The Corpse with the Garnet Face by Cathy Ace is written along the lines of Agatha Christie, and has Cait, Bud and other quirky characters with long buried secrets searching for answers in this fun cozy, with lots of suspects to muddy the waters and keep the mystery alive.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
The seventh book in the Cait Morgan series finds the eccentric Welsh criminologist–sleuth accompanying her husband Bud to Amsterdam to try to unravel a puzzling situation.
To Bud’s surprise, he discovers he has a long-lost uncle, Jonas, who’s met an untimely death. Bud’s mother assures him Jonas was a bad child, but, from beyond the grave, Uncle Jonas begs his nephew to visit the city he adopted as his home to delve into the life he built for himself there, founded on his passion for art.
With an old iron key as their only clue, Cait and Bud travel to Amsterdam to solve the cryptic message left by Jonas—and to honor the final wishes of a long-lost relative.
Who do you trust when your world unravels and everything you believed is a lie?
For the past fifteen years, The Office of Civilian Safety and Defense has
guarded the public against the rampant threat of terrorism. Teenagers
Tommy and Careen have never known life without Civilian Restrictions.
For them, there’s no social media. No one is allowed to gather in
public places or attend concerts or sporting events. Only a small,
select group of adults have driving privileges, but it’s a small
price to pay for safety.
Now a new, more deadly, terrorist threat looms: airborne chemical weapons
that can be activated without warning. The OCSD is ready with an
antidote to counteract the effects of the toxins. Three drops a day
is all it takes. It’s a small price to pay for health.
The day the disaster sirens signal the dreaded attack, Tommy shares his
last dose with Careen, even though doing so might hasten his death.
It’s a small price to pay for a friend.Follow Tommy and Careen as
they uncover a web of lies and deceit reaching to the highest levels
of the United States government and join an underground resistance
group that’s determined to expose the truth.
“Counteract is a novel for our times, but with a decidedly different plot twist.
Most dystopian thrillers focus on the devastating consequences of the
unleashed virus or poison on society, community, and the individual.
They become character studies of the protagonists and
antagonists.
“Tracy Lawson’s novel asks an even more disturbing question–what if the
real culprit was someone or something we trusted? I thought The
Hunger Games might be the Millennial generation’s version of George
Orwell’s 1984. Now, I think Counteract and the Resistance Series are
more primed to take that spot.”–SR Staley, author of St. Nic,
Inc., and the Tortuga Bay series.
**FREE on Amazon July 17th – 21st, then .99 cents
for the remainder of the tour!!**
“I loved the first book in this series so much that I jumped right into
the second one to continue the adventure. The Resistance Series is
another great YA dystopian adventure that combines elements of
thriller, romance, dystopian, and much more to create a well-rounded
story that is sure to appeal to many readers – it definitely has my
attention.”–TFL Reader, top 500 Amazon Reviewer
Knowledge comes with a price.
Tommy and Careen no longer believe the Office of Civilian Safety and
Defense’s miracle antidote can protect them from a terrorist’s
chemical weapons. After accidentally discovering the antidote’s real
purpose,they’ve join the fight to undermine the OCSD’s bid for total
control of the population.
Being part of the Resistance brings with it a whole new set of challenges.
Not everyone working for change proves trustworthy, and plans to
spark a revolution go awry with consequences far beyond anything they
bargained for.
Tommy and Careen’s differing viewpoints threaten to drive a wedge between
them, and their budding relationship is tested as their destinies
move toward an inevitable confrontation with the forces that
terrorize the nation.
Where does love fit in when you’re trying to start a
revolution?
“Dystopian YA literature needs more writers like Tracy Lawson! Lawson’s lean
writing style and idea-driven dialogue reminded me of the novels of
Ayn Rand, particularly Anthem, but Resist is much faster paced and
holds your attention from the beginning.
“Resist picks up right where the first book, Counteract, leaves off, and
readers are thrown immediately into the action. I also loved the way
Lawson doesn’t give her characters the easy way out–they are forced
to make decisions and suffer the consequences. These are real people
that anchor the story, even if the setting is not.” –SR Staley,
author of St. Nic, Inc. and the Tortuga Bay series
Nationwide food shortages have sparked civil unrest, and the Office of Civilian
Safety and Defense’s hold on the people is slipping. The
Resistance’s efforts to hasten the OCSD’s demise have resulted in
disaster, with Tommy Bailey and Careen Catecher taking the blame for
the ill-fated mission in OP-439.
Both teens struggle to survive the circumstances that force them into the
national spotlight—and this time, they’re on opposite sides. On
the run and exiled from the Resistance members in BG-098, Tommy makes
his way to a Resistance safe house in the capital.
The OCSD is preparing to monitor all under-eighteens with the Cerberean
Link, a device that protects them against hunger and sickness and can
even locate them if they’re lost. Tommy’s now living in close
quarters with Atari, an operative who has been assigned to sabotage
the Link. But does Atari plan to use it for his own
purposes?
Through it all, Tommy refuses to believe Careen’s loyalties have shifted
away from the Resistance, and he’s willing to assume any risk to
reconnect with her. Will they be able to trust each other when it
matters most?
The Explosive Conclusion to the Award-Winning Resistance Series
To Deny Freedom is to Deny the Human Spirit.
Fugitive Resistance fighter Tommy Bailey has come out of hiding to help rescue
Careen Catecher from the clutches of the Office of Civilian Safety
and Defense, where she’s been held and interrogated for information
about the rebel group. The OCSD is poised to launch the Cerberean
Link, a security device that will put all minors under constant
surveillance under the guise of protecting them.
Fearful that OCSD director Madalyn Davies’s bid for control won’t stop
there, the Resistance puts its own plan in motion to sabotage the
Link and oust Madalyn from the directorship. Just when everything
seems leveraged in the Resistance’s favor, treachery, lies, and
long-held secrets threaten to derail it all.
Will even a life together on the run be impossible for Tommy and Careen?
Or will the Resistance’s efforts convince the public to put their
fears aside and demand freedom?
This is a wonderful and enticing introduction to Careen, who is running from her past to start her life anew, and The Resistance Series that reeks of government conspiracy and danger…and I am hooked.
.
3 Stars
“What was our heroine Careen Catecher like BEFORE she became a firebrand
for the Resistance? Well, she was just a normal teenage girl trying
to survive college in the totalitarian state of Tracy Lawson’s
creation.” –review by Patrick Hodges
“Careen is a believable, strong female protagonist who, having survived a
harrowing terrorist attack, is now trying to survive [college] in a
new ‘Quadrant’ where she can’t seem to fit in.” –review by
Candace Williams
A strong heroine is made, not born.
Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her
childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she’s
ready for her life to truly begin.
A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered
home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on
campus, she’s perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test
scores that prove she’s the academic equal of the best students there.
Careen knows she’s tough enough to survive just about anything, but
fitting in with her acquisitive peers—at least on the surface—is
necessary if she’s going to leave the past behind and claim the
stable future she craves.
But her past won’t stay buried. She’s only been at school for a few
weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions
that may put her in danger all over again.
Check out this novella-length prequel to the award-winning Resistance
Series, “a promising new YA series about a totalitarian America.”
Tracy Lawson knew she wanted to be a writer from the time she could read.
In the first grade, she authored sixty-seven contact-paper bound
books through her school’s Young Authors program. Though that pace
proved impossible to maintain, she always intended to be a real
author one day.
While working toward her Bachelor’s degree in Communication at Ohio
University, she studied creative writing with the late Daniel Keyes,
author of Flowers for Algernon. After short stints as a media buyer
and an investigative analyst, she settled into a 20-year career in
the performing arts, teaching tap dancing in Columbus, Ohio, and
choreographing musicals. Though her creative energies were focused on
dance, she never lost her desire to write, and has a non-fiction book
to her credit: Fips, Bots, Doggeries, and More, (McDonald &
Woodward, 2012).
Tracy’s love for writing Young Adult fiction is sparked by all the wonderful
teens in her life, including her daughter Keri, a college student.
Counteract is Tracy’s first novel.
“I’ve been reading this series basically since it first came out, and
honestly I really still love the characters and all of their weird
interactions. As the conclusion to the series, Revolt is
not one of those books that gives you a neatly tied bow on a package
and tells you it’s over. It has twists, turns, and you’re going to be
in for yet another adventure with the Resistance crew.”
“So, this series that I’ve been reading since the beginning is over.
What’s a girl to do? Restart from Book One, of course!”
Can’t Get Enough of the Resistance Series?
Wanna know what happened the night of the car accident that changed Tommy
Bailey’s life forever?
Take advantage of this limited-time offer:
Get a FREE PDF of Shatter: Tommy’s Prequel to the Resistance
Series, which includes a gallery of the amazing artwork
created for the series! This prequel will NOT be available on Amazon.
Here’s how it works:
Purchase Revolt:
Book Four of the Resistance Series on Amazon for $2.99:
The title makes the premise obvious, but Becca has a way of adding bits and pieces, bringing the characters to life, revealing them in all their glory, faults and all, allowing us to share their journey, good and bad.
Graham wanted to know who his father is, but…his mother wasn’t talking.
He heads on vacation with his friends. You know how kids are, looking for something to get into. This time, they had a mystery to solve.
I enjoyed this novella of a young boy, friendship, his insecurities, his need to know, his first love, sweet, hopeful, happy and sad…but I FEEL GOOD at the end.
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Fifteen-year-old Graham has always wanted to know his real father, but his mom won’t share that hidden part of her past. When he discovers an old love letter stashed in her closet, he suspects this clue may lead him to the truth.
While vacationing at the beach, Graham, with the help of his feisty and beautiful friend Violet, searches for evidence of this mystery man.
Will digging up the past lead Graham to find his real father? The secrets he discovers are bigger than he ever expected.
The Father Hunt is a novella-length companion to the Flawed series that can be read alone.
Hello. Meet Felix. He’s a genius. But he is all evil.
Have a phobia. He wants to know about it, then use it against you.
Let me count the ways a person can die.
Each chapter begins with a morbid picture, hinting at the upcoming torture.
Ellie Douglas will take you on a horror trip that may have you squirming in your seat, brushing imaginary critters from your arm, glancing at flickering shadows out of the corner of your eye…then laughing at your silliness. If you weren’t afraid before, you will be now.
You will need a strong stomach…and maybe a barf bucket.
I loved it…but then so much death, torture, blood and guts, that I needed a break. I actually became bored with it. This is killing, just to kill. I love serial killers and I want to know their motivation, the WHY of it. What made this so necessary for him?
And then…it’s just done. I felt lost…
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of Fear Inducer by Ellie Douglas.
3 Stars
They believed their phobias were just nightmares…
They believed Dr Felix Bloom would cure them.
They were…SO WRONG!
“Doctor Felix Bloom is a brilliant psychiatrist and pharmacologist who has
done a lot of good for humanity. But, he has a dark side as a serial
killer of some of his patients using their phobias against them. How
he gets his patients to kill themselves in some bizarre fashions
satiating his greed for death and mayhem you will have to discover.
But, nonetheless, if you love horror, you will love Dr. Bloom’s
methods and madness. Yes, he is as composed as they come, but maybe
more evil than most. He’s charming, considerate with his secretary,
Joanna, and his best friend, a doctor. But, beneath the elegant
exterior rages the thirst for blood as a serial killer.
Without going into the gory details or the method of Dr. Bloom, his patient’s
deaths are spectacularly staged (and gory) and witnessed by the good
doctor. The author does a great job telling why Dr. Bloom is a serial
killer and it may make you feel some empathy for the man. But, that
is a whole chapter worth exploring on your own. I was pleasantly
surprised at the intricate detail of the mind of Dr. Bloom. He’s
smart. Incredibly smart. The book is definitely worth your time. It
has everything a chilling horror novel should have. I would be remiss
if I didn’t mention the author’s other book about a serial killer
named Toxic Desire, which features a female serial killer. Who’s more
evil? Dr. Bloom by far. Why? I won’t spoil the novel for you. Fear
Inducer is more malevolent while Toxic Desire is erotically-charged.
Also, look for the subtlty in Doctor Bloom over the novel. He has a
lot of secrets worth discovering. Excellent book and a welcome
addition to my bookshelf.
P.S. – I forgot something. There are loads if images in the book at the
front of each chapter based on the fear the patient has. Really cool
visuals to put you in the mood for what you are about to read.
“
I’m Ellie Douglas, and like you, I love horror, everything about horror,
the goriest and most gruesome of horrors is the ultimate. I can’t
get enough. So much so that I write horror. That need to be graphic,
and explicit with my horror scenes makes me stand out. I give what I
want to read to others, so now they can enjoy a true horror
story.
I’m not all about just being graphic, I also build characters that the
readers will love and or hate, so they can feel pulled right inside
of the story that they are reading. It gives me so much enjoyment
when I hear remarks like, ‘You made me want to puke,’ ‘I have
nightmares every damned night –thanks,’ and ‘Quentin Tarantino
and Steven King made a baby, YOU!’ when I hear comments like that,
I know then I’ve succeeded, that also pushes me into writing more
and becoming even better.
I’m fun loving, generous and very mysterious. I enjoy spending time with
my family, and have four children to keep the horror writing alive. I
enjoy helping others and volunteer my services to help Autistic
children, I love cosplay and the chance to dress up as a monster,
zombie or some other gritty character is fun, oh so much fun.
I love summer, and well…I hate winter. I live in New Zealand and feel
often too far away from all the cool stuff going on in the world. I
love helping people all the time. I’ve got my hands dipped in a few
things, I write books, but I also make professional book covers for
other authors, I also create adult coloring books and I have a
gambling app that I designed on the apple store 🙂 I’ve always got
a project going, be it writing or creating, that is who I am and I
love it 🙂
My ultimate aim is to give back, paying it forward, to constantly better
myself and give the audience amazing stories. Let me scare you…
I saw the blurb for Soul-Mate and it made me want to know Annabelle’s story. It’s not often I come across a hybrid supernatural and I was curious which would win out, the were or the vampire.
.
The whole town is filled with weres, vampires, and hybrids. Everyone knows they don’t mix, but here they carry on daily life as if they are humans, so don’t forget that they have hidden abilities when you visit.
.
We will have insta-love and I can live with that in the supernatural world. As soon as Shane sets eyes on her, gets a sniff, he knows Annabelle is his Soul-Mate. Not so with her.
.
The erotic, jump in the sack, first part of the book bored me. I never had a chance to connect to the characters before hand…I rarely do this, but I started skimming the pages, wanting to get to the heart of the story. And I found it.
.
Annabelle is a hunter. I guess you could say her and Shane, a werewolf sheriff, have some things in common. They are both out to get the bad guy.
.
We read from two perspectives, his and hers. I like seeing the story that way and Anna Santos did a great job with it.
.
It was hilarious, picturing Shane, spying on Annabelle from a tree, nekkid. LOL
.
I am really interested in Annabelle and Jessica’s friendship. I think there is more to the story than first meets the eye. Annabelle is the serious one and Jessica is happy-go-lucky, love ’em and leave ’em. I really want to know more about Jessica…
.
The slow ‘burning’ start soon gave way to some action, and once it got going, I couldn’t stop. I feel asleep with the Kindle on my lap with just 17% to go. That is the first time that has happened to me in so long I can’t remember. So…stick with it.
.
If I did half stars, it would get 3 1/2, so I am having a difficult time rating this. So…check it out for yourself, if you like hot and sexy, erotic, paranormal reads.
.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of Soul Mate by Anna Santos
.
3 Stars
Annabel is a bad-ass hybrid hunter, seeking revenge from the vampire who
killed her parents and put her brother in a coma. Arriving in a new
town with an undercover identity to protect and the mission to find a
pureblood vampire to save her brother’s life, the last thing
Annabel needs is to fall in love with the sexy, persistent werewolf
who thinks she’s a helpless human in need of a knight in shining
armor.
Shane is a dominant werewolf who also happens to be the local sheriff. He
has almost lost hope of finding his better half. So when his
beautiful soul-mate shows up and rogue vampires try to kill her, he
does what any smart wolf would do: he saves her and takes her home,
hoping to convince her that they belong together.
When sparks fly between them, Annabel has to decide if she tells him who
she really is or runs the other way to protect her secrets.
This is Book One in the Immortal Love Series, and it’s also a great
standalone paranormal romance with a HEA. No Cliffhanger. This story
is steamy, sexy, and a page turner.
Book 2&3 already available with a new feisty heroine.
Jessica is a young and powerful witch on a desperate mission to find her
soul-mate—a hot vampire king who haunts her dreams with steamy
memories of their blissful past life. The problem is that he could
already be dead. To complicate matters further, a psychotic vampire
is after her. He wants the grimoire she stole.
For protection, she can only rely on her best friend’s family. When she
arrives at Affinity, she is brought closer to her goal. But
encountering the man of her dreams is only half the battle.
Convincing him that she is his reincarnated love may prove to be next
to impossible.
Some memories should remain hidden. If unlocked, death will claim Jessica
before her enemy. Although, her survival won’t matter if she faces
a rejection that will shatter her very soul.
Author’s Note: This is the long awaited book 2 of the Immortal Love Series.
Yet, you don’t need to read Soul-Mate to read this one. Book 3,
Spellbound is already published.
Jessica is on the run, but this time she’s evading her own mate so that she
can secure their happily ever after.
Ruthless and biased vampire Alaric put a bounty on Jessica’s head. She’s
the only one who can break his curse—or so he thinks.
The witch isn’t going to wait for him to make his move. She decides to
take matters into her own hands and cooks up a plan to find his
whereabouts and end his reign of terror. With the help of her
friends, they embark on a dangerous mission to find and kill their
ruthless enemy.
Yet, despite the team’s good intentions, their plan can go seriously
wrong and lives might be lost in the process.
This is book 3 of the Immortal Love Series and the continuation of The
Witch and the Vampire King. You’ll need to read book 2 first before
this one. Book 1 can be read as a standalone. Book 4 coming in 2017
Warning: This book contains violent and sexual situations. Reader’s
discretion is advised.
Anna Santos is a Bestselling Author in Paranormal Romance.
She likes to write steamy and happily ever after romances with magical
and complex characters. All her books feature clever, witty, and
strong heroines and dominant males who either get what they want or
get what they deserve.
When she isn’t writing, Anna is considering plot twists for her next novel
or delving into the world of her favorite authors. She loves
superheroes, and she’s a geek at heart. She grew up watching Star
Wars and plotting a way to become a Ninja. She has a fascination for
Chinese Kung Fu movies, and cherry blossom flowers.
She also enjoys writing poetry, watching a good movie, and spending time
with her husband and family.
A tropical island location and murder, I can hardly wait for my journey to begin.
The opening page brought to mind the beauty and wonder of Oahu, Hawaii.
Surfing zero. Dead body one.
Sylvia, literally, bumped into Pono Hawkins, as he hit the surf. But she wasn’t breathing any more.
I love everything about the guy. He’s rough around the edges, loves critters…and the ladies…he served in Afghanistan and even did time in prison, but he is not the bad guy.
Love he’s got a surfing dachshund. Imagine heading off to the beach, two boards strapped to the top of the car, head hanging out of the window, the dog’s head not his, just two ‘guys’ going surfing.
I can visualize that now. Come on. Close your eyes, smell the salty air, hear the crash of the waves and see Mojo, riding the waves, with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging a mile a minute. Mojo even liked to have a drink and a puff or two of Maui Wowie.
I loved the story about Prima, the cat, moving in and taking over.
The trouble began when he decided it was up to him to find Sylvia’s killer himself.
The danger mounts but he can’t figure where it’s coming from. Neither can I, but I do have a list of suspects. My head is spinning as I try to keep pace with him. I am confused with all the misinformation and setup going on.
Mojo…well, I sure didn’t see that coming. and I’m more pissed than ever.
Who to trust? Is everything a lie and everyone a liar? When he talks about vets, marijuana and the government, it makes me angry. We don’t take good enough care of the people who lay their lives on the line for us and we do own them a good life…no matter the cost.
The war talk made me angry but that’s for another day. We are here to solve the murders and expose corruption.
Big government, big business, greed and disregard for natural resources. Could it be the end of Paradise? How can you fight billions of dollars with nothing? How much is someones life worth? I get angry when corrupt government, big business and the greedy people involved think that money is worth more than someone’s life and our environment.
I liked the glimpse of Hawaiian history, the characters and the storyline. The story seemed a little rushed and fell a little flat, but Mike Bond did keep the mystery going and who doesn’t want to visit a tropical island and do a little surfing.
This isn’t my first Mike Bond read and it won’t be my last.
Hang loose.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of Saving Paradise by Mike Bond.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
When a beautiful journalist drowns mysteriously off Waikiki, Hawaii, Special Forces veteran Pono Hawkins, now a well-known surfer and international correspondent for surfing magazines, soon gets embroiled in trying to find out why she died. What he quickly learns makes him a target for murder or life in prison as a cabal of powerful corporations, foreign killers and crooked politicians places the blame on him. Haunted by memories of Afghanistan, and determined to protect the Hawaii he loves from dirty politics tied to huge destructive energy developments, Pono turns to Special Forces buddies and his own covert skills to fight his deadly enemies, trying to both save himself and find her killers. Alive with the sights, sounds and history of Hawaii, Saving Paradise is also a deeply rich portrait of what Pono calls the seamy side of paradise, and an exciting thriller of politics, lies and remorseless murder.
ABOUT MIKE BOND
MIKE BOND has been called the “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC and “one of the 21st century’s most exciting authors” by the Washington Times. He is a bestselling novelist, environmental activist, international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent and award-winning poet who has lived and worked in many remote and dangerous parts of the world. His critically acclaimed novels depict the innate hunger of the human heart for what is good, the intense joys of love, the terror and fury of battle, the sinister vagaries of international politics and multinational corporations, and the beauty of the vanishing natural world.
Just knowing that makes makes me think Trimmed With Murder will be a fun cozy mystery to curl up with on a cold winter’s night…or on the sunny beach and celebrate Christmas in July.
It all starts when Charlie picks Izzy up on the side of the road. Neither one of them wanted to be here, because we all know, in a small town there are no secrets.
Most of the characters are warm and giving…once you get to know them, but there are some with secrets to hide and will cross the line to keep them buried.
I feel bad for Charlie and wonder about the missing years in his life. Where has he been and why is he so different from the person they knew before?
And the murderer…
I know who I feel it could be, but there is also a deeper mystery to be solved…
The Knitting Club knows everyone and everything happening in town, so they figure they should be the ones to find the answers and put the town’s fears to rest, so they began to “walk the road.” I love when a group of small town ladies get it in their heads to investigate a murder. Some times it can be fun, other times…
I love stories located by the seaside. They lend an extra element to the story that makes me want to walk along the shore with this “tight knit” group of friends who care about their town and the people in it.
Trimmed With Murder by Sally Goldenbaum shows us that you can go home again.
Sally Goldenbaum has also included knitting instructions for a sailboat ornament and a recipe for pork tenderloin in Trimmed With Murder
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
All Izzy Chambers Perry wants for Christmas is to keep her brother out of jail—in this holiday yarn from the national bestselling author of A Finely Knit Murder…
In Sea Harbor the holidays mean cozy fires, festive carols, and soft skeins of yarn waiting to become hats and sweaters and scarves. And this year Izzy and the other Seaside Knitters are also knitting tiny ornaments to decorate a tree for the first annual tree-trimming contest.
Their holiday cheer is multiplied when Izzy’s younger brother, Charlie Chambers, unexpectedly arrives to volunteer at a local clinic. He brings with him outspoken hitchhiker Amber Hanson, who is returning to Sea Harbor to claim an inheritance. She quickly reacquaints herself with the area–and forms an unlikely friendship with Charlie. But their bond is shattered when her body is found beneath the undecorated trees on the Harbor Green.
With Charlie a suspect in the murder, Izzy and her fellow knitters step in to uncover the truth. It’s only by peeling away long-buried secrets that they can hope to restore joy to the season, and enjoy the shining lights of the newly decorated trees.
ABOUT SALLY GOLDENBAUM
Sally Goldenbaum is a philosophy teacher, knitter, editor, and the author of more than two-dozen novels.
Who is to say what the future holds and the road to success in Patenting Peter by Jason Werebeloff is twisted and perverted, leading to much anguish in Peter’s life in this eerie, creepy, futuristic, science fiction short story that left me a bit disgusted, amused and thinking, “Am I really paranoid if Someone Is Watching Me?”
3 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB: My wife says the Bureau isn’t watching me. She says there aren’t cameras in my contact lenses. No microphone in the ‘vitamin pill’ they made me swallow on the submarine into Tokyo.
She says I’m paranoid. That I should get off the couch, and find a job.
But there’s a glowing number in the bottom-right corner of my vision. And each time I move, each time I yawn, or slouch, or laugh too loudly, the number ticks upwards.
My wife says the Bureau isn’t watching me.
She would say that. She works for them.
Plunge into Patenting Peter, a psychological sci-fi thriller.
Southern Fried (A Kenni Lowry Mystery) Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series Henery Press (April 4, 2017) Paperback: 252 pages ISBN-13: 978-1635111873 Kindle ASIN: B01N212SJ8 MY REVIEW
Tonya Kappes had me laughing from the opening pages of Southern Fried, when Kenni Lowry is shushing her ghost.
Kenni is the Sheriff of the small of Cottonwood and the ghost is her Grandfather. It was no surprise that she carried a gun, but there were those who frowned on her being the Sheriff.
Even though Cottonwood is a small town, the characters are far from being small.
The story contains funny quotes and unique characters that will have you smiling and laughing, and shaking your head.
“It’s hotter than a prostitute’s doorknob on pay day in here.”
Murder, the supernatural and humor are the norm in a Tonya Kappes novel.
There are plenty of suspects to keep me guessing, with some romance on the side and a lovable hound dog that, even though he’s not a guard dog, acts like one.
The small town of Cottonwood is like all small towns. Even with all the personality conflicts and disagreements, the people come together in the end.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of Southern Fried by Tonya Kappes.
3 Stars
Synopsis
In the South, it’s better when the food is fried and the secrets kept buried…
After the dead body of a beloved Cottonwood resident is found tangled up in an electric fence, Sheriff Kenni Lowry has a hunch that somethin’ ain’t right. Her investigation heats up with a fierce cook-off competition, a euchre game where the intel is sweeter than the brownies, and a decades old family recipe that may just be the proof in the pudding.
The icing on the cake: Kenni is fighting an attraction to her recently sworn-in deputy sheriff, and election season is hot on her tail. When the killer comes after who she holds most dear, even her poppa’s ghostly guidance might not be enough to keep her and her own out of the frying pan.
About the Author
For years, USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes has been self-publishing her numerous mystery and romance titles with unprecedented success. She is famous not only for her hilarious plotlines and quirky characters, but her tremendous marketing efforts that have earned her thousands of followers and a devoted street team of fans. Be sure to check out Tonya’s website for upcoming events and news and to sign up for her newsletter! Tonyakappes.com
GIVEAWAY
I have one ebook to give away to one lucky reader. Just share some comment love for Tonya Kappes. Giveaway ends 4.13.17/
LS Hawker is a familiar name to me, so I was happy to grab End of the Road and check it out. Conspiracy and cyber terrorism, how can I pass it up?
Something is very wrong in Miranda Kansas, where Jade and a group of cyber nerds are hard at work creating a computer program, a form of artificial intelligence that Jade began to help her sister, who has autism.
The main characters are a group of computer geniuses who were chosen because of their computer skills and their ability to think outside the box.
It’s easy for me to know there is danger on the horizon, it’s just figuring out who are the bad guys that is the difficult part.
End of the Road is a realistic novel that lends credence to the attacks on our country today. How safe are we? Will Artificial Intelligence ever be a reality? Could you trust it to do what you wanted it to do, or would it choose it’s own course? Just think of the drones being used today and the TV show, Person of Interest.
I love what if scenarios…what if I was in Jade’s shoes? Could I make the tough choices?
“…in every utopia ever devised, only the “right” people would have power.”
I love conspiracies and End of the Road raises more questions than it answers.
There were some places where things didn’t work for me, and I never felt an overwhelming sense of danger, but all in all I would recommend End of the Road by L S Hawker.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of End of The Road by L S Hawker.
3 Stars
SYNOPSIS
Great minds can change the world
or leave it in ruins . . .
When tech prodigy Jade Veverka creates a program to communicate with her autistic sister, she’s tapped by a startup to explore the potential applications of her technology. But Jade quickly begins to notice some strange things about the small Kansas town just beyond the company’s campus—why are there no children anywhere to be seen, and for that matter, anyone over the age of forty? Why do all of the people living here act uncomfortable and jumpy?
On the way home one night, Jade and her co-worker are run off the road, and their lab and living spaces are suddenly overrun with armed guards, purportedly for their safety. Confined to the compound and questioning what her employers might be hiding from her, Jade fears she’s losing control not only of her invention, but of her very life. It soon becomes clear that the threat reaches far beyond Jade and her family, and the real danger is much closer than she’d ever imagined.
Book Details:
Genre: Thriller Published by: Witness Impulse Publication Date: January 31st 2017 Number of Pages: 384 ISBN: 006243523X (ISBN13: 9780062435231) Purchase Links:Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗
Read an excerpt:
September 7
Jade Veverka unwrapped the frozen bomb pop she’d bought from the gas station on the corner of Main and 3rd and took a bite. She sat gazing at the pile of magazines on the barbershop coffee table while a rhythmic alarm-clock buzz went off in her head. Not an urgent warning, just buzz buzz buzz.
Her friend and coworker Elias Palomo sat in the barber chair, getting his customary fade crew cut, the same one he’d presumably sported since his plebe days at the Naval Academy. So the background to her mental alarm clock was an actual buzzing from the electric razor punctuated now by a sharp yip of pain from Elias.
“Sorry about that,” the barber said.
Elias rubbed his ear, and Jade attempted to keep her face neutral, looking at his scowl in the mirror.
Buzz buzz buzz.
She leaned forward and fanned the magazines—Popular Mechanics, Sports Illustrated, ESPN—all this month’s issues. Jade took another bite of bomb pop and grinned.
“What are you smiling at?” Elias grumbled, rubbing his nicked ear.
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Jade said, “but you are not the center of my universe. I do occasionally react to things outside of you. I know it comes as a shock.”
“Shut up,” he said, his dark eyes flashing.
Jade stared now in fascination as the razor tracked upwards on Elias’s skull, his glossy black hair—or what was left of it—uneven, his scalp an angry pink. This guy was the worst hair dresser Jade had ever seen. And the least talkative. In her experience, growing up in rural Ephesus, Kansas, barbers had always fit the stereotype—gregarious and gossipy.
Elias was the shop’s lone customer, and only a few folks walked by outside the window, through which Jade could see the hardware store and the occasional slow passing car.
Buzz buzz buzz.
It struck Jade now that this was less a barbershop than what amounted to a barbershop museum, complete with an actor playing the part of the barber. She wanted to point this out to Elias, but it would mean nothing to him. He’d grown up in Reno, Nevada, a vast metropolis compared to Jade’s 1200-population hometown an hour southeast of this one, which was called Miranda, Kansas.
Not only was this man not a barber, he wasn’t a Kansan either, Jade would have bet money.
“Hey,” she said to him. “What’s your name?”
The man went on butchering as if she hadn’t spoken. Elias’s eyes met Jade’s in the mirror, and his dark thick brows met on either side of a vertical crease, his WTF? wrinkle. He leaned his head away from the razor, finally making the barber pay attention.
“The lady asked you a question,” Elias said.
Jade had to hold in a guffaw. This never failed to tickle her, him referring to her as a lady. No one other than him had ever done that before. Plus she loved the authoritative rumble of his voice, a trait he’d probably developed at Annapolis.
The barber froze, his eyes locked with Elias’s. Weird.
“Need a prompt?” Elias said. “Your name.”
The man cleared his throat.
“Is it classified?”
Jade did guffaw this time, and she watched the barber’s jaw muscles compress as she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“My name’s Richard.”
“Hello, Richard, I’m Elias. This is Jade. We work out at SiPraTech.”
Jade could see from Richard’s face he knew very well where they worked. He nodded and got back to destroying the remains of Elias’s hair.
“Whereabouts you from, Richard?” Jade said.
He pulled the razor away from Elias’s head and blinked at her.
What in the world was this guy’s problem?
Buzz buzz buzz.
Elias emitted a loud sigh, clearly exasperated by the guy’s reticence, and waved a hand as if to say, “Carry on, barber-not-barber.”
Jade laughed again.
“Here,” Richard mumbled. “I’m from here.”
Like hell. What was he, in the witness protection program or something?
And then it hit her. The magazines, every last one of them, was a current issue. In a barbershop. The place where back issues of magazines go to die.
She’d worked for SiPraTech just over three months now, and Miranda, the closest town, had always given her an itch. Something about it was slightly off, but she couldn’t say what. She’d brought it up to her team members—Elias, Berko Deloatch, and Olivia Harman, and each of them had looked at her like she was schitzy. They all came from big cities, so Miranda struck them as weird in general.
Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz.
As if drawn by static electricity, her eyes tracked to the window where a man in mirrored shades peered into the barbershop. The man had a dark mustache and wore a blue baseball cap pulled low over the sunglasses.
What was he staring at? She glanced behind her, but there was nothing to see but a white wall. When she turned back, the man mouthed something at her, his exaggerated soundless enunciation wringing a sharp intake of breath from her.
“What?” Elias said in response to her gasp.
Was it her imagination, or did this man she’d never seen before say her name?
Jade Veverka.
She looked at Elias, and said, “There’s a man out there—”
ABOUT LS HAWKER
LS HAWKER grew up in suburban Denver, indulging her worrisome obsession with true-crime books, and writing stories about anthropomorphic fruit and juvenile delinquents. She wrote her first novel at 14.
Armed with a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas, she had a radio show called “People Are So Stupid,” edited a trade magazine and worked as a traveling Kmart portrait photographer, but never lost her passion for fiction writing.
She’s got a hilarious, supportive husband, two brilliant daughters, and a massive music collection. She lives in Colorado but considers Kansas her spiritual homeland. She is the author of The Drowning Game, a USA Today Bestseller, and Body and Bone.
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Check Out This Awesome Giveaway:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for LS Hawker and William Morrow. There will be 3 US winners of one (1) eBook Coupon for End of the Road by LS Hawker. The giveaway begins on January 24th and runs through March 2nd, 2017.
3 Stars
MIKE BOND has been called the “master of the existential thriller” by the BBC and “one of the 21st century’s most exciting authors” by the Washington Times. He is a bestselling novelist, environmental activist, international energy expert, war and human rights correspondent and award-winning poet who has lived and worked in many remote and dangerous parts of the world. His critically acclaimed novels depict the innate hunger of the human heart for what is good, the intense joys of love, the terror and fury of battle, the sinister vagaries of international politics and multinational corporations, and the beauty of the vanishing natural world.
3 Stars
LS HAWKER grew up in suburban Denver, indulging her worrisome obsession with true-crime books, and writing stories about anthropomorphic fruit and juvenile delinquents. She wrote her first novel at 14.
