Author Archives: fundinmental

Giveaway – Blah Blah Blah by Dan Hill & Howard Moskowitz @emotionswizard @iReadBookTours

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Join Us for This Tour from  September 27 to October 15

Book Details:

Book Title:  Blah, Blah, Blah: A Snarky Guide to Office Lingo by Dan Hill & Howard Moskowitz
Category:  Adult Non- Fiction 18+, 147 pages
Genre: Humor (Business)
Publisher:  Sensory Logic, Inc.
Release Date: September 15, 2021
Tour dates: September 27 to October 15
Content Rating:  PG. OMG and a few references to sexual harassment, etc. Quite mild.

Book Description:

Need a laugh to get through your workday? You’ve come to the right place. Ambrose Bierce’s classic The Devil’s Dictionary took on life in general. Now a century later, it’s time to lampoon the business world. There’s no richer target than being told to think outside the box by leaders spouting off about synergy, teamwork, and innovation while at the same time exhorting you to stay in your swim lane. If as famed business guru Peter Drucker writes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” then we’ve been asked to eat a dog’s breakfast at work for far too long! A little truth in every joke. Join the fun as the two lead authors and 50 other contributors offer their humorous take on how the workplace really operates. With almost 600 diabolical definitions to enjoy, you’re sure to find plenty to smile about.

 Buy the Book:

Amazon

 

Meet the Authors:

Dan Hill, PhD, is the author of nine books, including Emotionomics, which was an Advertising Age top 10 must-read selection and features a foreword by Sam Simon, co-creator of The Simpsons. In 1998, Dan founded Sensory Logic, Inc. whose clients represent over 50% of the world’s top 100 advertisers. Besides having spoken to audiences in over 25 countries, Dan has had media appearances ranging from ABC’s “Good Morning, America” to NBC’s “The Today Shows,” CNN, Fox, MSNBC, ESPN, and the Tennis Channel. Dan was also a regular guest on PBS’s “Mental Engineering” show, hailed by Bill Moyers as “the most interesting weekly half hour of social commentary and criticism on television.” In print, Dan has received front-page coverage in the New York Times for his work in pro and NCAA Division 1 sports and was a non-partisan columnist for Reuters during the 2016 presidential race. Nowadays he hosts the podcast “Dan Hill’s EQ Spotlight,” which appears on the New Books Network (NBN), the world’s largest book review platform with over 1.7 million downloads monthly. Dan was educated at St. Olaf College, Oxford University, Brown University, and Rutgers University.

Howard Moskowitz is a legendary product market researcher, experiential psychologist, and inventor of world-class market research technologies used by virtually every company that matters. Howard earned his PhD in experimental psychology from Harvard University. In 2004, he was the subject of a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell, “The Ketchup Conundrum,” which became the basis for Gladwell’s TED talk entitled “Choice, Happiness, and Spaghetti Sauce.” In 2014, Howard founded Mind Genomics Associates to investigate how people think about aspects of their daily lives. In addition to over 400 scientific articles about the minds of consumers, Howard has written/edited 28 books, a roster that features the very popular book Selling Blue Elephants.

connect with the authors: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram 
Tour Schedule:

Sep 27 – Working Mommy Journal – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 27 – Cover Lover Book Review – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 27 – Kam’s Place – book spotlight
Sep 28 – Books for Books – book spotlight
Sep 28 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post giveaway
Sep 29 – fundinmental -book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 30 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 1 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 2 – Celticlady’s Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 4 – A Mama’s Corner of the World – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 5 – The Adventures of a Traveler’s Wife – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 6 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 7 – Rajiv’s Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 7 – Gina Rae Mitchell – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 8 – Hall Ways Blog – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 11 – Westveil Publishing – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 12 – Writer with Wanderlust – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 13 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 14 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 14 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 15 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Enter the Giveaway:

BLAH! BLAH! BLAH! A SNARKY GUIDE TO OFICE LINGO Book Tour Giveaway

 


 

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

It’s The End Of The Line for Dead Meat…Day 9 by Nick Clausen @NickClausen9

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Nick Clausen has done an amazing job with the Dead Meat series and I am totally invested in sticking with it til the end to see how he wraps it up. That being said, I have my fingers crossed that my favorite characters will still be alive when it is all said and done.

Dead Meat - Day 9: A Zombie Apocalypse Thriller

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Well, this is the final day of the zombie apocalypse and I have had my fingers crossed that my favorite character, Dan, will make it to the end. TODAY, his mission is to find his father. Will he be dead dead? Will he be a zombie, making it possible for Dan to cure him?

I can picture Dan with the water gun. How about having a little fun in zombieland?

As we near the end of our journey, Nick Clausen has never failed in the world building and dangerous times…and it is nail biting, spine tingling, with characters to love and hate. He kept me on my toes with the pacing and suspense as I wondered who he would kill off next. Would be favorite characters(s) be left alive when their journey ends?

My rating: I have been doing so much reading since Covid entered our lives that I think my ratings have changed and it is even harder to get my attention, keep it, and make me race through the pages…because I HAVE TO KNOW! Nick Clausen was able to do that with Dead Meat: Day 9. This series has been unpredictable and unputdownable and five stars is well deserved!

Now, I’m curious…what’s next Nick?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Dead Meat: Day 6 by Nick Clausen.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

The dead have awakened. The world is ending. This is the final day.

Here comes the thrilling conclusion to the Dead Meat series. Find out who makes it through and who doesn’t—and whether mankind can still be saved from the undead who have by now taken over most of the world.

But zombies aren’t the only thing threatening human lives, as the world is standing at the brink of all-out nuclear war …

ABOUT NICK CLAUSEN

Born 1988 in North Jutland, where I still live with my wife, who also happened to be my earliest childhood girlfriend. From 2017 I have lived as a full-time writer. Up until then, I had different jobs beside the writing. I have been studying as a carpenter for three years, and have also read two years of psychology at Aalborg University. It turned out that the writing had a much more powerful pull on me.

Nick Clausen

I decided early on that I would be an author when I grew up. In fact, the decision came to me already when I read my first book, Snevampyren by Dennis Jürgensen. My first “real” stories I wrote at 14-15 years of age. They were rejected by the publisher, but still got praise. There were some years when I was busy with being a teenager and trying to get an education before I suddenly remembered that I should be an author.

That day I made a promise to write 1,000 words a day until I got a book published. I sat down and started writing. I continued to write every single day for a year and a half. I sent the finished manuscripts to different publishers, and the rejections piled up. Twelve of them by the end. But each time I could feel it was a little bit better. The criticism became more positive. The thirteenth story was called Tidevandet, and it was adopted by the publisher and came out a year later.

I have always enjoyed writing, although in the beginning I put a lot of pressure on myself. My approach to the process has become much more free over the years. For example, I no longer plan my stories. That way, I feel that I’m experiencing the story while writing it and the characters feel like real people. I do not know where the ideas come from, but I’ve never had trouble finding them.

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

MY NICK CLAUSEN REVIEWS

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – Lost and Found by Ronald L Ruiz @RonaldRuizauthor @iReadBookTours

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Join us for This Tour:  September 20 to October 8
 
Book Details:
 
Book Title:  Lost and Found by Ronald L. Ruiz
Category: Adult Fiction (18+), 292 pages
Genre:  Literary
Publisher:  Embajadoras Press
Release date:  June 2021
Content Rating:  R – Includes f-words and profanities throughout, one sex scene
 
 
Book Description: 
 
When community leaders began to doubt Abel Mendoza, the law practice he had spent years building began to crumble. It was the 1960s and there was but a handful of Mexican lawyers in California. Abel had worked tirelessly to earn respect in the courts, avoiding any semblance of a personal life to achieve his goals. Now, his personal and professional lives had collided and he found himself being rejected by the community that had previously supported and admired him. His fears of inadequacy kindled, Abel began to question who he really was, what he did, and where he belonged. A desire to avoid these questions and the people who had provoked them sent this small-town lawyer on a trip to escape not only his community but his own self-doubts, and into a relationship that changed his life completely.
 
Buy the Book
Amazon
add to goodreads
 

Meet the Author:

Ronald L. Ruiz is the author of a memoir and six previous novels. His novel Giuseppe Rocco (1998) received the national literary prize, 1998 Premio Aztlán Award, and his novel Life Long (2017) was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2017. His work has been compared to Richard Wright’s Native Son (Publisher’s Weekly, featured review) and his writing described as “frighteningly real” (New York Newsday). Ron was born and raised in Fresno, California, and educated at St. Mary’s College, University of California, Berkeley Law, and University of San Francisco School of Law. Ron practiced law for over 30 years in California, as a Deputy District Attorney, criminal defense attorney, and Deputy Public Defender. He was appointed to the California Agriculture Labor Relations Board by Governor Jerry Brown in 1974, and later served as the District Attorney of Santa Cruz County, California. Ron retired from criminal law and continues to write every day.

Connect with the Author:  website ~ facebook ~ goodreads 
 
Tour Schedule:

Sep 20 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / giveaway
Sep 20 – Gold Dust Editing & Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 21 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway
Sep 21 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 21 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Sep 22 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review / giveaway
Sep 23 – Sadie’s Spotlight -book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 27 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – book spotlight
Sep 28 – fundinmental – book spotlight / giveaway
Sep 28 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 29 – Kam’s Place – book spotlight / author interview
Sep 30 – Rajiv’s Reviews – book review / giveaway
Oct 1 – Just Another Reader – book review
Oct 5 – wottaread – book spotlight / author interview
Oct 6 – Books for Books – book review
Oct 6 – @twilight_reader – book review
Oct 7 – Review Thick & Thin – book review / author interview
Oct 7 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Oct 8 – Adventurous Jessy – book review / giveaway

Enter the Giveaway:
 

LOST AND FOUND Book Tour Giveaway

 


 

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Music Monday – Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell @jonimitchell

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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

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Sherry’s Shelves – 9.19 – 9.25.21 #thesundaypost #thesundaysalon

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Sunday Post

Hi Everyone. The weather seems to be cooling down a bit, but when I worked in the yard I ended up getting over heated within an hour. This getting old shit sucks. I remember drinking, partying, and hanging on the beach all day long. Now…I don’t remember the sun being so intense and the temperatures so high. I will keep plugging away in the yard because I enjoy it and it gives me something to do and a reason to be outside, but I will consciously take more breaks… in the pool. Can’t live in the pool, but sure can visit it a lot. LOL I have been reading so much this past year and a half that I think it is affecting my enjoyment and ratings of books. Is that because I expect…want…more from the authors after reading so many books? Am I getting burnout? Who the hell knows.

Stay safe.

LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

COMING UP ON fundinmental

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Music Monday
  • Giveaway – Lost and Found by Ronald L Ruiz
  • It’s The End Of The Line For Dead Meat by Nick Clausen
  • Giveaway – Blah Blah Blah by Dan Hill & Howard Moskowitz
  • Review – Sarana And The Dark King by Ivy Keating
  • Books From The Backlog
  • Tackling The TBR
  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway – A Plague Among Us by Deb Pines @pinesdeb @partnersincr1me

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A Plague Among Us

A Chautauqua Murder Mystery

by Deb Pines

September 1-30, 2021 Tour

Synopsis:

A Plague Among Us by Deb Pines

When Al Martin, the editor of a satiric newspaper in Chautauqua, N.Y., reportedly dies of COVID-19, the local consensus is: good riddance.

A sister suspects foul play. She wonders why Al was cremated in a hurry.

The police stay out of it.

So it takes reporter and relentless snoop Mimi Goldman to try to find which of Al’s haters— including an estranged wife, three bitter siblings, a secretive caregiver, old enemies and the many targets of Al’s poison-pen sarcasm—might be a ruthless killer.

The novel, No. 8 in a series called “an Agatha Christie for the text-message age,” once again offers page-turning suspense. Wit. And the unforgettable setting of Chautauqua, a quirky, churchy, lakeside, Victorian cottage-filled summer arts community that launched an adult-education movement Teddy Roosevelt called “the most American thing in America.”

Kirkus Reviews calls A Plague Among Us “an intriguing and engaging crime tale” and “enjoyable novel” with “captivating characters.”

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery
Published by: KDP
Publication Date: July 1, 2021
Number of Pages: 280
ISBN: 979-8525017368
Series: Mimi Goldman Chautauqua Mysteries, Book 8 | Each book can be read as a Stand-Alone Mystery
Purchase Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Mimi and Sylvia were on the road again, heading to the Tissue Donor Center in Jamestown to chase Winston Suarez.

The center wasn’t far from the Loves’ funeral home. But this time Google Maps was directing them to take the highway, not back roads.

They started out the same way, heading west on 394, passing the same early landmarks: the Institution’s empty parking lots, busy golf course and We Wan Chu Cottages.

“So what’s new?” Sylvia asked.

“Too much,” Mimi said. “It’s crazy how I keep learning stuff without seeing how any of it means anything.”

“Because the medical examiner still hasn’t called?”

“Uh-huh.”

Sylvia sighed heavily. “Maybe he’s just as difficult as his dad.”

Tom Love Sr., in Mimi’s opinion, wasn’t difficult. All he had done was stand up for his son before Sylvia picked a fight with him. But Mimi let it go.

“Well, one thing I’ll grant the older one,” Sylvia said.

“What?”

“He’s above average in the looks department.”

Mimi chuckled.

“What?”

“I thought you’re done with all of that nonsense.”

“I am.”

Sylvia moved to the left lane to take the ramp onto Route 17/Interstate-86 East and floored it.

“Whoa, hey,” Mimi said. “Mario Andretti, slow down.”

“Okay, okay,” Sylvia said. “Just had to get us on the highway.”

Sylvia slowed down to fit into the slow lane, sticking behind a FedEx truck going a steady 70 miles an hour.

Mimi filled Sylvia in on what she had heard from Shannon about Liam and Patrick. Their denials of knowing anything about the pranks. Their claims the decisions to have no autopsy and a quick cremation were just expedient—so Patrick could get home.

“So what time does Winston Suarez get off work?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s 5.”

Mimi had reached Winston once, described why she was calling. He got quiet, then hung up. After that, she called Winston and never reached him—leaving something like five or six messages.

They stayed on the highway about ten miles before taking the Jamestown airport exit, then winding around a maze of city streets until signs with a big “H” led them to the UPMC Hospital campus.

“Hopefully,” Sylvia said, “we’re more irresistible in person.”

The Tissue Donor Center was one of many outbuildings with medical-sounding names surrounding the redbrick main hospital.

Some were done in their own architectural style. Most, like the Tissue Donor Center, imitated the low-slung, redbrick design of the hospital, down to having a white number (for their address) and a primary-colored letter on their sides.

The letters were explained on campus signs. Building A was the main hospital. Building B, the signs said, was Outpatient Svcs. C was the Sherman Medical Bldg. D was Imaging & Medical Bldg. E was Physical Therapy, Pharmacies. F was the Tissue Donor Cntr.

Sylvia zipped past the early letters of the alphabet, slowing at F, the Tissue Donor Cntr. The main door had its name above it, an intercom to the right. Near the curb, another sign said, “No Standing any time. Ambulance Lane.”

They didn’t see any ambulances, but Sylvia decided to wait for Mimi anyway in a parking lot across the street.

“Break a leg,” Sylvia yelled as Mimi got out.

Mimi laughed.

If she did break a leg, no question, this was the place to do it. Her limb could be X-rayed at the Imaging Bldg.(D) and then set at Outpatient Svcs. (B).

At the door of the Tissue Donor Center, Mimi knocked.

“Who is it?”

The woman’s voice, through the intercom, was familiar.

“My name is Mimi Goldman,” Mimi said. “And—”

“Let me guess? You’re looking for Winston?”

Mimi laughed. “I guess I’m pretty predictable. Is he here?”

“He is. This is Hannah, by the way. We keep speaking on the phone. Why don’t I see if he’ll come out?”

Mimi had high hopes. How hard would it be for Winston to take a few steps to walk outside and see her?

On the other hand, blowing her off might be easier.

When she heard a ping, Mimi examined her phone. Sylvia, after coaching from her grandkids, texted like a teenager.

Wassup?

I asked for WS and someone said they’d get him. Just waiting.

kk

Standing there, Mimi went through her email. Then she switched to her latest word game addiction: Spelling Bee in The New York Times.

Players have to make the most words, four letters or longer, from seven given letters, including one letter that had to be used in every word. The words that day had to be made from BLWCHAE, with all using an E.

Mimi started with the obvious ones: BLEACH, BLECH, BEACH, EACH, LEACH, LECH. She was moving on to trickier words when the center’s door swung open.

Out stepped a tall, handsome, dark-featured young man in a white surgical mask and blue scrubs with the name SUAREZ above his shirt pocket.

“I don’t know who you are,” he said. “I don’t know why you keep asking me about this case, but . . . I’m pleading with you to drop it and just go.”

Mimi had expected an asshole, too lazy or too self-important to talk. Not a frightened young man.

“Can you say why?” she asked. “I have no idea why this case is at all sensitive.”

Winston shook his head.

“How about off the record? You have my word that I’d never tell anyone you ever spoke to me.”

“Sorry,” he said. “I can’t risk losing my job.”

***

Excerpt from A Plague Among Us by Deb Pines. Copyright 2021 by Deb Pines. Reproduced with permission from Deb Pines. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Deb Pines

Deb Pines, an award-winning headline writer for the New York Post, is the author of seven Mimi Goldman novels and one novelette all set in the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York where they are top sellers.
A former reporter, Deb is also a lover of puns, show tunes and indoor cycling. She lives in New York City with her husband Dave.

Catch Up With Deb Pines:
DebPines.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @debpines
Instagram – @pinesdebbie
Twitter – @pinesdeb
Facebook – @deborah.pines.9

 

 

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 Deb Pines. There will be 2 winners who will each receive one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card (U.S. ONLY). The giveaway runs September 1 through October 3, 2021. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

 

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Tackling The TBR – 9.18 – 9.24.21 #tacklingthetbr

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I got the idea and the motivation to start doing Tackling The TBR 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, from Carole’s Random Life in Books, to tidy up my shelves. 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.

Previous Total: 2217

Currently Reading

For my leisure reading, I have been going through my TBR and once I choose a book, I look for any other books of the author’s hanging around on my Kindle. I have been having trouble with Rook by J C Andrijeski. I have just read a lot of her books, so maybe they are running together and affecting my enjoyment. It is going to linger on my currently reading shelf until I decide whether to finish it or DNF. I hate to DNF, but with sooooo many books out there, what’s a bookworm to do?

Books Read

Golem has a fabulous cover and will be published on 10.5.21. I don’t see it on Amazon…yet, so you can check it out on Goodreads by clicking the cover. Same for Malignant, which will be published 10.25.21

Golem
Malignant

Books Added: 0

Books DNF-ed: 0

Books Deleted: 0

Duplicates Removed: 2

New TBR Total: 2216

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
  • If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?
  • Look on the right sidebar and let’ talk.
  • Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.
  • I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.
  • Thanks for visiting fundinmental!



New Release – The Silent Witness by Carolyn Arnold @Carolyn_Arnold @HibbertStiles

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Carolyn Arnold sure can write. I do not want to miss a book. She fills her novels with marvelous characters and plenty of thrills and chills to keep me on my toes.

The Silent Witness (Detective Amanda Steele #3)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Carolyn Arnold writes some fantastic stories and the tagline for The Silent Witness is an appropriate description of what’s inside, an absolutely unpudownable crime thriller. The first chapter set the hook and I was along for the ride.

It’s 4:03 am and everyone is asleep…until…

Zoe is only six years old when her parents are murdered. Amanda Steele is called on to handle the case, and she thinks of her daughter, who was Zoe’s age when she died in a car accident, along with her father, Amanda’s husband. She is more determined than ever to keep her safe, she just didn’t picture it happening quite the way it did. It makes things complicated for her, but once she settles into the decision, she never looks back.

Amanda spends more time with her work partner,Trent Stenson, than anyone, though she does have a boyfriend, Logan Hunter. She finds it hard to find a lot of time to spend with him. Isn’t that any cop’s story? Logan is a construction worker and has been through some perilous times with Amanda, but that is another story.

Sherry Hill is the police chief, Amanda’s boss. I love when I find a character with my name. That doesn’t happen very often. I do love that she’s a…not very nice person. Gives her more depth and makes for an interesting character. Why is she like that? And why in the world would she tell the media about…everything?

The clues are slow in coming, but Amanda is determined, diligent, and so am I. The case gets more complicated and more dangerous the deeper we dig.

At the end, Carolyn Arnold asks if the twists and turns glued me to the pages. My answer is an emphatic YES! I expect nothing less from her work and I have read a lot of it. The Silent Witness is a tale that keeps on giving suspense, thrills and chills, with characters that I love and love to hate, and what else could I want, except MORE.

“We just follow the evidence to wherever it leads without being swayed or bullied.”

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of The Silent Witness by Carolyn Arnold.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

It’s 4 a.m. when her mom shakes her awake. “Get up baby, we’re going to play hide and seek.” The little girl presses back into the dark space, holding her breath as she hears the shots ring out. She knows she’s next…

When the bodies of a local family are discovered on a quiet street in the small town of Dumfries, Virginia, Detective Amanda Steele takes charge of the case. Brett and Angela Parker were shot three times each, leaving no hope of survival, and their tidy suburban home has been ransacked. But there is no sign of their beloved six-year-old, Zoe.

Zoe is the same age as Amanda’s daughter was when she died, and Amanda can’t bear the thought of another little girl in danger. She’s organizing a search for the child, when she notices something strange about the ottoman at the foot of the Parkers’ bed. She opens it to find Zoe, mute and traumatized, but alive.

With Zoe completely uncommunicative, Amanda must find another way to untangle what destroyed this seemingly perfect family. It’s clear that the killer is searching for something the Parkers had, and until she has this monster behind bars, Amanda fears that he may return for Zoe. When she learns that Brett Parker cut short the family’s recent lakeside vacation, she wonders why. What happened at that lake house, and did it ultimately get them killed?

Amanda heads out to Lake Chesdin on the feeling it might be key to the case, and when she finds a cell phone in the murky waters next to the Parker cabin, she knows she’s made a breakthrough. But then terrible news reaches her from Dumfries; Zoe has been taken from her school playground.

Someone wants to silence the Parker family for good, can Amanda catch them before the little girl she’s desperate to protect pays the price?

A completely gripping and addictive crime thriller that will keep fans of Rachel Caine, Lisa Regan and Robert Dugoni entertained into the early hours.

ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD

CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international bestselling 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.

Carolyn Arnold

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 and Sisters in Crime.

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:  Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

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.

MY REVIEWS FOR CAROLYN ARNOLD

  • You can see my Giveaways HERE.
  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
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Books From The Backlog – Gone by Adam Light @AdamDLight #booksfromthebacklog

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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.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Gone

Audiobook / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

Greg is having a bad morning. He overslept and is late for work. All he really wants is a good strong cup of joe.
He’s not going to get it.
Things might be going from bad to worse before the day is over…

Take a trip into the Twilight Zone with Gone, also available in the Toes Up collection, by Adam Light.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.35  · 195 ratings  ·  47 reviews

I added Gone by Adam Light to my TBR on 1.24.13. I have read numerous books and short stories by him and his brother, Evans Light. Somehow this short story must have gotten buried. I think you can only get it on audio and in the Toes Up collection. He writes some great horror, and I plan on reading any of his books I have missed, including this one, soon.

I thought I would share Corpus Corruptum by Adam & Evans Light in the same post, seeing I got them on the same day. This is a short read too, and, like Gone, is only available in audiobook format.

The Corpus Corruptum

Audiobook / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

These stories are our mutant children, fever dreamed hallucinations that don’t necessarily fit into any particular genre – no matter how weird they are, we love them anyway.
THE CORPUS CORRUPTUM collection peeks into what happens when the body goes bad, the most universal of all human fears. We hope you enjoy it.

Stories include:

WAY OUT OF HERE, by Adam Light
GERTRUDE, by Evans Light
VENGEANCE BY THE FOOT, by Adam Light
NOSE HEARS, by Evans Light
THE PACKAGE, by Evans Light

Goodreads Ratings: 3.96  ·  26 ratings  ·  13 reviews

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Review – Worlds Apart by Carmen Webster Buxton @CarmenWBuxton #sciencefiction

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I fell in love with Carmen Webster Buxton’s Wakanreo Science Fiction Series, so I am very eager to go on another adventure with her. Carmen….take me away….

Worlds Apart (ThreeCon)

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I have read some of Carmen Webster Buxton’s work, of which her Wakanreo series was my favorite, so far. She builds worlds that are easy to visualize with her creative writing and her characters quickly draw me into their lives, as I struggle right along with them.

We start out with a wild west gunfight, but it’s out on the plain, not at the OK Corral. Out of the sky comes a flash…and Praxiteles’ life is changed forever.

Praxiteles is a Mercouri, an unsophisticated man who lives a primitive life on the plains. The Mercouri are language refuges, colonists who left the city instead of giving up their language. Praxiteles is naive, loyal, trustworthy, and committed to the debts he owes.

I love watching him grow and learn, adjusting to his new circumstances, his new world.

I got lost in the fabulous world Carmen Webster Buxton created with her ability to show me through words the planets and characters. I lived and loved as Praxiteles and Rishi lived and loved. The peripheral characters were as interesting and vital to the story as the principles. I am looking forward to spending more time in their world and am curious to see what will happen next.

Love can conquer all in their world, but it wasn’t easy getting there.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Worlds Apart by Carmen Webster Buxton.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

“Meet cute” is one thing, but “meet dangerous” is something else. Praxiteles Mercouri’s people live a low-tech, nomadic existence on the plains of the planet Celadon. When they are attacked by well-armed merciless marauders, they are saved from annihilation by the timely intervention of a visitor to Celadon, the very wealthy Rishi Trahn. In the ensuing celebration, Rishi overdoes the potent local wine. A sense of duty makes Prax agree to her request that he go with her to her world, Stone cold sober the next morning, Rishi is appalled at her own actions. But while she feels terrible for taking Prax away from his people, she doesn’t feel bad enough to send him back. Now if they can just get past his gratitude and her scruples.

ABOUT CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON

Carmen Webster Buxton

Carmen Webster Buxton spent her youth reading every book published by Ursula LeGuin, Robert Heinlein and Georgette Heyer. This combination of far-future worlds, alien cultures, and old-fashioned courting customs influenced her writing, especially in her ThreeCon series.

Carmen was born in Hawaii and experienced a peripatetic childhood, as her father was in the US Navy. Having raised two wonderful children, she now lives in Maryland with her husband Charlie, and a beagle named Cosmo. She writes science fiction (often including a romance, and mostly set in the far future), and the occasional fantasy.

Carmen has published many books:

WAKANREO SERIES
Alien Bonds
Alien Vows
Alien Skies

HAVEN SERIES
The Sixth Discipline
No Safe Haven

THREECON SERIES (can be read in any order)
The Nostalgia Gambit
Saronna’s Gift
Shades of Empire
Tribes
Worlds Apart

ALTERNATE HISTORY
King of Trees

YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION
Turnabout
Drifters

FANTASY
Where Magic Rules
Bag of Tricks
Hidden Magic

THE NAMELESS WORLD SAGA (coming in 2021)
The North Edge of Nowhere
Oaths and Promises

Carmen often blogs about ereaders, digital publishing, writing, and speculative fiction. Visit her blog to see what’s coming out next! To ask questions or to provide feedback on her books, send email to carmen.webster.buxton (at) gmail.com.

Website / Twitter / Facebook

MY CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON REVIEWS

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  • You can see my Reviews HERE.
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