Tag: #P.I.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Birthday of Eternity by A.D. Price

The Birthday of Eternity

by A. D. Price


May 13 – June 7, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE BIRTHDAY OF ETERNITY (A Comfort & Company Mystery Book #2) by A.D. Price 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 and enjoy!

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Book Description

L.A. private investigators Kit and Henry become entangled in the city’s robust post-WWII occult trade when they’re hired to track down Lillian, the estranged wife of a prominent physician, and her spellbinding “spirit” lover Tashin. Fresh from her training in judo and “dirty fighting,” Kit poses as an eager recruit at a Hollywood cult run by the ambitious Reverend, while Henry takes on the city’s séance circuit, which has reinvented itself in the wake of war. Assisting them are Kit’s psychiatrist lover Luca and her combat veteran brother Stanley, who offer their own brand of expertise in unraveling the tricks of the conmen.

Plunged into the strange and deadly world of mediums and gurus, Kit and Henry soon discover that surviving the spirit trade will take all of their cunning and a whole lot of luck.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203611746-the-birthday-of-eternity?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=QDhFLFeiCw&rank=1

The Birthday of Eternity

Genre: Historical Private Detective Mystery
Published by: Indie
Publication Date: December 6, 2023
Number of Pages: 358
ISBN: 9798986893044
Series: Comfort & Company Book 2

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BIRTHDAY OF ETERNITY (A Comfort and Company Mystery Book #2) by A.D. Price is a suspenseful historical P.I. mystery set post WWII in Los Angeles, California and features two memorable private investigators. This is the second book in the series, and I feel I understood and enjoyed all the characters and their motivations more by reading book one, After the Blue, Blue Rain, and book two in order.

P.I. Kit Comfort and her partner P.I. Henry Richman have barely recovered from their last case and find themselves quickly drawn into their next. Hired to track down the missing wife of a prominent L.A. physician, they find themselves involved in the world of cults and spiritualists. With the help of Kit’s psychiatrist lover and her combat veteran brother, Kit and Henry soon discover the spirits may be more dangerous than they believed.

I am really enjoying this historical mystery series. While it has a bit of a noir feel to the private investigation plot, it is not as dark or gritty as some others in this period. It has both Kit and Henry alternating the narrative of the story with the occasional insertion of the missing person’s narrative. It is a unique way of discovering the facts as the investigation gets closer to the solution. (The first book in the series was narrated in a similar way.) The investigation is interesting with none of the current advantages of technology, just plenty of personal contacts, shoe leather, ingenuity, and undercover work with some action interspersed throughout.

While the plots of both mysteries are well paced and plotted, it is the characters that I love. Kit is an emancipated woman for her times and yet she still has a very loving heart towards her brother, partner and friends and she also loves a good hat. Henry has a complicated history and an even more complicated marriage. While he gives off a hard guy persona, I felt so much sympathy for him. All the related characters in this series are fully drawn and believable for the period.

I highly recommend this compelling historical P.I. mystery series.

***

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

DAIVIKA

(Preface, “Survival: My Journey to Enlightenment,” CoEB Press, 1948)

Happy New Year! Today, I begin the story of my death. The story of my death and my rebirth. The story of my journey to enlightenment. It won’t begin at the beginning. It won’t unfold in chronological order, or in subject order. Instead, it will flow in psychic order. An order marked by change—the before and the after—and its place in my eternal existence, in the circle with no beginning and no end. 

Some in my position might shy away from sharing their story. They might prefer to keep their past a secret. However, from my experience—the experience that brought me to this point today—secrets destroy. They destroy trust, of course, but they also destroy hope. We can’t profess to love nature’s sunshine while keeping a part of ourselves in the darkness. Our past, our histories, are as much a part of our being as our beliefs and our actions.

Of course, it’s impossible to recall everything, and not all revelations are suitable for all audiences, but as far as common decency and memory will allow me, I will be truthful and open with my history. It’s the least I can do for my new friends and colleagues. Now more than ever, I need your trust. So, I will give you my secrets—some of them anyway.

And circle or not, I must start my story somewhere, and when I think about the past, I find myself returning to one moment, one place, one hot summer afternoon. It was a moment whose significance grew over time, like a soft mew swelling to a roar. It’s there I’ll begin the story of my life, a not-so-long-ago moment, fresh from death’s door. 

Chapter 1

DAIVIKA

(Excerpt from “Survival: My Journey to Enlightenment.” CoEB Press, 1948)

Death, as a concept, bubbles up often in my current existence, but in my previous life, I did my best to keep the topic at bay, to push down my fears and ignore any pain. Months after the war’s end, I was still rationing my sadness, still offering fake smiles and unearned laughs. 

That began to change with the death of my grandmother. Days before, she had taken a bad fall and her recovery had been fitful. I dropped by the hospital once or twice, but on that last Sunday, I canceled my planned visit and attended one of my husband’s archery competitions instead. She passed during the night.

Gramma had always been the kind constant in my life—more giving than my mother—and her departure from this world was a blow to my defenses. Its full impact, however—my shame especially— didn’t hit me until later. Even then, as I first stood by her open grave under that scorching sun, dry martinis in ice-cold glasses were all I was thinking about.

In her will, Gramma instructed she be buried at Forest Lawn, in the Everlasting Love section, next to her beloved husband, my grandpa. He had succumbed to a stroke a few years earlier, and his demise rendered Gramma spiritually unbalanced. Or as she put it, without him by her side, her life had no joy. At the time, I didn’t associate Gramma’s spiritual imbalance with a literal imbalance, the type of vertigo that caused her to misjudge a step, take a spill and break her hip, but the connection seems obvious to me now.

 I also see now the deep imprint that my grandparents’ long and loving marriage left on my psyche. My parents’ marriage was fragile and my own romances were flops. But Gramma and Grandpa’s bond truly was everlasting—in life and beyond. Who doesn’t yearn for that? 

No doubt that if my native Californian Gramma had been in charge of the matter, her burial would have taken place on a rainy dawn in winter. As it turned out, however, the fates preferred a cloudless afternoon in July. The night before, a Santa Ana wind had blown in, delivering a day of gusts so hot and dry they all but set fire to the lungs. The service at the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Church had been reasonably well-attended, but most of the mourners, including my husband, skipped the burial. While immaculate and stubbornly green, the lawn the cemetery was famous for had absorbed the wind’s heat, making standing graveside more hellish than heavenly.

The minister-for-hire went through his rituals as quickly as was socially acceptable. But as he was delivering his final words over Gramma’s coffin, the birds and insects of Forest Lawn went abruptly silent. I felt the silence more than I heard it, but I sensed instantly that something was off and something else was eminent. And just as that anticipation hit, the sky’s light dimmed and the air dulled. We had been plunged, midday, into dusk. 

During the next few seconds, my ears started to ring, or rather, hum. My heart raced, and I gasped. Then I fainted. My knees gave out and I tumbled to the ground. I toppled just inches from the open grave, my left arm dangling over the side. I quickly recovered but when I opened my eyes, the world was tinged with red and the air that swirled around me was frigid. I could hear murmurs of concern and felt someone touching my back. Embarrassed, I struggled to my feet and assured everyone I was fine.

And for a time, I fooled myself into believing that I was fine. On the drive home from the cemetery, I heard radio bulletins describing the total solar eclipse that had just occurred in the Northern Hemisphere. Everything I had experienced during the funeral was unusual but explainable. A natural phenomenon. 

Or was it? Was Gramma’s funeral occurring at the same time as a rare astronomical event a coincidence? Or had Fortuna influenced the scheduling somehow? What had I seen? What had I felt? Had I felt through that cold wind Gramma’s spirit heading for the Afterlife? Or was it the stirring of my own sorrow, blowing around me in warning? Or both?

***

Author Bio

A native of Washington, D. C., A. D. Price is an Emmy-winning screenwriter and author. Her publications (as Amy Dunkleberger) include educational books and feature articles on historical and arts-related subjects. In 2022, she published After the Blue, Blue Rain, her first novel and the first book in her Comfort & Company mystery series. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs.

Social Media Links

www.ADPricebooks.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @adpricebooks
Instagram – @adprice22
Threads – @adprice22
Facebook – @adpricebooks
YouTube – @ADPrice

Purchase Links

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

Audiobook Links: Audible | Spotify | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Chirp

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KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/gunjd0/the-birthday-of-eternity-by-a-d-price-ebook-gift-card

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Struck Dead by Andrea Kane

Struck Dead

by Andrea Kane

March 4 – 29, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for STRUCK DEAD (A Forensic Instincts Novel Book #10) by Andrea Kane 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. Enjoy!

***

Book Description

The fragile line between life and death… Families that will never be the same…

When a tragic hit-and-run takes the life of a hardworking family man, multi-millionaire Christopher Hillington becomes the prime suspect, and the whole city of New York alights with speculation as to what happened.

But before the NYPD can establish Hillington’s guilt, he himself is brutally murdered in his own home. As he lays dying, he scrawls the name Casey Woods with his own blood, and the Forensic Instincts team is drawn into a complex mystery that has placed its president in the sights of a desperate killer.

A millionaire’s life is full of secrets and suspects. So as the baffled NYPD investigates Casey for the murder, and the body-count ratchets up, Casey herself becomes another potential victim. The FI team’s hardcore investigation has them twisting and turning through suspects and secrets, where the stakes intensify―and so does the collateral damage. As Casey and the team get closer to finding the killer, the unthinkable happens, and the life of one of FI’s own hangs in the blood-stained balance.

They say dead men tell no tales, but blood doesn’t lie. Peeling back layer after layer of deception, the team will cross whatever lines are necessary to solve the case, get justice for the families, and make their team whole again…unless the relentless killer gets to them first.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/189082177-struck-dead?ref=nav_sb_ss_2_11

Struck Dead

Genre: Suspense Thriller
Published by: Bonnie Meadow Publishing
Publication Date: March 2024
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781682320631 (ISBN10: 1682320634)
Series: Forensic Instincts (#10)

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

STRUCK DEAD (A Forensic Instincts Mystery Book #10) by Andrea Kane is another suspenseful mystery story featuring the brilliant team from Forensic Instincts. While each book in the series has a unique crime/mystery to solve that can be read as a complete standalone crime plot, each book also continues to further develop the main characters’ personal lives over time, and I personally enjoy reading them in order.

A multi-millionaire, Christopher Hillington is the prime suspect in a hit-skip that kills a man. All of New York is speculating about his guilt or innocence when Casey Woods gets a call from his lawyer to come immediately to the Hillington home. Casey is shown the bludgeoned body of Hillington and on the desk written in his blood is “Casey Woods”.

With a multitude of suspects and secrets, but few leads, Forensic Instincts is working to unravel all the threads of this case. The stakes increase when Casey is threatened. The team is fighting to uncover layer upon layer of deceit as the killer gets to one of the team first.

I always enjoy revisiting the team at Forensic Instincts and this addition to the series is one of my favorites. The mystery plot is intricately woven between two crimes and three families. I liked that the two crimes kept me guessing and were solved at different times in the book. The most intense part of the book for me was when I might lose one of the main characters. The plot is fast paced with the investigations, and it is not predictable. The twist at the end should bring an entertaining new dynamic to the team that I am looking forward to reading.

I highly recommend this addition to the Forensic Instincts series.

***

Excerpt

1

Offices of Forensic Instincts

Tribeca, New York

Main conference room

Monday, 9:40 a.m.

Casey Woods, the president of Forensic Instincts, stood at the head of the oval table, her jaw having dropped. She pressed her iPhone closer to her ear, and tried to reconcile herself, both to who the caller was, and the reason for her call.

She certainly didn’t sound like the Angela King that Casey knew. And why in the name of heaven was she reaching out to Casey, of all people?

Angela repeated her original demand: “I need you to meet me now—as in drop everything and get over here.” This time her voice was commanding but shaken.

Shaken? Angela King?

Casey’s mind raced.

Angela was a high-powered and aggressive criminal defense attorney at Harris, Porter, & Donnelly. A virtual barracuda. Rumor had it that she was next up to make partner. No surprise. She successfully defended the richest of the rich, from corporate executives, to wealthy entrepreneurs, to “businessmen” with rumored links to Organized Crime—a fact she chose to overlook since they were affluent enough to pay her fees. She and Forensic Instincts were on opposite sides of law enforcement. They’d battled it out more than once the criminals that FI had helped catch becoming the very criminals Angela would defend.

Needless to say, the FI team and Angela weren’t friends.

And yet, here she was, calling Casey on an urgent, time-is-of-the-essence matter—one she seemed incredibly high-strung about.

“Casey?” Angela repeated. “Did you hear me?”

Casey lowered herself into a chair. “I heard you. What is this about? And why me, of all people?”

“You’ll see for yourself,” Angela replied. She rattled off the address of a luxury skyscraper on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. “Hurry. I’m jeopardizing my career by waiting to call 9-1-1. I can’t wait much longer. But you have to view the scene first and later provide me with some answers. No more questions. Just come. I have a key to the building’s back door. I’ll let you in. We’ll use the freight elevator.”

Casey’s common sense was urging her to refuse. 9-1-1 meant a crime scene, and questions meant involving her. Both those things were screaming for her to stay away. She pushed aside that inner voice. She was too intrigued to refuse. “I’m on my way.”

She shrugged into her wool winter coat as she called John Nickels, Forensic Instincts’ number one on their security team. Then, she blew out the front door, not waiting to fill the FI team in on where she was going. There was no time. Plus, they’d only try to talk her out of it.

Holiday decorations were glistening everywhere, and tiny snowflakes danced in the air.

Casey didn’t notice any of it.

John pulled around a few minutes later, and Casey hopped into the car, gave him the address, and urged him to hurry.

With a brief nod, John was on his way, navigating the FDR Drive in record time. He got Casey to her destination in thirteen minutes. He dropped her off around back, far from the doorman’s view. Then, he waited to return her to the brownstone once her meeting was over, as per her instructions.

Angela was pacing inside the building, and opened the door to let Casey in the moment she saw her. No matter how dire the occasion, Angela always looked stunning. An Armani cobalt blue pants suit that set off her dark skin, matching four-inch Louboutin heels, and long wavy black hair styled at the highest end salon. She carried herself like a queen. In short, she was a knock-out.

Now she looked more rattled than Casey had ever seen her.

“Let’s go,” she said. She led the way to the freight elevator, where she and Casey rode up.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Casey stated flatly.

Angela didn’t answer. She glanced at her Apple Watch, her gaze snapping up as the elevator stopped on the twenty-first floor.

The doors slid open.

Angela paused only long enough to ensure that Casey was right behind her. Then, she strode down the hall, made a turn, and halted in front of Apartment Twenty-One B. She unlocked the door, pulled Casey inside, and faced her to offer the first few words of an explanation.

“This is the home of my client, Christopher Hillington. We had a nine-thirty AM meeting scheduled to be held here.”

Casey’s brows rose. Christopher Hillington was a renowned and phenomenally wealthy managing director of the private equity firm YNE. He was also a major suspect in a vehicular homicide, and Casey knew through various news sources that he’d been questioned several times by the NYPD and was on the verge of arrest.

“I see you know of him,” Angela said. “Given the circumstances, I’m not surprised.” She gestured toward a breathtaking sunken living room. “In here.”

Casey bit back her question about what Angela had just said. She sensed she was about to get her answers. So she remained silent.

The two women stepped down and Angela stood to a side and waited.

Casey got the full view immediately.

Christopher Hillington’s body was crumpled on the Oriental carpet beside his desk, blood pooling out around him. His head was bashed in, clearly having been struck multiple times by a heavy object. The bloodied sledge hammer lying next to the body was obviously the murder weapon. Judging from the damage done, the killer had been, not only determined, but brutal.

Casey eyeballed the scene, feeling sickened as well as confused. She was about to ask Angela what this horrific scene had to do with her when she spotted the letters, written in blood, on the lower edge of the desk, right beside Hillington’s outstretched arm.

She walked over, careful not to touch anything, squatted down, and squinted. The two words were completely legible, and they made Casey’s blood run cold.

Casey Woods.

***

Photographr Information Stevenson/Lupke 1924 Rittenhouse Square Philadelphia, Pa 19103 215-627-3777 amandastudio@yahoo.com

Author Bio

Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty-two novels, including eighteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller.
She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted and Drawn in Blood.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Struck Dead, showcases the dynamic, eclectic team of investigators as they hunt down a desperate killer who’s threatened one of their own. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence That Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, A Face To Die For, Dead In A Week, No Stone Unturned, At Any Cost, and Struck Dead.
Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.
Kane lives in New Jersey with her family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan.
Author Hometown – Warren, New Jersey

Social Media Links

www.AndreaKane.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @authorandreakane
Twitter/X – @andrea_kane
Facebook – @AuthorAndreaKane

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

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Giveaway

This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Andrea Kane. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.

The giveaway is for:    1 – $20 Amazon.com Gift Card, US Only

https://kingsumo.com/g/tysf4b/struck-dead-by-andrea-kane

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin

Book Description

Boston PI Sunny Randall investigates the dark side of social media in this exciting new thriller in the bestselling series.

Sunny Randall’s newest client, Blake, seems to have it all: he is an Instagram influencer, with all the perks the lifestyle entails—a beautiful girlfriend, wealth, and adoring fans. But one of those fans has turned ugly, and Sunny is brought on board by Blake’s manager, Bethany, to protect him and to uncover who is out to kill him. In doing so, she investigates a glamorous world rife with lies and schemes…and ties to a dangerous criminal scene.

When Bethany goes missing and the threats against Blake escalate, Sunny realizes that in order to solve this case, she has to find out exactly who Blake and Bethany are, behind the Instagram filters. While digging into their pasts, she is also forced to confront her own, as old friends—and ex-husbands—reappear. With a combination of old-school crime-solving skills and modern internet savvy, Sunny will stop at nothing to catch a killer.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin brings to life his character Sunny Randall.  Those who have read Gaylin in the past know she loves to have twisted endings that are very intense.  This story is not any different as she takes readers on a roller coaster ride.

In this story Gaylin includes many of Sunny’s supporting characters and attempts to bring her into the modern world.  Bethany Rose hires Sunny to protect one of the most popular influencer couples.  She offers the services of her influencer couple, Blake James, and Alena Jade, to help Sunny’s BFF Spike gain new customers for his bar and restaurant. Bethany is willing to do it on gratis if Sunny finds out who is sending threatening messages to the couple.

Sunny must come to terms with social media as she tries to figure out who is the stalker. The problem is she must get up to speed because she did not use any online forums.  Now she uses it as a tool to research her clients.  She is trying to understand how people can base their entire careers on letting strangers into their personal lives.

She can be stubborn at times and is trying to figure out where she stands emotionally.

This mystery/thriller is riveting, and the readers also can learn about the world of influencers, which makes the story even more fascinating.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why write a Parker character?

Alison Gaylin: I have been a longtime fan of the Robert B. Parker books, although I did not read any of the Sunny books. I was offered to write twenty pages and thought this is a terrific opportunity. I had this idea regarding influencers.  A month later I heard I got the job and will be writing a second book.

EC:  Did you change anything regarding style?

AG:  I tried to stay as loyal to Parker as I best I could.  His style is different than my style with more dialogue, shorter chapters, and I have a little more internal dialogue. I did try to make it as “Parkeresque” as I could.  All the supporting characters of his was like being given a toolbox to make some furniture. There is her good friend Spike, her father, her ex-husband Ritchie, his mob dad, and her dog Rosie. Parker books had more humor than I usually put but I wrote more intensity, especially at the end.

EC:  Did you make any imprint on the Sunny character?

AG:  It will always be a little different when a woman writes the character. It is a pleasure to be the first woman to write Sunny.  I think the way women move through the world and relate to other women is different. In a lot of his books, she called in for help, but in this book during the climactic scene I had her do it on her own.

EC:  How would you describe Sunny?

AG:  Funny, tough, smart, strong, loyal, but vulnerable. She never let’s go of relationships.  She had this dog Rosie who passed away and she got the same kind of dog and named it the same. She does not love change very much. She has been divorced from her ex-husband for years but still has feelings for him and they still maintain a relationship. Sunny is a solid person. In her profession as a private investigator, she is reckless, observant, and calm. She is in her late thirties. She is very good with a gun.

EC:  Jesse Stone, another character of Parkers’ is mentioned on the page but does not appear?

AG:  Sunny dated him for a while when Mike Lupica was writing this series.  But in the last book, Revenge Tour, he broke them up. I decided they probably did not have a lot of contact now.  He is still writing the Jesse Stone books and he has Jesse involved with someone else so I cannot write an alternative reality.

EC:  What was the role of Rosie?

AG:  She is a great companion for Sunny.  I love dogs so Rosie will be in a lot of the stories.  In this book Rosie is the go between for Sunny and her client, Blake, who she is guarding. His attitude towards Rosie showed a side to Blake readers would not otherwise see, caring and vulnerable. He was deprived of owning a dog during his childhood.

EC:  Blake, Athena, and Bethany represent what?

AG:  They are involved with the influencing world, and I wanted to show how things are not as they appear to be on social media and Instagram. As the book progresses there is more of a filter that will change people’s perception of them. 

EC:  Why influencers?

AG:  I find them fascinating because I see them as a con.  Everything is filtered and photoshopped.  They have created a character of who they hope to be, not who they are. The goal is to be aspirational, not real. There is an element of artificiality. I thought how Sunny as a single woman in her late thirties she would have a social media imprint. But she does not, and I wondered why.  Although she does find it fascinating. I think she wonders if followers have a mind of their own and maybe thinks of influencers as the modern-day commercials/advertisements.  The influencers are getting paid with a lot of free products. Commercials have lost their power because people fast-forward them, so influencers have taken their place. They have a whole different level of fame.

EC:  Idea for the mystery?

AG:  I saw a Netflix documentary on con artists.  This inspired me for the book, the different layers to the characters. The essence of the book is that these people were someone who they did not appear to be.

EC:  Where are you going with the Sunny/Ritchie relationship?

AG:  I put it to the test by having him move to New Jersey, six hours away. It has been on again/off again. Will absence make the heart grow fonder or will she decide to be on her own and independent? She relied a lot on his family. I put more change on her. 

EC:  Next books?

AG:  The next Sunny book should come out this time next year.  There is no title. It might involve the Energy Drink king who goes missing and Sunny is hired by his father.

For my next book, the tentative title is We Are Watching, out next summer.  A normal family is targeted by a cult like group of conspiracy theorists.

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.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Torching by Kerry Peresta

The Torching

by Kerry Peresta

May 8 – June 2, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE TORCHING (Olivia Callahan Suspense Book #3) by Kerry Peresta on this Partners In Crime 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. Enjoy!

***

Book Description

Mysterious fires. A haunting past. A secret file.

Three years ago, Olivia Callahan endured an assault that resulted in a devastating brain injury. She survived, but she couldn’t remember anything about her life or who she was. Now, she’s determined to build a bridge between the past she lost and the life she must reclaim.

When Olivia crosses paths with PI Tom Stark, she is drawn to the investigative field, and becomes his intern. She finds a heavily redacted, forty-five-year-old file locked in his desk drawer that mentions her mother as a young woman. Why had her mentor hidden the file from her, and why had he never mentioned a case involving her mother?

As Olivia moves forward with her fledgling career, a string of mysterious fires moves through the community, puzzling the Baltimore Arson Investigative Unit. One of the fires strikes Olivia’s beloved farmhouse in rural Maryland. Now, in addition to uncovering the secrets bound within the redacted file, she becomes convinced that the fires happening around the area are disturbing calling cards…and they’re meant for her.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123230539-the-torching?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=9ubnsNg1v5&rank=1

The Torching

Genre: Traditional mystery or Suspense
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 2023
Number of Pages: 323
ISBN: 978-1-68512-323-9
Series: The Olivia Callahan Suspense series, 3 | Each is a Stand Alone Novel

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE TORCHING (Olivia Callahan Suspense Book #3) by Kerry Peresta is a suspense filled P.I. mystery featuring Olivia Callahan who is three years out from a traumatic brain injury. This is the third book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone book. The Torching features her working in her new profession as a P.I., while the previous two books, The Awakening and The Rising while suspense/thrillers also are focused on her recovery and the rebuilding of her life as she works to discover who harmed her.

With the passing of her P.I. mentor, Tom Stark, Olivia discovers a 45-year-old redacted file that mentions her mother’s name. Her mother has never mentioned any past connection to Tom or Tom to her.

Even as she works to discover the secrets from the old file, she is the victim of arson. Several more fires are set in her community and after the fires, she receives a bouquet of flowers from someone with ties to the on-line Facebook group who follow her because of her fame.

Arson, political corruption, family secrets, obsession and murder all come together in this mystery.

I enjoyed the continuing evolution of Oliva, both personally and professionally. I feel all the characters are fully fleshed and believable, but I have read the previous two books and it does make it slightly easier to keep track of all the family and friends. I am a dog lover and love the addition of Marlowe, Olivia’s rescue dog. There are several mysteries all intertwined with surprising plot twists and gripping suspense.

This is an engaging addition to the series, and I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes Olivia next.

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Excerpt

Smoke assailed us halfway up my long, winding, driveway. A dingy, gray film coated my windshield. I jabbed the brake to slow down, but my trembling foot slipped off the brake. Lilly gave me a look that broke my heart. 

The surging, ballooning smoke hurled itself at us like angry fog. Visibility fell to near-zero the longer I drove. I slowed to a crawl. We inched along the lane until the strobing white-and-red lights cut through the smoke. I counted two fire engines and one black SUV on the lane as I approached. A couple of firefighters raced into my house. My door lay on the porch in three pieces, and an  axe was propped against the wall. Each firefighter wore oxygen tanks attached to large, anteater-shaped masks. With their cumbersome, reflective-striped protective gear and masks, they looked more suited to step on the moon than inside my beloved Maryland farmhouse. 

I brought my car to a shuddering halt.

We stepped out. I put my arm around Lilly.

Vaporous clouds of smoke cloaked my house. A couple of firefighters worked with giant, yellow firehoses. The men had divided themselves into teams, and the muted shouts told me some of them were behind the house. Flames leapt toward the sky from the backside of the roof. I counted six firefighters working on the house that I could see—plus the ones in the back. Tears trickled down my cheeks, and a terrifying thought struck—what about my cat? 

“Lilly,” I said, my voice shaky, “Where was Riot when you last saw him?”

Lily’s face went white. “Mom…”

I grabbed her by the shoulders. “No, no…Riot’s smart. He will have found safety. I’ll find him. Stay here.”

 I ran across the yard to a woman dressed in navy slacks and a white shirt with metal glinting on the front and official-looking patches on the arms. “I’m the owner,” I yelled over the whump of igniting flames, batting my way through smoke.

She shook my hand and identified herself as the public information officer. “Sorry to meet under these circumstances, but glad you were out of the home. We have it controlled. The team inside is checking to make sure it was contained. As far as we can tell, the seat of the fire is in the attic. Give us thirty minutes, okay? But ma’am, I’ll need you to stay back. Our investigator will be here soon. She’ll let you know when it’s safe to go inside.”

“My cat’s in there,” I yelled. “Can you have someone look for him?” 

She spoke into a radio. 

The smoke started to let up. Three hoses trained on the roof gushed out torrents of water. The huge flames stretching into the sky began to shrink. Radio chatter stuttered around the space. The firefighters stayed in constant contact, radios slung across their chests with a strap that held a mic. 

These guys would not know where to look for Riot. 

With an apologetic glance at Lilly, I skirted around the trucks, avoided the PIO, and dashed across the yard, up the front porch stairs, and into the house.

“MOM,” Lilly wailed through the billowy smoke.

Coughing, I ran inside. “Riot,” I screamed. “Riot, I’m here, buddy.”

I looked behind the couch. Underneath the dining room table. On top of his cat tree. Underneath the wingback chair. He wasn’t in any of his favorite spots. I plowed through the murkiness and melting sheetrock.

A bullhorn blared, “Ma’am. We need you to exit the building.” “Now!”

My throat was closing. My eyes stung like crazy. I needed to find him and get the heck out. 

I scrambled into the kitchen and opened the lower cupboards, then the uppers. Searched the seats of the barstools, underneath the kitchen table. My heart thrashed like a wrecking ball in my chest. “Riot? I’m here, boy. Come on out,” I begged. A timid sound reached my ears. I waited. I heard it again, louder. 

A shaggy, orange head appeared on top of the cabinets. I climbed up, grabbed him, and raced out the back door. The backyard firefighter team made group gestures that  I interpreted as  ‘get the hell out of here and let us do our job, ma’am’. 

I zigzagged through the first responder obstacle course to my car, blinded by the strobing lights. Lilly spurted fresh tears and held out her arms for Riot. We watched in silence as the flames soared into the sky. After a while, we heard less commotion from the firefighters and the smoke around us grew white and wispy. 

A very red-faced PIO barreled toward me. “I need you to stay out of the house until our investigator has completed the investigation.”

I wiped my sooty hands on my pants. “Your guys wouldn’t have found my cat. Riot would have been scared to death by the way they look. I didn’t have a choice.”

She told me the fire investigator had arrived, and under no circumstances was I to enter the home without her permission.

Lilly held Riot tight against her chest. 

“Thought you hated this cat,” I joked.

“Whatever, Mom,” she said. 

 A small, thickset, woman with short hair approached. 

 “Mrs. Callahan?” 

 “It’s Ms. I’m the owner.”

“Good news, Ms. Callahan. The rear quadrant of the roof and attic sustained most of the damage. The firefighters are checking the ceiling of the second floor now, for hot spots. I think you got lucky.”

“It didn’t spread?”

She smiled her assurances. “They’re going to clean up here and have a final look around. They’ll let me know when it’s safe to go in.” She stuck out a hand. “I’m Tasha Jackson, fire investigator. I work with these goofballs.” She grinned.

I shook her hand. 

In the background, firefighters wrapped hoses. A couple of them worked the hydrant. Another walked the perimeter of my home. Instead of the burble of radios, most of them had ditched the headgear. A man got out of the black SUV and strode toward the PIO. After a few minutes of speaking with her, he approached me. He introduced himself as the Battalion Chief, told me he was sorry the fire had interrupted such an important occasion, and if there was anything they could do…to call the PIO. She wiggled her fingers at me, then went to talk to the camera crews and TV reporters that had crashed the scene. His expression somber, the Battalion Chief handed me his business card.

“If you need them, Red Cross services are available for three nights at a local motel and $600 gift cards for each displaced person. Please contact your insurance company immediately, they’ll do their own investigation.”

I gave him a blank look and took his card. 

“Our investigator will talk about next steps, and ask you some questions to complete her report. Please remember not to go inside the area of damage alone, Ms. Callahan. Do you have somewhere to stay?” 

With a sigh, I glanced over my shoulder toward my compact, office on the corner of Worthington Avenue and my property. I could stay in the office guest bedroom, and Lilly could stay at my neighbor’s house. “Yeah. We do. Is the…do you think the bedrooms in my house are okay? Can we get some clothes?” 

He yelled a couple of names and asked them to check. They walked toward my house. The porch that stretched across the front of my house looked as if someone couldn’t decide whether to drown it or blow it up. 

The public information officer waved off the reporters as she walked in my direction. One of the firefighters stared at me so long it became uncomfortable.  I groaned. Was he one of them? A cult fan of the ‘Mercy’s Miracle’ persona? Why had I thought it was a good idea to write a book? After the publisher’s marketing department flew me all over the country for publicity events, the book hit the bestseller list and stayed there. The story of my survival and struggle to re-create my life had developed a rabid following.

I gave the firefighter a hard stare. He dropped his gaze. Reporters screamed questions at me from a distance. The PIO did her best to keep them under control.

I longed for a normal life. 

My mind flew back. I closed my eyes, remembering.

The first few days, waking up in the hospital panicked and breathless and unable to move; the second week, when I’d begun to see flickers of light, the third week, when my fingers twitched and hope sprang to life. Neurology interns stealing in and out of my room at odd hours to see the ‘miracle’ restoration. I remembered my daughters’ first visits and the terrified looks on their faces when they realized I didn’t remember them. The fourth and fifth weeks, when physical therapists did everything they could to help restore my mobility and speech.

I could still visualize the reporters closing in on me. Waving their microphones in my face before I could even form a coherent sentence. I remembered watching my mom herding my daughters to my room on the fifth floor of the hospital, and the television crews that formed a tight knot around them as they made their way to the entrance of the hospital.  

My youngest daughter had burst into my hospital room with an excited smile. “Reporters are dying to talk to you, Mom! Get ready.”

I rubbed my eyes and sighed. 

Reporters were a plague to be avoided, now.

“Olivia? Are you okay?” The PIO looked at me in concern.
I blinked. “Sorry. Yeah. I’m okay.”

She held out her cell. “Create contact info for me?”

I entered my number, and my neighbor Callie’s, for good measure. The two firefighters that had inspected the bedrooms returned with a thumbs-up. “Bedrooms look good. Stairs are intact.”

The PIO smiled at me, tilted her head toward the reporters. “I didn’t realize you were that Olivia Callahan.”

I attempted a smile. She was trying to be nice. She had no idea that I hated the notoriety.

She handed me her card. “If you need anything. I mean it.” She left.

 Lilly put her hand on my shoulder. “Mom? Everybody’s leaving. Now what?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. How do I accept this new reality?

***

Author Bio

Kerry Peresta is the author of the Olivia Callahan Suspense series. “The Torching,” book three, releases March, 2023, and books four and five in 2024 and 2025. Her standalone suspense thriller, “Back Before Dawn,” releases May, 2023. Additional writing credits include a popular newspaper and e-zine humor column, “The Lighter Side,” (2009—2011); the short story “The Day the Migraine Died,” published in Rock, Roll, and Ruin: A Triangle Sisters in Crime Anthology, articles published in Local Life Magazine, The Bluffton Breeze, Lady Lowcountry, and Island Events Magazine. She is past chapter president of the Maryland Writers’ Association and a current member and presenter of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, Hilton Head Island Writers’ Network, South Carolina Writers Association, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Kerry is the mother of four adult children, and spent thirty years in advertising as an account manager, creative director, copywriter, and editor. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her working out, riding her bike or kayaking, enjoying the beaches of Hilton Head Island, or cuddling her two cats, Agnes and Felix. She and her husband moved to Hilton Head Island in 2015.

Social Media Links

www.KerryPeresta.net
Goodreads
BookBub – @kerryperesta
Instagram – @kerryperesta
Twitter – @kerryperesta
Facebook – @klperesta

Purchase Links 

Amazon  

Goodreads

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KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY LINK

https://kingsumo.com/g/xp3nxk/the-torching-by-kerry-peresta

Feature Post and Book Review: Epitaph by Anita Waller

Hi, everyone!

Today I am very excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for EPITAPH by Anita Waller. I love all this author’s books!

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

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Book Description

Pensioner and Private Investigator Doris Lester has taken a well-deserved break from work. She’s planned a holiday with her best friend Wendy on a journey across the Yorkshire and Derbyshire Dales. But before they depart a letter arrives, and the contents stir up trouble and memories of the past.

Soon Doris and Wendy are drawn into the mystery surrounding a troubled family, a missing person and gruesome murder.

When Doris and Wendy join the investigation, intriguing revelations about Doris’s past and present surface, which shock even those closest to her.

Step by step they uncover familial secrets that could tear a family even further apart. Together can Wendy and Doris solve the mystery and if they do, will their lives ever be the same again?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54636522-epitaph

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

EPITAPH by Anita Waller is mix of cozy mystery and British police procedural that is perfectly blended and I could not put it down. This story features pensioner and P.I. Doris Lester from the Kat and Mouse Mystery series and while it is an offshoot of the series and can be read as a standalone, I was happy I already had background and a love of this main character from the series.

P.I. Doris Lester and her best friend of 40 years, Wendy Lucas are beginning a long-deserved vacation travelling throughout England visiting the graves of historically famous people. After only the very first outing of their trip, Doris tells Wendy about a disturbing letter she received. The letter is from a woman claiming to be the daughter of her husband, who has been dead for fifteen years. Wendy knows her friend well and they delay their trip and detour to meet this woman.

Doris and Wendy discover not one, but two unknown daughters. Doris becomes involved in the sisters’ families, when one goes missing and her almost sister-in-law is discovered dead. Secrets, lies and infidelities lead to another murder. When the authorities become involved, Doris once again finds herself connecting with local law enforcement, but she and Wendy are also following the clues and are one step ahead.

I love Doris so much! She is seventy, a black belt, a P.I., an IT wiz, has a past she cannot tell you about or she will have to kill you and a loving grandmother. In this book we also get to see what a close friend she has in Wendy. Even with such a small cast of characters, Ms. Waller skillfully keeps the reader guessing with plot twists and red herrings. This mystery has a steady pace as it intertwines Doris and Wendy’s investigation with the police investigation up until the climatic resolution.

I highly recommend this book and all of Ms. Waller’s books. She never disappoints.

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Author Bio

Anita Waller was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1946. She married Dave in 1967 and they have three adult children.

She has written and taught creative writing for most of her life, and at the age of sixty-nine sent a manuscript to Bloodhound Books which was immediately accepted.

In total she has written seven psychological thrillers and one supernatural novel, and uses the areas of South Yorkshire and Derbyshire as her preferred locations in her books. Sheffield features prominently.

And now Anita is working on her first series, the Kat and Mouse trilogy, set in the beautiful Derbyshire village of Eyam. The first in the series, Murder Undeniable, launched 10 December 2018, and the second in the series, Murder Unexpected, launches 11 February 2019.

The trilogy has now been promoted to a quartet following the success of the first book; she is currently working on book three, Murder Unearthed. Book four doesn’t have a title, a plot, a first sentence… but she remains convinced it will have!

She is now seventy-three years of age, happily writing most days and would dearly love to plan a novel, but has accepted that isn’t the way of her mind. Every novel starts with a sentence and she waits to see where that sentence will take her, and her characters.

In her life away from the computer in the corner of her kitchen, she is a Sheffield Wednesday supporter with blue blood in her veins! The club was particularly helpful during the writing of 34 Days, as a couple of matches feature in the novel, along with Ross Wallace. Information was needed, and they provided it.

Her genre is murder – necessary murder.

Social Media Links

Amazon page:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/l/B014RQFCRS?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1548251083&redirectedFromKindleDbs=true&ref_=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_6&rfkd=1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&sr=8-6

Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/anitawaller2015/?ref=br_rs @anitawaller2015

Website:  www.anitamayw.wixsite.com/anitawaller

Twitter:   https://twitter.com/anitamayw @anitamayw

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

Fallible Justice (Wilde Investigations #1) by Laura Laakso

#FallibleJustice @LLaaksoWriter @LouiseWalters12 @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

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

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

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Book Blurb

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

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

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

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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About Laura Laakso

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

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LLaaksoWriter

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

Website: https://lauralaaksobooks.com/

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

Purchase Links

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

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

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

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