. 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.
~~~
A messy bookshelf is the norm around the Fundin household. I just cannot help but pick up another book and another and another…
I have a few of John Sanford’s novels, of which Mind Prey is one. I bought this quite some time ago from the Mobile Public Library. I have also checked out many other books by him and have enjoyed each and every one.
I need to get back to the library and catch up on his latest.
Then he was on her, slamming her back against the stone wall, ripping at her jacket, at her blouse. She screamed at him, “No, don’t, John…”
(Page 56 in hardcover,1st edition, published in 1995)
Book Beginnings
The storm blew up late in the afternoon, tight, gray clouds hustling over the lake like dirty, balled-up sweat socks spilling from a basket. A chilly wind knocked leaves from the elms, oaks, and maples at the water’s edge. The white phlox and black-eyed susans bowed their heads before it.
GOODREADS BLURB: From the bestselling author of Night Prey and Winter Prey…an all-new Lucas Davenport thriller.
Run for it…It was raining when psychiatrist Andi Manette left the parent-teacher conference with her two young daughters, and she was distracted. She barely noticed the red van parked beside her, barely noticed the van door slide open as they dashed up to the car. The last thing she did notice was the hand reaching out for her and the voice from out of the past — and then the three of them were gone.
Hours later, deputy chief Lucas Davenport stood in the parking lot, a blood-stained shoe in his hand, the ground stained pink around him, and knew that this would be one of the worst cases he’d ever been on. With an urgency born of dread, he presses the attack, while in an isolated farmhouse, Andi Manette does the same, summoning all her skills to battle an obsessed captor. She knows the man who has taken her and her daughters, knows there is a chink in his armor, if only she can find it. But for both her and Davenport, time is already running out.
John Sandford’s novels have always been extraordinary for their harrowing twists, unforgettable characters, and crackling prose. But Mind Prey tops them all. It is the work of a true master.
. 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.
~~~
Monday Mourning by Kathyr Reichs is another fabulous novel in the Temperance Brennan stand alone series.
This is the cover for my 1st edition hardback published in 2004.
He told me and started to expound on the reasons for needing both bone ad tooth specimens. the clock said three-fifty. I cut him off.
(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 2004)
Book Beginnings
As the tune played inside my head, gunfire exploded in the cramped underground space around me.
GOODREADS BLURB: The bones of three young women are unearthed in the basement of a Montreal pizza parlor, and forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan has unsolved murder on her mind as she examines the shallowly buried remains. Coming up against a homicide cop who is convinced the dead have been entombed on the site for centuries, Tempe perseveres, even with her own relationship with Detective Andrew Ryan at a delicate turning point. In the lab, the clean, well-perserved bones offer few clues. But when Carbon 14 confirms her hunch that these were recent deaths despite the antique buttons found near the bodies, Tempe’s probing must produce answers quickly to stop a killer whose grisly handiwork has seen the light of day.
. 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.
“Well, you little shit.” She grinned widely. “I love the way you operate, you rogue son-of-a-bitch. Have I told you that?”
(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 1998)
Book Beginnings
The train left the station headed for nowhere, its destination also its point of embarkation, its purpose not to transport its passengers, but to feed them.
GOODREADS BLURB: In Seattle, they’re calling him “The Pied Piper” because he comes in the night and takes children away. To police lieutenant Lou Boldt and psychologist Daphne Matthews, it’s clear this isn’t about a single lunatic or random kidnappings: these crimes are well orchestrated, well executed, and, most chilling of all, occurring in cities all over the country.
. 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.
~~~
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.
“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.
I have been reading the Secrets of the South Mystery Series by Mary Ellis and was very excited to get my hands on another hit, Magnolia Moonlight. Thank you Mary and Harvest House Publishers.
Mary Ellis’ Secrets of the South Series is fantastic and I am happy to share another book from the series, Magnolia Moonlight, and travel the south with some familiar characters. Each book of the Secrets of the South series targets one of the couples. Their characters grow and develop as they learn to work together and get to know each other.
Beth and Michael work for Private Investigations and they have some issues with each other. Issues they will need to resolve in order to solve the mystery surrounding the suicide of the preacher.
Maybe the issues are more Beth’s than Michael’s. She holds a lot of resentment towards her mother. Is it because she only she’s her as her mom and not a person? Do you have that problem?
Beth had left Natchez under a cloud, but she had done nothing wrong. Would her investigation be stymied because of it?
When Mary mentions Castle, the TV show, the pieces fall into place. Beth and Michael could be Kate and Castle, especially with their verbal ‘foreplay’.
Mary Ellis has one of the characters asking themselves, ” Was guilt genetically hardwired into female DNA?” Food for thought, don’t you think?
Mary does a wonderful job of bringing her characters to life on the pages, making them believable and easy to relate to, though their work may be more glamorous than that of an assembly line worker or a waitress.
Beth and Michael both change and develop into deeper, more interesting characters.
WHOA, I’m on page 256, just reading along, thinking I know everything….then the story takes a wild twist. I think to myself, good one Mary, as I grin ear to ear. I love a surprise…in my books.
Murder, embezzlement, gambling, loan sharks…I am a bit of a gambler myself and love Texas Hold ’em, so Magnolia Moonlight has an extra element that sets it apart from other mysteries. And the mysteries do run rampant, as I twist and turn my way through the pages.
I love Mary Ellis’ stories because there is so much going on that, even though I don’t feel a sense of urgency and lurking danger, the writing keeps me going, wanting me to sate my curiosity of WHODUNIT.
I think I see the beginning of a new adventure for Price Investigations…
Coming soon…Sunset in Old Savannah.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Magnolia Moonlight by Mary Ellis.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
After being jilted by his fiancee, Michael Preston, a former accountant, pursues a new job as a private investigator. And, what better place to work than the new office of Price Investigations in Natchez, Mississippi? Unfortunately, Michael’s partner, Elizabeth Kirby–a crack shot ex-cop with a past she wants to escape–resents having to work with someone whose only surveillance experience comes from television and video games. Their boss and his wife, Nate and Isabelle, are two insanely busy newlyweds who are “forced” by their friends to finally take their honeymoon. However, their romantic trip to Alabama turns into an investigation when they bump into Izzy’s ex-husband, Craig, who seems to have taken up his gambling addiction once again. In an attempt to save Craig, Izzy discovers her ex doesn’t hold all the cards. Back in Mississippi, Michael and Beth are left to take on their first case when a preacher allegedly commits suicide. His widow suspects foul play, but things look grim when Michael discovers the Reverend may have been stealing from his congregation. Will Nate, his wife, and his employees be able to uncover the true face of deceit behind the masks that surround them?
ABOUT MARY ELLIS
Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances set during the Civil War. Her latest, Midnight on the Mississippi, first of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, is set in New Orleans. Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. Mary enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the web at: www.maryellis.net or https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mar…
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!
I have read the first two novels in the Secrets of the South Mystery series and loved them. They will stand alone, but you won’t want to miss any of them.
“Did you win the lottery when I wasn’t looking?” he murmured as she pulled him down the street.
“Relax. I’ll only ogle and drool. And I’ll let you pick where we have dinner tonight.Anything but seafood.
(page 74 in paperback)
I will be reviewing Magnolia Moonlight tomorrow, so be sure and check back to see what’s happening next.
GOODREADS BLURB: After being jilted by his fiancee, Michael Preston, a former accountant, pursues a new job as a private investigator. And, what better place to work than the new office of Price Investigations in Natchez, Mississippi? Unfortunately, Michael’s partner, Elizabeth Kirby–a crack shot ex-cop with a past she wants to escape–resents having to work with someone whose only surveillance experience comes from television and video games. Their boss and his wife, Nate and Isabelle, are two insanely busy newlyweds who are “forced” by their friends to finally take their honeymoon. However, their romantic trip to Alabama turns into an investigation when they bump into Izzy’s ex-husband, Craig, who seems to have taken up his gambling addiction once again. In an attempt to save Craig, Izzy discovers her ex doesn’t hold all the cards. Back in Mississippi, Michael and Beth are left to take on their first case when a preacher allegedly commits suicide. His widow suspects foul play, but things look grim when Michael discovers the Reverend may have been stealing from his congregation. Will Nate, his wife, and his employees be able to uncover the true face of deceit behind the masks that surround them?
The covers for Bubba and the Dead Woman by C L Bevill, and the rest of the series are so much fun, how could I resist them? I am a sucker for a great cover and love when it pertains to the story inside, like these covers do.
If you like some laughs with your murder mystery, come with me.
Bubba and the Dead Woman by C L Bevill is the first book in the Bubba Snoddy mystery series. If you like some humor and laughs mixed in with your murder mysteries, this series is for you.
Bubba is a big man with a gentle nature and he lives in a small town with an attitude. He sounds like a backwoods hick…half the time, but he is more than he appears to be. He is a fabulously complex character who projects a false facade to protect himself.
His faithful basset hound, Precious is his constant companion, refusing to be left behind. She may look harmless, but she will not let anyone harm her human.
It seems like trouble will forever follow him around, along with dead bodies, so it is no surprise when he stumbles across Melissa Dearman. The surprise is that he has a past with her. The news travels fast through the grapevine of Pegramville and the sheriff haunts his every move.
His mom, Miz Demetrice is a spitfire and you need to think twice before you cross her. She is wacky and wild.
The writing makes me think of the Andy Griffith show, with a bit of Dukes of Hazard and the Beverly Hillbillies thrown in.
Bubba is shot at, beaten up, lured into a pit, falls down the stairs and someone tries to burn his house down with him in it. How much more abuse can the poor guy take before he solves the mystery?
Rip roaring, thigh slapping good fun. Even the dog’s ‘conversations’ are funny, showing her personality. I couldn’t help but crack up when she tries to play hard to get with her human because she’s mad at him. I love when a critter adds an extra element to the story and Precious does that in spades. She may be my favorite character.
Mysteries abound with legends of treasure and plenty of people in the suspect pool.
If Bubba and the Dead Woman by C L Bevill is the first book in the Bubba Snoddy mystery series, but this book will stand alone.
GOODREADS BLURB: Bubba is a good old boy with lots of problems. His ex-fiancee is deader than a door nail and everyone thinks he dun did it. His house is haunted. His mother is running an illegal gambling ring. His dog likes to bite people too much. And he’s got to find out who really did it before the sheriff throws him in jail…again.
Bubba and the Dead Woman, the first book, is FREE! The rest are $2.99 or less.
I LOVE Lauren Carr’s romantic mysteries and I am delighted to be able to share Killer in the Band with you today.
There is also an awesome giveaway, so be sure to enter!
INTERVIEW WITH LAUREN CARR
I love learning about authors, their inspiration, their likes and dislikes and those funny little things that give me insight into their personality. I am so happy to have Lauren Carr here, sharing some thoughts about her books and herself. Welcome, Lauren.
Lauren Carr is the bestselling author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, the Lovers in Crime Mysteries, and the Thorny Rose Mysteries. We caught up with the charming mystery writer during her most recent virtual book tour for Killer in the Band, the 3rd in the Lovers in Crime series.
Lauren, thank you so much for chatting with us. Right off the bat, I’m curious. Is it hard to break away from your successful Mac Faraday series to work on a different one?
Yes and no. I love Mac Faraday and the gang in Spencer, Maryland! But that’s not to say that I don’t love Joshua Thornton and Cameron Gates. The Lovers in Crime mysteries are set in Chester, West Virginia, the real small town where I grew up. Joshua Thornton was my first protagonist featured in my very first books, A Small Case of Murder and A Reunion to Die For. Returning to Joshua Thornton, Cameron Gates, and their family is very much like going home again.
Killer in the Band focuses a lot on J.J. Thornton, Jr., Joshua’s eldest son. Are you planning to take a new direction with the Lovers in Crime?
No, not at all. Joshua Thornton and Cameron Gates are the Lovers in Crime and they always will be. But, like real people, they don’t live in a vacuum. Joshua Thornton does have a family from his previous marriage who are going to insert themselves into Joshua’s marriage and the Lovers in Crime’s cases.
In Killer in the Band, J.J. returns home after graduating from law school and rekindles a romance with his first love, Suellen Russell, a woman twice his age. When it turns out she has information on one of Cameron’s cases, J.J. can’t not get involved.
When you sit down to write a book, a paragraph, or whatever you‘re working on at the moment, do you just sit down in front of the computer, or do you need an outline of some sort? Is there any other prep you need in order to organize your thoughts either before you write or in the process of writing?
I will think about a book, or a part of a book, for a long time before I sit down to write it. I thought about Killer in the Band for a couple of years before I sat down to write even one word.
For new books, I will have everything sorted out in my head, most especially the killer, how he or she did it, and how my protagonist captures them before I sit down to write it. These are the most important elements for me to have. If I don’t have those things sorted out, then I could end up halfway through a book and find that I have no ending, which would be a huge waste of my time.
I will write notes, but only to sort the mystery out in my mind. More than half of the time, I don’t even refer to them once I sit down to write. The process of writing out the notes helps to sort it out.
Who is your greatest inspiration to write? What person makes you believe in yourself, and how?
My mother and my husband. My mother was the first to encourage me to put my imagination on paper. It was easy since I have always been a big reader.
Also, my husband Jack, no matter how many rejections I would receive, always insisted that I keep on going—keep on writing. Even when I had writers block, he was there for me.
Do you have any aspirations to be similar or comparable to another author? Why?
Agatha Christie and Earl Stanley Gardner. They were my first favorite mystery authors, so they will always have a special place in my author’s heart. My complex mysteries have been compared to Agatha Christie and when that happens, it makes my whole day better.
What has been the biggest high since becoming a published author?
Seeing all of my books break through on Amazon to make the top one-hundred in sales in both cozy mysteries and police procedurals. When readers and reviewers began posting fabulous reviews, and even sending e-mails, I knew then that all those years of hard work and learning were worth it.
Has becoming an author changed you, or the way you think about certain things? If so, how?
I am definitely more confident about my writing. Also, I have become more open to other authors’ writing.
I turned down two offers from commercial publishers to independently publish It’s Murder, My Son, and I have never looked back. Before I decided to be an indie author, I was rejected by many literary agents and publishers for a variety of reasons. In a nutshell, they did not think that I could be a commercial success. One literary agent, a big one, told me how talented I was in a two-page letter, ending with a rejection because he did not know how to market me.
I did not fit into a box that they had created. But I have found an audience, and I am a success. Many indie authors, who commercial publishers and literary agents would refuse to talk to, have found audiences without the blessing of commercial publishers or literary agents.
This has made me believe that if you write what you love, even if it is not my cup of tea, or the cup of tea of a New York bigwig, then if you publish and market it correctly, there is an audience out there for you. It’s just a matter of bringing your work to them.
What is your greatest fear about being an author?
Writers block.
From the first word to the moment it became available for purchase, how long did it take you to write and publish Killer in the Band?
That is a very tricky question. I’ve been thinking about the plot for Killer in the Band for a couple of years. I’d say a year ago I sat down to start writing it, right after the release if Kill and Run, which features Joshua Thornton Jr’s twin, Murphy. I was more than halfway through writing the first draft when in March I was completely inspired by the presidential election to write Candidate for Murder. Since that book had such a timely theme, I had to set Killer in the Band aside. I returned to it in June.
I guess to answer your question, I don’t know.
And now, for something completely different…some slightly off-the-wall and possibly irrelevant questions. Feel free to answer as many or as few as you like!
What’s your favorite candy? Ice cream?
Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar King sized for candy. Rocky Road ice cream slathered in Magic Shell for ice cream.
Would the 8-year-old version of yourself kick your ass or praise you for what you’ve done with your life?
Praise me for what I have done, while sighing with relief because during my twenties & thirties, it was touch and go there.
Do you have any talents you haven’t shared with us?
I’m a gourmet cook and love it.
Imagine you’re the sole survivor of a plane crash at sea, and you awake stranded on a deserted and uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle. Nobody knows you’re there, and you have nothing but the clothes on your back. You’re all alone, and there’s terrifying sounds coming from deep within the jungle. Late that night as you’re starving, a large suitcase washes up on the shore. You open it up. What’s in the suitcase?
A pink handgun with “Pink Lady” engraved on the muzzle, big box of dark chocolate to eat, a cell phone with all of the bars, and working laptop to write about my adventure while waiting for a ship full of handsome sailors to come save me.
What are you working on now?
Each series will continue to grow on their own with interconnecting mysteries occasionally. In January, there will be a new Thorny Rose Mystery, A Fine Year for Murder.
In A Fine Year for Murder, Jessica Faraday and her husband, Murphy Thornton, dive into the cold case murder at a family owned winery.
After ten months of marital bliss, Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton are still discovering and adjusting to their life together. Settled in their new home, everything appears to be perfect … except in the middle of the night when, in darkest shadows of her subconscious, a deep secret from Jessica’s past creeps to the surface to make her strike out at Murphy.
When investigative journalist Dallas Walker tells the couple about her latest case, known as the Pine Bridge Massacre, they realize Jessica may have witnessed the murder of a family living near a winery owned by distant relatives she was visiting and suppressed the memory.
Determined to uncover the truth and find justice for the murder victims, Jessica and Murphy return to the scene of the crime with Dallas Walker, a spunky bull-headed Texan. Can this family reunion bring closure for a community touched by tragedy or will this prickly get-together bring an end to the Thorny Rose couple?
As long as readers are clamoring for mysteries, I’ll be writing them.
MY REVIEW
OMG. She did it again. Lauren Carr has created another romantic suspense mystery that had me reading, ignoring my hubby and my mother, unable to put it down until the last page was read.
Killer in the Band is A Lovers in Crime Mystery that is chock full of wonderful characters, both human and animal. Her ability to bring them all to life is amazing. I laughed and cried, because she made me do it.
I cannot pick a favorite character. They are all amazing in their own way. It took me a little while to figure out the culprit(s). Even the bad guys have their reasons for doing for what they do and I could empathize with them…for a moment or two. BUT nothing justifies taking a life.
There is more than one mystery that will have to be solved and more than one villain. I felt so bad for both of them and that is when I know I have read a fantastic story.
Lauren does have a way of springing surprises on me that have my jaw hanging open, thinking, I sure didn’t see that one coming.
The animals…I just don’t know what to say. Some people do seem to have a special ability making it seem as if they talk to them. I do not want to spoil anything, but…have you ever looked in your critters eyes and wondered what they are really thinking?
The characters have trust issues that take time to work through, making it read like real life. I want to tell them…to be a go between and explain things, but that is not my place. I am just a spectator in this complicated story.
My emotion were high and low, happy and sad, and I was left with a good feeling when all was said and done.
I WANT MORE!!!!!!!
I received a copy of Killer in the Band from Lauren Carr.
Joshua’s eldest son, Joshua “J.J.” Thornton Jr., has graduated at the top of his class from law school and returns home to spend the summer studying for the bar exam. However, to Joshua’s and Cameron’s shock and dismay, J.J. moves into the main house at Russell Ridge Farm, the largest dairy farm in the Ohio Valley, to rekindle a romance with Suellen Russell, a onetime leader of a rock group who’s twice his age. Quickly, they learn that she has been keeping a deep dark secret.
The move brings long-buried tensions between the father and son to the surface. But when a brutal killer strikes, the Lovers in Crime must set all differences aside to solve the crime before J.J. ends up in the cross hairs of a murderer.
Praise for Lauren Carr’s Mysteries:
“Lauren Carr could give Agatha Christie a run for her money!” – Charlene Mabie-Gamble, Literary R&R
“As always, Lauren Carr brings an action-packed story that is almost impossible to put down. Her mystery plots have so many twists and turns that I didn’t know if I was coming or going. And the action just didn’t stop from the very beginning till the very end.” – Melina Mason, Melina’s Book Reviews
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Kristine Mason writes some of the best suspense stories I have ever read, whether paranormal or mystery, and I was amazed…again…at her ability to take a ghostly story and make it read like a horror novel.
Celeste is psychic but she kept pretty quiet about it, helping out whenever she could.
Heavily pregnant, Celeste received a call for her sister, Eden, for help.
The gene had skipped Eden and had caused a rift between her and Celeste, but when events began happening at her new home, she felt Celeste was the one to call.
The house Eden and her husband had bought is haunted.
“You chase murderers for a living, I write about them…It’s fitting that we live in a murder house.”
Celeste thought she could handle the ghosts, stay grounded and in the land of the living.
It seems like she is learning more about her abilities by “living’ through new experiences. Could her over confidence in dealing with situation be her undoing? Would she come out of the trance or push her luck one too many times? And this time, her unborn baby’s life is at stake.
Celeste walked in the ghostly world trying to put the pieces together. She talked to the ghosts, but they were so cryptic it was hard to decipher their meaning.The mysterious deaths and the evil presence that resided in the house did not give up their answers easily.
What was HE after?
Her mantra, “the living are more powerful than the dead,” kept her grounded making her believe she could survive the evil surrounding her and release the ghosts from their torment.
Could her over confidence in dealing with the situation be her undoing? Would she come out of the trance or push her luck one too many times?
I love Celeste’s hubby, John. It took a while for them to work out some of the kinks in their marriage, but he is attentive, loving and funny. I can see him waggling his eyebrows as he offers to shave her bikini line.
I love Kristine Mason’s ability to surprise me and roil my emotions. The level of suspense in her writing kept me on pins and needles, afraid that this time Celeste had bitten off more than she could chew.
The characters come alive on the pages, making me feel their pain and suffering, their fear and anger, their sadness and regret. They are not always series and in danger, they have lives us normal people can relate to, with all the daily issues and problems that arise. They can be funny and happy, loving and giving, even when dealing with murder and danger.
I’m smiling, teary eyed…
I love the television show Ghost Whisperer with Jennifer Love Hewitt and I can see that she has met her match in Celeste.
I never pass on an opportunity to read one of Kristine Mason’s novels and if you are a suspense and thriller lover like me, I think you will feel the same. I am patiently waiting for the movie/TV world to find her.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The walls are infected, the foundation is diseased…this house is poisoned.
CORE agent, Hudson Patterson and his wife, Eden, recently moved into a century-old mini-mansion. But their dream home has become a living nightmare—occupied by a malevolent spirit who will only share the residence with them and their daughter…in exchange for their souls.
Psychic Celeste Kain is four weeks away from giving birth. The last thing she wants to deal with is the dead. But when she realizes an evil presence is terrorizing Eden, she will go to any length to help her sister. Especially when she discovers there isn’t just one ghost in Eden’s house, but many other tortured souls trapped within its infected walls.
To put an end to the haunting, Celeste uses her unique gift to connect with the ghostly residents. But the wicked entity who has been feeding off the other spirits’ pain and misery has other plans. It wants Celeste and her unborn child, and imprisons her inside the ghost house. Now powerless, unable to free herself and in labor, Celeste needs to fight to find her way back to her body before the entity can take what it wants…her baby.
ABOUT KRISTINE MASON
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Kristine Mason is the bestselling author of the popular romantic suspense trilogies, C.O.R.E. Shadow, and Ultimate C.O.R.E. She is currently working on her next trilogy, C.O.R.E. Above the Law, along with a series of Psychic C.O.R.E. novellas.
Although Kristine has published a few contemporary romance novels, she focuses most of her energy on her romantic suspense stories, which she loves for their blend of dark mystery/suspense and sexy romance. She is fascinated with what makes people afraid, and is famous for her depraved villains whose crimes present massive obstacles for her heroes and heroines to overcome.
Kristine has a degree in journalism from Ohio State University and lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, four kids, and two dogs. If she’s not writing, she’s chauffeuring kids, gardening, or collecting gnomes. Oh, and she makes a mean chocolate chip cookie!Connect with Kristine on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kristinemasonauthor, Twitter https://twitter.com/KristineMason7 or email her at authorkristinemason@gmail.com. You can also find out more about Kristine’s books at http://www.kristinemason.net
All covers link to Amazon and I am an affiliate, BUT I cannot help but tell you. Kristine Mason is a master storyteller and I would highly recommend buying the book sets, because you will want to read them all! Except, I have yet to read the Reality TV series.
The Celeste Files of the Psychic CORE series are paranormal and supernatural novels that star Celeste, from the very first book in the CORE Shadow Trilogy, Shadow of Danger. I love the mix of psychics and ghosts, with murder and thrills. Check them out below.
I was drawn into the Roma Series because of the fabulous covers and the storyline.
It made me think of Kathy Reichs and the the TV series, Bones, with her forensic anthropology, only for a character that specializes in forensic accounting.
We continue our adventure in Milan, Italy and bullets will fly.
The Roma Series continues in Threading The Needle by Gabriel Valjan. I am excited to see what Bianca and her band of cohorts will encounter next in Milan, Italy.
We are back with some familiar characters and the stakes are higher than ever. Conspiracy is alive and well.
The infighting between the police for territory and jurisdiction and the political machinations dog down their investigation into the murders and mystery. Politics is a dirty business and heads will fall, bodies too.
Gotta be pretty sharp to run the gauntlet and find the answers.
A little manipulation can be in order, and it does keep me on the hook as I try to figure out why they do what they do sometimes..
As the mystery unfolds, I think Bianca, a forensic accounting cyber nerd, has the answers, but…
Sometimes there is so much going on, I lose track of where I’m going. Am I purposely being mislead so I can’t find the answers?
Is it just me that I feel like I am being schooled rather than on a journey for my own entertainment? If you enjoy step by step police procedurals and some a glimpse into Italy’s history, this is for you.
I love the concept of this series so much, I wonder why I am having such difficulty with it. Is it because of the location…Italy and all that entails, their customs and history?
I took a little time and read other things between the books, but to see if it makes a difference, I will be diving right into Turning To Stone, Book IV. I believe these books can stand alone, but if you want to know all the details of the continuing characters, start at the beginning.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Threading The Needle from Gabriel Valjan.
Milan, Italy. Bianca’s curiosity gets a young university student murdered, but not before he gives her a file that details a secret weapon under development with defense contractor Adastra. Guilt may drive her to find justice for the slain Charlie Brooks, but she is warned by the mysterious Loki to stay away from this case that runs deep with conspiracy. Bianca must find a way to uncover government secrets and corporate alliances without returning Italy to one of its darkest hours, the decades of daily terrorism known as the “Years of Lead.”
ABOUT GABRIEL VALJAN
Gabriel Valjan lives in Boston, Massachusetts. He is the author of the Roma Series, available from Winter Goose Publishing. Gabriel has also written numerous short stories and essays found online and in print.
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.
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.
I have a few of John Sanford’s novels, of which Mind Prey is one. I bought this quite some time ago from the Mobile Public Library. I have also checked out many other books by him and have enjoyed each and every one.
Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
4 Stars
Mary Ellis has written twelve award-winning novels set in the Amish community and several historical romances set during the Civil War. Her latest, Midnight on the Mississippi, first of a new mystery series, Secrets of the South, is set in New Orleans. Before “retiring” to write full-time, Mary taught school and worked as a sales rep for Hershey Chocolate, a job with amazingly sweet fringe benefits. Mary enjoys traveling, gardening, bicycling and swimming, and lives in Ohio with her husband, dog and cat. She can be found on the web at: 
Goodreads
Kristine Mason is the bestselling author of the popular romantic suspense trilogies, C.O.R.E. Shadow, and Ultimate C.O.R.E. She is currently working on her next trilogy, C.O.R.E. Above the Law, along with a series of Psychic C.O.R.E. novellas.
