Happy Friday! I am so excited to begin this week’s First Line Friday selection — In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer. I read the first book in the series, When The Day Comes, and was blown away by the unique story, the fascinating historical settings, and the characters that captured my reading heart! If you haven’t read book 1 yet, get it and this book too. You won’t be sorry.
Here’s the first line:
Most days, I could pretend that my life was normal.
Maggie inherited a gift from her time-crossing parents that allows her to live three separate lives in 1861, 1941, and 2001. Each night, she goes to sleep in one time period and wakes up in another. Until she turns twenty-one, when she will have to forfeit two of those lives–and everyone she knows in them–forever.
In 1861, Maggie is the daughter of a senator at the outbreak of the Civil War, navigating a capital full of Southern spies and wounded soldiers. In 1941, she is a navy nurse, grappling with her knowledge of the future when she joins a hospital ship going to Pearl Harbor. And in 2001, she’s a brilliant young medical student, fulfilling her dream of becoming a surgeon.
While Maggie has sworn off romance until she makes her final choice, an intriguing man tugs at her heart in each era, only complicating the impossible decision she must make, which looms ever closer. With so much on the line, how can Maggie choose just one life to keep and the rest to lose?
Gabrielle Meyer lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people, places, and events. You can learn more about Gabrielle and her books at http://www.gabriellemeyer.com.
I have a long list of must-read authors and always have a recommendation when someone asks for (or hints at needing 😉 ) a suggestion. This week’s TTT calls for those books we most recommend. I probably have 100s depending on genre likes and dislikes. But I decided to stay within the parameters of 10 only. Whew! It was hard. I know I’mm leaving some deserving novel off my list, but the ones I chose are those I suggest to people who want a thought-provoking book, one that is special. There are a number of genres represented because a good story well-told is my only criteria. You’ve seen these books in lots of other posts — they are that good! I probably need to post a part 2 in an upcoming Freebie week.
Before I Called You Mine by Nicole Deese (contemporary romance)
Lauren Bailey may be a romantic at heart, but after a decade of matchmaking schemes gone wrong, there’s only one match she’s committed to now–the one that will make her a mother. Lauren is a dedicated first-grade teacher in Idaho, and her love for children has led her to the path of international adoption. To satisfy her adoption agency’s requirements, she gladly agreed to remain single for the foreseeable future; however, just as her long wait comes to an end, Lauren is blindsided by a complication she never saw coming: Joshua Avery.
Joshua may be a substitute teacher by day, but Lauren finds his passion for creating educational technology as fascinating as his antics in the classroom. Though she does her best to downplay the undeniable connection between them, his relentless pursuit of her heart puts her commitment to stay unattached to the test and causes her once-firm conviction to waver.
With an impossible decision looming, Lauren might very well find herself choosing between the two deepest desires of her heart . . . even if saying yes to one means letting go of the other.
Hidden Among The Stars by Melanie Dobson (dual timelines/historical)
The year is 1938, and as Hitler’s troops sweep into Vienna, Austrian Max Dornbach promises to help his Jewish friends hide their most valuable possessions from the Nazis, smuggling them to his family’s summer estate near the picturesque village of Hallstatt. He enlists the help of Annika Knopf, his childhood friend and the caretaker’s daughter, who is eager to help the man she’s loved her entire life. But when Max also brings Luzia Weiss, a young Jewish woman, to hide at the castle, it complicates Annika’s feelings and puts their entire plan—even their very lives—in jeopardy. Especially when the Nazis come to scour the estate and find both Luzia and the treasure gone.
Eighty years later, Callie Randall is mostly content with her quiet life, running a bookstore with her sister and reaching out into the world through her blog. Then she finds a cryptic list in an old edition of Bambithat connects her to Annika’s story . . . and maybe to the long-buried story of a dear friend. As she digs into the past, Callie must risk venturing outside the safe world she’s built for a chance at answers, adventure, and maybe even new love.
Miranda Warning by Heather Day Gilbert (mystery)
Child of the Appalachian mountains, Tess Spencer has experienced more than her share of heartache. The Glock-wielding, knife-carrying housewife knows how to survive whatever life throws at her.
But when an anonymous warning note shows up in her best friend Miranda’s mailbox — a note written in a dead woman’s handwriting — Tess quickly discovers that ghosts are alive and well in Buckneck, West Virginia. Hot on a cold trail, she must use limited clues and her keen insight into human nature to unmask the killer . . . or the next victim might be Tess herself.
Tinged with the supernatural and overshadowed by the mountains’ lush, protective presence, this twisting psychological mystery is the first in A Murder in the Mountains series.
No One Ever Asked by Katie Ganshert (general fiction)
When an impoverished school district loses its accreditation and the affluent community of Crystal Ridge has no choice but to open their school doors, the lives of three very different women converge: Camille Gray — the wife of an executive, mother of three, long-standing PTA chairwoman and champion fundraiser — faced with a shocking discovery that threatens to tear her picture-perfect world apart at the seams. Jen Covington, the career nurse whose long, painful journey to motherhood finally resulted in adoption but she is struggling with a happily-ever-after so much harder than she anticipated. Twenty-two-year-old Anaya Jones–the first woman in her family to graduate college and a brand new teacher at Crystal Ridge’s top elementary school, unprepared for the powder-keg situation she’s stepped into. Tensions rise within and without, culminating in an unforeseen event that impacts them all. This story explores the implicit biases impacting American society, and asks the ultimate question: What does it mean to be human? Why are we so quick to put labels on each other and categorize people as “this” or “that”, when such complexity exists in each person?
The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox (dual timelines/historical/general fiction)
Present Day. After tragedy plunges her into grief and unresolved anger, Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home determined to finally follow her long-denied dream of running Old Depot Grocery alongside her mother and grandmother. But when she arrives, her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that the store is closing. Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a pact to save the store, but Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons–but she’ll certainly never reveal the real one.
1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she’s pregnant with her deceased fiancé’s baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve the family reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.
This dual-timeline story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of a mother-daughter dynamic, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.
Stories That Bind Us by Susie Finkbeiner (general fiction)
Betty Sweet never expected to be a widow at 40. With so much life still in front of her, she tries to figure out what’s next. She couldn’t have imagined what God had in mind. When her estranged sister is committed to a sanitarium, Betty finds herself taking on the care of a 5-year-old nephew she never knew she had.
In 1960s LaFontaine, Michigan, they make an odd pair. Betty with her pink button nose and bouffant hair. Hugo with his light brown skin and large brown eyes. But more powerful than what makes them different is what they share: the heartache of an empty space in their lives. Slowly, they will learn to trust one another as they discover common ground and healing through the magic of storytelling.
Award-winning author Susie Finkbeiner offers fans a novel that invites us to rediscover the power of story to open the doors of our hearts.
Water from My Heart by Charles Martin (general fiction)
Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age 16. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America, where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter.
Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible — and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?
When The Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer (historical/romance/time travel)
How will she choose, knowing all she must sacrifice?
Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she’s the same person at her core in both times, she’s leading two vastly different lives.
In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives–and any hope of love–are put in jeopardy.
Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about–women’s suffrage–is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.
But Libby knows she’s not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?
Where The Blue Sky Begins by Katie Powner (general fiction)
Sometimes the hardest road of all is the road home.
When confident and handsome Eric Larson is sent to a rural Montana town to work in the local branch of his uncle’s financial company, he’s determined to exceed everyone’s expectations, earn a promotion, and be back in Seattle by the end of summer. Yet nothing could prepare him for the lessons this small town has in store.
At forty-six years old, eccentric and outspoken Eunice Parker has come to accept her terminal illness and has given herself one final goal: seek forgiveness from everyone on her bucket list before her time runs out. But it will take more courage than she can muster on her own.
After an accident pushes Eric and Eunice together, the unlikely pair is forced to spend more time with each other than either would like, which challenges their deepest prejudices and beliefs. As summer draws to a close, neither Eric nor Eunice is where they thought they would be, but they both wrestle with the same important question: What matters most when the end is near?
Within These Walls of Sorrow by Amanda Barratt (historical fiction)
Zosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany’s invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves. As ghetto walls rise and the occupiers tighten their grip on the city of Krakow, Zosia joins pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz and his staff in the heart of the Krakow ghetto as they risk their lives to aid the Jewish people trapped by Nazi oppression.
Hania Silverman’s carefree girlhood is shattered as her family is forced into the ghetto. Struggling to survive in a world hemmed in by walls and rife with cruelty and despair, she encounters Zosia, her former neighbor, at the pharmacy. As deportation winnow the ghetto’s population and snatch those she holds dear, Hania’s natural resiliency is exhausted by reality. Zodia and Hania’s lives intertwine as they face the griefs and fears thrust upon them by war, until one day, they are forced to make a desperate choice . . . one that will inexorably bind them together, even as they are torn apart.
Amanda Barratt’s meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing shine once again in this moving look at a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times.
A time-traveling novel? Yes, please! Today’s First Line Friday features When The Day Comes by GabrielleMeyer. Set in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and 1914 Gilded Age New York City, this book is beyond intriguing. Find out all about it below.
But first, here’s the first line:
For as long as I could remember, my mama had told me that my life was a gift.
How will she choose, knowing all she must sacrifice?
Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she’s the same person at her core in both times, she’s leading two vastly different lives.
In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives–and any hope of love–are put in jeopardy.
Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about–women’s suffrage–is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.
But Libby knows she’s not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?
Gabrielle Meyer lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people, places, and events. You can learn more about Gabrielle and her books at http://www.gabriellemeyer.com.
I knew that When The Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer was a time travel book, but I had no idea how much I was going to love it. This novel is not about people blithely hopping from one time period to another, but a complexly written novel with deep spiritual themes. Don’t hesitate to pick this one up — you won’t be sorry!
How will she choose, knowing all she must sacrifice?
Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she’s the same person at her core in both times, she’s leading two vastly different lives.
In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives–and any hope of love–are put in jeopardy.
Libby’s life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about–women’s suffrage–is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.
But Libby knows she’s not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other–but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?
Gabrielle Meyer lives in central Minnesota on the banks of the upper Mississippi River with her husband and four children. As an employee of the Minnesota Historical Society, she fell in love with the rich history of her state and enjoys writing fictional stories inspired by real people, places, and events. You can learn more about Gabrielle and her books at http://www.gabriellemeyer.com.
Libby Conant/Fairhaven is a time-crosser. That’s the main premise of Meyer’s novel, When The Day Comes. With that distinction comes a good bit of responsibility, sacrifice, and reliance on God’s provision. As her 21st birthday draws near, Libby knows she must make a choice. Will she spend the rest of her life in Williamsburg in the 1770s, or will she choose a life in 1915? I thought that would be a know-brainer given the lack of indoor plumbing during the American Revolution, but I was certainly wrong. 😉 When The DayComes, along with being very well-researched for not one time period, but two, explores the themes of identity, our place in the world, and the necessity of letting God direct our paths. The storyline was excellently written — I bought all the time-crossing Libby had to endure. I never felt lost, although Libby did at many points in her journey. She knew her decisions had consequences and was very deliberate. I think this is something that we all should be aware of. Can our actions change history? Maybe not in the ways Libby’s could have, but every choice we make should be examined for the impact on our and others’ lives. Deep themes aside, I loved all the historical detail Meyer added to make the reader’s journey feel authentic. The romantic thread isn’t a slouch either. It’s just what any lover of romance fiction could want.
I could sing the praises of When The Day Comes for a long while, but just know this is a book you will love while reading and will think about long after the last page is turned. I think it would make an excellent book club selection — so much to talk about. I very highly recommend it. It will definitely be on my best of the best list this year.
Very Highly Recommended.
Great for Book Clubs.
Audience: adults.
(Thanks to Bethany House for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Blood From a Stone by David James Warren, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
The continuing adventures of Rembrandt Stone from the creative minds of James L. Rubart, Susan May Warren, and newcomer David Curtis Warren, writing collectively as David James Warren.
Title: Blood From a Stone Series: The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone #5 Author: David James Warren Publisher: TriStone Media Release Date: October 5, 2021 Genre: Time Travel Detective Series
He fled the future with blood on his hands. Now, he’ll do anything to stop a killer.
Tragedy has yet again taken from Detective Rembrandt Stone everything he loves. Now, he has one last chance to get things right and stop a killer he’s been hunting across four timelines. Instead, he gets tangled in a petty crime that just might cost him his one chance at justice.
With two murders to stop, and thirty-eight lives still in the balance, Rembrandt must play his hand against time just right if he wants to win his future. Play it wrong and his life will stay shattered beyond repair.
What sacrifices will he have to make to come home to his wife and daughter?
The stakes have never been higher in the heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat fifth story of the True Lies of Rembrandt Stone.
EXCERPT
This is not my world.
Not my life.
Not my time.
Sure, it resembles a life I knew—from the snow piled up along the blackened, salted streets, the icy wind buffeting the frosty diner window, to the sound of Celine Dion singing how her heart will go on, and even the smell of oil in the fryers of the late-night diner. It could be any one of the diners I used to frequent in downtown Minneapolis after a long day of investigations.
But this is not my life.
My life is twenty years in the future, and right now, if fate were kind, or even fair, I would be reading Llama, Llama, Red Pajama to my seven-year-old blonde cherub as she clutches a ratty one-eyed bear named Gomer and tells me to slow down, to read it again.
My gorgeous wife, Eve, would be standing in the doorway of our partially remodeled craftsman located in a suburb of Uptown. Or maybe she’d be across the hall in our king bed, bundled up in her wool socks and thick bathrobe, her reading glasses down on her nose, deep in the latest issue of the Journal for Forensic Scientists.
Downstairs, the light in my den would be on, the cursor at my computer blinking, waiting for me to continue my half-finished novel.
And I would be happy. Until now, I wouldn’t realize how happy, but as I sit here, I know.
I had a happy ending.
This is not it. But this time around, if I’m smart, I’ll win.
I must win.
To a time traveler, until you’ve been someplace for a long time, rewriting the past feels like a game. We jump into the moment, armed with knowledge we shouldn’t possess, the older and wiser versions of ourselves, with the goal of rewriting our lives, this time for the better.
For us, the game isn’t win or lose, but rather, scored on the what-ifs that we grab, the shouldas we accomplish. And, all the while, in the back of our minds, if we make a wrong move, we’re buoyed by the surety it can be reset.
It’s taken me four rounds, but this time I know.
This is not a game.
Time is playing for keeps and there’s no reset if I fail.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame author of ten novels and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s dad to the two most outstanding sons on the planet and lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at http://jameslrubart.com/
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy and RITA award–winning author of more than eighty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. The mother of four grown children, and married to her real-life hero for over 30 years, she loves traveling and telling stories about life, adventure, and faith.
For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
David Curtis Warren is making his literary debut in these novels, and he’s never been more excited. He looks forward to creating more riveting stories with Susie and Jim, as well as on his own. He’s grateful for his co-writers, family, and faith, buoying him during the pandemic of 2020, and this writing and publishing process.
(1) winner will receive a print copy of Blood from a Stone and a $15 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight October 5, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on October 12, 2021. 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.
Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Second
Chance by Walt Mussell, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE
BOOK
Title:A Second Chance Author:Walt Mussell Release Date: August 24, 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction with Christian, romantic, and fantasy (time travel) elements
Kira Sakamichi is a career-driven woman, trying to achieve success before her mother’s constant interference sentences her to a relationship. But when a grudging drive to meet her mother’s latest “selection” ends in a lake accident, Kira wakes up lost in the past, the concubine of a 16th-century samurai, and mother to his six-year-old son. When actions in battle lead to the samurai’s condemnation, Kira learns that she and her son will share the samurai’s fate. Only by understanding the importance of duty and family in both time periods can they survive.
Walt Mussell is an award-winning author who primarily writes historical fiction with a focus on medieval Japan, an interest he gained in the four years he lived there. You can connect with Walt via his website www.waltmussell.com (please use the contact form to be added to the newsletter) or connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube.
(1) winner will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card! If the winner is Canadian, the winner can request Tim Horton’s!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight August 31, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on September 7, 2021. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Set in Stone by David James Warren, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
The continuing adventures of Rembrandt Stone from the creative minds of James L. Rubart, Susan May Warren, and newcomer David Curtis Warren, writing collectively as David James Warren.
Title: Set in Stone Series: The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone #4 Author: David James Warren Publisher: TriStone Media Release Date: August 10, 2021 Genre: Time Travel Detective Series
Rembrandt Stone is on the case of a serial killer. But when the killer finds him first, he puts the one person Rembrandt loves in his cross hairs. Now, Rembrandt must outwit time to save the people he loves.
What is happiness? Is it a place? A time? A choice?
I am afraid of the answer. Because if it is either of the former two, it’s lost to me.
Lost in time, a place that has vanished by my own making and I stand in the wasteland of my choices.
Except, not a wasteland, really. Because I have nearly everything I want.
Nearly.
“Rembrandt, come to bed. It’s cold out.”
The voice lifts from the beautiful woman under our covers, my wife of seven years, which is almost correct.
Close enough, really, to the truth.
Maybe this is my truth.
I’m standing at the open window of my two-story craftsman home. The bare wood floor chills my feet, and a crispness layers the June air, as if the night is on alert.
The sky is a deep indigo, stars staring down at me. The giant dead elm tree at the back of our yard, still here, despite my taking it down in a previous timeline, stretches skeletal arms across the yard and through moonlight waxing my backyard.
In my dreams, I see a swing set there, a little girl, age seven, swinging, her braids flopping with every pump. Daddy, watch me!
She is blonde and sweet, and her laughter fills my soul.
My throat burns and I have my answer.
Happiness is a person.
Movement, the bed clothes rustling, then the creak of the floor and I still as Eve comes up and wraps her strong arms around me. She is warm and solid and real and this should be enough for me.
A kiss to my spine sends a ripple of heat through me.
I’ve missed her so much, my body aches.
“Thinking about your new job?” She smells of the lavender cream she lathers onto her skin every night.
It feels like a lifetime since I’ve wrapped my hands around hers, since we’ve shared this quiet awareness of each other.
Three lifetimes, actually.
Because this is my third try at rewriting my life, to find myself back at the beginning.
And like I said, this time, I nearly got it right.
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame author of ten novels and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s dad to the two most outstanding sons on the planet and lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at http://jameslrubart.com/
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy and RITA award–winning author of more than eighty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. The mother of four grown children, and married to her real-life hero for over 30 years, she loves traveling and telling stories about life, adventure, and faith.
For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
David Curtis Warren is making his literary debut in these novels, and he’s never been more excited. He looks forward to creating more riveting stories with Susie and Jim, as well as on his own. He’s grateful for his co-writers, family, and faith, buoying him during the pandemic of 2020, and this writing and publishing process.
(1) winner will receive a print copy of Set in Stone and a $15 Amazon gift card!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight August 10, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on August 17, 2021. 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.
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Sticks and Stone by David James Warren, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
The continuing adventures of Rembrandt Stone from the creative minds of James L. Rubart, Susan May Warren, and newcomer David Curtis Warren, writing collectively as David James Warren.
Title:Sticks and Stone Series: The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone #3 Author: David James Warren Publisher: TriStone Media Release Date: June 1, 2021 Genre: Time Travel Detective Series
When Rembrandt goes back to stop the untimely death of his partner, he finds himself wrapped up in the disappearance of two missing children in the middle of an epic Minneapolis blizzard. But, can he save the children in time–and if he does, will he also be able to save his partner?
The continuing adventures of Rembrandt Stone from the creative minds of James L. Rubart, Susan May Warren, and newcomer David Curtis Warren, writing as DAVID JAMES WARREN.
The pieces of two lives sit in my brain like they should fit together, but no matter how hard I press, I can’t get them to line up.
My life is broken into fragments that refuse to align.
All I know is that some mistakes you can never escape, no matter how you try.
And believe me, I’ve tried.
I’m standing on the muddy shoreline in the shadow of the Stone Arch Bridge on the east bank of the Mississippi River. The morning sun is low, just brimming the horizon, gilding the water a deep, fire-orange, and turning the skyline of Minneapolis a brilliant gold. I’m watching my crime scene investigators tape off a wooded area of the Historic Main Street Park just off Anthony and Main.
A woman’s naked body is covered, awaiting the CSI director—my former wife, although she has no memory of that—and the coroner is on his way.
I’m nursing my second cup of coffee, the first one downed this morning at o-dark hundred as I crawled out of bed to the text of my assistant, Inspector Zeke Kincaid. My head is fuzzy because, as I said, I’m trying to fit together pieces that aren’t made for this puzzle.
This puzzle belongs to Rembrandt Stone, Bureau Chief Inspector for the Minneapolis Police Department and head of the task force overseeing the Jackson serial killings.
I am Rembrandt Stone, former investigator turned failed novelist, father to a seven-year-old daughter, gone missing in time, husband to a wife who can’t remember being married to him, and the owner of a time-traveling watch.
This is a lifetime I haven’t yet lived, and although the pieces are starting to form, I’m going to need a lot more coffee.
And help.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame author of ten novels and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s dad to the two most outstanding sons on the planet and lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at http://jameslrubart.com/
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy and RITA award–winning author of more than eighty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. The mother of four grown children, and married to her real-life hero for over 30 years, she loves traveling and telling stories about life, adventure, and faith.
For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
David Curtis Warren is making his literary debut in these novels, and he’s never been more excited. He looks forward to creating more riveting stories with Susie and Jim, as well as on his own. He’s grateful for his co-writers, family, and faith, buoying him during the pandemic of 2020, and this writing and publishing process.
(1) winner will receive a print copy of the first three books of The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight June 8, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on June 15, 2021. 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.
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Cast the First Stone by David James Warren, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!
ABOUT THE BOOK
From the creative pens of USA Today bestselling author Susan May Warren, award-winning author James L. Rubart, and new voice, David Curtis Warren, writing collectively as David James Warren.
Title: Cast the First Stone Series: The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone #1 Author:David James Warren Publisher: TriStone Media Release Date: February 8, 2021 Genre: Time Travel Detective Series
One case haunts him. One chance to fix the past. One mistake could cost him everything.
Ex-Minneapolis Police Detective Rembrandt Stone walked away from a career he loved—just the price of being sure he can come home to the wife and daughter he cherishes. But he can’t shake the deep regret over a case left behind.
When his mentor, the former Chief of Homicide dies and leaves Rembrandt with a box of cold cases and a mysterious watch, he finds himself thrust into a world he recognizes—a world from twenty years ago—the same world he’s woken from in a cold sweat a hundred times. But is it a dream, or some kind of twisted reality?
If he solves the case that plagues him, and justice is finally served, will it destroy the life he loves?
Strap in for a mind-bending, time travel thrill ride in Book One of this riveting new series, The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone.
EXCERPT
It’s the regrets that keep me awake.
The broken hearts, the lives ripped apart. The bitter finales.
The sense that, frankly, it’s not finished.
I’m not finished, no matter how much I try to lie to myself.
With every crime, a clock starts ticking. A forty-eight hour fuse that ignites, chewing away at the evidence. It begins with the victim and from that moment, time gnaws at every scrap of evidence. Eyewitness memories fade, clues are scattered by wind and the daily congestion of life.
The colder the trail grows, the lower the likelihood of finding the perpetrators. This accounts for hundreds of thousand cold cases in dusty file rooms and backup databases around the world.
It also accounts for the fist in my gut every time I have to face the bereaved with a despairing update And, for too long, the indentation in the stool down at the Gold Nugget where Jericho Bloom started pouring the minute I darkened the door.
Days past, but the cases still haunt me, some waking me in the still of night, Eve’s sleeping body like an anchor in the darkness, tethering me to the now. Sometimes she too, awakens, and knowing, finds me and urges the ghosts to quiet, tucking them back inside. Still, a coldness lingers, the names, the what-ifs alive, buzzing under my skin, the images and questions as real as the day I filed the case into the back corridors of my brain.
What if?
What if I could go back to the moment, the beginning of the forty-eight hour window? Maybe everything would be different.
Maybe, but I can’t change the past.
And that’s what I say to the seven-year-old cherub standing in front of me.
“I’m sorry. Gomer’s been missing over a month.” I’m using my most stoic, former homicide Inspector voice, despite the pull of those big blue eyes staring at me. “I don’t have any leads—”
“But Daddy, you’re a detective.” My accuser has curly, golden blonde hair and the way she stares at me, hands on her hips, so much belief in her eyes, I am undone. “You know how to find things.”
James L. Rubart is 28 years old, but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame author of ten novels and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s dad to the two most outstanding sons on the planet and lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington. More at http://jameslrubart.com/
Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy and RITA award–winning author of more than eighty novels whose compelling plots and unforgettable characters have won acclaim with readers and reviewers alike. The mother of four grown children, and married to her real-life hero for over 30 years, she loves traveling and telling stories about life, adventure and faith.
For exciting updates on her new releases, previous books, and more, visit her website at www.susanmaywarren.com.
David Curtis Warren is making his literary debut in these novels, and he’s never been more excited. He looks forward to creating more riveting stories with Susie and Jim, as well as on his own. He’s grateful for his co-writers, family, and faith, buoying him during the pandemic of 2020, and this writing and publishing process.
(1) winner will receive a $15 Amazon gift card and a print copy of Cast the First Stone!
Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight February 9, 2021 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on February 16, 2021. 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.
Many of the books I review are provided to me free of charge from publishers, authors, or other groups in return for a review. The opinions expressed in the reviews are mine and mine alone. No monetary consideration is given. This disclaimer is in accordance with FTC rules.
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