Second Chance Romance Christmas Victim by Jane Blythe @jblytheauthor

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Jane Blythe is a fabulous author that has given me hours of reading pleasure, so I am glad to be back in the saddle series again with Christmas Victim and Savannah and Jett.

Christmas Victim by Jane Blythe was released on 12.1.19, just in time for the holidays.

Christmas Victim (Christmas Romantic Suspense, #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love a series where each story is complete, but recurring characters make appearances, refusing to stay by the sidelines, and Christmas Victim by Jane Blythe is one of those stories. This time we will get the low down on Savannah and Jett and find out if their second chance romance will work out.

Savannah had worked for the FBI, but injuries suffered in the line of duty have made it impossible for her to continue. Now, her job as a crime scene technician may be in jeopardy. Savannah is afraid to try to walk again, afraid to know if physical therapy will work or will she be stuck the wheelchair forever. I like how Jane Blythe dealt with her fears and insecurities. It makes it easier to understand why some people are afraid to try and move forward, paralyzed with fear. It takes a good support team and Savannah’s struggle reads like a true story of those stuggles. At times, I wanted to tell Savannah to get over herself, but who am I to judge what is right for her. I have never ‘walked’ in her shoes. Savannah is like a cat and I wonder how many lives she has left.

Savannah’s cat, Sequin (because of her spots that looked like sequins), refused to use a little box and just had to go out…at night. Okay, at night, in a wheelchair without any protection or even her cell phone, I know something bad is coming her way…but, she hears shots fired at her new neighbor’s house.

Finn, a doctor, and Chloe, am FBI agent, had worked through their problems and were now happily married with a little one on the way. She was going to spend the night with Savannah…but they found her unconscious on the ground suffering a head injury and hypothermia. Hasn’t Savannah been through enough JANE? An author after my own heart. She puts her characters through hell…repeatedly. LOL

Violet is missing and Jett has returned to work the case. And the dance of romance begins…along with the mystery. He was the one responsible for telling her to move there. He feels it is his responsibility to get her back. Jett knows who took her, the stalker she was hiding from, but the stalkers knows all the ins and outs to staying off the radar and has been impossible to locate. He and Jett have a connection and this has become the villain’s favorite game to play. He won’t go down easy.

Savannah had sent Jett away. She felt he had let her down and she could not count on him when the chips were down. This time…well, he wants her back and won’t take no for an answer.

Violet will go through hell, beatings, torture, sexual assault, but she never quits. He believes she belongs to him and will never let her go. What is the meaning of love?

When he punched her, it was only out of love. A love he wanted her to reciprocate. A love he WOULD get her to reciprocate.

Be careful if you do something to make him angry. He came from a brutal, disgusting, appalling despicable, depraved home, but he had made something of himself…or did he? Was he just good at hiding who he really was. I love stories that delve into the mind of monsters.

WOW. I am stunned, not sure what I think. HE took Jane Blythe to a really dark place and I love getting into his mind, trying to see what makes him tick, his thoughts and feelings. There were a couple of things that bothered me, but were easy to overlook. It allowed the story to continue and gave it that little twist that lets us know, monsters don’t go down easy.

Another wild ride that does NOT make for light Christmas reading, but if you are looking for the boogie man that comes out at night, this may just work for you. LOL This is the third book in the series of recurring characters, but each story is told in its entirety.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Christmas Victim by Jane Blythe.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

He broke her heart when he wasn’t there for her when she needed him the most.

FBI Agent Jett Crane is hunting his ex-partner who has gone off the rails. When his one time girlfriend Savannah Watson becomes an accidental casualty, he is both thrilled to see her again, and terrified that she might now become a target of the man he is searching for.

Savannah on the other hand is not the least bit pleased at the prospect of seeing Jett again. He let her down, and broke both her heart and her trust, and she has no interest in rekindling old feelings. Despite her determination to ignore his attempts to win her back and in spite of the pain he caused her, being around him softens the hard wall she had built around her heart. But with a dangerous man circling them will it all be too late for Jett and Savannah to once again find happiness with each other?

↝ Trigger warning – themes of sexual assault ↜

MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

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Jaw Dropping Debut – The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen @slipperywhisper

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Every so often I will follow an email link from NetGalley and check out what’s happening. I try to limit how many books I grab at one time…you know how that is. I found some books by Joanna Schaffhousen and grabbed a couple. I would like to thank NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Joanna Schaffhausen for the opportunity to read and share them.

The cover definitely fits the story.

The Vanishing Season (Ellery Hathaway, #1)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

The Vanishing Season is Joanna Schaffhausen’s debut novel, released in 2017…and, boy oh boy, is it a good one. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it gave me so much more.

Three people have gone missing and Ellery Hathaway knows they are dead and another will be taken very soon. Sam dismisses her warnings, but she won’t stop there. Sam is not only her boss, the chief of police, but also her lover, her married lover. I sure don’t approve of that, but as I read on, I could see how it happened. She uses sex as a weapon. That will have it’s own repercussions.

Woodbury, Massachusetts is a small town, a blink and you will miss it, with only eight police officers. I love to read of small towns, the gossip mill, and secrets that won’t stay secret. Ellery has a big one, but…

Ellery calls in the big guns, Reed Markham, an FBI profiler that had saved her from the serial killer that had taken her fourteen years ago, leaving her scarred and broken. He too has his own story. His marriage is on the rocks, but he had made a promise to her, so when she called, he came.

I love her basset hound, Speed Bump. LOL Critters always add some grins for me, and with a subject like serial killers, I need some chuckles.

The dog leapt from the vehicle with all the grace of a hippo performing a belly flop.

I have plenty of suspects, but two in particular have my attention. Even if I’m wrong, I don’t like them. LOL I do like to try and figure it out for myself as we follow clues, question witnesses, and try look for what others have missed.

There is no romance, though I know there are more books coming, so I wonder. I mean, just think about it, her body is scarred and so is her mind. She doesn’t want anyone in her house. Doesn’t want anyone touching her. And doesn’t want to share her secret. After what she’s been through, I can see why she protects herself, so who could possible get through the walls she has built up but the one person she trusts?

I am at 38% and my tension level is high, the pace is picking up, making me feel like the end is near, nut, there’s so much of the story left. I can only imagine what Joanna Schaffhausen has in store for her characters. I am lovin’ it.

I am filled with horror at the terrible things one person can do another, as the bits and pieces of Ellery’s captivity leaks out, each detail worse than the last.

Well…I didn’t see him coming. It takes a lot for an author to fool me so completely, especially near the end, but she had me eying the wrong guy until a page or two before he attacked. He was well camouflaged, but I will be on my toes with the next case, expanding my suspect list and reading between the lines.

Man oh man, I am so glad I took a chance on Joanna Schaffhausen. I had never heard of her. She kept me riveted from beginning to end and I can hardly wait for Book II, No Mercy. BRING IT ON!

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Vanishing Season by Joanna Schaffhausen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Ellery Hathaway knows a thing or two about serial killers, but not through her police training. She’s an officer in sleepy Woodbury, MA, where a bicycle theft still makes the newspapers. No one there knows she was once victim number seventeen in the grisly story of serial killer Francis Michael Coben. The only victim who lived.

When three people disappear from her town in three years, all around her birthday—the day she was kidnapped so long ago—Ellery fears someone knows her secret. Someone very dangerous. Her superiors dismiss her concerns, but Ellery knows the vanishing season is coming and anyone could be next. She contacts the one man she knows will believe her: the FBI agent who saved her from a killer’s closet all those years ago.

Agent Reed Markham made his name and fame on the back of the Coben case, but his fortunes have since turned. His marriage is in shambles, his bosses think he’s washed up, and worst of all, he blew a major investigation. When Ellery calls him, he can’t help but wonder: sure, he rescued her, but was she ever truly saved? His greatest triumph is Ellery’s waking nightmare, and now both of them are about to be sucked into the past, back to the case that made them…with a killer who can’t let go.

ABOUT JOANNA SCHAFFHAUSEN

Joanna Schaffhausen

Joanna Schaffhausen wields a mean scalpel, sharp skills she developed in her years studying neuroscience. She has a doctorate in psychology, which reflects her long-standing interest in the brain―how it develops and the many ways it can go wrong. Previously, she worked as a scientific editor in the field of drug development. Prior to that, she was an editorial producer for ABC News, writing for programs such as World News Tonight, Good Morning America, and 20/20. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, daughter, and an obstreperous basset hound.

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Giveaway – An Eye for a Lie by Cy Wyss @CyWyss @partnersincr1me

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An Eye For A Lie by Cy Wyss Banner

An Eye for a Lie

by Cy Wyss

on Tour May 27 – July 27, 2019

Synopsis:

An Eye for a Lie by Cy Wyss

Lukas Richter is a San Francisco police detective with a cybernetic eye and heightened senses. He can detect the same autonomous responses as a polygraph machine, so he has a leg up in determining guilt.

In An Eye for a Lie, his first full-length novel, Richter is accused of murder and the evidence seems incontrovertible, including a bullet that was somehow fired from his gun when he claims he was nowhere near the crime scene. In the background, San Francisco is aflame over Richter’s shooting of an unarmed Asian man, an incident some are calling “the Asian Ferguson.”

Can Inspector Richter convince a plucky and suspicious FBI agent of his innocence in the face of overwhelming accusations and public persecution?

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery
Published by: Nighttime Dog Press, LLC
Publication Date: May 27, 2019
Number of Pages: 258
ISBN: 978-0-9965465-3-9
Purchase Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

“All units, active shooter in progress, be advised perp is SFPD . . .”

The police frequencies in Vessa’s sedan couldn’t get enough of the situation. She was hardly in her car before the address where Richter was came over the air. She headed there immediately, lights flashing, accelerator floored.

He was in a townhouse on ninth, near Tehama, only a handful of blocks from the Hall of Justice. The entire area was cordoned off and blanketed with police cars. Vessa badged her way through and got to Commander Bayes who stood with Deputy Chief Forrest several yards from the front door. The townhouse was painted lime green and the entrance stood ajar.

“Commander, what’s the situation?” Vessa asked.

“He’s holed up in there,” Bayes shook his head toward the house. “Got a hostage.”

“A hostage? You’re kidding.”

“Wish I was. Teenage girl, still up there. He let the rest of the family go.”

Now, Bayes shook his head a different way, indicating Vessa should look near one of the ambulances. There was a man and a woman, firmly behind police lines. Both were slender with brown hair and the woman wore a red sweater. She was crying and the man and a paramedic were trying to comfort her.

“Commander, none of this makes sense. Can you imagine Richter taking a hostage? It doesn’t feel right.”

“C’mon, Agent Drake,” Bayes said. “None of us can say we really know him now.”

Vessa frowned up at the building. Between her and the front door lay perhaps twenty feet of tarmac and parked cars. Bayes turned to Forrest and they conferred. Before Vessa even knew what she was doing, she was off –crossing the street at a sprint.

“Hey!” Bayes yelled.

Forrest pointed. “Stop her!”

It was too late. She broke away from the lines and was at the door before anyone could grab her. She pushed the dark portal open and slipped inside, shutting it behind her, closing it fully so it locked. Inside, it took a couple of minutes for her eyes to adjust to the pale strobe lights coming through the front blinds and door windows. She was in an open living room. It was small and closely furnished with a dining room capping it off near the back of the building. She guessed the kitchen would be around the corner. To her right, a staircase led upward. The landing was dark.

Vessa had taken her gun out without consciously realizing it. Now, she stared at it in the undulating red and blue lights. What was she going to do with it? Shoot her lover when she found him?

She holstered the gun. “Oh, Luke,” she said softly. As if in answer, something moved above her, making a dull thud on the floor. She startled.

Slowly, she made her way up the stairs. “Luke?” she called. “I’m coming upstairs.”

There was no answer. At the top of the stairs were three doors. Two were dark and closed. Wan light traced the outline of the third door. She opened it cautiously.

“Luke?”

The door creaked on its hinges to reveal a seemingly empty bedroom. The air was stale although the room was tidy and sparsely furnished with a queen-sized bed and two nightstands. The fluorescent lights from the street diffused around the edges of a thick curtain drawn across a large window. The occluded light wasn’t strong enough to dispel the rooms shadows.

“Luke?” Vessa noticed she was whispering. She cleared her throat and spoke with as normal a voice as she could muster. “Luke? Where are you?”

“Here,” came a reply.

She was practically on top of him by that time. He sat with his back to a wall across from the foot of the bed.

Vessa jumped. “Oh! You startled me.”

He was staring at her. She half expected his evil eye to glow in the dimness but instead, she saw only normal dark eyes glittering from his outlined face. He sat with his knees bent and his arms resting between his legs. In his hands was a mass of blackness-his gun. That ugly piece of metal was a cursed reminder of what was going on and why they were here, facing each other in this shadowed space.

Vessa craned her neck around but didn’t see anyone else. “Where’s the girl?”

Richter watched Vessa intently for several seconds before answering. “The couple’s outside. I let them go.”

“No, apparently there’s still a teenager in here somewhere.”

Richter’s gaze dropped to the carpet in front of him. “That would explain why it’s just you and not SWAT. They think I have a hostage. Well, I don’t.”

“You have me.”

His head snapped up. “You’re not a hostage. Why are you here, anyway?”

“I’m here to get you. I don’t want them gunning you down.”

“You’re here to arrest me, Special Agent Vessa Belle Drake?”

“Oh, Luke. We’ll figure this out.”

Richter brought the gun up in his right hand and pressed it to the underside of his chin, angled back toward his brain.

Vessa gasped. “No!” She was rooted to the spot, eyes wide.

He stared at her. “I guess whether I do it or SWAT does it, it’s still death by cop.”

Tears burned her eyes. “No, Luke. No. Why would you even think it? There must be some mistake. There must be some reason why those bullets matched.”

“I won’t be locked up. I won’t be put back in the cage and poked and prodded, and studied to death this time.”

Vessa remembered the shaking man sweating beside her in his bed at night. Even though he didn’t speak of them, she knew he was having nightmares. Was it possible he was actually capable of pulling that trigger? Her chin throbbed where he’d bitten her. She couldn’t stand this. How could she have been so wrong? She was never wrong. She swallowed. Never before had she fallen for a guilty man. How was she so blinded by hubris that she could feel this way about Richter when he was a merciless killer?

He stared at her, gun in his hand. He didn’t move. She shook slightly with the emotions flooding her. Here she was, at the cusp of what she felt was the most important moment in her life. The man she loved sat before her, ready to take his own life if she didn’t do or say the right thing next. She was paralyzed-absolutely paralyzed. All her training, and here she was, a shaking, paralyzed ball of nerves.

She burst into tears. How utterly professional.

Richter frowned.

Vessa’s nose and eyes ran uncontrollably and she heaved great sighs. She didn’t dare wave her arms around and wipe her face. Instead, she simply stood there and let her emotions pour down her cheeks.

Richter sighed. He lowered the gun. He dropped it with a thud to the carpet and kicked it toward her.

“How am I supposed to kill myself with you crying like that?”

She rushed to pick up the weapon and tucked it into the small of her back, under her blazer. She faced Richter, this time allowing herself to wipe the fluids from her face with her hands and sleeves. She could only imagine how many shades of fired she would be if Bully Benson had seen her outburst. She almost felt like declaring herself unfit for duty on the spot.

“I can’t stand it,” she said. “I can’t lose you this way.”

He said nothing. What was there to say? They stared at each other. Tears fell from her eyes until the momentum of her outburst ran its course and she finally managed to get a grip on herself.

Richter sat, inordinately relaxed, leaning against the wall, hands folded innocently between his legs.

“What now?” he asked.

She glanced toward the thick curtains shielding them from the snipers across the street.

“I’ll have to cuff you. Then you won’t be seen as a threat. Keep your head down, and I’ll stay between you and them.”

He craned his neck and looked over the bed toward the window. He watched the dark cloth for several seconds.

“Is your eye working? What do you see?”

“It’s working,” he said. “And, I see only reflections. Your temperature is up, though.”

She came over and stood beside him. “Stay low,” she said softly.

He got up and they crossed the room with him crouched low. They entered the windowless landing. Vessa closed the bedroom door behind them. She looked at the other two doors. The girl was probably behind one of them, asleep or with her headphones on, completely oblivious. Vessa pulled her cuffs out. Richter stood tall.

“All right?” she asked. She needed him to cooperate. She wasn’t about to subdue such a large man in such a small space.

“Just a second,” he said.

He bent and kissed her. They embraced. Vessa wanted the floor to open up and swallow them so they could stay like this forever. Of course it did not, and the moment had to end.

He straightened up again, turned his back to her, and extended his arms behind him so she could easily cuff him.

“I didn’t shoot him,” he said.

Before she could even think about it, Vessa responded.

“I know. I believe you.”

***

Excerpt from An Eye for a Lie by Cy Wyss. Copyright 2019 by Cy Wyss. Reproduced with permission from Cy Wyss. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Cy Wyss

Cy Wyss is a writer based in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has a Ph.D. in computer science and her day job involves wrangling and analyzing genetic data. Cy is the author of three full-length novels as well as a collection of short stories and the owner and chief editor of Nighttime Dog Press, LLC.

Before studying computer science, Cy obtained her undergraduate degree in mathematics and English literature as well as masters-level degrees in philosophy and artificial intelligence. She studied overseas for three years in the UK, although she never managed to develop a British accent.

Cy currently resides in Indianapolis with her husband, daughter, and two obstreperous but lovable felines. In addition to writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, and walking 5k races to benefit charity.

 

Catch Up With Cy Wyss On:
cywyss.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Twitter, & Facebook!

 

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!



 

 

Enter To Win!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Cy Wyss. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card each. The giveaway begins on May 27, 2019 and runs through July 29, 2019. Void where prohibited.

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Monsters Are Real!!! Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff @AlexSokoloff

OMG..Alexandra Sokoloff did it again in Bitter Moon, Book IV in the Huntress/FBI Thriller series.

Bitter Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #4)

Goodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

I had received several books of this series and loved them so much, I binge read all three. So apt this book comes after the others. I think I got a lot more from it, because I am totally engrossed in how Cara came to be a vigilante.

In Bitter Moon, Cara relives her tragic past and it is brutal, horrifying, terrifying, and haunting. The insight into her motivation makes me see evil in its purest form. It’s no wonder she takes her revenge as a vigilante on all the users and abusers. The atrocities committed on defenseless children by family, friends, strangers, they need a guardian angel and Cara will fight to her dying breath for herself and for them.

Roarke has walked away from the FBI because of his conflicted feelings about her. He is lost, isolated, confused…As he tries to find answers for himself, Roarke tracks her past. He walks where she walked, meeting some people she knew, gaining insight. The nun simplified if for him, he is on a mission.

Can evil be drawn to a particular person? Can someone attract the bad through no fault of their own?

It is frightening and horrifying as I read of her past and know these things really happen, that the depravity of humans are going on right now. I am at a loss for words with an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

I love Cara and don’t know how she can have a happy ever after, but I so much want it for here. If any character I have ever read about deserves something good in her life, Cara does. She is dogged by evil, she never quits, never gives up, willing to take them out one by one.

She runs from IT, but IT follows here everywhere she goes.

Monsters are real!

Research? If half of what Alexandra Sokoloff has written about rape and trafficking, the women and children, throwaway kids, the predatory people out there is true, we should all be afraid. It may be easier to turn the other way, but you never know when EVIL might come for you.

I had wondered if there would be more, because the rest of Cara and Roarke’s story needs to be told, and I am so happy to know…there is.

There are so many great quotes, that I had to share a few of them.

“Look too long into the abyss and the abyss looks back into you.”

“Fear the wolf, or be the wolf.”

Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” John Stuart Millshad

Alexandra Sokoloff had me wound so tight, I felt like I would explode. My emotions were all over the place and I did breathe a sigh of relief…and regret…when I was done. The characters have captured my heart and I miss them as soon as I close the ‘cover’. Stay safe everyone, I’ll be back.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bitter Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff and these novels will be sitting on my reread shelf!!!!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

FBI agent Matthew Roarke has been on leave, and in seclusion, since the capture of mass killer Cara Lindstrom—the victim turned avenger who preys on predators. Torn between devotion to the law and a powerful attraction to Cara and her lethal brand of justice, Roarke has retreated from both to search his soul. But Cara’s escape from custody and a police detective’s cryptic challenge soon draw him out of exile—into the California desert and deep into Cara’s past—to probe an unsolved murder that could be the key to her long and deadly career.

Following young Cara’s trail, Roarke uncovers a horrifying attack on a schoolgirl, the shocking suicide of another, and a human monster stalking Cara’s old high school. Separated by sixteen years, crossing paths in the present and past, Roarke and fourteen-year-old Cara must race to find and stop the sadistic sexual predator before more young women are brutalized.

ABOUT ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook Pinterest

MY REVIEW LINKS FOR ALEXANDRA SOKOLOF

I love these gorgeous covers.

Huntress Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #1)Blood Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #2)Cold Moon (Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #3)Bitter Moon

 

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Underground Tombs – A Perfect Obsession by Heather Graham @heathergraham

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Uh oh. I don’t like tight spaces, but it looks like I will have to get over it in order to read A Perfect Obsession by Heather Graham…and I will.

A Perfect Obsession (New York Confidential #2)Goodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

There is never any doubt, when it comes to Heather Graham, that I will grab her book without hesitation. Even a bad book by Heather Graham is a good book and I would definitely recommend A Perfect Obsession.

Kieran Finnegan, a psychologist, also works at the family pub and shares a bed with her FBI guy, Craig Frasier. He knows to keep tabs on her because trouble seems to find her…or does she find it?

A model/actress was murdered just around the corner from Finnegan’s, but nobody thought it was connected to the family…until her brother, Kevin, told her his secret.

Someone wanted her found.

“Living art.”

It’s easy to figure out that Kieran is Irish. She has three brothers. They are quick to defend and protect her, since she’s prone to finding trouble to get into.

We have a headstrong woman, a hunky cop, mystery and dead bodies on display in mausoleums that haven’t seen the light of day in decades, but…

I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m just not getting into this like I do most of her work. Am I having an off day? Or is it because it’s an ARC and will be tidied up before publishing. I think it will get better. You’ll need to check out A Perfect Obsession to figure it out for yourself.

I feel on edge. I keep thinking…waiting…for “the moment”…when the monster reaches out from under the bed and grabs me.

Heather has created a sense of menace from the serial killer. I can’t put my finger on the villain. Have I met him?

Uh Oh. I think I know who it is and we have a big problem.

I started out having a hard time getting into the story. I don’t know why. It has all the elements I require for a thrilling read. I rarely give up on a book, and I sure wasn’t going to give up on a Heather Graham book. And it is worth sticking with. As usual, she leaves me wanting more and I can hardly wait to pick up another one of her stories.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of A Perfect Obsession by Heather Graham.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Someone is murdering beautiful young women in the New York area and displaying them in mausoleums and underground tombs. The FBI is handling the case, with Special Agent Craig Frasier as lead.

Kieran Finnegan, forensic psychologist and part owner of Finnegan’s, her family’s pub, is consulting on the case. Craig and Kieran are a couple who’ve worked together on more than one occasion. On this occasion, though, Craig fears for the safety of the woman he loves. Because the killer is too close. The body of a young model is found in a catacomb under a two-hundred-year-old church, now deconsecrated and turned into a nightclub. A church directly behind Finnegan’s in lower Manhattan.

As more women are murdered, their bodies discovered in underground locations in New York, it’s clear that the police and the FBI are dealing with a serial killer. Craig and Kieran are desperate to track down the murderer, a man obsessed with female perfection. Obsessed enough to want to “preserve” that beauty by destroying the women who embody it”.

ABOUT HEATHER GRAHAM

 Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children’s charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.

 
Website  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  YouTube

MY HEATHER GRAHAM REVIEWS

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

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

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

Cover:  Brandi Doane

Blood Moon (The Huntress/FBI Thrillers, #2)

Goodreads  /  Amazon US  /  Amazon UK  /  Amazon CA

MY REVIEW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

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

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

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

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

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

ABOUT ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF

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

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

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

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

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

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

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook Pinterest

MY REVIEW FOR HUNTRESS MOON, BOOK I

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Giveaway, Interview, Excerpt & Review – Remnants by Carolyn Arnold @Carolyn_Arnold @GoddessFish

  Meet today’s guest, Carolyn Arnold. She is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series and has written nearly thirty books. Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark, POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Today, she answers a few questions for us and gives us insight into her life and journey as a mystery author.

Have you ever been on a manhunt or at the scene where a dead body was found?

I took part in my local police department’s Citizen’s Academy. As part of this, I received an inside look at seventeen divisions over a ten-week period. As an added benefit, each student was afforded a ride-along. And mine… Well, I went on the perfect one for a crime writer.

My ride-along actually started out with a manhunt. I experienced the excitement of wanting to find the guy and found myself scrutinizing every male I spotted in the area just to make sure he wasn’t the one we were after. Unfortunately, the search moved to the downtown area from the eastern end of the city where the hunt had begun, and the sergeant signed off the investigation. By the end of my ride-along, about five hours later, the man still hadn’t been found.

After the sergeant left the investigation, he turned to me as he was driving and asked if I had ever seen a dead body. I told him I had at memorials and funerals and then asked why. I soon found out that our next stop involved one.

I figured I’d catch a glimpse of the deceased under a tarp or being wheeled away, but I got far more than that. I received a front-row seat to a death investigation. For hours, the sergeant and I were mere feet away from the body. I witnessed firsthand how it changed color over time, but I also found that I went into detective-mode. The forensic identification unit—essentially CSIs—was called in and arrived with collection kits. The team members gloved up, snapped photographs, took fingerprints from the deceased, and more.

The entire time that I was on scene, I noticed myself going into a detached state—the result of adrenaline. Later that evening, it began to sink in that I had spent hours with a dead body, and I was nauseated. As more time passed, I became weepy as it sank in that the deceased had been a husband, a father, a lover, a friend…a person. That night I dreamed about the man. It wasn’t a nightmare, but I was an officer trying to figure out what had happened to him.

I couldn’t imagine returning to the field the next day and having a similar experience or witnessing something even worse, like a violent murder scene or that of a fatal car accident.

What do members of law enforcement say about your books?

Many testimonials attest that I am pleasing readers in law enforcement. They love that my mysteries are accurate in that regard, and they view that alone as a sign of my respect for them.

Here are a few testimonials that I have received on Eleven (Brandon Fisher FBI series):

“I spent thirty-eight years with a major police department in Missouri, fifteen of which were in the homicide section. I also had numerous dealings with the FBI throughout my career, mostly bank robbery, interstate shipment thefts, and a few kidnappings. Eleven kept my interest piqued throughout… Loved it.”

Richard Bartram, Sergeant (retired), St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, St. Louis, MO

“I am a forty-year veteran of police work. All local, no Fed. Eleven was a great read. All the descriptors and nomenclature were spot on.”

–Joe Danna, Police Officer, Katy Independent School District Police Department, Katy, TX

“Very good! I worked as a police officer for eleven years and with the Federal Bureau of Prisons for twenty-two. I have also dealt with the FBI.”

–Richard Smith, Facilities Development Manager (retired), Federal Bureau of Prisons, Central Office, Washington, DC

“A great police procedural! … Full of twists and turns. The characters are well-developed and a mix of interesting personalities. … Holds your interest to the end!”

–Mark Davis, FBI Special Agent (retired), Washington, DC

What did you do before you became a bestselling author?

For a living, I worked in accounts receivable for a few different companies collecting from businesses. Yet, despite working full time, in 2006 I was reunited with writing. I wrote every chance I got—before work, on lunch breaks, after work, on the weekends. I became so focused on writing and the publishing world that hardly a day went by without them being a part of my life, and since the summer of 2014, I’ve been a full-time author.

How do you know so much about what criminals think?

I can’t answer that without incriminating myself… Just kidding.

Everyone has what we call a “dark side.” In writing these books, I suppose you could say I tap into this side of my psyche. Whatever I can scheme up is possible, and I write that which scares and excites me.

When did you know that you had hit the big time with your books?

When I got to say good-bye to my day job! Even before I fully resigned, I had cut back a five-day a week job to four days, then to three. It got to the point, though, that I loathed going in for that many days, and I knew it was time to make the move and become a full-time author. That was in the summer of 2014. Since then, I incorporated my own publishing company in the summer of 2015, and, at the start of 2016, my husband joined me there full time.

The Brandon Fisher FBI series is a perfect fit for you if serial killers and the FBI fascinate you, if you like getting inside the minds of killers, love being creeped out, sleeping with your eyes open, and feeling like you’re involved in murder investigations. If this speaks to you, then join FBI agent and profiler Brandon Fisher and his team with the Behavioral Analysis Unit in their hunt for serial killers.

Amazon  /  Goodreads

Remnants by Carolyn Arnold

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GENRE: Mystery

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MY REVIEW

I love thrillers, suspense, murder and serial killers, not necessarily in that order. LOL

Remnants by Carolyn Arnold has them all.

It is amazing how quickly someone can just vanish. There one minute, gone the next.

Body parts are being found in a Georgia river. A leg here, an arm there, here a skull, there a torso, but no hands or feet. Why?

The parts don’t match. How many bodies are there?

A serial killer is on the loose.

Step by step, clue by clue, law enforcement follows the path to the Unsub in a Criminal Minds fashion.

You may not want to eat before you read this. The killings are brutal, gruesome, savage.

The case became more involved than I thought it would when I first started reading. I didn’t put all the pieces together until the last part of the book and it was Carolyn Arnold that took me there. I love that I can’t figure it out early. Keeps the mystery alive. Though, if the book is well written it doesn’t matter…either way is fine with me.

There are some seriously messed up characters that deserve worse than they got.

The FBI team had issues of their own. Makes them come across as realistic people.

I love these kind of stories and would highly recommend following the stand alone series.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of Remnants of Carolyn Arnold.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  4 Stars

BLURB

FBI agent and profiler Brandon Fisher and his team are called to Savannah, Georgia, when body parts belonging to three separate victims are recovered from the Little Ogeechee River. As the case takes one dark turn after another, Brandon finds himself embroiled in a creepy psychological nightmare.

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EXCERPT

PERIMETER MALL, ATLANTA, GEORGIA

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 11:30 AM EASTERN

THE TIME HAD COME TO select his next victim. He had to choose carefully and perfectly—he wouldn’t get a second chance. The mall was teeming with life, and that made for a lot of eyeballs, a lot of potential witnesses. But he supposed it also helped him be more inconspicuous. People were hustling through the shopping center, interested solely in their own agendas. They wouldn’t be paying him—or what he was doing—much attention.

He was standing at the edge of the food court next to the hallway leading to the restrooms eating a gyro. The lidded and oversized garbage bin on wheels that was behind him would ensure that anyone who did notice him would just think he was a mall janitor on his lunch break.

The pitchy voice of a girl about eight hit his ears. “Daddy, I want ice cream.”

Trailing not far behind her were a man and woman holding hands. The woman was fit and blond, but his attention was on the man beside her. He was in his twenties, easily six feet tall with a solid, athletic build. He’d be strong and put up a fight. Yes, this was the one. And talk about ideal placement—he was across from the Dairy Queen.

He wiped his palms on his coveralls and took a few deep breaths. What he was about to do wasn’t because of who he was, but rather, because he had to do it.

And he had to hurry. The family was coming toward him.

“It’s almost lunchtime,” the woman said, letting go of the man’s hand.

“Daaaaaaddyyyyy.” A whiny petition.

The man looked to the woman with a smile that showcased his white teeth. “We could have ice cream for lunch?”

The little girl began to bounce. “Yeah!”

“Really, Eric?” The woman wasn’t as impressed as the girl, but under the man’s gaze she caved and smiled. “All right, but just today…”

“Thank you, Mommy!” The girl wrapped her arms around the woman’s legs but quickly let go, prancing ahead of her parents and toward the DQ counter.

“Brianna, we wash our hands first.” The woman glanced at him as she walked by and offered a reserved smile. Had she detected his interest in them?

Breathe. She thinks you work here, remember?

Smile back.

Remain calm.

Look away and act uninterested.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international best-selling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.

Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

Carolyn was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.

She currently lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada.

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:

Website – http://carolynarnold.net/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold

And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.

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GIVEAWAY

Carolyn Arnold will be awarding a paperback copy of Violated by Carolyn Arnold to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour and comment. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Follow the tour HERE.

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Reality TV Murder ~ Serial Date by DV Berkom Review

Hello Reader, meet Leine Basso.

I have read several novels by DV Berkom and find her ability to tell a story amazing. If you are a lover of the mysterious, thrilling, suspenseful world of murder, step inside.

I DARE YOU!

But…beware. All is not as it appears.

Add me to Goodreads now.

  • Paperback: 274 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 2, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1480008435
  • ISBN-13: 978-1480008434

MY REVIEW

Serial Date + Serial Murder = Serial Killer

Serial Date is a fast paced, tension filled suspense thriller that had me engrossed from cover to cover. The quirky and twisted characters made me wonder who was running the asylum. I love her covers. The colors are vibrant and they foretell the story inside.

A brutal, heinous murder on a reality TV show brings in Leine Basso, an ex Agency assassin, to watch over the  contestants. The show consists of ex cons dating hot women and pretending they are serial killers. There are plenty of suspects, but what happens when everyone is targeted by a real serial killer?

It’s pretty bad when the cons are better people than the ones running the circus. So, let’s meet the main characters, even though the peripheral characters are important and have their own impact on the story.

Leine Basso – she may be an assassin, but she is no psychopath. She does have feelings and desires, just like the rest of us. It pains her that her daughter, April, holds the past against her and wants nothing to do with her. She cannot escape the past, no matter how far or fast she runs, but maybe she can kill it. Evil and danger come at her from more than one direction.

Deliciously hot and sexy Los Angeles Homicide Detective Santiago Jensen is assigned the case and the sparks fly when he and Leine meet. Would he risk his job to be with her? The heart wants what the heart wants and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop thinking of her.

Peter Bronkowski is a sick and twisted individual. It had been his idea for the show and he is more interested in the ratings than the deaths mounting up around him. He has fears and problems of of his own that do no include Serial Date.

Senator Buzz Runyon is a corrupt, arrogant and pathetic politician that visits the pages. He is controlled by his ‘little head” and in a very sick way. The only things he cares about is reelection and his sex games.

Leine has no idea what is coming her way, until April is abducted by the serial killer. But that can be said for Azazel. He has no idea of the storm that will be unleashed on him. Revenge is his motivation and he will not stop, until he gets it. Leine will not stop, until she gets her daughter back.

Serial Date is the first in a series of suspense thrillers that stand alone. It is easy reading, action packed, loaded with tension and sizzling romance. There are as many weak and twisted men as there are strong and determined women. DV shows the ugliness of human nature, but also the beauty and goodness. I love the taste of humor with my evil and DV deals with this in a way that seems real. After all, the police, medical examiners and others in awkward situations use laughter to get through the badness or discomfort.

I read, but didn’t review Serial Date right away, so I reread it. I thought I would just skim it and refresh my memory, but I ended up reading it word for word. I think I enjoyed it better the second time around, because I wasn’t in as big a hurry to find out how everything ended.

I  would love to have a margarita at the Happy Mermaid with Leine. Gimme a call! 🙂

I received Serial Date from DV Berkom in return for an honest review. Thank you DV. It has been my pleasure! I LOVED it!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

SYNOPSIS

When former assassin Leine Basso’s daughter is abducted, she’s drawn into the twisted game of a serial killer who may be a grisly remnant from her past.

Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television’s most popular reality shows, Serial Date. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the ‘bachelors’ on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn’t so sure.

When Leine’s estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she’s forced to rely on old skills to find her and must come to terms with who she really is. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she’ll need to use all of her cunning to stop him….

and rescue her daughter.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Image of D.V. BerkomDV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.

Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves (and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned contractor, and writes every chance she gets.

For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.

Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Blog  /  Pinterest  /  Amazon US  /  Amazon UKNewsletter

Author Pages

Amazon  /  Smashwords  /  Barnes & Noble  /  itunes  /  Kobo

The Leine Basso Thrillers:

I have read some of her Kate Jones Thrillers:

5 Star Review – Yucatan Dead by DV Berkom

5 Star Review – A One Way Ticket To Dead by DV Berkom

The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 1 box set (includes the 1st four novellas in the series).
(The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 2 includes Cruising for Death (#5), YD, and AOWTTD, all for $8.99 (bought separately they would be 12.99)
 ***all covers link to amazon, I am an affiliate***

 Check out all these beautiful covers for the Kate Jones thrillers by DV Berkom.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.
To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

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Friday 56 #23 – Murder in Sin City – A Death in Vegas by Christopher Meeks

The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.

The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find any sentence, or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

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A DEATH IN VEGAS by Chritopher Meeks

All I had to see was murder and Vegas and Christopher Meeks go my attention.

Plus, take a gander at this intriguing cover.

I will be reviewing this for a tour on October 1, 2014, so be sure and stop back.

22059879

1771e-addtogoodreadsblack

(page 56 in paperback)

They called out loudly, “Hank?” Stepping up onto the porch, one of them rang the bell. They both stepped inside. Moments later came the screams. Patton took off quickly, making sure his tires didn’t squeal.

(This was the only thing on page 56. lol)

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SYNOPSIS

In A Death in Vegas, the president of BenBugs, a company that specializes in beneficial bugs for organic gardening, discovers a young woman dead in his Las Vegas hotel suite. She had worked as a sexy lady bug at his convention booth—and he had nothing to do with her death.

While that’s being investigated, the FBI raids his booth on a money-laundering scam that he knows nothing about, either.

Soon, the coroner doesn’t have good news. The police and FBI are against him—and his wife cannot be found. He flees to find the answers.

 Click on the cover below to get your Amazon copy of A Death In Vegas by Christopher Meeks.

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What are you reading?

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To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

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BTS Tour Presents The Protectors

Come join us on this review tour and see what everyone thinks of this book!!! Reviews Only. For links to the other tour participants, look at the bottom of the post.

The Protectors by Bernard Lee DeLeo

The Protectors has it all: political intrigue and corruption, gangbangers, drugs, terrorists – and that’s just the bad guys. But sometimes even the good guys walk a line that can become blurred. Are they now a bad guy too?

Ellie and Connor responded to a call of a disturbance. After subduing and arresting the couple, Ellie spotted a half-naked boy running down the street. The man chasing him carried a sap. She scooped up the boy as Connor went after the man.

The boy said his name was Billie, but because Fred didn’t do birthdays, he didn’t know how old he was. He told Ellie that he had been with Fred a long time. He, also, told Ellie and Connor that there were more kids. The monsters had them.

Haunted

Ellie and Connor knew they couldn’t wait for backup. Once the “monsters” realized Fred had been gone too long, they would pull up stakes and leave. Ellie knew there was no stopping Connor.

Connor did what he does best and brought the children out. He not only killed Fred, he killed the others too. But Ellie was happy he did. Connor had taken the law into his own hands, but what if we all did that? Would it be anarchy? Would we end up like the Wild West, where everyone had a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it?

Dr Morrison went on a ride along with Ellie and Connor to assess Connor actions. She had no idea what she was getting into.

Ellie and Connor were given leave to go out on their off hours and catch parolees who had just gotten out of prison. They knew they would be at the same place doing the same thing.

At 4:00 in the morning, they made a drug bust. Councilman Stennis came to them, telling them to stop what they were doing. They knew it was highly unusual for a politician to come to the station, especially at 4:00 in the morning, and start throwing threats around. Then they found out his son was one of the kids they busted for drugs. Ellie recorded him on camera. They knew it wouldn’t bode well for them, so they took it to their boss. Donaldson backed them, but warned them there was only so much he could do. Be sure to COA.

As the plot develops, Ellie and Connor find themselves drawn deeper and deeper into a situation that is beyond their control. They find themselves involved with the FBI and terrorists. They get in way over their heads, with no on but their boss, Donaldson, on their side. Who could they trust?

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos    4 STARS – Would Highly Recommend To Others

The cover and title both caught my attention. I thought it was right up my alley

The story started strong and stayed that way. After the incident with the kids, I wondered where the story would go, but I was not to be disappointed. I could feel the suspense building as Ellie and Connor were drawn deeper and deeper into a world of political intrigue, disgusting criminals, gangbangers, drug dealers and terrorists that would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

The dialogue was, at times, down right hilarious. The banter between Ellie and Connor made me think of Lisbon and Jane in The Mentalist and Temperance and Booth in Bones, only on steroids. I think you must have  a sense of humor when dealing with the dredges of society. I was happily surprised when the light touch in the writing style took the story to the level it did.

Connor was army special forces and used his skills to achieve his goals and to save their life, and others, over and over again. I love these books, even though you know it can’t be like that in real life. The guy would be crucified because of the deaths. It seems the justice system caters more to the criminal than the victim.

I loved Ellie and Connor. They were unique individuals. Jules came into her own, after hanging with them. I couldn’t figure out if Connor would end up with Ellie or Jules. Boy was I in for a shock.

I love vigilantes. Death Wish has always been one of my favorite series. I can’t even begin to count how many times I have watched it. Charles Bronson is the man. lol But Connor didn’t go looking for it, he just took care of business when it crossed his path.

I received this book in return for an honest and unbiased review. I can hardly wait to read more from Bernard Lee DeLeo.

My Favorite Quotes

“I’ll hit you so hard your whole family will pass out in pain.” Made me burst out laughing.

“The kids made me start thinking about how I want folks to look at us. I don’t care anymore to visit someone to tell them we found the people who broke into their business or house and robbed them blind. I want them to wave at us from their house or business as we go by because we prevent the gangbangers, drug dealers, and thugs from terrorizing them.”

“I’m so PC, if Santa’s sleigh ever pauses on Christmas Eve over my house it’s so Rudolph can take a piss on my roof.”

“You know my mom feeds on the mention of marriage like a cockroach in a sugar bowl.”

I’m not leaving you two! I’ve read horror novels. The monster always gets the idiot who goes for help.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I own a one man automotive repair shop in Oakland, CA. I write adventure fiction and have thirteen of my novels offered for Amazon Kindle. My three latest novels are: COLD BLOODED published by Wild Child Publishing, HARD CASE published by RJ Parker Publishing, and THE PROTECTORS published by RJ Parker Publishing. My new paranormal novel LANCELOT was released in October of 2012. I published my humorous paranormal romance, LAYLA, in November of 2012. I served aboard the USS Ranger (CVA61) from 1969 until November of 1972. I earned an AA degree in Auto Technology from Chabot College in Hayward, CA, and a BA degree in English from Cal State Hayward. My hobbies are basketball, backpacking, and scuba diving. My favorite dive spot is Point Lobos near Pacific Grove, CA.

To order a copy of the book, simply click on the cover.

FOLLOW THE TOUR, LINKS BELOW:

November 13: So Many Books, So Little Time
November 20: Bad Barbs Place

November 27: Close Encounters With the Night Kind
December 3: Fundinmental
December 10: Chronicles of a Book Addict
December 17: Stefani’s World of Words
December 30: Bookend 2 Bookend