P.D. Workman's Blog, page 88
January 31, 2019
Warm up with these February Freebies
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A lot of us are dealing with polar temperatures this weekend, so here is a nice, summery-warm kitty reading a good book for you.
I had intended to have What the Cat Knew on today as a Kindle freebie, but due to unforeseen circumstances, I wasn’t able to offer it. But I promised you freebies, so instead, I have offered you Gluten-Free Murder through Bookfunnel. Get your kindle or epub copy here. If you haven’t started the series yet, what better time to stay inside by the fire and read?
Gluten-Free Murder
Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
More Books
As usual, I bring more freebies for your enjoyment! As usual, titles and covers are links.
Dial P for Poison
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Dial P for Poison, by Zara Keane
Maggie Doyle moves to Ireland to escape her cheating ex and crumbling career in the San Francisco PD. When the most hated woman on Whisper Island is poisoned at her aunt’s Movie Theater Cafe, Maggie and her rock-hard muffins are hurled into the murder investigation.
With the help of her UFO-enthusiast friend, a nun, and a feral puppy, Maggie is determined to clear her aunt’s name.
Lifesaver
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Livesaver, by Macie Collins
Bookfunnel
Jamie Scott fled to Hodges, FL, a suburb of Lantana Beach, to escape an abusive husband. With hard work and generosity, she rebuilt her life in the adopted community that supported her during her darkest moments. Allowing herself no time for love, Jamie volunteers with a victims’ advocacy group, discovering a purpose beyond her solitary, complacent life. Her comfortable routine in place, Jamie finally feels safe until she is faced with a situation eerily similar to one she thought she’d left in the past.
As a sheriff’s deputy in Hodges, Cooper Ross has seen both the worst and the best of humanity. His bachelor lifestyle allows him to serve his community without the burden of a family. Even if he wanted to, his work doesn’t allow time for dating, much less love. Then a chance encounter with his reclusive, though alluring, neighbor forces him to reevaluate his ideas on love, and human nature.
In the face of suspicions and danger, Jamie and Cooper must each overcome their own misguided notions of love and duty if they are to find what they didn’t know they were looking for—each other.
Good Clean Murder
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Good Clean Murder, by Traci Tyne Hilton
Bible school student Jane cleans houses to make ends meet. She’s getting by just fine — until she finds one of her customers murdered in his bed.
When Jane Adler stumbled over the body of her best client she didn’t think the day could get any worse. But her parents had been right: getting a roommate from Craigslist is always a bad idea. Now homeless and broke, the offer to be live-in help for her dead clients’ greif stricken son is an offer she can’t refuse.
Granny’s Got a Gun
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Granny’s Got a Gun, by Harper Lin
Barbara Gold, a retired CIA agent, is bored out of her skull in Cheerville, a small town in New England—until a man is poisoned during a book club meeting for seniors. Everyone thinks Lucien had a heart attack, but from his symptoms, Barbara knows someone has slipped poisoned into his cake or drink. Even though she is no longer undercover, Barbara feels as if she’s only playing the part of a sweet grandmother, but this may just be her most useful cover yet.
The clock ticks as she investigates who in the Cheerville Active Readers’ Society would want Lucien dead. It’s only a matter of time before his death is declared murder and the police start hounding everyone.
Suddenly Barbara’s CIA training is useful again, and Cheerville is starting to seem not so dull after all…
A Pie to Die For
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A Pie to Die For, Stacey Alabaster
Rachael is a pastry chef with a boutique bakery. When a food critic dies after eating a pie from Rachael’s bakery, she is quickly labeled the prime suspect. Faced with a police investigation that doubts her innocence, she has no choice but to find the real killer. With carefree best friend, Pippa, Rachael sets out on a mission to save her bakery, but it could ultimately cost her, and her best friend, everything.
A Knight’s Quest for the Holy Grail
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A Knight’s Quest for the Holy Grail, by C. S. Johnson
Short Story
Lance wants nothing more than to be there to fight the dragons for his beloved Princess Alexandra. With his faithful steed by his side, Lance sets out for the magic elixir found only in the Holy Grail. With its strengthening power, facing off an old hag, the bewitching woods, and the strange ogre who lives under a bridge should be easy.
But when it comes to Alexandra’s dragons, things aren’t quite what they all seem to be.
Will Lance’s gift be enough — or will his princess require something even more powerful to sustain her?
Death by Chocolate
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Death by Chocolate, by Sally Berneathy
Lindsay loves chocolate. It tastes good, it makes her feel good, it never cheats on her like her almost-ex-husband. It’s her best friend. But someone wants her dead and uses her weak spot—chocolate—to try to murder her.
Lindsay’s only secret is the recipe for her chocolate chip cookies, but she is surrounded by neighbors with deadly secrets. Suddenly she finds herself battling poisoned chocolate, a psycho stalker, and a dead man who seems awfully active for a corpse.
Her best friend and co-worker, Paula, dyes her blond hair brown, hides from everybody and insists on always having an emergency exit from any room. Secrets from Paula’s past have come back to put lives in jeopardy.
Even Witches Get the Blues
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Even Witches Get the Blues, by J.D. Winters
Haley is a witch with amnesia and she might be the most normal thing in the spooky town of Moonhaven.
She wakes up in a strange motel room, no idea who she is, with just the clothes on her back and, weirdly, the deed to a property in Moonhaven where everybody seems to know her.
Back for less than a day she discovers, in no short order, that she has an entire missing family, a town history as a wild child, and a grandmother who seems to want her to prepare to save civilization.
Not only that, she’s the lead suspect in a murder and Deputy Sheriff Shane McAllister knows more about her than he should. The real murderer is on the move.
Brownies & Betrayal
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Brownies & Betrayal, by Heather Justesen
Pastry chef Tess Crawford thought moving from Chicago to quiet Silver Springs, Arizona would simplify her life. That was before she found the body of a maid-of-honor with whom she had traded heated words the previous night, left her fingerprints on the murder weapon, and came under attack for trying to clear her name. When her cheating ex-fiance shows up, intent on convincing her to come back to work for him, Tess—armed with an extra batch of éclairs—decides to take control and solve the mystery herself, with the help of a few friends.
To Kill a Labrador
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To Kill a Labrador, by Kassandra Lamb
Marcia (pronounced Mar-see-a, not Marsha) likes to think of herself as a normal person, even though she has a rather abnormal vocation. She trains service dogs for combat veterans with PTSD. Then the former Marine owner of her first trainee is accused of murdering his wife, and Marcia gets sucked into an even more abnormal avocation–amateur sleuth.
Called in to dog-sit the Labrador service dog, Buddy, she’s outraged that his veteran owner is being presumed guilty until proven innocent. With Buddy’s help, she tries to uncover the real killer. Even after the hunky local sheriff politely tells her to butt out, Marcia keeps poking around. Until the killer finally pokes back.
Adventures of a Vegan Vamp
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Adventures of a Vegan Vamp, by Cate Lawley
Waking up thin is one thing. But waking up gaunt, hangry, and undead makes for a very bad day. Mallory’s killer better hide, because she’s just discovered blood, meat, and dairy don’t agree with her, and a future with no cheese is grim indeed. She’s out to find her killer…and maybe a vegan cheese that doesn’t melt her nose hairs.
January 29, 2019
Excerpt from The Haunting of Hill House
Be sure to check back here this weekend for a round-up of Kindle freebies! And I’m interested in hearing your comments on Kabedon, if you haven’t read my blog from last week yet.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
You may recognize this week’s title, as it has also been made into a TV series apparently available on Netflix. The Haunting of Hill House is a 1959 gothic horror novel written by Shirley Jackson. It was hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “now widely regarded as the greatest haunted-house story ever written.” It is also the story behind the movies “The Haunting.”
I just started it today, so I have not yet reached any “horror” scenes, but it is interesting so far. Lots of description and flights of fancy.
“That’s fine, then,” the little lady said, waving at her as the taxi pulled away from the curb. “I’ll be praying for you, dearie.”
Well, Eleanor thought, staring after the taxi, there’s one person, anyway, who will be praying for me. One person anyway.
Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
Four seekers have arrived at the rambling old pile known as Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of psychic phenomena; Theodora, his lovely assistant; Luke, the future inheritor of the estate; and Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman with a dark past. As they begin to cope with horrifying occurrences beyond their control or understanding, they cannot possibly know what lies ahead. For Hill House is gathering its powers – and soon it will choose one of them to make its own. Twice filmed as The Haunting, and the inspiration for a new 10-part Netflix series, The Haunting of Hill House is a powerful work of slow-burning psychological horror.
January 24, 2019
What is Kabedon?
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This week, in one of my writing groups, the subject of Kabedon came up. Kabedon is not something I had ever heard of before, so I won’t assume that you have either. Kabedon is a new trend in Japanese courtship, popularized in manga and anime. Kabe-don (“wall hit”) is the act of the man slapping his hand on the wall next to the woman, pinning her in position by his proximity. He may place only one hand on the wall, or one hand on either side of her so that she is trapped between his arms. He leans in very close to talk to her.
This video was posted in the group discussion:
One of the comments I made on the thread in my writing group about the video was: “I don’t understand the women saying it didn’t make them uncomfortable when their body language said it absolutely did. Those wide grins, embarrassed laughs, and turning away or hiding faces aren’t flirtatious, they are nervousness and anxiety.”
Here are a couple of articles about Kabedon:
The Japanese Kabedon: is it romantic or is it offensive?
Kabedon Is The New Japanese Mating Ritual You Need To Know About
Of course, dominance moves like this have been around for years. They remind me of Fonzie’s pick-up moves on Happy Days. While we always thought Fonz was the coolest, I wince when I watch Happy Days now—treating women like objects, showing them no respect, no concept of “consent.” It isn’t the 1950s anymore, or even the 1970s. Our expectations are a lot different than they used to be.
The consensus in my group was that Kabedon is okay if you are in love with the guy, but creepy if you aren’t.
I happen to disagree. I think it’s creepy behavior no matter how well you like the guy. I do not want to be trapped and have someone aggressively pushing into my personal space even when courting/flirting.
So if you happen to see a Kabedon scene in one of my books in the future, you can bet it will not be seen as a romantic, “hot” move from the recipient’s viewpoint!
January 22, 2019
Excerpt from Gray Mountain
[image error]If you didn’t get a chance to pick up my new release, What the Cat Knew yet, make sure you do! It is the first book in my new Reg Rawlings Private Investigator series, which is a spin-off from the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series. Reg is Erin’s foster sister, who finds herself involved in a whole new world when she runs a scam in Black Sands, Florida. Have a look at some other paranormal mystery releases while you are at it.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I am reading a John Grisham novel this week; one of his legal thrillers. I have been disappointed with a couple of Grisham novels lately, but I am enjoying Gray Mountain.
Samantha finds herself out of a job during the recession. With many other New York firms downsizing, the competition for jobs, even internships is fierce. She gets one with a free legal clinic in Virginia, which is nothing like what she was used to doing. Coal is king, and Donovan, another lawyer in Brady is taking on many of the coal companies in massive torts when his plane goes down. Samantha finds herself with a lot of difficult decisions to make.
No, nothing is guaranteed. Frankly, no one is smart enough to predict where we’ll be next year. We’re in the middle of an election, Europe is going to hell, the Chinese are freaking out, banks are folding, markets are crashing, nobody’s building or buying. The world’s coming to an end.
John Grisham, Gray Mountain
The year is 2008 and Samantha Kofer’s career at a huge Wall Street law firm is on the fast track—until the recession hits and she is downsized, furloughed, and escorted out of the building. Samantha, though, is offered an opportunity to work at a legal aid clinic for one year without pay, all for a slim chance of getting rehired.
In a matter of days Samantha moves from Manhattan to Brady, Virginia, population 2,200, in the heart of Appalachia, a part of the world she has only read about. Samantha’s new job takes her into the murky and dangerous world of coal mining, where laws are often broken, communities are divided, and the land itself is under attack. But some of the locals aren’t so thrilled to have a big-city lawyer in town, and within weeks Samantha is engulfed in litigation that turns deadly. Because like most small towns, Brady harbors big secrets that some will kill to conceal.
January 17, 2019
What the Cat Knew and other new releases
New release day!
I’m really excited to introduce a new mystery series to you. Many of you have been enjoying the Auntie Clem’s Bakery cozy mystery series. In Coup de Glace, you met Erin’s foster sister, Reg Rawlins. She was such a fun character to write, she needed her own series.
Having left Vermont, Reg has taken her fortune telling act to Florida, where there is a thriving paranormal community. Black Sands is different than anywhere she’s ever lived before…
About What the Cat Knew
[image error]Reg Rawlins, professional con, has really gotten herself into a bind this time.
The fortune teller gig started as a scam, but she suddenly finds herself tangled up in the case of Warren Blake, a man who she thought was dead. It turns out he may still be alive, but in mortal peril.
Reg has always taken the quick exit, the easy way out, but running out on this racket might mean someone else’s death.
Staying in it might mean hers.
Read sample
Buy now!
$4.99
More books
What else is hot and new today?
Southern Potions
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Southern Potions, by Amy Boyles
It’s New Year’s and Pepper Dunn is ready to celebrate. She’s been hard at work creating a potion for the annual Potion-Making Contest. All she must do is present her creation.
Pepper’s plans go awry when a sorceress claims she can turn a witch into a toad—all she needs is a volunteer.
But when the sorceress is murdered and the potion stolen, all Pepper wants is to stay out of it. She’s had enough of murders.
Problem is, one of her relatives was transformed into a toad. With the potion missing, Pepper must act fast to find it before her family member is stuck living as a toad—forever.
Freaky Deaky Tiki
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Freaky Deaky Tiki, by Amanda M. Lee
Hadley Hunter is learning about life, love … and being a witch.
She has a hot and hunky boyfriend, new friends, and family she didn’t know existed until recently.
Her plate is full.
Life gets even busier when a Detroit grim reaper named Aisling Grimlock hits Moonstone Bay for her honeymoon. Aisling is loud, brash … and pregnant. Unfortunately, she’s not one of those women who gets happy and develops a glow at the notion of a new baby.
When a body turns up on the docks, Hadley decides to help her boyfriend Galen investigate. All she knows for certain is that the murder looks ritual thanks to the tiki mask left behind … and the gaping wound in his chest.
Since she’s bored and limited, Aisling latches on to Hadley and volunteers to help. That means zipping around the island and investigating the local cult that lives in the forest.
Aisling has specific ideas about what should be done. Hadley has her own ideas. And Galen wants them both to steer clear of his investigation.
Things are bound to collide … and they do in spectacular fashion.
What happens when Detroit’s mouthiest reaper and Moonstone Bay’s newest witch collide? You’re about to find out.
The stakes are high, death is in the air … and a few more secrets are about to be unveiled. Strap in, because things are about to get freaky.
Almost Charmed
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Almost Charmed, by Rose Pressey
Something borrowed, something blue, something not so charmed. The wedding day has arrived for Halloween LaVeau. Will this be happily ever after for Hallie? Or will her leadership status of the Underworld jeopardize her relationship and produce deadly consequences?
The Haunted Stroll
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The Haunted Stroll, by J A Whiting
Nantucket’s annual Holiday Stroll is fast approaching and when Lin Coffin delivers a wreath to a client who owns an art gallery, she is drawn to a painting of an early nineteenth-century sea captain. It is clear the captain needs Lin’s help, but he remains invisible and is unable to communicate with her. The spirits of Lin’s distant relatives provide her with a clue, but it is mysterious and difficult to understand.
Lin, her cousin, Viv, and island historian, Anton Wilson, work to find the links between a break-in, a long-ago triple murder, and a buyer who offers ten times what the painting is worth.
Ghostly Holiday
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Ghostly Holiday, by Lily Harper Hart
Christmas is here, and Harper Harlow and Jared Monroe have big plans for the holidays. Harper is ready to move into their new house – and find him the perfect gift. And Jared? Well, he’s gearing up to propose and he’s making Zander ring shop with him.
All those plans go out the window when a little girl named Zoe Mathers goes missing and her traumatized mother is zero help in tracking down the culprit. Suspects are few and far between, although Zoe’s deadbeat father is of immediate interest.
Between his most recent ex-girlfriend and potential sex offenders in the area, Jared and his partner have their hands full. Harper doesn’t make things easier when she stumbles upon the ghost of one of their suspects, and a whole new world of possibilities opens up.
Between Jared’s mother visiting, Harper’s ex-boyfriend asking for a visit in jail, and Jared waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question, Whisper Cove’s favorite ghost hunters have their hands full.
Jared, Harper, and Zander are determined to get a little girl home in time for Christmas, and celebrate their first big holiday together.
They just have to survive first.
Spelldriver
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Spelldriver, by Gina LaManna
With a wedding on the horizon and her father tucked safely away in prison, the future is looking bright for Lily Locke. Unfortunately, life on The Isle is never calm for long… and when a Ranger is killed brutally in plain sight, Lily and her fiancé—the renowned Ranger X—find themselves hunting a murderer more ruthless than any they’ve ever encountered before.
However, unraveling the killer’s intricate plot isn’t Lily’s only problem. She has a cousin who is nowhere to be found. A dangerous hunter has escaped from prison. Ranger X is all but obsessed with his latest case, and Lily worries it’s consuming him entirely. Despite it all, Lily must make a decision that will affect not only her life, but the life of the man she loves more than anything else—and once it’s done, there’s no turning back…
Hidden Secrets
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Hidden Secrets, by
Morgan Blackmoore has a secret, and she’s desperate to hide it from her sisters. So when local paranormal healer Clementine Vega is murdered and Morgan is accused of the crime, she has to do something she’s never done before—lie to her family. But soon one lie turns into another, and she finds herself navigating a tangled web of deceit.
Now, with her sisters on the verge of war with paranormals, Morgan must uncover the killer’s mysterious motive before her sisters spark a paranormal war that they might not win, or worse, before they discover the shocking secret that Morgan has been hiding from them.
Resting Witch Face
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Resting Witch Face, by Constance Barker
Quinn, Harvest and Echo have never met their mother, but that’s about to change. However, she’s not quite what they expected and she’s in danger. Not only that, but someone is trying to destroy the livelihoods of the sisters…or are they trying to get them to use their powers to fight back?
Leshy, the goat/man, is back as well and he has news regarding the triplet’s mother and who might be trying to decimate their lives in the second book of the Triplet Witch Sisters Mystery series.
Son of a Witch
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Son of a Witch, by K.E. O’Connor
Returning to her magical hometown of Whitefall Cove for Christmas with nothing but a suitcase and a broken heart, she’s determined to enjoy the holiday and start the new year afresh. Her plans go haywire fast when her old nemesis and high school bully Whitney Sims turns up dead, and Harper is implicated in her murder.
Between a detective who doesn’t appreciate her amateur sleuthing skills, running a bookstore she purchased on a whim, and studying to re-sit her witch’s exam, Harper has her hands full. She’s determined to find out whodunit, and clear her name, but she quickly finds the murderer has other plans.
January 15, 2019
Excerpt from The Sleeping Beauty Killer
[image error]I hope you managed to pick up a few good freebies last weekend! Be sure to come back this weekend for the release of What the Cat Knew. Or preorder now and it will be delivered to you immediately upon release!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I’ve read a few other books in Mary Higgins Clark’s Under Suspicion series, a series about a TV show that investigates cold cases, or in this case, investigates the claim of a woman who claims that she was wrongly convicted. The Sleeping Beauty Killer will keep you on your toes. The Queen of Suspense does not disappoint!
A wave of relief washed over her when she saw her mother and cousin waiting outside. Her mother’s hair was gray now, and she was at least an inch shorter than when Casey began serving her sentence. But when her mother wrapped her arms around her, Casey felt like a small child again.
Mary Higgins Clark, The Sleeping Beauty Killer
Fifteen years after being convicted of murdering her fiancé—the famed philanthropist Hunter Raleigh III—Casey Carter is determined to clear her name. Though she has served her time, she finds that she is still living under suspicion. Going on the true crime show Under Suspicion seems to be her only hope to prove her innocence.
The show’s producer, Laurie Moran, also believes in her innocence and wants to help Casey. But with Alex Buckley taking a break from the show—cooling his potential romance with Laurie—Under Suspicion introduces a new on-air host in Ryan Nichols, a hot shot legal whiz with a Harvard Law degree, a Supreme Court clerkship, experience as a federal prosecutor. Ryan has no problems with steering the show, and even tries to stop Laurie from taking on Casey’s case because he’s so certain she’s guilty.
January 10, 2019
Toxo and a round-up of freebies
Hang onto your hats! Are you ready for another round-up of Kindle freebies?
Toxo
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Caleb, an autistic teen is mistakenly arrested.
Bad turns to worse when he is then apprehended from his family by DFS.
His mother could never have predicted the chain of events in a million years.
In trying to protect him, DFS has actually put Caleb in harm’s way.
Once again, Gabriel and Renata have teamed up to right injustice and to get Caleb to safety. But Andrew Searle is on the case, and it’s his job to see that they don’t succeed and that Caleb remains in foster care.
Ripped from the headlines, you won’t want to miss this intriguing plot!
Read sample
Buy now
$4.99
Free download Jan 11- 13
Other freebies!
Mirror Me
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Mirror Me, by Rachel Sanderson
Abbie Fray has moved with her family from Sydney to Derrington, a country town where everybody knows everybody and the mobile reception sucks. She’s left behind her best friend, her school, and her favourite bakery. She thinks her life can’t get any worse.
Then she makes a terrifying discovery.
Abbie looks just like Rebecca O’Reilley, a girl who was brutally murdered in Derrington a year earlier. And it doesn’t take long before Abbie learns there’s more connecting them than just appearance.
Madhouse
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Madhouse, by Miguel Estrada
Faced with his parents’ divorce, eleven-year-old Lucas runs away from home in the hope that his family will get back together to find him. While walking through the empty streets, he is picked up by a mysterious woman, who offers to take care of him and provide him with a loving family.
The boy then wakes up in shackles, confined to a bed in a decrepit house in the middle of nowhere and will have to face his deepest fears in order to survive in his new home.
AntiAmerica
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AntiAmerica, by T.K. Falco
When hacktivist group AntiAmerica hacks the nation’s largest banks, the financial industry is left teetering on the brink of collapse. Hacker and teen runaway Alanna Blake is forcefully recruited by the government to track down the only link to AntiAmerica, her missing ex-boyfriend Javier. She relies on every bit of her social engineering cunning to navigate a conspiracy of lies and deceit, which imperils both the lives of everyone closest to her and the secrets to a past she longs to remain locked away forever.
Anya
[image error]Deep in the walls of Cupola lies a secret. A 200 year old magical secret. And it’s up to Anya and her friends to solve it. Meet Anya, a twelve year old girl with utterly no direction in life. Meet Taika, her best friend who can make a potion strong enough to cure a were goblin, but may forget to warn you that it can explode at any moment. And then there’s Gevin. Yeah… well… Gevin’s just Gevin isn’t he? These three unlikely heroes will have to brew potions, battle monsters, and even endure the night-of-the-overturned-chicken-stool before discovering the deepest mysteries of Cupola.
Truly Deadly
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Truly Deadly, by Rob Aspinall
You know you’re having a bad day when…
a) Your social life is DOA
b) You’re falling for someone you really shouldn’t
c) A secret agency is trying to kill you
Ever since the heart transplant, Lorna hasn’t been the same.
The crazy behaviours. The insane new spy skills. And the violent memories. Could they really be her donor’s?
Soon Lorna’s on the trail of a mysterious object her donor hid before his death. Not long after, she’s top of a secret agency kill list.
With only her new killer instincts to rely on, will she survive long enough to discover the truth?
Game of Fear
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Game of Fear, by Gledé Browne Kabongo
Academic overachiever Abbie Cooper has one simple goal: get into the Ivy League. But at St. Matthew’s Academy, nothing is ever simple. The pressure is overwhelming, the secrets are dirty, and the games are wicked. Abbie has a dirty secret—one that could destroy her chances of making it to Princeton, and the lives of those closest to her.
One day a package arrives from an anonymous source known only as The Avenger. The package contains a photo depicting the explosive secret Abbie has kept hidden from everyone—the shocking blunder she can never erase. For a price, The Avenger assures her that her secret will remain safe. There’s only one problem: The Avenger may not exist at all
Heaven’s Peak
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Heaven’s Peak, by Miguel Estrada
After the tragic death of his mother, teenage photographer Kevin Miller moves to a new town with his alcoholic father and eight-year-old sister in the hope of bringing the family together and starting over. However, everything changes when Kevin witnesses his sister being kidnapped by a bizarre creature. The police are skeptical of his story, so he decides to unveil the mysteries surrounding the town on his own.
On the other side of the investigation, FBI agent Norman James will do anything to solve the baffling case, except believe a traumatized teenager’s nonsense.
The Sentinel
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The Sentinel, by Hamish Spiers
Jason Harding is not your regular crime fighting superhero.
He’s not a billionaire, he’s had no training and he can’t actually fight. And since he’s trying to clean up Fringe City, a dystopian mess that’s been written off by the rest of the country, he knows he’s got his work cut out for him.
What he doesn’t know though are the limits of his abilities and how much the cataclysmic events he puts in motion will change him. To survive, Jason must learn to adapt, depend on others and trust them.
New Year’s Eve Countdown to Murder
[image error]Libby looks to get a break from the hustle of an investigative reporter’s workload, and a needy boyfriend, to find some holiday cheer with her hometown girlfriends but instead of counting down to fun – and maybe a tryst or two – it’s a countdown to murder.
The Power of Two and a Half
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The Power of Two and a Half, by Sonia Parin
Humor and magic with a witch in training, her chatty feline companion and Rebel, the fairy
Lexie and Luna have returned from exile and now share their apartment with Rebel, the fairy Lexie had been gifted with. They all have some adjusting to do but it can all wait until they show their new companion, Rebel, the sights… right after Lexie gets her first cup of coffee for the day. No one is in any hurry to get anything done, not after their recent adventure in exile. However, their best-laid plans go awry when they encounter not one, not two… not even three, but rather, all the O’Rourke detectives. One hundred of them.
Dry
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Dry, by Neal Shusterman
The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t take long showers, don’t panic.
Until the taps run dry.
Suddenly, Alyssa’s quiet suburban street spirals into a warzone of desperation; neighbours and families turned against each other on the hunt for water. And when her parents don’t return, she and her younger brother must team up with an unlikely group in search of water. Each of them will need to make impossible choices to survive.
The Howling Cliffs
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The Howling Cliffs, by Mary Deal
Sara Mason joins in searching for Huxley’s MIA brother’s remains in the Vietnam jungle. She is joined by her friend Esmerelda.
Later in Hawaii, Sara learns that a six-year-old neighborhood girl had gone missing ten years earlier. Something odd is going on at the nearby forest cliffs; someone wants this cold case to stay cold.
But even after attempts are made on Sara’s life, she pushes on with the investigation and pursues the leads that take her on a path of danger.
The Feeling of Water
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The Feeling of Water, by Tyler Pike
SHE LOST HER LIFE IN WATER…
…time to get it back.
Karan is recovering from an accident that left her disfigured and amnesiac. She’s 21, remembers no-one and feels nothing except a irrational terror of water.
Then she meets Alice. Only 16, and fearless. Strong. Bigger than life. Perhaps even supernatural. And… dangerous. When Alice forces Karan to face her worst fears, together they unleash a terror much more immediate and violent than drowning. Karan nearly died once before, and now someone is determined to ensure she is really, really dead.
January 8, 2019
Excerpt from Low Pressure
[image error]If you didn’t see my New Year’s post last week, have a look. I hope you are enjoying the new year so far and looking forward to the rest of 2019. Be sure to come back this weekend for a special promotion. Join my mailing list if you want to get a reminder email.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I am currently reading Sandra Brown’s Low Pressure. A murder mystery where the main character, Bellamy Lyston, has written a fictional novel based on her own sister’s murder and all of the personalities involved. This might not seem like such a bad idea when the killer had already been caught, tried, and incarcerated, but if the wrong man ended up in prison, that would mean that the real killer is still on the outside. Brown ramps up the suspense as Bellamy digs into past to try to discover the bits of what happened that day that she has blocked from her memory.
It had looked innocent enough when she’d set it on her dining table along with a stack of mail … She’d noted that the label was printed with her name and address, but not the sender’s information. That was curious, but she didn’t think too much of it as she split the tape, folded back the flaps, and lifted out the gift-wrapped box inside.
Sandra Brown, Low Pressure
Bellamy Lyston was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy’s fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene along with her memory of what really happened during the day’s most devastating moments.
Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a sensational, bestselling novel based on Susan’s murder. Because the book was inspired by the tragic event that still pains her family, she published it under a pseudonym to protect them from unwanted publicity. But when an opportunistic reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on fact, Bellamy’s identity is exposed along with the family scandal.
Moreover, Bellamy becomes the target of an unnamed assailant who either wants the truth about Susan’s murder to remain unknown or, even more threatening, is determined to get vengeance for a man wrongfully accused and punished.
In order to identify her stalker, Bellamy must confront the ghosts of her past, including Dent Carter, Susan’s wayward and reckless boyfriend — and an original suspect in the murder case. Dent, with this and other stains on his past, is intent on clearing his name, and he needs Bellamy’s sealed memory to do it. But her safeguarded recollections — once unlocked pose dangers that neither could foresee and puts both their lives in peril.
As Bellamy delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Susan’s slaying, she discovers disturbing elements of the crime which call into question the people she holds most dear. Haunted by partial memories, conflicted over her feelings for Dent, but determined to learn the truth, she won’t stop until she reveals Susan’s killer.
That is, unless Susan’s killer strikes her first…
January 3, 2019
Upcoming in 2019
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Last year, I posted some of my plans for 2018. And I thought I would do the same for this year. I also just looked at another post that I did last January about planning for the year that I would encourage you to read again this year if you are looking for some tools to help you with your productivity.
Here are some of the things that you can look forward to seeing this year!
Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective
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I’m excited about this new series coming out, the Reg Rawlins, Psychic Detective series. It is a spin-off series from the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, where Reg Rawlins makes an appearance in Coup de Glace. I have three books written in this series so far, and they will be coming in the next few months.
Auntie Clem’s Bakery
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Erin has some new adventures and mysteries on her plate! I have three more books coming out in the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series. Coming soon are Sour Cherry Turnover, Apple-achian Treasure, and Vegan Baked Alaska.
Gem, Himself, Alone
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Gem is a stand-alone young adult novel. This is one that I started writing quite a few years ago, and finally sorted out the issues with a wrote a new ending to. Gem is a young man with a history, on the streets, joining up with a new gang.
Gem has a secret, and Officer Riker is determined to find out what it is and to finally get Gem behind bars.
June, Into the Light
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Between the Cracks has been my most popular young adult series. In the beginning, it was intended to be a three book series, stopping with the story of the second generation, Michelle and Kenny. But when Chloe’s story came to me, I had to write it, and having told the stories of all of the other siblings, I felt the need to add Ronnie’s story as well. Then the series was done.
Except that the readers wanted more. In particular, you wanted to hear more of June’s story. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Zachary Goldman Mysteries
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It’s hard to say which series I am enjoying writing the most at the moment, but Zachary Goldman Mysteries is definitely one of the contenders. Expect three or four new mysteries to be solved by your favorite new defective detective, Zachary Goldman, this year.
January 1, 2019
Excerpt from A Great Reckoning
[image error]Happy New Year! Be sure to check out my New Year Promo post for some freebies and other great deals! Most of these deals are only offered for a limited time, so don’t delay. Later this week, I’ll be posting about my plans for 2019.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I’ve read and mentioned a few other Louise Penny books on this blog before. Based in Quebec, the Inspector Gamache series always delves deep into the setting and history, psychology, and the complex relationships between the characters. Gamache has dealt with a lot of betrayal and corruption in his time, and in this volume, A Great Reckoning, he is once again trying to root out the source of the ongoing problems in the Sûreté du Québec and how it is tied into the mysterious map and disappearing villages.
For years, decades, as head of homicide for the Sûreté du Québec, his job had been to dig. To collect evidence. To review facts, and question feelings. To pursue and arrest. To use his judgment, but never to judge.
But now he was judge and jury. The first and final word.
Louise Penny, A Great Reckoning
When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes.
Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.
And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.
Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.
The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.
For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.
