mystery

Bookouture Blog Tour for An Invitation to the Cottage by the Loch by Kennedy Kerr

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I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for this new title by Kennedy Kerr in the Loch Cameron series. This is my first read by Ms. Kerr, but she is not a new author. She has many popular titles and four earlier books in this series alone; however, trust me when I say that you can read this as a stand alone title if you have not read any of Kerr’s earlier novels.

I loved the main character in this story as she deals with major changes in her life, her health, a possible romance (no spoilers!), and a bit of a mystery related to her grandmother growing up in the same area where she is working as an event planner. I did not figure everything out in advance, however, things turned out how I wanted them to!

The perfect summer read – An Invitation to the Cottage by the Loch has newly published this week.

Book: An Invitation to the Cottage by the Loch

Author: Kennedy Kerr

Pub Day:  May 28th 2024

Buy Link(s): NOT associated with BBNB

https://geni.us/B0CX21ZHVVsocial

About the Book: 
High on the hills above the wide blue loch, Deb pulls the torn, sepia photograph out of her pocket, tracing her thumb over the girl pictured playing happily amongst the heather. Her grandmother hid this secret for decades…

After losing her sense of self recovering from a serious operation, event planner Deb Sutherland is desperate to reconnect with her family and start living again. So, when an email arrives from the Laird of Loch Cameron asking her to plan his annual Spring Fling, Deb packs her life into her car and makes for the rolling hills of the Highlands. This could be her chance to explore the Scottish roots her beloved grandmother refused to speak about.

Auditioning bands and designing decorations at the Laird’s grand castle, Deb runs into property developer Kyle Abernethy on the edge of the manicured gardens. Kyle is maddeningly arrogant, but Deb can’t deny how his icy blue eyes make her stomach flip. And as they share a bottle of wine overlooking the glittering loch, Deb finds herself laughing like she hasn’t in years.

But when Deb finds an old map of tumbledown worker’s cottages in the castle archives, her heart stops. She remembers how tearful her grandmother would get when asked about her childhood. Was Loch Cameron her home before her family was tragically torn apart? Has Kyle been hiding this truth from her all along?

As the Spring Fling approaches, should Deb run from Loch Cameron for good? Or will confronting her heart-breaking family history mean she can finally move forward with Kyle by her side?

Author Bio:

Kennedy Kerr is a USA Today Bestselling fiction author. She adores beaches, lochs and stone circles, and loves writing about small communities, mysteries and family secrets. She has a very cuddly cat called Twinkle who spends her days sleeping: Kennedy aspires to having Twinkle’s nap schedule one day.

Kennedy also loves cooking and baking all types of food, which is almost as much fun as eating it. Her favourite foods include (but are not limited to) Indian food, Victoria sponge, breakfast pastries with coffee and sushi. The only thing she’s not particularly keen on is artichoke, and she’d eat it, anyway.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kennedykerrauthor

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KennedyKerr5

Instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/kennedykerrauthor/

Bookouture Email Sign Up: https://www.bookouture.com/kennedy-kerr

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal

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I love the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia MacNeal, so I was thrilled to get the latest installment. These mysteries are so interesting as I learn a lot about espionage during WWII. I love the character of Maggie and how she is a strong, independent woman and so smart! Susan MacNeal has great pacing in her works and is definitely a writer who does her research.

Here’s the scoop — and is this really the LAST book in this series??? I guess we will wait and see….

Description

All will be revealed in this no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award–nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer—and possible double agent—Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany’s nuclear program.

“Intrepid Maggie Hope’s high-stakes mission is fraught with danger and moral questions. . . . A heartfelt story.”—Cara Black, New York Times bestselling author of Three Hours in Paris

Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill’s secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she’s learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who’s long held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She’s shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.

At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid—and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.

Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves—with fateful implications for the future of the free world.

So so so good!!! Thank you for my review copy!

Blog Tour for A CHAIN OF PEARLS by Raemi A. Ray

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I love a good mysetery that takes place near where I live, so I was happy to read and take part in the tour for this new novel by Raemi A. Ray that takes place in Martha’s Vineyard. It was interesting, suspenseful, and well-plotted. I read it in two days as I couldn’t put it down!

Here’s the scoop:

The last thing she wants is to dig up the past…

When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter? That’s only the first question London-based lawyer Kyra Gibson has when she arrives on the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard to settle her estranged father’s affairs.

She’s not looking for closure. She’s not seen him in decades since he left her with her aunt following her mother’s death. But as Kyra delves deeper into her father’s life, she learns he had many regrets and wasn’t as retired as she believed. The more Kyra discovers, the more questions she has. With the help of world-weary detective, Tarek Collins, they uncover a web of intrigue and corruption involving a powerful senator, a dubious energy company, and brutal murder.

As they chase down clues, Kyra and Tarek flirt with danger and race against time to solve the murders and uncover the dark secrets lurking beneath Martha’s Vineyard’s picturesque façade of old money wealth and privilege.

This book is the first of a new series with two more titles scheduled to come out in 2024!

Here’s some info on the author:

Raemi A Ray’s travels to Martha’s Vineyard and around the world inspire her stories. She lives outside Boston. When not writing or traveling she earns her keep as the personal assistant to the resident house demons, Otto and DolphLundgren.

For more information, visit Raemi at her website and on Instagram.

Thank you, Author Marketing Experts, for having me as part of the tour and for my copy!

Blog Tour for THE LIBRARY THIEF by Kuchenga Shenjé

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I’m thrilled to take part in the Harper-Collins blog tour for the new novel The Library Thief by Kuchenga Shenjé. This story had a true Gothic feel to it, and I enjoyed the somewhat creepy ambience and mysterious atmosphere it held! I also loved the strong female protagonist.

Here’s the overview:

THE LIBRARY THIEF 

Author: Kuchenga Shenjé

Publication Date: May 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781335909695

Hardcover 

Publisher: Hanover Square Press

Price $29.99

Buy Links: NOT affiliated with BBNB

HarperCollins: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-library-thief-kuchenga-shenje?variant=41109244739618 

BookShop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-library-thief-original-kuchenga-shenje/20641408?ean=9781335909695 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-library-thief-kuchenga-shenj/1144095064 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1335909699/keywords=fiction 

Social Links:

Author website: https://kuchenga.com/ 

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/32054609.Kuchenga_Shenj_ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kuchengcheng 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuchenga/ 

Book Summary: 

The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can’t be contained.

A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton 

1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence’s father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester.

Intercepting her father’s latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield’s library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife.

Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield’s wife–which may hold the clue to her fate…

Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England. 

Author Bio:

KUCHENGA SHENJÉ is a writer, journalist, and speaker with work on many media platforms, including gal-dem, British Vogue and Netflix. She has contributed short stories and essays to several anthologies, most notably It’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies), Who’s Loving You and Loud Black Girls. Owing to a lifelong obsession with books and the written word, Kuchenga studied creative writing at the Open University. Her work is focused on the perils of loving, being loved and women living out loud throughout the ages. The Library Thief is the ultimate marriage of her passions for history, mystery and rebels. She currently resides in Manchester, where she is determined to continue living a life worth writing about.

PRAISE: 

“Shenjé rightfully joins a distinguished line of authors who love books and secrets and know exactly how to combine the two.”—Booklist 

“A tantalizing read that swells with secrecy and intrigue. It’s hard to believe that Kuchenga Shenjé writes of the past, and not of the present. A beautifully and skillfully written debut.”—Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie 


“Shenjé shines a light on LGBTQIA+ love and people of color in Victorian England… Fans of Sarah Waters and Bridget Collins might have in Shenjé a new author to add to their TBR lists.”—Library Journal 

“Powerful, sagacious and warm, The Library Thief is both a gripping, multi-layered mystery and a gorgeously absorbing novel that demanded I return to its pages whenever I had the audacity to set it down. Without a doubt, Shenjé’s wholly original debut has bestseller written all over it.“—Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure
 
“A compelling novel that starts as a mystery and grows into a coming-of-age story, examining identity, belonging, loneliness and friendship within the restrictive and stifling world of late Victorian society. The Library Thief is filled with fantastically drawn characters and with a love of books that shines through the prose.”—Katie Lumsden, author of The Secrets of Hartwood Hall

 “If this book’s a thief of anything—it was my attention. I was hooked, the story opening with the tantalizing traditions of a gothic mystery and then unfurling in unexpected directions, threading themes of identity, sexuality and a woman’s impossible choices into an intricate web of mysteries that would not let me go.”—Cari Thomas, international bestselling author of Threadneedle

Thank you so much for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!
 

Let Thy Children Come by David E. Feldman

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I’m shouting it out about a new title available this week: Let Thy Children Come by David E. Feldman. Mr. Feldman kindly sent me a copy, which I will be reading this summer, but I’m shouting about it now since it just published.

Here’s the scoop:

Three days before Halloween, seven-year-old Kyle Robinson does not return home from school, and private investigator, recovering addict, and avowed cynic Sam Sharpe is hired by his parents, Sheila and Arthur Robinson, to find the boy. Sharpe soon finds himself entangled with local crime lord Wallace North and his savage enforcers.

Meanwhile, Judah Hammer, a tough ex-con with a good heart, is released from jail after serving three years for manslaughter and returns home to his large and loving family. Judah’s father, a well-respected banker, is killed by a bomb that goes off at his bank, and Judah suspects that North is behind his father’s death.

This noir mystery thriller includes a strong cast of fascinating, ongoingsupporting characters, from vicious killers to femme fatales, and multiple riveting interwoven stories.

Fans of Robert Crais, Lee Child, John Sandford will love this first in series, Let Thy Children Come, Hammer and Sharpe Noir Mystery Thrillers: Book 1, by the author of the 6-book award-winning Dora Ellison Mystery Series.

I love mystery series so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this title!

Find it at a store, online, or ask for it at your local library!

Thanks for reaching out, David!

For My Ears: She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica, narrated by Andi Arndt

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If you follow me, you know I read all of Mary Kubica’s novels. They are twisty and suspenseful. I love a good thriller while I’m doing my boring commute!

This one isn’t going to be one of my favorite Kubica titles, but it was good. I just did not like the main character (which is rare for me).

Full of twists and suspense, don’t miss Mary Kubica’s latest! I loved the narration by Andi Arndt – always key for a good audiobook!

Here’s the overview:

Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has remorse…

A terrible accident.

Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom and working full time as an ICU nurse, when a patient named Caitlin arrives in her ward with a traumatic brain injury. They say she jumped from a bridge and plunged over twenty feet to the train tracks below.

A shocking revelation.

When a witness comes forward with new details about Caitlin’s fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was Caitlin actually pushed and if so, by whom and why?

No one is safe.

Meghan lets herself get close to Caitlin until she’s deeply entangled in the mystery surrounding her. Only when it’s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims…

“A tense, compelling thriller with completely gasp-worthy twists.” —Nita Prose, #1 bestselling author of The Maid

Look for these other pulse-pounding thrillers by New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica:

  • The Good Girl
  • The Other Mrs.
  • Local Woman Missing
  • Just the Nicest Couple

I got mine with my monthly Audible credit.

Blog Tour for Good Half Gone by Tarryn Fisher

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Today I’m dishing about Tarryn Fisher’s latest suspenseful thriller Good Half Gone, a story about a young woman whose twin was abducted and trafficked when they were teens. Needless to say this is heavy stuff and disturbing, but the story is told mostly in the present, roughly ten years later, with flashbacks of memory as opposed to in real time once Piper is taken. Still, good to know in advance if you find reading about these topics disturbing.

Here’s the scoop: (and can I say I love this cover??)

GOOD HALF GONE
Author: Tarryn Fisher
ISBN: 9781525804885

Publication Date: March 19, 2024

Publisher: Graydon House

18.99 US | 23.99 CAN

Buy Links: NOT affiliated with BBNB

BookShop.org

Harlequin 

Barnes & Noble

Books A Million

Amazon

Social Links:

Author Website

Facebook

Instagram

Goodreads

Author Bio:

Tarryn Fisher is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of nine novels. Born a sun hater, she currently makes her home in Seattle, Washington, with her children, husband, and psychotic husky. She loves connecting with her readers on Instagram. (note from Beth: I had a husky for many years that I adored and would love to see a picture of Ms. Fisher’s!)

Book Summary:

Iris Walsh saw her twin sister Piper get kidnapped—so why does no one believe her?

Iris narrowly escaped her pretty, popular twin sister’s fate as a teen—kidnapped and trafficked and long gone before the cops agreed to investigate. Months later, Piper’s newborn son Callum was dropped on their estranged mother’s doorstep in the dead of night, with a note in Piper’s handwriting signed simply, Twin.

As an adult, Iris wants one thing—proof. Because she knows exactly who took Piper all those years ago, and she has a pretty good idea of who Callum’s father is. She just has to get close enough to prove it. And if the police won’t help, she’ll just have to do it her own way–by interning at the isolated Shoal Island Hospital for the criminally insane, where her target is kept under lock and key. Iris soon realizes that something sinister is bubbling beneath the surface of the Shoal, and that the patients aren’t the only ones being observed…

There’s a lot going on in this book and the ending made me think “Netflix limited series, please!”. It definitely kept my interest!

Thank you for my review copy and for having me as part of the tour!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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I just finished reading this amazing new book by Ariel Lawhon and it is destined to be one of my top picks of 2024. When I first started this novel, I thought “this feels SO familiar” and I was reminded of Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s book about a midwife’s diary from the 1700’s in Maine (A Midwife’s Tale, which won the Pulitzer in 1991). This is the same Martha Ballard, but Ms. Lawhon has taken the facts of the diary and written a story around them, making it a true gem of historical fiction.

Here’s the scoop:

GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR • From the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia and Code Name Hélène comes a gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

“Fans of Outlander’s Claire Fraser will enjoy Lawhon’s Martha, who is brave and outspoken when it comes to protecting the innocent. . . impressive.”—The Washington Post

“Once again, Lawhon works storytelling magic with a real-life heroine.” —People Magazine

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.

I loved this book, though at times it was disturbing as it highlighted the harshness of life in the 1700’s and in a patriarchal society (note: there is description of sexual assault and rape). While I had originally received this book through Net Galley to review, my copy disappeared off my kindle at some point and I had only read a third of it, so I purchased mine from Amazon so I could finish it!

A Country Wedding Murder by Katie Gayle

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If you read me, you know I love the Julia Bird mystery series! Julia is middle-aged and always seems to be bumping into mysteries, but she isn’t annoying (like Jessica Fletcher) or as elderly as Miss Marple. And I love that she has her black lab in tow for her adventures.

This one focuses on her ex-husband’s wedding and a death that happens as part of the events. I did find the pacing of it a bit slower than in the former books, with more dialogue and less description and actions — but that could just be me. I didn’t do an analysis or anything, it was just my feeling as I read it. It was well-plotted and once again, I enjoyed reading about the characters of Julia’s small village!

Thank you for my review copy through Net Galley!

Here’s the scoop:

Description

The joyous crowd applauds as the happy couple strides down the aisle. This Cotswolds country wedding has everything – friends and family, beautiful flowers and… murder?

When Julia Bird’s ex-husband Peter and his lovely partner Christopher decide to get married in Berrywick, Julia is delighted – after all, who doesn’t love a country wedding? Little does Julia know that normally calm and collected Christopher will turn into a full-on Groomzilla – and that by the end of the night, someone will end up dead.

The morning after the big day, the jolly nuptial mood turns grim when Julia discovers the lifeless body of the caterer, Desmond. Someone locked him in the cold truck and the poor man froze to death. Now looking for a murderer, all eyes are on Christopher who, mid-tantrum, had publicly threatened to kill him. Convinced that Christopher is innocent, Julia vows to find the real culprit.

Julia soon discovers Desmond had a long list of enemies as she races against the clock to clear Christopher’s name. Could his death be the work of the respected wedding planner who was heard exchanging choice words with the victim? Or perhaps it was his wife – ‘til death do them part – who didn’t shed a single tear at his funeral?

But just when Julia thinks she’s cracked the case, her prime suspect is found dead with a knife in their back. Can Julia find the murderer before they strike again?

An utterly gripping, charming cosy mystery set in the English countryside. Fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin and Betty Rowlands will love the Julia Bird Mysteries.

Harper-Collins Blog Tour for A Step Past Darkness by Vera Kurian

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I’m excited today to be part of the blog tour for Vera Kurian’s new thriller A Step Past Darkness.

This was a fast and exciting read, following 6 friends who witness something terrible and come back together twenty years later when one of them dies from a supposed accident. I could see this book being for adults or YA or new age readers. What I really could see would be it as a Netflix or Hulu limited series.

Thank you for my copy and for having me as part of the tour!

Here’s the scoop:

A Step Past Darkness : A Novel 

Vera Kurian

On Sale Date: February 20, 2024

9780778310761

Hardcover

$30.00 USD

Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological 

448 pages

ABOUT THE BOOK: 

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER meets Stephen King in this character-driven thriller about a study group of six teenagers who witness something tragic in an abandoned mine, which comes back to haunt them 20 years later.

SIX CLASSMATES.

ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT.

A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING…

There’s more to Wesley Falls than meets the eye, but for six high school students, it’s home.

Kelly, the new girl and rule-follower.

Maddy, the beauty and the church favorite.

Padma, the brains and all-A student.

Casey, the jock and football star.

James, the burnout and just trying to make it to graduation.

And Jia, the psychic, who can see the future.

When these six are assigned to work on a summer group project, their lives are forever changed. At an end of the year party in the abandoned mine, they witness a preventable tragedy, but no one will take them seriously. As things escalate, they realize the church, the police, and the town’s founders are all conspiring to cover up what happened. When James is targeted as the scapegoat, to avoid suspicion, they vow their silence and to never contact each other again. Their plan works – almost.

Twenty years later, Maddy is found murdered is Wesley Falls, and the remaining five are forced to confront their past and work together to finally put right what happened all those years ago. If they can survive…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Vera Kurian is a writer and scientist based in Washington DC. Her debut novel, NEVER SAW ME COMING (Park Row Books, 2021 was an Edgar Award nominee and was named one of the New York Times’ Best Thrillers of 2021. Her short fiction has been published in magazines such as Glimmer Train, Day One, and The Pinch. She has a PhD in Social Psychology, where she studied intergroup relations, ideology, and quantitative methods. She blogs irregularly about writing, horror movies and pop culture/terrible TV.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://www.verakurian.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/verakurianauthor/?hl=en 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vera_kurian

BUY LINKS: Not affiliated with BBNB

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-step-past-darkness-original-vera-kurian/20155061?ean=9780778310761

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Step-Past-Darkness-Novel/dp/0778310760

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-step-past-darkness-vera-kurian/1143574161