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Monthly Archives: February 2014

Book Review – The Vanishing

16 Sunday Feb 2014

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Hyperion, Paranormal mystery, The Vanishing, Wendy Webb


wendy-webb-250

The Vanishing
By Wendy Webb
A Hyperion Mystery
Published: Jan. 21, 2014
304 pages, trade paperback, $15.99/US

Seldom do I select horror novels to review, but there was something about The Vanishing  that I couldn’t back away from. Perhaps it was the promise to deliver a haunting tale set in a manor that you wouldn’t want to be caught alone in at night. The book cover not only looked foreboding, it dared you to enter.

One door closes….another opens.

vanishing-225Julia Bishop’s life has been cast into the hall of damaged and destroyed reputations. Perhaps the only fault she had in her dead husband’s dirty dealings was not asking him how he built-up their savings account. Unfortunately, it’s only after her husband dies does she learn he talked friends and strangers into a bad investment. The scandal landed him six feet in the ground and her in society’s garbage can. Julia’s future is not only tainted, it’s lost. She has no funds, a pile of bills, and she’s about to lose the roof over her head.

Call it a miracle (but is it really) when Adrian Sinclair shows up on Julia’s doorstep offering her a job she can’t refuse. The opportunity will get her out of Chicago and away from both financial ruin and hostility everywhere she goes. Mr. Sinclair’s invitation was for her to be his mother’s companion in their home near the Canadian border, near Lake Superior’s north shore in Minnesota. His explanation is that his mother has “times when she is not entirely lucid.” He needed someone to watch over her when he was unable to. Julia considers his offer to leave the past behind her and is honored to work with a former well-known horror author.

She accepts and moves to their country estate, Havenwood. What she can’t understand is why she’s treated like one of the family and not as an employee. She adores the manor, even though it seems to have a few friends, relatives and darker beings, that haven’t left. This is where the magic of the book is strongest. Julia is more than aware of their presence. The question is why? Adrian’s mother, Amaris Sinclair, not only adores a fellow writer as a companion, she seems to be more energetic and enjoying life since Julia joined them. As for Drew, who lives on the estate, he will do whatever it takes to look after Julia. There is one major element revealed in the first chapter, which offers some explanation to why the house is foreboding. Buy the book to find out.

The Vanishing does more than offer a haunting setting. The house itself seems to be a character. It draws you in providing those dark, frightening corridors, where drapes move from the night breeze and whisps of ghosts congregate in some endless existence. It will make you ask questions: why are they there? What happened to the first owner of the estate? What evil lies in the shadows? The author does leave a few unanswered questions for readers to wonder about or create solutions of their own. Still, I loved it and hope you’ll read it, too.

Five mysterious manors out of five

Denise Fleischer

gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com

February 16, 2014

The publisher provided an ARC for an honest review

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Aside

GWN is now reviewing mysteries for Penguin!

15 Saturday Feb 2014

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Sweet Tea RevengeI am thrilled to have the opportunity to review Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian mysteries. I’m reading day and night to fulfill my March blog tour selections. So during my lunch break at work, while I’m making dinner,and before I go to bed, I’m reading wonderful mysteries. I’ve just finished “Sweet Tea Revenge” by Laura Childs and I’m reading “Dead Between the Lines” by Denise Swanson and “Keeping Mum” by Alyse Carlson.

I recognize the trend of amateur sleuths being small business owners who love their work, have a supportive group of friends,and have the knack for sailing headfirst into a local mystery. How fun is that?

Dead Between the Lines

These are the books I’ve chosen for March: The above three, plus “Inherit the Word” by Daryl Wood Gerber, “Pearls and Poison” by Duffy Brown, and “Spinning in Her Grave” by Molly MacRae.

As a mystery reviewer, I’m drawn to these hard working protagonists. Not only are they challenged with the economy, they have decisions to make in their relationships, they have pets with demanding needs and adorable personalities like their own, and most importantly they are navigated by intuition and logic. Intuition is a natural gift, especially in women, but often is overshadowed by society’s perceptions, as well as our peers and loved ones.

Keeping MumHonestly, the first thing that draws me to reviewing a book is the cover. Great art lures you in and makes you want to read the summary. I love covers with cafes, libraries, craft corners, ghosts floating about, dogs and cats and food and desserts.

Then there is the “must have” desire to get the next book in a series. Authors have introduced you to characters that you adore for their spirit and intelligence and you just can’t wait to read the next book.

I find myself drawn to informative mysteries. Those that share the recipes that characters prepare, or resources where I can order the products they use. Sometimes you learn about the nature of people in society, both the good and the very bad. Or morsels of history about a state or region.

Inherit the Word

Reading time is tea time for me. I suppose because both are so calming. In the weeks leading up to Christmas I stocked up on a few boxes of tea: Hyson “Cherry Lift,” Stash “Peppermint,” Celestial “Peppermint”, Bigelow “Mint Medley” and Tazo “Baked Cinnamon Apple.” That’s thanks to a gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond from my daughter Lauren.  (check out her blog “vegan4ever20”).

Another element of mysteries I love is suspense, which always seems to keep me at the edge of my seat, presenting a clue one morsel at a time. But there are also clues written into mysteries that when I read I can easily pass up their importance.

Pearls and Poison

Resolution, now that’s what I can’t wait for. While the author will have a reader think one character was responsible for the murder, oftentimes it’s someone totally different.

Mysteries are like crossword puzzles, they gently push the reader toward finding the right answer. At the same time, they are tapping into your intuition, making you unravel the knot of the mystery and then slowly you take one more slip of tea and say, “Thank goodness she figured it out. Now justice can be served.”

Spinning in her GraveWatch for my book reviews and the author’s guest’s posts in the weeks to come. I also have a review coming for “Home for the Haunting” by Juliet Blackwell, “Paws for Murder” by Annie Knox, “The Ghoul Next Door” by Victoria Laurie, “Tapestry of Lies” by Carol Ann Martin, and “Lending a Paw” by Laurie Cass.

Peg Herring Talks About Her Challenging Characters

06 Thursday Feb 2014

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Mystery Author, Peg Herring

pegherring7B_(WinCE)

Denise: What was the biggest challenge when you taught high school English?

Peg: Lots of challenges come from outside the classroom, but inside, motivation is the big one. Once a teacher gets a group of students, no matter what the state, the administration, the other teachers, or the students themselves do, her task is to make them want to better their knowledge of language.

I tried to provide reading material that was both worthwhile and appealing. I devised writing topics that drew on students’ interests. We did a lot of writing, talking about writing, and analyzing each other’s writing. We looked at how good writing goes together, how it grabs the reader and shows him a world different from his own. We did lots of active things, too, from some very non-traditional book reports to staging a trial of Henry VIII for treason. Honestly, I had as much fun with all that as the students did, and it always makes me happy when a student from the past remembers that learning was fun in my classroom.

Denise: When you left teaching to pursue writing full-time what was the first novel you wanted to write?

Peg: The first novel I wrote was about a teacher who finds her principal murdered in the school hallway. (They say write what you know!) I looked at it again recently, and it really isn’t ready for prime time, so I just consider it practice. Once I finished that book, however, I knew two things: I could complete a novel, and it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life!

Denise: When it came down to writing “Macbeth’s Niece,” was a story already forming from all your years of teaching Shakespeare? Or, did you have to wait for inspiration to strike?

Peg: Macbeth was somebody I felt I knew after years of teaching Shakespeare’s play, so writing a story connected to it had been circling my brain for some time. I wanted to begin with a romance (I’d been told they were easier to sell) but my natural bent is toward mystery and suspense, so the tale turned out a mixture. One publisher told me it was more of an adventure than a romance, but I didn’t think that was a bad thing at all.

My idea was “What if Macbeth had a young relative living in his castle when things started getting interesting?” From there the story built itself in my mind: The girl’s life would separate from her uncles’ early on. The story would be hers, but there would be points where they intersected again. From there I started writing, and that’s where the real work came in, making those fanciful, lovely ideas into events readers can accept and enjoy.

Denise: Tell us about the three categories of books you’re writing, “Loser Mysteries,” “Simon & Elizabeth Historical Novels,” and “Dead Detective Paranormal Mysteries.”

Peg: Let’s start with Simon and Elizabeth, since they’re my first series. I like writing historical novels, and Five Star, which had published Macbeth’s Niece, was willing to look at a mystery series. They liked the first book and have published three so far with #4 in the editing phase.

The first one, Her Highness’ First Murder, assembled quickly in my head. A young commoner would meet Princess Elizabeth Tudor and they’d come to like each other. A murder would interrupt her household, and the two would join forces to solve the crime.

When the first book was well-received (I could NOT believe the great reviews from Kirkus, Pub Weekly, Historical Novel Society, Library Journal and others) I was already working on Poison, Your Grace. In this one, Elizabeth is concerned about her brother, now king of England. Naturally, she calls on her old friend Simon to help her solve the case.

In book three, The Lady Flirts with Death, Elizabeth is in the Tower of London, accused of plotting against her sister, Queen Mary I. Simon balances helping her with events in his own life, a friend who’s accused of murder and a young woman his wife takes into their home.

The last two books are set during Elizabeth’s own reign. I try to show her realistically, though we’re all just guessing when we picture historical characters. Simon admires her greatly, so he sees her in a positive light. At the same time, he recognizes she can be demanding, peevish, and completely uninterested in the amount of trouble she creates for others—especially Simon himself.

dead_for_the_money

Five Star is a great publisher, but they like to take at least a year to get a book from my “the end” to publication. I felt I could do more than that, so I contacted a second publisher, LL-Publications, with an idea I had for a paranormal series. The Dead Detective Agency, the first book, presents an intriguing idea of life after death. When a murdered person wants to know who killed him or why, he can engage someone like Seamus, a dead detective who returns to earth to investigate. How that is done and what the results are make for stories that are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always intriguing mysteries. Book #2, Dead for the Money, came out last year, and Book #3 is currently in the editing process.

killing silence

My third series is totally different from the other two. The idea came to me when I was living in Richmond, Virginia, for a few months. I was staying in the fancy Fan District, but a number of homeless people hung out nearby. The idea came to me of a homeless person who finds herself wanting to protect a little girl and her father from killers. In Killing Silence, a dirty, almost non-verbal street woman who goes by “Loser” must pull herself together and solve a murder. In order to do that she has to elude the police, face the killers, and confront her own demons. Book Two, Killing Memories, came out last year, and the final book, Killing Despair, is set for release this spring.

Denise: Each series creates a unique protagonist and therefore unique experiences. Do you find the storylines unfolding naturally or do you use outlines to guide them carefully?

Peg: I’ve tried outlining time and time again, but I can’t do it. I have to feel the story as it unfolds. When I begin writing a book I have a rough idea of the beginning, middle, and end, but the details fill in as I go. Luckily, none of my publishers require a detailed synopsis!

Peg_Herring_A_Lethal_Time_Place (1)

Denise: What made you want to focus on 1967 and all the racial tensions, Vietnam and the crazy things happening in Chicago in your latest novel, “A Lethal Time And Place?”

Peg: As a high school student, I went to Chicago for a few days in 1967, and I can tell you, for a Michigan farm girl, it was a memorable experience! There was a huge demonstration, and I saw cops and students “interacting” with each other.

When I came up with the unique idea for A Lethal Time and Place, I needed an older setting, before DNA and other advanced procedures came into use. The events of the late ‘60s fit perfectly with the needs of the story, and I had a great time putting it all together.

Denise: Who is Leo and what experience does he and three others share?

Peg: I can’t answer that one! The fun of this novel is in large part based on the mysterious backgrounds of Leo and his three friends, Libby, Roy, and Memnet. A fan recently wrote to ask for more stories with these characters, and I’d love to do that when I get time. There seems to be a lot more they could accomplish, and there are some relationships heading in positive directions.

Denise: What keeps them alive?

Peg: The four friends exist by what Roy terms “foraging.” Sometimes that means petty theft; other times they scavenge. Memnet sings in the el stations, bringing in a little cash. Since they don’t pay rent or need much in the way of comforts they get along, but they aren’t exactly living “high on the hog.”

Denise: It seems as if you intentionally choose people who have fallen through the cracks or simply don’t exist in a physical manner. Is it because these are the stories less told? Are they greater challenges?

Peg: I’m entertained by stories that have something different about them, so speculating on the afterlife or what it’s like to be homeless makes my work more fun for me. Fans have mentioned that I seem interested in people who are disadvantaged, who must hide who they are or even hide completely.

As much as I like them, my characters are a challenge. Loser is probably the best example: She began speaking no more than thirty words a day. Now that was setting myself a huge task. Try writing a mystery protagonist who doesn’t like to talk! How does she interview people and find out information. Luckily, once Loser started on the road to recovery, she was able to overcome some of her phobias. She still can’t sleep inside a building, though.

Denise: What book are you currently working on?

Peg: I just finished the final edit on Killing Despair, and I’ve had a little trouble settling on what’s next. The logical step is the last book in the Simon and Elizabeth series, but I’m waiting for my vague beginning-middle-end thing to solidify. That might mean I work on something else first, but I’m willing to take suggestions on what that should be.

Book Review – Ghosts of Kingston Cottage

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

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Entangled Publishing, Ghosts, Libby Bishop

Ghosts of Kingston Cottage

Ghosts of Kingston Cottage
By Libby Bishop
Entangled Publishing, LLC
Paranormal e-book, 70 pages
Published: Oct. 28, 2013

Revenant Investigations crew: Arabella, Lena and Nick are ready for their next case. The women are both lead investigators and Nick is the team’s techie. Their assignment is to learn what paranormal entity is within Historic Kingston Cottage in Maine and to remove it so the owners can put the cottage on the market. Their boss, Folger Dade insists that a reporter accompany them. Lucas Brown, from Debunker Media, wants to tag along to see if the team of mediums is the real thing or frauds.

The case they set out to investigate focuses on Katie Kingston and her husband, Seamus. They were very much in love, but death separated them. For Katie, it is too difficult to handle and one assumes she took her own life to be with the man she loved. Her loss led to her family leaving the island.

The paranormal investigators want to do more than communicate with the ghosts. They want to arrive at a solution to their inability to move on.

Though I loved the idea of reading how they would go about their goal, I felt the book needed more editing and more history. I wanted to know how Seamus died and what was keeping these lovers apart. Rather than an object creating a barrier, there might have been a deeper storyline. Instead of Lucas repeating his intentions of reporting the truth, he could have asked Arbella more about her experiences and what it’s like to have her gift. I liked the characters and would be interested in reading about them in a longer book. The story just needed to be developed a little more.

Three out of five wedding rings
Denise Fleischer
Gottawritenetwork.wordpress.com
February 2, 2014

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Of Books and Reading

Hmmm so I am the Hungry Reader. The one who reads. The one who is constantly reading or wanting to read constantly. This blog is all about the books I have read, the ones that I am reading and gems that I plan to read in the future or whenever it arrives.

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