Mystery – The Pink Percolator

Bad Vibes by Diane Weiner

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

Bad Vibes-A Sara Baron Tuned-In Mystery

https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Vibes-Baron-Tuned-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B7TT4Z46

Oboist Sara Baron is settling nicely into her new life back in her hometown, but when a friend goes missing under suspicious circumstances, her newfound equilibrium is thrown off balance. The police don’t suspect foul play, but Sara gets a bad vibe when she finds her friend Micah blew off a meeting with his dissertation chair and has been ghosting his girlfriend. Playing amateur sleuth, she uncovers secrets from Micah’s past which make her wonder if she ever knew her friend at all. Meanwhile, Sara has a secret of her own. One which could change her life forever.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B7TT4Z46
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 31, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 194 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1952579481
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Diane Weiner

Diane Weiner, the award-winning author of The Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mysteries, The Sugarbury Falls Mysteries, and The Sara Baron Tuned-in Mysteries, is a veteran public school teacher and mother of four grown children. Being an animal lover, she is a vegetarian and shares her home with two precious cats—a calico named Callie and a gray tabby, Chelsea. In her free time, she enjoys running, shopping, attending theater productions, watching British mysteries on Britbox, and spending time with her family. A favorite way to destress involves turning down the lights, cranking down the air-conditioning (she lives in Florida), and getting lost in the scenery and mystery of Wales, Scotland, or England by watching shows such as Hinterland, Shetland, and Vera.

My Review

I am never disappointed when I pick up a Diane Weiner Cozy Mystery, no matter what series. Bad Vibes is the third book in her Sara Baron Tuned In Series. In Bad Vibes Sara moves back to her home town and as always, life is never what you expect when you go home again. Reconnecting with her family business in the craft of making custom oboes, she feels the warmth of being near her family but the death of a friend rocks her world. This mystery has romance, a family feel, and of course an enthralling mystery. Put on your amateur sleuth hat. As always with Ms Weiner’s mysteries, it is well-written and a good addition to the Sara Baron Tuned-In Mystery Series.

To learn more about the author, visit her website: www.dianeweinerauthor.com, or follow her on Facebook (dianeweinerauthor), Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub.

Download a free book as a gift and to introduce you to Diane’s series.

The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens

February 8, 2022February 7, 2022 by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

Lila Nash is on the verge of landing her dream job—working as a prosecutor under the Hennepin County Attorney—and has settled into a happy life with her boyfriend, Joe Talbert. But when a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive, things in the office take a personal turn.

The police believe the woman’s assailant is local photographer Gavin Spenser, but the case quickly flounders as the evidence wears thin. It seems Gavin saw this investigation coming—and no one can imagine how carefully he has prepared.

The more determined Lila is to put Gavin behind bars, the more elusive justice becomes. Battling a vindictive new boss and haunted by the ghosts of her own unspeakable attack, which she’s kept a dark secret for eight long years, Lila knows the clock is ticking down. In a race against an evil mastermind, it will take everything Lila’s got to outsmart a killer—and to escape the dark hold of her own past.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08RYR96YH
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mulholland Books (September 7, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 7, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1652 KB
Print length ‏ : ‎ 321 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0316703494

About the Author

Allen Eskens grew up in the wooded hills of Missouri and, after high school, migrated north to pursue his education. He acquired a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Minnesota, and a Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law. He honed his creative writing skills in the M.F.A. program at Minnesota State University and took classes at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival and the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

My Review

Allen Eskens never disappoints me when I pick up a new book of his. The Stolen Hours is no different. One always wonders if it’s possible for each book to carry on the legacy of his past work but he seems to have no problem thrilling us with another mystery.

Lila Nash is a familiar character from his past works. Eskens does an excellent job of tying in the past and connecting the dots to this thriller, carrying on the story and giving us more insight to Lila’s life. For me one of the perks of his writing is the way the characters are developed, which puts them into a readers heart, making us love or hate, depending on the dynamics of the personalities as their lives play out the plot.

This is another can’t-put-it-down by one of my favorite authors.

The book is available as an e-read, print and audiobook.

Find Allen At:

The Disappearance of Paige Turner

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

Paige Turner, a 23-year-old book reviewer, and columnist for a Boston periodical gets the assignment of a lifetime when she is asked to find the missing best-selling novelist, Carl Alexander. With not much to go on but a telegram and an older man’s memories, she finds clues in Carl’s latest novel, Soul Stealer, that will lead her to a place that time itself has forgotten. With darkness closing in all around her, she finds herself in a hopeless situation that will affect her for the rest of her life.

About the Author

NEWLY RELEASED – Both of my self-pub’d short stories, “Shout From A Rooftop” and “Agnes Stillwater Day” have been revised and re-released for your kindle with all new covers and introductions! Check it out!

WELCOME and thank you for stopping by my Author Page. So, who am I? Well, I guess I’m just your average person pursuing his dream. I love a good fiction novel. A mystery, epic fantasy, adventure, or comedy…I love it all. With my own writing, I want to put a good quality story on the shelf…something that I would like to read. Something I think that you’d like to read.

Things I like (but am not restricted to): Positive, upbeat people. Smiles. A hot cup of coffee. Flannel shirts. Sports (mainly football and basketball). Music … love music.

I live in Idaho, am the father of two and the grandfather of four. Amazing how time flies…

If you like my stories, please remember to leave a review. They help!

You can visit my website at https://bjgilbertson2.wixsite.com/bartjgilbertson

You can also find me on Facebook and Goodreads. See you there!

My Review

The Disappearance of Paige Turner is one of those books in which you expect a twist at the end and I wasn’t disappointed. From the first page to the last path kept me intrigued. I read it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. My mind was going back and forth with possibilities trying to decide what might be real, what might not be real, and being suspicious of all the characters.

Bart Gilbertson knows how to write a short story. He makes the characters interesting, so that you want to more, gives you a plot that twists your mind trying to figure out how it’s going to end, and then surprises you with the ending. Thank you.

The Lines We Cross by R. L. McCalla

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

The Lines We Cross by R. L. McCalla

If DNA is the blueprint of life, what happens when we change the instructions?
When deputy Sam Thurston responds to a report of a dead body on the side of the road, he’s completely unprepared for what he’ll find: a pregnant woman, womb cut open, baby missing. So soon after his own wife’s miscarriage, Sam is drawn in to the case. In his search to find both the baby and the young woman’s killer, Sam uncovers a hidden world of rogue scientists, genetic editing, and pregnant college students.
Meanwhile, Ava Newman learns she’s pregnant, accepts a scholarship to a school founded by a biotech billionaire, and unknowingly moves into the room previously occupied by the roadside victim. There, Ava discovers secrets about life and death and her own DNA.
In order for Ava and Sam to uncover what really happened, they must confront their fears, their families, and secrets someone is willing to kill for. Lives are not the only thing at stake. They’re fighting to determine what it means to be human.

MY REVIEW

The Lines We Cross is in my top twenty if not top ten books of the year. I loved this book.

I’m familiar with this author and read many of her previous works with Harlequin so The Lines We Cross was a surprise to me. It challenged everything I though I believed about DNA, science, gene editing and life. I came away from this mystery changing my mind about various scientific studies, and it left me with certain what-if’s.

I could not put this mystery down. When does science go too far? What are the repercussions on those left behind or those coming after us in the future? And then…what part does faith play in this? Can science and faith come together? Or is faith a separate entity? Who are we as people and what dictates the choices we make? Do we throw aside faith when questioning how far is too far if the end justifies the means and it makes a difference in our health and safety? I thought I was pat in my answers to those questions until I read this book and made me look at why I believed what I believed.

And yes, this is a mystery, and it is fiction and it is a page turner. Find out for yourself. So far, my best book of this year.

About the Author

Rachelle McCalla plays with words like some kids play with fire. When she’s not writing, she can be found digging deep research holes, setting up ideas like lightning rods to catch the next big bolt to shoot from the sky. Please use caution when picking up her books, as some may emit dangerous sparks.

Amazon

Review – Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

It’s up to a K-9 handler and her canine partner to stop a bomber before it’s too late.

Someone’s planting explosives on dams in the Twin Cities, and Bristol Bachmann and her bomb-sniffing dog must move quickly to find them before everything ends up underwater. That means relying on the dams’ supervisor—an ex-boyfriend Bristol never thought she’d see again. Hopefully Remington Jones has grown up from the rakish charmer she knew in her academy days. Because lives now depend entirely on them…

It’s an environmental terrorist who wants the dams gone, and his bid to set the waters free has lethal consequences. When he sees Bristol and her K-9 working to stop him, he sets his sights on them. Can they evade him in a lethal game of cat and mouse and protect the cities from devastating destruction before the clock runs out?

My Review

Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen

I chose this book because in the past I’ve been a fan of Harlequin and their Love Inspired Series. I was not disappointed in reacquainting myself with this genre.

I found the plot intriguing. The idea that our infrastructure is vulnerable to attacks and behind the scenes there may be heroes, human and canine working to keep us safe may give readers comfort. Rising Danger has strong, flawed characters at the center of the mystery. Who can’t identify with mistakes in our past that live on in people’s memories and change the way our lives unfold for ourselves and those around us?

Bristol Bachman is introduced to us as she and her black lab, Toby are thrown into the chaos of a bomb at Minnesota Falls. The first chapter throws us right into the depths and keep us mired in the mystery for the entire length of the book. Spiritual moments and some romance make this book a winner.

About Jerusha Agen

Jerusha Agen imagines danger around every corner, but knows God is there, too. So naturally, she writes suspense infused with the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ.

With a B.A. in English and a background in screenwriting, Jerusha is a speaker, writing instructor, and Fear Warrior who sounds the call to battle against fear in our everyday lives.

Jerusha loves to hang out with her big furry dogs and little furry cats. You’ll often find her sharing irresistibly adorable photos of them in her newsletter and on social media.

Get a free suspense story from Jerusha at FearWarriorSuspense.com and find more of her thrilling, fear-fighting stories at www.JerushaAgen.com.

Legacy by Nora roberts

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

Legacy

The #1 New York Times bestselling author presents a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat…

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…

My Review

Family dynamics are never easy, and Nora Roberts portrays this perfectly in Legacy. It’s a question we all ask ourselves at one time or another. Do we become our parents because of what is modeled to us or are the traits that shape our character ones we can’t escape because they’re in our genes?

A traumatic incident with her father when Adrian Rizzo was a child set the pace for her life. When she decides to take a different path after the death of her Grandmother, Adrian finds herself a new meaning of family in the community of Traveler’s Creek. Living with her Grandfather, having friends near, she finds life would be perfect except for the poems and the letters anonymously sent to her, reminding her she has a stalker.

Nora Roberts does not disappoint her readers in Legacy. It’s a well-written mystery that will tug at your heart and leave you reading deep into the night or all day long. Though the mystery is compelling I found the family and friends component, along with some romance, is what drew me in. Family changes, people evolve, and the key is forgiveness. The message is clear in the dynamics of this book. It has my recommendation. I gave it five stars.

Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Shelter in Place, Year One, Come Sundown, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than five hundred million copies of her books in print.

Nora Roberts Website

Infinite by Brian Freeman

Featured by Author Julie Seedorf, posted in Book Review

One rainy night, the unthinkable happens: Dylan Moran’s car plunges off the road into a raging river, his beautiful wife drowning as he struggles to shore.

In the aftermath, through his grief, Dylan experiences sudden, strange visions: wherever he goes, he’s haunted by glimpses of himself. Dylan initially chalks it up to trauma, but that changes when he runs into a psychiatrist who claims he’s her patient. She says he has been undergoing a unique hypnotherapy treatment built on the idea that with every choice, he creates an infinite number of parallel universes.

Now those parallel universes are unlocked—and Dylan’s doppelgänger has staked a claim to his world. Can Dylan use these alternate realities to get a second chance at the life that was stolen from him? Or will he lose himself…to himself?

My Review

Infinite by Brian Freeman

The first question I would ask Author Brian Freeman if I interviewed him in person is: “Can I crawl into your mind while you’re writing?” I have a feeling it would be an interesting place to reside as his words appear on the computer screen.

Infinite is twisted, and curvy and outright surprising. I held my breath in anxiety during many of the chapters. I wasn’t sure why, but that’s the way I was affected when reading, and for me that’s a good sign that I’m hooked. An unusual story of a man wrapped in himself. Was it real? Was it fantasy? I couldn’t put the book down until I found out.

It’s no secret Brian Freeman is now on my list of favorite authors. I am crushing on his writing. Like Forest Gump states, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna git.” I feel that way every time I read a Brian Freeman book. Brian Freeman’s books are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you’re gonna git.” I guarantee one thing, you will never be disappointed when reading one of his works. Infinite may just move to the top of your list of favorites in the world of Brian Freeman.

About Brian Freeman Brian Freeman is a New York Times and Amazon Charts bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathan Stride and Frost Easton series. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 22 languages. He is widely acclaimed for his “you are there” settings and his complex, engaging characters and twist-filled plots. Brian was also selected as the official author to continue Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series, and his novel THE BOURNE EVOLUTION was named by Kirkus as one of the best mysteries and thrillers of 2020.

Brian’s stand-alone thriller SPILLED BLOOD won the award for Best Hardcover Novel in the annual Thriller Awards given out by the International Thriller Writers organization, and his fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for the same award. His novel THE DEEP, DEEP SNOW was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 2021.

His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a finalist for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. IMMORAL was named an International Book of the Month, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Lisa Unger.

All of Brian’s books are also available in audiobook editions. His novels THE BONE HOUSE and SEASON OF FEAR were both finalists for Best Audiobook of the Year in Thriller/Suspense.

Find Brian at bfreemanbooks.com

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