Title: Escape To Florence by: Kat Devereaux

Title: Escape To Florence

Author: Kat Devereaux

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks

Source: e-book ARC ( 272 p.) NetGalley

Description:

Moving between the Second World War and the present, an exhilarating debut novel in the vein of Jennifer Robson, Kate Quinn, and Natasha Lester, about two women, decades apart, whose fates converge in Florence, Italy. Only fourteen, Stella Infuriati is the youngest member of her town’s resistance network during World War II. Risking torture and death, she relays messages, supplies, and weapons to partisan groups in the Tuscan hills. Her parents have no idea, consumed instead by love and fear for their beloved son, Achille, a courier and unofficial mechanic for a communist partisan brigade. Then, after 1945, Stella seemingly vanishes from the records. Her name and story are overshadowed by the tragic death of her brother—until a young writer arrives in Tuscany in the spring of 2019, uncovering long-buried secrets. Fleeing an emotionally abusive marriage and a lonely life on an isolated estate, Tori MacNair has come to Florence, the beautiful city her grandmother taught her to love, to build a new life. As she digs into her family history with the help of Marco, a handsome lawyer, Tori starts to uncover secrets of the past—truths that stretch back decades, to a young woman who risked everything to save her world . . .  

My Thoughts: 

This book was an incredible journey that takes Tori McNair from Scotland to Florence after her grandmother's death and needing to leave her husband who isn't good for her.  She learns about her family mainly her grandmother's life prior to getting married.  

It also takes us to a young girl named Stella whose working with the resistance to fight what is happening in Italy back during WWII and in,  This life for Stella was hard if not difficult at times.  But definitely worth the adventure as we see how she changes through the years and what happened to her when paper trails of her evaporate.  No one knows what happened to her after 1945.  What became of her?

I really enjoyed the writing and story telling in this book.  I had only wished that Tori's family was more understanding to her and her situation. (Don't want to give any spoilers I'm not that kind of reviewer :) ).  It was great to see Tori make her own choices without other people impacting her.  

I think people who love Kate Quinn and even those who like Susan Elia MacNeal.  She keeps you captivated to your seat wanting to see what happens and how the story will play out and you can also feel like you are there with everyone in WWII.

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Pride Month

As Pride month hits I wanted to take the time and showcase some books for this month I myself haven't read them but someone might enjoy them.

So let's go: 

Solomon's Crow:

Two destined rivals fall desperately in love—but the fate of medieval Europe hangs in the balance.

“A pair of thrones between us, and my heart clutched like a rosary within his hands ...”

Twelfth-century Europe. Newly-crowned King Philip of France is determined to restore his nation to its former empire and bring glory to his name. But when his greatest enemy, King Henry of England, threatens to end his reign before it can even begin, Philip is forced to make a precarious alliance with Henry’s volatile son—risking both his throne, and his heart.

Richard, Duke of Aquitaine, never thought he would be King. But when an unexpected tragedy makes him heir to England, he finally has an opportunity to overthrow the father he despises. At first, Philip is a useful tool in his quest for vengeance... until passion and politics collide, and Richard begins to question whether the crown is worth the cost.

When Philip and Richard find themselves staring down an impending war, they must choose between their desire for one another and their grand ambitions. Will their love prevail, if it calls to them from across the battlefield? Teeming with royal intrigue and betrayal, this epic romance reimagines two real-life kings ensnared by an impossible choice: Follow their hearts, or earn their place in history.

Choosing Family: A memoir of Queer Motherhood & Black Resistance

A brilliant literary memoir of chosen family and chosen heritage, told against the backdrop of Chicago’s North and South Sides As a multiracial household in Chicago’s North Side community of Rogers Park, race is at the core of Francesca T. Royster and her family's world, influencing everyday acts of parenting and the conception of what family truly means. Like Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts , this lyrical and affecting memoir focuses on a unit of the author; her wife Annie, who's white; and Cecilia, the Black daughter they adopt as a couple in their forties and fifties. Choosing Family chronicles this journey to motherhood while examining the messiness and complexity of adoption and parenthood from a Black, queer, and feminist perspective. Royster also explores her memories of the matriarchs of her childhood and the homes these women created in Chicago’s South Side—itself a dynamic character in the memoir—where “family” was fluid, inclusive, and not necessarily defined by marriage or other socially recognized contracts.

Calling upon the work of some of her favorite queer thinkers, including José Esteban Muñoz and Audre Lorde, Royster interweaves her experiences and memories with queer and gender theory to argue that many Black families, certainly her own, have historically had a “queer” attitude toward configurations that sit outside the white normative experience and are the richer for their flexibility and generosity of spirit. A powerful, genre-bending memoir of family, identity, and acceptance, Choosing Family , ultimately, is about joy—about claiming the joy that society did not intend to assign to you, or to those like you.

Dyscalculia

When Camonghne Felix goes through a monumental breakup, culminating in a hospital stay, everything—from her early childhood trauma and mental health to her relationship with mathematics—shows up in the tapestry of her healing. In this exquisite and raw reflection, Felix repossesses herself through the exploration of history she’d left behind, using her childhood “dyscalculia”—a disorder that makes it difficult to learn math—as a metaphor for the consequences of her miscalculations in love. Through reckoning with this breakup and other adult gambles in intimacy, Felix asks the question: Who gets to assert their right to pain?

 

Felix negotiates the misalignments of perception and reality, love and harm, and the politics of heartbreak, both romantic and familial.

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Review: Death of a Wicked Witch by: Lee Hollis

Title: Death of A Wicked Witch

Author: Lee Hollis

Series: Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery #13

Publisher:  Kensington 

Source: Paperback ( 304 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

Bar Harbor, Maine, is quieter in the off-season, but the population has just increased a bit with the arrival of Ted and Trudy Lancaster. Ted’s taking over for a retiring minister, and Trudy runs a food truck called Wicked ’Wiches. When she stops in at the Island Times office to place an ad, Hayley happily devours the sample sub Trudy offers—and the two become fast friends.

 

When Trudy tragically dies in her truck while catering a Halloween party, suspicion falls on a cranky, competitive caterer who’d made veiled threats to Trudy. But the case becomes more complicated when Hayley’s husband admits he’d seen someone dressed as a witch hurrying away from the food truck—not very helpful when countless women at the party wore the same costume. Now Hayley finds herself sandwiched between witches and witnesses as she considers a smorgasbord of suspects. If she finds the killer, she’ll be a local hero . . .

My Thoughts:

Hayley and Bruce and company are getting ready for Halloween when Hayley meets Trudy who runs a food truck and everyone soon is falling in love with her sandwiches.  When Trudy gets sick and winds up in the hospital people start to wonder if something is going on?  Then the minister whose about to leave starts acting really weird around Trudy Hayley wonders what is going on with the local priest.  

At a Halloween party where Trudy is serving her food someone else has decided to serve Trudy something.  Trudy winds up dead and people are wondering who killed her.  Was it her husband whom she was having problems with?  Or the local priest who was acting love struck around her or someone else?  

I love this series it's was one of the first one's I read I was so engaged in the writing style and it being told with Hayley and her friends who are fabulous.  They always crack me up like no tomorrow.  This one didn't disappoint especially as we got to see Gemma as a grown woman now instead of a teenager.  I can't wait to see what is next in this series!

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Review: Doom with A View by: Victoria Laurie

Title: Doom with a View

Author: Victoria Laurie

Series: Psychic Eye Mystery #7

Publisher: Berkley

Source: e-book ( 314 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

Business has been frustratingly slow for Abby who needs any new commission she can get, even if it means agreeing to a job with the FBI that puts her at the center of an internal political struggle between two powerful agents, one of whom is the flinty lead investigator and confirmed skeptic Brice Harrison.  Abby's skills are continually tested – along with her patience – as she works to convince Harrison that she's not only the real deal, but can help him locate three college teens who've mysteriously disappeared.

Abby's intuition tells her these are no random abductions—and foresees another victim being kidnapped. To get to the bottom of the case, she and Harrison will have to put their differences aside and work together to find the connection between the missing kids. And to do that, Abby will have to win Harrison over, while keeping her psychic eye wide open.

My Thoughts: 

Abby and Candice find themselves up against a hard skeptic who doesn't believe in intuitives regardless of how good they are. Abby finds herself getting flustered trying to prove that she is the real deal. Candice finds an instant dislike to Harrison. They spend most of their time being threatened with going to jail. And on four separate occasions being sent back to Michigan which apparently becomes a running gag. As every time you think they are going home they turn around and go back. In the end Abby ends up saving both Candice and Harrison when they need it the most, which turns the hard skeptic to her side.

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Review: The Secret Life of Violet Grant by: Beatriz Williams

Title: The Secret Life of Violet Grant

Author: Beatriz Williams

Series: Schuyler Sisters #1

Publisher: G. P/ Putnam and Sons

Source: Hardcover ( 432 p.) Personal Purchase

Description: 

Passion, redemption, and a battered suitcase full of secrets: the New York Times-bestselling author of A Hundred Summers returns with another engrossing tale.

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.

My Thoughts: 

Sassy mouthed Vivian Schulyer goes to the Post Office to pick up a suitcase sent to her.  The suitcase isn't hers it's her aunt.  She decides the the help of the adorable Dr. Paul a customer at the Post Office as well to find out what she can about Violet Grant.

Violet Grant is an amazing scientist but naive in the world of romance so when her professor seduces her she thinks she's in love.  She's in for a lot more than she thinks and finds comfort in Lionel.  

This book had so much going on with the drama in. both  Vivian and Violet's life.  I loved it and found Vivian refreshing and funny at times.  Typical socialite of the 60's that is until she opens her mouth I love the freshness of just speaking her mind regardless of what others think.

Definitely worth checking out this series I think more a summer read then winter but still fun!

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Review: Madame Pommery Creator of Brute Champagne by: Rebecca Rosenberg

Title: Madame Pommery: Creator of Brute Champagne

Author: Rebecca Rosenberg

Publisher: Lion Heart Publishing

Format: e-book ( 400 p.) Netgalley ARC

Description:

A Champagne Widows Novel

Champagne, France, 1860. Madame Pommery, an etiquette teacher and orphanage founder, loses her husband and is forced to support her family. With no experience, the forty-year-old widow decides to make champagne. Her unique vision is to change it from a sweet dessert beverage to a dry, crisp wine to be enjoyed anytime. When champagne makers refuse to teach her their craft, she forges ahead on her own and secretly begins the excavation of champagne caves under the Reims city dump.

Soon after, her son and her entire crew are conscripted to fight the Franco-Prussian war, leaving Madame Pommery alone to struggle with her champagne dreams. After Napoleon and a hundred thousand French troops are captured, the Prussians invaded France, and Prussian General Frederick Franz occupies Madame Pommery’s house as his army headquarters. Undaunted, Pommery uses her secret wine caves to hide the Francs-Tireurs, resistance fighters for France, while she plans to build a spectacular castle winery above the caves.

But when her former lover, a Scottish Baron, unexpectedly proposes marriage, Madame Pommery must choose between nobility and her passionate quest for fine champagne and the most beautiful winery in the world.

Based on a true story, Madame Pommery is a heroic novel about a mother and widow who fights the Prussians, the social class system, champagne patriarchs, and champagne tastes to create a champagne legacy.

My Thoughts:

This book follows recently widowed Madame Pommery who finds herself in need of money to keep them going she has two companies inherited by her late husband a winery and a wool company.  She decides to ditch the wool and focus all efforts on the winery.  But in a world where women are not dealt with alot can she survive?

She makes bold decisions that are unheard of in this time frame.  Changing wine to what we now know as Brute Champagne in a world where Champagne is sweet as heck. she decides to make it less sweet looking for a dryer Champagne.  

So much happens in this book and you feel pulled in wanting to see how everything plays out especially during a Napoleon France.  She is armed with her wits and a vision no could think would work.  I really enjoyed seeing what she accomplished especially during the time frame!

Anyone who likes historical novels based on things we have now like Brut will appreciate what this author has given us a heck of a story about a wonderful lady!

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Review: What The Cat Dragged In by: Miranda James

Title: What The Cat Dragged In

Author: Miranda James

Publisher: Berkley 

Series: Cat In The Stacks #14

Format: e-book (297 p.) NetGalley ARC

Description:

Librarian Charlie Harris and his faithful feline companion, Diesel, have inherited Charlie’s grandfather’s house, along with a deadly legacy: a decades-old crime scene, in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series.

Charlie has always believed that his grandfather had sold his house to his longtime tenant, Martin Hale. So when Martin dies, Charlie is surprised to discover the house was not left to Martin but instead belongs to Charlie. As he and Diesel check out the house he remembers fondly from his childhood, he is pleasantly surprised that it is in better condition than expected. That is, until they find a literal skeleton in a closet.

While the sheriff’s department investigates the mysterious remains, Charlie digs deeper into the past for clues to the identity of the bones and why they are there. But the cold case heats up quickly when Martin’s grandson is found dead on the farm.

As Charlie delves into his own family history, he encounters many people who might have been motivated to take a life. But Charlie and Diesel know that things are not always what they seem, and that secrets seemingly lost to time have a way of finding their way back to haunt the present.

My Review: 

As we go back to Athena, Mississippi we visit with Charlie, Diesel and their friends and family.  In this book we learn that Charlie has inherited a farm away from the busy city that belonged to his grandparents and he learns this because the previous renter had died.  This was all pretty normal in the book until Diesel finds bones in the house then everything gets all sorts of crazy.   There are land disputes and people who want to own the farm and all sorts of crazy stuff but the real question is who are the bones and what happened to a family member of the deceased who winds up dead during a bad rain story,  So much going on it was great to see Charlie step back in some areas and let others work on the case.

I love the Cat in Stacks I have been a huge fan since book on and keeps on getting better all the time.  This one definitely didn't disappoint in the least.  We get to go back and see what everyone is up to and what craziness is beginning.  Loved it!

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Review: Hard Bitten by: Chloe Neill

Title: Hard Bitten 

Author: Chloe Neill

Publisher: NAL Trade

Format: Paperback ( 350 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals—and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan, are tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of an underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society—a world full of vampires who seem to be ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands.

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Merit as she is helping her house after the mess that happened in the previous book.  Someone is messing with the humans again this time using a special pull that alters the mind of people.  Merit and Ethan are looking into what could be going on.  Unfortunately the council sent a representative to check on Ethan's house which puts them all under fire for anything and everything.  What a new girl vampire to do?

I love this series it's a lot of fun and keeps you on your toes.  You find you can't wait to see what is next.  I love watching Merit, Mall, Catcher and everyone else it's like when your favorite paranormal tv show comes back from a hiatus you get all excited to see what is next!

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Book Spotlight: Christmas in Newfoundland by: Mike Martin

 

From the author of the Award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries including Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries Book 1, comes another welcome addition to the Sgt. Windflower family of books…

By Mike Martin

Book Blurb

From the author of the Award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mysteries including Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries Book 1, comes another welcome addition to the Sgt. Windflower family of books.

Come sit by the fire of the woodstove in the kitchen and listen to stories of Christmas long ago in Grand Bank and Ramea and tales of great adventure and Christmas magic in St. John’s in the 1960s and onward. Have Christmas dinner with Sgt. Windflower and Sheila and their two little girls. Then wait and see if any special visitors show up to entertain them.

Sing along with the choir or have a drink with old friends to celebrate Tibb’s Eve. Follow along as Eddie Tizzard has a special mission in the middle of a snowstorm and Herb Stoodley becomes an unlikely Christmas hero.

Christmas in Newfoundland is always a time for good food, good friends, and good cheer. And there’s always another chair at the table.

Release Date: September 26, 2022

Publisher: Ottawa Press and Publishing

Soft Cover: 978-1990896033; 141 pages; $16.95; eBook $4.99

Amazon: https://amzon.to/3fSJoL

 

Book Excerpt

  

Christmas Memories

It was their very first Christmas together and while it was so exciting to be in love and together during this magical season, it was also a little bit awkward as they tried to develop their own holiday traditions.

Their memories and celebrations of Christmas had been very different growing up. Windflower’s holidays in Pink Lake, his northern Alberta birthplace had been full of love but also tinged with sadness and a healthy dash of chaos. His parents had given him everything they had, which meant he got all the most favourite toys that they could order from the Sears catalogue.

His parents were no longer with him and that made him sad sometimes this time of year. He missed his mother especially. She had been so kind to him and everyone around him. He missed his dad, too, but not in the same way. His dad had worked as a logger most of his life and that meant he was away a lot, clearing brush and hauling raw lumber down to Edmonton.

Christmas Eve was his favourite time when he was little. Maybe the same even today. He loved the feeling of expectation. That something really good was going to happen. He always got new pajamas and slippers on the night before Christmas and there was a special meal of venison stew and bannock with dark fruitcake for dessert. Santa didn’t play a big role in a Pink Lake Christmas, everyone knew their parents were bringing the gifts. But that did nothing to dampen their enthusiasm. Certainly not Windflower’s.

He liked Christmas Eve, too, because that was the one night before the parties began. Before the drinking began. Everything really was calm and bright and full of hope. The next day some of his relatives would arrive with their Christmas stash and over the following days his father’s friends would also pop by. It was great fun at the beginning but as the night and the drinks wore on, it became louder and a little frightening for a little boy. Sometimes his mother would take him to be with Auntie Marie and Uncle Frank. He liked that and loved his aunt who would make him special treats and tell him stories of the old days and their Christmas around a large community fire. 

Sometimes his father would go away with his friends and he and his mom would be left waiting for his return. It could be later that evening or a few days but eventually he would come home, most often drunk, and spend the next day recovering. Windflower knew to be very quiet around those times. His mother had warned him not to wake the sleeping bear.

Those were all but passing memories for Windflower now and he was looking forward to spending time and celebrating Christmas with Sheila, the light and love of his life.

Sheila loved, loved, loved Christmas. Everything about Christmas. She had taken out all the old ornaments weeks before Christmas so she could look at them and pressured Windflower to go out early in December to get their tree. The first Sunday in the month they drove to the woods on the outskirts of town and walked in to get their tree. They didn’t have far to go. About five minutes in, Sheila found the tall balsam fir she was looking for. 

“Perfect,” she announced.

“Okay,” said Windflower and he sawed the tree near the bottom and tied it to the top of her car. They drove home and while he made them hot chocolate, Sheila laid out all the decorations that she wanted to use.

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About the Author

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

He is the author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 12 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Dangerous Waters. A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. Mike has also published Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries, a Sgt. Windflower Book of Christmas past and present. And now Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries 2.

Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Ottawa Independent Writers and Capital Crime Writers.

You can follow the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/

Website: www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com

Twitter: @mike54martin

Sponsored By:

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Book Blast: The Timber Stone by: Dave Abare

 

Former rock star and world-class drinker Joshua Traxon leaves LA for small town VT, escaping tragedy, finding love…

By Dave Abare

Book Blurb

Josh Traxon, a former rock/reality TV star, moves from L.A. to Vermont, after a failed reality TV show and the death of his lover Sasha, for which he blames himself. He and his spunky pug Pickle soon meet their beautiful neighbor, Laurel, her young boy, Ethan, and her mother, who Josh often spars with. Laurel’s ex-boyfriend Barry tries to stir up trouble, but with his wit, humor, and a little bravado, Josh dispatches him—and wins Laurel’s affections. Narrating directly to the reader at times, Josh humorously and candidly describes his fondness for chess, his dog, and his embarrassment and guilt in being a womanizer for much of his life. His love of tequila and whiskey, however, is a problem, and much of that is tied to his shame in lying about the auto accident in California that killed his girlfriend.

As Laurel and Josh grow closer, he notices her getting sick often, but his focus remains on himself and dealing with his past. As his drinking intensifies, Laurel expresses concerns, and he admits the details of the accident to her. He decides he owes Sasha’s father the truth—that Josh had been behind the wheel, not Sasha—and plans a trip to Connecticut to confess. Laurel accompanies him, and despite her hesitations, she falls in love with him as he recounts poignant and hysterical details of his youth. But soon after arriving, Laurel gets sick again. Josh thinks she’s pregnant with Barry’s baby, but she tells him she has cancer. They share a tender moment before she sends him away to visit Sasha’s father, though he doesn’t want to leave. During the tense visit, Josh realizes (through words Sasha had spoken to him years earlier and the father’s current actions) that he’d sexually abused her, and Josh attacks the man physically.

When Josh returns to Laurel, they talk more about her illness, cry, and make love. The next morning, as Josh recounts memories of living there, he mentions his dog Timber and that there was a heart-shaped stone his mother found and placed on his gravesite. Laurel says they must go get it, and Josh agrees. They meet the man who owns his childhood home, and he shows Josh the stone, which he’d dug up years earlier. The two of them end up playing a chess match that Josh loses, which is a rare event for him. The man tells him he can take the Timber Stone, which Josh does.

Back in Vermont, all Josh wants is to get drunk but an unexpected visit from a boy in town keeps him sober, A battle with Laurel’s ex, Barry, gets Josh briefly thrown in jail. After, he visits Barry at his home to agree to disagree, but to care for Laurel like grown-ups. Josh discovers Barry likes chess and they end up playing, though Josh beats him handily. When Josh arrives home, he discovers Laurel is in the hospital and goes to see her. She looks frail and ill, though he tries to lighten the mood with humor and levity. But Laurel’s cancer has progressed rapidly.

She lives only weeks longer, and at the very end, they share a heartfelt moment where they talk and listen to music together, and she gives him a letter. It details her love for him, her joy in meeting him, and hopes that he will continue having a relationship with her son, as Ethan also loves Josh. Shortly after her funeral, Josh is talking with Ethan in his backyard and Ethan mentions a special spot he and his mother had for picnics. Josh gets the Timber Stone and asks if he can leave it in that spot. Ethan agrees, they cry, and then Josh mentions how he now has a family, a purpose.

A few weeks later, a newly sober Josh drives down the coast to spread Laurel’s ashes, as she’d have wanted. He realizes his relationship with fame has evolved, how he’s discovered what’s truly important to him now—sobriety and being there for young Ethan—and how he wishes he’d learned that lesson, and met Laurel, sooner. Still, he’s grateful for the brief time they had together, and how because of her, he’s found out who he really is, and can now thrive in his awakening.

Book Information

Release Date: October 26, 2022

Publisher: Hear Our Voice LLC

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1957913179; 306 pages; $14.05; eBook $.99; FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Efzf3R

 

Book Excerpt

  

The daylight had stretched itself over the landscape of my front yard, bending off the bright white corners of the outside trim and spilling into pockets that had been dark an hour earlier. A lone beam ricocheted off one of the white gutters that hung from the piece of roofing that covered my front porch, illuminating a patch of grass that was withered and amber in color. In L.A. ninety percent of the grass looked that way, and if you were lucky, you'd get a patch of hunter green, shaggy growth here and there on your lawn, which in total was no bigger than a card table. This particular patch, however, wasn't the result of poor soil or climate, but instead, the ball of wrinkles and eyeballs I was carrying.

When I lived out west, one of the roadies and guitar techs for my band, Jeremiah Stoven—what a name on that guy—showed up at my place with this nine-week-old puppy. It was wiggling and whining to get out of his arms, dead staring me, so he let it go and the dog was about to stroke out trying to climb up my leg. I sat down on the floor, and his wrinkled, smushed-in face released this maniacal tongue that wiped across every inch of my cheeks and chin as Jeremiah told me their dog had four puppies and this was the last one. He knew I was a dog nut and said he wanted me to have it. Ballsy move, just showing up with it, aware that I'd always been enamored with the critters. I hadn't had a dog in ages, so Jeremiah said, “It's time, dude,” and just left the two-pound hairball with me, almost four years ago now. Have to say, it was a near genius move on Jeremiah's part, arriving pup in hand, never letting me get a word in, and then vanishing as the canine was pissing on my Fender jazz bass. The little bugger had some accidents early on, but he was a quick study to housebreaking.

Pickle had decided, for reasons that only his tiny, deranged mind could know, that when he peed in the front yard of his new place, it would only happen on this one, now brownish spot of turf. He’d storm out of the house, perform his ritualistic dance of what I'd always called “devil circles,” where he’d speed in figure eights confined to a small stretch of earth, then explode into random darts and weaves with his tongue dangling and flopping like an uncooked slice of bacon out of the side of his mouth. Then, without warning, he’d make a beeline to ‘the spot’ and take a leak. I guess this lunatic expulsion of energy was formally called “the zoomies,” according to whatever experts study dogs going batshit nuts, and it was completely normal, but a sight to behold. He'd always done the frantic running, zoomy whatever it is, but the peeing on that specific patch was new behavior. Of course, I had just taken a small animal that had known the same home for his entire life across the country and plopped him in a place that looked entirely different than anything he'd experienced. There was one dainty tree in our backyard in L.A. that wasn't any taller than the fence that bordered our property, and now he's surrounded by hundreds that dwarf most of the houses we had on our old block. Go ahead and take a leak wherever you want, buddy.

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About the Author

Dave Abare was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and has spent most of his life in and around the Connecticut area. He became enamored with writing at a very young age, writing his first book, “Troll Island” at eleven years old. This work was never published, thankfully, but it was the beginning of a passion that has only intensified over his adult years.

His love of music led him to begin a part-time gig as a music writer, interviewing bands for his own “Fanzine” in the mid-eighties, including such Metal icons as Slayer, Metallica, and Anthrax, as well as bands such as Van Halen, Blues Traveler, Motorhead and Big Head Todd and the Monsters for other publications. In the last several years, Dave has spent his time working on short stories, poems, and his debut novel, “The Swing Over the Ocean,” which was, in his words, “a bit of a mess” in terms of editing, etc., but an invaluable self-publishing learning experience. Most recently, he’s completed work on his second novel, “The Timber Stone,” which is available for pre-order now.

In addition to writing and music, Dave enjoys reading, travel, cars, and Pugs (and all critters), as well as frequenting local New England wineries and breweries, with Tree House Brewing Co in Charlton, MA being his favorite. You can follow him @AbareDavey on Twitter or look for his Facebook Author Page.

Website: daveabare.com

Twitter: @abaredavey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authordaveabare

Instagram: @authodavect

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Book Tour: Three Small Bones by: Jennifer Chase

 

Cold Case Detective Katie Scott unearths her next investigation after a devastating house fire when fire fighters discover an entire family of bones in the basement…

By Jennifer Chase

Book Blurb

Smoke curls from what’s left of the beautiful family home on the edge of the woods. The heat is unbearable as she descends the stairs to the basement, past a set of bicycles––two big, one small. That’s when she sees three little white bones in the cracked earth at her feet, turning her blood to ice…

When firefighters tackling a blazing house in a quiet suburb of Pine Valley, California discover human remains, Detective Katie Scott races to 717 Maple Street. She calls a halt to the excavations the moment she sees the full number and size of the bones; someone has buried a whole family down here.

Working night and day, it’s up to Katie to prove her theory that the fire was no accident, that someone wanted to expose the secret in the basement. Tiny traces of explosives residue found at the scene is all the proof she needs. But the Cross family have been missing for months––leaving friends and loved ones in agonizing pain––what twisted soul would do this now? And why?

The case takes another heart-shattering turn when Katie’s suspicions over recent renovation work on the house leads to the discovery of more bodies in the back yard: two little girls, buried years apart. What other devastating secrets are hidden in this perfect family home?

It’s a dead end at every turn as Katie tracks down anyone who knew the family. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, reports of the Cross’s landlord harassing the family before they went missing gives Katie a crucial lead. With a menacing grey sedan following her every move, how many more innocent lives will be lost before Katie can dig up the truth?

“Edge-of-your-seat suspense to the very end! … Clear your schedule… you will not want to put it down!” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

“Love, love, LOVE… I absolutely adore this series!!” Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

“Grabbed me from the very first page! It was so intense, and enthralling. I stayed up until 11pm two nights in a row so I could finish it.” NetGalley reviewer

Book Information

Release Date: September 13, 2022

Publisher:  Bookouture

Soft Cover: ISBN: ‎ 978-1803145945; 329 pages; $11.99; eBook $3.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3SQBsZA 

My Review:

This book follows Katie Scott who is found painting her farmhouse she inherited from her parents upon

their death. When her partner shows up to bring her to a crime scene that maybe a cold case. A fire

uncovers the fact that a body is buried under the ash and rubble of the fire. Who was killed and why?

The more they dig through debris the more bodies they find and the more questions of what happened arise.

Who wanted to kill them?

This book had so much going on with strong characters and intriguing storylines. It pulls you in and you

you want to know what happens in this book and keep reading until you have it all solved.  Definitely a great mystery read!

 

Book Excerpt

  

 PROLOGUE

Four Years Ago

The heat was even more scorching than usual. It wasn’t a surprise to the special army team whose mission it was to find bombs and insurgents in Afghanistan while keeping civilians safe. It was late afternoon, barely 1700 hours. Still, the temperature raged at one hundred ten degrees and wasn’t showing any remorse.

The assignment was to enter a small village, search it, and maintain a presence while waiting for further orders. They had intelligence information that the enemy had possibly used the village for storing bomb-making paraphernalia. The inhabitants were not known hostiles, merely farmers, and would not pose any type of danger.

Katie Scott took point, which meant she was holding the most exposed position leading her unit. She trudged forward, feeling every muscle ache in her body. Her gear seemed heavier than it had only two hours ago. She adjusted her helmet and, keeping her weapon poised and ready, watched the black German shepherd pad along the roadway. The dog’s posture was almost regal and he was on high alert, ears perked forward as his head moved from side to side catching scents from the open area. Cisco was Katie’s constant companion and partner, one who had alerted her team to danger on several occasions. The dog was invaluable in so many ways, thwarting multiple potential dangers and keeping the team safe.

They finally entered the village. A couple of elderly townspeople acknowledged the American soldiers with a subtle nod but stopped what they were doing immediately to take refuge in their small, makeshift homes. There were supposed to be families with children in the village, but now Katie could only see two young men out and about.

It seemed strange.

Something was out of place.

Katie slowed her pace and her sergeant caught up with her.

“What’s up, Scotty?” he said quietly, still keeping his eyes on any movement around the village.

“I don’t know…” she said softly. “But something is wrong.”

They stopped.

The rest of the team spread out and kept a watchful eye around them.

Cisco stopped too. He stood completely still, taking in the sights and sounds as the hot breeze ruffled his black fur. He growled and turned his attention ahead toward a group of buildings.

“He senses something,” she whispered to her sergeant.

The sergeant gestured for the rest to follow in that direction.

The company moved out. Each soldier had their position, watching for any movement as they covered each other’s backs.

Katie could feel her heart beating hard. She shivered even though the temperature was blistering. Moving cautiously in the direction that Cisco had headed, she brought the dog close by her side. She was ready to return fire or take cover. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and keep focus. They continued to advance.

A building made of mud bricks and concrete with blocked up windows sat silent. It didn’t appear to be the same structure type as the family homes around it. On one side of the dwelling the windows were crumbling, appearing more ancient than the rest.

Katie watched Cisco slow his pace. His fur bristled down his spine.

The team stopped just before the entrance. There was no visibility as to what was inside.

Under the direction of the sergeant, two team members opened the door and then cleared the entrance, heading farther inside.

Katie heard gasps from her group. She cautiously entered behind them, directing her weapon in front of her. The musty stench hit her first—it was an unmistakable odor. As her vision slowly became accustomed to the dim, dusty lighting, she saw what her teammates had seen. Death.

At first, it appeared to be a large pile of clothes. Katie saw shoes and various materials, but she then realized that the clothes were covering bodies that were by now mostly bones but there were some that were in the first stages of decomposition. There were smaller bones that had been children.

She gulped and took a few steps back. Her mouth went dry and her heart hammered. Her team searched and cleared the building before moving out in formation.

Cisco kept close to her side as Katie tried hard to erase the horrific spectacle from her mind. It had been a massacre. Parents had still had their arms wrapped around their children. She had seen tiny shoes and part of a toy.

Without warning, gunfire bombarded them, peppering off the old clay walls. Smoke filled the air. The team took their positions and returned fire. Katie tucked into a safe place with Cisco next to her. She began to help hold off the ambush attack by firing in the direction of the threat.

Later on, Katie realized that it had been the longest gun battle she had been in, lasting nearly thirty minutes. But the worst part wasn’t the shooting. It was that now she could never forget the image of the town whose inhabitants had been systematically murdered just to keep the enemy’s weapons safe. Something had changed in her perspective that day. The incident fused into her soul, and she would always now carry it with her.

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About the Author

Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and USA Today Best Selling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling.

Her latest book is the crime thriller, Three Small Bones.You can visit her website at www.AuthorJenniferChase.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

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