• dying for christmas
    book review,  Books

    Book Review: Dying for Christmas

      I’ll be reading a lot of “feel-good” Christmas tales, but I acknowledge that those aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. With that in mind, I’m bringing you something vastly different today. Because although Tammy Cohen’s Dying For Christmas  is set over the Christmas holidays, there is nothing merry and bright about it. Curious? Check it out:   Review of Dying For Christmas   I may have mentioned that this is NOT your typical Christmas tale. In fact, it’s not a Christmas tale at all, so let’s get that out of the way right now. I think the phrase used in the synopsis – “most disturbing psychological thriller yet” – is…

  • book review,  Books

    Monday Reads: Seeing Red by Sandra Brown

    I’ve been a fan of Sandra Brown for years, so I was excited when her new book Seeing Red crossed my desk! I love a good mystery, and she is the queen of mixing mystery and romance. Read on for my review!   Review of Seeing Red Sandra Brown delivers another successful thriller in Seeing Red. True to fashion, this suspenseful book has her trademark plot twists; I wasn’t sure who to trust, or what was coming next. Her plots are always well constructed, and this one does not disappoint. I’ve long been a fan of her writing style, as she brings together a great mix of tension offset by…

  • D Minor
    book review,  Books

    Book Review: Death In D Minor

    DEATH IN D MINOR by ALEXIA GORDON   Genre: Paranormal Mystery / African American Sleuth Publisher: Henery Press Date of Publication: July 11, 2017 Number of Pages: 236 Scroll down for giveaway! Gethsemane Brown, African-American musician and expatriate to an Irish village, solved a string of murders and got used to living with a snarky ghost. She can rest easy now. Right? Wrong. The ghost has disappeared, her landlord’s about to sell to a developer, and her brother-in-law’s come to visit. She scrambles to call her spectral roomie back from beyond and find a way to save the cottage from destruction. But real estate takes a backseat when her brother-in-law is…

  • middle school
    book review,  Books

    Middle School Book Picks from my Middle Schooler

    Two weeks before school let out, my 11-year-old suffered a concussion which left her unable to do much of anything – like watching TV, running outside, or the worst possible punishment when you could inflict upon her – reading. This proves especially painful (pun intended) when your order of Scholastic books arrives the day after you bonk your head. Thankfully, the  concussion cleared up in time for vacation and Maddie spent nearly the entire 3200 mile drive reading.  As such, SHE has a pile of middle school books she would love to recommend. They run the gamut from fantasy to supernatural fiction (dealing with grief) to historical fiction, and she was…

  • exposed
    book review,  Books

    Book Review: Exposed by Lisa Scottoline

    I recently reviewed (and had a giveaway) for another Lisa Scottoline novel, a humorous memoir co-written with her daughter, Francesca Serritella titled I Need a Lifeguard Everywhere But The Pool.  In it, I spoke about how it’s a delightful departure from her gripping mysteries.Well, today, I’m sharing one of my favorite beach reads of this trip, a title that returns to her Rosato and DiNunzio mystery series: Exposed.   Exposed was the perfect beach read – one that required a heavy application of Coppertone 50 because I was glued to my beach chair. I’ve long been a fan of Lisa Scottoline’s mysteries, and this one was no exception.  If you’re…

  • book review,  Books

    Weekend Reads: Remember No More by Jan Newton

      Review I confess, I was initially drawn to Remember No More in part because of the synopsis, and in part due to the fact that I spent nearly four years in this part of Wales.  Jan Newton does not disappoint with her writing nor with the stunningly depicted setting. This the perfect book to get lost in on a quiet Sunday afternoon, and I confess I devoured it in one sitting. Newton’s debut novel is well crafted with a tightly knit story that twists and turns. While I thought I might have figured out “whodunit” midway through the story, she so skillfully dropped red herrings that I was fully in doubt of my detective work.…

  • Deep Extraction
    book review,  Books

    Blog Tour & Book Excerpt: Deep Extraction

    Are you a fan of mysteries/police procedurals? Then read on, because today I’m joining up with Lone Star Lit for another Lone Star Book Blog Tour. Today I’m even featuring an excerpt from DiAnn Mills’ newest novel, Deep Extraction! While this is part of her FBI Task Force series, it works well as a stand-alone. DEEP EXTRACTION   An FBI Task Force Novel, Book 2 by By DiAnn Mills Genre: Contemporary / Mystery / Christian Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Date of Publication: April 4, 2017 Number of Pages: 413   Scroll down for Giveaway!   A pacemaker should have saved oil and gas magnate Nathan Moore’s life. Instead, it provided his…

  • Books,  Reviews

    What I’m Reading Wednesday – Lowcountry Bordello

    I confess, I can be a bit picky when looking for a new book, and the title plays a big part in what initially grabs my attention. I was unfamiliar with author Susan M. Boyer and the story summary for Lowcountry Bordello intrigued me when I first came across it. But with so many books loaded onto my Kindle, all vying for my attention, I have to be honest – the title of this superb cozy mystery was call to me once I forgot the gist of the story. (This is why I still love real books, where you can SEE the cover.) Boy, am I ever sorry that this one sat to the…

  • Books,  Reviews

    Two Thrillers for Tuesday

    I’m not getting much done lately – including blog posts – because I have had my nose deep in a book (or five), particularly thrillers. This week I have two heart-pounding novels for you! <div:”image:none;”> First up is a thriller by a true favorite of mine, Tess Gerritsen. I’m a huge fan of her medical and crime thrillers, and in particular her Rizzoli and Isles series. If you’re looking for something along the plotlines of these novels: this isn’t it. What it IS: Tess Gerritsen switches things up as she adds a generous helping of historical fiction in her mystery. With Playing With Fire, Gerritsen has crafted a wonderful historical novel of a composer in WWII Italy…

  • #WIRW #BookReview
    Books,  Reviews

    What I’m Reading Wednesday – Order of Seven

    While I look forward to the end of homework and packed lunches and crazy schedules, summer vacation also means the end of order as I know it. Soon, my quiet time to read and write will go hand in hand with the kidlings’ time spent with the Disney Channel or the X-Box. With that in mind, I’ve been doing even more reading than writing because I have so many great books stacked on the side table and lined up on my Kindle. One book read in record time is this week’s pick for What I’m Reading Wednesday: ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho. Reading the blurb on the back of the book, my…