Memes and Such

Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss – Blog Tour and Giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 9 Comments

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski thinks she has the perfect paranormal exhibit for the harvest festival—a haunted grape press. But when she’s accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is found murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie.

Maddie knows well the perils of amateur sleuthing and is reluctant to get involved. But her mother insists she investigate. Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder?

Facing down danger and her own over-active imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.

 

 

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Read it Before You See it Giveaway (ENDED) : The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

~ Erika K ~ 8 Comments

In anticipation of CBS Films’ upcoming release of The Sense of an Ending, based on the Man-Booker prize winning novel by Julian Barnes, they have generously made 5 copies of the book available for me to give away to my US readers!

 

In Select Theaters March 10
 
Starring Academy Award® winner JIM BROADBENT (Iris, Gangs of New York, Moulin Rouge!), HARRIET WALTER (Babel, Atonement, Sense and Sensibility), MICHELLE DOCKERY (Babel, Atonement, Sense and Sensibility), EMILY MORTIMER (Shutter Island, Hugo, Lars and the Real Girl), BILLY HOWLE (The Witness for the Prosecution, Cider with Rosie, Glue), JOE ALWYN (Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Higher Education, Keepers), FREYA MAVOR (The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun, Sunshine on Leith, Skins), MATTHEW GOODE (The Imitation Game, Belle) and CHARLOTTE RAMPLING (45 Years, Melancholia).
 
Tony Webster (Broadbent) leads a reclusive and quiet existence until long buried secrets from his past force him to face the flawed recollections of his younger self, the truth about his first love (Rampling) and the devastating consequences of decisions made a lifetime ago.
 
Adapted for the screen by award-winning playwright Nick Payne and produced by David Thompson and Ed Rubin (Woman In Gold). THE SENSE OF AN ENDING  will open in theaters early this year.
 
Directed by: Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox)
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Michelle Dockery, Emily Mortimer, Billy Howle, Joe Alwyn, Freya Mavor
Written by: Nick Payne (Nora)
Based on the Man Booker-winning novel by Julian Barnes

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Review – War and Peach by Susan Furlong

~ Erika K ~ 5 Comments

War and Peach (Georgia Peach Mystery, #3)Nola Mae Harper is too busy restocking the jars of preserves and chutney flying off the shelves of her shop, Peachy Keen, to keep up with all the gossip about the upcoming mayoral election, but she does know the debate is sure to be a real barn burner.
Local farmer Clem Rogers claims he has a bombshell that could take small business owner Margie Price out of the running. But before Clem can reveal his juicy secret at the debate, his actual barn goes up in flames–with him inside of it. The town casts its vote against Margie, but Nola isn’t convinced the hardworking woman is capable of murder. Now to clear Margie’s name Nola will have to work fast under pressure, before Margie gets taken in by the fuzz…
INCLUDES RECIPES!

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Interview with Author D.E. Ireland

~ Erika K ~ 2 Comments

Get Me to the Grave On TimeAlthough Eliza still refuses to marry Freddy Eynsford Hill, everyone around her seems headed for the altar. Not only is her cousin Inspector Jack Shaw about to wed his sweetheart, but Freddy’s younger sister Clara is engaged, along with the niece of Henry Higgins. Another blushing bride is the sixty-year-old Duchess of Carbrey, who plans to marry a handsome fellow half her age. But when the groom is found dead, a jealous mistress is blamed for the murder. However, the death may also be connected to the stolen treasure of an Indian temple.

Disaster strikes next at Jack and Sybil’s wedding. Soon after, the wedding reception of Higgins’s niece takes a lethal turn. Someone is targeting bridegrooms, and the wedding of Freddy’s sister is next. Before another bridal bouquet is tossed, Higgins and Eliza must track down the killer. Otherwise, Clara’s bridegroom – and perhaps the bride herself – may be murdered before they can get to the church on time.

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Deadly Dog Days by Jamie M. Blair – Blog Tour and Giveaway

~ Erika K ~ 7 Comments

Deadly Dog Days (A Dog Days Mystery #1)New to the historic town of Metamora, Indiana, Cameron Cripps-Hayman is looking to make friends with her neighbors. What she isn’t looking for is one of their bodies floating in the canal. 

When she and her estranged husband, the town sheriff, are both named suspects for the murder, Cameron takes solving the crime into her own hands, teaming up with her eccentric co-workers who dub themselves The Metamora Action Agency. 

As if hunting for a murderer with two high school geniuses, the town drunk, and an elderly kleptomaniac isn’t hard enough, Cameron adopts the five mangy guard dogs of her deceased neighbor. But maybe a stint at playing gatekeeper is just what she needs to come face-to-face with the killer and save another neighbor from being the next victim.

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A Star-Reckoner’s Lot by Darrell Drake

~ Erika K ~ 2 Comments

A Star-Reckoner's Lot For some, loss merely deprives. For others, it consumes.

Ashtadukht is a star-reckoner. The worst there’s ever been. Witness her treacherous journey through Iranian legends and ancient history.

Only a brave few storytellers still relate cautionary glimpses into the life of Ashtadukht, a woman who commanded the might of the constellations—if only just, and often unpredictably. They’ll stir the imagination with tales of her path to retribution. How, fraught with bereavement and a dogged illness, she criss-crossed Sassanian Iran in pursuit of creatures now believed mythical. Then, in hushed tones, what she wrought on that path.

 

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Review – A Palette for Murder by Vanessa A. Ryan

~ Erika K ~ 2 Comments

A Palette for MurderSynopsis: Lana Davis arrives in New Mexico from Los Angeles, planning to look up a former boyfriend and take in some sightseeing. But this all-expense-paid trip is not a vacation. She’s here to find Antonio Chavez, last seen in Santa Fe. He’s the missing beneficiary of a large life insurance policy her company issued. The heat is on because a disgruntled heir insists he should receive the proceeds instead. However bogus his claim is, the public relations nightmare he causes for her company is real. If Lana doesn’t find Antonio, her job is on the line.

Lana’s search for Antonio brings her into the inner circle of a powerful art gallery in Santa Fe, owned by the daughter of a wealthy family. Although Lana’s knowledge of art is limited to the one art history class she took in college, she soon discovers that when art and greed collide, the result is deadly. Her knack for finding dead bodies makes the police nervous–and finding herself a target for murder is more than she signed up for.

Genre: Cozy Mystery
My rating – *** (3 stars)

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Interview with E.M. Thomas – Author of The Bulls of War

~ Erika K ~ 1 Comment

Please join me in welcoming E.M. Thomas to The Book’s the Thing. E.M. is the author of The Bulls of War, and has stopped by for a chat.

bow-cover-6 For love. For war. For honor. For vengeance.

Spanning vistas from majestic mountains, pristine lakes, and barren plains in the north to sweltering deserts, raging seas, and rain-soaked shrublands in the south,The Bulls of War is the first book of E.M. Thomas’s epic Chronicles of the Andervold Thrones.

Follow this sweeping tale of an empire on the precipice of war with its hated rival, a fragile truce teetering on the edge of a sword. Watch as tens of thousands of troops stand at the ready, only an order away from battles on a scale unseen in centuries. Beware as some factions within the Imperial capital fight to keep the peace, while others shirk no scheme, murder, or terror in their quest to trigger war – a war some fear could rend their divided empire apart.

It is in the midst of this dangerous game of brinksmanship that Generals Tyghus and Kyrus soon find themselves. Against a backdrop of deceit and suspicion, of blood and tears, of power and glory, their friendship is put to the ultimate test as they struggle to save their country, themselves, and those they love – all while battling their own tortured pasts.

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Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver – Blog Tour and Giveaway (ENDED)

~ Erika K ~ 3 Comments

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Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver
A Kelly Jackson Mystery #2

Synopsis:

It’s whale-watching season in Redwood Cove, and B&B manager Kelly Jackson’s battening down the hatches for the tourist rush at Redwood Heights—a Victorian-style estate owned by her boss. And due to recent jewelry thefts, her duties include keeping track of the many dust-covered artifacts spread throughout the property. But when Kelly finds Sylvia Porter’s lifeless body, menial tasks don’t seem so terrible. Enlisting the help of a ragtag group of brainy retirees, aka the “Silver Sentinels,” Kelly’s on the hunt for clues hidden behind the mansion’s glamorous façade. . .and for a killer who may want to make history of her next!

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