The Kill Shot A Jamie Sinclair Novel by Nichole Christoff

Jamie's father tells her he needs her help.  He's never needed her in his life.  She's pleased he's asked but she knows he's not telling her everything.  He wants her to accompany a US State Department courier and help her bring back a defecting scientist and one other family member.  Sounds easy enough, but it's anything but.

Alibi and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can grab a copy now.

Jamie has her work cut out for her.  The scientist is exceptionally smart and while the country she's leaving would kill her, there is more than one country that would like to acquire her skills.  When Jamie's boyfriend protects her and her party on the streets by killing an assailant, she wonders why he is there.  She doesn't know what his job is, but she knows he works for her father.  Did her father send him or is he there because he's her boyfriend?

She has another old friend around that is trying to help but confuses her.  They've been friends for years.  Now he wants to move it to another level.  She's not sure why Phillip is doing this and she loves Adam, doesn't she?

I picked up on the traitor at the beginning of the book.  Jamie doesn't realize it until the end.  I'm not sure why it wasn't as obvious to her as it was to me.  

She spends the entire book running and trying to keep the defectors safe.  She has people tracking her, betrayers all around, and her father won't even talk to her.  She's on own.  It's a good thing Adam is still there.

This was a busy book with more espionage than romance.  Jamie makes some important life decisions in this story.  She's very lucky she only ended up with a broken arm; it could have been much worse.  She still has to deal with a betrayal that has devastated her.  I wonder what her next adventure will be.

Tail Gait: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown

If only she could understand her animals, her life would be a lot easier...

Bantam and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 26th, so make a note to pick it up then.

This cozy mystery wanders a bit and spends a bit too much time on issues that aren't directly tied to the mystery.  Other than that, it was enjoyable.

Ms. Brown did something different in this book.  She goes back to the Revolutionary War times for part of the story and does the rest in present time.  She has a good reason for doing this but it was like reading two stories.  I actually liked the war tale better than the main story.  Maybe she should trying writing more of that.  It was fascinating.

When a retired college professor that everyone knew and loved gets shot to death on the golf course they were all using, no one has a clue why it happened.  No one figures it out until it's almost too late for Harry.

As if one murder wasn't enough, an alcoholic man who had a connection to the professor from the past is also found dead.  He's buried beneath a newly planted tree.  Here's another almost impossible mystery.  How did he get there and who killed him?

One little historical fact killed the professor.  Sometimes being too thorough isn't appreciated.  Especially when it could cost the affected parties millions of dollars.  Somehow it always seems greed is involved in murder cases more often than not.

The ending is unusual and very fitting.  Harry will live to carry on another day, and that's good.

Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret by D. D. Everest

It's Archie's twelfth birthday and he's not expecting any packages.  When one is delivered by some strange delivery company, he's anxious to see what it is but won't open it until his Grandmother has approved.  She's not happy about this surprise, but she has an anticipation about what the surprise may be...

HarperCollins and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book (thank you).  It will be published April 21st and you'll want to grab a copy then.

This is written for middle graders and it's full of all kinds of magic and strange characters.  There are even some monsters for you.  If that's not enough to catch your young ones attention, in the very first chapter the mother makes a chocolate cake with blueberry frosting and a sardine center.  That made my eyes pop open wider!

Archie is from a long line of magicians, but his parents died while he was very small and he doesn't know this.  His Grandmother was sworn to silence until his twelfth birthday, so it's all a surprise to him.  Especially when she sends him on his way to a bookstore in the center of town with his book.  He also gets to stay with relatives he's never seen before (and that lovely cake is for him).

The story has a lot of action, a lot of strange stuff is going on, and while Archie thinks the book he got is good, it's really bad.  Archie is generally confused but he's making friends with his cousina.  And he's learning at the bookstore.  It's just not enough soon enough.

When he learns he can listen to the books' whispers, it gets even more dangerous.  Nobody has been able to do that for three or four hundred years and now he can.  But he can't admit it.

The best part of the story for me was the ending.  When forces from the past come back to life, Archie has to learn how to use the riddles he's found to defeat them.  It also takes one secret weapon that you would never expect.  I liked this one a lot!  Give it read and see what you think.

Death at Dovecote Hatch by Dorothy Cannell

Florence is going away for a week to stay with her cousin.  George will miss her but he knows how well she and her cousin get along.  He hopes she has a good time.  When she notices a woman look like she's going to jump in front of the train, she gets concerned.  When the woman steps back, she breathes a sigh of relief.  However, when she gets off the train at her stop, she sees the woman again.  She's gone in a flash.  Florence tries to put her out of her mind, but then she hears on the news that a woman has been run over by a bus.  She's afraid it's the same lady...

Severn House Publishers and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published July 1st, so that gives you enough time to read the first book in the Florence Norris series if you haven't yet.  They're both very good reads.

Ms. Cannell can create intrigue where there isn't any and is very good at turning up rocks and seeing what crawls out from under them.

When Kenneth Tenneson is found at the bottom of his stairs dead from the fall, it's determined to be an accidental death.  Florence isn't sure about that, but suspicion is nothing without proof.  She goes out of town without actively worrying about it.  But when the superintendent of the police district shows up in George's bar, he knows the game is afoot.  Too bad Florence is away.

This is a very convoluted tale that sounds far from the truth.  However, people with money have been manipulating people without for years.  It could be plausible.  Especially since some of the people involved are quite nasty.  I found it interesting and unusual, which I like.

Florence is very diplomatic and helps smooth over any hurt feelings she finds.  She also watches over all her friends.  She's also the one who finally gets to the end of this tale that began years ago.  Now if she'd just marry George...

Charlatan's Magic by Patrick Bran

Ben's a pickpocket.  A very good one, too.  When the Chinaman catches him, he expects to get thrown in jail.  Instead, he gets thrown into some real trouble.  The man from the East has an even bigger con in mind.

Goddess Fish Blog Tours and the author allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  You can purchase a copy on Amazon or other ebook retailers now.

Ben steals to keep himself alive.  He's done it for so long that it's become a way of life.  He understands that Ming only wants to use him but he's offering him some big money for doing so.  All he has to do is lose his money to a certain gambler.  It's harder than you think to lose it without looking like you've done it on purpose.

This is a really good adventure.  You have Ben (the thief), Nikki (the bar man), Athena (the bar owner and sister of Nikki), Ahmed (who loves Athena), and two really bad men.  Ming doesn't care who dies on his quest to get the money from the bar.  He and his accomplice have killed before, a few more won't matter.

Ben had a crush on Athena so by befriending Nikki and letting him win all his money, he gets to meet her and hang out in the bar.  Ming isn't satisfied with that, though.  He has plans to take it all.  And he doesn't care if Ben gets executed for the murder he did.

You can actually see Ben grow up in this story.  He starts out meek and mild but the fights he gets involved in and the things he sees make him mature and become more aggressive.  By the end of the story, he's able to defend himself and others.

This was an exciting story that kept my attention.  I was afraid of how it was all going to turn out but the author did a nice job with it.  He grabs you in the first few sentences and pulls you along through the story.  When I got to the end, I gave a big sigh.  It's like it took a bit to get my breath back.  Why don't you give it a try and see what you think?

Patrick Bran will be awarding a randomly drawn commenter a $15 Amazon/BN GC.  Enter HERE.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chance of winning. The tour dates and hosts can be found HERE.  

Happy reading!

DYING BRAND An Allison Campbell Mystery #3 by Wendy Tyson

Part of Allison's past flies into her face in the worst possible way.  A temporary affair while she was separated from her husband has resurfaced.  The man is dead and his appointment book makes it appear he was seeing her that day.  She had no appointment with him.  But the police aren't sure they believe her.

Henery Press and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published May 5th, so grab a copy then.

Allison is trying to put Scott back in past.  She's only seen him once since she found he was engaged and that was at the subway station and they didn't get to speak.  She would rather forget than remember him.  But then the pictures start showing up.  Photos of her nude with him.  He must have been taking the pictures without her knowledge.  However, her relationship with her ex-husband might not survive this surprise.  She never told him about it.

This story is a mix of relationships and corporate takeovers.  After getting the pictures, Allison decides to do her own investigation.  What she finds is that Scott was not what she thought he was.  He also was not true to his wife.  As she wades through the info they find online and through interviews, it gets more twisted.  And the ultimate surprise is when she finds out a man she admired and looked up to was part of the plot.  

This story sounded very realistic.  I'm really surprised her ex-husband is still by her side when the murder mystery is solved.  The issue wasn't that she slept with someone else while they were separated; it was the way it was presented to him in graphic form.  But he adjusts.  I'm not sure I would.

There will be more in this series.  Allison is now raising her niece, Grace, so she has more challenges in front of her.  I'm also sure there will be more mysteries in her life.  I found this to be an interesting series.  I'm hoping Mia and Vaughn get back together, too.

Seaborne #1: The Lost Prince by Matt Myklusch

This is the first book in a swashbuckling new series that grabs you by the hand and races off in an exciting tale about pirates.  Dean Seaborne is an orphan.  But could he be more than that?

Egmont USA and Net Galley gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It has just been published, so check with your local bookstore for a copy.

Dean has been brought up on a pirate ship and is being used as a spy.  He tried to escape once, but that didn't go well.  He almost got fed to the sharks.  Now he just does what he's told.

His latest assignment is to go out with another pirate's ship and find out why they aren't bringing in as much loot as they should.  There's a good reason for that.  They only take what's extra or what people can afford to share.  They don't steal from the poor.  He's found out what he needed to know but before he could get leave, they get shot out of the water!  He helps get the water and food off the boat and they float on the sea until they all are exhausted and fall into a deep sleep.  When he awakens, he's on another boat.  His captain is missing.  The good Samaritan that took him in thinks he's a prince of a lost island of gold.  He thinks they are nuts.

When he sneaks out and goes back to the pirate ship, the King of Pirates tells him to stay on the ship and lead him to the gold.  This is where the story really gets exciting.  You have the Bermuda Triangle, sea serpents, princely challenges and killers on the island.  As they try to find the orchard of gold trees, all they find is more trouble.  If three brothers trying to kill Dean isn't enough, one of the pirates is also ready to get rid of him.

I especially liked the part where Dean has to conquer natural challenges.  He needs all his wits, instincts and a few tools to make it happen and he almost dies a few time on the way, but he makes it.  I doubt I'd do so well!

This is very fast paced exciting adventure that both boys and girls will love.  There's a fearless princess, too.  Even reluctant readers shouldn't have a problem with this book.  I can't wait to read the next book in this series.  Dean is going to have more adventures, I know it!