Archive for the ‘Mytery/Thriller’ Category

The Friday 56 #175 ~ Look For Her

Posted: January 19, 2018 in Mytery/Thriller, 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:

Look For Her

  by Emily Winslow

35008762

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Genre: Mystery / Psychological Thriller

My 56 from the paperback.

Sometimes I feel like I can’t breathe. I don’t actually think I’ll stop breathing; I know that would be stupid; but I feel like I might. Annalise was smothered. Did you know that? I didn’t want to know that, but it was in all of the articles.

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

Everyone loves a beautiful missing girl… a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the grief, jealousy, and unresolved mystery surrounding a cold case kidnapping, in the vein of Gilly MacMillan and Mary Kubica.
Just outside of Cambridge, Lilling seems like an unassuming idyllic English village, but it’s home to a dark history. In 1976, a teenage girl named Annalise Wood disappeared while riding her bike home from school. Though her body was later discovered in a shallow grave, the culprit was never found. Decades later, Annalise maintains a perverse kind of celebrity in the small town, and is still the focus of grief, speculation, and for one young woman, a disturbing, escalating jealousy.
When DNA linked to the Annalise murder unexpectedly surfaces, cold case investigator Morris Keene realizes he may now have the chance of his career. Morris and his former partner, Chloe Frohmann, hope to finally solve this perplexing mystery, and bring closure to a traumatized community. But the new evidence that should be the simple solution instead undoes the case’s only certainty: the buried body that had long ago been confidently identified as Annalise may be someone else entirely, and instead of answers, the investigators face only new puzzles.
Whose body was unearthed all those years ago, and what happened to the real Annalise? Could she have had a secret child? Is someone interfering with the investigation? And is there a link to a present-day drowning with eerie connections? With piercing insight and fascinating twists, Emily Winslow explores the dark side of sensationalized crime in this haunting psychological thriller.

Amazon / B&N

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Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56.

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

The Friday 56 #172 ~ Written In Blood

Posted: December 22, 2017 in Meme, Mytery/Thriller
Tags: , , , ,
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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:

Written In Blood

  by Layton Green

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Genre: Mystery / Thriller

My 56 from the paperback.

It was a white, two-story  farmhouse manor, encircled by a wraparound porch supported by ornate pillars. Atop the third story was a pyramidal tower that jutted upward like a wizard’s hat, complete with gargoyles cavorting on the downspouts.

As Preach pulled into the circular drive, two huge dogs bounded out of the house, followed by a man in his fifties wearing plaid dress pants and a velvet smoking jacket.

“Bela! Borris! Heel!”

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Read on if you want to know more.

Synopsis

Detective Joe “Preach” Everson, a prison chaplain turned police officer, is coming home. After a decade tracking down killers in Atlanta, and with a reputation as one of the finest homicide detectives in the city, his career derailed when he suffered a mental breakdown during the investigation of a serial killer who was targeting children.

No sooner does Preach arrive at home in Creekville, North Carolina–a bohemian community near Chapel Hill–than a local bookstore owner is brutally killed, the first murder in a decade. The only officer with homicide experience, Preach is assigned to the case and makes a shocking discovery: the bookstore owner has been murdered in exactly the same manner as the pawnbroker in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment.

With the help of Ariana Hale, a law student and bibliophile who knew the victim, Preach investigates the local writer’s community. As their questions increase, a second body is found, this time eerily resembling the crime scene in a famous Edgar Allan Poe novella. Preach and Ariana realize that their adversary is an intelligent, literate killer with a mind as devious as it is disturbed–and one or both of them may be his next target.

Amazon

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Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56.

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

 

Manhattan Is My Beat by Jeffrey Deaver ~ Audible Review

Posted: November 16, 2017 in audible, Mytery/Thriller, reviews
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TITLE: Manhattan Is My Beat

The Rune Series #1

AUTHOR: Jeffrey Deaver
NARRATOR: Tanya Eby
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
PUBLICATION DATE: July 11, 2017
FORMAT: Unabridged Audiobook
LENGTH:  8 hrs.
GENRE: Mystery / Thriller
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My Review

Rune is a bit of an oddball, sporting purple hair and packing lots of snark. Working at the video store isn’t usually exciting, but when she stumbles into the scene of a murder, she can’t let it go. The old man was a friend of hers and she’s sure that the video he kept renting over and over again ties into a crime committed many years ago. She dives head first into danger to avenge her friend.

Being a fan of Deaver’s darker, brooding thrillers like The Bone Collector, this lighter mystery caught me by surprise. Not that Deaver doesn’t throw in his usual curve balls to keep you off balance so the mystery eludes you til the end.

And I couldn’t have asked for a more delightful character than Rune. For a twenty-year-old, she’s fiercely independent and definitely not a wall flower. Throw in some more quirky people that join her in her endeavors and you get the fun character driven part of the story.

While this felt a bit different than his other writing, being an earlier work, I was glad I listened to it. And now I want to get to the rest of the series. I’m curious what our purple haired gal is going to get into next.

  4 Stars

Narrator Tanya Eby

I enjoyed the crisp, clean reading done by Tanya. She hits those high and low points and has a very pleasant voice.

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Thanks so much to Tantor Audio and the author for the complimentary copy.

My review is voluntarily given.

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Synopsis

Five feet two inches of slick repartee, near-purple hair, and poetic imagination, twenty-year-old Rune hasn’t been in Manhattan for very long. But she’s crafty enough to have found a squatter’s paradise in an empty TriBeca loft, and a video store job that feeds her passion for old movies. It’s a passion she shares with her favorite customer, Mr. Kelly, a lonely old man who rents the same video over and over. The flick is a noir classic based on a real-life unsolved bank heist and a million missing dollars. It’s called Manhattan Is My Beat.

That’s the tape Rune is picking up from Mr. Kelly’s shabby apartment when she finds him shot to death. The police suspect a robbery gone wrong, but Rune is certain the key to solving the murder is hidden somewhere in the hazy, black-and-white frames of Mr. Kelly’s beloved movie. But as Rune hits the mean streets of New York to find answers, she gets caught up in a dangerous adventure more chilling than anything Hollywood could dream up. As her story draws to its terrifying conclusion, Rune’s final close-up may include the killer of a costar.

Amazon / Tantor

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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

Book Tour and Review ~ Dead Cold by Jennifer Chase

Posted: November 2, 2017 in Mytery/Thriller, reviews
Tags: , , ,
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Dead Cold banner 3

Pump Up Your Book is pleased to bring you Jennifer Chase’s Dead Cold Virtual Book Tour September 4th – November 30th.

For my stop, I’m excited to share my review!

DeadCold

Title: DEAD COLD
Author: Jennifer Chase
Publisher: JEC Press
Pages: 326
Genre: Crime Thriller

My Review

I like to go into a book cold, not knowing a whole lot about the plot. It wasn’t long before I figured out this isn’t the first book in the series. No worries though. I got an idea of who was who and how they connected as I continued reading.

Told from four different points of view, this kept things interesting and the story fast paced. The character’s have strong voices, making them easy to identify.

The only thing I was left wondering about was how Emily and her partner, Rick, were able to survive. I mean, they were both in law enforcement but left it behind to pursue behind the scenes justice. They’d solve a crime and call in a tip, leaving the credit to the police. I couldn’t figure out how they lived without money as they didn’t get paid by anybody. It wasn’t a big deal. Just means I should go back to the beginning of the series and find out. And I’ll definitely be checking out the other books.

I mentioned four different points of view. Lets talk about that. You get the view of Emily and Rick  as they research each crime, often putting themselves in grave danger to rescue someone in a bad way. I like them as a couple. They’re in love and have to allow each other freedom to take risks. That could break up most couples, but they’ve found a way to make it work.

 Then there’s Detective Danny Starr. He’s catching on that someone is helping the force in fighting crime and he’s just landed a huge new case. Someone is killing people, freezing their bodies, then later spreading the body parts around to be discovered.

And Kayla, rescued by Emily and Rick several years ago, is now shadowing the case, trying to reconnect with Emily and thank her for saving her life. She’s putting herself smack dab into danger again. Being a teen, I cut her some slack for what she was doing. Young people seem to think they’ll live forever and she clearly believes lightning won’t strike twice.

Last but certainly not least is the serial killer. Suffering from a violent past, the killer is used to violence and revels in taunting the police, leaving body parts for them to discover and a puzzling motive to figure out. Going through trauma isn’t an excuse to dish out crap on others, and I couldn’t find much symphony for the serial killer. Just too much evil there.

I know. There’s a lot happening. I got caught up in the suspense. I could see the character’s heading on a collision course. And when they all converged, the suspense darn near killed me. I really had no idea how it would end, who would come out of it alive.

Dead Cold is a puzzling thriller with a ton of suspense and very real characters.  If you’re a fan of the genre, this would be a good one to pick up.

4 Stars

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Synopsis

What happens when one California community has a disturbing spike in homicides? It catapults cops into a deadly game of murder. Frozen human body parts hideously displayed at the crime scenes offers a horrifying interpretation that only a sadistic serial killer could design—and execute.

On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and forensic expertise may not be enough this time.

Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.

Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could destroy them.

The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and everything—in Dead Cold.

Order Below

Amazon

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Meet Author Jennifer Chase

 

Jennifer Chase

Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning crime fiction author and consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

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Go HERE to follow the tour for more fun posts.

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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

Freakin Fridays #55 ~ Final Girls and ZOO

Posted: August 4, 2017 in Freakin Friday, Mytery/Thriller, reviews
Tags: , , ,
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Welcome to Freakin Fridays, where I share my reviews of books that scare you, thrill you, and get those endorphins pumping.

I’ve got some thrillers to share today. Final Girls and ZOO.

Both of these were more like 3 1/2 stars but, since I don’t do half stars, I bumped them up.

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Final Girls

by Riley Sager

32796253

 

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Genre: Mystery / Thriller

My Review

I’m always on the lookout for a new thriller and this has been making the rounds. I won a copy and dove right in.

I was pulled in by the beginning. Not so much by any action, as by the idea of this book. There’s three girls who’ve all lived through different homicidal massacres, each years apart. They are all lone survivors. All three are Final Girls.

From here, it’s predictable but still interesting. The first Final Girl dies a suspicious death and the other two girls band together for safety in numbers. Seems like a good idea. Or maybe not. One girl can’t remember her experience and the other seems to know more about it than she does. Okay, that sets up the suspense.

I’ve read a lot of thrillers. Seen a bunch of movies in the genre. So I kind of knew the formula. Even with some gruesome scenes and a twsit or two, I just wasn’t all that thrilled. Maybe it was my mood. Or perhaps I’ve been reading too many books in this genre.

I did like this book. Just never found that extra oomph to make me love it. I’d still recommend it.

   4  Stars

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Synopsis

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Amazon

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ZOO

by James Patterson

with Michael Ledwidge

15790934

 

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Genre: Thriller

My Review

I read this back when it was first released. Actually, I won an ARC copy with three alternative covers. Pretty cool.

After reading so many books by this author I was really psyched to read Zoo. Something is affecting the animals. All of them. They rise up and turn their deadly attention on mankind. Sounds like fun to me.

And it was. I devoured it in a couple of hours.The only thing that slowed me down was pausing to savor each attack as it occurred. The character’s were okay. Liked some more than others.

I have to admit, the main reason I wanted to read this was for the horror aspect. My imagination ran wild. How and why would it happen? How many ways could humans die and from what kinds of critters. I got my answers and had some fun. What kept it from being a killer story, I’m not sure. Perhaps it bogged down in some areas. Too much character information in others.  Still well worth the read.

  4  Stars

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Synopsis

Once in a lifetime, a writer puts it all together. This is James Patterson’s best book ever.

Total

For 36 years, James Patterson has written unputdownable, pulse-racing novels. Now, he has written a book that surpasses all of them. ZOO is the thriller he was born to write.

World

All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.

Destruction

With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it’s too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide. With wildly inventive imagination and white-knuckle suspense that rivals Stephen King at his very best, James Patterson’s ZOO is an epic, non-stop thrill-ride from “One of the best of the best.” (TIME)

Amazon

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For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

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They’re not gonna take it anymore…..Hunger Moon ~ Blitz and Giveaway

Posted: July 27, 2017 in Adult Fiction, giveaways, Mytery/Thriller
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Hunger Moon
Alexandra Sokoloff
(The Huntress/FBI Thrillers #5)
Publication date: October 24th 2017
Genres: Adult, Mystery, Thriller

Revenge has no limits.

Special Agent Matthew Roarke has abandoned his rogue search for serial killer Cara Lindstrom. He’s returned to the FBI to head a task force with one mission: to rid society of its worst predators. But as the skeletal symbols of Santa Muerte, “Lady Death,” mysteriously appear at universities nationwide, threatening death to rapists, Roarke’s team is pressured to investigate. When a frat boy goes missing in Santa Barbara, Roarke realizes a bloodbath is coming—desperate teenagers are about to mete out personal, cold-blooded justice.

Hiding from the law, avenging angel Cara Lindstrom is on her own ruthless quest. She plans to stay as far away from Roarke as possible—until an old enemy comes after both her and the FBI, forcing her back into Roarke’s orbit. This time, the huntress has become the hunted . . .

Goodreads / Amazon

Pre-order today!
PLUS: Books 1-4 are on SALE for $1.99 each for a limited time only!

Previous books in the Huntress/FBI Thrillers Series:

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EXCERPT

A bleak sky, streaked with white, stretches over the desolate South Rim of the canyon. There will be snow tonight.

The grinding of a pickup truck grates through the silence.

A four-door Tundra. Tonneau cover over the bed. Two men dressed in camouflage inside. Fast-food and jerky wrappers litter the wells at their feet. In the back seat, a cooler packed full of beer.

And three rifles, three-inch twelve-gauge magnums, strapped to the padded back-seat gun rest.

Hunters, driving the rim.

The front-seat passenger sets his sights on something moving ahead of them, leans forward greedily. “There we go, there we go.”

The driver follows his gaze, fixes on what he is tracking. Not a deer, but a young girl, shining black hair underneath the hood of her parka. Schoolgirl’s backpack on her shoulder.

On the men’s faces, something crude and capering.

“That’s some tasty-looking pussy.”

“Oh, yeah, that’ll do.”

“Let’s go.”

“Get her.”

The driver swerves the truck over to the side of the road, squealing brakes.

The girl hears the sound, stiffens, is starting to run before she even completes the glance back.

The truck skids to a stop in the snow. The doors fly open; the men are out of the car, grabbing for their rifles.

The girl runs for the rocks, but her pursuers are bigger, faster. Two of them, grown men, against a teenage girl.

They move forward into the strong wind, a military-style formation, heavy boots crunching in the sandy snow.

They pause at the rock outcropping, looking out over the boulders. The girl seems to have disappeared. Then a scrabble on the rocks betrays her. Hearing it, the men grin at each other.

The driver rounds the rock first, his mouth watering. He is already hard in anticipation . . .

The tire iron bashes him across the face, breaking his jaw. He staggers back, howling inarticulate pain.

The girl kicks him viciously in the knee, crumpling him, then swivels as the second hunter rounds the edge of the rock. She slams the tire iron against the side of his head.

Now both men are collapsed on the ground, moaning and cursing.

She steps forward, no longer feigning that youthful, hesitant gait.

She lifts her arm and uses the tire iron on their skulls. Two, three, four blows, and there is no more moaning. Thick crimson drops spatter the snow. Her breath is harsh. Her face is ice.

There is only the wind, swallowing the sound of her breathing.

Cara stands at the edge of the canyon, looking out at the spires of Spider Rock, the vast open gorge.

Below her is an icy crevasse. The canyon has any number of them, deep splits in the rock wall where whole sheets of the cliff have broken away. Behind her is the hunters’ pickup truck.

Their bodies lie at her feet.

She drags one, then the other, to shove them over the cliff’s edge, stepping back to watch each body hurtle down into the crevasse, tumbling into oblivion.

The snowfall tonight will cover all trace of them. Later, birds and animals will pick the bones clean.

Another offering to the canyon, and the gods and ghosts that haunt it.

 

Author Alexandra Sokoloff

“Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.” – The New York Times

ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF is the Thriller Award-winning and Bram Stoker, Anthony, and Black Quill Award-nominated author of the Amazon bestselling Huntress/FBI series (HUNTRESS MOON, BLOOD MOON, COLD MOON, BITTER MOON, HUNGER MOON – now in active development as a TV series), and the supernatural HAUNTED thrillers (THE HARROWING, THE PRICE, THE UNSEEN, BOOK OF SHADOWS, THE SHIFTERS, THE SPACE BETWEEN). The New York Times Book Review called her a “daughter of Mary Shelley,” and her books “Some of the most original and freshly unnerving work in the genre.”

As a screenwriter she has sold original horror and thriller scripts and adapted novels for numerous Hollywood studios. She has also written three non-fiction workbooks: SCREENWRITING TRICKS FOR AUTHORS, STEALING HOLLYWOOD, and WRITING LOVE, based on her internationally acclaimed workshops and blog (www.ScreenwritingTricks.com), and has served on the Board of Directors of the WGA West and the Board of the Mystery Writers of America.

Alex is a California native and a graduate of U.C. Berkeley, where she majored in theater and minored in everything Berkeley has a reputation for. In her spare time (!) she performs with The Slice Girls and Heather Graham’s all-author Slush Pile Players, and dances like a fiend. She is also very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. But not an addict. Seriously, it’s under control.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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You can find a list of my reviews HERE.

For a list of free eBooks go HERE

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Death Is His Medium ~ The Snowman by Yolanda Renee ~ Review and Giveaway

Posted: May 29, 2017 in giveaways, Mytery/Thriller, reviews, suspense
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It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Yolanda Renée’s THE SNOWMAN Blog Tour through MC Book Tours today.
This is a prequel to the author’s Detective Steven Quaid Mysteries. This story tells of Steven’s first case as a rookie detective. It takes place 10 years before the events in MURDER, MADNESS & LOVE, the first book in the series.
The author is offering a tour-wide giveaway featuring both print and eBook copies from her series. More information on the giveaway is listed below.
◊ THE SNOWMAN
◊ by Yolanda Renée
◊ Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
◊ Publisher: TRACE Enterprises
◊ Series: Detective Quaid Mystery
◊ Novella
◊ Print & eBooks
◊ Contains explicit sex & violence
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It takes a true artist to pursue his victims in the art of seduction, and Stowy Jenkins is no exception, especially with blood as his medium.
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          Stowy Jenkins, aka, Stone, and as Alaskans refer to him, the Snowman, is a true artist. His muse, Gigi, is the ultimate inspiration for his painting. Her rejection inspires him to use a very unusual medium…blood.
          While art may be his passion, the taste for blood is his obsession, and multiple murders, the result.
          Rookie, Detective Steven Quaid, is no fan of the Snowman’s murderous exhibitions. A twisted and deadly relationship bond the two men and neither knows who will come out of it alive.
Amazon
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My Review

I sure enjoy a story that hits the ground running and The Snowman sure does that. The opening scene is the Snowman doing what he does best. Creating art in oh so horrific ways.

I feel I should warn you, the author pulls no punches. Many scenes are graphic in violence and sexual attacks. Yolanda does a super job of putting you into the mind of the Snowman, a crazed, sadistic serial killer who believes he’s the next great artist, using blood, body parts and corpses as his medium.

Genuine characters and a taut plot keeps the reading pace fast. And switching POVs from main characters to victims and the killers own thoughts ramps up the suspense and keeps it there.

This is a prequel to the Detective Quaid series and takes place ten years before the series, featuring the detective’s first murder case. You don’t need to have read the other books as it can stand alone or actually introduce you to the beginning.

Those who enjoy some gristle and gore along with a creepy mystery will enjoy this one. I plan to pick up the series and see what happens next.

4 stars

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At one time Alaska called to me, and I answered. I learned to sleep under the midnight sun, survive in below zero temperatures, and hike the Mountain Ranges. I’ve traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and the memories are some of my most valued. The wonders, mysteries and incredible beauty that is Alaska has never left me and thus now influence my writing.Despite my adventurous spirit, I achieved my educational goals, married, and I have two handsome sons. Writing is now my focus, my newest adventure!

You can connect with me here:
Blog    *     Facebook     *     Twitter     *     Pinterest     *     Email
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The other books in the Detective Quaid Series include:
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MURDER, MADNESS & LOVE (Book 1)

          A killer plays cat and mouse with a young widow against the snowy backdrop of an Alaskan winter. Branded a black widow after the suspicious death of her millionaire husband, Sarah Palmer flees Seattle for Anchorage. However, the peace and quiet she hoped to enjoy in her hometown is soon shattered. A killer is murdering Sarah look-alikes on the 14th of each month, taunting Sarah with a valentine of evidence. After her experiences in Seattle, Sarah is slow to go to the police. When she finally does, she finds Detective Steven Quaid—Anchorage P D’s hotshot investigator—has not only heard the rumors, he believes them. Worse, her aloofness and composure only confirm his suspicions. Is Sarah a victim or a very skilled manipulator?
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MEMORIES OF MURDER (Book 2)
World damnation is a psychotic man’s goal, but two obstacles stand in his way, greed and a dedicated detective.
Catching Alaska’s most notorious serial killer as a rookie made Detective Steven Quaid a hero, but falling in love with the victim of his last case tarnishes that status. While attempting to repair both his personal and professional life, he stumbles upon an unusual case–and an even more extraordinary foe: a man who believes he is Lucifer. An insidious man who delivers Quaid the ultimate choice: save his fiancée from an assassin’s bullet or stop the sacrifice of a young girl.
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MURDER & OBSESSION (Book 3)
Flames burn between a hardboiled cop and a gifted artist, but soon extinguish as another man’s obsession ignites into an inferno of desire, driving him to destroy the object of his madness.
Detective Steven Quaid is ready for new challenges as Anchorage’s top detective, but not until he marries the woman of his dreams on New Year’s Eve. Determined to give Sarah the wilderness honeymoon she desires, he turns his grandfather’s cabin into the perfect honeymoon retreat. After the final details are complete, Steven treks into the mountains to hunt. On his return to the cottage, instead of Sarah, he is greeted by several police officers and a bloody crime scene. Accusations fly, and Stephen flees into the wilderness, his heart racing and thoughts etching into his soul. The wilderness is unforgiving, but Steven faces it head on: Caught between a massive grizzly and a black bear in a deadly tug of war, he is barely saved from death’s door by the fortuitous appearance of his uncle. Despite surviving multiple injuries, Steven continues his investigation as he recovers, but answers don’t come quick or easy. Having enlisted the aid of his number one suspect, Steven faces a struggle that has become more than personal. This one just may cost him his heart.
You can find out more about the books and the author by following the tour HERE. You can also include your chances of winning in the giveaway.
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This tour-wide giveaway features both print and eBook copies of the four books in the Detective Quaid Series. The giveaway will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday, June 6.
The prizes include:
* Grand prize – Winner receives a print copy of all
four books in the Detective Quaid Series (U.S. and Canada only).
* First place – Winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift certificate.
* Second place – Winner will receive eBook copies of all four books in the Detective Quaid Series.
* There will be 3 runner-up winners and each will win an eBook copy of THE SNOWMAN or one of the other books in the series (winner’s choice).
To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Yolanda on her month-long tour. You never know what you might find out.
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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

A Mystery Thriller Blast & Giveaway ~ The Devil Orders Takeout

Posted: May 16, 2017 in giveaways, Mytery/Thriller
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Devil OrdersTakeout banner

The Devil Orders Takeout

by Bill A. Brier

Devil Orders Takeout cover

GENRE: Mystery/Thriller

 

Synopsis

A tax attorney with integrity…a powerful mobster determined to bend his will…

Grayson Bolt isn’t about to compromise his integrity to help a notorious crime boss escape the cross-hairs of the IRS. But there’s a steep price to pay for defying The Man–Grayson’s beloved wife and older son.

There’s only one way for Grayson to prevent his younger son, Jim, an innocent golf prodigy, from also being taken out: play a dangerous game of cat and mouse. And what will Jim be forced to do when the woman he loves gets ensnarled in a web of betrayal and deceit?

Amazon

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Enjoy the excerpt

“I’m afraid you’re going to get it hard, Mr. Bolt.” Costanzo had that fatherly tone of this will hurt me more than you. “Did you ever stop to think that there’s only one way of being dead, but many ways of dying?”

Grayson felt something cold touch his spine, all the way down. “I don’t follow.”

“Take your man Stockard. He killed two of your beloved family members, wife and eldest son. Isn’t that right?”

A strangling tightness gripped Grayson’s throat. “That— that’s right.”

“Wouldn’t you say a part of you died too?”

“What’s your point?” Grayson’s voice erupted in suppressed panic.

“You don’t have to die to feel dead. I’m going to kill your other son. That’ll be your punishment.”

The blood drained from Grayson’s face. Just like that. Most people held the basic principle that no man should be punished for the deed of another. Costanzo was not one of them. Grayson would be cut right to the bone, and his son would be the sharpest knife Costanzo could use. Costanzo had spelled out the thought in invisible brushstrokes. It was there and Grayson had tried not to see it.

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Author Bill A. Brier

Devil OrdersTakeout author

Bill grew up in California and went to Hollywood High School, then served in the Air Force as a combat cameraman.

After hiring on at Disney Studios as a film loader, he soon advanced and moved on to other film studios.

He earned a master’s degree in psychology. A big help when working with Trumpish Hollywood producers. You’re fired!

During his more than twenty-five years in the movie business as a cameraman, film editor, and general manager, Bill worked on everything from the hilarious, The Love Bug, to the creepy, The Exorcist, to the far out, Star Trek and Battle Star Galactica.

Eight years ago, Bill switched from reading scripts to writing thriller/mysteries and driving racecars. After completing three award-winning novels, he signed with Black Opal Books. His first novel, The Devil Orders Takeout, is about a devoted father and husband who makes a deal with a real-life devil to protect his golf-prodigy son after his wife and older son are killed in a mysterious accident — and pays hell for it.

Bill’s second mystery, The Killer Who Hated Soup, is Book One in the 1950s The Killer Who series, and it launches this Summer. The Internet? Never heard of it. Smart phones? Who you kiddin’?

Energetic and eager to make his mark on what Time magazine called the next great boom town, Bucky Ontario leaves his daddy and little sister in Louisiana and rides a bus to Defiance, Oklahoma, a town not particularly adverse to murders, just the embarrassment of them when committed by high officials.

Book Two, The Killer who Wasn’t There, will be on bookshelves this fall.

Bill writes every day and golfs infrequently (that damn right knee!). His five children and eight grandchildren keep him busy going to birthday parties, and he never misses a one!

The Brier Patch is Bill’s wildly entertaining blog about his shameless early days in Hollywood. It’s on his website, billbrier.com, along with a contest linked to The Devil Orders Takeout, which will award the grand prizewinner $1,000.

Devil Orders Takeout gif

 

Bill is a member of Mystery Writers of America.

Bill’s USA Today revealing interview:

http://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/2017/04/24/bill-a-brier-interview-the-devil-orders-takeout/

Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Click on the banner below to follow the tour and comment.

The more you comment, the more chances to win!

Goddess Fish Promotions

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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

My Monday Minis Reviews #59 ~ And A One…And A Two

Posted: May 15, 2017 in Mytery/Thriller, reviews
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Welcome to My Monday Minis where I share short reviews about books I’ve read.

These are some good ones for fans of dark mysteries and thrillers. Enjoy!

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 One

Count To Ten #1

  by Jane Blythe

34841657

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Genre: Mystery / Thriller

My Review

Annabelle awakens to find her family brutally murdered and herself as the prime suspect in Detective Xavier Montague’s investigation. But all is not as it appears and the detective soon finds himself falling for her as a crazed killer remains at large.

The author takes you to the dark side in this macabre murder mystery. Her main character’s, Annabelle and Xavier are genuine, flaws and all. And the killer is not easily identified and has a motive you won’t see coming.

From the beginning, I was sucked right in. Annabelle is the obvious suspect for her families brutal murder. How could she sleep through the events? But it isn’t long before the detective investigating the case has doubts. It seems Annabelle might have been drugged. And his hunch may be right as more fall victim to a sadistic killer.

The investigation kept me burning the midnight oil. Anxious to see who the killer was and what his twisted motive was in leaving one victim alive as he killed more families.

As I came to know Annabelle and Xavier my curiosity about them grew. Why did Annabelle feel unlovable and what haunted Xavier from his past?

Fans of reality based crime shows and fictional ones like Criminal Minds will love this pulse pounding thriller.

  4 Stars

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Synopsis

Did she murder her family or is she being set up?

A couple, their two teenage sons, and seven year old daughter are all slaughtered in their beds. The only survivor is oldest daughter, Annabelle.

Detective Xavier Montague is intrigued by Annabelle even though he knows he shouldn’t be. His attraction to her will force him to make the ultimate choice, a life and death decision, that could let a psychotic murderer walk free.

** All my books contain issues of sexual assault **

Amazon

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 Two

Count To Ten #2

  by Jane Blythe

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Genre: Mystery / Thriller

 My  Review

Sofia Everette may be physically week, as she’s bound to a wheelchair because of an unknown illness, but she’s mentally strong and capable. This causes her domineering father to disown her. After a woman’s body is found on the families estate and someone starts picking off members of the Everette family, Sofia must dig deep to figure out the killer’s motive before more die.

This is a dark one, indeed. And the list of suspects is large, as most of them could be from the Everette family itself. A tribe of entitled sycophants, not one of them is worthy of the title, human. They’re all capable of murder and have motives. Talk about a perverted, dysfunctional family.

Sofia is intriguing. She’s not physically strong, but she has a sharp intellect and a fierce determination to be independent. But will that be enough to save her as the killer gets closer?

Used to seeing the darkest sides that humanity has to offer, seasoned Detective Xavier Montague is tested as he races to catch the killer while the bodies pile up.

Brace yourselves for impact as the author deftly drops you down the rabbit hole, has you stumbling in the dark, and finally releases you back into the light with a thrilling finale.

4 Stars

Synopsis

Before the sun rises, another will die.

A woman is found murdered on the grounds of the powerful Everette family’s estate. Then someone begins methodically killing off members of the Everette family one by one.

Detective Ryan Xander’s only inroad to the secretive family is Sofia Everette. Shunned by her father for her refusals to obey him, and battling a mysterious illness, Sofia’s childhood dreams may be the key to saving her life and stopping the killer from exterminating the entire Everette clan.

** All my books contain issues of sexual assault **

Amazon

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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 Sisters: A Mystery of Good and Evil, Horror and Suspense ~ Trailer Blast and Giveaway

Posted: April 24, 2017 in giveaways, horror, Mytery/Thriller, suspense
Tags: , , , , , ,
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Title: THE SISTERS: A MYSTERY OF GOOD AND EVIL, HORROR AND SUSPENSE
Author: Don Sloan
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 239
Genre: Supernatural/Mystery/Horror/Thriller

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Synopsis

In this book, written in the style of Stephen King, two young people on vacation in a small New England seacoast town battle unspeakable horror and solve a hundred-year-old mystery. Fourteen Victorian mansions whisper dark secrets among themselves, and a dangerous shadow roams up and down the wide, wintry boulevard in search of new prey.

The Sisters: A Mystery of Good and Evil, Horror and Suspense is available on AMAZON.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQSTtD_cDgY

Book Excerpt:

Snow pellets blow white across the boulevard and up onto the wide, night-shadowed porch of the house just in the center of the block. Inside, past leaded glass doors and heavy oak furnishings, something moves.

Up the polished mahogany staircase, and up yet another flight to the third story something moves that has no breath, no warmth, no life.

There is a narrow passageway to the attic, locked behind a heavy door with steel bands. The shadow pauses at the door only long enough to pass cold fingers over the padlock. It falls heavily to the floor and the door opens. The shadow passes through, as quietly as a midnight breeze in an icy cold forest. Here, no light at all warms the creaking steps. It is darker than the inside of death.

In the attic, the bitter, knifing cold whirls and eddies around shapeless mounds of old memorabilia and the shadow moves silently to a dormer window. Cobwebs—spun by industrious spiders long dead—are brushed aside and a single candle is placed on the sill. And in the darkness a flame is struck.

Outside, the wind falls off to nothing, and snow drifts listlessly to the ground. The candle flickers briefly and catches, burning a pinprick hole in the vastness of the night.

Far out to sea, a single cry begins and then falls silent.

And in the dormer window, where the shadow has settled down to wait, the candle flares brightly and then goes out.

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Author Don Sloan

Don Sloan is a former journalist for a large metropolitan daily newspaper and also an avid book reviewer, with more than 200 reviews posted on Amazon. His goal with the Dark Forces Series is to present readers with a new and exciting horror and suspense thriller experience. He currently lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina with his wife of 39 years, and, when not writing, enjoys a cold glass of Chardonnay in the evenings, sitting on his back deck.

Website & Social Links:

Website / Twitter / Facebook

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Terms & Conditions:

  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card
  • This giveaway ends midnight April 24.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on December 1.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.

Good luck everyone!

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

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