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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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
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
Books Added: 0
Books DNF-ed: 0
Books Deleted: 0
Duplicates Removed: 2
New TBR Total: 2216
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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
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.
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.
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.
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
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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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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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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….
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.
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 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.
MY CARMEN WEBSTER BUXTON REVIEWS
Swimming with the Fishes: An Ozarks Lake Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Arkansas
Publisher: BGM Press
Number of Pages: 220
She’s settling into a new life. But when a fishing trip totally capsizes, can she get a friend off the hook for murder?
Elizabeth Trout still feels awkward being back home. Discovering a BFF from her raucous high-school days has become the perfect mom is as weird as staying with her mother while awaiting construction of her new home. But she’s shaken to her core when her newlywed husband and beloved dog are nearly blown out of the water in a dockside explosion which leaves another woman dead … and her bestie is arrested for the crime.
To clear her friend, Elizabeth and her spouse set out to reel in a killer by sifting through the murky depths of small town drama. But between missing money, ominous strangers, and a shady ex-husband, these amateur sleuths net more motives than they can handle.
Can this dynamic detective duo dig up an answer before the big one gets away?
Swimming with the Fishes is the sensational second book in the Ozarks Lake Mystery series. If you like clever couples, delightful lakeside settings, and a rollicking good time, then you’ll love Marc Jedel’s hilarious whodunit.
Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills and sense of humor. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.
For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. As he’s gotten older, he’s encountered more funny and odd people and situations. This has made it even easier for him to write what he knows and make up the rest. It’s a skill that’s served him well, both as an author and marketer.
The publication of Marc’s first novel, UNCLE AND ANTS, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations with people than answering, “marketing.” Becoming an Amazon best-selling author has only made him more insufferable.
Like his characters Jonas and Elizabeth from the Ozarks Lake Mystery series, Marc grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in and around Arkansas. Like his character, Marty from the Silicon Valley Mystery series, Marc now lives in Silicon Valley, works in high-tech, and enjoys bad puns. Along with all his protagonists, Marc too has a dog, although his is neurotic, sweet, and small, with little appreciation for Marc’s humor.
Visit his website, marcjedel.com, for free chapters of novels, special offers, and more.
Author Links
Website: www.marcjedel.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/
Blog: www.marcjedel.com/blog
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL
• Purchase Links: Amazon
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September 8 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
September 8 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST
September 9 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
September 9 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
September 10 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 11 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
September 11 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
September 12 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
September 12 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 13 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST
September 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 14 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
September 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
September 15 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 16 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
September 16 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 17 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – My Journey Back the Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 19 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 19 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
September 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – SPOTLIGHT
September 21 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
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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
Hi Everyone. Not much going on this week. Thank goodness Nicholas went by us and we only got a little wind and rain as it cruised past. It’s been a rough year for those to the west of us and I wish them the best. Nothing we can do when Mother Nature speaks but to button down the hatches and hang on for the ride. Any who…I have been doing so much reading I feel like my eyeballs are screaming for rest. I just can’t seem to help myself. I am hoping, after the rain has passed, to get my hiney outside and pretty up the yard. I know all this sitting is not good for me, for any of us. How about you? Have you set any new physical fitness goals since Covid? I wanted to do some traveling this year, but can’t bring myself to do it…yet. For me, it is time to reset and get ready for next year.
Stay safe.
LAST WEEK ON fundinmental
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