Book Review: The Hive by Gregg Olsen

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE HIVE by Gregg Olsen is a suspense/thriller/police procedural which revolves around the present-day murder of a college journalist investigating a death and cover up in the past. The death in the past leads back to a charismatic beauty and wellness guru and her “Hive” of close followers on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.

Detective Lindsay Jackman is reeling from the suicide of her partner and is immediately thrown into an investigation of a young college journalist found naked at the bottom of a ravine. Lindsay discovers the dead girl was working on an expose of Marnie Spellman.

Marnie Spellman tells the world the tale of her being lifted by a swarm of bees and being given a spiritual connection to nature and God, who is female. Using honey, royal jelly and other natural ingredients, Marnie builds a cosmetics empire. But Marnie is also a guru or charlatan, depending on your view, who makes others believe in her power to elevate women to a higher level as they also obtain holistic health and eternal beauty. Her inner circle of six is called the Hive and they share in Marnie’s success, but also her biggest secret which could destroy them all.

As Lindsay digs into Marnie’s empire and the Hive, the women are determined to keep their secrets at all costs, including silencing any who could reveal the truth.

This story pulled me in from the very first page, but as the story progresses it switches time frames frequently and it can get confusing at times. Lindsay is a dogged investigator and I enjoyed how she was impressed by Marnie, but her investigation was never influenced by her. This book is full of surprising plot twists as Marnie and each individual Hive member’s secrets are revealed. I am always interested in stories, fictional and non, where a person can be so charismatic as to lead the average person to do terrible things. The story’s climax surprised me and all the story threads are tied together in a way that left me satisfied.

I can recommend this suspense/thriller for a compelling and unique police procedural read.

***

About the Author

I live in rural Washington State (about a mile as the crow flies from Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard’s infamous Starvation Heights sanatarium). My thriller, THE LAST THING SHE EVER DID was an Amazon Charts bestseller. LYING NEXT TO ME was a reader favorite, charting at No. 1 in the Kindle store and hitting the bestseller’s list at the Washington Post. My true crime book, IF YOU TELL, found a home on Amazon Charts for more than 60 weeks. In fact, it was the bestselling Kindle ebook of 2020. I’ve been a guest on Dateline NBC, NPR, Good Morning America, The Early Show, FOX News, CNN, Anderson Cooper, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, 20/20, Snapped, Deadly Women, William Shatner’s Aftermath, and A&E’s Biography.

You can find out more about me at www.NotoriousUSA.com.

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer

A Cut for a Cut (Detective Kate Young #2) by Carol Wyer

#ACutForACut #DetectiveKateYoung @carolewyer @AmazonPub @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

I am excited to be included on this Damppebbles Blog Tour and sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for A CUT FOR A CUT (Detective Kate Young Book #2) by Carol Wyer.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

***

Book Blurb

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56879257-a-cut-for-a-cut?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=aTfUyp3Bzl&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A CUT FOR A CUT (Detective Kate Young Book #2) by Carol Wyer is the second mystery/British police procedural that I have been waiting for. I loved the first book “An Eye for an Eye” with the introduction to DI Kate Young. The crime investigation in this book can be read as a standalone, but these books are better read in order due to the continuing personal investigation by Kate into her investigative journalist husband, Chris’ murder.

DI Kate Young and her team are called to a crime scene where a woman was brutally raped, marked and then thrown away like trash. Even after more violent rapes occur with the same M.O., Kate and her team have very few clues or viable suspects. When Kate’s stepsister finally shares a long-buried secret, she realizes her stepsister is the missing link in her case. Now she has to find the proof and catching the killer has become imperative.

At the same time, during the investigation for the serial rapist and killer, Kate is also privately learning more about the murder of her husband. Still battling her own personal demons since his death, she is convinced her superior and several others on the police force are behind his murder and are involved in an illegal conspiracy revolving around underage sex trafficking.

I find Kate to be a very compelling character. Ms. Wyer has brought Kate to life with her extreme grief that continues, but it also begins to turn to guilt as she moves on with her every day living as she begins to realize she does not think of him every minute of every day and she is afraid of losing his memory. I liked the addition of Kate’s stepsister and nephew to give Kate a reason to start to live a balanced, normal life and help with her grief. Kate’s team is also becoming more fully fleshed and complex characters as the series continues.

I very early on guessed the connection between the serial rapist and killer with the person he considered his first true love, but it did not take away from my racing to the exciting climax. The intertwining plot arc of Kate’s personal investigation into Chris’ murder will once again be carried over into the next book and once again I am anxiously waiting for its publication.

I highly recommend this main character, the series and this author!

***

About Carol Wyer

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media Links

Website www.carolwyer.co.uk

Blog www.carolwyer.com

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

Twitter https://twitter.com/carolewyer

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/carolewyer

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wyer-407b1032

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5O-lvkAYO19S0AMW8VqJQ

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3pCnXyX

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2TXmOGn

Publishing Information:

Published by Thomas & Mercer in paperback, audio and digital formats on 29th June 2021

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Lady Sunshine by Amy Mason Doan

Hi, everyone!

Today is my last blog post on the Harlequin Trade Publishing Summer 2021 Beach Reads Blog Tour. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for LADY SUNSHINE by Amy Mason Doan.

Below you will find an about the book section, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

***

About the Book

ONE ICONIC FAMILY. ONE SUMMER OF SECRETS. THE DAZZLING SPIRIT OF 1970S CALIFORNIA.


For Jackie Pierce, everything changed the summer of 1979, when she spent three months of infinite freedom at her bohemian uncle’s sprawling estate on the California coast. As musicians, artists, and free spirits gathered at The Sandcastle for the season in pursuit of inspiration and communal living, Jackie and her cousin Willa fell into a fast friendship, testing their limits along the rocky beach and in the wild woods… until the summer abruptly ended in tragedy, and Willa silently slipped away into the night.


Twenty years later, Jackie unexpectedly inherits The Sandcastle and returns to the iconic estate for a short visit to ready it for sale. But she reluctantly extends her stay when she learns that, before her death, her estranged aunt had promised an up-and-coming producer he could record a tribute album to her late uncle at the property’s studio. As her musical guests bring the place to life again with their sun-drenched beach days and late-night bonfires, Jackie begins to notice startling parallels to that summer long ago. And when a piece of the past resurfaces and sparks new questions about Willa’s disappearance, Jackie must discover if the dark secret she’s kept ever since is even the truth at all.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55004512-lady-sunshine?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=uRo5EzwBAJ&rank=1

Lady Sunshine

by Amy Mason Doan

On Sale Date: June 29, 2021

9781525804670, 1525804677

Trade Paperback

$16.99 USD, $21.99 CAD

Fiction / Women/ Coming of Age

368 pages

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

LADY SUNSHINE by Amy Mason Doan is a new women’s fiction story that has two intertwining timelines, the first is of an idyllic summer in 1979 when two young cousins come together and the second is 1999, as one cousin faces truths and discovers secrets from that free-spirited summer.

This new-to-me author hooked me immediately with vivid characters and nostalgia that takes a very unexpected turn not once, but twice during this captivating story. The Sandcastle is the setting for both timelines on the California coast and is the compound of Jackie Pierce’s uncle. The 1979 timeline brings back memories from that time period and compares the two cousins very different lives which at first are pure and simple, but they have underlying secrets that tear them apart. The 1999 timeline brings Jackie back to the compound that she has inherited and she now has to face truths from the past that she has been hiding away from in her small life in Boston.

This book has so many different layered facets that come together into a compelling story that has friendship, family, secrets, and forgiveness. This new-to-me author had me completely wrapped up in both timelines with surprising plotlines and realistic characters.

I highly recommend this hard to categorize, yet beautifully written story.

***

Excerpt

1

A Girl, Her Cousin, and a Waterfall

1999

I rattle the padlock on the gate, strum my fingers along the cold chain-link fence.

I own this place.

Maybe if I repeat it often enough I’ll believe it.

All along the base of the fence are tributes: shells, notes, sketches, bunches of flowers. Some still fresh, some so old the petals are crisp as parchment. I follow the fence uphill, along the coast side, and stop at a wooden, waist-high sign marking the path up to the waterfall. It wasn’t here the summer I visited.

The sign is covered in words and drawings, so tattooed-over by fan messages that you can barely read the official one. I run my fingertips over the engravings: initials, peace symbols, Thank you’s, I Love You’s. Fragments of favorite lyrics. After coming so far to visit the legendary estate, people need to do something, leave their mark, if only with a rock on fog-softened wood.

Song titles from my uncle’s final album, Three, are carved everywhere. “Heart, Home, Hope.”

“Leaf, Shell, Raindrop.”

“Angel, Lion, Willow.” Someone has etched that last one in symbols instead of words. The angel refers to Angela, my aunt. The lion is my uncle Graham.

And the willow tree. Willa, my cousin.

I have a pointy metal travel nail file in my suitcase; I could add my message to the rest, my own tribute to this place, to the Kingstons. To try to explain what happened the summer I spent here. I could tell it like one of the campfire tales I used to spin for Willa.

This is the story of a girl, her cousin, and a waterfall…

But there’s no time for that, not with only seven days to clear the house for sale. Back at the gate, where Toby’s asleep in his cat carrier in the shade, I dig in my overnight bag for the keys. They came in a FedEx with a fat stack of documents I must’ve read on the plane from Boston a dozen times—thousands of words, all dressed up in legal jargon. When it’s so simple, really. Everything inside that fence is mine now, whether I want it or not.

I unlock the gate, lift the metal shackle, and walk uphill to the highest point, where the gravel widens into a parking lot, then fades away into grass. The field opens out below me just like I remember. We called it “the bowl,” because of the way the edges curve up all around it. A golden bowl scooped into the hills, rimmed on three sides by dark green woods. The house, a quarter mile ahead of me at the top of the far slope, is a pale smudge in the fir trees.

I stop to take it in, this piece of land I now own. The Sandcastle, everyone called it.

Without the neighbors’ goats and Graham’s guests to keep the grass down, the field has grown wild, many of the yellow weeds high as my belly button.

Willa stood here with me once and showed me how from this angle the estate resembled a sun. The kind a child would draw, with a happy face inside. Once I saw it, it was impossible to un-see:

The round, straw-colored field, trails squiggling off to the woods in every direction, like rays. The left eye—the campfire circle. The right eye—the blue aboveground pool. The nose was the vertical line of picnic benches in the middle of the circle that served as our communal outdoor dining table. The smile was the curving line of parked cars and motorcycles and campers.

All that’s gone now, save for the pool, which is squinting, collapsed, moldy green instead of its old bright blue.

I should go back for my bag and Toby but I can’t resist—I move on, down to the center of the field. Far to my right in the woods, the brown roofline of the biggest A-frame cabin, Kingfisher, pokes through the firs. But no other cabins are visible, the foliage is so thick now. Good. Each alteration from the place of my memories gives me confidence. I can handle this for a week. One peaceful, private week to box things up and send them away.

“Sure you don’t want me to come help?” Paul had asked when he dropped me at the airport this morning. “We could squeeze in a romantic weekend somewhere. I’ve always wanted to go to San Francisco.”

“You have summer school classes, remember? Anyway, it’ll be totally boring, believe me.”

I’d told him—earnest, sweet Paul, who all the sixth-graders at the elementary school where we work hope they get as their teacher and who wants to marry me—that the trip was no big deal. That I’d be away for a week because my aunt in California passed away. That I barely knew her and just had to help pack up her old place to get it ready for sale.

He believed me.

I didn’t tell him that the “old place” is a stunning, sprawling property perched over the Pacific, studded with cabins and outbuildings and a legendary basement recording studio. That the land bubbles with natural hot springs and creeks and waterfalls.

Or that I’ve inherited it. All of it. The fields, the woods, the house, the studio. And my uncle’s music catalog.

I didn’t tell him that I visited here once as a teenager, or that for a little while, a long time ago, I was sure I’d stay forever.

Excerpted from Lady Sunshine @ 2021 by Amy Mason Doan, used with permission by Graydon House.

***

About the Author

AMY MASON DOAN is the author of The Summer List and Summer Hours. She earned a BA in English from UC Berkeley and an MA in journalism from Stanford University, and has written for The Oregonian, San Francisco Chronicle, and Forbes, among other publications. She grew up in Danville, California, and now lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter.

Social Media Links

Website: https://amymasondoan.com/ 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyLDoan 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amymasondoan 

Pintrest: https://www.pinterest.com/amydoanla/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16722065.Amy_Mason_Doan 

Mailing List: https://amymasondoan.com/contact/ 

Purchase Links

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Sunshine-Amy-Mason-Doan/dp/1525804677 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lady-sunshine-amy-mason-doan/1137570752?ean=9781525804670 

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/lady-sunshine-9781525804670/9781525804670 

Powell’s: https://www.powells.com/book/lady-sunshine-9781525804670 

Broadway Books: https://www.broadwaybooks.net/book/9781525811548 

Libro.fm: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488211324-lady-sunshine 

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Lady-Sunshine/Amy-Mason-Doan/9781525804670?id=8228253181468 

Target: https://www.target.com/p/lady-sunshine-by-amy-mason-doan-paperback/-/A-81262153#lnk=sametab 

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lady-Sunshine-Original-Ed-Hardcover-9781525811548/118720350 

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/lady-sunshine-a-novel/9781525804670-item.html?ikwid=amy+mason+doan&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=0bd161f9a9366fb59095bf4f608b9f53 

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/lady-sunshine-2 

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/lady-sunshine/id1527559208 

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Amy_Mason_Doan_Lady_Sunshine?id=-ET3DwAAQBAJ 

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster

Hi, everyone!

Today I am posting on the Harlequin Trade Publishing Women’s Fiction Summer 2021 Blog Tour. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE SUMMER OF NO ATTACHMENTS by Lori Foster.

Below you will find an about the book section, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

***

About the Book

From New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lori Foster comes the heartwarming story of two best friends who cross paths with a pair of new-in-town brothers with one angry little boy in tow. A standalone story of second chances at life and love, with found family and rescued animals, perfect for fans of Jill Shalvis, Sarah Morgan, and Lori Wilde.

Summer flings with no strings mean nobody gets hurt.

At least, that was the plan…

After putting the brakes on her dead-end relationship, local veterinarian Ivey Anders is ready to soak up this summer on her own terms. The way she sees it, no dating means no disappointment. Why complicate life with anything long-term? But when she meets Corbin Meyer—and his troubled young son, Justin—Ivey’s no-strings strategy threatens to unravel before she can put it into practice.

Trust doesn’t come easy for Ivey’s best friend, Hope Mage, a veterinary-clinic assistant who’s affected by an incident that’s colored every relationship she’s had. Though Hope’s happy for Ivey, she can’t quite open her own heart to the possibility of love. Not just yet… Maybe not ever. Soon, however, she’s faced with a dilemma—Corbin’s older brother, Lang. He’s charming, he’s kind…and he may just be the reason Hope needs to finally tear down her walls.

And as the sweet summer months unspool, the two friends discover love won’t give up on them so easily.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55004529-the-summer-of-no-attachments?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nRRtNoJGz8&rank=1

The Summer of No Attachments : A Novel 

By Lori Foster

On Sale Date: June 22, 2021

9781335459893

Trade Paperback

$16.99 USD

336 pages

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE SUMMER OF NO ATTACHMENTS (The Summer Friends Book #2) by Lori Foster is a heartwarming and heart-wrenching women’s fiction story of friendship with two contemporary romance plots intertwined throughout. These characters pulled me in from page one and I could not put it down. While this is the second book in the series, it is easily read as a standalone.

Ivey Anders is the local veterinarian. She has unruly curly hair, a mouth with no filter and a huge heart filled with love. Ivey has decided to end her two-year-old dead-end relationship and enjoy a summer of no attachments. When she goes with her veterinarian assistant to check out a new rental, she meets the new man in town. Corbin Meyer is hot, sexy and a single dad who has just found out he has a son who is ten years old.

Hope Mage is Ivey’s best friend and her veterinarian assistant. Ivey has taken her under her wing since the incident that estranged her from her own family four years ago. Solitary and skittish around men and social situations, Hope is happy for her friend’s new relationship, but cannot see it happening in her own future until Corbin’s older brother, Lang comes for a visit. He is funny, sexy and kind and Hope realizes that she is attracted to a man for the first time in several years.

This is a perfect summer read! I love all the characters in this story, but especially Ivey. She made me laugh and cry with her big heart. Ivey and Hope’s friendship is the backbone of the story and then they each find what they need in the Meyer brothers. Corbin’s son, Justin broke my heart and yet also made me laugh. I loved his ability to love even with all the trauma in his young life before he was delivered to Corbin. The book has plenty of animals to fall in love with as well. This story had the perfect balance of love, friendship, family and emotional up and downs.

I highly recommend this wonderful women’s fiction/contemporary romance!

***

Excerpt

Chapter One

Ivey Anders shoved back a wayward curl and gently secured the dog against her body so it couldn’t move while her tech, Hope Mage, carefully clipped away the twisted wire. The poor thing, a stray by the looks of it, had gotten itself tangled pretty tightly and one hind leg was in bad shape. Ivey wanted to get it to the clinic where she could properly assess the damage.

Mud caked the fur, making it difficult to find any other injuries just yet, but there was one astounding fact Ivey couldn’t ignore.

Behind her, the homeowner groused that the dog had likely been stealing eggs from his chicken coop.

Voice calm, temper mostly in check, Ivey said, “You didn’t hesitate to call me, did you, Marty?” It was well-known that Marty was not a fan of dogs, or cats for that matter, and mostly considered them a nuisance. However, they’d come to an agreement some time ago. Marty, who owned a fair amount of wooded acreage, was supposed to call her if a stray showed up, and she, as the local vet, would take care of the “problem” for him.

Laura, his wife, was quick to say, “I called.” Defiant to Marty, she added, “Soon as I heard the poor thing, in fact.”

Which didn’t mean much. The animal might have been there for hours. Possibly more than a day, though Ivey couldn’t bear the thought of that.

“She’s pregnant, you know.” Refusing to take her eyes off the dog and unwilling to raise her voice since it might frighten the animal more, Ivey said, “If she took an egg, it would have been from starvation—and you already know I would have compensated you for it.”

Affronted, Marty grumbled, “I wasn’t worried about one egg, just don’t want to lose my chickens.” He cleared his throat. “If it helps any, I was out here this morning and she wasn’t caught then. Afternoon I watered my garden, and that’s why there’s so much mud. So I doubt she was hung up there more than a few hours.”

The fist around Ivey’s heart loosened just a little. “That helps tremendously, Marty. Thank you.”

More times than she could count, Ivey had taken on problems with stray animals who needed special love and care. It didn’t matter that she’d been working as a veterinarian for years now, seeing all manner of hurt, neglected or just plain ill animals. She still loved them all, and when one hurt, she hurt with it.

“No thanks necessary,” Marty complained, his tone gruff with insult. “Not like I’d let an animal suffer.”

Ivey had a feeling their definitions of suffer varied a bit, but she realized this mattered to him, and she was too grateful to quibble so she just nodded.

Almost got it,” Hope murmured, and with one last clip, the wire loosened. “There.” Fingers gentle, she disentangled the dog’s leg, exposing a painful wound.

Ivey murmured to the small animal all the while, cooing softly, petting and holding her secure. The second she was able to sit back on the muddy ground, she pulled the dog into her lap. With her face close to the top of the dog’s head, she whispered, “There now, that’s better, isn’t it? We’ll get you all fixed up, I promise.”

“Here.” Slipping off her zip-up hoodie, Hope offered it to Ivey to wrap around the dog. “Do you want me to get the carrier?”

Busy swaddling the dog, careful not to jar her, Ivey shook her head. “She doesn’t weigh more than ten or eleven pounds. I’ll carry her to the truck and we’ll see how it goes.” Feeling mud seep into the seat of her pants, she realized she couldn’t get up without letting go of the dog. Lifting a brow at Hope, she said, “A little help?”

“Oh sure.” Hope caught her under one elbow, and Laura hurried forward to take the other, giving her the leverage she needed.

Marty stepped back to avoid getting muddy.

Carefully, the two women got Ivey on her feet. The thick mud was heavy on the seat of her pants, dragging on her stretch jeans that had loosened throughout the day. At least her rubber boots wouldn’t be ruined. Since they treated all sorts of animals, including those on farms, she and Hope each kept a pair at the clinic.

“Let’s go.” Plodding forward, Ivey led the way to the truck. Halfway there, the dog started panting. Concerned, she hastened her step, not at all worried about getting mud on the truck seats. “No need for the crate. Just get us back to the clinic.”

Picking up on her angst, Hope ran around to the driver’s side and got the truck on the road in record time. “Everything okay?”

“Not really, no. Something’s wrong.”

“What should I do?”

Poor Hope. A sick cat had kept them an hour past closing, and then Marty had called… “I’m sorry.” Ivey barely took her gaze off the stressed dog. “Do you think you could assist me at the clinic?”

“Of course I will! You don’t even have to ask.” Frowning, Hope muttered, “Did you think I’d drop you off with a dog in distress? Tell you good luck?” She snorted. “Have I ever done that?”

She and Hope were close enough that Ivey knew she’d inadvertently insulted her. “No, you haven’t. But it’s Friday night after a very long day.”

“It’s Friday night for you, too, you know.”

“What a sad situation for us both.” Despite her worries, Ivey chuckled. “Most women would have plans, and yet we never do.”

“You have Geoff.”

Ivey made a face. “Lot of good that does me.” Likely Geoff was settled on the couch already, watching sports or playing a video game. The excitement had left their relationship a long time ago, so she doubted he’d even notice her absence.

For her part, Hope never dated. That bothered Ivey a lot, but she loved Hope enough that she would never pry.

Smiling at her friend, Ivey said, “I’m glad I won’t have to do this alone.”

“Not ever,” Hope vowed. “Even if by some miracle I ever do have something worthwhile lined up for the weekend, I’d still be here for you, okay?”

Her friendship with Hope meant so much more than any other relationship Ivey had, including her lackluster romance with Geoff. “Smartest thing I ever did was hire you.”

“I’m so glad you did,” Hope whispered. “Otherwise we might not have become friends, then where would I be?”

“Let’s just agree that we’re better off together.” Though Ivey was ten years older than Hope, they’d still hit it off from the start, meshing together as if they’d been lifelong friends. Where Ivey was take-charge and sometimes a little too outspoken, Hope was an intent listener with an enormous heart.

Ivey often wanted to challenge the world, and Hope, sadly, wanted to hide from it.

Or more accurate, she wanted to hide from any interested men.

Hope had an affinity with animals, plus a gentle but sure touch. She was never squeamish, but she exuded sympathy. Ivey valued her. The clients loved her. And the animals trusted her.

Unfortunately, they were still five minutes away from the clinic when the dog went into labor. “This is definitely happening,” Ivey said, doing what she could to make the animal comfortable.

Leaning closer to the steering wheel, Hope drove a little faster. “Be there soon.”

They’d barely gotten in the door when her water broke. Hope ran ahead to prepare an area, moving with practiced ease as she opened an already cleaned kennel and set up a whelping box, then filled it with bedding material. The box had three tall sides to contain the coming puppies, and one low side for the mother to step out for food and water.

Knowing Hope had it in hand, Ivey began cleaning the dog as quickly and efficiently as possible. She managed a cursory job, removing the worst of the mud, when Hope rejoined her. “We’re all set.”

“With luck we’ll have enough time to clean and wrap her leg before she gives birth.” Usually that happened within two hours after the animal’s water breaking, so they didn’t have a minute to spare.

A day that had already been long just turned entirely endless.


Excerpted from The Summer of No Attachments by Lori Foster, Copyright © 2021 by Lori Foster. Published by HQN Books.

***

About the Author

Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author. She lives in Central Ohio where coffee helps her keep up with her cats and grandkids between writing books. For more about Lori, visit her website at www.lorifoster.com, like her on Facebook or find her on Twitter, @lorilfoster.

Social Media Links

Author website: https://lorifoster.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lorilfoster

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorilfoster/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgeOARHmjBYWcmReym_N39A 

Purchase Links

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/the-summer-of-no-attachments/9781335459893

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ioRrfn

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-summer-of-no-attachments-lori-foster/1137483437?ean=9781335459893

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Summer-No-Attachments/Lori-Foster/9781335459893?id=7036960299115

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781335459893

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: City of Deadly Dreams by Elyse Douglas

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Virtual Author Book Tours for CITY OF DEADLY DREAMS by Elyse Douglas.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Dane Cooper, an NYC Hell’s Kitchen private detective, is hired by a Tennessee man to find his handsome, 20-year-old son named Elvis, who has been missing for several months. Though hesitant at first, Dane takes the case because he needs the money.  Dane soon learns that the case centers around a beautiful, mysterious blonde, named Darcy. Against his better judgment, he falls for her, believing she might lead him to Elvis.  Her dangerous secrets trouble him, and he realizes he can’t trust her.

Dane’s investigation turns deadly when he learns that Elvis has left a trail of pregnant young girls, unhappy husbands, and vengeful women.  Dane becomes a target as he struggles to find Elvis and save him from the killers who are closing in. Can Dane save Elvis and himself, or will Darcy’s secrets get them all killed?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57906760-city-of-deadly-dreams?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=7gVw9N2owy&rank=1

City of Deadly Dreams

by Elyse Douglas

Publisher:  Broadback (May 1, 2021)
Category: Hard-Boiled Mystery, Private Investigator Mystery
Tour dates: May 31-June 30, 2021
ISBN: B08Y86X4B3
Available in ebook,  250 pages

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

CITY OF DEADLY DREAMS by Elyse Douglas is a noir style private investigator mystery. The story has the atmosphere of an old style gritty P.I. mystery, but it is set in present day New York City.

Private Investigator Dane Cooper is hired to find Elvis. Elvis is a twenty-year old spitting image of THE Elvis and he has not been in contact with his father and mother in Tennessee for several months. Dane is hesitant to take the case, but he is offered too much money to turn the case down.

As the investigation progresses, Dane begins to believe Elvis has been a victim of foul play. He meets Elvis’ ex-high school music teacher, Darcy who is rumored to have been having an affair with her student. Darcy is a beautiful blonde and Dane falls for her even as he believes she is not telling him the whole truth about Elvis’ where abouts.

As Dane follows the trail to find Elvis, he runs into a vengeful, jealous ex-husband, a madame of a male escort service and a connected Vegas assistant casino manager with a missing underage daughter. Will Dane find and save not only Elvis, but himself before they end up dead?

This is a fast-paced mystery plot with several well placed red-herrings and plot twists. The ending is a big twist that I was not expecting.  Dane is the tough, single POV investigator and all the characters are classic noir character archetypes set in the present and that makes for a unique and fun read.

I recommend this noir style P.I. mystery set in the present.

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Excerpt

“I can’t go back,” she muttered.

“Back to where, Darcy?”

“I can’t be alone in that apartment.  Not now.  I won’t make it through another night.”

“Do you have a friend or relative you can stay with?  Maybe a therapist you can call?”

She twisted away, grimacing.  “God, no.  I can’t be with them—with anyone who knows me.  I can’t talk to them anymore.  Don’t you understand?  I can’t.”

I softened my voice.  “Darcy… Is there anyone at work you can…?”

“… No…Well, Carol.  Carol Hemmings.  Sweet Carol.  Silly Carol.  We went to high school together.  She’s a good friend, and she’s the one who got me the bookkeeping job, but…”

“But what?”

“Carol’s married to a guy who took Rod’s side.  Carol is a good friend, but she still thinks Rod and I can make it, if we’d just go to a marriage counselor or something.”  Darcy lifted a weak hand and let it drop.  “She’s a hopeless romantic…” 

She began twisting her hands.  Her face fell into agony.  “I’ve just been such a fool.”

I leaned in toward her.  “Darcy, all you did was fall in love.  That’s all.  That’s nothing to beat yourself up about.”

“Don’t you see?  I’ve ruined everything.  Everything I stood for and believed in.”

I searched for the right response.  “Just give it time… a little time to get your balance back.”

She shook that away, gathered herself up, then gave me a strange and hopeful look.  “I know this is going to sound crazy, but… can I come to New York with you?”

That jarred me.  I had never even considered the possibility.  I scanned her, up and down.  She appeared sickened by the gravity of the moment.  Seeing her moist eyes and brittle state, I was left with few options.  And, no, I’m not a saint.  Having her with me couldn’t hurt: she was my best hope for contacting Elvis.  Her question had changed the quality of the conversation.  We sat in a guarded silence.  She turned to face the open window, staring out into the gray face of winter.

“Look, Darcy, you can come with me—if that’s what you really want—but maybe making contact with an old friend or close relative—going to see them and forgetting about everything for a while—might be better for you.”

She shrank, and I could see the dark remoteness return.  She was silently screaming for help, and I wasn’t qualified to administer the kind of help she needed.  What could I do?  Leave her?  Say no?  Then what? 

I decided not to abandon her.  I decided to listen and let her unload her mountain of guilt and anger.  I hoped that after a good night’s sleep, she’d change her mind.  And I was sure that by morning, she would change her mind.

“Darcy, you can come to New York with me if you want.  You can stay the night at the hotel with me, if you want.  I have two double beds, or, you can take a separate room.  That’s fine too.  I’ll call the airline and get you on my flight leaving for New York in the morning.”

She looked at me, her eyes pleading.  “I know I sound a little crazy.  I know you’ve just met me and I hear my own crazy words, but I can’t help it.  I can’t go back to that lonely apartment and I can’t be alone.  I hate being alone.  I’m not a person who can be alone.”

***

About the Author

Elyse Douglas is the pen name for the married writing team Elyse Parmentier and Douglas Pennington. Elyse grew up near the sea, roaming the beaches, reading and writing stories and poetry, receiving a master’s degree in English Literature.  She has enjoyed careers as an English teacher, an actress and a speech-language pathologist.

Douglas has worked as a graphic designer, a corporate manager and an equities trader.  He attended the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music and played the piano professionally for many years.

Author Social Media Links

Website: www.elysedouglas.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/douglaselyse
Facebook: www.facebook.com/elyse.authorsdouglas

Purchase Link

Amazon

Feature Post and Audiobook Review: Mixed Plate: Chronicles of an All-American Combo by Jo Koy

Audiobook Description

A stunning, hilarious memoir displaying Koy’s “wide-ranging comedic talent and abundant wells of perseverance” (Kirkus Reviews, starred). Mixed Plate illuminates the burning drive and unique humor that make Jo Koy one of today’s most successful comedians.

Well guys, here it is – my story. A funny, sad, at times pathetic but also kick-ass tale of how a half-Filipino, half-white kid whose mom thought (and still thinks) his career goal was to become a clown became a success. Not an overnight success, because that would have made for a really short listen, but an All-American success who could give my immigrant mom the kind of life she hoped for when she came to this country, and my son the kind of life I wished I’d had as a kid. With all the details of what it felt like to get the doors closed in my face, to grind it out on the road with my arsenal of dick jokes, and how my career finally took off once I embraced the craziness of my family, which I always thought was uniquely Filipino but turns out, is as universal as it gets.

In this book, I’ll take you behind the mic, behind the curtain – okay, way behind it. From growing up with a mom who made me dance like Michael Jackson at the Knights of Columbus, to some real dark stuff, the stuff we don’t talk about often enough as immigrants. Mental health, poverty, drinking. And show you the path to my American Dream. Which was paved with a lot of failure, department store raffle tickets to win free color televisions, bad jokes, old VHS tapes, a motorcycle my mom probably still hates, the only college final I aced (wasn’t math), and getting my first laugh on stage. 

In this book, I get serious about my funny. And I want to make you laugh a little while I do it. I’m like Hawaii’s favorite lunch – the mixed plate. Little bit of this, a little bit of that. My book Mixed Plate is, too. 

Jo Koy (Author, Narrator), HarperAudio (Publisher)

***

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MIXED PLATE: Chronicles of an All-American Combo by Jo Koy is the comedian’s autobiography and is written and narrated by himself. I knew the minute this came out, I had to listen to it on Audible.  I normally prefer to read rather than listen to a book, but Jo Koy is such a fantastic storyteller so I really believe this is the best way to get all the nuances of the autobiography. (And besides, I love hearing him imitate his mother!)

I knew the basics of his life from watching his stand-up, but in this autobiography he shares deeper and more intimate memories and stories. His stories are emotionally raw and starkly give you the picture of his family’s early disfunction and poverty. His willingness to hustle and work hard to make his dream of being a stand-up comedian come true was inspiring, especially with all the racism in the system as he was trying to break in.

If you are not familiar with this “mixed plate”, half Filipino/half white comedian, you need to read this book, listen to this Audible and/or watch his Netflix specials. His is truly a story of the immigrant dream of “making it” in America and not only making it himself but also sharing and raising his whole family up with him.

I am so glad I listened to this great autobiography on Audible and I highly recommend it!

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About the Author

Jo Koy is a comedian, actor, writer, and podcast host who sells out arenas around the world by telling real stories about his life, his family, and finding his way in the entertainment industry. He has multiple hit comedy specials on Netflix, and his unique brand of humor has been featured on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show, and Chelsea Lately. In 2018, Jo received the “Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” award at the legendary Just for Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, and the previous year he reached number-one on the Billboard Charts for his standup album, “Live from Seattle.” In 2019 in Honolulu, Jo broke the record for the most tickets sold by a single artist at 23,000 with his eleven sold-out shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall, inspiring the mayor to proclaim November 24 “Jo Koy Day.” Jo currently lives in Los Angeles with his son, Joe Jr., who inspires him to be a better performer, father, and man every single day.