July's Deals - 2

(Please verify all prices before purchase.)

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/18

Catch A Falling Star (An Eden Mystery)

By Laurel Heidtman

Crime Thrillers

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

Missing treasure, criminals, cops, co-worker hostility, and the surprise appearance of an ex-lover — definitely not what mystery novelist Kate Rawlings expects when she accepts a summer teaching position at her alma mater in the peaceful college town of Eden, Kentucky.

Michael Mabry was Kate’s lover in college, but did she ever really know him? Thirty years later, he’s on the run from his partners in a Chicago museum heist in which a valuable ancient Indian artifact called the Shooting Star was stolen and two people killed. Michael escaped with the Star and his life, but he needs money to get out of the country. After so long, Eden should be the last place anyone would think to look for him, but his partners and an insurance investigator with his own agenda are hot on his trail. Kate finds herself suspected of involvement in the heist, but when a murder occurs in Eden, she also finds herself suspected of murder.

https://amzn.to/2lnfQt0

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

Starbreak (Rise to Omniscience Book 2)

By Aaron Oster

Young Adult Fantasy

Usual Price: $3.99  Sale: $1.99

With a war now raging in the Central Kingdom, Morgan and Sarah flee east, in an attempt to escape the growing conflict. However, there are many forces conspiring to stop them. Princess Katherine of the North sends mercenaries to capture them. Lord Simon, tired of waiting, hires the most notorious hit squad in all the Five Kingdoms to end Morgan, once and for all.

With threats looming around every corner, and time running out, Morgan and Sarah will be forced to make several drastic decisions in order to survive. Especially, after they receive a very dire warning, from an all-powerful being...

Warning: This book contains some profanity, gore, and content that may not be suitable for children. This book also contains GameLit elements, such as stat sheets, and a form of leveling, and experience gain.

https://amzn.to/2JwYSSC

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

The Sail

By Landon Beach

Adventure/Thriller

Usual Price: $4.99  Sale: $0.99

As a picturesque and perfect summer arrives in Michigan, a dying father and his son set sail for one last trip together. Their goal is to sail around Lake Superior, one of the largest freshwater lakes in the world. They hope to reconnect, forgive, and heal.

Meanwhile, a strong-willed and spirited young woman is abducted, disappearing without a trace.

As Robin and Tristian Norris cast off for their adventure, they know that Superior's water is deep and the sunsets are sublime. What they don't know is the peril that awaits them on the remote coastline. When you are far away from home and help, you only have yourself to count on.

What they find will be a nightmare.

https://amzn.to/2lmZH6P

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/20

The Fire Prophecy (Hidden Legends: Academy of Magical Creatures Book 1)

By Megan Linski

Young Adult Fantasy

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

I’m Sophia Henley, your typical college freshman. I never expected a lion to be stalking me, nor for fire to come shooting out of my hands to protect my sister. Next thing I know, a drop-dead gorgeous guy shows up on my doorstep to sweep me away to a magical school, where I’ll learn to control my element and bond with a powerful creature called a Familiar. 

I don’t believe I’m the savior of an ancient tribe, or the missing piece of a prophecy that’s more myth than reality. Worst of all, I’m forced to enter the Elemental Cup, where I’ll either earn my place in this society… or die trying.

https://amzn.to/2Y3mKoU

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

The Day John Died

By Christopher Andersen

U.S. History

Usual Price: $4.99  Sale: $1.99

Now, in the manner of his other No. 1 NEW YORK TIMES bestseller THE DAY DIANA DIED, respected Kennedy family biographer Christopher Andersen makes THE DAY JOHN DIED available for the first time as an ebook. Andersen draws on important sources—many talking here for the first time—to recreate in vivid and startling detail the events leading up to that fateful night off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.

An inspiring, sympathetic, and compelling look at one of the most remarkable young men of our time, THE DAY JOHN DIED is more than just the definitive biography of JFK Jr. It is a bittersweet saga of triumph, love, loss, fate—and promise unfulfilled. It is the story of America's son.

https://amzn.to/2jU4mg0

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

The Blackmail Murders: A Western Frontier Adventure (A Cullen Tindall Western Mystery Book 1)

By Robert Peecher

Western Adventure

Usual Price: $3.49  Sale: $0.99

A killer is loose in a small Texas town. And the sheriff's badge is so new it still has a shine.

Cullen Tindall is the new sheriff in Buffalo Gap, and the trouble that's come to town is more than a cow puncher sheriff can handle.

Jane Gooch is a schoolmarm with a past she doesn't want exposed. But she's not the only one in Buffalo Gap with secrets to hide.

If Sheriff Tindall can save his job, he'll have to rely on instincts and friends. But before it's over he may find that something more important to him than his job is at risk.

https://amzn.to/2l8U0cu

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

The Wreck

By Landon Beach

Action Adventure

Usual Price: $4.99  Sale: $0.99

Nate and Brooke Martin arrive at their summer cottage ready to relax and rekindle their relationship. The beach is warm, the water is cool, and the sea breeze is blissful--just another perfect summer in Hampstead, Michigan filled with wine, bonfires, and beach reading.

Then, on a morning stroll along the beach, Nate finds something half-buried in the sand that turns their quiet vacation into a dangerous unraveling of the past. And the key to solving the mystery may lie within Abner Hutch, a retired Coast Guard Officer and Great Lakes master of the deep--a flawed man with a complicated past and a core wound that will not heal.

As Nate and Hutch search for answers on a remote peninsula, they begin to realize what the mega-rich residents up the coast already know: you can only keep a secret for so long.

https://amzn.to/2loTlE0

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/19

I Never Left: a compelling psychological suspense mystery

By McGarvey Black

Women's Crime Fiction

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

Quinn Roberts is dead and she wants to know how it happened. She’s angry, confused and disappointed that her life is over. Most of her friends have moved on and it seems like no one cares who was responsible. Her adult children are in shock but their mother’s death is too painful, so they do nothing.

Soon after her murder, Quinn’s husband, Alec, acquires a new wife and Quinn becomes a distant memory. Only her sister, Erin, and Detective John McQuillan continue to search for answers.

But as the case stalls, the formal investigation is moved to the Cold Case division and Quinn’s family loses hope that there will ever be an arrest. Can Quinn get the justice she deserves? And, is discovering the truth always worth it?

https://amzn.to/2XRA7nU

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/20

Hidden Company: A Dark Psychological Thriller

By Sarah England

Psychic Thriller

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

1893, and nineteen year old Flora George is admitted to a remote asylum with no idea why she is there, what happened to her child, or how her wealthy family could have abandoned her to such a fate. However, within a short space of time it becomes apparent she must save herself from something far worse than that of a harsh regime.

2018, and forty-one year old Isobel Lee moves into the gatehouse of what was once the old asylum. A reluctant medium, it is with dismay she realises there is a terrible secret here - one desperate to be heard. Angry and upset, Isobel baulks at what she must now face. But with the help of local dark arts practitioner, Branwen, face it she must.

This is a dark story of human cruelty, folklore and superstition. But the human spirit can and will prevail...unless of course, the wrath of the fae is incited... Warning - contains highly disturbing material.

https://amzn.to/2liIuLD

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/20

The Road to Hell: Sidney's Way (A Five Roads to Texas Novel Book 6)

By Brian Parker

Military Thriller

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

Sidney Bannister has been lucky so far. With no survival training and no real skills besides her street smarts, she realizes that she must learn to fight so she can protect her newborn baby from the infected that plague the United States.

Enemies from her former life arise to bring the AWOL Lieutenant Jake Murphy to justice. The hunt intensifies as the remnants of Jake’s old unit close in around him and his group of survivors.

In the middle of the chaos, Iranian aircraft fill the skies of Kansas, forcing the Americans to make decisions that will impact all of their lives. How much is Sidney’s small group willing to sacrifice to stay together?

https://amzn.to/2jX2fbg

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/20

As the Ash Fell

By AJ Powers

Dystopian SciFi

Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

Life in the frozen wastelands of Texas is unforgiving.

It's been seven years since the ash billowed into the atmosphere, triggering some of the harshest winters mankind has ever faced. 

Clay and his sister Megan have taken a handful of orphaned children into their home--a home soaring sixteen stories into the sky. With roughly six short months a year to gather enough food and supplies to last the long, brutal winter, Clay spends much of his time away from his family to scavenge, hunt, and barter.

But when Clay disrupts the grisly execution of a young woman by a group of Screamers, his life is catapulted into a new direction, forcing him to make choices he never thought he would have to make.

https://amzn.to/2lkIUBe

(Prices change constantly. Please verify all prices before purchase.)

July's Deals

(Please verify all prices before purchase.)

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
The Blue
By Nancy Bilyeau
Historical Thriller
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

For Genevieve Planché, an English-born descendant of Huguenot refugees, porcelain holds far less allure; she wants to be an artist, a painter of international repute, but nobody takes the idea of a female artist seriously in London. If only she could reach Venice. 

When Genevieve meets the charming Sir Gabriel Courtenay, he offers her an opportunity she can’t refuse; if she learns the secrets of porcelain, he will send her to Venice. But in particular, she must learn the secrets of the colour blue. The ensuing events take Genevieve deep into England’s emerging industrial heartlands, where not only does she learn about porcelain, but also about the art of industrial espionage. 

With the heart and spirit of her Huguenot ancestors, Genevieve faces her challenges head on, but how much is she willing to suffer in pursuit and protection of the colour blue?

https://amzn.to/2S8iUWi


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/15
Wicked on the Beach: June Bride and Mermaid's Fury (Paranormal in Manhattan Mystery: A Cozy Mystery Book 20)
By Lotta Smith
Vampire Mystery
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

The island wedding of Mandy’s BFF Fiona and famous exorcist Brian Powers becomes the backdrop for a murder investigation when the body of a notorious loan shark is found in the dunes. But how did a man drown so far from the water?

An angry mermaid threatens to wreak havoc if the killer isn’t caught, but with no spirits to question, does Mandy stand a ghost of a chance to solve the case? Find out in this wet and wild 20th installment of the Manhattan Mystery Series.

https://amzn.to/2JzDXge


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/14
The Mental Case: A Legal Thriller (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series Book 6)
By John Ellsworth
Financial Thriller
Usual Price: 4.99  Sale: 0.99

Something is wrong with Ansel and two women close to him are missing.

Ansel Largent is a respected Chicago attorney; ferocious in the courtroom but a winner with the jury. Happy at home with wife Libby, a stroke victim. Happy at the office with Melinda, a married woman with a special interest in him. When everything unravels in one night, Ansel's life is put under the microscope, and his plastic character brings his sanity into question. Thaddeus Murfee is hired to defend his most complicated trial yet, but when all the chips are down, even he is struck speechless at the outcome. He'll do whatever it takes to defend the innocent, but will he be able to live with himself?

https://amzn.to/2LFIdNY


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/14
Supermage (Rise to Omniscience Book 1)
By Aaron Oster
Fairy Tale Fantasy
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

Morgan's life is not easy. Growing up on the streets of City Four, he is constantly shunned by the other citizens. Morgan doesn't mind being ignored. What he does mind, though, are the constant beatings from the city guards due to his friendship with Sarah, the city lord's only daughter. Lord Simon wants him dead, but the laws of the kingdom are on Morgan’s side and even the guards won't kill him, just for being seen near his manor.

Morgan’s time is running out, though. Lord Simon has deep pockets and his last visit to the manor may just have put him over the edge. Worse, he is nearing his sixteenth birthday, and has yet to awaken any abilities. In a world where might makes right, he has never been one of the mighty. What will he do when faced with a life altering decision and just how will his decision impact those around him?

Warning: This book contains some profanity, gore and content that may not be suitable for children. This book also contains GameLit elements such as stat sheets, and a form of leveling and experience gain.

https://amzn.to/2XD0kq8


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
The Butcher's Daughter: a tense psychological thriller
By Jane E. James
Women's Crime Fiction
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

When Natalie Powers returns home for the first time in thirteen years, she must convince everyone she has fully recovered from the mental illness, which has seen her institutionalised for most of her young life. But instead of being welcomed back, Natalie enters a baffling world of deception. She must fight her way through the lies in order to discover the truth about her mother’s sudden disappearance sixteen years earlier. To do this, Natalie must also try to make sense of the hazy memories from the past that continue to haunt her.

In the village of Little Downey, everybody appears to harbour a mysterious secret, including her father, Frank, the village butcher, who refuses to discuss the circumstances surrounding Natalie’s mother's disappearance, but who can Natalie trust if not her own father? Especially when it becomes clear her protector and confidante, Dr Moses, is not all he appears.

Meanwhile, a spate of unexplained clifftop suicides has seen the seaside resort go into decline. Are the villagers somehow involved or is something more sinister at work? Determined to find out what happened to her mother, Natalie must make sure her own frailty and self-doubt does not catapult her back to the mental institution before she can uncover the truth…

https://amzn.to/2JwHY5n


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
Fatemarked (The Fatemarked Epic Book 1)
By David Estes
Military Fantasy
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

They are the fatemarked. Misunderstood. Worshipped. Hated. Murdered at birth. Their time to step into the light has come.

An ancient prophecy foretold their coming, the chosen few who will bring peace to a land embroiled in a century of mistrust and war. When kings start dying, that hope and belief swiftly turns to fear. Roan Loren is one of the fatemarked, but has hidden his mark of power his entire life, fearing the damage it might cause to those around him.

A great evil is coming. He can't hide anymore.

https://amzn.to/2LGQD7X


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
Every Breath You Take (Bayou Devils MC Book 3)
By A.M. Myers
Romantic Suspense
Usual Price: 4.99  Sale: 0.99

Tatum Carter is a warrior. She hasn’t lived an easy life but any obstacle that is thrown in her path, she perseveres. When her mother, Sarah, is killed in a car accident, Tatum is presented with a whole new challenge and this time, she’s struggling to keep her head above water.

When he was fifteen years old, Lincoln Archer lost his father and shouldered the burden of taking care of his mother and two younger sisters. He’s a rock – always there when someone he loves needs him, but it has taken its toll on him and now he’s drowning under his mistakes. 

Sarah’s death unearths long buried secrets, thrusting Tatum and Lincoln together as Tatum wonders if she ever really knew her mother at all. They bring each other peace but danger surrounds them and what looks like salvation may very well be their demise.

Can Tatum face the ghosts of her mother’s past or will they take her down with them, stealing away the only serenity Lincoln has ever known?

https://amzn.to/2XB648Z


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
Anne and Charles: Passion and Politics in Late Medieval France: The Story of Anne of Brittany's Marriage to Charles VIII (Anne of Brittany Series Book 1)
By Rozsa Gaston
Medieval Historical Romance
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

When Anne of Brittany's father dies in 1488, she becomes Duchess of Brittany, her country's ruler at age eleven. For the next three years, the unmarried, orphaned duchess is pursued by suitors while Brittany is invaded by its larger, more powerful neighbor of France. With no other way out, at age fourteen she agrees to marry Charles VIII, King of France, to save her country. Better to be a queen than a prisoner...

Unexpectedly, a passionate relationship ensues. Yet Charles cannot shake off bad habits he has brought into their marriage, and Anne cannot help him in his darkest area of struggle. Together, they introduce the wonders of the Italian Renaissance to France, building one of Europe’s most glorious 15th century courts at their royal residence in Amboise, in the heart of the Loire Valley. 

But year after year they fail to achieve the one most important aim they must accomplish to secure the future of their kingdom. As they desperately attempt to make their shared dream come true, an unexpected twist of fate irrevocably changes the fortunes of both Anne and Charles.

https://amzn.to/2XygjpG


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/14
The Normandy Privateer: A thrilling naval adventure with Lieutenant Oliver Anson
By David McDine
Historical Thriller
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

England. 1800s. The family of a young Royal Navy officer killed in action on a mission to capture a French privateer in 1798 install a memorial tablet in their church to commemorate his life and service to King and country.

Lieutenant Oliver Anson led the raid bidding to capture the gun brig Égalité hiding in a small Normandy harbour. But when it all goes wrong, Anson is felled by a musket ball in the head and is listed among the dead. Only the less-than-god-fearing Anson turns out not to be dead at all but very much alive, and stuns even fellow seamen with his miraculous resurrection. It is, however, far from plain sailing for the prisoners to escape from behind enemy lines and get back across the Channel. 

And the resourceful and ambitious Anson is then dealt a blow by the admiralty when he is later denied a new sea-going appointment. Instead his future is to be with the Sea Fencibles – tasked with foiling any potential French invasion attempt along the Kent coastline. Perhaps worse, sea rover Anson finds himself falling into the clutches of a local bigwig’s voluptuous and determined daughter who is desperate to find a husband…

https://amzn.to/2S3Cm6f


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/13
The Stone House Secret, A Romantic Mystery Novel (A Jenessa Jones Mystery Book 2)
By Debra Burroughs
Mystery Romance
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

Since reporter Jenessa Jones' return to her hometown, her romance with Detective Michael Baxter has begun to heat up, which helps when a scandalous murder is uncovered on the local college campus and Jenessa is assigned the front-page story.
  
Her aunt is named as a prime suspect, compelling Jenessa to find the real killer in order to keep her family member from going to prison. As she follows the trail of clues, Jenessa's investigation puts her life in grave danger. Can Detective Baxter capture the murderer and save the woman he loves? Or will Jenessa have to save herself?

https://amzn.to/2JAPMTu


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 7/12
Boy Made of Dawn (A Navajo Nation Mystery Book 2)
By R. Allen Chappell
Native American Literature
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

Boy Made of Dawn is the stand alone sequel to the highly acclaimed Navajo Autumn - second in the Navajo Nation Mystery Series. Follow Charlie Yazzi and Thomas Begay as they again meet danger and intrigue on the nations largest Indian reservation. 

~~~~~~

Man has always felt most vulnerable in that lonely, netherworld between darkness and dawn. Often it is then death takes the sick and weak, they give up finally, unable to bear the weight of another day. A person may - not knowing why - suddenly awaken, if only for an instant, to assure himself all is well. 

Charlie woke that morning, in the darkness, with just such a feeling. It was now late afternoon and hunger was finally getting the best of him. In old Navajo, when one was hungry he said, “hunger is hurting me.” Hunger was hurting Charlie now.

https://amzn.to/2XC7e40

(Please verify all prices before purchase.)

June's Book Reviews

For your possible reading pleasure:

• A thriller based primarily on emotional drama (I’ll Never Tell);
• A blend of mystery/sci-fi/pulp noir (Man on the Stair); and
• An action-packed thriller (The Scorpion: Metamorphosis of Smoke).

Hope you find something for your library,
Bruce

I’ll Never Tell by Catherine McKenzie

Emotional Drama Built on Exposing a Web of Lies and Misperceptions

I’ll Never Tell finds the five MacAllister siblings (Margaux, Ryan, Mary, Kate, and Liddie) and a groundskeeper (Sean Booth) trying to solve a 20-year-old, cold case – the bludgeoning of Amanda Holmes on the grounds of the family’s camp, Camp Macaw.  Why?  Because their father’s will stipulated that until they unravel the mystery of what happened to Amanda, they can’t settle the estate.  That sentence alone should tell you one of the concerns I have about this book – the plot is contrived.  What kind of man would saddle his five children with solving a case that the police couldn’t?  What kind of man would task his children with something he never did when he was alive?  Of course, every author gets one gimme and this could be it, except the pattern repeats quite often.  For example, in a backstory, Ryan takes the blame for “killing” a young woman when, in fact, it was an accident.  There is no blame to be taken, no one to protect in an accident, and so, the whole scene ends up feeling convenient – a way for the author to increase drama and little more.  For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2Xj3DXE 

Man on the Stair by Stacy Bender

Quirky Supporting Characters in an Entertaining Mystery/Sci-Fi/Pulp Noir Blend

Man on the Stair is part mystery and part sci-fi.  What first appears a simple traffic accident turns out to be part of a murder spree by a serial killer, producing the mystery element of the story.  Who is he/she?  It is not, however, a whodunit with multiple, possible suspects or several red herrings.  Rather, it is more of a slow reveal through the investigative efforts of our main characters – Adam, ex-police officer and now, ghost to the digital world; Lila, a driven and highly capable police detective; and Michal, a high schooler with considerable computer skills.  The sci-fi element comes in through the near-future setting.  Self-driving cars have been perfected and some jobs have been automated with holographic figures, for example.  And apparently, automation is highly interconnected, as something like facial recognition identifies Adam on a phone camera and erases him even before the video can be replayed.  That’s a lot more interconnected than your phone ‘talking’ to your thermostat.For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2IlGYlg

The Scorpion: Metamorphosis of Smoke by John A. Autero

An Action-Heavy Techno-Thriller from the World of Government Coverups

When a sadistic government agent from a top-secret group within the National Security Agency gets to define who’s a threat to the nation and who’s not, you have to expect a fair amount of bloodshed.  And that’s what you get with The Scorpion: Metamorphosis of Smoke.  Stephen Harris, Senior Director of the NSA is our villain, a man who never found a problem he couldn’t fix with some combination of torture and assassination.  Opposing him are two characters from the first book in the series:  Jack Arthur, retired NSA operative, and Bruce Herdino, his successor in exposing government coverups.  Joining those two is a new character, Agent Monica Deverow.  As you’ll find, she can take care of herself … and then some.  For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2KzJYMi

Four Headlines from the Second Quarter of 2019

1.  You Know What They Say about 'Assume'

Well, I did.  I assumed AXP would let everyone know the winners of their giveaway.  So, it came as a shock when a reader emailed me to ask if she had won.  Ouch!

To correct that situation, here are the winners of my book from the AXP Kindle Unlimited Giveaway back in May.  The grand prize winners who received all 35-40 eBooks in the KU program were Konnie K. and Hannah T.  And the winner of my book, Of Half a Mind, was Frank M.  Congrats if you won.  If not, stay tuned; there will be other opportunities.

2.  Some Awards Programs Are More Dramatic than Others

And the Eric Hoffer Book Awards has taken drama to a whole new level.  

First, they had the finalists.  And then, the "short list".  And finally, the winners.  But I'm not complaining because Killer in the Retroscape (https://amzn.to/2Cn7xE0) made it all the way, taking third place in the eBook - Fiction category.  

And if you want to check out the two books that beat me:
The Seven Gifts by The Sailor:  https://amzn.to/2JUWXIa
Sins of the Fathers by Joseph Badal:  https://amzn.to/2LWQwqI

I have to admit that the second one fascinated me enough to buy it, so watch for my review when it comes up in my TBR list.

3.  Mind in Chains Is Coming Along

The third book in the Mind Sleuth series is a medical thriller, Mind in Chains.  Currently, a complete draft is with my editor and my cover artist is hard at work (notice how well I delegate!).  I've add a tab for the book on the home page of the blog that includes a countdown timer and the synopsis.

Watch for requests for potential reviewers for the free Advance Reader Copy (ARC) around October 1 and the book release around November 1.  And if you want a sample now, the tab also includes the draft of the first four chapters.  Comments are always appreciated!

4.  What A Spring It's Been in the Midwest

While it's not writing news, it's certainly been in the news - flooding on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.  And since biking is my second favorite pastime, I've taken note.

Here's a shot from the Katy Trail, a 237-mile (386 km) converted, railroad trail that starts near St. Louis and runs across most of the state.  Maybe by July I'll be out on it again.

June's Limited-Time Kindle Deals

Joke of the Month:  The June Wedding

George was ecstatic, having found Diane, the girl of his dreams.  He’d asked, she’d said yes, and now they were planning a June wedding.  But when George told his parents, his father pulled him aside.  “George, I don’t know how to say this, but your mother was never … well, that much in bed.  I strayed and unfortunately, you can’t marry Diane.  She’s your half-sister.”

George, of course, was angry and heart-broken, but life went on.  And sure enough, a year later, he’d found Linda and they'd set a June wedding date.  But when George told his parents, his dad called him aside again.  “I can’t believe how bad your luck is.  Linda’s also your half-sister.”

This time, George couldn’t take it.  He went to his mom and explained the situation.  She just shrugged and said, “Eh, don't worry about it.  He’s not your father.”

Now, to the serious stuff - the deals!

Bruce

(Please verify all prices before purchase.)

Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/10
Of Half a Mind
By Bruce M. Perrin
Thriller/Horror
Usual Price: $2.99  Sale: $0.99

When you talk to yourself, there’s only one voice.  When you look at something in your mind’s eye, there’s but one image.

Psychologist Sam “Doc” Price and his colleagues had always held that principle to be true … at least under normal circumstances.  But as they studied the work of a brilliant but troubled neuroscientist, they discovered a device that created a reality that was anything but normal.  And when they had unraveled its mysteries, the only question that remained was, could they survive the brutal truth?

http://amzn.to/2ozkD9g
99p in the UK:  https://amzn.to/2SVW82z


It's worth the wait - Start Date: June 8
Whiskey Kills (A Top Shelf Mystery)
By Lolli Powell
Cozy Mystery
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

When bar owner, Ricki Fontaine’s friend, Ruby Fogarty, is charged with murdering her boyfriend by clubbing him to death with a bottle of whiskey, the police consider the case closed. But Ricki is convinced Ruby is innocent and sets out to find the real murderer. Although Waterton police detective Gabriel Russell is crazy about Ricki, he isn’t too crazy about her trying to do his job.

The killer’s not too happy about it either.

A 2017 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Bronze winner!!!

https://amzn.to/2EN9GsL


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/9
Lost Valley (Extinction Survival Book 1)
By Walt Browning
Sci-Fi
Usual Price: 2.99  Sale: 0.99

War has a way of following some people... 

John Eric Carver and Shrek are a retired Navy SEAL war dog team, now living in the mountains outside of San Diego. Both man and dog thought their life was now settled, finding peace on the forty acre ranch they had moved to. But life, and a mutated virus, changed all that.

Now, they have to survive a worldwide pandemic. Taking refuge in a nearby Boy Scout camp, he leads a group of teens and their parents as they are forced to deal with infected creatures that are rapidly consuming the world. Will John and Shrek survive another war, or will this be the end of the line for the Seal team?

https://amzn.to/2MtatWb


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/9
A Relic to Die For (Books to Die For Book 5)
By Richard Houston
Cozy Animal Mystery
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

This reviewer says it best:

As in Houston's previous books, this yarn has all of the elements, a murder mystery, a bit of romance, and my favorite, the wonderful interactions Jake has with his animals, Fred, his golden retriever, and a new found kitten who tries to steal the show. Houston is able to tell his story without gratuitous violence or sex. 

Richard Houston is a two-time USA Today Best selling author whose amateur sleuth solves murder mysteries in Colorado and the Missouri Ozarks with his Golden Retriever and widowed, sixty-nine year old neighbor.

https://amzn.to/2ItQMIP


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/9
Freaky Days (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 1)
By Amanda M. Lee
Ghost Mystery
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

Poet Parker is Romani by birth and a fortune teller by choice. As a member of Mystic Caravan Circus, she’s spent the past ten years using her psychic talents to tell people what their future holds by day and hunting paranormal monsters by night. You see, Mystic Caravan is more than just a circus – it’s also a force of good in a world that needs help fighting evil.

Poet is set in her ways – and happy with her life – until Kade Denton shows up and upends the entire operation. He’s loud and proud – and Poet doesn’t like anyone telling her what to do. As the new head of security, Kade thinks his only job is going to be tackling drunken revelers when they get out of hand. He’s in for a rude – and bloody – awakening.

When monsters strike and the truth comes out, Kade finds he has to learn on the job with Poet as his somewhat reluctant instructor.  Sparks are flying – both real and figurative – and when a truly terrible beast targets the circus for extermination it’s all magical hands on deck for the final showdown.

https://amzn.to/2JW1HhA


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/9
The Sign of The Blood
By Laurence O'Bryan
Historical Mystery
Usual Price: 4.99  Sale: 0.99

It is 306A.D., long before Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and became the first Christian emperor.

To ensure he survives, he must eliminate his enemies. But who must die first? The priestess, Sybellina, who joined them in Rome and practices dark and seductive magic? Or the brutal legion commanders who surround his father? Or, as Juliana suspects, are those who want him dead even closer?

A gripping historical novel about Constantine’s bloody rise to power, the woman who helped him, and the real reason he supported a persecuted Christian minority, a decision which changed the world into the one we know.

https://amzn.to/2Wm8iZ5


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/8
The Dragoneer: Book 1: The Bonding
By Vickie and Danny Knestaut
Fantasy (Sword and Sorcery)
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

What would you risk to achieve your dreams?

All her life, Trysten has wished to follow in her father's footsteps and lead the dragons of Aerona into battle. The title of Dragoneer, however, has always gone to a male heir since the dawn of the kingdom. When her father is crippled, and his dragon mortally wounded ahead of the fighting season, Trysten must test traditions and norms to save her village. With her special bond to the dragons of Aerona, Trysten must prove to her father, the villagers, and the other dragon riders that she is an able leader and a fierce warrior of legendary capabilities.

https://amzn.to/2KnGJaI


Start Date: NOW  End Date: 6/8
Small Town Murder: Midwest Cozy Mystery Series
By Dianne Harman
Cozy Mystery
Usual Price: 3.99  Sale: 0.99

Kat only wanted to be part of the convention on how to write successful books, not solve a murder that took place there – the murder of a beloved “tell-all” author. Was that the motive?

Greed, revenge, and hatred are also reasons to murder, at least to people who live on the slippery edge of sanity. Parsons who gamble, women who blackmail, and a number of people with outsized egos make for most interesting characters.

And yet, even with the worst of human nature, miracles can happen.

If you like to feel good at the end of a book, with maybe a tear or two and a smile, don’t miss this inspirational story with plenty of dogs, food, and recipes.

https://amzn.to/2JWwDOq

(Please verify all prices before purchase.)

May Book Reviews and Previews

This month, I reviewed a mystery set in Australia (Redemption Point), a true story of growth and discovery with a bit of life philosophy (ADHD: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL), and a thriller (Cemetery Road).

Happy reading,
Bruce

Redemption Point by Candice Fox

Vivid Writing, Interesting Characters, but the Plot Was Disappointing

Redemption Point has two plot lines, each getting about the same play in numbers of pages.  First, there is the wrongly-accused, former Australian police detective now turned PI Ted Conkaffey.  He would like to clear his name but feels it would be too painful, and so, he struggles to live with the shame and guilt until it blows over.  Eventually, he gets nudged into the investigation of his own crime, setting up the finale.  Parallel to that thread, Ted and Amanda Pharrell, Ted’s quirky partner in the PI business, get hired to investigate a double homicide at a local bar.  On it, they work with Pip Sweeney, a newly minted, Detective Inspector who is in charge of the case and who is battling her own emotional demons. For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2GVWtiV

ADHD: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL by Nico J. Genes

Share in this author’s true story of discovery – of ADHD and of herself

In the book ADHD: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL, author Nico Genes shares her story of meeting and befriending a single mother and her young son.  It chronicles her early experiences with them, marked by frayed nerves, exhaustion, and hurt feelings when the child can’t seem to focus or hold still for more than a few moments.  It also describes some unacceptable behavior by a teacher and a principal.  Hopefully, that section represents an isolated pocket of indifference and lack of knowledge, as health organizations estimate between five and ten percent of all children suffer from the condition; otherwise, there are a lot of children being marginalizing by the educational system.  Eventually, the young man is diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the doctor adding that the mother probably has the same condition.  The book is also a story of the author’s growth, as she comes to recognize new qualities in herself as a result of the friendship.  “This new part of me enjoyed the smell of a lavender field rather than the scent of the most expensive perfume. I was now living for the moment, and one benefit of this was it helped me get through the other less pleasant times.”  For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2Ygd3Qh

Cemetery Road by Greg Iles

Damaged Characters and Melodrama Dominate this “Thriller”

Perhaps as much as a quarter of Greg Iles’ 600-page Cemetery Road is consumed by the backstories of three main characters:  Marshall McEwan, Jet Turner, and Paul Matheson.  They suffer through emotional tragedies ranging from abandonment by a father – true to some degree for all three – to post traumatic stress disorder.  Those pages also detail the relationships among them and a tangled web it is, ranging from first loves to friendships forged in war.  Via these histories, the characters become quite nuanced, especially Marshall.  But developed and likeable aren’t the same and none achieve that status.  Marshall is perhaps the closest and yet, he lets Jet marry Paul because the time isn’t right for him.  But then, he starts an affair with her when he returns to his hometown.  There are only so many bad decisions in adulthood that can be blamed on a traumatic upbringing and Marshall crosses that line for me.  For the complete review, see this link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2MlXSnU