Tuesday, December 03, 2024

Review Tour & Giveaway: Booty in the Backseat (Tow Truck Murder Mystery, #6) by Karen C. Whalen


BOOTY IN THE BACKSEAT
A Tow Truck Murder Mystery
by
Karen C. Whalen

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Cozy Mystery
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Publication Date: November 18, 2024
Page count: 227 pages


SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!


SYNOPSIS:

High-heeled tow truck driver, Delaney Morran, is shocked to discover bags of money in the backseat of a Volvo she was hired to tow. She’s even more amazed to find a severed hand in one of the bags. She learns the car belongs to the aunt of her friend, Rory. The booty in the backseat, amounting to half a million dollars, raises questions, but more mysterious is the disappearance of Rory’s uncle. Spruce Ridge, Colorado is home to the rich and famous, and the uncle is a well-known movie producer. With that much money…and a severed body part…and the uncle gone AWOL…Rory fears a kidnapping. When his aunt finally admits to receiving a ransom demand but was warned against calling the police, Delaney agrees to help. Is the kidnapper a drug kingpin seen with the victim? His neighbor who has reckless parties? Someone connected to his new film? Or, perhaps the victim’s spouse trying to cover up the murder of her husband? When a dead body turns up next, and it’s not the kidnapped victim, Delaney has two crimes to solve.

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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

“I thought you said Iceman hangs out here.” I gave Lance a pointed look. No one remotely resembling the man in the photo with the bad teeth was in this bar. 

Lance glanced around and shrugged, and we sat in silence for a while more. I was nursing my second beer when he excused himself to go to the restroom. 

My phone dinged with a text from Axle. —where you at?— 

I replied that I would be home soon, but I wondered when we’d get out of here because Lance was taking a long time. Was he still in the men’s room? Did he slip out to the back alley to conduct some business there? Where was he? 

The construction worker remained at the table with the shaggy-haired dude, so Lance wasn’t meeting up with either of them in the john or the alley. I studied everyone else, but it didn’t seem like any other customers were missing. The cowboy and cowgirl pool players were all at their game. The man at the end of the bar hadn’t moved. 

I was about to head down the narrow hallway to knock on the door to the little boys’ room when three sheriff’s deputies burst through the front door and another came running in from the back emergency exit, tripping the alarm. 

I whipped around, ready to break into a run, when Ephraim banged through the entryway next. 

Busted!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Karen C. Whalen
is the author of two mystery series for The Wild Rose Press: the Dinner Club Mysteries featuring Jane Marsh, an empty nester who hosts a gourmet dinner club, and the Tow Truck Mysteries starring Delaney Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck. Both are cozy mysteries about strong friendships and family ties set in Colorado. 

The first book in the Dinner Club series tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel category of the 2017 IDA Contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of America. In the Tow Truck series, Eyes on the Road was a Second Place winner of the 2023 Firebird Book Awards in the Cozy Mystery category.

Whalen worked for many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and was a columnist and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. Whalen loves to host dinner parties, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the mountains, walk on the beach, and read cozy murder mysteries. 

Murder at Sea Oats Beach is her first book published as an indie author.


REVIEW:

5 stars!

Clever and complex cozy mystery! 

Booty in the Backseat is the sixth book in author Karen C. Whalen’s fun and always intriguing Tow Truck Mystery series, but new readers will easily be able to enjoy it as a standalone and first introduction. Delaney “Del” Morran becomes embroiled in another interesting case when she’s called to pull a car from a business loading zone and discovers two duffel bags full of cash in its backseat – along with a man’s severed hand!

Del is the sassy, confident, high-heels-wearing tow truck operator and main character of the series. While the father she never knew left her his towing business, she’s finally gained the knowledge and experience to keep it a going concern. In her later 20s and single, she’s in between romantic relationships as she mends her hurt over breaking things off with Sheriff Ephraim Lopez. The man has a reputation as a ladies’ man, and Del believes the worst after surreptitiously catching him being too friendly with some blonde at the local shopping mall. It was sad to see this couple’s estrangement, and their interactions were almost painful to read, especially with the realization that much of her self-initiated heartache may have stemmed from being abandoned by her father when she was a child. Del also has an internal conflict with her growing passion for Ephraim while still feeling attracted to her former date, Tanner Utley. At some point, she’s going to have to resolve these mixed feelings and choose. However, both are yummy characters, and it’s going to be a tough decision.
 
Early in the story, the owner of the towed vehicle and all the money are revealed as Del’s close friend Rory’s Aunt Courtney, who is uncooperative with both the sheriff and Del regarding the large sums of money and the hand. Del and Rory diligently wear her down, though, and finally, they get to the truth. Del calls on a new acquaintance who owes her a favor, a local gang leader known as Demented, to check out the word on the origin of the hand among his street connections, which draws all sorts of attention and concerns from Ephraim. Then, to complicate life in general, Del’s mother, Eve, shows up in town after she separates from her husband, Will, after a quarrel and buys a condo in the nearby resort area. She quickly becomes a very present fixture in Del’s life, befriending all her daughter’s friends and becoming a thorn in Del’s side.
 
The plot moves quickly, with Del following up leads in between towing vehicles, changing tires, and explaining and demonstrating how to fix a vapor lock at 2 a.m. Her roommate, Kristen’s young cousin Axle, has become a vital partner and friend while finally settling into his adulthood quite nicely. I enjoyed the mystery a lot, and there are hints throughout the narrative that pointed the way to a still surprising resolution of the case. 

I recommend BOOTY IN THE BACKSEAT to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy protagonists with uncommon day jobs.


GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

Follow the tour and comment! The more you comment, the better your chance of winning.

November 12: The Faerie Review
November 19: Gina Rae Mitchell
November 19: The Avid Reader
November 26: Country Mamas With Kids
November 26: Our Town Book Reviews
December 3: Sandra's Book Club
December 3: Guatemala Paula Loves to Read




Cover Reveal & Giveaway: Tangled Darkness by M.M. Desch



TANGLED DARKNESS

by MM Desch

December 3, 2024 Cover Reveal

Synopsis:

Tangled Darkness by MM Desch

In a twisted web of lies, she's either the spider or the fly.

When a psychiatric clinic assistant turns up dead, Dr. Leslie Schoen finds herself a suspect in the case—and facing allegations which could destroy her career.

As Detective Davis works the investigation, Leslie launches her own inquiries. She soon uncovers deception and illegal schemes involving stolen prescription opioids at her clinic. It seems everyone around her is hiding something, and as she gets closer to the truth, the threats against her escalate. She struggles with keeping dangerous information from her pregnant wife, Izzy, and knows she needs to confront traumatic demons from her own past. But as she delves deeper into a web of lies, one thing becomes clear: someone will do anything to keep their criminal plans in the shadows.

With her family and even her life on the line, Leslie must outwit those who want her silenced before it’s too late. No one’s motives are what they seem, and the killer may be closer than anyone thinks.

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Published by: Rowan Prose Publishing
Publication Date: July 15, 2025
Number of Pages: 339
ISBN: 9798227130914
Book Links: Amazon | Kobo | Apple | BookBub | Goodreads | Books2Read

 


Author Bio:

MM Desch
Mary Desch, writing under the pen name MM Desch, brings a wealth of psychiatric expertise to her gripping psychological thrillers. Drawing from her extensive career as a general and addiction psychiatrist across multiple states, she crafts relatable characters facing intense psychological and physical dangers. Her deep understanding of human motivations, conflicts, and trauma recovery infuses her writing with authenticity and suspense.

A lifelong mystery enthusiast, Mary's passion for the genre evolved from childhood fascination with Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine to a deep appreciation for detective fiction in college. This enduring love for suspenseful storytelling naturally led her to write psychological thrillers.

When not delving into the intricacies of her next novel or novella, Mary enjoys hiking, long walks with her wife and their spirited mini schnauzer, exploring local food scenes, golfing, and following women's professional basketball.

Mary's debut thriller, Tangled Darkness, marks the beginning of a promising foray into psychological suspense fiction.

Catch Up With MM Desch:
MaryDesch.com
Amazon Author
Goodreads
BookBub - @MMDesch
Instagram - @m.m.desch
Threads - @m.m.desch
Twitter/X - @marymdesch
Facebook
LinkedIn

 

 

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Monday, December 02, 2024

NBTM Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: For You I'd Break (Peace Falls, #1) by Hannah Jordan


FOR YOU I'D BREAK
Peace Falls, Book One
by 
Hannah Jordan


This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.


Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: July 17, 2024
Page count: 339 pages


SCROLL DOWN FOR GIVEAWAY!


SYNOPSIS:

When Rowan’s two-year marriage ends with a crash, she returns home to Peace Falls, VA, riding shotgun in her sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse. Everything about her is damaged: her heart, her pride, her bank account, and her spine—thanks to a tourist, a Segway, and finding her husband getting busy with her boss. But Rowan is determined to reclaim her career and city life as soon as she recuperates and lands a new job. 

Caleb “Cal” Cardoso didn’t notice wallflower Rowan in high school, but the former football star, and Peace Falls’s newest physical therapist, can’t take his eyes off the stunning redhead now. Too bad he’s sworn off relationships. After his last hookup purposely tanked his online reputation, Cal stands to lose his job if a single patient leaves his care. Which is why he can’t let Rowan switch to another practitioner, despite the friction between them, and why he definitely can’t act on his growing attraction. 

Rowan agrees to remain Cal’s patient if he helps her younger brother train for football tryouts. Though Cal hasn’t touched a football since the accident that killed his best friend, he agrees, and as Cal helps heal Rowan’s body, she begins to heal his heart. 

For You I’d Break is a small town romance with a hefty dash of spice, a HEA ending, and a cast of memorable characters, including a goth sculptor who secretly loves to decorate cakes, a fearsome-looking felon with a heart of gold, a hothead with a sweet side, a karma-devoted barista who collects damaged pets and first dates, and a lovable dog with more emotional sense than everyone put together.

HURRY!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS SPECIAL OFFER!

The Kindle ebook will be FREE from Dec 2-6!

CLICK TO PURCHASE!

Currently available through Kindle Unlimited!


ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

Being a wallflower makes you thirsty, so parched for attention your heart feels brittle. Then after years—or in my case a lifetime—someone finally sees you. The exquisite feeling seeps deep, the attention saturating your life. So, you jump, headfirst. The red flags go unnoticed. Declarations of love tossed as lightly as petals. Maybe you marry him, like I did. Maybe you bloom in domestic bliss with a house in the suburbs and two adorable kids. Maybe a dog. Bare minimum a pet turtle.
 
I wasn’t so lucky.
 
After two years of marriage, instead of house hunting in the outskirts of DC, I was riding shotgun in my sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse, headed back to Peace Falls, VA, with everything I owned stuffed where a coffin ought to be.
 
I’d cried so much in the past three hours, I could barely make out the foothills rising in the distance. My throat was raw. Crumpled tissues littered the floorboard, and lint covered my leggings.
 
The tears surprised me. Apart from a couple of late-night phone calls to my mother after I left the hospital, I’d held it together pretty well. I was too busy tying up the loose ends of my life in DC to feel anything but stressed. The moment Poppy arrived to drive me home, the tears started and built with every box, bag, and lamp we slid into the hearse.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hannah Jordan grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but wound up in South Jersey after falling in love with her complete opposite. She's got all the degrees of a "serious" fiction writer but only smiles when she's writing romance.
 
She lives with her husband and two daughters in a picturesque town outside of Philadelphia where she enjoys reading in all genres, especially the spicy ones, and confusing people with her half-Southern, half-Northern accent.
 
The first book in her Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series, For You I’d Break, launched July 17, 2024.


REVIEW:

5 stars!

This exceptional second-chance romance kicks off a new series! 

For You I’d Break is the exceptional first novel in author Hannah Jordan’s wonderful new Peace Falls romance series, and I’ve never encountered a better treatment of the second-chance romance plot. Great characters, a charming small-town setting, and complex, realistic emotions and problems all combine for a fantastic series debut.
 
The female main character, Rowan Stevens Norris, has returned home after discovering her husband cheating and to recover from injuries sustained during a freak accident with a person riding a Segway. Cal Cordoba is the leading man whose past has caused him to reject emotional commitment in relationships. He’s returned to his hometown of Peace Falls to join an established medical practice as a physical therapist. Both Rowan and Cal are surrounded by good friends or family, most of whom also have their own emotional burdens. Cal and his friends, Adrian and Theo, share a past tragedy that they are all still paying for physically and emotionally, and their daily struggles are realistic. Lauren, Cammie, and even Avery have their own heartbreaks to overcome.
 
There is conflict between Rowan and Cal from the start but there is a ton of chemistry as well. While I enjoyed the push-pull of their relationship, I couldn’t put the book down until I got to the HEA. The dialogue throughout the story absolutely sparkles and is a major highlight of the book. I laughed out loud quite a few times because the banter was so witty. The author does a wonderful job creating the town of Peace Falls and populating it with memorable people without killing the plot with details and exposition. I am already looking forward to catching up with these characters as the series continues.
 
I recommend FOR YOU I’D BREAK to romance readers, especially those with an affinity for tales of second-chance romance.


GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

The author will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

Follow the tour and comment! The more you comment, the better your chance of winning.

September 16: Kenyan Poet
September 23: Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read
September 30: Sandra's Book Club
September 30: Full Moon Dreaming
October 7: Fabulous and Brunette
October 14: The Avid Reader
October 21: Joanne Guidoccio
October 28: Read Your Writes Book Reviews
November 4: Dawn's Reading Nook
November 11: Literary Gold
November 18: Maggie Blackbird
November 25: The Key of Love
December 2: Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
December 9: Angel's Book Nook
December 16: Author C.A.Milson
December 30: Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
January 6: Romance Novel Giveaways
January 13: Wendi Zwaduk - Romance to Make Your Heart Race
January 20: The Pen and Muse Book Reviews
January 27: Straight From the Library

Book Blitz: The County by Zane Horowitz

 

The County
by
Zane Horowitz


Medical Thriller

Date Published: November 7, 2024


For Sam Wyatt, his intern year was going to be the hardest year of his life. Profoundly affected by violence and death - and long before it was called PTSD or burnout - Sam and his fellow interns, Wilson Harrison, Gina Bautista, and Harry Martin must find a way to survive in THE COUNTY.

Doubting their choices, working 90 hours a week, lacking sleep, surviving on a diet of bad food and black coffee, each must learn to work in the understaffed, underfunded, and deteriorating hospital taking care of critically ill patients; for a system demanding they be constantly overworked if they want to become the doctors they promised themselves they would be.

Within this brutal system, Sam finds a mentor in Fish - his senior resident and the only one to tell him the actual rules to survive:

• Everyone will try to kill your patient, except you.

• It's OK to be wrong, but never unsure.

• Rebels are shot at dawn.

Fish should know. He had been through it just a year before. But would any of them make it out unscathed?

Set in the 1970s, this raw portrait of the birth of emergency medicine bears the roots of many of the problems underlying our broken medical system and our system of training doctors. Ones that have only progressively worsened since that time. But...

If you can persevere...

If you really follow Fish's rules...

Maybe you too can survive THE COUNTY.

About the Author

 

In a career that spanned 5 decades in emergency medicine, Dr. Zane Horowitz was there when the specialty began. He worked predominantly in county hospitals and trauma centers throughout his 45-year career. He has seen the best and the worst of healthcare delivery. Since those early days, he has held many roles in the field of emergency medicine. He directed pre-hospital ambulance systems, supervised a multi-county rural EMS system and an air-medical helicopter service, and worked in community and rural critical access emergency departments. Currently, he is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health Science University, and he practices medical toxicology as the Associate Medical Director with the Oregon Poison Center. With over 100 medical publications Zane Horowitz now has written a novel about the early days of emergency medicine called THE COUNTY.


Purchase Links

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Sunday, December 01, 2024

Book Review - Vibrations: Children of Atlantis by A.R. Alexander

Vibrations : Children of AtlantisVibrations : Children of Atlantis by A.R. Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A unique tale for upper middle-grade readers featuring magic and myths, friendship, and trust.

Vibrations: Children of Atlantis by A.R. Alexander is a unique adventure for older middle-grade to younger young adult readers featuring magical realism and two determined teen protagonists tasked with defending the world against an ancient enemy. Incorporating elements from several mythologies, Nada Gilbride and Kani Kakoa are all that stand between their world and complete destruction.

The author has created a pair of unique main characters in Nada and Kani. Nada is deaf but can see sound waves. She learned to speak by mimicking the pattern of the waves she observes from others. Kani, while able to hear, can see the vibrations of energy and has learned to manipulate them. Urged from a young age to hide their unusual abilities from others, both are naturally full of questions about their gifts. Since the adults in their lives refuse to talk about it, they are desperate for answers, especially when their abilities seem to be attracting creatures only found in myths and legends and even affecting their physical well-being in public. Their confusion and need for clarity are well portrayed, and I was drawn to their situation and anxiety over not knowing what was “wrong” with them.

The story’s suspense builds quickly with the appearance of supernatural creatures and the subsequent attention of a mysterious trio who seem to know more about their situation than they do followed by an involuntary stay with the FBI at a secret research facility. But a simple field trip to a museum where an ancient artifact awakens and causes both Nada and Kani to blackout brings things to the attention of someone close by that can finally deliver the answers the teens crave. Unfortunately, the explanation of what was behind their abilities and reactions was not clearly explained enough for me, and I was left feeling I didn’t really have a better understanding of what was going on or the magic system in play than what I’d gotten from the book’s blurb and the kids’ own suppositions. I enjoyed the growth in the relationship between the two main characters, leading to the trust they would need to complete their trials later, as well as the budding, sweet romance (which kept this story appropriate for younger readers.) However, their pairing as a team during their training and the training itself is glossed over, while much more story is expended on a rivalry with another couple to be the champions who will defend the world from destruction.

The link to Atlantis, which given its prominence by appearing in the title, was only given a superficial explanation, leaving me wondering how all these teenagers with special abilities were connected to it. There were other instances of plot points suddenly popping up without explanation. I enjoyed that some inanimate objects were sentient, so there were some fun moments where a plane was complimented to keep her happy, and a platform was thanked for allowing their back to be used as a training surface, but there wasn’t an explanation of why these objects were aware, and others weren’t. Also, it just pops up that Auntie apparently had a rival from her past who is now the director at the island where the teens are undergoing their training. On the other hand, the various settings were diverse and vividly described, so I always had a clear picture in my mind of where the action was taking place.

I recommend VIBRATIONS: CHILDREN OF ATLANTIS to upper middle-grade readers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

View all my reviews