PIRACY by L.P. Maxa

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

No one has more fun than Jett Matthews, and he intends to keep it that way, but he has to convince the girl of his dreams, Devin King, that Jett's brand of fun means forever.

Read an Excerpt

My plan for this upcoming takedown was to wait in the dark until I saw her stumble into the building. And then, I’d follow her stealthily into the classroom. Stalking probably wasn’t the number one way to get a girl, but it was all I had at the moment. I didn’t know her name, which was my bad, so I couldn’t look her up on social media. And I hadn’t seen her around campus that morning, so I hadn’t been able to accidentally “bump” into her.

Thus, the shadows.

I chuckled quietly when I saw her enter the building, instantly dropping her cell phone on the hard laminate flooring. This chick. I shook my head and left my hiding place, falling in step behind her and trailing her into the classroom. Then down the steps and across five people to sit smack-dab in the middle of the row. I had to make people move down so I could get a seat right next to her. And through it all, she never turned and noticed that I was behind her. Not once did she glance over her shoulder. She was completely unaware of her surroundings.

I pulled out my tablet and then watched as she once again set up her desk with more supplies than she’d need for the whole semester. I waited patiently, hiding my smirk behind my hand while she fumbled a pen and sent it sailing two levels down.

“Hi.” I spoke close to her ear, but not so close that it would be considered “rude.”

She jerked away from my lips in surprise and turned to glare at me. “What are you doing here?” I found that I enjoyed the flare of irritation in her eyes as much as I’d enjoyed the blush on her neck the first class we’d shared.

I raised an eyebrow, pointing to my tablet. “I’m in this class.”

Her eyes narrowed even further, and her lips made that straight line for a moment. “Yeah, but why are you here, next to me?”

About the Author

L.P. lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, daughter, three rescue dogs, four chickens, two dwarf goats, and one adopted cat. The fish died. She is a full-time writer, and part time business owner. L.P. says she loves to read as much as she loves to write, and reading a good book is her reward after writing one. In her spare time, she fosters puppies for a rescue organization based in Austin.

Connect with L.P. –

http://www.lpmaxa.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/LP-Maxa/1442560722667127
http://www.twitter.com/lpmaxa
http://www.instagram.com/lpmaxa

BUY LINKS:

http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/piracy
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130013235?ean=2940155910930
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/piracy/id1446963890?mt=11
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LD9D7HW
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/piracy-2
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/912640

L. P. Maxa will be awarding a copy of Royalty + Legacy to 2 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

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Mother of the Chosen by Janeal Falor

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Adriella is pregnant with the child she's always wanted.

She can't wait to share the joy with her husband. Prophecy has other plans. The countryside is a ablaze with rumors of a soon-to-be-born child who will destroy the High King.

A royal decree demands the death of any child who could threaten the throne, including Adriella's unborn baby. Worse, her husband is one of the soldier's enlisted to carry out the king's demands.

Now Adriella must keep her secret and flee, rather than celebrate with her spouse.

With the High King's men searching for anyone who defies him, the country is full of grieving parents, and the streets run red with the blood of the innocents. Adriella knows her chances of survival are slim, but she'll sacrifice everything to stay one step ahead of the law.

If she can't evade capture, she'll lose the one thing more precious to her than her own life—her child.

Book One of her Mother of the Chosen series.

Read an Excerpt

My dagger was in my hand before I realized it. The growl came again, the sound of it sending a chill through my body. Whatever the creature was, it sounded big. Very big. And hungry.

Richart snaked his arm around me. He whispered, “Stay close to me. Don’t get separated.”

Candui and Aphier silently made their way over to us slower, crossing the clearing a footstep at a time. The moment they reached us, an enormous animal bounded into the little area that had been our area for months, its huge fangs dripping with saliva. It had a long, thin body of gray with darker spots on its hind end. It was low to the ground, but agile.

Aphier swore. This creature wasn’t something I’d seen before, and it looked hungry. If Aphier was this upset, it couldn’t be a good thing.

Another roar sounded, the black hairs on the back of the creature’s body standing on end, as a second and third animal joined the first.

Richart stuck his arm out in front of me, sword in the other hand, and slowly started backing up. The others did the same. At least we were getting some space from the beasts, but the way they eyed us, it wouldn’t be that way for long.

Without warning, the first of them leaped across the distance between us in a single bound.

Richart slashed at it, making it dart away. To us, he yelled, “Run!”About the Author:

Janeal Falor lives in Utah with her husband and three children. She loves both reading and writing fantasy--with romance, always romance. In her non-writing time she teaches her kids to make silly faces, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and attempts to cultivate a garden even when half the things she plants die. When it's time for a break she can be found taking a scenic drive with her family, dating her husband, or drinking hot chocolate.

Website: http://www.janealfalor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janealfalorauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanealFalor

Purchase Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3ZV48Y/
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mother-of-the-chosen-janeal-falor/1128709116
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mother-of-the-chosen/id1385760921
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Janeal_Falor_Mother_of_the_Chosen

Janeal Falor will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

No Cowboys No Angels by Petie McCarty

No Cowboys No Angels

by Petie McCarty

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

A cozy romantic mystery with suspense, Book 1 from The Mystery Angel Romances series. An angel hidden in every book . . . it's up to the reader to figure out who.

In No Cowboys No Angels, Kellen Brand's inheritance turns out to be a whopper—one dilapidated farm in West Virginia and one guardian angel!

Since Kellen is convinced no sane woman would choose to live in Riverside, she vows to sell her farm and quick. Her handsome neighbor Luke Kenyon must block the farm sale or risk exposure of his family's secrets. While Kellen has located one potential buyer, she faces a town full of objectors. Someone is trying to frighten her off, and Luke is forced to step in and rescue her more than once.

Unfortunately, Kellen can't seem to stay out of trouble. She stumbles onto a clandestine hazardous-waste-dumping operation next to her farm, and she prays Luke has one more rescue up his sleeve. It's her only hope of staying alive.

Unless her mother really did leave her a guardian angel . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Slowing near the tree line to get her bearings, Kellen pulled over at a spot where the bank jutted out over the water. She climbed out of the car and scanned the shoreline. To her right, the slope flattened out and provided easy access to the water. The Tanawoc River maintained a good current, sending soggy leaves and debris speeding past in its flow. Grassy hills rolled back from the opposite riverbank, and she wondered if the Clandestine Mining Company still owned all that property.

A familiar aroma wafted up from the river, a combination of humus, plant material, microscopic plankton, and a touch of fish. Unable to stop the smile slowly stretching across her face, she untied her sneakers, rolled up her jeans, and slipped into the icy water. She immediately gasped and felt her smile deepen to a grin. She remained in the soothing current for a long time, taking in her surroundings as she watched trout dart in and around the submerged rocks to grab their plankton lunch.

A horse whickered behind her, then came the telltale creak of a saddle. Too close for comfort. The back of her neck prickled. Ankle deep in the water, she couldn’t make a decent sprint for the car, and Kellen regretted her impulse to visit this deserted stretch of riverbank.

Easing around, she spied the towering silhouette of a powerfully built man astride a huge black stallion no more than ten yards away. The rider’s face lay shadowed beneath a wide-brimmed Stetson. The cowboy made an impressive and, at this moment, intimidating sight—a throwback from the frontier days of the Wild West.

The horse whickered again and sidestepped away from the edge of the embankment, forcing the cowboy to twist around to keep her in sight. She could feel his dark eyes scanning every inch of her. The intensity in his gaze raised goosebumps on her arms, and a tiny shiver vibrated up her spine. Trapped here along the edge of the river, she felt vulnerable yet strangely unafraid. Would he come any closer?

A horn blared up on the highway, and she jumped with a yelp. The big horse reared at the sound of her cry, and Kellen caught a brief glimpse of the cowboy’s dark eyes, eyes that could stare right through to a girl’s soul. She scrunched her own eyes shut and forced herself to breathe. When she opened them, the rider was gone. Had she imagined him? Another mild shiver rifled up her spine. No, the fearsome rider was definitely real.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MY REVIEW: 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—"The Most Magical Place on Earth"—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job to write her stories full-time. These days Petie spends her time writing sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and her cozy-mystery-with-romantic-suspense series, the Mystery Angel Romances.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in No Angels at Christmas coming April 2019.

Visit Petie's web site online at http://www.petiemccarty.com or her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty.

BIO Social Media:

http://www.petiemccarty.com

https://www.facebook.com/petie.mccarty

https://twitter.com/authorpetie

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6094579.Petie_McCarty

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/petie-mccarty

https://www.pinterest.com/petiemccarty

http://www.amazon.com/author/petiemccarty

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-mccarty-30851412

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Review:

When Kellen's mother died, she willed her old property to her, and, more mysteriously - a guardian angel! Of course, Kellen reasons, angels don't exist, so she heads out to her childhood home intending to sell up, and get out. But selling the old place proves harder than she thinks; odd things happen, the townsfolk seem dead-set against it, and handsome neighborr, Luke, also seems to want to block her sale - for reasons of his own. Then Kellen stumbles on an illegal, hazardous-waste-dumping operation next to her property and suddenly it's a lot mroe serious - and a lot more deadly. This had a few twists I didn't see coming, but (of course!) the outcome is very satisfying. If you like a cozy mystery tied in with a feisty heroine, a handsome cowboy, and some chaste romance, this one is for you! 

Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC and three digital copies of Betting on Cinderella to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ALREADY GONE and DEADLY PURPOSE by Diane Benefiel

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

ALREADY GONE

A decade after Logan walked out on Maddy, he returns, and emotions long banked surface, then everything becomes complicated and dangerous.

DEADLY PURPOSE

Thrown together, and neither is happy about it, Meg and Declan navigate their unwanted growing attraction as they fight to keep Meg alive.

Read an Excerpt from Already Gone:

She chewed her bottom lip, then gave the knob a slow turn. The door opened silently. Keeping her body outside the door in case she needed to run, she flipped on the light to the kitchen. Sinks and dishwasher against the far wall, racks of baking supplies to her left, the aroma of dark roast told her the coffeemaker was doing its job. Everything looked as it should—except the storeroom door was closed, and the storeroom door was almost always open.

Call the police—that was the smart thing to do. She should call the police, have them check, make sure no one was lying in wait, ready to attack a lone baker. But she’d feel really stupid if it turned out she’d just had an absentminded moment. It had taken long enough for people to take her seriously, to accept her as a competent businesswoman. Perky, ever cheerful Madison Gallagher, the girl next door, captain of her high school cheer squad. Do-gooder.

Okay, there were way too many hiding places. The idea of searching behind the counters, then the dining room, the bathrooms made her uneasy. She took out her cell and tapped in her password. She’d do the sensible thing and call the police station, have them send out whoever was on duty. They’d do a walkthrough, everything would be fine, and she’d give the officer hot coffee and a muffin for his or her trouble. And hope they didn’t spread the word that she’d freaked over nothing.

Dark spots on the floor snagged her attention. She frowned. Lulu had mopped yesterday, but there were dark spots on the floor. Wet, dark red spots.

A slight sound from behind had her sucking in a breath to scream even as a low, male voice rumbled in her ear, “Madison.”

She didn’t know how her heart could nearly jump out of her chest and keep beating. The shriek in her throat came out as a muffled yelp when a hand covered her mouth from behind. She struggled, jabbing back her elbow and connecting solidly against a hard body.

A pained grunt and the hand over her mouth loosened. “God almighty, blondie.”

“Logan?”

“Yeah.”

He loosened his hold and she turned around, trying to convince herself that her rapid heartbeat came from surprise, not because Logan Ross’s hands sent electricity zinging right through every part of her. Every part. “Why’d you sneak up on me? Are you trying to give me a heart attack? And what are you doing here?”

She stepped back, her gaze running over him. A dark knit cap covered his head, the blue-gray eyes that had once so intrigued her looked exhausted, and his beard was scruffy, and not in a good way. He held what looked like a bundle of rags and a flashlight in one hand.

“I need your help.”

About the Author:

National Readers’ Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.

A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband.

Diane loves hearing from her readers.

Website: http://www.dianebenefiel.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DianeBenefielRomance
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dianebenefiel
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/diane_benefiel
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8075321.Diane_Benefiel
BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/diane-benefiel
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/diane_benefiel

BUY LINKS:

ALREADY GONE

http://www.boroughspublisinggroup.com/books/already-gone
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/890537
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/already-gone-diane-benefiel/1129367248?ean=2940155781172
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/already-gone/id1432885766?mt=11
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/already-gone-7
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GRT5C4F

DEADLY PURPOSE

http://www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/books/deadly-purpose
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/919162
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/deadly-purpose-diane-benefiel/1130339356?ean=2940155949565
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/deadly-purpose/id1450309677?mt=11
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/deadly-purpose
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MZGS49L

Diane Benefiel will be awarding Flash Point + Dead Giveaway to 2 randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review - The Magic Touch by Kelly Florentia

Once burned, twice shy Emma is happy with her life, and happy with her partner, Harry. She's got everything she needs - but Harry (and his large, boisterous, Greek family) are pressuring her to get married. But, been there, done that - Emma has a deep fear of commitment and doesn't see why she should change anything - even though things have been getting, well, humdrum.  The spark has somehow gone, as well as the excitement. Of course, Emma reasons, a spark and excitement isn't eveything - there is something to be said for security - right?  And then, everything she thought was stable and secure suddenly isn't. Harry has the 'knight in shining armor' syndrome, and he's found another damsel in distress. Emma's life is suddenly full of something she's been trying desperately to avoid - emotion. Toss in a magical app that predicts the future, an old friend, a new (disturbingly flirty) friend, and anything can happen. I enjoyed this book. You get to know the characters and feel part of their lives. You find yourself rooting for Emma and for Harry - and hoping for a Happy Ever After. A lovely story with a touch of whimsy and a sprinkle of humor. 


To buy link:
The Magic Touch

About the Author

Kelly Florentia was born and bred in north London, where she continues to live with her husband Joe. HER SECRET (2018) is her third novel and the sequel to NO WAY BACK (2017).
Kelly has always enjoyed writing and was a bit of a poet when she was younger. Before penning her debut THE MAGIC TOUCH, relaunched and updated in 2019, she wrote short stories for women s magazines. TO TELL A TALE OR TWO... is a collection of her short tales. In January 2017, her keen interest in health and fitness led to the release of SMOOTH OPERATOR a collection of twenty of her favourite smoothie recipes.
As well as writing, Kelly enjoys reading, running, drinking coffee, scoffing cakes, watching TV dramas and spending way too much time on social media. She is currently working on her fourth novel.
Website: www.kellyflorentia.com
Twitter: @kellyflorentia
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyFlorentiaAuthor

Bowie’s Angel Devil’s Outlaws 1 By Lynn Burke

Bowie’s Angel
Devil’s Outlaws 1
By Lynn Burke
Publisher: Changeling Press

Keywords: MC Romance, May/December, Contemporary, Erotic, Romance, Suspense, Series, HEA

When a barely-legal blonde with a lithe, young body shows up at the Devil’s Outlaw MC strip joint to audition as a dancer, Ian “Bowie” Davies wants nothing more than to burrow between her long legs and claim her. She's too young for his dominant side though, too innocent for the sharp edges of his darker desires. And way too hot to let another man touch her -- a thought that has his hands itching to use his signature knives against any bastard who messes with his angel.

Hannah Harris ran away from home at age eighteen, desperate to escape the prison of her strict parents. Determined to delight in the sins her father preaches against, she puts her ballet talents to work, using a stripper pole to make a living. Dancing for Bowie and his blade has her panting to explore some of the “firsts” she planned to save for her future husband.

But when Bowie and his brothers attempt extortion beyond her parent’s ten-thousand dollar reward for Hannah's safe return, she's left with a difficult choice. Offer up the evidence to put the notorious biker gang behind bars, or protect Bowie and chalk the shit-show up as a lesson learned and begin her independent life anew -- without the lying bastard who owns her heart.

Can Bowie cut through the blindfold of lies on Hannah’s eyes and surrender the truth in his heart to win her back?


*Warning: Spanking, anal sex, knife play

​PURCHASE LINKS:

15% Sale at Changeling Press: https://www.changelingpress.com/bowie-s-angel-devil-s-outlaws-mc-1-b-2834
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ND35X1F
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bowies-Angel-Devils-Outlaws-MC-ebook/dp/B07ND35X1F
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130503668
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bowie-s-angel
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1451714897

© Lynn Burke 2018

ABOUT LYNN BURKE:

Lynn Burke is a full time mother, voracious gardener, and scribbler of spicy romance stories. A country bumpkin turned Bay Stater, she enjoys her chowdah and Dunkin Donuts when not trying to escape the reality of city life.

Website: https://www.authorlynnburke.com/
Blog: http://authorlynnburke.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-Lynn-Burke-555282497937461/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorLynnBurke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlynnburke/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lynn-burke

Restless By Michelle Bellon

Restless
By Michelle Bellon
#Romance #Contemporary #NA #HEA

 BLURB

You grow up. You get married. You have a family. That’s what Malea Winters believes she’s supposed to do. So why is it every time she comes close to finding that happily ever after, she runs?

When she meets Garrett Taylor, she warns him that she’s not the marrying type. History has shown that long-term relationships are not her forte. She has a tendency to leave when things get too serious; the direct result of being raised by an emotionally detached mother and a stepdad with philandering ways. So, she swears off men and surrounds herself with her best friends; three quirky, funny women who are facing their own challenges. But Garrett is everything she’s ever looked for; charming, successful, fun, and sexy.

Despite her better judgement, his persistence pays off and she finds herself falling for him. Learning how to love and be loved will be the hardest lesson she’s ever faced. The question is, will her relationships survive that lesson?

Purchase Links

www.books2read.com/RestlessMB

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NLLY3V5

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/restless/id1452893811

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1123602787?ean=2940155977124

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/restless-40

www.smashwords.com/books/view/922878

EXCERPT

PROLOGUE

I’m running down a dirt road, sweating, panicked. I know I’m dreaming but I’m not sure what I’m running from. All I know is that I’m terrified.

My throat is parched so I stop, gulping for air. The landscape around me is dry and desolate. I’m alone. What am I running from?

Someone shouts my name. “Malea!”

I turn but no one is there. A breeze picks up and something flitters against my cheek. I reach up and grasp it between my fingers and thumb. The thin roughness reminds me of lace. I realize what it is and my breath hitches.

White. Lace. A wedding veil. What?

I begin to take inventory. When I look down, I see that I’m wearing my favorite blue jeans. No dress?

There is weight on my back. I reach around and pull off my well-worn, seen-many-adventures backpack. It dawns on me.

I’m running again.

“Argh!” I bolt upright from the dream. I’m in my bed. My heart is racing and all I can think is that I’m so glad it’s just a dream. But the reality is almost as bad. The fact is that I do run. All the time. I don’t know how to stop.

Frustrated, I throw the blanket aside and walk to the window, grateful for the cool air on my flushed skin.

Why? I wonder. Why can’t I feel love?

I mean, in the sense that I personally can experience the emotion, I feel it; the rush of overwhelming joy that comes when I feel my heart surge with love. But those are my own personal feelings, born within, flooding out into the universe.

What I can’t feel is the love that others have toward me.

We are taught in science classes, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, a yin and yang. If this were true, then I should be able to feel the force of love that vibrates out of another being to me and for me. It should be just as knee-buckling, just as throat-constricting, just as alive as the love which emanates from me to them. I SHOULD FEEL IT!

But it isn’t. And I don’t.

The dream reminds me of that shameful lacking feeling that has lived inside of me most of my life. It reminds me of the mistakes of my past and fills me with doubt. It could not have come on a worst night. Tomorrow is my wedding day.

Suddenly cold, I turn and crawl back under the covers. The pit in my stomach gapes wide open. Taking shallow breaths, I ask myself—what does it mean to be unable to feel love? I close my eyes tight against memories and regret. I’ve spent a great deal of my life searching, manifesting, and reaching, reaching, reaching for experiences that would lead me toward that moment when I might truly feel the caress of another’s love.

Ironically, I often haven’t felt anything resembling love during that search. I’ve felt hurt, lonely, sexy, frantic, desired, broken, high, desperate, restless, searching, searching, searching.

But love from another? No. Never love.

It’s not that I haven’t been loved. I have.

Garrett, my fiancé, professes his love all the time. And I believe him. I just wish I could feel it. Maybe then, the restlessness would ease and I wouldn’t feel the need to run away.

About the Author

Michelle Bellon lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four quirky and beautiful children. She loves coffee, Superman, rollercoasters, and has an addiction to chapstick.

She works as a registered nurse and in her spare time writes novels. As a multi-genre author, she has written in the categories of romance suspense, young adult, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. She has won four literary awards.

Social links:

http://www.michellebellon.com/

https://www.facebook.com/michelle.authorpage

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Bellon-Author/544448685599147?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/MichelleBellon

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004TZ0CUK

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4742393.Michelle_Bellon

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105101655597839729577

Photo Shoot by Jo A. Hiestand

Photo Shoot

by Jo A. Hiestand

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BLURB:

Michael McLaren returns home from working a cold case in Cumbria to learn that he’s missed his uncle’s wedding in Scotland. Angry and fearful that his absence has re-opened the family rift just as it’s healed, he drives to the ancestral home, hoping his appearance and explanation will be accepted. He’s more than welcomed. His uncle asks him to investigate the murder of his first

Fiona Lennox was found in a rowboat on a Scottish loch, shot to death during a late night photo shoot. Why would she rent a boat after dark? Did she take it out to photograph the moonlight on the water? She could’ve done, being a professional photographer, but she was also a proponent of civic and environmental causes, which she documented with her camera. Did someone linked to one of her crusades kill her, or was the motive personal?

As McLaren uncovers layers of Fiona’s life and the reason for her nocturnal outing, he and his family are targets of intensifying attacks. But it’s not until he races against a kidnapper’s deadline and the threat of a loved one’s watery death that he realizes who killed Fiona⎯implications that are as deep and dark as the Scottish loch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

The dog growled again, a deep throated threat of pending attack.

McLaren stepped around the dog, trying not to alarm or distract it. He hesitated, gazing at the top of the stairs again, considering which way to turn at the landing. No sound carried down to them. That wouldn’t help locate the intruder. He murmured, “I’ll see if something’s wrong, shall I? You stay here, Grandfather.”

Neill grabbed the dog’s collar, whispering “Heel” as he pulled Mungo to his side.

McLaren eased onto the bottom step, hesitated, then inched up to the landing. He paused, letting his eyes adjust to the gloom and listened. A sound of wood sliding on wood came from his left. Was someone opening a dresser drawer? He tiptoed down the hallway, keeping as close to the wall as possible. If the floor had a tendency to squeak, it would most likely be in the middle where centuries of traffic had weakened it.

He kept his left hand on the wall, balancing himself and feeling for unexpected objects like framed photos, which might fall and alert the intruder if McLaren knocked against them. But the wall was bare. Only the feel of wallpaper slid beneath his fingers.

He stopped a foot or so from the first room on his left and listened. Even though the door was closed, the faint scraping was more distinct. He crept up to the door, his right hand on the knob, his left hand near the door’s edge. He flung open the door. The sound of scraping wood, the sensation of cold air, and an image of a dark shape greeted him.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to the joys of Things British. Since then, she has been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived there during her professional folksinging stint. This intimate knowledge of Britain forms the backbone of both the Peak District mysteries and the McLaren mystery series.

Jo’s insistence for accuracy--from police methods and location layout to the general “feel” of the area--has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire for research. These explorations and conferences with police friends provide the detail filling the books.

In 1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and departmental honors.

Her cat, Tennyson, shares her St. Louis-area home.

https://www.amazon.com/Photo-Shoot-McLaren-Mysteries-9/dp/172185309X

https://www.johiestand.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Britmysteries/

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MY REVIEW: 

Don't hesitate to read this murder mystery made up of different layers, twists, and unexpected turns! Retired detective Michael McLaren is back - this time in Scotland to look into an old case involving his uncle's fiancé, a professional photographer, who was killed while out on a boat at night. Cold cases are never easy to solve, but McLauren does his best. What he finds out is that the past is never far behind - especially when it's connected to a deadly murder.


Michael McLaren is a wonderful character, and I'm always glad to grab a tea, sit in a cozy chair, and read his latest mystery. Fast moving, but full of evocative writing that conjurs up the scenery - Ms Heistand knows how to create mood and interesting characters. You can start the series with "Cold Revenge"
 (book1, but don't worry - each book can be read as a stand alone.) I highly recommend all of them! 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Jo A. Hiestand will be awarding a $30 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

a Rafflecopter giveaway