We begin If The Sun Spares Us by Brenda Marie Smith where If The Light Escapes Us left off. The books are best read in order, letting the characters seep into your heart, the danger get your pulse pounding, and your hopes for them come to fruition.
Oh man, I never saw Bobby doing what he did. Was it the right thing to do? Who knows in the crazy world they are living in.
It’s a year later and they have settled into their new home. They still have their highs and lows and are meeting and trading with others, taking in those who want a place in their community. Perhaps there is hope for humanity yet.
Life goes on and mistakes will be made. Rebuilding the world will not be easy, but taking one step at a time and letting bygones be bygones allows them to work together to create their new world one step at a time.
Braving The Light Series by Brenda Marie Smith has been a tragic, gut wrenching adventure filled with despair and hope and love.
4 Stars
BLURB
Two years ago, a solar pulse destroyed modern life. Bea Crenshaw organized her starving, suburban neighbors into a farming community. But now Bea’s gone, and her grandchildren must carry her legacy forward.
In the post-apocalyptic pressure cooker of Austin, Texas, 19-year-old Keno and his younger cousins struggle to ensure their community’s survival even as they’re forced to relocate to safer grounds. Northern Lights that don’t belong this far south grow increasingly intense, making Keno fear what harm the sun will cause next.
Even worse, a marauding militia called the Raiders is closing in, led by a deranged woman who preys on teenage boys. Despite Keno’s debilitating flashbacks from a firefight, he and his wife have a new baby to protect. Though Bea is dead, her spirit desperately searches for ways to shield her grandkids. When Raiders target two neighborhood members, the only hope lies in the community’s strength, Keno’s ingenuity, and the family’s fierce love for one another.
EXCERPT
I’m half-starved, about to drop in my tracks, and emotional pain is clawing me up inside. Living through this apocalypse, I don’t know if it’s the deprivation or the heartache that will kill me first.
I think I’ve been scouting South Central Austin for a place to move my family and neighbors for about two weeks, but I’ve lost track of time, and I’m not finding a freaking thing. We have to move; we just have to. I was hoping to find a place with walls and water, but no such luck.
It’s dusk when I come upon a row of warehouses, looking for a spot to sleep. Most warehouse doors are bent, with the jambs and locks broken. All looted inside, messes that don’t look like they have anything worth scavenging. One door has a big hasp and a bigger lock intact. Maybe I’ll break it in the morning to see if I can find some food.
A few doors down, there’s a stairwell leading to a basement door. A good place to hide where I have an escape route. I duck down into it.
“We’re so screwed,” I grumble to myself as I lean my rifle on the stairwell and slide off my backpack.
“You got that right.”
F***. Who said that? I whip my face around, my hand on the pistol behind my back.
“I wouldn’t fire that if I were you.”
A face looms above me… behind a crossbow that’s aimed at my head. I throw up my hands.
“Don’t shoot!”
AUTHOR Bio and Links
2018-10-18_Brenda Marie Smith
BRENDA MARIE SMITH is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their limitations to find their inner heroism. She lived off the grid for years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. A lifelong community activist, Brenda has managed student co-op housing, produced concerts, and raised a small herd of boys. She and her husband live in Kyle, Texas. They have more grown kids and grandkids than they can count.
When All is Said and Done Christy Hayes Publication date: December 5th 2023 Genres: Women’s Fiction
A heartbreaking novel about the sacrifices we make for love.
After an unstable childhood, marriage isn’t just a promise to Dustin Carver, it’s his lifeline. He and Tegan grew up together, fell in love, and planned their perfect life. When the future they imagined gets derailed by her demanding law career, their marriage slowly slides off the rails.
Tegan can’t believe her husband took her threat of a separation seriously and walked away without a backward glance. Heartbroken and embarrassed, she covers for his absence with lies. Lies she tells herself about her career. Lies she tells her family about her marriage. And lies she’s yet to confess to her husband about a secret she kept while he was away. When Dustin finally returns, she’s running on fumes and her lies are about to be exposed.
Seven weeks in Key West licking his wounds and watching his best friend fall in love is enough to convince Dustin to come home and fight for his marriage. Saving their relationship means returning to therapy and facing a bitter truth neither wants to address. What if their childhood romance doesn’t have a happy-ever-after ending?
This emotional read told with brutal honesty begs the ultimate question for marriages far and wide. At the end of the day-at the end of our lives-what is worth fighting for, and when, if ever, should we walk away?
He heard a noise from the kitchen, and his pulse picked up the beat. Was that the side door closing or the echoed rumble from his rebellious stomach? He stilled the strings with his palm and recognized the familiar sound of Tegan hanging her keys on the hook and shucking her shoes by the door. His heart lurched into his throat.
Dustin cursed himself for getting lost in the music and not preparing for her return. He should have been rehearsing speeches in his head or making dinner instead of mowing the lawn, adding a couple of towels to her burgeoning laundry pile, and playing around on the guitar. He propped the instrument against the couch and stood on unsteady legs.
A surging swell of love, swift and savage, swept over him as he looked at her, sent his heart thrashing against his chest. There she is—my center, my orbit—in living, breathing color. Tegan had her back turned and was flipping through the mail on the counter. Her hair was longer than normal, a dark curtain falling well past her sagging shoulders.
“Hi.”
She gasped and spun, clutching her chest with both hands, her eyes blinking furiously. Frozen in that position like a still photograph captured on film, she looked thin—too thin—and fragile as blown glass. “Dusty.”
His name from her lips, soft and scratchy, scorched his eviscerated heart. “Sorry to startle you. I … I figured you’d see my car.”
She seemed confused, shaking her head, squinting her eyes. “Your car?”
“In the garage …” He tried and failed to keep the exasperation out of his voice. He’d been gone for weeks, and she hadn’t moved a muscle in his direction. Hadn’t flashed a smile or inclined her head or opened her arms to make him feel welcome. And after everything they had to say to one another, they were talking about his car?
“I parked in the driveway,” she said.
Her guilty tone and the way she tucked her chin to her chest were another lash to his pride. How many times had he begged her to park her car in the garage? They lived in a nice neighborhood, but why invite crime by leaving her car parked out in the open and alert everyone to her patterns of coming and going?
She read the look on his face and offered a muttered, “I was tired, and the garage door has been giving me fits. I think it needs grease or something.”
Stop talking about the stupid garage! He wanted to scream at her, grab her arms and shake her, invade the personal space she protected with her arms crossed tightly against her chest. He wanted to do something, anything, to get a rise out of her and stop the inane garage discussion.
The way she looked—the way she looked at him like a racoon caught pillaging the trash—kept his voice even and his feet rooted firmly in place. Even in the muted light, she appeared ready to drop. He longed to go to her, wrap her in his arms, let her lean on him the way she always had when life kicked her in the tail. But he couldn’t. Not now. Not with everything at stake.
Author Bio:
Christy Hayes writes romance and romantic women’s fiction. She is the proud mother of two grown children and lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband and rescue dogs.
A quiet tree-lined street in New Orleans erupts in panic when the body of Sally Wilcox is discovered by her landlord. Sally had been stabbed, and she was clutching a kitchen knife in her hand at the time of her death. Later, police discover evidence at the scene which implicates Sally’s son, Jeremy, in her murder. He was arrested the next day.
Law school professor Emma Thornton is convinced by a friend to take Jeremy’s case. She begins her investigation into Jeremy and his family, and the facts surrounding the night of the murder. Layer after layer of family secrets slowly reveal themselves, as the numbers of murders and kidnappings multiply.
Holding the key to the killer’s trail and the case’s final resolution, Emma’s success depends on whether she can maintain control over her own reckless impulses.
Praise for The Legacy:
“Fearless, relentless, compassionate, and driven by an unyielding sense of justice, law professor Emma Thornton battles mounting evidence in a race to save a mentally ill young man from a presumption of guilt in the gruesome murders of his parents.” ~ Roger Johns, a Georgia Author of the Year and author of the Wallace Hartman Mysteries
“Fearless Law Professor Emma Thompson returns to defend a young man with schizophrenia accused of murdering his mother. Faced with a second murder, an unscrupulous prosecutor, a family with mental health issues, a pusher of pain meds, and a Gitanes-smoking stalker, Emma finds her marriage in jeopardy and her life on the line. Author C. L. Tolbert proves the Big Easy has never been easy, especially for a fighter like Emma whom I would follow anywhere.” ~ Valerie J. Brooks, award-winning author of the Angeline Porter Trilogy
“Unwavering in her conviction, law professor Emma Thornton must navigate a labyrinth of lies and deception to arrive at the truth and vindicate a disturbed young man wrongly accused of murder. Not only a suspenseful story, The Legacy represents the triumph of the human spirit to persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.” ~ Lawrence Kelter, International bestselling author of the Stephanie Chalice Mystery Series
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Thriller Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: November 2023 Number of Pages: 260 ISBN: 9781685124267 Series:A Thornton Mystery, #4 Book Links:Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
CHAPTER ONE
March 19, 1997
Sally Wilcox wiped her hands on the dish cloth and folded it neatly before placing it on the kitchen counter. It had been a long day at the shop. Two funerals down and they had already started preparing for a weekend wedding. She loved working with flowers, but the job triggered her sciatica. She could hardly stand by the end of the day. She was glad to be home.
She hobbled to the TV room, and sat down on the couch, the pain in her body immediately eased by the down-filled cushions. She bumped into the table next to the couch and knocked over her favorite photograph of her kids, Jeremy and Becky. She placed the frame back on the table and stared at it for several seconds. She missed them so much.
The cat curled into a circle on her lap as she propped her legs up on a fluffy ottoman. Comforted by her surroundings, she dozed off almost immediately.
Three hours later she was awakened by the sound of static from her television. Channel Six had signed off for the night and refrains from the national anthem had just begun. An American flag fluttered across the television screen. It was just past midnight. She moved the cat from her lap, turned off the television and all the downstairs lights, and began making her way up the stairs, toward her bedroom.
She stopped when she heard something that sounded like a restrained step. The cat’s ears twitched in the direction of the noise. Could someone, a stealthy burglar or worse, be creeping around the house? She almost laughed out loud, amused by her own foolishness. She was such a worrier. Of course, it had to be Charlie the parrot ruffling his feathers. She couldn’t remember if she draped the cloth over his seven-foot-tall cage.
Still, she waited, and listened, not moving for several seconds. Then she froze as she heard a thump. She glanced out of a nearby window and could see wind blowing in the trees. Thinking that a branch must have bumped against the roof, she stood on the stairs for a few more seconds. Just to be sure. Hearing nothing, and convinced everything was okay, she continued up the stairs. Six a.m. came early.
In her bedroom, she changed into her favorite nightgown, the silk one that felt like butter on her skin, cleaned her face, and flossed and brushed her teeth. No matter how exhausted she was, she always completed her nightly routine. Her mother had insisted on it when she was young and still at home, pointing to an aunt’s ravaged face as an example of what could happen if she didn’t comply. The practice had become her only indulgence.
The cat had already curled up on top of the coverlet when Sally pulled back the sheets. Then she heard another sound. A muffled bump.
She grabbed a robe and stepped into the upstairs hallway. The staircase and the light switch were only a few feet from her bedroom door. She found the switch and flipped the toggle up, but nothing happened.
“What the…,” she whispered.
The cat rubbed up against Sally’s legs, and she jumped.
Then she heard another sound, and glanced out of the window at the end of the hall. The trees were still blowing fiercely. She tip-toed down the first two steps and peered over the banister, unable to see anything in the dark. She continued down the staircase, stopping every few feet to listen.
When she was at the second step from the bottom she stopped.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” Her voice quavered.
“Youuu Whooo!” Charlie was awake now.
She still couldn’t see anything but didn’t hear any unexpected sounds in the house. She shook her head, embarrassed by her over-reaction. The sounds had to be from Charlie, or maybe it was the wind in the trees. But just to be safe, she fled to the kitchen, feeling her way in the dark, and grabbed a knife from the block on the counter. Then she stopped, making certain all was well, and turned to retrace her steps back to her bedroom.
Seconds later she felt a sharp punch in her stomach. She swung the knife she clutched in her hand, wildly stabbing into space until she felt a resistance. She’d nicked something. She turned, and raised her hand, stabbing blindly, then felt another punch in her stomach, and one in her chest. Then another and another. A warm liquid flowed down her legs. Her hand flew to a spot on her chest where she felt piercing pain and she realized that blood was pouring from her body. Something had happened. Someone was in front of her. She could sense their presence. Hear their breathing. She’d been stabbed.
Her robe was wet, and blood was beginning to drip onto the floor. She felt dizzy. Her legs were on fire, as if a thousand needles had been jabbed into her shins. Then her legs started to shake. She collapsed, falling to the ground on her knees.
Then a swift rush of air. She wasn’t certain what it was until it was too late. She saw
the knife this time. And a dark figure.
Charlie squawked, “Youu whooo!”
The last thing she felt was a crushing pain in her chest. Her heart, already broken, had stopped.
***
Excerpt from THE LEGACY by C.L. Tolbert. Copyright 2023 by C.L. Tolbert. Reproduced with permission from C.L. Tolbert. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Licensed in Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, Cynthia Tolbert retired after thirty-five years of practicing law and began writing full time. After winning the Georgia State Bar Fiction Writing Contest, she developed the winning short story into the first novel in the Thornton Mystery Series, OUT FROM SILENCE, published in 2019. Two additional mysteries in the series have also been published, THE REDEMPTION, in 2021, and SANCTUARY, published in 2022. The fourth book in the series, THE LEGACY, will be published in November of 2023.
Cynthia taught at Loyola Law School for several years where she directed a homeless clinic, and worked with third year law students in actual cases. All of these experiences have informed her fiction.
She is an avid reader, a mother of two, and a grandmother to three beautiful girls. She lives in Austin, TX with her husband and schnauzer, Yoda.
Good Elf Gone Wrong Alina Jacobs Publication date: November 14th 2023 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
When you catch your fiancé cheating on you with your sister on Christmas Eve, the elf hat comes off.
I’ve always been the good girl—the anti Scrooge—the one who sacrifices for her guests, bakes cookies for her neighbors, and stays late after a party to clean up.
I don’t mind. I like being on the nice list.
I kept smiling when I caught my fiancé coming down my sister’s chimney on Christmas Eve.
I gave polite congratulations when they got engaged on Christmas morning.
And I even offered to help decorate for their holiday wedding despite the fact that was supposed to be my dream wedding.
But when my sister cuts up our great-grandmother’s one-hundred-year-old wedding dress and turns it into a skank show, even though that was the dress I was going to wear on my wedding day?
Well, this elf is torching down the North Pole.
And what better way to get revenge than giving those cheaters a taste of their own medicine?
This good elf is bringing the bad boy home for Christmas.
Hudson is a six-foot-five, coldhearted, tattooed bad elf with a perpetual sneer and washboard abs.
He’s exactly my sister’s type.
And he’s going to help me nuke her wedding from orbit on the night before Christmas.
What he is not supposed to do is grab my ass in the kitchen while I bake gingerbread.
Or crawl in my bed half naked.
And he’s definitely not supposed to smirk and tell me to commit to our fake relationship right before he goes down on me.
Guess there’s a reason the good elves stay far away from the bad.
Good elves of Christmas unite! We’re ogling the tattooed chests of shirtless bad boys, baking massive amounts of cookies, drinking all the wine, and trying to survive recently divorced grandmothers who have a pathological obsession with our love lives. This standalone holiday romantic comedy has all the Christmas cheer you can fit in your stocking and a happily ever after, guaranteed!
Knitting clutched in my hands, I turned to the bad boy sitting next to me.
“Do … um …” I cleared my throat. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
His finger paused on the page he was turning. He fixed those pale-silver eyes on me, a dusty gray like the winter sky.
“No. Why? Are you offering?”
“Sort of. See, I kind of need to break up my sister and her boyfriend. She’s dating my ex. He’s a jerk. It’s complicated. But I need you to be my boyfriend so I can ruin her wedding. I don’t know if you do that type of work?”
I smiled hopefully.
The book closed with a loud thud.
He looked angry.
“Er, never mind,” I squeaked and held up my knitting. “I’ll get started on those baby socks. Forget I said anything.”
But he didn’t go back to his book.
“So you want a fake boyfriend.”
“Um, yeah. I mean that was the plan. But plans change …”
Those ghostly eyes still locked on mine, he leaned over, his huge body crowding my space.
I scrunched against the window.
“You sure you can handle it?” he asked in a deep, gravelly voice. He smelled like leather and the winter wind.
No. No, I don’t think I can.
I swallowed. The empty Advent calendar was digging into my side.
“Yes,” I squawked.
“Prove it,” he said, his breath cool on my cheek.
He twisted out of his jacket, the ridges of muscle under the tight gray T-shirt flexing and rippling as he shrugged off the garment.
“Give me a hand job.” The baritone voice deepened. “I have my jacket on my lap. No one will know. Just go for it.”
My eyes were about as big and round as Pugnog’s and ready to pop out of my head.
“Unzip my fly,” he breathed against my mouth, “and stroke my cock.”
My stomach was flip-flopping. The air between us was supercharged, and my skin felt tight and prickly.
“I-I can’t,” I stammered.
He huffed out a laugh, smirked, and pulled his jacket back on, the leather creaking.
“Thought so.” He sat back in his seat and opened up his book. “You’re weak. You have an elaborate revenge plan all mapped out, yet you clearly can’t handle having a fake boyfriend.”
Author Bio:
If you like steamy romantic comedies with a creative streak, then I’m your girl!
Architect by day, writer by night, I love matcha green tea, chocolate, and books! So many books…
Sign up for my mailing list to get the free novella, AFTER HIS PEONIES, along with special bonus content, giveaways, and more!
Knitmare on Beech Street (A Knit & Nibble Mystery) by Peggy Ehrhart
About Knitmare on Beech Street
Knitmare on Beech Street (A Knit & Nibble Mystery) Cozy Mystery 10th in Series Setting – Charming fictional town of Arborville, in northern New Jersey Kensington Cozies (November 28, 2023) Mass Market Paperback : 320 pages ISBN-10 : 1496738861 ISBN-13 : 978-1496738868 Digital ASIN : B0BZBM8P55
Knit and Nibble member Pamela Paterson, and her best friend, Bettina, stumble on a body in a once grand Victorian house when they join a group welcoming new residents to Arborville—and must figure out if old secrets killed the new neighbor . . .
When Pamela, Bettina, and their friends show up at the Voorhees House to greet its new owner, they’re met with a most unwelcome sight: a dead body on the kitchen floor. Tassie Hunt just inherited the old Victorian, which had been occupied by a reclusive widow for many years and had a reputation for being haunted. But Tassie would have been unlikely to be spooked since her career involved debunking such paranormal phenomena.
Her demise sets off a new flurry of gossip and ghostly speculation in the New Jersey town, of course—and it’s tempting to think spirits were indeed involved considering there’s zero evidence so far of foul play. A nosy neighbor reports strange lights and sounds, and a man obsessed with the Victorian era starts photographing the place from the street. But it won’t take long before Pamela and Bettina are moving in on a killer . . .
Excerpt
Pamela led the way down the steps, down the narrow concrete path, and along the sidewalk, until they reached another concrete path. From this path, steps led up to another porch, smaller and with a plainer railing, onto which the back door opened.
Saying “I’ll try again,” Marlene hefted the gift basket and headed up the steps. As she pressed the doorbell, the rest of the group joined her on the porch one by one.
Marlene turned away after a few minutes and much enthusiastic pressing of the doorbell. “No answer,” she murmured. “And I was sure ANGWY was clear about the date and time.”
She shrugged, edged past the others, and started down the steps. Bettina, however, stepped closer to the door and tipped her head to peer at the doorframe. “I’m not sure it’s closed all the way,” she said and gave the
door a tentative push.
The door swung open easily. After a shrug and a glance at the other women, Bettina raised a stylishly shod foot and stepped over the threshold.
“Tassie?” Her voice rang out with a cheerful lilt. “Hello? It’s the ANGWY committee.”
She disappeared inside, but a moment later she was back in the doorway. Her cheer had vanished, leaving her face a wan canvas that made her careful makeup appear garish.
Ignoring her heart’s sudden lurch, Pamela took a few quick steps and joined her friend in the doorway. Bettina backed up against the door, anchoring it in a fully open position, and Pamela slipped past her into the kitchen.
A woman lay sprawled on the ancient linoleum, a slender blonde woman wearing a light cotton robe printed with small flowers in shades of blue and lilac . . .
About Peggy Ehrhart
Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in Medieval Literature. Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone(2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), were published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage and feature a blues-singer sleuth.
Peggy is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble. Knitmare on Beech Street is book #10 in the series. Peggy herself is an avid crafter, dating from her childhood as a member of the 4-H Club in rural Southern California.
Peggy is a longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She regularly attends mystery-writing conferences and participates in conference panels. She also gives talks on mystery fiction at libraries and other venues in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
Babies in Twinkle Falls Freda Ann (Twinkle Falls, #4) Publication date: November 28th 2023 Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance
Kylee Croft finds herself pregnant and alone as an only child of her deceased parents. Her father died soon after her birth, and her mother recently passed. With her grandparents also deceased, all that’s left of the family she’d known were photos…or so she thought.
Uncovering the biggest secret of her mother’s life, Kylee leaves the idyllic town of Chantilly, France for Twinkle Falls, Vermont in hopes of finding the family she never knew existed.
Soon after arriving, she becomes friends with her handsome co-worker, Trace Holberg, a single dad raising twin boys by himself.
As Kylee and Trace’s relationship grows, she forges a friendship with Bridgette Dupont, the woman who gave her a job when she desperately needed one. She’s the same woman Kylee believes to be the sister she never knew about, and the daughter of a father who’s very much alive.
Will Bridgette and her father accept the news Kylee believes to be the truth, or will her hopes and dreams of a new family be shattered?
“I think all of this could be a product of your imagination working overtime.”
“It’s not made up, Bridgette, I swear. Mummy gave me the first photo years ago, and it’s the only one I had of my father until—”
“Quit saying that!” She huffs, “I don’t even know for sure if the man in that picture is my father. Though, let’s say it is. There’s no possible way you could be his daughter.”
“Why? Am I not good enough to be a Dupont?”
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Do I? We’re total opposites, Bridgette. You’re a successful baker who went to some prestigious culinary school, and I’m a struggling, knocked-up girl who takes any job she can to make ends meet.”
“Stop that. It sounds like you’re trying to play on my sympathy so I’ll change my mind about that photo.”
“Believe what you want.” I wince when my lower abdomen tightens. Reflexively rubbing it, I continue, “Like I said, she never talked about him. Mummy said they were only together a short time; however, he was in the Navy, and he died when I was just a baby.”
“There you go…that proves my father cannot be yours, because mine is very much alive.”
Still massaging my aching belly, I propose, “Well, maybe she lied about that part for some reason, I don’t know. Was your father ever in the Navy?”
“That means nothing—a lot of men have been in the Navy.”
“That sounds like a yes if you ask me.”
“Well, I didn’t ask you.” Her eyes flutter when she turns and takes a few steps.
“You’re avoiding the question.”
She turns back around. “He was, though only for a short time. I’ll have you know, my parents have been happily married for thirty-nine years, so there’s no way anything like you’re insinuating ever could’ve happened.”
Author Bio:
Freda was born in southern New Jersey but grew up in Florida. She has loved writing her entire life. After retiring from a career in law enforcement, she knew it was time to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a published author.
She’s the author of The Hawaii Series, proudly named from her love of the beautiful Hawaiian Islands. It’s a three-book series with all of them written as standalone books.
Freda loves her large family, horses, dogs, cat, and close friends. She hosts monthly family dinners at her home in the country, which she shares with her husband.
She loves baking (she owned and operated a cupcake business for years), cooking, yoga, crocheting, nature and traveling with the love of her life.
What helps her write? Music makes her happy! If music doesn’t give her the right motivation, she puts on a romantic movie, usually from the Hallmark Channel, which she can’t get enough of!
Freda speaks her mind and pushes perfection to its limit. She strives to be her best, most positive self she can be in life. With time, determination, and practice, she believes anything is possible.
Wow…what an amazing cover. Look at it closely. I love it. And, I love books that have a severe weather event. We are on the road in Virginia and a blizzard is headed Kay’s way. She must get home. She will be better there. The headlights blaze through the rear view window, gaining on her, and…..
She wakes with a name, Kay Smith, but no memory.
I am cynical and immediately suspicious of everyone around her. The doctor, the nurses and the guy who visits the comatose woman in the bed next to hers. Lest She Forget is a romantic suspense novel, so….is he the villain or the hero? They chat, and seeing she is alone, he leaves her his number. I have a feeling she will be using it…soon.
Kay could leave her past behind. Start over. But, we all know the past always catches up to us. Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean that people aren’t out to get you. She definitely needs to keep that paranoia alive. She is being hunted….again. By who? And why?
As she does her research, a sympathetic hospital clerk shows her concern by sharing all the information she can find about ‘Erin Johnson’. Her research leads her to Nick Costa, the mysterious visitor.
About halfway through, the tension rises and keeps building. The chase is on. The clock is ticking and the body count is rising. I have a revelation and why I didn’t see that coming, I don’t know. Was I so involved in the moment that I didn’t try to predict the outcome? I do love when an author can keep me in the moment.
This is Lisa Malice’s debut novel. With the amazing job she did, the sky’s the limit and I hope to around for her next fabulous story.
4 Stars
Synopsis:
Haunted by a forgotten past. Hunted by a ruthless killer. No one to save her but herself.
After surviving a car crash, Kay Smith wakes from a coma with amnesia, a battered face, and no one to vouch for her identity. Her psychiatrist is convinced that her memory loss is connected to the horrific flashbacks and nightmares haunting her. As she digs for clues to her past, Kay uncovers a shady character following her every inquiry. Who is he? And what does he want from her?
As Kay’s probes deepen, she realizes that everyone around her has deadly secrets to hide—even her. Emerging memories, guilty suspicions, and headline-screaming murders push Kay to come out of the shadows and choose: will she perpetuate a horrendous lie or risk her life to uncover the truth?
Praise for Lest She Forget:
“Lisa Malice’s debut, Lest She Forget, is filled with twists and turns that will leave you guessing until the very end!” ~ Debra Webb, USA Today Bestseller
“Brimming with intrigue, Lest She Forget takes readers on a dark and twisted journey with surprises around every corner. It’s a thriller that grips you from the first page!” ~ Ellery Kane, award-winning author of the Doctors of Darkness series
“This twisty thriller takes you deep into Kay’s psyche, even as she runs for her life. Whoever you think this woman is, whatever you think she’s seen or done, prepare to be surprised!” ~ Sarah Warburton, author of Once Two Sisters and You Can Never Tell
“Lisa Malice’s psychological thriller Lest She Forget is a tense and twisty debut, an intricately plotted story that grows more and more complex with each new revelation. Don’t even try to guess how this novel ends; just put yourself in Malice’s capable hands and enjoy the ride!” ~ Karen Dionne, author of the #1 international bestseller The Marsh King’s Daughter and The Wicked Sister
“Lisa Malice turns an amnesia story on its head in this twisty, unique tale of intrigue, suspense and unexpected turns. You won’t be able to predict the next chapter, much less the ending.” ~ Lisa Black, NYT bestselling author of the Gardiner & Renner and Locard Institute series
Book Details:
Genre: Psychological Thriller Published by: CamCat Books Publication Date: December 2023 Number of Pages: 368 ISBN: 9780744307153 (ISBN10: 0744307155) Book Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books
Read an excerpt:
The loud heavy beat of my heart echoes in my ears, pulsing in sync with the car’s wipers as they furiously slap at the snow alighting the windshield. The frantic rhythm draws me in as I stare ahead into the darkening night and the thick snowflakes swirling in the beams of the headlights. The effect is almost mesmerizing.
My eyelids start to droop. I want nothing more than to sleep, let my mind shut off. Under slumber’s spell, the ache in my heart would subside, the guilt in my soul would vanish, and, if I was lucky, I’d wake up to find that the words I heard earlier today were just part of a gruesome dream, an awful nightmare.
She’s dead.
My chest tightens, my heart races as my thoughts are pulled toward our last moments together. Fraught with suspicion, accusations, anger. My eyes tear up.
It’s your fault.
The words reverberate in my ears as my head starts to throb. How could I have been so stupid and naïve to fall for that man’s lies, his manipulations? If I could go back in time and change everything, fix my mistakes, right a host of wrongs, I would. Things would have turned out differently. Two—no, three—people would still be alive. But there’s no going back. Worse, I see no path forward, at least not one I can live with.
My gaze is drawn to a hazy pair of headlights reflected in the rearview mirror. A chill runs down my spine, even as a bead of sweat trickles down the side of my face. My fingers, clenched atop the steering wheel, go numb as my foot presses down on the accelerator.
“Calm down,” I tell myself. I can’t let fear trick me into imagining what is not there.
I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, then open them again and glance into the side mirror. They’re still there, those headlights, keeping pace with me. I focus on the road in front of me, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “Get a grip,” I tell myself. “If he wanted me dead, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”
Staring ahead, a forest of tall pines engulfs the road, blocking out much of the remaining daylight and casting a gloom all around that grows blacker and grimmer with each fleeting moment. But I can’t go back. Not now. I’d have to face the truth, accept my own culpability, surrender myself, my life, my future. I’m not ready to do that.
I turn on the radio and press the scan button, hoping for a distraction. Music pours through the speakers in short clips—Spanish, hard rock, country, polka—and then a soft, familiar melody, its words just on the tip of my tongue.
“. . . I would surrender my soul, if it would bring back yours . . .”
My gut twists with remorse. The pain is cut short as the radio scanner moves to the next station.
“. . . Could you forgive me, if I made it to Heaven . . .”
Tears well up in my eyes as the radio, again, moves on.
“. . . My name won’t be on St. Peter’s list . . .”
A mournful sob erupts from deep inside me. My hands, clutching the steering wheel, suddenly go weak and start to tremble. Those songs, their lyrics—words that never held any personal meaning—now haunt me. It’s as if some cosmic disc jockey knows what I’ve done and doesn’t want—no—won’t let me forget it.
“Please, no more!” I shout.
A woman’s voice pops over the speakers, a news program. “Finally, I sigh, poking the scan button to set the station.
“. . . it’s time for a quick station break, after which we’ll go to a weather update with WCVA’s meteorologist, Alec Bohanan. Our weather team says this blizzard hitting Virginia and much of the East Coast, the first significant snow event of 2017, is a bad one. It could be a killer, so sit tight at home and keep your radio dial tuned to this station . . .”
She’s right. The snow is coming down thicker and heavier with each passing mile. The roads will only get worse. But I need to press on. I must get home. I can think better there. Figure out what options I have left.
My attention is pulled back to the voice on the radio. “When the last segment of The June Jeffries Show returns, we’ll join the Virginia State Police press conference with breaking news on the missing person case of—”
It’s your fault.
The words echo in my ears, pulsing louder and faster with each echo, drowning out the newscaster’s voice. I slam my fist down on the radio’s power button.
Suddenly, flashes of light bounce off the windshield. The muscles in my jaw tighten. My neck stiffens. My hands, locked in a death grip on the steering wheel, grow cold, numb. My gaze darts to the rearview mirror. Unable to look away from the looming vehicle behind me, I throw my left arm up to block its intense beams.
The steering wheel jerks to the right, pitching the passenger-side wheels off the road. I grasp the steering wheel with both hands and pull to the left, but overcorrect. The car careens across the snow-swept blacktop, skids beyond the center line.
When I finally pull the car into the right lane, my heart is pounding, my body trembling, while my grip on the steering wheel goes weak.
***
Excerpt from Lest She Forget by Lisa Malice. Copyright 2023 by Lisa Malice. Reproduced with permission from CamCat Books. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Lisa Malice earned her B.S. in psychology at the University of Minnesota, her M.S. and Ph.D. at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her debut novel, Lest She Forget, a psychological thriller, was a finalist in five unpublished manuscript contests. Lisa is an active member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and the Authors Guild. A native of Minnesota, Lisa lived in the Atlanta area with her husband for nearly thirty years before moving to the Tampa area in 2019 to enjoy a life of sailing, fishing, and shelling on the Florida Gulf Coast. They have two adult children and a granddog.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and opportunities to WIN in the giveaway!
Enter for a Chance to WIN:
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for CamCat Books and Lisa Malice. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
Once Upon a Charming Bookshop Heatherly Bell (Charming, Texas, #6) Published by: Harlequin Special Edition Publication date: November 28th 2023 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Time to rewrite their story?
He’d always simply been her best friend. But when Noah Cahill moved back to town, bookstore owner Twyla Thompson knew something was different. Was it holiday memories of the loss they’d both shared or Noah’s surprising decision to reignite a dangerous career? Their solid friendship had been through so much, yet now Twyla grew breathless every time Noah was near. Why wasn’t Noah—handsome, fun, but never one to cross the line—showing any signs of stopping?
From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
Charming, Texas
Book 1: Winning Mr. Charming
Book 2: The Charming Checklist
Book 3: A Charming Christmas Arrangement
Book 4: A Charming Single Dad
Book 5: A Charming Doorstep Baby
Book 6: Once Upon a Charming Bookshop
Then with little warning other than the sudden shine in his eyes, he hauled her by the neck to him and kissed her, square on the lips. It was a deep and long kiss that didn’t seem to have a beginning. Nor did it have an end. He pulled her tight and they were hip to hip, belly to belly. Even through the shock of the totally unexpected, she kissed him back. She sunk her fingers into his hair and kissed him with everything she had in her. With every last inch of longing wrapped up in her, saved over the years and packed away where the raw intensity of the emotion couldn’t destroy her.
She fisted his shirt. She ran her hands up and down his back, feeling the muscles tense and bunch.
It was over just as quickly and then they were both panting, staring at each other.
“I’m sorry.” Noah took a step back, leaving a healthy distance between them. “Yeah, I shouldn’t have done that. That’s wrong.”
Wrong?
“It’s okay,” she stammered because she didn’t know what else to say in the moment.
Yes, it was wonderful, please kiss me again, because I think maybe I’ve always loved you?
“It’s just…that was wrong of me. I don’t feel that way about you.”
Oh, God. There went her heart, pierced and sliced into tiny bits.
I don’t feel that way about you.
No, he was right. This was wrong. And if he had regrets then damn it, so did she.
“Me, neither. I don’t feel that way about you.”
“I know.”
The certainty in his voice broke her heart a little. How could he be so sure she wasn’t straight out lying, trying to save her pride?
She chewed on her lower lip. “So, let’s just forget it. Pretend the kiss never happened.”
“But…we’re okay?”
Worry and regret filled those dark puppy dog eyes. Not long ago, she would have understood. But now she knew what it was like to be kissed by Noah and her heart shattered to think it would never happen again.
“We’re okay. You’re probably right, huh? Bad idea.”
“Yeah, I just don’t want to…you know…” He ran a hand through his hair, looking desperately vulnerable, like a man searching for a lifeline.
And what kind of friend would she be not to throw one to him?
“It was just, well, okay, maybe we’re both lonely. And it’s after midnight. I…got um, confused.” She had no idea what she was saying but it sounded good, and he seemed to be receptive.
“Yeah, so did I.”
“And I’ve got a date tomorrow night so that could be awkward.”
Now she’d lied to her best friend, but she’d also kissed him within an inch of his life, so either way she was in brand new territory here.
He quirked a brow. “You have a date? Who is he?”
“Some guy.”
“Some guy? Does ‘some guy’ have a name?”
“Of course he has a name, Noah. He’s some guy I just met.” She crossed her arms. “Weren’t you leaving?”
He scowled. “Yeah. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Bye.” She closed the door before he could say another word.
Now she was going to have to find herself a date.
Author Bio:
Bestselling author Heatherly Bell was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama but lost her accent by the time she was two. After leaving Alabama, Heatherly lived with her family in Puerto Rico and Maryland before being transplanted kicking and screaming to the California Bay Area. She now loves it here, she swears. Except the traffic.
Over 200,000 copies of Heatherly’s books have been sold, many of them translated into two languages.
Heatherly also writes sweet and wholesome books under the pen name of Maria Michaels. She is represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.
Luke’s unwavering loyalty to Lexi and her family gives this sweet romance unexpected integrity …Readers looking for a tender romance that leans more toward the emotional than the physical will find this very satisfying.” ~ Publishers Weekly/Booklife review on Country Gold.
“Heatherly Bell writes romance that will capture your heart.” ~ Marina Adair, New York Times bestselling author.
“What a thoroughly delightful story. I adored it.” ~ Lori Wilde, New York Times bestselling author on Lucky Cowboy.
Crime and Parchment: A Rare Books Cozy Mystery by Daphne Silver
About Crime and Parchment
Crime and Parchment: A Rare Books Cozy Mystery Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting – Fictional town of Rose Mallow, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay Level Best Books (November 21, 2023) Print length : 226 pages Digital ASIN : B0CKVBLPCY
Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims.
Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth.
Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover.
Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?
Book Excerpt
My 1965, robin’s egg blue convertible backfired as I parked in front of the Wildflower Inn. The noise set off Clover barking in the backseat. Not exactly the quiet homecoming I’d hoped for. I jumped out of my Karmann-Ghia – or “KG” as I’d nicknamed her – to check under the hood, hoping I wouldn’t need to get the roadster serviced yet again. No idea where that money would come from.
A screaming, ranting madwoman poured out of a neighboring house. Maybe in her late seventies, she brandished a large umbrella. I dropped the hood to find the umbrella pointing at me. Clover – all twenty pounds of him – jumped out and started growling.
“Easy, boy,” I said.
“You shoot something off, Missy? Here to cause trouble? Because I’m on the board of the Friends of the Rose Mallow Police.” the woman said. She wore a perfectly fitted Mamie Eisenhower pink skirt suit with enormous pearls – straight out of the 1950s. Her white bouffant billowed around her head. She reminded me of a researcher I’d helped earlier that day at the Library of Congress. That woman had been a murder mystery author looking for books about early detectives. This woman looked like she wanted to murder someone – namely me.
About Daphne Silver
Daphne Silver is the author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series. She’s worked more than twenty years in museums and has the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.
Rise Like a Phoenix Tammy Lowe (The Acadian Secret, #3) Publication date: November 22nd 2023 Genres: Time-Travel, Young Adult
When Elisabeth London travels back in time to the 14th century, she is transported to a world straight out of the pages of a fairy-tale. Swept away by the adventure and romance, Elisabeth follows her heart—and Aquarius—into this whole new world.
But Elisabeth soon learns her father has discovered where (or rather when) she is. He’s sent a bounty-hunter to bring her home. Although a million questions buzz through her mind, there’s one thing she’s certain of—her parents will never let her hang out in the 14th century with a guy she met in Ancient Rome.
With her heart at stake, can Elisabeth avoid the bounty-hunter and find a way to stay in this fairy-tale world?
Or is her love-life about to take a rather grim twist?
Find out in Elisabeth London’s timeless story of love, danger, and adventure.
When Crooked Nose punched, David blocked. Then, with a quick elbow movement, he smacked the man’s face with the end of the rope before stepping back. The effect was rather comical.
Crooked threw another punch.
David pounced, wrapping the rope around the man’s wrist. Yanking the tied arm back made him double over. His eyes turned cold and hard. “Who sent you?”
The man’s breath sawed in and out. “You’ve no idea whose daughter you’ve run away with, do you?”
He pulled Crooked’s arm straight back some more. “Enlighten me.”
“Make her tell you,” he hissed.
David swallowed a lump in his throat. “She hides nothing from me.” He then snapped the man’s arm at the elbow, and grabbed Elisabeth’s hand, pulling her to a run.
Her breath hitched, and the colorful bouquet of wildflowers dropped.
“By the gods!” David led the way through a field of grazing sheep, toward a grove of trees. “Your father is here?”
“No…” She shook her head in denial. “No, he can’t be…can he?”
“You tell me!”
Elisabeth let out an uncontrollable whimper.
If Dad found out she was time-traveling—she was so grounded.
Author Bio:
An adventurer at heart, Tammy has explored ruins in Rome, Pompeii, and Istanbul (Constantinople) with historians and archaeologists.
She’s slept in the tower of a 15th century castle in Scotland, climbed down the cramped tunnels of Egyptian pyramids, scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge, sailed on a tiny raft down the Yulong River in rural China, dined at a Bedouin camp in the Arabian Desert, and escaped from head-hunters in the South Pacific.
I suppose one could say her own childhood wish of time traveling adventures came true…in a roundabout way.
