MURDER UNEXPECTED (Kat and Mouse Mysteries #2) by Anita
Waller is the second contemporary cozy mystery in this intriguing and
entertaining trilogy. Each book has a unique mystery to be solved, but these
books are best read in order due to the continuation of the main characters’
interactions and development.
This story picks up just a few months after the end of the
first book, which has Kat, Mouse and Doris all waiting anxiously for the birth
of Kat’s baby while being wary as Kat’s husband is still a fugitive. The three
are being careful and vigilant as they work to grow their detective agency,
Connection in the village of Eyam.
When a widow gives the ladies a case to identify the birth
mother of her deceased husband something just does not feel right. Judith is
not telling the whole truth. While others knew of her husband’s wish to find
his birth mother before his cancer diagnosis, no one believes Judith is doing
this out of love. When the ladies go to return her retainer and get out of the
case, they find Judith murdered.
This murder leads to many twists and turns, with the ladies
sharing information with DI Tessa Marsden and Hannah once again.
This second book in the trilogy was even more intense and
emotionally riveting than the first. Kat’s continued personal upheaval with her
husband, Leon ended with a surprise that was realistic, but I did not expect the
author to go there. The murder mystery plot in this book also was not what I
was expecting. It had so many twists and turns that drained me emotionally and
yet were completely satisfying by its resolution. Ms. Waller has some very
clever ideas when it comes to murder.
I love Kat, Mouse (Beth) and Doris. These are strong female
characters you feel you want to meet in real life. DI Marsden and Hannah are
also intelligent law enforcement characters. Wonderful writing brings these
characters to life and the resolutions are clever and thought provoking.
I can highly recommend this book and am anxiously awaiting book #3 of the trilogy!
Thanks very much to Bloodhound Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC.
MURDER UNDENIABLE (Kat and Mouse Mysteries #1) by Anita Waller is the first book in a contemporary cozy mystery trilogy. This author has written three main characters that are as intelligent and realistic as they are entertaining. The start was a little slow, but it was setting up a crime in the past witnessed by a group of friends which ties into the current murders. The suspense and mystery builds after this scene though at a rapid pace.
Katerina Rowe is a Deacon at her church in the village of
Eyam. She is happily married and very satisfied with her life. They have just
celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary.
As Kat and Leon are exciting into the alley behind his
pharmacy, they discover a man shot to death and a woman barely hanging on to
life after being shot in the shoulder and kicked in the head. The woman, Beth,
called Mouse, by her family was the dead man’s escort for the night. Kat does not
understand why, but she is drawn to Mouse and wants to protect her.
At the hospital Kat meets Beth’s nan, Doris and the three
woman form a bond. When Beth’s flat is burned down, Kat takes her and her nan
in as the peril escalates and more people are murdered. These three will use
their skills to dig into the murders and hopefully find the killer before he
succeeds in killing Beth.
I love Kat, Beth and Doris. They are unique characters that
each have their own talents to bring to the group. I am very glad I will get to
revisit them. The setting of the “plague village” of Eyam was interesting to
learn about and is perfect for a cozy setting. I was glad that Ms. Waller made
the police investigators as intelligent as the cozy sleuths. They were not
stupid or inept caricatures. The ending was only a partial surprise, but it was
very satisfying.
I am looking forward to reading the remainder of this Kat
and Mouse trilogy.
SAY YOU’RE SORRY (Sacramento #1, Romantic Suspense #22) by Karen Rose is an edge-of-your-seat romantic suspense with a hero and heroine who are both damaged and yet extremely strong and a twisted serial killer who is only discovered when he picks the wrong victim. Every page of this dense thrill ride kept me guessing, surprised, tense and turning the pages. I love Karen Rose books and I feel this is the best Karen Rose romantic suspense to date!
Daisy Dawson is the sexy female voice on the morning drive
radio show. Daisy involves herself whole-heartedly in her community and events
with her emotional support dog, Brutus always in her carry bag. Seven years sober
and away from her extreme upbringing on an isolated ranch, Daisy has done her
best to live a normal life, until the night she confronts a man following her
and her friend from AA.
FBI Special Agent Gideon Reynolds would normally have
nothing to do with a local attack, but one of the detectives handling Daisy’s
attack recognizes the design on a locket that Daisy ripped from her attacker’s
neck. It is the same design that he once had tattooed on his chest. This is the
first lead Gideon has to another who may have escaped the cult he was raised in
until his escape at age 13.
When Gideon meets Daisy, he is surprised by his reaction to
her. He has never disclosed his full past to anyone and yet he has the need to
tell it all to Daisy. Daisy and Gideon are immediately thrown into a maelstrom of
murders and as much as Gideon protects Daisy, Daisy will surprise Gideon with
how prepared she is to face these threats on her own.
Thank goodness this is the first book in this new Sacramento series because I want so MUCH more! There is so much happening on these 640 pages. You have a current serial killer to catch and then you have a secretive, perverted religious cult to learn about and find which will story arc into future books. Gideon and Daisy are absolutely brilliant together. All of the secondary characters are starting to take shape and you want to know all of their secrets, too. This is an amazing start to this series and I am anxiously awaiting more!
Thanks so much to Berkley Publishing Group and Net Galley
for allowing me to read this eARC. It was everything I am looking for in a
romantic suspense and more.
I am so happy to bring you this Feature Post on Erin Nicholas’ new book NICE AND EASY (Boys of the Big Easy #3). This entire series is smokin’ hot and makes you want to get to NOLA immediately to find one of these boys for yourself.
Below you will find the book blurb and an excerpt, my book review and all of the author’s contact information. There is also a link to get the first book in the series Easy Going for FREE.
***
Nice and Easy, an all-new sexy
standalone in the Boys of the Big Easy series from New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas available now!
A
hot firefighter who just wants to take care of her and her little boy? Sign her
up.
Moving
in with him and his little girl who already has a huge chunk of her heart? Very
nice.
Roommates
with benefits? Yes, please.
Convincing this take-charge alpha to let her take care of him too? That’s not going to be as easy.
Lexi could feel Caleb’s breath on her lips, and his
bunched muscles under her palm were hot and hard. She stared at his mouth. He
stared at hers. And she decided that if he wasn’t going to look at her breasts,
looking at her mouth like he was starving and she was a grilled BLT—his
favorite food in the world—was just fine with her.
Being compared, even in her own head, to a grilled BLT
might not seem sexy, but in her mind, it so was. Caleb devoured those
sandwiches. He’d do almost anything for one. He made sexy moaning sounds when
he first tasted them. And he’d proclaimed that hers were the best he’d ever
tasted. Yeah, put that way, along with the schnapps still coating her brain, it
was strangely sexy.
“Caleb.”
She watched his pupils dilate and his jaw clench.
Her hand went to the front of his shirt and she
bunched it in her fists, watching his eyes. He didn’t try to stop her. Then she
tugged, urging him forward.
And he came,
the hand next to her hip pressing into the mattress as she tipped her head to
one side. Their lips touched. Softly. Briefly. But she felt it all the way to
her bones. Heat, want, relief. She
suddenly had to have more. She made a
little almost-a-sob sound and licked her tongue along his lower lip.
“Lex.”
Her name was more of a groan than a word. It was the
sexiest thing she’d ever heard.
“Caleb,”she breathed.
Then the next
groan became the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. It was a combination of hunger
and resignation, and she felt like he’d just set her nerve endings on fire.
Suddenly, Caleb’s hand came up to cup the back of her
head, his fingers diving into her hair. And he took over.
His mouth opened over hers and his tongue stroked deep
and hot. Every glide of his tongue felt as though he was running a finger over
her clit. Some were firmer, some softer, some longer, some shorter, and her
need ratcheted up with each one.
She ran her hands over his chest to his shoulders and
up the sides of his neck, loving the hard muscles and the heat under her palms.
Then she slid her hands down his sides to the bottom of his shirt. She slipped
her hands underneath, moaning as she met hot, bare skin. He sucked in a quick
breath and she smiled against his lips, loving having an effect on him.
And suddenly she was on her back and Caleb was moving over
her. Her hands slid to his back, the muscles there bunching as he braced
himself above her, still kissing her like it was his job. Instinctively, she
slid her legs apart and he settled between them. The comforter was between
them, but she felt him hard and hot and deliciously heavy against her. The feel
of his cock pressed against her made her ache. She’d done that to him. She’d
made him hard.
Hallelujah.
***
Start the Boys
of the Big Easy series for FREE with Easy Going!
NICE AND EASY (Boys of the Big Easy #3) by Erin Nicholas is
another smokin’ hot contemporary romance which makes you want to travel down
south and try to grab one of these boys for yourself. This series is based
around a single parent group in NOLA and each book focuses on one of the
parents becoming a HEA couple. The books can be read as standalones per couple,
but the characters do help each other out and build on their relationships
throughout each book as in real life.
Lexi Scott is one of the younger members of the single parent
group. She has been living with her mom while attending nursing school and raising
her baby son, Jack.
Lieutenant Caleb Moreau is used to being in complete control
and in charge. He and his men save people from burning buildings. When his
sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car accident, Caleb is suddenly the
guardian of his little niece, Shay and joins the single parent group for
support.
For two years Lexi and Caleb have found that their hectic
schedules work for sharing the raising of their kids, but Lexi has always
wanted more. Caleb knows Lexi wants him, but he is afraid that she wants him
out of gratitude for all he does. When circumstances have Lexi and Jack moving
in with Caleb and Shay, these two are going to find out that they do not know
each other as well as they thought.
There is so much happening in this story. As in all of the
other Boys of the Big Easy books, Lexi and Caleb have their chance at romance,
but there is a little more going between with this couple. Lexi wants to be
dominated in the bedroom. Role playing, spanking and submission are included in
this romance. There are several serious scenes with Caleb trying to learn that
he cannot always control everything and Shay’s long-term prognosis to deal
with. This book is as hot and fun as it is serious and Erin Nichols balances it
all to perfection!
This author just keeps giving me more great stories and characters. I am looking forward to many more books in this series.
***
About Erin
Nicholas
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing
romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over
thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,”
“enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect
heroines, and happily ever afters.
Erin lives in the Midwest,
where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex
scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her
books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes
in her books).
JAKE’S REDEMPTION: THE ANGEL EYES SERIES PREQUEL by Jamie
Schulz Is a full length prequel to a new dystopian, western, sci-fi romance
mash-up series. This story pulled me in right from the first chapter. The
author brings you into a new world order in which females are in charge and the
institution of slavery has reappeared. All of the characters in this book have
survived the war, but some are much more damaged than others.
*WARNING: This book is written with authenticity to the sci-fi
story so there are triggers for more sensitive readers which include scenes of
abuse, torture, non-consent, rape and slavery.
Jake Nichols is trapped and enslaved. After two years of
torture and abuse by his sadistic owner, he is loaned out to a neighboring
fledgling rancher who needs his services as a builder. What he discovers is an
owner unlike his Mistress, who does not believe in cruelty and submission. He
begins to feel like the man he was before he was captured, but this is only a
temporary reprieve. As much as he dares to hope for a future on the ranch with
his new owner, he is afraid he must try to escape before he is returned to his
Mistress. Death would be better than returning.
Monica Avery has given up on finding love. She works instead
at sheltering those under her care from the harsh realities of this new
society. When Jake comes to work for her, she is intrigued by him. He wants
nothing to do with the females on the ranch, but he shows his caring nature
with his treatment of the children and his respect of those who work with him.
Monica wants Jake to care for her, but she knows he has been damaged and is
just starting to trust she is not like other females. Can she rescue Jake from returning
to a captivity that will destroy him?
As the slow burning romance between Jake and Monica grows,
you are introduced to a whole host of secondary characters. Ms. Schulz has done
a great job of world-building. I never felt bogged down by info or character overload.
Every scene was interesting and integral to the plot and world-building. This
is an emotionally charged story of a dark future where it does not seem females
learned their lessons from the past. If you are looking for an extremely well
written new story that is different from the norm, I can definitely recommend this
book to you. I am anxiously waiting for the next book in this proposed six book
series!
Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.
A MERCIFUL FATE (Mercy Kilpatrick #5) by Kendra Elliot is
the latest romantic suspense, mystery/suspense, FBI procedural, who cares what
you call it, cannot put it down read featuring one of my favorite main
characters! This is a series I recommend you read in order because each book
builds on all of the characters’ relationships and secrets besides giving you
new crimes and/or mysteries in each.
Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick is thrown into a notorious,
decades old bank robbery when the skeleton of one of the robbers is found in a
decaying cabin. The mastermind of the team was captured and put in prison, but
the money and the rest of the gang seem to have disappeared into thin air. Just
as Mercy starts reinvestigating the robbery, a young tabloid reporter shows up
in Eagle’s Nest asking questions that are threatening long buried secrets.
Police Chief Truman Daly gets pulled into the investigation
when the reporter is found dead in her car. Some of the people have secrets and
are not who they appear in the Eagle’s Nest community. Whether they are related
to the old robbery or not, they want them kept secret. Mercy and Truman need to
reveal them all to find the threat to their community and family. Some long
held friends and neighbors are not who or what they seem.
This series just keeps getting better and better. The old,
unsolved robbery is an intriguing crime plot that builds the suspense and threat
level at a rapid rate throughout the story. I was very surprised throughout the
resolution. I love Mercy and Truman’s relationship and how Mercy is learning to
navigate their relationship while balancing everything with her long held prepper
lifestyle. All of the secondary characters are becoming fully fleshed out
characters that I look for now in each book.
My only slight criticism of this series is that I believe
Mercy’s father may have a point. Not his indifference or stubbornness, but the
people around Mercy seem to be injured or killed quite frequently. In most series
the main character is injured or almost killed so many times you wonder how
they can keep recovering and working, but it is those around Mercy who suffer
this author’s wrath.
That said, I highly recommend this series and Mercy! I
always look forward to reading these books and catching up with all of the
Eagle’s Nest community.
