Posted in Cozy, Monday, mystery on January 6, 2014

Today I bring you the first in a new series by Victoria Abbott, which is actually Victoria and Mary Jane Maffini writing together to create this fun new series!

christie curse

 

Synopsis

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?

Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York,living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans.
Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem:her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough,but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?

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Posted in 3 paws, fiction, Review, romance, women on January 5, 2014

swimming upstream

 

Synopsis

“I once read that the end of a relationship is like being involved in a road traffic accident. Which is quite fitting really, given what happened.”
After seven years, Lizzie wonders whether she’s truly happy with her long-term boyfriend. When one wrong step and a chance meeting set off an unexpected chain of events, her life begins to unravel. In the same day that she meets Martin, an attractive lifeguard, her old friend Catherine re-appears. But is Martin really all he seems? And what is the secret that Catherine is hiding? As Lizzie struggles to confront the ghosts of her past, can she survive the shocking twist that will change the course of her future?
Swimming Upstream is a life-affirming and often humorous story about a young woman’s pursuit of happiness. It is also a story of female friendship, love, and divided loyalties – and the moral choices that we find ourselves making when the chips are down.
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Review

I thought this book was a bit heavier than my normal books and I didn’t find it that humorous as the synopsis states.  All of the characters had issues to deal with in some fashion – love, loss, abuse, mental health.  While fiction, I think it painted a true story of what happens to some people’s lives and the situations and emotions that each person deals with in their own way.  Lizzie has a lot to deal with in her career and personal life and when she meets up with her former friend, Catherine, she learns more about her life and what she is willing to do (or not do) to deal with what life throws her way.  All of the characters were well developed, along with their particular set of issues.  I think that there are some good life lessons learned by all the characters and perhaps even we could apply some of them to our own lives and situations.  I found the ending rather interesting but don’t want to say too much to spoil the story, but I was surprised at how Lizzie chose to deal with the circumstances put in her path.
We give this book 3 paws.
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About the Author

Ruth Author PhotoRuth Mancini was born in South-West London and studied in Cambridge and London where she gained a bachelors degree in French and Spanish and a post-graduate diploma in Law. For several years she worked in the publishing industry before leaving to travel and to write the first draft of Swimming Upstream. She then put her writing career on hold for several years whilst she retrained as a lawyer.
She now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband and two children. She still practices as a lawyer and juggles that with writing and raising the children.

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Posted in 4 paws, Review, Spotlight, suspense on January 4, 2014

rented mule

 

Synopsis

Cooper Dixon feels like a hamster on a wheel. He and his wife, Kelly, fight constantly and his cocaine-addicted business partner is scheming to sell their thriving advertising agency out from under him. Frustrated with his home life, Cooper finds himself fantasizing about his gorgeous graphic designer and of buying a pristine hunting property that he can’t afford. Cooper is on the verge of making a move that will change his life irrevocably when a motley criminal crew, composed of a 260-pound former football star, a Larry King impersonator, and others, is hired by a mysterious client to kidnap Kelly and set up Cooper to take the fall. Cooper quickly becomes the prime suspect, and the combination of an attractive mother and a million-dollar insurance policy makes the case primetime TV fodder. With Cooper’s face plastered on the news and Kelly held captive in the cellar of an abandoned antebellum mansion, he races against time to find her before the client can execute his sinister plan.

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Review

I get my books for review from several places and this one came from Thomas & Mercer/Amazon.  I have no clue how I got on the list but something about being a trusted reviewer?  However I got on the list is ok because now and then I find a book that is quite the gem that I may not have ever found had it not been for one of my many sources!

Everything looks good for Cooper and Kelly, at least from the outside in it looks good…but Kelly is dissatisfied with her life (she wants to compete the with the Jones’) and Cooper loves his work but wants a wild life preserve as his escape.  Cooper and his partner, Gates, are approached by a local bank to buy out their advertising agency and Cooper (and Kelly) think this could be the answer to many prayers.  Needless to say, there are other things happening in the background that cause quite the disruption in the potential buyout of the agency.  Like Gate’s gambling and drug problems and an unknown character (referred to as The Client) that wants to take everyone down.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book but I was sucked in and amazed at the various sub-plots and wondered who was really a “good” guy and who was really evil.  Kelly is kidnapped and I wondered who was behind it all and why.  I have to admit I did figure it out but not because it was easy or the clues were right there for anyone to figure out, it was more just a gut instinct.  There were some major twists that I didn’t expect at the end as the story was climaxing but it tied it all up very nicely.

There is a lot more I could tell you about this story but it would give away some of the plot twists so you will just have to get this book yourself and discover what a rented mule really is (because I know that I had no clue what the title meant!).

We give this book 4 paws and do recommend it next time you are looking for a good suspense novel to read.  But be prepared, it is about 500 pages long!  (and my Kindle Fire does not know how to judge my reading time and how much longer in the book…it keep telling me 15 more minutes and it was more like 45!)

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About the Author

Born William Robert Cole, Jr., in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1964, writer Bobby Cole now lives in West Point, Mississippi, where he is President of Mossy Oak® BioLogic®. He and his wife Melissa are the parents of a daughter named Jessi. Cole is an avid wildlife manager, hunter, and supporter of the Catch-A-Dream™ Foundation (a program for terminally-ill children). He began writing his first book, The Dummy Line, after a camping experience with his daughter, and he now regularly enjoys writing in his free time.

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Posted in Book Blast, Horror, Middle Grade, paranormal, Young Adult on January 3, 2014

 

eve hallows shivers

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHIVERS (BOOK 3)

So far, Eve’s summer vacation has been uneventful, but when her grandparents—traveling all the way from the monster world known as Gravesville—appear at her doorstep, she learns that the URNS Director has gone missing. Worse, a new director, bent on destroying humans, has taken over URNS.

Eve and her family are no longer safe in the human world, and as they race to escape this new threat, Eve stumbles into a trap, which forces her back to Gravesville along with her family and friends. But once there, everything goes adorably wrong, and her best chance to get out of this mess is to seek out The Book of Shivers and the elusive author Sedrick Creach—the only creature who knows the secrets of the Nightmare Books. Unfortunately for Eve, searching for Sedrick and the next book in the series will reveal uncomfortable details about her own murky past.

Once again, Eve and her friends find themselves on an incredible adventure—one that involves underground battles with bloodthirsty creatures, a lightning-fueled train, and some unexpected new allies.

Hilarious and bone-chilling, this third book continues the story of an unlikely hero trying to save not one, but two worlds … This time around, though, Eve’s not sure she can even save herself.

Purchase
Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHRIEKS (BOOK 1)

For fourteen-year-old Eve Hallows, life can be summed up in one word—horrible. She has the most horrible friends. She lives in a horrible old castle. Even her family is a bunch of horrible monsters.

However, in the monster-inhabited world of Gravesville—a world where messages are sent through Ouija boards, jack-o’-lanterns get facials to suit their moods, and the worst thing Eve has to deal with are those annoying zombie tourists who overrun her favorite graveyard during the Halloween season—horrible means wonderful. And everything for Eve is perfectly horrible.

But her life is about to go head over heels when a mysterious group known as The Source starts terrorizing Gravesville. Now she must move to the human world—where everything is opposite … and for Eve, that’s absolutely adorable!

Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks:

“Move over, Neil Gaiman’s CORALINE and THE GRAVEYARD BOOK … make room, Lemony Snicket’s A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS … you’ve got company and competition for shelf space!” — THE HORROR FICTION REVIEW”WOW! What an absolutely horrible book (horrible meaning fantastic!) … This book was laugh out loud funny. I loved when Mom accidentally turned people to stone. Dad’s crazy attempts at running a pizza store were just hysterical.” — KIDS ‘N’ BOOKS

“This is the perfect book to be read aloud, read at night under the covers or simply devoured in one sitting. Robert Gray’s Eve Hallows and the Book of Shrieks simply shines with all of its fun creepiness, compelling characters and stellar writing. A MUST read for any MG fan!” — WORD SPELUNKING

“Eve Hallows is highly imaginative without being too complex for its target audience. Fall in love with Eve, her friends and her family of adorable monsters. Lose yourself in a light read that will remind you of those days when your English teacher just want you to read something, anything. This book is it. The one that you wish you read when you were in grade school.” — JOYOUS READS

“Overall, this book was fantastic. It presents an admirable role model as well as a strong family unit which will benefit young readers. When so many books right now have presented teens in a not-so-flattering light, it is so wonderful to find a book like this one.” — BOOK COVER JUSTICE

EVE HALLOWS AND THE BOOK OF SHADOWS (BOOK 2)

Ever since encountering The Source and its minions on Halloween, Eve Hallows has found life surprisingly quiet … not to mention adorably boring! So when Dad receives a Ouija message that she must return to Gravesville, Eve couldn’t be happier—at least until she discovers the Director of URNS, also known as the Grim Reaper, has a special job for Eve … one that will lead her to New York City and to the true identity of The Source.With The Book of Shrieks offering zero help and a new URNS agent driving the school boys—and Eve!—crazy, Eve’s beginning to realize this whole saving-the-world nonsense isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.All this and she still has to find The Book of Shadows….

Praise for Eve Hallows and the Book of Shadows:

“This book was perfectly horrible! Horrible meaning amazingly awesome, of course. Eve’s world once again sucked me in and would not let go until this part of Eve’s story was finished” — LILI LOST IN A BOOK

“This is a perfect combination of YA, Horror, Paranormal and Fun!” — BOOK LOVERS PARADISE

“I love love love Eve. She’s a strong, awesome, female character that I would be delighted to recommend to any little girl. (No sexism at play here, boys will love this book too!)” — MUST READ FASTER

“I absolutely love this series and cannot wait to keep reading the fun adventures of Eve Hallows. Mr Gray has such a fantastic style of writing and his books are such fascinating tales, that everybody should read them for the fun factor. The topsy turvy lingo, adorable creatures and imaginative Gravesville, make one horrible book.” — TURNER’S ANTICS

 

Purchase

Kindle * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

eve hallows tour

Tour Schedule

robert grayAuthor Robert Gray

Robert Gray is a writer. If that job description doesn’t impress you, how about fantasy writer? Too general? Well, he doesn’t get insulted if you call him a horror writer. If horror’s not your thing, then scratch out horror and replace it with suspense. And for the kiddies, you can slap on a YA or MG in front of that title.

Gray lives in Bushkill, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children.

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Book Blast Giveaway Details

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 1/26/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, Blog tour, Cozy, mystery, Pets, Review on January 2, 2014

tour banner large TEA AND TURBULANCE448

 

Untitled-2

 

Teacup Turbulence (A Pet Rescue Mystery)
5th in Series
Cozy Mystery
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (January 7, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-0425259979

Synopsis

Los Angeles animal shelter manager Lauren Vancouver has a soft spot for animals in need—and a keen eye for crime. . .

Thanks to a savvy ad campaign featuring teacup pups sporting HotPets Bling—a new line of faux jewelry dog collars—small dog adoptions have skyrocketed across the city. So when Lauren discovers a shelter in the Midwest with more toy dogs than it can handle, she arranges a private plane to swoop in and fly the pups back to LA.

But Lauren didn’t count on rescue worker Teresa Kantrim coming along for the ride. Teresa has cared for the dogs since they were found and doesn’t trust anyone from La-La Land to take over the job. Her biting comments clearly haven’t earned Teresa any new friends, but when she turns up murdered, it’s time for Lauren to dig into Teresa’s past and find out who wanted her put down.

Review

I love books about animals, especially dogs, and I am definitely no stranger to Linda’s books!  I first got hooked on the pet sitter series (and I guess that series is dead since the last book was in 2010 and Kendra makes appearances in this series) and so I had high hopes for the Pet Rescue series.  Linda has not disappointed me yet!  This book has two mysteries that have to be solved…hope I’m not giving anything away there.  They tie together in the end.

I don’t know if I have read so many mysteries or if I just had a gut instinct on the last few mysteries I have read, but I have been able to come up with a good idea of “whodoneit” but not necessarily know how or why.  It does not detract from my enjoyment of the book because I am never 100% sure I am right until I get to the end.

We give this book 4 paws and if you haven’t read this series, definitely pick it up and give it a whirl.
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About This Author

LOJPublicityPhotoLinda O. Johnston’s first published fiction appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and won the Robert L. Fish Memorial Award for Best First Mystery Short Story of the year. Since then, Linda, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, has published more short stories, novellas, and 35 romance and mystery novels, including Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as the Alpha Force paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne.

Linda’s Pet Rescue Mysteries, a spinoff from her Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime, feature Lauren Vancouver, a determined pet rescuer who runs a no-kill shelter. In this cozy series, “no-kill” refers to pets, not people!

[Note that, at the time this is being submitted, I’ve had 33 books published but will have a Harlequin Romantic Suspense published in December, and my upcoming Pet Rescue Mystery TEACUP TURBULENCE will be a January 2014 release.]

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Purchase Links:
Amazon     Book World      B&N

 

 

Tour Participants

January 2 – StoreyBook Reviews  – Review
January 3 – Chloe Gets A ClueInterview
January 4 – Books-n-Kisses – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
January 5 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review
January 6 – readalot blog – Review
January 7 – fuonlyknew – Review, Giveaway
January 8 – Brooke Blogs – Review
January 9 –  off
January 10 –
Reviews By Karen – Guest Post, Giveaway
January 11 –off
January 12-
Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview
January 13 – My Devotional Thoughts – Review, Guest Post
January 14 – StephTheBookworm – Review
January 14 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Review
January 15 – Queen of All She Reads – Review, Giveaway
January 15 – Mochas, Mysteries and More – Guest Post
January 15 – Dru’s Book Musings –  Guest Post

Posted in 5 paws, mystery, Review on January 1, 2014

TAC

Synopsis:

The life of a magician isn’t all kiddie shows and card tricks. Sometimes it’s murder. Especially when magician Eli Marks very publicly debunks a famed psychic, and said psychic ends up dead. The evidence, including a bloody King of Diamonds playing card (one from Eli’s own Ambitious Card routine), directs the police right to Eli. As more psychics are slain, and more King cards rise to the top, Eli can’t escape suspicion. Things get really complicated when romance blooms with a beautiful psychic, and Eli discovers she’s the next target for murder, and he’s scheduled to die with her. Now Eli must use every trick he knows to keep them both alive and reveal the true killer.
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Review

I’m not sure what the best word to describe this book it….Amazing, Mind bending, Magical….so many great words to sum up this story.
Eli is a debunker or skeptic of psychics who is in love with his landlady.  Eli appears on a show to debunk a former real estate agent turned psychic named Grey who later ends up dead and the calling card points to Eli.  Eli of course did not do it and has to search out and find the killer so he doesn’t end up in jail.  Luckily he has his ex-wife on his side and she does work for the DA’s office…but her husband is a police officer and would like nothing more than to pin it all on Eli.
I’m not sure what it was about this book but it drew me in at every turn.  Just when you think you have it all figured out, another twist is introduced.  I truly loved this book and highly recommend it if you are a fan of mysteries and magic.  We loved it so much we gave it 5 paws!
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About the Author:

In real life, John’s not a magician, but he has directed six low-budget features that cost very little and made even less – that’s no small trick. He’s also written multiple books on the subject of low-budget filmmaking. Ironically, they’ve made more than the films. His blog, “Fast, Cheap Movie Thoughts,” has been named “One of the 50 Best Blogs for Moviemakers” and “One of The 100 Best Blogs For Film and Theater Students.” He’s also written for TV and the stage. John lives in Minnesota and shares his home with his lovely wife, several dogs, a few cats and a handful of pet allergies.

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Posted in mystery, Spotlight on January 1, 2014

NotTime.FINAL

 

Synopsis

Art historian Genevieve McKenna, who just lost her museum job, lands an exciting assignment: Trace the path of a drawing the Nazis stole in wartime Paris and restore it to the rightful owners.
Plus, there’s Julien Brooks, whose family claims the drawing. She’s eager to get to know him better — a lot better.
But someone — could it be Julien? — is very determined to thwart her investigation.
And why does she keep having bizarre flashbacks to a place she’s certain she’s never been? Are those moments a sign of the same mental illness that plagued her mother’s life?
On a research trip to Paris, Genevieve must confront her growing attraction to Julien and the truth about her destiny. What she learns might crack the case — or cost her and Julien their lives.
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You can read the first chapter on Shawna’s Website

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