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Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Edge Of Dusk by Colleen Coble

Edge of Dusk

by Colleen Coble

July 11 – August 5, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am Sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for EDGE OF DUSK by Colleen Coble 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 Kingsumo giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!

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Book Description

Even though secrets lie off the coast of Rock Harbor, the truth will set Annie Pederson free—if it doesn’t kill her first.

Nine-year-old Annie Pederson’s life changed the night her sister was kidnapped. The two had been outside playing on a dock, and Annie never forgave herself for her role in her sister’s disappearance. Twenty-four years later and now a law enforcement ranger, Annie is still searching for answers as she grieves a new loss: the death of her husband and parents in a boating accident.

But Annie and her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, aren’t the only people in the town of Rock Harbor whose lives have been marred by tragedy. While managing the property around the Tremolo Resort and Marina she inherited, Annie discovers a dead body floating in the cold Superior surf and begins to work with the sheriff’s office to tie the death to a series of other mysterious reports in the area.

At the same time, her first love, Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, reigniting the town’s memory of a cold case he’d been suspiciously linked to before he left to pursue his orthopedic residency. For the sake of her investigation and her heart, Annie tries to stay away. But avoiding Jon becomes impossible once Annie realizes she is being targeted by someone desperate to keep secrets from the past hidden.

In this new series, bestselling romantic-suspense author Colleen Coble returns to one of her most beloved towns, where familiar faces—and unsolved cases—await.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59608952-edge-of-dusk?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hmZYudngow&rank=1

Edge of Dusk

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: July 12th 2022
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 078525370X (ISBN13: 9780785253709)
Series: Annie Pederson #1

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My Book Review

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

EDGE OF DUSK (An Annie Pederson Novel Book #1) by Colleen Coble is the start of a new suspense series featuring a female ranger with romantic and Christian elements. This book has some characters carried over from Ms. Coble’s other books set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, but I did not feel as though I needed any back story or was missing anything.

Annie Penderson was only nine-year-old when she and her younger sister, Laura were attacked as children. Annie was stabbed and left for dead while Laura was kidnapped from the dock of their Upper Peninsula home and never found. Twenty-four years later, Annie is a LEO ranger who still feels guilty for not protecting her sister and continues to search for her, while also being a single mother after the boating accident which killed both her husband and her parents.

While maintaining on the side the Tremolo Resort and Marina her parents left her, Annie finds a dead floating by the docks. It is the body of a missing hiking/camper, and he is not the first in the area to go missing.

At the same time, Dr. Jon Dustan returns to the area to sell his family’s summer cabin after his father’s stroke. Jon was Annie first love, but after a fight that tore them apart and suspicions from long ago tying him to two missing girls, he left the area for college. Annie wants to protect her heart, but when the missing girls’ bodies are discovered in an old cabin on the resort lands, it throws the two together again in hopes of solving the mystery once and for all.

This book has a lot happening in multiple plot lines. Some questions are answered in this book and others are set up to be continued in future books in the series. I liked the multiple mysteries and trying to figure out if they were connected or not. I did not feel the ending of the missing hikers/campers case was believable especially when you discover who else was complicit in the cover-up. I am interested enough to continue with the series to discover other solutions to the unsolved mysteries though. The Christian elements were minimal. The romantic elements had a few problems for me. I do not like when a misunderstanding lasts for almost an entire story, when the two supposed grown-ups can sit down and discuss their feelings sooner. This made it difficult for me to really connect with Annie and Jon who appear to be carrying this series forward.

Overall, this was an OK start to this new series. It has a few problems for me, but I do want to continue reading to discover where the cliff-hanger to one of the many mysteries leads.

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Excerpt

PROLOGUE

“WAS THAT THE WINDIGO?” NINE-YEAR-OLD ANNIE

Vitanen yanked her little sister’s hand to pull her to a stop in the deep shadows of the pines. Chills trickled down her spine, and she stared into the darkness. “Did you hear that?”

“It was just the loons,” Sarah said. “Daddy said there’s no such thing as the Windigo.”

Annie shuddered. “You’re only five—you don’t know that.” While at school she’d heard the story about the fifteen-foot- tall monster who ate humans. Annie peered into the shadows, searching for sunken red eyes in a stag skull staring back at her. The Windigo particularly liked little girls to fill its hungry belly. Sarah tugged her hand free. “Daddy said it was just an old Ojibwa legend. I want to see the loons.”

She took off down the needle-strewn path toward the water.

Annie’s heart seized in her throat. “Sarah, wait!”

Daddy had always told Annie she was responsible for her little sister, and she didn’t want to get in trouble when their parents found out they were out here in the dark. Sarah had begged to come out to see the loons, and Annie found it hard to say no to her. This was the first time they’d been to their little camp on Tremolo Island since the summer started, and it might be a long time before they had time to visit again. Daddy only brought them to get away when he had a lull at the marina. Annie loved it here, even if there wasn’t any power.

Her legs pumped and her breath whooshed in and out of her mouth. She emerged into the moonlight glimmering over Lake Superior. Her frantic gaze whipped around, first to make sure the Windigo hadn’t followed them, then to find her sister.

Sarah sat on the wooden dock with her legs dangling over the waves. Lightning flickered in the distance, and Annie smelled rain as it began to sprinkle. Clouds hung low over the water, and the darkness got thicker.

“We need to go back, Sarah.” While they could still find their way in the storm.

“I want to throw bread to the loons.” Sarah gave her a piece of the bread they’d gotten from the kitchen.

Annie jumped when the loon’s eerie yodel sounded. The oo-AH-ho sound was like no other waterfowl or bird. Normally she loved trying to determine whether the loon was yodeling, wailing, or calling, but right now she wanted to get her sister back into bed before they got in big trouble. They both knew better than to come down here by themselves. Mommy had warned them about the dangers more times than Annie could count.

She touched her sister’s shoulder. “Come on, Sarah.”

Sarah shrugged off her hand. “Just a minute. Look, the loon has a baby on its back.”

Annie had to see that. She threw in a couple of bread pieces and peered at the loons. “I’ve never seen that.”

“Me neither.”

The loons didn’t eat the bread, but she giggled when a big fish gulped down a piece right under their feet.

When she first heard the splashing, she thought it signaled more loons. But wait. Wasn’t that the sound of oars slapping the water? A figure in a dark hoodie sat in the canoe. Did the Windigo ride in a canoe?

The canoe bumped the dock, and a voice said, “Two to choose from. It doesn’t get much better than that.”

The voice was so cheerful, Annie wasn’t afraid. Before she could try to identify who it was, a hard hand grabbed her and dragged her into the canoe. “I think the younger one would be better.”

The sudden, sharp pain in Annie’s neck made her cry out, and she slapped her hand against her skin. Something wet and sticky clung to her fingers. In the next instant, she was in the icy water. The shock of the lake’s grip made her head go under.

She came up thrashing in panic and spitting water. Her legs wouldn’t kick very well, and she felt dizzy and disoriented. She tried to scream for Daddy, but her mouth wouldn’t work. Her neck hurt something awful, and she’d never felt so afraid.

She’d been right—it was the Windigo, and he meant to eat her sister.

“Sarah!” Annie’s voice sounded weak in her ears, and the storm was here with bigger waves churning around her. “Run!”

Her sister shrieked out her name, and Annie tried to move toward the sound, but a wave picked her up and tossed her against a piling supporting the dock. Her vision went dark, and she sank into the cold arms of the lake.

The next thing she knew, she was on her back, staring up into the rain pouring into her face. Her dad’s hand was on the awful pain in her neck, and her mother was screaming for Sarah.

She never saw her sister again.

ONE

TWENTY-FOUR YEARS LATER
LAW ENFORCEMENT RANGER ANNIE PEDERSON RUBBED

her eyes after staring at the computer screen for the past two hours. She’d closed the lid on an investigation into a hit-and-run in the Kitchigami Wilderness Preserve, and she’d spent the past few hours finishing paperwork. It had been a grueling case, and she was glad it was over.

“I’ll be right back,” she told her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, sitting on the floor of her office playing Pokémon Go on her iPad.

Kylie’s blonde head, so like Annie’s own, bobbed, too intent to respond verbally.

Kade Matthews looked up when Annie entered his office. Over the past few years he’d moved up and become head ranger. Kade’s six-feet-tall stocky frame and solid muscles exuded competence, and his blue eyes conveyed caring. Annie thanked the Lord every day for such a good boss. He was understanding when she needed time off with Kylie, and he let her know he valued her work and expertise. “Ready for a few days off?”

“Really? With all this work on your shoulders?”

He nodded. “I can handle it. I know this is a busy time for you.”

“I do have a lot of work to do out at the marina.”

Since her parents and husband died two years ago, she’d been tasked with running the Tremolo Marina and Cabin Resort. She managed with seasonal help and lots of her free time, but summer was always grueling. It was only June 3, and the season was off to a good start.

He cleared his throat, and his eyes softened. “I’m glad you stopped in. I didn’t want to send this report without talking to you first.”

“What report?” Her tongue felt thick in her mouth because she knew the likely topic.

“A child’s remains were found down around St. Ignace.”

It didn’t matter that it was so far. That route could have easily been chosen by the kidnapper. It was a common way to travel from lower Michigan to the U.P. “How old?”

“Five or six, according to the forensic anthropologist. I assume you want your DNA sent over for comparison?”

“Yes, of course.”

They’d been through this scenario two other times since she’d begun searching for answers, and each time she’d teetered between hope and despair. While she wanted closure on what had happened to her sister, she wasn’t sure she was ready to let go of hope. Though logically she knew her sister had to be dead. People didn’t take children except for nefarious purposes. Annie didn’t know how she’d react when word finally came that Sarah had been found.

Relief? Depression? Maybe a combination of the two. Maybe even a tailspin that would unhinge her. All these years later, and she still couldn’t think about that night without breaking into a cold sweat. Avoidance had been her modus operandi. Not many even knew about the incident. Kade did, of course. And Bree. Jon too. Probably some of the townspeople remembered and talked about it, too, but it had been long ago. Twenty-four years ago.

Nearly a quarter of a century and yet just yesterday. “How long before results are back on DNA?”

“Probably just a few days. With children they try to move quickly. I’ll get it sent over. You doing okay?”

She gave a vigorous nod. “Sure, I’m fine. I’ll file this report and get these pictures sent to you.”

“Bree told me to ask if you wanted a puppy, one of Samson’s.

There’s a male that looks just like him.”

She smiled just thinking of her daughter’s delight. “Kylie has been begging for a puppy since we lost Belle. How much are they going for?”

The little terrier had died in her sleep a month ago at age sixteen, and they both missed her. Samson was a world-renowned search-and-rescue dog, and his pups wouldn’t come cheap. She ran through how much she had in savings. Maybe not enough.

“We get two free pups, and Bree told me she would give you one.” “You don’t want to do that,” she protested. “You’d be giving up a lot of money.”

He shrugged. “We have everything we need. Head over there in the next few days, and you can take him home with you before our kids get too attached and bar the front door.”

She laughed. “Hunter says he’s marrying Kylie, so I think he will stick up for her.”

Kade and Bree’s little boy was four and adored Kylie. She was good with kids, and she loved spending time with the Matthews twins.

“You’re right about that. I’ll let Bree know you want him. He’s a cute little pup.”

“What are you doing with the other one?” “Lauri has claimed her.”

Kade’s younger sister was gaining a reputation for search-and- rescue herself, and she already had a dog. “What about Zorro?”

“He’s developed diabetes, and Lauri knows he needs to slow down some. She wants a new puppy to train so Zorro can help work with him.”

“She might want the one that looks like Samson.” “She wants a female this time.”

She glanced at her watch and rose. “I’ll get out of here. Thanks again for the puppy. Kylie will be ecstatic.”

She went back to her office. “Time for your doctor appointment, Bug.”

Kylie made a face. “I don’t want to go.”

At eight, Kylie knew her own mind better than Annie knew hers most days. She was the spitting image of Annie at the same age: corn silk–colored hair and big blue eyes set in a heart-shaped face. But Annie had never been that sure of herself. Her dad’s constant criticism had knocked that out of her.

She steered her daughter out the brick office building to the red Volkswagen crew-cab truck in the parking lot, then set out for town.

The old truck banged and jolted its way across the potholes left by this year’s massive snowfall until Annie reached the paved road into town. She couldn’t imagine living anywhere other than where the Snow King ruled nine months of the year. There was no other place on earth like Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. With the Keweenaw Peninsula to the north and Ottawa National Forest to the south, there could be no more beautiful spot in the world. Her devotion to this place had cost her dearly nine years ago, but every time she saw the cold, crystal-clear waters of the northernmost Great Lakes stretching to the horizon, she managed to convince herself it was worth it.

Part of the town’s special flavor came from the setting. Surrounded by forests on three sides, it had all the natural beauty anyone could want. Old-growth forests, sparkling lakes where fish thronged, and the brilliant blue of that Big Sea Water along the east side.

They drove through town, down Negaunee to Houghton Street to the businesses that comprised Rock Harbor’s downtown. The small, quaint village had been built in the 1850s when copper was king, and its Victorian-style buildings had been carefully preserved by the residents.

Dr. Ben Eckright’s office was a remodeled Victorian boardinghouse on the corner of Houghton and Pepin Streets. She parked in his side lot and let Kylie out of the back.

She glanced across the street to the law office, and her breath caught at the man getting out of the car. It couldn’t be. She stared at the sight of a familiar set of shoulders and closed her eyes a moment. Opening them didn’t reassure her. It really was him.

Jon Dunstan stood beside a shiny red Jaguar. Luckily, he hadn’t seen her yet, and she grabbed Kylie’s hand and ran with her for the side door, praying he wouldn’t look this way. She was still trembling when the door shut behind her.

Excerpt from Edge of Dusk by Colleen Coble. Copyright 2022 by Colleen Coble. Reproduced with permission from Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.

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Author Bio

Colleen Coble is a USA TODAY bestselling author best known for her coastal romantic suspense novels, including The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, Twilight at Blueberry Barrens, and the Lavender Tides, Sunset Cove, Hope Beach, and Rock Harbor series.

Social Media Links


colleencoble.com
Instagram – @ColleenCoble
Twitter – @ColleenCoble
Facebook – @ColleenCobleBooks

Purchase Links 

Amazon| Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com | Goodreads

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KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/1rmi6x/edge-of-dusk-by-colleen-coble

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Lethal Game by John Gilstrap

Book Description

Hostage rescue expert Jonathan Grave and his fellow special-ops veteran, Boxers, are hunting in Montana when shots ring out, and they realize they’ve become the prey for assassins. In the crosshairs of unseen shooters, cut off from all communication, with the wind at a blood-freezing chill, the nightmare is just beginning. Because Jonathan and Boxers aren’t the only ones under fire.

Back in Fisherman’s Cove, Virginia, Jonathan’s Security Solutions team is fighting for their lives too. A vicious onslaught is clearing the way for a much bigger game by eliminating anyone in the way. If Jonathan and Boxers can make it out of the wilderness alive, the real war will begin.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Lethal Game by John Gilstrap will remind readers of another thriller writer.  Gilstrap has a lot in common with Vince Flynn besides a fantastic, formidable character named Irene.  They both have great suspenseful plots with plenty of action, emotion, and gun fights, as well as very well-developed characters who make up the team.  This is Part I and Part II will delve into the books that introduced the characters.

This plot turns the usual story on its head with the hunters becoming the hunted and the team needing to rescue themselves. The crew of Gail Bonneville, Venice Alexander, Jonathan Grave, Brian Van Muelebroecke (Boxers), and Irene Rivers, must find out who is sending assassins. Usually, the team of covert hostage rescuers finds the kidnapped victim with the bad guys having their demise. But in this case Jonathan and Boxers, while hunting in Montana, are the targets.  That attack is coordinated with attacks home in Fisherman’s Cove, Virginia where Gail and Venice are also fired upon. The enemy is unknown but it’s clear they want revenge and will go to great lengths to destroy everyone on the team. The four, while investigating, know they must transition from defense to offense and take the fight right to the enemy. Readers are able to get into the minds of the characters, feeling as if they are being spoken to themselves.

In this series, readers should not expect innocents to escape the violence.  Elderly characters and children are put in harm’s way and do not escape with their lives.  The bad guys are cartel members and just as in real life Gilstrap shows the intensity of violence where they have feelings of anger, disgust, and contempt.

This plot is fast-paced, engrossing, and intriguing.  If this book is someone’s first introduction into the series, they will realize what they have been missing and want to read the earlier novels.  It is written as a stand-alone so no one will have any trouble keeping up. 

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?

John Gilstrap:  This is the 14th book in the series with the same characters, and it will not end anytime soon.  The idea for the series came from a non-fiction book I wrote, Six Minutes to Freedom back in 2006.  I had extraordinary access and did a lot of research about the Special Forces Delta Force group. I then decided to write a fictional book with a group that does the hostage rescue domestically. I stay in the Western Hemisphere for the team, with the cartels as the bad guys.

EC:  Can you tell us a little something about the non-fiction book?

JG:  Kurt Muse in the late 1980s did a clandestine radio campaign urging the people of Panama to rise for freedom. He was subsequently arrested, imprisoned, and rescued by the elite Delta Force. After the US invaded Panama, they rescued him from the prison where Manuel Noriega held him as a political prisoner.

EC:  Did your professional experience help you to write the series?

JG:  For fifteen years I was a firefighter and EMT. We had a very good sense of camaraderie and mission.  We wanted to make sure the mission was accomplished quickly, efficiently, safely, with as many lives saved. This focus was built into me, which I gave my characters.  I want to show in the books how violence is real and happens with blistering speed that has devastating consequences, which is why there are civilian collateral damage.

EC:  Are you a hunter considering there are details about hunting?

JG:  I am recently a hunter, having moved to West Virginia. I hunt deers and hogs.  The look and feel for hunting is from personal experience.

EC:  How did you get the idea for this story?

JQ: It occurred to me on a hunting trip. I was in a shed waiting for a hog to come by.  I sat for a long time and just was thinking. I realized how vulnerable I was if someone wanted to hunt me while I was hunting an animal. This was the beginning of the plot where someone was hunting for Jonathan and the team, with the rest of the book solving the question, who and why were they hunting the group? In the previous book, Stealth Attack, I opened the door for why they were being hunted.

EC:  How would you describe the team?

JG:  Gail is the adult in the room. Boxer is the violent one. Jonathan is the thinker. Venice is the computer hacker with many skills.  They share a very strong ethical and moral standard that centers around justice. Good and bad for them is not defined as legal and illegal. They have a passion for the mission. They are all gutsy, loyal, intelligent, feisty, adrenaline junkies, and risk-takers.

EC:  You have a quote in the book which explains their thinking and mission.  Please explain.

JG:  You are referring to this one, “While Feebs and local Swat teams were consumed by cumbersome procedures designed to cover their asses and rights of the bad guys, Jonathan and his team did what had to be done and left with the hostages that they rescued.” I have many good friends that are on hostage rescue teams and Swat teams.  In the US when someone is kidnapped their primary mission is not to rescue the hostage.  Their mission is to make sure the bad guy does not legally get away. But of course, they want the hostages rescued.  The regulations require that warrants are issued before they can crash a door or listen in. If they violate those rights, then the case gets thrown out in court. Jonathan and his team does not have that burden. I also put this quote in the book, which was told to me by a friend, “A hostage situation is a homicide in slow motion.”

EC: How would you describe Irene?

JG:  When the team utilizes FBI Director Irene Rivers it must be off the record. They operate in the place of justice, not in the place of legality. Her name came from my mothers-in-law first name. She was first introduced in 1998 in my second book, At All Costs.  She is a single mom and used to be a badass field agent. In the story, Soft Targets is where Jonathan meets Irene after her children were kidnapped.  She is much more politically aware and savvy than the rest of the team.

EC:  In your book world there are no term limits for the US President?

JG: President Tony Darmond is very corrupt without any moral standing.  He has been President for fifteen years because I do not advance time. Irene must work behind the scenes to make sure nothing goes back to Darmond. Her and Jonathan’s team realize politicians do not want to solve problems. I think these books are very timely because of Fentanyl coming across the border plus how the Cartels are involved with the human trafficking trade.

EC:  Why compare the team to Batman?

JG:  My son who is now 36 has always been fascinated with everything Batman.  I brought Batman in because it is an Easter Egg for me and the family. Every book has a reference to Batman. The team and Batman are similar in that they are the strangers who sets things straight, wants justice, and works outside the lines. 

EC:  Your next books?

JG:  My next book is not a Grave book.  It is titled White Smoke, the third book of a trilogy coming out next March.  It features Victoria Emerson, a former Congresswoman.  She is the leader of a society after a nuclear holocaust that is trying to put the world back together.

The book I am writing now, the next Grave book, will probably take place in Venezuela but will also bring in some Russian activity. It is called Harm’s Way where missionaries are kidnapped. It comes out in June of next year.

THANK YOU!!

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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: The Hidden One by Linda Castillo

Book Description

The discovery of an Amish bishop’s remains leads chief of police Kate Burkholder to unearth a chilling secret in The Hidden One, a new thriller from bestselling author Linda Castillo.

Over a decade ago, beloved Amish bishop Ananias Stoltzfus disappeared without a trace. When skeletal remains showing evidence of foul play are unearthed, his disappearance becomes even more sinister.

The town’s elders arrive in Painters Mill to ask chief of police Kate Burkholder for help, but she quickly realizes she has a personal connection to the crime. The handsome Amish man who stands accused of the murder, Jonas Bowman, was Kate’s first love. Forced to confront a painful episode from her past, Kate travels to Pennsylvania’s Kishacoquillas Valley, where the Amish culture differs dramatically from the traditions she knows. Though Bishop Stoltzfus was highly respected, she soon hears about a dark side to this complex man. What was he hiding that resulted in his own brutal death?

Someone doesn’t want Kate asking questions. But even after being accosted and threatened in the dead of night, she refuses to back down. Is she too close to the case―and to Jonas―to see clearly? There’s a killer in the Valley who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. Will they get to Kate before she can expose the truth? Or will the bishop’s secrets remain hidden forever?

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Hidden One by Linda Castillo proves why she is one of the best mystery writers.  She has done it again with a riveting plot and exceptional characters. In this novel, the main character, police chief Kate Burkholder, is taken out of her element and acting as a private investigator because she has no jurisdiction in the state where the murder took place.

This story allows readers to understand Kate’s earlier life, as she works out feelings from her past. Kate is approached by the Amish elders of Kish Valley Pennsylvania, asking her for assistance. They believe the local police have arrested the wrong person, Jonas Bowman, for murder.  His old muzzleloader was found next to the body and worse, he confessed to it being his gun. With a lot of circumstantial evidence, including the fact that Jonas accosted the dead bishop, Ananias Stoltzfus, the police arrest him.  Normally Kate would shrug it off, but she has a past relationship with Jonas.  He was her childhood friend, someone she confided in, and her first love.

Hoping that being a Chief of Police will give her an in with local law enforcement, she finds just the opposite.  The local police do not want her interfering, refuse to answer any questions, and want her to return to Painter’s Mill Ohio.  But she knows Jonas and feels deep in her heart that he would never kill anyone.  As the investigation progresses the persons of interest increase since the bishop had a very dark past and was cruel. Because there are also people who do not want her looking into the case, she is attacked multiple times. But the attacks make Kate even more determined to uncover the bishop’s secrets and the killer. As usual, the Kate Burkholder novels have compelling mysteries set in an Amish community. The story was engrossing and gripping with the bonus of finding out more of Kate’s childhood.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Linda Castillo: I wanted readers to get to know more of Kate and her personality.  To do this, I wrote the crime as a cold case. I did some dark research for this book regarding the backstory of the villain, Ananias Stalzfus. I loved the idea how Kate figured it out. Back in 2019 my good librarian friend, Denise, at the Dover library and I had lunch along with an Amish man named Mark.  He told me about the Kishacoquillas (Kish) Valley in central Pennsylvania and how the Amish there were “weird.”  I was very intrigued since what Amish dude says that about another Amish.

EC:  What is so different about the Kish Valley Amish?

LC:  It is an extremely diverse Amish population including the strict Swartzenruber Amish, with grey buggies. Another sect, the Byler Amish, had lemon yellow buggies.  The other type of Amish there is the Nebraska Amish. I had a scene in the book where Kate sees a buggy in the driveway that was colorful.

EC:  In your books you depict the Amish as having some traits as other people?

LC:  I wrote in this book, “The Amish are decent, hard-working people. They are good neighbors and good friends. All of that said, the Amish are not perfect. They’re human and they suffer with all the same failings as the rest of us.  They lose their temper.  They make mistakes. They behave badly.  They break the rules. Sometimes they break the law.”  I wanted to show that a culture should not be lumped into a box and pigeon-holed.

EC:  How did you get such detail about the action scenes where Kate is put through the ringer?

LC:  I had her beaten up, a car rammed her off the road, she was thrown into a raging river, and had hay bales thrown on her. My husband and I have three horses.  We load hay bales all the time.  This is where I thought about the hay scene. I love writing action and danger scenes. This is where my imagination comes into play.

EC:  How would you describe the bad bishop, Stalzfus?

LC:  He was a very wily individual. I did a lot of research on the medal that Kate discovered. This was a big clue on how he was responsible for the deaths of many, many people. He enjoys the power of running people’s lives, and if they do not follow his orders he ruins them through the Bann, excommunication, and silencing them. He is very strict, has tunnel vision, and he is stubborn.  Stalzfus enjoys being a bully, is vindictive, violent, and cruel. He also does not want attention drawn from the outside world.  He was a totalitarian person with complete control. 

EC:  How would you describe Jonas?

LC:  He is a very typical Amish man. He is charismatic, charming, persuasive, and a family man.

EC:  The relationship between Kate and Jonas?

LC:  They shared a teenage tragedy. They knew each other when she was twelve.  As she became a teenager when she was fifteen, he was nineteen. He was an adult, and she was underage.  He did not know about the trauma that happened to Kate when she was fourteen.  Without the trauma she might have stayed and married him, living the Amish life, and having children. They had a sad nostalgia for each other, but they were not going to give in to any past attraction.  When she looks at Jonas’ wife there is one point in the story where Kate thinks what might have been me. There was no jealousy and friction between Kate and Jonas’ wife.

EC:  Jonas understood Kate?

LC:  He always came to her defense. Even though he did not agree with her he knew she was going to walk a hard road because she stood up for herself and got into fights. Even though he is a pacifist, part of him admired her actions. He accepted who she was, knowing she was unlike most Amish girls who were described as meek.  Kate was never meek.  He treated her as an equal. He knew Kate was a force to be reckoned with.  Kate sensed he understood her and that she was going to be true to herself. He accepted her even after she left the Amish.

EC:  The disaster Kate went through molded her personality?

LC:  She became a non-conformist and is not a pacifist. She was able to overcome any bitterness toward the Amish.  She can move beyond it to where she has a healthy respect for the Amish now. This is where her head is.  She is not a quitter, hard-headed, and a sore loser.

EC:  Why have Kate play hockey and baseball as a young teenager?

LC:  I love those scenes.  I was a tomboy as a child. It is a great feeling to hit a homerun with an aluminum Louisville slugger bat.  You hear that “tank” and say, “yeah a homerun.” By playing these sports I think there were some hints that Kate would not have stayed Amish even if she did not have the trauma at fourteen. I really enjoy writing the scene with Kate and the baseball diamond.

EC:  Any movie or TV series?

LC:  Entertainment One bought an option. They have two years to pursue making a feature film or a series.

EC:  The next book?

LC:  The likely title will be An Evil Heart, coming out this time next year. Kate is now back at Painter’s Mill in Ohio. There is an unusual murder and Kate is trying to figure out what happened.  There are some good twists.

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.

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEATH AND THE CONJUROR (Joseph Spector Book #1) by Tom Mead on this Partners In Crime Virtual Blog 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 Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

***

Book Description

A magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes

In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions?

Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets―or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.

A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader, Death and the Conjuror joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59580638-death-and-the-conjuror?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hBFSTmQyNy&rank=1

Death and the Conjuror

Genre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Mysterious Press
Publication Date: July 12th 2022
Number of Pages: 254
ISBN: 1613163193 (ISBN13: 9781613163191)
Series: Joseph Spector #1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

DEATH AND THE CONJUROR (Joseph Spector Book #1) by Tom Mead is an entertaining throwback historical locked-door mystery set in 1930’s London and featuring a retired stage magician turned amateur sleuth.

Joseph Spector has retired from his job of mystifying audiences with his magical illusions, but still is available for consultation to his friend, Inspector George Flint from Scotland yard for assistance when the scene of a murder seems impossible. Psychiatrist Anselm Rees in found murdered in his home office by his daughter and one of his patients. The door and windows were locked and there was nowhere for escape, so Flint takes this impossible case to Spector for his assistance.

There are many suspects and a lot of misdirection in this locked-room mystery. When a second murder occurs, Spector must sort the truths from illusions for this murderer to be brought to justice.

This was an enjoyable read which reminded me of my love of the old style of murder mysteries especially Christies’ Poirot series. Spector was a wonderful character with his past profession being the perfect set-up to be of use to Inspector Flint. I also enjoyed when Spector explained how some of his illusions and slight-of-hand tricks were accomplished. All the suspects and secondary characters were well drawn to keep me guessing all the way to the end. The plot was well paced and full of red herrings and twists.

This is the first book in new this historical mystery series and I will be looking out for more stories featuring Spector in the future.

***

Excerpt

Olive already had the phone in her hand. “Two three one, Dollis Hill,” she announced. “Dr. Anselm Rees has been murdered.”

While she provided a few scant details, she looked around the room and noticed something.

“The windows are locked,” she said as she hung up the phone.

“Mm?” Della sounded startled.

“The windows. They’re locked on the inside.” To prove this, she gripped one of the handles and rattled it. It would not move, and the key protruded from the lock.

“So?”

“Then how did the killer get away?”

“What do you mean?”

“He can’t have come out through the hall. I was there the whole time. And not five minutes ago—not five minutes—I can tell you that the doctor was alive and well in this room because I heard him talking on the telephone.”

Della thought about this. “It can’t be locked.” She reached out and tried the handle for herself. But the windows did not budge.

“It’s locked on the inside,” said Olive, “just like the door.”

Della turned and looked at the corpse. He had sunk down in the chair like an unmanned hand puppet.

In the far corner of the room lay the wooden trunk. Olive caught Della’s eye and nodded toward it. Della frowned incredulously. Olive shrugged, as if to say, Where else would he be?

The two women crept across the soft plush carpet toward the trunk. Olive looked at Della and held a finger to her lips. She seized the poker from the fireplace and raised it above her head. Then she gave Della a quick nod.

Della leaned forward and wrenched open the trunk.

Olive let fly a fierce war cry and swung the poker like a tennis racquet. But all she hit was empty air. The two women peered inside the trunk. It was perfectly empty.

Olive led the way to the kitchen—but not before pulling shut the study door behind her, sealing in the late Dr. Rees once again.

They both felt slightly better after a tot of brandy. No less horrified, but more prepared to deal with the practicalities of the situation.

“What I don’t understand,” Della said, “is where the killer could have gone.”

“Nowhere,” said Olive. “There was nowhere for him to go.”

***Excerpt from Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead. Copyright 2022 by Tom Mead. Reproduced with permission from Tom Mead. All rights reserved.

***

Author Bio

Tom Mead is a UK crime fiction author specialising in locked-room mysteries. He is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, International Thriller Writers, and the Society of Authors. He is a prolific author of short fiction, and recently his story “Heatwave” was included in THE BEST MYSTERY STORIES OF THE YEAR 2021, edited by Lee Child. DEATH AND THE CONJUROR is his first novel.

Social Media Links

TomMeadAuthor.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Twitter – @TomMeadAuthor
Facebook – @tommeadauthor

Plus, join the Instagram – #TomMead Party 😀

Purchase Links

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | The Mysterious Bookshop

***

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/ejlwyh/death-and-the-conjuror-by-tom-mead

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Dead Drop by James L’Etoile

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEAD DROP (A Detective Nathan Parker Novel Book #1) by James L’Etoile 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 Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

***

Book Description

Hundreds go missing each year making the dangerous crossing over the border. What if you were one of them?

While investigating the deaths of undocumented migrants in the Arizona desert, Detective Nathan Parker finds a connection to the unsolved murder of his partner on a human smuggling run. The new evidence lures Parker over the border in search of the truth, only to trap him in a strange and dangerous land. If he’s to survive, Parker must place his life in the hands of the very people he once pursued.

Border violence, border politics, and who is caught in between. The forces behind it might surprise you.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61440622-dead-drop?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ggtpHIUfIq&rank=2

Dead Drop

Genre: Thriller
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Number of Pages: 300
ISBN: 978-1-68512-114-3
Series: The Detective Nathan Parker Series, Book 1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEAD DROP (A Detective Nathan Parker Thriller Book #1) by James L’Etoile is a mash-up of fast-paced thriller, Federal and local police procedural, and southern border crime mystery. This is the first book in this new series and the first book I have read by this author.

Detective Nathan Parker is called by an eccentric local named Billie about four 55-gallon drums off the side of the highway she discovered while searching for scrap. She has opened one of the drums and found a body stuffed inside. This dead drop is not the first found and all contained illegal immigrant males. The coroner discovers they have all died from fentanyl poisoning.

When Parker gets to close to several cartel operations, he is carried across the border to meet the head of the cartel and faces a horrible death, but Billie has followed him. Billie is not what Parker first perceived and he soon learns to survive, he is going to have to put his life in the hands of the people he once pursued and looked down upon.

I thought I was getting a straightforward southern border drug cartel crime story, but this story with its many twists and surprises is so much more. Nathan Parker is a man who has been in law enforcement for some time and has preconceived notions. He is also carrying a lot of guilt over the death of his partner. As Parker progresses through the story, he has his eyes opened and is discovering an empathy he did not have previously. Billie is a big part in helping Parker see the other side of his prejudice against illegal immigrants and in helping him fight and survive the antagonists. I liked Nathan and his character’s growth, but I really loved Billie. This is the first book I have read written by this author, and I will be looking for others in his catalogue. Great characters, fast-paced, surprising and a realistic ending had me reading this book way past my bedtime.

I highly recommend this first thriller in this new series, and I cannot wait for more!

***

Excerpt

Chapter 1

With one good score Billie Carson hoped she could begin to repair the damage from her past. But after three hours kicking rocks in the sweltering North Phoenix sun, all Billie had to show for the effort was a bag of beer cans and three Jeep lug nuts. She knew most folks wrote her off as a scavenger, but Billie fancied herself as a treasure-hunter. It was a romantic notion, in her mind—always looking for that one big find. She’d dug up wallets, rings, car parts, and good scrap metal out here. Not the crap you tripped over in the bottom of a desert wash, but leftover copper wire from building sites and steel tire rims left behind on the side of the asphalt. The recycling yards paid you good money for that shit, but money could never really make up for the broken lives she’d left behind. How could you repay the ghosts of men you’d led to their death?

Billie looked at the meager haul in her black garbage bag and calculated she wouldn’t be able to buy a cold beer at Paula’s Roadhouse on the way home, let alone help anyone else. Besides, the Roadhouse made her sit outside on the patio with her beer, on the days she could afford one. Paula told her once she made the regulars uncomfortable and wasn’t welcome inside. The beer was cold out on the patio and she figured she wouldn’t like the company inside anyway.

She knew there were treasures out here among the Saguaro cactus and creosote brush waiting to be discovered. Hell, she found her Maui Jim sunglasses out here, you could barely see the crack in the left lens after you got used to it. If she had the money, she’d buy one of them fancy electronic metal detectors that beeped and chirped when you found the good stuff. Paula would let her inside the Roadhouse then, for sure. Until Billie found her big score, she’d keep her head down and kick some more rocks.

Dry, spindly brush dotted the roadside. Thin branches cracked when you knocked up against them. The broken limbs were sharp and left red welts if you ventured too far off the beaten path. Motorists tossed, or lost, most of the good stuff she found a few feet off the road. Billie couldn’t imagine a world where you lost hard earned jewelry out your window and didn’t bother to stop and go find it. If tourists on their way to Cave Creek, or Sedona, were so well off they didn’t need their stuff–that was fine by her.

Billie spotted a set of tire tracks off the asphalt and her heart began to race. What if she found a broken refrigerator dumped in the brush? She could eat for a month on what she’d pull for scrapping a hulking appliance. She’d figure a way to drag it out of the desert before someone else grabbed it. The wide tracks bent behind a rock outcropping digging three inches into the sandy desert floor. Billie knew the vehicle was laden with treasure if it left tire tracks up to her ankles.

She slipped a dingy blue bandanna from her head and wiped the gritty sweat at the back of her neck. A makeshift canteen, fashioned from a Gatorade bottle and a length of drapery cord hung from Billie’s neck. She unscrewed the plastic cap and poured the last of her water on the bandanna. The soaked cloth cooled her head for the climb to the top of the hardscrabble rock outcropping.

The view from the small rise looked down into a deep, sandy wash where the memory of scant seasonal rainfall from the monsoons faded into chalky dust. Patches of tinder-dry brush lined the edges of the dry bed. The heavens hadn’t seen fit to nourish their shallow roots for months. A moonscape of tumbled rocks, sand, and broken branches, left behind by a distant flash flood, lined the bed. At the center of the sandy basin, the deep ruts ended. A second set of tire tracks painted a story of a stop before backing into the middle of the sand. At the end of the tracks no prize waited for her; no refrigerator, no mattress, not even a crumpled beer can. Whatever it was, Billie figured someone else got here first. She crawled down the rock ledge to the floor of the basin, kicking smaller rocks and watching for rattlesnakes along the way.

Down in the wash, the dry brush was taller than it seemed from the view up on the rise. Thin dried fingers of creosote bush towered over Billie’s five-seven height, and the vegetation screened off access to the dry bed. The brush lay crushed and broken at the edge of the parched earth where the vehicle punched through the barrier. Billie hiked the plowed path, where dry shattered twigs snapped under her boots releasing the acrid resin smell from the creosote bush.

Hidden from the road, Billie knew this was the perfect spot for a quick illegal dump. Yet, there was nothing here. Maybe it was a quickie dump of another sort, she thought, a make-out spot for a couple of hormone-engorged teenagers.

She turned and spotted a bright white patch in the brush at the bottom of the draw. A few steps closer and Billie made out four fifty-five gallon drums partially hidden under a layer of broken creosote branches. She wouldn’t have seen them if it weren’t for the blue and white stripes emblazoned on the sides of the containers.

“Well, shit. This don’t get any better.”

Billie swiveled around and tried to catch a glimpse of anyone who might be keeping an eye on the barrels. She knew she wasn’t the smartest woman, but what she did know was people who stashed things in the desert, generally don’t want them found. She also knew you dumped things out here to get rid of them fast.

Billie got on her knees next to one of the barrels, tossed off the layer of broken branches, and the hot metal surface burned her palm. She wrapped her bandanna around her fingers and forced the barrel upright. It was heavy, but she felt the contents shift as the barrel moved. She figured a land developer or machine shop owner needed a place to dump used oil, or chemicals they’d have to pay the county to take off their hands. Billie figured the empty drums would net her ten bucks a piece, easy. She’d dump the oil, or whatever was in the cylinder, back in the dusty wash. Her daddy always poured his motor oil out in the desert and Billie never even saw so much as a sick coyote.

She strained with the locking ring on the lid. It wouldn’t budge. Billie ran a finger across dark marks where tack welds burnt the paint away from the locking ring.

Something good was in this barrel, for sure. Why go through this effort for used motor oil? If it was old pesticide, maybe she could wrangle a reward from one of them cactus-lovin’ environmental places.

Billie grabbed a rock and hammered it against the welds. They chipped away after a few blows, and the bent locking ring fell at her feet. With the blade of a folding knife Billie kept on her belt, she pried under the lid. The lid popped and released a strong odor from within the sealed container. Billie grabbed her bandana and held it over her nose. The stench was unmistakable–decomposing flesh.

***

Author Bio

James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his novels, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, facility captain, and director of California’s state parole system. He is a nationally recognized expert witness on prison and jail operations. He has been nominated for the Silver Falchion for Best Procedural Mystery, and The Bill Crider Award for short fiction. His published novels include: Black Label, At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Little River. Look for Dead Drop in the summer of 2022.

Social Media Links

www.jamesletoile.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @crimewriter
Instagram – @authorjamesletoile
Twitter – @jamesletoile
Facebook – @AuthorJamesLetoile

Purchase Link

 Amazon

***

RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/u3ucmk/dead-drop-by-james-letoile

Friday Feature Author Interview #2 with Elise Cooper: Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard

Book Description

Mackenzie Hanson’s special set of skills opened the door to a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, allowing her to put her criminal past behind her. But when a long-ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father’s tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.

Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But even as he’s trying to relax, he’s drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common–a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

When the situation turns deadly, Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need–before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard weaves a tangled web of nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping romance in this fast-paced conclusion to her Rocky Mountain Courage series.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Critical Alliance by Elizabeth Goddard explores the impact of cyber criminals, a thrilling battle of wits between two hackers. A bonus for every series of Goddard is that readers can know what is happening with characters from previous books.  In this series it is Jack and Terra from Present Danger, as well as Erin and Nathan from Deadly Target.

The plot begins with MacKenzie Hanson on an amusement park ride where she spots a former partner in cybercrime. He gives her a message about her father’s Montana company being targeted.  Realizing she must now face her past she decides to return to Montana and visit her estranged family.

As a teenager MacKenzie and her partners hacked into wealthy companies in Robin Hood fashion, stealing from the rich to give to charities. But when one of the partners used their skills for nefarious reasons, she and one other partner blew the whistle. She was able to put her criminal past behind her to become a successful college professor.

Also back in Montana is Diplomatic Security Services (DDS) special agent Alex Knight to decompress from a mission gone wrong.  He and MacKenzie also had a past when he took her on a tour of the DDS offices.  They end up meeting on a trail path after he notices a drone is following her.  When a shooter attacks them, they barely escape unharmed. She recruits Alex for protection while figuring out who’s trying to hurt her family. With suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and possible espionage, Alex and Mackenzie work together to find the dangerous hacker and their use of technology.

The plot has escalating tension. Family issues, putting one’s past to rest, and renewing relationships also add to this action-filled story.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Elizabeth Goddard: This is the last book in the series. I wanted to do a criminal cyber security story because I have a computer science background. I am a technical person although I did speak to a cyber security expert.  I talked with them about every single aspect of the story to make sure I got it correct. I had in the story drones, artificial intelligence, and cyber weapons.

EC:  What about the Montana setting?

EG:  I love to write action adventure within beautiful settings, set in the mountains or a rocky beach. I thought it would be fun to have the story set in the mountains of Montana.  Tech companies really are moving to Montana so their employees can have more fresh air and productivity.

EC:  I thought of the “Jungle Cruise” ride when I read the waterfall scene.  Did you base it on that?

EG:  No, but I do remember now, the line in the “Jungle Cruise” movie.  How they said ‘here is the backside of water’ after going around the waterfall. I had the scene in earlier books, Targeted for Murder and Deception.  I love waterfalls so I put it in this book. I think they are amazing with the caves behind them. When writing about the mountains I need to put in a waterfall somewhere within the story.

EC:  The scene in the amusement park?

EG:  The ride, Octopus was a horrible experience for me.  I think the Carnival experience is kind of creepy. All the noise and smells. 

EC:  How would you describe MacKenzie?

EG:  Athletic, vulnerable, stubborn, determined, and brilliant. She was a troubled person who has found her way. She was a cybercriminal and now as a professor she can share her knowledge to do something good with her life.

EC: What is penetration testing, something MacKenzie teaches?

EG:  A cyber security company is hired to go into a system to see if they can hack into it to find the vulnerabilities. Can they penetrate the system?

EC:  What about the relationship with her sister Nora?

EG:  Very challenged. There is a lot of emotional drama.  But now they want to put the past behind them.  They both feel betrayed and hurt by each other.  Now they must work together to find the murderer.

EC:  How would you describe Alex?

EG:  He is a diplomatic security agent, a true professional. Being from Montana, means he has some cowboy in him. He is kind, thoughtful, caring, strong, and protective.

EC:  Next book?

EG:  It is a new series based in Alaska called “Missing in Alaska.”  The first book is titled, Light of Day to be released in February 2023. A character from Critical Alliance will be the main character in this first book. There will be murders with the body count rising.

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.