YA Review: Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

September 6, 2015April 18, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I first heard about this novel while I was at BEA this past spring. It sounded intriguing, but, due to schedules and long lines, I didn’t get a chance to meet Ms. Weingarten or get a copy, so I purchased one for my kindle when it released in July.

SUICIDE NOTES FROM BEAUTIFUL GIRLS is one of those haunting, compelling reads that picks you up and then drops you, leaving you panting and somewhat bewildered. I LOVED this type of book when I was a teen (actually I still love it!).

June and Delia used to be the very best of friends, from the time they were in grade school until recently in high school, when they’ve grown apart. Then it is announced that Delia has died — apparently from suicide, killing herself by burning to death in her father’s shed. June is troubled by this. She doesn’t believe that Delia did this, and she’s haunted by the fact that Delia had reached out to her shortly before her death, but June had ignored her, choosing to be with her boyfriend instead.

What did happen to Delia? Who is involved? And why does it seem like a lot of people know much more than they are telling? June is determined to find out.

I have to admit — when I picked up this book and began to read it, I didn’t stop for a break until I was halfway through. It pulled me in and I just couldn’t stop reading. This was also the type of story that stays with you long after the last page.

Due to language and sexual content, I’d say it’s for older YA readers.

Review: THE CHILD GARDEN by Catriona McPherson

September 5, 2015April 18, 2019 / drbethnolan / 3 Comments

I received this one from Net Galley and Midnight Ink Publishing several weeks ago and read it in two days. If you know me, you know I love anything that is a mystery and I adore all things British. This was a great combination of the two!

In this story, single mother Gloria Harkness lives a quiet life as a registrar in a small town and rents a home (owned by an elderly woman) which is next to a nursing facility where her disabled son lives. One night an old classmate shows up and beings up some long forgotten/buried past secrets involving a classmate’s suicide. The site of their alternative school is where the nursing facility is now. Introverted Gloria is drawn into a whole web of intrigue and secrets when they discover lots of other classmates have died somewhat mysteriously (accidents and suicides) – including one right on the property – and that perhaps it all ties back to what happened that fateful night when several students went on a camp-out at school.

This is a fast-paced novel that keeps you guessing! I just loved the character of Gloria. Her devotion to her son was so touching. You could feel how she had her personal existence and she really wasn’t looking to go public and be out in the spotlight. I also loved the “only in England” elements — Gloria has a large rock in the backyard that is a “rocking stone” and it must be rocked regularly. Clearly this type of thing/tradition only exists in the U.K. and I loved it!

This is what I’d call a “thoughtful mystery”. I enjoyed it!

Thank you for my review e-copy! It publishes on September 8.

Review: TROPICAL JUDGMENTS by David Myles Robinson, Esq.

August 16, 2015April 18, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

My friends at Smith Publicity sent me a kindle copy of David Myles Robinson’s new crime novel: TROPICAL JUDGMENTS. This is one in a series centering on Pancho McMartin, Honolulu attorney, and the first one I’ve read by him. This novel easily stands alone.

In TROPICAL JUDGMENTS a popular Hawaiian performer is murdered in an apparent robbery and a young, homeless black man is charged with the crime. Pancho is asked to defend him as his court appointed defense attorney and he is really not looking forward to the experience. However, the more Pancho and his partner Drew look into the facts, the more they question whether Jackson, their client, is actually guilty, or just at the wrong place at the wrong time. As things progress Pancho starts uncovering an underworld of crime that definitely wants to stay covered.

I just loved this fast paced mystery which takes place in one of my favorite places! If you know me, you know I love all things Hawaiian. There is something intriguing about layering the beauty of the islands and Hawaiian culture with the seediness of drug lords, addiction, and homelessness. I really liked the character of Pancho, and hope to go back and read the previous book in the series.

Here a bit about the author from Net Galley: David Myles Robinson is a retired attorney who specialized in personal injury and workers’ compensation law and was awarded the Consumer Lawyer of the Year by the trial lawyers’ association in Hawaii. He retired in 2012 and currently lives in Taos, NM with his wife. He is the author of Tropical Lies and Tropical Judgments.

If you like a realistic crime novel set in paradise, pick up TROPICAL JUDGMENTS by David Myles Robinson!

Review: NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW by Kevin O’Brien

August 11, 2015April 19, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

If you read me regularly, you know I love a good mystery! I had never read Kevin O’Brien before but this one looked intriguing — a talented chef is being tormented by someone from her past, a movie is being made about a Manson-like murder, people are dying in accidents and a ghost is being blamed, and it all ties together in this fast-paced, twisty murder mystery!

Here’s the description from Net Galley:

A SECRET WORTH KILLING FOR…
In July 1970, actress Elaina Styles was slain in her rented Seattle mansion along with her husband and their son’s nanny. When the baby’s remains were found buried in a shallow grave close to a hippie commune, police moved in—only to find all its members already dead in a grisly mass suicide.

AGAIN…
Now, decades later, a film about the murders is shooting at the mansion. On-set caterer Laurie Trotter ignores gossip that the production is cursed. But then people start dying…

AND AGAIN…
As Laurie digs deep into what happened all those years ago, the truth emerges more twisted than any whispered rumor, as a legacy of brutal vengeance reaches its terrifying climax…

Me again!!

This was one of those books that I just couldn’t put down! Poor Laurie has enough problems – she’s a single mom and young widow, who’s trying to put a major mistake in her past behind her, when she starts being stalked by a guy she had a relationship with. Heading off to Seattle to work with a caterer seems like a great idea until the stalkers seem to have followed her and her new boss appears to be covering up some serious stuff. Secrets abound in this novel – just when you think you’ve figured it out, it changes. Throughout, though, I really liked the character of Laurie who was tough but not perfect. There were lots of side characters who were interesting, too – I particularly liked all her neighbors.

I really can’t say much more without giving too much away — but if you like a fun, fast, mystery/thriller, pick up a copy of NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW!

Thank you, Net Galley and Kensington Books, for my review e-copy!

Review: WEAVERS by Aric Davis

July 7, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I received WEAVERS several weeks ago from Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley. The concept sounded really interesting: a young girl has the ability to see strings or yarns coming from people’s heads. Their color portrays the person’s emotional state. With some energy expended, she learns she can “weave” the strings to control the person’s emotions and even their actions.

The novel starts with nine-year-old Cynthia, who one day starts seeing these strings coming from people’s heads. She also starts having premonitions and “knows” things. This is pretty scary for a little girl, but a kindly neighbor, who also has this ability, takes her under her wing to teach her and guide her in being a “weaver”. Meanwhile, not everyone who has this ability is using it for good. Some rather nefarious characters are using weaving for their own gain, and leaving a wake of violence and destruction. And the government decides that it will find and control all these “telekinetics” – using them for their own objectives.

This was a fast read for me. I really liked the concept behind the story — the “weavers”. It’s original! I also liked the character of Cynthia. The time frame does move around (WWII, present), as does the point of view (bad guys, Cynthia, government). This didn’t bother me, but I know some people don’t like novels that switch POV and time. The ending suggested that a sequel is in the works — ? We will have to see!

Thank you for my review copy.

Review: FOLLOW YOU HOME by Mark Edwards

June 27, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

Through Net Galley, I received a review e-copy of FOLLOW YOU HOME. I like a good thriller and this one looked engaging.

Daniel and Laura are a young British couple having a fun trip around Europe. They have planned and saved for this, and figure when they return they will settle down to work, get married, and start a family. They are carefree and happy until one night when things go awry. Boarding a train in Romania, they sneak off to sleep in an empty sleeper compartment. When they awake, their belongings are stolen and they are being thrown off the train. A young woman they had met earlier is thrown off, too, when she tries to help them. Daniel and Laura trudge along through the creepy woods with their new friend, but when she steps away to go to the bathroom, things go horribly wrong (No! Don’t go in to that house in the woods! Run away!!).

Through flashback we find out what exactly happened that night – events that completely changed Daniel and Laura’s relationship and their personalities. But then strange things start occurring at their homes in England. Could the evil they witnessed in the woods have followed them back to England?

This was a great read — a heart-stopping thriller at some points, with totally believable characters dealing with every day “stuff” like their jobs and relationships. I have never read Edwards before, but he writes psychological thrillers, and he is quite skilled at eeking out the details so that you have to keep reading!

Great plot wrap-up and ending — I’ll be looking for more from him.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for my review copy! This book publishes on this Tuesday, 6/30.

Review: THE BONES OF YOU by Debbie Howells and a Q and A and some GIVEAWAYS!

June 6, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I’m happy today to take part in the Kensington Books Blog Tour of THE BONES OF YOU be Debbie Howells. I received this book through Net Galley a few weeks ago and I could NOT put it down!

When the book opens, local teen and “nice girl” Rosie is missing. She is a well-behaved, quiet girl from an outstanding family so everyone is shocked when she is found beaten and stabbed to death. Narrated by both the deceased Rosie (what exactly DID happen that day and what were the events that lead up to it?) and neighbor Kate (who had a friendship with Rosie as she loved Kate’s horses), the story twists and turns as we witness the characters and events that lead to Rosie’s untimely and violent end.

I could not stop reading this book! It has been compared to THE LOVELY BONES and it is similar in that it is narrated in part by a young girl who is deceased; however, it truly stands on its own. I usually can figure out by midway what has occurred in this type of mystery, but I was kept guessing until the end.

Poignant, touching, and with a real look inside some very human characters, THE BONES OF YOU was a captivating and fast-paced read.

Kensington Books is hosting a great giveaway! Follow the link to sign up for prizes (this giveaway US only):

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/bb0ebfb15/

And still there is more!! Kensington Books will give a free copy to one of my readers! This can be ANYONE in the world!!

Please leave a comment and tell me what you’re reading right now! I will use random.org to pick a winner. One entry per person. Entries must be received by June 15.

And yet, there is more!

Here is a Q and A with Debbie Howells that Kensington sent me — interesting!

AUTHOR Q&A WITH DEBBIE HOWELLS:

When did you start writing?

I began writing in earnest about five years ago, women’s fiction which was what I liked to read. But I also wanted to write books that addressed more serious real-life issues as well. I think with Wildflowers I achieved that. It’s had some wonderful reviews on Amazon, but though 6 agents asked to read the full manuscript, no-one actually took me on.

The Bones of You is a change of genre. How did you come to write it?

I’d put everything I had into Wildflowers and it came so close, but not close enough. I knew then I had to write something different. Everyone says, write about what you know about. I think that’s true, but I think also, you have to appeal to the market. That said, I don’t think it’s possible to write without your heart one hundred per cent in it.

Were you surprised with the reaction you got from agents and publishers?

Completely blown away! It was beyond my wildest dreams. There are phone calls and emails from that time that I will never, ever forget. When you’ve worked so hard for so long, battled rejection but kept going anyway, to reach the point where I’m being published is something I’m so excited about – and enormously grateful for.

What advice do you have for other writers?

There are so many brilliant, unpublished writers out there. Finding an agent and a publisher mean you have to write a good book, but it takes luck, too – in spadefuls – to hit the right person with the right idea when the market’s right… It’s also a massively subjective industry. What one person loves, another wouldn’t give the time of day to. And no-one can predict tomorrow’s bestsellers.

If you can’t find an agent to take you on, consider self-publishing. A number of authors have had huge success this way and in any case, you learn from it. Then keep writing – the next book, the one after. If you don’t, you’ll never know…

Have you written your next book?

I finished it just before Christmas. It’s another psychological thriller about not just what we hide from other people, but from ourselves, too. It’s about a washed-up lawyer and a woman he used to love, who’s suspected of a murder. He’s determined to prove her innocence but an overdose has left her in a coma.

As well as a thriller, it’s also a love story.

After all this excitement, I am guessing lots of you would want to read this book! You can find it at a local bookstore, online, or at your local library, among other places. It publishes June 30.

Quick Review: EENY MEENY by M. J. Arlidge

May 30, 2015April 20, 2019 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I picked up EENY MEENY through Net Galley as I can’t resist a good British mystery! This is the first book in the DI Helen Grace series.

A bizarre serial killer is on the loose and it’s one that doesn’t fit the typical profile. She is female and abducts two victims, letting them decide who will live and who will die. DI Helen Grace is determined to discover just who this is and how the victims are all connected. However, she begins to realize that the connection they all share is one to her.

I enjoyed this first installment in this series. If you read me you know I have a thing for British mysteries. Helen is a strong character, a loner, a woman with a dark past. The mystery was well-plotted and kept me guessing up to the end.

It’s a keeper!

Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin, for my review copy!

HFVB Tour – THE SAFFRON CROCUS by Alison McMahan

May 25, 2015May 20, 2015 / drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Here I am today to blog about the YA book: THE SAFFRON CROCUS by Alison McMahan. This book has mystery, murder, and adventure in 1600’s Venice. When the young protagonist’s voice teacher mysteriously dies, she tries to find out who killed her and why, opening up a lot of closed doors and secrets from the past.

This was an enjoyable and exciting read, but my favorite part of it was learning about what life was life in Venice in the 1600’s. Isabella’s experience with music and opera, the life of a castrati musician, “kept” women, and the treatment of Jews in Venice at that time all played a role in this novel and kept me interested and reading.

Thank you for my copy!

Here’s what HFVBT has to say:

Publication Date: December 13, 2014
Black Opal Books
eBook; 306p

Genre: Young Adult/Historical Mystery/Romance

Winner of the 2014 Rosemary Award for Best Historical for Young Adults.

Venice, 1643. Isabella, fifteen, longs to sing in Monteverdi’s Choir, but only boys (and castrati) can do that. Her singing teacher, Margherita, introduces her to a new wonder: opera! Then Isabella finds Margherita murdered. Now people keep trying to kill Margherita’s handsome rogue of a son, Rafaele.

Was Margherita killed so someone could steal her saffron business? Or was it a disgruntled lover, as Margherita—unbeknownst to Isabella—was one of Venice’s wealthiest courtesans?

Or will Isabella and Rafaele find the answer deep in Margherita’s past, buried in the Jewish Ghetto?

Isabella has to solve the mystery of the Saffron Crocus before Rafaele hangs for a murder he didn’t commit, though she fears the truth will drive her and the man she loves irrevocably apart.

Excerpt

Who knew a singing career would be this much trouble?

“Rafaele!” She flew into the garret. “Piero, it was so wonderful, wait until I tell you!”

The stool next to the bed was knocked over. The tray with the genepy bottle was on the floor, one of the cups broken. The fat candle that had been burning next to Rafaele’s bed had been flung to the other side of the room.. Canvases were strewn all over the floor, some of them slashed, and many of Master Strozzi’s jars of paint elements were broken.

Did Piero and Rafaele have a fight? She quickly suppressed the thought. Who would get into a fight with a man who was already injured?

Something else must have happened.

She walked across the garret. “Piero? Rafaele, are you here?”

Rafaele was not in the bed. The sheets and blankets she had piled on top of him were strewn everywher. Blood-stained sheets spilled over the edge of the pallet. There was a pile of clothes on the floor.

She walked around to get a closer look.

Not clothes. It was Piero. Face down, one arm stretched out before him, as if in supplication.

A puddle of blood under him.

Dead.

Praise for The Saffron Crocus

“I adored this beautifully written, passionate book. The Saffron Crocus is a glittering, thrilling opera of a novel that plucked my heartstrings and kept me reading at fever pitch. Brava, Alison McMahan! Encore!” -Nancy Holder, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Wicked Saga

Buy the eBook

Black Opal Books
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

About the Author

Alison McMahan chased footage for her documentaries through jungles in Honduras and Cambodia, favelas in Brazil and racetracks in the U.S. She brings the same sense of adventure to her award-winning books of historical mystery and romantic adventure for teens and adults. Her latest publication is The Saffron Crocus, a historical mystery for young. Murder, Mystery & Music in 17th Century Venice.

She loves hearing from readers!

The Saffron Crocus Blog Tour & Book Blast Schedule

Monday, April 13
Book Blast at Genre Queen

Thursday, April 16
Guest Post & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Friday, April 17
Interview at Mythical Books

Monday, April 20
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, April 21
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Wednesday, April 22
Guest Post at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, April 28
Book Blast at A Literary Vacation

Wednesday, April 29
Guest Post & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Tuesday, May 5
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, May 6
Review at Just One More Chapter

Thursday, May 7
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Friday, May 8
Guest Post at Just One More Chapter

Saturday, May 9
Book Blast at Romantic Historical Lovers

Tuesday, May 12
Review at The True Book Addict

Wednesday, May 13
Guest Post & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Thursday, May 14
Review at Book Babe
Guest Post at What Is That Book About

Monday, May 25
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog

Wednesday, May 27
Book Blast at CelticLady’s Reviews

Thursday, May 28
Review at The Lit Bitch
Review at Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

Monday, June 1
Review at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, June 2
Guest Post at The Maiden’s Court

Friday, June 5
Spotlight & Giveaway at Jorie Loves a Story

Quick Review: MORTOM by Erik Therme

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015 / drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I found this little nugget of a mystery on Net Galley – mysterious clues, missing treasure, deceased family member who was estranged. It had all the elements of a good mystery in my opinion.

In MORTOM, Andy and his twin sister Kate find out that a cousin they haven’t been in touch with for years has died, and he has left everything to Andy. This is odd, since they weren’t close, but “everything” includes a key and a scavenger hunt to find the valuables. Deceased cousin Craig was particularly fond of crosswords and other puzzles and he’s created a complicated set of clues and information to guide Andy. While Kate wants Andy to leave well enough alone, Andy is almost obsessed with finding out what happened to Craig and why and what he was hiding. The small town of Mortom is hiding some secrets, and some of them have to do with Andy’s family.

I really enjoyed this novel, the debut for Mr. Therme. I couldn’t put it down and I love stories where you have to figure out clues and guess at things. I am thinking there will be another book coming with these characters and I look forward to it.

Find this book online or at an indie or library near you: