I love this cover for Dead Eye by Alyssa Day. Any story located in Florida is always on my list, and it looked like such a fun read…free too. Be sure and check for the ‘0’ and pick up a copy for yourself.
With such a great cover and destination, I could not pass on this wonderful paranormal mystery that spotlights a shapeshifter, a tiger to be precise, an I can see how you die pawnshop owner, and an orphan girl, as the danger draws closer the mystery draws them together and I can hardly wait to read more from Alyssa Day.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
For Jack Shepherd, tiger shape-shifter and former soldier, life is heading for a dead end. Dead End, Florida, to be exact. When he learns that he inherited a combination pawn shop/private investigation agency from his favorite uncle, Jack’s first job is to solve his uncle’s murder. Because sometimes it takes a tiger’s eye to see the truth.
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.
Roxanne Rhoads runs Bewitching Book Tours and I have been a host there for years. When I saw she had a book on Instafreebie, I grabbed it. Does that mean we are supposed to review it? Heck I don’t know any more…I downloaded it on 1.16.17 and it was released in October of 2009. Have you read it?
New Orleans. Halloween. Ooooo sounds right up my alley and a bit creepy. I do love to get my creep on. BUT, beware of the heat, this is an erotic vampire love story that burns with passion…but for who?
She was at Quillon’s beck and call. He is a vampire and she is a paranormal researcher, so she knows that all the monsters are real and they do walk among us. She lives a solitary life, carrying her B.O.Bs with her when she travels. Are you curious? Okay, I’ll tell you, but just this one thing and that’s it. Battery operated boyfriends
There were no big surprises for me and I don’t read a lot of erotic stories, but this short was just right and hit all my supernatural buttons.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Eternal Desires by Roxanne Rhoads.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Paranormal researcher Liz Beth’s dreams are haunted by a sensual vampire, who may or may not be real. She arrives in New Orleans the week of Halloween in search of her elusive dream lover, Quillon. She doesn’t find him, but she does encounter a handsome stranger, Christien. They begin a passionate affair, but she is torn between her dream lover and her flesh and blood lover, both of whom are a mystery to her. She fights to regain her reason, trying desperately to find the truth about Quillon while Christien holds her under his own spell.
Due to a reader’s persistence, One Taste of Redemption by Amanda Siegrist was written. She hadn’t planned on giving this cheater his own story, but Newman refused to be silenced. Amanda does her own covers and she can sure pick the leading men.
I have read the entire series, from Book I, One Taste of You, Zeke and Zoe’s story and it has been fun to follow these Sex and the City type ladies, but instead of roaming the city looking for love, it seems to find them through the mysteries they become involved in.
Lately, I seem to find all the notes I take when reading slip by the wayside when it comes time to write the reviews. My mind seems to be in two different places and the characters dictate which scenario will be played out as I type.
Newman…what can I say. He got what he deserved when he cheated and the lies began to run rampant. He doesn’t have very good coping skills, so he tends to act out instead of facing the tough decisions. But…I feel people deserve second chances when they feel remorse. It can be a learning experience, when the offense was done ‘innocently’. He never did it with malice. He was stuck in a corner and panicked…
I love to see a character earn their redemption. None of us are perfect, so why do we expect perfection from others? Something to think about when we are placing blame and judgment on someone else.
We do need some laughs and giggles to help us get through the tough times of kidnapping and danger that dogs the unlucky siblings, Amelia and Adam. Why were they targeted?
Now…I think this will be the last story told in this series and I love the way Amanda Siegrist wrapped it up, especially when she wasn’t expecting the story to be told. Thanks so much to the reader who insisted that Newman needed a chance…All the characters made an appearance, plus we meet a couple of new ones. After all, Newman needs some love too. He just needs a smack upside the head, a young man in need of a role model and the sister who sure could use a hand raising him.
Amanda keeps her novels…pretty clean…and loves her happy endings. Don’t we all?
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of One Taste of Redemption by Amanda Siegrist.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
He lied. He cheated. He lost everything. One missing boy could be his redemption…
Detective
Newman—well, not a detective anymore—wants to be left alone to lick his
wounds after his life fell apart. He can’t blame anyone but himself.
When a gorgeous woman with vibrant pink hair and a sassy attitude knocks
on his door, he doesn’t want anything to do with her. Except Amelia
Benedict doesn’t understand the word no. Her brother is missing. The
police refuse to help because they believe he ran away. But she knows
her brother is in trouble and insists he’s her only hope. He’s
definitely not the right guy for the case. He’s nothing but bad news,
and if Amelia sticks around, he’ll destroy her as he destroyed himself.
Warning:
This novel contains a sexy hero. He’s not a detective anymore, but he
didn’t lose his sexiness. You know you don’t wanna miss his story! Happy
reading!
The entire One Taste series: (Each book can be read as a standalone.) One Taste of You (Book 1): Zeke & Zoe One Taste of Love (Book 2): Ben & Rina One Taste of Crazy (Book 3): Sauer & Dee One Taste of Sin (Book 4): Stitch & Susan One Taste of Redemption (Book 5): Newman & Amelia
ABOUT AMANDA SIEGRIST
Love!
Gimme some love and heaps of romance. I have a sappy heart that just
loves two people meeting, going through the cycles of a relationship,
and ultimately, falling in love. Give me a good book like that and I’m a
happy camper:)
I write contemporary and romantic suspense, but I am partial to suspense. I just love a good mystery.
Besides writing, I love baking, crafts, and baseball…oh, and meeting new people. *smiles*
This is where myself (sherry at fundinmental) and Laura at fuonlyknew tag team authors and their books. We share our reviews and giveaways, giving you two views and two chances to win!
The mind blowing cover for Evil Stalks the Night by Kathryn Meyer Griffith was done by Dawn Dominque. I have read a lot of her books and she never ceases to amaze me with the quality of her writing and her vivid imagination that brings her stories and characters to life.
Ahhhh, summer vacation. The memories. BUT…she felt like she was being watched.
DON’T GO IN THE WOODS! How many times must we be told. LOL
Her terror starts early. What do you see in the woods? Shadows? Flickers of life? Sarah knows what she see all those years ago, though no one believed her. She believes she is in this alone.
I love the feeling of dread that hangs on every word, every sentence, every page. I love that Sarah studies everything about the supernatural that she can get her hands on, preparing for what is to come. She believes in her God and loved her Catholic school days. She walks in both worlds. She is older than her years, strong, determined to keep those she loves safe.
Life had been hard for her, so much pain and loss. She has her son and her brother, Jimmy. Everyone else is gone. She had left, but it called her home and it was time to finish it. They are trapped and I can feel her, gathering herself, preparing to fight to the death. The big question, who will survive. I will be worrying, not just about the evil, but Kathryn Meyer Griffith too. She isn’t afraid to kill off her characters.
At times, the fun dialogue made me forget the danger. That is how good Kathryn Meyer Griffith’s writing is to me. I look at the story as an adventure and I am just along for the ride, and a wild ride it is.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith has the ability to lull me into a sense of complacency even when I know evil is to come. Life goes on in a normal fashion…until, wham, bam…I don’t know how many times I thought I knew what was going to happen or that the end was near, only to be given more, another terror, another event of devastating proportions.
Shades of her true life share some of the pages, but I hope she doesn’t walk the woods at night looking for evil anywhere but in her mind! LOL
Wowed. Amazed. And she broke my heart.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Twenty years ago
psychic Sarah Summers fled from the evil that lurked in the woods behind
her childhood home after it killed most of her family, but a nasty
divorce and financial hardships forced her back when nothing else could.
With her son, Jeremy, she returns to her grandmother’s dilapidated
house and tries to begin a new life. She meets an eligible man, police
detective, Ben, who falls for her, and she prays her fresh visions of
bloodshed and death deep among the dark trees are not true. Then the
murders begin again and Sarah is hurtled back into the same nightmare
that has haunted her her whole life. The evil in the woods is awake
again…and this time it wants her last remaining brother, her son…and
her. With Ben’s and Jim’s help can she defeat it this time…and live?
ABOUT KATHRYN MEYER GRIFFITH
I’ve been a writer for over 48 years now and have had 28
novels and 12 short stories published since 1984. I write horror/romantic
time-travel, suspense, romance, thrillers and murder mysteries. My horror novel
The Last Vampire and my thriller Dinosaur Lake (395 Reviews; 4.1 star average)
were both EPIC EBOOK AWARDS *Finalists* in 2012 & 2014. Kathryn Meyer
Griffith rdgriff@htc.net
* Books here:
http://tinyurl.com/ld4jlow
*Audio: http://tinyurl.com/oz7c4or
Novels
Evil Stalks the Night, The Heart of the Rose, Blood Forged,
Vampire Blood, The Last Vampire (2012 EPIC EBOOK AWARDS*Finalist* Horror),
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), 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*Finalist* 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 Christmas Magic 1959.
Kathryn Meyer Griffith is offering some great prizes. Entry is easy peasy. Each of our blogs is giving you the opportunity to win one of 3 eBooks of her 28 novels, in any format, even a free Audible code of the 27 novels available. Just answer the following question:
Would you go in the woods?
For a second perspective of the book and a second chance to win, check out Laura’s review and giveaway atfuonlyknew.
I have read several of Abigail Owens series and loved them, so when I got a chance to read The Rogue King, the first book in the Inferno Rising series, I had to have it!!!!
Happy Release Day to Abigail Owen and her Rogue King.
Her heroes are some kind of gorgeous. Just take a look at the cover for yourself.
The Rogue King by Abigail Owen (Inferno Rising #1) Published by: Entangled: Amara Publication date: July 30th 2019 Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance
MY REVIEW
She chose her moment to die…to save her children!
It is insta love, which in the dragon world is very acceptable, and Brand has an overwhelming need to help the woman covered in flames.
Kasia has seen him in her visions. She has been waiting for him. Everyone wants her…dragons, werewolves, vampires… for their own reasons, but no one will make her do something that isn’t right for her.
Brand is a rogue, unclaimed by any dragon clan.
Though the theme, dragons and paranormal romance is familiar, the Phoenix is rare and coveted…by me and other lovers of the supernatural world. Even though I know dragon meets girl, falls in love, braves many dangers and lives happy ever after, it’s the bits and pieces that an author like Abigail Owen adds that makes the story special.
The world building makes the scenery and action come to life. The characters are easy for me to remember, because the story engulfed me. At times the dialogue is humorous, helping alleviate the feeling of danger that hovers around the characters. Tons of action and never a dull moment.
I have read several of Abigail Owen’s series and look forward to each and every story she writes. As expected, she gave me a magical love story and new characters to love in her new Inferno Rising series. I have met two of Kasia’s sisters and I think I know who’s story may be next. I can hardly wait.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Rogue King by Abigail Owen.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Kasia
Amon is a master at hiding. Who—and what—she is makes her a mark for
the entire supernatural world. Especially dragon shifters. To them,
she’s treasure to be taken and claimed. A golden ticket to their highest
throne. But she can’t stop bursting into flames, and there’s a sexy
dragon shifter in town hunting for her…
As
a rogue dragon, Brand Astarot has spent his life in the dark, shunned
by his own kind, concealing his true identity. Only his dangerous
reputation ensures his survival. Delivering a phoenix to the feared
Blood King will bring him one step closer to the revenge he’s waited
centuries to take. No way is he letting the feisty beauty get away.
But
when Kasia sparks a white-hot need in him that’s impossible to ignore,
Brand begins to form a new plan: claim her for himself…and take back his
birthright.
ABOUT ABIGAIL OWEN
Award-winning
paranormal and contemporary romance author, Abigail Owen was born in
Greeley, Colorado, and raised in Austin, Texas. She now resides in
Northern California with her husband and two adorable children who are
the center of her universe.
Abigail grew up consuming books and
exploring the world through her writing. A fourth generation graduate of
Texas A&M University, she attempted to find a practical career
related to her favorite pastime by earning a degree in English Rhetoric
(Technical Writing). However, she swiftly discovered that writing
without imagination is not nearly as fun as writing with it.
It’s the end of the Count To Ten series by Jane Blythe and I am so sad to say goodbye to some characters that I have known and loved for a long time. Jane Blythe found me through another, in her word, amazing blogger and I can only say thank you to whoever it was, because I have been loving Jane since 2016 because of them. I eat her books up like M&M candies. If you have tried her work, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, and are a thriller lover, than I recommend you give her a try.
I turn my Kindle on, search for Ten by Jane Blythe, then click the cover with trepidation. I have been following Jane Blythe’s Count To Ten journey since 2016 and I am eager, yet hesitant to begin, wanting to know the end, yet wondering if it will meet all my expectations. Fair or not, I have set the bar high for Jane Blythe…and I am so happy to say that even though I hate to see the journey come to and end, I am very sad, yet satisfied with the end. She not only met my expectations, she exceeded them.
An electrifying beginning and it doesn’t take long for the bodies to start falling and I am fearful of those characters I have come to care so much about.
Tessa…independent, reclusive, strong…she has been through so much, yet Jane is done with her yet. She’s and urban legend.
JANE JANE JANE! You’re breaking my heart. Hope you enjoyed your killing spree.
He sure isn’t what I expected, but now I am even more worried about my family. You have put them through hell, but the horror just keeps on coming. I must be almost as bad as you because I sure do love reading what you write. The darker, the better, and you paint a bleak picture with your words.
I am almost half way in and I cannot begin to guess at what is to come. Whether it’s because I don’t want to know or face it, I would have to stop long enough to think about it…and I can’t seem to do that.
These characters cannot get a break. Maybe it is time to end the series, Jane, while some of them are still standing. I kinda smiled when I typed that. How evil am I? Will any of them find a happy ever after? How will Jane Blythe wrap it up? Will it have a casket or a pretty bow?
NO NO NO! At 85% tears are falling down my face. I am soooo sad.
OH NO! More tears. I finally gathered my self together, thinking the worst is over…
Jane, woman, OMG, you’re killing me…And it’s still not over.
I laughed, I cried. And I want more. Thank goodness, she has a new series coming, Broken Gems and Cracked Sapphire is due for release in February of 2020.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Ten by Jane Blythe.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
They say time heals all wounds.
Tessa
Micah is snatched from her bed in the middle of the night. She manages
to make a phone call to her best friend, the partner of her deceased
police officer husband, before she disappears. Tessa has a complicated
past and as the widow of a decorated cop, there are a long list of
suspects. Retired detective, Skylar Wyatt, is determined to find her and
honor the promise he made to his partner; to protect and care for his
wife should anything ever happen to him.
Then people connected to
Tessa start getting murdered. The cops don’t know who from her past is
targeting her, or if it has something to do with her dead husband’s
cases. With time running out, and more bodies falling, vocations will be
questioned, futures reassessed, and not everyone will survive.
** Warning: Graphic violence and themes of sexual assault/abuse **
ABOUT JANE BLYTHE
Jane
has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark
and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in
because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series,
Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.
When she’s not writing Jane loves to
read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies.
She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears.
She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and
Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!
I would think there is no one in Florida who hasn’t heard of Danny Rolling and seeing I live here, I wanted to know more. A book taking place in a familiar location has that little bit extra.
Serial killers….Nature? Nurture? Born evil? Made evil? We can beat the subject to death, but to me the plain truth is…they made the choice…and they need to pay the price for that choice.
J T Hunter covered all the basics and then some. I want to know what makes the bad guy tick, but will that ever really be known? And what makes a woman want to be his penpal, his fiancee, his wife? Now, that, I will never understand. And that raises the question of rights. Why should we make the criminal comfortable and be treated fairly, when he…did what he did. He didn’t give two hoots in hell, so why should we?
Facts don’t tell the whole story, but how can we believe what comes out of his mouth?
And what about the innocents caught in the crossfire…those accused…their lives ruined? The media has a big responsibility and, all too often, I feel they abuse it. I won’t got into a big rant about them, but just look at the shape of the news delivered to you today via radio and TV and tell me you believe what they say and feel they are covering all the things that are pertinent to your life or just splashing the ugly across the headlines.
A Monster of All Time by J T Hunter is a true story that riled up a lot of emotions and ethical and moral questions. We all have to figure out those answers for ourselves.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of A Monster of All Time by J T Hunter.
4 Stars
SYNOPSIS
The True Story of Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper Ambitious, attractive, and full of potential, five young college students prepared for the new semester. They dreamed of beginning careers and starting families. They had a lifetime of experiences in front of them. But death came without warning in the dark of the night. Brutally ending five promising lives, leaving behind three gruesome crime scenes, the Gainesville Ripper terrorized the University of Florida, casting an ominous shadow across a frightened college town. What evil lurked inside him? What demons drove him to kill? What made him A Monster of All Time?
Book Details: Genre: True Crime Published by: RJ Parker Publishing Publication Date: September 4th 2018 Number of Pages: 304 ISBN: 1987902521 (ISBN13: 9781987902525) Purchase Links:Amazon | Goodreads
Prologue
January 1987
Parchman, Mississippi
The prisoner raged in his lonely cell.
“When they let me out of here,” the prisoner swore to himself, “I’ll make them all pay.”
Years of condemnation and contempt had taken its toll, breaking him down, eroding his spirit, destroying all sense of hope. Now only the anger remained.
~~~~~
Cast into the bowels of Parchman Prison, the notorious Mississippi State Penitentiary, the prisoner had suffered daily torments during his confinement, each day falling deeper and deeper into despair. Raw sewage regularly seeped into his cell through the floor and flowed from a broken drain down the hall, flooding the cramped 8 x 10 feet concrete space with a revolting grey-brown liquid and an unrelenting stench.
Kept in this torturous isolation, his besieged brain had betrayed him, replaying the grievous moments of his life, all of the humiliations and feelings of helplessness, every piercing word, and every raw, painful memory. It was a constant reminder that the world had always been a hurtful place of violence, animosity, and aversion, never one of empathy or understanding.
Desperate to escape the unrelenting torment, he retreated ever deeper into the labyrinth of his own mind, creeping ever closer to madness. It was in that maze of insanity that he found himself. Or rather, something found him.
In the bleak, all-encompassing darkness, something whispered his name.
Faceless and formless, the voice seemed to emanate both from the impenetrable blackness surrounding him and from the shadowy depths of his own consciousness. The voice soothed and seduced him, its language both alien and familiar. It promised the strength to survive whatever nightmares awaited the remainder of his confinement. It offered the tools of revenge for his present condition, for all of the wrongs committed against him in the past, and for the scorn and mistreatment yet to come. Most of all, it promised the power to make others feel the suffering he had so long endured.
Then a name imprinted itself into his brain, uttered from an unseen shape in the darkness, or muttered from the murky depths of memory.
“Gemini,” an eerie voice proclaimed. “I am Gemini.”
At that moment, an infernal compact was crafted, a devil’s contract offering redemption for the damned, a demonic covenant accepted regardless of the terms. Caring nothing for the consequences, the prisoner embraced the assurance of vengeance, pledging revenge for the countless injuries inflicted upon him. Just as a cold, uncaring world had robbed him of his humanity and stolen years of his life, he would take the lives of others in an equal and equitable proportion. A new sense of purpose washed over him, bringing with it a rebirth, a recognition of what he needed to do.
And now he waited, marking the days with hidden malice, the bitter darkness of his cell matched only by the malevolence of his twisted, tainted soul.
ABOUT J T HUNTER
J.T. Hunter is an attorney with over fourteen years of experience practicing law, including criminal law and appeals, and he has significant training in criminal investigation techniques. He is also a college professor in Florida where his teaching interests focus on the intersection of criminal psychology, law, and literature.
JT’s bestselling true crime books include:
Devil in The Darkness: True Story of Serial Killer ISRAEL KEYES
The Country Boy Killer: The True Story of Serial Killer Cody Legebokoff
In Colder Blood: True Story of the Walker Family Murder as depicted in Truman Capote’s, In Cold Blood
Deadly Deception: True Story of Tampa Serial Killer, Bobby Joe Long
Death Row Romeo: The True Story of Serial Killer Oscar Ray Bolin
The Vampire Next Door: True Story of the Vampire Rapist and Serial Killer
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
Enter Giveaway!:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for JT Hunter. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card each. The giveaway begins on July 1, 2019 and runs through August 2, 2019. Void where prohibited.
My thanks go out to Mike Papantonio and a friend, Jeff Weeks. Jeff hosts Conversations With Jeff on WSRE, the PBS station where Mr Wonderful works, so I am able to learn of what’s happening in the world a little earlier than others…sometimes. Sometimes I visit the set to meet an author or sometimes a little something comes my way without me doing anything, like Law and Addiction. Thanks again guys!
Mike Papantonion has done an excellent job in showing how greed and corruption can be carried to such an extreme that bodies are falling by the thousands and towns are dying because of it. Truly horrifying!
Let;s look at it through an attorney’s eye…though it is fiction, I feel Mike Papantonio shares a lot of himself in Law and Addiction.
I am not going to get on a pedestal and rant, but I do not think the media has done a good enough job of covering this epidemic that the United States is facing today. I had heard of it, but kinda shrugged it off, thinking….it would never affect me. Thank goodness it hasn’t, directly, but as I read Law and Addiction so many things were brought to light that I couldn’t just shrug it off any longer. I feel everyone would benefit from reading this and be aware…companies and the government are not always there to help you. It is up to YOU to stay educated and aware of the things going on around you.
Now…to the fiction…we have to have a character, a good guy that has no idea what he is getting into when he tries to make the culprits responsible for his brother’s overdose pay. I love how Jake showed no fear, no hesitation, believing all things are possible. He doesn’t know what he’s in for and that’s a good thing, because he might have stopped before he ever started if he knew what was up ahead.
Mike Papantonio does a good job of showing the process…the legalities…the paper mountains…the brick walls…and the determination and patience necessary to take on Goliath, the ‘American drug cartel’ and ride the Oxy Express (I-75). There is a side story that comes about and more criminals are waiting for their moment to rear their greedy, ugly heads and take advantage of those less fortunate.
Everything really amped up from Chapter 33 on. Blurry, tear filled eyes were happening and I was surprised at that…ya know, this is a legal thriller, not the romantic suspense that I devour. But, it is not dry and boring. It is not all bad and sad, even though Jake is put through hell and I didn’t know if he would make it or not. The characters grow as individuals and as a group, making a family, of sorts. It is not all gloom and doom, we do have some smiles and laughs, love and romance, along the way. All the things necessary for a well rounded life in the thriller world. Law and Addiction read like a true story…even the far fetched parts were plausible.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Law and Addiction by Mike Papantonio.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
One week before Jake Rutledge is scheduled to graduate from law school, he receives the devastating news of the death of his fraternal twin, Blake. What makes this death even more terrible for Jake is that his brother died of a drug overdose. Until hearing of his death, Jake had no idea his brother was even using drugs.
When Jake returns home to Oakley, West
Virginia, he takes a hard look at the circumstances of his brother’s
death. In the five years Jake has been away for his schooling, his
hometown has drastically changed. Because of the opioid epidemic, and
the blight it has brought, many now call Oakley Zombieland. Jake can see
how his town’s demise parallels his brother’s.
Undeterred, the
newly minted lawyer takes on the entrenched powers by filing two
lawsuits. Jake quickly learns what happens when you upset a hornet’s
nest. The young attorney might be wet behind the ears, but is sure there
is no lawyer that could help him more than Nick Deke Deketomis and his
law firm of Bergman/Deketomis. Deke is a legendary lawyer. When he was
Jake’s age he was making his name fighting Big Tobacco. Against all
odds, Jake gets Nick and his firm to sign on to his case before it’s too
late.
ABOUT MIKE PAPANTONIO
Mike Papantonio is a senior partner of Levin Papantonio, one of the largest plaintiffs’ law firms in America, that has handled thousands of cases throughout the nation involving pharmaceutical drug litigation, Florida tobacco litigation, litigation for asbestos-related health damage, securities fraud actions, and other mass tort cases. “Pap” has received dozens of multimillion dollar verdicts on behalf of victims of corporate corruption.
Papantonio
is one of the youngest attorneys to have been inducted into the Trial
Lawyer Hall of Fame. In 2012 Papantonio became President of the National
Trial Lawyers Association, one of the largest trial lawyer
organizations in America. For his trial work on behalf of consumers,
Papantonio has received some of the most prestigious awards reserved by
the Public Justice Foundation, The American Association for Justice, and
the National Trial Lawyers Association.
Papantonio is an author
of four motivational books for lawyers. He is also co-author of Air
America: The Playbook, a New York Times Political Best Seller.
Papantonio
is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show “Ring of Fire”
along with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Sam Seder. Papantonio has
conducted hundreds of recorded interviews with guests, including Dan
Rather, Helen Thomas, Howard Zinn, Arianna Huffington, Mary Chapin
Carpenter, Bernie Sanders, David Crosby, Merle Haggard, Morgan Spurlock,
John Edwards, Bill Moyers, Rickie Lee Jones, Alanis Morissette, Pete
Seeger, Jackson Browne, Chuck D from Public Enemy, Henry Rollins, Ted
Sorensen, and Elizabeth Kucinich. His role on “Ring of Fire” is featured
in the movie, “Jesus Camp,” which was nominated for the 2007 Academy
Award for Documentary Feature.
Papantonio is also a political commentator who frequently appears on MSNBC, Free Speech TV, RT America Network, and Fox News.
Papantonio is married and has one daughter. He is an avid scuba diver and often dives on the Emerald Coast.
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.
Ghost Storm by Jessie Renee was published on 9.3.15 and has sat in my Documents on Kindle for, well, probably, almost that long. Why it took me so long to visit Hidden Bay, I can’t say for sure, but, now that I have, I would like to return again…and again.
I was so happy to visit these wonderful characters and Hidden Bay, where nothing is at it seems and there is a special someone that will help to soothe the lost souls, maybe even find a little romance in Ghost Storm, an engrossing supernatural tale that left me wanting to revisit them.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Melodie thought Hidden Bay was just another stop in her nomadic life. That soon she’d be moving on again.
But
as soon as she arrives, strange things begin to happen. There’s Blake,
the guy who’s so familiar, though she’s sure she’s never met him;
there’s the man who keeps appearing, who may not be a man at all; and
there’s the blackouts.
Except that in the blackness, she’s going somewhere. Somewhere other. Somewhere dark, and wet, and full of pain.
And if she doesn’t work out what it all means soon, it could be too late. For her. For Blake. Perhaps for the whole town of Hidden Bay.
P M Terrell is a very talented author and I have been reading my way through all her books. Whether paranormal or historical, I have loved everyone of them. River Passage has a personal meaning for her and I found it fascinating.
First thing, I would recommend reading this before Songbirds Are Free, which I didn’t do. River Passage is the characters journey to the west, which is based on a true story that revolves around the Donelson Party and Mary Neely, P M Terrell’s ancestor.
The writing brings the story to life, all the danger of the Indians, the rapids of the river, the threat of starvation and anything else you can think of during those times. I cannot imagine what they went through and some of it broke my heart, yet gave me hope and inspiration for those who would not give up.
I have a feeling, if they had an idea of how long their four week trip was going to be, many of them would have chose to stay where they were. I tried to walk in their footsteps through P M Terrell’s words, but I just couldn’t get there as I sat here on my cozy lounger.
P M Terrell continues to entertain and amaze me and I look forward to reading more of her work.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of River Passage by P M Terrell.
5 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The river journey should have taken four weeks. Instead, more than four months after they left, a ragtag group of settlers limped into Fort Nashborough with a harrowing tale. Their journey west had taken them through hostile Indian Territory at the height of the Chickamauga Indian War. They faced constant attacks, near starvation, frostbite, disease and deadly whirlpools. Some were captured… some were killed… and some lived to tell the tale… Based on the true story of the Donelson Party of 1779-1780. Written from the perspective of Mary Neely, who was on the voyage with her nine brothers and sisters and mother. Mary is the focus of the book, Songbirds are Free; also by p.m.terrell and her capture by Shawnee warriors near Fort Nashborough.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
p.m.terrell
is the pen name for Patricia McClelland Terrell, the award-winning,
internationally acclaimed author of more than 21 books in four genres:
contemporary suspense, historical adventure/suspense, computer how-to
and non-fiction.
Prior to writing full-time, she founded
two computer companies in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area. Among
her clients were the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Secret
Service, U.S. Information Agency, and Department of Defense. Her
specialties were in white collar computer crimes and computer
intelligence, themes that have carried forward to her contemporary
suspense.
She has been a full-time author since
2002. Vicki’s Key was a top five finalist in the 2012 International Book
Awards and 2012 USA Book Awards nominee, and The Pendulum Files was a
national finalist for the Best Cover of the Year in 2014. The Tempest
Murders was one of four finalists in the 2013 International Book Awards,
cross-genre category.
Her historical suspense, River Passage,
was a 2010 Best Fiction and Drama Winner. It was determined to be so
historically accurate that a copy of the book resides at the Nashville
Government Metropolitan Archives in Nashville, Tennessee.
She is also the co-founder of The Book
‘Em Foundation, an organization committed to raising public awareness of
the correlation between high crime rates and high illiteracy rates. She
is the organizer and chairperson of Book ‘Em North Carolina, an annual
event held in Lumberton, North Carolina, to raise funds to increase
literacy and reduce crime. For more information on this event and the
literacy campaigns funded by it, visit www.bookemnc.org. She is also the founder of The Novel Business, mentoring authors in the business end and selling of books.
She sits on the board of the Friends of
the Robeson County Public Library. She has also served on the boards of
Robeson County Arts Council, Crime Stoppers and Crime Solvers and became
the first female president of the Chesterfield County-Colonial Heights
Crime Solvers in Virginia.
