Archive for November 27, 2023

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Cry Wolf (An Alaska Untamed Mystery)
by Lark O. Jensen

 


Cry Wolf (An Alaska Untamed Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Alaska
Crooked Lane Books (November 7, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639104550
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639104550
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BQLHWGDL

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Perfect for fans of Paige Shelton, an Alaskan tour guide is bracing for winter when she realizes that the wolves aren’t the only predators on the prowl.

With boat tours off the coast of Alaska shut down for the winter, tour guide Stacie Calder is joining the dedicated team at the Juneau Wildlife World, a wild animal sanctuary. Along with Sasha, her husky companion, she’s prepared to spend the long season in the scenic park. But not everyone is so chipper about the newcomers—least of all, Stacie’s new manager, Oliver Brownling. He constantly gives Stacie a hard time, specifically because she brought Sasha along with her. That is, until his mauled body is found in a remote part of the sanctuary containing wolves.

When it becomes clear that a human was responsible for the brutal murder, all eyes are on Stacie. Encouraged by her friend, Officer Liam Amaruq of the Alaskan State Troopers, Stacie is resolved to find the murderer but knows that her investigation will be difficult with the long suspect list she’s made. Did the sanctuary director plot to get rid of Oliver? Or maybe it was one of Oliver’s coworkers, upset over a missed promotion? Stacie wonders about some of the newer employees, especially since Oliver’s personality made it easy to make enemies.

With the weather worsening, Stacie and Sasha are forced to stay at the sanctuary with the wolves—and her colleagues. As the storm gets worse, it’s clear that this killer has a taste for blood and may strike again. Will Stacie be able to find the murderer, or will the hunter become the hunted?

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MY REVIEW

I know this was tagged as a cozy mystery, but I felt it was more of a straight up mystery. Some situations didn’t feel as light as they would be in a cozy. That being said, I did enjoy the mystery. I liked the idea of Stacie. She’s a tour guide in Alaska. When the tours shut down for the winter, she opted to sign on with a wild animal sanctuary. She’d volunteered there before so she knew quite a bit about what was required. What she wasn’t expecting was landing on the suspect list when the manager she’d butted heads with was found dead. At first glance it looked like the native wolf population as culprits but quickly turned to a human killer.

I enjoy stories with amateur sleuths. Hence my love for cozies. This is where I struggled with the book. Stacie was so confrontational. Going around accusing people of the murder. Sure, she wanted her name cleared, but you’d think she’d realize that puts her in the killer’s path. Other than that, I had fun with my own list of suspects. As for who the killer was, I got it wrong. No worries though. I still had fun.

4 STARS

 

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About Lark O. Jensen

Lark O. Jensen is the pseudonym of Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer. Lark wrote Bear Witness, the first Alaska Untamed mystery for Crooked Lane Books, in 2022, and the second in the series, Cry Wolf, has just been published. Linda has also written the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series and the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink and the Pet Rescue Mysteries and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda additionally writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and her stories often involve dogs.

Author Links: Website / Blog / Facebook / Writerspace

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKobo – Crooked Lane Books

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 20 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

November 21 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

November 21 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 22 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 23 – THANKSGIVING U.S.

November 24 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

November 24 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

November 25 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT

November 25 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 26 – Cozy, Suspenseful, and Sweet – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 26 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 27 – FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW

November 28 – My Reading Journeys – CHARACTER GUEST POST

November 28 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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Butterfly Betrayal: A Seneca James Mystery
by Ruth J Hartman

 


Butterfly Betrayal: A Seneca James Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Rural Indiana
Level Best Books (November 21, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 289 Pages
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CKJ16LXB

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Raising butterflies is peaceful and calm, until someone dies.

Majestic Monarch Butterfly Farm might flitter away forever. That is, unless Seneca James acquires the property next door. She and Winifred, her costume-wearing cat, have a fight on their hands. Their land sits next to a milkweed-covered field, essential for monarchs. If she’s unsuccessful in buying it, her precious, winged friends won’t survive. When people end up dead on her farmland, Seneca is suspected of murder.

What is it about the milkweed field that’s worth killing for? And who’s the murderer?

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Needing to get back to the caterpillars, I headed to the greenhouse. Winifred was already there. She’d done that several times lately. I’m not sure how she was getting inside since I always shut the door.

She greeted me with a shrill, scolding meow, like I’d stuck her in there and gone off and left her, even though I’d cuddled her only a little while earlier. Picking her up, I held her, so we were eye to eye. “Listen, kitty, I don’t know how you’re getting in here, but it needs to stop. It’s not that I’m trying to be mean, but it’s my job to protect you. Certain things in here are not for you to play with. Or sleep on. Or eat.”

My cat thrashed her tail back and forth like a broom, until it brushed against my hand. Did she think it would injure me? I wouldn’t tell her that her fluffy tail was as soft as feathers that tickled so bad, I nearly dropped her.

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About Ruth J. Hartman

Ruth J. Hartman spends her days herding cats and her nights spinning mysterious tales. She, her husband, and their cats love to spend time curled up in their recliners watching old Cary Grant movies. Well, the cats sit in the people’s recliners. Not that the cats couldn’t get their own furniture. They just choose to shed on someone else’s.

Ruth, a left-handed, cat-herding, farmhouse-dwelling writer uses her sense of humor as she writes tales of lovable, klutzy women who seem to find trouble without even trying.

Ruth’s husband and best friend, Garry, reads her manuscripts, rolls his eyes at her weird story ideas, and loves her despite her insistence all of her books have at least one cat in them. See updates about her cozy mysteries at Ruthjhartman.com.

Author Links : Facebook / Facebook Page / BookBub / Website

Purchase Link – Amazon

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 21 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

November 21 – My Reading Journeys – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 22 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

November 22 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

November 23 – THANKSGIVING U.S.

November 24 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 24 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

November 25 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 

November 26 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – REVIEW

November 26 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 27 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 27 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 28 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 29 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 29 –My Journey Back – SPOTLIGHT

November 30 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

November 30 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

November 30 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

December 1 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

December 1 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

 

 

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.