Today is my turn on the Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tour for an engaging new paranormal witch mystery/thriller – DREAM STALKER by Nancy Gardner.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!
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BookDescription
Lily Scott had vowed never to dream-walk-again….
Lily is a contemporary Salem witch who descends from a long line of witches born with the power to walk into other people’s dreams to fight crime. But her disastrous first dream-walk almost killed her, and she vowed never to repeat the painful experience.
Now her daughter is falsely accused of murder, and the only way to clear her would be for Lily to enter the dreaming mind of the real killer, risking confrontation with the deadly Dream Stalker.
DREAM STALKER: A Paranormal Mystery by Nancy Gardner is an engaging new paranormal witch mystery/thriller. The mystery is complete, but the ending does leave a few character-related open-ended questions that could lead to this being the first book in a series.
Lily Scott is a fifty-something widow living in Salem, Mass. with a complicated family life. She is also a witch. Lily comes from a long line of females in her family who are marked with a firefly birthmark and the ability to dream walk to uncover injustice, but it does come with the sometime consequence of facing and fighting the Dream Stalker. Her first dream walk as a young girl ended in near disaster and she has not dream walked since.
Lily’s daughter, Sarah is accused of murder, and she realizes that to save her family, she must find the courage to dream walk again.
I was impressed with how this new-to-me author was able to write engrossing, fully fleshed characters, while also pulling together paranormal elements, witch folklore and herbal teachings and an intricate mystery plot. It was all done seamlessly and with a believability that always kept me engaged and guessing. I never felt the author was cheating me with Lily’s ability being the only way to uncover facts and clues so that this mystery could be solved. I enjoyed all of Lily’s friends and was glad to see her family working on their rift.
I enjoyed this paranormal mystery/thriller, and I am hoping to be able to follow Lily and her friends and family on future mystery adventures.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1
Salem, Massachusetts—October 1, 2013
I stumbled through the early morning fog blanketing Salem’s Gallows Hill, hurrying to the oak tree that my maternal grandmother, Sadie MacAskill, loved. When I was a child, she’d taught me that witches like ourselves derive energy from working with green, growing plants and trees. I could still feel our arms stretched around the oak’s trunk, listening for the pulsing power within it.
“Feel Mother Earth’s wisdom rising,” she’d said.
I’d never needed wisdom more. The plan I’d cooked up with an old friend had gone terribly wrong. Kitty was supposed to bring my estranged daughter, Sarah, to dinner. Sarah’s favorite dinner, creamy chicken pesto and pasta, was baking in the oven when I got the call.
“Kitty hasn’t come home, and I’m not ready to see you without her. I may never be ready,” Sarah said, her voice cold and unforgiving. She hung up before I could reply.
When I called her back, she refused to answer. If my husband, Sam, had still been alive, he’d have known what to do. But he’d died two years ago.
It was long after midnight when I threw the cold casserole down the disposal and crawled into bed. When sleep proved impossible, I paced the empty rooms of our Chestnut Street home until dawn, then grabbed the nearly empty bottle of homemade dandelion brandy as an offering to Nana’s spirit and rode my Vespa to the park atop Gallows Hill.
Exhausted and headachy, I forgot to watch my step and tripped over a rock. I managed not to fall, but the bottle flew out of my hand. I watched it shatter, watched the last golden dregs seep into the grass. I felt like I was watching my relationship with my daughter ebb with it.
As I dropped shards of glass into the nearby trash can, the wind seemed to whisper that I didn’t deserve to find the wisdom I needed. I’d failed Nana, and I’d failed my daughter.
“Enough self-pity.” I pulled my leather jacket tighter and scurried past the crumbling pavilion and rusting flagpole to the ancient oak. Once again, I pressed my cheek to the rough bark, closed my eyes, and waited. The bark pulsed. A crow landed in the branches above me, cawing and shaking loose a shower of dead leaves. I opened my eyes, and for a moment, Nana’s face wavered before me. Then she was gone, leaving me with my questions unanswered.
My cell vibrated. Who would call me this early? Sarah? Kitty with an explanation? I checked the screen. Neither. Honey Campbell, my landlord and a good friend. She owned the building on Pickering Wharf where we both ran our businesses. Her barbershop took up the first floor. My herbal studio, Healing Thyme, sat above it.
“Hi, Honey. What’s up.”
“Thought you’d want to know your friend, Kitty, came looking for you,” Honey said in her soft Scottish brogue. “And bye-the-bye, she looked like shite. She stumbled off toward Moe’s. You might yet find her there.”
Two months earlier, Kitty had stopped me on the street. I’d taken her for a panhandler and almost turned her away. Then she said, “Lily, don’t you remember me? My parents took us to New York to see West Side Story. We had the best time.”
We’d shared a cup of coffee and Kitty shared her story. She’d been a high school biology teacher until she’d been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. The disease had taken everything from her: her teaching career, her home, her reason for living. She’d ended up lost on the streets.
Things had taken a turn for the better for Kitty when she found a permanent bed at St. Bridget’s Homeless Shelter and, because of the doctor who volunteered his services there, Kitty’s memory was making a remarkable improvement.
“Thanks, Honey. I’m on my way.” I dashed back to the Vespa, strapped on my helmet, and started the engine. Usually, the thrum of the engine beneath me and the slapping rhythm of my braid tapping against my back soothed me. Not this morning. I pressed the throttle and hurried to Pickering Wharf, determined to find out what had gone wrong last night.
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Author Bio
Nancy Gardner writes cozy mysteries with a paranormal twist. The first novel in her new series, Dream Stalker, tells the story of Lily Scott, a contemporary Salem witch who walks into people’s dreams to fight crime. One reviewer called it a gripping tale of witchcraft, family loyalties, and the cost of seeking justice. Her most recent short story, “Death’s Door,” was selected to be included in the 2021 anthology, Malice Domestic 16: Mystery Most Diabolical. She lives near Boston with her writer husband, David.
Today is my turn on the Book n All Promotions Blog Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for REVENGE ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #5) by Stewart Giles.
Below you will find a book description, my book review and the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
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Book Description
REVENGE IS SWEET.
How do you solve a murder when you’re the number one suspect?
Fifteen years ago Patrick Finney was sentenced to life for the brutal murders of four women. It was one of the most high-profile cases in Irish history and one that defined Detective Inspector Liam O’Reilly’s career. O’Reilly was instrumental in bringing Finney down.
Now Finney has escaped from a high-security prison and he’s not content to stay on the run.
He wants revenge and he’s prepared to stop at nothing to get it.
Abandoned by the very people he’s employed by O’Reilly finds himself in a predicament that leaves him running out of options. There is only one man who can help him. But it’s a man he vowed he would never contact again, and the consequences of his association with this phantom could be far worse than O’Reilly could ever imagine.
When the hunter becomes the hunted the rules of the game have to change.
This is a chilling mystery that O’Reilly will never forget.
DS JASON SMITH SERIES Book 0.5 – Phobia Book 1 – Smith Book 2 – Boomerang Book 3 – Ladybird Book 4 – Occam’s Razor Book 5 – Harlequin Book 6 – Selene Book 7 – Horsemen Book 8 – Unworthy Book 9 – Venom Book 10 – Severed Book 11 – Demons Book 12 – Deadeye Book 13 – Motive Book 14 – Australia
Book 16 – Wishbone
DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES Book 1 – Blood on the Island
Book 2 – Lies on the Island
Book 3 – Fear on the Island
Book 4 – Malice on the Island
Book 5 – Revenge on the Island
DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES Book 1-The Beekeeper Book 2-The Perfect Murder Book 3-The Backpacker Trotterdown a box set of DC Harriet Taylor books 1-3
DS JASON SMITH &DC HARRIET TAYLOR SERIES Book 1 – The Enigma Book 2 – Dropzone Book 3 – The Raven Girl Trilogy: The DS Smith & Harriet Taylor box set
THE MIRANDA TRILOGY (psychological thrillers) Miranda Mistress Medusa
STANDALONE HORROR The Divide
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
REVENGE ON THE ISLAND: A Compelling Mystery with a Dark Twist (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #5) by Stewart Giles is an exciting and edge-of-your-seat addition to this series that I was unable to put down! Even though this is the fifth book in the series, it is easily read as a standalone.
DI Liam “Smiley” O’Reilly thought he was getting away from the high stress crimes of Dublin when he moved to the smaller force on Guernsey Island. It has not quite worked out that way, and now he is about to face a depraved serial killer from his past.
When the hunter becomes the hunted and has run out of options, Smiley is left with contacting the one man from his past he has vowed to never contact again.
You are going to want to set aside the time to read this mystery/thriller in one sitting. I did. This story is a perfect balance of action, surprise twists and strong characters. I love Smiley, his daughter, Assumpta and his entire team; they are all interesting, fully developed characters that could walk right off the page. The mystery/thriller plot of this addition to the series is especially intense and chilling as it seemed impossible to prove Smiley was being framed and then the plot builds to an ending that is completely shocking!
I highly recommend this new Smiley book, the entire series and this author with his multiple entertaining and smart series.
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Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow with book 16 recently published. The first 5 books in the Detective Liam O’Reilly series are now available.
Maybe Tess is overprotective, but passing her daughter off to her ex and his new young wife fills her with a sense of dread. It’s not that Jason is a bad father–it just hurts to see him enjoying married life with someone else. Still, she owes it to her daughter Poppy to make this arrangement work.
But Poppy returns from the weekend tired and withdrawn. And when she shows Tess a crayon drawing–an image so simple and violent that Tess can hardly make sense of it—-Poppy can only explain with the words, “He did kill her.”
Something is horribly wrong. Tess is certain Poppy saw something–or something happened to her–that she’s too young to understand. Jason insists the weekend went off without a hitch. Doctors advise that Poppy may be reacting to her parents’ separation. And as the days go on, even Poppy’s disturbing memory seems to fade. But a mother knows her daughter, and Tess is determined to discover the truth. Her search will set off an explosive tempest of dark secrets and buried crimes–and more than one life may be at stake.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Unheard by Nicci French, the pseudonym for husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, is a gripping psychological thriller. Anyone who is a mother can relate to this story where the emphasis is a mother knowing and understanding their child.
Tess Moreau is the mother of three-year-old Poppy. She and her partner, Jason, have gone their separate ways and have agreed on a custody timeline. But something has gone very wrong after Poppy spends a night with Jason, his current wife, and her brother who is living with them. The child is clingy, wetting her bed, cussing, and drawing pictures of death. None of these behaviors were evident before. Tess goes into overdrive as she tries to figure out if Poppy witnessed a murder, saw an act of violence, or was abused. As Poppy continues to act out, Tess goes to the police, convinced a crime was committed, but has no evidence. She is frustrated because no one believes her, not the police, her friends, her mother, her current boyfriend, her estranged partner, and school officials.
Readers sympathize with Tess, understanding her feeling of helplessness. She experiences every parent’s nightmare of a young child. Her daughter does not yet have the words to express what was upsetting her and could only try to do so through drawings and behavior. But a mother knows her daughter. Tess knows something is wrong, and she is determined to find the truth because she understands more than anyone that something is seriously wrong. The reader takes a journey with Tess as they try to figure out what happened to Poppy, as suspects pile up.
This story will have anyone who reads it sharing Tess’s emotions of anger, fears, suspicions, and worries. Just when someone thinks they know who the culprit is the authors throw another twist, keeping them guessing and the tension elevated.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Nicci French: We had children and remember that strange transition with three-year-olds. A strange mysterious time. They would bring home these drawings from pre-school. When we thought about that period we wondered if we could make it into a thriller. A three-year-old girl draws what looks like a murder and is too young to explain it.
EC: Sometimes children are not believed?
NF: Yes, they can be unreliable witnesses as they try to tell their mother something. Poppy, the daughter, cannot express in words so she tells Tess something is wrong with her behavior of clinginess, bed-wetting, acting out, and cussing. Three-year-old children are not articulate. They cannot describe what happened to them. Children think differently about the world.
EC: How would you describe Tess?
NF: Fragile, a single mother, at times over-protective, fearful, vulnerable, and anxious. As the story progresses, she becomes a mother who will do anything to save her child. Tess takes a journey and finds self-realization. She becomes strong and realizes her own self-worth. But she is put through hell and back.
EC: Tess cannot trust those in her life?
NF: We examine this theme in all our novels: how can someone know anyone completely since everybody has secrets.
EC: Should the detectives have investigated Poppy’s symptoms?
NF: Symptoms of abuse are like symptoms of trauma and distress. Tess is now in a world where nothing is clear. The detectives see this as a nontraditional investigation where there is no reliable witness and no crime committed. Look at it from the detectives’ point of view. All they had was a drawing of a three-year-old child.
EC: How would you describe Poppy?
NF: Before her trauma she is bright, connected, eager, energetic, with a rich imagination. She thinks the world is on her side. But then she becomes violent and aggressive and seems to have an intuitive sense that something is wrong.
EC: How would you describe Jason?
NF: He appears charming, likeable, and trustworthy. He is an alpha-male who is a strong authoritative figure and feels entitled. He does what he wants to do. He becomes more and more self-centered, impatient, a cheat, liar, and bully.
EC: How about Aiden, Tess’ current boyfriend?
NF: In many ways he is the opposite of Jason. Aiden is quieter, more introverted, geek-like, a listener, non-judgmental, and patient.
EC: What about the relationship between Tess and all the males in the story?
NF: They are all manipulative in their own way. Somehow their masculinity has gone awry. They use her vulnerability against her. She starts to feel she is surrounded by illusions and wonders who to trust.
EC: Poppy tells Tess she is dead?
NF: Poppy knows she saw something and is wondering if the future will be like the past. Poppy does not understand the difference between dying and being dead. She does not have a normal sense of cause and effect in the past and future.
EC: In some ways this plot reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window”?
NF: We are big Hitchcock fans. If we did it, we did not do it consciously. But we have seen that film many times. We understand how you could think it since both have someone seeing a crime and are not believed. We share with Hitchcock the real horror of relationships, especially between a man and a woman.
EC: Your next book?
NF: A young woman, a doctor, has her ex-boyfriend ask for a favor. Then things go very wrong. It will be out in October 2022 and is titled The Favor.
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.
She met him through a dating app. An intriguing picture on a screen, a date at a downtown bar. What she thought might be just a quick hookup quickly became much more. She fell for him—hard. It happens sometimes, a powerful connection with a perfect stranger takes you by surprise. Could it be love?
But then, just as things were getting real, he stood her up. Then he disappeared—profiles deleted, phone disconnected. She was ghosted.
Maybe it was her fault. She shared too much, too fast. But isn’t that always what women think—that they’re the ones to blame? Soon she learns there were others. Girls who thought they were in love. Girls who later went missing. She had been looking for a connection, but now she’s looking for answers. Chasing a digital trail into his dark past—and hers—she finds herself on a dangerous hunt. And she’s not sure whether she’s the predator—or the prey.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger is a gripping psychological thriller. Anyone who wants to be taken on a roller coaster ride should read a Lisa Unger book. This one explores secrets, obsession, vengeance, and social media. The storyline is dark, disturbing yet believable and realistic. It delves into fake identities, ghosting, stealing funds, and the troubling aspects of technology use.
The main character, Wren Greenwood, writes the advice column “Dear Birdie.” Because she has no social life, her best friend Jax talks her into trying the dating app Torch. After a few misses Wren meets Adam Harper, an IT executive, and there is an immediate connection between the two. Things heat up and are getting more intimate until three months into the relationship he stands her up. Then he disappears: profiles deleted, phone disconnected, and no evidence he ever existed. Adam ghosted her.
Wren isn’t one to let things go so she starts digging, realizing she was not the only one who fell for his lines. After being contacted by Bailey, a private detective who is looking for Adam, she discovers that three other girls went missing. Agreeing to join forces, she, and Bailey search for Adam and the three missing girls, both wondering if they are the predator or the prey.
There are so many twists and revelations that the readers’ heads are spinning. The story shows the value of friends.
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Elise’s Author Interview
Elise Cooper: You expose dating apps?
Lisa Unger: I talked with a young friend of mine who uses dating apps. She said there are several choices and wondered how to tell if the choice was correct. I was saddened by that question because I thought people are not shopping for a toaster. Love is not an algorithm.
EC: The story delves into ghosting?
LU: If they were not the right choice, it is easy to ghost them. They were a stranger before and become a stranger afterwards. Technology is rewriting the primal struggle of searching for a mate. Once upon the dating pool was small, but now it is global.
EC: Technology also has its faults?
LU: It can be one of the worst things. Our brains are being re-wired by technology. I put strict limits on my children. I did not want them to disappear into the technology world. I want them to be able to use it only as a tool, and not lose their creativity.
EC: Social media is not the greatest way to communicate?
LU: Yes, we get information now through texts, emails, social media, and notifications via phone. It affects how we relate and communicate with each other and can be very frustrating like when someone is ghosted. For example, I called my brother and he texted me back. I don’t answer him until he responds through a phone call. There is micro ghosting which is getting a response but on their terms. The other type of ghosting is where someone takes on the identity of someone who dies and lives their life.
EC: The world of dating can be frustrating?
LU: I explored this with the short story, House of Crows. It is an exploration of trauma and how it can inform our choices. This is a theme that I’ve explored again and again in my work. The interaction can be fantastical. Someone has a right to say I don’t want to be with you and the other person cannot say anything. They do not have a vote. Then there is the person who can choose to ghost someone making it seem the relationship was imaginary even though there was a real person.
EC: How would you describe Adam who ghosted Wren?
LU: He decided to go off the grid, acting as a survivalist in the woods. He slipped in and out of the shadows. The reader only sees him through Wren’s eyes. He is smart, a loner, obsessed, mysterious, and well read. He can be considerate, kind, and funny, but there is another side to him where he appears as a predator, dangerous, and a destroyer of lives.
EC: How would you describe Wren?
LU: Struggling from her dark past, but a survivor. She has found her way going forward with a super successful career and a community of friends. Through her work as a columnist with “Dear Birdie” she can help people go from the darkness into the light. She left her dad’s world of being a Doomsday Prepper and thinking humanity has ended. She does not think that the world failed her, but her father failed her. She did take skills away from him that helps her to survive. She is very kind, loyal, smart, and caring.
EC: What about the victims?
LU: They are mostly wealthy with a troubled past, have PTSD, and had a childhood trauma. Some have an addiction and prefer to take a break from the world. They fall for the predator fast and heavy. He is like the person who comes to the door with roses not a knife, very unassuming: LOL
EC: What about the relationship?
LU: It was imaginary, created by Wren. A fantasy of him because she does not know him well enough since they only dated for three months. She is obsessed with finding him to see who Adam really is. He is mostly a figment of her imagination. This story struck a chord with a lot of readers who understood what Wren was going through.
EC: How would you describe Bailey?
LU: I was not expecting him, but he evolved. He is the complete foil to Adam. He came to the light because he lacks trauma in his past. Bailey is a puzzle solver, someone who cannot let things go. He believes something lost can be found. Basically, a good person. I do not usually have a traditional hero because it is not how I think of the world. But he is probably as close to a heroic figure I have ever had.
EC: What about Jones Cooper?
LU: He has an analog view of the world. He has been a character in several my books along with his wife Maggie. They first appeared in the book, Fragile. He is a fixer.
EC: Isn’t Wren a bit too old to have an imaginary figure?
LU: Deeply traumatized children can manifest imaginary friends, like a splinter psyche. Eventually as the child heals, they say goodbye to that comforting figure and integrate the imaginary figure into themselves. Robin connects Wren to the land, the natural world. She represents the place where Wren retreats to something she loved. In some sense she took the persona of Wren’s dad’s good qualities where he taught her skills. She put these in Robin because she could not forgive her dad.
EC: Jax is the exact opposite of Robin?
LU: She is a real person that connects Wren to the modern world. She is Wren’s best friend and has helped to ground her.
EC: Next book?
LU: It will be my 20th Novel. I do not talk about my stories until they are published. I will say it will be a psychological thriller with bad things happening. It comes out in October 2022.
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.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for LINER by Chris Coppel on this Blackthorn Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and a note from the author. Enjoy!
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Book Description
David Easton believed his life was in complete ruins. He managed to scrape together just enough money for a one-way ticket on the fabulous Oceanis. It was the most luxurious liner afloat and he planned to revel in all its opulent pleasures until in the middle of the Atlantic crossing – he would leap from the fantail, thus ending his pain and misery. The problem was that he never dreamt that while counting down the hours until his death, he would meet Diana.
Despite her traveling with her overly protective parents who hoped to introduce her to a suitable husband while onboard, they managed to find each other. As their affections grew, strange things began happening on the ship. At first, it was just mental images and dreams, but as the days passed their very reality began to bend beyond anything their minds could have imagined.
Together they had to find out what was happening to the Oceanis and how they could find a way to save the great liner and all those aboard her.
Age range: This is an adult book but suitable for mature teenagers 16+
Trigger warnings: No
Amazon Rating: 4.5
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
LINER by Chris Coppel is a thriller set on an ocean liner in the 1960’s which I could not stop reading. The story has a bit of romance, a bit of horror, a bit of paranormal and a bit of spiritual otherworldliness that sends chills up your spine as well as makes you wonder what the heck is going on?
David Easton has lost everything he cares about, his marriage, his two children and his job as a microbiologist. Depressed, he takes his last bit of cash and buys first class passage on a top-of-the-line ocean liner named the “Oceanis”. His ticket is one-way, and he does not plan on returning to New York.
While on board the luxury liner, David meets and becomes intrigued with Diana, an assistant editor at a New York publishing house on the ocean trip with her parents. As the couple becomes closer, strange things begin to happen on the Oceanis.
This is really all I can tell you without giving away a plot twist. I thought at first, I was reading a horror story, but this story is so much more than that. The author does a great job of creating a chilling and harrowing atmosphere, while still giving David and Diana a believable romance full of hope. This is a page turner and I finished it in one sitting. The ending was not what I expected, and I believe it will be discussed by all who read the book.
I recommend this unique thriller for an interesting and entertaining read.
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About the Author
Chris Coppel was born in California and has since split his time between the USA and Europe, living in California, Spain, France, Switzerland and England. Chris taught advanced screenwriting at the UCLA film school and has been writing for over thirty years. As well as h this upcoming title, he is the author of Far From Burden Dell, Luck, The Lodge and Legacy.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
“Hi Readers,
I was raised the son of a writer. My father wrote plays, films and novels. He was successful and suffered constant wanderlust. I was born in America when he was there writing Vertigo for Alfred Hitchcock.
I give that familial insight so that you can understand that I had the genes, I just needed to find my footing and get up the nerve to put pen to paper (or to be more accurate…open my laptop). Many would say that having a successful parent should make it easier to follow their path under the protective shadow of their parent’s success. Not so!
Writing is difficult. Writing in the hopes that you will be read and your works appreciated is terrifying. In my case, the fear of failure kept my ideas and stories buried in a back closet within my brain.
Today is my turn on the Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for MURDER WORTH THE WEIGHT by D.M. Barr.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
Whenever Terry Mangel’s body acceptance revival meeting rolls into town, local diet execs and “fat shamers” turn up dead, often in grotesque, ironic ways. All single murders in small suburbs, no one’s noticed a pattern, until rookie investigative reporter Camarin Torres takes a closer look.
Torres is a crusader against discrimination. She reluctantly accepts a job offered by handsome publisher Lyle Fletcher, a man with a vendetta, who sees the recent college grad as salvation for Trend, his fledgling fashion magazine. Torres, however, detests everything the publication stands for, and joins solely to transform its judgmental, objectifying content.
As an unexpected romance blossoms, the overconfident, justice-hungry reporter defies orders and infiltrates Mangel’s world, only to find herself in the crosshairs of a vigilante group targeting the $60 billion diet industry. To this vindictive mob, murder is definitely worth the weight. But as Torres soon learns, unmasking the killer may save her life but shatter her heart: every clue seems to implicate Fletcher, her mercurial mentor and lover, as the group’s mastermind.
MURDER WORTH THE WEIGHT by D. M. Barr is a thriller/mystery mash-up with a young female protagonist in her first journalism position after college on a crusade against discrimination. I am fast becoming of fan of D.M. Barr’s original characters and smart, witty dialogue. This is a standalone novel that I was sorry to see end.
Lyle Fletcher purchases a struggling gossip and style magazine and wants to take the magazine in another direction. He witnesses Camarin sticking up for another passenger being fat shamed at the train stop and is immediately taken with her and offers her a job. Camarin knows about Trend and does not want to work for them until Lyle tells her about his plans for change.
Camarin Torres lands the job of her dreams as an investigative journalist right out of college by standing up for a stranger. While she works to prove herself, she stumbles onto a pattern of murders of local “fat shamers” after Terry Mangel’s body acceptance revival rolls into each town. She is determined to uncover the truth, but the killer has other plans to eliminate Camarin’s threat and those she cares for.
I loved this story, and the way Ms. Barr handled the serious topic of body shaming in our culture. Camarin is a protagonist who is hard-working, intelligent, empathetic and flawed and all of these qualities make her quite memorable. The sub-plot romance with Lyle Fletcher was entertaining and very sexy, but I do wish the romance had not been with her boss. All the secondary characters are fully fleshed and believable. The plot starts out slowly setting up the murders and red herrings, but it continues to pick up speed and has two major twists before the conclusion.
This is an entertaining thriller/mystery mash-up with a memorable protagonist.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1
Camarin Torres peered down the tracks again, as if repeated checking would cause her delayed train to magically appear. It was a warm April afternoon, but the unexpected heat did little to lift her spirits. She was heading back to her apartment after yet another unsuccessful interview. If this kept up, she’d be the only one of her NYU friends graduating next month without a job lined up. How ironic not to be able to afford the food she wouldn’t allow herself to eat anyway. She checked her watch a third time. The 5:03 from White Plains to Grand Central was already ten minutes late.
Camarin heard a voice a few feet behind her softly exclaim, “Dammit!” Curiosity aroused, she spied a girl in her late teens standing by the vending machine, fervently searching through her handbag.
Camarin stared, mesmerized by what could have been a mirror image of her late twin sister Monaeka. Long, dark hair partially obscured her tanned, pretty face, and despite the temperature, she’d draped her two-hundred-plus pound body in an oversized raincoat. But as Camarin well knew, yards of fabric didn’t really fool anyone. The girl hunched over slightly, a stance her sister Monaeka had perfected, a sign of deference to a world demanding an apology for violating their arbitrary standards.
Camarin felt a familiar tug of compassion as the girl plunked a few coins into the machine and then searched for more. Looking on, she debated the merits of acquiescing to her own desire for a late-afternoon sweet. What’s really the harm? Cam reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out three quarters, which she held out toward the stranger as she walked toward her.
“Want to share something?”
The girl tensed and gave her a quizzical look, but after a moment her shoulders relaxed. “That’s so nice of you. Thanks.”
Camarin winked and pushed the quarters into the machine. One click and clunk later, she retrieved their prize—a Kit Kat bar. One of Monaeka’s favorites. As she held it out to the girl, a slim, stylish woman clad in black came out of nowhere and snatched the chocolate bar right out of her hand.
“You don’t need it,” she said. “You’ll thank me later.”
The girl’s face turned bright red, but she said nothing, just watched in shock as the thief continued down the platform.
Camarin felt the blood rush to her temples. No matter how many years and miles she’d put between herself and her past, the critical voices kept seeking her out, today in the form of this interloper. Enough, she decided. She set down the briefcase containing her resume and clips and tore after the woman, grabbing her arm and pulling her around so they stood face-to-face.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Camarin yelled.
Heads turned. Conversations ceased.
“What’s it to you?” the offender shot back.
Camarin pointed at the girl, whose eyes were wide in disbelief. “That girl happens to be a friend of mine, so I’m asking a second time… what are you doing?”
“Saving her from herself, that’s what. Your friend is huge, and it’s unhealthy. If she can’t control herself, she needs others to do it for her.”
“Well, Miss High-and-Mighty, since you know everything about everyone, did you ever consider that my friend…Sabrina’s…size might have nothing to do with self-control? Could it be the result of…the lithium she takes to control her bipolar disorder? Are you a psychiatrist who has a better suggestion for more appropriate meds that don’t put on weight?”
“Well, no… no,” the woman stammered, as if the rush of passion suddenly drained from her, leaving her feeling exposed.
“You know what I think?”
The fat shamer glared back but remained silent, so Camarin summoned her courage and repeated herself, a few decibels louder. “I said, do you know what I think?”
“No. What?” The woman sneered.
“I think you should go over to Sabrina and apologize.”
“Apologize for helping her get thin?” Her voice dripped with indignation.
“No, apologize for sticking your big nose where it doesn’t belong,” interjected a young, beer-bellied man in overalls a few feet away. A Joe’s Plumbing patch was embroidered on his chest pocket.
“What exactly do we have to do to be accepted by you people? Why can’t you just leave us alone?” screamed a plump, older woman with perfectly coiffed hair and a fitted suit.
“Give her back the Kit Kat bar,” hollered a man clad in military garb, who then started chanting, “Kit Kat, Kit Kat, Kit Kat…” Others joined in, and the cacophony grew stronger.
“You may have grabbed a Kit Kat, but you ended up with Snickers,” said Cam with a smirk. “Maybe you want to just hand over the candy, so we can forget this whole ugly incident?”
The woman spat at the ground in front of Camarin and defiantly threw the chocolate bar on the tracks, eliciting loud boos from the small but agitated crowd. Then she ran down the platform, heading for the stairs that led to the parking lot.
“Good riddance,” the plumber called after her.
Camarin stood for a moment, shaking from the encounter. Then she returned to the now teary-eyed girl. “Sorry I made you bipolar,” she whispered. “I needed to make a point, and it was all I could come up with on the spur of the moment. Hi, I’m Camarin.”
“I’m Lexie,” the girl said. “No one has ever stood up for me before. Thank you.”
“Hey, I know what it’s like. I used to deal with jerks like that all the time.”
The plumber pushed a run of quarters into the vending machine and took out two Kit Kat bars, handing one to each of the women. Others on the platform clapped and cheered. The sound was slowly drowned out by the roar of the oncoming 5:03 PM train.
As the doors opened, Camarin noticed Lexie and the plumber now chatting animatedly. Not wishing to intrude, she entered the next car over. It was practically empty, not unusual considering most people were traveling in the opposite direction at this hour. A perfect opportunity to relax after an upsetting confrontation. Perhaps savor that chocolate bar. She could always purge later.
Given the plethora of unoccupied seats, she was surprised when a handsome man in an expensive-looking suit asked if the spot beside her was taken. She guessed he was in his early forties, since his face was too young for the silver in his hair and beard. He spoke with a confidence so lacking in her gawky college-boy contemporaries. She felt a shiver as the silk of his sleeve touched her bare arm as he settled in.
She wondered what clever icebreaker she could use to engage her attractive new neighbor in conversation. Nice weather, huh? would be too lame. Seconds passed. Other passengers shuffled by. Soon, the moment would be lost.
Then, to her delight, he leaned in covertly, as if sharing a private confidence. “Nice going. You’d never seen that girl before in your life, had you?”
She pulled back and studied his expression. Affable or accusatory? His smile assured her of his friendly intentions.
“What gave me away?”
“Nothing. Just a hunch. One you just confirmed.”
Camarin twisted her mouth, irked at having been so easily played.
“Do you always go around tricking strangers into confessing their secrets?” she asked.
“Probably as often as you go around defending the underdog.” The man winked. “Nothing to be ashamed of though. Quite the opposite. As I think you’ve already figured out, life is just a series of bluffs.”
Camarin considered the comment as the train rumbled along the tracks toward Scarsdale.
“And do you bluff much?”
“Funny you should ask. These days, it’s all I do.”
Grateful for such a provocative opening, she pressed forward. “That sounds intriguing. Care to elaborate?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” he said with a smile. “Up until a few years ago, I’d spent my entire career practicing law. Then my circumstances and interests changed, and I decided to become a redeemer of lost causes. I just purchased a failing magazine, which I intend to make profitable again. If that’s not the bluff of the century, I don’t know what is.”
Elegant and he owns a magazine? Camarin’s heart skipped a beat.
“That’s such a coincidence. I’m just coming from an interview with a magazine.”
“Some might call it a coincidence. I call it kismet,” the man said as he held out his hand. “Lyle Fletcher, fledgling publisher.”
Chapter 2
As the train rolled down the tracks toward Manhattan, Camarin sensed her future suddenly lurching ahead as well. “Camarin Torres, journalism and prelaw major. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
She reached out to shake his hand, eager to see if his grip would be as firm as she imagined, but the conductor interrupted, asking to punch their tickets. There was no way to try again without looking awkward, so she swallowed her disappointment and returned her hand to her side.
Fletcher broke the pregnant pause. “So, there must be many professions out there for someone as bold and beautiful as you. Why journalism and law?”
Camarin’s face grew warm. Had anyone else handed her that line, she would have regarded it as a come-on. But he seemed sincere, so she felt comfortable opening up. “All my life I’ve seen bullying and discrimination. As a child, I felt helpless to stop it. But as an adult, I can make a difference.”
“Bullying because of your ethnicity? You’re… ”
“My mother’s side of the family comes from Guam. But no, fortunately, I’ve encountered very little bias because of my roots. Maybe it’s because we live just outside Los Angeles, where I’m part of a large Chamorro community who share an intense sense of cultural pride. In fact, I think my background may have worked in my favor, that push for diversity in colleges and all.”
“So, discriminated against as a woman?”
“No again,” she said, reluctant to share too much of her past with a stranger, no matter how charming. “Let’s just say I’ve seen how cruel people can be to those who don’t quite fit in, no matter how hard they try. I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen to anyone else ever again.”
“You’re going to personally end intolerance?” Fletcher seemed both dubious and amused.
“Well, at least make a sizeable dent in it,” she said with a smile. It wasn’t the first time that people had appeared incredulous at her idealism. “You’re speaking to the world’s first female Chamorro anti-discrimination crusader. After graduation anyway. And eventually law school, when I can afford it.”
“Lofty ambitions. You’ll need them in a world that doesn’t always cooperate with people’s dreams. Again, I’m impressed.”
“Thank you,” she said, her face growing even hotter. A charismatic publisher thought she was impressive. A once-disappointing day was rapidly metamorphosing into something magical, like a child’s giant, colorful carnival balloon.
“Have you interviewed at my magazine, Trend?”
Pop! Camarin did her best not to cringe with contempt. Trend represented everything in the world she’d come to hate: the brainwashing of women to fit into narrow, permissible roles dictated by fashion designers and greedy advertisers. And this man, appealing or not, was one of their leaders. Camarin paused, trying to formulate a polite and diplomatic response.
“You have heard of it, right?”
“Yes, of course. But no, I didn’t interview there. No offense, but as you said, it’s failing. As a matter of fact, I turned down an unsolicited offer from one of your competitors, Drift. I’m just interested in more…serious publications.”
“No offense taken,” he said with a grin. “I realize that up to now Trend has just covered style and gossip—total fluff. That’s what I’m planning to change. In your words, go in a more serious direction.”
She wondered if the comment was authentic or if he was just another jerk and this was an excuse that allowed him to live with himself. They remained quiet for a bit, and then curiosity got the better of her.
“I didn’t realize Trend is based in Westchester.”
Fletcher’s face clouded over. “No, it’s in Manhattan. I was out here today because…my late wife owned a condo in White Plains that we’d been renting out. I was just meeting with the real estate agent I might hire to sell it for me.”
Cam looked down at her pumps, annoyed at herself for bringing up such a sensitive subject. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Of my wife or the condo?”
She glanced back, astonished. He started to laugh, and she felt the earlier harshness of her judgment soften by a smidgen. He really was quite charming—for a body shamer.
“Are you ever serious?” she asked.
“Oh, when I am, you’ll definitely know it. Like now. How many years of college do you have left?”
His tone switched from whimsical to all business, and something about the way he commanded control sent a shiver up her spine. Hot as hell. Dammit. “About a month. Then I’m done.”
The conductor announced that they would soon be arriving at Grand Central Station, their final destination, and the windows grew dark as they entered the tunnel.
He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a business card. It read Trend Magazine, with a fashionable NoHo address, close to her own apartment.
She held up her hand. “That’s kind of you, but I really don’t think—”
“Hey, I can see you’re not enamored with our current format. Nevertheless, I’d still like you to come in, show us your work. Allow us to describe the magazine’s revamped editorial direction. I think it may surprise you. I can use someone with your guts and ambition to develop our investigative-reporting beat. That is, if you have any interest.”
She took the card, slipping it into her jacket pocket. “If you’re really serious about moving away from your current focus, I’ll try to keep an open mind.” After all, a job was a job, and up to now, no one else but Drift had made an offer.
“Call tomorrow and speak to Rachel. She’ll set everything up. You’re going to be a superstar. Of that, I’m already certain.” He reached out to shake her hand. It felt as forceful as Camarin had imagined earlier. She didn’t try to read anything into the almost imperceptible squeeze he added at the end. Until proven otherwise, he was still the enemy.
As he rose and headed for the exit, she waited a few beats longer before also joining the crowd jostling toward the platform. By the stairs a newsstand featured the latest issue of Trend. Hating herself, she slapped down her $3.50 for a copy. Magazines like this were part of what had driven her sister over the edge, but she needed to see if there was anything redeemable within its pages. The jury was still out until Lyle Fletcher had proven himself a reformer, and not an enabler.
***
Author Bio
By day, a mild-mannered salesperson, wife, mother, rescuer of senior shelter dogs, competitive trivia player and author groupie, happily living just north of New York City. By night, an author of sex, suspense and satire. My background includes stints in travel marketing, travel journalism, meeting planning, public relations and real estate. I was, for a long and happy time, an award-winning magazine writer and editor. Then kids happened. And I needed to actually make money. Now they’re off doing whatever it is they do (of which I have no idea since they won’t friend me on Facebook) and I can spend my spare time weaving tales of debauchery and whatever else tickles my fancy. The main thing to remember about my work is that I am NOT one of my characters. For example, unlike as a real estate broker, I’ve never played Bondage Bingo in one of my empty listings. As a yo-yo dieter, I’ve never offed anyone at my local diet clinic. While I’m a bit paranoid, I’ve never suspected my husband of wanting to murder me for my inheritance. Well, that’s not entirely true, but let’s go with that for now. And while I’ve volunteered at senior centers, I’ve never mastered the hula hoop. But that’s not to say I haven’t wanted to…
