Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books Wish List

 


Please list the books from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books, I'm Waiting For:








From New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Tyler, the Section 8 series continues.

WHEN THE RISKS ARE THIS GREAT


When Dr. Drea Timmons was kidnapped during Section 8’s last mission, Jem did everything in his power to rescue the woman he’d fallen for — a woman unwillingly recruited for one of S8’s most personal and dangerous covert operations. Drea survived, but at a price. The trauma of her capture has rendered her without a single memory of her ordeal — or any recollection of how violently unpredictable her ex-boyfriend, Danny, an Outlaw Angel, had become, or why she had left him.

IS TRUST EVEN AN OPTION?

When Danny threatens to turn Drea over to the feds, she is forced to go on the run and confront a past that is as deadly as her future. As trouble closes in on both ends, Drea has no choice but to trust Jem, the only man who can help her, the only man whose electrifying touch brings back memories — piece by piece — too stirring to forget.














With a needle and thread, Harlow Jane Cassidy is capable of magic. Her neighbors in Bliss, Texas, on the other hand, are capable of murder.

Any garment Harlow stitches together has the power to grant the deepest desire of whomever wears it. So when she’s asked to sew aprons for a local women’s group, Harlow must get to know each member. First up is Delta Lee Mobley, who doesn’t care much for Harlow’s family — or anyone else in Bliss, for that matter. Granting Delta’s greatest wish could only lead to trouble.

But trouble finds Delta all the same. The day after Harlow delivers her apron, Delta’s body is discovered in the cemetery. It seems one of the townsfolk harbored ill will toward one of their own. Harlow’s sleuthing skills are a cut above the rest, and with a few magical tricks up her sleeve, she is determined to cuff this killer once and for all.






For Sandy Harbor’s tastiest comfort food, venture to the Silver Bullet Diner. But head next door to the new drive-in theater if you have an appetite for murder.

Trixie Matkowski has a tall order to fill this fall. Aside from dishing out delicious fare at the Silver Bullet during peak fishing season, she’s helping her friend — Antoinette Chloe Brown, or ACB for short — open a drive-in movie theater in the vacant lot beside her diner. It’s just the thing to take ACB’s mind off Nick, her missing biker beau.

But their plans are fried after Nick’s body is discovered during the groundbreaking for the drive-in. And when the police connect the murder weapon to ACB, she becomes the prime suspect in eighty-sixing Nick. With the fate of her innocent friend and her business on the line, Trixie must make the guilty party pay up before someone else gets stiffed.

Includes Delicious Home-Style Recipes!

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Personal (Jack Reacher)




I've finished "Personal" the book in his Jack Reacher series by Lee Child.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Jack Reacher returns in the latest fast-moving, action-packed, suspenseful book from Lee Child.


You can leave the army, but the army doesn’t leave you. Not always. Not completely, notes Jack Reacher — and sure enough, the retired military cop is soon pulled back into service. This time, for the State Department and the CIA.

Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light. The bullet was American. The distance between the gunman and the target was exceptional. How many snipers can shoot from three-quarters of a mile with total confidence? Very few, but John Kott — an American marksman gone bad — is one of them. And after fifteen years in prison, he’s out, unaccounted for, and likely drawing a bead on a G8 summit packed with enough world leaders to tempt any assassin.

If anyone can stop Kott, it’s the man who beat him before: Reacher. And though he’d rather work alone, Reacher is teamed with Casey Nice, a rookie analyst who keeps her cool with Zoloft. But they’re facing a rough road, full of ruthless mobsters, Serbian thugs, close calls, double-crosses — and no backup if they’re caught. All the while Reacher can’t stop thinking about the woman he once failed to save. But he won’t let that that happen again. Not this time. Not Nice.

Reacher never gets too close. But now a killer is making it personal.

Product Details
Series: Jack Reacher (Book 19)
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 1st Printing edition (September 2, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0804178747
ISBN-13: 978-0804178747


My Review:

2/5

New Release 2014 (Dec 30)











For fans of Anne Canadeo comes a fun and sassy cozy mystery in which one woman must solve the murder of a book group member and untangle a web of secrets hidden by her bookish cohorts.

Hazel Rose never dreamed that the murder mystery book group she and her friend Carlene started would stage a real murder.

Nevertheless, the normally composed Carlene is unusually angry and rattled one night during a book group discussion and dies after drinking cyanide-spiked tea. Despite a suicide note, Hazel is skeptical; Carlene never seemed suicidal — she was busy making plans for her future. Incidentally, Carlene was married to Hazel’s ex-husband, and Hazel has always suspected there might be something more to her past than she let on.

How much does anyone really know about Carlene Arness? And did she die by her own hand or someone else’s? Hazel begins a search for the truth that produces no shortage of motives, as she unearths the past that Carlene took great pains to hide. And most of those motives belong to the members of her very own book group.

Featuring memorable characters and a wicked sense of humor, Murder at the Book Group shows the darker side of a book club where reading isn’t about pleasure — it’s about payback.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Dec 29)




 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads


Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Deadline - John Sandford
2.  The Lost Key - Catherine Coulter

Weekly Read:

1.  Personal - Lee Child
2.  Cover Your Eyes - Mary Burton

Saturday, December 27, 2014

The Lost Key (A Brit in the FBI)




I've finished "The Lost Key" the 2nd book in her A Brit in the FBI series by Catherine Coulter.

The newest entry in the sizzling international thriller series featuring Nicholas Drummond, from #1 New York Times–bestselling author Catherine Coulter.

Freshly minted FBI agent Nicholas Drummond is barely out of his Quantico training when he and his partner, Mike Caine, are called to investigate a stabbing on Wall Street.

Their investigation, however, yields more questions than answers. It quickly becomes clear that the victim, John Pearce, was more than the naval historian and antiquities dealer he appeared to be. What Drummond doesn’t know is that buying and selling rare books was Pearce’s cover, and that he had devoted his life to discovering the whereabouts of a missing World War I U-boat concealing a stash of gold bullion, and an unexpected surprise that only raises more questions. When Drummond and Caine find both of Pearce’s adult children have disappeared, the case assumes a new sense of urgency. The FBI agents know their best lead lies in the victim’s cryptic final words — “The key is in the lock.” But what key? What lock?

The search for Adam and Sophia Pearce takes them on an international manhunt, which threatens to run them afoul of an eccentric billionaire industrialist with his own plans not only for the lost gold, but the creation of a weapon unlike anything the world has ever seen.

Product Details
Series: A Brit in the FBI (Book 2)
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399164766
ISBN-13: 978-0399164767

My Review:


4/5

Friday, December 26, 2014

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books Wish List

 


Please list the books from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books, I'm Waiting For:







For fans of Anne Canadeo comes a fun and sassy cozy mystery in which one woman must solve the murder of a book group member and untangle a web of secrets hidden by her bookish cohorts.

Hazel Rose never dreamed that the murder mystery book group she and her friend Carlene started would stage a real murder.

Nevertheless, the normally composed Carlene is unusually angry and rattled one night during a book group discussion and dies after drinking cyanide-spiked tea. Despite a suicide note, Hazel is skeptical; Carlene never seemed suicidal — she was busy making plans for her future. Incidentally, Carlene was married to Hazel’s ex-husband, and Hazel has always suspected there might be something more to her past than she let on.

How much does anyone really know about Carlene Arness? And did she die by her own hand or someone else’s? Hazel begins a search for the truth that produces no shortage of motives, as she unearths the past that Carlene took great pains to hide. And most of those motives belong to the members of her very own book group.

Featuring memorable characters and a wicked sense of humor, Murder at the Book Group shows the darker side of a book club where reading isn’t about pleasure — it’s about payback.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Deadline (A Virgil Flowers Novel)


I've finished "Deadline" the 8th book in his Virgil Flowers series by John Sandford.

The thrilling new novel in the #1 New York Times–bestselling series.

In Southeast Minnesota, down on the Mississippi, a school board meeting is coming to an end. The board chairman announces that the rest of the meeting will be closed, due to personnel issues. “Issues” is correct. The proposal up for a vote before them is whether to authorize the killing of a local reporter. The vote is four to one in favor.

Meanwhile, not far away, Virgil Flowers is helping out a friend by looking into a dognapping, which seems to be turning into something much bigger and uglier — a team of dognappers supplying medical labs — when he gets a call from Lucas Davenport. A murdered body has been found — and the victim is a local reporter.

Product Details
Series: A Virgil Flowers Novel (Book 8)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 7, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399162372
ISBN-13: 978-0399162374


My Review:

3/5

Monday, December 22, 2014

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Dec 22)




 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads


Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Deserves To Die - Lisa Jackson
2.  Her Last Whisper - Karen Robards

Weekly Read:

1.  Deadline - John Sandford
2.  The Lost Key - Catherine Coulter

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Library Haul 2014 (Dec 21 - 27)



Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Personal - Lee Child
2.  The Lost Key - Catherine Coulter  

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Her Last Whisper: A Novel (Dr. Charlotte Stone)




I've finished "Her Last Whisper" the 3rd book in her Dr. Charlotte Stone series by Karen Robards.

Readers who relish heated passion and chilling suspense love New York Times bestselling author Karen Robards’s acclaimed novels featuring Dr. Charlotte “Charlie” Stone. A heroine with a keen mind for catching killers and a soft heart for bad boys, Charlie is back in this third sizzling paranormal romance thriller.

HER LAST WHISPER

Madness and murder invaded Dr. Charlotte Stone’s life when she was just a girl — and made her a woman determined to save others from the horror she survived. An expert in the psychology of serial killers, she’s faced down more than her share of human monsters. But Charlie can also communicate with the spirits of those who die violently, an extrasensory skill that has helped the FBI bring lethal predators to justice. Now, after narrowly escaping death a second time, Charlie’s ready to step away from the edge before her luck runs out.

Too bad Charlie is too dedicated for her own good — and too devoted to federal agent Tony Bartoli to say no when he asks her to ride shotgun on yet another risky mission. Of course, she already has her hands full with Michael Garland: the handsome, roguish ghost with whom she’s hopelessly in love — a spirit who depends on Charlie to keep him from slipping forever into the dark side of the afterlife. But in the mortal world, beautiful single women are vanishing from Las Vegas hotels at night. All signs indicate that a psychopath is on the prowl in Sin City, and Bartoli’s FBI colleague Lena Kaminsky has reason to fear that her missing sister may be just the killer’s type.

In a town full of fast players and few rules, flushing out a smooth-talking stalker like the Cinderella Killer might be a loser’s game. But for Charlie, the only way to cage her quarry is to plunge back into the homicidal hell she vowed to leave behind — and may not leave alive.

Product Details
Series: Dr. Charlotte Stone
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 26, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0804178267
ISBN-13: 978-0804178266

My Review:


3/5

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail (Dec 20)



Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail is hosted every Saturday at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.

For Review:









It took only one impulsive moment on an empty two-lane highway to cost her everything.

A man's responsible for his own prosperity — especially if he's Cooper Barnett, the most determined cowboy in the West. No one knows what he sacrificed to claim a piece of Beartooth, Montana, for himself and his beautiful fiancée, Livie. No one knows what he's willing to do for love until a stranger's twisted vendetta threatens the happy ending they should've had long ago.

One fateful mistake isn't the only secret Livie Hamilton is keeping from her fiancé. Victimized during a treacherous blizzard by a man she thought she could trust, she's pregnant but unsure who the father is. With an unknown blackmailer threatening to expose her, she must confess to Cooper and trust he'll still protect her. But when the truth falls into place, she may lose the only man she's ever loved — or worse.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Karen Harper Broken Bonds Blog Tour with Spotlight and Giveaway




I am so excited to have Karen Harper here Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Giveaway and Spotlight.

Thanks Karen and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for allowing me to join your Broken Bonds Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Karen!












About the Author

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Harper is a former college English instructor (The Ohio State University) and high school literature and writing teacher. A lifelong Ohioan, Karen and her husband Don divide their time between the midwest and the southeast, both locations she has used in her books. Besides her American settings, Karen loves the British Isles, where her Scottish and English roots run deep, and where she has set many of her historical Tudor-era mysteries and her historical novels about real and dynamic British women. Karen's books have been published in many foreign languages and she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for 2005. Karen has given numerous talks to readers and writers across the county.

Her latest book is the romantic suspense, Broken Bonds, the third book in the Cold Creek Trilogy.

For More Information
Visit Karen Harper’s website.
Find out more about Karen at Goodreads.











Cold Creek is a place with a dark history, especially for the Lockwoods. Now adults, the three Lockwood sisters are still recovering from the events that led to the destruction of their family when they were children. Determined to move forward, Tess and Kate are making fresh starts, ready to put bad — even deadly — memories to rest and settle happily in the small but booming town. And they're hoping their older sister, Charlene, can do the same.

Char is back in town seeking comfort as she figures out her next move. A social worker used to difficult situations, she soon runs afoul of some locals who think she's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. She's certain something sinister is being covered up, and when she witnesses Matt Rowan being run off the road, she knows she's right.

Working together, Matt and Char figure uncovering the truth will be dangerous, but living in Cold Creek won't be safe for any of them until its secrets are revealed.

For More Information
Broken Bonds is available at Amazon.
Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
Broken Bonds is also available at Indiebound.
Add Broken Bonds to your to be read list at Goodreads.
Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Other books in the trilogy include:

Shattered Secrets:

ISBN-13: 9780778316473
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: MIRA
Publication date: 8/26/2014
Series: Cold Creek Series , #1
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 400








Book Excerpt:

She started to get out until she saw the driver of the truck was really covered up for the weather. She could see through his windshield that he wore a ski mask, leaving only his eyes visible. He climbed down and started toward her truck, holding up his hands as if to apologize.

Could this be the man who nearly ran Matt off the cliff?

She turned the ignition back on, put the truck in Reverse, yanked the steering wheel and tried to back up to get some maneuvering room, but she was held tight by the tree, and her wheels spun. She laid on her horn, but saw no other vehicle on the road.

The man went back to his truck and returned, holding a metal carjack, the kind needed to change a flat tire. He walked now with swift, strong strides. She knew he was going to use it to smash her window. Was this guy desperate or crazy? They were on a public road in broad daylight.

She waited until he came close and raised the car jack. He hit the glass of the driver’s-side window, which only cracked on the first blow. She had to do the unexpected and fast, run for help. She’d seen a car parked at her childhood home if she could make it there. She dug in her big purse for her phone. Too much in here — couldn’t feel it. She had to go now or he’d have her!

In an instant, she unlocked her doors, tried to grab her heavy purse, but he reached for it, too, yanked it and tipped her toward him. She slid away from the steering wheel and clambered out the other side, forced to leave the purse, the phone. She had no illusions he just wanted the purse. She slipped to her knees in the ice-crusted snow, then clawed her way up and raced toward the trees.

Giveaway

Karen is giving away 10 sets of the Broken Bonds trilogy.



https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4a6581ad2/

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Deserves To Die (Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli)


 
I've finished "Deserves To Die" the 6th book in her Alvarez and Pescoli series by Lisa Jackson.

As he watches, her body drifts below the water's surface, forever altered. Before he disposes of each victim, he takes a trophy. It's a sign of his power, and a warning - to the one destined to suffer most of all.  In Grizzly Falls, Montana, Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli are struggling with a new commander and a department in the midst of upheaval. It's the worst possible time for a homicide. A body has been found, missing a finger. Alvarez hopes this means a murderer with a personal grudge, not a madman. But then a second body turns up.  As the clues begin pointing towards a suspect, Pescoli's unease grows. She senses there's more to this case than others believe. A killer has made his way to Grizzly Falls, ready to fulfil a vengeance years in the making. And Pescoli must find the target of his wrath - or die trying.

Product Details
Series: Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Zebra; Reprint edition (July 29, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1420118528
ISBN-13: 978-1420118520


My Review:

3/5

New Release 2014 (Dec 16)













A brand new finger-lickin’ good mystery featuring small-town Georgia spice shop owner Piper Prescott, a smart and spunky amateur sleuth.

Spices are flying off the shelves of Spice It Up!, and Piper Prescott couldn’t be happier. It’s that time of year again—time for the annual Brandywine Creek Barbecue Festival. Soon contestants and BBQ aficionados from all over the Southeast will converge on the town. Many of Brandywine Creek’s citizens plan to participate in the week-long festivities and are busily concocting savory rubs and sassy sauces. Among the locals vying for the grand prize are Becca Dapkins and Maybelle Humphries. The women have been arch enemies ever since Buzz Oliver dumped Maybelle after a thirteen-year courtship and started seeing Becca.

When Becca’s body is found near one of the festival booths, bludgeoned by a brisket, Maybelle becomes one of Chief Wyatt McBride’s top suspects. Determined to help clear her friend’s name, Piper begins her own investigation, much to McBride’s consternation. As the festival draws closer, will Piper and Reba Mae be able to find the real killer and clear Maybelle’s name? Will Piper make it to the annual shag contest with Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been seeing? And, who will win the BBQ cook-off?

Monday, December 15, 2014

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Dec 15)




 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads


Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Haunted - Kay Hooper
2.  Cheap Shot - Robert B. Parker
3.  Festive in Death - J.D. Robb 

Weekly Read:

1.  Deserves To Die - Lisa Jackson
2.  Her Last Whisper - Karen Robards

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Library Haul 2014 (Dec 14 - 20)



Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Deadline - John Sandford

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot (Hardcover)



I've finished "Cheap Shot" the 43rd book in Robert B. Parker's Spencer series by Ace Atkins.

The iconic, tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser returns in an outstanding new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series from author Ace Atkins.

Kinjo Heywood is one of the New England Patriots’ marquee players — a hard-nosed linebacker who’s earned his reputation as one of the toughest guys in the league. When off-field violence repeatedly lands Heywood in the news, his slick agent hires Spenser to find the men who he says have been harassing his client.

Heywood’s troubles seem to be tied to a nightclub shooting from two years earlier. But when Heywood’s nine-year-old son, Akira, is kidnapped, ransom demands are given, and a winding trail through Boston’s underworld begins, Spenser puts together his own all-star team of toughs. It will take both Hawk and Spenser’s protégé, Zebulon Sixkill, to watch Spenser’s back and return the child to the football star’s sprawling Chestnut Hill mansion. A controversial decision from Heywood only ups the ante as the clock winds down on Akira’s future.

Product Details
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (May 6 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399161589
ISBN-13: 978-0399161582

My Review:


3/5

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail (Dec 13)



Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail is hosted every Saturday at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.

For Review:







From the internationally bestselling author of Eye of the Storm comes a new novel introducing the fiery Alexandra “Hemi” Hemingway as she tracks down a serial killer cutting a swathe across New York City.

A stifling heat wave rolls into New York City, amplifying the already critical level of tension in the fragile concrete ecosystem. Recently recovered from a shoot-out that nearly killed her, homicide detective Alexandra “Hemi” Hemingway is already on edge. But then, on the morning Hemi discovers she is pregnant, a twisted serial killer makes his debut. And the heat goes up.

Soon, Hemi is besieged on all fronts as she struggles to catch up to a killer who always seems one step ahead. And as she pieces together the clues along the trail, it isn’t long before tensions boil over and Hemi finds herself a target in the deadly competition.

Not for the faint of heart, Harvest is a relentless ride that takes you through the fractured world of a nascent killer. And you will never feel safe again.








With a deft touch and piercing insight, Susan Philpott delivers a thriller guaranteed to get your pulse pounding.

Like a runaway train, Signy Shepherd has been blowing through danger signals all her life.

Recruited to the Line, a shadowy underground railroad dedicated to helping women in peril, Signy has no idea that her first solo case will set her on a collision course with a renowned photographer concealing a murderous past; a relentless tracker with an explosive secret; and her own violent demons.

Set during the height of a brutal heat wave, the pressure mounts as Signy and her young passenger race across the country toward a sanctuary that proves to be a deadly illusion.




 




For the first time in nearly thirty years of marriage, Art McElroy Sr. buys his headstrong, disapproving wife a dozen yellow roses. Hours later he discovers her lifeless body seated on the toilet. Mae Rose McElroy's sudden death leaves a void in her family and in the entire Midwestern farming community of Fairview. It's a void Mae Rose will attempt to fill, herself, from the hereafter by meddling directly in earthly affairs.

Mae Rose's meddling leads to her spiritual expulsion from heaven, and she winds up in the body of Mary Lee Broadmoor (Scary Mary), a crusty writer and director of exquisite horror movies. Mary Lee refuses to succumb to stage-4 pancreatic cancer until she gets one final shot at an elusive Oscar. Like Mae Rose, who argues with God for a return to earth, Mary Lee pleads, from her Hollywood deathbed, for more time to complete her work, as her hospice nurse, Gertie Morgan, looks on.

The two women's spirits work together, and Mae Rose provides her host with a new script idea: a love story, based on her life! The script earns Mary Lee her coveted Academy Award, but the movie's release shocks and disturbs Mae Rose's family. They set out to find, and confront, the woman who has somehow co-opted, and publicly revealed, their personal tragedy.

Along the way, new love emerges as the reader meets a caste of crazy, eccentric, but highly memorable characters. Death by Roses suggests that relationships don't end at death, but continue until their ultimate purpose is achieved. The universe has every resource at its disposal to get the job done. It also has an amazing sense of humor.






A decades old mystery and a deadly game of cat and mouse will change Charlotte Marshall forever. Charlotte has a good life: friends, family, a successful career. Her perfect life is destroyed when research for a book and a connection from her past plunges her into the middle of her worst nightmare. On the run, with no one to trust, Charlotte begins to unravel the work of a sadistic murderer. Afraid and alone, she will learn the meaning of trust and just when to run.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

John Perich Too Late to Run Blog Tour with Spotlight



I am so excited to have John Perich here Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a  Spotlight.

Thanks John and Pump Up Your Book Promotions for allowing me to join your Too Late to Run Blog Tour!

Please take it away, John!







While working in a variety of Boston-area tech startups, John Perich has still found time to write and publish several gritty crime thrillers, particularly the Mara Cunningham series (Too Close To Miss in 2011; Too Hard to Handle in 2012).

His latest book is the mystery/thriller, Too Late to Run.

For More Information
Visit John Perich’s website.
Connect with John on Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about John at Goodreads.
Visit John’s blog.
More books by John Perich.
Contact John.








Title: Too Late to Run
Author: John Perich
Publisher: John Perich
Pages: 402
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format: Kindle

Purchase at AMAZON


Too Late to Run is the third book in a series of gritty mystery novels starring Boston photojournalist Mara Cunningham. This time, Mara reluctantly aids a crooked real estate developer from her past who's been detained on trumped-up charges. But each clue she uncovers turns up more enemies - backwoods militias, corrupt bankers, and a mysterious pyromaniac - and raises doubts as to her friend's innocence.




 Book Excerpt:

When the feds came for Mickey Scanlon, they came hard: guns out, blue windbreakers with big yellow letters, “ON THE GROUND, ON THE GROUND NOW.” They shouldered their way through the lobby of Greenfield Development Associates, the largest of Scanlon's several fronts, just after twelve noon. The receptionist, a twenty-two-year-old intern chosen for her cup size, had the sense to hit the panic button beneath her desk before an agent whipped around the counter and cuffed her. The cuffs were too tight, she whined.

Mickey Scanlon — just past fifty, tan as a baseball glove — saw the pulsing light in the alarm panel above his office door: three quick strobes, pause, another three. He reacted with accomplished haste, executing perfectly a routine he had only drilled once. Standing, he tugged his laptop free of its docking and dropped it into the bottom drawer of his desk. It adhered to the inside of the drawer with a dull thump. Leaving the drawer open, he crossed to two small filing cabinets opposite his desk. A black metal box sat atop each one. He pulled the tab on the first, waited for the hiss he'd been warned to expect, then did the same for the other. All this in less than ten seconds.

Scanlon had his cell phone out when the agents kicked in the door. They dropped him on his stomach, cuffed his hands behind his back, patted him down for weapons, then hoisted him to his feet. They marched him out of his office, ignoring the smoke coming out of his filing cabinet and his remarkably bare desk. They walked him past a dozen witnesses: some inside associates, aware of the full extent of his real estate rackets; some innocent employees, tenuously aware of Scanlon's two previous arrests. An SUV with tinted windows waited in the parking lot, surrounded by armored vehicles and men with dogs.

They pushed him into the back seat of the SUV, keeping his head free of the roof by yanking on his suit collar. He turned to say something to the offending agent. The words were lost in the chaos, but the look in Scanlon's eyes was obvious: too wide and hesitant to match the bluster in his voice. The agent slammed the door and the SUV drove off.

I knew none of this at the time; I wasn't there. I had to piece together details from multiple sources hours after the fact. At the time I was at a corner table in the window lounge of Top of the Hub, fifty stories above the Back Bay, trying to swallow my pounding heart.

Across from me sat Jeremy Brandt, a man from whom Mickey Scanlon might have learned about roguish charm. Brandt wore his silver hair and blue eyes like honors from the Queen. He had on a navy blazer over a tight T-shirt and chinos. He was sifting through a large leather portfolio with one hand, flicking by glossy blowups of the best photographs I'd taken over the last six years. I took another sip of ice water, wondering if I might swap out for something stronger.

Jeremy Brandt made headlines two years ago when he quit Control Center at CNN. Four months later, he surfaced as the owner of Flashpoint, a high-volume news blog. Most of America knew Flashpoint for its list articles and eye-catching photos. “Seven Things You Never Knew About the Human Brain”; “Eighteen Extreme Sports Stunts You Won't Believe Are Real”; and so forth. But the blog's ad revenue also financed a small but dedicated team of freelance journalists. Brandt poached hip young voices and distinguished veterans from The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere, trying to do with a staff of twelve what the media had fumbled with for the last twenty years: break meaningful stories to a mass audience.

And here he was, looking through my photos, hence my pulse pounding in my throat. Well, that and our occasional eye contact across the top of my portfolio. I'd told myself that morning, as I zipped up my pantsuit, that most of Brandt's legendary looks came from makeup artistry and TV magic. I hadn't been prepared for how good he'd look in a casual outfit. Or how good his voice would sound when it was pitched low enough for just the two of us. Or how good he'd smell.

Easy there, Mara.

Brandt closed the portfolio carefully, as if shutting the door on a sleeping child's room, and rested the binding on the edge of the table. He drummed the fingers of his left hand (no ring) on the leather and pursed his lips.

"These are good," he said.

I nodded, deflating into my comfortable Chiavari chair and resting my hand against my ice water. I could see it in the way he held his breath at the end of the sentence. Better luck next time. Thanks but no thanks.

"This isn't what I had in mind, though," he said.

I nodded again, tucking my hair behind my ears. "I tried to select as broad a variety as possible to showcase my range. But I've mostly been doing crime scene photography for the Tribune for the last four years. I do believe most of those skills would translate into any other field, so I'd …"

He smiled, letting me speak. I could see he wanted to say something but was too polite to interrupt, so I trailed off and let him jump in.

"I don't doubt it," he said. His voice hit that baritone register that soothed my nerves like warm oil. "But this isn't what I'm looking for. I know plenty of photographers already."

I looked away, my face warm. Of course he did. Brandt came up as a war correspondent in the Persian Gulf and Kosovo. He wouldn't need a freelancer from Boston who'd snapped a few car crashes. Realizing that, however, left me more confused than embarrassed.

He saw my brows knit and continued, both hands up. "This was my fault. I must not have been very clear in my first email. Of course this is what you'd think I meant."

Still nothing. My stomach climbed halfway up my throat. Spit it out, handsome.

"I wanted to see a portfolio of your writing."

The room seemed to grow still. I drew my hand off the table and clasped it in my lap, hoping he wouldn't see me shaking.

The waiter chose that moment to reappear. "Another of those, sir?" He gave a short bow toward Brandt's empty beer glass in that way waiters have.

Brandt nodded. "And you, ma'am?"

I found my voice somehow. "Manhattan."

"Any preference for your whiskey?"

"Yes. No. I don't care. Whatever you … you know."

The waiter gave another short bow, as if he received these orders every day, and sidled off, leaving me alone with Jeremy Brandt's gentle grin. "Not the answer you were expecting?" he asked.

"Not hardly," I said. I had covered the State House beat for the Boston Tribune up until five years ago, when I'd pulled a stunt that the paper had threatened to fire me over. The union and the owners had reached a compromise: I could keep working for the paper, but I would never write another word. Gary, the metro desk editor, had kept me on as a photographer. But the work had been drying up over the last four years: more freelancers, fewer pages per issue, less money to go around. All of which led to this midday interview with Jeremy Brandt.

But no, not the sort of interview I'd been expecting at all. "I hate to talk you out of your brilliant idea," I said, "but you know I haven't written for the Tribune for some time."

He nodded. "And I heard about why. That's what inspired me to take a look at you. I need writers with that sort of initiative. Writers with the stones to point out the obvious, no matter who it might embarrass."

"I didn't realize the story had traveled that far." I felt the blush flowing down to my collarbone again. The encouragement in Brandt's eyes didn't help any.

"I heard it from Saul Kirkadian, actually." My mentor at the Tribune, he'd left last August after more than forty years on the beat. "In full disclosure, he was my first choice. But he gave me your name instead and told me why I should give you a look. I trust his judgment."

"And I trust yours."

My Manhattan arrived on a literal silver platter, next to Brandt's beer. We took our drinks and toasted. Every moment of eye contact between us ended in mutual smiles, as if we were in on some private joke.

"I'm recruiting feature writers in all the big metros," he said. "Boston, Atlanta, LA, Chicago. People with experience and a viewpoint, not just content mills."

"So you're not looking for 'Twenty Reasons Boston is Better Than New York'?"

"There aren't any." He grinned. "But no, I want feature copy. The sort of articles you'd write for the Tribune, if you had your way. And more of them too. Ours is still a high-volume business."

"You'll get them."

"Good. The hours might get crazy."

"That's fine." I kept nodding, then checked my head. My hours didn't entirely belong to me; the class I taught in Cambridge at Sandy's self-defense school was another obligation. "There are a couple of evenings —"

Brandt held a hand up. "You set your own schedule. So long as copy gets to the editors on time, I don't care what else you do."

"Really?" The release of tension had left me feeling playful. "You don't want me signing a morals clause?"

Another moment of lingering eye contact. "I don't think either of us would last very long with a morals clause."

I lowered my eyes to my drink and stomped on the brakes in my head. Pleasant enough to dwell on what Brandt was doing to my imagination—and what he might do to other parts of me — but that was as far as it could go. This man was, potentially, my future boss. I'd screwed my life up in the past by going after the wrong older man.

My cell phone vibrated in my purse, trembling against my leg. I kicked it aside. Whoever it was could wait.

The check came; Brandt paid it. We stood, gathered our things, and went for the exit. I overheard murmurs and saw a few heads snap up as we passed: is that? Do you think? And who's she? I smirked at the notion of appearing in the celebrity pages, before remembering I didn't want anyone knowing about my job hunt. Shit. Hopefully no one recognized me.

"Do you have a writing portfolio?" Brandt asked as we reached the street.

"Absolutely."

"Send it to me, and we'll do this once more."

We set a follow-up for the day after next. As a metro photographer, I was notionally on call throughout my entire shift. In practice, the Tribune needed me less and less every day. I could spare the time for another date with a silver fox. Interview, Mara. Not a date, an interview.

"I'll see you then." We shook hands, his fingers warm against my palm. Then I jogged to where I'd parked my car, heels clacking on the pavement.

While the maverick captain of new media had been flattering me over drinks, I'd missed one text and one call. I didn't recognize the phone number on the call, so I left it alone. The text was from Gary, an assignment he wanted me to cover. Three-alarm fire, Vassall Street in Quincy.

And like that, the pleasant flush of the afternoon vanished. My brain queued up a list of items to consider: traffic at this time of day, crowds gawking at the fire, who I knew among South Shore first responders.

Playtime's over; back to business.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books Wish List

 


Please list the books from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books, I'm Waiting For:









A brand new finger-lickin’ good mystery featuring small-town Georgia spice shop owner Piper Prescott, a smart and spunky amateur sleuth.

Spices are flying off the shelves of Spice It Up!, and Piper Prescott couldn’t be happier. It’s that time of year again—time for the annual Brandywine Creek Barbecue Festival. Soon contestants and BBQ aficionados from all over the Southeast will converge on the town. Many of Brandywine Creek’s citizens plan to participate in the week-long festivities and are busily concocting savory rubs and sassy sauces. Among the locals vying for the grand prize are Becca Dapkins and Maybelle Humphries. The women have been arch enemies ever since Buzz Oliver dumped Maybelle after a thirteen-year courtship and started seeing Becca.

When Becca’s body is found near one of the festival booths, bludgeoned by a brisket, Maybelle becomes one of Chief Wyatt McBride’s top suspects. Determined to help clear her friend’s name, Piper begins her own investigation, much to McBride’s consternation. As the festival draws closer, will Piper and Reba Mae be able to find the real killer and clear Maybelle’s name? Will Piper make it to the annual shag contest with Doug Winters, the mild-mannered vet she’s been seeing? And, who will win the BBQ cook-off?

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Haunted (A Bishop/SCU Novel) - Hardcover


 I've finished "Haunted" the 3rd book in her Bishop/SCU series by Kay Hooper.

How do you make peace with the dead if the dead aren’t ready to forgive? In New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper’s new novel, the answer lies in the twisting shadows of a small town, and its secrets yet unearthed.

When Deacon James’s younger sister Melanie calls him, terrified, he goes to her aid in the small Georgia town of Sociable. What he finds is a scared young woman in the grip of what she insists is a paranormal nightmare — and murder. Two local men have been killed under mysterious circumstances. And Melanie is the prime suspect.

Trinity Nichols left a high-stress job for quiet, small-town life. But news of the murders has left her — and the town — on edge, especially when there is nothing remotely ordinary about how the men died. And her investigation is yielding more than she bargained for, including a group of strangers who have descended on Sociable, some with abilities Trinity finds hard to believe, and agendas she refuses to trust. For some reason, they know a lot more than they should about what’s happening in town. And what’s happening is growing stranger by the minute.

Now Trinity, Deacon, and this odd band of FBI agents must work together to solve a series of disturbances so incredible that Trinity, and the town of Sociable, will be changed forever. She just isn’t certain who — or what — will be left standing when it’s all over.

Product Details
Series: A Bishop/SCU Novel (Book 3)
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; First Edition first Printing edition (September 2, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425259390
ISBN-13: 978-0425259399


My Review:

3/5

Monday, December 8, 2014

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Dec 8)




 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads


Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Blind Spot - Robert B. Parker
2.  The Axeman's Jazz - Ray Celestin

Weekly Read:

1.  Haunted - Kay Hooper
2.  Cheap Shot - Robert B. Parker
3.  Festive in Death - J.D. Robb

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Library Haul 2014 (Dec 7 - 13)



Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Festive in Death - J.D. Robb

Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Axeman's Jazz (Hardcover)




I've read "The Axeman's Jazz" by Ray Celestin.

WINNER of the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger for Best Debut Crime Novel of the Year. As recommended on the Radio 2 Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman New Orleans, 1919. As music fills the city, a serial killer strikes New Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer - The Axeman - stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him.

Though every citizen of the 'Big Easy' thinks they know who could be behind the terrifying murders, Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot, heading up the official investigation, is struggling to find leads. But Michael has a grave secret, and if he doesn't get himself on the right track fast, it could be exposed.

Former detective Luca d'Andrea has spent the last six years in Angola state penitentiary, after Michael, his protegee, blew the whistle on his corrupt behaviour. Now a newly freed man, Luca is back working with the mafia, whose need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as that of the authorities.

Meanwhile, Ida is a secretary at the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and dreaming of a better life, Ida stumbles across a clue which lures her and her musician friend, Louis Armstrong, to the case - and into terrible danger.

As Michael, Luca and Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer's identity, the Axeman himself will issue a challenge to the people of New Orleans: play jazz or risk becoming the next victim. And as the case builds to its crescendo, the sky will darken and a great storm will loom over the city

Inspired by a true story, THE AXEMAN'S JAZZ, set against the heady backdrop of jazz-filled, mob-ruled New Orleans, is an ambitious, gripping thriller announcing a major new talent in historical crime fiction.

Product Details
Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark (September 1, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1492609161
ISBN-13: 978-1492609162


My Review:

4/5