Tag: #aboutauthor

Feature Post and Book Review: Bad Liar by Tami Hoag

Book Description

Small-town labels are hard to shake. Hometown hero. Fallen angel. Can anyone ever escape their past?
 
A murder victim dumped at the dead end of a lonely country road, face and hands obliterated by a shotgun blast, is not the way sheriff’s detective Nick Fourcade wants to start his week. His only lead takes him to the family of a hometown hero suddenly gone missing. Marc Mercier left his home for a weekend hunting trip and hasn’t been seen since.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s detective Annie Broussard begins her first day back on the job after suffering a brutal attack by taking on the case of B’Lynn Fontenot, a mother desperate to find her grown son, a recovering drug addict. Robbie Fontenot has been missing for eight days, but the local police have no interest in the case, telling B’Lynn that an adult has the right to disappear, and a missing addict is no big surprise. But B’Lynn swears her son was turning his life around. Sympathetic to a mother’s anguish, Annie agrees to help B’Lynn, knowing she’s about to start a turf war with the city police.

As Annie searches for Robbie Fontenot and Nick investigates the disappearance of Marc Mercier, it quickly becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems in the lives of either man. And it’s still not clear whether either—or neither—of them might be the unidentified murder victim. Old jealousies and fresh deceits, family loyalties gone wrong and love turned sour all lay a twisting trail that leads deep into the Louisiana swamp, endangering all who cross the path of a bad liar.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205846882-bad-liar?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6fxQITTDev&rank=2

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BAD LIAR (Broussard and Fourcade Book #3) by Tami Hoag is a fast-paced, dark, and intricately plotted crime thriller/police procedural featuring a married couple, both Sheriff’s Detectives in Partout Parish in the French Triangle of Louisiana. This crime thriller is easily read as a standalone crime thriller, but it is based in a small-town and all the characters continue to grow and evolve in their everyday lives.

Sheriff’s Detective Nick Fourcade is called to the scene of a dumped murder victim in the tall grass off a country road. Identification is going to take time because the victim’s face and hands have been obliterated by a shotgun blast. As he begins to look for leads, he discovers a returned hometown hero has gone missing. Are his victim and the missing man one and the same?

Sheriff’s Detective Annie Broussard is on her first day back on the job after recovering from a brutal attack. She takes on the case of a mother, B’Lynn Fontenot, desperate to find her adult son. She has gone through ten years of drug addiction, but she truly believes this time he had finally turned his life around. Annie is willing to fight the city police detective to take over the case.

As Nick and Annie investigate their cases, they soon discover that there is much more to the lives of the missing men as they wait to discover if either is the unidentified corpse in the morgue. The investigation leads to surprising twists and turns that will endanger Nick and Annie until the pieces of all the lies fall into place.

This is another example of the strength of Ms. Hoag’s ability to produce an atmospheric crime thriller full of compelling, complicated characters, good and bad, and a twisted plot that keeps you guessing until all the pieces have been discovered. Nick and Annie are fascinating as a couple, while also being the ying and yang of investigative styles. This book realistically portrays many types of drug addiction, domestic abuse, family loyalties, good and bad, jealousy, and murder. It took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout and left me guessing to the end.

I highly recommend this compelling crime thriller/police procedural!

***

About the Author

Tami Hoag is the #1 international bestselling author of more than thirty books published in more than thirty languages worldwide, including her latest thrillers–COLD COLD HEART and THE 9TH GIRL. Renowned for combining thrilling plots with character-driven suspense, Hoag first hit the New York Times Bestseller list with NIGHT SINS, and each of her books since has been a bestseller. She leads a double life in Palm Beach County, Florida where she is also known as a top competitive equestrian in the Olympic discipline of dressage. Other interests include the study of psychology, and mixed martial arts fighting. A woman of eclectic tastes, to say the least, Tami was recently asked to list seven things people may not know about about her: 1. I was once offered a job by a private investigator. 2. I have a license to carry concealed weapon, but never do. I took the course for research purposes. 3. My high school guidance counselor encouraged me to become an actress, but I thought that was too impractical (Of course, there’s nothing practical about being a writer, either, but at least I’m not obligated to look good on a daily basis.) 4. I used to sing at weddings. 5. While I have no intention of ever getting married again, I love watching Say Yes To The Dress 6. I have legitimate knockout power in my right hand, and I’m not afraid to use it. 7. When I’m stressed out, all tech devices around me go haywire. I’ve stopped watches, and fried hard drives. I once killed a television in a store display by merely touching it. I’m better off sticking to life’s simple pleasures–like books!

Social Media Links

Website: https://tamihoag.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TamiHoag

Twitter: https://x.com/tamihoag

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tami-hoag

Feature Post and Book Review: High Intensity by Freya Barker

Book Description

Dog trainer and handler, Jillian Lederman, is moving with her pack to Libby, Montana, a place where she has made friends and hopes to find a fresh start. It’s time. For years, she’s just been keeping her wounds fresh by staying in Missoula—where there were regular reminders of all she’s lost—while the rest of the world has continued to move forward.
Perhaps the new house, the beautiful mountains, and a certain pair of clear, blue eyes hold the promise of new beginnings.

Since changing careers years ago, former FBI agent Lucas Wolff has found a much better work-life balance as a member of High Mountain Trackers. Still able to serve his community, he has also been carving out a comfortable existence for himself and is not looking to make any changes to it anytime soon. Not even for a particular bold and ballsy redhead he’s been trying to avoid.

That turns out to be an impossible feat when a plane crash during a blizzard sets both of them on the trail of a young girl, all alone in the mountains. But it soon becomes evident they are not the only ones looking, and staying safe means sticking close together.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210196449-high-intensity?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UnKWJUXKI5&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HIGH INTESITY (High Mountain Trackers 2nd Gen) by Freya Barker is an intense romantic suspense full of action and all the love and emotions I look for in a great read in this genre. This book can easily be read as a standalone story, but there are carryover characters from the other books in the series. I have read and loved them all, but this one is special.

After helping law enforcement and the HMT (High Mountain Trackers) on their last case, Jillian Lederman makes the move to Libby, Montana with her special pack of dogs to make a fresh start and hopefully leave some of her heartache behind. She hopes with her new connections and friends, she can begin to move forward with her life. When a plane goes down in the mountains, Jillian and her dogs are called in when the HMT team discovers an eleven-year-old girl is missing from the crash site and may still be alive.

Former FBI agent Lucas Wolff has found a more balanced life and contentment with the HMT team. He can still serve his community, and he is close to his aging mother. The first time Lucas saw the beautiful redhead with her trained dogs, he knew he was in trouble, but there was no avoiding their interactions in little Libby.

As they work together on this case, the chemistry is inescapable, but so is the danger.

I loved this story! Jillian is so strong, intelligent, and loving with a backstory that broke my heart. Lucas is her perfect other half, and they were definitely meant to be. Their love story is just beautifully real. There are explicit sex scenes, but they are not gratuitous and fit well into a growing adult relationship and romance. Jillian’s dogs are as lovable and important to me in this story as the human characters.  I enjoyed getting reacquainted once again with the other HMTs and their families. I felt the suspense plot of this book was much more complex than what you expect in a typical genre romantic suspense and yet it is in balance with the romance. This is an overall great romantic suspense!

I highly recommend this new addition to the series as well as the entire series.

***

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Freya Barker loves writing about ordinary people with extraordinary stories.

Driven to make her books about ‘real’ people; she creates characters who are perhaps less than perfect, each struggling to find their own slice of happy, but just as deserving of romance, thrills, and chills in their lives.

Recipient of the ReadFREE.ly 2019 Best Book We’ve Read All Year Award for “Covering Ollie, the 2015 RomCon “Reader’s Choice” Award for Best First Book, “Slim To None”, and Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, Freya continues to add to her rapidly growing collection of published novels as she spins story after story with an endless supply of bruised and dented characters, vying for attention!

For the latest news and updates on books and upcoming releases, you can subscribe to my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/Freya_Newsletter

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.freyabarker.com/about/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreyaBarkerWriter

Twitter: https://x.com/freya_barker

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/freya-barker

Feature Post and Book Review: The Garbage Man by Candace Irving

Book Description

Former US Army detective Kate Holland spent years hiding from the world—and herself.

Now a small-town cop, the past catches up with Kate when the body of a fellow Army veteran is left along a backcountry road…in meticulously severed pieces.

Four years earlier, Kate spent eleven hours as a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. According to her Silver Star write-up, she singlehandedly took down eleven terrorists to avoid staying longer.

But Kate has no memory of the deaths, or the events that led up to them. And now, bizarre clues are cropping up in and around that crime scene—and others. Clues that appear to connect to that fateful day. Is the killer trying to tell her something?

Or is Kate finally losing her grip on reality?

As the body count rises, Kate must confront the reason she bolted from the Army—before she becomes the killer’s next victim.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194927746-the-garbage-man?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=VuZVoNLjXg&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE GARBAGE MAN (A Hidden Valor Military Veteran/K-9 Mystery Book #1) by Candace Irving is an intense, gritty, emotional roller coaster mash-up of mystery, suspense, and thriller genres featuring a female small-town deputy on the hunt for a serial killer. I could not put this book down, but be warned, this is a book featuring a serial killer and it contains graphic violence.

Former US Army CID investigator Kate Holland saw several tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan seeing some of the worse violence man does to man. On her last trip outside of the wire, her group was captured and Kate spent eleven hours at the hands of terrorists. She escaped but has been suppressing the memory of what happened.

Now a small-town deputy in her hometown, Kate and her German Shepard, Ruger are trying to just get through each day until she is called to the horrific crime scene left by the road. The clues have ties to fellow vets and begin to make Kate believe this is tied to her captivity overseas, but is it true or is she losing her grip on reality?

With each new victim, Kate is forced to face her suppressed past and worry that she may be the next veteran to die.

This is one of those books that pulls you in and keeps you turning the pages. The plot comes at you from many different directions, but all the threads come together to a brilliant climax with PTSD, trauma, and revenge all interwoven throughout. Kate is a complex protagonist. She is strong on many levels, but also vulnerable. She is put through difficult situations, personally and professionally, throughout this story. Ruger is a wonderful sidekick, protector, and emotional support for Kate. This book has everything I look for in a gritty, intricately plotted genre mash-up with a memorable protagonist, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

I highly recommend this mystery/suspense/thriller mash-up!

***

About the Author

A former US Navy Lt., Candace Irving is the daughter of a librarian and a retired boatswain’s mate chief. Candace grew up in the Philippines, Germany, and all over the United States. Her senior year of high school, she enlisted in the US Army. Following basic training, she transferred to the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Texas-Austin. While at UT, she spent a summer in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Intern. She also worked security for the UT Police. BA in Political Science in hand, Candace was commissioned as an ensign in the US Navy and sent to Surface Warfare Officer’s School to learn to drive warships. From there, she followed her father to sea.

Candace Irving writes gritty military thrillers. She is the author of the Deception Point Military Detective Thriller Series and the Hidden Valor Military Veterans/K9 Psychological Suspense Series. She also writes military romance and romantic suspense as Candace Irvin (without the “g”).

Social Media Links

Website: https://candaceirving.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CandaceIrvingBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/candace_irving

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-garbage-man-a-hidden-valor-military-veteran-k-9-suspense-1-by-candace-irving

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: The Forgotten One by Catherine Bybee

Book Description

Sarah McNeilly is a rare find in the tabloid industry. She won’t ignite gossip. She finds the truth. And for once, that’s what her boss wants. With her job on the line, Sarah’s latest assignment is to identify the elusive “Maximillian Smith,” unearth his connection to the billionaire Stone family, and dig up some dirt.

Yesterday Max was an ordinary workingman, concerned with little more than the price of gas. Now he suddenly has a family, jaw-dropping wealth, and an avid (if clumsy) reporter on his trail. With the press threatening to destroy his new life, he needs to release his real story strategically, and Sarah is the key—not to mention an adorable yet invaluable resource for finding his mother.

As Max and Sarah team up to peel back the ugly layers of Max’s past, they stumble heart-first into their fiery attraction. But when their research threatens their newly built trust, it’s their future that is on the line.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/210670792-the-forgotten-one?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qnnluB1Ewt&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE FORGOTTEN ONE (The Heirs Book #2) by Catherine Bybee is a wonderfully charming and heartwarming second book in The Heirs series. This book features the discovery of the missing brother, Maximillian, and his romance with the tabloid writer who will only print the truth. While this book is easily read as a standalone with Ms. Bybee giving enough backstory to still understand the three siblings’ dynamics, I highly recommend reading book one, All Our Tomorrows, because it is a great read also.

Maximillian Smith is a blue-collar worker who lives day-to-day and keeps to himself. Then he suddenly has wealth beyond his imagination and siblings he knew nothing about. He also has a red-headed tabloid reporter on his tail.

Sarah McNeilly has dreams of working for a national news organization, but she needs experience and ends up working for a tabloid. She is having trouble though because she refuses to lie or exaggerate in her articles. When her boss gets a tip about a big story involving a deceased billionaire hotel mogul and a Max Smith, Sarah is assigned to find the scoop before anyone else.

When she literally runs into Max outside the family mansion compound, Max decides he just may be able to use this adorable writer to not only strategically release his real-life story, but to also help him discover the location of the mother that abandoned him to the foster care system. As they investigate together, the chemical attraction builds, but trust comes hard to Max.

I loved this story so much! Max and Sarah are perfect together. I was emotionally involved from Chapter One and their romance felt realistic and it was just plain fun. The banter between them had me laughing out loud at times. There are also times that I teared up and felt pulled into the difficult emotions of the abandoned child Max was and his shutting off his emotions as a way to deal with his life, and yet he was still a caring person. It was great getting caught up with Max’s siblings and the other characters from the first book. Ms. Bybee’s books always pull me in from beginning to end and she has become an auto-buy for me. I could not put this book down and I cannot wait for the next!

I highly recommend this emotionally satisfying and heartwarming contemporary romance!

***

About the Author

Catherine is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Indie Reader bestselling author. In addition, her books have also graced The New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists. In total she has written thirty-six beloved books that have collectively sold more than 10 million copies and have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban
emergency rooms. She now writes full time and has penned the Not Quite series, The Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series. Learn more about Catherine and her books at www.catherinebybee.com

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCatherineBybee 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee 

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/all-our-tomorrows-by-catherine-bybee

Feature Post and Book Review: The Forest of Lost Souls by Dean Koontz

Book Description

Raised in the wilderness by her late great-uncle, Vida is a young woman with an almost preternatural affinity for nature, especially for the wolves that also call the forested mountains home. Formed by hard experience, by love and loss, and by the prophecies of a fortuneteller, Vida just wants peace. If only nearby Kettleton County didn’t cast such a dark shadow.

It’s where José Nochelobo, the love of Vida’s life and a cherished local hero, died in a tragic accident. That’s the official story, but Vida has reasons to doubt it. The truth can’t be contained for long. Nor can the hungry men of power in Kettleton who want something too: that Vida, like José, disappear forever. One by one they come for her, prepared to do anything to see their plans through to their evil end. Vida is no less prepared for them.

Vida, the forest, and its formidable wonders are waiting. She will not rest until goodness and order have been restored.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199396945-the-forest-of-lost-souls?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=J6mAT69dnB&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE FOREST OF LOST SOULS by Dean Koontz is a slow burn suspense/thriller featuring a battle between a female champion of the natural world, an oligarch who only loves money, and a cast of characters and animals both spiritual, paranormal, and very human.

Vida has always had an otherworldly connection to the natural world. When a fortune teller comes to Kettleton County, Vida is drawn to her. The prophecies she receives impact and prepare her for a future full of danger and loss, but also love and peace if she survives.

This story has many of Mr. Koontz’s recurring tropes and yet he always finds a new way to pull me in and emotionally connect me to the main protagonist. Vida is a strong young the woman connected her entire life to the natural world, both spiritually and with a shade of the paranormal.  Her special gifts are recognized by the fortune teller and are used to protect the world she loves. There are mysterious wolves, an albino mountain lion, a war veteran with search and rescue dogs, and a Native American couple who all help Vida against the invasion of an oligarch and his minions who plan to destroy her beloved mountains.

The writing is full of evocative language not usually found in genre style suspense/thriller novels which had me more involved with the story’s themes rather than just rushing to the crime plot climax, but I was disappointed that after so much imagery and intrigue, the climax seemed a bit rushed.

Overall, Vida is a memorable protagonist, and this story is worth the read.

***

About the Author

When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages and he has sold over 500 million copies to date.

Fourteen of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list (One Door Away From Heaven, From the Corner of His Eye, Midnight, Cold Fire, The Bad Place, Hideaway, Dragon Tears, Intensity, Sole Survivor, The Husband, Odd Hours, Relentless, What the Night Knows, and 77 Shadow Street), making him one of only a dozen writers ever to have achieved that milestone. Sixteen of his books have risen to the number one position in paperback. His books have also been major bestsellers in countries as diverse as Japan and Sweden.

Dean Koontz was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg State College (now Shippensburg University), and his first job after graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. His first day on the job, he discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. He wrote nights and weekends, which he continued to do after leaving the poverty program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district outside Harrisburg. After a year and a half in that position, his wife, Gerda, made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: “I’ll support you for five years,” she said, “and if you can’t make it as a writer in that time, you’ll never make it.” By the end of those five years, Gerda had quit her job to run the business end of her husband’s writing career.

Dean Koontz lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirit of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.deankoontz.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deankoontzofficial/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/deankoontz

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-forest-of-lost-souls-by-dean-koontz

Book Review: The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE LADY FROM BURMA (Sparks & Bainbridge Mysteries Book #5) by Allison Montclair is another emotional and intricately plotted historical mystery in the Sparks & Bainbridge mysteries series set in post WWII London. I love reading this series and feel they are best read in order due to the continuing growth and evolution of the main characters.

Miss Iris Sparks and Mrs. Gwendolyn Bainbridge are partners in The Right Sort Marriage Bureau in post WWII London. Most of the lady’s clients are singles looking for a partner in this new post-war age, but the lady who seeks their services now is a happily married woman who has come to find a new wife for her husband. Mrs. Remagen is dying of cancer and wishes to find her entomologist husband someone to love and take care of him when she is gone, but Gwen, with her almost magical ability to tell when someone is lying to her, realizes there is more to her plan. When she is found dead, it appears to be suicide, but the ladies find it difficult to believe.

At the same time, Gwen is once again trying to gain legal control of her life. Her conservator who should be protecting her assets and managing her business interests is against her regaining her freedom and Gwen confronts him. When he is found dead, Gwen becomes the primes suspect.

Now with two deaths threatening The Right Sort Marriage Bureau and its founders, Iris and Gwen with help a young police officer and a variety of their friends are once again on the case.

I really enjoy reading this series. Iris and Gwen are great protagonists that always surprise you. Their differences work so well together, and their ever-growing friendship adds to their strength. I have always been emotional over with Gwen’s personal backstory and this book especially highlighted the injustice of the times. This story has a lot of set up for the two intertwining mystery plots throughout until they come together at the end which for me did slow the beginning of the book a bit. As more clues are revealed, then the pace begins to pick up and all the threads come together to the surprising climax. I stuck with it, and it became an intense page turner after the set up.

I highly recommend this addition to the series and am anxiously waiting for the next!

About the Author

ALLISON MONTCLAIR grew up devouring hand-me-down Agatha Christie paperbacks and James Bond movies. As a result of this deplorable upbringing, Montclair became addicted to tales of crime, intrigue, and espionage. She now spends her spare time poking through the corners, nooks, and crannies of history, searching for the odd mysterious bits and transforming them into novels of her own. The Right Sort of Man is her debut novel.

Allison Montclair is a pseudonym of Alan Gordon.

Website: https://www.alan-gordon.com/