SHADES OF MURDER

 "Being favored by the rich and powerful often has its own drawbacks. Shades of Murder is another Mac Faraday mystery from Lauren Carr as she follows Mac as he finds himself once again the benefactor of yet another inheritance. A riveting mystery with plenty of twists and turns, Shades of Murder is very much recommended reading, not to be missed." - review by William Buhle, Midwest Book Reviews

"Shades of Murder is a fascinating, intricately woven mystery that has a number of engaging characters looking into two cases that would seem to have nothing in common. ...This is a most entertaining entry in this series, made all the more so by the wonderful inclusion of Gnarly and Irving, Mac's dog and Gates's black and white cat, who meet during the course of the story." - review by Mysterious Reviews

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Book Details:

Book Title: Shades of Murder by Lauren Carr
Series:  A Mac Faraday Mystery (Volume 3)
Category:  Adult fiction (18+), 232 pages
Genre:  Murder Mystery
Publisher:  Acorn Book Services
Release date:  May 7, 2012
Format available for review:  Audible download, ebook (mobi, epub, PDF)
Tour dates:  March 28 to June 24, 2022
Content Rating: PG-13 - Lauren Carr's mysteries are murder mysteries. Sometimes, the murder does happen on-stage. There is no graphic violence or explicit sex.There is some very mild language (hell or damn, very few and far between) No F-Bombs!

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Buy the Book:   
  Audible ~ Amazon
B&N ~ BookBub
Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Thorny Rose, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries—over twenty-five titles across five fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor. 

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.  

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. 

She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

connect with the author: website  ~  facebook  ~  instagram ~ pinterest ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

My Review

When it comes to mystery books I have to say that those written by Lauren Carr have become my favorites. I was super excited to get the chance to revisit this series and start at the beginning where I could really get to know the characters. I absolutely loved following Mac Faraday on his newest case that came about from the long-lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece finding its way into his hands. Additionally, I have to say that Mike Alger did a wonderful job with the narration.

TRAVELS WITH MAURICE AN OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURE IN EUROPE IN 1968 by Gary Orleck

 

Book Details:

Book Title:  TRAVELS WITH MAURICE AN OUTRAGEOUS ADVENTURE IN EUROPE IN 1968 by Gary Orleck
Category: Adult Non-Fiction (18+), 250 pages
Genre: Travel Memoir
Publisher: TOUCHPOINT PRESS
​Publication Date: April 5, 2022.
Tour dates: April 12 to May 2
Content Rating: G

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"Travels with Maurice is a gem of a book that just sneaks up on you with its greatness. While the title makes you think it’s a travelogue or road trip book (and we’ve all read enough of these), Travels is so much more." - Michael Berman

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Book Description:

“Every Woman Wanted to Be with Him Every Man Wanted to Be Him.” ― Gary Orleck
​
A simple “thank you” led to the trip of a lifetime, along with an unbreakable friendship of two opposites. See them come of age while rubbing elbows with the rich and famous like the Shah and Queen of Iran, The Who, Paul McCartney, Brigitte Bardot, and even Shirley Temple Black. An unbelievable story, yet it’s true because nobody could make this story up. Find out things the rich and famous do not want you to know.

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add to goodreads

Meet the Author: 
​I grew up in Lincoln, R.I. which is a blue-collar town, went To Babson University School of Business, and graduated with a BSBA in 1966. I worked my way around the USA for six months.

Two years later, I traveled with the son of the richest man in the world - covering 19,988 miles, twelve countries, and ten weeks.

Then, I went to work at Broadway Tire Inc. Twenty years later, I bought the business. I then owned and operated it for thirty more years before retiring in 2016!

In Between, I met and married my wife Ronna and had two beautiful children, and now I have five grandchildren!

The love of travel remained with me, and I've been fortunate enough to have visited 75 countries - each in a unique style - all my own way, using much of which I learned in my travels with Maurice in 1968. 

connect with the author:  website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ pinterest ~ goodreads

The Road to Me

 

Inside the Book

Title: THE ROAD TO ME
Author: Laura Drake
Publisher: The Story Plant
Genre: Women’s Fiction

BOOK BLURB:

Jacqueline Oliver is an indie perfumer, trying to bury her ravaged childhood by shoveling ground under her own feet. Then she gets a call she dreads―the hippie grandmother she bitterly resents was apprehended when police busted a charlatan shaman’s sweat lodge. Others scattered, but Nellie was slowed by her walker and the fact that she was wearing nothing but a few Mardi-Gras beads. Jacqueline is her only kin, so, like it or not, she’s responsible.

Despite being late-developing next year’s scent, Jacqueline drops everything to travel to Arizona and pick up her free-range grandma. But the Universe conspires to set them on a Route 66 road trip together. What Jacqueline discovers out there could not only heal the scars of her childhood but open her to a brighter future.

“The Road to Me is an unforgettable story of self-discovery and survival, reconciliation and redemption.” — Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son and The Promise Between Us

“In The Road to Me, Laura Drake takes on the complexities of one family struggle to get over a lifetime of mistakes and misunderstandings, expertly blending the heartbreak of a grandmother’s past and a granddaughter’s reluctance to trust her. The Road to Me offers a fresh and entrancing take on reconciliation and forgiveness, a truly captivating story filled with wisdom and a whole lot of heart.” — Donna Everhart, author of The Education of Dixie Dupree

Book Information

Release Date: April 19, 2022

Publisher:  The Story Plant

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1611883251; 320 pages; $16.95; E-Book, $7.49

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rLfg82

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/3oFFvdZ

Apple Books: https://apple.co/3BeUEIy

Book Depository: https://bit.ly/3subeQs

Indigo: https://bit.ly/3Js09GJ

IndieBound: https://bit.ly/3rGew41

Book Trailer: https://lauradrakebooks.com/2021/11/18/book-trailer-the-road-to-me/

 

MEET THE AUTHOR

Laura Drake’s first novel, The Sweet Spot, was a double-finalist and then won the 2014 Romance Writers of America® RITA® award. She’s since published 11 more novels. She is a founding member of Women’s Fiction Writers Assn, Writers in the Storm blog, as well as a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.

Laura is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways or serious cowboy crush. She gave up a corporate CFO gig to write full-time. She realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She’s a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.

Her latest book is the literary fiction, The Road to Me.

Visit her website at: https://lauradrakebooks.com/ or connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

My Review

I have to say that I quite enjoyed reading The Road to Me . I really enjoyed how the relationship between grandmother and grandaughter changed over the course of their "road trip". I liked seeing how the different perspectives of each character impacted the other. It was a great book to read before bed and I was sad when I finished it as I would have loved to read more.

OLD LOVES DIE HARD by Lauren Carr

 

Book Details:

Book Title: Old Loves Die Hard by Lauren Carr
Series:  A Mac Faraday Mystery (Volume 2)
Category:  Adult fiction (18+), 318 pages
Genre:  Murder Mystery
Publisher:  Acorn Book Services
Release date:  April 23, 2011
Format available for review:  Audible download, ebook (mobi, epub, PDF)
Tour dates:  March 28 to June 24, 2022
Content Rating: PG-13 - Lauren Carr's mysteries are murder mysteries. Sometimes, the murder does happen on-stage. There is no graphic violence or explicit sex.There is some very mild language (hell or damn, very few and far between) No F-Bombs!

Old loves die hard...and in the worst places.

In Old Loves Die Hard, Lauren Carr continues the rags-to-riches story of Mac Faraday, an underpaid homicide detective who inherits 270 million dollars and an estate on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, from his birth mother on the day his divorce becomes final.

Mac is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up-and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac's private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.

The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac's murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife's lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac's old cases?

With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn's reputation, before its five-stars - and more bodies - start dropping!

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Buy the Book:   
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B&N ~ BookBub
Add to Goodreads

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"The plot gave a touch of crime drama to this cozy without losing the cozy charm. ... There is suspense and twists that keep the pages turning. ... I think Ms. Carr is just hitting her stride and I suspect that we shall see each new book surpass the last." -- review by Ariel Heart, Mystery and My Musings

"As in any good who-done-it, there are red herrings and plot complications in Old Loves Die Hard and fans of mysteries and police procedurals will get a kick out of Lauren Carr's books." - review by David M. Kinchen, Huntington News

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Meet the Author:

Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Thorny Rose, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries—over twenty-five titles across five fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor. 

The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.  

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. 

She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV. 

connect with the author: website  ~  facebook  ~  instagram ~ pinterest ~ bookbub ~ goodreads

My Review

OLD LOVES DIE HARD by Lauren Carr was the second book in the A Mac Faraday Mystery series. I have to say I have certainly jumped around a lot in the series and read a lot of it out of order, so I was really glad to get the chance to go back to the start of the series and get to learn a bit more about the start of this rags-to-riches story of Mac Faraday. I liked the inclusion of the old cases and the mystery of his ex-wife's death. I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook as well as the narrated really nailed all the voices!

TRIANGLE OF HOPE

 

Title: TRIANGLE OF HOPE
Author: Michael Meyer
Publisher: Pacific Books
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Literary Fiction

BOOK BLURB:

If one person can make a difference, just think what three can do. A tender story of love. Three strangers, each harboring a dark secret, become united by chance in a small Irish village, and the wonderful power of the human spirit comes alive.

If you believe that love and romance can happen in unusual circumstances, then this book is for you.

“From page one, I found myself mesmerized at just how powerful the book was going to be.” – A Girl and Her eBooks Blog

“Meyer did a great job in weaving the story lines of the three main characters into a conclusion which was exactly what the title suggests. Triangle of Hope is a compelling read from start to finish.” – Jade Diamond Book Blog

“I absolutely adore this story.” – Lauren Alumbaugh, Goodreads Librarian

“A book that will stay with you forever.” – Wanda’s Amazing Amazon Reviewers

Book Information

Release Date: December 1, 2014

Publisher:  Pacific Books

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1611883251; 176 pages; $5.99; E-Book, $2.99; Kindle Unlimited FREE

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3HPk95L

Book Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uXCv7wp3go

Michael Meyer is the author of mysteries, thrillers, humorous fiction, and non-fiction: Love and romance, laughter and tears, thrills and fears.

He has resided in and has visited many places in the world, all of which have contributed in some way to his own published writing. He has literally traveled throughout the world, on numerous occasions. He has lived in Finland, Germany, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He gained the wanderlust to see the world, to experience other cultures, at an early age, and this desire has never left him. If anything, it has only gained in intensity as he has aged.

Among the many unique things that have happened to him in his world travels, he has walked the streets of Istanbul with a detective, searching for a pickpocket who got him good. He has ridden on the back of a motorcycle in Tehran while the driver, who spoke not one word of English, pointed out all the sights to him. He has wrestled an Iranian soldier who tried to break into his hotel room in Tehran. He has had the paint completely stripped from his car as he drove across Saudi Arabia in a sandstorm. He has stood on the stage of a busy nightclub in Tokyo, singing “She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes” to an audience feeling no pain from the Sake they were drinking. He has been chased by a family of mongooses (yes, that is the correct spelling) on the idyllic Caribbean island of St. Croix. And that is just the beginning of his long list of worldly adventures.

As a recent retiree from a forty-year career as a professor of writing, he now lives in Southern California wine country with his wife, Kitty, and their two adorable rescue cats.

His latest book is the contemporary fiction, Triangle of Hope.

Visit him on Facebook.

My Review

TRIANGLE OF HOPE was a very well-written book I really liked the way the author made each of the characters come alive on the pages of this book. I have to say that I particularly enjoyed the setting of a small Irish village. The way the author made it seem like love and romance can happen even under such unusual circumstances really resonated with me on an emotional level.

SECRETS WE CONCEAL by S.R. Fabrico

 

Book Details:
Book Title:  The Secrets We Conceal by S.R. Fabrico
Category:  Adult Fiction (18+),  300 pages
Genre: Coming of Age, Women's, Psychological and Family, Relationships Abuse/Child Abuse
Publisher:  S.R. Fabrico
Release date:  March 15, 2022
Tour dates: April 11 to April 29, 2022
Content Rating:  R. Maybe more PG-13 +M. There are 3 chapters of sexual abuse and approximately 5 total curse words.

Book Description:

A riveting coming of age story, that will make you laugh, cry and root for Laura to find happiness.
Laura Shirk is a normal, happy, go-lucky, little girl playing with Cabbage Patch dolls and Legos. Until she isn’t. Set in the late 1980s-early 90s, a visit to her aunt and uncle’s house changes everything.

What follows is a nerve-racking story shedding light on child sexual abuse. As the tragedy unfolds, Laura mutters through life concealing her secret from everyone. Feeling alone and isolated, she struggles to navigate her younger years wondering if she can or will ever find happiness.

Then, Laura meets ‘the perfect man’ for her. Can he heal her heart and break down her steel walls?

The Secrets We Conceal, S.R. Fabrico’s debut novel is a riveting coming of age story that beautifully conveys how love and strength can heal all wounds. 

Buy the Book:
Amazon
(coming soon!)

Meet the Author:

Born a raised a Yankee who loves NY style pizza and Philly cheesesteaks. I was introduced to the amazing world of Southern BBQ after moving to Tennessee where I live with my husband and two children. My family is my main priority, everything I do is for them. I attended college in the 90’s and received a degree in mathematics with a minor in secondary education, I went on to coach cheerleading and dance for 20 years and won a Hip Hop Dance World Championship. Anything and everything creative are my absolute favorite, so writing has always been a hobby. When I’m writing, I like to wife hard, mom hard, paint, read good books and watch good movies.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ instagram 

LOST BOYS (The American Nomads Book 2)

 

Title: LOST BOYS (The American Nomads Book 2)
Author: Nancy McLaughlin
Publisher: Twisted Sky, LLC
Pages: 314
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

BOOK BLURB:

Life has returned to normal for the Nomads. Finn and Teague are closer than ever. The bond between River and Cash is evolving into something more, and Zac has his family of misfits. Even Beth has come into her own. No longer a greenie, she is now a full, contributing member of the group. Her internet fame has blossomed beyond anything she could have ever imagined.

Riding the rails from one adventure to another, life is perfect.

Or so it seems…

Recently released from prison, Daniel is on a quest to locate Finn. Thanks to Beth’s videos, he has a trail that will lead him straight to his quarry.

As the miles scroll by, the distance between Daniel and Finn shortens, bringing them closer to an ultimate confrontation.

Who will survive when their paths collide?

Book Information

Release Date: March 29, 2021 (e-book)

Publisher:  Twisted Sky, LLC.

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1736705940; 314 pages; $13.99; E-Book, $3.99

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3JDKJ2k

Signed Copies – www.nancylmclaughlin.com

N.L. McLaughlin was born and raised in Massachusetts. After serving in the USMC, she returned home and went to college. Not long after, she moved to California and married. Six kids and multiple moves around the US later, she and her family call Texas home.

Her latest book is the YA fiction, Lost Boys: Book Two of the American Nomads.

You can visit her website at  www.NancyLMclaughlin.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

My Review

LOST BOYS (The American Nomads Book 2) was a great Young Adult Fiction book. I really liked Finn and Teague in this book, the author just did such an amazing job with their characters and their bond. I really enjoyed reading the book and I hope to check out the next one soon!