River Rising by Kevin Kearney #booksfromthebacklog #KevinKearney

Posted on September 17, 2020 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.

All I can say is…just look at that cover. I can’t resist it, can you?

Amazon / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Ellie Coleman wants justice.

Her father Aaron was viciously assaulted by Robert Lee Maggard six months earlier, and she is obsessed with making sure that Maggard pays, and pays dearly.

Robert Lee Maggard wants revenge.

He meant to kill Aaron Coleman, but came up short. And now Aaron’s daughter is pushing his trial forward, a trial that he thought he’d avoided with a plea bargain.

When the chaos of a raging flood provides Maggard the opportunity to engineer a violent escape from jail, he steals a boat and heads toward the isolated farmhouse where Ellie and her father are stranded by floodwaters as wide as a lake.

Ellie Coleman wants justice. Robert Lee Maggard wants revenge. Only one of them will prevail…

Goodreads Ratings: 3.64 · Rating details · 78 ratings · 11 reviews

The Cover. Revenge. A Flood. Think that about says it all as to why I added River Rising by Kevin Kearney to my TBR on 10.11.12. I may have won the book. Do weather elements add that little bit extra that can change your mind about whether you would grab the book or not?

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Have Tissues Handy – Look For Me by Lisa Gardner @LisaGardnerBks #LibraryLove

Posted on August 28, 2020 by fundinmental

Lisa Gardner is a must read author for me. I have been reading her work since way before I began blogging, but now forget to keep up with her. This is my first step to correct that and catch up on some of the books I’ve missed, so I am happy to throw some library love her way.

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Detective D D Warren can relate to Flora, so they made a deal to work together, but I must warn you…have tissues handy because the highs and lows, the love and hate, had my emotions roiling, making this intense thriller impossible to put down, keeping the waters muddy and I was unable to see the end until I got there…the epilogue…a real tear jerker.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos — 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

In #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s latest twisty thrill ride, Detective D. D. Warren and “Find Her”‘s Flora Dane return in a race against the clock to either save a young girl’s life . . . or bring her to justice.

The home of a family of five is now a crime scene: four of them savagely murdered, one—a sixteen-year-old girl—missing. Was she lucky to have escaped? Or is her absence evidence of something sinister? Detective D. D. Warren is on the case—but so is survivor-turned-avenger Flora Dane. Seeking different types of justice, they must make sense of the clues left behind by a young woman who, whether as victim or suspect, is silently pleading, Look for me.

ABOUT LISA GARDNER

Lisa Gardner is a #1 New York Times bestselling crime novelist. A self-described research junkie, she has parlayed her interest in police procedure and twisted minds into a streak of twenty-plus thrillers. Her latest, WHEN YOU SEE ME, comes out January 28, 2020 and features fan-favorites Boston Detective D.D. Warren, survivor-turned-vigilante Flora Dane, and FBI Agent Kimberly Quincy.
When a shallow grave is discovered outside a small mountain town in Georgia, questions quickly arise. Are these the sad remains of one of infamous Jacob Ness’s previous victims? Or the evidence of something worse? The cold case quickly turns red hot as the task force realizes nothing in this quaint town is at it appears. Worse, there’s another young victim whose life is on the line. Can they figure out the truth in time?
Lisa lives in the mountains of New Hampshire with two crazy pups and an ancient rescue dog. When not writing, Lisa loves to hike, play cribbage, and of course, read!

Website

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Monday Mini – Surgical by Geoffrey Germann #GeoffreyGermann

Posted on January 15, 2018 by fundinmental

I had reviewed the first book, Prepare, in this superhero series and loved it (see it here), so when Geoffrey Germann sent me Surgical, Book II, I was eager to read more about the superhero, Darren Kiel.

Goodreads / Amazon

MY REVIEW

Terror from the opening pages.

Darren Kiel is a vigilante, a super hero. Who doesn’t love someone who works undercover saving those unable to save themselves, never needing or wanting credit or acknowledgement?

Darren is an introvert and has been alone for so long, he is craving interaction with another human. He works in disguise so only has fleeting contact and can never let anyone know who he really is. After 200 days a man could lose his mind.

Until…

He becomes part of a superhero, scifi team: Darren has the suit, Faye has the cloak, Walter is the brains and the means, Brigham is the gopher, and Ives is the techie, the inventor. The characters are unique individuals, well developed, flaws and all. I would love to be a part of their team.

It makes me wonder what super heroes are lurking in our world, invisible to us. Could it be your next door neighbor?

The technology is very realistic and who knows what the government keeps secret from us. Maybe some of it is being used today?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Surgical by Geoffrey Germann.

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The leader of a lynchpin Eastern Bloc nation has been increasingly erratic, belligerent, destabilizing the entire region. On the cusp of reversing the personal campaign that is destined to bring war, he is assassinated. His death comes with no warning, draws no blood, and leaves no trace; a puppet with its strings cut.

A new assassin, a new terrorist, can kill anyone, anywhere, anytime. He is undetectable, untraceable, unstoppable. He will bring governments, nations, and continents to their knees one leader at a time.

His next target is Walter Rocaena.

To fight this enemy Walter will need extraordinary help, but he hasn’t seen Darren Kiel in over a year. Can Walter find him in time and, even if he does, how can anyone stop an assassin that can kill with a thought without ever being near the target?

Even if it is possible, can they do it before civilization itself unravels?

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Dark and Dangerous – Cold Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff @AlexSokoloff

Posted on December 7, 2017 by fundinmental

Alexandra Sokoloff has blown me away, with her Huntress/FBI Thriller Series. Huntress Moon, Book I (see my review here) continues through Blood Moon, Book II (see my review here) and I am unable to stop reading. It’s like Lays Potato Chips…you can’t eat just one. Well, I couldn’t read just one. I went through Book II, III and IV on a binge read. And…I see there is a Book V, Hunger Moon, and I aim to get my hands on that one too.

The covers are awesome and kudos to the designers. Cold Moon is done by…

Inkd

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

MY REVIEW

After reading Blood Moon, Book II, by Alexandra Sokoloff, there was no way I could stop. I kept on reading through Cold Moon and Bitter Moon. Now I see we have Hunger Moon, which would be Book V, and I will jump through hoops to get my hands on it.

The moon talks to Cara. Does it talk to you? What does it say?

We begin with Roarke’s nightmare, waking him. Cara…

She faces her own terror in the night, but vows IT will never take her.

“Fair as the moon and cold as ice.”

Roark’s team functions like a well oiled machine, even when personalities occasionally clash and opinions differ. They always get their ‘man’.

Cold Moon takes an even closer look into the depraved, the abused, the lost and those who care about them. Human trafficking of women and children, enslaved in prostitution, bought and sold, used and abused. Who will stand up for them, defend them, save them?

How can an online presence affect people, politics, legalities, courts…The anonymity of cyber activism.

I do not want to spoil any of the goodies contained in Cold Moon, the third book of Cara and Roarke’s story, so I will just throw out some hints and ask you…what would you do?

Evil…can you see it, smell it, touch it, feel it? Is it alive? Do you do something about it yourself?

Is it self defense, if you know evil is coming your way, and you take it out first?

My emotions are raging in anger and disgust. I know this goes on, day in and day out, and I wonder if those who, in real life, try to stem the flow of evil feel it is too big, there are too many. One by one they WILL fall.

“There is something larger at work…a force beyond the simply human. A female vengeance against outrages.” Santa Muerte

“Sometimes death for one is salvation for another.”

I love the dark and dangerous, unique and original, direction Alexandrar Sokoloff takes in this story. I am afraid to google some of the online forums she talks about. I am afraid of what I will find out. Will evil know I am looking and come for me? She continues to thrill and amaze me, disgust and frighten me, leaving me ALWAYS wanting more.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Cold Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff.

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The hunt for mass murderer Cara Lindstrom is over. FBI Special Agent Matthew Roarke has been working for this moment: the capture of a killer who savagely hunts the worst of humanity. But Roarke remains traumatized by his own near-death at the hands of the serial killer who slaughtered Cara’s family…and haunted by the enigmatic woman who saved his life.

Then the sixteen-year-old prostitute who witnessed Cara’s most recent murder goes missing, and suddenly pimps are turning up dead on the streets of San Francisco, killed with an MO eerily similar to Cara’s handiwork.

Is a new killer on the loose with a mission even more deadly than hers? In the pulse-pounding third Huntress/FBI Thrillers book, Roarke will have to go on the hunt…and every woman he meets, even those closest to him, may prove deadly.

ABOUT ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF

I’m the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker and Anthony Award-nominated author of the Amazon bestselling crime and supernatural thrillers The Harrowing, The Price, Book of Shadows, The Unseen, The Space Between, and the new Thriller Award- nominated Huntress/FBI thriller series: Huntress Moon, Blood Moon, Cold Moon. Bitter Moon, Hunger Moon. The New York Times Book Review has called me “a daughter of Mary Shelley” and my novels “some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.”

I’m a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where I majored in theater and minored in everything that Berkeley has a reputation for. After college I moved to Los Angeles, where I’ve made an interesting living doing novel adaptations and selling original thriller scripts to various Hollywood studios.

In my stories I like to cross the possibility of the supernatural with very real life explanations for any strangeness going on, and base the action squarely in fact. THE UNSEEN is based on real paranormal research conducted at the Duke University parapsychology lab, and BOOK OF SHADOWS teams a Boston homicide detective and a practicing Salem witch in a race to solve what may be a Satanic killing. THE SPACE BETWEEN, is an edgy supernatural YA about a troubled high school girl who is having dreams of a terrible massacre at her school, and becomes convinced that she can prevent the shooting if she can unravel the dream.

I also have written paranormal romance (THE SHIFTERS, KEEPER OF THE SHADOWS) and the non-fiction workbooks SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS and WRITING LOVE, based on my internationally acclaimed workshops and blog (http://screenwritingtricks.com)

I live in Los Angeles and in Scotland, with Scottish crime author Craig Robertson.

When I’m not writing I dance: jazz, ballet, salsa, Lindy, swing – I do it all, every chance I get.

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MY ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF REVIEWS

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Badass Female Vigilante Serial Killer – Blood Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff @AlexSokoloff

Posted on November 8, 2017 by fundinmental

Alexandra Sokoloff has reeled me in, hook, line and sinker, with her Huntress/FBI Thriller Series. Huntress Moon (see my review here) blew me away and she has kept it up in Blood Moon, Book II.

The covers scream out to me…and I do not hesitate to answer…I’m coming.

Cover: Brandi Doane

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

MY REVIEW

I am so excited to be back with Special Agent Matthew Roarke, kicking down doors and taking down the bad guys, as his hunt for Cara continues. I love action from the opening page, getting me fully invested in the story and Blood Moon has it in spades.

This book picks up where Huntress Moon, Book I, left off. It does fill in some blanks from the first book, but I will tell you now, I am so happy I started at the beginning. I don’t want to miss a thing and I don’t think you will either.

Cara is a female serial killer, but she is so much more than that. She is a vigilante that Roarke has been chasing since Huntress Moon, Book I of the series. Cara was not born this was, she was created…by The Reaper. She touched me deeply. Right or wrong? Who are we to judge? She is exorcising her demons the only way she knows how, saving innocent lives along the way.

Life is not black and white, but many shades of gray. Blood Moon makes many questions come to mind as man’s inhumanity to those unable to protect themselves is shoved in your face. Is evil alive? Does it have a physical presence?

How far should they, the FBI, go to draw her out? Roarke has conflicting feelings, but comes up with the plan. Cara was Roarke’s incentive to become an FBI agent, since he learned about the tragedy surrounding her at when he was nine years old.

Alexandra Sokoloff has written a story that pushes and pulls me in so many directions making me question myself. My morals and ethics. Who is right? Who is wrong?

She skillullly weaves the past and the present, sharing the storyline from Cara and Roarke’s perspective. The investigation takes them to surprising places, the clues and evidence leading them in unexpected ways. This is not your typical police procedural. Reading all the evidence takes a meticulous and detailed mind, thinking outside the box. I think it takes a special kind of person, whether you are deciphering the clues as a reader or creating them as a writer.

Alexandra Sokoloff is able to ramp up the intrigue, my curiosity, the suspense, and my anticipation to a horrifying, frantic level, making me wonder how this can possibly end.

Would you care if the traffickers, rapists, and pimps were offed? Would you go out of your way to find the vigilante who protects children who are unable to protect themselves and others have cast aside?

The characters come to life in a way I never anticipated. I loved them, I hated them, I worried about them, I raged at them, I fretted with fear and terror, and I wished they would go down in flames, and I mean that literally.

I love/hate the ending, BUT don’t think for a minute that the story is done, because Alexandra Sokoloff has so much more coming in Cold Moon, Book III, and I do not want to miss one second of Roarke’s and Cara’s story. I didn’t wait…I immediately began to read it.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blood Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff.

5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Book II in the Thriller Award-nominated Huntress/FBI series

Twenty-five years have passed since a savage killer terrorized California, massacring three ordinary families before disappearing without a trace.

The haunted child who was the only surviving victim of his rampage is now wanted by the FBI for brutal crimes of her own, and Special Agent Matthew Roarke is on an interstate manhunt for her, despite his conflicted sympathies for her history and motives.

But when his search for her unearths evidence of new family slayings, the dangerous woman Roarke seeks – and wants – may be his only hope of preventing another bloodbath.

It is highly recommended that you read Book 1 of the series, Huntress Moon, first.

ABOUT ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF

I live in Los Angeles and in Scotland, with Scottish crime author Craig Robertson.

When I’m not writing I dance: jazz, ballet, salsa, Lindy, swing – I do it all, every chance I get.

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest

MY REVIEW FOR HUNTRESS MOON, BOOK I

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Book Blast – Murder and Mayhem @PromoBookTours

Posted on September 27, 2017 by fundinmental

Looking for unforgettable heroes pitted against unbeatable odds?

Evil lurks in broad daylight. Conspiracies play out in the shadows. Nowhere is safe. And these 20 pulse-pounding mysteries and thrillers won’t let you forget it…

Fans of Lee Child, James Patterson, Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, and John Grisham will love the USA Today and Award-Winning authors in the MURDER & MAYHEM boxed set, which is why the authors of this collection came together to bundle 20 EXCLUSIVE thrillers and mysteries, including plenty of BRAND NEW material!

This unbeatable lineup of stories will spike your heart rate and blow your senses with thousands of pages of clever crimes, devastating murders, heart-pounding mystery, and psychological twists.

From tales of spies and espionage to small-town mysteries and traditional courtroom thrillers to hard-boiled noir, this collection offers a cross-section of modern thriller and mystery.

Scroll Up Now and Pre-order Today to secure your 20 stories from the masters of thrills and kills!

Including Titles From…

Award-Winning author Nathan M. Farrugia

Nick Thacker

John Birmingham

N.D. Hill

Eva Winters

Lee Hayton

USA Today bestselling author Olivia Wildenstein

Nathan Goodman

John Ling

Award-Winning author Fiona Quinn

M.R. Graham

USA Today bestselling author H.B. Moore

Award-Winning author Pamela Crane

Award-Winning author Ashley C. Harris

Award-Winning author Terry Keys

Steve P. Vincent

Tina Glasneck

Award-Wining author Pauline Creeden

Dave Sinclair

New York Times bestselling author Monica Corwin

—

Buy Links: Only $.99!

Amazon / Google Play / Kobo / Nook

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One Sentence Review – Hearing Voices by Axel Cruise #AxelCruise

Posted on September 9, 2017 by fundinmental

I won a signed copy of Hearing Voices by Axel Cruise.

Love the cover, vigilantes and all the thrills and chills.

Goodreads / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon CA

MY ONE SENTENCE REVIEW

I love Isaac Blaze, a take no prisoner, do the right thing kind of guy, in this action packed, thrills and chills, vigilante tale that takes us worldwide to cleanse the world of those who feel it was created as their very own toybox.

4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

“The cool character jackpot” – Readers’ Favourite “You’re a dead man,” he yelled.
“That’s great. Now answer the question.”
– Isaac Blaze

Isaac Blaze.

A quick wit, zero allegiances, and every major government agency after him. He’s also got two voices in his head. Neither of which is particularly helpful. Or care to be.

But at least he’s never been caught.

Hell, he’s barely even come close.

So when finally a SWAT team does actually manage to take him in – and with such ease at that – they probably should’ve been asking themselves: why?

Too bad they didn’t.

A lot of people got killed.

(Only for fans of Deadpool, Jack Reacher, Derrick Storm, Jason Bourne, Ben Hope, Harry Bosch, Gabe Quin, Lee Child, The Punisher, Elmore Leonard, Wolverine, and Richard Castle.)

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Teaser Tuesday #82 – She Bites by #RogerArsht & #CaitlinHawker

Posted on November 15, 2016 by fundinmental

Teaser

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!

~~~~~~

She Bites by Roger Arsht & Caitlin Hawker has such a cool cover and fantastic blurb, there is no way I could pass on this vigilante thriller novel. I would like to thank Roger, Caitlin and Archway Publishing for the opportunity to read and review She Bites.

She Bites has a bit of a twist, so keep reading to find out why.

I will be reviewing this tomorrow. Be sure and come check it out!

Does this cover talk to you as loud as it talks to me?

Amazon / Goodreads

MY TEASE

“Could I…um, I know the date didn’t go that well tonight. Maybe I could come in for coffee, and we could see if we could slavage it?” He smiles, his eyes leveled at her breats.

Something shifted inside her, and she grinned maliciously. “Sure. Come on in.”

(page 8 in paperback)

I’m thinking he will regret that. 👿

She Bites covers a brutal topic – dogfighting.

GOODREADS BLURB: Dr. Robyn Sparks is a veterinarian with a dark secret: she moonlights as a self-appointed vigilante, who deals her own brand of justice to animal abusers by murdering them. If you do bad things to dogs, Robyn does bad things to you.

She Bites tells the story of a talented veterinarian who dispenses brutal judgment. Her work with sick and injured animals provides Robyn with a view of life’s most tender moments as well as a view of man’s most brutal behaviors.

Robyn’s regular habit of sending bad people to the pet crematorium is interrupted when she meets Jack Williams, a damaged detective who is fighting his own demons. Their relationship is a roller coaster ride of tangled emotions and legal close calls.

Ultimately, Robyn has to make a choice: whether to continue down her destructive path and kill a twisted psychopath turned professional dog fight promoter, or to pursue a romance with a cop who believes morality is best served by the hand of the law.

By our estimate, there are tens of thousands of dog fighters in the U.S., forcing hundreds of thousands of dogs to train, fight, and suffer every year. – The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 2016