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Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The 13th Hour : Chaos by Richard Doetsch

The 13th Hour: Chaos

by Richard Doetsch

September 5 – 30, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE 13th HOUR : CHAOS by Richard Doetsch 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

A Mesmerizing Thriller Told in Reverse

On a warm Fourth of July in the quiet town of Byram Hills, Nick Quinn watches as his wife and daughter die in an unprecedented terrorist attack. Amid the disaster, Nick is approached by a dying friend who hands Nick an antique pocket watch.

Emotionally shattered and desperate, Nick takes the watch and is shocked to find himself propelled back in time to where he was an hour ago, before the attack on his town. Quickly stopping the course of events, his relief is shattered as life spirals in an even more tragic direction.

At the top of each hour, the watch sends Nick back two hours to live one hour again, a backwards march to relive each hour of his day. A twelve-hour journey providing precious but limited time to protect Julia and Katy and uncover the source of the ever growing threat.

But each time Nick thinks he’s solved the crime and secured the future, he uncovers new levels of deception, agony, and betrayal, ultimately revealing a far more sinister plot with unexpected players and grim, global consequences.

If Nick hasn’t set things right by the 13th hour, not only will his wife and daughter be lost forever to the chaos, but an even greater catastrophe will be unleashed upon the world.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62353512-13th-hour-chaos?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=PGr3Tqi85h&rank=11

The 13th Hour Chaos

Genre: Time Travel Thriller
Published by: Permuted Press
Publication Date: May 3rd 2022
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 1637583060 (ISBN13: 9781637583067)
Series: A Nick Quinn Thriller; The 13th Hour Series

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE 13^th HOUR: CHAOS (The Nick Quinn Thriller Book #2) by Richard Doetsch is an exciting and fast-paced time travel thriller featuring Nick Quinn. This story is the second in the series but can easily be read as a standalone thriller.

Nick Quinn is celebrating with his family and friends at the town’s Fourth of July party when one of his best friends appears telling Nick to take his backpack and pocket watch as he dies from a gunshot wound at his feet. Nick knows what the pocket watch does, but before he can even consider going back in time to save his friend, a terrorist attack leaves everyone he loves dead.

As Nick travels back two hours, he begins to discover betrayal, deception and a plot that will have worldwide consequences. Each time he goes back in time, he discovers another unexpected twist in the hours he repeats. Unless he can set everything right before The 13^th Hour his wife and daughter could be lost forever and the world thrown into war.

I really loved this edge-of-your-seat thriller. The time travel plot was unique with the characters only able to go back at two-hour intervals and not just anywhere in time. The plotting was done in a unique way which had Nick and Zane having to keep changing what they were doing in the future because of the changes they caused in the past. It sounds confusing, but as you read it, it is makes sense and keeps you turning the pages. Nick is a likable protagonist with close friends who are always there for him and his family no matter the consequences and the antagonists were all deceptive with personal motives which keep you guessing. Zane is a great pivotal character that I hated, felt sorry for and then was happy for him in the end.

This time travel thriller is well worth the read and I hope there will be more in this series.

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Excerpt

from Chapter 1

…[A side door opened, and a man stumbled through, looking barely coherent, and fell into Nick’s arms. His clothes were wet, his salt-and-pepper hair damp. Shocked, Nick realized he knew the man and knew him well. It was his close friend Paul Dreyfus, who had been at the top of the guest list and uncharacteristically late.

Nick supported his friend’s sagging weight and led him to a large couch on the far side of the lobby, where Dreyfus collapsed heavily.

“Are you okay?” Nick asked Paul. “What the hell happened?”

“Listen to me,” Dreyfus whispered.

As Nick let go of his friend, he saw blood covering his hands. Quickly, Nick ripped open Dreyfus’s shirt, revealing what looked like a bullet wound to the chest.

“Oh my God,” Nick breathed. “Julia?”

Julia was immediately at his side.

“Bonnie,” Julia turned to the babysitter, “could you take Katy to the bathroom in the back?”

Bonnie averted her eyes as she pulled Katy down through the back hall.

“What happened?” Nick asked his friend again.

Dreyfus pulled the strap of a dark leather satchel from about his neck and shoulder and looped it over Nick’s. “Listen to me, Nick. Listen very carefully….” Dreyfus paused to breathe, struggling to get the words out. “Don’t let that bag out of your sight…. He’s coming for you. He’s…coming for Julia.”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

Dreyfus reached into the bag and withdrew a single picture that made Nick’s blood run cold. It was an image of a man floating against the rocky shoreline of a lake, water lapping at his body, his face having lost all color, the skin white and curdled like rotted cheese, lips blue, cracked, and wet. There was no question that the man had died a painful death. In fact, he had almost surely drowned, his wet body and vacant stare leaving little doubt about the means of his demise.

Nick tried to catch his panicked breath. He knew the man, knew him well, better than anyone: he was looking into his own lifeless eyes.

“You all die….” Dreyfus whispered.

Julia turned to Nick, her skin flushing red as confusion filled her eyes. “Nick?” Her voice trembled.

Nick stared at Dreyfus, the impossibility of his words echoing in his head.

“You, Julia….” Dreyfus struggled to draw another breath. “Katy. Everyone.”

Nick turned and looked through the glass doors at the gathered crowd, which listened in rapt attention to the senator’s speech. Everyone Nick cared about was here, most listening to political rhetoric they couldn’t care less about. They were all attending as a favor to Nick and Julia.

“When?” Nick whispered to his dying friend.

Dreyfus seized Nick’s hand, locking eyes with him. “It’s all in the bag.”

“What’s in the bag?”

“You have to find me….” Dreyfus’s words sounded like a plea.

“I don’t understand…find you where?”

“I’m so sorry—”

A sudden roar exploded from the room, cheers and applause, as if the senator had concluded the speech of his life. The rising voices of the now-standing audience only amplified Nick’s dread.

And then a rumble shook the world, deep and foreboding.

Another rumble, an explosion, like a bomb, and then another and another and another….

The crowd fell silent, eyes darting about in confusion. New York was not the land of earthquakes, but the shaking earth said otherwise. Deep heavy rumblings seemed to roll the flagstone floor.

“Nick?” Julia looked around the lobby in fear as a hum began to grow. “What the hell is that?”

As the rumble grew in intensity, a collective panic took over the reception room, chaos filling the air as everyone tried to flee from the unknown with incoherent screams of fear, cramming through the doors to escape whatever danger was approaching.

The deep roar grew deafening, drowning out the screams, shaking the castle’s foundations. And then, as if hell had been unleashed, the reception room’s outer windows shattered; incomprehensibly, a wall of water drove through the space, rising toward the ceiling in seconds. Like a tidal wave, the barrage of water tore the room apart. Tables, chairs, fixtures, and carpets spun into a churning maelstrom. Men and woman were scooped up, helplessly tossed about, bodies hurled and twisted into dark whirlpools.

The light of day dimmed as the wall sconces winked out. Emergency lights reacted to the loss of power, their bright halogen rays flicking on, impervious to the water’s assault within their clear plastic housings, their beams like shafts of lightning, piercing the murky, rising, roiling waters.

An enormous howl of wind groaned as air was driven from the building, its gusts sweeping the water’s surface into blinding mist. Husbands and wives, friends and neighbors were quickly swept away, their screams doused as they were pulled under and sucked out through the narrow window openings like water through a drain.

From behind the thick glass doors, Nick and Julia watched in horror as their friends drowned, their twisted bodies becoming human flotsam and jetsam before being sucked out through the shattered picture windows on a violent tide into oblivion.

The lobby had already become a deep pool, the waters rising to Nick and Julia’s shoulders. Then, as if a tornado had struck, the glass doors were torn from their moorings and thrown into the tidal flow. A rush of water quickly rose toward the ceiling, sweeping Dreyfus’s body away.

Water filled the vestibule, its polished granite walls momentarily looking like an Italian pool. The couch where Dreyfus had lain, the tables and chairs splintered in the onslaught, all flushed through the main doors, carried on a raging current.

“Katy!” Julia screamed.

In the rising water, Nick swam for the bathroom where Katy and Bonnie had gone, the leather satchel looped about his body complicating the impossible task. The bathroom was at the far end of the vestibule, sequestered in a corner where the water’s attack had been delayed by the turns of the hallway. But the small, high windows now exploded, water pouring through as if from the spigots of heaven.

Julia swam hard in the same direction, battling the raging waters that rose higher and higher. She fought with all her might, kicking and pulling against the current, but the suction created by the millions of gallons of flowing water took hold of her. Despite all her years of swimming, in spite of her natural strength, she was losing, drawn inch by inch toward the door where death awaited.

Nick caught hold of her hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around a chandelier overhead. They were pulled and tossed by the water as it rose, pushing them up against the ceiling. Holding on with all his strength, Nick pulled her to him, but the suction made her feel like a two-ton weight, straining his arms, his grip.

“Hold on!” Nick yelled as their heads banged the ceiling, the water continuing to rise around them.

“We have to get Katy!” Julia struggled to hold on as Nick fought with every fiber of his being to not let her slip away.

“Mommy!” Katy’s cry pierced the cacophony of churning waters.

“Katy!” Julia screamed back. “Mommy’s coming!”

As the water pulled at them, Nick and Julia’s eyes locked in an unspoken understanding of what was happening. In order to get to Katy, to have any hope of saving her….

“Let me go,” Julia pleaded. “Save Katy, please. Please save Katy.”

Nick looked deep into his wife’s eyes; he couldn’t bear to do what she was asking. She was everything to him, his life, his heart. She was his soul.

“No,” Nick said. “Hold on.”

“It’s okay,” she said, holding his gaze. “Let me go.”

With her free hand, she grasped Nick’s fingers and gently pried them loose.

And with their eyes still locked, she released Nick’s hand. Her body, caught in the suction, instantly disappeared.

Despite the agony in his heart, Nick turned his body toward the bathroom. He reached and caught hold of one of the brass wall sconces mounted on the granite wall as the water continued its rise, only an inch of breathable air remaining.

Nick plunged under, into the current. The brass sconces lined the wall leading to the bathroom like a horizontal ladder. Hand over hand he pulled himself along, fighting with all his might, his arms burning with the impossible effort.

He briefly surfaced. “Katy!” he screamed in the narrow airway as he gulped sweet oxygen. “I’m coming!”

But the force of the current, the draw of the millions of gallons of water flowing through the building, had grown tenfold. Sapped of strength, Nick dug deep within himself…he couldn’t let her die, he wouldn’t fail her.

“Peas, Daddy!” Katy cried from up ahead. “Peas.…”

As the rising water squeezed away the last bit of air, Nick took a deep breath and dived under again.

He spotted the door, its giant brass handle gleaming with the refracted beams of the emergency lights. The thick mahogany portal opened outward, seated against a heavy metal frame, its design still withstanding the building pressure of the rising waters. But Nick knew it wouldn’t hold for long, the waters were surely pouring under the door, through any and every crack as it sought the path of least resistance.

“Daddy!”

Even under the churning water, Nick could hear Katy’s cry.

The violence of the current grew unbeatable. The weight of the satchel around his neck, like a bag of lead; his lungs burning, fighting the rush of water that pulled at him like a colossal magnet.

Nick reached for the handle of the door, his fingertips swiping the brass; straining for purchase, he planted his legs against the wall and used his last bit of strength to grasp the door.

The fire in his lungs pushed him to the brink, twinkling spots dancing before his eyes as his brain thirsted for oxygen.

And the suction caught hold of him, yanking him away, pulling him backwards toward the shattered windows.

With utter despair, his heart broken, having failed his wife and daughter, Nick knew he would join them in death.

Unable to resist, he gasped, and the water invaded his lungs….

And his world fell to darkness.]

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Author Bio

Richard Doetsch is the author of six international bestsellers published in twenty-eight countries, with several acquired for film and television. He is an adrenaline junkie with a passion for kitesurfing, skydiving, SCUBA diving, triathlons, and defying gravity in Zero G aircraft. He has served as CEO, president, and director in the real-estate industry, managing, creating, and preserving more than 50,000 units of affordable housing with an emphasis on social and community programs.

He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Virginia, who is the impetus and inspiration behind everything he writes.

Social Media Links

RichardDoetsch.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @richarddoetsch
Twitter – @richarddoetsch
Facebook – @richarddoetsch

Purchase Links

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KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/1em5nv/the-13th-hour-chaos-by-richard-doetsch

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Amish Newcomer, Amish Baby Lessons, and Her Path to Redemption by Patrice Lewis

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Book Description for The Amish Newcomer

Can an Englisch city girl ever become one of the Plain People?

She needed a safe place to hide.
Instead she found a place to call home…

Television journalist Leah Porte never imagined her career would end with her witnessing a murder. Now she’s temporarily living among the Amish in witness protection. Instead of feeling alone and adrift, Leah is warmly welcomed by the close-knit community–and Amish bachelor Isaac Sommer. But caught between two very different worlds, choosing love would mean leaving her Englisch life behind forever.

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Book Description for Amish Baby Lessons

They need her. But will she risk her heart?

She’s the perfect Amish nanny…until she falls for her bachelor employer.

Tall, plain and awkward, Amish maed Jane Troyer has always been “useful.” Now she’s the temporary nanny for overwhelmed Amish bachelor Levy Struder and his baby niece. But Jane’s finding it hard to resist falling for the sweet boppli and the handsome, hardworking Levy. Can this spirited Plain Jane win a bachelor’s heart…and make their temporary arrangement permanent?

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Book Description for Her Path to Redemption

Can she find forgiveness…

and a second chance?

Returning to the Amish community she left during her rumspringa, widowed mother Eliza Struder’s determined to repair her reputation. But one woman stands between her and acceptance into the church—the mother of the man she left behind. Which means Eliza must stay away from Josiah Lapp. But they’re still drawn to each other. Is it too late for the future that once filled both their dreams?

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Elise’s Thoughts

Patrice Lewis latest has three novels centering around the Amish. Each of the last three years she has written stories that allow readers to see the conflicts involving the hero and heroine. A bonus is that people begin to understand the differences between the Amish and English worlds.

The Amish Newcomer has a TV journalist, Leah Porte, witnessing a gang murder. Put into witness protection for her own safety, she is sent to live with an Amish Family. This story centers on country life versus city life as well as living independently versus relying on family and community. Leah also grapples with her feelings for Isaac Sommer who had lived among the English until he decided to return to his Amish roots and become baptized. Would their living in a different world, with different cultures, be too much for a relationship to flourish?

Amish Baby Lessons is an ugly duckling type of story. Jane Troyer sees herself as a “plain Jane” who is awkward, although useful. Deciding to have a change of atmosphere she goes to live with her aunt and uncle in a new state. After meeting Levy Struder and his infant niece Mercy, who he is caring for, Jane decides to accept his job offer of being a nanny. Caring for Mercy brings Levy and Jane together, both realizing that they have feelings for each other. Will they overcome their own insecurities to realize how much they care for each other?

Her Path to Redemption has Eliza Struder, Levy’s sister, coming back to the Amish community. She left during her rumspringa and had a baby, Mercy, out of wedlock with an English man whom she married. After he died, she gratefully accepted the charity of a Pastor and his wife, returning home. She quickly realizes that she still has feelings for Josiah Lapp, the man she left behind. Each are drawn to each other, but must overcome some obstacles including Josiah’s mother, if the bishop is willing to baptize Eliza, and will the community accept and forgive her.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Were these books a series?

Patrice Lewis: The first one, The Amish Newcomer, was a stand-alone book but the other two books, Amish Baby Lesson, and Her Path to Redemption, are related.

EC: Why witness protection in the first book, The Amish Newcomer?

PL: I was trying to figure out how an English woman would be a part of an Amish community, including her having to dress the part. The only thing I could come up with is witness protection. The Amish have been known to take people in for witness protection. How would the character settle in with no background about the Amish? Leah had to be taught by the family how do work without electricity, appliances, a learning curve. There is a lot of me in this book.

EC: How so?

PL: I wondered if I could do what Leah did. I also wondered if I could ever become Amish since I do not like modern electronics. A quote in this book, “In the world, but not of the world.” I did have the Isaac hero character publishing a magazine on a computer powered by solar panels. I would belong to a more modern branch order that is not so resistant to technology. People who like to withdraw from the modern world must conform to an extent to make a living, but they are selective.

EC: How would you describe Leah?

PL: A duck out of water because she never lived in a rural area. She was completely urban. The Amish work as a community, while Leah is used to being independent. She had to learn that labor, working with her hands, is not something to avoid. Labor with the Amish is a form of barter. She had to learn that domestic chores are not oppressive. Previously she was strong, competent, and career minded. Leah was part of the feminist culture who competed in a man’s world. She can be sarcastic, feisty, and blunt.

EC: How would you describe Isaac?

PL: He had a lot of baggage. He came back to the Amish and became baptized. He still has a lot of “English” about him. He is determined and confident, but feels he has a lot to prove.

EC: What about the relationship between Leah and Isaac?

PL: He was more interested in her. There is a massive barrier because he was Amish, and she was not. This stopped him from getting involved with her.

EC: In Amish Baby Lessons what gave you the idea?

PL: Originally, I had the idea of a plain Jane, an ugly duckling.

EC: How would you describe Jane?

PL: Originally, I had her very plain, sarcastic, and bitter. Her mom told her to travel to her aunt and uncle for a change of environment. I decided to tone her bitterness down because she was not a very likeable character. Hired as a nanny, working with an infant, the more her true spirit comes out: she cannot be beautiful, but can be useful. Jane was based on a librarian I knew years ago who was adored. Even though she was not pretty, everyone loved her. Looks are not everything.

EC: What about the relationship with Jane and Levy?

PL: He adores her. He feels Jane’s inside is pure gold. He must get over his guilt because he thinks he chased his sister Eliza away when raising her after their parents died. Jane respects him for trying to raise Eliza’s daughter. Jane drew out the best in him and realizes he is a good man.

EC: What is the role of the baby Mercy?

PL: She represents hope. She gives Levy a do-over chance. She brings Jane and Levy together. Backstory on the book cover. It shows a four-month-old but when the book begins Mercy is a newborn infant. They did alter the text on the back cover description.

EC: How about Eliza who is in this book and the main character in the next book, The Path to Redemption?

PL: Caring, has an unsettled life, rebellious, but has changed. Because of her turnaround she still has a fire in her but has become subdued. In the last book Eliza marvels how Levy has changed. She was at rock bottom and was given money to return home. She was determined to pay this debt back.

EC: In the last book, Her Path To Redemption, how would you describe Josiah?

PL: He was bitter toward the English world because it lured Eliza away. His mother was resentful of Eliza.

EC: The role of the dolls?

PL: I was surprised to learn that the Amish share medical costs, if necessary, but everyone is responsible to make their own living. The dolls grew into a business for Eliza where she could become financially independent.

EC: Next books?

PL: The Mysterious Amish Nanny is out in January. The heroine was originally raised Amish but after her parents were killed, she had to enter foster care in the English world. She had been a banker until everything comes crashing down. She takes this cross-county trip, and her car breaks down next to an Amish community. Another book is a story of three siblings, a three-book series, which will probably not come out until April 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.

Book Review: K-9 Cold Case by Elizabeth Heiter

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

K-9 COLD CASE (K-9 Alaska Book #3, Unsolved Mystery Book #3) by Elizabeth Heiter is another fast-paced, exciting romantic suspense in the Harlequin Intrigue K-9 Alaska series. This book is set in small-town Alaska featuring the chief of police and an FBI Victim Specialist and his therapy dog chasing an unsub who has left the same image at all his crime scenes over the last eight years. This book is part of two series but is easily read as a standalone crime mystery.

Chief of Police Keara Hernandez moved to Desparre, Alaska after the murder investigation of her detective husband in Houston became a cold case six years ago to try and heal. When a bomb goes of in the neighboring town of Luna, Keara offers to assist the FBI agents called in to lead the investigation.

Jax Diallo is an FBI Victim Specialist who travels with his therapy dog, Patches to work with the crime victims as other FBI special agents investigate the crime. As Jax and Keara do their jobs, a second bomb is exploded in Desparre’s public park. Both times a symbol is left behind that Keara recognizes from the pictures of her husband’s cold case. But what do a bomber and a murderer have in common? Also, as they work together, they try to fight the growing attraction they feel for each other.

Jax and Keara try to discover what ties all the cold cases and recent bombings together, but the bomber has Keara in his sights, and he has plans to make Keara a cold case like her dead husband.

I love both Keara and Jax in this book. They are well written and believable with both the pacing of their investigation and their attraction. The crime/suspense plot was well paced with twists that made it exciting and I just kept turning the pages. Of course, I also love the canine companion in each book in this series. This is a gripping romantic suspense with more suspense than romance, but it works in this story.

I highly recommend this addition to the series and I am looking forward to many more by this author!

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About the Author

Publishers Weekly bestselling author ELIZABETH HEITER likes her suspense to feature strong heroines, chilling villains, psychological twists, and a little bit of romance. Her research has taken her into the minds of serial killers, through murder investigations, and onto the FBI Academy’s shooting range. Her novels have been published in more than a dozen countries and eight languages; they’ve also been shortlisted for the HOLT Medallion, National Readers’ Choice, Daphne Du Maurier and Booksellers’ Best awards and won the RT Reviewers’ Choice award.

Elizabeth graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English Literature. She’s a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Romance Writers of America.

Social Media Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/elizabeth.heiter.author

Instagram: www.instagram.com/elizabeth_heiter/

Twitter: @ElizabethHeiter

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Girl, Forgotten for by Karin Slaughter

Book Description

A small town hides a big secret…

Who killed Emily Vaughn?

Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what’s supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.

Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea’s real focus isn’t the judge – it’s Emily Vaughn. Ever since she first heard Emily’s name a year ago, she’s been haunted by her brutal death. Nobody was ever convicted – her friends closed ranks, her family shut themselves off in their grief, the town moved on – so the killer is still out there. But now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened…

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Elise’s Thoughts

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter is a follow-up to her 2018 thriller Pieces of Her. Earlier this year, Netflix produced a Pieces of Her mini-series. This book will take readers back to their high school days with a reminder of how cliquey a group of students can be. Par for the course, Slaughter has a riveting murder mystery and fascinating characters.

The plot starts out with Andrea Oliver graduating as a US Marshal. Her first assignment is to protect a judge receiving death threats, but she is also asked to secretly investigate the cold case murder of the judge’s daughter, Emily Vaughn, who died forty years ago. There are dual timelines of Emily’s past and Andrea’s present perspectives broken up by witness statements given in the original investigation. These captivating flashbacks follow Emily in the period leading up to her death as she engages in a Columbo-inspired investigation of her own.

What Slaughter does best is draw readers into the event as they sympathize with the victim. In this case, Emily had dreams and was going places after high school. But it all came to a drastic halt after she was ostracized because of what happened to her. She was also murdered because of that event and Andrea is determined to bring her justice especially since the small town moved on with Emily’s friends closing ranks, her family ignoring their grief, and no one was ever convicted.

This plot is a page-turner with many twists. As always, the pacing makes the intensity of the story ratchet up.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What did you think of the Netflix series, Pieces of Her, based on your book?

Karin Slaughter: It is clearly different than the book. I just thought that the book is the book, and the show is the show. It was really a lot of fun to watch. We will see if they make more episodes.

EC: Is this book a continuation of your first book?

KS: They will market it when the book comes out with a sticker on the book referring to Pieces of Her. This started with a question about Andrea. In the previous book she wonders about her mom and herself. In this book she is trying to figure out how to be unlike her father, to be a good person. It is really important that she has Leonard Bible, a senior US Marshal, mentoring her. He shows her how to do things the right way.

EC: Why a US Marshal?

KS: I found writing about the US Marshals and Andy interesting. I talked with a ton of Marshals. It was fascinating to see all the cool duties they have. I wanted her to have this profession as a way to rebel against her mother, Laura. She was in witness protection and feels Andrea joined the enemy. I find it fascinating how people have one kind of life and then must have a new life. Usually someone made a deal to testify. Many times, they still must go to prison, which is what happened to Laura. I wanted to show how Andy grows up and becomes her own person. If I decide to write it as a series, having Andy as a Marshal gives me an opportunity to write about a lot of different crimes. They hunt down and keep track of pedophiles, chase after fugitives, and are responsible for security.

EC: How would you describe the relationship between Laura and Andrea?

KS: In the beginning it is a little broken. But then I think Laura does what good parents do. She accepts that Andrea will make her own choices even if she does not agree. By the end of the book, she comes around to that way of thinking. Andrea learns she can disappoint her mother and that is OK. There has been a transition from the first book to this book between the mother-daughter relationship.

EC: Do you think Andrea grew up in this book?

KS: Andrea had a lot of growing up to do. I wanted her to go through that evolution to find her strength. She blew everything up to find herself just as her mother did. There is a line by Laura, “wherever you go, there you are.” Maybe the world is not the problem, but she is the problem. She ends up as someone who is independent and a survivor.

EC: What about Judge Esther?

KS: She would tell you she is a good person who did some bad things. She only supports a certain type of woman, who must be just like her. She only gives a hand to people she approves of. She had her and her daughter Emily’s life all planned out. But after the incident, Esther only wanted Emily to disappear.

EC: Is Wexler evil?

KS: Calling him evil lets him off the hook. He is an opportunist. He tries to make his life as easy as he can that is directed toward his pleasure. Clearly a cult leader. He seems more nuanced. Like Jim Jones, Manson, and Koresh, those men in charge of a cult do it just to have sex with young girls. He is a bad guy where a lot of his actions comes from a deep hatred of women. He is a psychopath and a narcissist.

EC: Did Emily get cancelled?

KS: Everyone talks about getting canceled as if it came after the Internet. But those in high school know of someone that got canceled. Yes, because of what happened to her it put her on the outside of a group. All people wanted to do was punish her and considered her a pariah.

EC: Why did you mention dementia-like actions in the book?

KS: Esther’s husband, Franklin, did have a massive stroke. Esther kept him alive because she was under his thumb for most of her adult life and a lot of it was her wanting vengeance. There is also the fact that once she was caught in this horrible relationship she does not know how to live outside of this relationship.

EC: Why did you choose the music in the book?

KS: I grew up as a teenager in the late 1980s. I really enjoyed putting these songs in the book. I really love the Go-Gos. I thought how amazing they were considering they were the first all-female group to get to number one, playing their own music. These are all songs I liked. I am a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

EC: Do you have any other books or characters that are going to be made into a movie or TV series?

KS: Yes. Will Trent is picked up by ABC and will be made into a TV series. It might come out in January, thirteen episodes. After watching the pilot, it captures the spirit of my books, gripping with lots of twists and turns. Will is played by Ramon Rodriguez. The earlier books did not have Sara, so they are figuring out when to introduce her.

EC: Next book?

KS: In the summer of next year will be a Will and Sara book.

THANK YOU!!

***

Feature Post and Mini Book Reviews: High Stakes and High Ground by Freya Barker

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Mini Book Reviews for book #2 High Stakes and Book #3 High Ground in the High Mountain Trackers series. These books not only feature two hot alpha heroes but also the two Freling sisters who captured their hearts.

Below you will find the book descriptions, the mini book reviews, the author’s bio and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book #2 Description

When her sister, Pippa, goes missing, Nella Freling tells her boss she’s taking time off from her job as a research librarian, hops in her sensible van, and heads south of the border to Montana. However, local police don’t seem too concerned about a missing woman living in her motorhome. So Nella will have to look for Pippa by herself, unless she can convince a highly recommended tracker to help her, but sadly the rude and angry cowboy won’t even listen to her at first.
But Nella can be persuasive.

The first time High Mountain Tracker, Fletch Boone, laid eyes on Nella, her ass was stuck in his grocery cart. The next time was at the ranch; she was wearing mud, head to toe. But when he catches sight of her a third time, hanging off a cliff, he can’t turn his back again. What Nella lacks in survival skills she makes up for in sheer determination. Unfortunately, neither of those is enough protection when bullets start flying.

Fletch has no choice but to jump in before the woman gets herself killed.
And that would be a damn shame.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60036895-high-stakes?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=THQRIq9rva&rank=2

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My Mini Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

As Nella and Fletch search for the missing sister, Fletch has his hands full with the head-strong Nella who will do anything to find her sister even as she places herself in danger.

This book is another exciting romantic suspense in the High Mountain Trackers series. Nella and Fletch have a slow burn romance intertwined in a search and rescue and crime suspense plot that is full of twists. I found Nella and Fletch to be believable in their dance from self-protection to trust and love. All the characters from book one are back to watch Mr. Grumpy fall and provide some entertaining dialogue. This is a cast of characters that pull you right into their stories and I cannot wait for more.

***

Book #3 Description

Not much has gone according to plan for mechanic, Pippa Freling, recently. With lots of bridges burned behind her, she decides to stick close to her sister and give Montana a try.

Things are looking up when she joins a local group of animal activists, buys an auto shop for a steal, and even tries her luck with the opposite sex. But it doesn’t take long before her hopeful new future is derailed once again.
This time permanently.

Maintaining tight control is the stronghold in Sully Eckhart’s life. It served him well during his years in special forces and has kept him out of trouble since. But his self-restraint stretches only so far whenever he finds himself faced with the one woman who has the ability to shake his determination. A woman he’s tried to avoid for months—since the first time she shook his resolve—but who now finds herself in the middle of a serial murder case.

However, when she not only ends up a person of interest to the FBI, but firmly in the crosshairs of a killer, he has no other option but to stick close.
And give up all control.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60056449-high-ground?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=lYXH7PNhjW&rank=2

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My Mini Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Pippa finds herself being investigated as a person of interest by the FBI in a serial murder case. She has more on her plate than she can handle by herself and when the solitary Sully finds out about the news she has yet to share, he refuses to leave her side. As Pippa and Sully learn to share all aspects of their lives, their future life together is being endangered.

The High Mountain Trackers series of romantic suspense books never disappoint. Pippa and Sully are both so independent and I enjoyed their journey to becoming a couple. I loved the way both had to learn to give and take and how they did what was right for them without worrying what others felt about their choices. There is always crossover between the books in the series, but there is even more in this book due to Nella, Pippa’s sister’s pregnancy and delivery and the entire team assisting in the serial murder case. There are several plotlines in this story, but all are answered by the HEA. The sex scenes are steamy and explicit, but not gratuitous. This series has mature heroes and heroines, and the author deals with their personal problems in an adult manner and does not hesitate to give them mature love lives, also.

***

Author Bio

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”, Finalist for the 2017 Kindle Book Award with “From Dust”, and Finalist for the 2020 Kindle Book Award with “When Hope Ends”, 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!

Social Media Links

Facebook: http://bit.ly/FreyaFacebookTwitter: http://bit.ly/FreyaTwitter
Instagram: http://bit.ly/FreyaInstagram
Web: http://bit.ly/FreyaWeb
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/FreyaGoodreads
Newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/Freya_Newsletter Bookbub: http://bit.ly/FreyaBookBub

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Death at the Manor by Katharine Schellman

Death at the Manor

by Katharine Schellman

August 8 – September 2nd, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn to share my Feature Post and Book Review for DEATH AT THE MANOR (A Lily Adler Mystery Book #3) by Katharine Schellman 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

The tortured spirits of the dead haunt a Regency-era English manor—but the true danger lies in the land of the living in the third installment in the Lily Adler mysteries, perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn.

Regency widow Lily Adler is looking forward to spending the autumn away from the social whirl of London. When she arrives in Hampshire with her friends, the Carroways, she doesn’t expect much more than a quiet country visit and the chance to spend time with her charming new acquaintance, Matthew Spencer.

But something odd is afoot in the small country village. A ghost has taken up residence in the Belleford manor, a lady in grey who wanders the halls at night, weeping and wailing. Half the servants have left in terror, but the family seems delighted with the notoriety that their ghost provides. Intrigued by this spectral guest, Lily and her party immediately make plans to visit Belleford.

They arrive at the manor the next morning ready to be entertained—only to find that tragedy has struck. The matriarch of the family has just been found killed in her bed.

The dead woman’s family is convinced that the ghost is responsible. Lily is determined to learn the truth before another victim turns up—but could she be next in line for the Great Beyond?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59594188-death-at-the-manor?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=IWs7qWHIPi&rank=1

Death at the Manor

by Katharine Schellman

Genre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: August 9th 2022
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 1639100784 (ISBN13: 9781639100781)
Series: Lily Adler Mystery #3

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

DEATH AT THE MANOR (A Lily Adler Mystery Book #3) is another entertaining historical cozy mystery in this series featuring Regency widow, Lily Adler and her close group of friends. This book is easily read as a standalone mystery but some of Lily’s close friends are carried over from the previous books in the series.

After dealing with two murder mysteries in the bustling swirl of London society, Lily Adler is happy to be retreating to the country home of her aunt and friend. Lord and Lady Carroway accompany her before they are to continue on to their country home. On their first night, they are invited to dinner by Matthew Spenser who made Lily’s acquaintance in London, and they learn of a tale of a ghost haunting the inhabitants of Belleford manor.

They are invited for a tour of the manor and are told the story of the “lady in gray” who wanders the halls weeping and wailing the halls at night. As they are being given the tour by the son of the manor, there is a scream from his sister who finds the matriarch of the manor dead in her bed. There seems to be no way to enter the room after she locks her door from in inside each night, so her death is blamed on the ghost.

Lily and her friends do not believe in ghosts, and she is determined to learn the truth of this death.

I enjoy this series and all the characters, especially Lily. I am always guessing what Lily will choose to do with her love life while she states she is not ready to move on from the death of her husband and yet she has two gentlemen very interested in her. I enjoy a locked room mystery and this addition to the series was well written one with plenty of suspects and red herrings and a surprise twist at the end. I did feel though there were a few places in this story that lagged a bit compared to the other mysteries in the series. All the secondary characters are well drawn especially Ophelia Carroway. The dress, customs, and activities are well researched and suitable to the time period.

I am always happy to read a Lily Adler historical cozy mystery.

***

Excerpt

As they walked, Mr. Wright fell in step next to Ofelia. “Have you ever seen a ghost before, Lady Carroway?”

“I have not,” she replied, as polite as ever in spite of the hint of skepticism in her voice. “Pray, what does it look like?”

“Like a lady in white and gray,” he said, and Lily was surprised to see how serious his expression was. His frivolous, unctuous manner had dropped away, and he shivered a little as he gestured toward the windows. “No one has seen her face. The first time I saw her she was standing right there, bathed in moonlight, when I was returning from a late night in the village. And my sister saw her in the early morning only two days ago. Some nights, we have heard her wails echoing through the halls, even when she is nowhere to be seen.”

Lily exchanged a look with her aunt, who seemed surprised by the detail in Thomas Wright’s story and the quaver in his voice. Either he believed wholeheartedly in his ghost, or he was putting on a very convincing performance for his audience.

“And what does she do?” Ofelia asked, sounding a little more somber now, as they drew

to a halt in front of the windows. The small party looked around the corner of the hall. It was unremarkable enough, with several large paintings, and a tall, handsome curio cabinet standing in an alcove. An old-fashioned tapestry hung across one wall, though it was worn and faded enough that it was hard to tell exactly what picture it had originally presented.

“Nothing, so far,” Mr. Wright said, a sort of forced theatricality in his voice that left Lily puzzled.

She had expected, based on what Mr. Spencer had said the night before, to find an eager showman in Thomas Wright, ready to bask in the attention of curious neighbors, not a true believer in the supernatural. Glancing at Mr. Spencer out of the corner of her eye, she thought he looked equally puzzled.

“She stands and weeps, or floats around the hall and wails. Usually, if someone tries to draw close, she vanishes. But last month—” Mr. Wright’s voice dropped a little. He still glanced

uneasily toward the other end of the hall, as if momentarily distracted or looking for someone, before quickly returning his attention to his audience. “Last month she became angry when one of our housemaids came upon her unexpectedly. The lady in gray pursued her down the hall, wailing. Poor Etta was so scared that she fell down the stairs in her haste to get away. That

was when our servants started leaving.”

“I trust the housemaid has recovered?” Mr. Spencer asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“She has,” Mr. Wright replied. “But no one has tried to approach the lady in gray again. We think she wishes to be left alone.”

“Well,” Lily said, attempting a return to lightness, “as far as ghosts go, that sounds reasonable enough. I confess I feel that way often enough myself, especially after too many busy nights in a row.”

Ofelia, who had been looking a little wide-eyed, giggled, and Mr. Spencer quickly covered a cough that might have been a chuckle.

Mr. Wright scowled, his expression halfway between unease and displeasure. “I take it you are not a woman who believes in ghosts, Mrs. Adler?”

“I have never had the opportunity to find out whether or not I am,” Lily replied. “The homes I have lived in have all been stubbornly unhaunted.”

“For your sake, madam, I hope they remain that way,” Mr. Wright said. There was an unexpected note of resignation in his voice as he added, “It is not a comfortable thing to live with.”

“I would have thought you to be fond of yours, sir,” Lily said. “If you dislike her so, why go to the trouble of showing visitors around and telling them the story?”

Mr. Wright smiled, some of the showman creeping back into his manner. “Because you are here, dear ladies. And how could I resist such a beautiful audience?”

“Tell me, has your family any idea who this lady in gray might be?” Lily’s aunt asked politely.

He nodded, his voice dropping even further, and they all reflexively drew closer to hear what he was saying. “We each have our own theory, of course,” he said. “I believe it is my father’s great-aunt, Tabitha, whose bedroom was just this way. If you would care to see the spot?” He held out his arm to Ofelia, who took it. Mr. Wright, engrossed in his story once more, turned to lead them down the closest passage. “Tabitha died there some fifty years ago, of a broken heart, they say, after news arrived of the death of her betrothed in the colonies—”

His story was suddenly cut off by screaming. Not a single shriek of surprise or dismay, but a cry that seemed to go on without ceasing. Thomas Wright froze, the genial smile dropping from his face in shock. “Selina?” he called.

The screaming continued, growing more hysterical. Dropping Ofelia’s arm, he ran toward the sound, which was coming from the far hallway, past the stairs. The others, stunned into stillness, stared at each other, unsure what to do.

“I think it’s Miss Wright,” Mr. Spencer said, all traces of merriment gone from his face. “Wait here—I shall see if they need any assistance.” He made to go after, but Thomas Wright was already returning, rushing down the hall next to another man, who was carrying the screaming woman.

“The parlor, just next to you, Spencer!” Mr. Wright called. “Open the door!”

Mr. Spencer, the closest to the door, flung it open, and the hysterical woman was carried in. She was laid on a chaise longue in the middle of the dim little room, Mr. Spencer stepping forward to help settle her as the man who had carried her stepped back. Lily, glancing

around as she and the other ladies crowded through the door, thought it looked like a space reserved for the family’s private use, which made sense on an upper floor. Thomas Wright knelt next to the hysterical woman for a moment, clasping her hands.

“Selina?” he said loudly. But she kept screaming, her eyes wide and darting about the room without seeing anything. Judging by the round cheeks and dark hair they both shared, Lily thought she must be his sister. Whether they had other features in common was hard to tell when Selina Wright was in the middle of hysterics.

“Miss Wright?” Matthew Spencer tried giving her shoulders a shake. “You must stop this at once!”

But she clearly could not hear either of them. Thomas Wright took a deep breath and looked grim as, with a surprising degree of practicality, he slapped her across the face.

The screams stopped abruptly, her blank expression resolving into one of terror before her eyes latched on her brother. Her face crumpled in misery. “Oh, Thomas!” she sobbed, gasping for breath.

He gave her shoulders a little shake. “Selina, stop this—you must tell me what happened.” But she only shook her head, clutching at his coat with desperate fists and dropping her head against his shoulder, her weeping shaking them both. Mr. Wright turned to the servant who had carried his sister. “Isaiah, what happened to her?”

Isaiah was a young Black man with very short, curly hair and broad shoulders. His plain, dark clothing marked him clearly as a servant, though it was nothing so formal as the livery that

would have been worn in a great house. His wide stance spoke of confidence, and the easy way that Thomas Wright addressed him indicated long service and familiarity.

But there was no confidence on the manservant’s face as he hesitated, gulping visibly and shaking his head. His eyes were wide, and he stumbled over his words as he tried to answer, either unsure how to respond or not wanting to. “It’s . . . it’s Mrs. Wright, sir. She didn’t open her door when we knocked, and Miss Wright . . . she asked me to open it, since no one has the key . . . and she was there, sir—Mrs. Wright. She was there but she wasn’t moving. There was nothing we could do, but there was no one else there what could have done it. She’s dead, sir,” he finished in a rush. “Mrs. Wright is dead. She was killed in the night.”

Beside her, Lily heard Ofelia gasp, though she didn’t turn to look at her friend. Mr. Spencer looked up, his dark eyes wide as he met Lily’s from across the room. She stared back at him, frozen in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard.

“Killed?” Thomas Wright demanded, his voice rising with his own disbelief and his arms tightening around his sister.

“It killed her, Thomas,” Selina Wright said, raising her head at last. Now that her hysterics had faded, her cheeks had gone ashen with fear. “There was no one else who could have entered that room. The lady in gray killed our mother.”

***

Author Bio

Katharine Schellman is a former actor, one-time political consultant, and now the author of the Lily Adler Mysteries and the Nightingale Mysteries. Her debut novel, The Body in the Garden, was one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2020 and led to her being named one of BookPage’s 16 Women to Watch in 2020. Her second novel, Silence in the Library, was praised as “worthy of Agatha Christie or Rex Stout.” (Library Journal, starred review) Katharine lives and writes in the mountains of Virginia in the company of her husband, children, and the many houseplants she keeps accidentally murdering.