Author Archive

The Body In The Back Garden ~ A Crescent Cove Mystery by Mark Waddell

Posted: August 19, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
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The Body in the Back Garden (A Crescent Cove Mystery)
by Mark Waddell

 


The Body in the Back Garden (A Crescent Cove Mystery)
Queer Cozy (“Quozy”) Mystery
1st in Series 
Setting – The fictional town of Crescent Cove on Vancouver Island, Canada
Crooked Lane Books (August 22, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639104402
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639104406
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BN582M9W

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In this queer cozy series debut perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams, Luke Tremblay is about to discover that Crescent Cove has more than its fair share of secrets…and some might be deadlier than others.

Crescent Cove, a small hamlet on Vancouver Island, is the last place out-of-work investigative journalist Luke Tremblay ever wanted to see again. He used to spend summers here, until his family learned that he was gay and rejected him. Now, following his aunt’s sudden death, he’s inherited her entire estate, including her seaside cottage and the antiques shop she ran for forty years in Crescent Cove. Luke plans to sell everything and head back to Toronto as soon as he can…but Crescent Cove isn’t done with him just yet.

When a stranger starts making wild claims about Luke’s aunt, Luke sends him packing. The next morning, though, Luke discovers that the stranger has returned, and now he’s lying dead in the back garden. To make matters worse, the officer leading the investigation is a handsome Mountie with a chip on his shoulder who seems convinced that Luke is the culprit. If he wants to prove his innocence and leave this town once and for all, Luke will have to use all his skills as a journalist to investigate the colorful locals while coming to terms with his own painful past.

There are secrets buried in Crescent Cove, and the more Luke digs, the more he fears they might change the town forever.

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Enjoy this peek inside The Body in the Back Garden:

The drive back to the cottage took no more than five minutes, and when I got there, I found a Jeep Wrangler with RCMP markings waiting for me. My heart sank. I really didn’t want a third encounter with the police today.

With some reluctance, I trudged around the side of the cottage and found Jack Munro waiting for me, brawny arms folded across his tactical vest as he gazed out at the sea. My heart sank even further, but also fluttered a little as well. I had no idea how to behave around him now that I knew he was my old friend.

As I approached, shoes crunching on the stone path, he turned to face me. I paused. Jack looked mad. His square jaw was clenched and his eyebrows were drawn downwards in a fierce glower.

Uh oh.

“We need to talk,” he informed me, and I nodded jerkily after a moment’s hesitation.

“Sure. Okay. Do you want to come inside?”

With a shake of his head, Jack then advanced towards me until he was close enough that I had to look up into his face. “I want to know why you lied to me.”

I had to work moisture back into my mouth before I could reply. “What do you mean?”

“I spoke with Aleesha Perkins.” At my blank stare, he added, “Her mom runs the greengrocers in town. She delivered some groceries here yesterday.”

Oh yeah. I nodded again, mutely.

“Aleesha claims that she witnessed you assault Joel Mackenzie and then threaten him.” Jack’s resonant baritone was tight with anger. “Is that true?”

“I wouldn’t say assault, exactly,” I hedged. “I did push him, that’s true.”

“She says you pushed him off the front porch and that he landed on his back on the ground.”

“Uh. Yes.” Jack’s eyes narrowed and I added hurriedly, “But he provoked me. He called my aunt a thief and said she got what was coming to her. I…I got upset and pushed him harder than I intended.”

“And then threatened him.”

“No!” I protested. “No, I just told him that if he came back here he’d regret it.” I paused. “Okay. That sounds bad, I admit. But I didn’t mean anything by it. It wasn’t a threat.”

Jack said nothing. His features, familiar and yet not, were completely blank.

On a rising tide of panic, I reached out involuntarily and grasped his forearm. “Jack, please. Please believe me. I did not kill Joel Mackenzie. I didn’t see him again until I found his body this morning. I know how this looks, but…”

Jack stepped back from me, breaking my hold on his arm. “You assaulted and threatened a man who later turned up dead on your property, Luke.” His voice was cool now, dispassionate. “And you have no alibi for last night. How this looks is extremely bad for you.”

My feeling of panic increased as I stared up at him. “But you know me. You know I would never—”

He cut me off with brutal finality. “I used to know you. I’m not sure I do anymore.”

I had no response to that. There was nothing left to say. My panic slowly subsided, leaving hurt and fear in its wake.

A deep silence fell between us. Waves crashed in the distance and gulls screeched overhead. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?” he finally asked. “Because if there is anything, you need to tell me now.”

I shook my head once. “There isn’t anything,” I said, barely able to speak through the tightness in my throat.

He nodded without taking his eyes off me. “I strongly advise you to stay put here at the cottage while we continue our investigation.”

I said nothing, and after a long pause Jack brushed past me as he headed back to his Jeep. I watched him go with something close to despair.

I was now the only suspect in a murder, and the person in charge of investigating that murder clearly disliked me. I wanted to trust that Jack would figure out who the killer was rather than pin this on me, but given our recent interactions, that seemed far from certain. If I didn’t want to end up in prison, there was only one option left.

I needed to solve this myself.

About Mark Waddell

Mark is originally from Calgary, Alberta, and grew up on the cold, windswept Prairies of western Canada. Fleeing southward, he earned a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the Johns Hopkins University and then worked as a professor at Michigan State University for fifteen years. Finally, he persuaded his amazing husband to move to Vancouver Island, where they now live.
When he’s not writing stories about murderous Canadians, he plays the viola in the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, walks his dogs along the seashore, and thinks up interesting ways to kill people.

Author Links: Website / Twitter / Instagram
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Purchase Links:

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PenguinRandomHouse – U.S.    PenguinRandomHouse – Canada
(includes links for Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.)
    B&N    Amazon

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 15 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 16 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW  

August 18 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

August 22 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 23 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 24 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

August 25 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews– AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 26 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

August 27 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 28 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

August 28 – Melina’s Book Blog – 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

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

SWEETBITTER by Reginald Gibbons

Posted: August 19, 2023 in Historical
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“This is an adventure story and a romance, but in Gibbons’ hands, it’s that and much more. Exquisitely rendered and deeply felt, this is as astute and absorbing as fiction gets.”

—Booklist

SWEETBITTER (Jackleg Press; Publication: August 1, 2023) takes place in east Texas in 1910 during the time of white rule―not by law but by lynch mob. Amid the suffocating racism and fear, half-Choctaw, half-white Reuben Sweetbitter and Martha Clarke, a white woman, fall in love.  This is an authentic, richly detailed novel with themes of sacrifice, fear and the loss of one’s identity inspired by Giddon’s family – who’s paternal grandfather half-Choktaw – and his experiences  growing up in  protestant evangelical Texas where racism and white supremacy was rampant.  Library Journal writes: “Atypical of love stories, this realistic work maintains a historical perspective in lending the couple short-lived happiness.”

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PROLOGUE

Many generations ago Aba, the great spirit above, created many men, all Chahtah, who spoke the language of the Chahtah, and under- stood one another. They came from the heart of the earth and were made of clay, and before them no men had ever lived.

One day they all gathered and looking upward wondered what the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds were made of. They determined to try to reach the sky by building a great mound. They piled up rocks to build a mound that would reach the sky but at night the wind blew from above so strongly that the rocks fell down. The second day, too, they worked, building the mound but again that night the wind came while they slept and it pushed down their work. On the third day they began yet again. But that night the wind blew so hard it hurled the rocks of the mound down upon the builders themselves.

They were not killed, but when daylight came and they crawled out from beneath the rocks that had fallen on them and they began to talk to one another, they discovered that they could no longer understand each other. They spoke many languages instead of one. Some of them spoke the original language, the Chahtah language. Others, who no longer spoke this language, began to fight with those who did. Finally they separated. The Chahtah remained, the original people, and lived near nanih waya, the mound they had not been able to complete. And the others went north and east and west and encountered more tribes.

In this way or some other, all the peoples of the earth were created, each from some substance and thus of different appearance, and at times struggling against each other. This is what the Chahtah told to a white missionary. But this was only a little of what the Chahtah knew. It was not for that man to know everything. And then he wrote mistaken things about them.

 

Excerpted from SWEETBITTER by Reginald Gibbons © 2023 by Reginald Gibbons, used with permission from JackLeg Press.

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About Author Reginald Gibbons

Reginald Gibbons

Reginald Gibbons’ works include An Orchard In The Street (BOA Editions), Creatures Of A Day ( a Finalist in poetry  for the National Book Award, LSU Press and his most recent book of poems Renditions (Four Way Books).

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MORE ABOUT REGINALD GIBBONS

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His translations include Selected Poems of Luis Cernuda (Sheep Meadow), Sophocles’ Selected Poems:
Odes and Fragments (Princeton University Press), and his co-translations include Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Bakkhai (both with the late Charles Segal, Oxford University Press).
Gibbons’ poems and short fiction have been published in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Atlantic,
The Paris, Review, Poetry, The Georgia Review, American Poetry Review, The Shanghai Review, Tikkun,
Ploughshares, Southern Review, Southwest Review, The Chicago Tribune, and many other magazines and periodicals. From 1981 to 1997, he was the editor of TriQuarterly magazine. His book about poetry, How Poems Think, is a gallery of aspects of poetry that combine feeling and poetic cognition
(University of Chicago Press). Gibbons has won fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the
Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Center for Hellenic
Studies. He has received several prizes, including the Folger Shakespeare Library’s O. B. Hardison,
Jr., Poetry Prize, and the Fuller Award for lifetime achievement from the Chicago Literary Hall of
Fame. Since 1981, he has taught creative writing at Northwestern University, where he is an
emeritus Frances Hooper Professor of Arts and Humanities. From the 1980s till the 2010s, he also
taught at more than twenty residencies of the Warren Wilson MFA for Writers.

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ADDITIONAL PRAISE | SWEETBITTER

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“Gibbons writes with a poet’s graceful attention to language, limning and then blending lovely details of the East Texas landscape, its denizens, its woods, seasons and storms, with Reuben’s half-remembered, bastardized versions of Choctaw myth and Martha’s dreamy, at-arm’s-length relationship to the white world she can’t live in yet can’t do without.” —Washington Post Book World

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“A stately, lyrical meditation on turn-of-the-century Texas… As much a meditation on the American
destruction of aboriginal civilization as it is a story about star-crossed romance.” —Texas Observer
“A sweeping yet intimate first novel that tells the story of the Choctaw Indians through the troubled life of one Reuben S. Sweetbitter, half Choctaw, half white… An absorbing story.” —Publishers Weekly
“The gripping story of illicit love… in prose not easily forgotten… [A] lovely and captivating novel.”
—The Nation

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“Surprising in every way… The novel’s ending is as strong as its beginning—terrifying and beautiful, a true tour de force.” —Chicago Tribune

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“A story of dreams, of memory, of a search for identity, or love and all the senseless obstacles it sometimes must face.” —Dallas Morning News

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“A fictional world of great vividness and detail… Gibbons’ prose can be… descriptive, evocative, even
picaresque, but he does not forget how to tell a story in straightforward sentences.”
—Review of Contemporary Fiction

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PUBLICITY CONTACT:
Jennifer Harris, JackLeg Press
ON SALE: August 15, 2023 jharris@jacklegpress.org
SWEETBITTER, Reginal Gibbons | JackLeg Press | On Sale: August 1, 2023
ISBN: 978-1737513421 | 6×9 Paperback | 19.00 US | 452 Pages

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LEARN MORE | ORDER

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Reginald Gibbons| Jackleg Press | #SWEETBITTER

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Retail: Ingram Content Group | Libraries: Libraries (ingramcontent.com)

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JackLeg Press | JackLeg employs an environmentally sustainable publishing model and a rigorous
editorial process to bring the best new and familiar voices into the literary world. At JackLeg, we
stress authenticity, collaboration, and bold thinking.

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

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.

The Friday 56 #250 ~ The Shade Under The Mango Tree by Evy Journey

Posted: August 18, 2023 in fiction, The Friday 56
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Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.

 

This is a really fun meme!

The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Then go over to Freda’s Voice and leave your link so we can visit your 56!

My 56 for this week is from

The Shade Under The Mango Tree

  by Evy Journey

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Genre:  Fiction / Coming Of Age

From page 56 in the paperback.

Wat amazing sensations I felt on the lawn that day.

For me, life is worth living for such moments alone, but too many people are too busy getting rich, caring only for material things.

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Synopsis

After two heartbreaking losses, Luna wants adventure. Something and somewhere very different from the affluent, sheltered home in California and Hawaii where she grew up. An adventure in which she can also make some difference. She travels to a foreign place where she gets more than she bargained for.

Lucien, a worldly, well-traveled young architect, finds a stranger’s journal at a café. He has qualms and pangs of guilt about reading it. But they don’t stop him. His decision to go on reading changes his life.

Months later, Luna and Lucien meet at a bookstore where Luna works and which Lucien frequents. Still hurting from her losses, Luna finds solace in Lucien’s company and his tales of world travel.

Inspired by Lucien, she goes to Cambodia. What she goes through in one of its rice-growing villages defies anything she could have imagined.

An epistolary tale of courage, love and loss, and the bonds that bring diverse people together.

Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE

My Review ~ Zipline by P. Anthony Michael

Posted: August 18, 2023 in horror, reviews, suspense, thriller
Tags: , , ,
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Welcome to the book tour for Zipline by P. Anthony Michael. Read on for my review!

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Zipline

Publication Date: June 2022

Genre: Thriller/ Suspense

If Gail knew Uncle Perkins’ stories were true, she wouldn’t have taken her friends up that mountain.

The plan was simple. Hike, camp, and ride the zipline back down the mountain. But Uncle Perkins’ stories are true, and the horrors are real. Now the simple plan is the only plan they have to get off that mountain or disappear, remaining there forever.

Zipline is an immediately gripping, fast-paced, unique story that will keep you entertained until the last sent

Available on Amazon

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MY REVIEW

I have a bucket list and taking a ride on a zipline is on the list. After reading this book, I’m sure I’ll be imaging what scary things I’m rushing past as I zip along above the tree canopy.

Coming in at just 82 pages in my paperback copy, Zipline packs an eerie punch. The author managed to flesh out his characters too, and that’s no mean feat with so few pages.

There’s something strange happening at Finch Mountain. Nicknamed BEASTLY, that tag and an old man’s warning should have been enough to deter Gail and her friends. That old saying, “Curiosity Killed The Cat” turns out to be oh so true as they venture into the dark forest. And the second part of that saying, “Satisfaction Brought Them Back” proves not so true.

The action begins almost immediately and the story “zips” along. Will they get off the mountain? Who survives? Anyone? My curiosity was answered and what fun it was finding out.

4 STARS

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About the Author

Michael received a creative writing certificate from the University of West Virginia in the late 90s. He’s been running a successful writer’s group called For The Love Of Words for almost two decades. When he has time, he teaches in the local library Story 101 – How to create a story. He has won in every category over a five-year period in a state-funded wordsmith competition in Poetry, Essay, Short Story, and One-Act Play.

P. Anthony Michael

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Button

R&R Book Tours

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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.

Stilettos & Sniper Rifles by Gail Koger ~ Spotlight And Giveaway

Posted: August 18, 2023 in comedy, giveaways, Romance
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Law enforcement isn’t for the fainthearted. Are you brave enough to enter my world?

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Stilettos and Sniper Rifles

Deputy Gemma Stone Book 1

by Gail Koger

Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance

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I’ve been a Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputy for four years. Most folks don’t have a clue about what a cop deals with every day. Like a pack of attack chihuahuas, a monkey with a bad case of diarrhea, a hungry python, a brahma bull named Bodacious and a six-foot iguana.

And that is just the critters. Now let me tell you about the two-legged varmints. Such as a three-hundred-pound biker who got a bit irate when I zapped him with a stun gun, or a murderous nun, and let’s not forget the senior citizens having an orgy. Ugh.

My personal life isn’t much better. Off duty I’m a ballroom dancer which everyone makes fun of. I love competitive dancing; I get to meet a lot of people who aren’t trying to kill me. Ok, there was one incident, but hey, shit happens. At a dance competition Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado waltzed into my life. My girly parts yelled yee-haw, he’s the one. Now, if I can only get him to do the tango with me.

Law enforcement isn’t for the fainthearted. Are you brave enough to enter my world?

Amazon * Smashwords * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Howdy. My name is Gail Koger and once upon a time I was a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Too many years of wild requests, screwy questions, bizarre behavior and outrageous demands have left me with a permanent twitch and an uncontrollable craving for chocolate. I took up writing science fiction romance to keep from killing people. So far, it has worked.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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Coletti Dagger aka nail file – 2 winners!

$10 Amazon gift card– 1 winner

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.

Books From The Back Log #83 ~ Stolen Roads by Randy Chandler

Posted: August 17, 2023 in horror
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If you’re like me, you have a pile of books beckoning to you from your lists. Carole hosts this fun feature where you can share some of those older books and perhaps nudge you to finally read them. If you want to join in on the fun, head over to Carole’s Random Life In Books and leave a link to your post.
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Stolen Roads

by Randy Chandler

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Genre: Horror

Synopsis

“It was like I was riding on a stolen road, like somebody’d just shanghaied the road and plopped it down in some foreign land.” Thus, “stolen roads” entered the esoteric lexicon of popular culture.

William Kidd’s travels on stolen roads begin when he’s a boy on leave from a psychiatric hospital and survives a car accident that kills both his parents.

Although hallucinations are nothing new to him, Kidd knows the otherworldly thing crouched on his dying father’s chest at the scene of the accident is no hallucination. Nothing in his mental inventory of the planet’s natural creatures jibes with this pebble-skinned thing nearly as big as a man, a terrifying beast with spiky shoulders and lizard-like snout, its long knobby limbs folded insect-fashion as if it might suddenly leap or fly away without warning.

The beast claws the boy’s face, giving him an indelible totem-mark scar he still wears as a young man when he goes on the road in search of the creatures he calls “trocs.”

Kidd soon meets the Fluckers, a married couple claiming to have happened upon a “lost road,” and they entice him to join them on an expedition to ride a suspect blacktop into what may be an alternate world.

When Kidd’s psych-hospital alumnus Rose Rivers the trippy earth-obsessed rock hound pops back into his life, she invites herself along on what she calls a trip to The Big Nowhere. Rounding out the team is Rita Younger: dive bar owner, former biker club member and acknowledged “badass babe.”

But The Big Nowhere is filled with otherworldly dangers. And the road home could be a dead end.

Buckle up and hit the road for a thrilling ride into the dark fantastic. A literary collision of horror and fantasy on the road to a new kind of hell.

Amazon

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I added this back in October 2019.

Another good one for my Horror Month list. I do love otherworldly scary beast stories.

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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE.

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

The Island Of Zoe by Dino Hajiyorgi & Christos Sourligas ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: August 17, 2023 in Fantasy, giveaways, Romance
Tags: , , ,
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A young Greek American woman travels to the island of Petra….

has she found the fountain of youth?

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The Island of Zoe

by Dino Hajiyorgi & Christos Sourligas

Genre: Fantasy Romance

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A young Greek American woman travels to the island of Petra bearing precious cargo: her late grandmother’s body, to be buried on the land where the old woman spent her youth. But when Zoe arrives on Petra, she finds that her grandmother, Maria, has left her an opulent villa and old family secrets hidden in the mystery of the island.

Zoe notices how spry and fit the island’s elderly residents are. In fact, no one has miraculously died in over seventy years, and time actually stands still on Petra. After Stefanos, a dapper older gentleman, ends his life the night of Grandma’s funeral, Zoe learns that Stefanos and her grandmother were lovers and realizes there’s much more to the island than meets the eye.

Zoe sets out to discover the island and uncovers strange happenings: there isn’t a single working clock or telephone, rich migrants from all over the world live clandestinely in the hills, the island is on permanent lock-down by the Greek Navy, and the main residents are subjected to repeated medical tests. Manos, the raki-loving bon vivant who runs the local general store, hints that the islanders are paying a price for what they did to Grandma Maria and Stefanos but refuses to reveal more.

Hoping to sell her grandmother’s house and use the money to help her troubled retail business back in America, Zoe inadvertently falls for the local priest’s son, Paris, who will soon be a priest in his own right. As romantic tension mounts between them, he admits his reluctance to become a priest. Believing Zoe is a threat to their immortality, several islanders gang up on Zoe and try to expel her from Petra when more truths come to light…

Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Smashwords * Bookbub * Goodreads

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Chapter 2 – FIG TREE

 

With her last sip, Maria overturned the cup on its saucer and waited a few minutes. With fingers trembling, she turned the cup again and looked inside. There it was on the smeared porcelain, the whole truth for her to see. Aunt Erato had taught her well, and there was no mistaking the will of the gods.

Chapter 18 – BLUE ZONE

 

“…Petra is unlike any other place on earth. Humans just don’t die here. Remember when you asked me what I would do if I find this elixir? Well, Petra is the elixir. This entire island is eternal life.”

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Dino Hajiyorgi was born in Istanbul in 1963 and lived in Chalkida, Greece. An award-winning writer, he was a film school graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in California, and worked as an animation series scriptwriter for Greek and German studios. A honorary member of the Athenian Club of Science Fiction, his short stories appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies, and in the Greek edition of Asimov’s Magazine. Dino’s additional published books are: “Nighttime Traditions”, “Ashes on Marble”, “Wolf of the Sea”, and “Saltibango and the Cats of Hydra”.

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Christos Sourligas is an award-winning and bestselling author and award-winning filmmaker. He has created and produced multiple feature films and television shows, and as a former senior executive for several internationally-renowned television production companies, he’s successfully brought shows into the homes of over 1.5 billion television viewers worldwide, airing in over 140 countries, and on 100 airlines. He also serves as a mentor and volunteer with various awards events, festivals and non-profit organizations. Christos resides in Montreal, Canada, and travels often to his ancestral home in Arcadia, Greece.

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.

Murder In Trastevere ~ A Roman Holiday Mystery by Jen Collins

Posted: August 17, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
Tags: ,
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Murder in Trastevere: A Roman Holiday Mystery
by Jen Collins Moore

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Murder in Trastevere: A Roman Holiday Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Rome, Italy
Level Best Books (May 18, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 286 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1685123384
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1685123383
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C13DRJQN

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After a decade dominating the expat scene in Rome, Faye Masters has had enough beautiful art, delicious food, and bureaucratic nonsense to last a lifetime. She’s just about decided to pack up and head home when a rival drops dead at one of Faye’s famous cocktail parties. Rumors fly that Faye was the intended target, but the police think Faye might just be an attention-seeking poisoner.

Faye refuses to let the cloud of suspicion stop her from completing a self-imposed 25-picture Caravaggio Challenge. Or keep her from assisting friends Maggie White and Thomas Evans on their painting tours of Rome. But when the leads fizzle out and a series of accidents hit close to home, Faye accepts her own life is on the line. She must search for a killer while keeping up appearances at some of Rome’s most iconic sights.

About Jen Collins Moore

Jen Collins Moore transports readers to Rome in the Roman Holiday Mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mystery Weekly and Masthead: The Best New England Crime Stories. She is president of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland and a founding member of Sleuths and Sidekicks. A transplanted New Englander, she lives in Chicago with her husband and two boys.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Instagram

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N

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This tour features an author run giveaway.

Win a Taste of Italy Gift Basket.
Review my newest book Murder in Trastevere on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Goodreads for a chance to win a Taste of Italy gift basket.
Just click “I Reviewed It!” at https://www.jennifercollinsmoore.com/.
Want to enter the contest and not write a review?
No problem. Just email me here.
US Only.

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Tour Participants

August 14 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 14 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

August 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 15 – Brooke Blogs – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 16 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

August 16 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 17 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 17 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

August 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – GUEST POST

August 20 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – I’m All About Mystery Books  – SPOTLIGHT  

August 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 23 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

August 24 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 25 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 26 – Jane Reads – AUTHOR GUEST POST

August 27 – StoreyBook Reviews – RECIPE

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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.

Cocktails & Casualties by Carly Wayne ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: August 16, 2023 in Cozy Mystery, giveaways
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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Cocktails & Casualties organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Carly Wayne is awarding 4 prizes to randomly drawn winners (a leather bound diary and pen, a set of 4 drink coasters, a pewter necklace of a Quetzal bird, a copper compass). Don’t forget to enter!

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

Cocktails & Casualties

by Carly Wayne

 

 

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Teddy Aarons is a nomad, using her bartending skills as an excuse to move to a new luxury resort with each change of the season. But when she finds herself stuck on the remote island of Mahina Cay, she finds refuge in the quirky little Township of Crooked Cove.

Crooked Cove is a village of expatriates from various countries, and the people are welcoming, but she only intends to stay long enough to make the money to get off the island and back to her real life.. However, when one of the village’s most distinguished citizens turns up dead, it’s up to her to either solve the case or become a permanent resident of the slammer!

With her new friend Jasmine at her side, Teddy will do whatever it takes to shake out the truth and stir up the real killer to clear her name. Will she manage to keep herself out of lockup, or will she end up under the influence of the Mahina Cay Prison?

 Enjoy this peek inside:

“Teddy, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking you should give me the pictures and the phone and wait here,” she said.

Jazz pulled her purse close to her. “Oh hell no. If you are going to question Frannie, you’re not leaving me sitting out of the action. I’m coming with you.”

Knowing it was pointless to argue, Teddy sighed. “Alright. But you have to promise me to behave, Jazz. Let me do the talking. We are going to try the soft approach first.”

The look in Jazz’s eyes told Teddy she was not planning on staying silent. She was chomping at the bit to back Frannie into a corner.

Frannie stood and walked to the ladies’ room, and they followed. Teddy counted to twenty, and then walked in with Jazz behind her. The room was empty except for the two of them, and Frannie was in the last stall. Teddy pointed to the door, and Jazz silently locked it. They leaned against the door and waited for Frannie to emerge….

About Author Carly Wayne:

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Carly Wayne first discovered her love of storytelling as a child when she would create alternate endings for all of her favorite fairy tales. As she grew, her fascination developed into a passion for writing about the characters and worlds she imagined.

Now, Carly has returned to her ancestral home deep in the woods of Jacksonville, Florida, not too far from the ocean. She fills her days pursuing her bliss by writing, creating, and exploring nature.

Carly holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Psychology.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / BookBub

Purchase Link

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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.

Peek Inside And Giveaway ~ The Devil Within by James L’Etoile

Posted: August 16, 2023 in Excerpt, giveaways, thriller
Tags: , ,
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Devil Within by James L’Etoile Banner

Devil Within
by James L’Etoile
July 24 – August 18, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

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Synopsis:

The border is a hostile place with searing heat and venomous serpents. Yet the deadliest predator targets the innocent.

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A sniper strikes in the Valley of the Sun and Detective Nathan Parker soon finds a connection between the victims—each of them had a role in an organization founded to help undocumented migrants make the dangerous crossing. Parker discovers no one is exactly who they seem. There’s the devil you know and then there’s the devil within—when the two collide, no one is safe.

Devil Within is the sequel to the Anthony and Lefty Award nominated Dead Drop.

Book Details:

Genre: Procedural/Thriller

Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: July 2023 Number of Pages: 310 Series: The Nathan Parker Detective Series, Book 2

Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Enjoy this peek inside:

Chapter One

Nia Saldana didn’t think today would be the day she died. Why would she? She was careful and avoided situations which drew too much attention. She never wanted to be noticed. When you got noticed, it only led to trouble, or worse. She cursed herself for snooping around her employer’s office as she tidied up. The big man wasn’t who he pretended to be. If others knew what she saw… Nia fought off anxiety driving home after another twelve-hour day cleaning homes on Camelback Mountain, the upscale enclave in Central Phoenix. Commuter traffic on this section of the 101 loop was a field of brake lights and her hands gripped the wheel, knowing she’d be home after her two girls were asleep. Her sister Sofia never complained when she watched the girls and loved them as if they were her own. Nia regretted every minute away from them, and the envelope of cash on the seat next to her meant she could stop and pick up a little pink box of day-old Mexican pastries for the girls as a sweet surprise. A job that didn’t require hours away from her girls was a dream. She didn’t dare look for a better-paying job. There was too much at risk for a single, undocumented mother. One wrong move, like getting caught in her employer’s office, and she would join her deported husband in Hermosillo. What would happen to the girls then? She pushed a worn stuffed animal away from her leg when she caught a sudden blur from the right. A familiar black SUV cut across her path, nearly clipping the front end of her Nissan Sentra. She knew her boss was furious; in a way she’d never seen before. But to chase her on the freeway because of what she’d discovered? Reckless. A pop caught her attention. Seconds later, the heavy SUV lurched and bumped Nia’s sedan into the left lane, pushing her into the gravel median. A second pop sounded moments before the wheel wrenched from Nia’s hands sending the Sentra into a hard spin to the left until it faced back into the oncoming traffic. Rubber barked on the asphalt as a semi-truck slammed on its brakes and the trailer jackknifed, a wall of metal rushing toward Nia’s windshield. The Sentra crumpled from the impact of the heavy eighteen-wheeler. The thin metal roof folded in pinning her against the seat. The steering wheel crushed against the driver’s seat, and Nia with it. The pressure against her chest made breathing impossible. If her brother-in-law hadn’t sold the airbag for a few dollars…. Nia glanced at the blood-spattered stuffed animal and pulled it close to her. Inside her broken passenger side window, Nia watched as the SUV plowed into the metal rails in the center divider without slowing down. The driver slumped over the wheel after his vehicle came to rest. Why? Why did he? The grip on the stuffed animal loosened as she grew cold. The faces of her two young girls were the last images she held while she slipped away.

Chapter Two

Detective Sergeant Nathan Parker weaved his way through the snarl of traffic on the freeway. Phoenix dwellers took it in stride because commute hours meant a sludge across the valley with a daily multi-car pile-up, or a disabled vehicle in the tunnel. None of the usual reasons for traffic meltdowns would justify a Major Crimes detective call out. Parker’s Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Ford Explorer was unmarked, but the antenna bristling on the roof and the flashing red and blue lights in the grill gave it away. As he approached, he wasn’t certain what warranted a major crimes investigator. Parker spotted the vehicles spun out in the median, the front end of a compact sedan crumpled under a big rig trailer. No one would survive this one. Fire engines stopped traffic in the two lanes near the accident. A single lane of cars bled through the remaining gap in the freeway, going slow enough to glimpse the gruesome wreckage. Deputy Marcus Stone called Parker on his cell phone rather than make the call over the department radio frequency. The call was quick on detail, other than Deputy Stone needed Parker at the scene. Parker’s mind shuffled through the possibilities as he pulled his Explorer to the far left median. He spotted the wrecked SUV on the center divider, twenty yards from the jackknifed semi-truck. A high-profile victim, or an influential Phoenix power player caught in a deadly drunk driving crash? Maybe. Politics was king, even in the desert. The twisted remains of the Nissan underneath the big rig, however, didn’t scream of valley nobility. Parker spotted deputy Stone near the rear of the Phoenix Metro Fire Department engine. Stone looked gray. “Marcus.” Stone didn’t take his gaze from the fire crew using an air powered extraction device, sometimes called the Jaws of Life, to peel back the exposed left front quarter panel of the gutted Nissan Sentra . “We’ve got two deceased.” Stone jutted his square jaw at the Nissan. “A young woman. In the SUV against the guardrail, our second victim, a middleaged white male.” “Looks nasty. Any statements from witnesses about how it happened. Why’d you call me out, anyway? Traffic accidents aren’t usually our thing.” Stone started toward the SUV. “Come with me.” Stone didn’t wait for Parker and made a path around the littered wreckage toward the black SUV. Parker noticed the driver slumped over the wheel after the fire department opened the driver’s door and left him in place. From experience, Parker knew fire crews extracted accident victims from the vehicles and tried to administer lifesaving treatment. The driver’s razor cut gray hair lay matted in crimson. His skull disappeared in a jagged mess of blood and bone behind his ear. “He’s been shot. Dammit, this makes three in a month,” Parker said. “That’s why I called you.” Instinctively, Parker glanced at his surroundings. The freeway sat in the bottom of a wash, with city streets twenty feet above on both sides. An unnatural valley, but a natural killing ground for the Sun Valley Sniper. “Get any ID on this guy?” Stone held a plastic evidence bag in his hand. Parker hadn’t noticed the deputy gripping the plastic envelope since his arrival. “Roger Jessup. Local attorney, according to the Arizona Bar card in his wallet.” “Can’t say I’ve heard of him before. Gives us an angle to look at—you know, the whole disgruntled client thing.” They both turned at the sound of ripping metal pulled from the Nissan Sentra. Two fire fighters crouched into the passenger compartment, cut the seatbelt, and pulled the driver from the car. They placed her gently on a yellow tarp spread on the gravel shoulder. “I take it she wasn’t a shooting victim?” Parker said. “No. The collision with the SUV spun her out and then the big rig finished it. Wrong place, wrong time, poor thing.” “You call in the Medical Examiner?” Stone shook his head. “Didn’t know how you would handle it.” “No problem. While I call the M.E., could you ask the fire crews to set up some tarps to give our victims a bit of respect?” “On it.” Stone strode off to the closest fire fighter and started pointing at the scene. Parker approached the Nissan as the fire department crew draped a tarp over the dead woman. Parker saw she was olive skinned, young, perhaps in her early thirties, with dark black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was attractive, but even in death, she carried signs of stress, lines creasing her forehead, and dark bags under her eyes. Parker dropped to one knee and scanned the passenger compartment. The driver was crushed. If it wasn’t bad enough, Parker spotted a well-loved stuffed animal on the seat. “Oh man. She’s got kids.” He reached for her purse and pulled the inexpensive plastic and cardboard handbag from the floorboard. Parker had seen these knockoff items before, carried by women coming over the border. He fished through the purse for a wallet and ID. Nothing. No driver’s license, insurance cards, or credit cards. When he stood, he spotted a blood-stained envelope. When he lifted it from the seat, it held one hundred dollars. No note or message in with the five twenty-dollar bills. The face of the envelope bore a simple inscription: “Nia.” “Nia, what happened?” Parker thought deputy Stone might be right. He was about to write it off as another case of a random victim until he found the bullet hole in the Nissan’s front tire. The tire exploded outward on the opposite side of the path of entry. Likely sending the compact sedan into an uncontrolled skid, careening off any vehicles in the next lane. What were the chances of two cars being shot at in evening commuter traffic? *** Excerpt from Devil Within by James L’Etoile. Copyright 2023 by James L’Etoile. Reproduced with permission from James L’Etoile. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author James L’Etoile:
James L'Etoile

James L’Etoile uses his twenty-nine years behind bars as an influence in his award-winning novel, short stories, and screenplays. He is a former associate warden in a maximum-security prison, a hostage negotiator, and director of California’s state parole system. Black Label earned the Silver Falchion for Best Book by an Attending Author at Killer Nashville and he was nominated for The Bill Crider Award for short fiction. His most recent novel is the Anthony and Lefty Award nominated Dead Drop. Look for Devil Within and Face of Greed, both coming in 2023.

You can find out more at: www.JamesLEtoile.com Goodreads BookBub – @crimewriter Instagram – @authorjamesletoile Twitter – @JamesLEtoile Facebook – @AuthorJamesLetoile

 

 

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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.

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