Razing Stakes by TG Wolff Book Review/Blog Tour

 

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review.

Razing Stakes is book 3 in the De La Cruz Case Files, but can easily be read as a standalone. I would classify this genre as a police procedural … mixed in with some very interesting characters and a couple of different story lines happening in Razing Stakes.

Let me introduce you to Detective Jesus De La Cruz who starts out this story with a hit-and-run, the victim being Colin McHenry. While working to solve this case, Detective De La Cruz is called to the mayor’s office to work on a “special project.” Let me also introduce you to his girlfriend, Aurora Williams. She is a schoolteacher who happens to be suspended from her job. While suspended, she is temporarily working as a bartender and a freelance artist. Let me also introduce you to De La Cruz’s best friend, another detective, Matt Yablonski, and his wife Erin (who also happens to be Aurora’s best friend). With the main story, there is an underlying story involving Yablonski being involved in some other undercover work and there were some seriously bad dudes out for his blood. There are quite a few other characters in this tale that lend to the story in their own ways. Not to mention the romance between De La Cruz and Aurora (she calls him Zeus).

If you enjoy police procedurals, I am quite certain you will enjoy Ms. Wolff’s writing style. It is easy to follow and, in this particular book, I found it interesting the way in which she tied all of the stories together. I also enjoyed her portrayal of De La Cruz’s family relationships, as well as the Williams’ family relationships. Oh, and who can resist a book with a line like this: “Monday morning decided to come early again.” Another favorite line: “There is never enough cheesecake.” I think some of us can relate to these sentiments. The theme throughout: “Happy hunting, Detective.”

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Razing-Stakes-Cruz-Case-Files/dp/1643962450/ref=sr_1_1?crid=19R5TTATFBYZF&keywords=razing+stakes+tg+wolff&qid=1647890337&sprefix=razing+stakes+tg+wolff%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/razing-stakes-tg-wolff/1140837844?ean=9781643962450

Find TG Wolff:

Website: https://tgwolffcom.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tina.wolff.125

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/tg-wolff

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19815472.TG_Wolff

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tg_wolff

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tg_wolff/

 

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan Cover Reveal

 

COVER REVEAL!  

THE HOUSE GUEST by Hank Phillippi Ryan, publishing February 7, 2023. Check this out:  

Another diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller from USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan—but which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?  

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.    

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then—Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each other’s problems.   

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.  

You can pre-order right now--here are all the links. https://bit.ly/THGHPR   

(Add it to your Goodreads here:  https://bit.ly/HouseGuestGoodreads) 

Rock-A-Bye Baby by Luke Murphy Book Review

 

This is the second book in Mr. Murphy’s Charlene Taylor series. I read this right after reading the first one, Kiss & Tell, to see if his characters and tone carried over. I was not disappointed.

This tale picks right up after the first book, after Detective Taylor has come off of her previous three cases as well as dealing with her father’s death, her mandated time off. She decided to go see her sister, Jane, in Colorado. While there, she meets Matt, a Fed, and they end up working together on this baby case. Admittedly, the Feds were hesitant to let an LAPD detective on their turf, but due to circumstances, they felt Charlene could be a big help to them. As per her usual, Charlene found herself immersed in this case.

This book contains what I would expect in a police procedural – a case that is never-ending and seems to be unsolvable; a love interest (adding interest to the tale); families that are disrupted because of the particular crime; a carryover case from years prior; red herrings that lead the reader down one path only to find they are veering off onto another; an ending that makes the reader go “huh, there’s a twist for ya.” As well as a final sentence that lends to another story in book three.

Again, Mr. Murphy is one to watch through his writing career. To quote Steve Berry, “Murphy has the touch.”

I am curious now to read his Calvin Watters series.

 

Kiss & Tell by Luke Murphy Book Review

 

I know I have said this before, but one of the best things about reading is discovering new authors. Such is the case with Mr. Murphy whom I can across on Twitter. For a new author, having written only six (I believe) books, I am impressed with his writing style and ability to tell a story.

Charlene Taylor always knew she wanted to be a cop. She was, after all, her daddy’s girl, the boy he never had. Charlene also has a close personal relationship with the bottle. Her drinking habit fills her with self-loathing, which makes her a likable character, a believable character.

In this tale, Charlene is finally promoted to a detective in the Homicide-Robbery division, which has been her goal. She finds herself in a man’s world, having the need to prove herself. The HR unit is working on the Celebrity Slayer case, her own father’s case, as well as the case of a murdered professor.

Charlene Taylor – Female detective working in a male-dominated world, filled with self-loathing. A relatable character.

Martin Taylor – Charlene’s dad.

Brenda Taylor – Charlene’s mom.

Jane – Charlene’s sister.

Larry Baker – Charlene’s new partner in Robbery-Homicide; also, her dad’s former partner.

Their Team – Berkley, Harris, Brady.

Their Cases – Domestic call (little girl, Lauren), Celebrity Slayer, Professor case.

Captain – Ronald Dunbar.

Andy – Charlene’s on again/off again boyfriend.

This is book one in Mr. Murphy’s Charlene Taylor series. After reading this one, I moved right into book two, Rock-A-Bye Baby. I was interested to see if his tone carried over into this second book. It did.

Normally, I do not compare one author to another, because I believe every author has a voice, but I feel compelled to compare Mr. Murphy to one of my favorite ladies, Danielle Girard, her Schwartzman series, in the sense they both have strong female detectives in their stories. I plan to read Mr. Murphy’s second series, Calvin Watters, and look forward to following his writing career over the years. In my estimation, he is one to watch as I suspect his writing ability is only going to get better as he continues in his career.

Hush by Kate White Book Review

 

Lake, isn’t that an interesting name for a character? Lake is the owner of a business that helps companies with their marketing strategies. She finds herself with a new client, the Advanced Fertility Center. The more Lake spends time at the clinic doing research to see how she can best help them, the more she uncovers. The more she uncovers about the clinic, the more odd things start happening to her. She thinks she’s beginning to go a bit crazy and wonders if the odd happenings have to do with her almost ex-husband, Jack. Enter Dr. Keaton, the handsome doctor who is signing on with the fertility clinic. A little harmless flirting can’t hurt, right? Her lawyer warns her not to do anything untoward that could hurt her chances in her custody battle with Jack. Lake does everything she can to heed his advice. But what about all these strange happenings? What are they related to – her pending divorce or what she is discovering about the clinic? Who can she trust?

I applaud Ms. White in writing about a subject that could be quite emotionally triggering for some readers. I applaud Ms. White also in doing her research on this particular subject matter. As a medical transcriptionist, I found myself quite intrigued with this story line. The way the story lines blend together and the situations Lake finds herself in make for a page-turning tale. This particular book published in 2010, but if you are a Kate White fan and haven’t read this one yet, give it a go. Let me know what you think.

 

The Trophy Wife by Sunday Tomassetti Book Review

 

Cate Cabot works in a high-end antique store, but she lives in a lower-end apartment outside of Palm Shores. She enjoys her job, enjoys most of the people she encounters who wander into the shop. She was quite surprised when Odessa befriended her. Cate became obsessed with Odessa.

Enter Odessa DuVernay. A well-to-do client who befriends Cate, even though Cate doesn’t do friends, doesn’t allow herself to get close to anybody, and it’s against store policy to fraternize with the customers.

Amada, Cate’s coworker.

Margaret and Elinor, Cate’s employers and owner of Smith + Rose (where Cate works).

Zsofia, the adopted daughter of the DuVernays.

Charles and Aviva DuVernay. The parents.

Aviana DuVernay, the daughter.

Sean, Cate’s boyfriend. Making Cate wonder how she got so lucky that he sticks around.

I had an ohmigosh moment when I got to the end of this book. I am a huge Minka Kent “fan,” and I had no idea that she wrote this book as Sunday Tomassetti. Have you ever had one of those moments? Where an author you enjoy has written under a pen name and you had no clue? I just want to buy “all the books now.” This read will have you turning pages until you get to the very end and give you that “I never saw that coming” feeling. If other books written under the Sunday Tomassetti pen name are anything like The Trophy Wife … we are all in for a treat!

 

Never Coming Home by Hannah Mary McKinnon

 

I received a copy from NetGalley and am providing a review. Publishing May 24, 2022. Not my picture.

Lucas – the main character you will like and then dislike and then like again. The like centers around his apparent caring for his dad. The dislike stems from Lucas wanting to get rid of everyone around him, his wife, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, even his neighbors Diane and Karina. Lucas also has a sense of humor.

Michelle – Lucas’s wife. Rich to boot.

Nora – Lucas’s mother-in-law. Terminal illness.

Travis – Lucas’s brother-in-law. Drug addict because this story needs one.

Diane and Karina – the neighbors. As it happens, Diane is the hospice care worker assigned to Nora. Karina, by profession, is an outstanding makeup artist.

Roger – Lucas’s dog. A mutt really. Roger is an important character in this tale.

This is a quite humorous tale that Ms. McKinnon has written from Lucas’s perspective. In some parts, I found myself not liking Lucas very much, the lengths he went to just to cover his tracks. In some parts, I found myself liking Lucas, the way he cares about his dad and Roger, his mutt dog. Not to mention the hilariousness of all the little things that were happening to him. All of these characters together make this a page-turning book. I admit it took me two starts, but once I started reading this story, I wanted to keep on reading to see what happened. I wasn’t disappointed.

 

Missing Parts by Lucinda Berry Book Review

 

Hats off to Ms. Berry. She is not one to shy away from sensitive topics. Such is the case in this book, Missing Parts. This is a tale of Celeste and David and their daughter, Aurora (whom they called Rori). When Celeste became pregnant with Rori, David was ecstatic, Celeste not so much … because of something that happened on That Night. That Night haunts Celeste, but she has done a pretty good job of burying the memories. It was decided that David would be a stay-at-home dad and Celeste would return to work. Rori is a little four-year-old girl who gets extremely sick and ends up in the hospital. The truth that surfaces while the doctors try to find out the exact cause of Rori’s illness rocks David’s world and shatters Celeste, not because of any maternal feelings toward Rori but because her secret has finally come to light. A secret that she now has to deal with, be honest about, and she takes off because of David’s anger.

A year later, after being on the run, Celeste (by then having people call her Sarah) meets up with Joe. Joe is a solid guy and through his friendship Celeste decides she needs to face up to the truth of her actions, turn herself in, rekindle things with David, it that is even possible. She returns to Los Angeles to do just that, only to find out she’s not a wanted criminal, she is only listed as a missing person. She does meet with David a couple of times as well as her best friend, Robin. Those meetings did not go as Celeste had hoped. The good thing that came out of Celeste’s return to Los Angeles was being reunited with her mother who Celeste had promised never to hurt, because of past experiences, but in her running she managed to do just that.

I devoured this book in a day. I just kept turning the pages to see how the truth would be revealed and if the scenes portrayed were actually what happened or an effect of Celeste’s paranoia while she was running. I do want to warn readers, though, that this may be a triggering book for those who have experienced rape and a child born from that horrid experience. I also want to warn readers that Ms. Berry cuts into the true emotions of what some women may feel about their own children, whether from rape or just not having a mothering instinct. I believe this book is Ms. Berry’s way of reaching out to those women, letting them know they are heard, letting them know it’s okay to feel this way, letting them know they are seen, letting them know they are not bad people. Letting them know they will be okay.

The Secrets You Keep by Kate White Book Review

 

Bryn and Guy have been married for a short two years. They started out with a commuter relationship until Bryn had an accident and decided to spend time recovering in Saratoga, to also be closer to Guy. Things were going well … until they weren’t. Bryn was thinking perhaps her bad dreams were trying to tell her something. The more she picked at finding the truth, the more odd things began to happen, the more she was discovering about her husband. Not in a good way, either. Guy encouraged her to make friends with the other women in the neighborhood, but did she really want that connection? Could she trust these women? They didn’t all seem bad to her, but they sure were gossips! And that is the last thing Bryn wanted. She wanted to get back to her writing, to get back to being the person she used to be. Why was Guy suddenly being so mysterious and standoffish? Why couldn’t he even look her in the eye to answer a simple question? What was he hiding?

This is a tantalizing tale that takes the reader on the path of Bryn’s learning about her husband. At first, Bryn seems to be a meek female, a dependent female, but as it turns out she has more strength than even she gives herself credit for. There is also a hint of a new romance that starts to bud. And the women in this tale? They are gossips! This book published in 2017, but if you like Kate White in general, get this one. I devoured this 353-page book in a day. I kept turning pages because I wanted to know the answers, the why behind all the secrets, and, of course, whodunnit.

 

I Don't Forgive You by Aggie Blum Thompson

 

Another author to add to your list of go-to authors, especially if all of her other books are as enticing as this one. Allie and her husband, Mark, have moved to small town suburbia, thinking it would be a good move for them. A little flirting at a neighborhood party and boom! The man ends up dead. Of course, there is a neighborhood Facebook page. Of course, there is speculation. Of course, there is a picture of Allie and this Rob dude talking at the party. Of course, what Rob said to Allie at the party made her think twice about this move – how could he have known? She wasn’t even on Tinder! Mark wants to believe what Allie is telling him, but all the clues that are interspersed are not lending very well to Allie’s innocence. And, don’t forget the neighborhood gossips, they are not helping Allie’s situation. It becomes so bad for Allie that she is finally fired from her job. She is frazzled at the drop of a hat, but she wants to remain calm, cool, and collected for her son’s sake (Cole, he’s five and he picks up on everything!). She elicits the help of one of the teen boys in the neighborhood, who everyone thinks is a bit off to begin with, and people warned her away from him. With his help, she is led down a path that really throws her off her game. It’s the person she thought it was but not the right answer. When she does find the right path and does finally start putting the pieces together …

I really enjoyed this read. It has everything I like in a “psychological thriller.” A marriage on the brink of ending. Neighborhood gossips who only fuel the fire. A trail of crumbs that has the reader guessing as to who the bad guy is … and the reader ends up wrong! Another crumb leading down another path that is … wrong. A secret past that is finally revealed in the end. I am looking forward to exploring more of Ms. Thompson’s books. I suspect they will be just as delectable as this one.

The Sixes by Kate White Book Review

Do you like a story that is drenched in mean girlness? Then this is the book for you! Phoebe Hall has been accused of plagiarism, so she moves to the small town of Lyle, Pennsylvania, to get her life back on track and to let the rumors cool down before she goes back to her writing. Her good friend, Glenda, offered her the job at the small college. While there, Glenda also asked Phoebe to quietly look into this supposed college group of girls, they called themselves The Sixes. The thing is, the more questions Phoebe asked the more silent people became, the more odd things kept happening. The more she dug, the more scared she became. She then meets this other teacher, Duncan, should she trust him? She also crosses paths with Hutch, who was the security guard at the time The Sixes began making their presence known.

Of course, what story would be complete without the main character’s past coming up to haunt her … in real life form, in the form of the reporter who wrote the plagiarism story. The ex-boyfriend who surfaces for a minute. And, somehow, Phoebe finds herself adopting a dog (there has to be some good amongst all the bad, right?). The question is – do The Sixes exist or is this some made up group of girls? And, another question is, what is really going on at the college? Is Phoebe really ever going to move on from what happened in the past? A past so secret she thought was hidden, or was it?

This book was originally published back in 2011 in hardcover with the paperback coming out in 2012. If you are a Kate White fan and haven’t read this one, I encourage you to do so. The way Ms. White is able to tell a story in the present and tie it in with Phoebe’s past and who the bad guy is … I was taken by this tale of mystery, a bit of romance, a few murders just to spice things up, and some bullying (as we would call it today) … the rats were a bit creepy. I will be looking into reading more of Ms. White’s older works; she has definitely made it to my go-to author list.

 

 

Big Little Secrets by A.B. Whelan Book Review

 

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review. Publishing April 26, 2022. Cover picture provided by Ms. Whelan.

Nelli and Clint’s tale is going to take you on an intense ride, at least it did me. Clint has a very domineering boss, Don, who didn’t understand why Clint felt the need to rush to Hungary to find his wife. In the end, Clint did just that … went to Hungary to find Nelli. He hadn’t heard from her and that was unlike her. He enlisted the help of his brother, Kenneth, affectionately called Barn (a very interesting character). There, they met Nelli’s high school friends, Daniel being one of them who also served as their interpreter as they couldn’t understand Hungarian. All Clint wanted to do was find Nelli and bring her home, but he discovered so much more.

Again, I found this to be an exceptionally intense read. The reader gets the sense of what it was like in Hungary twenty years ago and what it is like today. There are some things that happen in this tale that I was not expecting. There was one loose end that I was thinking wasn’t going to be answered but it was, and that truth was totally unexpected.

I Heard You Scream by Emerald O'Brien Book Review

 

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review. Releasing April 21, 2022. Cover picture provided by Ms. O’Brien.

Chelsea (Chels) meets Lennox and John at a Halloween party none of them really wanted to be at, a chance meeting. Lennox says they should all get together again, Chels doesn’t think that’ll happen. She is surprised when she gets a text later telling her where and when to meet again. She goes and she, Lennox, Eliana (Ellie, Lennox’s twin), John, and Morgan (Chelsea’s best friend) form a bond, a group of friends who gather, a place where they can just be themselves without judgment. The unthinkable happens and Chelsea is the one left to deal with the aftereffects.

There are other stories going on in this tale of lies. The relationship between Chelsea and Cam. The relationship between Chelsea and her brother Jordan. The relationship between Chelsea and her now best friend, Kellan. Chelsea is wanting to unburden herself and has made the conscious decision to tell the truth. And let’s not forget the tormented relationship between Morgan and Steven all those many years ago. Five long years Chelsea has held onto her secrets and when she decides to come clean more bad things start to happen.

Ms. O’Brien has created some very interesting characters and a very intriguing backstory. This is a fast-moving tale that is told the past and the present that will almost make your head spin trying to keep up with all that is going on. I was intrigued by the way all these lives blended together in the end. There is definitely an ‘I didn’t see that coming’ factor to this deadly tale.