Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge 2014

This challenge is hosted by Lori at Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book.  

For the Alphabet Soup Challenge, by December 31, 2014, the bowl must be full — one book for each letter of the Alphabet. 

Each Letter Counts As One Spoonful.

The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.  You can drop the A's and The’s from the book titles.

Books can be read in any order.  All formats – print – e-book – audio – are acceptable for this challenge. Click here for more details, and to sign up.

I will be filling my bowl of alphabet soup on my 2014 Reading Challenges page.

Heartache Motel | Blog Tour with Interview and Review

Welcome to the Jane Reads stop on the book tour for Heartache Motel!

I have three special guests for you today — the stars of each novella of Heartache Motel. 

My first guest is from LynDee Walker's Headlines in High Heels Mystery series.  Please welcome intrepid newspaper reporter Nichelle Clarke of the Richmond Telegraph.

Big Numbers, By Jack Getze | Blog Tour Review and Excerpt

Synopsis

Root for divorced dad Austin Carr, a funny, oversexed scamp who’ll use anything and everything to get his kids back.

The Eggstone Murders, by Herbert L Smith | Review and Guest Post

Synopsis

A thick-headed sheriff, a young, unsure, wannabe detective, and a savvy older criminal-turned-investigator, are only the beginning of the cast of characters included in this story of small-town life in southwestern Iowa, set in 1953.  Meet them on the streets of Hillville, at the town square, or at a big-business farm nearby.  They all have a story to tell, and some of them have a few things to hide. Others have quite a few.

Enjoy the storms, the intrigues, and the mid-western hospitality – including the wonderful food – of Hillville, Iowa, as its down-to-earth folk work their way through the dailiness of their quiet lives.

There are the murders, of course, which cause dismay, but the con-man-turned-detective, Guy, is able to resolve them, after a few hard bumps, and the guilty are punished – or, as is sometimes Guy’s choice, forgiven.

As a whole, it’s a pleasant outing on an Iowa summer’s day.

Strangled by Silk, by Barbara Jean Coast | Guest Post and Review

Strangled by Silk: A Poppy Cove Mystery

Synopsis

Darlings!   Here’s the scoop on my latest mystery STRANGLED BY SILK.  It’s all about Daphne and Margot –– two independent young California women in 1957 –– who own their own dress shop called Poppy Cove. 

When one of their top clients –– Constance Stearns-Montgomery –– is strangled to death with her own silk scarf at the opening ceremonies for her new girls’ academy, Daphne and Margot are shocked.  They can’t believe that such a horrid crime could take place in their sleepy little oceanside village of Santa Lucia.  Worse, they've lost one of their best clients.  The two women quickly become embroiled in solving the crime.  After all, if anyone can track down the killer, it should be them.  Margot’s long-time beau is the town’s top cop, and Daphne is a master at using her flirtatious wiles to extract information from unsuspecting men.  

Emerald Isle, by Barbra Annino | Review

Emerald Isle, by Barbra Annino

From the author's website:

Stacy Justice may be a witch, but she still wants a nice, normal twenty-ninth birthday. Unfortunately, Stacy rarely gets normal. As her grandmother, Birdie, plans a birthday ritual for Stacy, disastrous news derails the celebration: the magic cauldron that supplies the world’s food has disappeared. And the last time it vanished, Ireland fell under the Great Famine.

A secret society known as The Council decrees that if Stacy finds the cauldron, she’ll receive the coveted role of Seeker of Justice, and her mother will finally be freed from prison in Ireland. But the grandson of nasty council member Tallulah challenges Stacy for the role. If he finds the cauldron first, Stacy will never see her mother again. And if they both fail, the world will suffer an unimaginable fate.

The fourth book in the enchanted Stacy Justice series, Emerald Isle follows Stacy’s journey to Ireland—and to a mysterious, magical world. But can the reluctant witch complete her international, intergenerational quest in time to save her mother—and the whole planet?

The books in Barbra Annino's Stacy Justice series just keep getting better and better!   The books should be read in order, however.  If you're new to the series, begin with Book 1, Opal Fire, then read Book 2 (Bloodstone) and Book 3 (Tiger's Eye) first.  Each of them has earned my Four Kitty seal of approval.  

Emerald Isle is wonderful!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.  The storyline

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

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. 

Cedar Hollow, by Tracey Smith

Cedar Hollow, by Tracey Smith

Cedar Hollow is the first Romantic Suspense book by Tracey Smith, author of the Love Trilogy. Tracey already had the romance writing down, and she has nailed the suspense aspect with her initial endeavor in this genre.

From Goodreads:

Cassidy St. Claire still wasn't sure what she'd been hoping to find when she began the search for her birth parents, but all she’d uncovered was a bunch of death certificates and one ailing great-uncle who’d finally kicked the bucket last week. Since Cassidy is the last surviving member of the family that means his estate, a small seaside bed and breakfast in New Hampshire, has been left to her. An odd stipulation in his Will requires that she appear in person to inherit the property. Cassidy isn't very hopeful that this weekend trip will lead to anything more than a momentary distraction from her busy life, and an excuse to take her convertible for a long drive up the coast.

She certainly isn't prepared for Mr. Tall Handsome and Brooding; Ben Riley has been running the bed and breakfast for the last several years, and he is definitely less than welcoming. His instant dislike for her is staggering, but his penetrating green eyes burn with a dangerous mixture of hostility and attraction.

Within days of her arrival an attempt is made on her life and then another. Suddenly Cassidy finds herself trying to unravel the mysteries of the past, while outrunning the dangers of the present and finally turning to the strong, protective arms of Ben Riley and a future she'd never imagined.

The author's writing style is easy to follow. The story-line is fast-paced, as a good suspense novel should be. I didn't want to put it down – but I had to. Couldn't pull an all-nighter, because I had to work the next day.

Part of the suspense and intrigue is due to the periodic narratives by “The Chosen One”, a mysterious avenger whose time of reckoning has come, to right the wrongs, and let no one stand in the way. The first such narrative is at the end of Chapter One, so right away the reader is drawn in to the mystery. As I was reading, I correctly suspected a certain character as being “The Chosen One,” but this didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book at all.

There are also gothic elements that increase the suspense in the book. Cassidy feels a sensation of coldness whenever she walks near the foot of the 3^rd floor staircase. The unused rooms on the 1^st floor are kept ominously dark. Even though Cassidy closes her curtains at night, they're open in the morning.

The main characters, Cassidy and Ben, are well written, and are my favorites. At the beginning of the book, Cassidy comes across as a rather cold-hearted workaholic businesswoman, in charge of acquisitions for a resort chain, which means talking people into selling their property to the resort. Ben, who has a chip on his shoulder for an unknown reason, resents her for the job she does. As the story progresses, the reader learns of Cassidy's history, and why Ben felt that way towards her. Learning “the rest of the story” makes both characters more likeable.  

Also as the story progress, several accidents occur, with Cassidy barely escaping serious injury.  During the time when the accidents were occurring, the relationship between Ben and Cassidy evolves – from Ben being barely civil to Cassidy, to Ben being intimate with Cassidy (with three explicit scenes). This romantic suspense is heavy on the romance! The mystery is finally solved, with an exciting climax to the story.

I enjoyed this book very much, and rated it four out of five kitties. It is a pleasing blend of suspense and romance. If you like Harlequin® romances, and the gothic novels of Barbara Michaels, you'll love Cedar Hollow by Tracey Smith!

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

Cause of Death, by Renee Benzaim

Cause of Death, by Renee Benzaim

Police procedural Cause of Death is the first mystery / thriller for author Renee Benzaim, and the first entry in the Det. Annie Avants series. 

From Goodreads:

A Serial Killer. Black widow spiders. A race to catch the perp before he strikes again.

Imagine if J.A. Konrath and Janet Evanovich sat down to write about the ultimate female detective fighting against time to catch a serial killer in Bakersfield, CA before he strikes again.

Meet Robbery/Homicide Detective Annie Avants and her partner, Detective Tom Weston of the Kern County Sheriff's Office.

In this dusty farm community, someone is abducting and killing young Hispanic females. His weapon of choice - black widow spiders.

Can these two dedicated Detectives catch him with the help of their peers and friends, Deputy District Attorney Jesse Greyeyes and Technical Investigations Chief Laine DelMonte?

Cause of Death is a spine-chilling thriller that keeps you guessing right up to the last minute - and makes you wonder about the "normal" people in YOUR daily life.

This exciting book is fast-paced, easy to follow, with engaging characters and a highly suspenseful storyline. I couldn't put it down. I didn't put it down, and read it straight through in a day. I just had to find out whodunit!

The story is told from alternating points of view of different characters, including Annie, the victims, and even the perpetrator. The reader knows, from the beginning, how the murders are committed, but not why or by whom. The reader is with each victim, as she is nabbed by the perp. The reader is with the detectives, as they pursue their leads and hit dead-ends. The author includes several red herrings to mislead the reader, and a dead goldfish, so beware.

As one would expect in the first book in the Det. Annie Avants series, Annie is the main character, and a very likable one at that. Annie's part is well written, with enough back-story for the reader to really get to know her. The relationships between Annie and her friends / co-workers are complex and interesting, due to the back-stories the author reveals about the other characters.

I look forward to reading more about Annie and company in future books in the series. The eBook edition of Damage Control, the second book in the series, is expected to be published by August 30, 2013, and the paperback edition by September 15, 2013. I rated Cause of Death five out of five kitties. I give it my highest recommendation, for anyone who enjoys police procedural mysteries or suspense / thrillers.

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


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COMMENTS from GOOGLE+

Renee Benzaim via Google+

5 days ago (edited)  -  Shared publicly

Here's a new review from Jane Reads blog for my #crimefictionnovel Cause of Death:

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Murder under the Microscope, by Jane Bennett Munro

Murder under the Microscope, by Jane Bennett Munro

Dr Toni Day, the pathologist of a small hospital in Idaho, discovers a body in her own office - that of her arch-nemesis Dr Sally, no less. Dr Sally may have been at the hospital for only a month, but she succeeded in her mission to make it the worst month of Dr Toni's career. The evidence seems to point to Dr Toni as the murderer. It is up to Dr Toni to find more evidence that will clear herself, and implicate the real murderer.

This is a fast-paced book, one that I didn't want to put down. The storyline is very good, or, rather, storylines. In addition to the mystery of the whodunit, there is a second mystery – one involving a person from Dr Toni's past.

The characters and story are well written. My favorite character, by far, is Dr Toni. Dr Toni defends her lab staff when conflicts arise between her staff and the other doctors, because she knows her staff is using proper laboratory procedures and protocols. I am a Medical Technologist, as are her lab techs, and so I am partial to such supportive behavior.  I also enjoyed reading about a realistic lab and hospital, where the lab work is performed by actual Medical Technologists.  (Did you ever notice on the TV show House, that the lab was always inexplicably deserted except for Dr House's minions, who were running the lab tests themselves?) 

There is some cursing – including several F-bombs.  The language is not used gratuitously, however, and does not detract from the book. I feel that many people would use the same language under the same circumstances.

This is the debut novel by Jane Bennett Munro, a semi-retired pathologist of a small hospital in Idaho. The advice to “write what you know” certainly applied in this situation. Murder under the Microscope is an excellent book. Dr Munro has written a second book about Dr Toni, Too Much Blood, which I am anxious to read.

If you like Romantic Crime mysteries, with a medical aspect similar to that of the old TV series Quincy, M.E., you'll love Dr Toni and Murder under the Microscope. I rated it 5 out of 5 kitties, and highly recommend it!

Note:

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, in return for my unbiased review.

Read more about Murder under the Microscope at Goodreads and Amazon.