Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SICKNESS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #16) by Stewart Giles on this Books ‘n’ All Promotions Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
When over a dozen people succumb to a sudden sickness on the island, and most of them don’t pull through, Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly is instantly suspicious.
It doesn’t take long to get to the source of the sudden deaths of so many unconnected victims.
But when the truth about why so many innocent islanders had to perish becomes apparent, O’Reilly finds himself in a predicament, the likes of which he could never have imagined.
The sickness on the Island has its roots in something much deeper, and when O’Reilly finally works out the real reason for the sudden deaths of so many islanders, it’s going to make him question his decision to move to the Island in the first place.
SICKNESS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #16) by Stewart Giles is a twisted mystery/crime thriller/police procedural that was impossible to put down. I have loved this series since book one and even after fifteen more, the main characters still pull me effortlessly into their world and Mr. Giles has me continually guessing about the crime plot suspects and motives as he untangles everything through O’Reilly and his team. I have read all these books in order and while each crime is solved within each book and can standalone, all the characters’ lives have developed and grown over time and story.
DI Liam O’Reilly is having his birthday dinner with family at his favorite island restaurant when a man at the next table falls to the floor dead. The next morning, he discovers there were several other people with the sudden sickness and most died. O’Reilly and his team can find no connection between the dead. O’Reilly is called into CO Johnson’s office and finds himself entwined in a web of lies tied to an old case.
O’Reilly and his team are led in many directions with questions not only involving an old case, but also corruption within their own police department. Then there is a demand for a huge ransom or more islanders will end up dead. Can O’Reilly unravel all the secrets and discover the killer before more islanders die?
This was a nailbiter with so much on the line in a short period of time. Mr. Giles never makes it easy on O’Reilly or the reader. You can always count on O’Reilly to find the solution with help of his team by thinking outside of the box or finding that one elusive clue. He has no care for his own career, but a strong sense of moral justice that he always follows. I love all the characters, and the dialogue is realistic and brings them all to life.
I highly recommend this edge-of-your-seat mystery/crime thriller/police procedural. I also recommend all the other books in the series. They are all well worth the read.
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Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review of KILLER TRACKS by Mary Keliikoa on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Promoamp giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
A Misty Pines Mystery
A peaceful retreat. A maze of smoke and murder. Is their remote getaway about to become a death trap?
Sheriff Jax Turner is worried about going off-grid and leaving his young team of deputies behind. But while his getaway with his ex is meant to help them reconnect, Jax is distracted by signs of a break-in at their rented lookout.
After a string of unsettling events and an approaching wildfire turn their isolated retreat into a danger zone, he’s stunned to find a dead body with marks tying it to a killer he put away a decade ago.
Terrified that his attempt at reconciliation has led them both into a fatal setup, Jax rushes back to his estranged wife before she joins the list of victims. But his dedication to serving and protecting could become an Achilles heel as other players join them among the darkening trees.
Can he fight his way out of the woods before the flames of revenge consume everything?
Genre: Police Procedural; Detective and Mystery; Crime Fiction; Suspense Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: September 30, 2025 Number of Pages: 319 ISBN: 979-8-89820-033-6 (pb)
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
KILLER TRACKS (Misty Pines Mystery Book #3) by Mary Keliikoa is an intense genre mash-up of mystery/crime thriller/police procedural that kept me turning the pages. This is the third book in this series and like most books of this type, the mystery/crime plot is complete and resolved in each book, but the characters’ relationships continue to evolve, and I feel the series is best read in order.
Sheriff Jax Turner has agreed to spend a week away with his FBI agent ex-wife, Abby, to work on their relationship. When they arrive at the remote cabin, they notice things that has Jax’s cop radar on alert. They discover a lone female camper who is hiding something and deal with the sabotage of their vehicle. Jax discovers a dead park ranger and now is desperate to get Abby safely off the mountain as they are chased by not only a killer, but a wildfire.
Meanwhile in Misty Pines, Deputy Rachel Killian is in charge and dealing with an apartment explosion and a dead tenant found in another apartment. As she inspects the body with the new medical examiner, the body has an “X” carved into his chest and the medical examiner realizes this signature is reminiscent of an old serial killer case. Rachel is also dealing with her cold case detective father showing up in Misty Pines unannounced. The more they investigate, they begin to fear for Jax and Abby.
This is a very good story that weaves two crime plots together that come from two different directions and ends with an explosive resolution. There were plenty of twists and surprises and towards the end the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. While Jax and Abby are both interesting, flawed characters, sometimes I find Abby not sympathetic, but a bit annoying, but not enough to stop reading the series. I find Misty Pines an interesting town and as I get to know more of the secondary characters, it gets even more interesting.
I really enjoyed this gripping crime thriller/mystery, and I am looking forward to more books in the Misty Pines series.
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Excerpt
PROLOGUE
Click. Slide. Clang.
If he never heard that sound again, it’d be far too soon. That, and the sleepless nights under a thread-bare wool blanket that chafed his exposed skin, the looming threat of death… in the yard, the shower, the halls to and from the cafeteria or his cell.
Death and desperation seeped from the pores of this godforsaken place. So thick he could almost taste it. No amount of soap, no amount of ritual, would rid him of the stench that clung to him—though he’d be willing to try.
It was over now. Dying among these second-class men would not be his fate. A man of his intellect, a man far superior to the minions around him, deserved better than what he’d endured these past years.
He’d eagerly reeducate those who believed otherwise. They’d all see it by the time he was through with them, just like those that came before.
Click. Slide. Clang.
A voice echoed off the concrete walls.
“Inmate 22-A-4242. Gather your crap. Time to go.”
He stood, hands to his sides.
“Ready to face the world?”
He remained silent. None would get the satisfaction of his acknowledgement.
The voice continued. “They gave you a goddamn Hail Mary. Bleeding heart liberals anyway. Don’t screw it up.”
He bowed his head to obscure his smirk.
“Right. I know your type. You’re innocent.” The guard continued rambling. “That’s what all you convicts say. ‘I didn’t do it.’ ‘I was framed.’ ‘It’s unconstitutional.’” The guard’s voice dropped to a growl, prickling his skin. “Tell that to the victims and their families. I’d reckon less than one percent of you bastards got a legit claim.”
The guard had forgotten betrayed, of which he surely had been. But he shrugged, not to agree, but to stave off the urge to wrap his hands around the guard’s throat. So close to freedom…
Whether he was innocent or not had no bearing; it had not been among the criteria for the help he’d received. Being wrongfully convicted qualified. According to the junior team that had embraced his cause when he’d written the letter, they agreed that’s what had happened in his case. Even if it took them ten years, he loved a system that allowed more loopholes than the cable-knit sweater Mother had dressed him in for school.
“Sell it to someone else, you psycho,” the guard snapped. “Bet you money. We’ll see you again real soon.”
A jagged smile crossed his face. The guard had part of it correct—but he’d never be back here. Next time, he’d be less gullible.
And he intended to snuff out anything that could hurt him, like the light of every other woman who hadn’t seen his worth.
Chapter One
Some days, it didn’t pay to get out of bed.
Sheriff Jax Turner had experienced more than his fair share of those mornings in the past six years. First, when his daughter Lulu died from leukemia. Then, when his marriage dissolved—more like shattered into a million pieces. Followed by a couple of cases that had tested his limits of trust. They’d destroyed some, too.
Today was different.
Abby Kanekoa, his ex-wife with whom he’d shared the gutting grief of those past years, had offered hope for reconciliation—the chance to glue a few of those pieces back together. It would never be the same without their little girl… but perhaps they could create something new.
Leaving for the mountains just after Labor Day was less than ideal. Though with the tourist season coming to an end in Misty Pines, and Abby due a vacation at the Bureau, it was the best time. Deputy Rachel Killian, his new hire and right hand, was turning out to be as capable as he’d hoped. Applicants for filling the gaps at their station had been sparse. Few, it seemed, wanted to work these days—or work at the often cool and foggy Oregon coast. He’d at least been able to get most of his young crew on full-time payroll, so Rachel had help.
Bottom line, getting away was Abby’s idea. He would not tell her no.
Now to get through the pep talk with the team. The two major events of the past year had allowed them to punch a few notches into their experience belt, but wisdom and reliance on gut instinct were born with time. Leaving them to run Misty Pines without his guidance had his muscles taut.
He entered the sheriff’s office with his duffle flung over his shoulder.
“Oh hon, don’t tell me that’s all you’re taking for the week?” Trudy said. Jax’s long-time secretary, and overall, Team Mother to him and his ragtag group of deputies, lifted the headset off her ears.
He suppressed a smile. “Glad to see your accident hasn’t made you any less opinionated.”
Eight months had passed since the event that had nearly stolen her from him and the team. A warm and fuzzy Trudy would be hard to get used to—he was grateful he didn’t have to learn.
Trudy rested the headset around her neck. “Looks like Abby hasn’t given you any clue about where you’re going.”
“Other than the mountains, not much. I’ve tossed a few essentials in my truck.”
“Like?”
“A good book and a board game.” He smiled. “A couple of bottles of wine.”
She arched her brow.
“What? I’m assuming she’s arranged for us to be at some luxury resort.”
“You think so?”
“Abby likes her massages, saunas, breakfast in bed.” Not to mention time basking on the deck with a steaming cup of coffee. For being a tough no-nonsense woman, and a hell of an FBI agent, she liked the finer things—and she’d earned every damn one of them.
“And what do you like?” Trudy asked.
He chuckled. Not much of what he’d just mentioned. “Roughing it.”
“Hmmm…and she arranged this for the two of you to reconnect?”
His smile faded; he dropped the bag at his feet. “Are we camping?”
Trudy laughed and shook her head. “When it comes to women, you do take a minute to catch up. Might I suggest a few more items?”
“Like a tent?” He’d have to dig it out of his garage, which wouldn’t take long.
“No. But a communication device might come in handy.”
“Abby said something about our phones being off for the week.” He shifted on his feet. “Are you saying we’re headed somewhere with no service?”
She returned to her desk in response.
Of course they were. Several interruptions to his and Abby’s conversations had come from the station over the past months. Too often, when they’d just settled into talk or were on the edge of a sensitive topic. Tourist season was like that every year with the random fender bender, a too-loud party on the beach, a drunken brawl at the pub. Some infraction demanding his attention.
Added to that, Brody had slid his motorcycle on wet pavement and nearly dislocated his shoulder in the spring. Garrett had a few interviews in Portland, one in Seattle. Matt was called in to stock shelves by his boss at the IGA grocery store when they were short staffed, which had become more consistent.
Time with Abby had been the price, although the last time they’d carved out a night together still brought a smile to his face. Maybe this trip signaled her intention of wanting more quality togetherness. That thought alone made having limited phone access worth it regardless of where they went, even as the uneasiness of being out of contact with his crew niggled at him.
He flung the bag back over his shoulder and headed to his office.
The click of claws on the linoleum sounded behind him.
“Boss.” Rachel and Koa, her black lab, came out of the kitchen. “You all set?”
“Almost. Picking Abby up soon for what appears might be a wilderness retreat.”
Rachel laughed. “Don’t look so concerned.”
“I’m not.”
“Uh-huh. That’s why you have a crease between your eyebrows.”
He rubbed the spot. “Guess I’m not fond of surprises.”
“Never have been myself, but I have a feeling you’ll have fun.”
“According to Trudy, I will. Hope Abby does.” It was sweet she’d chosen a place that appealed to him—more imperative if she enjoyed herself. She’d never been one to sleep on the ground.
“Believe me, she did good.”
“Take it you know where we’re headed?”
“Not precisely.”
“How about a hint of what you do know, so I’m better prepared?” Having spent far too much time in the dark, he preferred to be ahead of things these days.
She did a zipping motion in front of her mouth. “I get that it’ll be difficult for you, but try not to worry. The men and I have everything covered.”
He nodded. Letting go of the wheel would never be easy, and in law enforcement things could change quickly. But Rachel was solid, and he trusted her… despite his former partner Jameson not agreeing with him hiring his only daughter. Jax had made the right call; he stood by it. There should be no hesitation about him and Abby taking a week for themselves.
“You’ll get a hold of me if there’s a problem?” he said.
“You won’t have any way…”
“I’m taking the satellite phone.”
Rachel folded her arms over her chest. “Suppose that’s smart after the last trek in the wilderness…”
“Exactly my thought.”
Rachel pursed her lips, likely recalling that day when radio silence had left her and the team wrought with worry as they waited for word on whether Jax and Abby were alive. But Abby should understand his decision, if it came up. Probably better it didn’t.
“Let’s do a briefing before I head out,” he said.
Rachel winked. “The men are waiting for you in the strategy room.”
He chuckled. That’s why there’d been no sign of them when he’d arrived.
In his office, he set his duffle bag on a chair, and retrieved the satellite phone, burying it near the bottom in a T-shirt. Once he checked his email for the tenth time and cleared his desk, he started toward the meeting room, until he heard voices in the reception area.
Trudy was holding open the station’s door. The men were grabbing their gear about to file out, Rachel and Koa behind them.
“What’d I miss?” Jax said.
Koa turned at the sound of his voice, trotting to his side. Jax squatted next to her, draping his arm gently over her back.
“Nothing to worry about, boss,” Rachel said.
“Just a routine traffic revision, chief,” Brody said. “We’ve got it.” He’d gelled down his wispy brown hair today, making him look young. Too young.
“I’ve got forty minutes before…”
“Oh no you don’t, Jax Turner,” Trudy said. “It’s a half-hour drive to Abby, and you will not be late.”
Rachel lifted a brow at her black lab, who promptly returned to her side.
Fine. Jax stood. He’d wanted a team he could rely on, and he had one. So why did he feel left out? “Who’s in need of traffic revision anyway?”
“Fire department,” Trudy said.
“There’s an apartment complex on fire at the edge of town,” Rachel said.
Battalion Chief Mike O’Brien rarely requested assistance. With the remaining tourists eking out the last of their holiday weekend there could be a traffic log, he supposed.
“I’ll go with you,” Jax said.
Rachel held up her hands in a stop gesture. “Please. Get out of here and have a good time.”
Before he could protest, Rachel was out the door and Trudy shut it behind them. Through the glass, Jax watched his team slide into two of the patrol cars.
“You heard your deputy, hon. Get your stuff and head to Abby’s. And don’t come back until you and that saint of a woman have worked everything out.”
Trudy was right. He needed to check his ego. Misty Pines could handle a week without him.
A call came through Trudy’s headset which she tapped to answer. She settled behind her desk as he grabbed his bag, her voice fading as he walked outside.
“Yes, Mrs. Harper. Just a small fire. Nothing to worry about.”
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Author Bio
Eighteen years in the legal field, and an over-active imagination, led Mary Keliikoa to plot murder—novels that is. She is the author of the domestic thriller DON’T ASK, DON’T FOLLOW, the newly released KILLER TRACKS, the third book in the Misty Pines mystery series which is an IPPY Silver and Bronze Award winner, Silver Falchion finalist, and a Foreword Indies award finalist, and the Shamus and CLUE Finalist, and Lefty, Agatha and Anthony nominated “PI Kelly Pruett” mystery series. Her short stories have appeared in Woman’s World and the anthology Peace, Love and Crime.
Supervising two newly minted medical residents might be the toughest challenge Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus has ever faced. Wren Baker, sharp and ambitious, graduated at the top of medical school with a hidden agenda in tow. Charlie King, at the bottom of the class, is determined to succeed–though Dok isn’t convinced he’s got what it takes. Then there’s traveling nurse Evie Miller, whose quiet love for Charlie doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by Wren.
Boarding at Windmill Farm, the trio struggles to balance modern medicine with Plain living. Between medical emergencies, cultural misunderstandings, and brewing romantic tensions, Dok finds herself juggling far more than she bargained for. Soon the stage is set in the small Amish community of Stoney Ridge for plenty of professional and personal complications.
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Elise’s Thoughts
A Hidden Hope by Suzanne Woods Fisher is a fantastic read blending romance, hope, faith, intriguing medical facts, and doctors/nurses learning their craft under the supervision of a very wise doctor. Readers can revisit characters from the previous book and get to know some interesting new ones.
The plot has Ruth “Dok” Stoltzfus deciding to lessen her medical workload by taking into the practice two newly minted medical residents, Wren Baker and Charlie King, as well as traveling nurse Evie Miller. Wren is sharp, ambitious, and graduated at the top of her medical school, while Charlie King is at the bottom of the class and determined to succeed. The trio struggles to balance modern medicine with Plain living. Between medical emergencies, cultural misunderstandings, and brewing romantic tensions, Dok finds herself juggling far more than she bargained for. A second main thread continued from the last book is about Annie, Dok’s Amish receptionist, who desperately wants to join her love interest, Gus, in the EMT field. But medical issues complicate the matter and makes her wonder if her dreams and future will blow up in smoke.
What makes these books stand out is how the author highlights some medical issues such as postpartum depression, reading disabilities, family dysfunction, drug trials with pharmaceutical companies, and severe motion sickness. Readers will take the journey with the characters as they struggle with these issues and try to overcome them. In addition, there is subtle commentary on the attitude of doctors. A great quote that exemplifies this is by Dok, ““You have all the tools to be a good doctor, but to be a great one, you need to treat the person, not just the illness.”
This book was very hard to put down. Readers will become entwined with the characters. There are tender moments, heart wrenching scenes, and humorous dialogue.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Why did “Dok” decide to have doctoral residents?
Suzanne Woods Fisher: I was not setting out to do a series but have written a third book. It picks up where the last book, A Healing Touch, left off. Dok had a local TV station do a feature on her and her practice blew up with a waiting list out the door. She ends up with two brand new medical doctors. They decided to go to this rural local community to get their medical school bills paid off. It is a story where the outsiders are looking in, about observation and noticing.
EC: How did you find out about the medical practice to write about?
SWF: I have several friends who have children that became doctors. My own daughter- in-law has a residency in clinical psychology. I interviewed two of my friends’ children who did not match to where they went. I have written into the story medical issues that either I know about personally or knew of people that experienced it. Most of “Doks” work is not specialty but common, basic, and true anecdotal medical issues.
EC: Why did you write this powerful book quote about looking at the individual or animal by doctors and vets?
SWF: My experience with the medical community is that it is all about statistics. Doctors and vets today do not individualize. They need to look at the person or dogs care, commitment, devotion, and budget. Dok said to the resident that she must see the whole person. Her quote, “What truly matters to me is that you start seeing your patients as a whole people not just a collection of symptoms…You need to treat the person, not just the illness. Your patients aren’t mere tasks on a to-do-list. You need to be attentive to them as human beings.” Dok is the doctor we all wish we had.
EC: Did Dok practice differently than other doctors?
SWF: Rural doctors like Dok practice differently than those in an urban setting. They are much more on the front line of a family practice. Dok has this philosophy that she can learn more about a person in a home than in an office call. Dok is now so connected to the people’s well-being and whole health. She believes in alternative options, and is a quick thinker, and adapts to the moment. At first, she thinks how much Wren is like her when she was a young doctor, but Charlie is like Doc now as an experienced doctor.
EC: How would you describe the resident Wren?
SWF: Wren Baker graduated at the top of her class, brilliant, quick, decisive, gutsy, bold, audacious, competitive, and ambitious. She is also territorial, snobbish, impatient, used to luxuries, not culturally sensitive, cunning, determined, and tenacious. Wren had life a little too easy including in school that applauded her high successful IQ but that does not necessarily make a successful person with relationships, especially working with others.
EC: How about the other resident, Charlie?
SWF: He was at the bottom of his medical class. He is curious, steady, can connect with the patients. Wren was the reason he got through medical school. He had an appreciation and tolerance for her that others did not see. He is also kindhearted, patient, goofy, likes to fix things, and is all heart. He thinks outside the box and comes at things from a different angle.
EC: What about the nicknames given to Charlie by Evie, the nurse practitioner studying under Dok?
SWF: Clueless Charlie, Charitable Charlie, Correctable Charlie, Coachable Charlie, and Conniving Charlie. Evie was crazy in love with him. She feels neglected by him. These represent her emotions. Her feelings zig zag. Evie felt it was unrequited love all the time.
EC: How would you describe Evie?
SWF: She had a Mennonite upbringing. She does not have self-confidence and does not stand up for herself. She underestimates herself. She feels displaced and does not belong until her grandparents raised her during her high school years as her parents ran off on different missions. She never understood the gift she had with a sense of calmness and confidence.
EC: How would you describe Clara who has postpartum depression?
SWF: She suffered alone, is struggling, broken, withdrawn, and became disoriented. She slipped through the cracks with a lot of people to blame. Motherhood is highly revered in the Amish community. Clara was not thriving and feels judged for struggling. She has a husband who is super patriarchal. She finds it hard to except help and has painted herself into a corner of loneliness and isolation.
EC: How about Dok’s office assistant, Annie?
SWF: She is shy, not confident, and considers EMT Gus like a soul mate. She is a quick thinker but panics when she thinks she cannot achieve her professional dreams. Annie is the youngest in a big family with all brothers. Her mother is a flaming hypochondriac. At the end of the book, she has become her own person where she makes her own decisions.
EC: Next books?
SWF: There will be a book 3, a wonderful conclusion. It picks up a bit where this leaves off. It will be published next October 2026 but no title yet.
In May another book comes out, the second in the National Park Series titled Chasing the Light. This will have the ocean and buried treasure, with a lot of history of New England.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Mini Book Review for HUMMINGBIRDMOONRISE: A Witch Paranormal Murder Mystery (Murder, Tea & Crystals Book #3) by Sherri L. Dodd on this Black Tide Book Tour.
Below you will find a book summary, my mini book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Summary
The past two years have taken their toll on Arista Kelly. Once an eternal optimist, now she has faced the darkness and must recalibrate what true happiness means for her. Meanwhile, Shane, her ex-boyfriend, is pulling all the right moves to help keep her sane from her heightening paranoia. But it doesn’t help that Iris, her Great Aunt Bethie’s friend, has disappeared.
Still, one additional trial remains. While searching for Iris, Bethie and Arista stumble upon a grand revelation in the eccentric woman’s home. With the discovery, they realize their run of chaos and loss of kin may have roots in a curse that dates back to the 1940s-the time when their family patriarch first built Arista’s cottage in the redwoods and crafted his insightful Ouija table.
This pursuit will not follow their accustomed recipe of adrenalized action, but the high stakes remain. Will the mysterious slow burn of unfolding events finally level Arista’s entire world or be fully extinguished, once and for all?
HUMMINGBIRD MOONRISE: A Witch Paranormal Murder Mystery (Murder, Tea & Crystals Book #3) by Sherri L. Dodd is the final mystery/YA paranormal book of the trilogy. While I found this book the most captivating of the three, they are still best read in order due to Arista’s emotional growth as well as her increased paranormal powers.
Arista Kelly has changed over the last two years. While she has grown emotionally and into more of her powers, she is also not the eternal optimist she was before she faced the darkness of her uncle and all that he sends after her. Now, her great-aunt Bethie’s friend has disappeared and when they investigate her home, they discover a curse that involves both their families that go back to the 1940s. This is when the family patriarch built the infamous and insightful family Ouija table and Arista’s cabin among the redwoods. Now they have some insight into fateful family choices and a trail to follow to understand how this all has impacted Arista’s present.
Arista is the heart of all the books in the trilogy, but she truly is empowered in this story. Her endurance, grief, pain, forgiveness, and overall love demonstrate her strength and can be as transformative as any spell the young witch may use. While there is no shortage of drama in this third book, there is also a feeling of warmth and love as Arista’s and Shane’s relationship truly develops and the mystery plot comes to an emotional conclusion.
A strong and satisfying conclusion to the Murder, Tea & Crystals trilogy.
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About the Author
Sherri was raised in southeast Texas. Walking barefoot most days and catching crawdads as they swam the creek beds, she had a love for all things free and natural. Her childhood ran rampant with talk of ghosts, demons, and backcountry folklore. This inspired her first short story for sale about a poisonous flower that shot toxins onto children as they smelled it. Her classmate bought it for all the change in his pocket. It was not long after that her mother packed the two of them up and headed to the central coast of California. She has ping-ponged throughout the area ever since.
Her first real step into writing was the non-fiction fitness book, Mom Looks Great – The Fitness Program for Moms published in 2005, and maintaining its accompanying blog. Now, transmuting the grief of her father’s passing, she has branched into Fiction, specifically the genre of Paranormal Thriller with generous dashes of Magick Realism! Her Murder, Tea & Crystals Trilogy released book one – Murder Under Redwood Moon – in March 2024. Book two – Moonset on Desert Sands – released in March 2025, and the final book in the series will release October 2025!
Six years ago, Cinnamon Scott was a young writer on the rise in New York City. But since the sudden loss of her parents, she’s been stuck in place, retreating to a life of endless partying—made possible by the massive fortune she’s inherited. Despite their tragic loss, she and her older sister Rosemary have always had each other to lean on. But now, with Rosie living in London and about to give birth to twins, Cinnamon feels more lost than ever.
When Rosie is put on bedrest, Cinnamon flies to her sister’s side, where she’s temporarily living at The Savoy. Immediately swept away by the beauty and history of the legendary hotel and its famed American Bar, Cinnamon finds ample opportunity to distract herself. When the late shift bartender tells her the story of Ada Coleman, the woman who crafted the cocktail recipes The Savoy popularized in its famous handbook a century ago, Cinnamon is inspired by the bartender’s vivid stories of Ada’s fearlessness and can’t understand why Ada’s name is nowhere to be found.
After meeting a handsome historian researching the hotel and realizing that Ada is likely to be once again overlooked, Cinnamon must decide if she can overcome her demons and stand up for Ada’s story. And, along the way, she might just save her own story too.
LAST CALL AT THE SAVOY by Brisa Carleton is an engrossing story with two intertwined timelines. The women’s fiction timeline is set in the present featuring two sisters at an emotionally charged moment in their lives and the second timeline is historical fiction set in the early 1900’s featuring the first female bartender in The American Bar in the London Savoy.
Cinnamon Scott is taking a break from her rich New York girl’s party life to fly to London to help her sister, Rosemary, who is on bedrest with a twin pregnancy at the Savoy while her new flat is being renovated. While Rosemary is a successful attorney, Cinnamon has struggled since leaving college early due to a scandal and the death of their parents in a plane crash. While Cinnamon hoped to be a famous writer, the last ten years have been nothing but partying with no writing.
Bored just hanging in their Savoy suite, Cinnamon goes to The American Bar in the hotel. She meets Joe, the older nightshift bartender, who regales her each night with a new story of the glamorous past of the bar and its first female bartender, Ada “Coley” Coleman, who is responsible for the famous Savoy Cocktail Book. At the same time during her stay, she continues to run into a sexy celebrity historical writer who is researching the Savoy.
Cinnamon becomes entranced with Ada’s story, even as her personal struggles and past demons are coming to a head.
Both timelines were interesting and pulled me into the story to keep me reading and the ending was not what I was expecting but was very satisfying as well as a bit surprising. Cinnamon was a flawed character with terrible coping skills, and she was very immature, but there was also something compelling about her because her sister always believed the best of her. The sisters were forced to deal with many issues, and yet their love for each other always persisted. The historical fiction timeline about Ada’s life was extremely interesting. From famous and inventive mixologist to a not surprising ending, Ada, like most women of her time had her history written by men and that seems to never go well.
This is a compelling read with many interesting historical facts, historical people, and cocktail recipes interwoven throughout the story as well as being an emotional women’s fiction story of sisters.
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About the Author
Brisa grew up in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Midtown Manhattan to turn her passion for musicals and “flare for the dramatic” into an award-winning career as a Broadway producer. Three Tony’s later, she’s worked on numerous productions including Hamilton, Beautiful and Moulin Rouge. In 2019 at the request of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco Brisa joined his foundation to lead philanthropy efforts in theater, dance and film on behalf of his mother, Princess Grace Kelly. Most recently she turned her entrepreneurial spirit to actual “spirits,” launching Literati Spirits, a premium vodka created by book lovers for book lovers. She now spends her days traveling to literary destinations with a martini in one hand and a manuscript in the other, collecting stories with her husband Mark and her long-haired chihuahua, Mister Big.
Hollie S. McKay is an investigative and international affairs/war journalist who has written two non-fiction books, Only Cry for The Living and Afghanistan and a novel, Dictator’s Wife. She has put her life on the line as she worked on the frontlines of several major war zones including in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. Her books cover terrorism, and crimes against humanity.
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Book Description
Only once in a lifetime does a war so brutal erupt. A war that becomes an official genocide, causes millions to run from their homes, compels the slaughtering of thousands in the most horrific of ways, and inspires terrorist attacks to transpire across the world.
That is the chilling legacy of the ISIS onslaught, and Only Cry for the Living takes a profoundly personal, unprecedented dive into one of the most brutal terrorist organizations in the world.
Journalist Hollie S. McKay offers a raw, on-the-ground journey chronicling the rise of ISIS in Iraq—exposing the group’s vast impact and how and why it sought to wage terror on civilians in a desperate attempt to create an antiquated “caliphate.”
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Elise’s Thoughts
Only Cry for The Living takes readers on a journey of ISIS as it commits torture, rape, murder, and genocide. McKay provides a profoundly personal insight into the rise of ISIS in Iraq, exposing the desperate pursuit of a barbaric “caliphate” at the expense of innocent lives.
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Book Description
Overnight, Afghanistan dramatically transformed. One chapter – a twenty-year epoch heralded by the attacks of September 11, the U.S. invasion and propping up an ailing government – shuttered on August 15, 2021. Another entirely new – albeit old – chapter flipped open under the stringent ruling of the Taliban.
Officially termed the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, it’s a government that triggers immense fear among the population, having reigned with an iron fist pre-9/11 and waged a brutal insurgency from the mountaintops that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Afghans and foreigners.
Veteran war reporters – writer Hollie McKay and photographer Jake Simkin – walk you through the fall of the U.S. and the rise of the Taliban, drawing you into the minds of the new regime and into the hearts of the Afghanistan people.
“Afghanistan: The End of the U.S. Footprint and the Rise of the Taliban Rule” is a chilling bloody, yet beautiful visual expedition through one of the most magical yet wounded parcels of the planet. It is a place where poppies grow wild and men in the mountains cradle guns like children. It’s a place where kites fly high, and everyone has a war story, even though most never chose to go to war.
Welcome to Afghanistan after the cataclysmic fall. The band-aid over the bullet wound has been ripped off, and “Afghanistan” will guide you into the maze of dust, debris and delicacy the way no journalistic endeavor has done before.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Afghanistan, written by McKay with the photographs of Jake Simkin, delves into the fall of the U.S. and the rise of the Taliban, including how women lost any rights gained while the Americans were there.
Both books interviewed those who have been the perpetrators and the victims that describe the true horrors of what happened. The best summary is from Jocko Willink, a retired Navy SEAL, “She gives us all a better understanding of war and human nature.”
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Can you explain your quote about how the rule of law is lost in a war zone?
Hollie S. McKay: In the book on Afghanistan, I have this quote. “The budding and innocent always bear the brunt of war in its height and aftermath.” In the book on ISIS I have this quote, “If only the victims could tell the world what was happening to them, somehow it would all change the world.” These quotes emphasized how those in these situations feel incredibly powerless with a sense of injustice. Unfortunately, the perpetrators never have any accountability. I think telling the victims stories offers a sense of justice that they will never receive from the courts. I am hoping that people might understand on a microlevel what happened and maybe it will spur action.
EC: I wonder where the feminists are with all three brutal attacks on women by Hamas on October 7th, what the Taliban has done in Afghanistan, or ISIS in Iraq. Please comment.
HSM: Women were raped, tortured, and had their freedoms taken away. There is an overarching narrative where people do not want to be perceived of being derogatory to a different culture. There are situations in life, these being one of them, where people need to culturally offend for any change to a happen. Women should not be MIA but should speak out about any cultural practices that are inherently wrong. More than 150 years ago there was a practice in Hinduism that was called SAATI. Basically, if the men did something wrong or died for whatever reason, they would burn the wives under the belief her life was meaningless without a husband. When the Brits came into India, they said they would kill anyone who practiced this and put a stop to it. My point being that people must step up. Another example, in Afghanistan, had little boys taken, dressed up as girls, and raped. It was a real mistake that the US did not clamp down on this practice. In fact, in 2014/15 a Green Beret was court martialed because he beat up an Afghan police commander he found doing it. He went through a trial and was discharged. That never should have happened. Eventually the charges were dropped and the decision reversed after public outcry. People need to speak out when they know something is inherently wrong, and that is just what he did.
EC: Why do you think the Taliban and ISIS allowed you to interview people and observe?
HSM: I was not treated like ‘their women.’ They recognize I was a western woman that has a different lifestyle and beliefs. Obviously, I was not a man. It was an arbitrary middle ground, which is quite advantageous in these places. I could go and sit with the men but also could sit with the women, which my male colleagues cannot do. In a way I had access others did not because of the middle ground.
EC: What about the Kurd fighters who are women?
HSM: It is a fascinating story. The PKK fought against Turkey but also ISIS. They have a Marxist point of view. They feel women and men are equal in the way that they fight. There are others like the Sun Ladies in Iraq where thousands were taken and used as sex slaves or killed. A number managed to escape but there are still a number still missing. A lot of those women joined the fight because they felt they could not rely on anyone else for their protection. Their motivation was to protect themselves. Generally, the Kurds have more of an open mind then other Sunni Muslims in that region. Another motivation was that these women knew that the extremists believed if they were killed by a woman they would not go to paradise. This put an extra layer of fear to the ISIS terrorists.
EC: What about the US pull out in Afghanistan?
HSM: In Afghanistan a lot of women cannot be educated anymore. A large amount of the poverty level is represented by women. Currently, women have no rights to do anything. Women who want freedom and education, feel a sense of abandonment. At some point there was needed a significant draw down by the American forces. What was frustrating was to see the Afghan Army throw down the weapons and give up the fight considering the training they had. During the evacuation there were able bodied muscular strength men filling the planes because they pushed through that gate above women and children. The evacuation did not need to happen the way it happened.
EC: Does Hamas, ISIS and the Taliban have the same goals?
HSM: Hamas relies on Iran for funding. The Taliban are a little more on their own without the global funding that Hamas has. Their objectives are different. The Taliban is focused on their own border while Hamas wants to eliminate Israel. In terms of extremism both have a Sharia Law system that is brutal. ISIS has the objective to broaden their Caliphate.
EC: What do you want readers to get out of the books?
HSM: I want people to care about everything happening. But human nature has a limit to deal with all the tragedy in the world and the Middle East region. People also get jaded. I wanted to find the micro stories that can tell a micro picture that people can relate to on a personal level. Statistics and numbers can be very desensitizing. People can understand the conflict in a broader way. I wanted to put the human face to the number. It is impossible for Americans to live in a bubble. It is important to understand the way the enemy thinks and the way they see the world.
EC: Are you writing another book?
HSM: I have a book with my agent delving into mothers in war, in crisis, and in conflict. It expanded twelve different countries from Yemen, El Salvador, Taiwan, Syria, North Korea, and Israel.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
