I Invited Her In by Adele Parks - Spotlight and Excerpt

Book details

Hardcover: 432 Pages

Publisher: MIRA; Original edition (February 5, 2019)

Book Description

Imagine the worst thing a friend could ever do.

This is worse.

When Mel receives an unexpected email from her oldest friend Abi, it brings back memories she thought she had buried forever. Their friendship belonged in the past. To those carefree days at university.

But Abi is in trouble and needs Mel’s help, and she wants a place to stay. Just for a few days, while she sorts things out. It’s the least Mel can do.

After all, friends look out for each other, don’t they?

I Invited Her In is a blistering tale of wanting what you can’t have, jealousy and revenge from Sunday Times bestseller Adele Parks.

Purchase Links
Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

Meet the author - Adele Parks

Adele Parks one of the most-loved and biggest-selling women’s fiction writers in the UK. She has sold over 3 million books and her work has been translated into 25 different languages.

1500+ 5 star reviews have kindly been written by her fans on Amazon.co.uk

She has published 15 novels in the past 15 years, all of which have been London Times Top Ten Bestsellers.

Adele was born in the North East of England, in 1969. She enjoyed a traditional 1970’s childhood, watching too much TV and eating convenience food because nobody minded if kids did that in those days. Since graduating from university, where she studied English Language and Literature, she worked in advertising and as a management consultant. In 2010 Adele was proud to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Letters from Teesside University.

Connect with Adele
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Excerpt

Anyway, back to Abi: she did not fume that I was being ro­mantic and shortsighted, the way my very frustrated tutor did when I finally fessed up to her, nor did she cry for a month, the way my mother did. Which was, you know, awful.

She made us both a cup of tea, even went back to her room to dig out a packet of Hobnobs, kept for special occasions only. I was on my third Hobnob (already eating for two) before she asked, “So who is the dad?” Which was awkward.

“I’d rather not say,” I mumbled.

“That ugly, is he?” she commented with a smile. Again, I wanted to chortle; I knew it was inappropriate. I mean, I was pregnant! But at the same time, I was nineteen and Abi was funny. “I didn’t even know that you were having sex with any­one,” she added.

“I didn’t feel the need to put out a public announcement.”

Abigail then burst into peels of girlish, hysterical giggling. “The thing is, you’ve done exactly that.”

“I suppose I have.” I gave in to a full-on cackle. It was prob­ably the hormones.

“It’s like, soon you are going to be carrying a great big plac­ard saying, I’m sexually active.”

“And careless,” I added. We couldn’t get our breath now, we were laughing so hard.

“Plus, a bit of a slag, cos you’re not sure who the daddy is.”

I playfully punched her in the arm. “I do know.”

“Of course you do, but if you don’t tell people who he is, that’s what they’re going to say.” She didn’t say it meanly, it was just an observation.

“Even if I tell them who the father is, they’ll call me a slag anyway.” Suddenly, it was like this was the funniest thing ever. We were bent double laughing. Which was odd, since I’d spent most of my teens carefully walking the misogynistic tightrope, avoiding being labelled a slag or frigid, and I’d actually been doing quite a good job of balancing. Until then. It really wasn’t very funny. The laughter was down to panic, probably.

The bedrooms in our student flat were tiny. When chatting, we habitually sat on the skinny single beds because the only al­ternative was a hard-backed chair that was closely associated with late-night cramming at the desk. The room that was supposed to be a sitting room had been converted into another bedroom so that we could split the rent between six, rather than five.

We collapsed back onto the bed. Lying flat now to stretch out our stomachs that were cramped with hilarity and full of bis­cuits—and in my case, baby. I looked at my best friend and felt pure love. We were in our second year at uni; it felt like we’d known one another a lifetime. Uni friendships are more intense than any other. You live, study and party together, without the omniscient, omnipresent parental influence. Uni friends are sort of friends and family rolled into one.

Abi and I met in the student union bar the very first night at Birmingham University. Although I would not describe myself as the life and soul of the party, I wasn’t a particularly shy type either; I’d already managed to strike up a conversation with a couple of geology students and while it wasn’t the most rivet­ing dialogue ever, I was getting by.

Then, Abigail walked up to me. Out of nowhere. Tall, very slim, the sort of attractive that girls and Guardian-reading boys appreciate. She had dark, chin-length, sleek, bobbed hair with a heavy, confident fringe. She was all angles, like a desk lamp, and it seemed remarkable that she was poised to shine her spot­light on me.

She shot out her hand in an assured and unfamiliar way. Waited for me to take it and shake it. In my experience, no one shook hands, except maybe men in business suits on the TV. My dad was a teacher; he sometimes wore a suit, but mostly he preferred chinos and a corduroy jacket. I suppose he must have occasionally shaken the hands of his pupils’ parents, but I’d never seen anyone my age shake anyone else’s hand. Her gesture ex­uded a huge level of jaunty individuality and somehow flagged a quirky no-nonsense approach to being alive. Her eyes were almost black. Unusual and striking.

“Hi. I’m Abigail Curtiz, with a z. Business management, three Bs. You?”

I appreciated her directness. It was a fact that most of the con­versations I’d had up until that point hadn’t stumbled far past the obligatory exchange of this precise information. “Melanie Field. Economics and business management combined. AAB.”

“Oh, clever clogs. Two degrees in one.”

“I wouldn’t say—”

She cut me off. “That means you are literally twice as clever as I am.” If she believed this to be true, it didn’t seem to bother her; she took a sip from her wine glass, winced at it.

“Or half as focused,” I said. I thought a self-deprecating quip was obligatory. Where I came from, no one liked a show-off. Being too big for your boots was frowned upon; getting above yourself was a hanging offence.

Abi pulled a funny face that said she didn’t believe me for a moment; more, that she was a bit irritated that I’d tried to be overly modest.

Excerpt Tour Stops

Thursday, November 1st: Helen’s Book Blog

Friday, November 2nd: Chick Lit Central

Monday, November 5th: Novel Gossip

Tuesday, November 6th: A Holland Reads

Wednesday, November 7th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, November 8th: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Thursday, November 8th: The Lit Bitch

Friday, November 9th: Books a la Mode

Monday, November 12th: From the TBR Pile

Monday, November 12th: Books and Spoons

Tuesday, November 13th: Palmer’s Page Turners

Wednesday, November 14th: Girls in Books

Thursday, November 15th: A Dream Within a Dream

Friday, November 16th: Rad Babes Read

Monday, November 19th: Bewitched Bookworms

Monday, November 19th: Stuck in Books

Tuesday, November 20th: Books and Cats and Coffee

Tuesday, November 20th: The Book Diva Reads

Wednesday, November 21st: She Reads With Cats

Curse Breaker by J.T. Bishop - Spotlight

Book Details:

ISBN-10: 0692778403

ISBN-13: 978-0692778401

Publisher: J. T. Bishop; 1 edition

Series: Red-Line

Paperback: 402 pages

October 6, 2016, $14.95

Genre: Paranormal Suspense

Also available in ebook format

About the book:

She'll risk her life to break his curse, but revealing the truth could be far more dangerous.

In high school, a friend’s mother blames Grayson Steele for the tragic death of her daughter. Now, years later, Grayson is wealthy and successful, but on the brink of suicide. Because the women he loves are dying. And he can’t stop it.

Knowing about Grayson’s circumstances, Gillian Fletcher derives a plan. Catch the killer who’s making Grayson Steele’s life a living hell. But there’s only one way to do it. She has to be the bait.

As Grayson and Gillian’s plan takes shape, they must not only expose a killer, but also their feelings for each other. The further they go, the more secrets they will reveal. Secrets that will illuminate not just a murderer, but shocking truths that neither may be prepared to face.

Truths that will change their future forever.

Curse Breaker is an Indie Brag Medallion winner and the fourth book in J. T. Bishop's award-winning Red-Line paranormal suspense series. It can be read before or after her Red-Line trilogy. If you love murder mysteries, page turners, and fast-paced stories, then you'll love this compelling book by award-winning author J. T. Bishop.

Other books by J.T. Bishop:

Red-Line: The Shift

Red-Line: Mirrors

Red-Line: Trust Destiny

Meet the author - J.T. Bishop:

Tj O’CONNOR IS THE GOLD MEDAL WINNER OF THE 2015 INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS BOOK AWARDS (IPPY) FOR MYSTERIES. He is the author of New Sins for Old Scores, from Black Opal Books, and Dying to Know, Dying for the Past, and Dying to Tell. His new thriller, The Consultant, will be out in May 2018 from Oceanview Publishing. Tj is an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. He was raised in New York's Hudson Valley and lives with his wife and Lab companions in Virginia where they raised five children. Dying to Know is also the 2015 Bronze Medal winner of the Reader’s Favorite Book Review Awards, a finalist for the Silver Falchion Best Books of 2014, and a finalist for the Foreword Review’s 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award.

Learn about Tj’s world at:

Web Site Facebook Blog Goodreads

Beyond Justice by Cara Putnam - Review

I received this book free from the publisher.

Book details:

Paperback: 352 pages

Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 4, 2017)

ISBN-13: 978-0718083472

About the book:

Hayden is on track to become the youngest partner in her prestigious DC law firm . . .

If the case she’s just been handed doesn’t destroy her first.

Hayden McCarthy knows firsthand the pain that follows when justice is not served. It’s why she became an attorney and why she’s so driven in her career. When she’s assigned a wrongful death case against the government, she isn’t sure if it’s the lucky break she needs to secure a partnership—or an attempt to make sure she never gets there.

Further complicating matters is Andrew Wesley, her roommate’s distractingly attractive cousin. But Andrew’s father is a congressman, and Hayden’s currently taking on the government. Could the timing be any worse?

The longer she keeps the case active, the higher the stakes become. Unknown enemies seem determined to kill the case—or her. Logic and self-preservation indicate she should close the case. But how can she, when justice is still just beyond her reach?

Meet the author - Cara Putnam:

Since the time I could read Nancy Drew, I have wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 I attended a book signing at my local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, is history. There I met Colleen Coble. With prompting from my husband, I shared my dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, I've been writing award-winning books with the count currently at 25.

In addition to writing, I am a homeschooling mom of four, attorney, lecturer at a Big Ten university, active in women's ministry, and all around crazy woman. Crazy about God, my husband, and my kids. I graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University's MBA program. You can learn more about my books at http://www.caraputman.com. And if you'd like a copy of my legal suspense novella, Dying for Love, simply connect with me here (http://www.caraputman.com/contact/) , and I'll send you the link.

My thoughts:

I do not know why I have not read any books by this author before but I am glad I did now. This book was full of suspense and get me reading long into the night. It was fast paced which made for better reading. I also liked that this was a legal suspense book. Having worked in the legal field for many years I liked to read books with this theme sometimes. It was not good that the further Hayden got into the case the more people turned up dead. It made you wonder what exactly was going on. Don't worry it all comes together in the end. I thought Hayden was a good strong main character and look forward to reading more books about her and the cases she takes on. I also liked how we got a taste of Hayden and Andrew's relationship. Oh and the author did a good job of describing scenes and how certain things worked like the juvenile detention center. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. 

The Beauty of The End by Debbie Howells - Spotlight

Published: July 26, 2016

Number of pages: 320

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Synopsis:

From the acclaimed author of The Bones of You comes a haunting and heartbreaking new psychological thriller about a man thrust into the middle of a murder investigation, forced to confront the secrets of his ex-lover's past.

"I was fourteen when I fell in love with a goddess. . ."

So begins the testimony of Noah Calaway, an ex-lawyer with a sideline in armchair criminal psychology. Now living an aimless life in an inherited cottage in the English countryside, Noah is haunted by the memory of the beguiling young woman who left him at the altar sixteen years earlier. Then one day he receives a troubling phone call. April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose--and the lead suspect in a brutal murder. Deep in his bones, Noah believes that April is innocent. Then again, he also believed they would spend the rest of their lives together.

While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April's name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history. The same age as April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder. As the two stories converge, there are shocking consequences when at last, the truth emerges.

Or so everyone believes. . .

Set in a borderland where the past casts its shadow on the present, with a time-shifting narrative that will mesmerize and surprise, The Beauty of the End is both a masterpiece of suspense and a powerful rumination on lost love.

About the author:

Debbie Howells is the author of The Bones of You, her debut thriller which sold internationally for six-figures in several countries. While in the past she has been a flying instructor, the owner of a flower shop, and a student of psychology, she currently writes full-time. Debbie lives in West Sussex with her family, please visit her online at DebbieHowells.com.

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble - Review and Giveaway (from Litfuse)

I received this book from Litfuse Group in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: January 12, 2016

Number of pages: 352

Genre: Christian Fiction, Suspense, Romance

Series: Sunset Cove #2

Synopsis:

Mallory’s mother died fifteen years ago. But her father’s last words on the phone were unmistakable: “Find . . . mother.”

Shame and confusion have kept Mallory Davis from her home for the last fifteen years, but when her dad mysteriously dies on his mail boat route, she doesn’t have any choice but to go back to Mermaid Point.

Mallory believes her father was murdered and childhood sweetheart Kevin O’Connor, game warden in Downeast Maine, confirms her suspicions. But Kevin is wary of helping Mallory in her search. She broke his heart—and left—without a word, years ago.

When Mallory begins receiving threats on her own life—and her beloved teenage daughter, Haylie—their search intensifies. There’s a tangled web within the supposed murder, and it involves much more than what meets the eye.

As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father’s killer—it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.

What did I think of this book:

This was a nice addition to this series. I enjoy that it was full of suspense. So much so that I found myself not wanting to put the book down. Then there is a little romance thrown in which makes the book that much better. I like how the author keeps us in suspense until the end of the story. Her writing style makes the story flow nicely and the characters were well developed. I like that Claire from the first book was brought back as a friend of Mallory's. I felt for Mallory as she had a lot of trauma in her life that she had to deal with. It was also nice to see how Mallory and Kevin's relationship developed throughout the story. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. 

About the author:

USA Today bestselling author Colleen Coble has written several romantic suspense novels including "Tidewater Inn," "Rosemary Cottage," and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. Her books have sold more than 3 million copies.

Sunset Cove Series:

#1 The Inn at Ocean's Edge

#2 Mermaid Moon

#3 Twlight at Blueberry Barrens (Not yet published)

To move forward past a life of shame and confusion, Mallory Davis must go back to Mermaid Point to find out who murdered her father in Colleen Coble's new book, Mermaid Moon. As answers begin to fall into place, Mallory realizes her search is about more than finding her father’s killer—it is also about finding herself again . . . and possibly about healing what was broken so long ago with Kevin. She just has to stay alive long enough to put all the pieces together.

Celebrate the release of Mermaid Moon with Colleen and a mystery e-reader prize pack giveaway!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Mermaid Moon
• A Kindle Fire
• A mermaid necklace
• A pair of mermaid earrings

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry! The giveaway ends on February 1st. The winner will be announced February 2nd on the Litfuse blog.

Presence by Heather Graham

Published: December 28, 2010

Number of pages: 432

Genre: Paranormal - Suspense

Series: Harrison Investigations #2

Synoposis:

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?

What did I think of this book:

I just now realized this book was a part of a series when I was getting ready to write my review. Luckily I was able to read this as a stand alone as I did not feel lost at all. I am now awaiting a copy of the first book as it sounds just as good. This was also the first book I have read by Heather and I have to say I am hooked. I do not normally pick up paranormal books but I would not classify this as that type I would call it more of a suspense story but the added ghost makes it a paranormal I guess. The author had me hooked from the very first page right up until the end. She did a good job of leading you down the path of believing one person may have been commiting crimes/murders while questioning if it could be a second person then at the end she throws in a twist. I thought she did a good job with the setting and making me feel as if I was right in Scotland with this group of friends. This is a must read in my opinion. 

Harrison Investigations Series

#1 Haunted

#2 The Presence

#3 Ghost Walk

#4 The Vision

#5 The Dead Room

#6 The Seance

#7 The Death Dealer

#8 Unhallowed Ground

#9 Night Walker

#10 Killing Edge

Tropical Depression by Jeff Lindsay - Spotlight and Giveaway

Published: August 25, 2015

Number of pages: 256

Genre: Mystery

Series: Billy Knight Thriller #1

Synopsis:

NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jeff Lindsay mastered suspense with his wildly addictive DEXTER series. Before that, however, there was former cop and current burnout Billy Knight. When a hostage situation turns deadly, Billy loses everything—his wife, his daughter, and his career. Devastated, he heads to Key West to put down his gun and pick up a rod and reel as a fishing boat captain. But former co-worker Roscoe McAuley isn't ready to let Billy rest.
When Roscoe tells Billy that someone murdered his son, Billy sends him away. When Roscoe himself turns up dead a few weeks later, however, Billy can't keep from getting sucked back into Los Angeles, and the streets that took so much from him.
Billy's investigations into the death of a former cop, and his son, will take him up to the highest echelons of the LAPD, finding corruption at every level. It puts him on a collision course with the law, with his past, with his former fellow officers, and with the dark aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement. Jeff Lindsay's considerable storytelling gifts are on full display, drawing the reader in with a mesmerizing style and a case with more dangerous blind curves than Mulholland Drive.

About the author:

Jeff Lindsay is the award-winning author of the seven New York Times bestselling Dexter novels upon which the international hit TV show Dexter is based. His books appear in more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies around the world. Jeff is a graduate of Middlebury College, Celebration Mime Clown School, and has a double MFA from Carnegie Mellon. Although a full-time writer now, he has worked as an actor, comic, director, MC, DJ, singer, songwriter, composer, musician, story analyst, script doctor, and screenwriter.

Where to find the author:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Purchase links for the book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

Giveaway:

Be sure to stop by Partners in Crime to enter the giveaway to win an e-copy of Troprical Depression by clicking here

You can see all the tour participants by stopping by Partners in Crime

Read and Excerpt:

Somebody once said Los Angeles isn’t really a city but a hundred suburbs looking for a city. Every suburb has a different flavor to it, and every Angeleno thinks he knows all about you when he knows which one you live in. But that’s mostly important because of the freeways.

Life in L.A. is centered on the freeway system. Which freeway you live nearest is crucial to your whole life. It determines where you can work, eat, shop, what dentist you go to, and who you can be seen with.

I needed a freeway that could take me between the two murder sites, get me downtown fast, or up to the Hollywood substation to see Ed Beasley.

I’d been thinking about the Hollywood Freeway. It went everywhere I needed to go, and it was centrally located, which meant it connected to a lot of other freeways. Besides, I knew a hotel just a block off the freeway that was cheap and within walking distance of the World News, where Roscoe had been cut down. I wanted to look at the spot where it happened. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t learn anything, but it was a starting place.

And sometimes just looking at the place where a murder happened can give you ideas about it; cops are probably a little more levelheaded than average, but most of them will agree there’s something around a murder scene that, if they weren’t cops, they would call vibes.

So Hollywood it was. I flagged down one of the vans that take you to the rental car offices.

By the time I got fitted out with a brand new matchbox—no, thank you, I did not want a special this-week-only deal on a Cadillac convertible; that’s right, cash, I didn’t like credit cards; no, thank you, I did not want an upgrade of any kind for only a few dollars more; no, thank you, I didn’t want the extra insurance—it was dark and I was tired. I drove north on the San Diego Freeway slowly, slowly enough to have at least one maniac per mile yell obscenities at me. Imagine the nerve of me, going only sixty in a fifty-five zone.

The traffic was light. Pretty soon I made my turn east on the Santa Monica. I was getting used to being in L.A. again, getting back into the rhythm of the freeways. I felt a twinge of dread as I passed the exit for Sepulveda Boulevard, but I left it behind with the lights of Westwood.

The city always looks like quiet countryside from the Santa Monica Freeway. Once you are beyond Santa Monica and Westwood, you hit a stretch that is isolated from the areas it passes through. You could be driving through inner-city neighborhoods or country-club suburbs, but you’ll never know from the freeway.

That all changes as you approach downtown. Suddenly there is a skyline of tall buildings, and if you time it just right, there are two moons in the sky. The second one is only a round and brightly lit corporate logo on a skyscraper, but if it’s your first time through you can pass some anxious moments before you figure that out. After all, if any city in the world had two moons, wouldn’t it be L.A.?

And suddenly you are in one of the greatest driving nightmares of all recorded history. As you arc down a slow curve through the buildings and join the Harbor Freeway you are flung into the legendary Four-Level. The name is misleading, a slight understatement. It really seems like a lot more than four levels.

The closest thing to driving the Four-Level is flying a balloon through a vicious dogfight with the Red Baron’s Flying Circus. The bad guys—and they are all bad guys in the Four-Level—the bad guys come at you from all possible angles, always at speeds just slightly faster than the traffic is moving, and if you do not have every move planned out hours in advance you’ll be stuck in the wrong lane looking for a sign you’ve already missed and before you know it you will find yourself in Altadena, wondering what happened.

I got over into the right lane in plenty of time and made the swoop under several hundred tons of concrete overpass, and I was on the Hollywood Freeway. Traffic started to pick up after two or three exits, and in ten minutes I was coming off the Gower Street ramp and onto Franklin.

There’s a large hotel right there on Franklin at Gower. I’ve never figured out how they break even. They’re always at least two-thirds empty. They don’t even ask if you have a reservation. They are so stunned that you’ve found their hotel they are even polite for the first few days. There’s also a really lousy coffee shop right on the premises, which is convenient if you keep a cop’s schedule. I guessed I was probably going to do that this trip.

A young Chinese guy named Allan showed me up to my room. It was on the fifth floor and looked down into the city, onto Hollywood Boulevard just two blocks away. I left the curtain open. The room was a little bit bigger than a gas station rest room, but the decor wasn’t quite as nice.

It was way past my bedtime back home, but I couldn’t sleep. I left my bag untouched on top of the bed and went out.

The neighborhood at Franklin and Gower is schizophrenic. Two blocks up the hill, towards the famous Hollywood sign, the real estate gets pretty close to seven figures. Two blocks down the hill and it’s overpriced at three.

I walked straight down Gower, past a big brick church, and turned west. I waved hello to Manny, Moe, and Jack on the corner: it had been a while. There was still a crowd moving along the street. Most of them were dressed like they were auditioning for the role of something your mother warned you against.

Some people have this picture of Hollywood Boulevard. They think it’s glamorous. They think if they can just get off the pig farm and leave Iowa for the big city, all they have to do is get to Hollywood Boulevard and magic will happen. They’ll be discovered.

The funny thing is, they’re right. The guys that do the discovering are almost always waiting in the Greyhound station. If you’re young and alone, they’ll discover you. The magic they make happen might not be what you had in mind, but you won’t care about that for more than a week. After that you’ll be so eager to please you’ll gladly do things you’d never even had a name for until you got discovered. And a few years later when you die of disease or overdose or failure to please the magic-makers, your own mother won’t recognize you. And that’s the real magic of Hollywood. They take innocence and turn it into money and broken lives.

I stopped for a hot dog, hoping my sour mood would pass. It didn’t. I got mustard on my shirt. I watched a transvestite hooker working on a young Marine. The jarhead was drunk enough not to know better. He couldn’t believe his luck. I guess the hooker felt the same way.

The hot dog started to taste like old regrets. I threw the remaining half into the trash and walked the last two blocks to Cahuenga.

The World News is open twenty-four hours a day, and there’s always a handful of people browsing. In a town like this there’s a lot of people who can’t sleep. I don’t figure it’s their conscience bothering them.

I stood on the sidewalk in front of the place. There were racks of specialty magazines for people interested in unlikely things. There were several rows of out-of-town newspapers. Down at the far end of the newsstand was an alley. Maybe three steps this side of it there was a faint rusty brown stain spread across the sidewalk and over the curb into the gutter. I stepped over it and walked into the alley.

The alley was dark, but that was no surprise. The only surprise was that I started to feel the old cop adrenaline starting up again, just walking down a dark alley late at night. Suddenly I really wanted this guy. I wanted to find whoever had killed Roscoe and put him in a small cell with a couple of very friendly body-builders.

The night air started to feel charged. It felt good to be doing cop work again, and that made me a little mad, but I nosed around for a minute anyway. I wasn’t expecting to find anything, and I didn’t. By getting down on one knee and squinting I did find the spot where the rusty stains started. There was a large splat, and then a trickle leading back out of the alley to the stain on the sidewalk.

I followed the trickle back to the big stain and stood over it, looking down.

Blood is hard to wash out. But sooner or later the rain, the sun, and the passing feet wear away the stains. This stain was just about all that was left of Roscoe McAuley and when it was gone there would be nothing left of him at all except a piece of rock with his name on it and a couple of loose memories. What he was, what he did, what he thought and cared about—that was already gone. All that was hosed away a lot easier than blood stains—a lot quicker, too.

“I’m sorry, Roscoe,” I said to the stain. It didn’t answer. I walked back up the hill and climbed into a bed that was too soft and smelled of mothballs and cigarettes.

Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornewll

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: June 30, 2015

Number of pages: 512

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Series: Kay Scarpetta #22

Synopsis:

It’s Dr. Kay Scarpetta’s birthday, and she’s about to head to Miami for a vacation with Benton Wesley, her FBI profiler husband, when she notices seven pennies on a wall behind their Cambridge house. Is this a kids’ game? If so, why are all of the coins dated 1981 and so shiny they could be newly minted? Her cellphone rings, and Detective Pete Marino tells her there’s been a homicide five minutes away. A high school music teacher has been shot with uncanny precision as he unloaded groceries from his car. No one has heard or seen a thing.

In this 22nd Scarpetta novel, the master forensic sleuth finds herself in the unsettling pursuit of a serial sniper who leaves no incriminating evidence except fragments of copper. The shots seem impossible, yet they are so perfect they cause instant death. The victims appear to have had nothing in common, and there is no pattern to indicate where the killer will strike next. First New Jersey, then Massachusetts, and then the murky depths off the coast of South Florida, where Scarpetta investigates a shipwreck, looking for answers that only she can discover and analyze. And it is there that she comes face to face with shocking evidence that implicates her techno genius niece, Lucy, Scarpetta’s own flesh and blood.

What I thought about the book:

I have not read any of the other books in this series and I thought I might be lost but the book sounded too good to pass up so I took a chance and am happy that I did. I did not seem to be lost by reading this out of order but I do feel as if I was missing out on a good series to now I need to go back and start at the first one. This book is full of suspense and you never know what is going to happen. It is one of those books that has you on the edge of your seat right up until the end. 

About the author:

Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the Creasey, the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Prix du Roman d’Aventure. Beyond the Scarpetta series, she has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography, and two more fiction series. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the cutting-edge forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.

Where to find the author
Website: http://www.patriciacornwell.com/​
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1pcornwell​
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricia.cornwell?_rdr=p

Tour stops

• 08/01 review @ Hezzi-Ds books and Cooks
• 08/05 review @ VicsMedia Room
• 08/06 review @ The Pen and Muse Book Reviews
• 08/07 review @ 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too!
• 08/10 review @ Booked on a Feeling
• 08/11 review @ Mama Knows Books
• 08/12 review @ Griperangs Bookmarks
• 08/13 review @ fundinmental
• 08/15 review @ Deco My Heart
• 08/17 review @ Keenly Kristin
• 08/19/2015 Review @ Lauras Interests
• 08/20 review @ Books Books and More Books
• 08/20 review @ Marys Cup of Tea
• 08/21/2015 Review @ Beas Book Nook
• 08/26 review @ Lazy Day Books
• 08/26 review @ Tales of a Book Addict
• 08/27 review @ fuonlyknew
• 08/28 review @ The Book Divas Reads
• 08/29 review @ Rockin’ Book Reviews
• 08/30 review @ A Room Without Books is Empty
• 08/31 review @ Gabina49s Blog

Rise of the Iron Eagle by Roy A. Teel Jr. - Book Spotlight

Synopsis:

The city of Los Angeles is no stranger to violence. It has both a colorful and grotesque history with it. Sheriff's Homicide Detective Jim O'Brian and FBI Profiler Special Agent Steve Hoffman are also no strangers to the violence of the sprawling metropolis, but in the past decade something has changed. There's a serial killer preying on other serial killers - some known by law enforcement, others well off radar. "The Iron Eagle," a vigilante, extracts vengeance for the victims of Los Angeles' serial killers. His methods are meticulous and his killings brutal. With each passing day, "The Iron Eagle" moves with impunity through the streets of Los Angeles in search of his prey. O'Brian and Hoffman create an elite task force with the sole purpose of catching "The Eagle" and bringing him to justice. But the deeper they delve, the more apparent it is that he may very well be one of their own. As the two men stare into the abyss of their search, the eyes of "The Iron Eagle" stare back.

*Content Warning: The Iron Eagle Crime novel series contains mature subject matter, graphic violence, sexual content, language, torture and other scenes that may be disturbing to sensitive readers. This series is not intended for anyone under the age of eighteen, reader discretion is advised.

About the Author:

On May 11, 1995, at 30, Roy’s life was irrevocably changed. After walking into the hospital, he was admitted and later received the worst possible diagnosis – Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. His doctors gave him two years to live, and he left the hospital in a wheelchair. After battling Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 16 years, Roy began devoting his energies and passions to the full-time art of storytelling. His disability has brought with it an unforeseen blessing. He can finally take medications to alleviate some of the pain from his MS and focus on the pleasures of character creation and the joys of putting words to paper.

As an author, Roy A. Teel Jr. is very diverse, and his works include both fiction and nonfiction. His previous works include The Way, The Truth, and The Lies: How the Gospels Mislead Christians about Jesus’ True Message (2005), Against The Grain: The American Mega-Church and its Culture of Control (2008), Light of Darkness: Dialogues in Death (2008), and And God Laughed (2013).

In 2014, Roy began publishing his latest and largest project – a 15-book geographically-centered hard-boiled, mystery, suspense, thriller crime series: “The Iron Eagle Series.” The main character, a former Marine Corps Black Operative turned rogue FBI agent, hunts serial killers in Los Angeles. Each novel addresses different subjects, and while fiction, all titles deal with real world subject matter. “The Iron Eagle Series” is not about things that can’t hurt you. What happens in these novels can happen to any one of us if we let our guard down and/or are in the wrong place at the wrong time. To learn more, go to http://ironeagleseries.com/

Roy lives in Lake Arrowhead, CA with his wife and children. Readers can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Excerpt:

Rise of the Iron Eagle (Book One) by Roy A. Teel

From the opening of Chapter 8:

John walked into Starbucks at the corner of Topanga and Lassen just before six thirty a.m. He got a coffee and a copy of the Daily News, and the headline said it all, “‘Billy the Kid,’ Crips Gang Member and Serial Rapist, Body Found in Legion Park: Iron Eagle Said to Be Killer.” He shook his head, “I should really start looking for the people who leak this stuff.” He walked to a flower shop a few doors down to purchase a dozen long-stemmed red roses. His truck was parked in front of Country Deli, a local landmark for nearly fifty years. He knew the area very, very well, but he knew it for all the wrong reasons. He pulled out of the lot and headed west through the neighborhoods of oak and eucalyptus trees, following Lassen as it turned from a busy thoroughfare into a quiet neighborhood of post-World War II homes and horse properties, until he reached the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery.

He parked his truck outside the large black wrought iron gates and the ivy covered brick walls of the cemetery and walked through the entrance and up the steep incline of the main road. He walked past a blue and white striped tent; a small backhoe sat quietly where fresh earth had been moved, and a concrete burial vault sat on the ground next to the newly-opened grave. He walked out into the cemetery grass and stopped in front of a grave marker set beneath a huge California Live Oak. He looked at the gray and white granite and its inscription, ‘Amber Lynn Swenson.’ He knelt and brushed away the fresh cut grass, so the whole inscription was revealed. ‘Loving Wife and Beautiful Soul. April 8, 1978 – March 20, 2003.’ Placing the flowers on the stone, he sat down, leaning his back against the tree. “I miss you, honey. I miss my best friend.  I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long.” He heaved a sigh as a tear rolled down his face, and he whispered, “I’m still looking for him, Amber Lynn. For the man who took your life and our life together away.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, his lower lip quivering. “I know I’ve told you, and I don’t know if you are somewhere where you can hear me or not, but I’m sorry. If I had just been on time that night, he wouldn’t have gotten you.” He wiped the stone with a handkerchief from his pocket and laughed. “You always made fun of me for being old fashioned … but you were glad I had it the night I asked you to marry me. How could I know that this same piece of linen that dried your tears of joy at our engagement would later dry my tears of sorrow at your funeral.” John paused for a moment, his anger rising up. “He’s still out there, Amber, hurting women and children. I can’t let that continue. I will find him…and I will avenge you and all the others he’s tortured and killed. He’s a sly one; so far below the radar not even law enforcement sees his pattern or knows that he even exists. The randomness of his killings and the large area that he covers is his protection. I thought I had him with Roskowski. He was evil but wasn’t the man who did this to you.”

He stood up and walked toward the unmarked piece of land next to Amber’s headstone. “This is my spot, baby, right next to you. I’m not afraid of death…I’m afraid of dying before I catch him and bring him to justice.” He leaned down on his hands and knees and gently touched his lips to her name. “Rest, my angel. The next time I come back, it’ll be to tell you that I got him.”

***

Giveaway:

This giveaway if for one e-copy of Rise of the Iron Eagle

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Last Witness by Jerry Amernic - Spotlight and Guest Post

The Last Witness by Jerry Amernic

ISBN: 97809900421658

Paperback - 334 Pages

Synopsis:

The year is 2039, and Jack Fisher is the last living survivor of the Holocaust. Set in a world that is abysmally complacent about events of the last century, Jack is a 100-year-old man whose worst memories took place before he was 5. His story hearkens back to the Jewish ghetto of his birth and to Auschwitz where, as a little boy, he had to fend for himself to survive after losing his family. Jack becomes the central figure in a missing-person investigation when his granddaughter suddenly disappears. While assisting police, he finds himself in danger and must reach into the darkest corners of his memory to come out alive.

Guest Post:

What is a thriller? 

by Jerry Amernic

I came across thriller writing by accident. No kidding. I was writing quick-paced novels with a lot of history attached to them in the form of flashbacks. So I figured my genre had to be historical fiction. Well, it was and it wasn’t.

The Last Witness is about the last living survivor of the Holocaust in the near future, at a time when knowledge of past history is on the decline. (In fact, it’s on the decline already, but that’s one for another day). In the novel the reader sees my character as a little boy living in a Jewish ghetto in Poland during the early stages of World War II, and later as he struggles to survive at Auschwitz.

These flashbacks run parallel to the modern-day story (actually the near-future story since it takes place in 2039) with that little boy as a 100-year-old man who is having a lot of trouble convincing people about his story.

A literary agent at a writer’s conference I attended two summers ago made me realize what I was writing when I didn’t even realize it myself.

“You are writing a futuristic thriller,” she said, and she was right.

I remain forever indebted to that agent for letting me see the light. Up to that point I thought my stuff was historical fiction, but that wasn’t really the case. Historical fiction normally involves a story taking place at a particular time. It may be about Catherine the Great, Julius Caesar, or the trials and tribulations of an ordinary family during a great battle from another era. But that doesn’t make a book a thriller.

A thriller has to be a page-turner, and this is exactly what I’ll be teaching at a writer’s conference this summer. I have the pleasure of being part of the teaching faculty at the annual conference for the Cape Cod Writers Center at Hyannis, Massachusetts in August. With the theme of ‘inspired storytelling by the sea’, this is sure to be a beautiful venue for writers. I’ll be doing three things at the conference:

      ·         Teaching a three-part course on thriller writing called Thrillers - On the Edge of                Your Seat.

·         Teaching a one-part course called Research Skills for Writers.

·         Mentoring those who want one-on-one sessions regarding work they submit.

The thriller-writing course will include things like how to keep your readers in suspense as the plot develops, the key elements of great thrillers, techniques used by master storytellers, and sections on plot, story line, creating tension, and pacing.

An editor once explained to me that it’s all about giving the story legs, which is a great way to put it. The story has to keep moving all the time so the reader stays tuned. In fact, the best thriller writers are so good at this that the reader never wants to leave the book.

The very first person to review The Last Witness on Amazon said that she read the entire book in one sitting through the night. She said she couldn’t put it down, and that parts of the story moved her so much that she was crying right there in her bed.

Any writer who hears something like that from a reader has a sense of mission accomplished. The trick, of course, is to be able to do that with lots of readers.

Shadow Ritual by Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne - Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Shadow Ritual by Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne

ISBN: 9781939474308

Trade Paperback

Synopsis:

Ritual murders. Ancient enemies. A powerful secret. Two slayings—one in Rome and one in Jerusalem—rekindle an ancient rivalry between modern-day secret societies for knowledge lost at the fall of the Third Reich. Detective Antoine Marcas unwillingly teams up with the strong-willed Jade Zewinski to chase Neo-Nazi assassins across Europe. They must unravel an arcane Freemason mystery, sparked by information from newly revealed KGB files. This electrifying thriller about the rise of extremism is the start of a bestselling series that has sold two million copies worldwide.

Review:

I thought this was a good book with a lot of twist, turns and action to keep the story moving along at a good pace. I enjoyed how the two secret societies played a part in this story. The authors did a good job with all the details of the story so you did not miss anything. If you are a fan of Dan Brown's books then you will also enjoy this one. I found myself wanting see what was going to happen next. All in all a good book to keep you engrossed the entire time you are reading it. 

About the Author:

Jacques Ravenne is a literary scholar
who has also written a biography of the Marquis de Sade
and edited his letters.
He loves to explore the hidden side of major historical events.

Eric Giacometti was an investigative reporter
for a major French newspaper.
He has covered a number of high-profile scandals
and has done exhaustive research in the area of freemasonry.

About the Translator: 

Anne Trager loves France so much she has lived there for 27 years and just can’t seem to leave. What keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book to translate some of those books into English. The company’s motto is “If we love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and detective novels.

***

Follow Le French Book on Twitter  | on Facebook

Sign up to receive their latest news and deals.

Buy the book | on Amazon  | Barnes & Noble  | Indiebound  | upcoming on Apple + Kobo

Freemason Facts and Fiction

Exclusive content …

5 Freemason Facts and a lot more you never knew about secret societies and the world around us.

Best-selling authors share their research and inside knowledge.

GET THE FACTS BY CLICKING HERE!

To see all the stops on the tour stop by France Book Tours (click here)

Guest Post:

Inspired by a True Story

Jacques Ravenne is the co-author of a bestselling French thriller series that has sold 2 million copies worldwide and is translated into 17 languages. This month the series, which he writes with Eric Giacometti, is making it debut in English with Shadow Ritual, an electrifying thriller about the rise of extremism. Eric is also an investigative report who has covered a number of high-profile Freemason scandals, and Jacques, himself a Freemason, is also a literary scholar who has written a biography of the Marquis de Sade and edited his letters. Together they have created this very successful series about a French Freemason cop. Douglas Preston calls Shadow Ritual “phenomenal.” Here Jacques talks about the true story that inspired this exciting story.

Shadow Ritual was inspired by a little-known episode that occurred when the Nazis occupied France between 1940 and 1944. In an operation that was prepared in advance in great detail and began the day the Germans entered Paris, specialized commandos pillaged the French Freemason headquarters, stealing most of their archives. The Nazis requisitioned two centuries of French masonic memory—from 1740 to 1940—and sent all the documents to Germany.

Why were the Nazis in such a hurry to get their hands on these archives? Remember what the Third Reich believed they were fighting against: democracies corrupted by two deadly diseases: Judaism and Freemasonry. So, stealing the Freemason archives from France, the country that exported revolutionary ideas to the entire world, was a way to finally prove that for two centuries a conspiracy existed against the German people and nation. One can imagine with what relish Nazi ideologists threw themselves into these archives. And of course, any worldwide conspiracy led by Jews and Freemasons must be about occult powers. For many Nazi adepts, the power of the Freemasons came from the knowledge and practice of esoteric secrets. They wanted to possess those secrets.

This is one of the little-known sides of Nazi ideology: its fascination with the occult and its quest for esoteric secrets. While National Socialism, with its military strategy and concentration camps, pretended to be rational and methodical, a large number of upper echelon Nazis wallowed in strange and nebulous esoteric theories. Expeditions were sent to Tibet to find the supposed true origin of the Aryan race, digs were made in the south of France to look for the Holy Grail. No wonder the Nazis were fascinated by French freemason archives.

Those documents, which Eric and I have explored, hold the signatures of the likes of Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin. And for many, they must hold some Great Secret: the secret of the All Powerful. A hidden secret our novel Shadow Ritual  set out to find.

Giveaway: 

Entry-Form