Hostage to Fortune: A Tea and Tarot Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Misterio Press (May 21, 2020)
Number of Pages: 250

Synopsis

 

Abigail and Hyperion uncork a murder… 

Tea and Tarot room owner Abigail Beanblossom is used to running interference for her socially-awkward former boss, tech billionaire Razzzor. So when he invites her on a stakeout to investigate the sale of counterfeit wine from his latest venture – an upscale winery – she barrels on in. But the two stumble across the corpse of a wine merchant, and new wine in old bottles is now the least of their problems.

Good thing amateur detectives Abigail and her partner, tarot reader Hyperion Night, have a nose for murder. Their investigation takes them from elegant wine cellars to chic tea parties on the California coast. But just as the investigation starts to get its legs, Abigail discovers there’s more than wine at the bottom of this crime…

Hostage to Fortune is book 2 in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. Start reading this hilariously cozy caper today!

Tearoom recipes in the back of the book.

 

 

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Review

 

Abigail and Hyperion are back in a new mystery in their sleepy little town in CA.  This time we get to know Razzzor and prove to Hyperion that he isn’t Abigail’s imaginary friend.  Of course, there is Brik, Grandpa, and Tomas throwing in their 2 cents to help solve the case and protect Abigail.

I love tea and find tarot interesting, so this is the type of shop I would like to visit.  Abigail is making tarot themed teas and the recipes sound delicious.  I’m not sure I would make them since that isn’t my expertise, but if I could buy them somewhere I certainly would.  I won’t even go into the scones….I think I gained 5 lbs just imaging them in my mouth!

As I mentioned above, we get to know a bit more about Razzzor other than he plays a Nazi Zombie game with Abigail online.  He is a bit eccentric and maybe that is due to his wealth and protecting himself at all costs.  In this book, he ropes Abigail into helping him figure out who is counterfeiting his wine.  Abigail is a true friend and doesn’t know how to say no to anyone.  So she lands in the middle of another case trying to protect Razzzor from being charged with murder and almost ends up dead herself.  There are a few suspects and when the true killer was revealed I was very surprised because I did not suspect this character.  I had it pinned on someone else.  My suspect wasn’t totally innocent but was not the killer.

Abigail’s relationship, such as it is, with Brik is expanded upon and there are a few scenarios that might bring these two together in the near future.  Hyperion seems to have his eyes set on Detective Tony Chase and the feeling might be reciprocated.  Only future books will delve more into this potential relationship.

I have really enjoyed this series so far and look forward to more tea and tarot books.  We give this 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in Colorado Springs, CO, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town, Tea and Tarot, Paranormal Museum and Wits’ End books. If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle, Riga Hayworth, and Rocky Bridges books a try. And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey series might be for you.

Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter

 

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Kelegeen

Historical Fiction

Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc. (March 1, 2018)

Paperback: 433 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Ireland 1846

 

Meg O’Connor, daughter of poor Irish cottiers, eagerly anticipates her wedding to Rory Quinn.  Her dreams of marriage and family vanish along with Ireland’s potato crop when Kelegeen’s inhabitants awaken one morning to find their sole source of food destroyed by blight.

At first Meg and Rory are able to use their skills, hers of sewing and his of wood carving, to provide for themselves and their families.  But tragedy and a costly mistake end those means of survival forcing them into more dangerous ventures.

As An Gorta Mór, the Great Hunger, continues to churn through Ireland ravaging the country’s peasantry with no let up in sight, Meg is compelled to make the most difficult decision of her life.  What she chooses could be the salvation of the O’Connor and Quinn families or it could separate her forever from all she knows and loves.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Siobhan O’Toole

 

My name is Siobhan O’Toole and I’ve been asked to regale you with tales of my part in the story of Kelegeen. You’ll not believe it, but I’ve never stepped foot in the town of Kelegeen. As it happens, I’m not even alive when the story takes place, but that doesn’t stop me from having a role in it. You see, I was in love, long before that story began, with a man named Brian O’Malley. In Kelegeen you’ll know him as Father O’Malley, but his priestly vocation came after I died. Oh, he’s a good priest, he is. Faithful, devout, completely committed to God and his parishioners. He’d have been just as good a husband and father had I lived long enough for us to marry and give him wee ones. We were everything to each other. That’s why I couldn’t leave him even after I’d died.

You’ll be more comfortable calling him “Father” after you’ve read the book, no doubt, but to me he’ll always be Brian, so don’t think I’m showing disrespect by calling him by his Christian name.

Brian and I met one night when I was playing the fiddle for my brothers who were dancing up a storm. He thought himself bewitched at first sight of me. I can’t say I blame him, what with my long, tangled red hair flashing in the moonlight, me hopping about on a rock while I played a rollicking tune. He came and asked me to dance, so I gave the fiddle to my brother, Quentin, and we danced. From that moment on we were inseparable.

I think Brian was intrigued by the stories, legends really, that he’d heard about my family. The best one being that I had an ancestor who was one of the good people – what you folk would call a fairy. Quentin, being the mischievous sort, told him I was one, as well. He asked me if it was true. He made out like he was only teasing, but I could tell a small part of him actually wondered. I had a grand time with that, I can tell you! I never did give him a proper answer. He may have gone his whole life wondering after it for all I know.

We planned to wed, but it wasn’t to be. I’ll let the story of Kelegeen explain what happened to me and how it led him into the priesthood. Aye, but the ways of God are mysterious indeed.

When you love someone with all your heart and they love you as much, even death does not fully part you. That’s how it was for Brian and me. He talked to me often throughout his life. At times, he believed he felt me with him. Sure enough, he was right. I was always at his side. Always, that is, until he sent me away. But that he did for a noble reason – a reason of selfless giving. He would sacrifice anything for any one of his people including my cherished presence. How could I not love him all the more for that? How could I not do what he asked of me?

 

 

About the Author

 

Eileen O’Finlan calls her writing “history with a twist” because she is intrigued by the unusual and little known aspects of history – the stories on history’s margins, the things rarely taught in the classroom. For her, that’s where history really gets fun.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, her family moved to Worcester when she was two.  Four years later they moved to Holden where Eileen grew up and where she now resides with her 93 year old mother and two cats.

Eileen holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry.  She works full time for the Diocese of Worcester and teaches online courses in Catholic studies for the University of Dayton, Ohio.  She is proud to say that Pope Francis owns a copy of her debut novel, Kelegeen.  Erin’s Children, the sequel to Kelegeen, will be released by BWL Publishing, Inc. in December of 2020.

 

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Synopsis

 

Tea, tarot, and trouble.

Abigail Beanblossom’s dream of owning a tea room in her California beach town is about to come true. She’s got the lease, the start-up funds, and the recipes. But Abigail’s out of a tearoom and into hot water when the realtor turns out to be a conman… and then turns up dead.

But not even death puts an end to the conman’s mischief. He rented the same space to a tarot reader, Hyperion Night. Convinced his tarot room is in the cards, Night’s not letting go of the building without a fight. Steamed, Abigail realizes the only way to salvage her tea room is to join forces with the tarot reader, even if he isn’t her cup of tea.

But they must work together, steeping themselves in the murky waters of the sham realtor’s double dealings, in order to unearth the truth – before murder boils over again.

Steeped in Murder is the first book in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. Buy the book to start this hilarious caper today.

 

 

 

Review

 

This new series is steeped in tea, mystery, and murder.

Things are going well for Abigail when she discovers that the building she has rented for her tea room is not valid.  I can’t even imagine her frustration and disappointment, especially when it was doubly rented to a tarot card reader with quite an unusual name, Hyperion Night.  While their relationship gets off to a rocky start, I was happy to see a friendship develop even though Hyperion is a bit eccentric.  Perhaps it goes with reading tarot cards?

Abigail does have her grandfather that is behind her tearoom, along with Tomas, a retired lawyer that uses his skills to assist Abigail in a few situations.  There is a hunky new neighbor, Brik, that could be a potential love interest for Abigail.  The police detective on the case is a Texan that happens to be a germaphobe.  A few situations with him gave me a chuckle.

There is a wide variety of characters in this book and trying to decipher who might have had cause to murder the fake real estate agent took some doing.  While I suspected several of the characters, the reality wasn’t too far from my grasp.  While I had my suspicions about this character, the why surprised me.

I enjoyed reading this first in the series and expect it will be a fun series to follow.  There is much more to learn about the various characters and the addition of Peking the pet duck was genius because it made for some cute scenes especially when Hyperion’s cat because the duck’s best bud.

We give this 4 paws up and have the 2nd book to read and see where things develop from there.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in Colorado Springs, CO, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town, Tea and Tarot, Paranormal Museum and Wits’ End books. If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle, Riga Hayworth, and Rocky Bridges books a try. And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey series might be for you.

Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter

 

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Synopsis

 

When having it all isn’t enough…

Aman and Rhea seem to have the perfect marriage. They are madly in love – with each other, with their own careers and the home and life they are building in a quiet Mumbai suburb.

Rhea is a successful interior designer with a thriving business while Aman is a commercial pilot who is at peace with his life, on the ground and in the skies! What could possibly be lacking in their picture-perfect marriage?

 

A baby.

 

Like most women, thirty plus Rhea Chakraborty, wants to hold her own flesh and blood in her arms. And Aman too wants the same.

 

Or does he?

 

After another unexplained miscarriage that takes a severe emotional, physical, and psychological toll on them, Aman isn’t sure if having a baby will complete them or destroy them.

Suddenly, Rhea and Aman find the fabric of their stable marriage fraying beneath the strain of their failed conceptions. Where once they were a team with a common goal, they now find themselves on opposite sides with shifting goalposts.

 

A Barren Heart is set in so-called modern India and is the story of the struggle of an affluent, educated couple who are still fighting the shackles of societal indoctrination and expectations and losing each other in the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Shilpa Suraj wears many hats – corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.

An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.

 

 

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Storms of Malhado

 

by

 

Maria Elena Sandovici

 

 

Genre: Historical Fiction / Ghosts

Publisher: Independently Published

Date of Publication: March 26, 2020

Number of Pages: 252

 

 

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Galveston Island, Texas, September 2008 Katie doesn’t believe in ghosts. And she certainly doesn’t believe the rumors that her family’s home is haunted, despite its tragic history: two young women who lived there in different eras died in hurricanes—one during Hurricane Carla in 1961, one during the Great Storm of 1900, the greatest natural disaster to befall the United States. But that was the past, a fact Katie reminds herself of when she returns to Galveston to await Hurricane Ike with her parents and boyfriend in her family’s Broadway mansion, hoping to rekindle her flailing relationship.

While Katie is not afraid of the ghost stories she’s heard, she is afraid of the monster storm approaching. As even die-hard Islanders evacuate, her fears grow—fear of the looming hurricane, fear that she’s talentless as a painter, fear that her relationship with her boyfriend is already over. As Katie struggles against her fears, the past whispers to her of the women who died there and the haunting similarities they share with Katie’s own life.

Through three different timelines, Storms of Malhado weaves a story of Galveston’s past, underscoring its danger and isolation, as well as its remarkable resilience, and its capacity for both nostalgia and reinvention. Full of contradictions, at once insular and open to the world, Galveston Island is as much a character of the novel as Katie, Suzanne, Betty, their lovers, and their confidantes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“Taking place entirely on a beautifully moody Galveston Island, Ms. Sandovici weaves three simultaneous stories with ease. With a timeless tale, ethereal language, and complicated characters, readers will be entranced by this modern ghost story. How many times can the past repeat itself? How do we recognize people through generations? The author tackles this topic amid a backdrop of violent nature and intangible dreamscapes.”  —Courtney Brandt, author of The Queen of England: Coronation, Grand Tour, Ascension

 

“Three women, three great storms, and one house, haunted by forbidden love and frustrated ambition. Get ready to be swept away by Sandovici’s foray into Galveston Island’s tempestuous history in this tale of lives intertwined across time.” —Donna Dechen Birdwell, author of Not Knowing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Story of My 1900 Bathing Dress

 

(View the Pinterest board the author created for Storms of Malhado)

 

 

Writing historical fiction came with many challenges. The part of Storms of Malhado taking place in 1900 required tons of research and two rounds of critique from Margaret Doran, who established her expertise on Galveston Island’s history through her long collaboration with the Galveston Historical Foundation and the Rosenberg Library. Luckily, she is a meticulous critic who read my manuscript twice and picked out small—and larger—blunders. “Suzanne would not be reading a paperback,” she pointed out as part of her feedback on an early draft. Easy fix, no problem. “Why is Suzanne in Galveston for the summer?” she inquired in response to the same draft. “Wealthy women would travel to milder climates.” Addressing this was harder than the paperback issue and required inventing an illness and some serious phobias for Suzanne’s mother. This ended up adding depth to that character, so it was a win. But what was I to do about a young lady of means not being able to go to the Strand unchaperoned and definitely not being able to sneak into her lover’s room? This was tricky, but finally I came up with the Ward house—a wealthy family’s mansion, boarded up for summer, which ends up being a secret refuge for the lovers. This added an extra layer of romance to the affair, so I was happy.

 

 

It was a small, easily fixed mistake that took me on the most exciting adventure. “Suzanne’s bathing dress would not have been white,” Margaret Doran wrote. I could have simply changed “white” to “dark” and moved on, but editing is hard and yours truly loves to procrastinate. I got on Pinterest and pinned tons of pictures of young women in 1900 bathing dresses to my Storms of Malhado board. Then I happened upon an advertisement from a place called Historical Emporium, offering to sell me an accurate replica of Suzanne’s bathing dress—complete with white pantaloons! How could a small business owner struggling to make ends meet resist such a useful purchase? To make the investment complete, I immediately called my photographer, the talented Bogdan Mihai at Buburuza Productions, and booked a photoshoot for as soon as the bathing dress arrived. What’s funny is that I had just completed a photoshoot with him—dressed in my favorite outfits, studio lights aimed expertly at my face, fans blowing my hair, and all that jazz—and wasn’t crazy about the results because I just couldn’t relax. In fact, I couldn’t sleep a wink before the shoot. Afterwards, seeing the circles under my eyes shine through my Chanel makeup, I experienced an instant midlife crisis. Was this it? Was my life over, all my beautiness gone? (I assure you I’m an empowered woman well aware of my worth, but such thoughts do occasionally plague me). My wonderful photographer reassured me that posing takes practice. And playfulness. But I had my doubts.

 

 

 

My much-needed dose of playfulness arrived promptly in a package from Historical Emporium. I was back under the studio lights, fans blowing my hair, music playing, and this time I was having too much fun to be nervous. I laughed and smiled through the entire photoshoot and feigned panic at a most unexpected overflow arriving despite the Weather Bureau’s assurances that Galveston was safe. I love the resulting pictures! Turns out I can pose after all! All I need is a 1900 bathing dress! And because my self-confidence was at its peak, I entered the historical Bathing Beauties contest, a vintage bathing suit extravaganza, which has taken place every summer in Galveston for 100 years now, on Splash Day. Reader, I got in! I’m a Bathing Beauty! Splash Day had to be postponed because of the pandemic, and you bet I cried, but it’s still taking place the weekend of August 1, and my 1900 bathing dress and I will be in it!

 

 

 

 

Maria Elena Sandovici is a full-time writer, artist, and gallery owner living in Houston, Texas. After obtaining a Ph.D. in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 2005, her curiosity led her to Texas, where she taught at Lamar University for fourteen years. She felt attracted to Galveston Island from her first visit and lived there part-time for three years before her artistic career took her to Houston.

 

Sandovici is a 2008 graduate of John Ross Palmer’s Escapist Mentorship Program, a program that teaches artists business skills. She resigned from her tenured academic position in December 2018 and opened her own private gallery space. Her previous works of fiction are Dogs with Bagels, Stray Dogs and Lonely Beaches, Lost Path to Solitude, The Adventures of Miss Vulpe, and Lone Wolf. She is also the author of Stop and Smell the Garbage, a volume of poetry in the voice of her dog, Holly Golightly. You can follow her daily adventures on her blog HaveWatercolorsWillTravel.blog.

 

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5/21/20	Notable Quotable	The Page Unbound
5/21/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
5/22/20	Author Video	Hall Ways Blog
5/22/20	Review	The Clueless Gent
5/23/20	Playlist	That’s What She’s Reading
5/24/20	Excerpt	Chapter Break Book Blog
5/25/20	Character Interview	Texas Book Lover
5/25/20	Review	Rainy Days with Amanda
5/26/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
5/27/20	Excerpt	Sybrina’s Book Blog
5/28/20	Guest Post	StoreyBook Reviews
5/28/20	Review	All the Ups and Downs
5/29/20	Scrapbook	Tangled in Text
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5/30/20	Review	KayBee’s Book Shelf

 

 

 

 

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The Outlaw’s Daughter

 

Haywire Brides, Book 3

 

by

 

Margaret Brownley

 

Western / Historical Fiction / Clean & Wholesome Romance

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Date of Publication: May 26, 2020

Number of Pages: 384

 

Scroll down for Giveaway!

 

 

 

 

He may be a Texas Ranger, but he only has eyes for the outlaw’s beautiful daughter . . . 

Texas Ranger Matt Taggert is on the trail of a wanted man. He has good reason to believe that Ellie-May’s late husband was involved in a stagecoach robbery, and he’s here to see justice done. But when he arrives in town, he discovers the thief has become a local hero . . . and his beautiful young widow isn’t too happy to see some lawman out to tarnish her family’s newly spotless reputation.

 

Ellie-May’s shaken by her encounter with the ranger. Having grown up an outlaw’s daughter, she’ll do anything to keep her children safe—and if that means hardening her heart against the handsome lawman’s smiles, then so be it. Because she knows Matt isn’t about to give up his search. He’s out to redeem himself and find proof that Ellie-May’s husband wasn’t the saint everyone claims . . . even if it means losing the love neither expected to discover along the way.

 

 

 

 

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Look no further for a sweet western romance that will bring joy to your heart but has a small element of danger and mystery.

This may be the third in the series but the stories do not overlap and you can read these in any order.  This story focuses on Ellie-May who has lost her husband. Neal, to heroic events.  However, Texas Ranger Matt Taggert has different ideas about Neal and thinks that he might have robbed a stagecoach and is trying to get to the truth about the events that happened that day and where the stolen money has gone.  To top things off, Ellie-May’s father was a criminal and she has been branded by the local citizens that she must be just as bad as her father.  This is sad but not uncommon thinking for people, even today.

While reading this story, I could not help but admire Ellie-May for all that she has endured during her life.  She is not afraid to stand up for what is right or to protect her family.  She is like most single parents, doing what she can to keep the family safe, clothed, and fed.  Don’t mess with her family if you value your life!  Matt may be a tough Texas Ranger, but he is running from demons of his own, and could the answer lie with Ellie-May?  Only time will tell.

There is a variety of supporting characters and two that grabbed my heart were Anvil and Jesse.  Anvil was a down and out homeless person that Neal befriended and brought home to join their family.  That kindness has made Anvil a part of their family for life and he would do anything to protect them.  I admired his character and there are even some humorous parts regarding the neighbor, Mrs. Butterwood.  Jesse is a teenager that wants to be a Texas Ranger like Matt.  Matt takes him under his wing since Jesse’s father has his own issues.  If you have sons or know teenage boys, you know that they can inhale food like there is no tomorrow.  This is a sense of amazement for Matt and perhaps he just doesn’t remember his childhood.  But the bond that grows between these two is special and will warm your heart.

Sadly this is the last in this series according to the author’s notes.  I enjoyed the time in Haywire and I hope you do too.  Make sure to read the author’s notes at the end for a few other interesting tidbits.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York Times bestselling author Margaret Brownley has penned more than forty-six novels and novellas.

 

A two-time Romance Writers of American RITA® finalist, Margaret has also written for a TV soap and is a recipient of the Romantic Times Pioneer Award. Not bad for someone who flunked eighth-grade English. Just don’t ask her to diagram a sentence.

 

 

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5/27/20	Review	StoreyBook Reviews
5/27/20	Review	Book Bustle
5/28/20	BONUS Post	Hall Ways Blog
5/28/20	Review	That’s What She’s Reading
5/29/20	Review	Books and Broomsticks
5/29/20	Review	The Adventures of a Travelers Wife
5/30/20	Review	Book Fidelity
5/31/20	Review	Bibliotica
6/1/20	Review	The Page Unbound
6/1/20	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
6/2/20	Review	Carpe Diem Chronicles
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6/4/20	Review	Forgotten Winds
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Book Title: Between These Walls by Michael Newman

Category: Adult Fiction 18 yrs +, 375 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Friesen Press

Release date: March 26, 2020

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

A novel of historical fiction that turns on two key events: the discovery of a beautiful blonde woman’s body in the back seat of a burnt out SS staff car during the last days of World War II, by US Army Medical Corps Colonel Samuel Singer, and the unsealing more than four decades later of a security-taped package from Germany, bearing a secret that changes the life of New York art curator Daniel Singer, the adopted son of Colonel Singer.

As Daniel learns more about the package’s contents, he unlocks the history of three families — one American and two German – through tumultuous times, from the end of the First World War to the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Second World War, the Holocaust, and through to three Middle East wars. Along the way, he gets entangled in the web of the Mossad, Israel’s top secret spy agency and Naomi one of its beautiful operatives, and is ultimately faced with a life-altering choice – and the opportunity to right the most heinous of wrongs.

 

 

 

 

Interview with Michael Newman

 

How did you come up with the premise of the novel?

 

On a visit to Berlin, Germany, my wife and I were walking along a street named Meineke Strasse, which features prominently in the book, when I noticed some brass plaques embedded in the sidewalk. They had the names of Jews who had lived in the apartment building above the plaques in the 1930’s and 40’s who had been taken by the Nazis, shipped off to concentration camps, and had their apartments taken over by Aryan Germans. I wondered what had happened to the people who had been shipped to the camps, to the apartments they left behind, who was occupying them now, and how they came into possession of them. So I built the story around that.

 

What made you write a book about the Holocaust?

 

Primarily because my Father spent eight months in captivity in Mauthausen, a notorious Nazi concentration camp in Austria, in 1944/45. Also many people, especially the younger generation, don’t know anything about the Holocaust and there are many Holocaust deniers out there who trivialize what happened to people simply because of their religion in those terrible years. Six million people died between 1939 and 1945 at the hands of the Nazis.

 

Your book is set in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Israel. Have you visited those places?

 

I was born in Hungary, and yes I’ve been to all the places mentioned in the book. I’ve been to Berlin, Munich, Mauthausen, Budapest, Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv. I’ve visited the key locations where events in the book take place and absorbed the atmosphere generated by these places, which helped me with the writing of the book.

 

What is your next project?

 

My next project is to write a sequel to “Between These Walls.” It would follow the career and adventures of Daniel Singer’s daughter (whom he never met), as she prepares and embarks on a mission to find and avenge her father’s killers in Lybia, after joining the CIA.

 

What genre do you write in and why?

 

I write historical fiction. History is something that truly interests me. What has happened, and why it happened in the past is very fascinating. The rise and fall of historical figures teaches us a great many lessons. It is very interesting to see how empires and countries evolve through conflict and peaceful times and how political systems succeed and fail.

 

What is the last great book you’ve read?

 

“Children of a Faraway War” by Wendy Gruner. It is the true life story of two Australian sisters whose father died as an RAF radio operator in a Lancaster bomber crash in the Second World War, while they were very young. The book describes the sisters’ journey back to England to visit all the places their father had served in England, following his diary. It is truly a historical memoir with detailed description of Bomber Command, with a very humanistic approach, as the girls discover things about their late father that they never knew.

 

 

About the Author

 

A Hungarian refugee (1956) and the son of Holocaust survivors. A retired lifetime entrepreneur living on Toronto’s waterfront with my wife and cocker spaniel. Enjoys reading, mainly books about WW2, boating and worldwide travel. Father of three kids and grandfather of eleven.

 

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Don’t Make a Sound (Sawyer Brooks)
Psychological Thriller
1st in Series
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (June 1, 2020)
Paperback: 287 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Her own past could be a reporter’s biggest story in this twisting thriller about murder and family secrets by the New York Times bestselling author T.R. Ragan.

 

Plagued by traumatic childhood memories, crime reporter Sawyer Brooks still struggles to gain control of her rage, her paranoia, and her life. Now, after finally getting promoted at work, she is forced to return home and face her past.

 

River Rock is where she’d been abandoned by her two older sisters to suffer alone, and in silence, the unspeakable abuses of her family. It’s also where Sawyer’s best friend disappeared and two teenage girls were murdered. Three cold cases dead and buried with the rest of the town’s secrets.

 

When another girl is slain in a familiar grisly fashion, Sawyer is determined to put an end to the crimes. Pulled back into the horrors of her family history, Sawyer must reconcile with her estranged sisters, who both have shattering memories of their own. As Sawyer’s investigation leads to River Rock’s darkest corners, what will prove more dangerous—what she knows of the past or what she has yet to discover?

 

 

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About the Author

 

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author T.R. Ragan has sold more than three million books since her debut novel appeared in 2011. She is the author of the Faith McMann trilogy (Furious, Outrage, and Wrath); the Lizzy Gardner series (Abducted, Dead Weight, A Dark Mind, Obsessed, Almost Dead, and Evil Never Dies) ; and the Jessie Cole novels (Her Last Day, Deadly Recall, Deranged, and Buried Deep). In addition to thrillers, she writes medieval time-travel tales, contemporary romance, and romantic suspense as Theresa Ragan. An avid traveler, her wanderings have led her to China, Thailand, and Nepal. Theresa and her husband, Joe, have four children and live in Sacramento, California.

 

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Synopsis

 

A young winery owner won’t let one sour grape ruin the bunch in the first installment of this exciting cozy mystery series.

Parker Valentine has always dreamed of opening her own winery in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. But she gets more than she bargained for when a food and wine critic unexpectedly shows up at Vino Valentine on opening day. A negative review could be fatal for her business, and not only does he seem to hate her chardonnay, he also collapses and dies shortly after drinking it.

Although Parker hoped that the attendees would put a cork in it, soon her winery is at the center of a social media firestorm. With #killerchardonnay trending online, Parker’s business is in danger of closing, and she has no choice but to investigate the murder herself.

To restore her reputation, catch a killer, and keep her struggling business open, Parker needs only one thing: some good proof.

 

 

The book is scheduled to be released May 26th, 2020, Pre-order now!

 

 

Review

 

What a delightful new series set in Boulder Colorado centered around a new winery with interesting names for the wines and many food descriptions.  It is like the best of all worlds for me.

Parker is quite an independent woman that thinks she does not have the support of her parents when she decides to open a winery.  It is her passion and she has put everything into seeing this business succeed.  However, she doesn’t expect someone to be murdered on opening day and for this to create bad press for her winery.  Despite the police involvement in trying to solve this case, Parker decides they aren’t moving fast enough and decides to do some sleuthing on her own.  As with most cozies, this almost lands her in some very hot water and possibly becoming a victim herself.

I was engrossed in this book from start to finish.  I tried to figure out who the killer was and while I had my suspicions about this character by the end, I had not figured out the why.  There are several red herrings, intriguing characters, and a potential love triangle.  This book really starts the series off with a bang and the author has a lot to live up to with the next book.

There were a few quotes that I really liked and I wanted to share them with you:

“Like a good red wine, sometimes you need to let a problem breathe – decant – to better understand its flavors.”

“…two undeniably attractive men waiting on my doorstep like Amazon packages.”

 

We give this book 5 paws up and we want to try some of the dishes and the wines!

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kate lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, two-year-old daughter, and a chair-napping tabby cat named Maple. Her love for mysteries began when she devoured From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler as a young girl and has grown from there.

An award-winning short story author, her work has appeared in the Brave New Girls Anthology and the Crossing Colfax Anthology. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and is represented by Pamela Harty of The Knight Agency.

 

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Wolf Under Fire

 

by Paige Tyler

 

Publication Date: 5/26/2020

 

Synopsis

 

For the cases no one else can solve, they send in the Special Threat Assessment Team

Supernatural creatures are no longer keeping their existence secret from humans, causing panic around the globe. To investigate, monitor, and—when necessary—take down dangerous supernatural offenders, an international task force was established: The Special Threat Assessment Team.

STAT agent Jestina Ridley is in London with her team investigating a suspicious kidnapping. Over her radio, Jes hears her teammates being savagely attacked. She runs to help, but she’s too late. The only survivor, Jes calls for backup and gets former Navy SEAL and alpha werewolf Jake Huang and his new pack. Convinced that the creature who butchered her teammates was a werewolf, Jes doesn’t trust them. But if they’re going to uncover the facts and make it back home alive, she’ll need Jake’s help. And with everything on the line, Jes will have to accept Jake for who he is, or lose the partner she never expected to find…

 

 

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Excerpt

 

Jes sprinted down the hall without giving it a second thought. Grabbing the last man through the door by the collar of his jacket, she yanked him backward, flipping him over her hip and slamming him to the floor before he knew what was happening.

Balling her hand into a fist, she punched him in the throat hard enough to stun him, then ripped his pistol out of his grasp while he was gasping for air. Refusing to think about the brutality of the situation, she placed the barrel of the large-caliber automatic against the man’s chest and squeezed the trigger. In this position, the recoil of the big weapon was ferocious, but she ignored it—and the resulting blood—focusing instead on snagging the extra magazine from the man’s underarm holster.

Getting to her feet, she approached the room carefully. The last thing she needed was to catch a stray round from one of the guards—or Jake.

Pressing her back against the wall outside the open door, Jes darted to take a quick look inside. The room was filled with acrid smoke from the flashbangs, but she could still see the dead bodies strewn across the floor. Jake and Misty were nowhere in sight and something told her they’d taken cover behind the heavy desk that was flipped over.

The piece of furniture was thick enough to stop the spray of bullets the men were popping off, but the gunfire was so intense Jake couldn’t even try and get off a shot in return. Since the bad guys were already spreading wide to circle around and come at the desk from both sides, the situation was only going to get worse.

What if Jake had already been hit?

That thought scared the hell out of her. She’d heard a werewolf could absorb a lot of damage, but how much was too much?

“Backup’s arrived,” Jes announced loud enough for Jake to hear her in his earbud, even over the gunfire, then took aim and started shooting.

The moment the men realized someone was coming at them from behind, they turned their weapons on her. At the same time, Jake popped up from behind the desk and began blazing away with the automatic in his hand. Bodies started dropping under the combined effort.

Jes was sure they’d gained the upper hand, but then a flashbang came at her through the light haze of smoke still filling the room from the previous ones. Cursing, she leaped back into the hallway to keep it from blowing up right in her face. She hit the floor hard, the air getting knocked out of her. Ears ringing, she scrambled around and lifted her pistol, knowing a bad guy would be coming to finish her.

But no one did. A moment later, the shooting stopped. It was immediately replaced with a roar and a growl that seemed to echo through the house and make the entire third floor vibrate.

Jes quickly climbed to her feet, only to fall on her butt again as Jake and Damien crashed through the wall. Somewhere along the way, they’d lost their weapons and were now locked in hand-to-hand combat, like two enraged monsters. Jake wasn’t the only one with claws, either. Damien had them, too.

Jake had been sure the creature that had attacked Jaime and Neal wasn’t a werewolf, but seeing Damien fight, she was beginning to think Jake had been wrong.

Jes got up on one knee, trying to get a shot at Damien, but he and Jake were moving way too fast as they smashed each other into first one side of the hallway, then the other, fists slamming into their opponent so hard she could hear bones break.

She was about to say the hell with it and take a shot at Damien regardless of the risk, but then he slung Jake bodily across the hall, bouncing him off the wall. Even though it had to hurt, Jake immediately jumped to his feet and kicked Damien in the center of his chest, shoving him halfway down the hallway.

Jes didn’t waste the opportunity. Lifting her weapon, she emptied the remainder of her magazine in the man’s chest. Damien flew backward from the impact of all those rounds hitting, slamming into the floor so hard she felt it. She didn’t give a crap if he was a werewolf. That many bullets through the center of his chest had to mean he was freaking dead.

Dropping the spent clip, she quickly slammed a new magazine in and chambered a round. The son of a bitch had killed Jaime and Neal and tried to do the same to Jake. It took everything in her not to put all the bullets in the fresh magazine into him. The only thing stopping her was the knowledge that she might need them if they had to fight their way out of the manor.

She was so focused on keeping her weapon trained on Damien where he lay on the floor, she didn’t even realize Jake had disappeared back into the room until he ran out with a limp Misty in his arms. Jes’s heart sank like a stone.

“We need to go,” Jake said, striding past her and heading down the hallway away from the steps. “We’re about to have more company.”

Jes didn’t ask how Jake knew that. She simply chased after him.

The fight with Damien must have caused him some serious damage, but Jake carried Misty without slowing down. They were almost at the end of the corridor when she heard the thud of footsteps on the stairs behind them.

Jes glanced over her shoulder to see at least ten armed men reaching the third floor. That was bad enough. But then Damien sat up, shirt covered in blood and looking pissed as hell…and not nearly as dead as he should be. Suddenly, the group of armed men didn’t seem like a big deal. Damien worried her way more.

Turning, she sprayed the men—and Damien—with half the rounds in the magazine just to make them duck, then ran after Jake again. She expected him to seek refuge in the last room along the hallway. Instead, he yanked open the french doors at the end of the corridor with one hand, exposing a small Juliet balcony.

What the hell were they going to do with that? It wasn’t like they could hide out there. The balcony was too shallow. Besides, Damien and the rest of Darby’s men had already seen where they were headed.

Jes was about to ask Jake as much when he gently placed Misty on the floor. Before she could question the move, he turned, put both hands on Jes’s waist, then swung her over the metal railing of the balcony, holding her by one wrist and dangling her like a toy.

“When I let you go, grab the railing of the veranda below us,” he said, dark eyes intent on hers.

Wait. What?

Jes opened her mouth to tell him he was insane—that she wasn’t a werewolf with superstrength and animallike reflexes like him—but she was already falling. She released the pistol she didn’t even realize she was holding, somehow miraculously grabbing the railing on the second-floor veranda before she fell to her death.

Crap. It felt like her shoulders were being ripped out of their sockets.

She was never doing that again.

Jes was still hanging there in midair when she felt as much as heard Jake leap past her. She looked down just in time to see him land on his feet on the lawn below her, Misty wrapped firmly in his arms.

He’d jumped from the third floor of a building—with someone in his arms—and landed on his feet.

Double crap.

Setting Misty on the ground, he scooped up the automatic pistol Jes had dropped, firing it at something above her. She flinched when the bullets struck the metal balcony, but then felt like cheering when the men up there grunted as other bullets struck flesh.

“Let go!” he shouted to Jes before shooting another volley at the floor above her. “I’ll catch you.”

That idea was even crazier than the first one, but Jes did it, falling at a dizzying speed. She opened her mouth to scream, unable to stop herself, but then strong arms snatched her out of the air before setting her on her feet. She barely had a chance to catch her balance before Jake grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the manor.

He scooped up Misty in one arm on the way even as bullets kicked up the grass all around them. Seconds later, the big Rolls-Royce SUV was barreling across the lawn toward them, Harley at the wheel. The moment it skidded to a stop, Forrest jumped out of the passenger seat to take Misty from Jake while Caleb got out of the back and fired a MAC-10 machine gun at the remaining men on the third floor. Jes wasn’t sure if he hit anyone, but they sure as hell ducked.

Jake led Jes past Caleb and practically shoved her into the backseat, then jumped in after her, deftly climbing over her to take the window. The big omega followed, sitting on the other side of her and yanking the door closed as Harley floored it, tearing the grass to all hell as they sped away.

 

***

Excerpted from Wolf Under Fire by Paige Tyler. © 2020 by Paige Tyler. Used with permission of the publisher, Sourcebooks Casablanca, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

 

About the Author

 

Paige Tyler is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic fiction. Paige writes books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines they fall in love with. She lives with her very own military hero (a.k.a. her husband) and their adorable dog on the beautiful Florida coast.

 

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