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Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer by B P Smythe #bpsmythe

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Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer is my first novel by B P Smythe. I have been expanding my reading, trying to include more male authors and genres that stretch my imagination. This was a good pick and I hope it will interest you too.

I included the entire Goodreads blurb, because it shares the way the book was written.

The cover didn’t do a lot for me, but that’s okay. It did make me look twice and once I read the book I knew why it was chosen. Does it make you curious?

Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer by B P Smyther is one of those books that are hard to rate for me. The way it was written, almost like it was short stories, made it difficult to follow, yet the characters were the ones that stole the show.

Mavis Bone and Gertrude Stick live together and run a private detective agency. To say they are lesbians may distract from how twisted and damaged they really are. Is Mavis a racist and drug addict? And what about Gertrude? I took so many notes, that I think they may be a spoiler, so I tossed them aside.

I will say they are fascinating characters that walk to the beat of their own drum. Their pasts created their present, but I will leave that to you to discover. They are not my usual kind of characters, but that was the allure, to walk outside my comfort zone.

The motto of the Mavis Bone Detective Agency – An eye for an eye makes the world blind.

Is there any character that stands, morally, above the rest?

I was entertained with this twisted story and its OMG moments. It was a wild ride with quirky characters that kept me on my toes. I think Mavis Bone has something for everyone: suspense, horror, paranormal, and most of all, the outlandish characters.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer by B P Smythe.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

The book opens with a serial killer, whose evil roots were planted from a traumatic childhood. He makes an agenda to rob and kill women for financial gain, over the years 2008 to 2014. His crime spree efforts are checked and eventually foiled by Mavis Bone, a forty-year-old Australian, lesbian, private investigator. And with her lover, forty-five-year-old German secretary, Gertrude Stick, they operate the SW19 Wimbledon Broadway based, Mavis Bone Detective Agency.
Mavis and Gertrude, live above the agency office, and share the top two flats. The walls of Mavis’s flat are adorned with pictures of Mario Lanza. Being a true fan, she has all his old records. Gertrude’s flat is full of Nazi memorabilia. In her teens she was a member of the Hitler youth.
Using a Russian motorcycle and sidecar, nicknamed Lenin, for their mode of transport, they often turn up at a crime scene, wearing hell’s angel’s leathers and Nazi helmets. Mavis’s secretary, had recently purchased the storm trooper helmets from a Nazi memorabilia website. Included with her delivery, was a giant swastika patterned bedspread, and a black satin pillow case set, all decked out with swastikas and portraits of the Nazi leaders. Through the week, Gertrude rotates the pillows, so she can take it in turn to sleep on the faces of Hitler, Goebbels and Himmler.
Chasing the `Fledgling Killer`, through his ingenious methodical killing spree, is hands on Mavis Bone, and she’s not afraid to get them dirty. This involves the death of her husband, and a problem client that could send her secretary to prison for a war crime.
Dealing with her own personal issues through the years, Mavis has blood on her hands and sees it justifiable, even though the police wouldn’t. Her gender choices, along with her racist opinionated views, were moulded in her hard-Australian outback childhood, and were the motivation for killing her prostitute philandering husband.
Mavis Bone is a real believable Ozzy crude character, who has a preference for strap-on lesbian sex and snorting Charlie – a cocaine habit she picked up in Columbia as a student, while backpacking around South America during her early twenties
Mavis and Gertrude are lovers, and share a bond of tortured childhoods. They suffer each other, and are comparable to Holmes and Watson in their crime fighting gay relationship; while using sound racist logical reasoning and drug taking, to solve crimes.

Mavis Bone explained:

With my book, `Mavis Bone and the Fledgling Killer`, I hope to transform the standard thriller genre. This is achieved by using chapter heading teasers that unveil a narrative with a diverging short story structure; weaving its way through a series of connecting subplots. Subplots which are paced with peaks and troughs, through a series of scene and sequels. While never forgetting what’s at stake, through its chapter driven storyline.
The novel explores in detail, Mavis Bone as a fictional lesbian detective, who is on the outside of the margins of society, while trying to achieve justice and generate change.
Mavis Bone is sexualized, condescended to, and used as a pawn. And yet, when her body trembles, her gaze never wavers.
Her life story is a blueprint, peppered with the ugly elements of Homophobia.
The book fits into our obsession with serial killers, and our interest in their pathology, along with the suffering of their victims.
Its story telling, bridges rites of passage and transformation, to create a book of terror, but not with gratuitous racism, sex or violence. A book in which, being different, is challenged, forcing us to look twice before judging another human being, whether they be a criminal, psychopath or plain mad.
A book in which the human drama supersedes, and propels the plot, instead of falling victim to it.
Mavis Bone’s emotions and fears, are described vividly, and the book is full of penetrating insights into her human condition, that go way beyond her sexual appetite.
The moral of the story, is meant to provoke readers to see life differently, and make them understand LGBT life styles – as well as gender inequality and the inevitable discrimination, as seen through the eyes of Mavis Bone’s early sexual experiences.
With this novel, I hope to achieve reader empathy – showing and creating the plotted life story of Mavis Bone. This is while inviting the reader to peek behind her intimate torrid life. Similar to a voyeur inviting the viewer to peek behind drawn blinds and through the window. And finally, drawing the reader into the psychological aftermath, revealing how killing and sexual urges can fester and go sour, when suppressed for too long.

ABOUT BARRY SMYTHE

B.P.Smythe studied engineering at Carshalton College and eventually became a member of the Institute of Quality Assurance.

B.P. Smythe

Sow And You Shall Reap – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/145677171X is his first self- published novel. Last year B.P. secured a three book deal of short stories from Bloodhound Books http://www.bloodhoundbooks.com/. His author bio is on their website.

From a Poison Pen is his first book of short stories http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Pen-collection-macabre-stories-ebook/dp/B01BKWT4EE. His second book of short stories From a Poison Pen VOL II has just been released and is available on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poison-Pen-ii-B-P-Smythe-ebook/dp/B01LFM1032

This year 2017, B.P.Smythe is shortly to release two full length novels – The Medal of Purity and The Expired including two further books of short stories – Short Tales with Long Memories VOL 1 and VOL 2 and a novella – The Holocaust Experience.

Books by B.P.Smythe: For information on obtaining free complimentary PDF, Kindle or paperback copies, contact B.P.Smythe at barrysmythe@hotmail.com

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Fall River’s Filth – Unbalanced by Jason Parent @AuthorJasParent

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Jason Parent is one of those authors whose stories I eagerly anticipate and Unbalanced did not let me down. The cover does go with the story, giving a glimpse into Jaden Sanders despair.

Unbalanced

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the character of Royo, and his life partner, Rickie, who is a bit flamboyant. I read about his purple Lycra pants and smiled at the picture that formed in my head. It reminds me of a couple of gay friends I had when I lived in Michigan. I have been reading about more diverse characters in the past year and am glad I have expanded my reading genres. Royo is incorruptible and loves nothing more than putting the pieces of a crime together, like a jigsaw puzzle.

Jaden lives across the hall from the dead woman. There is so much to Jaden’s story that I am not even going to try and tell it. I will tell you, my heart aches for him. His sister is his sole support system, since the death of his girlfriend. The more I read, the more I fear for his sanity. He is Unbalanced, but I do not see him being the cause of her death…but ya never know. Does he take his medication? Is it helping or harming him? I am so suspicious of the doctor, but I won’t tell you why. You will have to find out for yourself, and I do recommend doing so.

Prosecutor Heather Laughton is out to make a name for herself and is throwing Jaden to the wolves, when he kills the men who invaded his home. I felt disgusted and angry.

As more is revealed, I bounce back and forth about Jaden. Something wicked is going on and I need more pieces of the puzzle. My heart was in my throat through most of the book. The suspense, pacing and my need to know drove me on, searching for answers, wanting to protect him and take down those who wished him harm.

I read so many great books it’s hard for me to get so riled. I am only halfway through and I am so poed for him. I cannot imagine what I would do in Jayden’s place, but I doubt I could keep from standing up and losing it in front of one and all.

At times I felt Royo was like Columbo, bumbling and tenacious, like a dog with a bone. He won’t stop until he has the answers. I felt he was on Jayden’s side, but why doesn’t he follow the questions he has? What’s taking him so long to open his eyes, see their importance? I feel Jason Parent is torturing me…and Jaden. LOL He sure knows how to get my blood pumping, my heart pounding. Even when I had doubts, I felt Jason Parent was leading me where he wanted me to go.

Officer Megan Costa is a new recruit who Royo remembers from the a class he taught at the Academy. She is bright, diligent, not afraid to share her opinion. I would love to see more of her. Royo, I liked even more at the end. I know Jason Parent does stand alone novels and I have only seen him do one series, the Cycle Of Evil, but…

What do you think Jason? Could there be another story for Royo and Costa?

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Unbalanced by Jason Parent.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

By-the-book Detective Asante Royo can only clean up Fall River’s filth for so long without getting dirty. When he’s called to an apparent suicide at an apartment complex notorious for its prostitution and drug trade, he doesn’t shed a tear for the life wasted. Yet something about the scene haunts him, and when his investigation gets swept under the rug, he has a hard time living with the stain.

Jaden Sanders is an unstable loner who lives across the hall from the crime scene. When three men break into his apartment, Jaden is ready for a fight. He kills two of his attackers in self-defense then stalks and stabs the third in the back. Jaden is soon arrested for murder.

With no clear motives for the home invasion or Jaden’s violent response, Royo must uncover the true story before more people get hurt. His only leads are derived from the version of events extracted from a truly unbalanced mind. Is Jaden a victim being steamrolled by cold justice or a murderer capable of killing again?

ABOUT JASON PARENT

Jason Parent

In his head, Jason Parent lives in many places, but in the real world, he calls New England his home. The region offers an abundance of settings for his writing and many wonderful places in which to write them. He currently resides in Southeastern Massachusetts with his cuddly corgi named Calypso.

In a prior life, Jason spent most of his time in front of a judge . . . as a civil litigator. When he finally tired of Latin phrases no one knew how to pronounce and explaining to people that real lawsuits are not started, tried and finalized within the 60-minute timeframe they see on TV (it’s harassing the witness; no one throws vicious woodland creatures at them), he traded in his cheap suits for flip flops and designer stubble. The flops got repossessed the next day, and he’s back in the legal field . . . sorta. But that’s another story.

When he’s not working, Jason likes to kayak, catch a movie, travel any place that will let him enter, and play just about any sport (except that ball tied to the pole thing where you basically just whack the ball until it twists into a knot or takes somebody’s head off – he misses the appeal). And read and write, of course. He does that too sometimes.

Please visit the author on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJasonP…, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AuthorJasParent, or at his website, http://authorjasonparent.com/, for information regarding upcoming events or releases, or if you have any questions or comments for him.

MY JASON PARENT REVIEWS

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Giveaway – Strange Love by T L Bradford @XpressoTours

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StrangeLove
T.L. Bradford
Publication date: April 18th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

Archer

The year began great for me.

Became the starting quarterback for an NFL team – check.
Secured a multi-million-dollar contract – check.
Moved to LA and lived the glamorous life – check.

What could possibly cause me any issues?
Oh yeah, one more thing. I’m gay.

I was outed a couple of years ago to my former team and my family, but it hasn’t been made public knowledge yet. Well, that is, until now. I’ll be known as the first LGBTQ+ active player in the league’s history. And if I stick to the conditions of my contract, it won’t be a problem. The thing is, I’m not really a guy known for playing by the rules.

Most people think of my personality as the three B’s: bold, brash, and blunt. My mouth has gotten me into more predicaments than I can count. Even my best friends have told me I’m stubborn as a mule and have the delicacy of a bull in a china shop. This presents a big problem for me because I have my eyes set on winning over the guy who stole my heart years ago, only he doesn’t know it yet.

Getting his attention is going to be challenging. It’s a good thing I’m tenacious.
Unfortunately, it’s not great timing and could get me into a whole mess of trouble.
Why does falling for a guy need to be anyone’s business but mine?

Kai

The past couple of years were a whirlwind of activity. My career took off after my guest shot appearance in Americana. I appeared in a few indie features and finally got a shot at my first major motion picture release. The work came as a great distraction from my personal life, which took a further nosedive after I found out the guy I was falling for had already fallen for someone else.

Why should I be surprised? He was another in a string of failed relationship attempts. I swore I wouldn’t get involved with anyone else, choosing to stay focused on my career instead. That is, until the force of nature known as Archer McMillan came storming into my life.

To be the pursued instead of the pursuer was not in the cards. To top it off, he’s everything I’m not. Yet, there’s something to be said for a guy who can make you laugh when it’s the last thing you want to be doing. I’ll admit he’s got a playful and determined spirit. Archer also has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I’ve ever known. Not the mention the cute way he… Hold on. What am I doing? We cannot be a thing. Nope. Not gonna happen. Ever. Right?

**

Follow Kai and Archer as they cross the lines as friends, partners-in-crime, and confidants, to discover a love beyond boundaries that needs no definition.

(StrangeLove is a funny, heartwarming, slow-burn love story. It contains a cast of fully developed characters that encounter romance, laughter, and life lessons. It contains adult language, mature themes, and is best enjoyed by those over the age of 18. It can be read as a standalone; however, if you would like to know the backstories of some characters, check out the prior books in the series.)

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Peculiarities

He takes the mustard bottle, shakes it up, and then squirts a blob onto the corn dog. He takes a long, leisurely bite.

“How’s the corn dog?”

“It’s pretty good. Do you want a bite?”

“Nah, I’m good. I’ll take some of your fries though.”

He pushes the bag over to me. I dig until I find the ones I want.

He says, “This is why we work. You like the mushy fries on the bottom, and I like the crisp ones. Therefore, no fry goes uneaten.” He pops a big chunky one into his mouth.

“Our quirks work well together.”

“What quirks?”

I stop to stare at him. “You have to admit you have some… peculiarities.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he says indignantly.

“Are you being serious? You have a ton of quirks.”

“I most certainly do not. Name one.”

“Let’s start with the entire hand sanitizer thing.”

“What’s wrong with that? Lots of people use sanitizer.”

“You keep it in your pocket, your car, on the set, the bottles are freakin’ everywhere. It’s amazing you haven’t dissolved your fingerprints yet with that stuff.”

“Fine. I have one quirk.”

I throw up my hands. “Hold on. I’m not done. What about not being able to have your food touch? Your plates have compartments in them.”

“That’s… a justifiable quirk.”

I squint at him. “Is it?”

“Yes.”

Lifting my fingers, I start counting off his issues. “You freak out around animals.”

“I already told you about that one.”

“You’re terrified of glitter.”

“They were tossing that stuff around at Gay Pride Fest, yet they never tell you how harmful it can be to your health.”

I huff. “Were you hospitalized?”

“Yes! It was embedded in my eye. I needed minor surgery to have it removed. That was my first and last Pride.”

I sit back and chuckle.

“I had a bad infection! What’s so damn funny?” he asks me.

“You! You’re so damn high strung, I can’t see how you function.”

“I’m not high strung!”

“Dude, you get anxiety over trying to open those plastic bags in the produce section.”

“It was that one time!”

I bend over, howling at how incredulous he is about his own behavior.

“Are you done?”

“This conversation will never be over.” I hold my stomach and laugh out loud.

Author Bio:

T.L. always hated math, so it was a good thing she had a way with words. Since she was a shy and quirky kid; words were her best friends. She would imagine entire worlds in her head and talk to herself endlessly. Her mother wondered if she was speaking with ghosts for a while.

Her older sister was a voracious reader of trashy romance novels and would pass them down to her after she had finished them. T.L. was the only 10-year-old kid sitting in class reading “The Stud” by Jackie Collins during reading time. Oddly enough, she never got called out on it.

As she grew older, her tastes evolved, but one thing held fast; her undying attachment to love stories. One day out of the blue, she decided to write the love stories she always wanted to read instead of searching for her story. Since then, writing has been a dream fulfilled for her and she could not be happier.

She enjoys writing about love, regardless of gender and is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community.

T.L. calls the Pacific Northwest her home and enjoys the quiet rural life of her little oceanside home with her playful/crazy husband and their giant dog Noah.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


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Giveaway & Excerpt – True Faith by T L Bradford @XpressoTours @tbradfordauthor

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True Faith
T.L. Bradford
(The Young Americans Series, #2)
Publication date: June 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance

If you were granted just one wish, what would you choose?
Money? Fame? Power? Love?

The world could be your oyster,
if you were willing to take the chance.

But choose wisely, and prepare for the consequences.
Everything has its price.
Can you afford it?

Be careful what you wish for.
And remember, smiling faces tell lies…

****

Noah & Josh

The entire world witnessed their fight for love.
Obstacles were beaten and won.
They were living their best lives.

Wait?
Is that all? Is that the end?
Seriously, did you really think it would be that easy?
Oh, hell no.
Their story is just beginning.

Josh and Noah are navigating the twists and turns of their newly public relationship…to varying degrees of success.

When they are lured into the trappings of Hollywood’s influence, they end up on the rollercoaster ride of their lives.

Strap on your seatbelt and get ready for a bumpy ride.
You will need to hold on tight.

Temptation, by any measure, is a fickle beast.
And when you are given the world on a silver platter, it’s downright wicked.

Truth, lies, fame, fortune.

All bonds will be tested.

Will the binds that ground them finally break?

Goodreads / Amazon


EXCERPT

“How much was the Uber Eats? I’ll pay for it. I’m the one that dragged you out here,” Josh says.

“No, don’t worry about it. I got it. Here’s your veggie curry.”

“It smells good.”

“How’s it taste?” Noah asks.

“Alright. It’s not as good as the one we used to go to, but okay.”

“Oh shit, that’s right. Thai Mondays. I forgot about that.”

“I didn’t. I’ll still stop over and grab some when I get a chance,” Josh says.

“Hand me that sriracha sauce. It’s not truly Thai until I’ve burned the roof of my mouth.”

“Here you go. Hey, you remember that place we ate at on Fiji? What was it called, Chanatos?”

“Oh, wait, no it was Chantaro!” Noah remembers.

“Yeah! That’s the place! You had that Massaman curry and doused it in chili sauce?”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me. That chili sauce was hotter than Satan’s asshole, I swear. I paid dearly for that one, both coming and going.”

“Bwhaahhaa!”

“Why are you laughing, Josh? As I recall, you had a life ruining moment as well.”

“Yeah, that was the day I discovered you never take a shart for granted.”

“Let’s toast to that one and never eat there again,” Noah says.

“Never again,” says Josh, finishing the toast.

“We’ve had a lot of crazy firsts,” Noah reminisces.

“Remember our first zip line adventure in Fiji?” asks Josh.

“Yeah. I screamed the entire way down, then passed out.”

“Then there was our first trip to Italy.”

“I was heavily medicated on Dramamine,” Noah says, sipping his beer.

“And who could forget our first ski trip in Colorado?”

“Yeah, I got drunk off brandy to stay warm,” chuckles Noah.

“Why do most of our memorable activities revolve around you being unconscious in some way?” Josh says.

“I can think of one first where I was completely lucid.”

“What’s that?”

“Our first kiss,” Noah says.

“There were like 20 or more people staring at us, I would call that less memorable and more anxiety ridden.”

“No, not that kiss. Our first real kiss.”

“In the gazebo?” asks Josh.

“Yep.” Noah smiles.

“I was so nervous. I thought I was going to swallow my tongue.”

“I’m glad you didn’t. It would have made for an awkward good-night kiss,” Noah jokes.

“I never told you this before, but that day on the bunny slope, when you were all tangled up in your skis and falling over, was the day I realized how much I was in love with you.”

“You’re kidding, right?” A small grin trickles over Noah’s lips.

“No, I was freaking out in the van on the ride back, thinking about how to tell you.”

“That’s why you were so quiet? I thought you were busy thinking about making out with Archer.”

“Like you would’ve noticed! You spent the day practically dating my brothers! I couldn’t pry them off you. Chloe made that super lame excuse to get them out of the house so we could be alone together.”

Noah says, “Yep. I remember. The gazebo was the perfect setting with the Christmas lights and the decorations. Damn, all we needed was a Michael Bublé song and we would’ve had our own Hallmark Christmas romance movie.”

“No, that would be too PG-Rated for us.”

“We were PG. Until we got back to LA, where you corrupted me,” Noah teases.

“I corrupted you? Uh, excuse me. I believe you have that backwards. I remember someone dragging me into the house and then having their wicked way.”

“That time I was the scared one.”

“We’d never gone that far before,” Josh says.

“It felt right. Like we belonged together.” Noah sighs.

“It did. We always fit together, like puzzle pieces.” Josh pauses a moment. “You fit me perfectly our first time. I wasn’t scared or nervous. You were so tender and loving.”

“Josh, I’d have done just about anything to be with you. To have you.”

“I would have let you,” Josh says, repeating that line from so long ago…

“Can I kiss you?” asks Noah.

“Please.”

Noah moves in to taste his lips, gently at first, then nipping his upper lip. “You taste so good.”

“So do you,” says Josh, reluctantly pulling his lips away.

“Again?” breathes Noah, heavily.

“Yes…mmm…how do you always do this to me?” Josh’s eyes roll back in his head in pleasure. “Noah, we can’t use sex to solve our problems all the time.”

“You’re right.”

“Is this a bad idea?” Josh says.

“Absolutely.”

“That’s what I thought. Just checking.”

Author Bio:

T.L. always hated math, so it was a good thing she had a way with words. Since she was a shy and quirky kid; words were her best friends. She would imagine entire worlds in her head and talk to herself endlessly. Her mother wondered if she was speaking with ghosts for a while.

Her older sister was a voracious reader of trashy romance novels and would pass them down to her after she had finished them. T.L. was the only 10-year-old kid sitting in class reading “The Stud” by Jackie Collins during reading time. Oddly enough, she never got called out on it.

As she grew older, her tastes evolved, but one thing held fast; her undying attachment to love stories. One day out of the blue, she decided to write the love stories she always wanted to read instead of searching for her story. Since then, writing has been a dream fulfilled for her and she could not be happier.

She enjoys writing about love, regardless of gender and is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ community.

T.L. calls the Pacific Northwest her home and enjoys the quiet rural life of her little oceanside home with her playful/crazy husband and their giant dog Noah.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub


GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

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