Murder Most Eastern

Great Maine Mysteries, #1

by

Nellie H. Steele

Fun start to this new Maine-set cozy mystery series.

Murder Most Eastern is the debut book in author Nellie H. Steele’s new cozy mystery series set in Maine and aptly named Great Maine Mysteries. It introduces the main character and soon-to-be amateur sleuth, Emily Harper, and her unusually helpful and perceptive feline companion, Grayson. I enjoyed this fun cozy mystery from its vividly colorful cover art to its gothically atmospheric, rainy opening, all the way to its very final page. 

Struggling artist Emily Harper moves to the Maine coast when her sister Becky dies suddenly in what appears to be a household fall, leaving her the sole beneficiary of her estate, which includes a renovated Victorian home, a considerable amount of money, and a precocious gray and white cat named Grayson. However, the inheritance comes with a clause: Emily must occupy the home for a full year before it all becomes hers. 

Once installed in the house, Emily naturally wants to explore her new surroundings and, in particular, is drawn to the iconic West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. With Grayson, a very doglike cat, in tow, she visits the historic site where she meets Dr. Richard Bennett, a local historian who claims to have been collaborating with Emily’s sister on unraveling a legend of buried treasure out of the famed lighthouse’s past. According to Bennett, Becky had uncovered some new clues about the rumored treasure that indicated it was more than just a myth. But now someone unknown wanted that information and would stop at nothing to get it. 

This cozy series debut is an intriguing and suspenseful blending of mystery and magic, featuring the regretful, brokenhearted Emily, an overly intuitive (and always hungry) cat, pirates’ treasure, and murder. I enjoyed the main character, who, not initially a cat person, comes to treat her new feline best friend like a human, and the reference to the Dark Shadows character in the cat’s naming. Something of a fish out of water, more comfortable in bustling Boston than rural Maine, I enjoyed reading about her getting to know her new home state: the scenery, the people, the food, and the famous sights. West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, the site of much of the action and speculation in the book, is the easternmost point of the continental United States. 

The action moves at a steady if not spritely pace, with Emily’s discovery of her sister’s cryptic, handwritten journal, noting her research into the rumored treasure, and her beautiful but mysterious silver and tourmaline bracelet that, when worn, gives Emily an odd electrical tingling and short, vivid visions of the near future. Becky’s attorney and friend, Bill Anderson, is helpful but suspicious, as he pops up at unexpected moments, but later becomes the sounding board Emily needs to process all that is going on, even as she continues to wonder if he’s a friend or foe. 

I recommend MURDER MOST EASTERN to cozy mystery enthusiasts. 

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

Misguided Trust

by

Lauren Wagner

Exciting dystopian tale where water is the most precious resource and any illness is a death sentence.

Misguided Trust by Lauren Wagner is a new dystopian tale in which a future U.S. is divided into Clean Zones, and water is provided, protected, and restricted by the government. Illness of any kind will result in a resident being taken away, removed from their home, and never to be seen or heard from again. The fully realized world and its sympathetic main character are introduced with minimal embellishment, so the tale relies on her actions and interactions with those in her life. 

Sara Carson is the likable main character, living in relatively good circumstances compared to others. She’s kind and secretly helps those in need by lifting extra rations and medications and getting them to Maddox, who runs an illegal underground distribution network existing on the very edge of the Clean Zone society. Sara has a tragic history, losing everything important to her early in life, including a past love named Tommy. Tommy’s brother, Josh, has maintained contact with her, keeping an eye out for her continued safety while attracting the attention of the government enforcement officers himself. Her budding romance with Kye, a high-ranking enforcement officer, throws everything in her world out of whack. It was her determination and resilience in the face of it all that made this book impossible to put down until the final page was turned. 

I recommend MISGUIDED TRUST to fans of dystopian fiction. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.

Violins and Vampires

Vampires of the Daemonverse, #1

by

Cee Bee

This story had so much to enjoy: great world-building, a sexy Scottish vampire king with a broken heart, and an incredibly savvy and sassy kick-ass heroine! 

1000 A.D.: When the vampire king of Clan MacGregor discovers his beloved queen, Elisava, has contracted the deadly plague that kills only bloodkin women, he races her to the cave of a healer, a water elemental known as The Gray Woman. Although she has no cure, she vows to somehow save King Caelin’s clan. 

In their own country, the young princesses, Alexa and Sash, accompanied by a human woman, Anya, make the difficult and harrowing climb up the side of a mountain to the hidden cave where the magical healer, Zhenshchina Vody (The Gray Woman), can be summoned and asked for help. Sash, half-human and half-bloodkin, is ill with the same plague that has wiped out the women of Clan MacGregor but with her mixed heritage, the plague is progressing much more slowly. The Gray Woman makes the three sleep and freezes their bodies, preserving them for a future time when she has devised a cure. 

Current times: The princesses awaken in a hospital with no memory of their former lives. However, Anya is there, a familiar face, and she claims to be the girls’ mother and her companion, Mikhail, their father. From then on, the girls experience as normal a childhood as possible while their father supports them working for the local crime family headed by Konstantin King, none other than King Caelin’s former brother-in-law, now his partner in grief and business. But when Lexa is in her senior year of high school, Mikhail abandons the family, on the run from his boss, for embezzling huge amounts of money, and vanishes without a trace. To keep Konstantin from killing the rest of the family, Anya bargains for Lexa to pay back her father’s massive debt. 

Lexa is a clever girl and becomes Konstantin’s most valuable asset. Working undercover, she secretly susses out opportunities for Konstantin’s criminal activities. But during one such operation, she discovers she has a bounty on her head and is the target of a deadly assassin. 

Violins and Vampires is the riveting first book in author Cee Bee’s adult paranormal romance series, Vampires of the Daemonverse, and it is a hands-down fantastic debut! I was captured by the story from the very start (with naked mud-wrestling!), and now I’m anxiously awaiting the availability of book two (which I wished I could have had in my hands YESTERDAY.) This story had so much to enjoy: a sexy Scottish vampire king with a broken heart, an incredibly savvy and sassy kick-ass heroine, and intriguing world-building with bloodkin, nightlings, daemons, and elementals. 

Lexa is a strong female protagonist with some unusual abilities that even she doesn’t understand yet. I loved how she met and accepted the responsibility for her family head-on and did an amazing job keeping things on track and together. She deserves a worthy mate and a happily ever after. 

Caelin, the long-lived bloodkin king, truly loves his queen, and keeps himself under tight control around other women, accepting what he needs but not wanting to cause a human woman to succumb to “the red madness.” He still feels the pain and guilt of being helpless against the bloodkin plague. 

I liked that Konstantin had made it into the modern world as well. He and Caelin have a millennia-long alliance born of their shared grief over his sister Elisava’s death. And the story would not be complete without the modern iteration of The Gray Woman, now reinvented as a doctor, doing her utmost to keep her promise to Caelin while indulging in her affinity for chaos. Prudence and Vice are suitably creepy and menacing from the start, but then the author really turns it up a notch for them. 

The story is fast-paced throughout, with never a slow moment where you would want to put the book down. So, take care of your needs before reading that first page, and be prepared to stay up late to get to the last. With characters you’ll really root for, an intriguing world of paranormals, and a riveting plot, I recommend VIOLINS AND VAMPIRES to readers who enjoy paranormal romance and suspense, especially those with fresh and new vampire lore. 

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

Click HERE for my review of Veils and Vampires (Vampires of the Daemonverse, #2) by Cee Bee!

When Ghosts Call Us Home

by

Katya de Becerra

It is an eerie, atmospheric story of a young woman trying to reconnect with a beloved, missing sister.

When Ghosts Call Us Home is the creative brainchild of talented author Katya de Becerra and is a gem of a young adult horror story that breathes uncertainty and unease into every suspense-filled page. The inwardly focused narrative placed me in the story at the very center of the young protagonist’s frightening experiences. 

The main character, Sophia Galich, had struggled for the past five years with the fame and renown of her older sister, Layla, and her starring role in Layla’s hit horror, Vermillion. Even though she knew all the terrifying images in the movie that her twelve-year-old self had encountered during the filming were special effects, they’d imprinted themselves deep and refused to release their grip on her psyche. 

But after her much-loved sister disappeared without a trace two years ago, not a moment goes by that Sophia doesn’t grieve her absence. She jumps at the chance to return to the house where the film was shot to search for signs of her missing sister, even though it is for a documentary on the film in preparation for the five-year anniversary of its release. 

Knowing her parents would not approve of this plan, Sophie constructs a well-planned deception to keep them in the dark, including forging their signatures and sending them pictures from her friends’ vacations. The parents have to be grieving themselves, but it appears from the story they have a long history of being distracted when it comes to their daughters, while they are trying to make a living. Note to parents: there are enough good ideas presented here to be considered a fairly good how-to guide. 

The story unfolds from Sophia’s point of view, with surprise after surprise increasing the suspense. There’s a scene reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera when a chandelier inexplicably crashes down on the exact spot Sophia was sitting moments before. The eerie goings-on, the constant sound of the ocean pounding against the rocky cliff where Cashore House sets, and the certainty of being watched by more than motion-activated cameras keep everyone, readers included, on the edge. I became unsettled by the atmosphere in the old house and began to notice every weird sound in my own as I read. The payoff, however, was well worth the unease.

 I recommend WHEN GHOSTS CALL US HOME to readers of young adult horror, thrillers, mysteries, and suspense. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

Far Out!

by

Anne Bustard

A fun and exciting children's chapter book that will entertain older readers, too!

Far Out! is the new children's historical mystery by author Anne Bustard that will also entertain and delight older readers. Just days before their hometown’s First Annual Come On Down Day, hopefully to celebrate the world’s first contact, Mimi Crook, the vice president of the Totter Unidentified Flying Object Organization, becomes the main suspect when a coveted space artifact disappears. However, her granddaughter is sure she’s innocent, no matter how suspicious her grandmother is acting. And with the main character, Magnolia Jean Crook, and her best guy pal, Nick Lawless, on the case of the missing meteorite, everything is sure to work out fine. 

The story's setting is in the small town of Totter, Texas, in November 1964. LBJ is President, and America is smack in the middle of the space race. I loved the idea of the town capitalizing on the country's fascination with all things space and alien with not only the festival but the decorations around town, simple and spectacular (the spaced-out dolls on the square were a hoot and probably one of my favorite images of all time!) 

MJ and Nick are sure to appeal to readers of all ages, and there are plenty of other named characters to get to know. I enjoyed the small-town vibe of everyone knowing everyone else. I was surprised by Mimi's official arrest even though I understood the reasoning behind it, trying to treat all suspects equally. A quibble, though, the Miranda Warning issued by the arresting deputy in the story was not in use until after 1966 and, frankly, not in wide or consistent practice at the local level well into the 70s. 

I enjoyed the mystery the two new young sleuths pursue and how they worked their investigation into their daily activities. MJ's use of questions and comments she's heard used on TV detective shows was fun and made me laugh. The issue of dementia will resonate with many readers. Chapters are compact and of convenient lengths, perfectly sized for young readers. 

With its pair of relatable young sleuths, nostalgic mid-60s timeframe, small-town Texas ambiance, and the unique and appealing underlying subject matter of visitors from outer space, I recommend FAR OUT! to readers of all ages but especially upper elementary school-aged readers looking for an exciting yet approachable chapter book. 

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