I found Kathryn Meyer Griffith through blogging and once I started reading her work, I never looked back. Be sure and check out all my reviews below and don’t forget to read this one. It’s another fun trip to Spookie town.
Oh man, it’s good to be back with Abigail, Frank, Myrtle and the gang in Spookie Town. Not only do we have a murder mystery, but we have a little bit of the supernatural going on. Is it good or bad? I’ll leave that for you to find out for yourself.
Myrtle is an eccentric (?) who sees ghosts and I love how she pops in and out of Abigail and Frank’s life. Abigail and Frank are a couple, but they have yet to make that final decision, to live together. Abigail has two children that she took in when they were orphaned. You can find the details out in All Things Slip Away and it is a wonderful story.
Abigail got up in the morning and as soon as she stepped outside felt something…was in the air…and it didn’t feel good. Myrtle comes to Abigail with a request. Will she help her neighbor, who is being haunted by a ghost? Bumps in the night doesn’t begin to describe what she is going through.
They are not ghost whisperers, ghost busters, or ghost hunters, but they will get to the bottom of the mystery of the burglaries, hauntings, missing people, and dead bodies. Just because they are older and quickly dismissed by the small town police, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening and someone must step in before something else happens.
Are the police just inept, lazy and useless, or are they part of the problem? That is one of the things I love about small towns, the unique, fun, and interesting characters that add as much to the story as the mystery we are here to solve.
BUT, also in a small town:
“You’re one of us. Remember I told you, we take care of our own in Spookie. That’s what we do.”
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Ghosts Beneath Us by Kathryn Meyer Griffith.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Someone is terrorizing the elderly in a certain neighborhood in Spookie and vandalizing their homes. As usual, Abigail Sutton, a freelance artist, and her boyfriend Frank Lester, a retired homicide detective, are called in to help find out who’s doing these awful acts. The two seem to have an uncanny knack for unraveling mysteries and getting to the bottom of such strange happenings. Some of the old people think it’s ghosts in their basements, in their homes, doing these destructive deeds but Frank doesn’t believe in ghosts; while Abigail isn’t so sure. Then the old folks begin to disappear one by one or to die suspiciously and Frank thinks there’s a sinister plan behind the crimes and is determined to uncover who or what is responsible. In the end, they, with a little help from their friend eccentric old Myrtle, must solve the mystery or more of the old ones in town might end up dead. Sequel to Scraps of Paper (Spookie Town Murder Mystery #1) and All Things Slip Away (Spookie Town Murder Mystery #2)
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has been a writer
for over forty-nine years now and has had twenty-nine novels and thirteen short
stories published since 1984. She began her writing career as a paperback
horror author in 1984 with Leisure and Zebra Publishing, but has since moved on
to write paranormal horror, romantic historical time-travel, suspense, romance,
thrillers, and murder mysteries. Her horror novel The Last Vampire, and her
thriller Dinosaur Lake (now a best-selling five book series), were both Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in 2012 and 2014. Kathryn Meyer Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
NOVELS: Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart
of the Rose, Blood Forged, Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 Epic
eBook Awards Finalists in their Horror category), Witches, Witches II:
Apocalypse, Witches plus Witches II: Apocalypse, The Nameless One erotic
horror short story, The Calling, Scraps of Paper (1st Spookie Town
Murder Mystery), All Things Slip Away (2nd Spookie Town Murder Mystery),
Ghosts Beneath Us (3rd Spookie Town Murder Mystery), Witches Among Us
(4th Spookie Town Murder Mystery), What Lies Beneath the Graves (5th
Spookie Town Murder Mystery), All Those Who Came Before (6th Spookie
Town Murder Mystery); soon, a 7th, When the Fireflies
Retuned, out in December 2020, Egyptian Heart, Winter’s Journey, The Ice
Bridge, Don’t Look Back, Agnes, A Time of Demons and Angels, The Woman
in Crimson, Human No Longer, Four Spooky Short Stories Collection,
Forever and Always Romantic Novella, Night Carnival Short Story,
Dinosaur Lake (2014 Epic eBook Awards Finalists in their
Thriller/Adventure category), Dinosaur Lake II: Dinosaurs Arising,
Dinosaur Lake III: Infestation and Dinosaur Lake IV: Dinosaur Wars,
Dinosaur Lake V: Survivors, Memories of My Childhood, and a biographical
short story Christmas Magic 1959.
Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those
neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread. If you are anything
like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in
your stacks.
They found him in the South Ofrann Desert, where everything evil lived. No one knew what he was. Most called him a demon. One leader thought this stranger-without-a-past held the key to tribal peace and prosperity. That leader’s enemies saw an opportunity to gain control of the nation.
I was probably lured into grabbing Moons’ Kiss by Kimberly K Comeau by the colorful cover. I am such a sucker for a pretty one and I do enjoy science fiction. I added Moons’ Kiss by Kimberly K Comeau to my Goodreads TBR on 10.6.20. Do you read science fiction? What is your favorite genre?
I am so happy to be back in the RV with Walt and Betty and this time we will be hiking the trails and solving a mystery in the shadow of the Superstition Mountains in Arizona.
I love the play on their name Rollin…pronounced as if saying rolling down the road.
Betty is the Jessica Fletcher of the RV world.
Their son had died and Betty could not let it go. She needed to know why. Had to have answers, but there were none. They sold everything, bought an RV and began to travel. Maybe that is why she is persistent in her need to know what’s going on right under her nose, like the dead man and two missing people.
I do like that the characters talk about their surroundings, the weather, and the people they meet. They love to people watch, trying to guess what was going on in their lives. They talk about RVs and what it means to be a permanent traveler. It lends an air of authenticity and reality making it easy to put myself in their shoes. She even throws some history in the mix.
The Superstition Mountains were given their name because the Pima and Apache Tribes were superstitious about the mountains and the settlers gave them their name. It is also the home of the Lost Dutchman’s mine.
Could there be a hidden gold mine with riches waiting to be discovered? Does that explain the brief flashes of light Betty has seen?
If you are looking for an easy reading cozy mystery with some travel and local history of the locations the characters visit, meeting some interesting people and solving crime, this is a series for you. Each book stands alone and takes place in a different state in the US.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Superstition Victim by Ellen Behrens.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A rustic campground in the shadows of Arizona’s Superstition Mountains is anything but peaceful for Walt and Betty Rollin, full-time RVers hoping for tranquil hiking and a good deal on a new RV. What they find instead are secrets buried deeper than the Lost Dutchman’s legendary treasure… secrets so valuable someone is willing to kill to keep them. Local law enforcement seems unable to help, leaving Walt and Betty to do all they can–no matter what it takes.
This is the third installment in the Rollin RV Mystery series which RVers and non-RVers alike have called “page-turning,” “engrossing,” and their favorite way to stay up past bedtime.
ABOUT ELLEN BEHRENS
Ellen
Behrens’ short stories, articles, essays, and reviews have been widely
published. Her published books include the novels “Pea Body,” “None But
the Dead and Dying” and the short story collection “Road Tales: Short
Stories About Full-Time RVing.” She is former fiction editor of
Mid-American Review and the recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual
Artist Fellowship. She and her husband have been living the
“full-timer” RV lifestyle since 2009.
I have been reading Azaaa Davis’ Nadira Holden series and loving it. To see this gorgeous cover for her new Never Marry a Shifter series only makes me want to read the book more.
Jilted is the first of two books in the Never Marry A Shifter duology.
The Never Marry A Shifter (NMAS) duology is a thrilling blend of romance and horror, landing in the paranormal romance genre.
Jilted – Book Description:
Administrative assistant by day and boss lady on social media by night, Theresa enjoys sharing her charmed life with half-million followers. The only thing she loves more is being engaged to the hottest doctor at the clinic where they both work. Cementing her fame by reaching one million followers would be the icing on her wedding cake.
Life stops running smoothly when her husband vanishes on their wedding night and a leaked photo of a barely-dressed Theresa yelling at the police sparks a viral sensation. With everything at stake—love, reputation, followers, and job—she embarks on a reluctant voyage of discovery. Follow Theresa as she stumbles over her new husband’s secrets and develops her own inner strength.
A thrilling blend of romance and horror, Jilted is a novella exclusive to the Soul’s Day Boxset for a limited time and releases October 2020.
***
Soul’s Day Boxset – Book Description:
Old Hallows Eve, when things go bump in the night,
Children come to play, and the witches provide the fright.
For 20 authors, USA Today and international bestselling,
The Halloween tales become more than this foretelling.
In the Soul’s Day Boxset, a mansion feeds on souls,
A gargoyle captures them, and a demon dungeon master makes the calls,
Campers gets picked off one by one,
The Karnaval’s corn dogs are less than fun,
Ghosts lurking around every bend,
‘I do’ at the wedding is certainly the end.
A boxset of chills and thrills to keep you up at night,
One-click pre-order to snap your copy filled with fright.
On old Hallow’s eve when creatures come to play,
With this spine chilling pages, it’s where you’ll want to stay.
Azaaa Davis is an American author of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels.
She fell in love with reading as a high school freshman and continues to read, write, and draw today. Her background in social work helps her portray realistic characters in otherworldly–and sometimes terrifying–situations. A New York native, Azaaa currently lives in New Hampshire (USA) with her husband and daughters.
She debuted with This Time (book one in the Nadira Holden, Demon Hunter series) in 2018. A novel about demon hunters, family ties and the magic of love.
I have read other books about the Lost City, so I am eager to see D V Berkom’s spin on it. I do love traipsing through the jungle, with danger lurking, looking for lost treasure.
Martin is concerned about keeping the discovery quiet and the location secret, to protect it from those who would endanger the site and the people who live around it. Nancy, his daughter, is more interested in academic pursuits, wanting to share it with the world, which opens them up to those who want it for themselves.
She drank the Kool-Aid.
Enter Leine Basso…a kickass ex-assassin that takes name and leaves no prisoners. She is pulled from her comfy cozy bed, where she was nestled with Santa, her detective boyfriend, in Los Angeles and on her way to the jungle deep in the heart of the Amazon.
The head bad guy betrays anyone and everyone to get what he wants and I hope and pray he gets a healthy dose of Karma.
I am loving Shadow of the Jaguar and the Indiana Jones vibe I’m picking up. We have action and adventure, loyalty and betrayal, treasure found, and lives lost.
I love books that add the ecological aspects that would accompany a discovery such as this, including theft, clear cutting, eco terrorism and things that would damage the jungle and the people who live there. To me it adds a realistic aspect to the fiction.
The pacing flowed smoothly, making it easy to read on, totally captivated by the characters, trying to figure out who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. I was worried and I wonder…could a good guy do a bad thing and still be a good guy?
I love that D V Berkom has Leine and her daughter on the adventure together. They both work for SHEN, which is an organization that deals with human traffickers and there is never a dull moment. They are well equipped to handle whatever gets thrown at them and it is a pleasure to be along for the ride.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Shadow of the Jaguar by D V Berkom
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Leine Basso is back in Shadow of the Jaguar, an edge-of-your-seat, page-turning action-adventure thriller.
A lost civilization. A woman’s abduction. The promise of unimaginable treasure.
Deep in the heart of the Amazon, an expedition finds evidence of a fabled lost city of gold. It isn’t long before a ruthless drug trafficker learns of the possible find and kidnaps an expedition member, threatening to kill her and the rest of the expedition unless he’s given the coordinates to the city.
Former assassin Leine Basso and her daughter are called in to rescue the kidnapped woman, who also happens to be a good friend’s niece. But in the jungle, danger lurks at every turn, and nothing is as it seems…
ABOUT D V BERKOM
DV 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.
Happy Monday everyone and welcome back to Music Monday! Let’s share
some songs we’ve been enjoying lately! If you would like to play, and I
really hope you do, please see the rules and link up below HERE
Yeah by Usher and this song reached #1 on the Billboard Chart in 2004.
And I had to share the video below that I saw on his Youtube page.
I got the idea and the motivation to start doing this post from All The Book Blog Names Are Taken.
It has helped me to keep track of my reading shelf as far as current
events and I also started doing a post for Books From The Backlog to
tidy up my shelf. I feel better about my out of control TBR and have
even knocked off a couple of those old ones that had been hanging around
for years. COME ON….JOIN IN.
What do you do when you know you’re on a serial killer’s hit list?
Six women are dead, and Wren Addison is the next victim on the SMS Killer’s list—or so she’s been told after waking in a pool of blood with no memory of the events that have transpired.
Newly separated and struggling to start her life over after her husband’s infidelity, Wren tries to remember what happened to her, but nothing is adding up as more horrors unfold around her. With her life on a timer and the murderer taunting her, she realizes there is nothing typical about this serial killer.
Wren is pushed to the edge as she dances between knowing she’s likely to die and fighting to be the first to survive. As the truth starts to emerge, she rises to the challenge and decides not to go down without a fight.
Someone is going to die, and she’s determined it won’t be her.
Book Details:
Genre: Psychological Thriller Published by: Tangled Tree Publishing Publication Date: July 11th 2020 Number of Pages: 301 ISBN: 9781922359124 Series: A Deadly Sins Novel, #2 || Stands Alone Purchase Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
You really don’t know how you feel about some things until they happen to you. You can guess. You can pretend you’d be strong, that you’d stand on the rooftops and shout your indignation as you shake your fist to the skies, but those are only guesses. Hopes. What we think we know about ourselves. They say no one ever really knows anyone. I think it’d be a safe bet to say that we don’t really know ourselves either. You think you do. The “Oh, I’d never do that! Look at how she’s acting. If I were in her shoes….” but you don’t. No one does.
I said the same things to myself when I walked out on my husband, Ricky, months ago. Those thoughts went through my head as I closed the door behind me for what I told myself was the last time. I wouldn’t let myself cry as I said goodbye to him, only feeling the first tears fall when I heard the click behind me, the locking of the door to what used to be our home together. When he didn’t chase me and beg me to stay.
I wept in that moment, wondering how much pain a person could take.
Over the days that followed, it faded into something more akin to numbness as I found an apartment and got a new checking account. As I arranged to find movers to get my things while he was at work, all while thanking God that we had no children.
Now I find myself in that place once more, though for an altogether different reason. Something has happened to me, something that leaves my body sore and my head feeling as if I have a hangover. These are the moments that tell you who you really are, leaving you exposed to your own darkness.
I found that out about myself. No one ever imagines themselves in this position. You’re not prepared. No amount of self-defense can prepare you for the shock that is the next morning, waking up in a bloody mess, knowing you’ve been sexually assaulted.
I can’t even say it out loud. I won’t. I refuse to do it. It makes it real, and I don’t want it to be real. I want it to be some horrible nightmare that I can wake up from.
But it’s not.
It’s the middle of the night. I’m sitting on the floor of my shower, the water finally not running pink anymore. My face feels puffy from crying as I carefully wash the wounds, the soap burning. I wince and then stand up before the water turns cold. Sitting here won’t accomplish anything.
I look down at the mark on my left breast, swollen and purple. The definite outline of teeth, broken skin, tender to touch. It’s not the only place I’m hurting, but it’s the only one I can easily see. The only one I can’t really hide from. It’s a slap in the face, a calling card from someone I can’t remember. A face that won’t ever haunt my dreams.
So, what do I do now? It’s about 4:00 a.m. Do I call someone? The police? My friend Lily? My husband? Maybe Alex? Surely she would believe me.
I blink away tears, dipping my head back into the hot spray to wash the blood out of my hair.
No, I won’t tell anyone. It’s too embarrassing. Too humiliating. This big foreboding thing happened to me. What they warned us all about. My drink was tampered with, and someone hurt me. I broke the rules, and I got this for it.
I should have listened, I suppose.
I feel sick knowing what someone did to me while I was asleep. Or was I? Maybe I did fight and just can’t remember. I’d fight, surely. I wouldn’t just lie there and take it, right? The thought gives me some minimal sliver of peace, like passing through the eye of the hurricane—you know it’s not real, not the end, but you relish it just the same.
By the time I get out of the shower, I realize I haven’t really slept. My alarm will go off at seven for work so I can catch the bus and be on time for the morning meeting. I could get three hours of sleep before that, maybe.
I shut off the water, suddenly a bit afraid. Knowing someone was here gives me the creeps. Makes me wish I’d gotten that gun Ricky tried so hard to get me to agree to, the one I refused. I wouldn’t give in, fearing some horrible accident. He kept his locked up, and I never bothered to learn to shoot. He begged to teach me, tried to get me to hold his Glock to “get the feel of it.” Nope. Now I regret it.
In the months I’ve lived here, I haven’t been afraid to be on my own until now. Someone got to me. I’m without defense in my own home.
***
Excerpt from Carnal Knowledge by Rachael Tamayo. Copyright 2020 by Rachael Tamayo. Reproduced with permission from Tangled Tree Publishing. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
International Amazon bestselling author Rachael Tamayo is a former 911 emergency operator and police dispatcher. After twelve years in those dark depths, she’s gained a unique insight into mental illness, human behaviour, and the general darkness of humanity that she likes to weave into her books. A formerly exclusive romance author tried her hand at thrillers in her award-winning novel, “Crazy Love,” and loved it so much that she decided not to turn back. Born and raised in Texas, Rachael lives in the Houston area with her husband of almost fifteen years, and their two young children.
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 Rachael Tamayo. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on July 11, 2020 and runs through August 16, 2020. Void where prohibited.
Britney King has done it again in her psychological thriller, The Book Doctor. The Prologue smacked me in the face, made me duck and cover, and had me rapidly turning the pages to find out what in the hell is going on.
George is a writer with a book deadline months past due and a wife with severe mental issues and the story takes off. It quickly becomes a twisted mess and I’m wondering what is going on with Liam. And his wife? My head is spinning.
George is living in hell.
A terrifying look into the life of a mentally disturbed woman and the man who cares for and keeps both of them safe. An impossible task, I believe.
Great job, Britney. You had me til the end and what a wild ride it was. I went down the path you led me and walked into crazy town. You had me questioning the characters actions, feeling something was a little bit off, and I never saw the ending coming.
I love books with serial killers and this led me down a murky path. The pacing kept me turning the pages, having to know what comes next. I can highly recommend every book of hers I have read.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Book Doctor by Britney King.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
From the bestselling author of The Social Affair and HER comes a riveting new thriller about a writer desperate to make a comeback who realizes that success may cost more than he can afford to pay when a stranger arrives at his door.
George is bitter. As he should be. Once a household name, George is dying to make a comeback, and death may be the only option left to get the public’s attention. Ask anyone, his life is unraveling at the seams. Meanwhile, his new apprentice is everything he is not.
The enigmatic man his publisher sends to help is young and ambitious, with looks that could kill, and possibly do.
When George discovers that his apprentice’s talent extends beyond fixing broken plots, that his winning formula may, in fact, be a result of making the crimes in his novels come to life, George has to ask himself how much he is willing to overlook to achieve mainstream success.
Perfectly paced, The Book Doctor is an electrifying psychological thriller about a life’s work, obsession, and the dangerous places ambition can take you. Full of enough tension and twists to make even the most seasoned suspense reader break out in a cold sweat, it keeps you guessing until the very last page.
ABOUT BRITNEY KING
Britney King lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, children, two dogs, one ridiculous cat, and a partridge in a pear tree.
When she’s not wrangling the things mentioned above, she writes
psychological, domestic and romantic thrillers set in suburbia.
Currently, she’s writing three series and several standalone
novels.
The Bedrock Series features an unlikely heroine who should have
known better. Turns out, she didn’t. Thus she finds herself tangled in a messy,
dangerous, forbidden love story and face-to-face with a madman hell-bent on
revenge. The series has been compared to Fatal Attraction, Single White Female,
and Basic Instinct.
The Water Series follows the shady love story of an
unconventional married couple—he’s an assassin—she kills for fun. It has been
compared to a crazier book version of Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Also, Dexter.
Around The Bend is a heart-pounding standalone, which traces the
journey of a well-to-do suburban housewife, and her life as it unravels, thanks
to the secrets she keeps. If she were the only one with things she wanted to
keep hidden, then maybe it wouldn’t have turned out so bad. But she wasn’t.
The With You Series at its core is a deep love story about
unlikely friends who travel the world; trying to find themselves, together and
apart. Packed with drama and adventure along with a heavy dose of suspense, it
has been compared to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Love, Rosie.
The Social Affair is an intense standalone about a timeless
couple who find themselves with a secret admirer they hadn’t bargained for. For
fans of the anti-heroine and stories told in unorthodox ways, the novel
explores what can happen when privacy is traded for convenience. It is
reminiscent of films such as One Hour Photo and Play Misty For Me.
Without a doubt, connecting with readers is the best part of this
gig. You can find Britney online here:
To get more– grab two books for free, by subscribing to her
mailing list at britneyking.com or just copy and paste bit.ly/britneykingweb
into your browser.
