Red Kingdom

Fairy Tale Retellings, #2

by

Rachel L. Demeter

A wonderful enemies-to-lovers medieval romance and fairy tale reimagining.

Red Kingdom by Rachel L. Demeter is the second offering in the author's Fairy Tale Retellings series and features the elements of the Little Red Riding Hood story. However, this is assuredly a grown-up fable of danger, suspense, adult situations, and a well-done enemies-to-lovers slow-burn storyline, and definitely not one to share with the kiddies. 

Princess Blanchette Winslowe is a wonderful heroine. Her upbringing has kept her ignorant of the truth of her father's cold, harsh reign, and she is completely taken by surprise when his knights, led by Sir Rowan Dietrich – the Black Wolf – stage an insurrection. She begins the story naïve and sheltered, though compassionate and kind, but is abruptly forced to face a reality she never even suspected existed. The character experiences great growth and development as she discovers the truth about the state of her homeland and the people her father was meant to safeguard and nurture. 

Sir Rowan, formerly a friend and supporter of Blanchette's father, had been committed to wresting control of the kingdom from King Bartholomew without harming the innocent prince and princess of the castle. Still, unbeknownst to him, some of his soldiers had plans to take their rage and revenge out on anyone in the household. He's a principled man, valuing honor, justice, respect, and upholding the lord's responsibility for caring for the people of the land. 

Together, Princess Blanchette and Sir Rowan are dynamite with a long, slow-burning fuse. 

The author's storytelling drew me right into their world and I practically inhaled this story – it was so good. The shocking opening attack on Winslowe Castle literally changed my plans for the evening; I had to keep reading! The immediate tension, vivid descriptions, and the palpable terror of the characters make for intense and compelling reading. While the plot changes to the relationship between the two main characters, the story's mesmerizing nature continues. 

I recommend RED KINGDOM to romance readers who enjoy fairy tale retellings, a medieval time period, and an enemies-to-lovers storyline.

 I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through RABT Book Tours and PR.

Beneath the Broken Oak

by

Lori Altebaumer

Excitement and suspense from its adrenaline-inducing beginning to its surprising conclusion.

Beneath the Broken Oak by Lori Altebaumer is an exciting and suspense-filled story set in West Texas. It is told in dual timelines that will keep readers turning pages as fast as they can. Indeed, there were twists in the plot that had me gasping out loud! 

The story’s main protagonist, Jodee Trevaine, is with the Texas A&M Forest Service and is in the small town of El Hueso to check out an ancient live oak, which, if trees could talk, could definitely tell a tale. A simple restroom break at a truck stop proves to be a life-changing event for more than one reason, including a chance encounter with a man from her past, a child’s abduction, and a vicious attack.

 The plot unfolds in dual timelines and from multiple points of view, each with their own storylines of building suspense and secrets. But perhaps my favorite aspect of the book was the mysterious, other-worldly cowboy who makes timely appearances just when he’s needed the most. 

However, it is the author’s writing style that really made this book special for me. Her use of language made for compelling reading, with vivid descriptions that piqued my interest in what she was saying beyond the gripping tale, as well as tantalizing foreshadowing of what was yet to come in the story itself. I couldn’t put this book down, wanting to see what would come next and next and next. 

I recommend BENEATH THE BROKEN OAK to readers of Christian fiction, mystery, and suspense. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Lone Star Book Blog Tours.

Murder in the Appalachians

by

Susan Furlong

High-energy excitement in a small West Virginia mountain town.

Murder in the Appalachians is the exciting new inspirational romantic suspense novel by Susan Furlong and features a woman’s search for the truth about her sheriff’s deputy twin brother’s line-of-duty death. Sympathetic main characters, a compelling plot, and an atmosphere rife with danger all combine for an action-packed and, ultimately, satisfying story. 

Investigative journalist Emma Hayes is one half of the couple on the run from an anonymous killer. Dr. Logan Greer is the local emergency physician who comes to her aid as she flees from a gunman in the woods where he is spending his day off. They team up to put together the puzzling pieces of a cold case her brother Daniel had reopened and what may have cost him his life. 

The plot is almost frenetic at times as Emma is stalked by an unknown, seemingly unstoppable killer who’s not afraid to attack in broad daylight or where innocent bystanders may become collateral damage or witnesses, including Logan’s sister Rachel. With someone at Daniel’s former department possibly involved, the two main characters can’t trust anyone in law enforcement, and their spiritual relationships with God are tested. While their questions slowly bring them the answers they crave, the two also get to know each other, gaining the strength to go on. Throughout the unrelenting danger, they share their beliefs and doubts about their faith as a very natural and organic part of the story. The closer they inched toward the truth, the harder it became for me to take a break from this riveting story. 

I recommend MURDER IN THE APPALACHIANS to readers of inspirational romantic suspense. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Cops & Robbers

Parker City Mystery, #5

by

Justin M. Kiska

Another intriguing mystery with its roots in the past.

Cops & Robbers is the fifth outing for Parker City’s crack detective team, Sgt. Ben Winters and Tommy Mason, in Justin M. Kiska’s outstanding Parker City Mystery series. With its absorbing and puzzling dual timeline plot and engaging recurring main characters, as with the previous books, I couldn’t put this one down either. 

The setting is 1985, Maryland, when Parker City’s two-person Detective Bureau confronts two burglaries that occur on the same day in the wealthier section of the city. Already aware of a burglary ring operating unhindered in the neighboring community of Wakeville, Detective Sergeant Ben Winters and Detective Tommy had been on the alert that their town may eventually be targeted for its juicier pickings. However, from the start, the two Parker City break-ins don’t match the established MO of the Wakeville crimes. At the first home, the thieves pass up all the usual valuables to grab a heavy floor safe, and in the second, the homeowner, a beloved society woman, is murdered. With few clues to work on and a lot of scrutiny from higher-ups, Ben and Tommy are under pressure to solve the cases and stop what looks like a deadly crime spree. 

As is the case in the previous novels in this series, the plot also includes a storyline from the city’s past with implications for the present. In this instance, the story moves to 1927 and features a series of home invasion burglaries in another wealthy residential area in nearby Baltimore. As the number of burglaries mounts and a death occurs, Baltimore’s top detective, Lt. Cranshaw, is assigned to get to the bottom of things quickly. In a unique twist, the local crime boss is also invested in finding and stopping the unknown perpetrators from poaching on his territory without permission, and it becomes a race between the two to get to the burglars first. 

This unusual double police procedural moves quickly with Ben and Tommy in their timeline and Cranshaw in his methodically working their leads and following their gut instincts. The historical details of both eras were fascinating and fun, with at least one Easter Egg from past stories casually inserted into the narrative, and there was an excellent suspect in the more modern timeline who I really had trouble trusting. The two stories eventually converge as Ben and Tommy investigate, and the final resolution is plausible and satisfying. Even though this book is the fifth in the series, it can easily be read and enjoyed on its own. However, each book in the series keeps getting better and better, and none should be missed. 

I recommend COPS & ROBBERS to readers of historical mysteries and historical police procedurals, especially those who would enjoy a Maryland setting. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.

Beyond the Cemetery Gate: The Secret Keeper’s Daughter

Chloe and Maggie Mystery, #1

by

Valerie Biel

Fantastic dual-timeline murder mystery with hints of the paranormal.

Beyond the Cemetery Gate: The Secret Keeper’s Daughter is the first book in author Valerie Biel’s fantastic new young adult/adult cross-over Chloe and Maggie Mystery series and features a clever dual timeline with just a hint of paranormal elements. Chloe Cowyn, who lives with her father in a house nestled with the city cemetery where he works as the caretaker, is awakened one night to screams, shouting, and flickering lights among the headstones. Thinking it is kids who have snuck in for a scary prank, she goes to wake her father so he can shoo the trespassers away. Finding his bed empty and assuming he’s already up and outside doing just that, she heads out as well in case he needs any help, only to find him dead, propped up against a monument with a needle in his arm. When the police declare his death an accidental overdose, Chloe urges them to look closer as she’s certain her father was and never had been an addict and that she had heard multiple voices in the cemetery at the time of his death. The police appear to close the case without further investigation, so Chloe decides to pursue the truth on her own. 

The story cleverly unfolds through the viewpoints of father and daughter, with his narrative providing the backdrop for her account of the events of the present. Unbeknownst to Chloe, Dean Cowyn had been keeping a lot of secrets from her regarding their past, and those secrets were just about to come out into the open in a very dangerous way. 

Chloe is a strong and determined 16-year-old, and she never wavers in her belief that her father’s death was caused by someone else in the cemetery that night. During times of stress, which is practically the entire book, Chloe figuratively turns to her guardian angel, Leb, for comfort, which is promptly given. Described as a loving presence and a warm, comforting hug, the invisible Leb has been a part of Chloe’s life for as long as she can remember. While they do not communicate per se, he is always there when she needs him and ready to provide mental and emotional support. As for Dean, he’s a dedicated father, trying to keep his daughter safe, which also means oblivious to what really happened the night of the house fire that took a life and caused the terrible scars on the lower half of her body. But while Dean kept those secrets from his daughter out of love, her ignorance of the truth puts her at a terrible disadvantage and her life in jeopardy. 

A third narrator, The Watcher, provides stalkerish commentary about Chloe’s movements, and this adds to the tense and creepy atmosphere of the entire story. The Watcher’s identity is kept hidden, and I speculated throughout the book about who it was, thinking it was first one person and then another until, in one of many surprising plot twists, they and their motives are finally revealed. 

The plot is fast-paced and compelling, and I was completely consumed by the story from the moment I began reading it. I could feel Chloe’s frustration with the lack of police action and her rising panic when she was unable to contact Maggie, her only other relative, forcing her to lie to and dodge the county’s social worker. The pressure increases when she realizes her sources of ready cash are gone and the city has given her a quickly approaching deadline to pack and vacate the cemetery house to accommodate the newly hired caretaker. While readers will be fairly certain they know who the killer is, it is the reason why and what comes next that drives the story. 

I recommend BEYOND THE CEMETERY GATE: THE SECRET KEEPER’S DAUGHTER to readers of young adult/adult mysteries and thrillers, especially those who enjoy a little paranormal element in their stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours.