Memory Surgeon – The Color Of Betrayal by Hollie Smurthwaite @H_Smurthwaite

Posted on November 4, 2023 by fundinmental

MY REVIEW

I will warn you about The Color of Betrayal by Hollie Smurthwaite. There are triggers involve: explicit sex scenes that are smokin’ hot, alcoholism, violence and plenty of profanity. Sounds right up my alley, how about yours? LOL

Jolene is a memory surgeon working for the Agency, a spy. She could read people’s memories, but did her best not to remove them. If she did, they became hers and that is a heavy load to bear. She has no family, losing her best friend when the Agency faked her death. Exercise is her panacea, being still an impossibility. Jogging made her feel free.

Their team consists of five people: Jolene, Stadler, Sara, Ryan and Jorge. Ryan was the older brother, Sara is the rebel sibling, Stadler is the father figure, Jorge is the younger brother, and Jolene is the fucked up child.

She meets Cass in the coffee shop and is immediately smitten. She has no time for a relationship and too many secrets to keep. Their dialogue, as their relationship builds, has me cracking up, but he has his secrets too.

The deeper into the story I go, the more I choose the characters I will root for and those I want to see go down. The danger rises as secrets are exposed and betrayals come to light. I was so surprised at The Agency and never saw that coming, though any group that keeps secrets to work outside the normal boundaries, can be considered armed and dangerous.

Jolene will be put to the test all right. Will she be stronger for it, or will it be the end of her? Who can she count on for support? Can she have a romantic life?

Even though the books in the series can be read as stand alones, I highly recommend starting with the first, because the characters will be making an appearance in future books and knowing their backgrounds adds extra to the stories to come.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Jolene, a recovering alcoholic with the psychic ability to experience people’s memories, helps a secret government agency take down drug syndicates.

No secret is safe . . .

As a memory surgeon, Jolene can slip into other people’s memories. She can see them, experience them, even steal them. To atone for her past, she’s been using her psychic gift to help the Agency, a secret government entity, taking out drug lords across the US. After a screw-up on an assignment, she’s back in Chicago, where her own worst memories live.

The last thing she needs while trying to make up for her mistake is a sexy distraction. Cass is a little sweet and a lot gorgeous. The only problem: she can’t have him and the job. But when he offers his friendship, she can’t resist.

While Jolene and Cass try to pretend there is nothing beneath their friendship, her mission spins out of control. Now, both their lives are on the line. Will her growing powers be enough to save her? Or will secrets send her right back to the darkest depths of her past?

The Color of Betrayal is a steamy paranormal romantic suspense novel with psychics, spies, twists, and dark themes. Great for fans of KF Breene, Jeaniene Frost, and Kim Harrison.

Although this is book two of the series, it can be read as a standalone. The main characters change each novel.

Content warning: Explicit sex scenes, references and depictions of physical violence (NOT between the protagonists), alcoholism, profanity and not just a little.

Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller
343 pages, ebook
Published October 31, 2022 by Hollie Smurthwaite
Series: The Psychic Colors Series, Book 2

ABOUT HOLLIE SMURTHWAITE

Hollie Smurthwaite is a paranormal romantic suspense author of The Color of Trauma and The Color of Betrayal. The Color of Trauma was the winner of the 2020 Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project in adult fiction. She lives in Chicago with her husband, son, and too few pets. In past lives, she’s been a checkout clerk, massage therapist, office manager, recruiter, magazine staff writer, pepper spray hawker, and belly dancer.

Website: https://holliesmurthwaite.com
LinkTree https://linktr.ee/hollie_smurthwaite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/H_Smurthwaite
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/2336027206
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hsmurthwaite/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollieSmurthwaiteAuthor/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollie-smurthwaite-03376516b/
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/3u3aOF6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/75834809-hollie-smurthwaite

MY HOLLIE SMURTHWAITE REVIEWS

The Color of Trauma

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Giveaway – Citizen Orlov by Jonathan Payne @partnersincr1me @jon7payne

Posted on September 16, 2023 by fundinmental

Citizen Orlov

by Jonathan Payne

September 4-29, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Not every fishmonger can be a secret agent.

Journey to an unnamed mountainous country in central Europe at the end of the Great War. Enter Citizen Orlov, a simple fishmonger and an honest, upright citizen, who answers a phone call meant for a secret agent and stumbles into a hidden world of espionage and secrecy. Recruited by the Ministry of Security, he is sent on assignment to safeguard the king.

But Orlov soon discovers that his ministry handler, the alluring femme fatale Agent Zelle, is planning not to protect the king but to assassinate him. Caught in a web of plot and counterplot, confusing loyalties, and explosive betrayals, Orlov finds himself on trial for murder. Given the opportunity to clear his name, he finds that the lives of his friends, mother, and fellow citizens hang in the balance.

Praise for CITIZEN ORLOV:

“A triumph—and an answer to that age-old question of what would have happened had Gogol, Kafka and G. K. Chesterton collaborated on a thriller. A timeless work which will, I fear, be forever timely.”
~ Dixe Wills, author of Places to Hide and New World Order

“Jonathan Payne’s Citizen Orlov is a stunning debut! A page turning, down-the-rabbit-hole delight, told with equal measure of wit and suspense. A timeless classic for our current moment; a paranoid and comic thriller with a surprise on every page. I loved it!”
~ Don Scardino, Producer/Director, 30 Rock, New Amsterdam

“Highly engaging, and written with an engaging lightness of touch, Citizen Orlov marks the debut of a comic novelist to watch for the future.”
~ Dr. Adam Lively, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing & Programme Leader, MA Novel Writing, Middlesex University

“The blend of action and picaresque buffoonery flatteringly calls Conan Doyle’s Brigadier Gerard tales to mind, and Payne pulls off a genuinely surprising conclusion. This auspicious debut announces a bright new voice in comic suspense.”
~ Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

[An] odyssey that seems part Kafka, part ‘Alice in Wonderland.
~ Wall Street Journal

Book Details:

Genre: Espionage Thriller
Published by: CamCat Books
Publication Date: May 2023
Number of Pages: 288
ISBN: 9780744309010 (ISBN10: 0744309018)
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books

Read an excerpt:

On a frigid winter’s morning in a mountainous region of central Europe, Citizen Orlov, a simple fishmonger, is taking a shortcut along the dank alley behind the Ministries of Security and Intelligence when a telephone begins to ring. He thinks nothing of it and continues on his daily constitutional, his heavy boots crunching the snow between the cobbles.

The ringing continues, becoming louder with each step. A window at the back of the ministry buildings is open, just a little. The ringing telephone sits on a table next to the open window. Orlov stops, troubled by this unusual scene: there is no reason for a window to be open on such a cold day. Since this is the Ministry of either Security or Intelligence, could an open window be a security breach of some kind?

Orlov is tempted to walk away. After all, this telephone call is none of his business. On the other hand, he is an upright and patriotic citizen who would not want to see national security compromised simply because no one was available to answer a telephone call. He is on the verge of stepping toward the open window when he hears footsteps ahead. A tight group of four soldiers is marching into the alley, rifles on shoulders. He freezes for a second, leans against

the wall, and quickly lights a cigarette. By the time the soldiers reach him, Orlov is dragging on the cigarette and working hard to appear nonchalant. The soldiers are palace guardsmen, but the red insignia on their uniforms indicates they are part of the elite unit that protects the Crown Prince, the king’s ambitious older son. Orlov nods politely, but the soldiers ignore him and march on at speed.

The telephone is still ringing. Someone very much wants an answer. Orlov stubs his cigarette on the wall and approaches the open window. The telephone is loud in his right ear. Peering through the gap, he sees a small, gloomy storeroom with neatly appointed shelves full of stationery.

Finally, he can stand it no longer. He reaches through the window, picks up the receiver, and pulls it on its long and winding cable out through the window to his ear.

“Hello?” says Orlov, looking up and down the alley to check he

is still alone.

“Thank God. Where have you been?” says an agitated voice, distant and crackly. Orlov is unsure what to say. The voice continues. “Kosek. Right now.”

“I’m sorry?” says Orlov.

“Kosek. Agent Kosek.”

Orlov peers into the storeroom again. “There’s no one here,” he says.

“Well, fetch him then. And hurry, for God’s sake. It’s important.”

Orlov is sorely tempted to end the call and walk away, but the voice is so angry that he dare not.

“One minute,” he says, and lays the receiver on the table. He opens the window wider and, with some considerable effort, pulls himself headfirst into the storeroom, where he tumbles onto the floor. Picking himself up, he slaps the dust from his overcoat, opens the storeroom door, and peers along the hallway; all is dark and quiet.

With some trepidation, Orlov returns to the telephone. “Hello?” he says.

“Kosek?”

“No, sorry. I’ll have to take a message.”

The caller is still agitated. “Well, focus on what I’m about to say. It’s life and death.”

Orlov’s hands are shaking. “Hold on,” he says, “I’ll fetch some paper.”

Before he can put the receiver down, the caller explodes with anger. “Are you a simpleton? Do not write this down. Remember it.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry,” says Orlov. “I’ll remember it.”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Here it is. We could not—repeat not—install it in room six. Don’t ask why, it’s a long story.”

The man is about to continue, but Orlov interrupts him. “Should I include that in the message: ‘it’s a long story’?”

“Mother of God,” shouts the man. “Why do they always give me the village idiot? No. Forget that part. I’ll start again.”

“Ready,” says Orlov.

This time the man speaks slower and more deliberately, as if to a child. “We could not—repeat not—install it in room six. You need to get room seven. It’s hidden above the wardrobe. Push the lever up, not down. Repeat that back to me.”

Orlov is now shaking all over, and he grimaces as he forces himself to focus. He repeats the message slowly but correctly.

“Whatever else you do, get that message to Kosek, in person. No one else. Lives depend on it. Understood?”

“Understood,” says Orlov, and the line goes dead.

***

Author Bio:

Jonathan Payne is a British-American writer based outside Washington, D.C. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Novel Writing from Middlesex University, London. His short fiction has been featured at the North London Story Festival and in magazines including Turnpike, Twist in Time and Fiction Kitchen Berlin. Before moving to the United States, he worked for the British government on matters of national security. When not writing or reading, he can be found in the boxing gym.

Catch Up With Jonathan Payne:
www.JonathanPayne.org
Goodreads
BookBub – @jon7payne
Instagram – @jon7payne
Twitter – @jon7payne

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway!

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN:

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Jonathan Payne & CamCat Books. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

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From My TBR – Lethal Circuit by Lars Guignard @Lars_Gu

Posted on May 7, 2020 by fundinmental

Lethal Circuit by Lars Guignard is the oldest book on my want to read shelf of Goodreads. I added it on 5.13.12, the same month I joined Goodreads and began blogging. That’s a long time to wait…

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I feel Lethal Circuit by Lars Guignard reads like a Clive Cussler novel or an Indiana Jones movie and I do love a grand adventure.

Michael flies to China to investigate his father’s so called accidental death. The shit hits the fan as soon as he lands…and thank goodness Kate was there. Was it by coincidence?

Well, there are plenty of twists, turns, and betrayal that kept me reading until the last page was turned. I do love book surprises, and Lethal Circuit has its fair share.

GOODREADS BLURB

A Chinese satellite is on crash course with Earth.
It contains enough plutonium to irradiate a large city.
And that’s the good news…

In the tradition of Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Robert Ludlum, comes a new hero.

Michael Chase is a twenty-six year old backpacker, a recent college grad, an amateur. He flew to Hong Kong to find his missing father. Four hours later, he’s running for his life. The Chinese Secret Police want him dead. The Conspiracy wants him dead. And the one person who he thinks is on his side, may want him dead too. If Michael is going to live, he’ll need to find a hidden piece of Nazi technology lost since World War II. And he’ll have to do it before anyone else. Because if he doesn’t, a little plutonium is going to be the least of his problems.

ABOUT LARS GUIGNARD

Lars Guignard is the author of the bestselling Zoe & Zak Adventure series and the Circuit series of novels.

Ever since attending high school in the Indian Himalayas, Lars has been an avid backpacker and traveler. After a stint spent circling the globe, he settled down long enough to attend the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. He then went on to work as screenwriter in the film and television industry.

After way too much California sunshine, Lars moved to the Pacific Northwest where he now devotes his time to getting rained on and writing books.

Lars can be contacted at his website (www.larsguignard.com) He would love to hear from you.

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#BooksFromTheBacklog – The Folks At Fifty-Eight by Michael Patrick Clark #MichaelPatrickClark

Posted on September 26, 2019 by fundinmental

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Gerald Hammond is the exception to the rule; an honorable spy, whose lofty principles have brought him nothing but loneliness and isolation.
With the war in Europe at an end, Hammond returns to Washington only to find his unit disbanded and his wife moved out of the marital home.
Ostracized by the Washington elite, publicly humiliated by an unfaithful wife, and scorned by former friends and colleagues, he is forced to take a mundane job with an insurance company. . . But then comes the call.
The State Department wants him to rescue a young woman, trapped in Soviet East Germany. Should he succeed a plum job at The State Department awaits.
Desperate for deliverance from his humdrum existence, Hammond accepts the assignment.
He heads into enemy territory, unaware of the sinister force that sponsored his mission or of the unseen dangers that lie in wait. He only knows that he must somehow save the girl to save himself, but as his enemies close in, and ever-more disturbing revelations come to light, Gerald Hammond begins to wonder which poses the greatest threat. . . The enemy he runs from, the friend he runs to, or the girl he was sent to save?

“Fast paced thriller with lots of action – I couldn’t put it down!!” – Amazon Reviewer

“Delicious spy novel, bold and graphic.” – Amazon Reviewer

“A tremendous book – a definite page turner”- Amazon Reviewer

“This is the best spy novel I have read in quite some time” – Amazon Reviewer

“I purchased this based on the reviews, and it exceeded expectations” – Amazon Reviewer

“And be warned, there’s bad language, sex, sadistic murders, regular murders, etc. in this book. It’s a spy novel…stay out of the kitchen if you don’t like this kind of heat.” – Amazon Reviewer

I love a good conspiracy now and then and The Folks at Fifty Eight sounded like it might foot the bill. Pretty good cover too. I added this to my TBR on 5.13.12. It averages 3.45 on Goodreads.

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Teaser Tuesday #97 – The Last Deception by D V Berkom @dvberkom

Posted on November 7, 2017 by fundinmental

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday hosted by The Purple Booker, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR, or just share what you are currently reading. It is very easy to play along:

• 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! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

~~~~~~

I have read a lot of DV Berkom’s novels and enjoyed everyone tremendously. If you are looking for an author to follow, I recommend her. She has strong female characters that manage to get into some thrilling situations.

The Last Deception is D V Berkom’s sixth novel in the Leine Basso series. They can all stand alone, but I have loved each and every one, so I recommend starting at the beginning.

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

MY TEASE

“How would they know it their patient was my son? This letter states he was on a clandestine operation.If true, he would not have carried identification.If he had, then the bombing would have wiped out any credentials.”

(page 69 in paperback published in 2017)

GOODREADS BLURB

Lies. Deception. A nation on the brink of war…

Just when former assassin Leine Basso thinks she’s free from the business of murder and deception, a desperate call from a friend drags her back into the dark world of espionage and arms dealers.

Leine uncovers information that implicates a well-known Russian businessman in a horrendous deception that affects national security and could have global repercussions. It’s up to the former assassin to persuade the powers that be to ignore the obvious and trust her, or disregard the information and bring the world to the brink of a devastating war. Can she make it in time to warn them before The Last Deception?

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One Sentence Review for Dark Waters by Chris Goff @christinegoff

Posted on August 26, 2017 by fundinmental

Dark Waters: A Raisa Jordan Thriller by Chris Goff is a wonderful debut novel that deals with conspiracy and terrorism in the middle east.

I won Dark Waters and the next in the Raisa Jordan Thriller series, Red Sky.

Thanks to Peg B and Chris Goff.

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

Bullets fly, while a very ill young girl and her father witness two murders in an exchange gone wrong, drawing in two fierce women warriors who must band together in a battle against time in this fascinating novel of conspiracy, murder, politics, hidden agendas and terrorism that smacks of reality.

4 Stars

Raisa “Rae” Jordan, an agent for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, isn’t in Israel for more than a day before her predecessor is killed in a Tel Aviv square. Assigned to investigate the assassination of one of her own, she must also protect Judge Ben Taylor and his teenage daughter. They may be the sniper’s next target and are most certainly being threatened by a desperate cadre of terrorists with their sights set on the Secretary of State’s upcoming visit. But is an attack on the Secretary of State all that they have planned or is that just the beginning?

There are no protocols for this kind of a situation, and following the rules is exactly the kind of thing that could get the Taylors killed. To subvert an attack that could crush the fledgling peace in the Middle East, Jordan must trust her instincts and bring together a contentious team of agents from Israel, the U.S., and the Palestinian territories to uncover a conspiracy years in the making.

With millions of lives hanging in the balance, Dark Waters, Chris Goff’s explosive new thriller, is a series debut that mirrors global headlines and will have you frantically turning pages.

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Giveaway & Reviews for Marred & Cleaved by Sue Coletta @SueColetta1 @SilverDaggerSxx

Posted on April 27, 2017 by fundinmental

If you are looking for a fabulous and informative crime and thriller blog to follow, look no further. I have been a follower of Sue Coletta’s for some time now, so I was super excited to get my hands on Marred and Cleaved.

Just check out the covers by EJR Digital Art!

Cleaved

Grafton County Series, Book 2

by Sue Coletta

Genre: Thriller, Suspense

I just finished MARRED and it blew me away, so there was no way I was going to wait to read CLEAVED. I have to have more!

I love anything to do with water, and when I saw the Marine Patrol and Fish & Game would be involved, I became even more excited. I know what water can do to a dead body and I’m looking forward to finding out who put it there.

Sue starts her books out with a bang and I am gasping for breath right along with Sage. Then, Sue takes it to an even darker place and I excited to see how it will play out.

I feel as if the characters have become my friends and I worry for them as the serial killer adds body after body and the action continues non stop.

Sage has great instincts and after all she has been through, she listens to them.

Frankie has become my favorite character. She is humorous, brash, dresses as if she’s going out on the town instead of to a crime scene, hates authority and is quick with a sharp retort. Niko doesn’t think she would be good as the Sheriff because of these faults, so he is constantly grooming someone else to take his place when he quits.

Niko’s team has a Keystone Kop, Mayberry feel to them, but they are coming together, making constant progress.

The serial killer is back with a vengeance and I wonder if it is the same one…or is there more than one.

Sue Coletta takes us to a very dark place with a kidnapping that would make any of us cringe and rage at the villain and the world.

I love how creative Sue is in coming up with new ways for the serial killer to torture and kill his victims, really making them suffer and beg for death. She never thinks the evil is bad enough, so she piles on more and more and more…

Her ability to create so much tension and angst, at times left me white knuckled, gripping my Kindle so tight my hands hurt, making me want to reach through the screen and take matters into my own hands.

I voluntarily reviewed Marred by Sue Coletta.

5 STARS

Author Sage Quintano writes about crime. Her husband Niko investigates it.
Together they make an unstoppable team. But no one counted on a
twisted serial killer, who stalks their sleepy community, uproots
their happy home, and splits the threads that bonds their family
unit.

Darkness swallows the Quintanos whole—ensnared by a ruthless killer out for
blood. Why he focused on Sage remains a mystery, but he won’t stop
till she dies like the others.

Women impaled by deer antlers, bodies encased in oil drums, nursery rhymes,
and the Suicide King. What connects these cryptic clues? For Sage and
Niko, the truth may be more terrifying than they ever imagined.

Goodreads * Amazon

Marred

Grafton County Series, Book 1

Marred by Sue Coletta starts out with a baby’s funeral and a severely broken woman who is pissed off at herself and the world because of it. I can’t help but wonder WHY.

Sage is broken in more ways than one…blaming herself for her unborn baby’s death even though she had been tortured by a serial killer and was lucky to even be alive. She is MARRED for life and now I understand why.

NOW, he’s back, terrorizing her and she has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

I cannot imagine what she has been through, though Sue Coletta’s writing makes me become totally engrossed in her story, filled with details that draw a too vivid picture in my mind. I think it is time she takes matters into her own hands and let him know she will not cow down…this time. I love when the character has been through a traumatic, life changing experience, and the past comes back to haunt them, demanding they take action to defend themselves.

Sage is a bestselling author, writing crime novels, and this adds an extra element, making it even more interesting. Does her writing bring the killer even closer, thinking of her as a challenge? She keeps secrets, pushing people away, even keeping her husband at arm’s length. She writes about crime and her husband investigates the.

The murders are described in detail and they are brutal, savage. The more gruesome the better for me. LOL I guess I am a little twisted myself.

The body count rises.

I’m almost at 50% and I see what you are doing Sue. I know what you set me up for and I think it’s going to get ugly. I am pissed off at both of them for not communicating, but if they did we wouldn’t be in this dark place, with a sense of urgency and danger making me want to read faster and slower all at the same time, savoring the story.

There is a touch of the paranormal, rape, brutal and mind numbing torture. Why do women and society place blame on the vivctim, when it is the villain’s fault?

At times I am so angry with Niko that I want to reach into my Kindle and slap him upside the head, cuss him out, and tell him, “It’s not about YOU!”

Having a couple of critters adds another element that I love. They’d put their lives on the line for her.

Uh oh, I am glad that what I was thinking at 50% was wrong. Sue…you did a great job of yanking my chain and it takes a lot to lead me down the wrong path. Fabulous!

Deputy Sheriff Frankie, a female, is becoming a favorite character for me. To say she is rough around the edges is putting it mildly. She is aggressive and a bit raunchy, but I wouldn’t want any one else by my side in a time of crises.

WOW, Sue. You can sure spin a tale that has a lot of suspense that keeps my emotions raging as I struggle to take a calming breath before moving on to more of the same. You twisted and turned the story, keeping plenty of surprises coming my way.

Marred is the first book in the Grafton County series. One villain is taken care of, but you will want to read more of the series, because one remains.

I voluntarily reviewed Marred by Sue Coletta.

5 STARS

When a serial killer breaks into the home of bestselling author, Sage
Quintano, she barely escapes with her life. Her husband, Niko, a
homicide detective, insists they move to rural New Hampshire, where
he accepts a position as Grafton County Sheriff. Sage buries secrets
from that night—secrets she swears to take to her deathbed.

Three years of anguish and painful memories pass, and a grisly murder case
lands on Niko’s desk. A strange caller begins tormenting Sage—she
can’t outrun the past.

When Sage’s twin sister suddenly goes missing, Sage searches Niko’s
case files and discovers similarities to the Boston killer. A
sadistic psychopath is preying on innocent women, marring their
bodies in unspeakable ways. And now, he has her sister.

Cryptic clues. Hidden messages. Is the killer hinting at his identity? Or is
he trying to lure Sage into a deadly trap to end his reign of terror
with a matching set of corpses?

Goodreads * Amazon

ABOUT SUE COLETTA

Member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International
Thriller Writers, Sue Coletta is an award-winning, multi-published
author in numerous anthologies and her forensics articles have
appeared in InSinC Quarterly. In addition to her popular crime
resource blog, Sue co-hosts the radio show “Partners In Crime”
on Writestream Radio Network every third Tuesday of the month from 1
– 3 p.m. EDT/EST (see details at www.suecoletta.com).
She’s also the communications manager for the Serial Killer Project
and Forensic Science, and founder of #ACrimeChat on Twitter.

She runs a popular crime website and blog, where she shares crime tips,
police jargon, the mind of serial killers, and anything and
everything in between. If you search her achieves, you’ll find posts
from guests that work in law enforcement, forensics, coroner,
undercover operatives, firearm experts…crime, crime, and more
crime.

For readers, she has the Crime Lover’s Lounge, where subscribers will be
the first to know about free giveaways, contests, and have inside
access to deleted scenes. As an added bonus, members get to play in
the lounge. Your secret code will unlock the virtual door. Inside,
like-minded folks discuss their favorite crime novels, solve
mindbender and mystery puzzles, and/or relax and chat. Most
importantly, everyone has a lot of fun.

Sue lives in northern New Hampshire with her husband, where her house is
surrounded by wildlife…bear, moose, deer, even mountain lions have
been spotted. Course, Sue would love to snuggle with them, but her
husband frowns on the idea.

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Friday 56 #111 – The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson @JP_Books

Posted on December 9, 2016 by fundinmental

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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.

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I don’t think there is anyone that hasn’t heard of James Patterson, but have you read The Big Bad Wolf? Another great thriller, suspense novel.

This is the cover I have for my 1st edition hardcover published in 2003, but the colors are more vibrant.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“I’m Alex Cross, with the FBI,” I said to Brigid, who seemed tremendously self-assured for her age, especially during this crisis. “I think that your father is expecting me.”

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 1999)

Book Beginnings

The Phipps Plaza shopping mall in Atlanta was a showy montage of pink-granite floors, sweeping bronze-trimmed staircases, gilded Napoleonic design, lighting that sparkled like halgen spotlights. A man and a woman watched the target – “Mom”- as she left Niketown with sneakers and whatnot for her three daughters packed under one arm.

GOODREADS BLURB: Alex Cross, Patterson”s black lawman hero, has left the D.C. police force for the FBI. But Cross was a star cop, so when the Bureau becomes aware that attractive white women are disappearing at an unusually high rate in the nation”s capital, Cross, despite still being in training at Quantico, is brought onto the case and is personally mentored by the Bureau”s director, earning the ire of some Feds but the support of others. Behind the disappearances is a sexual slavery operation run as a sideline by one of the more believable and most compellingly evil villains in the Patterson universe, the Wolf, a mysterious former KGB man who”s now the world”s top mobster. The narrative throughout is swift and varied, as Patterson cuts among the diabolical schemes of a Russian magnate who may be the Wolf, the plight of several kidnap victims, the dogged pursuit by Cross and company of the Wolf, and the hideous designs of the members of an encrypted computer chat room who pay the Wolf fortunes to snatch women who fit their fantasies. And there”s domestic drama, too, as the mother of Cross”s young son, Alex, decides that she wants her boy back. Full of plot surprises and featuring a balanced mix of intrigue, hard action and angst, the novel, on which Patterson notably does not share cover credit, grips from start to finish. The Alex Cross series remains Patterson”s finest, and this is the finest Cross in years.

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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

Friday 56 #102 – Double Tap by Steve Martini @StevenPMartini

Posted on October 7, 2016 by fundinmental

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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Double Tap by Steve Martini is an action adventure thriller.

This is the cover I have for my 1st edition hardcover publilshed in 2005.

The cover was done by Stephanie Huntwork.

Amazon / Goodreads

My 56

“At least according to the cops,” says Harry. “Could be whoever did it just panicked. Think about it: You just get in the place, getting ready to do your burglary. She walks in. You freak out. You pop her It’s happened before.”

“Hell of a shooter for a panicky burglar.” I am talking about the two shots to the head. “Less than an inch apart.”

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 2005)

Book Beginnings

Mist off the ocean was already beginning to drift over the pavement as he cruised along the beach in the rented Chevy. The house stood out like a gem, the last piece of private real estate before the public steps leading down to the beach. With chocolate-brown siding and white trim, the house sported rustic gables going in every direction beneath a river rock chimney.

GOODREADS BLURB: The Arraignment, Steve Martini’s most recent bestseller featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani, has proved his most popular yet. Now Madriani is faced with daunting ballistics evidence: a so-called “double tap”-two bullet wounds tightly grouped in the victim’s head, shots that could have been made only by a crack marksman. Paul’s client, Emiliano Ruiz, is an enigma-a career soldier who refuses to discuss his past though it is clear that he is a battle-tested pro. Ruiz is accused of killing a beautiful businesswoman and guru of a high-tech software empire catering to the military. A key to the case: the murder weapon is one used solely in special operations, where the “double tap” has become the signature of the most skilled assassins.

Ruiz is sitting on secrets-there’s a seven-year gap on his military risumi, for which Madriani can find no details. And, more troubling, he discovers that the victim and her company were involved in a controversial government computer program designed to combat terrorists. Madriani finds himself in a deadly legal quagmire-with a client who is unwilling to cooperate and prosecutors who stonewall his every question about the victim’s shadowy business and his client’s past. Justice, and the unvarnished truth, has never been so elusive-or so dangerous.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.
To see all my reviews, go HERE.
If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, including the one above?

Save

Excerpt for Nymrod Resurrection by Hawk MacKinney

Posted on November 19, 2013 by fundinmental

The cover lured me in and the blurb finished me off.

What’s not to love about an ex-Navy Seal and PI, assassination and Armageddon?

The excerpt makes me think of a scene on Bones, the TV show that is based on real-life forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs.

The haunting cover screams of bad things to come.

BLURB

Investigating an unlikely murder, Ex-SEAL and part time PI Craige Ingram discovers an officially sanctioned assassination. His investigation quickly stirs beyond the dirty backrooms of the nation’s capital with more killings across Europe and the Middle East. The dead woman is somehow connected to stolen artifacts from a time before Babylon. As he probes apparently unconnected clues, he locks horns with an enigmatic enticing secret agent with her own agenda and her own way of doing things. Craige faces train wrecks and deadly assassins doing business with a rich mercenary selling biotoxins, rare stamps, deadly nerve gases, and smuggled nuclear material to the highest bidder. As Craige peels away at the shadowy Operation Nymrod, he finds an elusive power-hungry dead-set mind – a driven obsession with a frightful arsenal of bioweapons ready to fulfill ancient prophecies with a very personal Armageddon that makes the monstrous last day of the twin towers of the World Trade Center pale in possibilities.

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EXCERPT

On the second-floor landing I spotted familiar faces from the department’s forensic team. The smell was worse inside. With that first look I didn’t need to be told that the pulpy lump with swollen pumpkin dimples where eyes should have been was one very bloated dead body. The corpse was well into being recycled. It no longer looked human. The body had been cooking in the sweltering oven of a Dixie mid-August scorching summer in this dreary one-flight walkup of apartments with no AC and painted-shut windows. Near the peeling paint archway and a worse kitchenette beyond I spotted Gray huddled with just over five feet plus, roly-poly Coroner-Medical Examiner Fred Dinkins.

“What you got?” I asked.

Gray indolently heaved a getting-paunchier fried chicken and beer belly and idly mumbled, “We’re not quite sure….” threw me that MacGerald we-got-trouble look. “Right now all I know for sure is, it’s no run-of-the-mill homicide.”

There was more in his look than his words. It was all over his face that things weren’t going the way he liked. I’d known that from the moment I disconnected from his call. He wouldn’t have made the call for a squabble between drifters over street drugs or a grocery cart of scrounged throwaway clothes. When a corpse is concealed, long term or otherwise and left to rot, decomposition can alter forensic evidence until it tells other stories—but not usually ones you want to hear. Dinkins had his work cut out for him and his crew. It’s one way perps buy themselves time, and concealment usually means there’s considerable more that went down. In my wildest night-stalks I could never’ve imagined how right-on-the-money that would prove to be. Ignorance is bliss…our SEAL team learned real quick. It can also get you killed.

Without looking up Dinkins said, “One more pitiable devil that died alone.” Piercing blue eyes peered over his ever-present black wire-rim glasses perched unsteadily on the end of his nose. In low-key measured words, “Prelim exam leads me to believe the corpse is female, but we’ll wait till we get the body to the morgue, see what the autopsy and lab tests tell us. I don’t want any second guessing the evidence. Besides, we’re about finished up here.”

The dreary apartment was busier than it’d seen in decades with double shifts of the forensic techs bustling-sorting the whens and hows of death. The cracker box kitchen adjoined a corner next-to-nothing squalid dinette area furnished with a dirty Masonite wobbly table barely big enough for two. In the front room the melon-round, no-neck head squatted square on the bloated chest of the oozing corpse. The whole misshapen inhuman mess had sagged into the soggy sofa.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention. Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

“Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy–these are the things that take Hawk’s main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation’s capital and across Europe and the Middle East.”

Barbara Casey, President

Barbara Casey Literary Agency

Stalk Hawk

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To get your copy of Nymrod Resurrection, or to learn more about Hawk McKinney and his books, click on the cover below.