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Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Cat & Mouse: A Parker City Mystery by Justin M. Kiska

CAT & MOUSE

by Justin M. Kiska

March 30 – May 1, 2026

Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for CAT & MOUSE: A Parker City Mystery by Justin M. Kiska on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

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

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Book Description

Twenty years ago, Elizabeth Blakely was the target of a relentless stalker—someone who sent threatening letters, invaded her life, and left her living in fear. The case made headlines. The threats were chilling. And then… it all stopped.

Now, in the summer of 1985, Elizabeth’s past has come roaring back. A new letter appears—eerily familiar and signed just like the ones before. Then her husband is stabbed in their home.

Parker City Police Detectives Ben Winters and Tommy Mason are handed the case and quickly find themselves trapped in a decades-old maze of obsession, secrets, and psychological scars. As they peel back the layers of the original investigation, they begin to suspect the truth was never what it seemed—and the stalker may have never left.

With pressure mounting, the detectives must solve a mystery rooted in the past to prevent another tragedy in the present. But what they uncover will challenge everything they thought they knew about guilt, innocence, and what it means to be a victim.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249061798-cat-mouse?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=cLAC9MOban&rank=1

Cat & Mouse: A Parker City Mystery

Genre: Traditional Police Procedural with a Dual Timeline element
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 31, 2026
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 979-8898202118
Series: A Parker City Mystery, Book 6

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

CAT & MOUSE: A Parker City Mystery (Book #6) by Justin M. Kiska is another intricately plotted and intriguing dual timeline classic detective mystery. The Parker City Mysteries feature two recurring main detective protagonists in the mid 1980’s and two historic crime fighters in the past, but also always in Parker City. Despite spanning various decades or centuries, these crimes consistently exhibit a common theme, clue, or character. You get two exciting well plotted mysteries in one book which can easily be read as a standalone, but I have enjoyed reading all the books in the series.

Parker City 1965. Elizabeth Blakely is one of many women in Parker City receiving menacing letters from an unknown stalker, but her letters are handwritten and very personal. While the women of the town are all terrified only Elizabeth is singled out with escalating crimes. The police in 1965 have little to go on and no clues that help them find Elizabeth’s stalker.

Parker City 1985. After twenty years, Elizabeth and her husband returned to Parker City. She gets another chilling letter which is identical to the threatening letters from before. She and her husband bring the letter to the current police department, and Detectives Ben Winters and Tommy Mason are on the case now. With alternating decade narratives, can Winters and Mason solve this twenty-year mystery?

I always enjoy getting into a new book in the Parker City mystery series. The recurring detective protagonists in 1985, Ben and Tommy, are a smart, memorable, and enjoyable duo that I enjoy returning to in each book. The second past mystery in this book was interesting with the same cast of characters and continuation of the crime in 1965 and 1985. This story pulls you in with the police procedurals in both timelines and the differences in the handling of the case. I was engrossed in both and while not surprised at the conclusion, it was plotted well throughout both timelines. I always find it entertaining that 1985 is classified as historical, but it makes me think about the clues more, which the author is always fair on, because you do not have all the scientific expertise of present-day crime fighting.

I highly recommend this dual timeline historical traditional detective mystery in the Parker City series. I also recommend the entire series which are all worth reading.

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Excerpt

June 1985 . . .

“All I’m saying,” Detective Tommy Mason said to his partner as they walked down the sidewalk, “is that this was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen crazy. You know I’ve seen crazy. But this…this was crazy.”

“I don’t see why a trip to the vet has gotten you so worked up,” Ben Winters, Tommy’s partner, friend, and commanding officer of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad said, shaking his head.

“I’m getting to it. I’m trying to set the mood. Let me tell it, will you?”

Ben rolled his eyes and chuckled but let him continue. He should have known. This was just how Tommy was. The two men had known each other since they were kids. They’d grown up together, gone to school together, joined the academy together, and put on the uniform together. They weren’t just friends; they were more like brothers. Which is why Ben was well aware of Tommy’s penchant for storytelling. The trick was to only believe about half of what he said. Tommy had a flair for the dramatic.

“Just hear me out,” Tommy pleaded, stopping under an awning to get out of the warm sun for a moment. “So, I’m spending the day with Christine, right? And she tells me her cat has a vet appointment. Okay, I mean, I’m not a fan of her cat. Truth is, I hate the thing. It’s pure evil wrapped in fur. But, as the good boyfriend that I am, I said I’d tag along. You know, trying to be sensitive and show an interest in things she cares about blah, blah, blah.”

“You’re terrible,” Ben interrupted.

“Hey! That cat cornered me one morning and tried to kill me.”

“Is this the time you hid in the bathroom like a five-year-old?”

“Really? You’re going to take the cat’s side when I’ve saved your life how many times now?”

“You’re a trained police officer. You shouldn’t be afraid of a little cat. And don’t even try to say you’ve saved my life more than I’ve saved yours.”

Anyone who spent any amount of time around the two detectives, whether on duty or off, knew this is how they talked to one another. They were like an old married couple. Constantly taking shots at each other and making wisecracks. It was their friendly jibes that helped to keep them grounded. Especially when they were working a particularly difficult case. And after only four years as detectives, they’d already seen more than their fair share of tough cases.

“Anyway,” Tommy said. “We take Satan’s pussy cat to this little townhouse out there on 9^th. I swear, the sign in the window was written on cardboard, which made me start to question this vet’s credentials. Turns out, she’s some sort of all natural astrological pet healer. I didn’t even know that was a thing. But this vet—and I use that term loosely because she looked more like a gypsy fortune teller—comes out and takes the demon cat—”

“Satan’s pussy cat,” Ben reminded with a smirk.

“Satan’s pussy cat—and puts it on this card table to examine it.”

“Is the cat male or female?”

“I don’t know.”

“What’s its name?”

“Hellraiser…it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m just trying to get all the facts,” Ben said, knowing he was getting under Tommy’s skin. “It’s kind of what we do.”

Ignoring him, Tommy continued. “So, Lucifur is on the table, doing everything possible to get away and this voodoo priestess pulls out a tuning fork. She puts her hand on the cat’s back, then she whacks the back of her own hand with the tuning fork and listens. She does it a second time and turns to Christine and says the cat hasn’t been eating because it’s unhappy with where she moved the food bowl.”

Ben stared at him. “You’re kidding me.”

“I shit-you-not. And the worst part is, Christine then paid this hippie. Paid her!”

“I’m really not sure what to say. But I do have a question. Did Christine move the bowl back to wherever it was before?”

“Yes.”

“And?” Ben found himself surprisingly eager to hear the answer.

Tommy looked away, clearly annoyed. “Damn cat ate the whole bowl of food.”

Ben burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. The whole story was so ridiculous. Absolutely absurd yet fitting somehow. Leave it to Tommy to find himself in a situation like that. But he was happy to see his friend getting so serious with someone. He and Christine weren’t just going out on wild dates anymore. They were doing the more mundane things couples did together. This was the longest relationship Ben could remember Tommy ever being in. Long enough that Christine was going to be Tommy’s date at his and Natalie’s wedding. Nat was thrilled. Not just because she liked Chistine, but she didn’t have to worry about Tommy sleeping with one of the bridesmaids now. And with the wedding only a matter of weeks away, it was nice to have one less thing to fret about.

Taking a final sip of the soda he was carrying, Ben tossed the empty cup in the trashcan next to the curb as the two continued walking down Commerce Street.

Today was a special day in Parker City. Six blocks of downtown had been shut down for the Summer in the Streets festival. Shops and restaurants had set up booths, offering local goods, special menus, and giveaways. The sidewalks were packed with residents and visitors. As music from local bands and church choirs echoed through the air.

An event like this would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. In 1978, Parker was devastated by a terrible flood that destroyed the city’s business district, leaving the once thriving commercial corridor in ruins. The damage had been so extensive, most business owners simply boarded up the windows and walked away, leaving empty, derelict buildings sitting for years. Right in the heart of the city.

The economics of the ‘70s had already taken its toll on Parker City to begin with, so the flood was the final nail in the coffin. A once bustling city practically turned into a ghost town in the span of three days as the rain fell and the murky waters surged through the streets. Once it was all over, the destruction was so severe, no one could see a clear path to restore the area. No one except the city’s young, energetic mayor. He made it his mission to return the downtown to its former glory. And though it had been slow going, the fruits of his labor were beginning to show. The abandoned buildings were being cleaned up, renovated, and leased, welcoming new shops and restaurants, and even a small art gallery. There was still a long way to go, but this outdoor market was a chance to show that the city was coming back to life.

As Ben looked around at the crowded festival, he figured at least half the city had shown up, not to mention the out-of-town visitors. Ben wasn’t sure who’d be happier with the turnout, the president of the Chamber of Commerce or the mayor. Regardless, it looked like the first Summer in the Streets was a huge success.

As members of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad—albeit the only members of the Parker City Police Department’s Detective Squad—Ben and Tommy would not usually be on the street like this. But with an event of this nature, they’d been asked to lend a helping hand. Both were happy to do so, though Tommy made it very clear he would not be putting on his old uniform. Not on a hot June day in Maryland. Instead, the detectives were comfortably patrolling while wearing simple white polo shirts with the word POLICE emblazoned on the back and their badges hanging around their necks on silver chains.

If it were up to Tommy, that’s how they’d dress every day. But Ben insisted that they wear full suits and that only the police detectives on television and in the movies wore T-shirts, leather jackets, and jeans. Though he grumbled about it every chance he got, Tommy begrudgingly listened to his supervisor, Detective Sergeant Winters, and put on a suit in the mornings.

As they reached the corner of Commerce and 1^st, Tommy glanced up the block. With wooden barricades set up at every intersection, there was no vehicular traffic, leaving cross streets virtually empty. Halfway up that particular block, next to a sandwich shop Tommy frequented, was a Maryland United Bank branch. Looking at his watch, seeing that it was one o’clock, he was just about to suggest they grab a bite to eat when something caught his eye.

A flash of red.

Doing a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, he turned to Ben and asked, “It’s still June, right?”

Ben gave him a puzzled look. “Yeah. Still June. Why?”

“And it’s pretty warm out here today? About eighty-five degrees or so?”

“Right…” Ben nodded.

“Then seeing a guy dressed as Santa Claus would be considered suspicious,” Tommy said pointing up the street toward the bank.

Following his finger, sure enough, Ben saw a man in full Santa gear pacing around outside the bank, shifting his weight nervously, swinging a sack from shoulder to shoulder.

Unhooking the walkie-talkie from his belt, Ben keyed the button on the side and said, “Dispatch, this is PC-12. Come in.”

“Hey, Ben. How’s it goin’ out there, sugar,” the voice crackled over the radio.

“It’s a beautiful day and there’s a big crowd,” Ben answered. “So, Shirley, Tommy and I are looking at a suspicious person outside the Maryland United Bank on 1^st. We’re going to check him out.”

There was a momentary pause before she came back with, “I show Spurrier on patrol in that area. I’ll send him your way. Do you have a description for me?”

Ben hesitated. “Um…yeah. It’s Santa Claus.”

“Come again?” she asked, her surprise coming over the radio loud and clear. “I don’t think I heard you right, puddin.’”

“No. You heard me. The guy’s dressed as Santa Claus. Full suit. Sack and all.”

“Well, ho, ho, ho,” Shirley said before sighing off.

Tommy looked at Ben. “So…think we’re looking at a robbery, or just a nutjob?”

Ben shrugged. “Either way, it’s going to be interesting.”

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Author Bio

Justin is a theatre producer, director, and mystery writer who can usually be found sitting in his library devising new and clever ways to kill people (for his mysteries). In addition to writing the Parker City Mysteries Series, which includes Now & Then, Vice & Virtue, Fact & Fiction, Black & White, and Cops & Robbers, he is also the mastermind behind Marquee Mysteries, a series of interactive mystery events he has been writing and producing for nearly twenty years. Justin and his wife, Jessica, live along Lake Linganore outside of Frederick, Maryland with their pups Brownie and Cocoa.

Social Media Links

JustinKiska.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @JustinKiska
BookBub – @JMKiska
Instagram – @JMKiska
Facebook – @JMKiska

Purchase Links

Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/0TX1Laq3

Kindle – https://pictbooks.tours/RX5nvBBy

Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/uZXhOaoO

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PICT GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.tours/fDCUcN8A

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: In the Spirit of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

Book Description

Tabitha has enjoyed an entertaining afternoon in Julia’s kitchen, but her return home is a bit jarring. As she arrives at her grandfather’s rue de l’Université mansion, a woman bursts out the door babbling about messages from spirits and a warning Grand-père must heed. Oncle Rafe angrily sends the woman on her way, and neither man will answer Tabitha’s questions.

It’s not the last she sees of the mysterious visitor. While she’s on a date that evening, she’s accosted by her again—and learns that Madame Vierca is a medium who claims to have visions of a dark fate that awaits Grand-père and Oncle Rafe. The very next night, Tabitha’s messieurs host a soiree at their new restaurant, inviting fellow Resistance fighters from the war known as the Nine Bluets. To commemorate the work of the Resistance network, the vase on the dinner table sports nine of the pretty blue flowers.

But shortly after the revelers leave the restaurant, one of Grand-père’s old friends is found dead on the street . . . and one of the nine flowers is missing from the vase. When a second member of the Nine Bluets is found poisoned the next day, and a bluet flower is left with the body, Tabitha cannot ignore Madame Vierca’s frightening predictions about her dear messieurs. She has no choice but to share her suspicions and fears with the enigmatic and unruffled Inspecteur Merveille.

Tabitha soon finds herself caught up in an investigation that takes her and Merveille to the seediest, most dangerous parts of the Left Bank—home of strange, fantastical legends, disquieting events, and unusual people. As she and Merveille desperately try to find a killer, they know they don’t have much time before the rest of the Nine Bluets are targeted . . . including Grand-père and Oncle Rafe.

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

IN THE SPIRIT OF FRENCH MURDER (An American in Paris Book #4) by Colleen Cambridge is another wonderful addition to this entertaining, intriguing, and informative historical mystery series featuring Tabitha Knight, an American in Paris and her best friend and fellow ex-pat, Julia Child. While the main cast of characters continue to evolve in their relationships, each book contains a complete mystery, so these books can be read as standalone books. I have read them all in order and loved every single one.

Tabitha is excited about the opening night party of her Grand-pere and Oncle Rafe’s new restaurant. While she still has questions regarding an old medium, Madame Vierca, who visited the pair yesterday and warned her of danger as she left, she is fascinated by the Resistance group that her Grand-pere and Oncle reunited. Called the Nine Bluets, Tabitha is told tales of the group as they worked against the Nazis.

As the revelers depart the restaurant, one of the group of fighters is found dead on the street with his throat slit. Another is found the next day poisoned in an old home previously used as a safe house by the group. Tabitha is extremely worried about her messieurs as the predictions from the old medium appear to be coming true with a wilted bluet found by each dead body. Once again, she is caught up in a murder investigation with Inspecteur Merveille.

As Tabitha and Merveille investigate the murders, Tabitha is especially frantic when her Grand-pere and Oncle are kidnapped. Can she follow to clues to discover the killer in time to save those she loves?

I always look forward to getting a new book in this series. Tabitha is a wonderful protagonist who just seems to have dead people fall at her feet to the eternal consternation of Inspecteur Merveille. These two follow the clues with plenty of twists and surprises along the way to an always satisfactory resolution. Having Julia Child as Tabitha’s best friend sets the stage for wonderful, mouthwatering descriptions of recipes and cooking, as well as a sounding board for Tabitha’s adventures. The descriptions of Paris and its inhabitants in 1950 demonstrate the author’s obvious research and add to the richness of the story. This time period and location is especially intriguing because while Paris is free and rebuilding, it has only been five years since the war and the atrocities of the Nazi occupation.

I highly recommend this engaging historical mystery and encourage you to try all the books in this series.

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About the Author

Colleen Cambridge is the pen name for an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. From a young age, Colleen has loved reading mysteries and now she couldn’t be happier that she is able to write them.

Under several pseudonyms, she has written more than 36 books in a variety of genres and is always plotting her next murder—er, book.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.colleengleason.com/colleen-cambridge/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ColleenGleason.Author

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/colleengleason.bsky.social

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/in-the-spirit-of-french-murder-an-american-in-paris-mystery-book-4-by-colleen-cambridge

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: An Amish Marriage Agreement and The Amish Baker’s Redemption by Patrice Lewis

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Book Description and Elise’s Thoughts – An Amish Marriage Agreement

An Amish Marriage Agreement has Amish basket-maker Olivia Bontrager moving to Montana looking for a fresh start after her father dies. Unexpectedly, she finds her sister has abandoned her baby on Olivia’s doorstep. Wanting to give her niece a stable life, she accepts help from handyman Andrew Eicher, who offers a shocking proposal: a marriage of convenience because he wants to pull their finances to buy a farm. Now, after long resigning herself to spinsterhood, Olivia says yes knowing she will have the home and family she’s always yearned for. As they get closer Andrew realizes Olivia is everything he wanted in a wife, and she realizes she is falling in love with him. Everything seems to be going great until Olivia’s sister, Adele, reappears and jeopardizes the happiness they’ve found.

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Book Description and Elise’s Thoughts – The Amish Baker’s Redemption

The Amish Baker’s Redemption is Adele’s redemption story. After spending years in the English world, Adele Bontrager returns to her Amish community, desperate to redeem herself and reclaim her faith. Working in an Amish bakery, she feels like her life is finally moving in the right direction until Isaiah King arrives as the new head baker. Single father Isaiah has his hands full trying to raise his rebellious teenage daughter, Phoebe, and is grateful when Adele strikes up a friendship with his sullen child, despite her obvious reluctance toward him. But when he learns of her troubled history, he’ll need to decide if her past is worth risking their future and does he want her around Phoebe.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for An Amish Marriage Agreement?

Patrice Lewis: I liked the idea of a beautiful sister and a plain sister. The main character, Olivia, had a wonderful personality and a skill set, but lacks beauty.

EC: How would you describe Olivia?

PL: She is grief-filled after losing her dad. She considers herself a spinster. Olivia is stubborn, determined, responsible, self-deprecating, believes she is gangly looking, a risk-taker, kind, generous, hard-working, and clever.

EC: How would you describe the male lead, Andrew?

PL: He is bitter and angry about Sarah, his former girlfriend, who dumped him. He is orderly, level-headed, enthusiastic, and generous.

EC: What is the difference between Sarah and Olivia?

PL: They are opposites. Sarah has a shallow personality, while Olivia is a truly wonderful person inside and out. The only thing Sarah has going for her is beauty.

EC: What about the relationship between Olivia and Andrew?

PL: First, they were business partners, then friends who teased good-naturedly, shared chores, could make small talk, and both feel like outsiders. Andrew now believes he wants someone with beauty inside, not on the outside. He starts to recognize the value of Olivia.

EC: Why a marriage of convenience?

PL: They both wanted something very badly. The only way to get it was to join forces. Olivia had a baby placed on her doorstep, abandoned by her sister, so she felt the baby needed a father figure. Andrew knew he needed a financial partner in the farm. They decided to team up, both thinking they would not marry for love.

EC: What is the role of the baby, Helen?

PL: Olivia has no clue on how to raise the baby. I put in the scene on how they meet, and hope readers thought it was humorous. She literally yanked open the door and had a baby there. She panicked and motherhood did not come naturally for her. Andrew was on the doorstep because he was sent to repair the house. He knew what to do on how to handle a baby.

EC: Why did she keep Helen?

PL: She was Olivia’s father’s only grandchild and was named after her mother, both parents had died. She was motivation for Olivia to buy a farm with Andrew because he promised to be a father to Helen.

EC: What was the role of Adele?

PL: Flighty, selfish, self-centered, criticized Olivia’s looks, made her feel inferior, and yet was jealous of her. She was also shallow, insecure, and beautiful.

EC: Has Adele changed in The Amish Baker’s Redemption, the next book in the series?

PL: In the last story at the ending Adele had hit bottom. Before that she sought after wealthy, powerful men who were attracted to her because of her looks, but not her personality. She was rebellious, restless, and callous. In this book she changes because of the guilt she gave up her baby, men started dumping her, jealous of her sister’s life, and being financially destitute. Adele had to get redemption. She decided to now make the right choices. She became responsible, modest, has a good work ethic, devout, has humility,

and is avoiding men. Adele saw herself as a fallen women who wanted to redeem herself in the eyes of God, the community, Andrew, and Olivia.

EC: Idea for the story?

PL: I wanted to show how Olivia had to develop her personality because she did not have beauty, while Adele used her beauty to get what she wanted. Many beautiful women are as kind, loving, and caring as anybody else, but not Adele. She never developed her personality.

EC: How would you describe the male lead, Isiah?

PL: Stable, moralistic, hard-working, and scared his daughter is making the wrong choices.

EC: What about the relationship between Adele and Isiah?

PL: He admires her and he wants to court her. She feels she is not worthy of his affection, especially after he finds out about her past.

EC: What is the role of Isiah’s daughter, Phoebe?

PL: Adele realizes if Phoebe takes her path she will get into trouble because she does not have Adele’s good looks. Phoebe wants to travel the world, does not want to be baptized, and wants adventures. She is thinking of leaving the faith and at first does not realize she will lose the support of the Church and community, Adele is motivated to save Phoebe from herself. Phoebe hero worships Adele, while Adele sees herself as Phoebe’s mentor, to save Phoebe from herself so she will not make the same mistakes as Adele.

EC: How would you describe Phoebe?

PL: She is candid, rebellious, restless, impatient, and vulnerable. She is good hearted.

EC: Next book?

PL: The Amish Nanny’s Marriage Offer which will be released in May. The hero and heroine are widowed. He has a daughter and she has a son. During Church services since men and women are separated, they watch each other’s child. He gave her a job to babysit his daughter. The heroine left for Montana because she was being pressured by her family to marry a psychopath.

THANK YOU!!

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Raging Waters by Dana Mentink

Book Description

When Mackenzie Bardine’s brother Aaron was murdered in a drug deal gone wrong, she started a true crime podcast dedicated to exposing “Bullseye,” the drug kingpin responsible. But her protective heart has never let go of the blame she places on herself and Aaron’s best friend, Gideon Landry. On the run to the wilds of Washington to chase a recent lead, she meets none other than Gideon himself.

While conducting a wilderness survival class in remote Washington, Gideon never expected to cross paths with Mackenzie, and he’s certainly not interested in helping her after he’s already declined to participate in her vigilante podcasting. He carries a mountain of guilt about Aaron’s fatal choices, but not for the reasons Mackenzie suspects.

As killers begin to circle Mackenzie like sharks, it’s clear to Gideon she’s in over her head, and in light of his troubled past with her brother, he can’t bring himself to ignore her perilous situation. Then a flood threatens the town, turning their investigation into a race to escape the raging waters and the wrath of a powerful kingpin who wants to sink them both.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The plot for Raging Waters, by Dana Mentink, comes right out of the headlines. A major role in the book is the Air Force SERE tactics. In the news recently the Air Force Colonel who had to eject from his F-15 fighter jet over Iran had to avoid the Iranians who had put a bounty on his head. To avoid the enemy, he used the SERE training. This book’s plot has the hero and heroine trying to evade capture by the enemy, Bullseye, a drug kingpin, by using SERE tactics.

The book starts out with Mackenzie Bardine (Zee) haunted by the murder of her brother Aaron. Determined to bring the man responsible to light, she pours her heart into a true crime podcast focused on exposing the mysterious drug kingpin known as “Bullseye. She had not forgiven herself or her brother’s best friend, Gideon Landry, for not doing more to help her brother.

A lead on Bullseye’s identity brings Mackenzie to the remote Washington State town of Oakleaf. There she encounters Gideon, an Air Force SERE instructor, who works in the community. He realizes that Zee is over her head in finding her brother’s killers and decides to help her. This ruthless drug kingpin is intent on destroying them and has people everywhere, making it hard for Gideon and Zee to know who to trust. It becomes a cat and mouse game where they are after Bullseye who has hired minions to find and kill them. In addition to having to use SERE tactics to escape Bullseye they must find safety against torrential rains, raging waters, and a dam that is about to break.

The action in the book is non-stop creating relentless tension. Combining the threat from dangerous enemies and the natural disasters makes for a gripping read. There is heart-stopping danger with twists and turns that leads to a stormy ending.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Do you like writing books where the setting becomes a character?

Dana Mentink: This is my favorite type of story. I think nature is marvelous and terrifying, where it pits the characters versus the environment. My first book involved a volcano. This series books are about surviving the environment. They are wilderness survival stories. I have a fear of water in general and like to write about what scares me. There is nothing scarier than being trapped in a small town with a failing dam. Besides the dam this story had rain, a chilling river, and the flood from a dam breaking with a major current. It seemed like the perfect place to set a suspense idea.

EC: Did SERE play an important role in the book?

DM: It stands for survive, evade, resist, and escape. It is the Air Force survival training where the protagonist is an instructor. It comes in real handy. It is an intense program where they learn cagey skills. I found true testimonies of people who experienced being lost. Makes for a great hero where someone knows what to do.

EC: Can you explain the book quote, “Fix it, don’t film it”?

DM: After a disaster there are all these videos. It occurred to me, ‘why don’t you just put down the phone and go help that person.’ People have become too enamored with social media they forget it is really life.

EC: Can you describe Zee?

DM: Zee is angry, believes the ends justify the means, can be reckless, audacious, stubborn, gritty, determined, charismatic, vulnerable, and a true crime podcaster crusader.

EC: What about Gideon?

DM: He is sarcastic, smart, savvy, clever, a warrior, and believes people should not terrorize others. In the beginning of the book, he has no filters.

EC: What is the role of Aaron, Zee’s brother?

DM: He shattered lives, never grew up, and did not believe there were consequences to his actions. He does not take responsibility. Zee stopped living her life to get revenge for his murder. She also must come to grips with the image she had of her brother and who he really was. It is difficult for her to accept it.

EC: What about Zee and Gideon?

DM: He felt she was not trustworthy. At a younger age she had a crush on him when he was her brother’s best friend. Now she blames him for not helping her brother. While in some ways he blames himself. She does not want him around because he is a reminder of Aaron. There is a lot of guilt to be resolved. She also has guilt because of a blindness to some things about him, feeling she could have prevented his murder if she was more insightful.

EC: How would you describe the bad guy, Bullseye?

DM: Evil, manipulative, controlling, powerful, vengeful, enjoys using fear, violent, and a stone-cold killer.

EC: What about your next books?

DM: It will be the first in a new series, titled Hidden America. It is about a TV scout media team checking out locations for the TV show called “Hidden America.” It is a show about abandoned places. It will come out probably next spring.

Another book will be a historical cozy mystery coming out in September. It is titled Murders in the Marquee. It is the first book in a series. It is set in a San Francisco luxury hotel in 1905 called the Marquee. It has three unlikely crime solvers.

THANK YOU!!

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Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Life or Death by Andrea Kane

LIFE OR DEATH

by Andrea Kane

March 16 – April 10, 2026

Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for LIFE OR DEATH (Forensics Instincts Bok #11) by Andrea Kane on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

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

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Book Description

In suburban Westchester County, just outside the frenetic pace of New York City, a deadly murder occurs. After a violent struggle, FBI agent Shane Walsh is dead and his wife, Caitlin, has vanished. At the urging of a mysterious text, the Walshes’ nine-year-old daughter, Kennedy, has been safely whisked away by a close family member.

The FBI is determined to bring down whoever assassinated one of its own and is focusing on Caitlin as a prime suspect. Ryan McKay, Forensic Instincts’ chief technology officer, as well as Shane’s cousin and lifelong friend, vehemently disagrees. Ryan knows the Walsh family well. He insists that Caitlin is innocent, and that she, herself, is in danger.

After convincing his team to cast a wider net, Ryan leads FI on a zigzag course across two continents to locate Caitlin, sidestepping the FBI at every turn, and protecting Kennedy at all costs. But the FBI is on the warpath, and threatens to permanently shut down Forensic Instincts if they don’t back off. Undeterred by the FBI’s threats, FI goes underground in pursuit of their rogue mission.

As the pace quickens, Kennedy becomes the target of unnerving text messages. Both The FBI and the Forensic Instincts teams sense that the end game is near and that the chess match is spiraling to a stunning conclusion. Determined to declare “checkmate” before the killer, Forensic Instincts must not only protect Kennedy but make sure that their team doesn’t end up as collateral damage when the king falls.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/236454142-life-or-death?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UwfGwJ0txh&rank=1

Life or Death

Genre: Suspense Thriller
Published by: Bonnie Meadow Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: March 17, 2026
Number of Pages: 304, HC
ISBN: 9781682320686 (ISBN10: 1682320685), HC
Series: Forensic Instincts, Book 11 | Each is a stand-alone novel

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

LIFE OR DEATH (Forensic Instincts Book #11) by Andrea Kane is another addition to this always gripping crime thriller series featuring an eclectic group of talented crime fighters who have come together to form Forensic Instincts (FI). They are not always on the technically right side of the law, but they always get their prey and solve the case. While the characters have continually evolved over the now eleven books, the individual crime plots are always solved in each book so they can be read as standalones.

Ryan McKay is the tech genius for Forensic Instincts (FI), and he is devastated when he learns his cousin and FBI agent, Shane Walsh, has been found murdered in his home and his wife, Caitlin, is missing. Ryan’s mother receives a text to pick up Shane’s eight-year-old daughter, Kennedy, from school and to keep her safe.

While FI gets to work immediately on the case, the FBI has warned them not to interfere, or they will be shut down. FI refuses to back down and goes underground with the help of another secretive off-the-record group that fights crimes internationally. In a race to prove Caitlin innocent and keep Kennedy safe, the FI group is going to need every resource and friend they have available to discover the motive and killer.

I always love returning to the Forensic Instincts world. I get a great crime thriller as well as a comfortable cast of fully developed characters. Ryan and Claire are the focal characters from FI throughout this book as well as Shane’s daughter Kennedy, but everyone appears with everyone’s skills necessary to solve this case. The crime plot is intricately plotted with plenty of twists along the way, but it also has a very clever misdirection that changes the entire focus of the case. I always enjoy getting my hands on a new FI book and following this familiar group of characters as they investigate a new crime.

I highly recommend this fast-paced crime thriller and encourage you to try the entire Forensic Instincts series!

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Author Bio

Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty-three novels, including nineteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.

Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller.

She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted and Drawn in Blood.

Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Life or Death, forces this eclectic team of investigators to navigate a high wire act between the FBI on one side and a vicious killer looking to terminate the rest of a young family on the other. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence That Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, A Face To Die For, Dead In A Week, No Stone Unturned, At Any Cost, Struck Dead and Life or Death.

Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.

With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.

Kane lives in New Jersey with her family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan.

Social Media Links

AndreaKane.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @akane
BookBub – @writetome1
Instagram – @AuthorAndreaKane
Facebook – @AuthorAndreaKane
TikTok – @author.ak
RBmedia Audiobooks

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PROMOAMP GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.tours/P0YXx94S

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Star on the Grave by Linda Margolin Royal

Book Description

In 1940, as the Nazis sweep towards Lithuania, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara defies his government and secretly issues visas to fleeing Jewish refugees. After the war Sugihara is dismissed and disappears into obscurity.

Nearly three decades later, in Australia, Rachel Margol is shocked when her engagement reveals a long-held family secret: she is Jewish. As she grapples with this deception and the dysfunction it has caused, unspoken tragedies from the past begin to come to light. When an opportunity arrives to visit Chiune Sugihara, the man who risked his life to save the Margols during World War II, Rachel becomes determined to meet him. But will a journey to Japan, and the secrets it uncovers, heal the family or fracture them for good?

The Star on the Grave is inspired by the true story of Chiune Sugihara, and the thousands of people who owe him their lives. Sugihara is often referred to as the Japanese Schindler. It is estimated that he saved 6,000 people – the author’s father and grandparents among them, and as many as 500,000 people are alive today because of him.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Star on The Grave by Linda Margolin Royal is a wonderful novel that explains the reasons why Holocaust survivors refused to talk about those horrific days and why some chose to no longer embrace their Jewish heritage, hoping future generations would never know the hatred and anti-Semitism that they had experienced.

The story begins with Rachel Margol, a twenty-year old nurse in 1968 Sydney who only learns she is Jewish after she becomes engaged to be married to a Greek Orthodox doctor. Her grandmother, Felka, decides to tell Rachel the truth about her heritage. Rachel feels like her whole world has fallen apart and cannot understand why she was not told sooner of her Jewish background. Why was she sent to a Catholic school? Why has she never set foot in a synagogue? After finding out her grandmother is going to attend a reunion in Japan to see Chiune Sugihara, the man who saved her dad and grandmothers’ lives from certain death at the hands of the Nazis, Rachel decides to go with her.

From 1938-1940, Chiune Sugihara was the Vice-Consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunas, Lithuania, and he defied his own government’s orders and secretly issued thousands of transit visas to Jewish refugees desperate to flee. Sugihara is often referred to as the Japanese Schindler. It is estimated that he saved 6,000 people including the author’s father and grandparents. Because Sugihara defied the Japanese government and issued the visas anyway, he was dismissed and disappeared into obscurity. At the reunion in Japan, Rachel meets other families who have been saved by Sugihara and learns more about her heritage. Readers take a journey with Rachel as she discovers new strengths within herself. She begins to understand the sufferings her family and others experienced during World War II and why they kept so many

secrets. This story is very powerful, and the characters are very complex. Readers start to understand the trauma that Jews went through during the Holocaust and can relate the antisemitism that still goes on today. A bonus is learning about Jewish traditions, ceremonies and rituals.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Linda Margolin Royal: My brother suggested we interview our dad on his 80^th birthday. We knew they left Poland, went to Japan, and then came here to Australia. At first, when I heard about Sugihara saving our family from being murdered, I thought I would write it as a screenplay, but someone suggested I write it as a book as well. I gave it a try. I got it published in Australia. And now I have just secured a US publishing deal, and it is now available on Amazon. (https://www.amazon.com/Star-Grave-Linda-Margolin-Royal/dp/B0GRKKLTL2)

EC: Did you ever get the story from your dad?

LMR: He mentioned how he escaped and was helped by this man, Chinua Sugihara. I looked him up and found out he had saved 6000 Jews in the Holocaust. I found out he was the reason I am alive. I was able to get in touch with his son to tell me what happened. This book is the true story of my family’s escape although I did take some artistic license. I created a character, Rachel, based on me but not fully me.

EC: What happened to Sugihara?

LMR: He was found in Moscow in 1968 by a survivor who was living in Israel. He had issued him a visa that helped him survive the Holocaust. Sugihara was told he saved all these people. He was issuing visas but had no idea if anyone would survive. On his return to Japan, he was dismissed by the diplomatic corps, likely due to the fact Japan in WWII was an ally of Germany and he issued visas to 6000 Jews illegally. He had asked three times for permission to do it and each time his government said no but he defied orders.

EC: How would you describe him?

LMR: He challenged authority. He had a strong moral compass and did what was right. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but he left the entrance exam blank and walked out because he did not want to go into medicine. He enrolled and got a degree in International Studies. He was put in charge of the Manchurian Railway Project but resigned because of the brutality he witnessed inflicted on the Chinese workers by the Japanese.

EC: How would you describe Rachel’s grandmother, Felka?

LMR: She was based on my grandmother. Very intelligent, upbeat, positive, bold, brass, and funny. She had a huge presence and adored me and my siblings. She suffered privately, but lived and breathed for us. Both her parents perished in the Holocaust.

EC: How would you describe Rachel’s dad, Michael?

LMR: Michael was not based on my father, who was very loving. Michael conceals his own feelings from his family, non-compassionate, callous, uncaring, and avoids talking about the war. He denies his Jewish faith and makes his family do so as well. He did this because of his trauma.

EC: Were there any similarities between your dad and the book dad?

LMR: He had a loving family and a rich life. He was forced to flee Poland as an 11-year-old.

EC: How would you describe Rachel?

LMR: A deep thinker, courageous, direct, and lacks order in her life. Motherless, she lost hers when she was nine years old. Just as I did with mine, Rachel also has a strong bond with her grandmother who is the matriarch of the family. Felka was the rock of my and Rachel’s world. She was our go-to.

EC: The Japanese seemed to be very complex about the Holocaust?

LMR: There were those who did not want to give visas to the European Jews. Yet, the Jews who did come to Japan did not face antisemitism. They gave them free food, found ingredients to make Matzo. There was a synagogue there. My father and other survivors said they had a lovely experience in Japan. The Japanese people were welcoming. About twenty years ago Sugihara became a hero there.

EC: Did Rachel change once she found out she was Jewish?

LMR: She was brought up atheist. Then she finds out she has this rich heritage with a sense of belonging. This book is a mission for me to teach about the importance of faith.

EC: What do you want readers to get out of the story?

LMR: Intense generational trauma is at epidemic proportions. Hitler’s work had far-reaching consequences. It did not stop with the ones murdered but impacted second generation lives. For example, my husband’s father went through Auschwitz, survived, had terrible depression, and suicided when my husband was sixteen. This severely impacted my husband and his parenting.

Another point I wanted to make was that some people I met were brought up not Jewish only to realize in their late teens that their parents concealed they were Jewish in fear of persecution.

EC: Do you think the story has connections with what is going on today?

LMR: The book went to print the week of October 7^th when 1200 Israelis were brutally murdered by Hamas. None of us could have imagined the antisemitism that followed all over the world, particularly in Australia. Here we have the largest population of Holocaust survivors other than Israel. No one ever thought anything could happen out here like the killing of Jews and then the Bondi Beach massacre happened during Hanukkah 2025.

I have this quote in the book, “Fear of being singled out as a Jew, of being hated and persecuted…people judge us. People hate us without reason.” This is happening today. I think about what is happening when I wrote this, pre-October 7^th. What it means for me to be Jewish is the constant fear of persecution and being wiped off this planet but with the desire for my people to stay on it. We have been threatened with extermination and elimination from this world for thousands of years and have prevailed. In some gentiles there is this festering seed of antisemitism and given the right circumstances it rises to the top and bubbles over in all its horrific glory. So, when October 7^th and the aftermath happened there were those who accused Israel of committing genocide and ignored what really took place. Then the Bondi Beach massacre happened even though Jews have been warning the government and the police for two years. There were attacks on synagogues and then what follows is attacks on Jews. We asked for 10 to 15 police at this event and were given three fairly untrained to deal with such brutality.

EC: Why the quote about the tattoos done by the Germans on the Jewish people?

LMR: You are referring to the quote, “They stripped away the identity. The numbers are for identification.” When people refer to numbers like 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust or 1200 people died on October 7^th or 3000 people died on 9/11 that strips away people’s identity. Numbers – whether the tattooed numbers or the statistics strip away people’s faces and dehumanize them. This is why the posters of individual people on October 7^th were so important. Statistics need to be personalized. 6 million cannot even be comprehended. When I do talks, I personalize by saying how “my father and Anne Frank were born weeks apart in 1929. My father died of natural causes at the age of 87 in Sydney Australia because one person with a moral conscious saved his life, while Anne was stripped of her life at the age of fifteen in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

EC: Next book?

LMR: It is a prequel. The backstory 1939-41. It touches on Rachel’s grandmother, Felka as a young woman arriving to Australia in 1941 and settling in Bondi Beach, a meeting place for the Jewish people. (deleted a sentence) Most, like her, are (deleted a sentence) refugees who found the beach provided comfort, safety and a place to gather and belong with their own. The whole last act of my prequel is the family, having escaped the Holocaust in 1940, settling there with Felka, (the grandmother from the first book in 1968) spreading her arms in the ocean saying, ‘this feels like freedom.’ The settings go from Warsaw, to Japan, to Australia, following the family’s flight. I am also considering writing a sequel book following Rachel’s journey in her future.

THANK YOU!!

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