WhoDunIt – A House of Ruin by Pamela Crane @MentalMommyPam

A House of Ruin

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I first visited Execution House in A Slow Ruin by Pamela Crane. Now, we are going to find out the history, the slaughter of the Eyler family….And, if you were to ask me, I’d say maybe Karma came to bit them in the ass.

Did anyone like the family? The more I got to know them, the more I could understand how such a tragedy came to pass. BUT…who did it? Was it the butler? Was it the maid? How about the mailman? Or…well you get the point. There are so many suspects and so many motives that I wonder how we can ever really know.

Derl comes forward forty years after the execution with, what he believes, to be the answer. Derl had been the one to find them and it had haunted him ever since.

I love books where secrets are exposed. Pamela Crane makes her characters suffer..and I suffer right along with them. She had me going, with all the suspects and all the motives. When people treat others so cruelly, I always wonder how far a person can be pushed before they break.

What about you? With each suspect I wondered what I would do in their situation. It’s some great writing when an author can make me do that.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A House of Ruin by Pamela Crane.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A murder that stole 1982 national headlines: “Renowned Family Slayed in Home.” A case that remained cold for forty long years.

The Eyler family was anything but average. The father a top literary agent and the mother a duchess, they thrived in their prestigious Oakmont mansion surrounded by luxury…and secrets. Secrets that would eventually cost them their lives.

On a cold autumn night, their legacy ended with a grisly massacre in one of the most horrific scenes ever investigated. Soon details splashed across every newspaper of how the family of five lay slaughtered in their library, cursing the mansion as it became branded the Execution Estate. With no witnesses and no motives, the killer remained free. The case grew colder. Speculations grew darker. Answers grew dimmer.

Until now.

Former estate manager, Derl Newman, steps forward four decades later with a suspicion and a clue that could lead investigators to finally solve the puzzle of why a killer would murder a family yet leave the many priceless heirlooms behind. The gardener with a grudge? The bitter butler? The maid hiding her mischief? With insider knowledge of what happened that fateful night, Derl exposes everyone’s darkest secrets that brought this house to ruin.

A whodunnit mystery from the USA TODAY bestselling author of the hit psychological thriller A Slow Ruin.

ABOUT PAMELA CRANE

Pamela Crane

PAMELA CRANE is a USA TODAY best-selling author and professional juggler. Not one who can toss flaming torches in the air, but a juggler of four kids, a writing addiction, and a horse rescuer. She lives on the edge (her Arabian horse can tell you about their wild adventures while trying to train him) and she writes on the edge…where her sanity resides. Her thrillers unravel flawed women who aren’t always pretty. In fact, her characters are rarely pretty, which makes them interesting…and perfect for doing crazy things worth writing about. When she’s not cleaning horse stalls or changing diapers, she’s psychoanalyzing others.

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MY PAMELA CRANE REVIEWS

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Giveaway – Thunderstruck by Wren Michaels @AuthorWren @XpressoTours

Thunderstruck
Wren Michaels
(The Thunderbird Brotherhood, #1)
Publication date: March 10th 2022
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Reseda Juarez is dead. Though she functions as a human, inside she’s an emotionless weapon, trapped between the living and the undead. Cold and unrelenting, she’s used as a super-soldier by the government in a special task force to hunt preternatural beings to the brink of extinction.

One night, five years ago, Kane killed an innocent and his brother lost the love of his life. The aftermath forces Kane to become the alpha of the legendary Thunderbirds. He now must protect what’s left of his family from the tribe of wolf shifters who ripped them apart.

When Reseda’s mother is bitten by a wolf, she and Kane are forced to work together to find the Mayan Pul Yah stone to heal her—the same stone that gifted Reseda to the life she now lives. But the journey is riddled with more than wolves, also searching for the stone. Something strange happens to their powers when they’re together, and they struggle to fight the intense attraction between them. The deeper they go, the more secrets unravel, until love is the only thing that can defeat an enemy no one saw coming.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Kane turned, thrusting his hands in the air. “I don’t even know who this Reseda is. How am I supposed to find her?”

“I’m sure I have a picture of her around here somewhere. But it’s quite old. She must be in her twenties by now.” Maquinna pressed the last of the herbs into the open wounds along Glenda’s arm and a phone slipped out of her apron pocket, crashing to the floor. The screen flashed with Reseda’s name.

“So, I’m just supposed to shout her name into the woods or something? I’ve got nothing to go on.” Kane stilled. Hair along his arms danced on an electric wave humming in the air around him. Closing his eyes, he inhaled a slow breath.

Adrenaline? No.

Sweat? No.

A scent he’d never encountered before, crisp and pure. Not fear, not heat, nor blood. Yet something distinctly feminine, clouded by wolf.

Kane shot out of the house in a blur. Following the scent, he kicked up speed as he dodged the enormous redwood trunks. The smell of rage and blood lust covered the faint scent of the female. The wolves had closed in on whoever it was. Triumphant howls rang out from the forest floor, and Kane zeroed in on the sounds.

Hair, long and dark as midnight, shone beneath the shimmer of moonlight as he caught sight of her. The same four wolves that he rescued Glenda from now chased this female, Castos out in front. She glanced over her shoulder, and for a moment Kane swore he caught a smile on her face before terror flickered in her eyes and she turned back around, increasing her sprint.

The thought disturbed and distracted him. He didn’t have time to transform into the Thunderbird as he caught up to one of the wolves. Continuing his chase, he stiffened his forearms and the edges of his tattoos lit up. A streak of lightning flashed from the ink, splitting the wolves’ path down the middle, singing the paws of two as they flipped over, rolling down the rim floor.

Castos glanced behind him. His yellow eyes pulsed blood-red as he released an ear-splitting howl catching sight of Kane. The wolf launched himself into the air, toppling the female to the ground. Kane leaped headfirst for the other wolf, barreling him to the Earth in a plume of dirt and pine needles. He gripped the creature by the head and twisted it in his hands, snapping its neck.

Castos walked around the female face down in the dirt, glaring at Kane from a distance. “You’ve now made yourself a true enemy, Kane. This was not your business.”

“What happens on my land is my business, Castos. Let the girl go.”

Castos howled with laughter. “You sound an awful lot like your father. Those same words got him killed.”

Rage boiled beneath Kane’s skin. Curling his fingers into his palm, the edges of his tattoos once again lit, brighter than before as he channeled everything into his powers. Something blurred to his right, and Kane snapped his focus to find the source of it. Castos released a whimpering growl as he flew through the air, soaring over Kane’s head, landing in a puff of dirt behind him on his back.

Kane whipped his head back to the girl. She stood facing him, bathed in moonlight, arms thrust forward ready to attack. The most intense and haunting blue eyes he’d ever seen flickered between the rays of light and darkness shadowing her face. Kane scrambled up from the ground to a stance, glancing back to where Castos landed, only to find him gone.

He turned back to the girl. “Are you hurt?”

“Are you?” She cocked her head, slanting a hip to the side.

He couldn’t tell if she was confused or teasing. “What kind of question is that?” Why would she ask if he was okay? He was the one saving her. Did she completely miss where he took out three of the four wolves?

“A valid one. I don’t know what happened to the other two, but I saw you tussling with Gage. He’s no easy match. That was Castos’ number one. So, again, are you hurt?” she asked.

“You’re on a first name basis with the wolves?” He sniffed the air around her, stepping closer. “You don’t smell like a wolf.”

“Chanel. It hides everything.” She circled in turn with his steps around her. “But no, of course I’m not a wolf. Thanks for the insult.”

He stifled a laugh. “Many pardons, ma’am.”

“Ma’am? Do I look that old?” Her lips fell into a pout. “It’s the moonlight, isn’t it? And the fact that I forgot to moisturize this morning.”

Kane cocked a brow. Who the hell was this girl making jokes moments after being savagely attacked by not only wolves, but the Alpha? She looked far from old. Dark hair that could rival the finest silk draped her shoulders, almost as long as his own. Olive skin that shone flawless under the light of the full moon was only put to shame by those stunning eyes.

Kane stepped back. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“You hesitated. I do. I look old.” Her shoulders slumped as she folded her arms. “I’m too young to use night cream.”

Kane shook his head. “What the hell are you talking about? You just got jumped by a pack of wolves and you’re worried about wrinkles?”

Author Bio:

Wren hails from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin where beer and cheese are their own food groups. But a cowboy swept her off her feet and carried her to Texas, where she promptly lost all tolerance for cold and snow. Fueled by coffee, dreams, and men in kilts, Wren promises to bring you laughter, heart-fluttering romance, and action that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

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  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
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