Inviting Fire by Emily Kimelman | Blog Tour with Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway

The Blurb

Vigilante crime mystery with a dash of romance, early readers call INVITING FIRE “Excellent”

Emily Kimelman's best selling Sydney Rye series feature a strong female protagonist and her canine best friend, Blue. It is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome mystery with tons of action that will keep you reading late into the night!

New to Sydney Rye? The first book in the series, UNLEASHED, is FREE. 

Recovering from a near fatal attack that has left her with residual trauma, including haunting dreams and flashbacks, Sydney Rye is regaining her strength at the jungle training camp of Joyful Justice, the vigilante network inspired by her now legendary acts of vengeance. However, when a routine reconnaissance mission goes horribly wrong Sydney Rye loses the trust of the leadership of Joyful Justice.

Her good friend and trainer, Merl, warns that if she wants to be in the action she’ll have to follow orders like everyone else. Never good with authority, Sydney struggles to suppress her independent streak for the greater good.

When she runs up against an old adversary he blows apart everything she has gained. With her and Blue’s lives at stake, as well as the future of Joyful Justice, Sydney must push aside her fears and take a leadership role before it's too late.

Inviting Fire by Emily Kimelman
Series: Sydney Rye, #6
Genre: Suspense Mystery
File Size: 1061 KB
Release Date: November 28, 2014
ASIN: B00N58K6QW
ISBN: 9781502238986
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes | Kobo

The Excerpt

Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Author Q&A, Review, and Giveaway

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The Blurb

Reluctant psychic Gypsy Shields — she prefers the term "intuition consultant" — finds herself in trouble when, on her way home from a blind date, she interrupts a kidnapping in progress. She attempts to intervene, and her heroics are repaid with a collision between the attacker's van and a brick wall. She awakens in the hospital, paralyzed on her left side and unable to speak. This also means she's unable to share her vital information as a witness. Fortunately, she is able to use her telepathic connection with her niece to throw a line out to a police detective she knows: Connor Reardon, her blind date. 

Connor will do anything to protect Gypsy, and he listens to her claims of psychic power willingly, as he's concealing certain powers of his own. Nor are they all he's concealing. Gypsy senses a part of her new ally's mind is closed to her — what she cannot know is that Connor suspects the kidnapper is someone close to him, and the kidnapping victim holds secrets that will tear through Connor's department, putting careers and lives at risk. Including Gypsy, still in hospital and vulnerable as the attacker turns his sights on her once again. 

Can she use her powers to track down the perpetrator and prevent her own murder?

Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew
Series: A Gypsy Shields Novel, #1

Genre: Suspense Thriller  

Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Amazon | Goodreads

The Excerpt

Death Logs In by E.J. Simon | Blog Tour with Review, Excerpt, and Giveaway

The Blurb

Some of the most powerful people in the world want to kill Michael Nicholas. Only his brother, Alex can save him - the problem is that Alex is dead.

It's been almost a year since Alex Nicholas, a Queens based underworld Boss, was gunned down. After Alex’s brutal murder, Michael inherited not only his brother’s business – but his enemies. Michael is now a key player in a world he once feared. By day, he is the head of a Fortune 500 company by night, the CEO of Tartarus, one of the worlds largest illegal gambling operations. 

Before his death, Alex invested heavily in breakthrough artificial intelligence software so that he could live forever. It worked. In his virtual form, Alex can communicate with Michael and monitor information - and people - in ways the NSA would envy.

It is Alex who discovers Michael’s life is in danger. He detects plots that reach from the darkest corners of Queens, to the highest officials in the Vatican - and they all want Michael dead. 

Michael is now in a race to save his life, but he is never alone - Alex is there to help him navigate through this maze of life and death. Also protecting Michael from the forces closing in around him is Sindy Steele, a beautiful - and lethal bodyguard. 

How far is Michael willing to go to save his own life – and that of his family? Guided only by a familiar face on a computer screen, will the information Alex discovers allow Michael to go from being the hunted to the hunter?
_____________________________________________________________________________

As action-packed, fast-paced, and brutally realistic as it gets, Simon’s latest page-turner is the follow up to his best-selling debut Death Never Sleeps. This startling look at artificial intelligence opens your eyes to many realities you think are only in your dreams.

“Full of the Nerve-Wracking turns Simon is known for”- Kirkus

Death Logs In by E.J. Simon
Category: Adult fiction, 348 pages
Genre: Technological Crime Thriller
Publisher: Simon/Zef Publishing
Published: October 15, 2014

Format: Paperback/Kindle
Rating: PG-13 
*PG-13 means that this novel includes some f-words, 
religious profanities, non-explicit sex scenes, and violence. 

Purchase at Amazon  Barnes&Noble  Chapters Indigo

The Excerpt

Death Never Sleeps by E.J. Simon | Blog Tour with Review and Excerpt

The Blurb

The problem with Alex Nicholas is that he won't stay dead.

Alex Nicholas was the consummate Queens bookie: fast cars and even faster women, and friends in all the wrong places. As an illegal sports betting and loan shark king in New York City, Alex was fearless - until the night his luck ran out and someone leveled the silver barrel of an automatic on him and pulled the trigger.

Michael Nicholas was everything his brother Alex was not: a powerful, married straight-arrow corporate CEO living the American Dream. Their two worlds collide when Michael discovers his brother's secret laptop.

As Michael crosses the globe to find his brother's murder, can he avoid his brother's fate? And can the information contained in the laptop help Alex reach out to help Michael - from beyond the grave.

Death Never Sleeps by E.J. Simon
Category: Adult fiction, 385 pages
Genre: Technological Crime Thriller
Publisher: Simon/Zef Publishing
Published: August 15, 2013 

Format: Paperback/Kindle
Rating: PG-13 
*PG-13 means that this novel includes some f-words, 
religious profanities, non-explicit sex scenes, and violence. 

Purchase at Amazon  Barnes&Noble  Chapters Indigo

The Excerpt

Fallen by Leslie Tentler | Blog Tour with Review and Excerpt

 The Blurb

“If it wasn’t an armed robbery, it was a hit. An execution.”

Amid a sultry Atlanta summer, someone is targeting police…

The investigation becomes personal for APD Detective Ryan Winter when a colleague and friend is shot dead, the second victim in just weeks. But even as he finds himself being drawn into the tense hunt for a serial cop killer, he is forced to re-examine his own shattering personal tragedy.

An ER physician at Atlanta’s busy Mercy Hospital, Dr. Lydia Costa is no stranger to suffering. Still, the recent police slayings reopen barely healed wounds — and bring her face-to-face with her ex-husband, Ryan Winter. 

As the body count rises and paranoia tightens its grip on the police force, Lydia and Ryan are pulled together by circumstances and fate… causing old passions to reignite despite their painful shared past. But as Ryan moves closer to discovering the killer’s identity, someone is watching, placing both him and Lydia in mortal danger.

Fallen by Leslie Tentler

Publisher: Left Field Press

Pages: 396

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Format: Paperback/Kindle

Purchase at AMAZON

The Excerpt

Review: A Little Night Murder, by Nancy Martin

A Little Night Murder, by Nancy Martin
Series: A Blackbird Sisters Mystery, #10
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Obsidian (Penguin/NAL)
Publication Date: August 5, 2014
Hardcover: 384 Pages
ISBN: 978-0451415271 
eBook File Size: 1029 KB
ASIN: B00G3L7VTI
Purchase Links:  Amazon  Kindle  Nook




I read a really good book recently, y'all. Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from Goodreads:

Murder under the stars... 

For Everything A Season, by Sharon Pape

I read a really good book recently, y'all — For Everything A Season, by Sharon Pape.  Let me tell you a little about it.  

For Everything A Season, by Sharon Pape, a paranormal mystery with a bit of romance, is a Kindle re-release of her first novel (known then as Ghostfire).  It was originally published by PocketBooks, condensed by Redbook magazine (the first paperback original the magazine had ever condensed), and well reviewed in Publishers' Weekly.

Synopsis, from the author's website:

Not all the witch trials took place in Salem. And there are people in nearby Rachael Crossing who believe the abandoned old house in their midst has roots going back to those awful times. 

Determined not to be spooked by vague rumors, Deborah Colby leases that house for the summer and when she meets Ethan Burke, she's certain she's made the right decision - certain her whole life has been leading her there to him.

Fit to be Dead, by Nancy G. West

I read a good book recently, y'all -- Fit to be Dead, by Nancy G. West.  Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from publisher Henery Press:

Aggie Mundeen, single and pushing forty, fears nothing but middle age. When she moves from Chicago to San Antonio, she decides she better shape up before anybody discovers she writes the column, “Stay Young with Aggie.” She takes Aspects of Aging at University of the Holy Trinity and plunges into exercise at Fit and Firm.

Rusty at flirting and mechanically inept, she irritates a slew of male exercisers, then stumbles into murder. She’d like to impress the attractive detective with her sleuthing skills. But when the killer comes after her, the health club evacuates semi-clad patrons, and the detective has to stall his investigation to save Aggie’s derriere.    

* A Lefty Award Finalist for Best Humorous Mystery, 2013 *

Mick Abruzzo: The Second Wire, by Nancy Martin

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Mick Abruzzo: The Second Wire, by Nancy Martin.  Let me tell you a little about it.

From the author's website:

Have you wondered what Mick Abruzzo is up to when he's keeping secrets from Nora? Were you hoping to read the scene when Nora breaks the big news to Mick--the scene I left out of LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF MURDER? Then I have a short story for you! It's available as an e-book through all the places that sell e-books. Plus it's the perfect appetizer to read before the August 5 release of A LITTLE NIGHT MURDER. More Mick.  Could that ever be a bad thing?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Book Synopsis, from Goodreads:

The son of New Jersey's last remaining mob boss, Mick Abruzzo wants to live in the real world with a legitimate job, a wife and happy family. But when his family needs him, Mick feels obligated to help. This time, it's his presumed-dead brother, Little Frankie Abruzzo, who needs help getting out from under a pushy bookie. But the simple job of getting Frankie out of debt soon escalates into bad business that threatens the life Mick wants with his lover, Nora Blackbird.

Obsidian Curse, by Barbra Annino

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Obsidian Curse, book five in the Stacy Justice Mystery series.  Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from Goodreads:

Reporter Stacy Justice has finally stopped resisting who she really is—a powerfully gifted witch. And now that the Council has appointed her Seeker of Justice, she feels stronger and more attuned to her magic than ever before.

But Samhain—the night when the veil between the worlds thins—is approaching and something strange is brewing. First, a fairy with a sweet tooth appears in town unexpectedly. Then, a mysterious stranger shows up at Stacy’s newspaper, seeking info for a true crime exposé he claims to be writing. But most disturbing of all, a bloodthirsty, sexy demon has escaped the Otherworld, determined to invoke a curse that has plagued Stacy’s family for generations. Fulfilling her role as Seeker and finding out how all these pieces fit together may tear her relationship with her boyfriend apart. But if she doesn’t find answers soon, her love life won’t be the only thing in danger.

This fifth book in the Stacy Justice series offers more of the dazzling magic and heart-stopping thrills that have left readers spellbound.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Obsidian Curse is another great read from Barbra Annino — # 5 in the Stacy Justice, Reluctant Witch Mysteries.  

Diner Impossible by Terri L. Austin | Review and Recipe

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Diner Impossible, by Terri L. Austin, Book 3 in the Rose Strickland Mystery series.  Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website:

After shunning her overbearing parents’ wealthy lifestyle, waitress and part-time college student, Rose Strickland, is drawn back into their world when she tries to prove the impossible: the innocence of the town’s crooked police chief. He’s suspected in the gruesome death of Delia Cummings, his secretary and mistress, and all the evidence points to him.

While she tracks down clues with the aid of her anime-loving bestie, Rose’s pal, Axton, and his Klingon gang are feuding with their Starfleet rivals. Things get hairier than a pile of well-fed Tribbles, so Rose gets involved. In between interrogating Trekkies and quizzing socialites at high tea, she discovers the secrets Delia Cummings took to her grave. Suspects abound, but when Chief Mathers threatens to bring down Rose’s criminally mischievous and maybe boyfriend, Sullivan, she makes it her mission to find the real killer before Sullivan finds himself in prison.

Last Diner Standing by Terri L. Austin | Review

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Last Diner Standing, by Terri L. Austin, Book 2 in the Rose Strickland Mystery series. Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website:

Rose Strickland is having a blue Christmas. Her friend is arrested for attempted murder, her sexy bad guy crush is marked by a hit man, and her boss is locked in an epic smackdown with a rival diner. 

Determined to save those she loves, Rose embarks on an investigation more tangled than a box of last year's tree lights. With her eclectic gang at the ready, Rose stumbles across dead bodies, ex-cons, chop shops, jealous girlfriends, jilted lovers, and a gaggle of strippers in a battle for freedom she might not survive.

Diners, Dives & Dead Ends by Terri L. Austin | Review

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Diners, Dives & Dead Ends by Terri L. Austin, Book 1 in the Rose Strickland Mystery series. Let me tell you a little about it.

The Blurb

As a struggling waitress and part-time college student, Rose Strickland’s life is stalled in the slow lane. But when her close friend, Axton, disappears, Rose suddenly finds herself serving up more than hot coffee and flapjacks. Now she’s hashing it out with sexy bad guys and scrambling to find clues in a race to save Axton before his time runs out. 

With her anime-loving bestie, her septuagenarian boss, and pair of IT wise men along for the ride, Rose discovers political corruption, illegal gambling, and shady corporations. She’s gone from zero to sixty and quickly learns when you’re speeding down the fast lane, it’s easy to crash and burn.

Circle of Influence, by Annette Dashofy

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Circle of Influence, by Annette Dashofy. Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website:

Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own. But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President’s abandoned car. 

As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.

Circle of Influence, Book 1 in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series, is published by Henery Press, which usually publishes cozy mysteries.  As a self-styled crime fiction writer, however, author Annette Dashofy has written a debut novel that is a not-quite-cozy, great page-turner of a read.  

Small Town Spin, by LynDee Walker

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Small Town Spin by LynDee Walker, the third book in the Headlines in High Heels Mystery series. Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website:

When a superstar athlete’s son turns up dead in a tiny town on the Virginia coast, crime reporter Nichelle Clarke gets the inside scoop. But she quickly spies a gaping hole her inner Lois Lane cannot ignore.

Determined to unravel the mystery, Nichelle fights off paparazzi cameras and an unexpected rival. She uncovers an illegal moonshine operation, a string of copycat suicides, and a slew of closets stacked with more skeletons than slingbacks. Chasing a killer who’s a breath from getting away with murder, Nichelle realizes too late the culprit has her number—and it might be up.

Death in Perspective, by Larissa Reinhart

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Death in Perspective, by Larissa Reinhart.  Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website:
The curtain rises on Cherry Tucker’s debut as a high school set designer at the posh Peerless Day Academy. Cherry’s been hired for an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but the drama director is hoping Cherry can also turn the spotlight on a malicious social media bully who’s sending poisonous texts to the faculty. The director’s got his own drama to hide, and the phantom texter seems eager to spill school secrets. When the principal’s secretary commits suicide, Cherry suspects foul play. 

Deputy Luke Harper is ready to return as Cherry’s leading man. He’s eager to assist in finding the phantom culprit, but Cherry fears family secrets offstage may doom them to the role as star-crossed lovers. With the bully waiting for a murderous encore and her own family skeletons to hide, Cherry scrambles to find her brother and the mysterious texter before the phantom decides it’s curtains for Cherry and forces her to take a final bow.

Hijack in Abstract, by Larissa Reinhart

I read a really good book recently, y'all — Hijack in Abstract, by Larissa Reinhart, Book 3 in the Cherry Tucker Mysteries.  Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from the author's website

With a classical series sold and a portrait commissioned, Cherry Tucker’s art career is in Georgia overdrive. But when the sheriff asks Cherry to draw a composite sketch of a hijacker, her life takes a hairpin as the composite leads to a related murder, her local card-sharking buddy Max Avtaikin becomes bear bait and her nemesis labels the classical series “pervert art.”

Cherry’s jamming gears between trailer parks, Atlanta mansions, and trucker bars searching for the hijacker who left a widow and orphan destitute. While she seeks to help the misfortunate and save her local reputation, Cherry’s hammer down attitude has her facing the headlights of an oncoming killer.

Death Runs Adrift, by Karen MacInerney | Blog Tour | Review and Guest Post

I read a really good book recently, y'all. Let me tell you a little about it.

First, the synopsis, from the author's website:
With her own wedding fast approaching and her mother-in-law dating an unexpected beau, the last thing Natalie Barnes needs is to find a young man shot dead in a dinghy. A note she finds with the body suggests the dearly departed had a secret rendezvous planned with somebody on the island. But when suspicion is cast on a fisherman Natalie believes to be innocent, she begins to wonder if the murder was the result of a lover’s quarrel . . . or a lobsterman’s disagreement gone horribly wrong.

I really like this book!  In fact, I really like this entire series — the Gray Whale Inn Mysteries.  Again, from author Karen MacInerney's website:  Welcome to the world of Natalie Barnes, proprietor of the Gray Whale Inn. This Agatha-nominated series takes place on quaint Cranberry Island, off the coast of Maine; each book contains several delicious recipes you can make at home.

Still Life in Brunswick Stew, by Larissa Reinhart

I read a really good cozy mystery recently, y'all — Still Life in Brunswick Stew, by Larissa Reinhart. Let me tell you a little about it.


Synopsis
Cherry Tucker’s in a stew. Art commissions dried up after her nemesis became president of the County Arts Council. Desperate and broke, Cherry and her friend, Eloise, spend a sultry summer weekend hawking their art at the Sidewinder Annual Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. When a bad case of food poisoning breaks out and Eloise dies, the police brush off her death as accidental. However, Cherry suspects someone spiked the stew and killed her friend. As Cherry calls on cook-off competitors, bitter rivals, and crooked judges, the police get steamed while the killer prepares to cook Cherry’s goose.
from Goodreads

Still Life in Brunswick Stew, the second book in the Cherry Tucker Mysteries, opens with, "They should've kept the mud pit." Author Larissa Reinhart hooked me with that sentence. She kept reeling me in, as she put Cherry through one hilarious adventure after another, until the very last sentence, and left me eager to read her third book, Hijack in Abstract.

Portrait of a Dead Guy, by Larissa Reinhart

I read a really good cozy mystery series recently, y'all — the Cherry Tucker Mysteries.  The prequel to the series, Quick Sketch, is included in Heartache Motel, which I reviewed here.  

Book One in the series is Portrait of a Dead Guy.  Let me tell you a little about it.


Synopsis
In Halo, Georgia, folks know Cherry Tucker as big in mouth, small in stature, and able to sketch a portrait faster than buckshot rips from a ten gauge -- but commissions are scarce. So when the well-heeled Branson family wants to memorialize their murdered son in a coffin portrait, Cherry scrambles to win their patronage from her small town rival. 

As the clock ticks toward the deadline, Cherry faces more trouble than just a controversial subject. Between ex-boyfriends, her flaky family, an illegal gambling ring, and outwitting a killer on a spree, Cherry finds herself painted into a corner she’ll be lucky to survive.
from Goodreads