MISS ETTA: A NOVEL by Deanna Lynn Sletten is a captivating historical fiction book which imagines the life of Etta Place who was the partner of the Sundance Kid. Etta disappeared from history, but Ms. Sletten has done an epic job of reconstructing facts when known and extrapolating when not known. When reading or watching the movie about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, I have always wanted to know what happened to Etta and this book is a rendering of the story that I could not put down and happily satisfied my curiosity.
In 1895, Ethel Emily Pleasants is about to start her first teaching position when she meets Harry Longabaugh, also known as the Sundance Kid. Emily is beautiful and very ladylike, but she grew up on a ranch and is able to ride and shoot as well as any man. She knows Harry and his best friend Butch are outlaws, but she loves the Kid so much she is willing to give up everything to follow them. Harry uses the alias Place while on the run and so Emily becomes Etta Place.
In 1911, Emily Pleasants arrives in Pine Creek, Minnesota with her three years old son, Harry to accept a teaching position in their small-town school. Edward Sheridan meets the widow with her son at the train depot and quickly falls in love. Emily hopes that this will be the place where she can finally quit running and looking over her shoulder as the Pinkerton men have never stopped looking for her, Harry and Butch. She wants a safe place to raise her son.
Etta travelled the world with the outlaw men she loved until they were separated and she disappeared from history. What happened to Etta Place?
I loved this story! Ms. Sletten brought Emily “Etta” to life for me and whether the facts and imaginings are true or not, I hope her life was just like this story. Ms. Sletten’s characters are all fully fleshed and you just fall into the story and do not want to leave. It is a grand adventure with plenty of romance, action and history.
I highly recommend this story and author!
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About theAuthor
Deanna Lynn Sletten is the author of MISS ETTA, THE WOMEN OF GREAT HERON LAKE, MAGGIE’S TURN, THE LAKE HARRIET SERIES, and several other titles. She writes heartwarming women’s fiction and romance novels with unforgettable characters. She has also written one middle-grade novel that takes you on the adventure of a lifetime. Deanna believes in fate, destiny, love at first sight, soul mates, second chances, and happily ever after, and her novels reflect that.
Deanna is married and has two grown children. When not writing, she enjoys walking the wooded trails around her home with her beautiful Australian Shepherd or relaxing on the lake in the summer.
Deanna loves hearing from her readers. Connect with her at:
Today I am very excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on this blog tour for DEADLINE by Geoff Major. This is an exciting new book by this debut author. I could not put it down and was completely shocked by the ending.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb:
Adam Ferranti was drinking away his waking hours, getting by in a regional newspaper in the North of England. An award-winning journalist, he moved to England to escape the media glare that followed his spectacular fall from grace at The Washington Post; only to be thrust back in it when a mysterious serial killer decides to make him his confidante.
DS Stephanie Walker is a successful member of the West Yorkshire Police force. Whilst she is tough and results-driven at work, with a fearsome reputation on the streets, she hides the domestic abuse she suffers at home.
She finds Ferranti exceptionally difficult to deal with, but he’s her only chance to stay close to what the elusive killer is planning next. Ferranti reluctantly complies with the Police, even though he is fighting his own personal demons, but when his best friend is murdered by the killer, it suddenly gets personal. And suddenly, no-one is quite who they seemed to be.
DEADLINE by Geoff Major is an exceptionally chilling serial killer/spy thriller/British police procedural/mystery/suspense/thriller mash-up. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, Mr. Major would throw in another plot twist or red herring that completely sent me in another direction and the ending shocked me!
Adam Ferranti had the story of his career at the Washington Post pulled out from under him and quashed by the FBI. After that disappointment he becomes a war correspondent in Afghanistan and then takes a position with the Yorkshire Post in England. Down and out, he suddenly begins to receive mysterious calls from a serial killer.
Detective Sergeant Stephanie Walker is a talented star at work, but abused by her husband in their home. DS Walker is in charge of the murder investigation, when Ferranti comes to the police station with his story of being contacted by a serial killer who has set them on a deadline until the next killing. At first the two butt heads, but eventually Stephanie starts to like and have feelings for Ferranti.
Stephanie is pulled from the case officially when her husband is considered a suspect. She continues to be updated by the DS Hobbs who replaced her and works the case with Ferranti. But nothing is as it seems with MI5, a U.S. Senator and long buried secrets about to emerge as well as a serial killer who continues on his deadline.
Clear some time because once you start this book you are not going to want to put it down. It starts out as a common serial killer investigation, but the plot quickly morphs into so much more. The characters are all fully fleshed and many have secrets that are revealed cleverly throughout the plot. The ending completely shocked me and I love when a story can do that to me. I was completely and pleasantly surprised by this debut author.
I highly recommend this book! This is a book you are going to want to get your hands on as soon as possible and I know everyone will be talking about it, especially the ending.
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About the Author
A long time ago, Geoff Major had an idea for a story, whilst walking his girls to primary school. Two years ago, he decided he had the time and patience to try to write the story down. His wife was wholly supportive, so he turned from full-time to part-time for four months and now – 23 years after that idea first popped into his head – it has been published.
As a self-employed business consultant for 18 years and a fundraising adventurer for 10 years (including ski-trekking 50 miles, over 6 days and 6 nights, to the geographic North Pole), he now works for a debt charity whilst plotting his next three books
Today I am excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review on the Blog Tour for THE LIBRARY MURDERS by M.R. Mackenzie.
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Alyssa Clark is about to find out that reading really can be murder.
She thought her new job in Thornhill Library would be safe and uneventful. Boring, even. But on her first day at work, a masked gunman storms into the building and blows away every member of staff on duty. Alyssa barely escapes with her life.
The police are satisfied they’ve got their man, but Davy, Alyssa’s colleague and the only other survivor of the massacre, is convinced the real killer is still at large. Alyssa – trying to move on with her life while dealing with traumatic flashbacks and the unwanted advances of an obsessive ex – is sceptical. However, when she stumbles across damning evidence of a cover-up, she agrees to join forces with Davy to help track down the real culprit.
But in her pursuit of the truth, will she find the closure she desperately craves… or provoke the wrath of a killer with unfinished business on his mind?
If you like twists, turns and compelling, conflicted characters, you’ll love this gripping new mystery from the McIlvanney Prize-nominated author of In the Silence.
THE LIBRARY MURDERS by M.R. Mackenzie is a murder mystery that begins with a graphic murder of librarians in a small satellite library in Glasgow and then becomes a twisted search for the murderer by two of the survivors. This is a new to me author who was able to immerse me in his narrative and I did not put it down until “The End”.
Alyssa Clark is late for her first day on her new job at the Thornhill Library. As she and her new colleagues are behind the main desk a masked man dressed all in black walks right up to the desk and proceeds to shoot everyone. Alyssa and one other, Davy survive the nightmare.
Davy is not satisfied when the police arrest a down and out patron of the library. He has the gun when taken down weeks later, but he swears it is not his. When he tells Alyssa about his doubts, she finds it difficult to believe until she finds some damning evidence of a cover-up. The two begin to work to uncover the real murderer.
This book surprised me, not only with the revelation of the murderer, but also with the multiple revelations about Alyssa’s past and the reasons for her prickly and off-putting personality. Usually I have difficulty with a book which has a protagonist that I do not like, but Mr. Mackenzie deftly kept me interested in why she is the way she is as well as spinning the twists and turns of the murder mystery around her and Davy. This book is as much a study of human interactions with others and the repercussions as well as a deftly plotted murder mystery.
I highly recommend this mystery and look forward to more from this author!
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Author Bio
M.R. Mackenzie was born and lives in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied at Glasgow University and has an MA in English and a PhD in Film Studies.
In addition to writing, he works as a Blu-ray/DVD producer and has overseen releases of films by a number of acclaimed directors, among them Dario Argento, Joe Dante, Hideo Nakata and Jacques Tourneur. Writing as Michael Mackenzie, he has contributed chapters to books on cult cinema and regularly provides video essays and liner notes for new releases of celebrated films. He used to work in a library, before leaving to spend more time with books.
In 2019, his first novel, In the Silence, was shortlisted for the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year and longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize.
Author Website: https://www.mrmackenzieauthor.com
Praise for M.R. Mackenzie
‘Writes with precision and passion’ – Caro Ramsay
‘Brings a fresh new voice to the field of Tartan Noir’ – James Oswald
‘Up there with the best contemporary authors working today’ – David B. Lyons
Today I am excited to be sharing on the September 2020 Harlequin Category Romance Blog Tour. I chose the Harlequin Intrigue for my Feature Post and Book Review – HIS BRAND OF JUSTICE (Longview Ridge Ranch Book #4) by Dolores Fossen.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
USA TODAY bestselling author Delores Fossen does it again, with a romantic suspense book that forces a US Marshal to confront his past—and the woman who might hold all the answers…
Can he help her recover her memory before they are both killed?
The only person who knows who killed Marshal Jack Slater’s father is Caroline Moser. But the Texas profiler has no memory of the murder, her abduction…or Jack. And her witness-protection safe house has just been compromised. Now in Jack’s protective custody, Caroline must trust her ex to help her recall her past before a murderer steals their future.
HIS BRAND OF JUSTICE (Longview Ridge Ranch Book #4) by Delores Fossen is the final romantic suspense in this series. Ms. Fossen does give enough backstory that you can read this as a standalone, but I would recommend you at least read book #1 first. These four books are about four modern day law enforcement cowboy brothers and the women they meet under perilous circumstances.
Caroline Moser was a profiler and computer wiz working on a program for law enforcement to identify serial killers spearheaded by Gemma Harrison. Their research assistant, Eric Long was a serial killer who almost killed both women. Caroline escaped with a severe head wound causing amnesia and she was placed in the WITSEC program under the protection of Marshall Jack Slater.
Marshall Jack Slater is determined to keep Caroline safe at all costs. Their relationship was lost when Caroline lost her memory as well as any clues to the murderer of the Slater brother’s father who was killed trying to save the women.
Eric Long might be dead, but someone does not want Caroline to get her memories back. As Jack tries to keep Caroline safe, he races to find the threat before even more people turn up dead.
I really enjoyed this conclusion to the Longview Ridge Ranch series. Ms. Fossen does a great job of bringing together all the threads of this plot and the overall arc of the series. I was bouncing back and forth between the suspects and for such a limited number of characters, I was still surprised. I always know that I am going to get an alpha cowboy hero and a strong heroine to match in any of Ms. Fossen books I pick up. I was excited to read Jack and Caroline’s HEA and it did not disappoint. There are explicit sex scenes, but they are not gratuitous or dragged out.
The Intrigue series always gives me a great romantic suspense or mystery that I can read quickly and be completely satisfied with the HEA. I recommend this book, this series and any book by Ms. Fossen!
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Excerpt
“I nearly got Lucille and you killed,” she said, and Caroline cursed her own voice. It was shaking, too.
Jack lifted an eyebrow. “Funny, I thought it was the shooter who nearly killed us.”
“The shooter wouldn’t have been firing those bullets if it hadn’t been for me.” She expected him to give her some sugarcoated answer, but she’d obviously forgotten this was Jack.
“That’s true.” With that hanging in the air, he waited a heartbeat. “And since I’d rather not have any more attempted murders, that means you’re going to have to let me help you.”
“You mean I’m going to have to trust Kellan,” Caroline blurted out. She was feeling a lot less shaky now.
Jack shrugged, took his hand from his pocket so he could tap the badge on his belt. “Every lawman in Texas isn’t tainted, and if you dig beneath all the anger, fear and whatever else it is you’re feeling, you’ll remember that I’m the best shot you’ve got at keeping us both alive.”
He followed that too logical minilecture with a long stare. Jack was obviously waiting for her to come to the only conclusion that she had right now.
“I’m not going to trust your brother,” she insisted, but left the rest of it unspoken—that she would trust Jack. Again, it was the only choice she had.
He nodded as if they’d just hashed that out with a heated argument. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” He paused. “Want me to take a bullet for you to prove it?”
Jack didn’t wink, but he might as well have, because he was obviously trying to lighten things up. Trying to bring her back down and ease some of the still raw adrenaline. It was working, sort of, since it was something he’d said to her in jest when they’d been lovers. A way of letting her know that he cared that much for her.
“No,” she said, drawing out the one-word answer to emphasize it. There was a lot more emotion in her voice than she wanted as she stared at him.
Thinking.
Remembering.
Yes, definitely remembering.
That helped more than his lame attempt at cop humor. His being there helped, too, and despite everything she’d been through—or maybe because of it—Caroline wanted to step right into his arms. Those strong arms with their toned muscles. She wanted to feel the heat, and the comfort that she’d gotten there before. Jack had tugged and pulled at her in a way that no man ever had before.
Or ever would again, she was forced to admit to herself.
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Author Bio
USA Today bestselling author, Delores Fossen, has sold over 70 novels with millions of copies of her books in print worldwide. She’s received the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Rita ®. In addition, she’s had nearly a hundred short stories and articles published in national magazines. You can contact the author through her webpage at www.deloresfossen.com
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Blackthorn Book Tour for THE ANCESTOR by Lee Matthew Goldberg.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author;s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
A man wakes up in present-day Alaskan wilderness with no idea who he is, nothing on him save an empty journal with the date 1898 and a mirror. He sees another man hunting nearby, astounded that they look exactly alike. After following this other man home, he witnesses a wife and child that brings forth a rush of memories of his own wife and child, except he’s certain they do not exist in modern times—but from his life in the late 1800s. After recalling his name is Wyatt, he worms his way into his doppelganger Travis Barlow’s life.
Memories become unearthed the more time he spends, making him believe that he’d been frozen after coming to Alaska during the Gold Rush and that Travis is his great-great grandson. Wyatt is certain gold still exists in the area and finding it with Travis will ingratiate himself to the family, especially with Travis’s wife Callie, once Wyatt falls in love.
This turns into a dangerous obsession affecting the Barlows and everyone in their small town, since Wyatt can’t be tamed until he also discovers the meaning of why he was able to be preserved on ice for over a century.
A meditation on love lost and unfulfilled dreams, The Ancestor is a thrilling page-turner in present day Alaska and a historical adventure about the perilous Gold Rush expeditions where prospectors left behind their lives for the promise of hope and a better future. The question remains whether it was all worth the sacrifice….
THE ANCESTOR by Lee Matthew Goldberg is a unique suspense/thriller that merges two timelines, the past and present in one family in small town Laner, Alaska. Mr. Goldberg has written a family saga about greed, jealousy, love, sacrifice, acceptance, friendship and being a part of a family.
A man wakes up emerging from the ice in Alaska. He has no memories, but he does have a journal which the year 1898 and a mirror. He hears shots and follows the sound to find two hunters and he is shocked to find that one appears to be his identical twin. He hides in their truck and peers through Travis Barlow, the hunter’s window of his home to see a woman and child. They begin to bring back memories of his own life and he remembers his name is Wyatt Barlow.
Wyatt realizes he has been frozen since his journey to Alaska during the gold rush. He is sure he found gold, but he does not remember where. Wyatt ingratiates himself with Travis, who he realizes is his great-great grandson. Wyatt wants the gold to help his current family, but he also has a dangerous obsession which will affect of the current generations of Barlows.
I enjoyed this book on so many levels. The writing is gritty and stark as the frozen landscape of Alaska. I was always waiting for the next twist in the plot as Wyatt learned more about present time and revealed more of his true self. The characters in this book are all fully fleshed and realistically portrayed. This suspense/thriller is an original story with plenty of drama and adventure.
I highly recommend this suspense/thriller by an author who never fails to give me a unique story.
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About the Author
Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE DESIRE CARD, THE MENTOR, and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming in 2020, along with his first Sci-Fi novel ORANGE CITY.
His new endeavor will be as the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe Press and Fringe Digital, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box.
His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests.
After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City.
Today, I am excited to be on the Saint Justice Blog Tour. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SAINT JUSTICE (Christopher Wren #1) by Mike Grist. I love reading action packed vigilante hero thrillers that let you cheer for no-holds-barred elimination of bad guys!
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Blurb
Hundreds of human cages hidden in the desert. One man with nothing to lose.
Christopher Wren pulls off I-70 after three weeks on the road and walks into a biker bar in Price, Utah. An arbitrary decision he’s about to regret.
The bikers attack Wren, leave him for dead and steal his truck.
Now he’s going to get it back.
From a secure warehouse in the desert. Ringed with fences. Filled with human cages.
As Wren digs deeper, a dark national conspiracy unravels and the body count mounts, but one thing is for sure.
SAINT JUSTICE (Christopher Wren #1) by Mike Grist is the start of a new vigilante thriller series featuring an ex-CIA operative. I love these over-the-top, action packed vigilante thrillers especially when they give me a protagonist like Christopher Wren and escapism writing where evil always loses and I cannot put the book down.
The soon to be ex-CIA operative who goes by the name of Christopher Wren has been dismantling cults, cartels and corporate conspiracies all around the world. What the company did not know is that Wren had a kept a secret life outside of his job. While working cases for the government, Wren collected a vigilante army of his own called the Foundation.
Wren is looking for a fight and he finds it at a biker bar, but they are not an average club. The Vikings are a small part of a large chain in a human trafficking organization with ulterior motives. There is nothing more abhorrent to Wren than human trafficking. He calls for help from members of the Foundation and they come without hesitation.
As Wren works to uncover the leaders of the trafficking organization, he needs all the help he can get and he finds that this may be turn out to be his last fight.
I love this genre of thrillers. Yes, the protagonist can be so wounded there is no way he can plausibly continue on, but he does. And yes, the protagonist can get out of any situation to fight again, but that is what makes them so much fun. Christopher Wren, as other heroes such as Jack Reacher and John Wick, has a moral code that can step over the legal lines, but is always on the side of justice. And do not forget, there is always a tortured past or incident that sets them on their path and a terrible injustice that they must correct or stop.
Mr. Grist has written this type of genre book perfectly with a great balance of tortured protagonist and a fast-paced plot with plenty of action, weapons, and blood. I could not put it down and cannot wait for more adventures with Wren.
I highly recommend this vigilante thriller with a great, new protagonist – Christopher Wren!
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Aboutthe Author
Mike Grist is the British/American author of the Christopher Wren thriller series. For 11 years Mike lived in Tokyo, Japan, exploring and photographing the dark side of the city and the country: gangs, cults and abandonedplaces. Now he writes from London, UK, about rogue DELTA operator Christopher Wren – an anti-hero vigilante who uses his off-book team of ex-cons to bring brutal payback for dark crimes.
