Private Spies by P.J. Nunn, Blog Tour and Review (August 18)

 Welcome to the Jane Reads Stop of the Private Spies Blog Tour!

Synopsis (from pjnunn.com)

When Jesse Morgan’s boss and best friend died, she inherited Private Spies, a private investigation firm that specialized in missing persons. Unfortunately, she knew little about the business aside from her intensive work on the computer. But if Joey thought she could handle it, she felt obligated to at least give it a try. How hard could it be, right?  

So Jesse took on her first case. Very straightforward. This guy is missing, find him. Oh but wait, he also kidnapped his own daughter. Find her too. Still not that hard. Except when she ran his report, the picture she found on his drivers license is of another guy. And when she found a guy who matched the first picture, he had another name. And when she found a girl that looked like the daughter, she didn’t match anything. Not good. 

Enter a retired police officer named Byron (really?) who says before Joey died, he hired him to work for them. Ok. This might be helpful. But then came a stalker, and a dead guy, a dead

Private Spies by P.J. Nunn, Blog Tour and Guest Post (August 17)

Welcome to the Jane Reads stop 

on the 

Private Spies Blog Tour!

Synopsis (from pjnunn.com):

When Jesse Morgan’s boss and best friend died, she inherited Private Spies, a private investigation firm that specialized in missing persons. Unfortunately, she knew little about the business aside from her intensive work on the computer. But if Joey thought she could handle it, she felt obligated to at least give it a try. How hard could it be, right? 

So Jesse took on her first case. Very straightforward. This guy is missing, find him. Oh but wait, he also kidnapped his own daughter. Find her too. Still not that hard. Except when she ran his report, the picture she found on his drivers license is of another guy. And when she found a guy who matched the first picture, he had another name. And when she found a girl that looked like the daughter, she didn’t match anything. Not good.

Enter a retired police officer named Byron (really?) who says before Joey died, he hired him to work for them. Ok. This might be helpful. But then came a stalker, and a dead guy, a dead

"Waiting On" Wednesday (August 14), W is for Wasted

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that readers are eagerly anticipating.



This week, my pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Kinsey Millhone Mystery #23

From Goodreads:  

Two dead bodies changed the course of my life that fall.  One of them I knew and the other I'd never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.

 The first was a local PI of suspect reputation. He’d been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He’d been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with Millhone’s name and number was in his pants pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.

 Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.

 But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange linkages begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey literally finds the key to his identity. And just like that,” she says, the lid to Pandora’s box flew open. It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself.”

 In this multilayered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised.

 W is for . . . wanderer . . . worthless . . . wronged . . .

~ ~ ~

I have been a fan of Kinsey Millhone for years, decades even ― ever since I learned from Sue Grafton that A is for Alibi. 

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton will be released September 10, 2013.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 12)

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.
The participants post the books read in the past week, the current reads and the planned upcoming reads, and often find books to add to never-ending TBR lists.

Last week, I read two books:

Emerald Isle 

and

The Passion of the Purple Plumeria.

I am currently reading Grievous Bodily Harm.

The Blog Tour for Private Spies is coming up, August 17 and 18.

Well, that's it for my Book Week.  What about you? 

What did you read last week?  

What are you reading this week?

Cat Thursday (August 8), Authors and Their Cats - Mark Twain

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s).   Share your post in the Mr. Linky at The True Book Addict, hosted by Michelle.  It's all for the love of cats!  Enjoy!

The 2nd Cat Thursday of each month is Authors and their Cats Thursday.

My featured author this month is Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.

"While the rest of the human race
are descended from monkeys,
redheads derive from cats."

"Waiting On" Wednesday (August 7), The Whole Enchilada

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that readers are eagerly anticipating.

This week, my pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

The Whole Enchilada, by Diane Mott Davidson

From Goodreads:

Goldy Schulz knows her food is to die for, but she never expects one of her best friends to actually keel over when she's leaving a birthday party Goldy has catered. At first, everyone assumes that all the fun and excitement of the party, not to mention the rich fare, did her in.

But what looks like a coronary turns out to be a generous serving of cold-blooded murder. And the clever culprit is just getting cooking.

When a colleague—a woman who resembles Goldy—is stabbed, and Goldy is attacked outside her house, it becomes clear that the popular caterer is the main course on a killer menu. With time running out, Goldy must roll up her sleeves, sharpen her knives, and make a meal out of a devious murderer, before that killer can serve her up cold.

~ ~ ~

I'm a big fan of the Goldy Bear Culinary Mysteries from way back, and always look forward to the next book in the series.  This one will be special for personal reasons, however;  I will be reading it as the proud mom of a recent culinary school graduate!

The Whole Enchilada, by Diane Mott Davidson, will be released 8/27/13.

Too Much Blood by Jane Bennett Munro, Review and Author Interview!

Too Much Blood, by Jane Bennett Munro

From the author's website.

Too Much Blood is a gripping book that reveals how one midnight call drastically changes everything in the life of a brilliant and young female pathologist—leading her to a life-threatening situation. Between its covers, you will follow Toni Day as she must use all her expertise to unmask a killer and save herself and her loved ones from a gory death. Follow her as she attempts to uncover the truths of the suspicious circumstances and complex web of events and resolve the conundrum. Riveting and action packed, this book will take you on a mind-blowing journey of a lifetime!

 Pathologist Toni Day returns in this gory tale of a sleazy lawyer and his scam involving the doctors at Perrine Memorial Hospital, in which their earnings go directly into his hedge fund via an offshore leasing company, avoiding taxation. That is, until the economy takes its worst dive since 1929, and Jay Braithwaite Burke’s hedge fund is revealed as a Ponzi scheme. The Feds move in. Jay declares bankruptcy and disappears, only to reappear two months later, dead in his car in the middle of the snowy interstate.

 At autopsy, Toni discovers that Jay bled to death. Shortly thereafter, Jay’s partner also bleeds to death. Jay’s widow and four children are kept on the move by a series of house fires, and soon everybody ends up at Toni’s house. Toni’s life is already complicated enough; her work schedule is brutal, and she fears that her husband, Hal, is having an affair. In the meantime, a mysterious illness casts a bloody pall over the Christmas season. Toni must use all her pathological expertise to keep her loved ones from a similar fate, and in so doing nearly comes to a bloody end herself.

Too Much Blood is the second book in the Toni Day Mystery series by Jane Bennett Munro, MD.  Dr Munro is a pathologist in a small hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, as is Dr Toni Day Shapiro.  There, the similarities end, I trust.  The citizens of the real Twin Falls are better behaved, hopefully, than those of the fictional Twin Falls.  The scheming, homicidal and incendiary nature of a few of the residents of fictional Twin Falls make Too Much Blood a very good read, however.  

Toni is a very likable character, well written and three-dimensional.  The amateur sleuthing of the protagonist in some other cozy mystery series can seem so far-fetched.  Toni's assistance to the Twin Falls police officers is crucial to solve these murders.  Her husband Hal, her mother Fiona, and her friends are also well-developed characters, and add a lot to the enjoyment of the book.   

I am finding it difficult to explain further about why I like this book so much, without giving major spoilers (and I don't do that), or else just repeating what is in the synopsis.  But I do.  Really, really like it ― another five-kitty read for Jane Bennett Munro!

Speaking of Jane Bennett Munro, I am very pleased to have the author of Murder Under the Microscope and Too Much Blood with me here in the studio today.  Studio audience, you are in for a treat!  Please join me in welcoming Jane Bennett Munro to Jane Reads!

How similar are the  fictional Twin Falls, Idaho and the real Twin Falls, Idaho?   The fictional Twin Falls, Idaho has a combination funeral director / coroner.  What about the actual Twin Falls?

JBM:  Right now our coroner is a retired detective from the Twin Falls Police Dept. However, several other towns around us have had owners of funeral homes as coroners. It’s an elected post. They used to call on local pathologists to do the autopsies. Back in the day when I was in solo practice, the county hospital did all the coroner’s cases for Twin Falls County, but I did them for the surrounding five counties. Now I’ve joined forces with the pathology group from the county hospital; my competitors are now my partners, and none of us has time to spend in court and still get our work done. So now the coroner’s cases go to Boise.

The fictional Twin Falls funeral director / coroner makes middle-of-the-night calls to announce his need for an autopsy tomorrow.  Did you receive annoying-yet-useless calls like this, during the 24 years when you were in solo practice?

JBM:  All the time. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many of those calls I actually got during the day.

Dr Toni has to perform autopsies at the funeral home, because Perrine Memorial doesn't have a proper morgue.  Was  this the case, when you were starting out in Twin Falls?

JBM:  When I was in solo practice, I had no morgue. I was the first and only pathologist my hospital ever had, up until we were bought out by the county hospital and I joined their pathology group. Since then, we’ve had a morgue. But yes, I did have to travel to funeral homes, lugging all my paraphernalia with me; until I made an arrangement with one particular funeral home to use their embalming room as my “morgue” and keep my equipment there.

Nearly all of the medical staff of Perrine Memorial invested in Jay's hedge fund, later revealed to be a Ponzi scheme.  Did something similar happen at the hospital you worked at?

JBM:  Yes, back in the eighties. Instead of a Ponzi scheme, it was a leasing company. The way it worked, the doctors became employees of the leasing company, who leased them to the hospital, who paid the leasing company for their services, and the leasing company paid the doctors. This way, they were able to deduct things from their income taxes that most people couldn’t,  and there was no limit on how much could be put into a pension plan. At the time, it was perfectly legal.

The lawyer who got us into it had started by putting us all in personal corporations, which lasted only a few months before the law changed and made them illegal for hospital-based physicians who used hospital employees instead of hiring their own. So the next step was the leasing company. My husband and I were skeptical. We figured if the law could be changed once, it could be changed twice, and we declined to participate. But all my other colleagues did, as well as many more doctors, lawyers, and the like all over Idaho and some in other states. It lasted five years, then it all fell apart in 1987, when Black Monday happened. The law changed again and made the leasing company illegal, and all the participants found themselves owing beaucoup bucks in back taxes, interest and penalties. One doctor sued and got some of his money back. But after that, the lawyer declared bankruptcy and left town. Nobody else got any of their money back.

You worked your way through medical school as a medical technologist.  I am a medical technologist, and have worked with someone who was working his way through pharmacy school.  He worked every weekend, double shifts as I recall.  How did you do it?   

JBM:  That’s pretty much what I did, too. I met my husband in that job, as well as friends who are still my friends today.

Is Dr Toni's freakin' good friend Elliott drawn on anyone in your life?

JBM:  Yes, he was a lawyer married to a friend of mine. His name was Elliott, too. They’re divorced now.

How long have you been a fan of Flip Wilson? 

JBM:  Decades. My husband and I got a German shepherd when we’d been married about a year. We named him Killer.

You gave several teasers about the possibility of a new love interest for Fiona.  Will all be revealed in Grievous Bodily Harm? 

JBM:  Yes, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.

Thanks for this opportunity!

You're very welcome, Jane!  Thank you so much for visiting Jane Reads for this interview.  I have enjoyed it very much, and I am sure the studio audience has also.  

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I look forward to reading more about Toni, her family and friends in future books in the series.  Book three in the series, Grievous Bodily Harm, is out now, and book four is in progress.

I rated Too Much Blood five out of five kitties.  I give it my highest recommendation, for anyone who enjoys medical murder mysteries.

Note:  I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, with no expectation of a positive review. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 5)

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  
The participants post the books read in the past week, the current reads and the planned upcoming reads, and often find books to add to never-ending TBR lists.

Last week, I read Private Spies by PJ Nunn.  

Private Spies, by PJ Nunn

I am participating in the Blog Tour for Private Spies on August 17 and 18, with my review and a guest post by the author PJ Nunn.  I am really looking forward to the Blog Tour of this five-kitty book.  I hope you will return to Jane Reads for these Tour Stops.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also read Poisoned Waters by Ermisenda Alvarez.

Poisoned Waters, by Ermisenda Alvarez

I hosted two tour stops on the Poisoned Waters Blog Tour, on August 2 and 3.  My posts featured an excerpt, Chapter One from the book, and an exclusive interview with the author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am currently reading Emerald Isle by Barbra Annino.

Emerald Isle, by Barbra Annino

Lately, I haven't been able to stick to my reading plans, so I will just wait until I finish this book before picking my next book.

My new book, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, has shipped, and should arrive tomorrow!  I will definitely read that book next!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that's it for my Book Week.  What about you? 

What did you read last week?  

What are you reading this week?

Poisoned Waters by Ermisenda Alvarez, Blog Tour and Interview!

Blog Tour: Poisoned Waters

Welcome back, everyone!  I am again excited to be a Tour Host for the Poisoned Waters Blog Tour.  

Synopsis:

Bloody mistakes, ugly scars, and beautiful lies. A tale of corruption.

Helen Gardener is murdered on a trans-Atlantic cruise. The Diamond Royale sails from Southampton to New York with her murderer aboard. Set in the 1950s, Poisoned Waters follows the stories of seven unfortunate characters and how they are affected by her death. Was it merely an accident? Mr Phillips, the owner of the ship, and sponsor of the cruise, rules with an iron fist, in search of something or someone.

Lies spiral out of control as the suspects try to survive the final days on board. Conflicted by their sense of morals, greed, and lust, they realise what kind of people they really are. Who will rise? Who will fall? Who was Helen’s murderer?

Today's tour stop at Jane Reads includes an interview with Ermisenda Alvarez about Poisoned Waters, her new mystery/suspense/thriller book.

What inspired you to write Poisoned Waters?

I have always wanted to write a crime novel on a cruise ship. Cluedo has always been an enjoyable board game and even while playing it I would envision stories for the characters. I tried to weave Cluedo-esque themes into the crime novel and emphasised the noir and vintage ambience by placing the novel in the 1950s. I didn’t want to have to deal with the technology of the recent times, I wanted to isolate these characters and play with their unfortunate circumstances. Also, I have paid attention to TV series and noticed how often they have multiple character perspectives. This was another driving factor in having multiple main characters because it kept the plot fast but it also allowed for numerous subplots to be explored. The multiple languages and nationalities was something I added because as a Spanish Australian dating a Dutch man, I have been fascinated with multiple nationalities and the wonders of different languages.

Who is your favorite character in Poisoned Waters, and why?

From this novel, I feel like my favourite character is Sylvia. She is a flawed individual who wants more from her life than what she has so far. Trapped in a decade where women are subservient to their husbands, she struggles to find happiness there. Since she is Dutch, it was a fun challenge to slide Dutch phrases during her scenes. Another favourite of mine is Harold. His love for his wife makes my heart melt. Even though he struggles with her absence, I find him to be one of the strongest characters.

 It might be cheesy but I love all my characters for different reasons. Due to the nature of this novel, I also hate many aspects of all the characters. They are truly flawed and their dramas were entertaining to play out.

What is your favorite quotation or life motto?

One of my favourite mottos that my dad always reminded me was, ‘Depend only on yourself.’ Sometimes, I wish I had a mentor to help me along the way. But you know what, I learnt the things I have needed so far regardless. I learnt the hard way but I will never make the same mistake again. I’ve surprised myself and I have found the self-publishing journey thus far to be one of the most challenging but also rewarding experiences for myself personally. The motto doesn’t mean so much that you shouldn’t have help or collaborate. I’m currently co-authoring an urban fantasy series so I love working with others. But I think the motto just really emphasises the need to believe in yourself and that at the end of the day, if you can’t do it, maybe you should learn how to. Gain more skills so you can become more self-sufficient and hopefully, help others too.

You design book covers, including the beautiful cover for Poisoned Waters.  How did you get into design?

Thank you for the compliment. When I was about 12 I wrote lots of Harry Potter fanfiction. A way to promote your novel online was to also include a story banner, just like a book cover but with different dimensions. At first I had someone do my covers but eventually I decided I wanted to create the art for my own. I have always loved art and I thought, why not add another skill? There are so many great graphic design forums full of young people, some amateurs and many highly talented. That’s where I practiced and practiced. In the last few years, I’ve honed in on book covers because I noticed there was a real shortage of pleasant covers amongst self-publishing authors (some are absolutely cringe-worthy). Hence, I have a free book cover page on the blog. For any author to take advantage of.

Thank you so much, Ermisenda, for being with Jane Reads today.  It has certainly been a pleasure to interview you.  

This post has been part of the Poisoned Waters Blog Tour. Poisoned Waters is a thrilling mystery set on a trans-Atlantic cruise where a murderer walks amongst passengers.

Poisoned Waters by Ermisenda Alvarez, Blog Tour and Excerpt!

Blog Tour: Poisoned Waters

Welcome, everyone!  I am excited to be a Tour Host for the Poisoned Waters Blog Tour! 

Synopsis:

Bloody mistakes, ugly scars, and beautiful lies. A tale of corruption.

Helen Gardener is murdered on a trans-Atlantic cruise. The Diamond Royale sails from Southampton to New York with her murderer aboard. Set in the 1950s, Poisoned Waters follows the stories of seven unfortunate characters and how they are affected by her death. Was it merely an accident? Mr Phillips, the owner of the ship, and sponsor of the cruise, rules with an iron fist, in search of something or someone.

Lies spiral out of control as the suspects try to survive the final days on board. Conflicted by their sense of morals, greed, and lust, they realise what kind of people they really are. Who will rise? Who will fall? Who was Helen’s murderer?

Today's tour stop at Jane Reads includes an excerpt from Poisoned Waters, the new mystery/suspense/thriller book by Ermisenda Alvarez.