Reading and Reviews (Heistand and Gallant)
I'm an author, but I'm also a reader. From time to time, I'llshare my reviews of present and past reads. My available time to read islimited because I write, but I love to curl up with a paperback or an eBook atnight for the last hour of my day.
I tend to read what I write, but not exclusively. BesidesRomantic Suspense and mystery, I read crime and law novels, once in a while atrue story, WWII historicals, romance, and mainstream character driven books.
Here are some of the books I've read recently or in the not-too-distant past.Maybe you'll discover a new book or author.
Crumbs of Defeat (A Cookies and Kilts Mystery Book 4) by JoA. Heistand April first. The annual bake-off contest in Beaudin Trace,Missouri. Oven temperatures and entrants' tempers are hot enough to bake mostanything. And everyone there thinks if one particular participant would leave,things would cool off.
Evidently, someone's wish is overheard, for the contentious contestant is foundpost-contest, sprinkled with cupcakes and ready for her postmortem.
The death yields a mix of suspects, all capable of cooking up the murder. Theproblem is, who was stirred up enough to do it?
To prove herself innocent of killing Tiffany, bakery shop owner Kate Dunbarinvestigates. But she quickly wonders if the bake-off was the conclusion in aseries of risky events, and if her own elimination is just around the corner.
MY REVIEW:
This is a cozy with a cast of characters who make it fun forKate to investigate the murder of Tiffany, an obnoxious wannabe chef. Reg wasmy personal favorite. The setting is fun too. The Mississippi River, a dogbakery, and a culinary school all play roles. Unfortunately, Kate is among thelist of possible murderers for the police. Her amateur sleuthing is a quest toprove her innocence.
This was my first read of this series, although it is thefourth book. I feel if I’d read the prior books, a couple of the characterswould be more complete. Kate’s relationship to the sheriff was vague. But the readwas entertaining. Lovers of cozy mysteries will enjoy the story.
Final Witness (Truth and Lies Book 2) by Jannine Gallant The face of a killer could be the final picture he takes…
As a photojournalist, Nash Quintrell travels the world, capturing strikingimages of ordinary people in extraordinary situations. He certainly neverexpected to snap a photo of the assassin who shot the nation’s first womanpresident on her Inauguration Day. Discovering his pictures hold importantclues to identifying the men behind the attacks on several high-profile figuresis a shock. But they also provide the key to rekindling a relationship with thewoman he once loved and pushed away.
When FBI Special Agent Tempest English sees Nash in the inauguration crowd,camera in hand, she has no choice but to approach him. Her mission is to catcha killer, and she’ll take whatever help she can get, even if the last thing shewants is to work with the man who dumped her years before. Nash may have brokenher heart, but fate throws them together again, and his photos are the bestlead she has.
In an effort to unmask the powerful players behind the conspiracy, Nash andTempest must track a ruthless band of homegrown terrorists. Infiltrating theircircle risks not only their lives, but a future together neither imagined waspossible.
MY REVIEW:
I’m like a broken record when it comes to Jannine Gallant’sbooks. Just plug in a different title and the praises are the same. Isn’t thisa timely read too, with political intrigue and a female president? There’s astory of intrigue and conspiracy with homegrown terrorists. And then there isthe romance. Photojournalist Nash and FBI Agent Tempest make a fiery couple solvingthe crime and revisiting their love story. Romantic Suspense readers are sureto flip the pages of this satisfying book with a smile on their faces.
