Pieces of Me is Daron Kenneth’s newest offering of poetry that takes the reader on the real, and often surreal, ride through the mindscape of the author’s soul. Pieces of Me is an electric journey into some of life’s richest and most memorable moments.
Buy a Copy from AuthorHouse
About the author, Daron Kenneth
Daron Kenneth, a teacher, writer, play wright and poet gives us his current collection of poetry and insightful observations about the things that mean the most: life, love, friendships and relationships.
Enter to Win a $25 Gift Card from Daron Kenneth and Pump Up Your Book
Terms and Conditions
By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.
This giveaway begins January 7 and ends on January 21.
Winners will be contacted via email on January 22, 2014.
Cold War era biological experiments are resurrected and after Boston experiences a seemingly inexplicable bio-terrorist attack, the Center for Disease Control’s Dr. Davie Richards and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Paula Mushari once again join forces to uncover who is behind it.
An obscure reference to a Dresden project found amid crash site evidence marks them both for execution. Paula and Dave are forced to leave Boston in the middle of the night and head to Washington, D.C.,where they soon find that anyone they contact also becomes the target of assassins.
When the daughter of the CDC’s director is taken hostage, Dave and Paula come face to face with an evil that forces them to question the very nature of duty and service to country. With the help of one man, they learn the true meaning of dark operatives while they desperately try to stop another bio-attack from happening.
About the authors, Dr. David R. Fett, Stephen Langford, & Connie Malcolm
About David
Dr. David Fett, a board certified ophthalmologist, received his BS and Masters from MIT before earning his MD from Dartmouth Medical School. He now runs a private practice in Los Angeles and serves as an assistant clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Randi, and their four children.
About Stephen
STEPHEN LANGFORD is a veteran writer/producer of over 150 hours of primetime television. His credits include Family Matters and Malcolm and Eddie.He has also ventured into screenwriting and fiction. He lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife, Sandy, and their two daughters.
About Connie
CONNIE MALCOLM is a recovering journalist who worked on The Globe and Mail in Toronto. She has worked previously on ten books of nonfiction authored by her husband, Andrew. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband and the youngest of their three sons.
This book spotlight is part of a blog tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book. For more information, visit the tour page for White Rogue.
“Lethal Inheritance
rivals such young adult favorites as J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordian.” Tammy Dewhurst, Rabid Readers.
On a rescue mission in a mysterious hidden realm, ex-fencing champion Ariel battles treacherous terrain, vicious elementals, and wraith-like demons who feed on fear and want her dead. To defeat the demons and free her mother, she must learn a secret esoteric wisdom to awaken the dormant but potentially explosive power of her mind.
Walnut, a quirky old wise man, guides her across stone-strewn plains and wind-swept swamps, past deep ravines and quaint villages, and through a modern city enclosed in a transparent dome. Nick, the Warrior who travels with them, proves a dangerous attraction. Come too close and his unpredictable energy might wrap her in bliss, or punch her in the chest.
Can Ariel defeat the sadistic demon lord before he kills her and enslaves her mother?
The stakes are high, death a real possibility. Fail now, and she fails humanity.
This novel has received the AIA Seal of Excellence in independent fiction.
“I’ve been writing full time since 2008, and I’m also a respected reviewer with over 300 published reviews. All my novels have been awarded a place on the Awesome Indies list of quality independent fiction, and several have received the AIA Seal of Excellence. Two of my novels, ‘You Can’t Shatter Me’ and Lethal Inheritance, also received a B.R.A.G Medallion for outstanding independent fiction.
My agent, before I went indie, was Debbie Golvan of Golvan Arts, Australia. I studied writing with, among others, Australian editor Selena Hanet Hutchins (BCA, Creative Writing), and was mentored by Catherine Hammond, (BS in Education, MA in Literature/Creative Writing)
Before I began writing full time, I taught high school visual and performing arts and wrote scripts for theatre in education as well as some unpublished short stories for children.”
When Tahlia Newland invited me to be part of her blog tour for the AIA Seal of Excellence award-winning Diamond Peak Series first book, the BRAG Medallian-winning Lethal Inheritance, of course I said yes. After all, I’ve been reviewing Tahlia’s work forever, and I’m never disappointed.
This book was no different. It features a smart, spunky heroine who learns to balance her head and her heart, accept her gifts, and see herself, her family, and the world in general in new ways. What could be better than that?
Well, I’ll tell you:
Newland’s work may be geared toward the young adult/new adult market, but there is nothing juvenile about what she writes. Her books appeal to people of all ages because she takes the reality we know, injects a bit of magic, skews things just a little, and serves it back to us. More, she does with with snappy, realistic-sounding dialogue, spoken by three-dimensional characters who don’t seem all that different from people you might meet in daily life.
If her work, at times, seems to share the tone of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that’s a good thing. We need more stories about empowered women and girls, and the men who love them – women and men who will stab a demon if they have to but will look for an alternative solution first.
In Lethal Inheritance Newland gives us all of that, and more. Heroine Ariel is sweet and funny, and the people she meets, whether good, bad, or somewhat ambiguous, all teach her something she needs to know in order to continue her dual journey: the physical one to rescue her kidnapped mother, and the spiritual one toward enlightenment and self-realization.
In short, I recommend Lethal Inheritance heartily, and am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Goes well with a venti soy chai and a slice of cinnamon bread.
The tour includes free short stories, a ‘buy one get one free’ deal on the novels and a complete series ebook give away for those that take up the offer.
If you buy book one, Lethal Inheritance, and send the receipt to tahlia.newland@yahoo.com before the 15th of December, she will send you book 2, Stalking Shadows, free of charge and enter you in a draw to win the rest of the series.
You can also pick up two short story prequels for the series FREE anytime. These books include chapters 1 & 2 of Lethal Inheritance, so you can try before you buy.
In the fall of 1984, Cold War tensions between Washington and Moscow are close to breaking.
But in sleepy Gainesville, Florida, fourteen-year-old Janis Graystone is mainly worried about starting high school, earning a spot on the varsity soccer team, and keeping her older sister from running her life. And then there are her nighttime experiences. Experiences where she awakens in her backyard—out of her body—with the disturbing sense that someone is watching her.
For Scott Spruel, the start of high school means the chance to start over. And he’s willing to ditch everything—computer hacking, Dungeons & Dragons marathons, even his comic book collection (well, except for his X-Men)—if it means getting closer to Janis, the secret love of his life. But will Scott’s past be so easy to shed. And what about the eerie delay on his telephone, a delay he senses through powers he is only beginning to understand?
Welcome to the gripping new series, XGeneration: part The X-Files, part Freaks and Geeks, and totally ’80s.
This book is rated 16+ for language.
Buy a copy at Amazon. It’s only $0.99 during this book blast!
About the author, Brad Magnarella
Brad Magnarella grew up in North Central Florida. As a boy he discovered Marvel Comics, text-based gaming, Bruce Springsteen, and Stephen King, roughly in that order. The prize, however, was a creek that wound through his neighborhood, providing him and his friends a wooded sanctuary in which to lose themselves, while discovering natural Florida.
A graduate of the University of Florida and American University, Brad has long aspired to write the kind of fiction that colored his childhood. His books include The Prisoner and the Sun trilogy and the first in his new young adult series, XGeneration.
Brad lives in Washington, D.C. When he’s not writing, he’s somewhat hard to find.
His latest book is XGeneration 1: You Don’t Know Me.
Kaylin McFarren interviews her character, Shinzo Yamada
Kaylin McFarren: “Hello everyone! Today I’m interviewing Shinzo Yamada, one of the main characters from my latest novel Buried Threads. This handsome gentleman is a Buddhist monk who has a remarkable gift of prophesy. He travels the world freeing trapped souls and can see into the past lives of people he meets. This non-traditional monk is 29-years-old, has a tan complexion and trendy haircut and wears stylist European suits. He is definitely a “metro sexual man” by Tokyo standards, at least according to a recent New York Times article I read. So tell me, Shinzo, are you happy with how you were portrayed in Buried Threads?”
Shinzo: “We all have parts to play in this world. Some of us are leaders, others are followers and some prefer to sit back and simply watch the world go round. As for myself, I do whatever I can to help the lost find a path to enlightenment and to realize their true potential and purpose in life. Although I would have been happier assisting your readers in finding peace and contentment, my preoccupation with preventing a natural disaster in Japan was most apparent in your book. So in answer to your question, under the circumstances, I would have to say you did a fine job.”
Kaylin: “As I’ve indicated in your introduction, you have the ability the visualize past lives. How did you acquire this ability, how do these visions come to you and how does the past impact our personalities?”
Shinzo: “I believe I was actually born with this gift, but with training and the guidance of my superior, who is a direct descendant of Moses, I’ve learned how to control it and use it in a positive way. When I close my eyes and put myself into a meditative state, I can telepathically transport myself into the inner consciousness of the person I’m with and visualize the soul’s memories of past-life activities. Of course, their memories of past-life actions influence how they react to others. Through the same eyes that the personality sees life, the soul sees it, but the soul looks with a memory covering centuries of passion and adventure, caring and love, hatred and revenge, doubt and fear. When we feel a seemingly unfounded fondness for another person, it is very likely due to soul memory of the positive role he or she played in our past lives. On the other hand, when we react with what seems to be an unfounded revulsion or hatred towards another person, you can be pretty sure it is because the soul recalls their past actions against us or our loved ones.
However, the influences of past-life actions are rarely so clear cut. Often those with whom we have had many good lives and relationships are the same people with whom we have had many problems and disagreements, a mix of “good” and “bad karma,” so to speak. In fact, it’s rare that a past-life relationship has every aspect of life in good, clear focus. Those positive, well-developed aspects from our past lives will give us much pleasure and support in the present. Conversely, those aspects, which we did not have in proper focus, will give us opportunities for pain and growth in present relationships. Avoiding these influences is simply not possible. Whether we like it or not, the Universal Law of Karma constantly brings before each of us the meeting of our past use of free will and consciousness. Thus, what we have done to other souls and they have done to us is reflected in the circumstances surrounding our present relationships and the basic, innate urges, attitudes and emotions we feel toward each other.”
Kaylin: “Hmmm…I see where you’re going with this. But since my readers are not able to meet with you, can they personally acquire this ability on some level?”
Shinzo: “A past life meditation is an exercise you can do on your own, although it may take some practice and more than a couple of attempts to get anywhere. In a past life meditation, the Seeker uses meditation techniques to travel back to previous lifetimes. You can achieve this by allowing your mind to wander back through your current lifetime, to earlier memories, and then telling your mind to go back to an earlier period. Although this doesn’t always work for everyone, you may find yourself experiencing memories from what seems to be another lifetime.”
Kaylin: “Fascinating. I’m sure everyone will be trying this tonight. So going in another direction, were you able to win the affections of Mariko Abe, the beautiful geisha you fell in love with in Buried Threads?”
Shinzo: “Ah…I’m sorry, Kaylin-san. I’m not a fan of spoilers and would hate to ruin the fun, so I suggest having your audience investigate themselves by reading Buried Threads, since the answer is buried inside.”
Kaylin: “Thank you, Shinzo, and my thanks and best regards to readers who are sure to experience a wild, fun ride in this new steamy, non-stop action story.”
About the book, Buried Threads
Rachel’s mouth sagged. “You mean you’re really a monk? But how’s that possible? You’re not even wearing a robe, and your hair…”
He simply smiled.
A disturbing prophecy sends a treasure hunting duo on an urgent race to rescue a country in Kaylin McFarren’s heart pounding new novel, Buried Threads. Full of erotic suspense and wild adventures, this is one trip that readers will never forget!
Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen work together as the successful owners of a treasure hunting company. But a seemingly simply assignment – to track down a priceless gem that is believed to buried in a shipwreck deep within the Sea of Japan – takes a starling, and dangerous, turn.
Faced with a monk’s dark prophecy that a natural disaster will soon strike Japan, killing millions, Rachel and Chase must embark on the mission of a lifetime in order to uncover the three cursed samurai swords that can avert the catastrophe.
Chaos ensues as their adventure takes them from shark infested waters and creepy caves to haunted hidden tombs and a confrontation with Yakuza gang members.
Time is running out as the prophecy’s day of reckoning draws near. Will Rachel and Chase succeed before disaster strikes?
Kaylin McFarren is a California native who has enjoyed traveling around the world. She previously worked as director for a fine art gallery, where she helped foster the careers of various artists before feeling the urge to satisfy her won creative impulses.
Since launching her writing career, McFarren has earned more than a dozen literary awards in addition to a finalist spot in the 2008 RWA Golden Heart Contest. A member of RWA, Rose City Romance Writers, and Willamette Writers, she also lends her participation and support to various charitable and educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
McFarren currently lives with her husband in Oregon. They have three children and two grandchildren.
Rachel’s mouth sagged. “You mean you’re really a monk? But how’s that possible? You’re not even wearing a robe, and your hair…”
He simply smiled.
A disturbing prophecy sends a treasure hunting duo on an urgent race to rescue a country in Kaylin McFarren’s heart pounding new novel, Buried Threads. Full of erotic suspense and wild adventures, this is one trip that readers will never forget!
Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen work together as the successful owners of a treasure hunting company. But a seemingly simply assignment – to track down a priceless gem that is believed to buried in a shipwreck deep within the Sea of Japan – takes a starling, and dangerous, turn.
Faced with a monk’s dark prophecy that a natural disaster will soon strike Japan, killing millions, Rachel and Chase must embark on the mission of a lifetime in order to uncover the three cursed samurai swords that can avert the catastrophe.
Chaos ensues as their adventure takes them from shark infested waters and creepy caves to haunted hidden tombs and a confrontation with Yakuza gang members.
Time is running out as the prophecy’s day of reckoning draws near. Will Rachel and Chase succeed before disaster strikes?
Kaylin McFarren is a California native who has enjoyed traveling around the world. She previously worked as director for a fine art gallery, where she helped foster the careers of various artists before feeling the urge to satisfy her won creative impulses.
Since launching her writing career, McFarren has earned more than a dozen literary awards in addition to a finalist spot in the 2008 RWA Golden Heart Contest. A member of RWA, Rose City Romance Writers, and Willamette Writers, she also lends her participation and support to various charitable and educational organizations in the Pacific Northwest.
McFarren currently lives with her husband in Oregon. They have three children and two grandchildren.
Kenji Otadidn’t fit the description of a bloodthirsty killer. Upon meeting him, it would be difficult to believe he’d gotten away with murdering at least twenty-five men. He was intelligent, intuitive and physically attractive. His black hair was kept short and neat, and from the professional manner in which he dressed and carried himself, he could have been mistaken fora television announcer or successful business executive. He socialized in mixed circles – with stockbrokers, politicians and street-smart hoodlums alike – and his charming, larger-than-life personality drew the attention of women everywhere. However, after meeting Mariko Abe, his taste in the fairer sex had been spoiled forever. No one in his mind would ever compare to Kyoto’s most beautiful geishaorbe foolish enough to keep her away from him.
Remy Alexander was born into the elite meritocracy of the Okarian Sector. From an early age, she and her friends were programmed for intellectual and physical superiority through specialized dietary regimes administered by the Okarian Agricultural Consortium. But when her older sister Tai was murdered in a brutal classroom massacre, her parents began to suspect foul play. They fled the Sector, taking their surviving daughter underground to join the nascent Resistance movement. But now, three years later, Remy’s former schoolgirl crush, Valerian Orleán, is put in charge of hunting and destroying the Resistance. As Remy and her friends race to unravel the mystery behind her sister’s murder, Vale is haunted by the memory of his friendship with Remy and is determined to find out why she disappeared. As the Resistance begins to fight back against the Sector, and Vale and Remy search for the answers to their own questions, the two are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together—or tear everything apart.
In this science-fiction dystopia, the mother-daughter writing team of Kristina, Amira, and Elena Makansi immerses readers in the post-apocalyptic world of the Okarian Sector where romance, friendship, adventure, and betrayal will decide the fate of a budding nation.
K. Makansi is the pen name for the mother-daughter writing team of:
Kristina Blank Makansi:
Born and raised in Southern Illinois, Kristina has a B.A. in Government from University of Texas at Austin and a M.A.T. from the College of New Jersey and an opinion on everything. She has worked as a copywriter, marketing coordinator, web and collateral designer, editor, and publisher. In 2010, she co-founded Blank Slate Press, an award-winning small press focusing on debut authors in the greater St. Louis area, and in 2013, she co-founded Treehouse Publishing Group, an author services company assisting both traditionally and self-published authors. In addition to The Seeds Trilogy, she is hard at work revising her historical fiction, Oracles of Delphi, set in ancient Greece.
Amira K. Makansi:
Amira graduated with honors in three years from the University of Chicago where she earned a BA in History and was a team leader and officer for UChicago Mock Trial. She has served as an assistant editor and has read and evaluated Blank Slate Press submissions since the press was founded. She is an avid reader and blogger who also has a passion for food, wine, and photography. She has worked at wineries in Oregon and France and is approaching fluency in French. Along with working part-time for BSP, she works for a wine distributorship in St. Louis. In addition to The Seeds Trilogy, she reviews books and blogs about writing, food and wine at The Z-axis.
Elena Makansi:
Elena is a senior at Oberlin College where she is focusing on Environmental Studies especially as it relates to her passion–food justice. She’s also studied studio art and drawing and has had her work featured in several college publications. While in high school, she won numerous writing and poetry awards, was awarded a scholarship to attend the Washington University Summer Writing Institute and attended the Iowa Young Writers Studio. She also won a scholarship to represent her mideast cohort as the “resident” blogger during her study abroad in Amman, Jordan. She and Amira backpacked through Europe together and share a passion for cooking, baking–and, yes, eating. Elena maintains a Tumblr and a blog, Citizen Fiddlehead, about food and other topics.
My Thoughts:
Here’s the thing about The Sowing: technically, because it takes place in an ‘advanced’ society that is not our own (though it bears some strong similarities), this novel is science fiction. At the same time, however, it’s a novel about social justice, and a warning about GMO foods – something particularly timely as we fight to change labeling and live in a world where companies like Monsanto are increasingly in control of what we eat and how it grows. Aside from that, it’s also a mystery/thriller, because we follow Remy’s journey to discover the truth behind her dead sister, who is one of the victims of a mass shooting in the book’s opening chapters.
More than that, though, The Sowing is a novel about family, responsibility, growing up, and the choices we all make when we try to balance the need to be part of a community with the equally great need to be true to ourselves. For this reason, it’s incredibly fitting that the story opens on a university campus, and that much of it returns to that – and similar – settings.
K. Makansi is really three authors, but the women behind the pen name write with a cohesive voice. There is never a time when you wonder who wrote which part, or how the work was divided. Maybe that’s just because this is a mother-daughter-daughter team, or maybe it’s just because they’re just that good. Either way, I found the language really accessible even when the science was at the forefront of the story.
I also found all the characters very well drawn and easy to relate to. Remy, of course, is the main POV character, and she’s incredibly well drawn – hopeful, smart, loving, but also bitter and confused. But even the characters on the “other side” are somewhat sympathetic, Vale especially, and remind us that those on the “wrong” side of an issue don’t see their side as wrong.
I will confess that I was a little confused by some of the unusual names the authors chose to use, and one in particular – Soren – kept pulling me out of the story because a friend of mine has a partner with that name, but I got used to them, and, over the course of reading the novel, came to appreciate that it wasn’t populated by Bills and Bobs and Marys and Alices.
The Sowing is part of a trilogy, which seems appropriate: a triumvirate of women writing a trilogy about seeds and growth and change. I definitely plan to read all three novels in this series.
Goes well with A hearty sandwich with avocado, sprouts, tomato and Muenster cheese on freshly-baked multi-grain bread, and a glass of water with a twist of lemon or lime.
“We got so busy living life that we forgot to live our dreams.”
Danni Lewis has been playing it safe for twenty-six years, but her sheltered existence is making her feel old ahead of time. When a sudden death plunges her into a spiral of grief, she throws caution to the wind and runs away to France in search of a new beginning.
The moment ski instructor Olivier du Pape enters her shattered world she falls hard, in more ways than one.
Their mutual desire is as powerful and seductive as the mountains around them. His dark gypsy looks and piercing blue eyes are irresistible.
Only she must resist, because he has a wife – and she’d made a pact to never get involved with a married man.
But how do you choose between keeping your word and being true to your soul?
Weak at the Knees is Jo Kessel’s debut novel in the new adult, contemporary romance genre – a story of love and loss set between London and the heart of the French Alps.
Jo Kessel is a journalist in the UK, working for the BBC and reporting and presenting for ITV on holiday, consumer and current affairs programs. She writes for several national newspapers including the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Express, and was the anonymous author of the Independent’s hit column: “Diary of a Primary School Mum.”
When Jo was ten years old she wrote a short story about losing a loved one. Her mother and big sister were so moved by the tale that it made them cry. Having reduced them to tears she vowed that the next time she wrote a story it would make them smile instead. Happily she succeeded and with this success grew an addiction for wanting to reach out and touch people with words.
P.S Jo’s pretty certain one of her daughters has inherited this gene.
Jo Kessel’s novel Weak at the Knees is a breezy sexy romp with some deep self-examination mixed in. Written in first person (something many authors struggle to pull off, but Kessel handles amazingly well) this is Danni’s story, and she tells it in a such a fashion that I felt as though I was sitting on a couch, drinking wine, and chatting with an old friend.
Danni has been in an exclusive long-term relationship with Hugo (whom she’d maybe chuck in favor of Hugh Grant if given the opportunity, but whom she recognizes would be seen as Hugh Grant by a significant sector of the world’s population (namely American women) just because he’s British. Technically un-married, they live together, and have a very old-married-couple lifestyle.
Enter Olivier, the sexy French ski instructor. He’s hot. He’s willing. He’s French. But he’s also married, and so the rest of the novel is a balance of desire vs. responsibility, possibility vs. practicality, and all of the other life-choices that become so much more intense when they involve matters of the heart as well as matters of bedroom heat.
Kessel has drawn her character’s well. If Danni is like a best friend giving you a couch cushion confessional, then Hugo and Olivier as seen in her eyes are not merely the relationship equivalents of the angel and devil sitting on her shoulders, but real, dimensional men with thoughts and feelings of their own.
While this book isn’t really a comedy, it has many of the comic elements that come from life. Situations have both a funny and a tragic side, and Kessel shows us both.
Weak at the Knees is a fast read, incredibly enjoyable, and far more complex than the cover blurb implies. Read it. You won’t be sorry.
Goes well with hot tea, Milano cookies, and a comfy sofa.
This Book is Part of a Giveaway!
Pump Up Your Book and Jo Kessel are giving away a $100 Amazon Gift Card & a French Gift Basket that includes a whole lot of goodies associated with the book, including a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, a famous wine from the Rhône wine region of southeastern France!
Terms & Conditions:
By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one $100 Amazon Gift Card and one winner will be chosen to win the gift basket.
This giveaway begins October 7 and ends January 18.
Winners will be contacted via email on Monday, January 20, 2014.
They say it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
Finn McGraw disagrees.
He was just seventeen when he had a torrid summer affair with the girl who stole his heart—and then inexplicably turned on him. Finn may have moved on with his life, but he’s never forgotten her.
Now, ten years later, he’s got more than his lost love to worry about. A horrific accident turns his life upside down, resurrecting the ghosts of his long-dead family and taking the lives of the few people he has left.
Finn always believed his estranged brother was responsible for the fire that killed their family—but an unexpected inheritance with a mystery attached throws everything he knows into doubt.
And on top of that, the beguiling daughter of his wealthy employer has secrets of her own. But the closer he gets, the harder she pushes him away.
The Seacrest is a story of intrigue and betrayal, of secrets and second chances—and above all, of a love that never dies.
When author Aaron Lazar contacted me with an invitation to read and review his latest novel, The Seacrest, I said yes, even though my to-be-reviewed stack is a bit overwhelming, and I’m glad I did, because I’m a fanatic for “beach books,” and this qualifies.
I should clarify that when I say “beach book,” I mean anything with a coastal flavor. Elin Hilderbrand’s work is my typical summer addiction, and as I was reading The Seacrest, I was mentally comparing Lazar to Hilderbrand, and thinking, “This book could easily be a male POV equivalent.” I stand by that, but I mean it in a good way, except that where some of Hilderbrand’s characters (mostly the men) seem to be pastel-clad cardboard cutouts, ALL of the characters in this novel are fully realized.
I particularly liked the way the book alternates scenes in the present with flashbacks of first love, and young love. I enjoyed the way the characters flaws and personal issues not only served the story, but also made them seem more real. Love is messy and crazy and earthy, and Lazar does a really good job of capturing that – the conflict, the indecision, the hopes and dreams – in a way that is never smarmy, and ultimately very satisfying.
Finn and Libby, the central characters of the story, are people I wouldn’t mind buying blueberries or art from, or meeting in the local diner. I love that Finn’s dog Ace is such a stalwart companion, as are Libby’s horses. I love the tease in the first several flashbacks, when you’re not quite certain who “Sassy,” – Finn’s first love – is.
The characters whom we meet ONLY in flashbacks (ome more recent than others), Finn’s wife Cora and brother Jax, are no less real, and no less dimensional. Their story is as compelling as the central tale, and provides both counterpoint and balance. (Also, as an amateur cellist myself, I had to grin at Cora’s choice of instrument.)
I haven’t read any of Aaron Lazar’s other work, but if all of his writing is as interesting and entertaining as The Seacrest he’s found a new fan in me.
Goes well with: Blueberry muffins and a steaming mug of French roast coffee with a dollop of half&half.
About the author, Aaron Paul Lazar
Aaron Paul Lazar writes to soothe his soul. An award-winning, bestselling Kindle author of three addictive mystery series, writing books, and a new love story, Aaron enjoys the Genesee Valley countryside in upstate New York, where his characters embrace life, play with their dogs and grandkids, grow sumptuous gardens, and chase bad guys.
I love a good mystery/thriller, and I especially love them when a strong woman is the protagonist, so when Lisa @ TLC Books offered me a copy of The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane, I HAD to say yes. And I’m glad I did.
About the Book, The Stranger You Know:
It begins with a chilling phone call to Casey Woods. And ends with another girl dead.
College-age girls with long red hair. Brutally murdered, they’re posed like victims in a film noir. Each crime scene is eerily similar to the twisted fantasy of a serial offender now serving thirty years to life—a criminal brought to justice with the help of Forensic Instincts.
Call. Kill. Repeat. But the similarities are more than one psychopath’s desire to outdo another. As more red-haired victims are added to the body count, it becomes clear that each one has been chosen because of a unique connection to Casey—a connection that grows closer and closer to her.
Now the Forensic Instincts team must race to uncover the identity of a serial killer before his ever-tightening circle of death closes in on Casey as the ultimate target. As the stalker methodically moves in on his prey, his actions make one thing clear: he knows everything about Casey. And Casey realizes that this psychopathic won’t stop until he makes sure she’s dead.
I was gripped by the character of Casey Woods, her company, Forensic Instincts, and her four-story brownstone apartment/office building from the first moment I opened the Kindle file holding The Stranger You Know. She and Hero the bloodhound (because what detective firm doesn’t need a bloodhound?) leaped off the (virtual) pages and into my brain, and as I met other characters, Yoda the AI interface, Patrick the colleague, and the rest, I was only more and more pulled in.
Andrea Kane’s writing is descriptive and keeps things fresh and contemporary while still serving the story. Each of the characters had a distinct voice, and I loved the concept of using everyone’s skills – technology, psychic powers, the dog, field experience, to form a team of investigators that could easily rival any Whedonesque neo-Scooby-gang for both chemistry and results.
It’s difficult to describe any kind of crime novel without spoiling plot points (which is also why I tend to avoid doing summaries), but I will say that there are clues laid out fairly nicely, and while it could be argued that the plot is a bit predictable, that isn’t a detriment to enjoyment of the story, because the characters are so well drawn.
I didn’t do a lot of research into the author, but I know that this isn’t Kane’s first outing with these characters. Even so, it doesn’t feel like a new reader is missing any crucial backstory. I’m sure the other Forensic Instincts novels are equally good, but The Stranger You Know is strong enough to be a stand-alone story.
If you love a good mystery, you will, as I did, love this book.
Goes well with cafe au lait and pumpkin spice bread..
About the Author, Andrea Kane:
Andrea Kane’s psychological thriller The Girl Who Disappeared Twice became an instant New York Times bestseller, the latest in a long line of smash hits. With her acclaimed signature style of developing unforgettable characters and weaving them into carefully researched story lines, Kane has created Forensic Instincts, an eclectic team of maverick investigators. Recruited because of their special talents and dynamic personalities, the high-energy members thrive on blatantly disregarding authority. Armed with skills and talents honed by years in the FBI and Special Forces and with training in behavioral and forensic psychology, this unstoppable team solves seemingly impossible cases while walking a fine line between assisting and enraging law enforcement.
With a worldwide following and novels published in more than twenty languages, Kane is also the author of numerous romantic thrillers and historical romances. She lives in New Jersey with her family, where she is busily crafting a new challenge for Forensic Instincts.
