#FridayReads If You Like #Mystery #Thriller Books You Might Like These…

If You Like #Mystery #Thriller Books then I can recommend these books…

22072877Wildlife photographer Gunnar Wolfe looked like the kind of guy every man wanted to be and every woman just plain wanted, and the St. Johns River of central Florida drew him like a magnet. EcoTour boat owner Maggie Devlin knew all the river’s secrets, including the deadliest ones found in the swamps. But neither Maggie nor Gunn was prepared for the danger that would come after them on two legs.
On a quest to make history photographing the rarest birds of them all, Gunnar hires the fiery, no-nonsense Maggie to canoe him into the most remote wetland areas in the state. He was unprepared for how much he would enjoy both the trips and Maggie’s company. He soon realizes he wants more than she’s prepared to give, but before he can win her over, they make a grisly discovery that changes everything, and turns the quiet little town of Riverbend upside down. A serial killer is on the prowl among them. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

22051845New York, present day, alternate reality. Karen Brown, angry and frightened after a kidnap attempt, has a choice – being eliminated by government enforcer Jeffery Renschman or fleeing to mysterious Roma Nova, her dead mother’s homeland in Europe.

Founded sixteen centuries ago by Roman exiles and ruled by women, Roma Nova gives Karen safety, at a price, and a ready-made family. Just as she’s finding her feet, a shocking discovery about her new lover, special forces officer Conrad Tellus, isolates her.

But the enforcer has crossed to Europe to pursue her. Unable to rely on anybody else, she undergoes intensive training, develops fighting skills and becomes an undercover cop. But crazy with bitterness at his past failures, Renschman sets a trap for her, knowing she has no choice but to spring it…Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

28931623For fans of Child 44 and The Lives of Others, this gripping novel pits an unforgettable heroine against an unforgivable past.

Signs of an agonisingly slow death, pools of blood, hands desperately searching for a hold. Judith Kepler has seen it all.

She is a crime scene specialist. She turns crime scenes back into habitable spaces. She is a cleaner.

It is at the home of a woman who has been brutally murdered that she is suddenly confronted with her own past. The murder victim knew Judith’s secret: as a child she was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances – parentage unknown. And the East German secret police were always there, in the background.

When Judith begins to ask questions, she becomes the target of some powerful enemies. And nothing will ever be the same again. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

20739469Soccer mom Yvette Palmer lives an ordinary life in San Antonio, Texas when a box is delivered to her by mistake, and in taking it to its rightful owner—a crotchety neighbor named Mona who shares her back fence—is drawn into a strange and haunting tale.

Mona’s ratty robe, mood swings, and secretive behavior all raise red flags, and Yvette is sure someone else is living there despit Mona’s claim to live alone, but Yvette is unable to break away as she listens to how Mona transformed from a young college woman about to be married to the odd, reclusive, ghost of a woman she is now.

As Yvette listens to her neighbor’s tale, she discovers a shocking connection, but doesn’t know whether Mona’s come to help or to harm her and her family. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

22130087Ekaterina Romanova, the estranged wife of Russia’s wealthiest oligarch Konstantin Gravchenko, asks Scott Mitchell, an idealistic young English human rights lawyer who is being intimidated by the authorities, to find the father she’s never met. She believes he’s been languishing for decades without trial in the Gulag system. Meanwhile, General Pravda of military intelligence, though an advocate of transparency, is determined to protect a covert operation that he’s been running for years. General Pravda hinders Ekaterina and Scott at every turn and lawyer and client are forced to go on the run for a murder they didn’t commit. As they descend into the Hades that is the world of international realpolitik Scott is compelled to reconsider his own values, and Pravda’s life’s work disintegrates, when Scott uncovers a 50 year-old Cold War secret, which both the Russian and US governments are still trying to hide from the public domain. ‘Moscow Bound’ is the first book in The Puppet Meisters trilogy, dealing with state abuse of power. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

27275817Who would believe the words of a bird brain, anyway? When Camille inherits Simon, an African grey parrot from her deceased neighbor, she sees the challenge of owning such a noisy, spoiled pet. But when the music plays, and Simon starts to replay a violent scene in the voice of his former owner, Camille begins to realize that she has inherited more than she bargained for. Could a bird really recall the last moments of his owner’s life? And stranger yet, could he really be repeating a death scene that he witnessed? Camille’s best friend, Leo, has his doubts, and after the disappearance of Camille’s sister, he wonders if her tragic past is coming back to haunt her and she is finally breaking down. But she has no one else to go to, no one besides the questionable other neighbor who might well have been involved with the murder victim. It’s a question of a bird’s word against the truth and a race to find out what it all means.   Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Introducing the most lovable, pratfall-prone female sleuth in recent memory, this first novel in the Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida series will leave the reader in stitches and begging for more. Marlin, Darlin’ debuts the engaging, redoubtable and often annoying (to her colleagues and friends) small town journalist, the foxy Garnet Sullivan. A murky murder during a marlin fishing tournament forms the basis for this sizzling, uproarious mystery set in contemporary, steamy east coast Florida, featuring the unsinkable freelance reporter, snoop and trouble-maker, Garnet Sullivan, and a host of her bizarre, colorful friends.

A Gordian knot of a plot fairly gallops along from page one to the final page and will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the novel’s last words. Saturated with today’s most authentic Florida ambience and whackos, Marlin, Darlin’ is sure to delight the most cerebral mystery buffs as well as fans of romantic comedy–and dog lovers too! The novel is propelled by laugh out loud characters, scenes and situations reminiscent of Carl Hiassen and Dave Barry, but with more lipstick and purses. Fully imagined and drawn from life characters hook the reader from the book’s first sentences and the story seems to vault inevitably from who these characters are–nutty and flamboyantly so, but completely convincing, and whose native habitat could only be Florida. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

23396437After being made redundant from a seemingly secure job Jolene Carr takes a two week break in the sun. On the first day she meets Raquel, another hotel guest. Little does she realise how this apparently innocent acquaintance will lead to terrible and lasting consequences. After a frightening incident she hits a conspiracy of silence from the locals and over the rest of the holiday she feels herself slipping into a vortex of fear. Back home, the nightmare continues and she realises that Raquel is stalking her. Her hippie mother and her partner Mark tell her she is imagining it all. All certainties, even about relationships, become fluid and treacherous as her past begins to unravel. If it wasn’t for Rob, her ex-lover who Jolene thinks has his own agenda, she would be left to cope on her own.
How much fear and betrayal can one person take? Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Lori Powers loved being a flight attendant because life at home was a constant nightmare of physical and mental abuse. But her own trauma paled in comparison to her husband’s sexual abuse of their only child. Emily’s suicide note blamed Lori for failing to protect her. Overwhelmed by guilt, Lori sought justice for her Emily. When she heard the voices, she murdered domineering, abusive men whose misfortune brought them across her path.
The murder of Dr. Thaddeus Abrams, the precinct’s psychiatrist brought FBI profiler Mika Scott back to the precinct she began as a homicide detective and also face to face with her past partner and lover Detective Jake Roberts. Together they search for the killer. Michael Gates, Abrams’ lover, wanted to punish Lori. It cost Chief of Detectives Ed Fairchild his life. Airline captain Nick Parker had an insatiable, deviant sexual appetite. Things went desperately wrong when young flight attendant Megan joined him on a layover. Lori was part of the crew. When she met Parker, she heard Emily cry out from the grave. Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Letter G The April A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge

Day 7 of the April A to Z challenge and you are joining me for my book character them, plus some audience participation below.

Letter G is for Garnet Sullivan in The Devil, The Diva and The Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Jean Langstaff

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The Devil, The Diva and The Deep Blue Sea is a Garnet Sullivan mystery set in and around Punta Bella in Florida. It’s a high-speed explosion of words and action as Garnet tries to uncover the story behind two local murders.

Garnet is a reporter for The Indian River Times and has a nose for a tale as good as her very own dog Ringo, who is joined by Diesel after the demise of his owner. She shares her town house of dogs with the love of her life, people’s attorney Chester Dare who is currently defending an innocent grounds-man accused of the death of a fellow worker from “The Peaceable Kingdom”.

With a shocking second death, that of Uncle Tommy Covington and the more important loss of his famous barbeque sauce recipe it’s upto Garnet to sniff out the truth. But she’s up against a tight time schedule, a hurricane is battering the coast, sink holes are randomly appearing and everyone’s being told to evacuate. Plus she’s concerned about BFF Allison and her relationship with Sheriff Lance Dawtry, so much so that she seeks help from the completely insane Dr Fritz.

Margaret’s writing will take you to the edges of your literary prowess in what becomes an orchestrated oratory of words matching the Herculean force of the hurricane which pursues the galloping Garnet.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

For my audience participation I’m asking readers to think up book titles using the letter G for the picture below.

A book title and cover picture can often make or break a book sale. Is a book cover eye-catching? Does the book title appeal to the reader?

Have fun creating book titles from my own pictures, you might even think about a genre they could fit.

Litle geyser

Leave your answers in the comments below and I’ll be choosing my favourites.

Here are some fellow challengers for you to visit today.

https://sjalexandreac.wordpress.com/

http://marcyhowes.blogspot.co.uk/

http://thebrillyblog.blogspot.co.uk/

http://tyreanswritingspot.blogspot.co.uk/

http://suzysomedaysomewhere.blogspot.co.nz/

During the tour we are asking readers to leave comments on blog posts, thank you.

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April Editions Of Magazines Which Feature My Book Reviews

Movers and shakers for April editions of Fleet Life and Elvetham Heath Directory the magazines which feature my book reviews.

This month Fleet Life has featured the following books, for the online version go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk, load the online directory and turn to page 42;

FL blog

The Serenity Stone Murder by Marianne Jones

Sea Witch by Helen Hollick

Walking On The Edge by Zee Monodee

Trading Vincent Crow by DJG Wardle

The Cheesemaker’s House by Jane Cable

Elvetham Heath Directory has featured the following books, for the online version go to http://www.ehd.org.uk, load the online directory

and turn to page 28;

EHD blog April

Chasing The Devil by Tim Butcher

The Devil, The Diva and The Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Langstaff

Yesterday’s News by Sam Cheever

How To Complain by Helen Dewdney

Seventh Mark by W.J. May

The Devil, The Diva and The Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Langstaff

The Devil, the Diva and the Deep Blue SeaThe Devil, the Diva and the Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Jean Langstaff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Devil, The Diva and The Deep Blue Sea is a Garnet Sullivan mystery set in and around Punta Bella in Florida. It’s a high-speed explosion of words and action as Garnet tries to uncover the story behind two local murders.

Garnet is a reporter for The Indian River Times and has a nose for a tale as good as her very own dog Ringo, who is joined by Diesel after the demise of his owner. She shares her town house of dogs with the love of her life, people’s attorney Chester Dare who is currently defending an innocent grounds-man accused of the death of a fellow worker from “The Peaceable Kingdom”.

With a shocking second death, that of Uncle Tommy Covington and the more important loss of his famous barbeque sauce recipe it’s upto Garnet to sniff out the truth. But she’s up against a tight time schedule, a hurricane is battering the coast, sink holes are randomly appearing and everyone’s being told to evacuate. Plus she’s concerned about BFF Allison and her relationship with Sheriff Lance Dawtry, so much so that she seeks help from the completely insane Dr Fritz.

Margaret’s writing will take you to the edges of your literary prowess in what becomes an orchestrated oratory of words matching the Herculean force of the hurricane which pursues the galloping Garnet.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews on Goodreads

February editions of Magazines I review books for are now delivered and on-line

February 1st and the latest editions of the local magazines I wrote book reviews for have now been delivered locally and are also on-line.

This month’s books featured in Fleet Life are;

After The Evil by Cary Allen Stone

Marlin Darlin’ by Margarette Langstaffe

Deceived by L.A Starkey

Secrets Of The Heart by Adrienne Vaughan

and Dreaming Of Love by Melissa Foster

Go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk, click on the online directory and turn to page 6

Fleet Life Feb Twitter

Books featured in the February issue of Elvetham Heath Directory are;

The Parrot Told Me by Rachael Rawlings

Hawk’s Gift by Mary Forbes

Sheer Fear by Geoffrey West

Stories For Feelings  For Children by Hilary Hawkes

Stable Mates by Zara Stonely

Go to http://www.ehd.org.uk, click on the online directory and turn to page 6

Feb EHD Twotter

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2 week 40

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I am into my second year.

New Good DeedsThis week I’ve been doing the following;

January 18th – Sorting out book reviews, books for the team list and signing up for a blog tour. Visited my parents. Have started reading After The Goode by Cary Allen Stone

January 19th – My morning helping at school, a walk in the sun at lunchtime and picked up litter on my route.

January 20th – My list of books to review is growing ever longer again, but I hate to turn down any book. Took a quick walk to town and picked up litter. Gave money to a charity collecting for children with cerebral palsy.

January 21th – The postman delivered 3 books for review today, lucky me. A nippy walk in the cold today, picked up litter. Reading The Devil, the Diva and The Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Langstaff

January 22nd – Today I’m reading Death In A Dacron Sail a Rhe Brewster mystery by Noelle Granger. Went for my lunchtime walk and picked up litter. Offered to help a friend set up an account on Twitter.

January 23th – Began reading Trading Vincent Crow by D.C.J Wardle – dark British Humour about a young man determined to better himself. Left me chuckling. A cold day today so it was a power walk and power litter pick.

January 24th – Today I read The Serenity Stone Murder by Marianne Jones a cosy mystery set in Thunder Bay, Canada.

Marlin, Darlin’ by Margaret Jean Langstaff

Marlin, Darlin': Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida #1Marlin, Darlin’: Garnet Sullivan Live from Florida #1 by Margaret Jean Langstaff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Marlin, Darlin’ is a very well written and fun mystery set in Florida. Garnett Sullivan earns her living as a reporter and a part-time evening class teacher. There’s been an ugly accident at the local Marlin fishing tournament. A wealthy businessman went overboard and later his body was washed up and his boat impounded for evidence.

Squabbling over reporter rites with fellow newsman Randy Trigg, the pair follow up several suspicious leads. Ducking and diving with local police officer Lance Dawtry for inside information Garnett also has cause to suspect student Jim Walker of illegal dealings when he disappears with her car for several days.

Meanwhile a crazy old bird Mrs Bettina Bassett is arrested for the bale of grass on her back seat and Allison Highsmith is pressuring Garnett to help her out with a charity dog fundraiser. Just how much trouble can one delightful reporter get herself into?

I loved Garnett’s yellow VW Beetle and the warm sultry Florida background, filled with bugs and creatures as Garnett dashed after the clues. The characters were very well written and memorable, Dr Beidermeyer, Bettina even Randy and Lance, Definitely a book to cheer up the long winter nights.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

View all my reviews On Goodreads

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2 Week 35

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I am into my second year.

New Good DeedsThis week I’ve been doing the following;

December 14th – Big push today to get some more reviews for books on the review team list. I’m reading After The Evil by Cary Allen Stone.

December 15th – No school this morning as it was dress rehearsal for the school nativity play. Instead went to see a friend and took cakes.

December 16th – A lovely sunny day, walked into town and picked up litter on my way home.

December 17th – Today I read and reviewed Baby Girl Book 3; City By The Bay by Elle Klaas

December 18th – Just trying to make a big inroad in my book review request pile. Today I read Marlin, Darlin’ by Margaret Langstaff. Gave the postman a box of chocolates for all this year’s deliveries.

December 19th – We have friends coming over for tea today. Schools have now broken up for the holidays. Am reading Sheer Fear by Geoffrey West.

December 20th – Helped share the news of Nicky Wells’ two Christmas books and went out for a lovely walk, bringing home litter for the bin.

Rosie’s Book review Team #RBRT Noelle reviews Home For Christmas by Margaret Langstaff

Today’s book review is from Noelle, she blogs at http://saylingaway.wordpress.com

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Noelle chose to read and review Home For Christmas by Margaret Langstaff

Home For Christmas

 

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

Home for Christmas is a compendium of Christmas stories from years gone by, assembled by Margaret Jean Langstaff and the Editors at Cedar Press. These editors intended the collection to be a reminder to its readers of what Christmas really means and what every Christmas gives to the human heart. I will tell you about a few.

How could you not like a book with a wonderful cover illustration of a horse-drawn buggy wending its way past snow-covered cottages of Christmas stories and then opens with O. Henry’s Gift of the Magi? That story tugged at my heart strings when I first read it in high school.

In Christmas Day in the Morning by Grace S. Richmond, older parents are facing another Christmas alone because their children are too preoccupied with their own lives. But this year one of their sons decides to plan a surprise Christmas for his mother and father, an old-fashioned one with just their children and all of their old traditions. How will he pull it off?

Christmas with Grandma Elsie by Martha Finley, author of the Elsie Dinsmore series, dates from before the Civil War, so the customs, attitudes and traditions are somewhat strange and clash with current norms. However, it provides a peek into our past, and even though I would say the writing is treacly and spun-candy sweet, it draws you into the innocence, simplicity and unbridled joy of the Christmas season.

Uncle Noah’s Christmas Inspiration by Leona Dalrymple is set on a plantation just after the Civil War and tells the story of Uncle Noah, an elderly slave whose only friend is a turkey named Job. When his master, who has fallen on hard times, asks him to kill the turkey for Christmas dinner, Noah must find a way to save his feathered friend and at the same time give his master and mistress a traditional Christmas with plenty of food for a change. The story is touching, although the master’s demeaning references to Uncle Noah and other slaves can bring the reader up short, reminding us all how far this country has come since that time.

The Mouse and the Moonbeam by Eugene Field, is a children’s story dating from Victorian times, but perfect for adults. You probably know Mr. Field, humorist and author of poetry for children, from his work Wynken, Blynken and Nod. The Mouse and the Moonbeam is populated by wonderful characters: Miss Mauve Mouse, Squeaknibble, the Old Clock, and of course the moonbeam, who relates what it saw on the night of Christ’s birth. How can you not fall in love with a story that begins “While you were sleeping, little Dear-my-soul, strange things happened…”

The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown, who co-wrote the song “On the Trail”, which became the official song of the Girl Scouts of the USA, is a story of a female Ebenezer Scrooge, who for many years has not celebrated Christmas and has refused to let her brother visit her. When she finds a box of her old toys in the attic, Miss Terry tosses the toys one by one onto her snow sidewalk and then watches to see what happens, to prove to herself that the people who find them are selfish and uncaring. But when the Christmas Angel, which graced her home for many years, is kicked aside, she rushes to rescue it. The Angel then comes to life to show her the real destiny of each toy. The results reveal the true meaning of Christmas.

Each of these stories is about loss and redemption and provides a new and often different look into the heart of Christmas. I enjoyed reading them, not only from a historical perspective but because they lifted my spirit.

Find a copy here from  Amazon.com

 

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2 Week 30

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I am into my second year.

New Good DeedsThis week I’ve been doing the following;

November 9th – Day 9 on the Mystery Book tour and it was Mike Martin’s turn with his book The Body on the T http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5N9

Have finished reading 3 books this weekend and been writing reviews and drafting posts. Good deeds received: Have been sent an Amazon gift voucher, now what should I spend it on?

November 10th – My morning at school, then picking up bags of potatoes for myself and a friend from the farm I work for (yay, no more supermarket spuds for a few months) Day 10 on the Mystery Book Tour and it’s Marlin, Darlin’ from Margaret Langstaff http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Ts

November 11th – Day 11 on the Mystery book Tour and it the turn of Jan Ryder and her book Blood Pool http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Q0

November 12th – Had a new carpet fitted to one of our rooms today, made the fitters hot drinks. Day 12 of the tour and we met Jane Isaac and her book The Truth Will Out. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Rz

November 13th – A busy day today, I had coffee with fellow author Alison Williams and we had a long chat about all things bookish. Our November mystery writer today was Maria Savva and her book The Dream. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5QY

November 14th – Today we met Adrian Churchward and his book Moscow Bound on the mystery tour. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Oh

Picked up litter on my way back from the post box.

November 15th – It’s the turn of Patrick Brigham and his mystery Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Nd