Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O’Connor, Maddie Day, and Peggy Ehrhart – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Christmas Scarf Murder by Carlene O’Connor, Maddie Day, and Peggy Ehrhart

Long Scarf Syndrome – The entanglement of the scarf’s free-floating end into moving machinery

Book Blurb:

Stocking stuffers like handknit scarves make the coziest of Christmas gifts—unless they’re used as accessories for murder!

CHRISTMAS SCARF MURDER by CARLENE O’CONNOR
When grinchy thefts steal the good cheer at a local nursing home, Siobhan O’Sullivan manages to identify one missing item before Kilbane, Ireland’s Christmas tractor parade—a hideous shamrock scarf wrapped around a very dead body. Now, with her holiday farmhouse bash approaching, Siobhan must dash to stop a deadly Secret Santa from gifting another unwanted surprise.

SCARFED DOWN by MADDIE DAY
It’s beginning to taste a lot like Christmas at Pans ‘N Pancakes, as twelve days of menu specials dazzle hungry locals. But the festivities go cold the instant a diner dies while knitting a brilliant green scarf. With Aunt Adele tied into a murder investigation, it’s all on Robbie Jordan to find out who’s really been naughty or nice in South Lick, Indiana.

DEATH BY CHRISTMAS SCARF by PEGGY EHRHART
Suspects pile up faster than New Jersey snow when frosty-tempered Carys Walnutt is found strangled by a handmade scarf auctioned at Arborville’s tree-lighting ceremony. Between a winning bidder hiding behind the alias “S. Claws” and a victim who deserved coal in her stocking, can Pamela Paterson and the crafty Knit and Nibble ladies freeze a killer’s merry murder plot?

My Review:

Fun, fast, and easy book to kick off the Christmas reading holidays! This anthology is headlined by Carlene O’Connor, whose Irish Village Mystery series feature Detective Sargeant Siobhan O’Sullivan and hubby Garda O’Sullivan in this offering, Christmas Scarf Murder. Always a treat with the Irish countryside-themed mysteries. This storyline covers the death of a tractor parade participant and triggered my short research into Long Scarf Syndrome—it’s a real (and deadly) occurrence. The O’Sullivan’s are entertaining their very large family for the Christmas holidays with the goal of solving this one by Christmas Eve.

The second, Scarfed Down by Maddie Day is part of her Country Store Mystery series set in South Lick, Indiana (fictional, French Lick is not), of course, the proximity caught my attention. I greatly enjoy her writing style as well.

“Boy, howdy, Robbie, it’s colder than a bullfrog’s hind leg out there and darker than a pocket.”

“That would definitely slot me into the Too Stupid to Live category.”

She’s always busy tending her restaurant/country store and hosting a knitting group. It’s the latter that’s key to this novella, entertaining a lively bunch of knitters along with Christmas-themed dishes for the diner end of the business.

I’m not familiar with Peggy Ehrhart who included her Death by Christmas Scarf in the Christmas scarf-themed compilation. The third story features Pam Paterson who engages with her Knit and Nibble group in an interesting use of knit one, purl one during WWII (Spy-Craft: The Knitting Spies of World War II…”). The ingenious methods of communication during that war never ceases to amaze me.

These Christmas scarf-themed cozy mystery novellas are a lovely way to kick off the season, expected to release late September and currently on preorder. Love the Irish setting and the husband/wife team in O’Connor’s books and the location and sense of humor in Maddie Days’ books.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery Anthologies, Holiday Fiction
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ASIN: B09PJ228LB
Print Length: 351 pages
Publication Date: September 27, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Authors:

Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today bestselling author of the acclaimed Irish Village Mysteries, the County Kerry Novels, and the Home to Ireland Mysteries. Born into a long line of Irish storytellers, her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland filled with tales in 1897 and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places she’s wandered across the pond, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork, the setting of her Irish Village Mystery series. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and currently divides her time between Southern California and the Emerald Isle. Please visit her online at CarleneOConnor.net.

Maddie Day is the Agatha Award and Macavity Award-winning author of the Cozy Capers Book Club Mystery series and the Country Store Mysteries, as well as other series written under the name Edith Maxwell. A member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, she is a regular contributor at Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen and belongs to The Wickeds, a group of six bestselling authors who blog at WickedAuthors.com. Day lives with her beau north of Boston, though she knows both Indiana and Cape Cod intimately. She is a talented amateur chef and gardener and can be found online at MaddieDayAuthor.com.

Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor who lives in Leonia, New Jersey, where she writes mysteries and plays blues guitar. She holds a Ph.D. in medieval literature from the University of Illinois and taught writing and literature at Queens College, CUNY, and Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was a tenured full professor. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine, Crime and Suspense, Flashing in the Gutters, Spinetingler, Crime Scene: New Jersey 2, and Murder New York Style. A longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Peggy served on the board of MWA New York as head of the Mentor Committee. She was president of Sisters in Crime NY/TriState from 2013 to 2015. Peggy regularly attends mystery-writing conferences and participates in conference panels and gives talks on mystery fiction at libraries in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey.

Overkill by Sandra Brown – #BookReview – #crimethrillers

Overkill by Sandra Brown

Book Blurb:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown delivers a riveting thriller in which a conflict of conscience for a former football star and an ambitious state prosecutor swiftly intensifies into a fight for their lives.

Former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Zach Bridger hasn’t seen his ex-wife, Rebecca Pratt, for some time—not since their volatile marriage imploded—so he’s shocked to receive a life-altering call about her. Rebecca has been placed on life support after a violent assault, and he—despite their divorce—has medical power of attorney. Zach is asked to make an impossible choice: keep her on life support or take her off of it. Buckling under the weight of the responsibility and the glare of public scrutiny, Zach ultimately walks away, letting Rebecca’s parents have the final say.

Four years later, Rebecca’s attacker, Eban—the scion of a wealthy family in Atlanta—gets an early release from prison. The ludicrous miscarriage of justice reeks of favoritism, and Kate Lennon, a brilliant state prosecutor, is determined to put him back behind bars. Rebecca’s parents have kept her alive all these years, but if her condition were to change—if she were to die—Eban could be retried on a new charge: murder.

It isn’t lost on Zach that in order for Eban to be charged with Rebecca’s murder, Zach must actually be the one to kill her. He rejects Kate’s legal standpoint but can’t resist their ill-timed attraction to each other. Eban, having realized the jeopardy he’s in, plots to make certain that neither Zach nor Kate lives to see the death of Rebecca—and the end of his freedom.

His Review:

Rebecca Pratt Bridger is confined to a hospital bed. She has very little brain activity and for all practical purposes is a vegetable. Her ex-husband, Zack Bridger, has been designated her legal guardian and the one who can tell them to disconnect the life-saving devices. Theirs had been a very angry and contentious divorce, so why would his ex-father-in-law have made him responsible for “pulling the plug”?

Rebecca found her husband intolerable soon after the marriage. She began to sleep around. One of those times she chose a man who liked to choke the woman while having sex but did not wake up this time. Zack sees her everyday at the hospital but cannot bring himself to stop the equipment.

Rebecca’s father loathes Zack but cannot give the order to have his baby girl’s medical equipment disconnected. Sadly, there is no improvement in her condition as time ticks by. The two men often meet and tolerate each other though eventually Zack gives up responsibility for the decision.

The man who caused Rebecca to be in the coma is given seven years in prison for his crime but gets out after four years because of good behavior. His father buys him a brand new red Porsche to welcome him back from prison. Eban has been spoiled his whole life. He is a person with no scruples or remorse.

The author captured the essence of a narcissist who has no regard for other individuals. It kept me engaged expecting something would happen to Eban. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Fiction, Crime Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: ‎ 1538752018
ASIN: B09VS2VH4M
Print Length: 417 pages
Publication Date: August 16, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Overkill [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including STING (2016), FRICTION (2015), MEAN STREAK (2014), DEADLINE (2013), LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011), and the critically acclaimed RAINWATER (2010).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into thirty-three languages.

Brown recently was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Enjoy your day!

Lie Down with Dogs: A Laurel Highlands Mystery (Book 5) by Liz Milliron – #BookReview – #policeprocedurals

Lie Down with Dogs by Liz Milliron

Book Blurb:

Trooper Jim Duncan’s first day with the Criminal Investigation Division starts off with a bang when he is called to a murder scene with a badly decomposed body. After he finds an abused greyhound in the victim’s garage, the simple homicide becomes more complicated. Why would anyone want an unreliable racetrack employee dead, especially when greyhound racing is illegal in Pennsylvania?

Assistant public defender Sally Castle is facing her own career change. When she accepts a position with an old law school friend, her first case seems to be one that is exactly what she wants to do. Then she learns the greyhound adoption group her client may have embezzled from has ties to the shooting victim. What else is her client hiding?

Jim and Sally work their respective investigations, which may or may not be related. Along the way, they learn important lessons about themselves, those they work with, and the people they protect. But can they complete their tasks without falling prey to a killer?

His Review:

Sally Castle has decided enough is enough. She is tired of putting the poorest citizens behind bars while those who can afford adequate representation skate. She decides to strike out on her own and work in a two-woman office and make her own hours and bill accordingly. Problem is; she also wants to help the poor get adequate representation.

Pennsylvania State Trooper Jim Duncan steps out of uniform after 14 years to join the Criminal Investigation Department as a rookie. Sally and Jim join forces to assist those less able to pay to make proper defenses against crimes they did not commit!

The crime scene is well documented. The victim has three well-placed bullets in his chest. There is no gun at the scene but spent cartridges and slugs still inside the victim give adequate evidence of the cause of death. The victim is not an outstanding citizen, but no one deserves to die like this and be left in a warm house for three days. Decomposition in the residence requires Vicks VapoRub under the nose and a repressed gag reflex! Jim as the rookie is given the repulsive task of checking the body and trying to identify the victim without disturbing the crime scene.

Found in the backyard of the home of the victim is a retired greyhound that is very emaciated and needs food and a vet. Both Jim and Sally are dog lovers and cannot believe anyone would treat such a magnificent animal so poorly.

This novel delves into the questionable world of greyhound racing and the folks involved in the enterprise. Many of them are unscrupulous and are known to dope the dogs and give them performance-enhancing drugs. The people who love these magnificent animals cannot believe the lengths owners will go to for a win. Reading the book made me more aware of the practice and sympathetic to the animals.

These characters are well developed and the inter-action between them is a fresh approach to a crime novel. Particularly, reading how Sally tries to make Jim’s job as a rookie is fun. Both of them work well together and have an off-the-books relationship that is couched in disguise during working hours. A very intriguing approach to a relationship. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0B23XTV42
Print Length: 340 pages
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Lie Down with Dogs [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Same crimes, different times.

Liz Milliron is the author of the Laurel Highlands mystery series, featuring a Pennsylvania State Trooper and a Fayette County public defender in the scenic Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, and The Homefront Mysteries, set in Buffalo in the early 1940s and following Betty Ahern, a Rosie the Riveter with dreams of being Sam Spade. Liz’s short fiction includes stories in Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales and The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fifth Course of Chaos, as well as stories in Mystery Most Historical, Fish Out of Water, and the Anthony-winning Blood on the Bayou. She is a past president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime, as well as a member of International Thriller Writers and Pennwriters. Liz and her husband live outside Pittsburgh with a very spoiled retired-racer greyhound.

https://www.lizmilliron.com
https://www.facebook.com/LizMilliron/
https://www.instagram.com/lizmilliron/

The Final Hunt by Audrey J Cole – #BookReview – Travel Adventure Fiction

The Final Hunt by Audrey J Cole

Book Blurb:

Alone in a hunting cabin, off-grid in an untamed wilderness. How does a marriage come to this?

After John disappeared while hunting—presumed dead from a bear attack—Cameron found the crime photos. His role in the recent Seattle serial murders was discovered. The media destroyed her reputation. She lost her dental practice, is on the brink of losing her home.

Everyone has a secret. But if her husband could hide the unimaginable from her, who’s to say he’s truly dead?

“What brings you so far from home?” the Alaska State Trooper had asked. The truth.

His Review:

Could she really have been married to the notorious teacher serial killer? She could not believe it; from a wife beater to a serial killer? Thankfully they suspected he was dead, mauled by animals in Alaska.

Cameron is a dentist with a thriving practice in Seattle. She is well known to a thirty-year detective called Tanner Mulholland. Now she is without a husband. The papers are saying that she is suspected of being complicit in John’s lifetime killing spree. Her dental clients cancelled their appointments in droves and she discovers John had taken loans out against their home. The house would sell for less than she owed on it.

The author writes a very intricate and believable story. The obstacles faced by the protagonist is often daunting. CE Williams Set in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the settings become believable and spectacular. The distances traveled and the obstacles encountered are hard to believe. Enjoy the narrative and encounter nearly impossible odds by this intrepid heroine. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Travel Adventure Fiction, Women’s Detective Fiction, Serial Killers
Publisher: Rainier Publishing
ASIN: B0976H2795
Print Length: 351 pages
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Final Hunt [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Audrey J. Cole is a USA TODAY bestselling thriller author. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children. Before writing full time, she worked as a neonatal intensive care nurse for eleven years. She’s also a pilot’s daughter.

Sign up for her mailing list at https://www.audreyjcole.com/sign-up to receive free bonus content, promotions, and new release updates. Audrey can also be found on

Facebook: https://facebook.com/AudreyJCole
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/audreyjcole/
Bookbub at https://www.bookbub.com/profile/audrey-j-cole

CE Williams – V Williams

Enjoy your Sunday

Holy Chow: An Andy Carpenter Mystery by David Rosenfelt – #Audiobook Review – #AnimalCozyMysteries

Holy Chow by David Rosenfelt

Rosepoint Rating:

Book Blurb:

In Holy Chow, the next mystery from bestselling author David Rosenfelt, the beloved characters—both human and canine—of this fan favorite series are back on the case with the author’s trademark wit and humor.

Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter’s calling has always been running the Tara Foundation. The dog rescue organization places hundreds of dogs in new homes every year. It’s added up to so many dogs and new owners that Andy can’t even do the math. But there’s one dog—and one owner—Andy will always remember.

About a year ago, Rachel Morehouse came to the foundation looking for a companion. In her sixties and recently widowed, Rachel wanted a senior dog that also needed someone. Andy took a liking to her, Rachel took a liking to Lion, an older Chow Chow, and the rest is history.

That is, until Rachel calls Andy begging for a favor: If Rachel dies, will Andy take care of Lion if her stepson cannot? Andy agrees, no questions asked, and promptly forgets about it… until he receives a call from Rachel’s estate to attend her will reading. Which is where he meets Rachel’s stepson, Tony, who is promptly arrested for his stepmother’s murder. And he wants Andy to prove his innocence.

Andy has continued to learn more about the woman he so greatly admired and the businesses she ran, and holy chow, was this woman impressive. The person who killed her deserves to be held accountable, and if Tony is to be believed, they’re still out there. And that possibility is too much for Andy to remain on the sidelines.

My Review:

Yes, yes, I know. Seems like yesterday I was reviewing a David Rosenfelt book, but that one was Citizen K-9, a K Team series mystery. Between the two, although don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the K-9 team series too, just that for me I know even if this is Book 25 of the series, I’m going to be entertained and finish the book happy with the time spent. My only problem is that they are usually short audiobooks.

The Andy Carpenter novels have a winning formula. Andy is retired, wealthy, and supports a dog rescue called the Tara Foundation. He has Tara and Sebastian, as well as his wife Laurie and their adopted son. He also has an amazing team—love the character of Marcus—a most unique character and he has the chance to shine in this one.

There is a mystery involving a dog, he’ll grudgingly accept the case, usually because he really feels in his heart the person is innocent. The case that may have started simple usually gets real complex and eventually goes to trial, and yes, I always enjoy that legal bamboozle as well. So much fun.

Fun? Yes, that’s at the heart of these pseudo-cozy mysteries, the humor, the snark, and the right amount of witty dialogue combined with serious and intelligent fact-finding. These audiobooks will keep you in a good mood even when you have to go grocery shopping. Trust me.

I’ve learned not to try and figure out the guilty antagonist (sometimes more than one) and just go with the flow. Listen and enjoy.

I can think of no narrator other than Grover Gardner who so clearly IS Andy Carpenter just as George Guidall is Walt Longmire on Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mystery series. Whether or not you read or listen to the audiobook, you still hear their voices. I would strongly suggest the audiobooks for the sense you just won’t get reading.

Catch my review of Book 23 Dog Eat Dog and hang on for the next one. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my favorite library of course. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Cozy Mysteries, Animal Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B09GH1J5XB
Listening Length: 6 hrs 27 mins
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Publication Date: July 5, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Holy Chow [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: David Rosenfelt, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, is a graduate of NYU. He was the former marketing president for Tri-Star Pictures before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. “Open And Shut” was his first novel; “First Degree,” his second novel, was named a best book of 2003 by Publishers Weekly. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and 35 dogs.

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The Narrator: Grover Gardner’s narration career spans twenty-five years and over 550 audiobook titles. AudioFile Magazine has called him one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and features him in their annual “Golden Voices” update. Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2005. His recordings have garnered 18 “Golden Earphones” awards from AudioFile and an Audie Award from the Audio Publishers’ Association.
http://grovergardner.blogspot.com/

The Wedding Plot: A Mercy Carr Mystery by Paula Munier – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

The Wedding Plot by Paula Munier

Mercy & Elvis Mysteries #4

Book Blurb:

The Wedding Plot, USA Today bestselling author Paula Munier’s fourth Mercy Carr mystery, finds Mercy and Elvis at a deadly Vermont wedding.

Love never dies a natural death…

When Mercy’s grandmother Patience marries her longtime beau Claude Renault at the five-star Lady’s Slipper Inn, it promises to be the destination wedding of the year. Just as the four-day extravaganza is due to begin, the inn’s spa director Bodhi St. George disappears—and Mercy’s mother Grace sends Mercy and Elvis to find him. But what they discover instead is a stranger skewered by a pitchfork in the barn on the goat farm where St. George lived.

As Mercy tries to figure out who the victim is and where St. George is hiding, the bride and groom’s estranged relations gather for the first of the pre-wedding festivities. Long-buried rivalries and resentments surface—and Mercy realizes that they’re all keeping secrets that could tear both families apart. When Elvis interrupts the escalating melodrama to alert Mercy to an intruder on the estate, she finds a wounded St. George in the cottage where she and Troy are staying. St. George is not who he says he is—but when he escapes from the hospital and disappears again, Mercy thinks he’s gone for good. With the wedding imminent and the families at each other’s throats, she decides finding St. George will have to wait.

The big day arrives—but the danger is far from over. With the families and the festivities still under threat, it’s up to Mercy and Elvis together with Troy and Susie Bear to stop the killer and save the bride and groom—before death do they part.

My Review:

I really like Mercy Carr, formerly an Army MP and her bomb-sniffing Belgian Malinois, Elvis—a promise to his former handler to care for him. Highly trained and intelligent, Elvis is the star of the series, as well as her love interest, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Game Warden Troy Warner. He has a rescue Newfoundland Retriever mix, Susie Bear, who you just want to hug.

This entry to the series has Mercy participating (unwillingly) in her grandmother’s destination wedding at the luxurious Lady Slipper Inn, an over-the-top lavishly restored historical resort in the “Live Free or Die” state. Of course, the whole family is there and that is the problem, beginning with her mother, Grace, who is orchestrating the entire affair.

Mercy is thrown into the position of instructor for the wedding party’s yoga session, filling in for the missing spa director who is the manager of the adjacent goat farm, producer of award-winning artisan Cruyére cheese. But meeting Annie, owner and operator of the creamery, discovers with Elvis far more than a missing yoga instructor—a dead body. And it’s not the yoga instructor.

Nor will it be the only body Mercy and Elvis discover and as the wedding plans advance and guests begin arriving, complications set in.

I wouldn’t really call this novel a cozy mystery. I read the first and third (The Hiding Place), but still struggled with the sheer amount of characters. The main support character, Annie, was well fleshed and we did get additional background on Mercy. The Vermont descriptions were both delightful and terrifying, the storms enough to drive any Sunday driver into another state.

While the canines had an integral part of this narrative, it was the families of the wedding party and the clashes between them and their problem with Mercy and her chosen life path that took center stage. Finding and discovering ever-deepening and disturbing minutiae had the plot going in different directions, but always coming back to the next family conflict. Honestly, I thought the wedding would never happen.

The conclusion satisfies but the storyline bogged down for me this time to the point where it became slow going. No problem—Book 4 being a one-off for me. I’ll be looking for Book 5. I like the series and Mercy, Troy, and those amazing dogs.

“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: ‎ 125082236X
ASIN: B09CNF3X3W
Print Length: 342 pages
Publication Date: July 19, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: PAULA MUNIER is a literary agent and the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A BORROWING OF BONES, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and was recently named the Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Book of the Year. The second, BLIND SEARCH, pubbed in November 2019. The third, THE HIDING PLACE, will debut in March 2021.

Paula was inspired to write the series by the hero working dogs she met through Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescues, Newfoundland/retriever mix Bear, Great Pyrenees/Australian cattle dog mix Bliss, and Malinois mix Blondie, and a lifelong passion for crime fiction.

Paula also written three popular books on writing: PLOT PERFECT, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS, and WRITING WITH QUIET HANDS, as well as the acclaimed memoir FIXING FREDDIE: A True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle, and HAPPIER EVERY DAY: Simple ways to bring more peace, contentment and joy into your life.

She lives in New England with her family, her three rescue dogs, and a rescue torbie tabby named Ursula.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Do No Harm: A Lucas Page Novel by Robert Pobi – #BookReview – #crimethrillers

Do No Harm by Robert Pobi

Book Blurb:

In Robert Pobi’s thriller Do No Harm, a series of suicides and accidental deaths in the medical community are actually well-disguised murders and only Lucas Page can see the pattern and discern the truth that no one else believes.

Lucas Page is a polymath, astrophysicist, professor, husband, father of five adopted children, bestselling author, and ex-FBI agent—emphasis on “ex.” Severely wounded after being caught in an explosion, Page left the FBI behind and put his focus on the rebuilding the rest of his life. But Page is uniquely gifted in being able to recognize patterns that elude others, a skill that brings the F.B.I. knocking at his door again and again.

Lucas Page’s wife Erin loses a friend, a gifted plastic surgeon, to suicide and Lucas begins to realize how many people Erin knew that have died in the past year, in freak accidents and now suicide. Intrigued despite himself, Page begins digging through obituaries and realizes that there’s a pattern—a bad one. These deaths don’t make sense unless the doctors are being murdered, the target of a particularly clever killer. This time, the FBI wants as little to do with Lucas as he does with them so he’s left with only one option—ignore it and go back to his normal life. But then, the pattern reveals that the next victim is likely to be…Erin herself.

His Review:

Lovely Dr. Jennifer Delmonico is on her run after work across the Brooklyn Bridge releasing the stress of a long arduous shift. Some runners approach her from the other direction and her next experience is falling from the footpath to the traffic flowing below. Her pain is brief after suffering multiple injuries. The other runners do not stop to report her fall and death.

Detective Russo later arrives at the scene. He is a “by the books” detective. He believes that all events follow a statistical format. In his jurisdiction, however, there have been 30 dead doctors in 30 days with various causes of death! They do not meet the statistical parameters of the detective and he sees an obvious lethal pattern. Who would be killing these doctors and why?

The reduction of medical personnel, all doctors, in so short a period of time points toward someone with a vendetta against doctors. Who would do such a thing and why would they specifically be targeting New York City medical personnel? Things become so drastic that the hospitals are considering hiring bodyguards for all of the doctors in the tri-bureau area. Solving this case cannot come quick enough.

This author develops a very believable scenario of revenge and murder against all doctors. Why would someone do such a thing? Could it be because of malpractice or loss of someone very dear to the perpetrator? This book has many twists and turns as Russo searches for answers! He’s a pit bull. The public and his superiors are clamoring for answers and arrests. The clock is ticking and how many more will die before the perp is caught? 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: ‎ 1529348471
ASIN: B092T9F97Q
Print Length: 423 pages
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Do No Harm [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Robert Pobi‘s novels have been published in more than twenty-five countries, making bestseller lists around the world. He divides his time between Canada and the United States.

Have a great weekend!

Canned Hunt: A Nick Tanner Crime Thriller by Kerry K Cox – #BookReview – #crimethrillers

Canned Hunt by Kerry K Cox

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Nick Tanner goes undercover to follow up on another agent’s investigation—one that may have led to her murder. From the stark canyons and soaring rock walls of Book Cliffs to the gritty back streets of Las Vegas; from the swift-flowing Green River rapids to a pastoral Utah town hiding violent secrets, Tanner is drawn into a seething vortex of a wildlife trafficking family, a crooked sheriff, a white nationalist church, and a killer with the perfect alibi.
And one of them has Tanner in their crosshairs.

His Review:

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is charged with the control of hunting and the protection of our country’s wildlife. One of their own has been found dead near the Book Cliffs in southern Utah. Although the area looks desolate, it is teeming with wildlife including deer, elk, bears, mountain lions, and bobcats.

Hunters gravitate toward the area for the hunting trophies achieved for those who are tenacious enough to hunt the area. A lucrative business flourishes with the unscrupulous charging $10,000 to $15,000 per hunt for big game. The licensed operators contribute to local politics and other endeavors.

Assisting the hunters that may no longer enjoy perfect health are activities onerous to most hunters, but wounding an animal in the area and then releasing it from a cage is not uncommon. The wounded animal will seek shade and a place to heal from the wound. The “hunter” then is directed to hunt in that particular area and finding the wounded animal is able to harvest the specimen.

The local sheriff, Vernon Rice, is complicit in the endeavor. He is paid a handsome fee to look the other way. His brother has a church that thinks that the federal government has no business controlling and policing local business such as hunting. Federal agents are not well received in the area.

This is a well-written and researched book. The blind bobcat, Ray Charles, makes for a charismatic support character and Nick Tanner as the main character is a strong, passionate, and caring law enforcement officer. The independent attitude and dislike of the federal government is well displayed. Graft and independent spirit are portrayed in a very believable story fabric. I recommend you read and enjoy this fast-paced fictionalized exposé. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. I enjoyed it as much as the first in the series, Money Bear.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B09P4G4WXH
Print Length: 362 pages
Publication Date: March 14, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Canned Hunt [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: [Kerry K Cox] When I was a kid, I didn’t want to be a policeman, or fireman, or astronaut, or major league third baseman. I wanted to be a forest ranger.

Okay, also a major league third baseman. Y’know, as a summer job.

But it turned out my inability to comprehend biochem made a career in wildlife management as realistic as my chances of starting for the Dodgers.

So, after four years at Oregon State University I declared myself graduated, and returned home to Southern California. There I taught swimming, karate, and pre-school while I sold articles to various magazines, wrote children’s shows for The Disney Channel, and eventually became a full-time writer.

And because one of my childhood dreams lives on, I now write novels focused on the dark underworld of wildlife trafficking, and work with various wildlife, marine mammal, and feral cat/kitten groups as a rescue volunteer along California’s Central Coast.

I’m still waiting on that call from the Dodgers.

I live by the ocean in Cambria, California with my wife and a clowder of cats.

Enjoy Your Sunday