Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 124
April 25, 2023
Blog Tour: CLEAN WIN by Kevin R. Doyle
Clean Win
by Kevin R. Doyle
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
LauraMosby is like a lot of young women, working in a job she doesn't like, lookingfor a way out, and doing her best to enjoy her privacy. When she dies a violentdeath at the hands of an intruder, it's at first brushed off as a standardhomicide. But when Lieutenant Santiago, the supervising detective, comes acrossevidence linking her death to a local politician, he begins to see the faintthreads of a much nastier scheme. Desperate to shield his people from potentialharm, he turns to Sam Quinton, full-time gym owner and part-time privateinvestigator, to help solve Laura's murder and help the police department evadethe wrath of City Hall.
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Excerpt One:
We sat there for another minute or two before I prodded thecop. “Laura Mosby.”
“Right.” Santiago sat a little straighter, as if pullinghimself back on track. “We’ve got a possible suspect.”
“From what the local news has reported, you’ve had more thanone possible suspect.”
Santiago nodded. “A former boyfriend, another even moreformer boyfriend, and a low-rent cousin who lives out of state.”
“But?”
“But they were all dead ends. And now we’ve got someone newto look at.”
“Which I’m guessing has something to do with why you’reslumming enough to visit me this morning,” I said. “So why not get to it. Who’sthe new favorite?”
Santiago looked away as he pressed his hands flat on histhighs. Despite our not-so-hot relationship, I decided to give him the time heneeded.
He looked back my way, his expression as calm and controlledas I’d ever seen him.
“Bob Marlow,” he said, so quietly I almost missed it.
I blinked a couple of times, processing the name.
“Bob Marlow,” I repeated a few seconds later.
“Yeah,” Santiago said, giving me half a nod.
“As in Mayor Bob Marlow?”
Only a quarter of a nod this time, if that. “Yeah.”
“As in recently-announced candidate for governor BobMarlow?”
No comment this time, except for Santiago giving me adead-level stare.
“Well, shit,” I said.
“Yeah,” Santiago said.
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Review: An unsolved murder of a hairdresser. There have been several suspects with dead ends. Their latest suspectwas a city mayor. A cop friend wanted to enlist the help of Detective SamQuinton to find further proof to convict the mayor or clear him of the murder.
The investigation kicks off to apromising and captivating start. I just enjoy these murder mysteries withtrying to figure out what happened and who did it.
Sam Quinton was your typicalbeat-nick P.I. that can get the answers and can get down n’ dirty if need be.His thinking was quick, candid, and gruff.
“If you’d been ready for it, Iwould have hit you a whole lot harder and you’d still be down.”
You get such a kick from Sam’s slyinvestigative skills. But what really draws you in is the murder mystery. Couldthe mayor have killed that girl? It would be too easy if it was the mayor. Butif it wasn’t him, then who? Was this a cover-up or a set-up?
A great read from start to finish!Hooray for Clean Win!
Rating:5 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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A high-school teacher, former college instructor, and fictionwriter, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of numerous short horror stories. He’salso written three crime thrillers, The Group, When You Have to GoThere, and And the Devil Walks Away, and one horror novel, TheLitter. In the last few years, he’s begun working on the Sam Quintonprivate eye series, published by Camel Press. The first Quinton book, Squatter’sRights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PINovel. The second book, Heel Turn,was released in March of 2021, while the third in the series, Double Frame,came out in March of 2022. The fourth Sam Quinton book, Clean Win, willbe released in March of 203.
Website: kevindoylefiction.com
Facebook:facebook.com/kevindoylfiction
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6473241.Kevin_R_Doyle
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Clean-Win-Quinton-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B0BN6X7WNW/
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GIVEAWAY :
Kevin R. Doyle will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnesand Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
April 24, 2023
Blog Tour: AQUA PAWS by Patricia Allieri
Book Details:Book Title: Aqua Paws by Patricia Allieri
Category: Children's Fiction (ages 3 to 7), 39 pages
Genre: Children's Book
Publisher: Aqua Kids Books
Release date: Apr 4, 2023
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.Book Description:
Splish! Splash! MEOW! Most cats hate water, but not Aqua Paws. He loves it! There’s just one problem: he’s terrified of crabs!
Then Aqua Paws finds himself in a sticky situation, and the only one around to help is a crab. Can Aqua Paws push his feelings aside before it’s too late? Full of whimsical sea creatures beautifully illustrated by Stella Maris, Aqua Paws also warns of the dangers of ocean pollution. A story that your child will fall in love with, that helps teach a valuable lesson at the same time.Buy the Book:
Amazon ~ B&N
add to goodreads
Review: Aqua Paws loved the water. But there was one thing he didn’t like about: the crabs! Then his friends talk Aqua Paws into facing his fears and let the joy of the water take him in. Oh, the awesome things he saw. Vibrant fish. Mega blowfish. And, of course, crabs!But what happens when Aqua Paws finds trouble and an unlikely specimen saves him?The illustrations were colorful and lovely. The pictures had this watercolor style that worked very well. A wonderful water adventure and a great motivation to preserve the oceans! Highly recommended. Rating: 5 stars
Meet the Author:Patricia writes stories about the ocean, cats, and friendship. With beautiful illustrations and heartfelt characters, she aims to entertain and inspire readers to feel brave, adventurous, and appreciate the environment. Patricia’s memorable characters include Aqua Paws and Purple Beak with many more on the horizon. Her fiction picture book, AQUA PAWS, has subtle hints of pollution in our oceans and children can help by collecting the harmful trash. Patricia lives in Texas with her husband. She treasures time with her two grown daughters and her grand babies Tate (Tater-Tot) and Pierce. Her love of animals, the beach and the environment is undeniable.
connect with the authors: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram
Enter the Giveaway:AQUA PAWS Book Tour Giveaway
April 22, 2023
Review: MASQUERADE by Adam Nicholls (Book 2)
A prostitute. A knife through theneck. And a dead young man. It seemed like just another murder scene…except thebody had a message carved into it: “Mason Black is a murderer.”
It was a case he had no choice butto take…if he wanted to stay out of the spotlight. Could this have had anythingto do with this old case on The Lullaby Killer? Could what happened on thatcase lead to Mason’s arrest?
Story is so gripping right fromthe start. Mason Black is one tough, kick-@ investigator. And while he’s tryingto clear his own name, there’s another killer on the loose known as Lady Luck,who’s been sending her own messages. Time becomes even more vital when Mason’ssister gets kidnapped by Lady Luck. Will Lady Luck get her revenge? Can Masonstop the killer and keep the police from finding out his dark secret?
It's another dangerous game ofcat-and-mouse. Well-written and enthralling! Just an exciting thriller!
Rating: 5 stars
Review: MANIAC by Adam Nicholls (Book 4)
The Friday Killer is the latestmaniac in this next Mason Black thriller.
“Chasing lunatics around the cityis a young man’s game, and I’m closer to fifty than forty.”
When a man asks for his help tofind his missing daughter, Mason, for the first time, refuses in considerationfor his own family. But Mason just couldn’t help his curiosity, especially whenhe discovered the first letter of each victim’s name spelled out “Friday.” TheFriday Killer.
Things change when his daughter’sfriend is kidnapped by the killer and her daughter makes him promise to findher. “To make one promise, he would have to break another [to his wife.]”
The daughter, Amy, was wrackedwith guilt over the deathly fate of her friend—the Y girl in the Fridaycycle—and so would do anything to help Mason catch this killer.
A father-daughter team was in thechase for this ruthless killer.
Another exciting and thrillerread!
Rating:5 stars
Review: MANHUNT by Adam Nicholls (Book 3)
Mason Black’s newest case: lookinginto the kidnapping of a man’s wife and daughter. Soon after, a severed headbelonging to the missing woman was found. It was the work of Anarchy, thenewest serial killer on the hunt.
As more victims were suffering atthe hands of this sick and twisted killer, Mason was losing focus as his ownpersonal life unravels with his sister leaving and his daughter feelingneglected.
It’s another excitingcat-and-mouse game, and Anarchy had every intention of testing Mason’sdurability.
Such grueling, action-packedtests. So many interesting twists and turns. A thrilling read!
Rating:5 stars
Review: MALEVOLENCE by Adam Nicholls (Book 5)
Mason Black, a privateinvestigator, was down to one child after losing his daughter a few months agoon a case. Instead of sitting at home blaming himself and wanting his wifeback, Mason decides to work another case: the hunt for a terrorist.
It all began with an explosion atAlcatraz that killed hundreds, including the wife and kid of a grieving man,who was the target of a madman known as The Educator. Mason’s journey islittered with random explosions on this case.
This was amilder, slower read, but still with an equally exciting hunt. A good read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: MONSTER by Adam Nicholls (Book 7)
Some religious nut job—amonster—was the new villain in this latest Mason Black case. This religiouscult apparently has been sending Mason invites for some time now. An invite towhat exactly? There’s nothing scarier than a freaky cult, especially acannibalistic one. Boy, will Mason get a jolt of surprise when he finds out whothe Master really was.
An interesting case with shockingreveals. It’s Kill or Be Killed in this story. Which will Mason choose?
Another good read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: MIMICRY by Adam Nicholls (Book 6)
The Lullaby Killer from Book 1 wasback and out for revenge against Mason Black. But how? Marvin Wendell (TheLullaby Killer) was dead…wasn’t he?
For Mason, the happy new familysituation was too good to last. Now, the killer was re-creating the samemurders from 8 years ago, going with the same name as the last batch of kids.The last time, the killer went after his own daughter. And now..? Who wasreally safe?
The past was coming back to haunthim. The killer would even plan to go after the little girl that escaped hisevil plan all those years ago.
Can Mason catch The LullabyKiller….again?
A compelling and gritty chase! Toogood to put down.
Rating:5 stars
Review: THE SWITCH by Sandra Brown
Identical twins Melina andGillian. The two couldn’t be any more different. But when one of them suggestsa switch on a pick-up…well, what twin could resist? In this case, however, Gillianrefused.
In the next few chapters, we getthe individual scenes of Melina and Gillian, not knowing if they switched ornot. Or perhaps this was simply a mistake in identity? The storyline and thenarrative does take a long time here. Iteven takes a long time to get out the news that Gillian was found dead. Geez,they couldn’t have just said that?
This book was called “The Switch,”but it didn’t seem like the girls switched at all. I felt cheated there. Idon’t know, this one sounded interesting at first, but it really didn’tcaptivate me. It wasn’t quite as suspenseful as I wanted it to be. The writingwas pretty good, but what really killed it for me was the lengthy chapters andthe long narratives. Much too slow to grab onto.
The read was generally okay, butnot too exciting.
Rating:3 stars
Review: THE WRITER by DW Ulsterman
An eager college journalist wasabout to have a one-on-one with her favorite author. Some wondered if Adelewould solve the mystery of the writer what with the mysterious death of hiswife. The first question she unwittingly asked was: Did you kill your wife? Heanswered, “yes.” What!? I thought this would lead to juicy stuff. Instead, welead off with a stale interview of questions and long pauses.
The narrative describes thewaterfront scenery well. However, a story does take a while to formulate here.I thought we would eventually get into the wife’s mysterious death, which I’dhoped would be murder. It just didn’t seem that way. The writing was much moreliterary than mysterious. It just felt like nothing was happening here. This iswhere I don’t continue the series.
Decent read, but hardly no story.
Rating:3 stars
