I gave The Girl Who Crossed The Line by Tikiri Herath two stars and let me tell you why. Disappointment. Everything about the prequel intrigued me. From the cover to the blurb, I was drawn in. BUT, the prequel was only half the book, ending in a cliffhanger. The other half, chapters of Book I, The Girl Who Ran Away…and that, of course, left me wanting more. Soooo, I was miffed. I wouldn’t waste my time with this one. If it sounds like one for you, go for Book I, The Girl Who Ran Away.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy The Girl Who Crossed The Line by Tikiri Herath.
2 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
A reckless girl. A grave mistake. A fateful destiny.
She’s the underdog everyone loves to hate….
…then she commits a crime.
Young Asha is the outsider, the girl everyone loves to hate at school.
One day, she does the unspeakable in a desperate bid to keep a friendship.
But she doesn’t realize her misdeed has got the attention of a ruthless and powerful man who rules the dark underworld of human trafficking.
Will he let her get away with it?
Or will he entrap her too?
One thing is for sure. Asha’s grave mistake will haunt her for the rest of her life. Did you like Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo? Then, you’ll love Asha from the Red Heeled Rebels.
Begin a wild ride around the world without getting a passport or even buying an airline ticket. Get it now.
The Girl Who Crossed the Line is the prequel story to the addictive Red Heeled Rebels psychological suspense series.
*This book was formerly titled Shattered / Beginnings.
If you enjoy gripping psychological thrillers with flawed but gutsy heroines, vigilante action in exotic locales and twists that get your pulse pounding, you’ll love these books by multiple award-winning Canadian novelist, Tikiri Herath.
Tikiri Herath is the multiple award-winning author of international mystery and thriller novels.
Tikiri has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Victoria, Canada, and a master’s degree from the Solvay Business School in Brussels, Belgium. For almost two decades, she worked in the intelligence and defense sectors, including in the Canadian Federal Government and at NATO in Europe and North America.
Tikiri’s an adrenaline junkie who has rock climbed, bungee jumped, rode on the back of a motorcycle across Quebec, flown in an acrobatic airplane upside down, and parachuted solo.
When she’s not plotting another thriller scene or planning an adrenaline-filled trip, you’ll find her baking in her kitchen with a glass of red Shiraz and vintage jazz playing in the background.
Born in Sri Lanka, Tikiri grew up in East Africa and has studied, worked, and lived in Southeast Asia, continental Europe, and North America through her adult life.
An international nomad and fifth-culture kid, she now calls Canada home.
An awareness, a sense something was amiss trickled through Tori Winters.
First off, I love the cover. It surely hints at the story inside Murder’s Legacy. The clock is ticking on Tori Winter’s plan to convert the mansion she inherited after her grandmother’s murder to a B&B. There are those who wish to stop the renovation and condemn the property. The reason? Secrets are about to be exposed.
A mystery is afoot and it will take Tori and all of her friends to solve it. I have come to love this group of women who have come together, not only as friends, but as business partners. Each has something special to offer, and Tori is constantly amazed at how they have become a cohesive unit, the ladies going above and beyond anything she could have anticipated. They are fun, determined, and I am so happy to be with them again.
The danger is insidious, the villain, or villains, not immediately apparent. Power corrupts, twisted to serve those who have ulterior motives. The villains did not anticipate all those who would come to her aid. Those who will protect her and expose them.
Red Door Inn is officially a business. Tori is the owner, Mia the General Manager, Heidi is Director of Operations, Cammis is the Culinary Director and Tina is the Advertising Director. Tori is the wealthy owner, but believes in sharing her wealth. They will become partners.
Do I see romance on the horizon?
Anita Dickason’s bio helps show why she is able to make it look so easy to write a fabulous mystery. She is able to develop complex characters who come to life through the written word. I like to try and place myself into character’s situations and wonder what I would do.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Secrets that defy time!
An inconceivable disaster strikes, bringing Tori Winters’ plans to turn her historic house into a bed and breakfast inn to a traumatic standstill. A section of the escape tunnel built by her great-grandfather, a notorious Dallas gangster, collapses. Within the rubble, there is a gruesome discovery. A skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull.
The shocking cave-in sparks more than a police response. Accusations that the tunnel is dangerous triggers an ominous scheme to condemn her property.
Tori soon discovers more than the destruction of her beloved house is on the line. It seems she can’t escape the past. It keeps clawing its way into her life with deadly consequences.
Someone wants to permanently shut her down.
ABOUT ANITA DICKASON
Code Name: Trackers: The elite of the elite. FBI agents, each with a secret, an extra edge, that defies reason and logic.
Characters with unexpected skills—that extra edge for overcoming danger and adversity—have always intrigued Anita. Adding an infatuation with ancient myths and legends of Native American Indians, and Scottish and Irish folklore creates the backdrop for her characters.
Anita is a retired Dallas Police Officer. During—what she refers to as an extraordinary career—Anita served as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics officer, advanced accident investigator, and SWAT entry/sniper.
Upon retirement, she became involved in a research project that dealt with the death of a witness to the Kennedy assassination. The research led to her first book, JFK Assassination Eyewitness: Rush to Conspiracy, that details the results of her reconstruction of a 1966 motor vehicle accident that killed Lee Bowers, Jr., a key witness to the assassination.
Once the Bowers book was written, Anita reached the same point many authors ultimately face: I’ve written it, now what do I do? Answering that question has become another career, one she has wholeheartedly embraced. The publishing field is in a constant state of flux, offering unlimited possibilities for an author, but also endless landmines.
Anita started a new company, Mystic Circle Books & Designs LLC, offering cover design and manuscript services. In addition to her works as an author, she enjoys helping other authors see their dream become a reality.
Because of the information at the end of the book, after this story is finished, I felt a need to share William Blake’s “The Tyger.” Blake is having a discussion with Evil in the form of the tiger.
Blake, William. “The Tyger.” Songs of Experience. Facsimile reproduction of the 1794 illuminated manuscript, published by The William Blake Trust and the Tate Gallery, 2009, in William Blake: The Complete Illuminated Books.
The title Red Queen made me curious, but it was not what I expected. The author is unfamiliar to me, but the cover made me curious, with #1 International bestseller. Then, I read the blurb, and thought this could be a winner for me. And boy was it. Antonia Scott was so much more than I expected and I love that her ‘partner’ is a disgraced police officer. I love when a characters can find redemption, and I feel he will.
Antonia Scott allows herself to think of suicide no more than three minutes a day.
Does that intrigue you? It sure did me. Why did she think of suicide at all? Isn’t she a gifted forensic investigator? A personal tragedy leaves her with a heavy sense of guilt that she cannot escape. I am not going to tell you why. You will have to discover that for yourself.
Inspector Jon Gutierrez is a disgraced police officer, suspended from work. He has always been harassed because of being gay in a male driven society. He loves to cook. He is not fat, just rock solid. I think a lot of cooks love to eat. For others, like me, it is more like fuel. He has been tasked with bringing Antonia out of her self imposed isolation and has no idea what he is coming his way.
“My brain…isn’t normal. I can do things others find impossible.”
When I found the reason for that, I had ambivalent feelings. I guess, if it was what she wanted, who am I to judge.
Red Queen started out slow for me, but I think that is Juan Gomez Jurado’s way of preparing me for what is to come. The only problem I had was when he went back and forth between Jon and Inspector Gutierrez. It was early in the book and took me a little while to go with it and quit questioning whether he was talking about two people instead of one.
‘You sacrifice a pawn for the sake of continuing the game. Because the only thing that matters is to keep on playing.’
As we delve into the mystery, the suspense slowly rises. The story deepens. The sacrifices are costly, the players out for themselves
When Jon brings a rubber plant to her place, trying to make the barren room feel like a home, I cracked up. And…well, I can’t say. I will say this, though, the story kept getting better, the characters more real, foibles and all.The last quarter or more of the book was unputdownable. My desire to know them better, to work another case with them, intrigued me.
After the story is over, Juan Gomez Jurado shared some information that had me going to the internet to find out more for myself. Now…that is the sign of a great writer.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Red Queen by Juan Gomez Jurado.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Introducing Antonia Scott – the most compelling and original detective since Lisbeth Salander – in the international bestselling thriller that has taken the world by storm.
Red Queen is the first book in a trilogy that has sold over 2 million copies in Spain, sold to seventeen countries, and is the basis of an Amazon streaming series to debut in 2023.
Antonia Scott—the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother—has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she’s refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.
Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao—disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges—is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.
The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder—a teen-aged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again…is Antonia Scott.
ABOUT JUAN GOMEZ JURADO
Juan Gómez-Jurado (December 1977 Madrid, Spain) is an award winning journalist and bestselling author. He is one of the three most successful contemporary Spanish authors along with New York Times bestselling authors Javier Sierra and Carlos Ruiz Zafón. In 2016, Juan celebrated the mark of 6 million readers worldwide.
Juan is the author of nine international bestselling novels: GOD’S SPY, THE MOSES EXPEDITION, THE TRAITOR’S EMBLEM, THE LEGEND OF THE THIEF, SCAR, RED QUEEN, BLACK WOLF and WHITE KING. They have been translated into more than 40 languages. He is also the author of the young adult science-fiction series, ALEX COLT SPACE CADET.
Juan is an avid reader and traveller. He lives in Spain with Sam, his bad behaviored dog.
Kate Warne’s Sister Is Missing by J A Schneider was a big departure from the other novels of hers that I have read. At first it threw me off. The writing felt dry, textbooklike. BUT, the more I read, the more I got lost in the characters and their circumstances.
Kate Warne’s Sister Is Missing is historical fiction at its finest. We have fiction woven into facts seamlessly. The events take place during 1861. Think of your history. the Civil War had just broken out. There were those who wanted Lincoln dead. Kate Warne did her part to try and save him, but we all know, eventually, he was killed.
Kate Warne was the first female detective with the Pinkertons, thanks to Alan Pinkerton’s ability to judge a person’s character and see that she would be able to go places and learn things because people would overlook a woman. No one would suspect her of being a detective.
Kate and Saskia’s brother and sister in law are quite the pieces of work. When Saskia goes missing, my eyes are on them. Kate, Saskia and their brother shared ownership of the home they lived in.
Opium, in the form of laudanum was the be all, cure all. History repeats itself in drug addiction and abuse of dangerous substances.
Kate’s friends, Buck and Hattie, are also her partners. Will there be a love interest for Kate? The Flower Girl, a girl with a heart so big she put her life on the line for another. She may not be a star in the book, put she shone brightly regardless. I love when peripheral characters take center stage. That is some good character development that makes me want more.
I would have loved to get to know Saskia better. She was sweet, innocent, adventurous, artistic…Will she be found in time? Is it already too late?
The descriptive writing brought to life the horror, the smells, the danger…my anger and disgust, my wonder and delight, my curiosity and desire to know more. The characters grew on me the more time I spent with them. The mystery kept me guessing and the villains, because there are plenty to go around, filled me with revulsion. What a great word, revulsion. Just saying it conveys how poorly I felt about them, especially a certain someone, who, at this time, will be left nameless.
I appreciate a book that has me going on a hunt, surfing the web, searching for more answers on my own. I love that we ended on a high note, with love and inspiration.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Kate Warne’s Sister Is Missing by J A Schneider.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
April 1861, New York City. Civil War has just broken out. Kate Warne, first female detective and a Pinkerton, returns to find that her beloved sister, Saskia, has gone missing. Where to turn? Who to suspect?
Danger surrounds Kate. Secessionists’ fury has followed her since she thwarted their recent attempt to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore. New York City is also a powder keg, with most elites and even the city’s mayor violently pro-South. Or could Kate’s possibly pro-South relatives have anything to do with Saskie’s disappearance?
Buck Hackett, a handsome fellow Pinkerton, teams up to help but also yearns for Kate. She resists loving him, fearing more heartache after the loss of her husband. Instead, she and her frequent partner Hattie Lawton – whose family Pinkerton helped escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad – plunge headlong into the dangers of 1861 NYC: from the theater scene to scenes of squalor and vast wealth – then through the raging opium epidemic and the secret tunnels of Chinatown. To find her sister, Kate braves every danger, knowing that every second counts.
ABOUT J A SCHNEIDER
Wheaton College, Norton MA (French Lit Major, Minor in Spanish & squeezed in Russian.) Sorbonne, Jr. Year in Paris
Exchange student in the Soviet Union, where I got arrested for spreading anti-Soviet propaganda – ha! Caught with friends laughing at their pea-green-colored drinking water; that was the offense; four of us arrested. Let go after a day, guess they decided we weren’t worth an international incident. Then weeks later I landed in a Soviet hospital because I fell down a ravine during a student hike in the Caucasus mountains near Sochi. It wasn’t bad. Docs in Sochi were nice…
Former writer at Newsweek Magazine. Author of the 6-book EMBRYO medical thriller series; the 4-book Detective Kerri Blasco Police/Psychological Thrillers FEAR DREAMS, HER LAST BREATH, WATCHING YOU, & SHOELESS CHILD.
Also 5 standalone thrillers: INTO THE DARK, GIRL WATCHING YOU, WHAT YOU’VE DONE, CRY TO ME, & THE WIFE LIST. Also the U.S. Civil War thriller, KATE WARNE’S SISTER IS MISSING. (She was America’s first female detective and a Pinkerton. The story takes place in NYC – a pro-South hotbed – at the outbreak of the Civil War.)
I love the ominous old time feel of the cover for Lies On Bristol Lake by Jean Nicole Rivers. I had an idea of what the book would be about, the mystery and the danger. Any book that takes place on or near the water always catches my attention, making me curious to know if it will be a fit for me. Jean Nicole Rivers put her own twist on a familiar tale and that is why I love her writing so much.
It wasn’t hard to figure out early on that Dahlia Dixon would marry the wealthy boss, the synopsis told us so, but what is happening after they are married really pissed me off. A lot of it was obvious, but there are more plots going on than just the one between Dahlia and her husband, Malcom.
I love when an author adds some humor to her darkness and cracks me up:
‘I could rip my top off right now and whip glittering pink tassels attached to my nipples in wild circles and few would even notice…’
Keep in mind that I am reading an ARC. Some things may be corrected and changed for the finished product.
Dahlia’s past haunts her. She feels she is split in two and Dark Dahlia is now warning her…something is not right. Are the dead talking to her? Trying to tell her their secrets? Is Thomas really dead, her lover who tried to drown her in high school?
There was a surprise or two…and one really blew my mind. I didn’t see that coming at all! I love when an author can surprise me, shock me, giving me pause…before I read on.
Lies On Bristol Lake gave me a sense of complacency in the beginning. I knew there was a mystery and there would be some danger. It creeps up on me slowly, pouncing when I least expect it. As everything comes together I am left with a feeling of satisfaction. Well done, Jean, you got me…and that is not any easy thing to do. I usually figure things out before the author has a chance to tell me what’s happening. I did with some things, but that ending…awesome!
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Lies On Bristol Lake by Jean Nicole Rivers.
4 Stars
AMAZON SYNOPSIS
Dahlia Dixon is finally getting a grip on her once crippling PTSD, the result of a college incident that nearly left her dead in a university pool. After marrying her wealthy boss, she’s whisked away to his isolated home on Bristol Lake. Her new husband’s first wife drowned in Bristol Lake only months before and is still hauntingly present in every corner of the modern retreat.
When Dahlia is run off the road, lies begin to surface. She learns that another woman recently died in Bristol Lake. Dahlia is sure she is in someone’s crosshair. No can be trusted. The dangerous paranoia is returning. Dahlia must dive into the secrets that dwell in the lake before she herself is dragged beneath its glassy surface.
ABOUT JEAN NICOLE RIVERS
Jean Nicole (@jeannicole19) is a National Black Book Festival award-winner and author of two psychological horror novels, Black Water Tales: The Unwanted and Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers. She has also garnered awards for her screenplay, If I Die, from multiple film festivals including the Shivers International Film Festival (Canada).
Currently, she is working through the 3rd installment of her Black Water Tales series on a novel currently titled, To the Moon and Back.
In 2016, she launched the only novel writing software founded and owned by a black woman, Simple Stylus (www.SimplyStylus.com) and she teaches an online beginner writing course titled, Simply Writing: An Aspiring Author’s Guide to Developing A Solid Writing Process and FINALLY Writing Their Novel.
She writes because she loves words, she writes because she loves stories, she writes because she has a story to tell.
Book Title: When the Smoke Cleared (A Murder Mystery in Malden) by Bill Powers Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18 +), 400 pages Genre: True Crime Publisher: PowersCourt Press Release date: Oct, 2022 Content Rating: PG-13 Some violence some profanity
Book Description:
There is no greater distinction or responsibility for a law enforcement officer than to be selected to investigate homicides. The same is true for a prosecutor. It is analogous to a call up to the big leagues where the curveballs or slapshots are frequent and more challenging, the lights are brighter, the audience larger and louder, and the scrutiny and demand for perfection can at times be a bit overwhelming.
This story follows an extraordinary murder investigation from the crime scene through to the arrest and into the courtroom. It is narrated by retired Detective Lieutenant Bill Powers, the former commander of the State Police Detective Unit for the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts:
“When the smoke from the fire cleared and the water level receded, it was visually evident that a violent struggle, quite possibly a homicide, had preceded the fire. But where was the victim? The waterlogged bloodstains in the function room told us it wasn’t likely they stood up and walked out the door. We were confronted with an unusual dilemma. We not only had to investigate what happened and develop probable cause to make an arrest, but we also had to locate the poor soul who had spilled so much of their blood.”
Walk the path of the investigation with Bill and his team, and then follow in ADA Adrienne Lynch’s footsteps as she guides the trial from opening statements through to the final verdict; a truly unique accounting with a bird’s eye view.
Beyond a police and courtroom procedural, this story is about the personal struggles in the victim’s life and how her death impacted her family’s lives in ways no one could have foreseen. It is a love story that grew from unspeakable tragedy.
Bill Powers writes from the heart because he spent twenty years living the life of a homicide investigator. He went to literally hundreds of death scenes and, while each made its mark, none had more of a personal effect on him than this case.
Bill Powers has been active in the Massachusetts law enforcement community since he joined the Massachusetts State Police in 1974. Over time he rose through the ranks and was promoted to the rank of Detective Lieutenant. He commanded the State Police Detective Units (SPDU) in both Middlesex and Suffolk Counties, where he had direct oversight and involvement in more than one hundred homicides. His State Police career came full circle when he was named Commandant of the Recruit Training Academy. He retired as the director of the Media Relations Section. Following his retirement, Bill was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the graduate program for forensic sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM). For the next seven years he lectured on criminal investigation and expert testimony to the graduate students. In addition, he produced training seminars for police investigators covering a wide variety of topics. Following his tenure at the BUSM he returned to the law enforcement profession as the Director of Public Safety at Wentworth Institute in Boston. Bill earned an undergraduate degree from Northeastern University with a major in Criminal Justice and a Juris Doctorate degree from the New England School of Law.
He resides South of Boston with his wife Jane. Their two daughters and their families live nearby. He has been blessed with five remarkable grandchildren who sparkle like bright stars in the night sky.
Veteran trekker Hardy Durkin takes his first bike tour group to Béziers, in the South of France, for what is expected to be relaxing, uneventful bicycling in the Hérault region. This notion is kicked to the curb when a double cold-case with present-day repercussions is discovered on one of the group’s outings. Hardy becomes embroiled in another homicide when he is present at a murder that takes place during an innocent flamenco performance that is anything but.
The bottom line: murder and intrigue follow Hardy Durkin like a shadow, even in the sunny, laid-back South of France, but this time his wheel of fortune veers uncomfortably off the rails in Homicide Hérault.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery Published by: Blue Shutter Publishing Publication Date: December 2022 Number of Pages: 199 ISBN13: 978-1-941611-20-3 Series: Hardy Durkin Travel Mystery Series Book 6 | Each is a Stand Alone Mystery Book Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Smashwords
Read an excerpt:
There was a brief lull in the questions, then Delia asked what everyone else was thinking. “Who are you, Hardy Durkin? You’ve got this Clotiers guy on speed dial. You’re not in the least bit flustered about finding two dead soldiers on a god-forsaken riverbank in the South of France, you seem to be evading the police about it… Just who the hell are you?”
A shocked silence was interrupted by Clive. “I can answer that,” he said. He turned to Hardy almost apologetically. “My cousin was on your trek in the Black Forest.” To his fellow cyclists he explained, “Hardy is exactly who he seems to be. He has a trek business for points in Europe.” He paused, then added, “He also has an unusual skill set from his military training and for reasons unknown to anyone has a knack for wading into mysteries, stumbling upon dead bodies, and bringing criminals to justice.”
***
Excerpt from Homicide Hérault by Bluette Matthey. Copyright 2022 by Lucinda Guthrie. Reproduced with permission from Bluette Matthey. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Bluette Matthey is a 3rd generation Swiss American and an avid lover of European cultures. She has decades of travel and writing experience. She is a keen reader of mysteries, especially those that immerse the reader in the history, inhabitants, culture, and cuisine of new places. Her passion for travel, except airports (where she keeps a mystery to pass the time), is shared by her husband, who owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette particularly loves to explore regions that are not on the “15 days in Europe” itineraries. She also enjoys little-known discoveries, such as the London Walks, in well-known areas. She firmly believes that walking and hiking bring her closer to the real life of any locale. Bluette maintains a list of hikes and pilgrimages throughout Europe for future exploration.
Bluette is the author of the Hardy Durkin Travel Mystery series, author and developer of the South-of-France travel app, Potty Poche, and her latest mystery, Two Murders Too Many. She lives in Béziers in the South of France, with her husband and trio of loving cats.
The great cover for Cry To Me by J A Schneider immediately drew me in. I love suspense thrillers. Add a hurricane, blizzard, or any kind of weather or storm to the scenario and it steps things up. I love the characters trapped and in danger.
Little Miss Cry To Me, Kim Bell, cannot say no to anyone and finds herself overloaded with obligations. Things become worse. At a celebration in their home, she finds her brother in law and sister, with a gun in her hand, dead in his office. The police think she murdered Wyatt, then killed herself. It isn’t possible. Her sister hates guns.
David, Wyatt’s brother is at her side, pulling her away. Kim is a true crime writer and a quick thinker. Something doesn’t seem right to her, so she quickly pulls out her phone and snaps a few photos. Her first experience with murder was her own father’s, which was never solved. Her mother became an alcoholic. Kim and Liddy became each other’s world.
Liddy was the fun sister, the creative one, the peacemaker. Wyatt is was a tech CEO guru. Winnie is one of Liddy’s best friends. She seems VERY helpful and makes me suspicious. (I am not paranoid. I know people are out to get me. LOL) Zoe Martin is another of Liddy’s best friends. Many times things are not as they seem, so I immediately begin to try and figure out who is the villain. Is it one of the ‘ladies’ or one of their husbands?
Police Officer Miller…bitch is pissing me off. Her dismissive attitude and quick assumptions lead me to believe that, if she didn’t have a partner looking for the real answers, the investigation could have ended with Kim found guilty in Liddy and Wyatt’s death.
I read LOTS of mysteries, suspense and thriller stories. It’s important to me that the mystery stays muddled. I love red herrings, twist and turns, and danger dogging the characters footsteps. Early on it becomes obvious the characters are keeping secrets. I may need my own murder board to focus in on the culprit and that’s a good thing. No easy answers here.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Cry To Me by J A Schneider.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Liddy Bell shot her husband – or did she? In the middle of a party she’s giving with her guests just feet away? Liddy’s sister Kim, a true crime writer, struggles to prove her sister innocent.
Wyatt Bell was a powerful tech CEO; the party was to celebrate the purchase and restoration of his and Liddy’s 1920s mansion. No one heard the shots that killed him and wounded Liddy. The band was loud and guests were scattered. When the police declare the crime a failed murder-suicide attempt and Liddy as their suspect, her sister Kim is devastated and insists it’s a setup. Wyatt’s handsome brother David and Liddy’s closest friends try to help Kim investigate…but questions arise. Could Liddy have only pretended to be happy, snapped, and shot her husband? Above all, Kim’s worst anguish is wondering if she ever really knew her sister…
With a hurricane approaching, the police put their investigation on hold, and those closest find themselves all under one roof. Relationships unravel, and Kim thinks, “This is terrifying. We’re all five of us in this house. At night in a hurricane with no power…and a terrible feeling of menace. I can’t shake it.”
ABOUT J A SCHNEIDER
Wheaton College, Norton MA (French Lit Major, Minor in Spanish & squeezed in Russian.) Sorbonne, Jr. Year in Paris
Exchange student in the Soviet Union, where I got arrested for spreading anti-Soviet propaganda – ha! Caught with friends laughing at their pea-green-colored drinking water; that was the offense; four of us arrested. Let go after a day, guess they decided we weren’t worth an international incident. Then weeks later I landed in a Soviet hospital because I fell down a ravine during a student hike in the Caucasus mountains near Sochi. It wasn’t bad. Docs in Sochi were nice…
Former writer at Newsweek Magazine. Author of the 6-book EMBRYO medical thriller series; the 4-book Detective Kerri Blasco Police/Psychological Thrillers FEAR DREAMS, HER LAST BREATH, WATCHING YOU, & SHOELESS CHILD.
Also 5 standalone thrillers: INTO THE DARK, GIRL WATCHING YOU, WHAT YOU’VE DONE, CRY TO ME, & THE WIFE LIST. Also the U.S. Civil War thriller, KATE WARNE’S SISTER IS MISSING. (She was America’s first female detective and a Pinkerton. The story takes place in NYC – a pro-South hotbed – at the outbreak of the Civil War.)
I want to thank Book Sirens and J A Schnieder for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Wife List. This is my first book, but I have already downloaded two more from Book Sirens for review. If this sounds like a book for you, hope and over and grab a copy.
I love the cover, but it was the title, The Wife List by J A Schneider, that had me so curious. My mind started working. Was it going to be the wives that are the victims? Was it going to be the wives that are the badasses, taking out the bad guys. Oh yeah, I was ready to dive in and begin reading almost as soon as I had it on my ereader.
J A Schneider sure can pen a mystery/suspense thriller. It may have seemed a bit slow at times, sharing her thoughts, fears, and the danger that surrounded Beth Kemp, especially being she was asthmatic. The Wife List takes place as the pandemic is ending, people trying to go back to normal. Restaurants are open, but not many patrons are out. Trash and the homeless litter (I know that is a terrible word to apply to people, but I find the description applicable) the streets. Danger, murder, theft, muggings are especially dangerous for Beth Kemp. Stress and anxiety exacerbate her asthma. She never goes anywhere without her inhalers.
People are dying around her. Her father, then her agent. Beth and her husband, Brad, are successful crime writers. He talks her into moving from New York to Connecticut. Hmmm…all my spidey senses start tingling. I’m not paranoid, I just think everybody’s out to get her. LOL Does it make her paranoid when she sees her friend being abused, her neighbor being murdered? and her husband…and his friends…putting her on edge? Does she need psychiatric help?
This psychological thriller had me bouncing around, thinking I knew what was coming…But, then, something would happen. Like Beth, I wondered if I was seeing villains everywhere I looked? Are they out to get me…I mean her. LOL Was she being gaslighted? Was she being framed? I loved that the twists and turns kept me on my toes, making The Wife List by J A Schneider an unputdownable read.
There is so much more that I want to share, but I am not going to spoil anything for anyone. If you love mysteries, suspense and thrills, jumping at the creaky floor and murmuring voices, then The Wife List by J A Schneider is for you. I loved it so much, I immediately grabbed Cry To Me and Kate Warne’s Sister Is Missing.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Wife List by J A Schneider.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Has a group of men conspired to murder each other’s wives – figuring their perfect alibis will save them? That is what Beth Kemp starts to suspect, but is she losing her mind? Her husband says he fears so… ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ I’ll give this marriage one more try, Beth Kemp thinks. She is a successful crime writer in New York City, who regrets that tension has crept into her relationship with her husband, Brad. He too is a writer who, after early success, finds his career fading.
Brad urges that a move to the country would make them happy again – and safe, especially Beth, to avoid the city’s stress that triggers her severe asthma attacks. Beth wavers, until her close friend is murdered and the friend’s husband has a perfect alibi. She finally accepts that the city with its surging crime has become too hard for her.
The Kemps move to beautiful Sheffield, Connecticut, so perfect it seems too good to be true. It is. When one new friend cries in fear about her husband, and another has a bruise under her eye, Brad tells Beth that she’s overimagining. But when she hears of another wife’s unsolved murder and yet another friend dies mysteriously, Beth suspects the husbands of covering for each other. Brad tells her she’s getting crazy, paranoid.
Then Beth stumbles onto the most devastating shock of all, one she never imagined…
ABOUT J A SCHNEIDER
Wheaton College, Norton MA (French Lit Major, Minor in Spanish & squeezed in Russian.) Sorbonne, Jr. Year in Paris
Exchange student in the Soviet Union, where I got arrested for spreading anti-Soviet propaganda – ha! Caught with friends laughing at their pea-green-colored drinking water; that was the offense; four of us arrested. Let go after a day, guess they decided we weren’t worth an international incident. Then weeks later I landed in a Soviet hospital because I fell down a ravine during a student hike in the Caucasus mountains near Sochi. It wasn’t bad. Docs in Sochi were nice…
Former writer at Newsweek Magazine. Author of the 6-book EMBRYO medical thriller series; the 4-book Detective Kerri Blasco Police/Psychological Thrillers FEAR DREAMS, HER LAST BREATH, WATCHING YOU, & SHOELESS CHILD.
Also 5 standalone thrillers: INTO THE DARK, GIRL WATCHING YOU, WHAT YOU’VE DONE, CRY TO ME, & THE WIFE LIST. Also the U.S. Civil War thriller, KATE WARNE’S SISTER IS MISSING. (She was America’s first female detective and a Pinkerton. The story takes place in NYC – a pro-South hotbed – at the outbreak of the Civil War.)
The fantastic cover for On The Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel made me think of twins or multiple personalities. It made me read the blurb and grab a copy. You can judge this book by the cover, because it tells of what is to come, psychological chills that made many emotions rise to the surface. Sorrow, disgust, happiness, wonder.
In the beginning, and throughout the book, we smell the stink of the papermill. Arcade and Daffodil, along with their mother and aunt, live on the wrong side of town and when it snows, it snows ash from the papermill. I worked at one in Alabama, so I know exactly what she is talking about, the indescribable stench and the car being covered in ash. It creates its own ecosystem.
I was confused, and I believe that was a good thing. It meant I wasn’t able to figure out what the hell was going on half the time. Getting lost in the mind of drug addicts I find unable to describe.
The family are drug addicts, and I think you can guess what everyone thought of them…disposable. When the first girl was found in the river, they rolled right by it. Add another, and another, and another….Who will find out what happens to the lost and the forgotten. Everyone deserves a life, for someone to care about them.
Arcade and Daffodil broke my heart. They pretty much raised themselves, with the help of a loving grandmother who painted a future full of dreams and imagination. Their father had died when they were six years old. Their mother and aunt were sex workers and drug addicts, so that doesn’t bode well for them and their friends. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve being acknowledged as human beings.
Tiffany McDaniel paints pictures, some pretty and some ugly, but she does it with such panache the characters come to life. The evil oozes off the page as much as the sweetness of the girls and the love of their grandmother, who is the most positive person in their life.
Tiffany draws me in deeper and deeper. The more I read, the more involved I get. I cannot say enough about the writing, getting lost in the words. I am having difficulty describing all my thoughts and feelings. It’s wondrous and awful, disturbing and inspirational.
The sketches gave me the creepy crawlies, and that sure fits the story. Six young girls, living a horrible life but finding moments of brightness and love, breaking my heart and for those who preyed on them there is nothing bad enough. Sometimes I saw those spiders moving…my skin crawling and tears in my eyes.
Tiffany McDaniel had me surfing the internet, not only for The Chillicothe Six, but references to other things that made me curious.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel.
4 stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Six women—mothers, daughters, sisters–gone missing. When the first is found floating dead in the river, it reveals the disturbing truth of a small Ohio town. Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, this harrowing and haunting novel tells the story of two sisters, both of whom could be the next victims, from the internationally-bestselling author of Betty.
Arcade and Daffodil are twin sisters born one minute apart. With their fiery red hair and thirst for an escape, they forge an unbreakable bond nurtured by both their grandmother’s stories and their imaginations. Together, they create a world where a patch of grass reveals an archaeologist’s dig, the smoke emerging from the local paper mill becomes the dust rising from wild horses galloping on the ground, and an abandoned 1950s convertible transforms into a time machine that can take them anywhere.
But the two sisters can’t escape the generational chaos that grips their family. Growing up in the shadow of the town, the sisters cling tight to one another. As an adult, Arcade wrestles with these memories of her life, just as a local woman is discovered drowned in the river. Soon, more bodies are found. While her friends disappear around her, Arcade is forced to reckon with the past while the killer circles ever closer. Arcade’s promise to keep herself and her sister safe becomes increasingly desperate while the powerful riptide of the savage side becomes more difficult to resist.
Drawing from the true story of women killed in her native Ohio, acclaimed novelist and poet Tiffany McDaniel has written a powerful literary testament and fearless elegy for missing women everywhere.
ABOUT TIFFANY MCDANIEL
TIFFANY MCDANIEL is an Ohio native whose writing is inspired by the rolling hills and woods of the land she knows. Drawing from her Cherokee heritage, she is a poet, a novelist, and a visual artist. Her debut novel, THE SUMMER THAT MELTED EVERYTHING, won the Guardian’s Not the Booker award and the Ohioana Reader’s Choice Award. She is the author of BETTY, an international bestseller and a Friends of American Writers Chicago, the Society of Midland Authors, Nautilus Book Award, and Ohioana Library Readers’ Choice Award winner. She lives with six cats and a dog surrounded by the trees and wildlife that she loves. When not writing, she may be found in the garden or walking in the woods.
Her third novel, ON THE SAVAGE SIDE, is forthcoming 2023.
