Tag Archives: mystery fiction

Spotlight On Mystery/Supense — The Vanished

17 Apr

The Vanished JustRead Takeover + Review Blitz

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Vanished by Cara Putman hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

The Vanished

Title: The Vanished
Series: Secrets to Keep #1
Author: Cara Putman
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: April 16, 2024
Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense

Janae Simmons left the small town of Kedgewick, Virginia, ten years ago to pursue her legal career and never looked back–until a professional mistake leads her to her grandmother’s historic carriage house and to the town where her past threatens to find her. The quiet streets echo with her grandfather’s sterling reputation, one that conflicts with fresh questions that claw at Janae, launching her on a reluctant journey to unearth his secrets. When her new job at a local law firm doesn’t live up to expectations, she wonders if coming home was the right decision.

Carter Montgomery starts his art preservation career with the only job he can get–director at the Elliott Museum of Art. At least Kedgewick is a nice enough town to provide him and his nephew with a safe place to grieve the loss of Carter’s sister. But Carter’s calm days disappear when an elderly woman claims two paintings in the museum’s collection were stolen from her family during World War II.

Carter enlists Janae’s help to unravel the legal labyrinth of art ownership, and the peaceful facade of Kedgewick morphs into a hot bed of secrets. When an attorney turns up dead and Janae uncovers another painting, what began as a simple legal issue spirals into a race against time. As the web of intrigue tightens, the duo must confront a looming question: What dark truths lie beneath the surface, waiting to be exposed?

“Putman’s legal expertise shines in this compelling and intricately plotted romantic suspense. Highly recommended!”

—Colleen Coble, USA Today best-selling author

“Cara Putman has once again created an exciting cast of characters. I was immediately drawn in by Janae and Carter’s unique chemistry. This is one story you don’t want to miss.”

—Rebecca Hemlock, award-winning author of Fury in the Shadows

Excerpt

She spent the short drive into downtown Kedgewick clearing her mind and steeling herself for the night. If she pretended she were about to enter the courtroom rather than an art gallery, maybe it wouldn’t feel so excruciating to wonder what the people who knew her as a teen thought of her now. It shouldn’t matter, but she’d left Kedgewick all those years ago to get a fresh start, and many might delight that she’d returned. And now she found that the in-your-face antagonism of the courtroom was preferable to the hidden barbs of “friends.” Still, part of her wished she were parking near the courthouse rather than on the edge of Monroe College. The courtroom had become her second home in the five years since law school. She hadn’t darkened the doors of Monroe College’s museum since finishing an art appreciation paper during Thanksgiving break of her junior year at Purdue. It felt like a lifetime ago, but the Virginia-limestone facade of the three-story museum sat unchanged, with couples walking up the steps and across the covered portico to the double doors. Now she was headed to some fancy event here—something she’d never done before. Light spilled from the museum each time one of the large front doors opened.

(pg 14)



PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop | BookBub

More Books in Series

We Three Kings

About The Author

Cara Putman

Cara Putman is the award-winning, best-selling author of more than thirty-five novels, including the Cornhusker Dreams series and the Hidden Justice series.

Connect with Cara by visiting caraputman.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of the book, art-themed notebooks, and stickers that inspired the art stolen in the book!

The Vanished JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight April 17, 2024 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on April 24, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

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Book Review: Night Falls On Predicament Avenue

11 Apr

About The Book

Book: Night Falls on Predicament Avenue

Author: Jaime Jo Wright

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Release Date: April 9, 2024

In 1910, Effie James is living a dream for two. Her younger sister is harboring a secret that has left timid Effie determined to fulfill her daring sister’s grand plan of seeking out adventure in their small Iowa town. When a British gentleman arrives, disrupting their peace with efforts to find the wife many claim lived her final days at the now abandoned house at 322 Predicament Avenue, Effie is thrust into intrigue she couldn’t have prepared for. But what she finds inside will forever link her to the scandal staining the house’s walls and to a woman whose secrets promise a curse.

A century later, Norah Richman is living out her late-twin’s dream of running their great aunt’s bed-and-breakfast on Predicament Avenue–a place Norah believes nothing good can come out of after her sister’s abduction and murder thirteen years ago. Her first guest is a crime historian and podcaster, and Norah resolves to stay far away from the charming and enigmatic man–until another guest is found dead. As they dig deeper, something sinister unfurls that will reveal an ominous unknown far greater than the possibility of death itself.

Click here to get your copy!

My Impressions:

Jaime Jo Wright is a go-to author for suspense with a serious creep factor. Night Falls on Predicament Avenue is her latest dual timeline novel. It kept me guessing from the beginning, and I could’t figure out how Wright was going to bring this delicious ghost story to a real world conclusion. In this instance it would be good to remember that innocence should never be overestimated. The 4 main characters — the historical mains and the modern-day mains — are flawed, complex, and thoroughly relatable. Hope and fear are two key themes in the twisting plot. All four MCs found much to fear and much to hope for. I like that Wright can take a scary story and shine a light to reveal God’s hand. I usually have a favorite story thread when it comes to dual timeline novels, but both were equally compelling, and I found myself turning the pages at an ever increasing rate to find out just what in the world was going on! Fans of mystery and suspense will not be disappointed with Night Falls on Predicament Avenue. It is another great book by the queen of gothic inspirational fiction.

Highly recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

About The Author

Jaime Jo, the coffee-fueled and cat-fancier extraordinaire, has entwined her life with the legendary Captain Hook, residing serenely in Wisconsin’s rural woodlands.

Her literary vocation involves penning Gothic tales, a baffling change from that of Austenites, with a preference to the master of dark, Edgar Allan Poe.

More from Jaime Jo

True crime did NOT just become popular in this century! Scour the old newspapers for a full and detailed telling of the latest crime. That’s how I got the idea for Night Falls on Predicament Avenue! Yes! I read an old newspaper article from the late 1800’s in which they described in quite delectable detail, the crime scene of a murder in a house with questionable history. That being said, it’s also important to note, that forensics DID just recently become popular in the last 50-100 years. In the 1800’s, if you were murdered, it was common for your neighbor to tour and trample over your crime scene out of curiosity and/or the hope they might be of service in solving the crime. More likely than not, they were merely wanna-be podcast listeners of true crime shows simply born too early for that technological advancement.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 10

Devoted To Hope, April 10

By The Book, April 11

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, April 11

Inspired by Fiction, April 12

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 12

Texas Book-aholic, April 13

Blossoms and Blessings, April 13

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 14

Blogging With Carol, April 14

Betti Mace, April 15

JESUS in the EVERYDAY, April 15

Live. Love. Read., April 16

For Him and My Family, April 16

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, April 17 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, April 17

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 18

Holly’s Book Corner, April 18

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 19

Tell Tale Book Reviews, April 20

Sylvan Musings, April 20

Bigreadersite , April 21

Back Porch Reads, April 21

Lily’s Corner, April 22

Simple Harvest Reads, April 22 (Guest Review from Mindy)

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, April 23

Denise L. Barela, April 23

The Lofty Pages, April 23

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jaime Jo is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 gift card to Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, MI and an autographed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2af9e/night-falls-on-predicament-avenue-celebration-tour-giveaway

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Top 10 Tuesday — Movies in Books

26 Mar

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It should come as no surprise to anyone that I am again twisting this week’s TTT topic. I am not a movie connoisseur and can count on one hand the number of movies I have watched in the past few years. It wasn’t always like this, but I am not generally Hollywood’s target audience, so I never really am interested in the latest offerings. But . . . I have read books in which movies play a role, directly or indirectly. So that’s how I came up with this week’s list — Movies, Actors, and More Hollywood Type Stuff. There are a variety of genres — I hope you find one you will love!

Again, for more on topic posts, please check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Books Featuring Movies, Actors, and More Hollywood Type Stuff!

Blackberry Beach by Irene Hannon

Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

Duchess by Susan May Warren

Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner (releases in May 2024)

Hollywood Lost by Ace Collins

The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

The Love Script by Toni Shiloh

Love, Unscripted by Denise Hunter

The Memoir of Johnny Devine by Camile Eide

The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel

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Book Review: Through Any Window

15 Mar

Through Any Window, the newest mystery by Deb Richardson-Moore, explores the devious and deceptive mind. There were lots of characters with motives in this one! And with its setting of a newly gentrified neighborhood, it will make you think as well. All the details, as well as a continuation of my thoughts, can be found below.

After being questioned in a murder investigation, Riley Masterson has spent eighteen months under suspicion by the sheriff’s office. Anxious to escape accusing eyes, she finally decides to leave Alabama and move to South Carolina.

But Greenbrier isn’t the stabilizing influence she hopes for, as her neighborhood is slowly being gentrified, with homeless people living in the shadows of mansions. As Riley struggles to forge a new life, forces are gathering in the tension-plagued neighborhood as glitzy new homes rise beside crumbling mill houses, and everyone is able and willing to peer into a neighbor’s window.

When a ghastly crime occurs, an unexpected victim is caught in the crossfire. Detectives are left to ponder: Are the deaths personal or the result of rich and poor living in such proximity? Will Riley take the blame, as someone seems to have so meticulously planned?

Deb Richardson-Moore is the author of five mystery/suspense titles and a memoir, The Weight of Mercy, about her early years as a pastor at the Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, S.C. A national award-winning former reporter for The Greenville News, Deb is a popular speaker at book clubs, universities and churches. She has also won numerous awards for her work in homeless services and community involvement.

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Deb lives with her husband in Greenville. They are the parents of three grown children.

My Impressions:

If you like a mystery that will make you think, then Through Any Window by Deb Richardson-Moore is a good choice. The novel starts with the crime and then leads the reader through the backstories, relationships, and motives of a collection of characters who certainly could be the murderer. The backdrop of the story is the conflict between those who have gentrified the neighborhood and those who have been residents for decades, including the local homeless shelter. The long hot southern summer and the rape of a young woman escalate the tension and tempers reach a boiling point. I thought the author did a great job of keeping me guessing and turning the pages. I read this book in record time! The social issues discussed, the element of mental illness, and the morally gray areas of crime all contributed to a thinking person’s novel. I enjoyed it very much. Please note there is some language, drinking, and intimate adult scenes in the book — it is marketed towards the general market.

Through Any Window was a twisting journey that fans of mysteries will enjoy.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to the author for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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Top 10 Tuesday — Books That Made Me Google!

5 Mar

I confess that I use “the Google” when reading. Mostly it occurs when I read historical novels, but it can strike at any time if there is something I just have to know or see. In the past few months I have looked up recipes for food that was mentioned in a book, dresses by a a famous dress designer, buildings/landmarks that books are set in and around, and characters that lived in real life. Sometimes I can stray down rabbit trails, but I eventually return to the book until another Google-fancy hits me. This week I am featuring the last 10 books that caused me to Google. I hope one piques your interest.

For more Google-inspired lists, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

These Books Made Me Google!

By Her Own Design by Piper Hugely (Jackie Kennedy’s wedding gown)

Hope Beyond The Waves by Heidi Chiavaroli (treatment of leprosy)

The Juliet Code by Pepper Basham (sites in Venice, Italy)

A Lady’s Guide to Marvels And Misadventure by Angela Bell (food specialities of Amsterdam and Prague)

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb (Grasse, France)

Queen of Exiles by Vanessa Riley (Marie-Louise Christophe)

The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen (people who survived scalping)

A Shadow in Moscow by Katherine Reay (American’s who spied for the USSR)

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt (pictures from the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII)

Whiskers, Wreaths, And Murder by Kathy Manos Penn (sites in the Cotswolds, UK)

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Spotlight On Mystery — Deliver Us From Evil . . . And The 6 O’Clock News

14 Feb

If you like mysteries, check out the first book in the Brentwood Women Mystery series by W. H. Adair, Deliver Us from Evil . . . And The 6 O’Clock News.



Hildegard “Hildy” Brentwood, a 50-year-old University PR executive at Gulf State University, is faced with her toughest assignment–discover who killed her faculty friend Adrienne and student assistant, Bobby, before the university and the police shut down the investigation labeling Adrienne guilty of murder/suicide.

She enlists the help of her CEO mother Victoria and her investigative journalist daughter Grace to comb through the possible suspects–Adrienne’s misogynistic department chairman, her violent ex-husband, a smarmy journalist, or perhaps someone from her past involved in her 20-year-old rape. They uncover myriad secrets in both Adrienne’s and Bobby’s past, any of which could have been motive for murder.

Taking on the university leadership and the campus and Houston Police departments, Hildy is attacked and threatened before they uncover the truth behind the violent deaths.

Hildy and her family look into the highest and lowest realms of Houston to find answers, with a little help from their fur-buddies: Victoria’s greyhound, Minuit; Hildy’s white schnauzer, Shasta; and Adrienne’s Russian blue feline, Catrina, who is adopted by Grace.

From author W. H. Adair:

I began a lifelong love of reading before kindergarten. My earliest memories include going to the library or bookmobile and bringing home a box of books…every week. I was raised on Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Wizard of Oz, Black Beauty, and other works of mystery and wonder. Not surprising I would work to solve mysteries and answer questions in my own writing.

My connection to words led to a career in public relations and marketing. Armed with degrees in communication, business and library science, I held senior management positions in higher education, winning numerous local, regional and national marketing awards while working at both the University of Houston and Texas Southern University.

After forty years writing non-fiction, including a 175-page history of the University of Houston, I retired and finally turned to creating fictional worlds. With the help of a Writer’s League of Texas five-day retreat and the eighteen-month long Online Certificate in Novel Writing program at Stanford University, I embraced both retirement and novel writing. The result of which is The Broken Hallelujah.

When I’m not slaving over my computer, I spend time in my backyard garden and with my crazy fur babies, Jade, my yappy but huggable white schnauzer, and her best friend, Yara, a gorgeous and unflappable Russian blue feline.

Currently, I’m working on a couple of mysteries. One set at a university…involving three generations of strong women determined to clear a friend of a murder/suicide charge. The newest one involves a woman who was a foundling and now works for a tabloid newspaper, trying to work her way into mainstream media. I’m have a great time sending up some favorite academic places and people in my fictitious university. My forty years in academe opened many doors, introduced me to an amazing variety of characters, took me around the world from Houston to Alaska and Nigeria to Beijing, and offered many an outrageous tale to provide a plethora of plots.

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Top 10 Tuesday — Love Freebie!

13 Feb

Happy Tuesday! It’s a Love Freebie on TTT, and boy did I have a hard time coming up with a topic! I have done a lot of these posts — Love Letters, Love in The Title, Kiss in The Title, Heart in The Title, etc. I’m not a big romance reader, so finding inspiration from my shelves seemed fruitless. With a little brainstorming I came up with a bouquet of books. My husband often gives me roses (my favorite) on Valentine’s Day, but he never gives me books. LOL! Roses die unfortunately, but books are the gift that keeps on giving. So my list is a book bouquet you can give yourself today, tomorrow, and forever!

For more inventive Love Freebie posts, please visit That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Titles for A Book Bouquet

Burying Daisy Doe by Ramona Richards

Daisies Are Forever by Liz Tolsma

Gardenias for Breakfast by Robin Jones Gunn

Leaving Lavender Tides by Colleen Coble

Orchid House by Cindy Martinusen

Reclaiming Lily by Patti Lacy

The Rose And The Thistle by Laura Franz

Sea Rose Lane by Irene Hannon

Snow in The Tulips by Liz Tolsma

Yellow Roses by Susie Waltner

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Top 10 Tuesday — New-To-Me Authors From 2023

30 Jan

Happy Tuesday! Whew! The inaugural Turning A New Page Book Festival is officially in the books 😉 . If comments from readers and authors alike can be trusted (and they can) it was a roaring success! Over 40 authors shared their books and writing journeys with 200+ attendees. The board members are all pooped, but eager to get on with the planning for 2025!

Today’s TTT topic is new-to-me authors in 2023. My list today features the writers I discovered while working on the book festival planning. I hope you find a new author to increase your TBR!

For more great new books and authors, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top New-To-Me Authors in 2023

Valerie Burns — Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder

Brandy Heineman — Whispers in The Branches

Jennifer Q. Hunt — Through Thorny Ways

Rhonda McKnight — Something About Home

Kathy Manos Penn — Bells, Tails, And Murder

Randy Pierce — Missy

William Rawlings — Crypto

Vanessa Riley — Queen of Exiles

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If You Liked . . . Better Watch Out

30 Dec

I loved this month’s book club pick, Better Watch Out by Natalie Walters! It had all the things I could want in a Christmas-y romantic suspense — action and danger, sizzling romance, and all things Christmas. The NYC setting brought back great memories of a trip my husband and I took one December. Plus it added to my bucket list (IYKYK).

If you are a fan of Christmas cheer, mystery/suspense, and/or sweet romance, here’s some more reading recommendations:

Last to Know by Brandy Heineman

All she wants for Christmas . . . is an end to this terrible year.

Silver bells are ringing, but family drama and flaky finances have Nadine Notaro wrung out. The only bright spots this holiday season are her job at the Blissford Historical Society and her cheery, dependable co-worker, Chase Garren—until the City Council cuts their funding. The lost income will be bad enough, but what about Chase? Though quick to remind everyone they’re just friends, she can’t stomach losing him, too.

While packing up the Society’s record collections, Chase and Nadine discover a journalist’s cache of negatives pointing to a decades-old scandal and cover-up. Entanglements with the City’s biggest power players pull their strings, but every clue brings them closer to the truth—and each other—until Nadine finds evidence of a betrayal she never thought possible.

Casting light on the lies may ruin Christmas and their friendship, but it stands to cost them much more.

The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

Will the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them?

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she will trust in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future. 

Whiskers, Wreaths, And Murder by Kathy Manos Penn

If it were up to her, they’d be singing carols and baking cookies. Instead, they’re stockings-deep in a murder investigation…

Leta Parker is looking forward to her first holiday season in the Cotswolds. Prepping for the town’s tree-lighting ceremony, the village is enraged when the new American earl announces plans to develop his family’s estate into a resort. And when the brash successor is found dead in a ditch, it’s obvious this car crash was no accident.

Determined to unwrap the truth behind the tragedy, Leta enlists the help of the Little Old Ladies Detective Agency and her talking dog and cat. But with everyone in the charming hamlet a suspect, it’ll be tough to discover who’s not on Father Christmas’s naughty list.

Will Leta and friends deliver the gift of justice?

Whiskers, Wreaths & Murder is the third book in the delightful Dickens & Christie cozy mystery series. If you like clever senior women, deep friendships, and animals of the talking variety, then you’ll love Kathy Manos Penn’s yuletide whodunit

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First Line Friday — The Juliet Code

29 Dec

I am so excited to read the Juliet Code, the third book in the oh so fun Freddy And Grace Mystery series by Pepper Basham. These books are full of historically, romantic, mysterious goodness! My review will be posted in January, but for now here’s the first line (it’s so Grace!):

Grace Percy had always dreamed of being part of a dashing pursuit of some villain; she’d just never imagined doing so in a gondola with a complete stranger.

Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley Finally Reach Their Honeymoon Destination Only to Encounter a New Mystery in Need of Solving
 
Frederick and Grace Percy finally make it to Italy to enjoy a delayed honeymoon and explore the beauties of the historic city of Venice. To their surprise, their friend, Detective Jack Miracle, is also in the city, investigating a series of art heists starting at the house of eccentric millionaire, Laraby Covington. Drawn into a world of boat races, mysterious houses, and parties of the rich and unusual in Venice, Frederick and Grace learn of the existence of the Juliet paintings, (Renaissance paintings feature Shakespeare’s tragic heroine) rumored to hold a secret code to an underground vault of similarly treasured artwork assumed lost over the centuries. As Freddie and Grace are pulled deeper into the mystery and their beloved Detective Jack disappears, can they use their wits and work as a team to find the thieves and Jack before it’s too late. 
 
The Juliet Code is a Freddie and Grace Mystery, sequel to The Mistletoe Countess and The Cairo Curse.

Pepper Basham is a best-selling author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook & Instagram.

You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at http://www.pepperdbasham.com.

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