They let their craft speak for them…most certainly not available to cast as the young widow of a SEAL
Critters do have a mind of their own and sometimes let us know it. LOL Glad you made it through in one piece. Quantum physics? You lost me, but to know there are scientists out there wanting to reach a lay person, like me, and telling it in words that even I can understand is a great thing. Thanks so much, Hawk, for sharing bits of yourself. 🙂
Be sure and enter the great giveaway at the end of the post.
MY REVIEW
Don’t let the cover for Hidden Chamber of Death by Hawk MacKinney fool you. This story is darker than you think.
A death brings ex-Navy seal, Craige Ingram, and Terri, a recent widow and bank examiner, together. Embezzlement puts Terri smack dab into the middle of danger. Craige will come to the rescue, which is what I expect from a hero. 🙂 Craige is a great guy. He takes you as you are, no bigotry, no judgments.
A grizzly murder and a psycho serial killer always catch my attention. I find out early who the killer is but there is more going on than murder. A death starts an inquiry into the bank records that someone desperately wants to keep quiet.
A bit of romance, a psycho serial killer, greed, embezzlement…it’s all good to me.
I’m not sure what it was about the writing, but it seemed a bit slow and I stumbled off and on…BUT, the ending makes it all worth it, so read on. I will be looking for the next adventure into the Vault of Secrets.
3 STARS
I received a copy of Hidden Chamber of Death by Hawk MacKinney in return for an honest review.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Hidden Chamber of Death is a compelling tale of intrigue, murder, deception and suspense that leads retired Navy SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram in search of the connection between seemingly random murders and a banking conspiracy.
Working with the local homicide investigator, who just happens to be a former Navy buddy, Craige Ingram’s attempts to protect a lonely widow and solve the case before another person dies are only thwarted by a psychotic killer whose motivation is based on pure depraved pleasure. In this first book of the MOCCASIN HOLLOW MYSTERY SERIES, the instincts and skills Ingram and his buddy acquired as Navy SEALS are tested to their limits.
Internationally acclaimed author and public speaker, Hawk MacKinney began writing mysteries for his school newspapers. Following graduation, he served in the US Navy for over 20 years. While serving as a Navy Commander, he also had a career as a full-time faculty member at several major state medical facilities. He earned two postgraduate degrees with studies in languages and history. He has taught postgraduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem, Israel.
In addition to professional articles and texts on fetal and adult anatomy, Hawk has authored several novels that have received national and international recognition.Moccasin Trace, a historical novel, was nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. This was followed by the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. In a change of direction, October of 2012 saw the release of Hawk’s first science fiction novel, The Bleikovat Event, in The Cairns of Sainctuarie series. Volume II, The Missing Planets, was released in 2014 with Volume III in the works.
Hawk’s latest project focuses on The Moccasin Hollow Mystery Series. Hidden Chamber of Death is Book 1 in the series.
Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay is part of a series, but can stand alone. I have been reading his work, since the Dexter novels.
Jeff Lindsay’s abilities to describe his characters and their surroundings are so vivid and detailed they come to life through his words.
He talks about Key West, the only thing on my bucket list, and makes we want to be there. I would be in heaven in a lean-to on the beach.
Billy and Nancy have a relationship that is on again and off again. Billy’s attitude doesn’t help the situation. He’s starting bar fights and going to jail and that sure isn’t going to win her over.
I love Nicky. He is a friend of Billy’s, a quirky character who believes in astrology and crystals and runs a New Age store. He is a true diehard friend of Billy’s and is there when he needs a two by four upside the head, which is all too often.
Comical writing with wit and snark. The characters are so much fun, I would find myself busting out laughing here and there, looking around to see if anyone thinks I’m crazy.
Water, boats, booze and babes, fishing…and dead bodies?
The trio, Nicky, Anna and Billy are going to solve the mystery of the dead Haitians and black magic.
Jeff creates twisted and flawed characters that had me laughing and cussing, thank God for friends and favors, because Billy was calling them all in.
A dark cozy that had me trying to figure the outcome. One of two ways in my book. I want him to be a hero, but which kind? Who will survive the black magic? The chase for the bocor gets pretty intense and the ending was twisted in a way I thought was great and saw coming, sorta. My only complaint, the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning. Until the kidnapping, I felt no sense of urgency. My expectations are always high when it come to Jeff Lindsay, so maybe that is my fault. I would highly recommend any of his work.
I received an ARC of Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
From Jeff Lindsay, the bestselling author of the Dexter series, comes the long-awaited sequel to his debut novel, Tropical Depression, featuring ex-cop Billy Knight.
Billy Knight wants to ride out Key West’s slow-season with the occasional charter and the frequent beer. But when he discovers a dead body floating in the gulf, Billy gets drawn into a deadly plot of dark magic and profound evil. Along with his spiritually-attuned terrier of a friend, Nicky, and Anna, a resilient and mysterious survivor of her own horrors, Billy sets out to right the wrongs the police won’t, putting himself in mortal peril on the high seas.
As the title of Lindsay’s latest book declares, Dexter is dead—the serial killer saga is over. Now, Red Tide offers fans of Jeff Lindsay a new thriller, one twenty years in the making.
Read an excerpt:
Excerpted from Chapter 4 of RED TIDE: A BILLY KNIGHT THRILLER
By Jeff Lindsay
Miami has this problem with its boaters. Some of them are still sane, rational, careful people—perhaps as many as three or four out of every ten thousand of them. The rest act like they escaped from the asylum, drank a bottle of vodka, snorted an ounce of coke, ate 25 or 30 downers and decided to go for a spin. Homicidal, sociopathic maniacs, wildly out of control, with not a clue that other people are actually alive, and interested in keeping it that way. To them, other boats are targets. They get in the boat knowing only two speeds: fast and blast-off.
I mentioned a few of these things to the boats that tried to kill me. I don’t think they could hear me over the engine roar. One of the boats had four giant outboard motors clamped on the back; 250 horsepower each, all going at full throttle no more than six inches from Sligo. If I had put the boom out I would have beheaded the boat’s driver. He might not have noticed.
“To get a driver’s license,” I said to Nicky through gritted teeth, “you have to be sixteen, take a test, and demonstrate minimal skill behind the wheel.”
Nicky was busy fumbling on a bright orange life jacket, fingers trembling, and swearing under his breath.
“To drive a boat—which is just as fast, bigger, and in conditions just as crowded and usually more hazardous—you have to be able to start the motor. That’s all. Just start the motor. There’s something wrong with this picture, Nicky.”
“There is, mate,” he said. “We’re in it. Can you get us out of here?”
My luck was working overtime. We had four more close scrapes—one with a huge Italian-built motor yacht that was 100 feet long, cruising down the center of the channel at a stately thirty knots, but I got us out of the channel alive and undamaged. When I cleared the last two markers and turned into the wind I told Nicky, “Okay. Raise the sails.”
He stared at me for a moment. “Sure. Of course. How?”
It turned out Nicky had never been on a sailboat before. So he held the tiller while I went forward to the mast and ran the sails up. Then I jumped back into the cockpit and killed the engine.
“Home, James,” said Nicky, popping two beers and handing me one. “It’s been a bitch of a morning.”
I took the beer and pointed our bow south.
It was a near-perfect day, with a steady, easy wind coming from the east. We sailed south at a gentle five knots, staring at the scenery. Cape Florida looked strange, embarrassed to be naked. All its trees had been stripped away by the hurricane. Farther south, the stacks of Turkey Point Nuclear Reactor stuck up into the air, visible for miles. It was a wonderful landmark for all the boaters. Just steer thataway, Ray Bob, over there towards all them glowing fishes.
• • •
The weather held. We made it down through the Keys in easy stages, staying the first two nights in small marinas along the way, rising at dawn for a lazy breakfast in the cockpit, then casting off and getting the sails up as quickly as possible. Part of the pure joy of the trip was in the sound of the wind and the lack of any kind of machine noise. We’d agreed to do without the engine whenever we could.
That turned out to be most of the time. Nicky took to sailing quickly and without effort. We fell into the rhythm of the wind and the waves so easily, so naturally, that it was like we had been doing this forever, and would keep doing it until one day we were too old and dry and simply blew gently over the rail, wafted away on a wave.
The third night we could have made it in to Key West. But we would have been docking in the dark, and working a little harder than we wanted to. So we pulled in to a small marina with plenty of time left before sunset.
Nicky used the time doing what he called rustling up grub. I don’t know if that’s how they say it in Australia, or if he heard it in some old John Wayne movie. From what he’d told me about Australia, there’s not much difference.
I sat in the cockpit with a beer, stretched out under the blue Bimini top, and waited for Nicky to get back. I had a lot to think about, so I tried not to. But my thoughts were pretty well centered on Nancy.
It was over. It wasn’t over. I should do something. I should let it take its course. It wasn’t too late. It had been too late for months. Eeny meeny miny mo.
Luckily, Nicky came back before I went completely insane. He was clutching a bag of groceries and two more six packs of beer.
“Ahoy the poop,” he shouted. “How ’bout a hand, mate?”
I got him safely aboard and he went below to the little kitchen. It sounded like he was trying to put a hole in the hull with an old stop sign while singing comic opera, so I stayed in the cockpit, watching the sun sink and thinking my thoughts.
There is something very special about sunset in a marina. All the people in their boats have done something today. They have risked something and achieved something, and it gives them all a pleasant smugness that makes them very good company at happy hour. A few hours later the people off the big sports fishermen will be loud obnoxious drunks and the couples in their small cruising sailboats will be snarling at them self-righteously from their Birkenstocks, but at sunset they are all brothers and sisters and there are very few places in the world better for watching the sun go down than from the deck of a boat tied safely in a marina after a day on the water.
I sipped a beer. I felt good, too, although my mind kept circling back to Nancy, and every time it did my mood lurched downwards. But it’s hard to feel bad on a sailboat. That’s one reason people still sail.
Anyway, tomorrow we would be home. I could worry about it then.
Early the next morning we were working our way towards Key West, about two miles off shore on the ocean side. We had decided on the ocean side because of the mild weather. With the prevailing wind from the east, we would have a better sail on the outside, instead of in the calmer waters of the Gulf on the inside of the Keys.
And because the weather was so mild, we went out a little further than usual. Nicky was curious about the Gulf Stream, which runs close to the Keys. I put us onto its edge, and by early afternoon we were only a few miles out of Key West.
Nicky had dragged up his black plastic box and, surprise, pulled out a large handgun.
Like a lot of other foreigners who settle in the USA, Nicky had become a gun nut. He was not dangerous, or no more dangerous than he was at the dinner table. In fact he had become an expert shot and a fast draw. The fast draw part had seemed important to him out of all proportion to how much it really mattered. I put it down to the horrors of growing up a runt in Australia.
Somehow Nicky managed to rationalize his new love for guns with his philosophy of All-Things-Are-One brotherhood. “Simple, mate,” he’d said with a wink, “I’m working out a past life karmic burden.”
“Horseshit.”
“All right then, I just like the bloody things. How’s that?”
Nicky had a new gun. He wanted to fire off a few clips and get the feel of it. Since we were out in the Stream and the nearest boat was almost invisible on the horizon, I didn’t see any reason why not. So Nicky shoved in a clip and got ready to fire his lovely new toy.
It was a nine millimeter Sig Sauer, an elegant and expensive weapon that Nicky needed about as much as he needed a Sharp’s buffalo rifle, but he had it and so far he hadn’t blown off his foot with it. I was hoping he would stay lucky.
“Ahoy, mate,” called Nicky, pointing the gun off to the south, “thar she blows.”
I turned to follow his point. A bleach bottle was sailing slowly out into the Gulf Stream.
“Come on,” Nicky urged, “pedal to the metal, mate.”
I tightened the main sheet and turned the boat slightly to give him a clear shot and Nicky opened up. He fired rapidly and well. The bleach bottle leaped into the air and he plugged it twice more before it came down again. He sent it flying across the water until the clip was empty and the bottle, full of holes, started to settle under.
I chased down the bottle and hooked it out with a boathook before it sank from sight. There’s enough crap in the ocean. Nicky was already shoving in a fresh clip.
“Onward, my man,” he told me, slamming home the clip and letting out a high, raucous, “Eeee-HAH!” as he opened a new beer. We were moving out further than we should have, maybe, out into the Gulf Stream. It’s easy to know when you’re there. You see a very abrupt color change, which is just what it sounds like: the water suddenly changes from a gunmetal green to a luminous blue. The edge where the change happens is as hard and startling as a knife-edge.
“Ahoy, matey,” Nicky called again, pointing out beyond the color change, and I headed out into the Gulf Stream for the new target.
“Coconut!” Nicky called with excitement as we got closer. It was his favorite target. He loved the way they exploded when he hit them dead on.
I made the turn, adjusting the sheet line and again presenting our broadside, and swiveled my head to watch.
Nicky was already squinting. His hand wavered over the black nylon holster clipped to his belt. He let his muscles go slack and ready. I stared at the coconut. From fifty yards it suddenly looked wrong. The color was almost right, a greyish brown, and the dull texture seemed to fit, but—
“Hang on, Nicky,” I said, “Just a second—”
But the first two shots were already smacking away, splitting the sudden quiet.
I shoved the tiller hard over and brought us into the wind. The boat lurched and made Nicky miss his second shot. He looked at me with an expression of annoyance. I nodded at his target. He had hit the coconut dead center with the first shot. It should have leapt out of the water in a spectacular explosion. It hadn’t. The impact of the shot pushed it slowly, sluggishly through the water and we could both see it clearly now.
It wasn’t a coconut. Not at all. It was a human head.
Author Bio:
Jeff Lindsay is the award-winning author of the seven New York Times bestselling Dexter novels upon which the international hit TV show Dexter is based. His books appear in more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies around the world. Jeff is a graduate of Middlebury College, Celebration Mime Clown School, and has a double MFA from Carnegie Mellon. Although a full-time writer now, he has worked as an actor, comic, director, MC, DJ, singer, songwriter, composer, musician, story analyst, script doctor, and screenwriter.
Catch Up:
Tour Participants:
GIVEAWAY This is a giveaway hosted by Diversion Books for Jeff Lindsay. There will be 5 winners of 1 eBook copy of RED TIDE by Jeff Lindsay. The giveaway begins on October 26th, 2015 and runs through November 11th, 2015. a Rafflecopter giveaway
When Murder Calls by Emelle Gamble is a cozy mystery that twists and turns and kept me guessing, my curiosity rising as the suspense builds. Who is the Grim Reaper?
Megan is a single parent with two small children and with a serial killer on the loose she is concerned for her children’s safety. Dead bodies are piling up around her and she should be more careful about who she trusts.
I think Jack is in for a surprise when he meets Megan. They are drawn together, but Jack is hiding something. She has freed herself from a bad marriage and does not want to go down that road again.
As if a serial killer and a questionable man in her life aren’t enough, her ex husband and his fiance appearing on her doorstep is the last thing she needs. I can imagine how the anger threatened to overwhelm her, but she would not break down in front of her children. I love that Megan put them front and center.
Dean, the on again off again dad, suddenly appearing pissed me off more than the Grim Reaper. He thought he could drop in and play dad in complete disregard for Megan, not even giving her a heads up. I was super ticked and I couldn’t help but laugh at myself.
Mystery, murders, a single woman with two small children struggling to finish school and create a better life for her and her kids, a hot looking man wanting to share that life, what more could we want in a cozy?
A serial killer is on the loose from the opening pages. I love serial killers. Several suspects pop up early, but I keep thinking they are too obvious. The suspense was slow boiling, but Emelle kept me guessing and the pacing picked up as I neared the end.
When Murder Calls by Emelle Gamble is one of those of books where I would think it’s over, then something else would happen, then I would think it’s over, then something else would happen…The action and suspense continued into the last pages. I would have liked to have more of an ending, but I know all I need to know and I am good with that.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
From Goodreads: Megan Summers, TV-ratings coordinator and single mom to two, was just getting her life in order when a killer – dubbed the Grim Reaper by the media – donned a badge and caused chaos in the cozy ocean side hamlet.
Everyone one she knows feels like a suspect, except for attractive new employee Jack Gallagher. Despite his odd obsession and his hidden agenda, he gave Megan support, shelter, and some romance she didn’t think she wanted.
But was the haven of his arms enough to shield her from the Reaper?
This cozy romantic suspense was originally published by Harlequin Intrigue in paperback.
ABOUT EMELLE GAMBLE
From Goodreads: Emelle Gamble was a writer at an early age, bursting with the requisite childhood stories of introspection which evolved into bad teen poetry and attempts at ‘real literature’ all copies of which she has since, very sensibly, shredded. She took her first stab at romantic fiction in an adult education writing class when her kids were in bed, taught by fellow writer Carolyn Haines, in Mobile, Alabama. As M.L. Gamble, she published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin. She is now contracted with Soul Mate Publishing for Secret Sister, summer of 2013, and Dating Cary Grant, an early 2014 release.
Always intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Emelle’s books feature an ordinary woman confronted with an extraordinary situation. She most enjoys reading stories that surprise and amaze her, and hopes her readers will enjoy the challenging and exciting journeys her characters take.
Emelle lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her husband, Phil, her hero of thirty years, and two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. Her daughter, Olivia, and son, Allen, are happily launched on their own and contributing great things to society, which has always been their mother’s fondest wish.
There must have been more than a hundred robins as they danced through the air, bathed in the birdbath and had a snack. They have hung around for two days. Whether they will be here on Tuesday, I prepared this post on Monday, I don’t know, but I will be looking.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
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EVANGELINE by E A Gottschalk.
This creepy cover makes it a perfect read for all my challenges, Goodreads, A to Z and Horror.
This is a seriously messed up story and I am looking forward to reading it.
On “Amen” I sensed Ted’s eyes shift Angeline’s direction. Sister bounced a nervous glance off his ravenous look then quickly turned away. She knew it wasn’t the meal he hungered for, and the notion twisted her guts.
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(4% on Kindle)
SYNOPSIS
Sixteen year-old Angeline Gottschalk, a shy farmer’s daughter from rural Nebraska, is the country’s most notorious serial killer… and doesn’t even know it. That’s because while she sleeps, her psychotic alter-ego, Evangeline, is on the loose and raising bloody hell in the American Heartland.
Unaware she shares space in her head with the infamous murderer; Angeline and her wicked “sister” seem destined never to meet, until Evangeline’s next target turns out to be the boy Angeline loves.
Narrated with a gleefully twisted sense of humor by Evangeline Gottschalk, Nebraska’s “Level 3 Killer”, this dark and disturbing memoir invites readers to buckle up and come along on a bad girl’s violent crusade against injustice, and into the savage depths of her fractured mind.
Second Edition, February 2014
Includes all five books in the series.
Contains strong language, sexual situations and violence.
This novel had me on the edge of my seat. Candice Fox had some twists and turns that surprised and amazed me. One, especially. I felt it coming, but didn’t want it to happen. I love when an author can keep me guessing, is she really gonna do that? And the ending? Awesome and I can hardly wait to read the next book!
Is there a book that stands out in YOUR mind where the author kept YOU guessing until the very end?
Covers are very important to me and this one spoke volumes. I knew something bad would happen, but the butterfly made me wonder if there was a ray of hope for the girl. What do you think?
I read the blurb and it said Dexter-ish, so that only peaked my interest more. I loved the show and the books and was left wanting more, just like Hades.
The book starts out dark and grim and stays that way. The descriptions and details make me cringe at the Hell I have entered. This is Candice’s debut novel and she knocked it out of the ballpark. So, come with me, into this evil and dangerous world of human monsters. Because, yes, there is more than one human being that doesn’t deserve to draw breath in our world.
Hades – Lord of the Underworld. He creates sculptures from junk, believing things should not be so easily tossed aside, just like Eden and Eric, brother and sister. They exude danger. He did not seek them out, but he will not give them up. They give him hope, where he had none before. How does he end up with “family?” That is a mystery worth finding out for yourself.
Eden – a loner, switchblade in hand, manicured yet ready for battle.
Eric – well, what can I say about Eric. Nothing good.
Frank – a detective, selfish, arrogant. Eden’s new partner, which she isn’t that happy about.
Jason – serial killer and psychopath. He had been abused and was puzzled by feelings, both animal and human. They are beyond his understanding. But, he is so much more than just your run of the mill serial killer.
When I didn’t think think it could get any worse, it did, and in a big way.
What breeds a serial killer? The age old question – Nature or nuture?
We all have our beliefs and boundaries. Desperation will cause people to justify their actions, no matter how grotesque and horrendous.
I watch a lot of crime shows and read a lot of crime books, both fact and fiction, trying to get a glimpse into their minds. How does a serial killer and psychopath think? How can they do the things they do? I have yet to be able to understand. I just can’t see it. I believe they are so damaged and evil, they cannot be redeemed. Do the ones who catch them have to become them?
When Eden and Frank talked to Derek and Eliza, my anger and rage went off the charts. I would have loved to pull out a gun and shoot them on the spot. How in the world can they plead for mercy after what they have done?
And Martina – OMG.
OMG – I knew it was coming, but damn, I didn’t see it coming this way. I kept telling Candice, no, please don’t do it. Hello “Dexter”. I can’t believe it took me this long for it all to come together. The two different, yet connected storylines fooled me. This is such a great approach to the serial killer. I love the twists to a well known storyline.
I was blown away by Candice Fox’s debut novel. She got me on the cliff and made me hang there, wanting to read more, yet afraid to go on. I was pissed, enraged, terrified and heartbroken. The ending – I can’t get over it. Candice had surprise after surprise in store for me and I loved every minute of it.
More to come in Eden, Book II. Check out the book cover below. That is how I felt while reading Hades.
I received Hades by Candice Fox from Net Galley in return for an honest and unbiased review.
5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)
SYNOPSIS
A dark, compelling and original thriller that will have you spellbound from its atmospheric opening pages to its shocking climax. Hades is the debut of a stunning new talent in crime fiction.
Hades Archer, the man they call the Lord of the Underworld, surrounds himself with the things others leave behind. Their trash becomes the twisted sculptures that line his junkyard. The bodies they want disposed of become his problem for a fee. Then one night a man arrives on his doorstep, clutching a small bundle that he wants ‘lost’. And Hades makes a decision that will change everything…
Twenty years later, homicide detective Frank Bennett feels like the luckiest man on the force when he meets his new partner, the dark and beautiful Eden Archer. But there’s something strange about Eden and her brother, Eric. Something he can’t quite put his finger on. When the two detectives are called to the scene of an attempted drowning, they find a traumatized victim telling a story that’s hard to believe – until the divers start bringing up bodies.
Frank is now on the hunt for a very different kind of serial killer: one who offers the sick and dying hope at murderous cost. At first, his partner’s sharp instincts come in handy. Soon, he’s wondering if she’s as dangerous as the man they hunt.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Candice Fox is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney’s western suburbs composed of half-, adopted and pseudo siblings. The daughter of a prison parole officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent many of her early Christmases travelling to Long Bay Correctional Facility in the family minibus to knock on prison cell windows, run around the razor-wired yard and eat fruitcake prepared by inmates. While her mother and stepfather developed an ever-growing mob of Sydney’s most disadvantaged children throughout her later youth, entertainment had to be cheap. She spent her school holidays exploring free, open spaces – farms, bushland and cemeteries.
As a cynical and trouble-making teenager, her crime and gothic fiction writing was an escape from the calamity of her home life.
Bankstown born and bred, she failed to conform to military life in a brief stint as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy at age eighteen. At twenty, she turned her hand to academia, and taught high school through two undergraduate and two postgraduate degrees. She currently works lecturing writing at the University of Notre Dame while undertaking a PhD in literary censorship and terrorism.
She recently won the Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Fiction.