Month: February 2019

BETWEEN THE LIES by MICHELLE ADAMS

Between the Lies

What would you do if you woke up and didn’t know who you were?

Within the first few pages of this thriller you just know it’s going to be good!

Chloe Daniels wakes up in a hospital bed having no idea how she got there, who she is or who these people calling themselves family are. Very scary.

Back in her parents home she struggles to remember what happened to her and as she snatches glimpses of her past she begins to believe her family are telling some pretty bad lies. What was she running from that night her car crashed? Even the police seem suspicious of the circumstances.

When she discovers one of the cruelest lies she has been told, she sets out to find the truth about who she was and who she can trust.

I felt so horrible for Chloe. She honestly had no one in her corner. And what a psychological thriller it was. I had no idea that ending was coming!

Another job well done!

Netgalley/St.Martin’s Griffin  March 05, 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS by CAMILLE DI MAIO

A legendary hotel on the Pacific becomes a haven where dreams, love, and a beguiling mystery come alive.

It is 1958 and Kate Morgan wants more than serving fish in the family restaurant in San Francisco. She has dreams of Southern California and the movie business. Her grandfather, whose memory is shaky at best is adamant she must go to the famous Hotel Del Coronado and find the beautiful stranger.

Kate grabs her chance to get even a temporary job at the resort. And immediately finds out that she isn’t the only Kate Morgan there. 

Told from the points of view of the ghostly Kate Morgan and the current day Kate Morgan, the former having never left, tethered to the place of her death.

Kate loves everything about the hotel including the stars filming Some Like It Hot. Kate has to pinch herself when she is asked to bring Miss Monroe her breakfast every day and get her to the set on time. And when she isn’t coaxing Miss Monroe to eat or get to work, she’s trying to find the beautiful stranger for her grandfather. Only then can she go home.

Ms. Di Maio has done a masterful job of seamlessly weaving the past with the present as well as the fiction with the truth. Yes Kate Morgan was a real woman who died a tragic death at the hotel. Guests claim to have seen her and she sees everything and everyone grow up and grow old as she remains as she was in life. But Kate has a secret too and the author has gathered all of the threads of this story and turned them into a compulsively readable tale.

Very Well Done!

Netgalley/March 5th 2019 by Lake Union Publishing

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Camille recently left an award-winning real estate career in San Antonio to become a full-time writer. Along with her husband of 21 years, she home schools their four children. She has a bucket list that is never-ending, and uses her adventures to inspire her writing. She’s lived in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California, and spends enough time in Hawai’i to feel like a local. She’s traveled to four continents (so far), and met Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. She just about fainted when she had a chance to meet her musical idol, Paul McCartney, too. Camille studied political science in college, but found working on actual campaigns much more fun. She overdoses on goodies at farmers markets (justifying them by her support for local bakeries), and belts out Broadway tunes whenever the moment strikes. There’s almost nothing she wouldn’t try, so long as it doesn’t involve heights, roller skates, or anything illegal. “The Memory of Us” is Camille’s debut novel, her second book “Before the Rain Falls” released in 2017, and her third, “The Way of Beauty”, came out in 2018. Her next book, “The Beautiful Strangers” will be available spring 2019.

 

 

WHILE YOU SLEEP BY STEPHANIE MERRITT

While You Sleep


It begins, they say, with a woman screaming…

Zoe Adams has Scottish roots,  so when she needs some time apart from her husband she heads to a remote island in Scotland. Responding to an advert for a recently restored Victorian on the beach. No cell service or internet is just the thing to help her reignite her passion. Painting landscapes.

An island so small there isn’t even a real policeman.  The McBride house stands alone against the forces of nature and man. A beautiful place in a beautiful setting. The owner and his family operate the pub and live above it, which Zoe is curious about. Such a gorgeous place, why wouldn’t you live in it?

The people of the island are not exactly welcoming and Zoe knows they are hiding something from her and her first night in the house she finds out firsthand what that might be. The house may look shiny and new but it has a dark and dangerous past. One full of ancient practices, buried bodies, ghosts and murders. Stories of a widow and her son dying there and most recently a boy disappearing there. But Zoe thinks the bad guys are very human. But can she figure it all out before she becomes one of the horror stories?

This book had it all. Horror, Thriller, Ghost Story, Gothic, Mystery and more. And that is all I’m telling you. I started it and finished it in one day. This is not your average haunted house, it comes with some special benefits that had me reading some chapters again just to be sure I understood what was going on! And that is good! The ending was perfect for this tale and I’m sure I will read it again.

Well Done!

Netgalley/ Pegasus Books March 05, 2019

COOKIN’ THE BOOKS BY AMY PATRICIA MEADE

Cookin' the Books

Tish Tarragon has moved to Hobson Glen to open her restaurant and catering business, Cookin’ The Books Cafe. Along with her besties Mary Jo and Jules Tish is creating food with a literary theme. She’s still a few weeks out from opening when her landlord, the gorgeous Schuyler Thompson stops by to let her know he has recommended her to the director of the library as their caterer has dropped out at the very last-minute.

When Binnie Broderick stops by to go over the menu, Tish is afraid she may not be able to pull this off. Binnie is not a nice person and no amount of money will change that. Used to getting her way in everything, Tish does her best and pulls together a delicious dinner, only to have Binnie do a face plant in her plate!

When the police prove she was poisoned, Tish is out to prove it wasn’t her food and get her cafe open before it is closed for good.

That is all I’m saying. I loved the characters in this! And I really enjoyed them being a separate sleuthing operation. Tish did a lot, but Mary Jo and Jules had quite a bit of fun and adventure on their own. It made a lot more sense than a lot of cozies which have the main character gone from the business all the time leaving the friends to do the work.

There are so many secrets in this small town. And they are all about to come tumbling out of the closet!

I highly recommend this one and I hope there will be more!

Well Done!

Netgalley/ Severn House  March 01

 

 

Something Read, Something Dead by EVA GATES

Something Read, Something Dead: A Lighthouse Library Mystery

A Lighthouse Mystery #5

Back in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Lucy Richardson, our resident library dweller and worker, is trying to keep her cousin Josie calm and plan Josie’s wedding to Jake.

Everyone loves Josie and her Cozy Bakery and also her fiance’ who is a chef with his own restaurant. They know they want simple and small. But there is still a dress to buy, flowers to arrange and showers to host.

To everyone’s horror, the New Orleans branch of Josie’s family shows up and apparently left their manners at home. Between Grandma Gloria pushing everyone around and insisting on changing every detail of the wedding, as well as aunts and cousins who are more interested in making a buck off the affair. They truly were a horrible lot.

When one of the more obnoxious cousins ends up dead at the bridal shower, even the cousins are pointing fingers at Josie! Lucy of course is diving right into this case to save her friends reputation, at the same time that the lighthouse seems to be about to crumble down.

You need a few things for a really fine cozy mystery and no matter what name she is writing under, this author has a knack for creating characters that are relateable to most of us. The location? Well a lighthouse library! In the Outer Banks? There should be a murder, but not too gory, and more than a few sketchy characters to keep you guessing. This one hit every mark as usual!

Well Done!

Netgalley/ March 13th 2019 by Crooked Lane Books

About the Author:

Vicki Delany

GOODREADS AUTHOR

“It’s a crime not to read Delany,” so says the London Free Press.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers.

She is the author of the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane and the Year Round Christmas series from Penguin. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she writes the Lighthouse Library Series.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor, and twitter: @vickidelany

She blogs about the writing life at One Woman Crime Wave (http://klondikeandtrafalgar.blogspot.com)

Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com

 

LAST NIGHT by KAREN ELLIS (The Searchers #2)

Last Night (The Searchers, #2)

NYPD detective Lex Cole tracks a missing Brooklyn teen whose bright future is endangered by the ghosts of his unknown father’s past, in this highly anticipated sequel to A Map of the Dark.

In this second book in the Searchers series, Lex takes the lead with Elsa consulting. Lex is having problems with Adam and isn’t sure if they are even a couple anymore. But work is work and this is a case that just keeps getting more tangled up.

Titus “Crisp” Crespo is a mixed race kid from Brighton Beach. Raised by his mother and grandparents, Crisp is a smart guy a day away from graduating as Valedictorian when he is arrested on a charge of riding a bike on the sidewalk, so instead of going home, he gets tossed in jail for a night. From the roof he can see into the patio of a high-rise and a girl sitting smoking a joint and getting some sun. They both realize they met last summer and when Crisp is released he goes to meet Glynnie to explain why he was up there.

Crisp is a straight arrow. He doesn’t get into trouble. He’s going to Princeton.

Glynnie is the opposite of Crisp. Rich. Doesn’t care about school or college. And she is white.

When she begs him to come with her to visit her weed dealer, he impulsively agrees and that one bad decision leads them on a road that neither of them wanted to be on.

Now stuck in the projects with an arms dealer and a dead body they may not have to worry about college or anything else.

I felt so sorry for Lex in this one. Not just because he battles his own demons while battling real life bad guys, but because of the kids. Not one of them is telling the whole truth about that day. Now he has to think like a teenager. Which means don’t think.

I liked these characters and this series feels as if it is going in the right direction! A good one!

Well Done!

Netgalley/February 26th 2019 by Mulholland Books

 

A MAP OF THE DARK by KAREN ELLIS

A Map of the Dark (The Searchers #1)

The first in a series, A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis, introduces us to FBI Agent Elsa Myers. Elsa is a complex character with a dark past and a lot of secrets.

Right now her father is dying and she is by his side when she receives a call for help from New York City. She has been asked for personally because of her track record finding missing people.

Ruby, a teenager, has gone missing. With a lot of misdirection from friends hiding their own secrets, the case is becoming more difficult and putting her own family in danger as well.

Working with Detective Lex Cole is proving difficult. Elsa is a very private person and Lex is trying to find a crack inside that hard shell she has put in place to protect herself. But for this case, she is going to have to face the darkness of the past and find these girls before it’s too late.

A new police procedural thriller series is always a welcome gift. While we didn’t get a lot of Elsa’s past and how she became an agent, it’s a series and since I’m now reading the second one, I can tell you it just gets better!

Well Done!

Netgalley/ January 2nd 2018 by Mulholland Books

 

 

What is your cover saying about your book?

The Bear and the Nightingale: A Novel (Winternight Trilogy Book 1) by [Arden, Katherine]

One of my favorite books of last year. Look at that cover.And today that is what I wanted to talk about. Cover Art. How much time do you put into your covers?

I’ve been noticing the past few years with the rise of self-published authors especially that the covers all look the same. Different title, same covers. Why would you want your cover to be like someone else’s? Did you not research it?

All the time we hear “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, guess what? We all do it. When I walk into a bookstore content is not grabbing me like a tracking beam to your book. I’m drawn to the one that I can take one look at and say, ” Oh, my I know what this is going to be about and I want it!”  There should always be something on your cover that gives the reader a sneak peek.  Take the above book for example. I saw it and immediately wanted it. In my head I’m hearing Russian, Fables,Winter and Magic oh yes!

So when you look at your book cover what does it say? Is it a statement of what’s to come once you open it? I finished a book last year with a simple cover that didn’t state anything about what it meant or how it related to the content. It was a tremendous book! But If I hadn’t been an early Beta reader and then the ARC copy, the cover would have never made me even pick it up at the store.

One of the reasons I do not read romance books is because the majority of them have the same man with the six-pack abs, glistening. Is there just the one model? But at least I know what is going to be in them. I don’t like it. But I know.

Final thoughts?   Make friends with artists. Put some real thought behind the cover and you may just find your sales will increase!

xx P

CYANIDE with CHRISTIE by KATHERINE BOLGER HYDE

Cyanide with Christie (Crime with the Classics Book 3) by [Bolger Hyde, Katherine]

Crime With The Classics Book 3

Emily and the gorgeous Victorian mansion, Windy Corner, which she inherited from her Great Aunt, are ready to open their doors to the first of hopefully many Writer’s Retreats.

Still on sabbatical from Reed, the literature professor and widow, is hoping to get into some of her own research and writing. With the beautiful surroundings and the holiday spirit, she may come up with some magic of her own.

The guests are all writers, some more prolific than others, but all working on the same goal of publishing books. Emily even has a new tenant in one of her smaller properties and everything is ready. Even though something about this tenant gives her pause.

As they are just getting settled one uninvited guest shows up and Emily can’t send her back out into this winter storm as much as she and the guests would like to. Cruella Crime, no of course that isn’t her real name, writes ‘true’ crime that isn’t true and is no friend to any of them.

When they find her dead of poisoning in her room, they are going to have to share space with a killer, as the weather holds them all hostage.

Emily takes a page out of Agatha Christie’s book and starts a bit of snooping on her own and what she finds out may get her killed this time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. All of the Christie references and the characters were very well done. This was my first time reading a book in this series but it won’t be the last.

Well Done!

Netgalley/  March 1st 2019 by Severn House Publishers

 

 

 

 

coffee and cake by Rick Rodgers

Coffee and Cake: Enjoy the Perfect Cup of Coffee--with Dozens of Delectable Recipes for Café Treats

Rick Rodgers is an expert at writing really good cookbooks! And this one is exactly what I was looking for. Focusing not only on the cake, but on making the perfect cup of coffee, no matter what type of machine you choose to use.

I prefer the French Press. It’s always reliable and gives me a smooth cup. He takes us through all of the different brewing methods and shares some excellent coffee drinks with us so by the time the cake portion comes around, you are ready with your cup of choice.

The cakes are the good old-fashioned kind our grandmothers made. Plus some European treats and two of my all time favorites, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Apple-Cranberry Ginger Loaf. Oh my goodness were those good. I plan on working my way through the entire book and pairing them with the appropriate coffee. Or tea. If you know me you’ll know it’s probably tea.

I can say honestly I love this little book!