PERSONAL THOUGHTS

The Last Scoop by R.G. Belsky

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Partners In Crime Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The Last Scoop by R.G. Belsky was an amazing book.  This is the third book in the series and I only read the first book so you don’t have to read the books in order if you don’t want to.  I am going to go back and read the second book because I enjoy the characters in these books.  The time I spend with Clare the more I like her.  I love that she seems like a real person because she has vice’s like most people do and that made me come alive to me as I was reading this story.  I also love books where the main character is a strong female because I think there need to be more books like that so that girls know that they can do anything that they put their minds too.  This book wasn’t super suspenseful but it did have enough that I didn’t lose interest as I was reading the book and I also was sad when it ended because I really love these characters and I hope the author writes more books with these characters in them.  If you are looking for a good mystery book to read I would check this one out.

About The Book

Genre: Mystery
Published by: Oceanview Publishing
Publication Date: May 5th 2020
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 1608093573 (ISBN13: 9781608093571)
Series: Clare Carlson #3
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

The killer whispered-“A pretty damsel…worth a pretty risk.”

Martin Barlow was Clare Carlson’s first newspaper editor, a beloved mentor who inspired her career as a journalist. But, since retiring from his newspaper job, he had become a kind of pathetic figure—railing on about conspiracies, cover-ups, and other imaginary stories he was still working on. Clare had been too busy with her own career to pay much attention to him. When Martin Barlow is killed on the street one night during an apparent mugging attempt gone bad, it seems like he was just an old man whose time had come. But Clare—initially out of a sense of guilt for ignoring her old friend and then because of her own journalistic instincts—begins looking into his last story idea. As she digs deeper and deeper into his secret files, she uncovers shocking evidence of a serial killer worse than Son of Sam, Ted Bundy, or any of the other infamous names in history. This really is the biggest story of Martin Barlow’s career—and Clare’s, too—as she uncovers the path leading to the decades-long killer of at least twenty young women. All is not as it seems during Clare’s relentless search for this serial killer. Is she setting herself up to be his next victim?

About The Author

R. G. Belsky is an author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, Below The Fold, was published in May 2019 by Oceanview. It is the second in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first Clare Carlson book, YESTERDAY’S NEWS, came out in 2018. It won the David Award at Deadly Ink for Best Mystery of 2018. Belsky previously wrote the Gil Malloy series – THE KENNEDY CONNECTION, SHOOTING FOR THE STARS AND BLONDE ICE – about a newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News. Belsky himself is a former managing editor at the Daily News and writes about the media from an extensive background in newspapers, magazines and TV/digital news. He has also been a top editor at the New York Post, Star magazine and NBC News. Belsky won the Claymore Award at Killer Nashville in 2016. He has finished several times as a Finalist for both the Silver Falchion and David Awards. YESTERDAY’S NEWS, was also named Outstanding Crime/News Based Novel by Just Reviews in 2018 and was a Finalist for Best Mystery of 2018 in the Foreword INDIES Awards. His previous suspense/thriller novels include LOVERBOY and PLAYING DEAD. Belsky lives in New York City.

Catch Up With R.G. Belsky On:
RGBelsky.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook!

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Blood Lies by Andrew Cunningham

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Audiobookworm in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Blood Lies by Andrew Cunningham was like going back home and reconnecting with old friends.  Since this is the 5th book in the series these characters have become my friends even though if this was happening in the real world they would all have died for the crazy things that are always happening to them.  This book literally started with a bang and it kept up a pretty intense pace throughout the entire book. You don’t have to listen to these books in order if you don’t want to but I would if you are interested in the series so that the books don’t spoil anything for you.  I have grown to love the narrator of this series so much so that if the author had another person read the story I don’t know that I would want to listen to it.  The first part of this book brought me back to the first book because one of the things I wondered about after the first book and it turns out that my thought was right and Del’s dad was more of a shady character than it first seemed.  This book wasn’t super suspenseful but at this point it doesn’t matter at all to me because I have grown to love these characters and I hope the author writes more books with these characters.

old abandoned Scary Haunted house

About The Book

Author: Andrew Cunningham

Narrator: Greg Hernandez

Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

Publisher: Andrew Cunningham⎮2020

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Series: Lies Mystery Thriller Series, Book 5

Release date: March 17, 2020

Synopsis: Gunned down on a busy Boston street, bestselling mystery author Sabrina Spencer is left clinging to life. Media speculation suggests a deranged fan as the shooter. Was Sabrina really the intended target?

For Del Honeycutt, a chilling link emerges between Sabrina’s shooting and that of his father’s murder three years earlier. Discovering that his father was leading a secret life, he digs deeper, and the clues lead Del down a dangerous and deadly path.

About The Author

I’m the author of novels in several genres, including, mystery, thriller, and post-apocalyptic science fiction. Under the name A.R. Cunningham, I’ve also written the Arthur MacArthur series of mysteries for children.

I was born in England, but have spent most of my life living in the U.S.—including 25 years on Cape Cod before moving to Florida. A former interpreter for the deaf and long-time independent bookseller, I’ve been a full-time freelance writer and copy editor for many years. A 4th-degree Master Black belt in Tang Soo Do, I finally retired from active training when my body said, “Enough already! Why are you doing this to yourself?” I’m married, with two grown children and two awesome grandsons. My wife and I spend as much time traveling as we can, and are especially fond of cruising the Caribbean.

​I have been gratified by the response to my books. When I published Eden Rising back in the spring of 2013, I had no idea what to expect. When I sold my first few copies, I was excited beyond belief that someone was willing to take a chance on it. Numerous books and thousands of copies later, I am still humbled by the emails I get from readers telling me that my books kept them up late into the night.

In October of 2014, Wisdom Spring made me an official Amazon Bestselling author, a thrill I never thought would happen. But it still comes down to being able to bring a few hours of escape to a reader. That’s what it’s all about for me.

I hope you will try my books. Please feel free to email me with your comments.

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About The Narrator

Author-preferred Narrator of Mysteries & Thrillers

Narrating audiobooks is highly gratifying.  I immerse myself into an author’s story in order to bring it to life for the listener.  I’ve enjoyed working with Andrew Cunningham for several years. His books are filled with rich characters, and the stories keep me turning the pages.

I also work as a background actor in movies and TV shows.

For more than 20 years, I worked as a radio news reporter and news writer.  I spent half of my broadcasting career at ABC News Radio in the Washington, D.C., bureau.  I covered all the federal agencies as well as Congress and the White House. I reported on a wide range of stories during my career, including financial and entertainment industry news.

For nearly 24 years, I worked as a federal government spokesman at three separate agencies—National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Mint and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2020 Margaret Margaret

A Child Lost by Michelle Cox

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from iRead Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

A Child Lost by Michelle Cox was an interesting book.  There are five or six books before this one in the series and I was able to just jump in with this book and understand what was going on.  I did at times wish that I knew the back stories of the characters but it was only because I am noisy and not because you needed to know it all in order to understand what is happening in this book.  This book also reminded me of how things were different when it comes to people having epilepsy back when this book took place and how we treat people who have it now.  Even though the author rated the content of this book as an “R” I didn’t  find any spot that made me feel like it needed to be that rating.  I am not the biggest fan of historical fiction but I really did enjoy this story and this one made me add this author to my ever growing lists of authors that I want to read more books by in the future.  If you are looking for a different type of book to read this summer I would pick this one up and check it out.

About The Book

Series Title:  A CHILD LOST (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel #5) by Michelle Cox
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre:  Historical Mystery
Publisher:  She Writes Press
Release dates:   April 2020
Content Rating: R: My book is rated R for 2 sex scenes that are somewhat explicit but which are tastefully done. There is periodic swearing (not excessive), but no violence.

A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . .

When Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables. What begins as an open and shut case becomes more complicated, however, when Henrietta―much to Clive’s dismay―begins to believe the spiritualist’s strange ramblings.

Meanwhile, Elsie begs Clive and Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther, locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the little girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search leads them to Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible truths about Liesel. When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly admitted to the asylum after an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta return to Dunning to retrieve her. This time, however, Henrietta begins to suspect that something darker may be happening. When Clive doesn’t believe her, she decides to take matters into her own hands . . . with horrifying results.

About The Author

Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of getting herself back there. Coincidentally, her books have been praised by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist and many others, so she might be on to something. Unbeknownst to most, Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also marmalade.

Connect with the Author:
website ~ facebook ~twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

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Scarlet Oaks and the Exposed Photographer by Michaela James

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Audiobookworm in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Scarlet Oaks and the Exposed Photographer by Michaela James was a great listen and I enjoyed this book more than the first one that I listened to. I enjoyed the plot of this one more than the first book. I also loved all of the crazy things that the characters did in this book just like I did in the first book. If you want to see my thoughts on the first book you can click here and read it here. Like I said in my review of the first book I really enjoy this narrator’s voice and the author of this book as well. I spent the entire book waiting to see what crazy things that characters were going to do next. I also enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book more than I did the mystery aspect of the first book. This book didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat as I was listening to it but that didn’t bother because this story was a great escape and I loved listening to it while I was working. If you are looking for a mystery book to listen to I would check this one out.

About The Book

Author: Michaela James

Narrator: Kimberly M. Wetherell

Length: 12 hours 30 minutes

Publisher: LW Media Group Ltd.⎮2020

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Scarlet Oaks Cozy Mystery Series, Book 2

Release date: Feb. 6, 2020

Something sinister is going on at Bay Radio. Is it possible there’s a connection between the mafia-type men who show up after dark, the terrified young women they have in tow, and the ominous commune Scarlet’s sister calls home?

A troubled caller’s cryptic clues point to a man from Scarlet’s past. Could he be the key to breaking her sister Violet out of a seemingly impenetrable commune? 

Scarlet’s new boyfriend gets a crash course on the life and times of Violet, as they enter a world of shadows, sex, and secrets. With more than her own life on the line, Scarlet fights to save her sister.

Can Scarlet and friends, armed with only a harebrained scheme and spy store gadgets, solve this mystery? All roads lead back to the cryptic caller. Expose the photographer from Scarlet’s past, and the thick, scandalous web starts to unravel.

Jump on this speeding cable car with Scarlet and hold on for dear life. This fast-paced, clever mystery will have you laughing one minute and gasping the next. Spend time with the characters you’ve grown to love and make room in your heart for more. 

If you grew up reading or listening to Nancy Drew, you’ll love Scarlet Oaks. This is the second book in the Scarlet Oaks series. Continue the adventure – buy Scarlet Oaks and the Exposed Photographer today!

About The Author

Michaela lives near Reno, Nevada, where there are lovely walking trails and lots of sun. She was born and grew up in Hampshire, England, where there is less sun, but better chocolate! A professional voice over artist and the voice of a local radio station, Michaela enjoys watching great movies with her husband and grown sons, playing tennis and  and drinking lots of tea.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram

About The Narrator

A bright, versatile, broad-next-door type, Kimberly M. Wetherell is rapidly becoming a sought-after talent in the voiceover market, specializing in audiobooks, commercials, and animation.

Kimberly has worn multiple hats in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. A graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, Kimberly has been an actor, a singer of musical theatre, director of both opera and film, and producer of opera, film, and most recently, commercials.

She speaks French, Italian, and German (all thanks to her 15-year career in opera), and, as a lifelong lover of language, has a large catalogue of dialects and accents from around the world at the tip of her tongue.

Equally active in the literary world, Kimberly is a published essayist and contributing editor of The Nervous Breakdown. She founded and hosted DISH, a monthly food & drink reading series at SoHo’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, as well as having hosted other reading series around NYC, such as NPR’s Dime Stories at Brooklyn’s Barbès and TNB’s Literary Experience at Chinatown’s Happy Endings.

Voiceover artistry is the perfect marriage of her life’s two passions, and she couldn’t be happier with this new career pursuit.

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Diver’s Paradise by Davin Goodwin

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Partners In Crime Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Diver’s Paradise by Davin Goodwin was an interesting book.  It was super suspenseful but I did enjoy the characters and this author’s writing.  I was able to read this book in a few days which I always enjoy because it means that I don’t have to spend a ton of time invested in a book.  I did wish that there had been more suspense in this book but this book is perfect for people who aren’t into books that have a ton of suspense in them.  I was able to figure out what was going to happen before it ended but for me, that isn’t a deal-breaker because I am almost always able to figure out what is going to happen before it does.  If you are looking for a book to read to hide from what is going on in the world right now I would recommend this one to you all.

About The Book

Genre: Mystery
Published by: Oceanview Publishing
Publication Date: April 7, 2020
Number of Pages: 336
ISBN: 1608093832 (ISBN13: 9781608093830)

After 25 years on the job, Detective Roscoe Conklin trades his badge for a pair of shorts and sandals and moves to Bonaire, a small island nestled in the southern Caribbean. But the warm water, palm trees, and sunsets are derailed when his long-time police-buddy friend back home, is murdered.

Conklin dusts off a few markers and calls his old department, trolling for information. It’s slow going. No surprise, there. After all, it’s an active investigation, and his compadres back home aren’t saying a damn thing.

He’s 2,000 miles away, living in paradise. Does he really think he can help? They suggest he go to the beach and catch some rays.

For Conklin, it’s not that simple. Outside looking in? Not him. Never has been. Never will be.

When a suspicious mishap lands his significant other, Arabella, in the hospital, the island police conduct, at best, a sluggish investigation, stonewalling progress. Conklin questions the evidence and challenges the department’s methods. Something isn’t right.

Arabella wasn’t the intended target.

About The Author

My family members have always been epic storytellers. I regularly wrote short stories in high school and college and, later in life, freelanced several articles for trade and industry publications. For years, the idea of writing a novel bounced around in the back of my mind, but never found its way out of the darkness. My wife, Leslie (Double L), and I have visited the island of Bonaire nearly 30 times over the past 20 years, many of those trips for extended periods. The island is a perfect setting for the style of novel I wanted to write. Yes, the book would be a murder mystery, but I needed a laid-back, slightly exotic setting. And I wanted the book to partially center around scuba diving, an activity Les and I enjoy together as often as possible. During the Spring of 2010, with mild coaxing from friends and family, the concept of Diver’s Paradise came to fruition. However, after close to a year of writing, I gave up, not touching the story for almost six years. In the Spring of 2017, I pulled out the tattered manuscript, rewrote and edited till blue in the face, then endured daily heart palpitations, waiting for submission responses from agents and publishers. Nine months after my first submission, and after agonizing through a boatload of rejections, Oceanview Publishing—to my good luck—offered a contract. I would be a published author. Diver’s Paradise launches on April 7, 2020 in Hard Cover and eBook, followed later in paperback. I enjoy being outdoors when the weather is nice. I don’t particularly like snow and cold weather, which can be problematic dwelling in the frigid, midwestern state of Wisconsin. Exercise is a passion of mine, although I don’t do it as intensely as in past years. Running, biking, and swimming are my favorites. As of several years ago, golf and I decided that we can no longer be friends. Through high school and college, I played violin in the orchestras and community ensembles. Much to the chagrin of those close to me, around the age of sixteen I was struck with an uncontrollable desire to play the 5-string banjo. And play I did. Hours and hours a day. Everyday. In 1992, the band I played with at the time, travelled to the Ukraine and performed in the International Kiev Music Festival. I’ve also performed on radio, TV, and recorded on several albums. I’m 58 years old and live in Madison, WI. Originally from Rockford, IL, I went to college at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, AR., graduating with a degree in Computer Science. I’m married and have one daughter and one stepson, both grown. Professionally, I have roughly 30 years’ experience in the technology industry and currently manage a group of software developers for a local, mid-sized company. In the past, I’ve owned several small businesses, worked as an aerial photographer, a semi-professional banjo player, a flight instructor, and a real estate investor. Future Plans: Continue the Roscoe Conklin series, hopefully, for a long time.

Catch Up With Davin Goodwin On: DavinGoodwinAuthor.com Goodreads BookBub – @dgoodwin7757 Facebook – @authordavingoodwin Instagram – davin_goodwin_author

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Scarlet Oaks and the Serial Caller by Michaela James

 

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Audiobookworm in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Scarlet Oaks and the Serial Caller by Michaela James was a good audiobook.  I really enjoyed the characters in this story and I was always left trying to figure out which person was the most insane in her group of friends and family.  These are the types of characters that I wish I knew in real life because they are a never-ending source of entertainment. I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook and I wouldn’t be mad if I were to listen to other books that she reads. I loved listening to this book because it wasn’t super intense but it did give me an escape from all of the crazy events that are happening right now.  I did enjoy the comedic parts of this book and those moments are the reason that I finished the entire audiobook in just a couple of days. I also enjoyed the author’s writing and I can’t wait to see what crazy things the characters are going to do next. There is one more book in this series that I am going to review next week so come back then to see how I feel about this series then.

 

About The Book

Author: Michaela James

Narrator: Kimberly M. Wetherell

Length: 10 hours 2 minutes

Publisher: LW Media Group Ltd.⎮2019

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Series: Scarlet Oaks Cozy Mystery Series, Book 1

Release date: Nov. 9, 2019

Synopsis: Is it possible Scarlet Oaks, the reluctant new host of a men’s call-in show, inspired the first serial killer San Francisco’s seen in some 40 years?

Struggling to pay the rent after her boyfriend’s sudden departure, continue her role as mediator in an unconventional family, and feed a micro pig who appears less micro by the day, Scarlet’s life is far from perfect. But when an eerie sounding caller is identified as the bay area’s latest serial killer, it appears her life will never be the same.

With the killer continually calling into Scarlet’s show, while managing to stay one step ahead of the San Francisco police, Scarlet begins to fear she’s his next victim. Enlisting best friends Niles and Tom and their often-hilarious help, Scarlet sets out to find the elusive Serial Caller…before he finds her.

Root for Scarlet during this heart-pounding and alternately humorous mystery thriller. Fall in love with unforgettable characters, recognize familiar family members, and hold on tight for an adrenaline-filled ride.

If you’re a Stephanie Plum fan, make room for Scarlet Oaks!

This is the first book in the Scarlet Oaks series.

About The Author

Michaela lives near Reno, Nevada, where there are lovely walking trails and lots of sun. She was born and grew up in Hampshire, England, where there is less sun, but better chocolate! A professional voice over artist and the voice of a local radio station, Michaela enjoys watching great movies with her husband and grown sons, playing tennis and  and drinking lots of tea.

Website⎮Twitter⎮Facebook⎮Instagram

About The Narrator

Kimberly M. Wetherell

A bright, versatile, broad-next-door type, Kimberly M. Wetherell is rapidly becoming a sought-after talent in the voiceover market, specializing in audiobooks, commercials, and animation.

Kimberly has worn multiple hats in the entertainment industry for over 30 years. A graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University, Kimberly has been an actor, a singer of musical theatre, director of both opera and film, and producer of opera, film, and most recently, commercials.

She speaks French, Italian, and German (all thanks to her 15-year career in opera), and, as a lifelong lover of language, has a large catalogue of dialects and accents from around the world at the tip of her tongue.

Equally active in the literary world, Kimberly is a published essayist and contributing editor of The Nervous Breakdown. She founded and hosted DISH, a monthly food & drink reading series at SoHo’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, as well as having hosted other reading series around NYC, such as NPR’s Dime Stories at Brooklyn’s Barbès and TNB’s Literary Experience at Chinatown’s Happy Endings.

Voiceover artistry is the perfect marriage of her life’s two passions, and she couldn’t be happier with this new career pursuit.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2020 Margaret Margaret