Wednesday, May 31, 2017

WoW: Lockdown by Laurie R. King

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. She has a linky widget at her site each week for your post and to make it easy to find posts by other people.

The purpose of the meme is to spotlight books that we are eagerly anticipating. It is fun to take a look at what others are waiting for. I have noticed that it has expanded my wishlist though. Be warned!
A Novel of Suspense
Laurie R. King
June 13

A community comes together when threatened by someone with a thirst for revenge in this stunningly intricate, tautly plotted novel of rich psychological suspense from the New York Times bestselling author of the Mary Russell mysteries.

Career Day at Guadalupe Middle School: A day given to innocent hopes and youthful dreams. A day no one in attendance will ever forget.

A year ago, Principal Linda McDonald arrived at Guadalupe determined to overturn the school’s reputation for truancy, gang violence, and neglect. One of her initiatives is Career Day—bringing together children, teachers, and community presenters in a celebration of the future. But there are some in attendance who reject McDonald’s bright vision.

A principal with a secret. A husband with a murky past. A cop with too many questions. A kid under pressure to prove himself. A girl struggling to escape a mother’s history. A young basketball player with an affection for guns.

Even the school janitor has a story he dare not reveal.

But no one at the gathering anticipates the shocking turn of events that will transform a day of possibilities into an explosive confrontation.

Tense, poignant, and brilliantly paced, Laurie R. King’s novel charts compelling characters on a collision course—a chain of interactions that locks together hidden lives, troubling secrets, and the bravest impulses of the human heart.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: A Merciful Truth by Kendra Elliot

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser (from 10% of the eARC):
"No, I'm fine," he lied, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "I just needed to talk to you."

"About what?"
This week I am reading A Merciful Truth by Kendra Elliot. This is the second romantic suspense book starring Mercy Kilpatrick. I got the eARC from NetGalley. Here is the description from Amazon:
Raised by a family of survivalists, FBI agent Mercy Kilpatrick can take on any challenge—even the hostile reception to her homecoming. But she’s not the only one causing chaos in the rural community of Eagle’s Nest, Oregon. At first believed to be teenage pranks, a series of fires takes a deadly turn with the murder of two sheriff’s deputies. Now, along with Police Chief Truman Daly, Mercy is on the hunt for an arsonist turned killer.

Still shunned by her family and members of the community, Mercy must keep her ear close to the ground to pick up any leads. And it’s not long before she hears rumors of the area’s growing antigovernment militia movement. If the arsonist is among their ranks, Mercy is determined to smoke the culprit out. But when her investigation uncovers a shocking secret, will this hunt for a madman turn into her own trial by fire?

Monday, May 29, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 29, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

With retirement comes some changes. I will be combining my YA and adult reading and purchases on this one weekly roundup. YA and middle grade reviews will still be posted on  Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.

Other Than Reading... 

With just four more student-contact days of this school year and my teaching career, this almost-last week was busy with school activities including getting a start on my report cards. Next Monday is the final teacher day. We have a district breakfast with awards and a general celebration for the end of the year. We also have work time to finish report cards, clean out desks, classrooms, and files, and close up for the summer. I hope to be out of there by noon so that I can get started on the last details at home that I need to accomplish before moving.

The painter came last week and the whole house is looking clean and fresh. The carpet cleaner is schedule for June 12 once the moving van has come and the house is empty. My realtor will let him in and check on his work since I'll already be at my new house. I'll be meeting with her on Tuesday to sign papers and hand over keys. I hope to have the house on the market soon. She also said something about wanting to measure rooms and take pictures. She'll probably have to wait until after the 8th for pictures because my stuff is piled in the middle of most of the rooms. The painter was kind enough to move furniture to more normal positions in the rooms I'm using. It was weird living with all the furniture pulled two feet away from the walls and bunched in the middle of the rooms all week.

I'm spending the Memorial Day weekend here at my new house where the carpenter has finished and installed all the new bookshelves I had him build. Once my brother gets home and I can get some batteries for my camera, I'll take a couple pictures of all the empty shelves. I can see that the kitchen/dining room lights have been installed along with my new vanity in the bathroom. I'm eager to chat with my brother to find out what non-visible things have been accomplished since I was last here.

My living room which will house my TBR piles:
My Library with shelves on three walls:


My spare bedroom:
I'm also moving five bookshelves that are about 4 feet wide and 7 feet tall that will find new homes in my brother's man cave. We should certainly have enough shelf space for our book collections. I'll be setting myself a goal of unpacking 6 - 10 boxes of books a day until everything is filled.

Read Last Week
The Fallen Kingdom by Elizabeth May completes her historical fantasy trilogy that began with The Falconer. It was a satisfying conclusion with lots of action and great characters. My review will be posted on June 8.

Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance begins a new cozy series. The characters are quirky and the mystery was satisfying by providing a host of suspects. I liked Agnes's voice as she told the story about finding out who killed the first victim to keep herself and her great-aunt out of jail. My review will be posted on June 8.

Currently
  • Come and Find Me by Hallie Ephron from my TBR mountain for my adult pick
  • Want by Cindy Pon (June 13) from my review stack for my YA pick
Next Week
From my YA Review Stack:
From my adult Review stack:
Reviews Posted

In the order I read them,
 Say You're Sorry by Melinda Leigh
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis
Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
The Girl with the Ghost Machine by Lauren DeStefano
The Frog Princess Returns by E. D. Baker
Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost

Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?

Bought
Other by Karen Kincy - I know I read this one but don't seem to have a copy and I have books two and three on my TBR mountain. Besides, it was free for the Kindle.

Review Stack
 City of Angels by Kristi Belcamino (May 18) - gift from the author after her publisher alerted her I had featured her book on Waiting on Wednesday - YA
More of Me by Kathryn Evans (June 13) - YA
 The Last Place You Look by Kristen Lepionka (June 13)
UNSUB by Meg Gardiner (June 27)
Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn (July 11)
Stolen Secrets by L. B. Schulman (Sept. 19) - YA

What was your week like?

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Book Review: Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost

Into the Fire
Author: Jeaniene Frost
Series: Night Prince, Book 4
Publication: Avon (February 28, 2017)

Description: In the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampires’ . . .In the wrong hands,  love can be a deadly weapon

For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now, falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.

A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them . . . and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.

My Thoughts: Leila is linked by a powerful spell to Mircea - one of Vlad's many enemies. Any attacks on him are duplicated on her. And he is in the hands of necromancers who are hurting Leila through him to force Vlad to do their bidding. Leila and Vlad need to find Mircea because before the necromancer kill him and take Leila with him.

Mencheres convinces Ian to help Leila and Vlad but Ian is not at all trustworthy and knows a lot more about he necromancers and demons than he is saying. Their first plan is to find a way to break the spell that binds Mercia and Leila and even consult a demon for advice. But demons are even less trustworthy than Ian.

Their next plan has Leila and her sister digging into their ancestry and learning some things that help explain Leila's unusual powers.

This story is filled with action and lots of hard decisions for both Vlad and Leila. It seems to Leila that all the options she is given are bad and she will have to decide which ones she can live with. I loved the love that exists between Vlad and Leila and the lengths they will go to nourish nd preserve  it.

This was a nice conclusion to Vlad and Leila's story.

Favorite Quote:
Mencheres's dark, piercing gaze swept the room before touching each of us with quick, assessing glances. Then he visibly relaxed and that incalculable power whooshed back into him as if sucked by an invisible vortex. At last, his gaze settled onto Vlad and he arched a single, inquiring brow.

"So," Mencheres said in a casual tone. What did I miss?"
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Friday Memes: Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
Flying at high speed through a forest is less dangerous than it looks. At least, that's what I told myself the few times I opened my eyes.
Friday 56:
"Grand," Ian said in a tone that implied he felt the opposite. "Does anyone else feel the sudden need for a shag?"

I blinked. "What?"
This week I am reading Into the Fire by Jeaniene Frost. She is one of my favorite urban fantasy authors. Here is the description from Amazon:
In the explosive finale to New York Times bestselling author Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series, Vlad is in danger of losing his bride to an enemy whose powers might prove greater than the Prince of Vampires’ . . .In the wrong hands,  love can be a deadly weapon

For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now, falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.

A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them . . . and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Book Review: Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

Silence Fallen
Author: Patricia Briggs
Series: Mercy Thompson, Book 10
Publication: Ace (March 7, 2017)

Description: In the #1 New York Times bestselling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy’s bond with the pack—and her mate—is broken, she’ll learn what it truly means to be alone...

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes—only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe...

Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise...

My Thoughts: The latest Mercy Thompson novel finds Mercy kidnapped by vampires, taken to Italy, and dropped right in the middle of a bunch of twisted plots. She is alone, cut off from her mate bond by magic, and at the mercy of a very old vampire. She manages to escape and then finds herself alone in Italy without clothing or her passport. And a coyote doesn't blend in very well in Europe!

Meanwhile, once Adam knows where she is, he assembles a team to go to Italy to get her back - no matter what it takes.

I loved catching up with a lot of the characters I have come to love in the earlier books in this series. I love the strong relationship between Mercy and Adam. I also love the strong relationships that Mercy has with a number of her friends from all the various supernatural groups. This episode had a lot of vampire politics woven into it and explained a lot more about the politics that has turned the Tri-Cities and the Columbia Basin Pack into a safe zone for supernaturals.

This was a fast-paced, action-filled novel that kept me reading late into the night.

Favorite Quote:
I'd lived more than half my life essentially alone. Sometimes in the past few years, I had longed to be alone, just for an hour or two. And here I was. Alone. Sometimes getting your wish really sucks.
I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

ARC Review: Ensnared by Rita Stradling

Ensnared
Author: Rita Stradling
Publication: Kindle Press (May 23, 2017)

Description: A Near Future Retelling of Beauty and the Beast

Alainn’s father is not a bad man. He’s a genius and an inventor. When he’s hired to create the robot Rose, Alainn knows taking the money is a mistake.

Rose acts like a human. She looks exactly like Alainn. But, something in her comes out wrong.

To save her father from a five year prison sentence, Alainn takes Rose’s place. She says goodbye to the sun and goes to live in a tower no human is allowed to enter. She becomes the prisoner of a man no human is allowed to see.

Believing that a life of servitude lies ahead, Alainn finds a very different fate awaits her in the company of the strange, scarred recluse.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Alainn takes the place of a robot - Rose 76GF - that her inventor father has not yet perfected to keep her father out of prison for fraud. She finds herself locked in a high-tech tower controlled by an earlier version of the robot her father needs to perfect. The only other living inhabitant of the tower is Lorccan Garbhan who is a scarred recluse.

Though Alainn has fears about what Mr. Garbhan will want her to do, she learns that all he wants from her is someone to eat dinner with him. He is trying to become accustomed to having another person around him so that he can finally meet in person a woman he has been courting online.

Alainn has to make quite a few adjustments. Assuming she is a robot, she only gets food once a day but feels she can survive until Rose 76GF successfully executes her rescue. Living in the tower is hard for Alainn because she is used to the freedom she has working at a mountain ski resort.

Gradually Alainn and Lorccan get to to know each other as their time together expands from just dinner to meetings to play games and talk. Each day it seems that Lorccan is able to get a little closer to her. The two fall in love but Rose 76GF has other plans for the two of them.

This was an engaging story with well-developed characters in Alainn and Lorccan. It follows the basic plot outline of Beauty and the Beast but throw in an evil robot with a dastardly plot. I liked the world building. I love the relationship that grew between Alainn and Lorccan.

Favorite Quote:
She turned to see Rose standing at the window, watching her. Looking into Rose's face - her own face - Alainn knew three things: that she didn't trust that Rose would get her out, that she would go anyway, and she was probably making a huge mistake. 
I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Teaser Tuesday: Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Teaser:
She was worried, but he could hear the confidence in her voice. She was still young enough to believe that her father could fix anything.
This week I am reading Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs. I love this series. It downloaded to my Kindle on release day but I couldn't fit it into my calendar until now. Here is the description from Amazon:
In the #1 New York Times bestselling Mercy Thompson novels, the coyote shapeshifter has found her voice in the werewolf pack. But when Mercy’s bond with the pack—and her mate—is broken, she’ll learn what it truly means to be alone...

Attacked and abducted in her home territory, Mercy finds herself in the clutches of the most powerful vampire in the world, taken as a weapon to use against alpha werewolf Adam and the ruler of the Tri-Cities vampires. In coyote form, Mercy escapes—only to find herself without money, without clothing, and alone in the heart of Europe...

Unable to contact Adam and the rest of the pack, Mercy has allies to find and enemies to fight, and she needs to figure out which is which. Ancient powers stir, and Mercy must be her agile best to avoid causing a war between vampires and werewolves, and between werewolves and werewolves. And in the heart of the ancient city of Prague, old ghosts rise...

Monday, May 22, 2017

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 22, 2017)

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Other Than Reading... 

This was the week of my rummage sale and the weather was awful. Friday was cold and raw. Saturday it rained until late afternoon. Despite the weather, I thought the sale went pretty well. I didn't sell any of the furniture I wanted to get rid of but I sold lots and lots of littler stuff. I was working with a group raising money for a charity. In exchange for half my profits, they will take care of getting rid of everything that didn't sell. I thought that was a very good deal since I don't have to find and hire someone else to do the clean up.

My house is looking pretty bare which should be ideal for the painter who is coming in Monday morning and who will be painting all week. I'll also be meeting with my realtor this week to sign some papers. I hope she knows the name of some good carpet cleaners. Moving furniture revealed that it is pretty grungy. I think that will have to wait until I move out though. My furniture and bookshelves are all cluttering up the middles of each room. I don't intend to reinstall the bookshelves for the couple of weeks I'll still be here. I'd hate to scratch the new paint. 

Meanwhile, I'm down to nine student contact days and one teacher workday to finish out my teaching career. I am getting more and more eager to be done.

Read Last Week
Run to Ground by Katie Ruggle was an entertaining romantic suspense title. My review will be posted on June 3.

Silver Silence by Nalini Singh is the latest in her Psy-Changeling series and was excellent. My review will be posted on June 7.

Currently
Bad Housekeeping by Maia Chance is a review book that I got from NetGalley.

Next Week
Reviews Posted
Want to See What I Added to My Stack Last Week?
I bought a Kindle copy of Better Than New by Nicole Curtis. I've enjoyed her remodeling program on TV.

To see what Young Adult books I have been reading and plan to read, check out Ms. Martin Teaches Media - my other blog.

Saturday, May 20, 2017

ARC Review: Say You're Sorry by Melinda Leigh

Say You're Sorry
Author: Melinda Leigh
Series: Morgan Dane (Book 1)
Publication: Montlake Romance (May 16, 2017)

Description: In a new series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most personal—and deadly—case of her lifetime.

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

My Thoughts: This whole story begins with a bang as we start out in the viewpoint of a young woman who is running through the woods trying to escape her attacker. She fails.

Tessa's body is found by Morgan Dane and Lance Kruger who begin searching when Tessa's grandmother calls her. Tessa is a widow with three young girls under the age of seven who is just getting ready to go back to work in the Prosecutor's office. She gets side tracked when her neighbor Nick Zabrowski gets arrested for the crime. Morgan can't believe that a young man who plays chess with her grandfather, reads stories to her girls, and is just starting his own landscaping business could be guilty of the crime.

She decides that she is going to take his case as his defense attorney and find out who really killed Tessa despite Nick being convicted by the court of public opinion and a mayor and police chief who want to railroad him so that they can benefit from the good publicity resulting from putting a killer behind bars.

Morgan recruits Lance to help her investigate. They had a thing when they were teens but life got in the way and they have just been friends since Morgan got back to town. Lance is a former police officer who was shot and is still rehabbing. Meanwhile, he is working with Lincoln Sharp who is a retired police officer who has started a private investigation business. Sharp has also been a mentor and father figure to Lance since his own father disappeared when he was ten and his mother spiraled into mental illness. Lance still has major responsibilities to his mother who needs his care.

The mystery was intriguing. The multiple viewpoints, including that of the killer, make the story tense. Lance and Morgan have a number of suspects who all seem to be possible killers. Even so, the identity of the killer came as a surprise to me.

This is a great romantic suspense title with plenty of suspense and a nice romance too.

Favorite Quote:
Lance scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face. "You know this whole investigation would be easier if everyone wasn't lying."
I got this one in exchange for an honest review from  You can buy your copy here.

Friday, May 19, 2017

Friday Memes: Say You're Sorry by Melinda Leigh

Happy Friday everybody!
Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Rose City ReaderThe Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice. Check out the links above for the rules and for the posts of the participants each week. Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Beginning:
Darkness.

Tessa had been afraid of it most of her life. For as long as she could remember, she'd gone to bed dreading nightfall, looking under the bed, double-checking her nightlight.
Friday 56:
Lance frowned at the lake. "So everyone else leaves. Tessa is alone in her car. Why would she get out of her car?"
This week I am reading Say You're Sorry by Melinda Leigh. I got this eARC from Netgalley. Here is the description from Amazon:
In a new series from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most personal—and deadly—case of her lifetime.

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

Thursday, May 18, 2017

PIC Tour: Big City Heat by David Burnsworth

Big City Heat: A Brack Pelton Mystery

by David Burnsworth

on Tour April 24 - May 26, 2017

Synopsis:
Big City Heat: A Brack Pelton Mystery by David Burnsworth
Lowcountry bar owner and ex-Marine Brack Pelton heads to Atlanta in the wake of a panicked 3 AM phone call. A woman is missing and Brack’s friend Mutt is in danger. Brack’s old flame, investigative news correspondent Darcy Wells, now lives there and is set to marry another man. If Brack was honest with himself, and he usually wasn’t, he’d realize that the missing woman isn’t the reason for his visit. His Semper Fi buddy Mutt can handle himself just fine.

When Brack and Mutt team up to find the woman, the Atlanta underworld revolts, the two biggest players target them, and people start dying. Most people would size up the situation, call it impossible, and walk away. But most people are not Brack Pelton. Impossible situations are his specialty. He made it through Afghanistan and when the military commanders mistook suicidal tendencies for leadership qualities they promoted him. Can Brack succeed at finding the woman, protecting his friend, and winning the girl without destroying the Capital of the South? Not since Sherman’s march across Georgia has the city of Atlanta been in this much danger.

Review:
This was an action-packed and violence-packed mystery. Brack Pelton comes to Atlanta to help a friend and gets in the way of the local crime boss. Brack is an interesting and complex character summed up by his lawyer as "impulsive heroic, masochistic, loyal, arrogant, lost, direct, immature, dangerous, and self-destructive." He reminded me of John D. McDonald's Travis McGee who had a number of similar characteristics.

I liked the loyalty he shows to his friend Mutt and I like the relationship he has with Darcy. The plot kept moving as Brack and his friends bounce from one confrontation with the bad guys to the next even more violent confrontation.

I thought the story was a little weak on character development for anyone but Brack but perhaps that happened in books one and two of the series which I haven't yet read. 

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery

Published by: Henery Press

Publication Date: April 25, 2017

Number of Pages: 212

ISBN: 9781635111996

Series: A Brack Pelton Mystery Book, 3

Purchase Links: Amazon  | Barnes & Noble  | Goodreads 

Read an excerpt:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me...

Psalm 23:4


Atlanta, Georgia, Wednesday night, Mid-May

Brack Pelton waited in his Porsche by a no-parking zone in a very bad part of the city and watched someone he thought he knew well climb out of an old Eldorado convertible. The man entered a ramshackle building with a neon beer mug shining through its one dirty window.

Easing away from the red-marked bus stop, Brack found a better location down the block and pulled in. Before getting out of the Porsche, he woke Shelby, his tan mixed-breed dog slumbering in the backseat, and pulled a forty-five from the glovebox. He verified a round was chambered.

Shelby licked his lips and gave a quick bark as Brack slid the pistol down the back waistband of his cargo shorts.

Patting his dog on the head, Brack asked, “Ready?” A needless question. Another bark affirmed Shelby’s stand on things.

“When we get inside, your job is to find Mutt. Okay?” Shelby licked his face. Brack knew that as long as their target hadn’t escaped out some back door, Shelby would find him. Mutt was one of his favorite people. Brack’s too. That was why tracking him like this went against everything he believed in doing.

Mutt was the one who often rode shotgun with Brack as they’d right Charleston’s wrongs. Now Mutt was the one in the crosshairs. Thanks to an early morning phone call from Cassie, Mutt’s girlfriend, a life depended on answers his friend would give. The forty-five wouldn’t come out unless trouble came up.

The barroom’s rusty screen door screeched open. Shelby darted ahead, already focused on his objective. Brack entered a time warp. Uncanny how even the sour bar wash fragrance and cigarette smoke were the same. Through the old familiar haze, he imagined Mutt standing behind a peeling Formica counter pouring drinks to patrons who could barely afford their rent. Somehow, Mutt had managed to replicate his termite-infested watering hole three hundred miles west of where his original joint stood before some spoiled neighborhood brat burned it down.

“You lost?” A very large African-American man wearing a soiled wife-beater chalking a pool cue confronted the white newcomer.

Meeting his gaze, Brack said, “No. I’m looking for a loudmouth Marine named Mutt. If he’s here drinking, the rounds are on me. If he owns this place, I’m going to beat the life out of him.”

“Big talk coming from someone in yo’ shoes,” he said. Four other men flanked him, two on each side, all with arms folded across their meaty chests. Five soiled wife-beaters in a row. A worn-out AC unit clicked and sputtered, failing to condition the polluted air in the establishment.

Shelby seemed to take longer than usual to find Mutt. Only one thing could sidetrack him. But no women had ever been present in the original Mutt’s Bar in Charleston. They’d been afraid to enter the place.

Maybe Atlanta women were different. Casually Brack removed the half-smoked cigar he’d been saving in his pocket and lit it. The only faithful friend he had left at the moment was his own adrenaline. Brack was angry at Mutt and wouldn’t mind working it out of his system on these five gentlemen facing him.

Three more joined them. Okay, these eight gentlemen.

Brack felt more gather behind him. His wayward dog better have a real good excuse for not warning him.

Taking a drag on the stogie, he exhaled a cloud of smoke to add to the carcinogenic fog. “It’s going to be a bad day for some of you.”

Chuckles echoed around the room, undoubtedly at his expense.

Mutt pushed his way through the gathering mob. A few inches over six feet, he’d replaced his boxed Afro with a close trim since the last time Brack had seen him. His clothes were of a more recent vintage, another change, and to Brack’s untrained eye, quite stylish.

“Opie, you always got to do things the hard way, don’t ’cha?” Brack couldn’t decide if he wanted to punch him or shake his hand. The fact that his friend sported a bridge that replaced his missing front teeth also caught him off guard.

Shelby was not with Mutt. From behind, Brack heard the gruff words, “You want us to take this cracker out back, Mutt?”

Mutt knew as well as Brack did that they were greatly outnumbered. But Brack figured Mutt also knew that a few of his patrons would spend the next few weeks in the hospital if things went south.

Before either of them could say anything, a husky female voice came from somewhere in the crowd. “You got the prettiest dog.”

All the men turned in the direction of the voice. Through a break in the undershirt line, Brack observed a heavyset black woman in a way-too-tight purple body suit. Clearly she’d fallen in love with his dog. Her extra-long orange day-glo fingernails scratched behind his ears.

Sitting on his haunches with closed eyes, Shelby flapped his tongue and panted in what Brack recognized as pure bliss. Two other women wearing similar attire also gave Shelby their full attention. Brack was about to get pummeled by eight or more hulks itching to right the wrongs of their world, yet his dog had managed to pick up what looked like all the women in the establishment.

The spokesman for the wife-beater ensemble said, “We ain’t finished wit you, white boy.”

Brack turned back to him. Mutt got between them. “Easy, Charlie. He’s my brother.” The men looked at each other as if Mutt and Brack could possibly be related. Of course, they weren’t in the traditional sense.

“Summertime” by Billy Stewart began to play somewhere in the room. A real classic.

Circling Shelby, the women moved their ample hips to the beat. The dog, in plus-sized heaven, spun around, not sure which lady to kiss first.

A fourth woman Brack hadn’t noticed until now came from behind the bar to stand beside Mutt. Almost as tall as Brack, with dark brown skin, a buzzed haircut, and toned figure bordering on muscular. Her inked-up arms momentarily distracted Brack.

The man Mutt called Charlie said, “I don’t care who you think he is. He ain’t got the juice to come in here talking about beatin’ you up.”

Mutt turned to his old friend. “You said you was gonna beat me up?”

“Something like that.” Brack cocked his head. “I get a call begging me to drive here from Charleston. It’s Cassie. She’s scared half to death because some men threatened her, and she doesn’t know what you do when you leave her house late at night. Put yourself in her shoes.”

The woman bartender looked at him. “You must be Brack.” Mutt interrupted. “Opie, I’ma tell you like I tol’ Cassie. What I do is my bidness. She ain’t got no right to ask.”

Charlie moved in like he was about to throw a punch. Before Brack could react, the toned female bartender grabbed Charlie by the shirt collar and said, “You really don’t want to do that.”

Mutt said, “Easy there, Tara. We all friends here.” She didn’t let go. Charlie backed off. Brack dropped what was left of his cigar on the floor, crushed it with his foot, and turned back to Mutt. “You better tell me what’s going on, or I will beat the ever-living daylights out of you.”

***

Excerpt from Big City Heat: A Brack Pelton Mystery by David Burnsworth. Copyright © 2017 by David Burnsworth. Reproduced with permission from David Burnsworth. All rights reserved.


David Burnsworth

Author Bio:

David Burnsworth became fascinated with the Deep South at a young age. After a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and fifteen years in the corporate world, he made the decision to write a novel. He is the author of both the Brack Pelton and the Blu Carraway Mystery Series. Having lived in Charleston on Sullivan’s Island for five years, the setting was a foregone conclusion. He and his wife call South Carolina home.

Catch Up With Our Author On:
Website , Goodreads, Twitter , & Facebook !

Tour Participants:







Giveaway:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for David Burnsworth and Henery Press. There will be 1 winner of one (1) $15 Amazon.com Gift Card and 5 winners of one (1) eBook copy of Big City Heat by David Burnsworth. The giveaway begins on April 22, 2017 and runs through May 29, 2017. This giveaway is for US residents only. Void where prohibited by law.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

WoW: The Empire's Ghost by Isabelle Steiger

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. She has a linky widget at her site each week for your post and to make it easy to find posts by other people.

The purpose of the meme is to spotlight books that we are eagerly anticipating. It is fun to take a look at what others are waiting for. I have noticed that it has expanded my wishlist though. Be warned!

Isabelle Steiger 
May 16

The empire of Elesthene once spanned a continent, but its rise heralded the death of magic. It tore itself apart from within, leaving behind a patchwork of kingdoms struggling to rebuild. But when a new dictator, the ambitious and enigmatic Imperator Elgar, seizes power in the old capital and seeks to recreate the lost empire anew, the other kingdoms have little hope of stopping him. Prince Kelken of Reglay finds himself at odds with his father at his country’s darkest hour; the marquise of Esthrades is unmatched in politics and strategy, but she sits at a staggering military disadvantage. And Issamira, the most powerful of the free countries, has shut itself off from the conflict, thrown into confusion by the disappearance of its crown prince and the ensuing struggle for succession.

Everything seems aligned in Elgar’s favor, but when he presses a band of insignificant but skilled alley-dwellers into his service for a mission of greatest secrecy, they find an unexpected opportunity to alter the balance of power in the war. Through their actions and those of the remaining royals, they may uncover not just a way to defeat Elgar, but also a deeper truth about their world’s lost history.

Isabelle Steiger concocts a powerful and masterfully crafted debut to a haunting new epic fantasy series with The Empire’s Ghost.