Tag: #bookdescription

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: A Knife’s Edge by Eliot Parker

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn to share My Feature Post and Book Review on the Blackthorn Book Tour for A KNIFE’S EDGE by Eliot Parker.

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

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Book Description

Six months after a drug cartel infiltrated Charleston, Ronan McCullough continues to fight the drug war that plagues the city.

His investigations are halted when the body of a mutual acquaintance, Sarah Gilmore, is found in the trunk of a burning car. In an investigation that takes him deep into the professional and personal life of the victim, McCullough discovers secrets lurking in her past, and a tangled web of personal and professional conflicts, suspicion, and betrayal. Was Sarah killed for those reasons or something larger?

As Ronan seeks answers, his life and the lives of those closest to him are used as pawns in a deadly game that has no ending.

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42300996-a-knife-s-edge

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A KNIFE’S EDGE (A Ronan McCullough Novel Book #2) by Eliot Parker is the latest edge-of-your-seat police procedural/thriller featuring Sgt. Ronan McCullough set in Charleston, WV. Even though this is the second book in the series and begins soon after the end of book one, it can easily be read as a standalone.

Sgt. Ronan McCullough has been battling the drug war in his town for most of his career. While surprising Ty at a formal function, a Hummer comes barreling through the plate glass wall of the convention center. Ty works to save lives while Ronan inspects the wreckage. A dead man is at the wheel with a gun shot to the head and the restrained and slashed body of Sarah Gilmore, a mutual friend of Ronan and Ty’s is found dead in the trunk.

Ronan and his partner Eric are not assigned the case, but he cannot stop himself from becoming involved. When Sarah was killed she was working for BTech, a new tech company which will be taking over all of the crime scene blood testing for the Charleston PD. As Ronan investigates, he discovers Sarah and BTech have secrets and the more he uncovers the more danger his nephew and his boyfriend are in.

Ronan is a veteran detective who is as intelligent as he is prickly. He has difficulty playing nice with others at work, but he is brilliant at what he does. His boyfriend, Ty is a head nurse in the ER at the local hospital and is the softer side that Ronan needs. Mr. Parker does a wonderful job of bringing them to life as well as Ronan’s partner and nephew.

The plot is well paced and intriguing. I was continually trying to figure out who I could believe and trust.The surprise twists and turns kept me turning the pages. There is a lot of action, blood and murder, but I never felt it was gratuitous.

I loved this police procedural/thriller and Ronan. I am looking forward to many more books in this series!

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Author Bio

Eliot Parker is the author of four novels, most recently A Knife’s Edge, which was an Honorable Mention in Thriller Writing at the London Book Festival, and is the sequel to the award-winning novel Fragile Brilliance. His novel Code for Murder was named a 2018 Finalist for Genre Fiction by American Book Fest. He is a recipient of the West Virginia Literary Merit Award and Fragile Brilliance was a finalist for the Southern Book Prize in Thriller Writing. He recently received with the Thriller Writing Award by the National Association of Book Editors (NABE) for his novels.

Eliot is the host of the podcast program Now, Appalachia, which profiles authors and publishers living and writing in the Appalachian region and is heard on the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network and Blog Talk Radio. A graduate of the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University with his MFA in Creative Writing and Murray State University with his Doctorate in English, he teaches English at the University of Mississippi and lives in Oxford, Mississippi and Chesapeake, Ohio.

Social Media Links

Facebook: eliot.parker.98

Twitter: E4419

Instagram: eliot.parker

Website: http://www.eliotparker.com

Feature Post and Book Review: Victoria’s War by Catherine A. Hamilton

Hi, everyone!

Today I am very excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for the historical fiction novel – VICTORIA’S WAR by Catherine A Hamilton. I was surprised by the fact that this is Ms. Hamilton’s debut historical fiction novel because the characters come to life on the page.

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

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Book Description

In VICTORIA’S WAR, Hamilton gives voice to the courageous Polish women who were kidnapped into the real-life Nazi slave labor operation during WWII. Inspired by true stories, this lost chapter of history won’t soon be forgotten.

POLAND, 1939: Nineteen-year-old Victoria Darski is eager to move away to college: her bags are packed and her train ticket is in hand. But instead of boarding a train to the University of Warsaw, she finds her world turned upside down when World War II breaks out.

Victoria’s father is sent to a raging battlefront, and the Darski women face the cruelty of the invaders alone. After the unthinkable happens, Victoria is ordered to work in a Nazi sewing factory. When she decides to go to a resistance meeting with her best friend, Sylvia, they are captured by human traffickers targeting Polish teenagers. Sylvia is singled out and sent to work in the brothels, and Victoria is transported in a cattle car to Berlin, where she is auctioned off as a slave.

GERMANY, 1941: Twenty-year-old Etta Tod is at Mercy Hospital, where she’s about to undergo involuntary sterilization because of the Fuhrer’s mandate to eliminate hereditary deafness. Etta, an artist, silently critiques the propaganda poster on the waiting room wall while her mother tries to convince her she should be glad to get rid of her monthlies. Etta is the daughter of the German shopkeepers who buy Victoria at auction in Berlin.

The stories of Victoria and Etta intertwine in the bakery’s attic where Victoria is held—the same place where Etta has hidden her anti-Nazi paintings. The two women form a quick and enduring bond. But when they’re caught stealing bread from the bakery and smuggling it to a nearby work camp, everything changes.

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49025048-victoria-s-war

Victoria’s War

by Catherine A. Hamilton

  • Publisher: Plain View Press (May 28, 2020)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1632100681
  • ISBN-13: 978-1632100689

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

VICTORIA’S WAR by Catherine A. Hamilton is a historical fiction novel that depicts the horrific lives of Polish women kidnapped by the Nazi’s for slavery in Germany during the Second World War. Ms. Hamilton’s writing paints a picture that is emotionally disturbing and heartrending with an unforgettable protagonist.

Victoria Darski is packed and ready to leave for college as the Nazis come sweeping into Poland and her whole world is changed. Her father leaves to fight with the Polish army, her younger sister is shot to death right in front of her and she must now work at the sewing factory with her mother. After two years of occupation, one night she is persuaded by her best friend, Sylvia to attend a resistance meeting and they are captured. They are sent to Germany and Sylvia is selected to work as a prostitute in a brothel while Victoria is auctioned off as slave to a German baker in Berlin.

Simultaneously, Etta Tod a deaf/mute, amateur artist is taken to the hospital by her mother for involuntary sterilization. Etta’s family are Nazi party members and believers in the cause. Her father and brother love her, but her mother only sees her deafness as a defect and hates her for it. When her brother brings the swangsarbeit (Polish slave) home to work at the bakery, Etta believes she has found a friend to confide in.

Victoria and Etta form an ever-increasing bond. They conspire with friends in the White Rose resistance to smuggle extra bread to the nearby work camp and brothel. When their conspiracy is discovered, everything changes.

I was completely engrossed in Victoria’s story the minute I started reading. Sometimes we are so focused on the Jewish Holocaust, that we forget that the German Aryans believed they were superior to and hated everyone who was not of their race. This story portrays the atrocities perpetrated against Polish women and German’s with disabilities in a fictional history novel that brought the places and time to life and left me distressed, thoughtful and emotionally drained. All the characters were realistically written and I felt completely engaged in their life and death struggles over the six year time period of the book.

I highly recommend Victoria’s War. It is a beautiful story that is a tribute to all the women the characters represent.

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Author Bio

Catherine Hamilton’s upcoming new release June 2, 2020, her debut novel — VICTORIA’S WAR.

In VICTORIA’S WAR, Hamilton gives voice to the courageous Polish Catholic women who were kidnapped into the real-life Nazi slave labor operation during WWII. Inspired by true stories, this lost chapter of history won’t soon be forgotten.

Her stories and articles have appeared in magazines and newspapers. Her poems were translated and published in Poland by Zeszyty Karmelitanskie. These poems were also seen in the Catholic Sentinel.

She has a chapter in Forgotten Survivors (University Press of Kansas, 2004)—an eyewitness account of Poland during World War II.

She was fortunate to meet Pope John Paul II in his private library in 2000 and presented him with some of her work.

A native Oregonian of Polish decent, Catherine Hamilton lives in Portland with her husband.
www.catherineahamilton.com

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CatherineAHamil 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catherinea.hamilton/

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

Purchase Link

 Amazon

Feature Post and Book Review: The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne

Hi, everyone!

Today I am very excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for this fast-paced, exciting start to a new series – THE GIRL BENEATH THE SEA (Underwater Investigation Unit #1) by Andrew Mayne

Below you will find a book description, my book review and an about the author section. Enjoy!

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Book Description

For a Florida police diver, danger rises to the surface in an adventurous thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.

Coming from scandalous Florida treasure hunters and drug smugglers, Sloan McPherson is forging her own path, for herself and for her daughter, out from under her family’s shadow. An auxiliary officer for Lauderdale Shores PD, she’s the go-to diver for evidence recovery. Then Sloan finds a fresh kill floating in a canal—a woman whose murky history collides with Sloan’s. Their troubling ties are making Sloan less a potential witness than a suspect. And her colleagues aren’t the only ones following every move she makes. So is the killer.

Stalked by an assassin, pitted against a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune, and under watch within her ranks, Sloan has only one ally: the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He knows just how deep corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. To stay alive, Sloan must stay one step ahead of her enemies—both known and unknown—and a growing conspiracy designed to pull her under.

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

The Girl Beneath the Sea (Underwater Investigation Unit Book #1) by Andrew Mayne is the start of a new suspense/thriller series featuring a female law enforcement diver. This book has everything I look for in a thriller: a strong protagonist, realistic fast-paced action and continual escalating threats with surprise twists and turns. This book also has the added intensity of being set in the world of professional divers in south Florida.

Sloan McPherson comes from a long line of scandalous smugglers and treasure hunters, but she has chosen the path of law enforcement. She is an auxiliary officer who dives for evidence recovery to pay her way through school working towards her PhD. and to support herself and young daughter.

She surfaces from a dive, looking for archeological artifacts, to discover the recently murdered body of a childhood acquaintance. The former family ties set up Sloan to be considered a suspect.

As Sloan tries to find out what really happened, she finds herself entangled in a plot that involves dirty public officials, secret government agencies and a ruthless cartel with only one ally; the cop who put her uncle in prison.

This is a new-to-me author who blew me away. I was completely immersed in all the action and intrigue even though I have never scuba dived in my life. All the descriptions made me feel as though I was right there under water with Sloan while never slowing the pace and they never felt like a lecture or info dump.

Sloan is a protagonist that I hope to follow for quite a while. She is intelligent, determined and strong, has an intense need for justice no matter what and is a loving and protective mom. I am also hoping that Run will play a bigger part in her life. This is the first book in the Underwater Investigations Unit (UIU) series and I am looking forward to seeing what investigations Sloan and George Solar get involved in in future books.

I highly recommend this new book and thriller series and I cannot wait for more!

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About the Author

Andrew Mayne, star of A&E’s Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne, is a magician and novelist ranked the fifth best-selling independent author of the year by Amazon UK. He started his first world tour as an illusionist when he was a teenager and went on to work behind the scenes for Penn & Teller, David Blaine and David Copperfield. He’s also the host of the WeirdThings.com podcast. AndrewMayne.com

Feature Post and Book Review: Midnight Abduction by Nichole Severn

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Nichole Severn’s new Harlequin Intrigue – MIDNIGHT ABDUCTION (Tactical Crime Division Book #3).

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, an about the author section with book purchase links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Welcome to the Tactical Crime Division, a rapid-deployment joint team of FBI agents specializing in hostage negotiation, missing persons, IT, profiling, shootings and terrorism, with Director Jill Pembrook at the head.

 For the Tactical Crime Division, no case is left cold.

When Benning Reeves’s twins are kidnapped, the frantic father knows who can help: the Tactical Crime Division and Ana Ramirez. Even though Ana once shattered Benning’s heart, the special agent is the only one he can trust. But Ana is still tormented by the unresolved case that brought them together years before—a case somehow entangled with Benning’s children. It’s up to the TCD and Ana to discover why…before it’s too late.

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48829282-midnight-abduction

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

MIDNIGHT ABDUCTION (Tactical Crime Division Book #3) by Nichole Severn is the third book in the Harlequin Intrigue multi-author series featuring members of the FBIs Tactical Crime Division. This is a specialized unit of the FBI formed to handle the toughest cases at a moment’s notice anywhere in the country.

Benning Reeves is a structural inspector who discovers a skull hidden behind drywall on his current inspection site. He hides it at his home, which leads to the kidnapping of his six-year-old twins. His daughter escapes from the vehicle, but his son is now a bargaining chip in exchange for the skull.

Ava Rameriez is told by her supervisor that she has been specifically requested by Benning to work the case to find and save his son. Seven years ago, the two parted when the case she was working ended tragically. She blamed herself and vowed to never become emotionally involved again, but she cannot turn down Benning’s request.

Ava and Benning find it difficult to fight the feelings that have been dormant during their seven year separation, but they are working against the clock to save Benning’s son and discover why the skull is so important to the mysterious kidnapper.

I loved both Ava and Benning’s backstories and how the author brought their feelings for each other out again during this case and the resolution. Olivia was adorable with her love of mysteries and crime solving. There is only peripheral involvement with other members of the TCD team, so while it is still tied into the series, it is easily read as a standalone. The sex scenes are not described even as you follow them into the shower and bedroom. Though the sex is behind closed doors, the violence is not. There are several scenes of Ava and Benning being stabbed, shot and beaten to a pulp.

The plot was very fast-paced, but because of all the physical damage taken by the H/h and they just kept going, the realism and believability become strained. It was like I was reading about an action hero and not a romantic suspense. The resolution to the kidnapping and mystery also felt rushed with a character that surprised me, but who also popped up out of the blue.

I did love the H/h and the crime story and can recommend it for a fast-paced suspense addition to this series.

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Excerpt

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Ana Sofia Ramirez—She’s out for redemption. Recruited by the Tactical Crime Division’s director from the Bureau’s missing-persons’ division after her last case ended with a dead victim, she’s more determined than ever to recover Benning Reeves’s son.

Benning Reeves—Single father and small-town building inspector who’s come across evidence of a murder hidden on one of his construction sites; the cost of discovery has led to the kidnapping of his six-year-old twins.

Olivia and Owen Reeves—Benning’s six-year-old twins.

Evan Duran—Tactical Crime Division’s hostage negotiator, who’s fully invested in recovering Benning Reeves’s son due to his own dark past of losing his sister as a child.

JC Cantrell—Tactical Crime Division’s tactical-operations specialist, who’s good at planting bugs, leading surveillance ops or coming up with a ruse to distract someone.

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“Well, maybe I can give her a tour of TCD head-quarters in Knoxville one day. You know, give her a chance to see what federal agents really do on the job.”Ana stilled, the weight of her attention pressurizing the air in his chest, but he didn’t miss the assumption there would be a one day for them. That she wouldn’t disappear from their lives after Owen came home, and his blood pressure spiked. She cleared her throat as though she’d caught herself making promises she might not be able to keep. Just as she had with Samantha Perry’s family. “You must be proud. She’s going to make a hell of an agent one day.”

“That’s her plan, and probably why she opened up to you the way she did. I can tell she admires you, what you do.”Benning straightened, echoes of their earlier conversation replaying in his head on a nonstop loop. He tossed the paper towel he’d used to clean his foot in the trash beside the island. “So do I, to be honest. The work you and your team do saves lives. I know I already said thank you, but I meant it.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to thank me.” She dropped that mesmerizing gaze to the counter, sweeping the spread of flour into the sink set into the island with one hand and swiped beneath her nose with the other. Toughing her face had always been a nervous habit. “All part of the job.”

“Is that what this is for you, Ana? Just another job? Because this case is definitely a lot more personal to me.” Benning maneuvered around the counter, his bare chest nearly pressed against the exposed skin of her arm. He set his hand over hers on the granite, her quick gasp searing through him. Her warmth penetrated past skin and muscle, deep into his bones. “After what you told me about the Samantha Perry case, I realize now how hard it must’ve been for you to come back here, and you’re standing there as if none of it affects you. But is that how you really feel?”

He wanted—no, needed—to know. Was this going to play out exactly as it had between them the last time? Had he made a mistake requesting her to work this case?

Her mouth parted. “I…”

Skimming his fingers along the back of her hand, he trailed a path up her arm to her jaw, and all of his thoughts burned away. There was only the two of them. The softness of her flawless skin and hardness in her invisible guard. After everything that’d happened, after everything they’d already been through in the short span of time she’d walked back into his life, he’d struggled to keep the uncertainty, the rage, the fear, at bay so he could stay strong for Olivia. To prove that he could protect her from any threat, be the father she and her brother deserved. But Ana…stripped him of all of that. With her, Benning felt raw, exposed, bare. She was real. She was here. Not a memory—a fantasy—anymore, and it took every-thing inside him to pull himself away from her. “You had some cookie dough on your chin.”

She’d left because she believed her emotions clouded her judgment on the Samantha Perry case, and he wasn’t about to complicate anything else be- tween them. Not when it was his son’s life at risk this time. Ana turned her gaze up to his, a small tremor crossing her shoulders, and an invisible anchor set-tled inside his chest in the dark, watery landscape of this case. No matter what happened, Ana would bring his son home alive. He had to believe that. He had to believe in her. Otherwise, he’d have nothing left. “Thanks.”

A soft trill broke the silence spreading between them, but she didn’t move.

“I think your phone is ringing.” He cleared his throat, trying to drown the surge of awareness burning through him, and stepped away. It was for the best. Because anything that happened between them would only take away from their focus on finding his son, and that wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.

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About Nichole Severn

Nichole Severn writes romantic suspense with strong heroines, heroes who dare challenge them, and a hell of a lot of guns. When she’s not writing, she’s injuring herself running and practicing yoga.

Purchase links

Harlequin.com: https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335136527_midnight-abduction.html

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Miranda and the D-Day Caper by Shelly Frome

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Virtual Author Book Tour for this new Amateur Sleuth Mystery. I am excited to share my Feature Post and Book Review for MIRANDA AND THE D-DAY CAPER by Shelly Frome.

Below you will find an interview with the author, a book description, my book review and the author’s bio. Enjoy!

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Author Interview

Interview with Avonna Loves Genres

What would you say inspired you to write it?

At a certain point, given the partisan nature of today’s political scene and all the tribal bickering, I began to get deeply nostalgic for yesteryear and small town American when virtues like decency and honesty seemed to be shared by all and you could engage in a lost cause with all your heart.

What was the source of inspiration for your protagonist? What about your antagonist?

My protagonist Miranda was inspired by my realty broker down here in the Blue Ridge who seems to be both highly practical and, at times, tomboyish and adventuresome. I thought she’d make a compelling amateur small town detective.

As for my antagonist, the subject of one of my profiles for the local paper was a cool, boyish looking folksinger/songwriter. With a little stretch of the imagination I thought he’d make a great backwoods sociopath who found causing havoc a great deal of fun.  

What’s the longest time you’ve spent working on a project?

My work on my book on The Actors Studio took a number of years. It first started out as a graduate thesis. Then a TV show called “Inside the Actors Studio” came along which took place nowhere near the iconic studio on West Forty-fourth Street. And so I went back and interviewed many prominent figures from the real Studio, organized my notes and photos and spent well over another year putting it all together.

Would you say becoming an author has changed you? In what way?

I no longer feel I have to perform or entertain people or hold their interest. I can take my time getting lost in my work and allow my characters to fully come to life without constantly having to live up to other people’s expectations.

 How do you deal with bad reviews or acid criticism? What would you advise other authors to that effect?

Someone once told me that you really haven’t taken the plunge and risked everything until someone comes along and vilifies your published book. Which is fine as long as there are five star reviews to balance the picture. However, if there are only one and two star reviews, it’s time to go back to the drawing board and come to terms.  If you had no editorial input in the first place, then the tale either wasn’t ready or hadn’t a chance to please anyone but yourself.

Is this title part of a series? Without giving us spoilers, of course, what can we expect from the next books in the series?

The previous book is called Moon Games, Miranda’s first adventure. At this point in time, I think she can rest on her laurels. I’d hate to put her through all this again unless some pressing need presents itself.

What do you have stored for us in the future? What are you working on/planning on next, aside this title/series?

I’m deep in the throes of a crime story with the working title Shadow of the Gypsy.  It’s a much deeper venture, perhaps even partly highly personal and I have no idea of its commercial potential or marketability.

Full Disclosure

If you could choose to be someone else for just one day, it would be… ?

 Robert Redford. I’d love to know what it feels like to have been so cool and handsome that everything comes easily to you and you can have the pick of projects, meet up with members of the industry you admire both here and abroad, and go anywhere and do anything your heart desires.

If a character from any book could become real and you could spend a day with them, it would be… from the book… ?

Sam Spade from The Maltese Falcon, hanging around the streets of old San Francisco, meeting all kinds of colorful and shady characters, having the license to delve anywhere on the mean streets and fashionable enclaves. 

The best thing in your life is… ?

No longer having anything I have to prove.

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Book Description

A modern day mystery with WWII tactics, old-time heroes and values, and the efforts of two amateur cousin sleuths from the Heartland.

On a sparkling spring morning in the Blue Ridge, small-town realtor Miranda Davis approached the tailgate market, intent on dealing with her whimsical cousin Skip’s unexpected arrival from New York. It turns out that Skip was on the run and, in his panic, grabbed his beloved tabby Duffy, recalling that Miranda had a recent part in solving a case down in Carolina. His predicament stemmed from intercepting code messages like “Countdown to D-Day,” playfully broadcasting the messages on his radio show over the nation-wide network, and subsequently forced to flee.

At first, Miranda tried to limit her old childhood companion’s conundrum to the sudden abduction of Duffy the cat. But the forces that be were hell-bent on keeping Skip under wraps by any means after he now stumbled close to the site of their master plan. Miranda’s subsequent efforts to decipher the conspiracy and somehow intervene placed both herself and her old playmate on a collision course with a white-nationalist perpetrator and the continuing machinations of the right-wing enterprise, with the lives of all those gathered for a diversity celebration in nearby Asheville and a crucial senatorial vote on homeland security hanging in the balance.

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

MIRANDA AND THE D-DAY CAPER by Shelly Frome is a cozy mystery featuring amateur sleuth, Miranda Davis. This is the second book featuring this protagonist, but it can easily be read a standalone.

Miranda Davis is a small-town realtor in the Blue Ridge Mountains who received some notoriety when she helped solve a mystery. Now her cousin and childhood companion, Skip shows up on the run from New York City hoping for her help. He embellished some stories with items he saw in the station manager’s office harking back to WWII and D-Day on a nighttime radio talk show he was covering for a friend. All of a sudden, he is being threatened and his beloved tabby cat is stolen and held to control Skip.

Miranda thought Skip’s story was just another one of his whimsical stories, but she is willing to help find his cat. But as she gets more involved, she discovers that there is much more truth than fantasy in the story Skip told on air. They are suddenly entangled in a plot involving right-wing nationalists that leads all the way back to D.C.

Can Miranda, Skip and all Miranda’s friends figure out who all the players are and what they have planned before the clock runs out and many people are killed?

I enjoyed Miranda and all the characters in her town. It is small-town southern laid-back even as Miranda tries to hurry some along in their help. When Miranda and Skip come together, I had a hard time at first straightening out what was happening, but once everyone was sorted and the mystery plotline began to pick up in pace I was completely caught up in the story. I feel Mr. Frome did a good job of using a heavy political topic lightly, but not frivolously. It was done with both entertaining characters and an intricate plot. The mystery plot was believable and could come right out of the news today, even as the plot clues were out of WWII.

I recommend Miranda and all her friends for an intriguing and entertaining cozy mystery read.

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Author Bio

Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He is also a features columnist for Gannett Media. His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff, and Murder Run. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio and texts on the art and craft of screenwriting and writing for the stage. The Secluded Village Murders is his latest published foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Release Blitz/Feature Post and Book Review: Life & Limb by Freya Barker

Hi, everyone!

Today I am very excited to be included on this Release Blitz for Freya Barker’s second book in the PASS series. This is My Feature Post and Book Review for LIFE & LIMB (PASS Book #2) by Freya Barker.

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

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Book Description

Growing up a military brat and spending eight years overseas with the Army Medical Corps, clinical social worker, Willa Smith, has had enough of rules and regulations. Still able to work with veterans as she did at the VA Hospital, she is much happier at the new and far more relaxed South Avenue Shelter, until one of its residents is implicated in a murder.

Former military turned security operative, Dimas Mazur, has worked for PASS security, his brother’s company, since he returned stateside after a disabling injury. The job keeps him busy, but when a homeless veteran he knows runs into trouble with the law, he doesn’t hesitate to jump in. The strong-headed counselor at the shelter where his friend stayed is an unexpected bonus.

Until she puts herself square in the sights of the man he’s trying to take down.

Goodreads book link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50491517-life-limb?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=pTt9fPix9m&rank=1

Title: Life & Limb (PASS, #2)

Author: Freya Barker

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Release Date: May 11, 2020

Photographer: JW Photography

Models: Katie McCain & Josh FaustHosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

LIFE & LIMB (PASS Book #2) by Freya Barker is a romantic suspense that has the perfect balance of wonderfully realistic mature characters and a suspense plot line that keeps you turning the pages. Freya Barker’s romantic suspense books never disappoint.

Willa Smith is a clinical social worker who dedicated eight years of her life in the Army Medical Corps in Germany, came home and worked five more years in the local VA hospital working with veterans before getting her current job in the new South Avenue Shelter. Willa grew up an Army brat in a home with very strict, traditional role models that she refuses to follow and prefers her single life.

Dimas “Dimi” Mazur spent two tours in Iraq in the Special forces until he lost part of his leg to an IED. Now, he works for his brother’s company, PASS security. While home between jobs, Dimas gets an urgent call from a veteran brother who lives at the South Avenue Shelter that he is accused of a murder of a fellow shelter resident. With the help of the outspoken, feisty counselor at the shelter Dimi works to exonerate his friend.

As Dimi and Willa grow closer as a couple and work to find the true killer, Willa places herself directly in the crosshairs of the man they are trying to find.

I always love getting my hands on a new Freya Barker romantic suspense. Willa and Dimi and all the characters from the first book who make a return appearance are friends you want to continue to revisit continually. Willa and Dimi are mature with realistic emotions and lives. I enjoy Ms. Barker’s emphasis on older H/h’s that are never perfect, but do not play immature, emotional games. The romantic conflict is solved with communication, understanding and love. The suspense plot is fast paced, believable and intertwined with the romance perfectly. The sex scenes are explicit, but never gratuitous. Even though this is the second book in this series, it can easily be read as a standalone.

I highly recommend this new romantic suspense and all of Ms. Barker’s books for wonderful characters and exciting suspense!

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About Freya

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

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

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

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