Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 8
August 2, 2025
Review: HEIST IN LITTLE LEAF CREEK by Cindy Bell
The featured art was missing atthe local art gallery.
“Who would think a bold daylightheist would happen in Little Leaf Creek?”
Before anyone can look at thevideo feed from the store next door, the store’s owner was found dead. Was themurderer also the art thief? Tessa and Cassie had to find out. Can the girlssolve two crimes at once?
It’s always fun watching these twogirls track down clues and suspects. A good mystery!
Rating:4 stars
Review: THE HAUNTED CAR by R.L. Stine
A brand new car for sale…just nameyour price. You know there’s something weird when the seller insists that youtake the car right away at a really low price. Now we can see why…
Soon, strange things starthappening in that car. That wild, uncontrollable ride was pretty scary. Whatwas in that car? Who was the ghost that was haunting it?
A good read with mystery andhorror!
Rating:4 stars
August 1, 2025
Blog Tour: THE BOOKER by Kevin R. Doyle
THE BOOKER
Kevin R. Doyle
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GENRE: Mystery
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BLURB:
SamQuinton hadn't thought much about the entertainment business for several years.His days as a minor celebrity were part of his past, which was fine with him.But when a Hollywood producer walks through the doors of his gym and offers tocreate a TV show around his life, Sam doesn't say no right away.
Thenthe producer's partner ends up dead in her hotel room, and Sam has to put onhis private detective hat to straighten things out. It doesn't take long torealize the TV offer may not have been exactly what it was cracked up to be.Suddenly, a whole lot of seemingly bad folks are gunning for Sam. Forget hisbudding Hollywood career. He has to do everything possible to keep himself andhis client alive.
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ExcerptThree:
I’d only made it three steps inside before they both lookedover at the same time. Nichols waved me over.
I’d barely known Wendy Truell, but the faintness of ouracquaintance didn’t matter. It’s still a shock to see someone seemingly in theprime of life with a bullet hole in their face.
She had on a silk crimson robe with black piping and, as faras could be told, nothing else. She was slumped so her head rested on thepillow at the end of the couch. Except for the blood and gore around her, shecould have stretched out to take a nap.
Far as I could tell, it was a single shot. The front of herface wasn’t too messed up, except for the entry wound, with most of the damageapparent from where the slug or slugs exited the back of her head.
A highball glass containing some sort of mixed drink sat onthe coffee table next to an open laptop with a blank screen.
The originally green couch pillow was drenched in red.
“Jesus,” I said.
“Nichols tells me you knew the woman,” Santiago said by wayof greeting.
“More like met. I probably spent a grand total of forty-fiveminutes with her, if that.”
Santiago jerked his head, and the three of us walked backout into the hallway and down a ways to talk in private.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Aretired high-school teacher and former college instructor, Kevin R. Doyle isthe author of five novels in the Sam Quinton mystery series, all published byCamel Press. He’s also written four crime thrillers, including And the DevilWalks Away and The Anchor, and one horror novel, The Litter, along withnumerous short horror stories published in small magazines over the years. Thefirst Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus awardfor Best First PI Novel. A lifelong Midwesterner, Doyle currently resides inMissouri and has loosely based the city of Providence in the Quinton books onColumbia.
Website:http://kevindoylefiction.com
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/kevindoylefiction
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Booker-Sam-Quinton-Mystery-Book-ebook/dp/B0FDCZ1NJC/ref=sr_1_1
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GIVEAWAY
KevinR. Doyle will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
July 31, 2025
Spotlight: THE BABY EXCHANGE by Hannah Parry
Talent agent Mae Miller has problems . . .Her mother, Elsa, who has Alzheimer's, has gambled away all of Mae's savings. Billy Mac, her most lucrative client, has been poached by uber-agent Matthias Bloom. And Mae is eight months pregnant, with a baby she doesn’t want.
Enter The Baby Exchange.
When a reality TV show seeks an expectant mother willing to have her baby adopted, Mae seizes the opportunity.
But there’s a price . . .
In the city of Los Angeles where viewing figures are king, Mae is about to be manipulated into giving away far more than she realises.
What will it cost to secure the happy future promised to her by The Baby Exchange for a baby she thought she didn't want – but who is becoming increasingly real each day?
Author Bio: Hannah Parry swapped her scrubs as a pediatric nurse for a pen and a passion for storytelling, earning her Master’s in Creative Writing from Birkbeck College, University of London.
Her short stories have turned heads, with Farrukh and the Matchmaker making the BBC Short Story Award longlist and The Chrysalis snagging a Pushcart Prize nomination. She’s also dived into historical adventures for younger readers with Winter’s Bite and Fever Quest and writes commercial adult fiction, including the psychological thriller Breathing for Both of Us, published in December 2023.
Up next? The Baby Exchange, a humorous women’s contemporary novel set in Los Angeles, hitting shelves in July 2025 (now available for pre-order!).
Purchase links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Exchange-Hannah-Parry-ebook/dp/B0DV5RC71G/
Social Media links:
Website: https://hannahparry.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Hannah-Parry/61559632744180/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6550520.Hannah_Parry
July 30, 2025
Blog Tour: NOT LUCILLE by Mike Steele
NOT LUCILLE
Mike Steele
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GENRE: Middle Grade Historical
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BLURB:
Ten-year-oldLucy Contento can't help but be seen and heard. And she's always in trouble forit. She talks too much. She's impulsive. She writes with the wrong hand. Herparents would be mad enough knowing she routinely earns afterschool detentions.They'd be furious if they found out she's been sneaking onto the campus of thenearby Trenton Academy for the Deaf. But there, Lucy has met Florence, a lonelyand profoundly deaf girl her own age. Florence doesn't mind Lucy's flaws.Though Florence can't speak, she has a unique way of communicating. If Lucy canfigure out how to learn Florence's special language, the two could be friends.
Lucydevises a plan, but it's going to cost a whopping $7.98-more money than she'sgot. She can't tell her parents why she wants the funds without revealing she'sbeen visiting Florence. Besides, her parents don't have a penny to spare. Herfather has been out of work for months. And nobody else in the Contento familyhas an income. Or do they ...? Lucy soon discovers she's not the only member ofher family hiding something. Can she get the money she needs while keepingeveryone's secrets? Or will her scheming land her in the biggest trouble of herlife?
Inthis story of friendship and belonging, a young girl navigates prejudice,punishment, and identity while establishing her voice in a world that oftentries to keep her silent.
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ExcerptTwo:
Lucy inched her head farther inside and felt her heartstarting to beat faster. She was close enough to make out that one of the bookswas a pale gray pad. The blonde girl was sketching some sort of landscapeinside, copying an illustration from the other book. The sketch was good. Theblonde girl was talented.
“Wow,” Lucy whispered, worrying for a moment that her lapseof judgment would give her away. She quickly remembered she was at the Deefies.The blonde girl probably couldn’t hear her.
Couldn’t hear her but could certainly see her. That’s whathappened not a full minute later when the blonde girl glanced up from her work.
Caught.
Lucy had to get out of there. She clumsily scooted backwardthrough the frame and pulled herself up, turning to run for the fence only afew feet away. She reached the hedges as fast as her short legs could get herto them. She was about to push through.
“Stop!”
Lucy stopped.
She turned.
The blonde girl stood at the open window. “Stop,” shecommanded again. At least that’s what Lucy thought the girl had said. Shecouldn’t be sure. The blonde girl seemed to have some sort of accent.
Lucy crept toward the open window and crouched down untilshe was face to face with the blonde girl. “You can talk?”
The blonde girl raised her hand and formed it into a fist.She pinched her thumb and index finger together. It looked like the gestureLucy had seen people use to indicate the phrase, a little bit.
“Can you hear me?”
The blonde girl shook her head.
A large raindrop landed in Lucy’s curls and dripped down herface.
Both girls turned their heads to the sky, from whichenormous droplet after enormous droplet began tumbling.
“I’ll come back tomorrow,” Lucy said, still looking up.
The blonde girl reached through the window and pulled Lucy’sface toward her own. Her grip was firm, her hands compelling.
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Review:
Lucy was starting 5thgrade, but it sure didn’t start off well. She never meant to get into trouble,but trouble always seemed to find her. One the first day, she gets classifiedas “disruptive” by the teacher and gets detention. Boy, what a way to get offon the wrong foot. On the way home, one building in particular intriguedher—the School for the Deaf. That’s when she meets a deaf girl named Florence,whom she has secret visits with. Soon, a friendship develops and Lucy tries tofind a way to get an American Sign Language dictionary. Unfortunately, with herdad, an Italian immigrant, being out of work, money was tight, which saddenLucy and frustrated the whole familyLucy was certainly a fun andenergetic girl. I liked how she was always thinking and curious about the worldaround her. She genuinely seemed to care and truly wanted to help.
Full of charm and heart, Lucy isable to better understand herself, her friends, and her family. Story showsthat there’s more than one way to communicate and express yourself. A fun storyabout friendship, understanding, and learning new things. A good read!
Rating:4 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
MikeSteele is an elementary school librarian and former fourth and fifth gradeclassroom teacher. He has eight plays that are published and licensed forproduction in the school play market. Not Lucille is his debut middle-gradenovel. Whether writing plays or novels, he enjoys creating characters andsituations that make kids laugh. In his spare time, he likes to attend playsand musicals, create mixed-media artwork, and win prizes from claw machines. Helives at the Jersey Shore with his rescue tabby cats, Karen and Sox. If youspot him in the wild, he usually has a bubble tea in one of his hands.
Facebooklink: http://www.facebook.com/msteelewrites
Instagramlink: https://www.instagram.com/msteelewrites/
Websitelink: http://www.mikesteeleonline.com
BuyLink : https://books2read.com/u/4Arye0
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GIVEAWAY
MikeSteele will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
July 29, 2025
Blog Tour: LUCKY SECRETS by B.T. Polcari
Young Adult Cozy Mystery
Date Published: 6/23/25
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
With no good options, Sara enters the contest and finds herself at a fabulous mansion up against eight formidable opponents, each with a dark secret and all racing to solve seven levels of riddles and puzzles.
After a contestant’s body is discovered, Sara contemplates dropping out when another package arrives, its chilling contents making clear she’s at the center of a dangerous game with deadly consequences if she quits. But what it doesn’t say is—what happens if she wins?
Excerpt:
The white-haired man, holding a blue folder, addressed everybodyfrom the same open end of the seating arrangement as Percy had ten minutesearlier. “Thank you for coming. I am Creighton Winston, attorney for thecontest’s founder, whose name shall remain confidential. However, rest assured,this person is a generous philanthropist, scholar, and respected citizen.” Theattorney’s gaze traveled along the occupied sofas and chairs. “Has everybodybrought their envelopes per the instructions?”
Some nodded their assent, others held up letter and manilaenvelopes, all looking daggers at the man. I pulled my envelopes out and heldthem up.
“Very good,” Winston said. “Full disclosure, my firm only preparedthe invitation. The founder provided me with the sealed envelopes to go witheach specific invite. Only you and the founder know the contents of your secondenvelope.”
That statementconfirmed the so-called founder was the blackmailer. And assuming he owned ElSueño, he was also extremely wealthy. It made sense. With wealth comes power. Istudied the attorney. The man oozed money. Could he be the person behind allthis? Was he just pretending to be the founder’s attorney and in fact, I wasstaring at my blackmailer?
A smallish middle-aged woman with toned arms and perfect makeupraised a manila envelope like the one I received. Small dark-brown eyes thatappeared even smaller behind oversized black-framed glasses glared at theattorney. “Are you telling me you had nothing to do with this sordid envelopeand the despicable allegations it contains?”
“That is correct, Ms. Fantucci. All I know is, the founderbelieved some of you might have needed a little—push—to attend this meeting.And hence, your second envelopes.”
“More like a swift kick in the britches,” Scooter complained.
Mumbles and grumbles rolled through the room.
Winston forced asmile. “The founder imparted to me that every contestant was personallyselected because each of you has a secret that absolutely must remain—a secret.Especially from law enforcement.” He glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.“Since the winner of the contest will become fabulously wealthy, it would seem,everyone is here because of a potentially—luckysecret.”
Zoe’s head whipped toward me. With eyes wide, she mouthed law enforcement. I threw her a littleheadshake, even as my body exploded in tingles. I have no such secrets—anymore.I think. A picture popped in my head of the open safe-deposit box with the goldartifact, gold bar, and emeralds. With my name on the signature card. Somebodyobviously manufactured a secret for me. But why? And is it the same for all thecontestants? Were they also blackmailed into coming for something they didn’tdo? Or were they…
Review: It all started with a strangepackage with a $50,000 diamond and a chance to participate in a life-changingcontest. What to do?
Story is told in the unique andwitty voice of Sara, a college student. Although Sara tells the story in arefreshing way, there was still some considerable lag. It was the longnarrative and the long chapters that were the culprit for me. It took a whileto realize that Sara was, in fact, meeting a blackmailer in this “contest.” So,like the movie, Clue, everyone in a select group of people had a secret exceptthat there would be one winner with what would be deemed a “lucky secret.”O-kay. Rather odd and confusing.
Here is where we get too manycharacters thrown into the mix, which made it a little too confusing. Thissounded like a promising read. I liked the voice and the premise, but thedetails just seemed a little too scattered and confusing. I would’ve much preferreda simpler and quicker mystery. Typically, cozy mysteries have the dead body inthe first few chapters, but this one takes a long while to get to it.
The read itself was pretty good. Imight’ve been able to get into it more had I read the first book in the series,but, quite honestly, it wouldn’t have been a huge help.
A fairly nice read and a decenteffort.
Rating:3 stars
About the Author
B.T. Polcari is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University, an award-winning mystery author, and a proud father of two wonderful children. He’s a champion of rescue pups (Mauzzy is a rescue), craves watching football and basketball, and, of course, loves reading mysteries. Among his favorite authors are Richard Osman, D.P. Lyle, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly. He is also an unapologetic fantasy football addict. He lives with his wife in scenic Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Purchase Links
July 28, 2025
Book Blast: THE GRATEFUL GREEN DINOSAUR by Larissa Pemberton
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Larissa Pemberton will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Percy the green dinosaur explores practicing gratitude with the help of his friend Custard the unicorn, to turn his bad day around by turning his negative thoughts into positive ones.As a society, we often tend to focus on the negative. Teaching children to practice gratitude and shift their mindset toward the positive can lay the foundation for a happier, more fulfilling life.
Read an Excerpt
He stomps outside his cave to go meet with his friend Custard the unicorn. They have organised a nice playdate out on the sunshiny fields. But dark clouds quickly spread across the sky, and it starts to rain!
“Ahh no, I hate the rain!” exclaims Percy to Custard.
As you can see, Percy is very unhappy with the circumstances in his day. He begins to complain to Custard, “I have had such a bad day. Everything seems to be going wrong! I stubbed my toe, I burnt my toast, and now it’s raining!”
Custard responds calmly, “I’m sorry you feel like you have had a bad day. Your feelings are valid. However, focusing on the negative things in your day only brings about more negative things to complain about!”
“Oh really?” asks Percy.
***
Review: See how one bad thing leads toanother for, Percy, the green dinosaur. It takes his best friend to give himsome good advice.
“Focusing on the negative thingsin your day only brings out more negative things to complain about.”
With cute illustrations, thislittle story goes to show that a mindset can be a powerful thing. Whenever youfeel bad, just think about the things that make you feel good. A nice readabout being grateful.
Rating:4 stars
About the Author:
Larissa is a devoted mother to three young boys. Her path of self-discovery, shaped by the challenges and joys of motherhood—led her to discovering and embracing the life changing practice of gratitude. By incorporating it into her daily routine, she experienced a profound shift in her mental health and overall happiness. Now, Larissa is passionate in sharing this practice with her sons and other children, believing that learning gratitude at a young age can set the foundation for a life guided by joy and emotional resilience.Website: https://thegratefulgreendinosaur.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thegratefulgreendinosaur
Amazon: https://amazon.com/dp/0228829798
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July 26, 2025
Review: TEN by Gretchen McNeil
A house party on an island in themiddle of nowhere. For these teens, nothing could be better.
“Secret house party hosted by themost popular girl in school? People would kill for an invite.”
The landscape of the island andproperty were very descriptive—so descriptive that it slows things down a bit.But even though the story does take a while to get going, the read wasgenerally pretty captivating.
Ten teens were in a house. Amorbid video sends everyone on edge. A fierce storm knocks out all the power.Trapped on a secluded island. And the countdown begins.
The first death was a suicide andthe second was an accident. Right?
Story definitely had thatcreepiness vibe going. I mean, a killer was on the loose, killing the kids, oneby one. Who was the killer? Who was next? And who will be left standing?
Suspicion and panic run rampantamong the group.
A frightening and compelling read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: STRANGERS IN PARADISE: BRAVE NEW WORLD by Terry Moore
Francine is pregnant. Does she gothrough with the wedding to a man? Or does she tell Katchoo that she loves her?There’s still that sexual identity crisis here. Loved the illustrations! A niceread about love entanglements and afflictions.
Rating:4 stars
Review: THE GOOD SISTER by Leanne Davis
A wealthy, privileged wife didn’tquite have the perfect life. She was only supposed to pretend to have theperfect life. In reality, she endured rape and abuse by her political husband.Always.
Known as “the good sister,”Lindsey didn’t know how to tell Jessie, the sister that endured the abuse atthe hand of their father.
The narrative was simple, but longand slow. This was a nice read overall, but it felt too long for me. It soundedlike a decent story of getting a woman out of a domestic abuse situation. Anokay read.
Rating:3 stars
