Before Elise Warner started her writing career you could find her on Broadway, working with National Companies and in clubs as an actress, singer and stage manager.  She has even written a play which won Theatre Guinevere’s “Guinny Award”.  After that she started writing for various magazines but this is her first novel.

Scene Stealer features Miss Augusta Weidenmaier, a retired school teacher who is caught up on the case of a kidnapped child, an actor in fact, and feels that she must help the police solve this crime.  She does this putting her self in harms way a time or two, and as expected of a school teacher, a rap or two on the knuckles of some not some helpful characters.

When I first started reading this book I wasn’t sure what to expect, in fact, I wasn’t even aware that this was the author’s first novel.  The story started off with Augusta noticing a child on the bus and as a former schoolteacher knew that something wasn’t quite right.  The child looked scared and the man he was with was a bit scary himself.  She departs the bus to try and follow the pair to see if she can help the child.  In the back of her mind she recognizes the child but does not realize he is an actor for a local fast food chain until his disappearance is publicized in the media.  Then she realizes what she saw could help find Kevin and bring him back to his mother.  She doesn’t realize the danger that she ends up putting herself in to until it is too late. 

I was beginning to wonder why someone would want to read this book if the kidnapper was going to be revealed so early in the book.  But imagine mysurprise when the obvious wasn’t as obvious as you might think.  It was a nice twist that I wasn’t expecting and pulled me back in to the story wondering how it was going to end.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars and if the author decides to make this a series, I will definitely check out the second installment.

Julie Moffet is a published author and this is her first venture into mystery/suspense and she has the background for this type of novel.  She has a degree in political science and speaks several foreign languages mentioned in this book, so what she writes about she knows and understands.

Lexi Carmichael works for the NSA and is a “Geek Extraordinare” by excelling in math and computer skills.  Lexi is a woman after my own heart with her addiction to chocolate and her favorite stop is Dunkin Donuts.  Helping Lexi out in the book are the Zimmerman twins, Elvis and Xavier, who are even bigger geeks who have taken their computer skills from the NSA to the private sector.  There is also Slash, who no one knows his real name, who works for NSA, the Vatican and who knows what other government body.  The last is Finn, a lawyer and heir apparant to a winery in Ireland.  All of these characters come together to help Basia, Lexi’s best friend, who puts herself in the middle of an international incident simply because of some documents that she translated.

I would give this book 3 1/2 stars.  The book was good but some parts seemed a little longer than necessary.  Plus I would get confused between the two guys named Al-something and who was the Saudi prince and who was the terrorist.  That aside, I enjoyed the storyline and Lexi’s interactions with the twins, Slash and Finn.  For someone who is supposedly “plain” (the character’s words) she has 3 men that are attracted to her so perhaps she did inherit some of her mother’s beauty.  Lexi also gets a taste of what it is like to be a field agent since she decides to do some things her own way, which was probably a good move because the situation could have ended differently had she not involved herself because of Basia.

I believe this book is to become a series and if it is, I will definitely give the 2nd book a chance because it could turn into an interesting series.

Liar, Liar is the first novel for a trio of sisters – Julianne, Kristen and Kari Larsen.

Cat DeLuca, along with her beagle Inga, owns and runs the Pants on Fire Detective Agency…and yes, the name is all that it implies.  She won’t find a long lost relative but she is the one to call if you think your hubby (or wife) is cheating on you.  Cat also has an overpowering family where all of the men are cops (dad, brother Rocco, cousins, etc) and they want her to give up her job and work as a dispatcher.  Then there is mom who is your typical Catholic Italian in Chicago who thinks her daughter is going straight to hell for her career choice.

Everything is going well with her agency until Rita Polansky hires her to follow her “husband” Chance and find out the scoop on what he is going.  Little does she know that she is going to end up in the hospital after being hit by a For Lease sign from an exploding building which also has everyone convinced she has lost her mind when no one else can see Chance except for her.  This throws her into a series of events that she cannot control with out a little help from Uncle Joey (and yes, Uncle Joey will “fix” things for you) and Tino who owns the deli but has other talents up his sleeve.

I read this book almost in one sitting.  It reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, they are both strong female characters, have overbearing Italian mothers and always seem to find themselves in a bit of danger but luckily have friends and family to help bail them out.

If you like to laugh you will love this book….like I said, I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it at work (just don’t tell my boss!).  You won’t be disappointed.

Congrats to these 4 lucky winners!

Ashley H
Karen
DKay
Mary

I have sent you an email requesting your mailing address.

And look for another giveaway from this author, he kindly sent me 3 copies of the 2nd book.

A few months ago I gave away a copy of Hush by Kate White.  Kate was able to answer some interview questions and here they are!

SBR: What made you break from your Bailey Weggins series and venture into unknown characters?

KW: I love Bailey, but I thought it would be nice to take a break and come back to the series re-engerzied. I also wanted to try a new genre, one that was darker and scarier.

SBR: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

KW: Writing when I have a day job, which means always writing on weekends. I fantasize about having free Sundays some time in my life

SBR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

KW: Even a very young girl I wrote stories. Not sure why. My mother told me that at 3 I handed her a picture I’d crayoned—it was all black. She asked what the name was and I said, “The hacienda is dark and the town is sleeping.” Weird kid, right? But I guess I’ve just always loved to weave a story.

SBR: What authors inspire you and your writing?

KW: I just love so many writers. Mysteries: Ruth Rendell, Linda Fairstein, Michel Connelly, Elizabeth George, Scott Turow, and on and on. Literary fiction: Sue Miller, Anita Shrive, Jane Smiley, Ian McEwan and on and on

SBR: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

KW: I would advise inspiring writers to figure out their perfect writing cocktail: what’s the best time, best background noise, best location. I’ve realized that during my twenties I didn’t write much because I hadn’t’ figured those things out yet. Don’t beat yourself up, just experiment and see what works.

John Howard Reid is a prize winning author and writing contests judge.  He has also worked as a publisher, editor, critic and bookseller.  As a fiction writer, Reid first achieved fame in England and Australia for a series of detective novels, all featuring a Miami police sergeant named Merryll Manning, who made his debut in “Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island” set in the Florida Keys.

John was kind enough to send me copies of this book to read and giveaway here on my blog.  Thank you John!

Trapped on Mystery Island is the first in a series featuring Merryll Manning, a police sergeant who has gone away for the weekend with his girlfriend for a mystery weekend on a remote island.  There are many guests who have paid to be there for a chance at a $5,000 pot for solving the mystery that is played out for them.  However, things don’t go quite as planned as some guests are murdered on the island and it isn’t a part of the script!  Because of Merryll’s background, he attempts to figure out who doesn’t belong on the island before anyone else is murdered.

I enjoyed this book because I was not able to figure out who the killer was in this book.  There were many times where I thought it was one character or another but then something would happen and I would be wrong and have to start looking at the clues again.  I also liked that it was set at a murder mystery weekend where at first the guests wouldn’t have suspected anything was wrong because that should have been part of the game.  However, once things were evidently wrong their true personalities came through.

If you like mysteries and like to be kept in suspense, check out this first book in the series and the second which is The Health Farm Murders.

To Win a Copy:

Leave a comment on this blog and I will draw 4 winners on July 12th.  Yes, John kindly sent me 4 copies to giveaway.

I sadly have just not been posting reviews of what I have read.  Not that the books weren’t good, but it comes down to a time issue.  Between work and my extra activities it has been quite busy around the house and when I have had time, I haven’t wanted to write anything.

I will say that I will have a giveaway posted this coming weekend for 4 copies of a mystery that is being reprinted.  It is set in Florida and is a murder mystery weekend with the chance to win cash money.  But as is with all mysteries, someone will show up dead that isn’t part of the weekend.  So make sure you check back in a few days!

I will try and post a few reviews over the weekend as well.  I’ve read some good books and would like to share them with you!

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers is giving away 3 copies of I Has a Hotdog by Professor Happy Cat

If you like dogs you will like this one – here is the information from the blog:

Yes, my friends….we’ve not only gone to the dogs today, but to the humor side as well!  Professor Happy Cat, author of the infamous I Can Haz Cheezburger book, takes a walk on the “ruff” side of the tracks and exploits…I mean, explores the world of canines.  Pairing humorously cute photos with his own patented style of accented captioning (just try reading it without the accent…not nearly as funny nor does it make sense….with the accent, much better!), you get to take a look inside the minds of the pooches and see what they are REALLY thinking.  See Fido leaping through the air, a look of pure glee on his face….or is it?  Put your little pooch in a sweater when it’s cold outside and marvel at how cute and warm they look?  (Guilty!) The funny little smile they have may not be all cheery thankful thoughts…and ironically enough, my dog actually has the one sweater they show in the book.  (No lie….good thing they out grew it or I may have to second guess the smile they give me when they’re dressed in it…)

and the winner is….

Carol M

Congratulations and look for an email from me later today so that I can get your mailing address and send you this great book.

Pam R!  I will be emailing you for your address so look for the email.  If she doesn’t respond in 48 hours I will draw a new name.

Drawing thanks to Random.org

Here are your random numbers:

21

Timestamp: 2010-04-12 22:56:21 UTC