#Giveaway – She is Perfectly TOXIC by Kristine Mason

Posted on September 16, 2015 by fundinmental

Kristine Mason’s latest novel, Perfectly Toxic, had me racing through the pages unable to put the book down until the last page was read.

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason is a thriller that stars Melanie Scarlet. I love the CORE and am so excited to finally read Mel’s story. The language and sex scenes are pivotal to the story and I think Kristine handled them well.

“I think I broke her.”

With a start like that, I knew I was in for a horrific ride into the twisted psyche of Adeline. I can hardly wait to dive into all the creepiness to come, and I know there will be plenty of it. As I read along, mini movies played in my head. When I was done reading, I felt like I needed to take a shower.

Well, what can I say about Perfectly Toxic. I had three pages of notes, but it just wasn’t working for me. So…I tossed them out and here I am, just telling you about my feelings about this, hmmm, horrifying thriller and the sadistic, psychopathic, crazy as a loon villain, Adeline and her cohort, Rodney.

I laugh at Frankenstein. that was a comedy compared to what these two were up to. What they were doing goes so far past that, I am finding it difficult to put into words the events in Perfectly Toxic. The lives lost and the torture suffered under their hands remind me of the evil men behind human testing during the holocaust. Both of them belong under the jail, not in it.

The most repulsive thing of all, Adeline revels in it. She loves to watch her toys squirm. There is nothing she won’t do to get what she wants. Feelings…what are those? She sure doesn’t have any warm and fuzzy ones. She is ice cold and beware, to be near her could be hazardous to your health. She is very smart, well educated, manipulative and broken. Something is very wrong with her. OMG, she is not just a psycho, she is bat shit crazy and evil beyond words.

I love all the CORE characters, but I can relate well to Mel, an ass kicking, swamp raised, don’t look at me cross eyed kind of gal. She is the Ice Cream lady. She is also a cleaner. You need something to disappear, just contact Mel. She hides her girlie girlness behind a really sharp knife. She’s the type to stab you with the knife, then cook dinner with it. She is married to Cash, but it doesn’t seem to be going so well. They are both stubborn and have strong personalities. She hangs with men more than women and I do that too. I love that she goes to the dock when she has heavy thinking to do. The water calms her and it has the same effect on me. I have spent many a day Sitting on the Dock of the Bay…wasting time.

Mel’s cousin, Bobby turns up missing and the mystery begins.

When Mel takes Harrison to meet Cash for help, the scenario could be hazardous to Harrison’s heath, but it is laughable. The who’s dick is bigger scenario had me cracking up. Cash’s mantra to control his anger is Unicorns are magical. Imagine seeing a huge hunk of a man repeating those words over and over. His therapist had called his and Mel’s relationship – TOXIC.

Cash buys Mel flowers from the gas station just because. I can relate to that. Mr Wonderful, my hubby, brings home flowers from the grocery store. The element of realism is coming through loud and clear. I love their snarky and sensual dialogue.

Cash’s housemate is a German Shepherd named Dolly. They served in the Army together and she is the one who came home in a wheelchair. I love dogs, so I had to mention her.

Kristine ramps up the suspense as the search for Adeline takes on new meaning. Each of Kristine Mason’s stories read as the most twisted Criminal Minds on steroids episode. They are unique and original.

I am totally engrossed in the love story and then Kristine shocked me, woke me up and the pacing reached a level of urgency I hadn’t felt before.

I would love to be one of her characters, kicking ass, fighting evil and having some hot and heavy sex with a stud. What an adventure and one I only live through in Kristine’s words, hanging on each one.

NOW, we get to the best part, the last quarter of the book. I know how the story will end, villain 0 vs good guys 1 and the guy gets the girl, but, man oh man, the rollercoaster ride to get there leaves me breathless. The nail-biting, rapid breathing, sitting on the edge of my seat is the suspense reading an armchair junkie like myself lives for. I read a lot of mystery and suspense thrillers and it is books like Toxic and authors like Kristine that feed my need for thrills.

I can’t believe that the story lasted only six days. So much happened, so many emotions ran AMOK as I read, my head was spinning. I had to turn around and read it again. I would apologize for rambling on and on, but eh, I can’t help myself.

I received a copy of Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason in return for an honest and unbiased review.

5+++++ Stars

BLURB

What do you get when you mix a mad scientist, a psychopath, an ice cream lady and a repo man? Something perfectly toxic…

Melanie Scarlet is a knife-wielding badass who knows how to dispose of a body, and make evidence disappear. But Mel, a.k.a., the Ice Cream Lady, draws the line at one thing: she refuses to live with her husband, Cash Maddox, unless he quits the repo business that nearly got him killed—no matter how much she loves him.

To thaw Mel’s heart and convince her to leave the Everglades and move back home to Tallahassee, Cash is finally ready to retire from his adrenaline-fueled job…until homeless men begin vanishing. As Mel investigates the disappearances, Cash’s temper goes into overdrive when he realizes his wife has been keeping a dangerous secret from him. She’s been doing more than scooping ice cream—she’s a cleaner for the underground criminal investigation agency, Above the Law.

Mel isn’t the only one with a secret. A scientist has created a drug that will cure psychopaths by deadening the urge to dominate, hurt and murder. To prove his chemical combination works, he uses the homeless as test subjects. He breaks and scrambles their minds, turns them into killers, then tries to fix them. But what if the scientist creates a killer he can’t fix? A true psychopath he can’t control? As Cash joins Mel and the ATL crew, they learn firsthand, the results could be…toxic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I didn’t pick up my first romance novel until I was in my late twenties. Immediately hooked, I read a bazillion books before deciding to write one of my own. After the birth of my first son I needed something to keep my mind from turning to mush, and Sesame Street wasn’t cutting it. While that first book will never see the light of day, something good came from writing it. I realized my passion and found a career I love.

When I’m not writing contemporary romances and dark, romantic suspense novels (or reading them!) I’m chasing after my four kids and two neurotic dogs.

Website / Email: authorkristinemason@gmail.com / Facebook / Twitter

MY REVIEWS FOR KRISTINE MASON’S NOVELS

Shadow of Danger / Shadow of Perception / Shadow of Vengeance

Ultimate Kill / Ultimate Fear / Ultimate Prey (review coming soon)

Celeste Files: Unlocked

Perfectly Twisted

All covers link to Amazon.

The Celeste Files of the Psychic CORE series are paranormal and supernatural novels that star Celeste, from the very first book in the CORE Shadow Trilogy, Shadow of Danger. I love the mix of psychics and ghosts, with murder and thrills. Check them out below.

Perfectly twisted is the beginning of another series, CORE Above the Law, that takes the characters even further than I thought they would go. I am LOVING it!!!

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ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION

GIVEAWAY

Kristine Mason has generously offered a print copy of Perfectly Twisted (US only) or a $5 Gift Card, your choice. Click for my review of Perfectly Twisted to help make your choice.

Ask Kristine a question and leave your email!

To those who left a comment before I added the giveaway, Kristine and I want you to know how we much we appreciate you, so you will be automatically entered.

Giveaway ends 9/30/15.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Was this review helpful? If so, please consider voting for it on Amazon or like it on GoodReads

Giveaway – Lost King by H B Moore

Posted on September 13, 2015 by fundinmental

Lost King by H.B. Moore

From USA TODAY bestselling author H.B. Moore

Undercover agent Omar Zagouri has been ordered to Giza. A prominent Egyptologist was murdered, and a priceless artifact—the only complete version of the Book of the Dead—is missing. Omar is still reeling from the recent disappearance of his girlfriend, Mia Golding, but he puts his quest to find her on hold to track down the lost piece of history.
Omar’s mission is not just to locate the sacred book; he must also rescue the two archaeologists kidnapped and forced to translate its hieroglyphics under threat of death. Their kidnapper is determined to discover the text’s rumored explosive revelation: that Moses did not receive the Ten Commandments from God but instead copied them from the Egyptians. Though Omar’s need to find Mia grows more urgent, he must focus on finding the enemy who will stop at nothing to ignite a controversy that will change history, and the world, forever.

AMAZON

Author H.B. Moore

H.B. Moore is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than a dozen historical novels set in ancient Arabia and Mesoamerica. She attended the Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican International School in Jerusalem and received her bachelor of science degree from Brigham Young University. She writes historical thrillers under the pen name H.B. Moore, and romance and women’s fiction under the name Heather B. Moore. It can be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Blog

Book Blast Giveaway

$100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 9/30/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Chilling Must Read Thriller – Perfectly Twisted by Kristine Mason

Posted on August 11, 2015 by fundinmental

Perfectly Twisted (Book 1 C.O.R.E. Above the Law) (C.O.R.E. Series) by Kristine Mason

I am a super huge fan of thrillers and Kristine Mason is at the top of her game in Perfectly Twisted, her latest chapter of the stand alone CORE series. I have read all of her books and find myself on pins and needles waiting for the next one, but first…

Check out this Perfectly Twisted cover!

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

Are you curious about the snake on the cover? You should be! I LOVE it.

With each novel Kristine Mason writes, her creativity and imagination shines brighter. Perfectly Twisted is a perfect title for this romantic suspense thriller. I don’t know how Kristine produces such brilliantly written novels that should be at the top of any thriller list, but I am glad to have found her and be able to share her with you. The story is not for the faint of heart and I would highly recommend it to adult readers.

The Reverend uses his position for his own wickedly evil purposes, him and his son laugh at the gullibility of the congregation they serve. The things they do are so horrendous they defy description by me, a lowly reader. I wonder how Kristine comes up with her storylines and makes them so believable.

The Above The Law CORE group operates on the edge, keeping a low profile and dealing with situations that may cross the line. Lola, Ryan, Harrison, Vlad, Mel and Barney walk a fine line but believe in doing the right thing. It’s just sometimes the right thing requires more than the law allows. Each member is chosen for their particular expertise and function as a fine tuned instrument. They are as close as any family could be.

I love Kristine’s ability to make her characters come alive on the pages. I fall in love with her powerful, yet loving male characters. Her male protagonists are to die for and they would gladly do it for their brave and courageous women partners. Her female characters I want for my best friends.

Perfectly Twisted’s romantic couple being spotlighted are Shane and Beth. I feel for Shane who paid for a crime that never would have happened if he wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. Deputy Beth Price risks her job to be with him. Little does she realize his dalliance with the law is just the tip of the iceberg.

Kristine Mason’s characters are complex. You will find that you either love them or hate them, root for them or root against them, and sometimes pray at the end some of them no longer walk the earth.

After reading Perfectly Twisted, I can’t help but wonder how many perverted and depraved sickos run around at any give time? The question in Perfectly Twisted is how many sickos are operating in the same place at the same time. Is there more than one? Is there a copycat?

The game of cat and mouse is afoot. Who will be left standing?

The sweet and sexy banter has a humorous flavor even during the horror. I never used to be much of a romance fan, but Kristine Mason is one of the amazing authors I have found that I cannot help but let the love, romance and passion wash over me while I swoon and drown in it. The sexual situations read as romance and passion more than just the physical act.

You may have played strip poker, but have you ever played strip scrabble. It is writing like this that elevates Perfectly Twisted to such a high level for me. I love a little humor with my horror.

When I finally found out who the necrophiliac was it made sense, but I am still shocked. I didn’t see it coming. Kristine goes that extra mile of creepiness! We can label this as a horror/suspense/thriller.

Mel has become one of my favorite characters. She carries a knife and knows how to use it. Need a body disposed of? A car or a boat? Just give Mel a call. When I saw Mel’s story is next I was ecstatic. I can hardly wait. Her whole persona spoke to me – she’s a real badass and I want to know her better. I wonder…

If you are a romantic suspense fan of the dark kind, Kristine Mason is an author that MUST be on your reading list and Perfectly Twisted is one of those novels that stuck with me long after reading it. I love novels with serial killers and her writing is so thought provoking that at times I forget it’s not real. I am so engrossed, that I feel a real sense of loss when the last page is read.

I received Perfectly Twisted by Kristine Mason in return for an honest and unbiased review.

5 Stars

SYNOPSIS

What do you get when you mix a snake-handling reverend, a necrophiliac, a cop, and an ex-con? Something perfectly twisted…

Sounds like the start of a bad joke? Not to Shane Monahan. The ex-con and newest recruit to the underground criminal investigation group, A.T.L. or Above the Law, has it bad for Collier County Deputy Beth Price. But ex-cons and cops don’t mix, especially when this particular ex-con is looking at going back to prison for his involvement with A.T.L.

All Beth wants is a fun distraction from the stress of her job and law school. She thinks she’s found that when she meets Shane during an airboat tour through the Florida Everglades. But Shane’s a felon, a man who could destroy her career as a deputy, and jeopardize her future as an attorney. She doesn’t know what to do—until dead bodies start showing up around the county.

When three abused corpses are found with snake remains inside them, the discovery brings a murderer out of retirement. The Reverend, as he calls himself, doesn’t like his kills being mimicked, especially by a man who abuses the dead—after all, the Reverend does have a reputation to uphold and a congregation to scam. Now it’s time to teach his copycat a deadly lesson…

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Nook | Google Play

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When I’m not writing contemporary romances and dark, romantic suspense novels (or reading them!) I’m chasing after my four kids and two neurotic dogs.

Website / Email: authorkristinemason@gmail.com / Facebook / Twitter

MY REVIEWS FOR KRISTINE MASON’S NOVELS

Shadow of Danger / Shadow of Perception / Shadow of Vengeance

Ultimate Kill / Ultimate Fear / Ultimate Prey (review coming soon)

All covers link to Amazon.

Perfectly twisted is the beginning of another series, CORE Above the Law, that takes the characters even further than I thought they would go. I am LOVING it!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

If you have a problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Was this review helpful? If so, please consider voting for it on Amazon or like it on GoodReads.

Will they find her before it is too late? – Bad Traffick by DV Berkom

Posted on July 28, 2015 by fundinmental

FREEBIE ALERT: Serial Date has just become free at the following links. Hopefully, Amazon will follow suit soon. Flag this and I will let you know.

iBooks / KOBO / Smashwords / B&N

*Mobi readers can pick it up at Smashwords

BAD TRAFFICK named a 2012 Top 5 Indie Pick by BloodWrites and a Top Pick by Night Owl Reviews! Also recently named a semi-finalist in the Kindle Book Review Best Books of 2013!

Although Bad Traffick is part of a series, it is a standalone novel and can be read by itself.

I am a huge fan of Leine Basso, a strong female protagonist, and DV Berkom. Her thrillers will leave you eagerly anticipating the next one. And I am ready, so bring it on.

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

Judging by the cover of Bad Traffick, I think DV Berkom will be having me gritting my teeth and hanging on the edge of my seat, hoping and praying that Leine Basso will find the girl before the traffickers. And I am not wrong.

Bad Traffick grabs my attention from the opening page and never lets me go. DV Berkom has the ability to put me in a state of suspense from cover to cover, rooting for the good guys…and maybe one not so good gal, while wishing the worst on the criminals and evil that spread their cancer to the young and innocent.

Leine Basso is an ex assassin and is now working security for an actor, Miles Fournier. His long lost sister comes to him for help to find her twelve year old daughter, Mara, who has been kidnapped by traffickers.

Leine is a strong female protagonist who is a suspect in three cold murder cases. She and Jensen, a detective for the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division, have the hots for each other, but with her being a murder suspect, they have to communicate on the down low. Will Jensen risk everything to be with the babe magnet?

Leine has a special relationship with her twenty one year old daughter, April. They have much more in common than your average mother and daughter. They had both been abducted. Now, April wants to learn “the business.” Hmm, could that be a story for another book? I guess we will have to wait and see. In the meantime…

There is much more going on than trafficking and I am very suspicious. Who can you trust? I found myself holding my breath, leaning forward in my seat with my hands tightly clenching the book as over and over again someone tried to kill her. Is it the same person or group? Is there more than one? I know it can’t happen, but I find myself yelling and talking to her, because even I do not know who she can trust.

Bad Trafffick is the second book in The Leine Basso Series, Serial Date being the first. They stand alone, so no cliffhangers or waiting to find out the ending. Still, I can hardly wait to begin the third book in the series, The Body Market, that sits patiently on my side table saying, “Read me.” DV has also just released the fourth book in the series, Cargo.

I received a copy of Bad Traffick from DV Berkom in return for an honest and unbiased review.

5 Stars

SYNOPSIS

Dangerous obsessions take center stage when a former assassin and a homicide detective race against the clock to find a missing girl before she’s lost forever.

Identified as a person of interest in three cold case murders she didn’t commit, ex-assassin Leine Basso accepts a temporary position as a bodyguard for A-list actor Miles Fournier as a favor to Detective Santiago Jensen.

Soon, a woman contacts Miles claiming to be his long-lost sister and confides that her daughter has been abducted by traffickers. Leine must confront her own demons as she races to rescue the girl before it’s too late.

Serial Date is FREE: iBooks / KOBO / Smashwords / B&N

*Mobi readers can pick it up at Smashwords

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DV Berkom is a slave to the voices in her head. As the author of two popular thriller series (Leine Basso and Kate Jones), her love of creating resilient, kick-*ss female characters stems from a lifelong addiction to reading spy novels, mysteries, and thrillers, and longing to find the female equivalent within those pages.

Raised in the Midwest, she received her BA in political science from the University of Minnesota and promptly moved to Mexico to live on a sailboat. Many, many cross-country moves (and several years) later, she now lives just outside of Seattle, Washington with the love of her life, Mark, an ex-chef-turned contractor, and writes every chance she gets.

For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Pinterest / Amazon US / Amazon UK/ Newsletter

Author Pages

Amazon / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / itunes / Kobo

I am reading my way through DV Berkom’s The Leine Basso Thrillers:

5 Star Review – Serial Date by DV Berkom

I am also reading my way through DV Berkom’s Kate Jones Thrillers:

5 Star Review – Yucatan Dead by DV Berkom

5 Star Review – A One Way Ticket To Dead by DV Berkom

The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 1 box set (includes the 1st four novellas in the series).

(The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 2 includes Cruising for Death (#5), YD, and AOWTTD, all for $8.99 (bought separately they would be 12.99)

***all covers link to amazon, I am an affiliate***

Check out all these beautiful covers for the Kate Jones thrillers by DV Berkom.

GIVEAWAY

DV Berkom is offering an ebook from her backlist to one individual commenter. International. All you need to do is answer the following question and leave your email:

“I am a *cover girl*. What is your favorite thing about the cover for Bad Traffick by DV Berkom?”

Giveaway runs 7/28/15 – 8/11/15.

Serial Date is FREE: iBooks / KOBO / Smashwords / B&N

*Mobi readers can pick it up at Smashwords

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

If you have a problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

WOW! Debut novel blew me away – Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk

Posted on July 9, 2015 by fundinmental

The fantastic book trailer for Method 15/33 only gives you a glimpse of what is to come. As she sits on the bed and raises her head, I thought of Poltergeist. I expected her to reach out and…

Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk is an amazing, top shelf, must read suspense thriller that will have you wondering, will the prey become the predator. I can hardly believe Method 15/33 is a debut novel for Shannon Kirk, it is so damn good!

Winner Of 2015 National Indie Excellence Award For Suspense!

Finalist in the 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition as novella 15/33. Method 15/33 is now a full-length novel coming from Oceanview Publishing.

Add me to Goodreads now.

ABOUT METHOD 15/33

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Published by: Oceanview Publishing

Publication Date: May 5, 2015

Number of Pages: 258

ISBN: 1608091457 (ISBN13: 9781608091454)

Purchase Links:

MY REVIEW

I heard about Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk through a friend and reached out to her. The novel sounded like one of my favorite type of reads and I could hardly wait to pick it up. The suspense had me holding my breath, rooting for her, then afraid of her.

She is a pregnant teenager, abducted and held captive. Her mother had filled her with self esteem and confidence. Is she a sociopath? She is able to turn her feelings on and off, like a light switch. As Shannon describes her attempts to mimic feelings and doing the right thing, it makes me think of Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory.

The vivid detail of the trip to her cell makes me able to picture the wild daisies and devil’s paintbrush on the side of the road. I felt the breeze as she prepared to exit the van. I could smell his stale body odor and his sewer breath.

No matter, she loves her baby and will not give up. She has hope. Her hurt and rage would help her to do what is necessary to exact her revenge. Escape wasn’t enough. They would pay and pay dearly.

My first asset is terra firma…thus begins her plotting – Escape/Revenge Plan 15.

It had been 20 days, but she was constantly thinking, planning. As she runs through scenarios, it made me think of the computer in Person of Interest, going through scenarios, changing them, ruling one out and trying another. She knew she could outwit him.

Alone, locked in a cell, praying the butterfly in the window will calm her, save her. She doesn’t know what loneliness feels like, is this it?

Butterfly (c) Sherry Fundin

She may have her issues, but I love her. My empathy is such, that I want to wrap my arms around her and offer her comfort. She tries and means well…sometimes. Isn’t that what we all do? Even dysfunctional families have their moments of humor, love and togetherness.

Shannon Kirk’s words allow me to feel HER pain, HER loneliness, HER anger and HER rage. I want to scream, yell and cry with her.

FBI Special Agent Roger Lui and partner, Lola were assigned the case. They have been together for five years and know each other better than a spouse would. He is a flawed hero, carrying heavy baggage with his failure to find Dorothy Saluce, an abducted, pregnant teen, deja vu. Lola is someone I can relate to, a tough, no nonsense, one of the guys kind of woman.

She counts seconds, minutes, steps, inches, plotting, planning…a piece of elastic, a pail handle…She didn’t know what would be valuable, so she collected it all. I wonder if she used to watch MacGyver too.

The kidnappers…a fantastic surprise. Twisted. Evil.

She makes herself sick and Shannon Kirk’s mastery of words makes this so gross and disgusting it makes me want to puke too.

33 is water. You will be surprised at its use and importance.

They escape, but OMG, Shannon, you didn’t. My heart fell. I can’t believe it. What an awesome twist. I felt complete terror for her, wanted to yell, hurry, hurry, what the hell are you waiting for? As if it isn’t bad enough, Shannon makes it even worse. How can that be? It just keeps coming and coming, the badness rolling over me like a tsunami wave. Overwhelming, the pacing gripping me as if I’m on a runaway train and hanging on for dear life.

Method 15/33 keeps getting scarier and scarier, the badness goes on and on…out of the frying pan and into the fire.

I love the characters, right to the end, especially HER. This 16 year old sociopath stole my heart.

I don’t know what to say about the emotion roiling inside me as I reach the end. I can’t help but just sit…thinking…thinking…

Shannon wove an awesome story that has left me screaming for more.

To love someone so much you are heartbroken just to look at them.

This, is to have a child.

5+++++

I received a copy of Method 15/33 from Shannon Kirk in return for an honest review.

GUEST POST

I am so excited to have Shannon Kirk here today. I love her debut novel, Method 15/33 and I could not help but fall for the main character, Lisa Yyland. I also, would like to congratulate Shannon on Method 15/33 is being devloped for a feature film. How cool is that? I, for one, can hardly wait to see it!

LET’S TALK ABOUT PSYCHOPATHS

-By Shannon Kirk

Let’s talk about psychopaths. Or, maybe you prefer sociopaths. I’m no psychiatrist, so what I’m talking about are persons whose brains are physiologically wired in such a way that they do not experience emotions as others feel joy, fear, excitement, happiness, remorse, guilt. I’m not talking about people who may be deemed “sociopaths,” not from the physical construction of their brains, but because of environment, a traumatic childhood for example.

What I understood from reading the non-fiction book, The Sociopath Next Door, is there are persons who simply do not understand the sensation of effervescent bubbles rising in your chest when a baby giggles at you, and you giggle back. They might, however, understand the action of smiling in reaction to a baby smiling, the simple physical learned act of social parroting, which is very different from feeling the urge to giggle or smile because of that elusive thing called happiness.

As a lay person, far from being a licensed psychiatrist, I had to read articles and books of the very real medical condition of psychopathy so as to form some basis for the main character in Method 15/33. She holds the traits of a clinical psychopath; for example, she disassociates, lacks empathy, feels no remorse, and plans actions in a way to benefit herself and minimize risk. She’s exceptionally practical in all she does and thinks.

We see this type of character all over popular culture. Hollywood just loves the psychopath. But psychopaths are very real, and indeed, as suggested in The Sociopath Next Door, could be living right next door. The book suggests that some folks who seek out management and politics might hold the common traits of the psychopath or the sociopath. Is this any surprise? How could a billionaire business baron axe 25,000 jobs and the next day be golfing in Tahiti, a smile on his face, and a mai tai with umbrella in his hand? I’m not saying all bosses and all politicians are psychopaths, but when I’ve raised this premise to any group, someone always raises their hand and says, “Oh damn, that’s my boss. He totally fits those traits.”

What got me thinking after reading articles and books on psychopaths was how this condition can exist simply by how someone’s brain is constructed. And if that is so, what natural variations exist in our population? We know that not all psychopaths are “evil,” not all kill women for sport, and not all stalk and kill bad guys according to some “code” (Dexter). So is there a spectrum of psychopathy? On one end you would have Heath Ledger’s Joker or Christian Bale’s American Psycho, on the other you’d have Ms. Whiney Crybaby. You know, the girl who cries at every Kleenex commercial, who yells and stomps and throw pillows and jewelry if her man so much as looks at another woman. No emotion vs. Too much emotion. So what’s in the middle of the spectrum? Normalcy? There must be a middle and ripples from there. This idea, I got stuck on this idea.

I wanted to explore the idea of a spectrum of psychopathy in a fictional way. For example, what if a psychopath was wired in such a way that she could choose to feel emotions? If a person can be wired in a such a way that they physically cannot feel emotions, then why couldn’t a person exist who can control when they feel certain emotions? Also, what if there are people who sometimes slip into a form of psychopathy, while at other times are fully emotionally functional. Have you ever been so absorbed in a work project that you cannot understand why a person is crying in your doorway about the same work project until you stop what you’re doing, calibrate your mood, take a minute to absorb, and then when you take a breath or two, you finally empathize? If that is possible for most everyone, then what if such moments of disassociation are prolonged in certain people? I have to believe this is possible. In the very least, the idea, this spectrum of possibilities with psychopathy, is a breeding ground for fiction.

In my novel Method 15/33, I chose to contort the medical condition of psychopathy and create a character that controls emotions. She often chooses not to feel any emotions, and because of this, like true psychopaths, has had to “learn” appropriate social reactions. I then wanted to meld with this condition another condition in psychology having to do with “cross modal neuroplasticity”—essentially, how a person who loses one sense, gains a “super” sense in something else, such as how a deaf person might have exceptional eyesight. What I wanted to explore, again entirely on a theoretical fictional basis, basically I just made it up, was a psychopath character, who controls emotions, and her emotions are “senses”, such that since she often lacks them, her other senses are somewhat enhanced. For example, although she is blindfolded, because she is not experiencing fear or any other emotion, her smell of the air and her feel of the temperature, the precise weight of her steps on the ground, tell her the type of terrain she’s on, how long a stretch of forest is through which she is forced, what specific trees scrapes her arms, and what the nature, climate, look, and use of the land is where she is taken, as if she were seeing it with her very eyes.

So while any psychiatrist could probably poke a thousand million holes in my writer’s theory, I do actually believe that in our world, there is a wide spectrum of psychopathy, of cross-modal neuroplasticity, and that emotions just may be some form of “sense.” Who knows if we’ll ever crack the code to our brains, and frankly, I hope we don’t. It’s just too much fun to make up stories, twisting the boundaries of psychology we think we know.

SYNOPSIS

Kidnapped, pregnant teen turns the tables. Who is the victim and who is the aggressor?

Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who’s just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped…

Alone…Terrified.

Now forget her…

Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn child and to exact merciless revenge.

She is methodical—calculating— scientific in her plotting. A clinical sociopath? Leaving nothing to chance, secure in her timing and practice, she waits—for the perfect moment to strike. Method 15/33 is what happens when the victim is just as cold as her abductors.

The agents searching for a kidnapped girl have their own frustrations and desires wrapped into this chilling drama. In the twists of intersecting stories, one is left to ponder. Who is the victim? Who is the aggressor?

Praise

“Method 15/33 is crowded with fascinating characters—even the spear carriers pop off the page—but the standout is the kidnapped pregnant teenager. Her captors want her baby. Little do they know they’ve brought an insanely brilliant, angry, vengeful, borderline sociopath under their roof. Somebody’s in big trouble… and it isn’t the teenager.” —F. Paul Wilson, New York Times best-selling author of Santa Jack

“Completely original and totally kick ass! Shannon Kirk pulls no punches in this adrenaline rush of a thriller where the victim is the one to watch, while the kidnappers learn to fear. Loved it!” —Lisa Gardner, New York Times best-selling author of Fear Nothing

“What happens when infant traffickers kidnap the wrong pregnant teen? You get Method 15/33, a cross between The Lovely Bones and Silence of the Lambs. Shannon Kirk’s debut thriller is a dark, literate page-turner, utterly compelling. I read it in one sitting.” —Leonard Rosen, Award-winning author of All Cry Chaos and The Tenth Witness

“Wow. Ridiculously good. Crazy good. Brilliantly heart-stoppingly nail-bitingly original, this is a true thriller tour de force. Shannon Kirk is an instant star.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan Agatha, Anthony winning author of Truth be Told

ABOUT SHANNON KIRK

Shannon Kirk is a practicing attorney and a law professor. She attended West Virginia Wesleyan and St. John’s Universities, is a graduate of Suffolk Law School, and was a trial lawyer in Chicago prior to moving to Massachusetts. She has been honored three times by the Faulkner Society in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, a physicist, and their son. Method 15/33 is her first novel.

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GIVEAWAY

ALERT: Due to illness, I was unable to promote this properly so I am extending the giveaway for another week. Be sure and enter know for your chance at a copy of Method 15/33 by Shannon Kirk.

Shannon Kirk is offering a a print autographed copy of Method 15/33 to a US or Canadian resident. To enter, leave your email and answer the question:

What would be your first response if you were kidnapped?

Giveaway runs from July 9 – July 23, 2015.

FOLLOW THE TOUR BELOW

Learn More About This Awesome New Thriller & Author At these sites!

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Assassins & Thrills – Blown by Chuck Barrett Review

Posted on June 11, 2015 by fundinmental

Chuck Barrett is the kind of author that is as interesting as his novel, Blown, so be sure and check out his bio and my review below.

He also has some fantastic covers.

Add me to Goodreads now.

MY REVIEW

Blown is a military thriller mystery adventure with sexy and dangerous Gregg Kaplan.

Mobsters, assassins, good guy, bad guys and her.

Gregg Kaplan was a Special Forces assassin, but now he works on the civilian side of government. He had to find her. He had four hours. But something happened and his cover is Blown.

He had made Tony, Senior Inspector Moss of the Marshal’s Service,a promise. A promise is a promise and he would deliver the man to WitSec, no matter what.

I quickly became enamored of Kaplan and his unique skills.

The woman he is searching for is his love interest from Toymaker. I have not read that…yet.

The identity of the assassin was a marvelous surprise.

I love complex scenarios with more than one angle. It keeps the mystery alive and me on the edge of my seat with suspense, trying to figure it out.

Chuck Barret makes me think he brings his personal life into his books with nicknames for his characters, like Dirt Man for Pete Moss. What can I say? It’s that something extra that gives the writing that additional kick. Do we see a book coming in the near future telling us his story? Could Greg and Tony become a team? I can see it.

I received Blow from Chuck Barret in return for an honest review.

4 Stars

SYNOPSIS

Gregg Kaplan is not an ordinary man, but a man with special skills, courtesy of the United States Government.

His assignment is to stay off the grid when he innocently stumbles into a blown witness protection detail in Little Rock, Arkansas. He simply could not walk away from the impending mayhem.

After the dust settles, a mortally wounded Deputy U.S. Marshal makes him promise to personally deliver the witness to a U.S. Marshals Service safe site.

Not just a promise, an oath. A pledge between ex-Army Delta Force comrades.
A trust that could not be broken—Once in, never out.

Kaplan soon suspects the witness he vowed to protect has secrets of his own; secrets that go beyond his testimony for the U.S. government. When he discovers the witness is being tracked, Kaplan teams with a WitSec Deputy U.S. Marshal assigned to recover the witness, but soon realizes some merciless people are dead set on preventing the witness from reaching the safe site.

But the witness has a hidden agenda of his own—One that could cost Kaplan his life.

ABOUT CHUCK BARRETT

Chuck Barrett is the bestselling author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series. Breach of Power—Winner of the 2013 Indie Excellence Award Political Thriller category and Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, The Toymaker—Finalist in the 2013 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure & Mystery/Suspense categories, and The Savannah Project—Finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards Thriller/Adventure category, Second Place in the 2011 Reviewers Choice Awards Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror category, and Honorable Mention in the 2011 ForeWord Reviews Book-Of-The-Year Awards Thriller/Suspense category.

Barrett is a Florida native and a graduate of Auburn University. He is a retired air traffic controller with over 26 years experience and veteran commercial pilot & flight instructor spanning over three decades of flight experience.
Chuck also holds Dive Master and Rescue Diver certifications. He enjoys hiking in the Rockies with his wife, Debi and currently resides in Northeast Florida.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

All covers link to Amazon.

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Reality TV Murder ~ Serial Date by DV Berkom Review

Posted on May 17, 2015 by fundinmental

Hello Reader, meet Leine Basso.

I have read several novels by DV Berkom and find her ability to tell a story amazing. If you are a lover of the mysterious, thrilling, suspenseful world of murder, step inside.

I DARE YOU!

But…beware. All is not as it appears.

Add me to Goodreads now.

Paperback: 274 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 2, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1480008435
ISBN-13: 978-1480008434

MY REVIEW

Serial Date + Serial Murder = Serial Killer

Serial Date is a fast paced, tension filled suspense thriller that had me engrossed from cover to cover. The quirky and twisted characters made me wonder who was running the asylum. I love her covers. The colors are vibrant and they foretell the story inside.

A brutal, heinous murder on a reality TV show brings in Leine Basso, an ex Agency assassin, to watch over the contestants. The show consists of ex cons dating hot women and pretending they are serial killers. There are plenty of suspects, but what happens when everyone is targeted by a real serial killer?

It’s pretty bad when the cons are better people than the ones running the circus. So, let’s meet the main characters, even though the peripheral characters are important and have their own impact on the story.

Leine Basso – she may be an assassin, but she is no psychopath. She does have feelings and desires, just like the rest of us. It pains her that her daughter, April, holds the past against her and wants nothing to do with her. She cannot escape the past, no matter how far or fast she runs, but maybe she can kill it. Evil and danger come at her from more than one direction.

Deliciously hot and sexy Los Angeles Homicide Detective Santiago Jensen is assigned the case and the sparks fly when he and Leine meet. Would he risk his job to be with her? The heart wants what the heart wants and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t stop thinking of her.

Peter Bronkowski is a sick and twisted individual. It had been his idea for the show and he is more interested in the ratings than the deaths mounting up around him. He has fears and problems of of his own that do no include Serial Date.

Senator Buzz Runyon is a corrupt, arrogant and pathetic politician that visits the pages. He is controlled by his ‘little head” and in a very sick way. The only things he cares about is reelection and his sex games.

Leine has no idea what is coming her way, until April is abducted by the serial killer. But that can be said for Azazel. He has no idea of the storm that will be unleashed on him. Revenge is his motivation and he will not stop, until he gets it. Leine will not stop, until she gets her daughter back.

Serial Date is the first in a series of suspense thrillers that stand alone. It is easy reading, action packed, loaded with tension and sizzling romance. There are as many weak and twisted men as there are strong and determined women. DV shows the ugliness of human nature, but also the beauty and goodness. I love the taste of humor with my evil and DV deals with this in a way that seems real. After all, the police, medical examiners and others in awkward situations use laughter to get through the badness or discomfort.

I read, but didn’t review Serial Date right away, so I reread it. I thought I would just skim it and refresh my memory, but I ended up reading it word for word. I think I enjoyed it better the second time around, because I wasn’t in as big a hurry to find out how everything ended.

I would love to have a margarita at the Happy Mermaid with Leine. Gimme a call! 🙂

I received Serial Date from DV Berkom in return for an honest review. Thank you DV. It has been my pleasure! I LOVED it!

5 Stars

SYNOPSIS

When former assassin Leine Basso’s daughter is abducted, she’s drawn into the twisted game of a serial killer who may be a grisly remnant from her past.

Determined to leave her old life behind, retired assassin Leine Basso accepts a job working security at one of television’s most popular reality shows, Serial Date. When a contestant is found dead in the prop closet, it appears the killer is one of the ‘bachelors’ on the show- an ex-con billed as a serial killer- but the detective in charge of the case isn’t so sure.

When Leine’s estranged daughter is abducted by a man claiming to be the real killer, she’s forced to rely on old skills to find her and must come to terms with who she really is. She soon realizes the murderer may be a grisly remnant from her past and she’ll need to use all of her cunning to stop him….

and rescue her daughter.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Pinterest / Amazon US / Amazon UK/ Newsletter

Author Pages

Amazon / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / itunes / Kobo

The Leine Basso Thrillers:

I have read some of her Kate Jones Thrillers:

5 Star Review – Yucatan Dead by DV Berkom

5 Star Review – A One Way Ticket To Dead by DV Berkom

The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 1 box set (includes the 1st four novellas in the series).

(The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 2 includes Cruising for Death (#5), YD, and AOWTTD, all for $8.99 (bought separately they would be 12.99)

***all covers link to amazon, I am an affiliate***

Check out all these beautiful covers for the Kate Jones thrillers by DV Berkom.

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Review: Personal by Lee Child

Posted on March 9, 2015 by fundinmental

Lee Child, a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, is back with another Jack Reacher novel, Personal.

I have read numerous novels by Lee and he is on my list of ‘grab their books’ authors.

PERSONAL by Lee Child

A Jack Reacher Novel

Add Me to Goodreads now.

File Size: 1296 KB
Print Length: 369 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0804178747
Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 2, 2014)
Sold by: Random House LLC
ASIN: B00HBQWGXK
Book Design by Virginia Norey

MY REVIEW

I love political intrigue and the machinations of the government at work. Personal by Lee Child is a book that kept its secret from beginning to end. I do love when I cannot figure out the ending of a book. I have read numerous books by Lee Child and I will be looking for the next one.

He saw his name in the paper – Jack Reacher call Rick Shoemaker.

Jack was a retired military cop and they were reaching out to him.

Someone had taken a potshot at the president of France from 1400 feet, 3/4 of a mile away. How many snipers could there be, that are capable of making a shot like that? It didn’t take long for Jack to figure out this was Personal.

Jack Reacher had disappeared after quitting the service. He had no home, just went where the wind blew him. He is Sherlock Homeless. He is a no nonsense kinda guy. Why did they chose him? He had no resources, no contacts. When something smells, he can run through the options and eliminate the unlikely suspects. But, Jack Reacher plays by no rules but his own. He did not feel bad about his kills and felt food was wasted on some of the people he had run across. I would hate to get in a staring contest with Jack. He could stare all day without blinking.

Jack believes there are four necessities – smart people, work hard, pay attention and think laterally. He is quick and intuitive, a bad ass and shows no mercy. Jack is observant and a fast thinker. Will he be fast enough?

John Kott was suspected of killing his parents when he was 17 years old. He was recruited by the army anyway. He became a Special Forces sniper, but he had a screw loose. A dead Ranger, a guilty John Kott and Jack Reacher would be the one to put him away for 15 years. Now he is out…

Casey Nice is a rookie analyst for the CIA, working under the State Department. She feels the weight of the world on her shoulders and is determined to guard Jack’s back. She has never worked a mission. We think we know how we would respond in certain situations, but until you walk in those shoes, you can’t really know.

The characters are too numerous to list. I loved some and hated some, was terrified of some and pissed off at some. I do like that Lee Child does not let the bad guys off the hook and their actions will have severe repercussions.

Details in thrillers are very important. Careful use of them can keep the pacing, action and suspense, at a high level, making me wonder what will happen next as I quickly turn the pages. My only complaint – too much detail. The beginning hooked me. Then, I got lost in the details. The last third of the book kept my attention from wandering and I loved the ending.

Snipers, political intrigue, spies, conspiracies, corruption, the mystery abounds as I weave my way around the pitfalls of Jack’s mission, a mission that has twists and turns that kept me in the dark.

Lee Child’s ability to weave a story that does not give away the ending is phenomenal.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

4 Stars

.

SYNOPSIS

Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he’s a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president. Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him. This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child’s number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris – and then to London. The stakes have never been higher – because this time, it’s personal.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV’s “golden age.” During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars’ worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.

Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar’s Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.

Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.

Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook / Jack Reacher Facebook / G+ / You Tube

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Teaser Tuesday #33 ~ Personal by Lee Child

Posted on January 20, 2015 by fundinmental

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

PERSONAL by Lee Child

A Jack Reacher Novel

MY TEASE

“Which is where, exactly?

In a house with four remaining guards and two world-class killers?”

(74% on Kindle)

SYNOPSIS

Jack Reacher walks alone. Once a go-to hard man in the US military police, now he’s a drifter of no fixed abode. But the army tracks him down. Because someone has taken a long-range shot at the French president.. Only one man could have done it. And Reacher is the one man who can find him. This new heartstopping, nailbiting book in Lee Child’s number-one bestselling series takes Reacher across the Atlantic to Paris – and then to London. The stakes have never been higher – because this time, it’s personal.

I love suspense and intrigue. To follow a character through numerous stories makes me able to relate to him/her as if they are family or friends. Do you feel the same?

Do you have a favorite series?

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

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Action Packed Jungle Thriller – Yucatan Dead by D V Berkom – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

Posted on September 16, 2014 by fundinmental

Yucatan Dead by D V Berkom is my first Kate Jones thriller and I love it.

I knew by the awesome cover that this is my kind of book.

I love the kickass protagonist and can hardly wait to see what see will be up to next.

I have lots of fun stuff to share.

Check out her gorgeous and bold cover, my 5 Star review, see the characters through DV’s eyes, enter the fantastic giveaway and much more.

Soooooo………let’s get started!

Paperback, 258 pages

Published July 17th 2013 by Createspace (first published June 24th 2013)

ISBN: 149096326X (ISBN13: 9781490963266)

4.7 out of 5 stars – 30 reviews on Amazon

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I LOVE covers! I guess you could call me a cover whore. And PROUD of it. 😉

We may not be able to judge a book by it’s cover, but it is most always the thing that makes me say, “I GOTTA have that book.”

WHAT DV BERKOM HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE COVERS

I did all but Yucatan Dead and A One Way Ticket to Dead–Kim Killion from the Killion Group created those. I just love working with her- she’s fast and professional.

MY REVIEW

Yucatan Dead by D V Berkom is an action packed adventure that had me racing through the Mexican jungle, dodging danger and death with Yucatan Kate. The characters come to life on the pages with multiple stories being told.

Mexico Cenote (c) Sherry Fundin

All Kate wanted was to have a normal life with her new love, Cole. She had a family now, but the past continued to haunt her. Would she have to pay for the rest of her life or would the assassin finish her off?

Kate had made a mistake falling for a drug lord. She knew you didn’t just walk away from someone like him.

I cannot imagine how terrorized she must be. Kate is plucked from her home in Arizona and hauled out of the country to Mexico. Back to Salazar, a dangerous drug lord, who is super pissed at her. Kate had not just left him, she took some of his money too.

Kate escapes. She is on her own and being chased, hiding, not knowing which way to go. Until…..

Quinn. He is a warrior of the twenty first century kind. D V Berkom describes him as a Rottweiler kind of guy. I love it. He has a pack of dogs, always at his side and has his own war going on with the cartel. Him and his team work the jungles, shutting down the traffickers.

He nicknames her Yucatan Kate.

The cartel is blood thirsty. They are ruthless and cruel, not just dealing in drugs, but also human trafficking and the slave trade.

Your enemy could be standing right beside you posing as your friend, your ally. Trusting the wrong person could get you killed.

A touch of mysticism walks with Kate through the jungle. She had bad spirits around her, but her jaguar spirit was watching over her. I am always intrigued with mystical cultures and, even though Yucatan Dead is light in this department, it does add a special additional element that makes me wonder if D V Berkom will add to it as the series develops. Or maybe she already has, I just don’t know it yet. 😀

Yucatan Dead is a spine tingling race for survival as Kate dodges the ruthless cartel who, will stop at nothing to get her. I loved running and hiding in the jungle with Kate, hanging out at camp with Quinn, his dogs and the team, floating through the Cenote, and trying to evade the people sent to find her.

I have a feeling I will be seeing Kate again and I am eager for the next adventure. How about you Kate? Are you ready? Will Quinn be there?

“I’ll give you a worse case scenario. Yucatan Kate is going to be Yucatan Dead.”

“If I had to die, the one thing I can control is how..”

I love that and will keep that handy for future reference.

I find D V Berkom’s bio pretty adventurous itself. Be sure and check her out.

I received Yucatan Kate from D V Berkom in return for an honest, unbiased review.

5 Stars – Would Buy It For Them (lol)

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Soooooo, let’s meet Yucatan Kate as seen through D V’s eyes

Welcome D V. I am so excited to have you on fundinmental and I’m eager to hear what you have to say about your characters. I am always curious how authors create them. So let’s take a sneak peek into the mind of DV.

Where Did She Come From?

A Character in the Making

As a writer, I’m often asked this question. I write a couple of thriller series featuring strong female characters—both of whom frequently end up in extreme circumstances—but each one is uniquely different and have their own way of dealing with danger.

Like Kate Jones, for example.

Mexico Palms (c) Sherry Fundin

When we first meet Kate in Bad Spirits, she’s in her 20s and on the run from a huge mistake she made that I’m sure many of us can relate to—she fell for the wrong guy. And I mean the REALLY wrong guy. Turns out, Roberto Salazar is the vicious leader of a Mexican drug cartel. And, well, he’s not one to appreciate a woman who takes something that belongs to him and just up and disappears into the Sonoran desert. Oh, and did I mention she stole a bunch of his money?

She watched him slit the throat of a friend over basically nothing and in a blinding moment of insight realized if he could do something like that to a good friend, she could be next. Due to the nature of the business, drug lords often become a tad, um, paranoid, and what you don’t want to do is cross them. Ever.

So she runs, attempting to stay one step ahead of Salazar.

Until she doesn’t.

Several people have asked if I’m writing this series from memory (I lived in Mexico for a time in my twenties) and I can tell you that, to my knowledge, I wasn’t involved with a member of a drug cartel. I did meet several people in my travels who were probably connected in some way, but they didn’t talk about it. And, you know, I didn’t ask.

The truth is, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life that had long-ranging repercussions—and yes, a couple of those mistakes involved men. That’s the thing about decisions. You don’t know what consequences might be set in motion when you make them…

For Kate, I took something I might have done in the same circumstances and then threw everything I could think of at her, putting her in the worst possible situations and then letting her figure out how to get herself out of them (because, well, if she died then the series would be over J). She’s grown quite a bit from that first terrifying adventure but she hasn’t lost what makes her Kate. She’s still dealing with the three I’s that make up her character: impatient, impetuous, and intrepid, which, in real life as well as in fiction is a sure recipe for disaster.

My other character, Leine Basso, came into being when I had a bizarre dream about a reality show where beautiful women compete for a date with a serial killer (Serial Date). The dream came to me as a promotional spot featuring women contestants and the killer-bachelor. For balance, I needed someone who would be able to go toe-to-toe against a serial killer. I love writing strong women characters and it didn’t take long before Leine showed up, fully formed and demanding a leading role. Leine is a burned-out female assassin with daughter issues who doesn’t like people very much, except for a certain sexy homicide detective named Santiago Jensen…the perfect match for a serial killer. Her character is derived from several people I’ve met through the years, shot through with a few of my own imperfections, just to make it interesting.

Both characters are a kick to write, and, what I’ve heard from readers, fun to read. If you enjoy genuinely flawed but gutsy female characters who know how to handle danger, then you just might like meeting Kate and Leine.

***Warning: Neither series is for the faint of heart***

There’s adult language and situations, dead bodies, sleazy politicians, and enough villainous characters to fill a book.

Enjoy!

This is a fantastic guest post and I enjoyed it tremendously. I love how you threw everything at Kate knowing she couldn’t die. LOL The informative, yet light telling of your thoughts had me smiling and chuckling as I read it. I even went back and read it again. Thanks so much for visiting fundinmental and I look forward to having you back again…..soon.

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SYNOPSIS

She was a dangerous man’s lover…now she’s his dangerous enemy.

For Kate Jones, being on the run from her former lover-the vicious leader of a Mexican drug cartel-was never going to be easy. But with a new identity, a new lover, and a new life in Arizona, she was beginning to believe she’d made it through the worst.

Then, in an act of twisted revenge, Kate’s kidnapped and imprisoned by her deadly enemy, his intention to force her to pay back the money she stole before he kills her. Fate intervenes and she finds herself working against the cartels deep in the Yucatan with a group of off-the-grid commandos.

From peaceful northern Arizona to the steamy jungles of Mexico, Kate Jones must decide for herself if she’ll continue to run…

…or turn and fight the evil that pursues her.

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The next Kate Jones Thriller I will be reviewing is A One Way Ticket To Dead by DV Berkom.

Another fabulous cover that makes my mouth water and my hands itch.

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Check out DV Berkom’s other kickass female protagonist, Leine Basso in her Awesome Indies Approved novel, Serial Date.

Leine is an assassin who will stop at nothing to track down the serial killer who stole her daughter.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

For more information, please visit her website at www.dvberkom.com.

Facebook / Twitter / Blog / Pinterest / Amazon US / Amazon UK/ Newsletter

Author Pages

Amazon / Smashwords / Barnes & Noble / itunes / Kobo

The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 1 box set (includes the 1st four novellas in the series).

(The Kate Jones Thriller Series, Vol. 2 includes Cruising for Death (#5), YD, and AOWTTD, all for $8.99 (bought separately they would be 12.99))

Check out all the Kate Jones novels by DV Berkom. I believe they are in order from 1-7, even though they can stand alone.

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GIVEAWAY

D V Berkom is offering for the giveaway two (2) ebooks of each novel, Yucatan Dead and A One Way Ticket to Dead. The Novels can stand alone. Entry is easy. Just leave your email, your preference of which ebook and answer the question: