Saturday, March 8, 2014

RS Review: The Presence [Hardcover]



I've finished "The Presence" by Heather Graham.

Product Description

The ultimate moneymaking plan — buy the ancient, run-down Scottish castle and turn it into a tourist destination. Toni Fraser and her friends will put on reenactments combining fact and fiction, local history, murder and an imaginary laird named Bruce MacNiall.

Just as someone arrives, claiming to actually be Laird MacNiall — a tall, dark, formidable Scot somehow familiar to Toni — the bodies of young women are found, dumped and forgotten in the nearby town.

But even stranger, how is it possible this laird exists? Toni invented Bruce MacNiall for the performance yet sinister, lifelike dreams suggest he's connected to the recent deaths. Bruce claims he wants to help catch the murderer. But even if she wants to, can Toni trust him when her visions seem to be coming from within the very eyes of the killer himself?

Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Mira; Reprint edition (December 28, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0778329283
ISBN-13: 978-0778329282


My Review:

3/5

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail (Mar 8)



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

I received this in the mail this week.

For Review:









Eyes Closed Tight (Paperback)

O'Clair is a former Detroit homicide investigator who now owns a motel in Pompano Beach, Florida in his retirement. He runs the place with his much younger girlfriend, Virginia, who's a knockout and can fix anything. One morning, he’s cleaning up after the previous night’s partiers when he sees a lovely young woman stretched out asleep on a lounge chair. He shakes her gently. Then he touches her neck and feels for a pulse. There isn't one. Her skin is cold, body starting to stiffen, definitely in the early stages of rigor.

When a second girl is murdered, O'Clair knows someone is trying to send him a message. The way the girls are killed reminds O'Clair of a case he investigated years earlier. Now convinced the Pompano murders are related, O'Clair returns to Detroit Police Homicide to review the murder file and try to figure out what he might have missed.

And when Virginia is kidnapped by the killer, the stakes grow exponentially higher.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

A Taste Fur Murder (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Mystery) Mass Market Paperback



I've finished "A Taste Fur Murder" the 1st book in her Whiskey Tango Foxtrot series by Dixie Lyle.

Introducing an animal-loving Gal Friday with a telepathic cat, a shapeshifting dog, and a ghost of a chance of solving supernatural crime.

Meet Deirdre “Foxtrot” Lancaster. Trusted employee of eccentric zillionairess Zelda Zoransky, Foxtrot manages a mansion, a private zoo, and anything else that strikes her boss’s fancy. Her job title is Administrative Assistant, but chaos handler would be more accurate. Especially after she glimpses a giant ghost-beast in Zelda’s pet cemetery. For some strange reason, Foxtrot is seeing animal spirits. And, ready or not, in this mystery from Dixie Lyle, the fur’s about to hit the fan.

A TASTE FUR MURDER


Still reeling, Foxtrot comes home to find her cat Tango — her dead cat Tango — alive and well and communicating telepathically. But that’s not all: There’s an ectoplasmic dog named Tiny who changes breeds with a shake of his tail and can sniff out a clue like nobody’s business. So when a coworker drops dead while organizing closets, Tiny is on the case. Can Foxtrot and her new companions ferret out the killer among a menagerie of suspects — human and otherwise — before death takes another bite?

About the Author

Dixie Lyle, author A Taste Fur Murder from the Whiskey, Tango and Foxtrot Mysteries from St. Martin's Books, loves animals, mysteries, books, reading, words, bad puns (are there any other kind?) and once had a torrid summer romance with an entire library. Did I mention the books? Oh, and definitely doesn’t believe in the supernatural. Nope, not me. Hey, what was that sound? Where’s that spooky green glow coming from? Oh, hello, didn’t see you standing there in the corner, what with you being all see-through and everything. Want a cup of tea? Moan once for yes, twice for no. Allegations that Dixie Lyle has a goofy sense of humor are entirely unfounded, and should be forwarded to the unfounded and unlost department.

Product Details
Series: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Mystery
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 25, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250031079
ISBN-13: 978-1250031075


My Review:

4/5

New Releases 2014 (Mar 4)














Steeped in Evil (Hardcover)

In the newest mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Sweet Tea Revenge, Indigo Tea Shop owner Theodosia Browning is about to learn the true meaning of terror.


Theodosia Browning has never considered herself a wine connoisseur — tea has always been her forte. But that doesn’t mean she’s going to pass up an invitation to a fancy wine-tasting party at the upscale Knighthall Winery, just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

But a sweet evening takes on a bitter aftertaste when a dead body is discovered in one of the wine barrels. The son of proprietor Jordan Knight has been murdered.

Dissatisfied with the police investigation, Knight turns to Theo for help. She’s heard through the grapevine that there are both family and business problems at Knighthall. They say in vino veritas, but everyone at the winery seems to be lying through their teeth. Sorting through the guest list as well as family and staff, Theo has her pick of suspects. It may look like the killer has her over a barrel, but cracking tough cases is vintage Theodosia Browning.





  





Pearls and Poison 

It’s election time in Savannah, Georgia, and Judge Guillotine Gloria — aka Reagan Summerside’s mom — is neck and neck in the polls with Kip “Scummy” Seymour. But the already dirty campaign is about to get downright filthy—with one candidate getting buried six feet under.

With her strong opinions and knack for getting into trouble, Reagan is not an ideal volunteer for her mother’s alderman campaign. Plus, she’d rather be running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, and eating doughnuts with her dog, Bruce Willis. But when her mother’s opponent, Kip, is found poisoned and her mother is pegged as a suspect, Reagan nominates herself as lead murder investigator.

Reagan is intent on finding Kip’s killer and clearing her mother’s good name, but she soon finds herself on the bad side of Kip’s enemies - turned - suspects. This time, no amount of costumes and makeup can keep her inconspicuous and out of danger. Because the closer Reagan gets to the truth, the hotter things get.










Inherit the Word (A Cookbook Nook Mystery) 

Jenna Hart moved back to Crystal Cove, California, to recapture her joie de vivre and to help her aunt Vera run the local culinary bookshop and café. But it's hard to follow a simple recipe for relaxation when murder gets thrown in the mix.

The Cookbook Nook is set to host the town's upcoming Grill Fest, a tasty tradition which pits local amateur chefs against one another to concoct the most delicious dishes. This year's challenge: grilled cheese. But with competing chefs bearing grudges from past years, more mouths are running off than savoring the fare.

The expression "too many cooks" proves all too true when the eight-time champ is found murdered in the alley behind the café. Soon a local diner owner (and Jenna's "second mother") is suspected of bumping off the competition, and Jenna has to douse the flames before the wrong person gets burned.





 




Iced to Death (A Gourmet De-Lite Mystery) 

Gigi Fitzgerald, owner of Gigi’s Gourmet De-Lite, knows how to put her clients’ cravings on ice. But catching a slippery killer is more of a challenge.

Gigi’s business may be hot, but her home life is leaving her cold. Her sister, Pia, has dropped in for an unannounced visit and, much to Gigi’s chagrin, has immediately fallen for handsome bar owner Declan McQuaid. So when Declan asks Gigi to help him prep for a big engagement party, she’s not only dealing with the heat of the kitchen and her own feelings for Declan, but Pia’s jealousy.

However, Gigi’s rising temperature quickly chills when the host of the party is found stabbed to death with an ice pick in back of the pub. Now, as Gigi’s beau, Detective Mertz, hones in on Declan as a possible murderer, Gigi will have to shave down the growing list of suspects quickly, before Pia’s newfound love interest finds himself locked in the cooler.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS — AND HEALTHY — RECIPES!






 


Spinning in Her Grave: A Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery (Haunted Yarn Mystery)

Kath Rutledge is settling in as the owner of the Weaver’s Cat, a fiber and fabric shop in Blue Plum, Tennessee. But nothing, not even the ghost haunting her shop, prepares her for the mystery that will leave the whole town spinning.

It’s time for Blue Plum’s annual historical festival, and everyone — including Kath and her spunky fiber and needlework group, TGIF — is getting in on the action. Expert spinners are being gathered, and a businessman has approached Kath about using the second-floor windows of her store for part of a reenactment. But the reenactment ends in real-life bloodshed when local baker Reva Louise Snapp is shot — with a bullet from a modern-day gun.

Kath has her theories about who wanted to end Reva Louise’s life. But there’s also talk of a sniper stalking Blue Plum, and Kath’s shop is suspected to be the murderer’s hideout. Now Kath, her TGIF pals, and the gloomy ghost, Geneva, must unravel the mystery quickly, or someone else might be left hanging by a thread.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads




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.  Crossyard Bones - Kat Rhodes

Weekly Read:

1.  A Taste Fur Murder - Dixie Lyle
2.  The Presence - Heather Graham

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Crossbones Yard: A Thriller (Alice Quentin)



I've finished "Crossbones Yard" the 1st book in her Alice Quentin series by Kate Rhodes.

Introducing Alice Quentin, a London psychologist with family baggage, who finds herself at the center of a grisly series of murders.

Alice Quentin is a psychologist with some painful family secrets, but she has a good job, a good-looking boyfriend, and excellent coping skills, even when that job includes evaluating a convicted killer who’s about to be released from prison. One of the highlights of her day is going for a nice, long run around her beloved London — it's impossible to fret or feel guilty about your mother or brother when you're concentrating on your breathing — until she stumbles upon a dead body at a former graveyard for prostitutes, Crossbones Yard.

The dead woman’s wounds are alarmingly similar to the signature style of Ray and Marie Benson, who tortured and killed thirteen women before they were caught and sent to jail. Five of their victims were never found. That was six years ago, and the last thing Alice wants to do is to enter the sordid world of the Bensons or anyone like them. But when the police ask for her help in building a psychological profile of the new murderer, she finds that the killer — and the danger to her and the people she cares about — may already be closer than she ever imagined.

Product Details
Series: Alice Quentin (Book 1)
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (January 21, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1250038197
ISBN-13: 978-1250038197


My Review:

3.5/5

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail (Mar 1)



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:









A Taste Fur Murder (Mass Market Paperback)

Introducing an animal-loving Gal Friday with a telepathic cat, a shapeshifting dog, and a ghost of a chance of solving supernatural crime.


Meet Deirdre “Foxtrot” Lancaster. Trusted employee of eccentric zillionairess Zelda Zoransky, Foxtrot manages a mansion, a private zoo, and anything else that strikes her boss’s fancy. Her job title is Administrative Assistant, but chaos handler would be more accurate. Especially after she glimpses a giant ghost-beast in Zelda’s pet cemetery. For some strange reason, Foxtrot is seeing animal spirits. And, ready or not, in this mystery from Dixie Lyle, the fur’s about to hit the fan.

A TASTE FUR MURDER

Still reeling, Foxtrot comes home to find her cat Tango — her dead cat Tango — alive and well and communicating telepathically. But that’s not all: There’s an ectoplasmic dog named Tiny who changes breeds with a shake of his tail and can sniff out a clue like nobody’s business. So when a coworker drops dead while organizing closets, Tiny is on the case. Can Foxtrot and her new companions ferret out the killer among a menagerie of suspects — human and otherwise — before death takes another bite?

March Releases

4th
Steeped in Evil - Laura Childs
Pearls and Poisons - Duffy Brown
Inherit the Word - Daryl Wood Gerber
Iced to Death - Peg Cochran
Spinning in her Grave - Molly MacRae

18th
Notorious - Allison Brennan

24th
NYPD Red 2 - James Patterson

25th
Waking the Dead - Heather Graham
You're Not Safe - Mary Burton