Tuesday, March 5, 2024

THE UNQUIET BONES Book Tour and Review

Author: Loreth Ann White
Publisher: Montlake
Release Date: March 5, 2024

Special thanks to the publisher and MB Communications for an arc of this title and book tour invitation. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

4 Bleeding Hearts

A shocking discovery of human bones reopens an almost fifty-year-old cold case—and rips apart the lives of a group of friends.

Review:
THE UNQUIET BONES by Author Loreth Anne White is based on a true unsolved crime that occurred in North Vancouver, Canada in 1976 where White resided as a young teen. A local sixteen-year-old girl disappeared after parting from her best friend and proceeding home alone. Her murder remains unsolved today, leaving loved ones in limbo without closure. White's compassion and empathy for the lost and those left behind to grieve fuels her desire to highlight their plight via her books giving a voice to the emotionally distraught suffering the aftermath of trauma, loss and especially the unknown.

THE UNQUIET BONES, a highly atmospheric suspense thriller involving skeletal remains unearthed during the moving of an old chapel, is book one in the Munroe and Quinn series. Upon the discovery of the remains, speculation is that it could be Annalise Jansen, a young teen who's been missing for forty-seven years after vanishing on her way home from a party. RCMP Sgt. Jane Munro who's mourning the mysterious disappearance of her finance, Matt Rossi, is struggling to come to terms with her overwhelming grief as well as her six-month pregnancy, when she's assigned the cold case. Having experienced unsolved loss, she's sympathetic to families desperate for closure, and determined to give them answers. Jane calls in forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn and together they vow to identify the remains through every means possible and bring this long-lost individual home to their family.

When news of the recovery circulates, rumors run rampant among the people in the small town. The possibility and high probability it’s Annalise make six outstanding citizens once dubbed the Shoreview Six extremely nervous as they wonder if their long-buried secrets and lies are about to unravel. Meeting in secret, they shore up old alibis and alliances. If the truth is revealed, affluent lives are going up in smoke and someone is going to pay the price for what happened all those years ago. If no one talks, their secrets remain buried, right? Maybe, maybe not. Authorities look to the recovered bones for answers while a town holds their collective breaths. In the hands of a skilled forensic anthropologist like Dr. Ella Quinn, the long buried, unquiet bones speak. They have a story to tell. What do they reveal?

Author Loreth Anne White renders another riveting, impossible to put down, page burner in THE UNQUIET BONES. Her skill as a writer and the fact that this story is based on a true crime take it to another level. Through multiple points of view and past/present chapters, a heartbreaking story emerges with dire implications for several of the large cast of unreliable characters. As fingers are pointed and threats made, an inevitable tone of malice permeates the pages. With each exposed secret and lie, the pace steadily increases, and White brilliantly manipulates readers and characters toward the shocking conclusion. Layers are stripped away, skeletons rattled, and the truth finally breaks free giving loved ones left behind needed closure.

White's unique gift for taking real life tragedies and turning them into mesmerizing stories with grace and passion while weaving forensic science into a riveting story line is simply amazing. No one does it better. The level of research, time, devotion and heart she puts into her work is evident. I can't wait for the next book in this series. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries, suspense and thrillers as well as lovers of crime fiction.

 Synopsis:

When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen. Homicide detective Jane Munro—pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life—hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl’s family.

But for a group of Annalise’s old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago. The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?

The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body—that of the boy long blamed for Annalise’s disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.

Meet the Author:

Loreth Anne White is an Amazon Charts, Washington Post, and Bild bestselling author of thrillers, mysteries, and suspense. With over 3 million books sold around the world, she is an ITW thriller award finalist, a three-time RITA finalist, an overall Daphne du Maurier Award winner, Arthur Ellis finalist, and winner of multiple industry awards.

A recovering journalist who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now calls Canada home. She resides in the Pacific Northwest, dividing time between Victoria on Vancouver Island, a ski resort in the Coast Mountains, and a rustic lakeside cabin in the Cariboo.

When she’s not writing or dreaming up plots, you will find her on the lakes, in the ocean, or on the trails with her dog where she tries—unsuccessfully—to avoid bears. For more information on her books please visit her website at lorethannewhite.com

Connect with her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Loreth.Anne....
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Loreth
Or via Instagram: lorethannewhite

Visit her at www.lorethannewhite.com
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Friday, March 1, 2024

NOTHING BUT THE BONES Review

Author: Brian Panowich
Series: Bull Mountain #4
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: April 16, 2024

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for the arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
5 Raw Hearts

With lyrical prose and hard-hitting depictions of the hardscrabble life in the rural south, Brian Panowich, author of Bull Mountain, Like Lions, and Hard Cash Valley, delivers a gripping new chapter in his tales of McFalls County in Nothing But the Bones.

Review:

NOTHING BUT THE BONES by Author Brian Panowich is another raw, gripping, graphic addition to the Bull Mountain series set in McFalls County, Georgia. A novella and three full length books precede this one, and I highly recommend reading them in order. Having said that, each book will stand alone with no issue and that’s due to the author’s ability to weave the needed backstory into each book. If you're a fan of Southern Noir, don't hesitate to pick this book up and dive in. You'll need to clear your calendar, pour yourself a strong one and settle in for the long haul as there's no stopping once you start reading this book.

Author Brian Panowich has crafted another stunningly powerful tale in this award-winning series. NOTHING BUT THE BONES opens with a scene that takes place prior to Clayton Burroughs becoming sheriff of McFalls County. Readers learn how Nelson McKenna became known as "Nails" when adopted into the Gareth Burroughs crime family and how he became an enforcer - a role he's uncomfortable with. Fast forward in time and Nails steps in to save a woman from a horrific fate in a roadside pub igniting a series of explosive mishaps that lead to he and the woman, Dallas, on the run from a multitude of malevolent forces. Nails is so far out of his comfort zone with Dallas that it leaves him confused, speechless and undecisive, but when he learns that the family he thought he could trust to always have his back might have ulterior motives, he forges ahead vowing to protect the woman with his life. Nails and Dallas leave a trail of violence, death and utter chaos in their wake as they make their way south. With his back nailed to the wall, Nails makes one last stand knowing he may not survive. The repercussions are heard all the way back in McFalls County. Time has run out. Who'll be left standing? Who'll take the fall?

NOTHING BUT THE BONES is a tension laden, fast paced, gritty tale of blood, sweat and tears - a prime example of southern noir done right. Panowich strips the words down to nothing but the bones - no fluff, no filler, as he expertly manipulates tainted, larger than life antiheroes through a complex, multi-faceted plot line toward an explosive climax no one will see coming. His sharp, descriptive prose is well suited to communicating a keen sense of place and southern tradition as well as cajoling engaging characters to life to the point of them stepping off the page into your living room. Readers can see, sense and smell the gun powder and motor oil as Nails and Dallas barrel down the highway in his classic LTD Ford toward their destination, knowing with little doubt their fate is sealed. While this story is action driven, it's the emotional turmoil of the characters I want to emphasize - A man and a woman, both outcasts, both battling their own demons, both needing something neither believes they deserve finding each other on a journey to hell and back. The heart break, the despair, the self-hatred drips like blood off the pages due to the amazingly talented author.

Brian Panowich is a force to be reckoned with in the southern noir and grit lit genre, and no one's more deserving of the accolades coming his way. I can say without reservation he's on my short list of favorite auto-read noir authors. NOTHING BUT THE BONES is nothing but the best in southern noir today. I hope there's more to come! Highly recommended to fans of crime fiction, suspense and noir.

Synopsis:
In McFalls County, local crime boss Gareth Burroughs runs everything on the mountain. And Nelson “Nails” McKenna has been his enforcer since he was a teenager, though his heart's not really in the dirty work. Then one night in a local roadhouse, Nails goes too far, defending a woman, and even Burroughs’s reach can’t get him out of this one. With a dead body and countless witnesses, Nails and the woman become fugitives on the run, and unlikely partners.

But on the road to Jacksonville, where a possible escape awaits, there’s more than one interested party on the pair’s trail, and the glimpse they had of getting away scot free suddenly seems elusive. In the end, Nails must make one final stand for his freedom—or pay with both of their lives.















































Tuesday, February 20, 2024

THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE Blog Tour & Review

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour for the Diamond and the Duke!  Oh how I loved this one . . . a real "diamond" in the genre! Be sure to check out the Excerpt below!


Author: Christi Caldwell
Series: All The Duke's Sins #3
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Release Date: Feb. 20, 2024
Order Link: Amazon

https://www.christicaldwell.com/

5 Sparkling ðŸŒŸðŸŒŸðŸŒŸðŸŒŸðŸŒŸ

Many thanks to Berkley Romance for the advanced readers' copy and tour invitation.  All opinions expressed are my own.

When a wounded soldier and self-proclaimed "beast" finds unlikely friendship with a headstrong and unconventional beauty, they quickly find themselves weaving a tale as old as time.

Review:
THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE is the third book in the All The Duke's Sins Regency Historical Romance series and can absolutely be read as a standalone.  Author Christi Caldwell is a pro at weaving in any needed backstory, however; I highly recommend the first two books in this series.  Readers will benefit from meeting the families and couples involved first-hand while enjoying two fantastic stories.

For reasons of her own, Lady Eleanor “Ellie” Balfour has plans to be a spinster.  She vows to never allow a man to control her or her fate ever again.  There was one man she would have given her heart to, but he disappointed and deserted her by going off to war.  And since returning home, he's made no effort to contact her.  Matrimony isn't for her . . . and she's perfectly fine with that.  Captain Wesley Audley returned from the Napoleonic War a bitter, broken man suffering from PTSD who wants to be left alone.  He refuses all visitors, preferring to live out his days in dark isolation while mourning what might have been.  The dreams he once had of a loving wife and family died in the horrors he saw and experienced on the battlefield.  What woman wants a man who can't take care of them?  One who looks like a beast?  And yet, when Ellie is there to welcome Wesley back to his family's home, he feels the old spark.  While all others ignore him, Ellie refuses to go away and leave him alone.  Her goal is no longer marriage, but she can't walk away with trying to bring Wesley back among the living.  She has a plan . . . will it backfire on her?

THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE is a heart touching story about the power of love to heal.  It's a story of acceptance, forgiveness and kindred souls.  Caldwell has a gift for tapping into the emotions of characters and bringing them to life on the pages.  Her descriptive prose flows beautifully as the story unfolds and readers witness the transformation of Wesley.  Fans of the first two books in the series will enjoy the appearance of previous characters in this story.  THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE is Regency Romance at its finest - a real diamond in the genre.  Highly recommended to fans of historical romance in any time period.
 
Synopsis:
Despite a hero’s return to England from the Napoleonic Wars, Wesley Audley isolates from the ton. Deep wounds from the horrors of combat—and the despair of a broken heart—left him scarred. As he struggles to cope and resume his place in Polite Society, Wesley is quick to cut himself off from everyone…except for Ellie Balfour. 
 
Independent and strong-willed, Ellie has dreams of captaining her own husband-free life and a penchant for meddling in other’s business. She knows befriending Wesley is a risk but Ellie can’t bear to see his heartache. Nor can she seem to silence all the temptingly intimate thoughts his nearness provokes. 
 
But Ellie is yet to face a battle she can’t win—and Wesley’s heart is worth the fight. If only her campaigns ever went to plan…

Author Bio: (Headshot courtesy of Kimberly Rocha)
USA TODAY Bestselling author CHRISTI CALDWELL blames Judith McNaught's "Whitney, My Love!" for luring her into the world of historical romance. While sitting in her graduate school apartment at the University of Connecticut, Christi decided to set aside her notes and pick up her laptop to try her hand at romance. She believes the most perfect heroes and heroines have imperfections, and she rather enjoys torturing them before crafting them a well deserved happily ever after!


Christi makes her home in Charlotte, North Carolina where she spends her time writing her own enchanting historical romances and baking surprisingly good cakes (almost 2 years in lockdown will do that) with her courageous son and twin daughters, each who with their daily antics provides limitless source material.

https://www.christicaldwell.com/

THE DIAMOND AND THE DUKE Nonexclusive Excerpt

Dedicating all her attentions and energies on her book, Ellie made a show at reading; all the while, her ears remained keenly focused on the parts and pieces of the discussion her brother and Cailin had resumed. 

". . . heartbreaking . . . not so much as a word from her . . ." Cailin said, her voice catching with tears, and Ellie flipped the unread page noisily. ". . . she will not write him. She will not answer his notes. What am I to say when he asks?" Ellie's sister-in-law was saying. "That according to our brother Hunter, the woman you are in love with is the darling of Staffordshire?" 

Ellie went completely motionless. 

The woman he . . . loved? Her organ in her chest forgot its job was to beat. As in, Wesley Audley was in love with- 

". . . that she's enjoying herself at all the local soirees while you are risking life and limb to keep England safe from that French frog?" 

As in Wesley Audley was in love with a woman wholly undeserving of him and his love. 

Hatred and jealousy mingled, and together, soured her tongue like the vinegar rag her father had advised her nursemaid to stuff in Ellie's mouth for using words he'd deemed inappropriate for a lady to utter. 

He was . . . in love. 

In all this time since they'd met lakeside, she'd thought of him. And more, she'd thought of him-and her-together. Granted, he was more than a dozen years her senior, but she was no longer a child, and with every passing day where he was gone, she'd become a young lady, and he was to return and notice that she was no longer a gangly child. 

Just . . . a gangly woman. 

But neither would that matter, because he'd said that day at the lake she'd spirit and strength, and a skill with a sword that he'd admired, and- 

Ellie gripped her book hard, her fingernails digging sharply into the soft leather and leaving crescent marks upon the cover and back. 

The housekeeper appeared and dipped a curtsy to Cailin. "If I might speak to you, Your Grace, about the latest changes to the menu." 

The latest changes, because with Cailin increasing in pregnancy and queasy from it, every meal was constantly changing. 

As Cailin came to her feet, she offered a wave and smile to Ellie, which she quickly returned. 

"I'll return shortly, love," the duchess said to her husband. She tipped her head up to receive Courtland's kiss. 

Ellie hurriedly averted her attention from that intimate exchange. 

The moment Cailin had followed Mrs. Dumfrees, Courtland returned to his book. 

"Who was Cailin speaking about?" Ellie asked after her sister-in-law had gone, and she and Courtland remained alone. 

Her eldest brother glanced over the top of his pages and looked confusedly her way. 

Be breezy. You are breezy. 

"The woman who is not writing the lieutenant." 

Courtland scrubbed a hand over his mouth. 

For an instant, she thought he would not answer. For an instant, she thought he'd rightly point out her past actions barred her from possession of intimate details that did not explicitly involve her. 

Though, in this case . . . they did. Her brother just did not know it. 

"She also happens to be the young woman who urged him to go to his father, the Duke of Bentley, so he could make a better life for himself." Her brother's jaw hardened. "A better life, which in her mind included wealth and land, and attaining everything she could through his commission in the army." 

The reason he'd joined the military, and risked his life even now, was a woman? 

Ellie's chest tightened in an odd way, in a way she'd never believed it would or could because of a man, and yet now it did at the thought of the dashing Lieutenant Audley courting another woman who was decidedly not Ellie. 

Courtland started to rise. 

Ellie quickly stayed him with another question. "Do you know her?" 

He stared confusedly at her. 

"The young woman," she clarified. 

Her brother shook his head. "Only that her name is Claire Sparrow. Her father is a part owner of the Cheadle mines with Hunter." 

The second-eldest Audley sibling, following Rafe. Wesley and Cailin were the youngest. 

"She has not bothered to write Wesley in all the time he's been off fighting." 

Pain knifed away at Ellie's heart this time for unselfish reasons: because of the hurt he knew, and all for a woman who couldn't appreciate Wesley for the man he was. 

There came a flurry of footfalls, and they both looked up. 

Cailin's lady's maid, Sara, rushed into the room, breathless. Ashen, Courtland jumped up. 

"The duchess-?" 

"Is fine," the young woman hurried to reassure him. "Her Grace was accompanying Mrs. Dumfrees, who was discussing the menu, and the duchess . . ."-Sara's cheeks pinkened-"fell ill in the hallway." 

Ellie grimaced. Tossed her biscuits, Cailin had done. As the poor expecting mother was always doing, everywhere, these days. 

"She told me I should not send for you, Your Grace, but I thought you should-" 

"I am glad you did," Courtland interrupted, hastening to the door, leaving Ellie alone with only the silence of the room . . . and-her gaze inched over to the hastily abandoned area her brother and his wife had occupied-Wesley's letters. She dampened her mouth. 

It is none of your affair . . . 

It is absolutely none of your affair. Not even a bit. 

That was, aside from the fact that Ellie was head over heels in love with the lieutenant. 

Her book forgotten, Ellie absently set it down beside her, and came slowly to her feet. Keeping her eyes on the doorway, she inched over and stopped beside the note. 

None of your affair. 

None of your affair. None . . . Of its own volition, her gaze slid down, landing on that folded note.

Good, a person could not read a folded note. The only way to do so would be to pick it up, and open it, and well, Ellie certainly had more than enough restraint. 

Or . . . she thought she did. 

Just not where matters of Wesley Audley were concerned. 

With a silent curse, her fingers dove for the page, and she quickly snapped it open and proceeded to read. 

My dear sister, I write this missive hoping to find you and Courtland and your unborn babe are each faring well. I am eager for the day I return, and hope it is one day soon where I am able to see your expanded family. 

Ellie finished and turned the note over. 

There was no mention of Ellie. 

He did not so much as ask after her. 

Not that she expected he should or would. Ellie was, after all, just another one of Courtland's many siblings. 

She snapped the note shut and returned the letter to where Cailin had left it. 

That, however, didn't mean Ellie didn't . . . hope that he thought of her in some way. 

Though, knowing his heart was otherwise engaged-and by a woman so completely unworthy of him-it made sense why he should not. 

And she was stunned to discover, she wasn't so very selfish as to want him at any cost. She wanted him alive and happy. Even if it meant, when he returned from war, he would belong to another woman. 

Balling her hands into tight fists, Ellie squeezed and un-squeezed them; all the while she waged a silent war with herself. 

"Bloody hell," she exclaimed into the quiet of the parlor, and then, sitting down at Cailin's writing station, Ellie availed herself of a sheet of parchment and a pen. 

Dipping it into an inkwell pot, she proceeded to write. 

My dearest Wesley, 

You must forgive me for the delay in my writing. My father discovered your notes. My only course, our only course, is to send our correspondences through a location where they're sure to not be discovered. 

Lovingly Yours

Excerpted from The Diamond and the Duke by Christi Caldwell Copyright © 2024 by Christi Caldwell. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

 

Monday, February 12, 2024

LOVE, NATURALLY Review

Author: Sophie Sullivan
Narrator: Julie Rogers
Publisher: MacMillan Audio, St. Martins Griffin
Release Date: Jan. 16, 2024
Order Link: Amazon

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio for an audiobook of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.
#MacMillanAudio
A charming opposites-attract romance, Love, Naturally is for anyone who ever stepped outside their comfort zone and found that all the best things can happen when you take a chance.
Review:
LOVE, NATURALLY by Author Sophie Sullivan is a heartwarming opposites attract, insta-love romance rendered through dual points of view.  There's a long list of reasons why these two characters will never work as a couple, and yet the chemistry sparking between them could set the forest on fire. Does anything else really matter?

Presley surprises her boyfriend with a ten-day getaway at the Get Lost Lodge, a place where fishing, hiking and roughing it is the name of the game.  While it isn't her thing, she wants to prove her commitment to their relationship and her willingness to do things he likes to do.  Imagine her surprise when he says he'll invite a buddy to go with him, not her.  Apparently, they're not on the same page when it comes to moving forward with their relationship, so Presley takes the reservations back and proceeds to go on the trip by herself.  It'll be a good time to assess her life and figure out which direction to go in the future.  Getting sick on the boat crossing to the island is not a good sign, but she steps out of her comfort zone and tries new activities with Beckett, a hunky, willing teacher and the lodge guide, who's helping his brother get the lodge up and running.  Readers quickly learn Beckett has issues of his own.  He's set aside his own dreams to commit to helping family.  Presley and Beckett couldn't be more different.  She's a city girl who loves shopping, champagne and caviar and he's a country boy who catches, cleans and cooks his own dinner.  There're too many miles, differences and entanglements for them to consider a future together . . . even though the sexual tension between them is off the charts.  They'll enjoy each other's company and at the end of ten days, both go their separate ways.  Right?

LOVE, NATURALLY is a sweet, opposites attract romance with great secondary characters helping carry the story.  The rustic setting and evolving relationship between these two characters is intriguing and fun to watch as they both grow into their own and make life altering decisions.  While the couple go from zero to sixty in ten days, the narrative is a bit slow in spite of the sizzling chemistry.  The audio narrated by Julie Rogers brought the story to life and added to my enjoyment, engaging my senses.  I highly recommend it if you enjoy audiobooks.  LOVE, NATURALLY is a great choice for fans of insta-love, opposites attract and characters willing to step out of their comfort zone to find happy ever after.

Synopsis:
Presley Ayers is not the woman you bring on a camping trip. An accomplished concierge at an exclusive hotel in Great Falls, MI, she knows more about the top ten places for champagne and caviar than she does about the best hiking boots to go stomping around near Lake Michigan. But when she surprises her boyfriend of eight months with a vacation to the Get Lost Lodge and he dumps her instead, Presley decides to rough it solo and take the trip herself.

When Beckett Keller helps the gorgeous woman off the rickety boat and onto Lodge territory, it’s clear she’s made a mistake. She doesn’t like hiking, fishing, or nature in general, so why did she go on this trip?―but he’s got other things on his mind. A crumbling lodge, and his own plans and dreams that are forever deferred―so he doesn’t have time for Ms. Fish-Out-of-Water. But neither Beckett or Presley can help that inexplicable draw they feel towards each other. He’s all rough stubble and plaid shirts, while she’s all high heels and brand-name athleisurewear.

But you know what they say about opposites.

VILLAGE IN THE DARK Book Tour: Review, Excerpt & Interview

Author: Iris Yamashita
Series: Cara Kennedy #2
Publisher: Berkley Pub.
Release Date: Feb. 13, 2024
Order Link: Amazon

Special thanks to Berkley Publishing for a free copy of this title and Book Tour invitation.

Author Interview in Mystery & Suspense Magazine
Review first published in Mystery & Suspense Magazine

Detective Cara Kennedy thought she’d lost her husband and son in an accident, but harrowing evidence has emerged that points to murder--and she will stop at nothing to find the truth in this riveting mystery from the author of City Under One Roof.

Review:
VILLAGE IN THE DARK is the stunning, highly visual sequel to Author Iris Yamashita's award-winning debut novel CITY UNDER ONE ROOF. If you missed book one, I highly advise you grab and read it before the release of this sequel although Yamashita does a fantastic job of filling in much needed background information on the characters and events from book one, all of which are critical to the continuing overall series story arc in VILLAGE IN THE DARK. Clear your calendar and throw another log on the fire before cracking the cover on this one because you're sure to get lost in a fantasy-like wonderland of atypical, charismatic characters doing their best to survive.

Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy remains on leave a year after the mental trauma of losing her husband and son in CITY UNDER ONE ROOF. Additional information has surfaced indicating their deaths may not have been a tragic accident as previously indicated, but rather linked to the disappearance and/or deaths of other area residents. Thus, on a brutally cold February day, Cara stands by and watches with dread as the caskets of her husband and son are lifted from the frozen earth so an autopsy can be performed. The shocking results send her traveling back through the two-and-a-half-mile, highly claustrophobic tunnel to Point Mettier, a community of misfits, oddballs and eccentric recluses as well as those seeking shelter from abusive relationships. A place where all two hundred and five residents live in one high rise, including Officer J.B. Barkowski with whom Cara's exploring a relationship. Still reeling from the autopsy results, Cara's more determined than ever to get to the bottom of her family's disappearance. She's joined in her search by J.B. and Ellie, a peculiar woman who's certain her own son's suspicious death is connected because he's pictured alongside others who've disappeared in a photograph taken from a deceased gang member. As the trio embarks on a treacherous, suicidal mission, they’re joined by another local, Mia. The more they dig, the more it's clear someone will do anything to prevent the truth from surfacing. Attempts on Cara's life escalate, putting her and those around her in danger. They're getting close to uncovering the truth . . . but at what cost?

VILLAGE IN THE DARK is an intense, all-consuming suspense thriller that's narrated by three diverse, charismatic women - Cara, Ellie and Mia. As the story progresses, readers learn how each of these women are connected and what they stand to lose when the truth is finally revealed. A lightning fast-pace is driven by a dark tone of malice as characters and readers are propelled forward through blinding, breathtaking twists and turns. The author’s expert utilization of short, highly detailed, high-octane chapters with changing points of view keeps readers on their toes as they soar through pages permeated with suspense, action and one shocker after another. The author's cast of characters is one of the most diverse, colorful and engaging groups I've ever met. Kudos to Yamashita for highlighting the importance of community and the heavy, heartbreaking theme of domestic violence against women and children, especially Indigenous women, via characters seeking to escape "man's world" to live in a safe haven, a singular community known as Unity.

Author Iris Yamashita has brilliantly crafted a one-of-a-kind, irresistible, highly atmospheric suspense thriller in VILLAGE IN THE DARK. The author's masterly story telling talent is evident as is her artistry and gift for creating diverse, sometimes flamboyant, characters one can't help but love. The action is heart stopping, the characters straight out of a fairy tale and the plot line twisted. I'll be singing the praises of this amazing book and series for some time to come. Highly recommended to fans of CITY UNDER ONE ROOF, obviously, but also to fans of unique, artfully crafted suspense thrillers.

Synopsis:
On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances. 
 
Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet.
 
Aided by police officer Joe Barkowski and other residents of Point Mettier, Cara’s investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.

Iris is the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter for the script "Letters From Iwo Jima" directed by Clint Eastwood. The film was nominated for 4 Oscars including “Best Picture” and “Best Original Screenplay.”


City Under One Roof is her debut mystery novel and the first in the Cara Kennedy series, set in a tiny Alaskan town where all the residents lives in a single high-rise building. The book was Crime Fiction Lover's Editor's Choice for Best Debut Crime Novel of the year and was named one of the Best Thrillers of the year by Washington Post as well as one of the Best Crime Fiction of the year by Library Journal and one of the Best Fiction Books of the year by Reader's Digest.

Village in the Dark is her follow up novel to City Under One Roof.

Saturday, February 10, 2024

Bride Review


Author: Ali Hazelwood
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Release Date: Feb. 6, 2024
Order Link: Amazon

Special thanks to Berkley Publ. Group for a free ARC! All opinions expressed are my own.
#BerkleyPartner #berkleyinfluencer

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

Review:
Author Ali Hazelwood is one of my go-to authors when it comes to romance, so I was intrigued when I received an ARC of BRIDE and learned it was paranormal romance.  The synopsis and cover were enough to entice me in, and I slipped into this one cautiously optimistic.  What I discovered was a multilayered, unique world of supernatural characters mired in political turmoil.  A place where history and tradition command the uniting of a vampyre bride and a werewolf groom to strengthen an alliance between age-old mortal enemies.  A couple who each come into the relationship with few expectations and a hidden agenda . . . only to discover a world of possibilities if they can let go of the past and work together.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyr councilman in the South is ordered to wed Lowe Moreland, the most powerful Alpha of the Werewolves in a marriage of convenience.  Both sides have much to gain from the union, and Misery has no say in the matter, but readers soon learn she actually has her own reasons for carrying through with the farce of a marriage, and Lowe is smart enough to stay wary of her intent. Unlike his predecessors, Lowe is a fair and compassionate leader who agrees to the union with hopes of unmasking traitors among their midst and solving the mystery of missing people and attempted murders.  Mistrust drives the action at a fast pace with political unrest bleeding over into the couple's relationship, keeping them at arm's length in spite of their intense attraction to one another.  Both Misery and Lowe find it hard to let go of the past, open up and place their trust and heart in the hands of someone else.  Their people may be mortal enemies, but the sparks flying between them are igniting yearnings for so much more.  Is it possible for a vampyre and a werewolf to find real love and make a family together? 

BRIDE is a unique, action-packed paranormal romance with twists and turns that keep readers burning through pages for answers.  It's a smorgasbord of mystery, romance, and fantasy all rolled up in a sizzling forbidden love story.  The paranormal world created by Hazelwood is a highly visual masterpiece with great characterizations and a multilayered plot line with a side of humor and sensual banter.  While the suspense edges out the romance, there's no doubt this is a couple right out of a fairy tale.  Author Ali Hazelwood has proven romance is romance in any genre, and she knows how to deliver.  Highly recommended to fans of mystery, romance, and paranormal romance.

Synopsis:
Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been theupon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

Saturday, February 3, 2024

RADIANT HEAT Review

Author: Sarah Jane Collins
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: Jan. 24, 2024

Many thanks to Berkley for an arc of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.  #berkleyinfluencer

When a catastrophic wildfire suddenly rips through a woman’s hometown, she thinks she is lucky to have survived...until she finds a dead woman in her driveway, clutching a piece of paper with her name on it....

Review:
RADIANT HEAT is an intense, highly atmospheric suspense thriller set in Victoria, Australia. As one might expect, the harsh landscape and the power of nature to wreak total devastation takes center stage as one of the dominant players in this story. Mother Nature roars her displeasure as she sweeps the land with wildfires, threatening all life forms and rendering everyone at her mercy while sparing few. In the course of the story, readers and characters will learn that fire isn't always the deadliest thing out there.

Allison King is one of the lucky few to survive the latest wildfire that swept through her hometown and surrounding area, leaving ashes in its wake. Crawling out of her bathroom where a last-minute shift of the winds saved her life, she discovers a woman's body in a car sitting outside her house. Horrified by the discovery, Allison searches for identification and is shocked to find her own name on a slip of paper. Why was Simone Arnold seeking her out? How is she connected to Allison? Has her past finally come calling? Allison needs answers and with the help of a troubled friend, she begins an investigation that unfortunately involves opening doors to her past she'd prefer keeping closed and locked. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Allison suffered past trauma that she prefers to keep hidden, however; in order to move forward, she has little choice but to turn back.

RADIANT HEAT is a character driven story that unfolds via the past and present with flashbacks. The pace steadily increases with the peeling back of layers of a tale buried in the past. Allison is a complex, unreliable narrator and one many readers will find frustrating at times, with her highly questionable choices and excess baggage. She's often her own worst enemy in that she refuses to trust the motives of others offering to help her. The author's decision to set this tale in the demanding landscape of Australia plays well in setting a dire tone with danger lurking around every corner. The mystery unwinds slowly through a few twists and turns leading to an ambiguous ending some may feel is too vague.

RADIANT HEAT is a dark, heartbreaking tale of loss and survival. Throughout the story, readers see evidence of the total havoc and loss resulting from the fires that consume everything, leaving death and destruction in their path. Characterizations are brilliantly rendered as is the setting that claims a starring role. Highly recommended to fans of mysteries and suspense thrillers.

Synopsis:
Alison is alive. She rode out the fire on the damp tiles of her bathroom, her entire body swaddled in a wet woolen blanket. The flames crackled around her, the bitter char of eucalyptus settling in the back of her throat. The wildfire devastated the Victoria countryside she calls home, and when Alison creeps out of her hiding place, she spots a soot-covered cherry red car in her driveway, and in it, a woman. She finds the woman’s bag. An ID: Simone Arnold. A piece of paper: Alison’s full name and address. But why?

As Alison searches for answers across Australia’s harsh landscape, she soon learns that the fire isn’t the only threat she’s facing....