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Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand

This review originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts June 21, 2011.

Reagan Arthur Books/

Little Brown and Company

Hachette Book Group

ISBN-10: 031609966X

ISBN-13: 978-0316099660

Meredith Martin Delinn’s world is crashing around her. She has been living the “high life” since her children were small. Her husband, Freddy, was one of those wonderful guys on Wall Street that got caught by the SEC (think Bernie Madoff) making off with his clients money and wonderful guy that he was, he dragged his wife and family down with him.

Freddy is now sitting in prison while Meredith and their son Leo are under investigation and filled with questions. Their son Carver never got into the family business so he is not facing the heat, but Leo has moved in with him and they can have no contact with their mother.

Meredith has lost everything except for some money she had of her own before she was married, but she has no home, no friends, can’t talk to or see her sons, no social standing at all. She contacts her friend since childhood, Constance Flute. Their friendship fizzled out when they took all the money they had invested with Freddy out a couple of years ago. Connie’s husband, Wolf, was dying and he just didn’t think Freddy’s numbers added up and thought he was doing something shady. But Meredith stood by her man and blamed Wolf’s cancer for his poor judgement.

Connie is headed to Nantucket for the summer to try to heal from the devastating loss of not only her husband, but her daughter who is blaming her for not making her dad fight harder against the cancer that had returned. He chose his work over the treatments. He was an architect and he felt the work he was committed to needed to be completed and would be his legacy. Connie has called and left a voice mail every Sunday hoping that just once her daughter will pick up the phone or call her back.

Connie decides to take Meredith with her to Nantucket so they may also heal their friendship, but once the people of the island find out that Meredith is there, the friends become plagued with old and new troubles, adding even more stress in their lives at a place that was supposed to be healing, relaxing and full of happy memories. Can their friendship be restored? What kind of lives will they after when the summer ends?

This is the quintessential summer beach read. It takes on the power of friendship, love, loss, forgiveness, trust, happiness, prosperity, misery, and bliss, along with an element of suspense. It is also very current due to the scandal that happened in New York with Bernie Madoff recently, like I said above, but it shows the other side, that maybe some of the spouses of the Wall Street Execs really could be oblivious to what was really happening. When they are bringing home that much money it is kind of taken for granted and the how and why is not always questioned. Unfortunately most of us are not in that position so I didn’t trust Meredith for a good part of this story, which made it more of a mystery for me as the clues were uncovered and linked together.

I also loved the special ways history was remembered and tied to some very beautiful music. It made the story so much more real as they were songs I loved from my past. Just added a wonderful element that set the back stories and much more.

I had the privilege to read an review Hilderbrand’s The Island last summer and declared it my Best General Fiction Read of 2010. Elin Hilderbrand has become one of my favorite authors and I can’t wait to read her entire back list and anything she writes in the future.

The tagline of this blog is “Escape With A Good Book”. This is the perfect “escape” book!! I did over the weekend and am so glad I did. Get yours today, fix a nice pitcher of lemonade, splash on a little sunscreen and hit the beach, deck chair, or porch swing and sit back and enjoy this wonderful story.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Reagan Arthur Books, Little Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

COZY WEDNESDAY – With Author Kylie Logan

This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts September 28, 2011.

Welcome to Cozy Wednesday. I was blown away when I received the guest post from today’s guest. The author information is curiously missing from today’s featured book so I knew it was probably an author I knew using a pseudonym. The question was who was it? You will find out below!

Button Holed (Button Box Mystery) is the first installment of a brand new series and I loved it!!! My full review will follow Kylie’s Guest Post. Please help me give a warm welcome to Kylie Logan!

Welcome Kylie!!

Thank you so much for the invitation to blog on your site!

Not everyone is lucky enough to not only have more than one personality, but to be able to celebrate it. As Casey Daniels, I write the Pepper Martin mystery series about a cemetery worker who investigates for the ghosts in her cemetery. The seventh book in that series, “A Hard Day’s Fright” came out in April and book #8, “Wild, Wild Death,” will hit shelves on January 3.

But I’ve got a new alter-ego, and she’s just recently made her first official appearance.

She’s Kylie Logan, author of the Button Box mystery series. Book #1, “Button Holed,” hit store and virtual shelves early this month.

Cover Illustration

by Jennifer Taylor

Cover Design

by Annette Fiore Defex

It’s been an interesting road to publication for Kylie and it all started, quite simply, because I like buttons. As Josie Giancola, the heroine of the new series comments, buttons are little bits of history, and tiny works of art. They say something about a person’s style, and that person’s social class. Many antique buttons display incredible workmanship, dazzling jewels and even say something about a wearer’s love life; back in the nineteenth century, it was fashionable for a young lady to have a photograph of her beau put on her coat buttons!

Still, I never thought about actually writing a mystery series about buttons until a couple years ago when I visited Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’d just finished lunch at a charming coffee shop and I was alone on the front porch, sipping coffee and knitting, when a couple sat down at the table next to me. There are a couple operative words in that last sentence, namely, alone and next to. You see, they decided to pick that very moment to break up.

I listened to it for ten minutes or so and honestly, I expected them to apologize. After all, there was no doubt I could hear everything they were saying. They didn’t. Instead, they went on and on and I’d had enough. I gathered up my knitting and went next door to an antique shop.

What I didn’t know until I opened the door was that it was an antique shop that specialized in buttons.

Thousands and thousands of buttons.

I was in heaven, and the nice lady who owned the place was only too happy to tell me stories and answer my questions.

It was that encounter that gave me the idea for the Button Box mysteries. Josie owns an antique button shop, too, though hers is in a Chicago brownstone. It’s there that she meets a famous actress who’s come to Josie for the buttons she’ll put on her wedding gown when she marries a European prince. And it’s that actress who is murdered in the shop. When Josie’s cleaning up, she finds an unusual button–one she knows didn’t come from her collection.

As for those multiple personalities of mine . . . readers who enjoy the Pepper Martin mysteries can expect much the same light and airy reading experience and the same sort of humor and intricate plotting. However, there are no paranormal elements in Kylie’s books as there are in Casey’s.

Because Kylie is a new person, she has her own, new blog. You can find her at:

http://kylielogan.blogspot.com

Email her at:

mailto: kylielogan@rocketmail.com

or friend her on Facebook.

~Kylie

Thank you so much for being here today. You are always welcome to come back no matter what alias you are using. Kylie also shared with me that she also writes as Miranda Bliss, author of the Cooking Class Mysteries, another of my favorites. She has other nom de plumes as well but I won’t give out all her secrets here today. J

Button Holed (Button Box Mystery)

A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery

The Berkley Publishing Group

Published by The Penguin Group

A Brand New Series

Josie Giancola is known as a button expert for all kinds of buttons and has even worked in Hollywood. Today she is opening her new button shop, The Button Box, set up in a Chicago brownstone. She also has an appointment with a well known Hollywood starlet who wants to find the perfect buttons for her perfect wedding dress. Josie arrives extra early on her opening day to make sure everything is ready for her appointment only to find that her store has been broken into and ransacked. There are buttons everywhere. Buttons she had spent many days sorting and categorizing and displaying with flawless precision.

Things don’t get any better when the next day the starlet is found dead right in the middle of The Button Box. The homicide detective seems to be looking for clues in all the wrong places and the murderer has now set his sights on Josie. She has no choice but to follow the clues she has and get this murderer all buttoned up before she finds herself “Button Holed”!

My Thoughts

This story could not have been more perfect. Wonderful characters, a delightful complex plot, and thoroughly engaging humor.

I fell for Josie on the very first page. I come from a family of seamstresses and they all had button bowls and boxes. As a child I spent hours sorting, stacking and separating my favorites. I have my own button box around here somewhere from my sewing days and I know there are some buttons in there from my ancestors as well. Button Holed (Button Box Mystery) and The Button Box brought back some wonderful memories. Thankfully none of my memories include a dead starlet.

There is also a very interesting thread throughout the story about some very special buttons that I really enjoyed.

I was truly entertained from the first page to the last! I am patiently waiting for Kill Button, the next book in The Button Box Mystery Series coming soon, but never soon enough!!

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: THE COVERT ELEMENT by John L. Betcher

This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts June 18, 2011.

The Covert Element: A James Becker Thriller

This is the third installment featuring James Becker (Beck), a former Military Intelligence Agent and his ex-CIA code cracking, computer expert wife, Beth. They are both retired from their stressful jobs, Beck does some work as an attorney now, but they just can’t seem to stay out of trouble.

In this edition the Mexican Drug Wars come way too close to home, very near to their quiet Minnesota community, and they aren’t just selling the drugs, they are manufacturing meth at a huge grain company. The organic grain elevator and small dairy is a great cover. The CEO doesn’t even know what is happening right under his nose.

To add even more thrill to this thriller we find out about some of Beck’s friend Bull’s past. A friend from his time in the military shows up and he is on a mission and wants Bull’s help to carry out his plan. He has set up his planned assault for many years and it is all coming to a head now in Minnesota.

Beth and Beck try to help their friend Bull accomplish his friend’s mission in the most legal way possible because if they don’t they could all end up in jail or dead.

I was privileged to be one of the first to read the first book in this series, The Missing Element and then The 19th Element which tied with Harlan Coben’s CAUGHT for my selection of Best Suspense/Thriller for 2010. I was worried that after the last one John had set the bar too high for himself, but The Covert Element surpassed both of the previous novels.

I think that John is not only a brilliant writer but he takes huge current issues in the world and brings them alarmingly close to home. He had made Red Wing, Minnesota the hotbed of some critical world issues in a truly believable way. I just hope the wrong people don’t read his books and get ideas.

The dialogue between Beck and Beth is so real. I know some critics have panned their romance and relationship taking too big of part in these stories, but to me it makes the stressful situations even more real. There is less of that in this installment but you still see and feel the calming effect Beth has on Beck. Without that he could develop quickly in a character out of control. She is a vital character and their strong relationship is a huge part of why these stories work.

You can see the author takes great pains in his research in every one of the books but this one took intense investigation to get the facts right to make this story credible.

It continues his “ripped from headlines” style. This is yet another book by John L. Betcher I recommend you click the link below and order today. You will be enthralled from the first page until the very last and you won’t be able to wait and tell your friends they have to read it too!!!

Well done John!!! Now get to work on the next one!!! By hot little hands are waiting!!!

Your Escape With A Great Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: The 19th Element by John L. Betcher

This post originally appeared on Dollycas’s Thoughts July 13, 2010.

A JAMES BECKER THRILLER

Al Qaeda plans to attack Minnesota’s Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant to remind everyone they are still very active and to get back in the international headlines. They have recruited some homegrown anarchists to add to their terrorist forces, one of which is a Three Mile Island survivor with a huge grudge against the power plant, and two more with questionable education and background.

James “Beck” Becker is a former elite U.S. government intelligence operative who has retired to his childhood hometown of Red Wing, Minnesota just a few miles from the Prairie River Nuclear Power Plant. After a university professor’s body is found along the shore of the Mississippi River, clearly murdered, “Beck” gets in on the investigation and all his instincts tell him, this dead body is just the start of something much bigger. He is very concerned when he learns the professor’s assistant is missing along with what could be a very dangerous piece of lab equipment. Later clues like a missing fertilizer truck and an international phone call only confirm to “Beck” that terrorists are involved and that something major is going to happen, but he can’t convince any government officials that a huge threat exists. So with the help of his American Indian friend “Bull”, he tries to foil the plan on his own.

I am so glad John Betcher sent me this extraordinary thriller. It is scary good!! I say this because this fiction could easily become reality. This could definitely be a “ripped from the headlines” story. When I think of terrorist targets in the United States, I think of major cities, Washington D.C., New York, maybe Los Angeles, but this story takes place in my “backyard”, the Upper Midwest. Also we know from history there are terrorists and their supporters here in the states, and this story brings them out front and center. Yes, this story is fiction but it has all the details that make you realize this could really happen. While this book entertains it also raises the readers awareness that there are people that want to hurt Americans.

I had the pleasure of reading, reviewing and interviewing the author after her sent me his first book, The Missing Element, and while I truly loved that book, I enjoyed this book even more. This book is now tied with Harlan Coben’s CAUGHT as the best book I have read this year. If you like a riveting, page turner this is definitely a book that should be in you hot little hands today. Don’t wait, click the link below and order this book today! You will not be able to put it down until you finish the last page and you will be thinking about the reality of it for a long time after you put this book on your keeper shelf.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author.. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: The Silver Boat by Luanne Rice

This review was originally posted at Dollycas’s Thoughts June 14, 2011.

Jacket Design

by Roseanne Serra

Viking

Pamela Dorman Books

Published by The Penguin Group

ISBN-10: 0670022500

ISBN-13: 978-0670022502

Dar, Delia and Rory have not seen each other since their mother’s funeral. They have returned the family’s summer beach house in Martha’s Vineyard to remember happy memories and get the house ready to be sold.

The year Dar turned 12 her Irish-born father sailed off on his own to return to Ireland to find something important but he never returned. Dar took her father’s leaving very hard.

Each of the sisters has faced their trials and tribulations over the years but the have always been the happiest when they were at “the vineyard.”

While cleaning up and packing up the house a packet off letters is found that sheds light on why their father returned to Ireland. With the information in the letters the sisters decide to travel to Ireland to find the answers as to what happened to their father and hoping maybe even to find their father. The trip changes the girls and their perspective of their entire lives. It helps to bring them closer and all their relationships stronger.

I haven’t read a Luanne Rice novel in awhile and this was the perfect one to get me back on track. Her writing of family dynamics seems effortless. The story flows beautifully. The characters are ones you become invested in easily and the settings are beautiful. I wish the sisters would have spent more time in Ireland. Having an Irish grandfather who I never had the privilege to meet drew me to the wonderful descriptions of the places the girls traveled. The added humor of learning to drive on the “wrong side” of the road and shifting with their left hands was added at just the right moment as their arrival to the land of their father could have been a really heavy moment. You will feel the entire gambit of emotions reading this book, all in the exact perfect amounts. This is definitely a book that will end up on your keeper shelf as the story is truly timeless and can be read again and again.

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Viking, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: CAUGHT by Harlan Coben

This review was originally posted at Dollycas’s Thoughts on February 20, 2010.

WOW!! What A Story!!

I don’t want to tell you too much because I don’t want to spoil any of the suspense the builds throughout this book but here are the basics:

This is the story of high school senior, Haley McWaid, the pride of her family, good grades, never gets in trouble, a little obsessive compulsive who doesn’t come home one night and goes missing.

It is also the story of Dan Mercer, a social worker, who works with troubled teens, who may be a sexual predator, as he is “CAUGHT” by a television show, hosted by Wendy Tynes who is on a mission to expose internet predators. It also delves into the lives of Dan’s old college roommates and how they may have complicated Dan’s life. The whole thing leaves Wendy worrying about who she can trust.

This story takes more twists and turns than an old country road and you better be belted in. It is a story filled with tension, stress, pressure, that challenges the reader. It is a thrilling, gripping, spine tingling novel that deals with things that could only be seen on television setting up shop in this community.

Harlan Coben takes all these plots and ties them together in what I believe will be the best book I read this year.

You will be “CAUGHT” from the first page and you will not be RELEASED even after the last word.

If you have not pre-ordered this book, you should do it NOW.

This is definitely not a book to me missed.

Harlan Coben is definitely one of the best authors of our time. His books have debuted as #1 on bestseller lists around the world. To read his biography, find a list of his 17 novels and more check out his website

http://www.harlancoben.com/

PREORDER NOW AT:

Caught

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Dutton Publishing, a Division of The Penguin Group. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay

This review was originally posted over at Dollycas’s Thoughts on October 7, 2011.

Death by the Dozen (Cupcake Bakery Mystery)

3rd in the Series

A Berkley Prime Mystery

Published by The Penguin Group

The Food Channel comes to Scottsdale, Arizona, by way of the Scottsdale Food Festival. Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura are determined to win top prize for the Fairy Tale Cupcakes Bakery or may die trying. They have to “beat” their arch rival Olivia Puckett first just to get entered into the competition and beating her with their delicious desserts will just be icing on their cupcakes.

Even with Mel’s mentor, Vic Mazzotta, Food Channel celebrity chef, sitting in one of the judge’s chairs, Mel knows she will need to use all her culinary skills to create the best dish using the daily mystery ingredients if they are going to take home the grand prize.

Shocked when Vic doesn’t show up to judge the girls know something is amiss. They are just planning to search for him when a dead body is found in a freezer truck on the festival grounds. Someone had put Vic on ice, permanently. Now they not only have to ice their competition with their fabulous cupcakes they also need to find a cold blood killer.

My Thoughts

This is a scrumptious series and the latest installment is absolutely delicious!!

Two strong women, some hunky men and frosting how can you go wrong, lol!!!!

Truthfully the characters are lovable and becoming more defined in each story. I love Oz, the newest face at Fairy Tale Cupcakes. The plot is timely and clever. The mystery ingredients competition reminded me of the mystery box challenges of Master Chef on Fox. There were assorted “red herrings” to divert us and lead us astray. Plus cupcakes, lots and lots of cupcakes!!! (recipes included)

WARNING: You will be craving cupcakes while reading this so be sure to have some handy!!

Jenn even gives us a taste of the next temptation, Red Velvet Revenge, and I can’t wait to get my sticky hands on it. For now just be sure to get your copy of Death by the Dozen today and enjoy!!!

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: Buttercream Bump Off by Jenn McKinlay

This review originally was posted over at Dollycas’s Thoughts December 22, 2010.

A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery

A Division of Penguin Publishing
A Cupcake Bakery Mystery
2nd in the Series
Release Date: January 4, 2011
ISBN-10: 0425239241
ISBN-13: 978-0425239247

Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura, all of Angie’s brothers, Mel’s mom, and their evil bakery enemy Olivia Puckett, are all back in the second book of the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series.

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and the girls are teaching a couple’s cupcake baking class. During the first class Mel’s mom bursts in to announce she has a date! She needs Mel to take her shopping for the perfect “drop dead” gorgeous dress for her date. She hardly expected the dress to cause one man to have a heart attack and another, her date, actually “drop dead”, but that is exactly what happened. Only her date didn’t die of a heart attack or any other natural causes. He was murdered and Mel’s mom is in a deep bowl of batter as the number one suspect.

Mel knows her mother couldn’t kill a fly let alone a man, so with Angie’s help they must take time away from their Fairy Tale Bakery to find the real killer without getting themselves baked or frosted.

Jenn McKinlay has done it again, the cupcakes not only stirred my cravings but the mystery had me so captivated I couldn’t put this book down. I stayed up late and finished this book all in one sitting. I hate to give too much away but these characters, especially Angie’s new boyfriend, will keep you entranced and in stitches until the very last word. The cupcakes are just the icing on this wonderful delectable treat for your reading pleasure. A definite must read for the new year. Start the year off right with Jenn’s delicious cupcake series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received these books free from Berkley Prime Crime, a Division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

BE SURE TO VISIT JENN’S WEBPAGE TOO!

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Review: Sprinkle with Murder by Jenn McKinlay

This review was originally posted over at Dollycas’s Thoughts on February 14, 2010.
A Cupcake Bakery Mystery

This first book in this new series gives us a fresh baked “who-dun-it” that will have you craving for cupcakes from the first page to the last.

A cupcake bakery, “Fairy Tale Cupcakes”, is a dream come true for Mel Cooper and Angie DeLaura. They are excited about their first big order of 500 cupcakes for a wedding until Mel sits down with the bride. She puts any “bridezilla” you have ever seen on television to shame. When Mel goes for a follow up meeting she finds the bride dead with a one of her cupcakes in her hand, she then becomes the number one suspect. Mel knows she didn’t do it and she has to find out who did, to keep herself from being arrested and to save their business.

Add into this mixture Angie’s seven brothers, a crazy competitor, and their best friend Tate, who happens to be the groom and you have the recipe for a great cozy mystery.

The book is set to be released on Mar 2, 2010

Pre-order your copy now at Amazon.com

Sprinkle with Murder (Cupcake Mystery)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from The Berkley Publishing Group a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Reviews From Dollycas's Thoughts

Cozy Wednesday – Running On Empty by Sandra Balzo

This was originally posted at Dollycas’s Thoughts March 16, 2011.
The second book is this series Dead Ends (Main Street Murders)
will be released September 1, 2012.

I hope all of you are enjoying Cozy Wednesdays

as much as I am!

Today I am delighted to tell you about a new series by an author that now may call Florida home, but has roots in Wisconsin. She started writing mysteries after several years working in Public Relations in Milwaukee. Her first mystery series features Maggy Thorsen and is set in a gourmet coffee shop just outside of Milwaukee. To get a full list of books from that series and find out more about this author be sure to check out her Web Page.

Severn House Publishers

Main Street Mysteries

Release Date: April 1, 2011

ISBN-10: 0727869817

ISBN-13: 978-0727869814

AnnaLise left Sutherton, North Carolina to go to college in Wisconsin and really never looked back. That was until she received the phone call that told her “…Daisy (her mother),she went and drained all of the blood out of Mrs. Bradenham.” “Don’t you worry, I didn’t let the chief’s police boys take your mother away.” AnnaLise threw a few things in her car and headed home to North Carolina. To clarify, Daisy was helping at the local blood drive and she didn’t drain all of Mrs. Bradenham’s blood, just a couple of extra pints and Mrs. Bradenham was fine, well as fine as she was before the incident.

AnnaLise arrives home just in time for the Labor Day celebration but after getting the whole story on her mother, AnnaLise finds this is going to be more than just a little trip home. Bodies are turning up everywhere and she fears Daisy may be next. Using her training as a journalist she sets out to investigate what the heck is going on in Sutherton and is going get to the bottom of it, if she doesn’t die trying.

I know, I rarely say I love the first book of any series because I believe it takes more than one story to get to know the characters, the setting and the a journey the author has planned for both, but I absolutely, positively, genuinely loved this book!!!

I want to visit Sutherton as soon as possible. There is a cafe like in every small town where the news and gossip travels at the speed of light. AnnaLise is surrounded by a great group of friends and even an old boyfriend or two. The story flows naturally, the mystery unfolds with ease, the humor level is spot-on, and most of the characters are offbeat but all of them are lovable.

I have always stated that being a true storyteller is a gift. Sandra Balzo has that gift. I can’t believe it took me so long to find this wonderful author. I have read the first book in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series too and cannot wait to get caught up on the rest of that series. I know the first three are now available on Kindle at the bargain price of just $2.99, so be sure to check those out as soon as possible and pre-order Running On Empty today. You can thank me later because I know you will love it too!!!

Dollycas — Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”