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Daughter of Mine

by

Angie Stanton

 

Tragic, shocking tale that made me question my emotions.

 

Daughter of Mine is a new women’s fiction tale by Angie Stanton that made me question my own emotions and perceptions. A woman who lost her newborn hours after her birth takes the healthy infant of another. The story is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, but rather than straightforward emotions, the lines blurred between where my sympathies took hold. 

The author’s writing style is compelling and drew me into the fearful story immediately; the pages melted away as I followed the unfolding lives of two mothers, Melissa and Cheryl, and baby Greta, who became known as Piper. I read this book in one absorbing sitting. 

I recommend DAUGHTER OF MINE to readers of women’s, crime, and literary fiction. 

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

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The Purpose of Getting Lost:

A Story of Finding Myself

by

Tracy Smith

 

An unexpected joy!

 

The Purpose of Getting Lost: A Story of Finding Myself, a memoir by Tracy Smith, was an unexpected joy to read as I connected with and related to so many of her experiences, impressions, and emotions. Approaching 50 and an impending empty nest, the author comes to realize the person she’s become, or, rather, presents to the public and even family and friends, has drifted far from the real self she’d slowly buried in time and by the necessity of successive needs of others. 

Wives and mothers adapt as needed to provide what is essential to those who depend on them, but in doing so, often lose contact with their own needs, desires, and feelings. Through travel and new experiences away from the life and persona she’d constructed, the author gradually peels off the hold the needs of others had on her and allows the real Tracy to re-emerge. Reading Tracy’s words felt like a comfortable yet deep conversation with that one friend who really gets me. 

I recommend THE PURPOSE OF GETTING LOST to readers of women’s memoirs and travelogues. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through WOW! Women On Writing Book Tours.

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Dead Focused and Hocus Pocused

Empty Nest Mystical Cozy Mystery, #1

by

Marcy Blesy

 

The opening’s craziness and chaos made this an unputdownable debut!

 

Dead Focused and Hocus Pocused is the first book in veteran author Marcy Blesy’s new Empty Nest Mystical Cozy Mystery series and features retired elementary school teacher and newly-minted empty nester, Julianna “Juli” Tully, as she checks in for a week’s stay to help ease her past her feelings of uncertainty over her new phase of life. Craziness and chaos greet her at the Sand Bur Estate on the shores of Lake Michigan, the location of the “Empty Nest Retreat: Where You Take the Front Seat of Your Life Again,” which was gifted to her by her mother and husband, and is not the spa-like scenario that she’d been hoping for at all. Soon after her arrival, a staff member turns up dead, and as Juli was the last person to see them alive, she becomes the number one suspect in their murder. 

Juli is such a relatable main character as she confronts the bewilderment that greets her upon arrival. She’s confused and turned off by the weird vibes she gets from the start, and feels singled out as the staff seems to focus solely on her during their sessions. The first person she meets there is Nelle, a high-energy sort, eager to please, participate, and support anything healing, but not exactly a relaxing individual to be paired with. Several of the other attendees were downright hostile to Juli’s presence, and when the chef is found dead, the tension really mounts. 

However, things at the Sand Bur are not what they seem, and Juli decides to stick it out to uncover the strange goings-on and, later, clear her name of the murder. While I wanted to rescue Juli myself from the sheer chaos at first, it was the quirkiness of the situation that begged for explanation that hooked me. The author tells a compelling story with relatable characters, and I just had to find out how everything would resolve. 

I recommend DEAD FOCUSED AND HOCUS POCUSED to cozy mystery readers who enjoy paranormal and supernatural elements in their stories. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

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Hunted by Proxy

Proxy Legal Thriller, #2

by

Manning Wolfe

 

This series just keeps getting better!

 

Hunted by Proxy is the second book in author Manning Wolfe’s excellent Proxy Legal Thriller series, featuring the hiding-in-plain-sight criminal defense attorney Quinton Bell, and what a fabulous follow-up to its debut it is! From its heart-wrenching opening to its dazzling surprise of a conclusion, I was riveted by this exciting and absorbing story. 

Quinton Bell is a complex character, to say the least. Living a lie to escape his past, he’s endured a lot and is feeling the stress of maintaining his masquerade as a dead man. The author gets us right inside Quinton’s head, and you can almost feel the pressure he’s under, especially with the knowledge that someone out there knows his secret and is using it to toy with him. His legal work is fascinating to read, even the requisite administrative hearings, and the author clearly knows her way around a courtroom and how to convey that to the layperson reader. 

Soon into the story, it is revealed that someone knows who Quinton Bell really is, and naturally, he’s spooked. But as days passed and things began to happen, such as the odd sightings of people that quickly disappeared, I, too, started to get the willies. When Quinton said he felt like he was being watched, I knew exactly how he felt. The reader is privy to the thoughts and actions of this stalker but not who is pulling his strings, and when that big reveal happened, I was fully and completely surprised. The story sets up for a next book, and I, for one, am already waiting. 

I have to mention the opening sequence, a massive traffic accident on the I-10 between Houston and Katy, was horrifyingly real – a slow-motion rendering of certain death, critical injuries, and destruction. The author gives the perfect introduction to the main characters involved, so I was immediately engaged and already cared about these people when the scene unfolded. 

I recommend HUNTED BY PROXY to mystery and thriller readers who enjoy legal dramas, secret identities, and mob-related stories.

For this and other book reviews, visit my blog, Boys' Mom Reads!

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In the Dead of Winter

Blue Water Mysteries, #1

by

Lyn Farrell

 

Who could possibly want the young mother of a three-year-old dead?

 

In the Dead of Winter is the first novel in author Lyn Farrell’s new Michigan-set series, the Blue Water Mysteries, and pairs the investigative talents of a sharp-witted civilian sheriff’s dispatcher with the untested but earnest undersheriff, investigating his first homicide. Victoria Treadwell was making her way to work over treacherous snow-covered rural roads when she saw a car come up behind her, fishtail, and slide off the road and stop headfirst against a tree. When she turned back to see if the driver needed help, she discovered a young woman, barely breathing and crumpled over the steering wheel, as her toddler daughter witnessed everything from her car seat in the back. As the young woman succumbs, it becomes apparent that her death was not the result of the accident but of the premeditated actions of a murderer. 

Victoria, the married mother of two, is a talented amateur sleuth, hampered by her status as an untrained civilian. She’s quick to see connections in the clues, and her online research skills really help further the investigation. She takes a personal interest in the case and hopes she and her part First Nations husband can adopt the dead woman’s tiny daughter, a First Nations child, out from under the girl’s own father and grandmother, neither of whom may be in the best situation to care for the toddler. 

Undersheriff Pete Manstead, while a dedicated officer, is the tortoise to Victoria’s hare in their race to bring in the killer before the sheriff, who is out of town at a conference, returns to take over the investigation. A self-acknowledged plodder, Pete thinks and rethinks his every move. Still, he tends to leap to some pretty tenuous conclusions as he works to identify the killer. Together, the result is quite a unique police procedural with several potential suspects, all of whom look good for the murder until their alibis prove they’re not the one. Slowly but surely, the two tease out the truth of Carly Yellowstone’s sad death. 

I recommend IN THE DEAD OF WINTER to readers of mysteries, especially those who enjoy a story set in blizzard-like conditions or Michigan’s rural north. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

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Cat and Mouse

Parker City Mystery, #6

by

Justin M. Kiska

 

Another compelling dual timeline tale of mystery and suspense.

 

Cat and Mouse is the sixth entry in author Justin M. Kiska’s excellent historical and comradely Parker City Mystery series, and this time Detectives Winters and Mason are faced with a cold case of stalking from the Christmas of 1965 that kept the women of Parker City on edge and looking over their shoulders the entire holiday season. The most wonderful time of that year was marred when numerous women, seemingly selected at random, received a creepy, typewritten note in the mail, claiming they were being watched and to “Be careful.” However, the note Elizabeth Blakely, a young administrative secretary at the town’s largest department store, received varied significantly from the others; hers was personalized, handwritten in angry red, and delivered by hand to her home rather than sent through the postal service. Her targeting was much more personal and was followed up with even more taunting missives. Still, the police had little to go on, and the case gradually languished in storage until Elizabeth, 20 years later and married, moved back home to Parker City, and the letter writer took up their pen again. 

It was great fun to be reunited with Ben and Tommy as they reworked this old case with new eyes and fresh ideas. Ben is soon to wed Natalie, and Tommy may have found someone special in Christine. It was nice to see Tommy has grown in maturity and taken note of how Ben handles himself in investigations since he first joined him as a detective. While they still banter like old friends tend to do, they’ve really upped their game in working together as a team, too. I liked that Ben still considered Natalie as a valuable point of view on his cases. 

The story hits the ground running as Ben and Tommy foil an unusual crime in progress, as the entire downtown of Parker City celebrates its rebuilding from a devastating flood with a well-received summer street festival. But the plot soon reverts to the winter of 1965 when the stalker roamed those same streets, targeting random women with threatening notes. The recounting of what Elizabeth Blakely experienced kept me on the edge of my seat, and the descriptions of her work life as a secretary in 1965 were a surprising trip down Memory Lane and a reminder that some things have changed for the better while others have stayed the same. The author gives readers a couple of possible suspects to consider, along with some good plot twists that keep things exciting. I think this may be my new favorite of the series. 

I recommend CAT AND MOUSE to readers of mysteries and suspense. 

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

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Deadly Vision

by

T.D. Severin

 

High-stakes medical miracles come to life, while political manipulations set out to destroy them.

 

Deadly Vision is a new medical-political thriller by T.D. Severin and is the realistic story of high-stakes medical miracles come to life versus the political manipulations determined to destroy them, all the while asking, “Has man’s understanding of medical interventions outstripped our capacity to afford them?” Young Dr. Taylor Abrahms and his research partners, Malcolm Bernard and Helen Wang, may have created the next breakthrough in medicine with their Virtual Heart Project, but powerful individuals with ties to the upcoming Presidential election will stop at nothing to shut it down. 

Wow! From its shocking opening to its unsettling second epilogue, I was completely absorbed by this story. The characters are realistic, some are likable and engaging, while others are menacing, others are afraid of the future, and others are willing to go to great lengths to maintain the status quo. Taylor Abrahms has given his all during his grueling double residency, reaching for a future inspired by tragic childhood losses, and his struggles are intensified by someone who should be in his corner. Malcolm Bernard, his genius of a partner, is no less intense, but his quirks provide some fun relief; in fact, he is a delight. 

The action hits the ground running, with a frightening assassination attempt against a good guy who has uncovered something he was never meant to find. There are roadblocks, twists, and turns all along the way, and much happens in the shadows, secretively, and when connections were revealed, I gasped aloud. The characters are cleverly and unexpectedly linked together, making the stakes even more critical. I was constantly on the edge of my seat waiting for the next shoe to drop. 

Don’t let the tome-sized package of this story deter you; the author’s writing style is engaging, and I was quickly drawn into this complex tale; the pages and the time flew by! I recommend DEADLY VISION to readers of medical thrillers. 

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

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Everyone Is Perfect Here

by

Jane Haseldine

 

Unsettling and twisty psychological domestic thriller.

 

Everyone Is Perfect Here is a new psychological domestic thriller by author Jane Haseldine, and features unsettling family drama and shocking plot twists that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. USC English professor Carly Bennett has finally gained hold on a satisfactory life after her tragic childhood that culminated with the murder of her mother and police suspicions that she was somehow involved. But when she discovers the body of a campus janitor in her office and the stepbrother who betrayed her all those years ago suddenly reconnects, it seems all her old nightmares are coming back to haunt her … or worse. 

Carly Bennett was the victim of psychological manipulation as a child and is now facing similar circumstances as an adult, but who exactly is behind it all? Ava Patel is her strong, vibrant, and loyal best friend, doing her darndest to get to the bottom of what's going on, and she's such an exciting element in the story. I'd love to see her appear in another book. 

The plot unfolds from multiple points of view, including Carly's flashbacks to her childhood, when she and her mother, Emily, first became part of the White family. I loved how the author sets readers up with clues pointing in one direction while sprinkling clever indicators that perhaps things weren't what they seemed throughout the tale. I was delightfully fooled. 

I recommend EVERYONE IS PERFECT HERE to readers of psychological or domestic thrillers. 

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

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Dead by Proxy

Proxy Legal Thriller, #1

by

Manning Wolfe

 

Exciting plot with twists I never saw coming!

 

Dead by Proxy is the first book in author Manning Wolfe's new Lawyer on the Run legal thriller series, the Proxy Legal Thrillers. With intense courtroom action and the unexpectedly suspenseful consequences, I was riveted by the story and glued to the pages. After losing a major court case, attorney Quinton Bell finds himself the lethal target of his disappointed client and must flee for his life. He reinvents himself, hiding in plain sight, in Houston, Texas, until another important case puts him in the spotlight and back in the crosshairs of the client he was desperate to avoid. 

Attorney Quinton Bell is the engaging, sympathetic main character, pushed to uproot everything when threatened by an unrelenting, disgruntled client. He's smart and easy to root for (as you try to catch your breath, still your heart, and keep up!) I never saw the twists in this book coming. I also enjoyed the setting, particularly as I read it while in Houston, Texas, and staying downtown at the time. 

The author's writing style drew me into the tale immediately; easy to read, yes, but compelling and satisfying. I was delighted to see that she has several previous books, and I intend to grab them soon. 

I recommend DEAD BY PROXY to readers who enjoy legal thrillers or mysteries and stories set in Houston or Texas. 

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

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Circus Bim Bom

by

Cliff Lovette

 

A delightful spectacle!

 

Circus Bim Bom is a new historical fiction novel by Cliff Lovette, and while regaling readers with a wonderfully worthy story, it does its darnedest to recreate the magical spectacle of a circus come to town, with all the sights and sounds ushered in through the marvel of QR codes and a well-developed website hosting the extras. Snippets of history dazzle alongside a sparklingly entertaining fictional plot, peopled by engaging and sympathetic main characters. Together, this story will not only grab your attention but also your emotions and your heart. 

In an effort to promote the post-Cold War sentiments of peace and goodwill, Moscow sends the newly formed Circus Bim Bom to the U.S. for a two-year tour. With most of its members never having set foot outside the former Soviet Union, their introduction to the privileges and excesses of American life is eye-opening and fraught with temptation and opportunity, despite the buffering effect of state-supplied chaperones and the watchful presence of the KGB. The huge undertaking, guided by a raft of unlikely and ill-prepared local producers and sponsors, faces unexpected, and at times amusing, obstacles as the show must go on! 

While the tale runs a bit long with backstory, it is full of interesting background information that absolutely sets the stage for what is to come, and I still found the pages to fly past. The book ends with unanswered questions, ready for answers in the upcoming sequel, but readers can attain some immediate satisfaction by following the provided QR codes to the website for additional material. 

I recommend CIRCUS BIM BOM to readers of historical fiction who are looking for something fresh, new, and innovative. 

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