Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Too Many Steps (Radic & Mulroy Mystery, #3) by Bill Gormley

TOO MANY STEPS

by Bill Gormley

October 26 - December 4, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

A Radic & Mulroy Mystery

When an eccentric British developer proposes to replace Pittsburgh’s historic South Side Slopes steps with an open-air escalator, citizen activists organize a strong political protest. A bitter public relations battle erupts in television ads, featuring Ella, a robot who will be part of the construction crew. Days later, the leading opponent of the escalator is shot to death while jogging on the steps. An eyewitness claims that the killer was a robot. Detectives Branko Radic and Kathleen Mulroy must separate fact from fiction without a key witness – Ella has gone missing. With help from a geeky robotics student, a psychiatrist, and a government spy, they try to track down the killer and solve the case. But some Russian thugs have other plans.

Praise for Too Many Steps:

"Too Many Steps starts out as a fun procedural set in working-class Pittsburgh, and then makes a delightful left turn into the world of killer robots, Russian terrorists, and greedy oligarchs. All the main characters are well drawn and easy to root for, but Ella, the robot who may or may not have murdered someone, steals the show."
~ Matt Witten, bestselling author of 51%

"Too Many Steps is a fast-paced, clever mystery ripe with political tension, international intrigue, and the wonderfully bizarre possibility that the killer is a robot. Bill Gormley delivers a story that is as entertaining as it is unpredictable. His love for Pittsburgh shines through, bringing the city vividly to life. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!"
~ Lori Duffy Foster, award-winning author of The Lisa Jamison mysteries.

"A marvelous mystery for our modern age. Runaway robots, Russian rascals, and a plot that keeps you guessing right to the end."
~ Tim Maleeny, bestselling author of the award-winning Cape Weathers mysteries.

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedural
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Number of Pages: 293 pbk
ISBN: 979-8898202910 pbk
Series: A Radic & Mulroy Mystery, Book 3 || Each is a stand-alone
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Read an excerpt:

Chapter One

Man with a Mission

The most predictable thing about ascending Pittsburgh’s South Sides Slopes was the pain. If Gabriel Peña climbed the entire set of steps in one vigorous sprint, it hurt his legs, his ankles, and his back. He felt every step. He might even need to extract an ice pack from the freezer when he got home.

But it also felt fantastic when he got to the top. A view that belonged on a postcard, especially with fall colors at their peak. Gleaming skyscrapers above, three meandering rivers below. The homes of the Steelers and the Pirates just beyond the Allegheny River. A view to die for.

If he took his usual route, on the St. Thomas Street steps, he often encountered surprises along the way. Sometimes a pileated woodpecker pecking away at an elm tree on Hackstrom Street. Sometimes an impromptu game of kickball on Monastery Avenue. Sometimes another jogger or walker heading the other way, sharing a smile of recognition while savoring the same almost spiritual experience.

As Peña jogged briskly up the steps, panting softly, he thought about how much his life had changed since a wealthy billionaire proposed replacing his beloved steps with an escalator – an escalator that promised economic development but would radically transform several South Side communities.

Peña first publicly opposed the escalator at a public hearing before the City Council several months ago. As a physical therapist, he knew the value of cardio-vascular exercise. As the president of the South Side Runners Club, he knew the thrill that joggers experienced as they climbed the slopes from the bottom to the top.

For starters, this is what he said: “The electric Stairway to Heaven is a Stairway to Hell that threatens multiple neighborhoods, multiple businesses, multiple residents, and a slice of history. The Southside Slopes steps were the steps that steelworkers descended during World War II when they left their homes to work at the Jones and Laughlin Steel Mill in the valley below.”

He was blunt: “An escalator is a hare-brained idea that could easily go wrong in a hundred different ways. It’s uncertain, unpredictable. What’s certain is that an escalator would end the tradition of walking or jogging up and down the South Side Slopes and would place new stress on existing neighborhoods. If you do it, expect gentrification as the price of real estate rises. Expect the demolition of affordable duplexes to make way for high-rise apartments. Expect the demolition of neighborhood businesses to make way for a shopping mall. Pittsburgh deserves better.”

He closed with this thought: “Pittsburgh has more public staircases than any city in the United States. Most of them are located in mid-to-moderate income neighborhoods. These are public treasures that ordinary citizens can enjoy. Instead of destroying the steps, we should celebrate them!”

After the meeting, Peña was approached by several well-wishers, who congratulated him for saying exactly what was in their hearts. He was also approached by an aide to Councilman Virgil Waters, an opponent of the escalator project, who suggested that they meet the following day. He wanted to strategize about how to mobilize citizen opposition.

Since then, Peña’s life had been a whirlwind. Lots of planning meetings, followed by leaflets, protests, social media memes, and conversations with politicians. He organized a group called PAUSE: People Against the Use of Stupid Escalators. He gave numerous interviews to newspaper reporters and TV news crews. He plotted, strategized, and mobilized his fellow citizens.

Then the empire struck back with a series of clever TV ads and social media posts. At first, his side took it on the chin. But soon they decided to use similar tactics, which proved devastatingly effective. The escalator project was now on the ropes. David was about to slay Goliath.

***

Glancing at his watch the following morning, Peña realized that he was running late. He needed to start work at 7:30 a.m. sharp if he was to leave the office in time to attend a rally at 5 o’clock at the South Side Market House. As the featured speaker, he absolutely needed to be there. But his moments with his daughter Chiquita were so precious that he yearned to stretch each and every one of them. Having just turned two, Chiquita was attentive, inquisitive, and utterly adorable.

After feeding her breakfast, he gave her horseback rides from one end of the living-room to the other. Then he hid a wrapped treat in one of the shoes that lay at the entrance to their home. He always put the treat in the smallest shoe he could find, making its discovery easier. In time, he would ratchet up the level of difficulty and make it just a bit harder.

Before leaving, Peña gave Chiquita some loud belly kisses that made her laugh and squirm. For good measure, he clasped his palms together and pumped, producing exquisite farting noises that made her squeal with delight. Peña sometimes felt a lump in his throat when he said good-bye to Chiquita in the morning. There were times when he wished he was a stay-at-home dad.

Thanks to little traffic, Peña made it to work on schedule. He parked two blocks away from his workplace – Pivot Physical Therapy on Baum Boulevard in East Liberty. His first client, recovering from a torn rotator cuff, was to see him at 7:45 a.m. He would start him on some pendulum swings, some crossover arm stretches, and some resistance band exercises. Then maybe some wall slides, doorway stretches and lawnmower pulls.

In between clients, Peña texted his wife Jacinta, Councilman Waters, and others. At times, he also did some exercises, practicing what he preached. It helped him to empathize with his clients and to fine-tune his advice. Throughout the day he observed clients closely, cataloguing sub-optimal moves so he could teach them to get the maximum benefit from their hard work.

Peña liked to joke at work. When observing one client do some cat cows, he chided: “More cat, less cow.” When working with grandparents, he’d learn the names of their grandchildren and use this to goad them: “Do ten more push-ups for Caitlin, Greg. Caitlin is counting on you!”

Peña left work at 4:30 p.m. and arrived at the rally with ten minutes to spare. The size of the crowd was encouraging. Ever since Peña launched his protest against the proposed outdoor escalator, opposition to the project had grown dramatically. The original nucleus consisted of members of Peña’s weekend running club – joggers, physical fitness fans, people committed to a healthy lifestyle. As Peña highlighted the threats posed to South Side’s hilly neighborhoods, residents and community activists also joined in. Peña convinced them that their community and its way of life were under attack. Shortly thereafter, a couple of City Council members signed up for the cause, and they were off to the races.

The “evil genius” behind the escalator, Oliver Sappington, was said to be furious. According to newspaper accounts, he thought the protest would fizzle out and the prospect of economic development would be alluring enough to win the City Council’s support. But opposition to the “Stairway to Hell” had grown at an “escalating” rate, as one journalist put it. Spurred by rising opposition, Sappington and his team decided to hire a pricey P.R. firm to get their message across. The key to their media strategy was Ella – a beguiling creature who was said to be one of Sappington’s favorite robots.

In some slick TV ads, Ella, who supposedly would help to build the escalator, lifted some metallic slabs onto a construction site, looked directly at the camera, and spoke in a sexy voice: “Pittsburgh is a world-class city and it deserves a world-class transportation system. Let me help you to fulfill your wildest dreams.” Insiders knew that Ella’s voice was dubbed. She didn’t actually speak. Still, Ella’s sales pitch proved persuasive. The polls began to shift in Sappington’s direction. A pro-steps councilman suddenly became pro-escalator, bringing a decisive yes vote within reach.

Peña and his backers, meeting in his kitchen while Jacinta served fish tacos and frijoles negros, decided to fight fire with fire. They hired their own P.R. firm, which recruited a Cleveland-based robot named Elvis to play a cameo role. Elvis, another Sappington-built robot, resembled Ella enough to be her plausible twin and was chosen to portray her in the ad. While Peña confidently ran up the South Side Slopes steps, Elvis followed sluggishly behind, unable to keep pace. “Anything Ella can do, I can do better,” Peña said, with a grin on his face. “Pittsburgh is already a world-class city, with world-class neighborhoods like the South Side Flats and the South Side Slopes. We don’t need a bunch of robots coming in and telling us how to run our city.”

Refocusing on the rally, Peña took stock. Judging from the number of people and TV news crews, the new TV ads were working their magic. All they needed now was a little more political pressure and Sappington’s Folly would be history. Perhaps this rally would put the nail in the coffin.

***

Excerpt from Too Many Steps by Bill Gormley. Copyright 2026 by Bill Gormley. Reproduced with permission from Bill Gormley. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Bill Gormley is University Professor of Public Policy Emeritus at Georgetown University, where he taught for 33 years. He is the author of two murder mysteries featuring Radic and Mulroy -- Too Many Bridges and The Silent Trumpet. His monthly podcast, Profs on Cops, features conversations with prominent criminologists and social scientists about police practices and crime.

Catch Up With Bill Gormley:

www.BillGormley.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @gormleyw
Facebook

 

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TOO MANY STEPS by Bill Gormley

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Resurrection Kill by Laura Joh Rowland

RESURRECTION KILL

by Laura Joh Rowland

October 19 - November 13, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

An amnesic psychiatrist returns to the hospital where she was institutionalized as a teen to find answers, perfect for fans of The Silent Patient and Shutter Island.

Forgetting can be dangerous. Remembering can be fatal.

New York State, 1953. Dr. Claire Kendall is a psychiatrist-in-training at Resurrection Kill Hospital, a luxurious private and isolated mental institution for the wealthy. But under her mask of professionalism, Claire has a secret: She was a patient at the hospital when she was fourteen.

With gaps in her memory, Claire is determined to discover what really happened the summer she was institutionalized… even if it means uncovering the dangerous secrets hiding at Resurrection Kill. Before long, Claire takes a special interest in a teenage patient, Rory Kirkpatrick, a free-spirited girl who is also determined to uncover Resurrection Kill Hospital’s dark past. Claire indulges Rory’s rebellious nature, hoping to glean clues that might help in her own search for the truth.

But the hunt for answers triggers flashbacks of Claire’s painful childhood, her father’s cruelty, her mother’s alcoholism, her beloved older brother’s death. The deeper she probes her own past, the more she remembers about the summer that changed everything. And as she delves deeper into her own mind, she’ll come to find that her sanity grows more fragile by the day and that some secrets are meant to stay buried. She’ll discover that remembering may come at the cost of her life.

Praise for Resurrection Kill:

"Resurrection Kill by Laura Joh Rowland is everything I love in a thriller: intriguing and chilling, vivid and memorable, a compelling and deeply personal story about one woman's search for answers in an era when women were committed to mental hospitals for virtually anything that was outside the cultural norm. That Resurrection Kill Hospital is an upscale facility for the super rich only makes the procedures the women are subjected to all the more barbaric. Claire's courage and fearlessness under increasingly dangerous circumstances made me want to stand up and cheer. I loved this book!"
~ Karen Dionne, author of #1 international bestseller The Marsh King's Daughter and The Wicked Sister

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction; Thriller/Suspense
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 27, 2026
Number of Pages: 336 HC
ISBN: 9798892427111
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Penguin Random House

Read an excerpt:

New York State, July 1953

A siren blares through the loudspeaker in the conference room where I sit with the four other new psychiatrists. A staticky voice repeats, “Code 1, East Drive.” Startled, we look to the man at the head of the table.

Tall, dignified, and silver-haired, Superintendent Adrian Van Pelt raises his voice over the siren. “Welcome to your first day as residents at Resurrection Kill Hospital.” His manner is calm, faintly amused, his black suit impeccably tailored. “You might as well see what you’re getting into.”

Beckoning, he strides out the door. We hurry after him along the wide hall, down the grand staircase. In the foyer, one resident catches up with Superintendent Van Pelt and opens the door. With his blond crewcut and conventional handsomeness, he looks like a movie star. The only other woman besides myself trots at his heels. She’s bespectacled, her reddish-brown hair coiled in a bun, and her skirt stretches across wide hips. I lag behind the other men. One is slender and older than the rest of us, his hairline receding; shadows underscore his deep-set eyes. The other looks Japanese, with straight black hair and an upright posture that adds to his less than average height. My colleagues are eager beavers, but I hesitate. I should join the front of the charge because first impressions are lasting, and my career depends on the success of my residency; I mustn’t look timid. But I need to avoid close attention.

This is my colleagues’ first day here. But not mine.

Twelve years ago, when I was fourteen, I was a patient at Resurrection Kill Hospital.

The people with me don’t know. Nobody must ever know.

The heavy carved door set with stained glass starts to swing shut in my face. The others are already outside, and the Japanese-looking man holds it open for me. He’s the only person who noticed that I’ve lagged behind. I take a deep breath, walk through the door, nod my thanks at him, and emerge into bright sunshine. The warm summer air smells of roses and freshly cut grass. I pause on the steps of the mansion that serves as the administration building. Around me as far as I can see spreads the hospital’s campus, located five miles from Resurrection—the town from which it took its name—and about fifty miles upstate from New York City. Kill is the Dutch word for a stream, and the campus nestles in a curve of Resurrection Kill, a tributary of the Hudson River. Founded in 1885, the hospital was built by an architect inspired by Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of Central Park and other landmark sites. Buildings constructed mostly in the nineteenth century, in various styles, cluster together at the middle of a hundred and thirty acres of gently rolling hills landscaped with gardens and surrounded by woods. I don’t recognize anything, which disappoints but doesn’t surprise me.

The five months I spent here in 1941 are a black void in my memory, lit only by occasional, disturbing flashbacks. I returned to complete my training but also to reconstruct my past. I became a psychiatrist because I want to help the mentally ill, but I also need to find out what happened to me here and why I forgot it all.

I catch up with Superintendent Van Pelt and the other residents on the main road that winds through the campus. Red-brick buildings from the Victorian era, separated by lawns and gardens, line the road. People who look to be patients or visitors stroll in the gardens. Yesterday, I had planned to arrive in time to move into my quarters, take a walk before dark, and search for scenes that evoke memories, but the drive from the city took longer than I expected due to heavy traffic, and my car had a flat tire. After getting the car towed and the tire fixed at a garage, I reached the hospital too late to explore the campus. Now I lift my gaze to the treetops, to the slate roofs of other buildings, to the smokestacks that rise from a power plant to the cloudless blue sky. It’s as if I’ve never been here before. I focus on Superintendent Van Pelt, at the head of our little parade. He moves with a rapid, athletic gait, as if the passage of his sixty years has diminished neither his strength nor his energy. I think I remember him, but perhaps my mind is filling the void with false memories.

The sounds of automobile horns and racing engines interrupt my thoughts. A male voice shouts through a megaphone: “Stop!” We round a curve in the road. A dark green pickup truck speeds toward us, followed by a white sedan. A second white sedan comes from the opposite direction, on a collision course with the truck. I gasp, bracing myself for the crash. The other residents exclaim in alarm. Brakes screech as the second sedan slews around to block the road. The green truck veers to avoid hitting the sedan and comes straight at us. We scatter out of its way. The truck jumps the curb, rolls over grass, and crunches to a halt. Rakes, shovels, and buckets rattle in its bed. On the road, the first sedan stops near the second. Both have the hospital’s insignia—an oak tree spreading limbs over the letters RKH—and the word “Security” printed in green on the doors. The drivers, men clad in dark green uniforms, spring from the cars. They rush to the truck, whose front wheels have plowed over a ring of stones and low bushes that surround a flowerbed. The truck’s back wheels spin, churning up grass and dirt as its driver guns the engine. The flowerbed, bright with pink, mauve, and blue hydrangeas, is set in the lawn in the curve of a semicircular drive. The drive fronts a building, three stories of red brick and white-framed windows, the roof ornate with gables, dormers, and chimneys. A sign outside reads, “Serenity House.”

Could it be where I lived when I was a patient?

Nurses in white dresses and caps and orderlies in blue uniforms run out of the building and flock around the truck. The security guards are trying to open the truck’s doors, which are locked. One guard says, “It’s Rosemary Kirkpatrick. She sneaked out of Haven House and stole a groundskeeper’s truck.”

“Rosemary is a problem patient,” Superintendent Van Pelt informs our band of residents.

A guard strikes the truck’s passenger side window with his truncheon. The glass breaks. A shrill voice screams from inside the vehicle: “Go away, you bastards!”

The truck’s engine revs; the wheels spin faster, in vain. The guard reaches through the broken window, unlocks and opens the door. The engine dies as he turns the key in the ignition. He and his partner reach inside the truck and pull Rosemary Kirkpatrick out. She flails so wildly that all I can see of her is a tangle of thin limbs, pink garment, and long, dark hair. Shrieking curses that would put a sailor to shame, she kicks one guard in the groin. He howls and doubles over. She pulls free of the other guard, leaving the ripped sleeve of her dress in his hands, and runs . . . straight to me.

My heart clenches. Rosemary’s face is small, her features delicate, her complexion pale within the frame of unruly black hair. She’s just a girl, no more than sixteen or seventeen.

Everyone else is in motion—guards, nurses, and orderlies chasing Rosemary; the other residents backing away from her; Superintendent Van Pelt raising his hand, opening his mouth to issue commands. But Rosemary’s gaze snares mine, and I’m rooted to the spot. It’s as if she’s singled me out of the crowd, with some primal instinct that sensed—what? A sympathetic ally? A fellow mental case? She clutches my arms, her fingers hard against the gabardine of my suit jacket, digging into my flesh. Her eyes are wide, startlingly green, and fringed with long black lashes.

“Help me!” she cries.

I instinctively grasp her arms—whether to break her hold on me or to try to soothe her, I don’t know. Her arms are thin but strong. Her anguish strikes a deep chord in me.

“Get me out of here!” she begs. “Please!”

My lips move involuntarily, and my mind echoes with the sound of my own voice crying out the same words. An eerie shiver ripples through me. The scene around me blurs, and my heart drums hard and fast through a tide of vertigo. Locked together, Rosemary and I seem to spin a hundred and eighty degrees, switching places. The nurses and orderlies are after me, not her. I see us from a vantage point high above—her dark-haired and half-naked in the tatters of her pink dress; myself with a brown pageboy, trim gray suit, and black pumps. I forget which of us is the doctor, which is the fugitive inmate. A flash of memory like a lightning bolt illuminates the dark void.

I once accosted some stranger in my own desperate attempt to escape this hospital.

The orderlies yank Rosemary away from me, and our hands cling together for one last instant. Mouth wide with terror, she looks like she’s drowning and a riptide is pulling her away from her rescuer. I feel the same expression on my own face, as if we are mirror images. Please don’t let them take me back there! I don’t want to go!

“Calm down, Rosemary, that’s a good girl,” Superintendent Van Pelt says, his gentle, firm tone laced with condescending tolerance.

Rosemary screams as the orderlies wrestle her to the ground. A guard speaks into a walkie-talkie. The other residents look on with stoic expressions that mask whatever excitement or alarm they may be feeling. I rearrange my own face to match theirs as I take deep breaths to quell my panic.

The superintendent walks over to the fray, confident as a zookeeper accustomed to wild beasts. A nurse places a hypodermic syringe in his hand. While the orderlies hold Rosemary down, he stabs the needle into her thigh and pushes the plunger. Her screams dwindle to whimpers; the fight goes out of her. Her eyes roll up inside her head, and her body relaxes into drugged sleep. The orderlies step back, panting and wiping sweat off their brows. Superintendent Van Pelt gives the syringe back to the nurse and dusts off his hands. An ambulance arrives. The attendants bring a gurney, lift the unconscious Rosemary onto it, strap her down, and load her into the ambulance.

“I’ll see her back to the ward,” Superintendent Van Pelt tells our group of residents. “Wait for me in the conference room.”

He climbs into the passenger seat of the ambulance and rides away. We retrace our steps to the administration building, the handsome blond man first, the other woman a step behind him; then the thin older man; then the Japanese-looking man and me, walking together.

“Are you all right?” My companion sounds concerned; he noticed my distress.

My cheeks warm. The other residents seem oblivious, and I’m glad he spoke quietly and didn’t call their attention to me. “I’m fine.”

I’m shaken and trembling inside, but my voice is cool, calm, the product of training and discipline. I can’t afford to seem weak, lest the others shun me out of contempt. Triumph revives my strength. I’ve started to remember. Just as I’d hoped, coming back to Resurrection Kill Hospital has cracked open the void. After twelve years, light is shining through. I look from side to side and backward, eager to see what else might be revealed.

In the flowerbed that Rosemary Kirkpatrick drove the truck into is a statue of a woman. Her stone skin is green with moss, her face hidden by ivy. What would she see if the ivy were torn away? Would she rather remain blind and ignorant?

***

Excerpt from Resurrection Kill: A Novel by Laura Joh Rowland. Copyright 2026 by Laura Joh Rowland. Reproduced with permission from Laura Joh Rowland. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Laura Joh Rowland is the award-winning author of the Sarah Bain Victorian Mystery series, the samurai detective Sano Ichirō mystery series set in seventeenth-century Japan, and a historical suspense series starring Charlotte Brontë. Her work has been published in twenty-one countries; nominated for the Anthony Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award; won RT Magazine's Reader's Choice Award; and been included in the Wall Street Journal's list of the five best historical mystery novels. Laura holds a bachelor of science and a master of public health degree from the University of Michigan. She is a former aerospace scientist, a painter, and a cartoonist. She lives in New York City with her husband Marty.

Catch Up With Laura Joh Rowland:

LauraJohRowland.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @laurajohrowland
Instagram - @laurajohrowland
Facebook - @laurajohrowlandauthor

 

Review:

5 stars!

Riveting tale of mental illness, family secrets, and murder! 

Resurrection Kill by Laura Joh Rowland is a riveting new mystery and suspense novel that probes the lengths someone will go to keep the past hidden. In 1953, Dr. Claire Kendall comes to Resurrection Kill Hospital in upstate New York to complete her psychiatric residency in its special program for young women and girls, even though she'd been offered a place at much more prestigious facilities. But Dr. Kendall has an ulterior motive: twelve years earlier, under her original name, she was an inpatient at this very hospital, and she remembers nothing about her time there, only that she has lingering nightmares and terrifying flashbacks of bits and pieces of her experiences. Revealing her past would destroy her career, so she's determined to secretly uncover the truth and, hopefully, heal herself in the process. However, once she starts asking questions, the people she talks to mysteriously start to disappear or die! 

Claire is a likable, vulnerable young woman, and despite her deception, she's pure in her desire to help the patients in her care. She's had a tragic life, experiencing the loss of her beloved older brother as well as the accidental death of her mother and estrangement from her father. Alone for over a decade, she craves human connection, but she puts her attraction to a fellow resident, Dr. Daniel Tanaka, on hold to protect both their reputations. 

The plot moves quickly as Claire pursues her past and begins her residency. Resurrection Kill Hospital is a private, family-run facility, and it is soon revealed to be behind the times in its equipment and the treatments it employs. Homosexuality is still considered a mental illness at this point in history, and one of Claire's patients is a lesbian, involuntarily committed by her family for conversion therapy. The descriptions of the treatments Rory is subjected to are unbelievable and not for the faint of heart. The story is tense, with plot twists around every corner, and I couldn't put this book down until the final resolution and the last secret was revealed. 

I recommend RESURRECTION KILL to readers of medical thrillers, mysteries, and suspense.

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Book Review: Next Stop, Boston by Iris Dorbian

Next Stop, Boston by Iris Dorbian
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So compelling, I couldn’t put this book down!

Next Stop, Boston by Iris Dorbian is the compelling story of sixteen-year-old Geri Randall, whose older sister and guardian, supermodel Michelle, is killed in a car accident while on a photoshoot in Italy. In her will, Michelle leaves her assets and the guardianship of her sister to her fiancé, the fading rock star Dez Deacon, a man completely unprepared and unsuitable for the role. The story of Geri and Dez's tumultuous relationship over the next few months is unputdownable!

The main character, Geri, is good-hearted, naïve, and innocent, having been sheltered all her life in special schools to support her dyslexia. Her being hauled out of school and dragged along on Dez's concert tour is interesting on its own; she's a fish out of water, making the best of a horribly confusing situation. But the volatile, hot mess that is Dez Deacon made it traumatic and emotional. While both are grieving Michelle's death, their relationship is adversarial rather than mutually comforting. This situation is on Dez, as he's unable or unwilling to pull himself together and be the man he needs to be. It was heartbreaking watching his mercurial shifts in temperament and verbal abuse, and Geri's life always walking on eggshells around him. Told from multiple points of view, the added perspectives make this story even more robust. The situation continued to deteriorate, with surprising twists that made it impossible for me to put the book down.

I recommend NEXT STOP, BOSTON to readers of contemporary fiction who like unique plot twists and stories about rock-music concert tours.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tours.

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Book Review - Looking Past Dementia: Learning From Those Who Live With It by Marysue Moses

Looking Past Dementia: Learning from Those Who Live with It by Marysue Moses
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Inspirational, informative, and useful tips, shared with care and love.

Looking Past Dementia: Learning From Those Who Live With It by Marysue Moses is a unique discussion of dementia patients and how to relate to them again as people, rather than as the sum of their symptoms. Moses, a former activities director and dementia educator with years of hands-on experience, shares what she learned from residents of memory care units themselves, beginning with seeing them as the talented, worthy individuals they are.

I appreciated how the author illustrated each point with supporting vignettes from her time in the field or from personal knowledge gained from her mother and grandmother, who both lived with Alzheimer's. Moses depicts a variety of typical interactions with residents with many forms and at different stages of cognitive decline. Readers who have had, or are currently in, a relationship with someone living with any of these conditions will relate to many of the stories, which accurately portray experiences common among those with loved ones in memory care. I wish that I had had access to this book when I was responsible for a good friend's care a couple of years ago; we were both so lost, confused, and frustrated. This book answered many questions I had then and offered sensible, creative ways I could have responded if I'd known about them. As our family members and beloved friends continue to age, I imagine there will be more opportunities to put what I read here to use, and I feel inspired to face those challenges with more confidence than last time.

I recommend LOOKING PAST DEMENTIA to anyone in a relationship with someone experiencing cognitive decline.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through WOW! Women On Writing Book Tours.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Gershwin Cutter by Paul Damien

The Gershwin Cutter

by

Paul Damien

Thriller / Drama / Suspense / Action / Redemption / Healing

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

Publication Date: July 9, 2026

Page count: 350 pages

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS.

RESCUED FROM A BRUTAL CULT, SHE BELIEVED SHE HAD ESCAPED THE SHADOWS. BUT TEXAS HARBORS EVEN DARKER SECRETS.

Blake is a steely, enigmatic force, fiercely loyal to her one-eyed horse, Ira. As she navigates the patriarchal arena of cutting horse competitions, her steadfast devotion teeters on the brink of danger, unearthing a dark past she had long sought to bury.

Across the scorched Lone Star badlands, retired detective Sonny Harrell hunts the killers who murdered his father. His trail of blood and lies uncovers a ruthless syndicate that would flay you to the bone to guard its empire of corruption.

When Sonny's path collides with Blake's, she is swept into a vortex of violence. Outnumbered and outmatched, they must claw through the chaos-or vanish into oblivion.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paul’s debut crime thriller Nannerl’s Symphony—based on Mozart’s history—was published soon after he completed his PhD in Mathematics from Imperial College London. He has since authored over 100 academic papers in top journals. The Gershwin Cutter is his second thriller, with two more on the way. Currently, he holds an endowed professorship at the University of Texas in Austin. A recipient of multiple research awards, Paul was also a finalist for the U.S. National Library of Poetry Award. He has lived on three continents and is fluent in several languages. An animal lover, Paul is the proud pet parent of a blue-eyed Alsatian.

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: The Resurrections of Evania James by Jaime Jo Wright

THE RESURRECTION OF EVANIA JAMES

by Jaime Jo Wright

October 5 - 30, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

If walls could talk, what nightmare might they expose?

1879

When Eloise James's sister, Evania, goes missing after being admitted to an asylum, Eloise is determined to find her sibling but instead discovers evidence of dying patients and missing remains. Wannabe journalist Silas Dobbs has his own suspicions that something more nefarious is at work, and that black market sales may originate at the asylum. Together, they are intent on learning whether Evania is alive, or if her body has also been stolen. But unraveling a web of underground resurrectionists proves daunting, and the dead cannot share their secrets.

Present Day

Tilly Thompson is horrified to find historical human remains entombed in a wall of the Gothic mansion her grandfather just purchased, launching her into an investigation of the original owners' questionable past. The James family legacy harbors a darkness tightly woven through decades of secrets, but the past refuses to remain ensnared by silence. Will revealing the truth resurrect dangers best kept buried forever?

Jaime Jo Wright masterfully weaves a dual-timeline gothic suspense novel that brings together a haunting historical tale and a shadowy modern-day mystery. For fans of atmospheric thrillers, spooky reads, the Victorian era, creepy mansions, and dark family secrets.

Book Details:

Genre: Gothic Fiction; Christian Mystery & Suspense
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: October 27, 2026
Number of Pages: 336 Pbk
ISBN: 9780764246258 (ISBN10: 0764246259)
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Baker Book House

Read an excerpt:

 

 

Author Bio:

Jaime Jo Wright is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than eighteen novels and three novellas, including Christy Award-winner and ECPA bestseller The Vanishing at Castle Moreau, Christy Award and Daphne du Maurier Award-winner The House on Foster Hill, Christy Award-winner Night Falls on Predicament Avenue, and Carol Award-winner The Reckoning at Gossamer Pond. She lives in Wisconsin with her family and fabulous felines.

Learn more at

JaimeWrightBooks.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub - @JaimeJoWright
Instagram - @jaimejowright
Threads - @jaimejowright
YouTube - @madlitmusings
Spotify - MadLit Musings
Facebook - @JaimeJoWright

 

Review:

5 stars!

Atmospheric dual-timeline tale of Gothic suspense. 

The Resurrection of Evania James by Jaime Jo Wright is an eerie, atmospheric Gothic suspense tale and perfect entertainment not only for the spooky season, but for the entire year. Two tales of suspense unfold: one set in 1879, the other in the present, and both are mesmerizing as the past encroaches on and informs the present. 

In the earlier timeline, Eloise James is horrified when her father has her younger sister, Evania, committed to an asylum for the chronically insane as his solution for dealing with her grief over the loss of her illegitimate infant during childbirth. But when Eloise gets word that the hospitalized Evania is at death’s door, she defies their father and travels to the institution with the intention of demanding her release and taking her to distant relatives to help her convalesce. However, once she arrives at the asylum, she discovers that many patients admitted there are never seen again, and Evania is among the missing. 

In current times, Tilly Thompson, the caregiver for her grandfather who is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, moves with him into the James Mansion, the ancestral home of the town’s founding family, only to accidentally discover the skeletal remains of a young woman entombed behind a stairwell wall. Together with her high school nemesis, one of the last members of the James family, she tries to uncover the story of the woman in the wall. 

Both storylines had me enthralled from the start with their earnest, engaging, and very vulnerable female protagonists. Eloise, heartbroken over her beloved sister’s fate, has always been an obedient daughter and is defenseless before her father, who sees her as little more than property. Although his attitude is the prevailing sentiment of the time, her father is truly a cruel, unfeeling tyrant. Tilly is neurodivergent and was the target of bullying in high school; her most painful treatment came at the hands of the popular scion of the town’s founding family, Luke James. Nurtured by her paternal grandfather, she has become his caregiver in his waning years after his recent diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s. Knowing her affinity for the large Victorian mansion, abandoned by Luke James and his brother, Kyle, after the deaths of their parents, Grandpa Don purchases the old home as a gift for Tilly in return for her caring for him there until he eventually succumbs to his disease. 

From the start, the house holds clues to the past, and the author’s vivid descriptions create a waiting-and-watching atmosphere. Tilly must overcome the pain of her memories to pursue the mystery of the unidentified woman, and her alliance with her former tormentor reveals that he, too, suffered from the memories of his own past. It was satisfying to watch the two reconcile their memories, collaborate, and see their relationship evolve as they work to uncover the truth hidden behind the walls of James Mansion. 

I recommend THE RESURRECTION OF EVANIA JAMES to readers of gothic mysteries, suspense, and thrillers.

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Book Blitz: The Adler Legacy by Malcolm Havard

The Adler Legacy

by

Malcolm Havard

Historical Thriller

Publisher: Oakbrook Publishing UK

Publication Date: November 17, 2026

Page count: 223 pages

SYNOPSIS:

A hidden Nazi fortune. A disgraced Bletchley clerk. A mission no trained agent could survive. 

In the ruins of post-war Europe, Sophie Faulkner only wants the past to leave her alone.

Once a gifted German-speaking clerk at Bletchley Park, Sophie’s life was destroyed when British intelligence uncovered the truth she had tried to bury: she was born Sophie von Adler, daughter of a wealthy Nazi industrialist. Interrogated, imprisoned, disgraced, and abandoned, she has survived the war with nothing but a ruined reputation and a talent for keeping secrets.

Then MI5 offers her a way back.

Her father’s hidden fortune lies in a Zurich bank account — millions in Swiss francs and bearer bonds intended to finance the escape of senior Nazis fleeing Allied justice. To reach it, Sophie must become the woman Europe’s most dangerous men expect to see: the cold, entitled heiress of a dead Reich loyalist.

But the money is only bait.

Drawn into a shadow war between British intelligence, American pragmatists, Vatican fixers, Swiss bankers, Soviet agents, and the remnants of the SS, Sophie finds herself trapped inside the very network she was sent to expose. Every alliance is temporary. Every identity is a weapon. And if the men around her discover where her loyalties truly lie, she will not live long enough to choose her own future.

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| Amazon | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | Amazon UK |

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning historical fiction from the World Wars to the Cold War.

Malcolm has spent a lifetime gathering stories, living and working in Australia and the Middle East before returning to the UK. Today, he weaves that global experience into gripping historical novels that explore the intersection of crime, war, and espionage.

When he isn’t uncovering the secrets of the 20th century, Malcolm lives and writes in Cheshire, England.

The Manchester Noir Series:

Gritty 1990s crime with a unique twist

The Honey Talker

The Fatal Formula

The Aviation Collection:

High-octane tales of courage and dogfights in WWI and WWII

LMF

The Way Back

Leviathan

The Lisbon Series:

Follow ex-cop Dinis Lopes through the treacherous, "neutral" streets of 1940s Portugal.

Shadows Over Lisbon

Lisbon '41

The Queen of Lisbon

The Assassination of a Nobody

The Cascais Conspiracy

The Good Cop

Lena, Elena

Cold War Espionage:

Revisit the 1950s with the fast-paced adventures of Contrail and Czechmate.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway: Dead Man's Trigger (Max Maguire Vampire, #1) by Kat Huddleston

Dead Man’s Trigger: 

A Max Maguire Vampire Novel

Kat Huddleston
Publication date: October 5, 2026
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

Who Knew Immortality Could Be So Short?

When high school history teacher Max Maguire begins to suspect one of his brightest students is in trouble, he ends up walking down the wrong alley. Suddenly, he’s staring down the fangs of a beautiful, powerful, and utterly merciless vampire named Jade.

As Max’s life takes a dark turn he’s forced to learn how to survive in Jade’s twisted world. But if Jade thinks her hostage is going to play nice, she really should have read his resume. This former Special Forces sniper might just have to dust off some very lethal muscle memory.

While Max plots exactly how to kill the most dangerous predator on the planet, he discovers there’s another group of vampires that have their own plans for Jade. Before he knows it, Max is caught in the crosshairs of a vampire war that neither side can afford to lose.

And there’s one thing neither side knows… Max has a secret of his own.

CONTENT WARNING: This is NOT a romance. The novel contains mature content intended for readers 18 and older. This is a gritty, fast-paced genre hybrid combining vampires with dark urban fantasy, tactical military thriller action, and sarcastic humor, with a wisecracking protagonist at its center. There is explicit sexual material, including non-consensual sex, graphic violence, torture, adult themes, and visceral horror elements. In other words, my vampires don’t sparkle.

Goodreads / Amazon

EXCERPT:

Max Maguire just got a brutal lesson from his captor, Jade, after his arm was exposed to the sun. He’s left burned and sick. The only one who can help him is the vampire who hurt him.

Max faded in and out of consciousness for hours, as the pain from his arm and the demands from his hunger took turns pounding through him like two enormous drums vying for attention. When he felt the sun leave the sky, the hunger reared up.

He tried to sit up, but his body started to shake. He felt like he was going to die, even though he figured a vampire wouldn’t die from a little sunburn. But he didn’t have any control over his body and every time he moved or touched his arm, pain seared through him. Eventually he stopped trying to get up or move and decided to wait it out. And suddenly there she was, Jade, looking down on him like an angel… or at least an angel from hell.

“What’s wrong with me?” Max asked.

“It’s sun poisoning. You’ll feel better after a bite.”

He closed his eyes as his body began to shake again. Max knew that she could bring him one of his former students at that moment and he’d kill them. His body would take over, the desire ripping right through his heart. And just as Max was focusing every ounce of his being on hating Jade, she sat down on the bed next to him and pulled him into her arms. Tenderly, almost lovingly, she rocked him like a mother would a sick child.

“It’s going to be okay. Drink me, Max,” she said.

He looked up at her surprised. Jade laughed.

She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead and then turned her head to the side, exposing her neck for him. Max’s body took over and in an instant he wrapped his hands around her and crushed her into his body, his fangs sinking into her neck. His mind went blank as he drank her deep and hard, extreme pain mingling with intense pleasure driving his senses to places he’d never been before. Better yet, he could feel her pleasure in his act.

When his mind came back to him, Max kept waiting for her to push him away, but she didn’t. When he finally stopped, he lay back wiping the blood from his mouth. She watched him with her cobalt blue eyes, like a curious cat wondering what he might do next. She’d gone from being pink and warm to pale and cool.

“Do you feel better?” she asked.

Max nodded. “Thank you.” It was a kind of twisted logic that would have him thank her for helping him considering she hurt him in the first place. Regardless he’d go with it. He had to make Jade believe she owned him body and soul, and there was no time to start like the present.

He was still in some pain, but Max felt much, much better. He rolled over to look at her, resting his head on his good arm. “You’re beautiful.”

“And you’re an idiot.”

“Okay,” he said.

“When I was holding your hand, you could have twisted out of the sun. You could have screamed, begged me to stop. Any number of things. But you didn’t. You just endured the pain. Why?”

“If I had done those things, would you have stopped sooner?”

“Probably not,” Jade said.

“Maybe I was trying to impress you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think… you weren’t going to let me beat you.”

“You’ve already beaten me,” Max said as he played with her long, blonde hair rubbing a strand over his lips.

Jade laughed and shook her head. “Not yet. But I will… Do you want to continue with lessons on the Saracen Lance?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Why is more like it.”

“I don’t think learning how to handle myself in this environment will hurt me.”

“It might not help you either… You’re a very interesting former human. Not always too bright though.”

“Somehow I don’t think being bright is a requirement for this job.” Max let his eyes run down the length of her body. She was wearing the T-shirt and jeans from earlier. He really wanted to take them off.

Jade touched his chest and her power flowed through him like an electric current. “I suppose not.” Jade pushed him onto his back and Max stopped talking. He didn’t want to think any more. He just wanted to let the feeling of her power flow through him. At that moment he didn’t even have the energy to hate her.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kat Huddleston has never met a perfectly ordinary day she couldn't improve with a vampire, a monster, or an alien invasion.

The result is Dead Man’s Trigger, the first book in her Max Maguire Vampire series, about a former Special Forces sniper turned high school history teacher turned vampire. He has military training, a talent for sarcasm, and a complicated relationship with being dead. Or is it undead?

Kat likes her supernatural creatures intelligent, her heroes complex, and her humor dark. Her vampires don't sparkle.

A Chicago-based writer, teacher, and award-winning artist, Kat spent a couple of decades writing about sci-fi TV and movies for the Syfy Channel’s website and Sci Fi Magazine. She's also written short stories and screenplays, taught fused glass, and created artwork that can be found in several galleries. Occasionally, she pretends she can concentrate on one thing at a time.

When she's not writing, painting, or melting glass in the name of art, Kat lives with her two cats, Jax and Nicky. They provide moral support, quality control, and unsolicited keyboard supervision. So far, neither has offered to help with marketing.

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Dead Man’s Trigger Blitz

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Release Blitz & Giveaway: Legacy of the Bluffs by Loretta Marion

Legacy of the Bluffs

by

Loretta Marion

Mystery

Publisher: Time At Last Books

Publication Date: October 22, 2026

Page count: 376 pages

SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!

SYNOPSIS:

A suspicious death rattles a quaint Cape Cod seaside village and the discovery of a long-buried secret leaves a prominent local family questioning their legacy. 

Cassie Mitchell is juggling the responsibilities of new motherhood and the drama surrounding her sister’s return to Whale Rock while welcoming another tenant to the carriage house. Adding to her worries are the recently discovered letters revealing a stunning confession. Could one of her seven baby brothers, who supposedly died at childbirth, have survived?

Cassie begins unraveling this new family mystery with guidance from the ever-present spirits of her ancestors, the original residents of The Bluffs. However, the fog of pregnancy brain is impeding her deciphering of their messages.

Cassie’s husband, former FBI agent Daniel Benjamin, surprises her with an au pair to help with the baby. But there’s something unnerving about Abbigail Grant, and soon after her arrival, the community is shaken when a body is found sprawled on the rocks near The Bluffs. With the case ruled a homicide, Cassie becomes entangled in the investigation and butting heads with Chief Brooks Kincaid, who is under pressure to solve the case before tourist season begins. A prominent politician appears on the scene, with questions arising over his connection to the victim. And why has the mysterious new owner of the Red Herring estate been nosing around suspiciously?

Can this murder be solved in time to save the summer season? Will Cassie determine if her brother survived? And if he did, will it be a blessing or another curse on the Mitchell family?

“LEGACY OF THE BLUFFS…a story about murder, family secrets, and the complicated inheritance passed from one generation to the next.”

~Literary Global 5 STAR GOLD BOOK AWARD

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

An award-winning author of fiction, Loretta Marion’s writing bridges the genres of mystery, suspense and women’s fiction, always with hints of romance and humor, sometimes delving into the psychological and paranormal. She creates strong but flawed characters as appealing as the rich atmospheric settings in which the stories take place.

A true bibliophile, she has loved reading and creating with words since she was a young girl. That affection for the written word followed her like a shadow throughout her life, but her passion for writing fiction evolved from the unlikely world of hospice. As a volunteer, she established a Legacy Story program to honor and preserve the rich heritage of the fascinating people who were soon to leave this world. The meaningful experience inspired her to create her own interesting characters and stories.

Though born and raised in the Midwest, Loretta fell in love with New England and has made it the setting for much of her writing. When not whipping out words on her laptop, she is traveling, enjoying outdoor pursuits, or is curled up with a delicious new book.

Loretta lives in Rhode Island with her husband, Geoffrey, and their devoted Mr. Micawber, a sweet and amusing German Shepherd Corgi cross.

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Book Review: The Last Rift Dragon (Knights of the Silver Fog, #1) by Shami Stovall

The Last Rift Dragon by Shami Stovall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good vs. evil, with magic and dragons!

The Last Rift Dragon by author Shami Stovall is the wonderful debut novel in her new magical young adult fantasy series, Knights of the Silver Fog, and it is chockful of twists and turns, acts of bravery, loyalty, and honor, treachery and betrayal, and young knights just out of training desperately fighting to save their homeland and the last of their dragons. The story follows the exploits of young Master Richter Whitlock, on the eve of becoming a full-fledged protector of Bridgehaven, his island home, when they are attacked by their nemesis, the neighboring land of Whettin, whose warriors ride on the backs of nightmarishly giant black centipedes.

The main character, the orphaned Richter Whitlock, is the only child of two knights who were killed while defending their homeland. He has always dreamed of becoming a knight himself in honor of his lost parents. He is an earnest, loyal young man who has dedicated his life to training for his future, bringing his best friend and former servant, Valex “Lex” Thorn, along with him. Their relationship is close and heartwarming.

The author creates a vivid, magic-filled setting for the story to unfold. Her world-building is mesmerizing, creating a vibrant, immersive backdrop for the action and adventure to come. I was particularly taken by the magic element of the land of Bridgehaven and the 'gyfts' that manifested in the people as a result of breathing the silver fog, the breath of the dragons, and how the loss of the dragons threatened the continued development of their special powers.

The plot hits the ground running, with Richter and Lex struggling to reach their final training assessment, and it continues with full-blown, bloody battles against skilled Whettin warriors. The storyline is full of twists and turns, and I was constantly kept off-balance as the characters were forced to pivot to meet the challenges presented. The good guys face treachery and betrayal from unexpected sources when they least expect it, and they don’t always come out on top or unscathed, keeping the suspense palpable and decision-making critical throughout. And then there are the dragons -wild and wonderful, with a surprise tale all their own.

I recommend THE LAST RIFT DRAGON to readers of young adult fantasy, action, and adventure stories.

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