Archive for September 28, 2026

 

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This post is part of a virtual book tour for Cold Hands organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Daniela Alibrandi will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Cold Hands

By Daniela Alibrandi 

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Genre:  Noir Thriller / MultiDimension Crime
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Synopsis

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In Rome, the past never stays buried for long. When a dangerous man, Cold Hands, is released from psychiatric detention and quietly returns to the city, Commissioner Rosco and his team are drawn into a shadowy investigation where old crimes, hidden grudges, and new threats begin to intertwine. Beneath the surface of ordinary lives, secrets fester in hospital wards, along the Tiber, and in the darkest corners of the capital. Seemingly unrelated crimes gradually intertwine within a hypnotic, subterranean world of hidden Rome, mysterious lakes and ancient legends, revealing a larger pattern that is difficult to recognize. As tensions rise, Rosco must protect the fragile happiness he has finally found while facing a menace that knows how to wait, watch, and strike. Atmospheric, gripping, and rich in psychological tension, Cold Hands is a suspense novel set in a Rome of buried memories and lurking danger.

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Who will read the novel will discover the unbelievable seductive settings, on the shores of Rome’s underground lakes, in which a disturbed mind stalks its prey. They will enjoy this important step in the overall journey of the work, which intertwines serial crimes with murders of a different nature, even with the ancient legends that abound in the Eternal City.

Through the MultiDimensionCrime approach, the novel invites readers to enter a world where atmosphere, emotions, and events become almost tangible, entering the mind of the killer, the desperation of the victims, while investigating with the squad in increasing twists and suspense. The novel, set in the Eighties, is also published as an Extended Book, an innovative publishing format experienced by Morellini Editore, that enhances the reading experience. By scanning the QR code printed on the back cover, readers can explore the locations featured in the story, immerse themselves in its atmospheric world, and listen to a curated soundtrack of 1980s music that brings the novel’s setting to life. A journey that doesn’t end with the last page!

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Rome in early spring—there’s nothing more enchanting, even for Rosco, who slid behind the wheel, still heavy with sleep, having skipped breakfast yet again. Another night spent with the little one waking up over and over, until he’d earned his rightful place in the big bed. And yet, for Rosco, there was nothing sweeter than feeling that warm little body pressed close, so bossy and so tender—a tiny tyrant to whom he gladly surrendered.

But by morning, Marilena had reached her limit. With gentle hands, she’d scooped up the boy and, for the umpteenth time, tucked him back into his crib. Then she’d slipped back under the covers—a mistake, as it turned out, because now Rosco could smell her, and it had been ages since he’d been this close to her. The child was sleeping soundly now, dawn’s timid light beginning to seep through the shutters, and Rosco could make out the outline of Marilena’s body as she breathed deeply, on the verge of drifting off again. He couldn’t resist the urge to caress her hips, and when she turned toward him, he kissed her lips, then her neck, and finally began to suckle her nipple. She wasn’t nursing anymore, and the scent of her skin had returned to what it once was, before— a whiff of stale caciotta cheese, during those endless months of round-the-clock feedings.

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About Author Daniela Alibrandi:

Daniela Alibrandi is the author of successful thrillers and noirs in Italy and abroad. She was born in Rome, and lived and studied in the United States. In her professional life, she has been involved in cultural exchanges within the Council of Europe and the European Union. With her seventeen published novels, a Trilogy, an Anthology of short stories and seven English editions she is a prominent figure in the Italian literary scene. Her writings have often been featured in national newspapers and literary columns on RAI Italian television and radio broadcasts. The author, always present with her novels in the most important national bookfairs, has also won several national literary awards and the 2022 Women Art Week Award for her literary career. Some of her Italian editions are present in Harvard and Yale libraries as well as in New York Public Library.

For years and from various sources, such as literary critics and reviewers, this author’s style has been defined as multidimensional, until it was officialized as MultiDimensionCrime (Acronym MDCrime). A reading experience that forges imagination in a multi-dimensional way. In the complex and intertwined plots of her novels, which lead to sudden and unexpected twists, the characteristics of different strands are harmoniously blended. The reader follows the investigation to solve a murder and at the same time he amazingly enters the mind of the killer, reasoning alongside him, preparing the crime with him, and even partaking in the victims’ despair and terror. All in a growing suspense, both during the narration and in the final pages, when the reader often has to question all the beliefs he has developed during the reading. The settings the author chooses as well as the atmospheres are always amazing and palpable.

English Website / Italian Website / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn / Instagram / YouTube

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Hook, Line, and Murder

By GG Calpo

 

(The Sweet TOOTH Murder Mystery)
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication date: February 9th 2026
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery, Mystery

What does Meg, a retired kindergarten teacher, do when the killer of her husband and only child still walks free a year after dirt had covered their graves? Go rogue, of course!
When the detective responsible for Meg’s nightmares takes over the murder investigation of her former student, Meg hunts the killer down with help from her friends. Their cozy lunches at Sweet Buns Café turn into tactical meetings while these retired grade school teachers get themselves in trouble better suited to those in their twenties. And to put the icing on their cream scones, someone is after Meg. Is it the killer? Or has Meg uncovered secrets better left buried with her loved ones?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

The day was beautiful, with clear skies and a mild snap in the air. It was cold yet warm with the right amount of heat from the sun, making it the perfect spring day. Motorboats and sailboats dipped in and out of the water, out by Poet’s Bay. And at the edge of the harbor were the fishermen, alone or in groups of two or three, a rod in their hands and their tackle boxes opened beside them. We rounded the corner, almost done with our walk, when we saw mothers dragging their children away and fathers covering the eyes of the children in their arms. Pushing against the stream of parents scrambling away were others whose eyes were fixed on the man by the harbor’s edge. A man on whose fishing line dangled a catch with, what I thought were, red fins and a red tail swaying lazily around the hook.

Red? In the salt waters of Poet’s Bay? As I stood there trying to figure out what I was seeing, Barbara shoved her way into the crowd. I followed, my curiosity getting the better of me. Murmurs of “Good morning” and “Good to see you, Mrs. B” trailed behind me, changing to “You sure you want to see this, Mrs. B?” and “I wouldn’t go any further if I were you, Mrs. B.” We fetched up to the front and looked down on the ground before us while the fisherman beside us puked his guts out.

It wasn’t a fish he had caught.

Instead, on the ground was a hand. Just a hand. Nothing else.

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About Author GG Calpo:

GG Calpo is a retired lawyer and accountant who traded contracts and numbers for the far more enjoyable chaos of fictional crime. Now she writes cozy whodunits featuring warm-hearted golden-aged sleuths who’ve seen it all, heard it all and will investigate a murder with zero hesitation. She loves stories where the stakes are personal, family and friendships are paramount, with characters who refuse to follow the outline and endings that pull the rug out. When not plotting twisty crimes—on paper only, of course—she spends her time reading, crocheting blankets and sweaters for her five grandchildren, watching mystery TV shows and taking long walks in her neighborhood. She lives in Central New Jersey with her husband and two corgis, Whiskey and Nugget.

Website / Goodreads / Instagram / Facebook

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The Awful Truth

By Melanie Summers

 

(The Glass Houses Collection, #2)
Publication date: September 24th 2026
Genres: Adult, Suspense, Thriller, Women’s Fiction

They have money. Status. And terrible judgment.

It was supposed to be the ultimate escape. A curated guest list. A luxury yacht. A week on the crystal-clear Adriatic, far from everyone’s real lives.

Except no one is there for the view. Careers, contracts, and futures are all quietly in play.

Antonia and Ted have built a global brand on their perfect marriage, which would be more convincing if they could still stand each other. Mercy has spent years smoothing over the worst instincts of her powerful husband, convinced the man she fell in love with is still there. Winslow is hiding a secret that could end his career, while his husband, Miguel, is carrying news that will change everything between them.

And then there’s Charlotte—the assistant everyone overlooks. Which gives her an excellent view of everything.

The first night, the drinks flow, the gossip gets vicious, and everyone shares far more than they should. But what’s a little indiscretion among new friends?

The trouble with a yacht is that there’s nowhere to go once you’ve said too much. No separate hotels. No quick exits. Just the same people, fewer places to hide, and another breakfast together in the morning.

By the third day, one marriage is as good as over. One guest is desperate enough to do something irreversible. And Mercy is realizing the man she loved was all for show—and the man she fears is who he really is.

Before any of them set foot on solid ground again, one of them will be dead in the water.

Privilege has protected them from consequences for years. But desperation can make even very comfortable people do terrible things.

The Awful Truth is a sharp, warm, wickedly funny domestic suspense novel about marriage, power, and the spectacularly bad decisions people make when they have everything to lose. For readers who love the wit and heart of Liane Moriarty and Sally Hepworth, with the glamor and menace of The White Lotus.

Heat Level: Open door, spicy not explicit
Tone: A fast-paced, suspenseful, emotional, character-driven drama
Series Type: Standalone, part of a collection of domestic suspense novels
Ending: Emotionally satisfying, book club / upmarket resolution
POV: Multi-POV, third person
Content Notes: Infidelity, emotional abuse dynamics, death, suicidal ideation, brief sexual violence, psychological tension

Goodreads / Amazon

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Charlotte sat back, tuning out the conversation while she stared out at the hills and smattering of buildings along the highway. So far, the city wasn’t much to look at. A lot of low brush and an irritating bank alongside the road that only allowed the briefest glimpse of the water. But soon, she’d be surrounded on all sides by the clear blue Adriatic Sea, and she felt a surge of excitement. It was her first time in Europe. As a teenager, she always thought she’d go right out of high school—backpacking and staying in hostels for a few months, really living, as her mother, who’d never gone farther than Niagara Falls from their home in Muskegon, would say. But in the end, Charlotte met a boy and decided he was more exciting than Italy and France and England combined. Only he wasn’t. He was a huge disappointment, and by the time she realized it, it was already move-in week at the University of Michigan.

So here she was, at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, getting her first taste of the ‘old world.’ This wasn’t how she imagined it (few things were)—sandwiched between her lover and her lover’s wife in the back of a limo—but this was how she had arrived. Charlotte was sleepy and mixed up and felt guilty as all hell, but she was here. She had made it. She’d take as many glamorous pics as she could to post on her Instagram account. Her friends would be filled with envy which they would mask with comments like, ‘Looking hot, mama!’ and ‘You deserve it. You work so hard. Have an amazing time, girlie!’

But she wouldn’t be having an amazing time, would she? She’d likely be working long hours—maybe even through the night—to liaise between the studio and her bosses, not to mention having a front row seat to the ‘Ted and Antonia pretending to be blissfully happy’ show, which she’d much rather skip. She knew it was all bullshit, at least on Ted’s part. An act meant to keep the multi-million-dollar ruse going. It was bad enough when they were on set and she had to watch them gaze into each other’s eyes and act like they were still in the playful honeymoon phase. Ted had warned her that they’d have to lay it on extra thick around Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, but not to let it get to her. Because he only wanted her.

None of that was stuff she could share on Instagram, or tell her friends, for that matter. She’d keep her secret and smile, like she always did. But at least she could pretend she was having a wonderful time.

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About Author Melanie Summers:

Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.

Melanie made a name for herself with her debut novel, Break in Two, a contemporary romance that cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. Her highly acclaimed Full Hearts Series was picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada. Her first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, she has written and published three novellas, and eight novels (of which seven have been published). She has sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe.

In her previous life (i.e. before having children), Melanie got her Bachelor of Science from the University of Alberta, then went on to work in the soul-sucking customer service industry for a large cellular network provider that shall remain nameless (unless you write her personally – then she’ll dish). On her days off, she took courses and studied to become a Chartered Mediator. That designation landed her a job at the R.C.M.P. as the Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinator for ‘K’ Division. Having had enough of mediating arguments between gun-toting police officers, she decided it was much safer to have children so she could continue her study of conflict in a weapon-free environment (and one which doesn’t require makeup and/or nylons).

Melanie resides in Edmonton with her husband, three young children, and their adorable but neurotic one-eyed dog. When she’s not writing novels, Melanie loves reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with her family for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near her house. She also spends a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing yoga, which is why most of her photos are taken ‘from above’. She also loves shutting down restaurants with her girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something–more like just staying until they turn the lights off.

She is represented by Suzanne Brandreth of The Cooke Agency International.

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Two weeks before her wedding, Aurora Larrimore slapped her wedding planner, punched her florist, stole the florist’s van, and drove off.

Is Aurora missing, or is she just gone? Those are two different types of investigations.

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Why Aurora Ran

by Nora Kingsley

Genre: Mystery

Two weeks before her wedding, Aurora Larrimore slapped her
wedding planner, punched her florist, stole the florist’s van, and drove off.

Her family calls her unstable. Melissa “Pissy Lou” Jenkins isn’t
convinced. A blunt, brilliant skip tracer for the family’s law firm, Pissy Lou
notices what everyone else misses, and her Tourette’s has a habit of announcing
exactly what she thinks of the people she questions. She is sent to find Aurora
in time to save the wedding, and she starts with the question nobody else
asked: is Aurora missing, or is she just gone? Those are two different types of
investigations.

Her interviews turn up stories about a controlling mother, a fiancé whose
answers don’t fit, and a carefully polished lie the whole family seems to be
protecting. Before Pissy Lou can find the runaway bride, she has to answer the
question at the heart of the case. Everyone involved in the wedding has a
theory about Aurora, but Pissy Lou is the only one asking why she ran.

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Chapter
4

Vendors and a Client

 

Pissy Lou was at her desk by eight the next morning. She
poured her yellow-orange mug full of iced coffee and opened her notebook to a
fresh page. The Larrimore file was open in front of her. She had a list of
calls to make before she drove out to Devereaux Heights, where Richard and
Celeste Larrimore lived. She had verified information on the people she had
intended to talk to the day before.

First on her list was the caterer,
a woman named Darlene Puckett who ran the Fork & Flourish out of a
commercial kitchen on the east side of town. Ms. Puckett answered on the second
ring.

After introductions, Pissy Lou got
down to work. “What did you do when Celeste Larrimore called to change the menu
for the wedding?

“I told Aurora everything,” Puckett
said. She had the tone of a woman who was waiting to talk about this situation.
“As soon as I realized what her mother was doing, I called Aurora directly. I
did not care whose toes I stepped on. It is her wedding.” She paused. “That
woman, Celeste Larrimore, called me four times in two weeks. She wanted to swap
out the entire menu. Aurora and Hayes had tasted everything; they’d signed off
on a menu, and we had a contract. The menu was set. Then here comes Celeste wanting
another tier on the cake, to swap out the wedding topper, and then she wanted
chicken marsala and salmon added to the menu. She said Aurora was ‘too
informal’ in her choices, like it was a character flaw.” Another pause, a
deliberate one. “I have dealt with a lot of difficult mothers of the bride.
That woman is in an extra-obnoxious category by herself.”

Pissy Lou thanked her and moved on.

The printer, a slow-talking man who
identified himself only as “Bill, from Printed to Perfection,” confirmed the
invitation situation, Aurora and Hayes had selected a plain card with an
elegant texture, letterpress printing, a classic Garamond font, and wording
that named them both first and their parents second. Celeste had called and
instructed him to change the wording so that it read: “Mr. and Mrs. Richard
Larrimore request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter
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which was not what Aurora had ordered, and not what was on the signed
proof. Celeste provided her credit card, so he did a second run with the new
wording. He then emailed the new proof to Aurora. She called back and sounded
angry. She told him to throw those out, and hoped he still had the original
invitations. He did. She also made him promise to call her again if Celeste
tried to change them again.

“This happens more often than
you might think,” Bill said in his deadpan way. “Parents argue about
wording. Grandparents argue about wording. I once had a bride’s aunt threaten
to sue over cardstock. That is why I never throw invitations away until after
the wedding. Somebody is always upset about something.”

“Was this unusual?” she
asked.

“As I said, no, happens all
the time. But this was a bit new, Aurora wanted me to call her personally if
her mother contacted me again. I mean the woman got caught the first time. Why
would she try it again?”

Pissy Lou’s call to BarbyAnne
Knowles, the events coordinator at the wedding venue, was more involved. Aurora
and Hayes had booked The Carrington, an estate property outside of town with a
bridal ceremony and reception space, gardens, and a catering kitchen. Celeste
had called The Carrington and, citing unspecified “concerns,” canceled the
booking, then booked a different property, Magnolia Hall, which had a more
formal aesthetic. Pissy Lou suspected this site had a greater prestige among
the circles Celeste traveled in. Aurora had called The Carrington, discovered
the cancellation, and re-booked it immediately.

“I was surprised at how calm Aurora
was. If my mother had pulled that on me, I would have been swearing something
awful,” BarbyAnne said. “Then she asked that no further changes be accepted
from anyone other than herself, and that such changes had to be in writing. I
could tell she had thought this out before she called. I have never had another
bride who had to ask me to do th Her last vendor call was to Beaufort Bridal,
the shop where Aurora’s gown had come from. The owner, Serafina Beaufort, ran
the store her grandmother had opened and had been dressing Nunenberg brides for
over forty years. She remembered the gown without having to look anything up.

“Aurora picked an ivory,
sleeveless couture gown, clean lines, no fuss. It had a slightly uneven hem,
and ended just above her ankles so she could move easily. It suited her
perfectly, and she knew it the minute she had it on. You can always tell,”
Serafina said. “And she had an eye, that girl. She chose all four
bridesmaids’ dresses here too — peacock blue, midcalf, with three-quarter
sleeves of ivory illusion lace, and little flowers embroidered into the lace in
the same blue, so they seemed to bloom right on the skin. Each one was cut a
little differently, but you could see at a glance they belonged together. Those
women came to their fittings laughing, and every single one asked me if she
could wear hers again afterward. In this business, that is the highest
compliment there is.”

“And the bride’s gown?”

“Then the alterations
started.” Serafina Beaufort paused before continuing. “Her mother ordered the
changes directly, four separate times, and mostly between fittings, so Aurora
never saw them coming. Lace sleeves. A higher neckline. Lace layered over the
bodice. She addeda train and veil. Mrs. Larrimore was paying for the work, so
my hands were tied, but every fitting, that poor girl came in and found less of
her own dress waiting for her. At the last one she said something about us
turning it into a lacy burka. One of my fitters laughed. I did not.”

“Four rounds of
alterations,” Pissy Lou said. “Is that normal?”

“Honey, in forty years I have
taken gowns in, let gowns out, and re-beaded an entire bodice overnight for a
bride who changed her mind. I have never un-designed a dress four times for a
woman who was not the one wearing it.” She paused. “I heard Aurora
took the gown with her when she left. Good. She should burn it. I’ve unpicked a
lot of mistakes in forty years, but that gown’s got four rounds of her mother
sewn in too deep for any seam ripper. Fire’s just the last alteration, and it’s
the only one her mother can’t reverse.”

“So, you think Aurora intends
to burn the dress?” Pissy Lou asked.

“Honey, if that were my dress,
I’d pour a can of gasoline on it and strike a match,” Serafina said
without hesitation.

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A quick note before I get into Lou’s Tourette’s: she isn’t the first fictional detective to have it. Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn, published in 1999, is an award-winning neo-noir novel featuring private investigator Lionel Essrog, who has Tourette syndrome. It was also adapted into a film starring Edward Norton. I haven’t read the book yet, so Lionel wasn’t an influence on Lou, but I recently got a copy and will be reading it shortly.

When writing about Lou’s Tourette’s, I did my research but I am sure there are things I got wrong. Her mother, Augusta, helped her learn ways to cope with it, but Tourette’s is different for everyone. Sometimes what comes out of Lou’s mouth is coherent and sometimes it isn’t. It’s part of Lou, but it doesn’t define her. In Chapter 3, while interviewing Hayes Merritt, she says something off-color and then thinks: “My apologies. I meant nothing by it. Tourette’s,” she said. I had no idea I was going to say that but I did. Wow. One of the few times I agree with the rando shit that comes out of my mouth. This guy is a damn stinker, as Grandma used to say.

The involuntary swearing associated with Tourette syndrome is called coprolalia, and despite the stereotype often shown in movies and on television, it affects only about 10–15% of people with Tourette’s. Tics can be vocal, such as sniffing, throat clearing, grunting, or words and phrases, or motor, such as blinking, shrugging, twitching, or sudden movements. The tics are involuntary and don’t necessarily reflect someone’s thoughts or beliefs. Some people can suppress them temporarily, but that takes effort and can create a buildup that leads to stronger tics later.

I explored this in Chapter 6: Celeste Larrimore, when Lou barely makes it back to her car after holding her tics in through a tense interview. Once the door closes, the pressure breaks: she rocks, pounds the steering wheel, and unleashes a string of rhyming insults until she’s nearly crying with relief.

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Nora Kingsley lives on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where the
landscape, the weather, and the Atlantic provide a constantly changing backdrop
for an active imagination. Why Aurora Ran is Nora Kingsley’s debut and the
first in the Lou Jenkins mystery series.

A lifelong reader, Nora is happiest wandering through
historical fiction, mysteries, science fiction, and fantasy, especially books
that offer a compelling world, an intriguing puzzle, or characters worth
following well past bedtime. Her interests extend beyond the page to music,
movies, cooking, and art, and she has always been drawn to the many different
ways people create and tell stories.

She shares her life with the people and animals she loves,
an unreasonable number of interests, and the firm conviction that there is
always room for another book.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.