Three Four…Better Lock Your Door by Willow Rose @MadamWillowRose

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I have a lot of books by Willow Rose that I have gotten for free, and I think it is high time I started showing my appreciation and writing some reviews. I LOVE her work and eagerly pick up every book I see from her.

I picked it up for free on Amazon on 9.20.13 and finished reading it on 12.27.15.

Publisher: Buoy Media

Three, Four... Better Lock Your Door (Rebekka Franck #2)

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Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

It amazes me how lucky I am to have gotten such a mind blowing novel for free. Lucky me!

It’s always nice to visit some familiar characters and I am eager to take on a new case. The characters are not perfect and that makes me love them even more and they appear more realistic. After all, in real life we don’t like everyone we meet.

Since Rebecca has moved to a smaller town with a slower pace, she is managing to fit right in.

We have another serial killer on the warpath with revenge in their heart.

Another cover to cover thrill ride and I am always eager to jump on the rollercoaster with Willow Rose…and I will…soon. If you are a thriller lover, this is an author that has to be on your must read list!

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
5 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

It was supposed to be a night of fun, pleasure, lust and pain for Susanne Larsen when she agreed to meet with a stranger from a S&M chatroom. She met him for dinner that later led to casual, anonymous sex at the hotel-room at the local inn.

But someone else showed up in the room and suddenly it was no longer a game.

Zeeland Times star-reporter Rebekka Franck and her photographer Sune are covering the case for the news-paper and soon they find themselves deeply involved in a story of terrifying horror and ugly secrets.

“Three, Four … Better lock your door” is a thrilling Scandinavian Mystery-novel from the International Bestselling author Willow Rose. It is the sequel to the International bestseller “One, Two … He is coming from you”. The third book in this series is called “Five, Six … Grab your crucifix.” Willow Rose will be writing the fourth book in the spring of 2013.

ABOUT WILLOW ROSE

TheQueen of Scream aka Willow Rose is a #1 Amazon Best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 60 novels. She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy. Willow’s books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won’t see coming. Several of her books have reached the Kindle top 10 of ALL books in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than three million books. Willow lives on Florida’s Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watch the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Website * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

MY REVIEWS FOR WILLOW ROSE

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Codename: Chimera by J K Persy #JKPersy

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Very pretty cover for Codename: Chimera by J K Persy. I got this book back in February of 2014, but didn’t read it until 1.15.15. I loved it and I don’t have any excuse for waiting so long to share it with you. The cover does not make me think of the cozy mystery that it is.

Codename: Chimera

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

During their investigation, they learned about a project called Chimera and now the mystery deepens. Is it a conspiracy? Will they kill anyone to keep a secret?

A convoluted mystery centered around a medallion. Who does it belong to?

Codename: Chimera lacked a sense of urgency, but a lot of cozies do. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy them and I loved this one. I was super curious about the outcome and the deaths that follow the medallion.

I loved the trio and was happy to be along for their adventure. Codename: Chimera by J K Persy is not what I expected from looking at the cover, but it all made sense in the end.

The brain teasers are a bonus. I stopped and spent a lot of time trying to solve them. I wonder if you will too.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Codename: Chimera by J K Persy.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Adventures. Twists & Turns. Unexpected Final.

Dear reader!

If you like Indiana Jones, Kingsman, James Bond, Sam Spade, Sherlock Holmes by Guy Ritchie, try “Codename: Chimera”.

This is a fast-paced action/adventure/whodunit mystery with elements of mystical mythology. It does not involve much character development, but instead has interesting plot with twists, turns, and puzzles.

The corpse of a millionaire collecting antiques is found in New York on the eve of a major auction. The last thing he saw in the darkness seconds before his death was a certain Man-With-No-Face. Is it a man or a ghost? Is he capable of causing paralyzing fear and death by his appearance? Is he the embodiment of Chimera, the ancient Greek monster?

Following in the tracks of the Man-With-No-Face the detective finds out about the stolen precious locket and a secret project under the codename “Chimera”. How are these connected? Does the locket have a mystical curse or is it a fiction?

Together with the private detective Kevin Kris, you are being waited for by amazing adventures, interesting puzzles and unexpected twists.

ABOUT J K PERSY

J.K. Persy

Our names are Jake and Kate Persy and we’re young, self-publishing writers. We’re a happy couple and our motto is ‘The best moment to be happy is right now’. We have a healthy, active lifestyle.

We love having fun and that’s why we’ve written Codename: Chimera. It’s been an exciting experience. We wanted to write an interesting mystery that you can sit back and enjoy and we hope that’s what we’ve done.

Official Facebook Page –https://www.facebook.com/JKPersy/

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Giveaway – What She Never Said by Catherine Riggs @criggswrite @partnersincr1me

What She Never Said by Catharine Riggs Banner

 

 

What She Never Said

by Catharine Riggs

on Tour August 19 – September 20, 2019

Synopsis:

What She Never Said by Catharine Riggs

How much would you pay to keep a secret? Ruth Mosby is the VP of operations at Serenity Acres, where the privileged elite go to die. For a hefty fee, wealthy retirees can live the good life in this posh Santa Barbara community—even after they outlive their money. But the savvy new boss has a new rule: if you can’t pay, you can’t stay.

Guests whisper about an “Angel” who assists with suicides. Ruth has another word for it: murder.

Ruth enlists her neighbor, an ex-detective named Zach, to discover the Angel’s secret identity. However, the two have a painful history, and Ruth has dark secrets all her own. To solve the mystery, Ruth must descend her golden tower—but can she bear the consequences of revealing her own sinister truths?

Why Readers LOVE What She Never Said:

“Riggs keeps the tension high to the dramatic climax.”
Publishers Weekly

What She Never Said is a fast-paced, compulsive read—and I speak as a slow-paced, easily distracted reader.”
—Ashley Dyer, award-winning author of the Lake & Carver series.

“A compelling read that will keep you awake well into the night.”
—T.R. Ragan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

Beneath the weight of metastasizing secrets, idyllic veneers buckle to reveal shocking truths that will haunt readers long after the final page.
—P. J. Vernon, acclaimed author of the debut thriller, When You Find Me

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Suspense
Published by: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
Number of Pages: 377
ISBN: 1542042135 (ISBN13: 9781542042130)
Series: Santa Barbara Suspense #2
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

RUTH MOSBY

ONE

Monday, May 6

My goal each day is ten thousand steps. A Fitbit monitors my progress. One. Two. Three. Four. This morning I’ll reach six thousand steps. Only four thousand left after that. It’s nice the days have grown longer. I’ll walk the harbor loop after work. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. I speed up the slope of Orpet Park through the grove of moth-eaten oaks.

At the summit of the steepest hill, I catch a peek of ocean gray. The islands are invisible today, shrouded in waves of lowering fog. June gloom. That’s what the locals call it, although we’ve barely stepped into May. Locals? I am a local. Or should be after thirty-some years. But oh no. Not in Santa Barbara. You can’t be a local unless you’re born here. Ridiculous but true. Sometimes I wonder why I stay. But at my age, where would I go?

Cresting the final hill, I catch my first glimpse of the mission bells. They’re a sad reminder of my walks with Carlyn and the chats we had every day. She thought the Queen of the Missions was a sign of God’s blessing on our tony beachside town. I wonder what she thinks of God now. I wonder what she thinks of me.

I continue past the mission lawn, verging on parched and dry. The agaves look weathered and dusty; they’re wilted at the tips. A handful of elderly tourists snap photos of the iconic scene. Their foreign chatter disrupts the calm, so I cross the street to the rose garden and follow the rutted trail. A lone dog shoots into view, and I slow my rapid gait. The golden Lab jumps, twists, and barks, nabbing a Frisbee in his mouth.

“Morning,” his master calls to me, a smile gracing his youthful face.

“Morning.” I lock my gaze on my running shoes. How did he miss the DOGS ON LEASH signs staggered every twenty feet? Or maybe he didn’t but somehow believes he’s above the city’s rules. I make a mental note to call animal control and continue on my way.

I pick up my pace for the final ten blocks, feeling better than I have in weeks. Turning down my narrow driveway, I cringe at the sight of my neighbor standing on his porch.

“Morning, Ruth,” he calls.

“Morning, Zach.”

Zach limps down his steps and through his drought-stricken garden, a frown rumpling his grizzled face. He’s dressed in board shorts and a tattered T-shirt, mended flip-flops shielding his feet. “You hear those kids partying last night?” he asks.

“No,” I lie. “Was it loud?”

“Hell yeah. I can’t believe they allow short-term rentals in our neighborhood. We’ve got to put a stop to that.”

“Well, kids will be kids.” I fail to mention I called the police at ten sharp. That’s when the noise ordinance kicks in.

“I’m going to complain at today’s city council meeting. Want to come along?” The breeze shifts, and I catch a whiff of spoiled milk. Zach has taken to strategic bathing, which results in an occasional stench.

“I would, but I have to work.”

“Bummer. There’s a better chance if we complain together.”

I nod, thinking he’d have a better chance if he made an effort to clean himself up. When we moved into the neighborhood decades ago, Zach had been a handsome man with an easy smile and a mop of thick black hair. A homicide detective whose pretty wife, Tina, taught art at the nearby elementary school. The perfect neighbors on a perfect street of tiny Craftsman homes. Then their son died in a tragic accident, and Tina passed soon after that. A broken man, Zach took early retirement and nearly drank himself to death. He’s in recovery now and has replaced the booze with an obsession for neighborhood affairs. “What about my petition?” he asks. “You plan on signing that?”

I bite my lower lip. “I’m not sure.”

“Construction begins next week.”

“I wish I could, but . . .”

Mumbling under his breath, he eyes me with a frown. He’s also taken to talking to himself. Is dementia creeping up? “But what?” he asks.

“I don’t think it’s wise for someone in my position to take a political stance.”

“Your position?” He rolls his eyes. “You work at an old folks’ home.”

“I work in a life-care community.”

“Same thing.”

“No, it’s not.”

His frown deepens into a crevasse. “So, you’re okay with those homes coming down?” He nods at the four vacant bungalows located directly across the street. They’re slated for demolition, to be replaced by a ten-thousand-square-foot mansion with an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Our future neighbors are a flashy young couple with toddler twins and an army of well-groomed staff. Seems our former middle-class neighborhood is attracting the fashionable Hollywood types.

“I’m not okay with it,” I say, “but what can we do? The planning commission has made their decision. We’re not going to change their minds.”

“But if we don’t take action, it won’t be long before people like us can’t live in this town.”

“At least we’ll make a mint when we sell.”

“You’re not thinking of moving, are you?”

“Of course not.” Although I might if the price is right.

Zach sniffs and takes a swipe at his nose. “I just wish we could stop these assholes. They even complained about my new picket fence.”

I hold my voice steady. “They did?” Last month, Zach replaced his aging fence with a synthetic version that lists from side to side.

“Hell yes. City says my fence is four inches too tall, and I’ve got one month to replace the thing.

Where the hell am I going to get that kind of money? My pension only goes so far.” He searches my face with his electric-blue eyes. They’re the only part of him that haven’t aged.

“That’s terrible,” I say, dropping my gaze and backpedaling down the driveway. “Got to get to work. Have a nice day.” I hurry through the gate, swimming through waves of guilt. What if Zach finds out I turned him in? He’ll be angrier than a cornered wasp. But by the time I step out of the shower, I’ve pushed away all my self-doubt. Is it my fault his fence is too tall? For God’s sake, rules are rules.

***

Excerpt from What She Never Said by Catharine Riggs. Copyright © 2019 by Catharine Riggs. Reproduced with permission from Catharine Riggs. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Catharine Riggs

Catharine Riggs lives and writes on California’s central coast. Before her dive into thrillers, Riggs worked as a business banker, adjunct college instructor, and a nonprofit executive. What She Never Said is the second novel in her loosely linked Santa Barbara Suspense series. The first, What She Gave Away, was published by Thomas & Mercer in September of 2018.

Catch Up With Catharine Riggs On:
www.CatharineRiggs.com, Goodreads, & BookBub, Twitter!

 

 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!



 

 

Enter To Win!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Catharine Riggs. There will be 4 winners. Two (2) winners will each receive one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card and Two (2) winners will each receive one (1) print copy of What She Never Said by Catharine Riggs. The giveaway begins on August 18, 2019 and runs through September 22, 2019. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited.

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Giveaway – No More Bad Dates by Kate O’Keeffe @kateokeeffe4 @XpressoTours

No More Bad Dates
Kate O’Keeffe
((High Team #1) (Cozy Cottage Café, #5))
Publication date: September 5th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “The perfect fun-filled escape from reality. Kate O’Keeffe at her delightful best!”- Whitney Dineen, bestselling author of Relatively Normal

Three friends form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones – weirdos and jerks need not apply.

Twenty-five-year-old Sophie McCarthy’s career is virtually nonexistent, her family expects her to “do something important” with her life, and she’s totally sick of dating the wrong guys: the self-absorbed, the arrogant, the borderline criminally insane.

After she’s unceremoniously dumped during the vows at her boss’s wedding, she and her two equally disappointed-in-love best friends agree to help each other find decent guys to date. Together, they form the No More Bad Dates Pact: stop dating the wrong guys and start dating the right ones–weirdos and jerks need not apply.

When Sophie’s roommate Jason Christie–a.k.a. doctor-in-training and serial nurse-dater–joins the pact, he vows to weed out the bad ones for her. But with his rejection of every guy Sophie meets, she begins to wonder if he’s got an ulterior motive. And anyway, why does she always have so much more fun with Jason than with the guys she’s actually trying to date?

While desperately seeking her “happy for now,” could Sophie stumble into her “happily ever after?”

High Tea is a spin-off of Kate O’Keeffe’s bestselling Cozy Cottage Café series. Escape to New Zealand in this fun, feel-good chick lit series!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “I love this book! If you want a novel you won’t be able to put down and will leave you with a smile on your face after you finish it, this is a great choice! So sweet and romantic!” – Annabelle Costa, bestselling author of My Perfect Ex-Boyfriend

Books in the High Tea series:
Book 1: No More Bad Dates
Book 2: No More Terrible Dates – releasing very soon!
Book 3: No More Horrible Dates – releasing soon!

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

I love weddings. The emotion, the vows, the optimism, the dress. All of it. I know I’m a total romantic, and about a gazillion marriages end in divorce every year, but I don’t care. When I watch a happy couple show the world their love, tears well in my eyes and my heart expands because in that moment, something utterly magical happens.

What more can I say? I love weddings, pure and simple.

Or at least I did until the thing happened.

Picture this. I’m at a beautiful, emotional, swept-up-in-it-all type of wedding. I’m sitting on an uncomfortably hard wooden pew, the scent in the air a heady mixture of flowers and polished wood. The late-afternoon light filters through the ornate stained glass windows, illuminating the beautiful bride and her handsome groom.

So far, so wonderful.

As I watch the bride, dressed in the most beautiful vintage fifties wedding dress I’ve seen—nipped in at the waist, showing off all her curves to (classy) perfection—her Norse god-like husband-to-be reaches out and takes her hands in his. They gaze at one another, their faces alight with a love so real, I can almost reach out and touch it.

Which I don’t, of course. That would be weird.

Instead, I turn and smile at my boyfriend, my hand over my heart. Andrew glances at me briefly before he returns his attention to the vows.

“Bailey. I love you more than I could ever imagine loving anyone. You are my life, my soul. Reflected in your eyes, I am a better man. Thank you.” Ryan’s voice, a.k.a. the voice of Thor, the Norse god, cracks with emotion, and half the congregation—all the women and probably most of the men, although I bet they would never admit it—reach for their tissues.

I open my clutch and pull out a Kleenex. I dab at my eyes and glance once more at Andrew. Noticing his brows knitted together, I smile, embarrassed. “What Ryan said?” I whisper, my voice trembling. “So, so perfect.”

“Yeah, it was all right, I guess. If you go in for that sort of crap,” Andrew replies, crinkling his nose with distaste.

Crap? What does he mean, crap?

I open my mouth to ask, but now isn’t the time. Bailey has begun her own vows, her voice so heavy with emotion, I’m amazed any of us can make out a single word. I think she’s saying something about Ryan being her best friend, and how he’s helped her become the vermin she is. No, wait. That would be how he’s helped her become the woman she is. Yes, that sounds much more appropriate and wedding-y.

The problem is, I’m so busy trying to work out what’s going on with my boyfriend, I’ve lost all focus on the ceremony unfolding before my eyes. Sure, I know he’s not the most romantic of souls, but even a rugby-playing, one-of-the-guys, rugged type like Andrew can see how much these two love each other, right? I mean, he’s not a freaking robot.

I nudge him in the ribs. “You okay?”

“Yup. Fine.” His words are clipped, and he keeps his eyes trained on the couple at the altar.

And then it hits me. I know what’s going on here! He’s being swept away by the beauty of it all, too, only he wants to appear all manly and stoic. He’s pretending to be grumpy to cover it up. Guys pull dumb stuff like that all the time. I should know; I’ve dated a few.

A few too many, actually.

I lean closer to him and place my hand on his. “I think it’s wonderful. They love each other so much.”

Andrew harrumphs in response.

I pat his hand knowingly. “It’s okay, honey. I know you feel it, too.” I settle back into my seat, prepared once more to be tangled up in the love emanating from the soon-to-be-wed couple, when I notice a girl in the aisle opposite us turn and smile. She’s wearing an eye-catching red dress that leaves little to the imagination. It’s totally inappropriate for a wedding, in my opinion, but she’s rocking it, that’s for sure. I smile back at her and wonder how I know her. Maybe she’s a customer at the Cozy Cottage Café? I’ve worked there for a few years now, and I often see our regulars out and about in the city.

Her face flushes and she looks away.

Weird.

And then it happens again.

“Who’s she?” I whisper to Andrew.

“Who?”

“The girl in the red dress. She keeps smiling at me, and I can’t think who she is.”

“Oh, err . . . Cindy, I think? Or Sandy? Something like that. We met her at that karaoke bar you love so much,” Andrew replies.

“Jojo’s? Really? I don’t remember.” I give his hand another squeeze and return my attention to the wedding.

“—the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest exclaims. “You may kiss!”

As Bailey and Ryan do precisely that, the congregation erupts into applause. Swept up in the sheer romance of the moment, I go out on a limb. Not because I’m “there” with Andrew yet exactly, more because, well, we could be. Some day. I put my hand on his arm and whisper, “Who knows? Maybe, one day, we’ll fall in love like them?”

He whips his head in my direction, and I pull back in shock. “We’ll do what?”

Less sure now, I reply, “Fall in love . . .?”

Yeah, I’m persisting with the lunacy. What can I do? I’m committed. I need to follow through. But really, is it such an outrageous idea my boyfriend could fall in love with me?

“Some day?” His brows knit together, almost forming a perfect mono-brow. It’s not a great look, I’ve got to say.

“Well, not now. Obviously,” I say hastily in a weak attempt to backtrack. “We’ve only been dating for a couple of months. But some day. You know, in the future.” When all he does is gawp at me, those brows of his threatening to meet permanently in the middle, I add, “In the distant future, far, far away, when little green men rule the Earth and we have robots to do the dishes.”

Little green men? Robots? Dishes? What the heck am I talking about?


Author Bio:

Visit kateokeeffe.com and sign up to her newsletter so you never miss out on new releases and great book deals again! Follow her on Bookbub to learn about deals on her books. Just cut and paste this link into your browser: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-o-keeffe

Kate O’Keeffe is a bestselling author of fun, feel-good romantic comedies. She lives and loves in beautiful Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand with her family, two scruffy dogs, and a cat who thinks he’s a scruffy dog too. He’s not: he’s a cat. When she’s not penning her latest story, Kate can be found hiking up hills (slowly), traveling to different countries, and eating chocolate. A lot of it.

Kate is excited to announce her new series High Tea! It’s a spin-off from the bestselling Cozy Cottage Café series, and Book 1 is currently on pre-order, due to be released on September 5th, 2019!

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram


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3 Bodies and a Missile – Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne @AshleyFontainne

Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne is an apocalyptic/dystopian novel where zombies run AMOK and aren’t the only bodies that will be falling. The series does need to be read in order.

Tainted Future

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne is the third book in the Rememdium series and I do recommend reading them in order. That being said, how do I write this review without giving any of the good stuff away?

Ashley Fontainne included a cast of characters in the beginning of the book and it picks up where Book II, Tainted Reality left off.

Tainted Future starts out with three bloody, gory deaths and a flaming missile that obliterates the town. They are on the run. Where do they go?

And it only gets worse. A bullet to the head. Brains splatter.

My emotions ran hot. I was filled with fear, smiles and hope, watching the characters face their personal demons and rise above them was inspiring. I only wish I would do the same in a dire situation.

People will be exposed for who they really are. Some will change for the good, others… Some characters are filled with great courage and sacrifice, at least those that are not out to rule the world. I hate that Ashley Fontainne has the need to kill so many of them off, but hey, I’m not surprised at all. Be careful of who becomes your favorite, because they might not make it.

One of the greatest scenes was in the Humvee, racing over the terrain and anything else that gets in the way. Bodies were thrown side to side, as they bounced their way into the next hair raising end of the world scenario.

We don’t end up with a cliffhanger, but we do need to read Book IV, Tainted World to find out what happens next. Will it be the final chapter? I am already bummed at some of the characters that had to bite the dust and I am afraid to find out who will be next…but, I have the book on my Kindle and will begin reading…NOW.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Tainted Future by Ashley Fontainne

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

Everything they know is gone. The old world obliterated in less than forty-eight hours. They soon discover they aren’t alone, and other dangers besides the undead lurk in the forests. The new law of the land: kill or be killed.

Dr. Everett Berning and his team seek refuge in the underground lab in the Ozark Mountains. The first week after the collapse of civilization, those who made it out alive struggle against the odds to survive.

Only a handful escaped the devastation in their hometown of Malvern, Arkansas, and they grapple with the new reality. Tired, frightened, and mourning the loss of loved ones, they attempt to regroup and cope with the life-altering changes.

When one suffers a debilitating injury, they are thrust into a tenuous relationship with Dr. Berning’s group. Other survivors battle the odds as they flee treacherous cities destroyed by the government and crawling with reanimated corpses.

Unfortunately, they all are about to discover the roaming dead aren’t the only threat they face. As the world plummets into darkness, things will never be the same. Ever.

ABOUT ASHLEY FONTAINNE (from her website)

Award-winning and International bestselling author Ashley Fontainne is an avid reader of mostly the classics. Ashley became a fan of the written word in her youth, starting with the Nancy Drew mystery series. Stories that immerse the reader deep into the human psyche and the monsters that lurk within us are her favorite reads.

Her muse for penning the Eviscerating the Snake series was The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Ashley’s love for this book is what sparked her desire to write her debut novel, Accountable to None, the first book in the trilogy. With a modern setting to the tale, Ashley delves into just what lengths a person is willing to go when they seek personal justice for heinous acts perpetrated upon them. The second novel in the series, Zero Balance. focuses on the cost and reciprocal cycle that obtaining revenge has on the seeker. For once the cycle starts, where does it end? How far will the tendrils of revenge expand? Adjusting Journal Entries answered that question: far and wide.

Her short thriller entitled Number Seventy-Five, touches upon the sometimes dangerous world of online dating. Number Seventy-Five took home the BRONZE medal in fiction/suspense at the 2013 Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards contest and is currently in production for a feature film.

Her paranormal thriller entitled The Lie, won the GOLD medal in the 2013 Illumination Book Awards for fiction/suspense and is also in production for a feature film entitled Foreseen.

Ashley’s decided to delve into the paranormal with a Southern Gothic horror/suspense novel, Growl, which released in January of 2015. The suspenseful mystery Empty Shell, released in September of 2014. Ashley will be teaming up with Lillian Hansen (Ashley calls her mom!) to pen a three-part murder mystery/suspense series entitled The Magnolia Series. The first book, Blood Ties, is due out the Summer of 2015.

Ashley also hosts The WriteStuff, a popular BlogTalk Radio show, each Friday night at 10 p.m. CST.

Website  /  Twitter  Facebook  /  Pinterest LinkedIn  /  Instagram

MY ASHLEY FONTAINNE REVIEWS

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Drowning In You by Jane Blythe and Amanda Siegrist @jblytheauthor @amanda_siegrist

Jane Blythe and Amanda Siegrist are two amazing authors that I have had the fortune of finding through blogging. They write of love, loss, danger and death, not necessarily in that order. I am excited to have the opportunity to read their first collaboration, Drowning in You, a part of Sweetest Obsessions Boxed Set, which was released on August 20, 2019.

Drowning in You

Amazon / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Imagine…locked up in the dark…you make an escape…before you can get out the door, you are yanked back into an even worse horror than you had been in, before trying to get away. Will he kill you now?

Carter and Jade, homicide partners…a lake, a dead body and for Carter, painful memories.

Rose and Evelyn had been chosen by the same foster family and quickly became best friends. They are complete opposites. Rose is quiet, and rather spend a night at a home than go out. Evelyn is outgoing, ready for a party.

When Carter and Rose meet, there is an immediate attraction. Carter wanted to take away her sorrow and pain, to protect her. Rose felt safe when she was near him.

The beginning of their relationship, the feeling out period, is so sweet. They are like a couple of teenagers and the writing brought the innocence to life. They had both suffered devastating losses, so trusting in love is very difficult for them. They protect themselves and their secrets. I loved watching them learn to share, to communicate.

The serial killer is so much more than just a serial killer. Killing people is not his motivation, but he has no qualms about getting rid of anyone that gives him a problem. Are serial killers capable of love, or is it some twisted interpretation?

I am in a state of suspense. What is he going to do next? I know it won’t be anything good.

I didn’t see it before, but at 66% something triggered my monster meter and I know who he is. Maybe I could have picked up on him sooner, if I was trying harder. Jane and Amanda’s writing has a way of taking me along for the ride and I am enjoy the journey so much that I forget to decipher the clues. I knew the one guy was too big of a scumbag, ya know, too obvious. I wasn’t falling for that red herring. But I really hope he gets his before the story ends.

80%…I know what’s coming and I’m racing through the pages. I can’t stop myself. I need to see how this plays out…NOW.

Want a HEA? Come on in!

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Drowning in You by Jane Blythe and Amanda Siegrist.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

He has a choice to make. Face his fear … or watch her die.

For Rose Gowan the death of her best friend means she no longer has a confidante—someone to keep her secrets, someone who knew all her insecurities—and she’s not sure she’s brave enough to let anyone else in. Until she meets the detective working her friend’s case. He gives her hope for a future she had thought she’d never have, but he can be possessive, and she promised her best friend that she would never let anyone control her again.

Death is a part of life. It’s not something Detective Carter Dixson likes to dwell on, but working in the homicide division, he has no choice. He does his job, and he does it well. When his latest case brings Rose into his life, he finally has something other than his pain from his past to focus on. She makes him smile, his heart beat faster, and actually feel happy for the first time since his brother died. He’s not afraid of falling in love too fast. But he is afraid of one thing—losing Rose the same way he lost his brother.

This novel is included in the Sweetest Obsessions Boxed Set, which will release on August 20, 2019.

ABOUT JANE BLYTHE

Jane has loved reading and writing since she can remember. She writes dark and disturbing crime/mystery/suspense with some romance thrown in because, well, who doesn’t love romance? She has one completed series, Detective Parker Bell, and one new series, Count to Ten.

When she’s not writing Jane loves to read, bake, go to the beach, ski, horse ride, and watch Disney movies. She has a black belt in Taekwondo, and a 200+ collection of teddy bears. She has the world’s two most sweet and pretty Dalmatians, Ivory and Pearl. Oh, and she also enjoys spending time with family and friends!

Website  /  Twitter  /  Facebook

MY REVIEWS FOR JANE BLYTHE’S BOOKS

ABOUT AMANDA SIEGRIST

Amanda Siegrist

Love! Gimme some love and heaps of romance. I have a sappy heart that just loves two people meeting, going through the cycles of a relationship, and ultimately, falling in love. Give me a good book like that and I’m a happy camper:)

I write contemporary and romantic suspense, but I am partial to suspense. I just love a good mystery.

Besides writing, I love baking, crafts, and baseball…oh, and meeting new people. *smiles*

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MY AMANDA SIEGRIST REVIEWS

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#Books From The Backlog – Lethal Circuit by Lars Guignard @Lars_Gu

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks.

If you would like to join in, swing by Carole’s Random Life in Books.

Lethal Circuit (Michael Chase #1)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

GOODREADS BLURB

A Chinese satellite is on crash course with Earth.
It contains enough plutonium to irradiate a large city.
And that’s the good news…

In the tradition of Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Robert Ludlum, comes a new hero.

Michael Chase is a twenty-six year old backpacker, a recent college grad, an amateur. He flew to Hong Kong to find his missing father. Four hours later, he’s running for his life. The Chinese Secret Police want him dead. The Conspiracy wants him dead. And the one person who he thinks is on his side, may want him dead too. If Michael is going to live, he’ll need to find a hidden piece of Nazi technology lost since World War II. And he’ll have to do it before anyone else. Because if he doesn’t, a little plutonium is going to be the least of his problems.

I do love my mystery, suspense/thrillers. Lovin’ this cover and the ‘written in the tradition of Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton and Robert Ludlum, authors I am very familiar with. How can I possibly resist?

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Secrets Revealed – The Long Call by Ann Cleeves @AnnCleeves

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I believe this is my first novel by Ann Cleeves and I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review The Long Call.

When I saw the cover I immediately clicked.

The Long Call (Two Rivers, #1)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

I love the cover for The Long Call by Ann Cleeves and am always on the lookout for a good mystery. That being said, I really wanted to love this, but…

Maggie loved talking to her friend but one day he didn’t show up. And so her mystery begins and she wants answers.

The characters are gay, lesbian, mentally challenged…

Everything, good and bad, centers around the Woodyard, a community center.

It held no tension or suspense for me. I couldn’t get excited by the story or the writing but I am curious…so I will read on. I know a police procedural is not as exciting as a thriller, but I would put down The Long Call, read something else, come back to it, put it down…well, you get the picture. I was bored and my mind kept drifting.

I did finish it and because I had to know the ending, I gave it 3 stars, for satisfying my curiosity.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of The Long Call by Ann Cleeves.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
3 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

For the first time in 20 years, Ann Cleeves—international bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—embarks on a gripping new series.

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.

ABOUT ANN CLEEVES

Ann is the author of the books behind ITV’s VERA, now in it’s third series, and the BBC’s SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann’s DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann’s Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands…

Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs – child care officer, women’s refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard – before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person’s not heavily into birds – and Ann isn’t – there’s not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.

In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.

For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival’s first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony

Ann’s short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award – once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers’ Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA’s Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world’s largest award for crime fiction.

Ann’s success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London’s Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: “I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock – but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I’d lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn’t have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!”

The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O’Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).

Ann’s books have been translated into sixteen languages. She’s a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200

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The History Tree in Tangled Threat by Heather Graham @heathergraham @Celtic_Woman

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Heather Graham…what can I said. She is a go to author for me because I know she will have all the things I love to read about…love and danger.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Harlequin for the chance to read and review Tangled Threat by Heather Graham.

The cover shows me what’s inside before I even open the cover.

Release date: September 1, 2019.

Tangled Threat

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

FBI agent Brock McGovern is going back to a place that holds bad memories. He had been arrested for murder and his young love had been swept away.

Three women are missing and it is his job to find out why. Is there a curse waiting to deal him a dose of justice….or a murderer waiting to be caught?

The History Tree…I love trees. I don’t know why, but anything about them makes me curious and a tree with a cursed history…well, I gotta know.

This is a convoluted mystery that spans decades. All the players are together again and I am crossing them off my bad list, one by one.

Heather doesn’t make it easy as she sends me off on one false trail after another…and I am happy to go down those trails…all the way to the end.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Tangled Threat by Heather Graham.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

A body hanging from the infamous History Tree unraveled their teenage love. Now Maura Antrim is again tangled up with Brock McGovern. Twelve years later, they’re back where that murder occurred—where Brock had been arrested and then released, where Maura had run, too scared to stand by his side. But with two women missing, and Brock now an FBI agent, Maura is determined to help. Together, they’ll have to confront a threat that never died and see if their passion has withstood the test of time.

ABOUT HEATHER GRAHAM

 Also published as Heather Graham Pozzessere and Shannon Drake.

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham majored in theater arts at the University of South Florida. After a stint of several years in dinner theater, back-up vocals, and bartending, she stayed home after the birth of her third child and began to write, working on short horror stories and romances. After some trial and error, she sold her first book, WHEN NEXT WE LOVE, in 1982 and since then, she has written over one hundred novels and novellas including category, romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She wrote the launch books for the Dell’s Ecstasy Supreme line, Silhouette’s Shadows, and for Harlequin’s mainstream fiction imprint, Mira Books.

Heather was a founding member of the Florida Romance Writers chapter of RWA and, since 1999, has hosted the Romantic Times Vampire Ball, with all revenues going directly to children’s charity.

She is pleased to have been published in approximately twenty languages, and to have been honored with awards frorn Waldenbooks. B. Dalton, Georgia Romance Writers, Affaire de Coeur, Romantic Times, and more. She has had books selected for the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild, and has been quoted, interviewed, or featured in such publications as The Nation, Redbook, People, and USA Today and appeared on many newscasts including local television and Entertainment Tonight.

Heather loves travel and anything have to do with the water, and is a certitified scuba diver. Married since high school graduation and the mother of five, her greatest love in life remains her family, but she also believes her career has been an incredible gift, and she is grateful every day to be doing something that she loves so very much for a living.Website  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  YouTube

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She’s Back – Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs @KathyReichs @randomhouse #Journey

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I’ll never so no to a Kathy Reichs novel, so when I saw this while browsing NetGalley, I grabbed it. But, it was a long time ago. I downloaded it on 7.1.14. ‘hanging my head in shame’ Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing. Soooo here we go.

Bones Never Lie (Temperance Brennan, #17)

Amazon / Audiobook / Goodreads

MY REVIEW

Anique Pomerleau. The monster. The only one who ever got away.

And she’s back, so the chase is one and this time Temperance is determined to get her. She would need the help of her lost love, Andrew Ryan. He had vanished, when his daughter died. Would he come back to help her? Could she even find him?

I love that she calls her cat Bird. Love those funny little bits with my murder and danger.

Missing girls are a trigger for me. I want to see the ‘hero’ catch the villain and I don’t care how they do and whether it’s dead or alive.

Tempe had come face to face with her before and lost. I don’t think she will this time. Kathy Reichs always spins a tale that engulfs me in the danger and fear for the characters. She confounds me, leading me down a dark path of questions and answers. She has never disappointed me.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos
4 Stars

GOODREADS BLURB

In the acclaimed author’s thrilling new novel, Brennan is at the top of her game in a battle of wits against the most monstrous adversary she has ever encountered.

Unexpectedly called in to the Charlotte PD’s Cold Case Unit, Dr. Temperance Brennan wonders why she’s been asked to meet with a homicide cop who’s a long way from his own jurisdiction. The shocking answer: Two child murders, separated by thousands of miles, have one thing in common – the killer. Years ago, Anique Pomerleau kidnapped and murdered a string of girls in Canada, then narrowly eluded capture. It was a devastating defeat for her pursuers, Brennan and police detective Andrew Ryan. Now, as if summoned from their nightmares, Pomerleau has resurfaced in the United States, linked to victims in Vermont and North Carolina. When another child is snatched, the reign of terror promises to continue – unless Brennan can rise to the challenge and make good on her second chance to stop a psychopath.

But Brennan will have to draw her bitter ex-partner out of exile, keep the local police and feds from one another’s throats, and face more than just her own demons as she stalks the deadliest of predators into the darkest depths of madness.

In Bones Never Lie, Kathy Reichs never fails to satisfy readers looking for psychological suspense that’s more than skin-deep.

ABOUT KATHY REICHS

Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.

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