STUCK IN A GOOD BOOK BLOG HOP

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COUNTERFEIT Review & GiVEAWAY!

Counterfeit

by Scott Miller

on Tour September 2014

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense, Crime Fiction
Published by: Blank Slate Press
Publication Date: Oct 2013
Number of Pages: 248
ISBN: 978-0985007119
Purchase Links:

Kudos:

Counterfeit placed third in the 2013 Walter Williams major work award for Missouri writers!

Synopsis:

What if a man with the talent and patience to create perfect, undetectable copies of US hundred bills carries out his plan? Has a crime even been committed? What if he never spend a dime of the money on himself?

The last person social worker Mitch Adams wants to hear from is St. Louis Homicide Detective JoJo Baker, a man with whom Mitch shares a tangled past. Baker wants Mitch to see Lonnie Washington, a disabled African-American arrested for counterfeiting and armed robbery, believed to be suicidal while he sits in jail awaiting trial. The evidence points to an open and shut case, but Baker insists it's not so black and white. Reluctantly, Mitch agrees and discovers there is more to the story--more than enough to get them both killed. At first Lonnie won't cooperate, but as he begins to open up, Mitch comes to believe that the true criminal may not be the man behind bars, but the prosecutor who put him there--a man with far-reaching political ambitions, the approval of the public, and his very own Secret Service detail. With millions in perfect fake $100 bills up for grabs, Mitch's life hinges on the word of a counterfeiter, the greed of a prosecutor, and his refusal to go down without a fight.

Read an excerpt:

Rain dripped from the concrete fangs of two massive lions standing guard at the Gateway City Jail. I hurried up the steps between the imposing Doric columns. What a dinosaur. The new county jail is a spa compared to this.

After getting through the metal detector screening line, I walked down a cold, shadowy hallway that smelled of old building, institutional cleaning fluids, and stale city air. Dust motes shone and drifted like dying fireflies in the slivers of light slanting through the high, narrow windows. The closer I came to the visitation area for the special lock-down unit, the smell changed to fear and the windows disappeared.

This is the end of the line.

Last year I was nearly an inmate here.

Author Bio:

A licensed clinical social worker, Scott L. Miller earned his Master's in Social Work from St. Louis University and has worked with adults, children and the elderly in state and private hospitals in St. Louis city and county. Long fascinated by the workings of the human brain, he quit writing exceptionally bad poetry and studied fiction writing under the late John Gardner and later at Washington University. His first Mitch Adams novel, The Interrogation Chair, was self-published in May 2011, has been rewritten and is due for re-release by Blank Slate Press in October 2014 under the title Interrogation. Counterfeit is the second in this series, but is a stand-alone work. Counterfeit recently took third place in the Walter Williams major work award contest at the 99th Missouri Writer's Guild workshop for Missouri's published authors. Miller is currently working on his third Mitch Adams novel, working title The Virtual Suicide Machine, which is slated for release in 2015 by Blank Slate Press.

Catch Up With the Author:

My thoughts...

Imagine receiving hundreds of dollars free. Living in a neighborhood where poverty reigns, struggling to pay your bills and to buy food for your children is a way of life people suddenly started getting free money. Sound too good to be true? It is. What is meant for their is actually illegal. The money is counterfeit, a very good counterfeit.

I enjoyed reading this book even though the modern day Robin Hood is a criminal. It's the thought that counts, right? Very interesting plotline with interesting characters and two very good detectives.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tour Participants:

Giveaway:

Counterfeit by Scott Miller

Visit Partners in Crime to see more great books!

RUNAWAY SAINT

When her aunt shows up homeless on her doorstep, Sara suspects anything but a miracle.

Sara’s an artist with a supportive husband and a house that folks on her block admire outright. But she’s restless and bored with life.

Then her legendary Aunt Bel shows up, wearing a smile after years without a word.

Twenty years ago, fresh out of college, Bel left for a summer missions trip and never returned. Now she’s on Sara’s doorstep, looking for a place to crash. Sara can’t say no to family, even if she hasn’t seen Bel since she was a nine-year-old girl. But saying yes to Bel turns Sara’s whole precariously-balanced life upside down.

The enigmatic Bel gives Sara’s family and their community a jolt of fresh thinking and clarity.

But Bel is hiding something. Though she won’t talk about it, Sara soon learns that Bel has been through a hellish ordeal. And she has the burn marks to prove it.

My thoughts...

Another outstanding novel from Lisa Samson! The story of successful graphic designer, Sara Drexel, who happens to be caught up in reuniting her mother and aunt. Sara's mother is eccentric, she lives on a tent farm, and is estranged from her missionary sister, Bel. When Bel returns to the US she moves in with Sara and her husband. As secrets are uncovered lives change.

I make sure to read every book Lisa writes and I've not been disappointed. This is one of my favorites, told so well with the right amount of drama and secrets. A perfect ending to a wonderful story.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

CORNERED Review & Giveaway!

Cornered

by Alan Brenham

on Tour September 2014

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Published by: Black Opal Books
Publication Date: July 19, 2014
Number of Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781626941380/9781626941373
Purchase Links:

Synopsis:

He’s haunted by the memory of a kidnapping case gone wrong…

Not wanting history to repeat itself, Detective Matt Brady struggles to solve the disappearances of seven young women, but he quickly finds himself pitted against a criminal organization that knows as much about police procedure as he does—an organization that will do whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of him. His troubles are compounded when a young veterinarian injects herself into the investigation and is targeted to become victim number eight. When he tries to protect her, he finds himself in the crosshairs of a professional cop killer. Can Brady solve the case in time to save his new love, or will this investigation be the death of both of them?

Kudos:

"Alan Brenham’s Cornered is a taunt thriller filled with murderous twists and turns that will satisfy readers who love good crime fiction. As a cop and a lawyer, Brenham has been there and done that and in this, his second outing, the authenticity of his storytelling ability continues to shine through." - Michael McGarrity, New York Times Bestselling Author of Hard Country & Backlands

Read an excerpt:

Brady moved next to Killebrew. “So you find anything?”

“No prints. But we did find a nine millimeter shell casing outside.” He pointed at the door. “The witness said she used a key to open the door when Becker failed to answer the doorbell.”

Brady knelt down next to the body and peered at her head. One apparent gunshot wound above the right eye. Her half-opened dilated pupils stared straight up towards the ceiling.

Killebrew stepped close to the wall opposite the front door, pointing at a hole. Blood spatter was on the lower half of the wall. “We removed the bullet from here. The round appears to be a nine millimeter. Same as the shell casing.”

He stood up and surveyed the living room. The front window was covered with flowery-patterned drapes. A piano sat in the far corner by the front window. He was no expert on furniture but the furniture appeared to be fairly expensive pieces. He saw some mail lying on the coffee table. Using a pen, he sifted through it, checking the sender’s address, but nothing jumped out at him. A family portrait of her, an ordinary-looking man with narrow shoulders he assumed was Burt Smith, and twins—a girl and a boy—sat on the end of the table.

Author Bio:

Alan Behr served as a law enforcement officer and criminal investigator for seventeen years before earning a law degree from Baylor University. After obtaining his law license, he worked as a prosecutor and criminal defense attorney for twenty-two years. His personal and official travels took him to several European and Middle Eastern countries, Alaska and almost every island in the Caribbean. He has lived in Berlin, Germany while working with US military forces. After retiring from government service, he has authored two crime novels - Price of Justice and Cornered - under the pen name of Alan Brenham. He is presently working on two more novels. Alan and his wife, Lillian, currently live in the Austin, Texas area.

My thoughts...

Detective Matt Brady along with FBI Agent Steve Casani are investigating the disappearance of several young women. With hardly any leads to follow their task is a difficult one. There have been no ransom notes, nor calls, what exactly has happened to them?

I love the fantastic storyline, the excellent writing style, the descriptions of police procedures, and the suspense of which there's plenty. I was unable to guess who the kidnappers made me enjoy the book to the very end.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Tour Participants:

To Sign up either complete the linky with your Blog Name, Requested Book Format, Requested Post Date(s) and how you'd like to Host (Review or Other Option) or email me at gina@partnersincrimetours.net. Thank you for your interest in this tour.

Giveaway:

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HOME TO CHICORY LANE

Landyn longs for home, but her mother may have other plans.

Audrey Whitman's dreams are coming true. Now that their five kids are grown, she and her husband, Grant, are turning their beloved family home into a cozy bed and breakfast just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri.

Opening weekend makes Audrey anxious, with family and friends coming from all over to help celebrate the occasion. But when Audrey's daughter, Landyn, arrives, the U-Haul she's pulling makes it clear she's not just here for a few days. Audrey immediately has questions. What happened in New York that sent Landyn running home? Where was Landyn's husband, Chase? And what else was her daughter not telling her? One thing was for sure, the Chicory Inn was off to a rocky start. Can Audrey still realize her dream and at the same time provide the comfort of home her daughter so desperately needs?

My thoughts...

Hardheaded Grant and Audrey have raised their children and converted their home into a B&B at the insistence of Audrey. Turns out it's a lot harder than either expected. These two need help.

The author has written a realistic story of how God uses hard times to teach us something. How he heals relationships and the different seasons of our lives work for our good. Sometimes He places people in our lives for a specific reason.

I can't say the characters are heartwarming but the book is worth the read. It's honest, realistic, and well written.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.