Tag: #bookblurb

Feature Post and Book Review: Deadly Secrets by Ann Girdharry

Hi, everyone!

I am very excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Ann Girdharry’s new book – DEADLY SECRETS which is the second book featuring D.I. Grant and his team. It can be easily read as a standalone.

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

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Book Blurb

How long can you get away with murder?

In an idyllic Sussex town, Mr Quinn whispers a secret on his death bed. Hours later the person who cared for Quinn is killed.

Mr Quinn’s secret sets off events unlike anything Detective Grant and Psychologist Ruby Silver have ever seen.
A series of deaths follow as a killer tries to cover their twenty-year trail of murder by drowning.

Grant, Silver and the team must track a killer who has been getting away with murder for years.

But when treachery, corruption and secrets from the past are used against Sergeant Tom Delaney, the killer turns their attention to one of Grant’s own…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54202874-deadly-secrets

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEADLY SECRETS by Ann Girdharry is a British police procedural thriller that I was very excited to receive from Bloodhound Books. I read the first book in this series, ‘Deadly Motives’ and loved it. This second book is an absolute edge-of-your-seat page turner and as electrifying as the first. It can be easily read as a standalone, but I know after you read this book and find out how much you love it, you will go back for the first.

This story has DI David Grant and the whole team returning for another investigation which begins with the stabbing death of a young nurse. Nurse Dixon was loved by everyone and yet she was brutally murdered and had her face cut out of a family picture. Criminal Psychologist Ruby Silver is helping the team once again and believes they may be chasing a serial killer as another death occurs which ties these deaths back to a twenty-year-old mystery.

DI Grant, Ruby and the team are tracking a killer who has eluded justice for many years even as they work the cold case of two boys who disappeared. The cold case also is connected to rumors from the past related to DS Tom Delaney father’s suicide.

The team is in a race to figure out how the past and present all tie together to find the killer before a person close to the team is targeted.

I read this book all in one sitting. I could not put it down. Ms. Girdharry has once again brought all her characters to life. They are all realistically heroic and evil. I felt Tom’s past trauma from finding his father’s body and the difficulty it caused in his work in the present was handled with empathy and it gives you more insight into his character. There are several POV ‘s between the past and present and yet I never lost track of who was speaking. The plot kept me glued to the page. There were several times I thought I knew who was responsible, but I was only partially correct because a plot twist or red herring would throw me back into questioning the killer’s identity.

I highly recommend this new intense and absolutely gripping thriller by Ms. Girdharry! I cannot wait to see where the characters go from here.

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Author Bio and Social Media Links

Ann Girdharry is a British, crime thriller author.

She is a trained psychotherapist and worked as a manager in the not-for-profit sector.

Her debut novel, Good Girl Bad Girl, is an ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD Finalist 2017 and a READERS’ FAVOURITE Five Star Book.

Here are a few fun facts from Ann Girdharry –

I love to travel and visit different cultures. As an adult, I’ve lived in the USA, Norway, UK and France.

One of my passions is roller blading and another is gardening.

You can connect with me –

Via my website
http://www.girdharry.com

On Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/AnnGirdharry…

My Reader’s Group
Be the first to know about my new releases by joining my Reader’s Group.
(No spam, I promise! ) – details on my website.

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Black Magic’s Prey by Kristin McTiernan

Black Magic’s Prey (Siren Song #1) by Kristin McTiernan

#BlackMagicsPrey #KristinMcTiernan @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn to post on the Blog Tour and share my Feature Post and Book Review for BLACK MAGIC’S PREY (Black Magic Book #1) by Kristin McTiernan.

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

Hiding is no longer an option.

Tess has been stalker-free for fifteen years. She’s been living in trailer parks and preparing to run at any minute—all because in ninth grade she turned down the wrong Brujo. He comes from a long line of male witches and even back in high school, his powers were terrifying.

He used those powers to punish Tess. To make her do things. Awful things.

Now she has a new life. She’s got a good job, a decent Airstream trailer, and a best-friend-maybe-girlfriend. She’s careful not to reveal too much about her dark past.

But none of that matters. No matter where Tess goes, he will always find her. Unless she’s willing to trust a man who may be even more twisted than her stalker’s curse.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42196330-black-magic-s-prey

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BLACK MAGIC’S PREY (Black Magic Book #1) by Kristin McTiernan is the start to a new paranormal/urban fantasy series by a new to me author.

Theresa “Tess” Cooper is an HR consultant who has been living in her own trailer and ready to run at a moment’s notice for the last fifteen years of her life. You have to be able to move quickly when you are stalked by evil.

Tess has been stalked by a psychotic Brujo since she turned him down for a date in the ninth grade. The entire male only line of Brujo lived across the street from Tess and her parent’s home. When he catches up with her again, she decides it is time to return to her childhood home in Kansas City and ask for forgiveness and get help from his father, Luis.

Is Luis willing to help Tess against his son?  Could his help be worse than her stalker’s curse?

I enjoyed this first book in this new series. For such a short book, only 175 pages, Ms. McTiernan does a good job of pulling me in to invest in Tess’s story and the worldbuilding was unique. The main storyline of this short book was tied up, but this is an episodic first-person saga so it leaves questions that lead you into the next book. The sex throughout the book is basically behind closed doors except for one scene which is intense and a pivotal point in the story, so I cannot discuss it. No spoilers here.

I recommend this paranormal/urban fantasy. It is a different world that I am not used to reading about and I have already purchased the next book in the series to find out where the series goes.

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About the Author

After waffling between joining a convent and enlisting in the Marines, I settled on the latter at the age of seventeen. After finishing my enlistment, I studied English literature with the intent of becoming a teacher. But after realizing I loved words more than teaching others, I used my degree to become a professional writer and editor, first with the federal civil service and then with the private sector. A lover of all things spec-fic, I wrote about women in weird situations, whether it’s magic or time travel, and enjoy the journey I take my characters on.

Social Media

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

Website: https://www.kristin-mctiernan.com/

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kristinmctiernanthenonsensefreeeditor

Purchase Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Magics-Prey-Siren-Song-ebook/dp/B07HWS5M7N/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=black+magic%27s+prey+kristin+mctiernan&qid=1590326557&sr=8-1

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Magics-Prey-Siren-Song-ebook/dp/B07HWS5M7N/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=black+magic%27s+prey&qid=1590326130&sr=8-2

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback, audio and digital formats on October 15th 2018

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Slow Down by Lee Matthew Goldberg

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Slow Down Book Tour. I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SLOW DOWN by Lee Matthew Goldberg. (This book is being re-released with a new cover.)

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

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Book Blurb

How far would you go to make your dreams come true?

For budding writer and filmmaker Noah Spaeth, being a Production Assistant in director Dominick Bambach’s new avant-garde film isn’t enough. Neither is watching Dominick have an affair with the lead actress, the gorgeous but troubled Nevie Wyeth. For Noah’s dream is to get both the film and Nevie in the end, whatever the cost. This obsession may soon become a reality once Dominick’s spurned wife Isadora reveals her femme fatale nature with a seductive plot to get rid of her husband for good.

Slow Down, a cross between the noir styling of James M. Cain and the dark satire of Bret Easton Ellis, is a thrilling page-turner that holds a mirror up to a media-saturated society that is constantly searching for the fastest way to get ahead, regardless of consequences

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SLOW DOWN by Lee Matthew Goldberg is a noir style thriller.

Noah Spaeth is the protagonist of this story. He is rich, entitled, spoiled and tremendously annoying and yet I was rooting for him in the end. The story is narrated by Noah retelling the last four years of his life on a tape recorder for Producer Barry Bronfeld’s assistant.

It is a story of drugs, alcohol, parties, sex, deception and betrayal that begins when wanna-be-author Noah becomes the Production Assistant for the famous Director, Dominick Bambach on his latest film. As the secondary characters are introduced and the plot begins to increase in pace, I realized that even though none of the characters are likable, I could not put the book down. Usually I cannot finish a book with no redeemable characters, but through all the surprising plot twists, I continued to hope that Noah would surprise me. The ending leaves you with questions and is not tied up in a pretty bow.

This is not your normal thriller. It is dark and filled with unlikable characters and yet I enjoyed it and can recommend it if you are looking for something different.

***

Author Bio

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. Follow him at leematthewgoldberg.com. 

Social Media Links

Website – Leematthewgoldberg.com

FB – https://www.facebook.com/leemgol

IG – https://www.instagram.com/leematthewgoldberg/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/LeeMatthewG

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Ground Rules by Richard Whittle

Ground Rules by Richard Whittle

#GroundRules @richard1whittle @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Ground Rules Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for GROUND RULES by Richard Whittle.

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

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Book Blurb

Called out one night in the hope that she can identify the body of a man found in a field, Edinburgh forensic geologist Jessica Spargo – Jez – inadvertently becomes involved in the investigation of a university lecturer’s murder. The investigating officer, Tom Curtis, hands her a small glass vial and asks her to analyse its contents. She agrees to do it. The results confound everyone.

Media attention around a seemingly unconnected incident on a construction site near Edinburgh means that all work has stopped. An object discovered beneath the site confounds everyone, including the police. Employed by the firm’s owner to attempt to solve the mystery, Jez falls foul of an uncooperative site manager. Unruffled, she perseveres. Meanwhile, the murder mystery deepens. Despite her reluctance to become further involved, she has her own theories about the origin of the vial’s contents, theories the police do not accept.

To Jez’s dismay there are more deaths. As she says to Curtis, ‘I don’t do bodies. I’m a geologist, I look at rocks. If I’d wanted to look at bits of body then I would have become a surgeon or a pathologist.’

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

GROUND RULES by Richard Whittle is a mystery set in Scotland featuring a forensic geologist which is unique. This is new to me author and even though these characters are found in previous books, it is easily read as a standalone.

Jessica “Jez” Spargo is called out in the night by DCI Tom Curtis to see if she can identify a body. She realizes that it is a Chemistry lecturer from the same university she lectures at part-time. Curtis gives her a small vial with what looks like gold in it for analysis.

At the same time, Jessica is hired by a large construction firm when a tooth and small portion of skull are found impossibly deep in the ground. It has stopped construction and brought excessive media attention. The owner of the company wants the mystery solved so they can get back to work.

Jessica works at the site, but she is more intrigued by the vial’s contents and has her own theories that the police do not accept. The killing continues and these two seemingly unconnected cases only increase Jessica’s determination to solve both mysteries.

I enjoyed Jessica as the protagonist. Her character was intelligent, curious and very unique in how her education and training was used to solve the mysteries. I did feel that the beginning of the story was a little slow in pace in places, but it did pick up and I became a determined as Jessica to find all the answers and solve the mysteries. I was surprised at the end and that is always what I hope for when reading a mystery.

I can recommend this protagonist and story for a mysterious and intriguing read.

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About the Author

Richard has been a policeman, diesel engine tester, university student and engineering geologist. Writing as Alan Frost he was shortlisted from several hundred international competitors for the CWA (Crime Writers Association) Debut Dagger Award.

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/richard1whittle

Website: https://playpitspark.wordpress.com/ 

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ground-Rules-Richard-Whittle-ebook/dp/B085QP9YWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2NOXWW3TBSN37&dchild=1&keywords=ground+rules+richard+whittle&qid=1588444646&sprefix=ground+rules%2Caps%2C138&sr=8-1

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Ground-Rules-Richard-Whittle-ebook/dp/B085QP9YWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3LC8VJ89NAW0D&dchild=1&keywords=ground+rules+richard+whittle&qid=1588445010&sprefix=ground+rules%2Caps%2C405&sr=8-1

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats on 9th March 2020

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Fallible Justice by Laura Laakso

Fallible Justice (Wilde Investigations #1) by Laura Laakso

#FallibleJustice @LLaaksoWriter @LouiseWalters12 @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Fallible Justice Blog Tour. I am excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for FALLIBLE JUSTICE (Wilde Investigations Book #1) by Laura Laakso. This is an absolutely fantastic new magical world with compelling characters that I highly recommend!

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

In Old London, where paranormal races co-exist with ordinary humans, criminal verdicts delivered by the all-seeing Heralds of Justice are infallible. After a man is declared guilty of murder and sentenced to death, his daughter turns to private investigator Yannia Wilde to do the impossible and prove the Heralds wrong.

Yannia has escaped a restrictive life in the Wild Folk conclave where she was raised, but her origins mark her as an outsider in the city. Those origins lend her the sensory abilities of all of nature. Yet Yannia is lonely and struggling to adapt to life in the city. The case could be the break she needs. She enlists the help of her only friend, a Bird Shaman named Karrion, and together they accept the challenge of proving a guilty man innocent.

So begins a breathless race against time and against all conceivable odds. Can Yannia and Karrion save a man who has been judged infallibly guilty?

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

FALLIBLE JUSTICE (Wilde Investigations Book #1) by Laura Laakso is the first book in a new paranormal mystery/urban fantasy series by a new to me debut author. I was immediately immersed in this new world and all the compelling magical characters.

Old London is the domain of the magical races and New London is where the ordinary humans live. The two occasionally overlap, but the humans have a distrust of the magical beings, but they do trust the all-seeing Heralds of Justice to pronounce an infallible justice that no magic can pervert on any who commit a crime.

Yannia Wilde is a member of the Wild Folk working in Old London as a private investigator. When one powerful mage is convicted of murdering another, the convicted mage’s daughter comes to Yannia. She begs her to not only prove her father did not commit the murder, but that the Heralds have made a mistake and her father must be freed. With the help of her new apprentice, Karrion who is a bird shaman, the two set out to prove the impossible in just four short days with some help from their magical friends and Jamie, a human detective from New Scotland Yard.

Two things hit me immediately as I fell into this magical world, I could not believe this was the author’s first book and the worldbuilding was fantastic. The mystery plot in this story is as well written and paced as the worldbuilding throughout. It all flowed together effortlessly.

Yannia is such a complex protagonist needing the wild to recharge her magic when surrounded for too long in the city, running from a mysterious heritage in her Wild Folk conclave and if that is not enough she has a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Karrion is a wonderful character that not only helps Yannia in her investigation, but is also a smart and caring friend as well as apprentice. All the secondary characters are as fully fleshed as Yannia and Karrion and I hope they are all carried over into future books in this series.

I highly recommend this book and I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Quite frankly, it is one of the best new paranormal mystery/urban fantasy books I have read in quite a while.

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About Laura Laakso

Laura Laakso is a Finn who has lived for most of her adult life in England. She is an accountant, dog trainer and author. Fallible Justice is her debut novel and the first in her paranormal crime series Wilde Investigations. 

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LLaaksoWriter

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

Website: https://lauralaaksobooks.com/

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

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HY1D3FR/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HY1D3FR/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Louise Walters Books: https://www.louisewaltersbooks.co.uk/product-page/fallible-justice-by-laura-laakso

Hive.co.uk: https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Laura-Laakso/Fallible-Justice/23852655

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Lake Effect by K.C. Gillis

Lake Effect (A Jordan Reed Mystery) by K.C. Gillis

#LakeEffect @kcgilliswriter @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

I am very excited to once again be on a Blog Tour for A Jordan Reed Mystery. Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for LAKE EFFECT (A Jordan Reed Mystery Book #2) by K. C. Gillis. I loved this adventure with Jordan even more than the first!

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

Mysterious marina accidents. Destroyed evidence. Can a tenacious reporter decipher the twisted clues at a small-town lake?

Jordan Reed is burned out from all the attention on her previous high-profile story. But when a new lead lands in her lap, she reluctantly postpones her vacation to investigate a classic New England marina. With hundreds of dead fish washing up on Copper Lake’s otherwise pristine shores, Jordan suspects a sinister cover-up.

But by the time she arrives on the scene, she’s surprised to discover the police chief eliminated every last carcass and seems hellbent on blocking her inquiries. And her search for the culprit takes a perilous turn when gambling kingpins descend on the city and a string of unexplained calamities plague the docks.

Can Jordan expose the corruption, or will she be the next to go belly-up?

Lake Effect is the second book in the fast-paced Jordan Reed mystery series. If you like steely female sleuths, gripping action, and clever twists that’ll keep you guessing, then you’ll love K.C. Gillis’s page-turning mystery.

Buy Lake Effect to dive into dangerous waters today!

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

LAKE EFFECT (A Jordan Reed Mystery Book #2) by K.C. Gillis is a mystery/thriller mash-up featuring journalist Jordan Reed. I have been looking forward to this addition to the series and I was not disappointed. This is the second book in the series, but it is easily read as a standalone.

Jordan Reed is tired of her celebrity status since her last adventure. All she wants is her much needed week of vacation, but her best-friend Travis asks her to check out an unusual occurrence at a friend’s family marina. East Bay Marina is a small oasis on beautiful Copper Lake in New England. One day hundreds of dead fish wash up on shore. The fish do not look normal and Jordan drops any plans of a relaxing week to investigate.

Jordan uses the location to spend some time with her sister and asks for Travis’ technical help once again. When she arrives at the marina, the fish have disappeared and she is warned by the local police chief to mind her own business. Luckily one of the marina workers, who just happened to be the chief’s son saved a fish that Jordan was able to deliver to Charlie Choi, her friend at the CDC for analysis.

Besides the troubling secrets surrounding the dead fish, there are multiple unexplained accidents occurring on the docks. An attorney for a state Senator and a fixer for a mob boss all descend on the marina. Is all of this tied together or are they separate players involved in multiple plots? Will Jordan be able to uncover all the plots and plans or will she learn too much to walk away?

I loved this adventure with Jordan even more than the first. Mr. Gillis was able to intertwine two fast-paced, unfolding conspiracies. While Jordan worked on discovering the two separate plotlines, I was impressed that even though they had separate motives, they had the same goal. I felt Jordan was more realistically portrayed as a dogged journalist in this story than the first. All of Jordan’s friends and all of the secondary characters, good and bad were fully fleshed and well written.

Jordan and Travis are great together and I am looking forward to seeing what they get up to in the future. I can recommend this book and look forward to many more in this series.

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About the Author

K.C. (Kevin) Gillis is the author of the Jordan Reed mystery series. Despite being a lifelong lover of stories and books, writing took a distant back seat as his professional career travelled through the Canadian Air Force, a decade as a chemist, followed by a long and continuing run in corporate America. With writing no longer in the back seat (but not quite yet in the front seat), Kevin how has the Jordan Reed series well under way. His personal interests focus on endurance and water sports. Having grown up in the Canadian Maritimes, he now lives in the US northeast with his wife, teenagers and a pair of black cats.

Kevin can be found online at www.kcgillis.com. You can connect with Kevin on Twitter at @kcgilliswriter, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kcgilliswriter, and you can email him directly at kevin@kcgillis.com.

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcgilliswriter

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

Website: https://kcgillis.com/

Purchase Links

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087PHH3PH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lake+effect+gillis&qid=1587914673&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087PHH3PH/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=lake+effect&qid=1587914515&sr=8-15

Publishing Information:

Published in ebook format on 26th May 2020 by Chesterfield Press