Category: authors

Blog Tour: A Time to Kill by Stephen Puleston

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A time to kill

 

 

A missing person.

Investigating the disappearance of local antiques dealer, Harry Jones, is not high on DI Ian Drake’s priority list. He has more important things to spend his time on than looking for a man who has probably just walked out on his wife. Until they find Harry’s dead body…

Shot at close range and dumped like rubbish.

Drake knows they are dealing with a cold-bloodied killer. But the valleys of Snowdoniaare an unlikely place for a murderer to hide out, and Harry an unlikely victim. As the investigation unfolds, Drake discovers a web of intrigue surrounding Harry, and business links with the criminal underworld.

A killer hidden in plain sight.

When another murder takes place that strikes at the heart of the community Drake is convinced the killer lies closer to home. And when two key witnesses disappear, Drake faces a race against time to bring the killer to justice, before he strikes again…

 

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads 

 

 

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BOOK REVIEW

 

 

 

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Author Stephen Puleston has a very smooth style of writing. He’s adept at bringing forth characters set in motion and solidifying the scenery. Even the murder scene was beautiful. Not too much, but just enough craft a good setting.  I enjoyed seeing Inspector Drake in action as he solves the crime. How we do things define us, and with him its no different. He’s meticulous with an energy that leaps off the page. You gotta love that about any character!

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Puleston Author image

 

 

 

I write crime fiction based in Wales and about Wales. The rural landscape of north Wales provides the backdrop to the Inspector Drake novels. And Cardiff the capital of Wales provides the setting for the Inspector Marco novels set in a modern urban environment.
I love the novels of Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid – the list could go on! And I enjoy watching detective series on the television the recent Hinterland series based near Aberystwyth in Wales was great. One of my favourites is the French series Spiral but The Bridge and Broadchurch and the Rebus series with Ken Stott and Kenneth Branagh in Wallander are great too.

 

I have been on writing courses at the Welsh Writers Centre in Llanystymdwy, North Wales tutored by Matt Whyman and Marcus Sedgwick as well as crime writing courses with Peter Robinson and Andrew Taylor at the Scottish Writers centre.

 

I was born in Anglesey an island off the north Wales coast and after leaving school in Holyhead I went to University in London before training as a solicitor/lawyer. I practised in a small family business doing criminal work in the magistrates and crown courts, divorce and family work. I still live on Anglesey, North Wales near the beach and the mountains of Snowdonia

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In the News: The Red Sparrow Trilogy by Jason Matthews

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In the news image 2 Red sparrow

 

 

 

The Red Sparrow Trilogy by Jason Matthews

 

 

Red Sparrow Trilogy bk 1 Jason Matthews

 

 

 

Now a major motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton!

 

In the grand spy-tale tradition of John le Carré comes this shocking thriller written with insider detail known only to a veteran CIA officer.

In present-day Russia, ruled by blue-eyed, unblinking President Vladimir Putin, Russian intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the post-Soviet intelligence jungle. Ordered against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a young CIA officer who handles the Agency’s most important Russian mole.

Spies have long relied on the “honey trap,” whereby vulnerable men and women are intimately compromised. Dominika learns these techniques of “sexpionage” in Russia’s secret “Sparrow School,” hidden outside of Moscow. As the action careens between Russia, Finland, Greece, Italy, and the United States, Dominika and Nate soon collide in a duel of wills, tradecraft, and—inevitably—forbidden passion that threatens not just their lives but those of others as well. As secret allegiances are made and broken, Dominika and Nate’s game reaches a deadly crossroads. Soon one of them begins a dangerous double existence in a life-and-death operation that consumes intelligence agencies from Moscow to Washington, DC.

Page by page, veteran CIA officer Jason Matthews’s Red Sparrowdelights and terrifies and fascinates, all while delivering an unforgettable cast, from a sadistic Spetsnaz “mechanic” who carries out Putin’s murderous schemes to the weary CIA Station Chief who resists Washington “cake-eaters” to MARBLE, the priceless Russian mole. Packed with insider detail and written with brio, this tour-de-force novel brims with Matthews’s life experience, including his knowledge of espionage, counterintelligence, surveillance tradecraft, spy recruitment, cyber-warfare, the Russian use of “spy dust,” and covert communications. Brilliantly composed and elegantly constructed, Red Sparrow is a masterful spy tale lifted from the dossiers of intelligence agencies on both sides of the Atlantic. Authentic, tense, and entertaining, this novel introduces Jason Matthews as a major new American talent.

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

RED SPARROW TRAILER ONE

 

 

 

 

 

 

RED SPARROW TRAILER TWO

 

 

 

 

 

First Chapter Synopsis

 

 

Thought bubble Red sparrow

 

 

It’s no secret that Jason Matthew’s Red Sparrow trilogy is becoming a blockbuster movie starring Jennifer Lawrence. That’s how I heard about Matthews’ work actually. It movie debuts this Friday, March 2nd, but I’m going to read the book first.  Read the first chapter last night and loved it. It delivers everything you’d hope for in a first chapter of a spy thriller. The “good” guys, bad guys, handling of of classified material, and a good chase.

 

Nathaniel Nash, a young CIA operative secretly meets with a russian mole codenamed “MARBLE” at an undisclosed location. They have their set 7 minute conversation and exchange classified material. However, Nathaniel notices something different in his confided mole this time.  Someone’s on his tail and they can’t risk getting caught together. They seem to escape, or do they? Definitely whets your appetite for the remainder of the book, so I can’t wait to devour this one.

 

 

 

Jason Matthews Author

 

 

Jason Matthews is a retired officer of the CIA’s Operations Directorate. Over a thirty-three-year career he served in multiple overseas locations and engaged in clandestine collection of national security intelligence, specializing in denied-area operations. Matthews conducted recruitment operations against Soviet–East European, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and Caribbean targets. As Chief in various CIA Stations, he collaborated with foreign partners in counterproliferation and counterterrorism operations. He lives in Southern California.

 

Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

 

 

Red Sparrow Trilogy

Red Sparrow #1

Palace of Treason #2

The Kremlin’s Candidate #3

 

 

 

 

 

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Vulnerable: A Prequel to the Red Dog Conspiracy by Patricia Loofbourrow

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Vulnerable P. Loofburrow

 

 

 

Eleanora Bryce faces prison for a crime she didn’t commit.

In the far future domed city of Dickens, no mercy is given.

So when Eleanora Bryce finds her husband dead at his own hand, she finds herself trapped between the truth and his mountain of debt. Eleanora faces debtor’s prison — or worse — unless she can find a way out of Dickens. But can she return to the city which ruined her husband and murdered her son?

A 6,000 word short companion story to the Red Dog Conspiracy steampunk crime fiction series.

Vulnerable takes place shortly before the events in The Jacq of Spades: Part 1 of the Red Dog Conspiracy, and can be read at any time.

 

 

Timeline:

The Alcatraz Coup
Vulnerable <- you are here
The Jacq of Spades
The Queen of Diamonds
The Ace of Clubs
The King of Hearts (coming October 2018)

 

 

 

Patricia Loofborrow image

 

Patricia Loofbourrow, MD is an New York Times and USA Today best selling author, PC gamer, ornamental food gardener, fiber artist, and wildcrafter who loves power tools, dancing, genetics and anything to do with outer space. She was born in southern California and has lived in Chicago and Tokyo. She currently lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three grown children.

 

 

 

 

 

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This is a great short story considering the length. It truly reads like a novel and leaves you wanting more. A great beginning to the Red Dog Conspiracy series. Excellent.

 

 

 

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At the beginning of my series starter The Jacq of Spades, my main character Jacqueline Spadros is called to Eleanora Bryce’s fabric shop to investigate the disappearance of her son David. Although Mrs. Bryce doesn’t seem to recognize Jacqui, my main character knows her – the woman has been missing for ten years. Jacqui seems to be afraid of Mrs. Bryce and is worried about taking the case to find David Bryce for a variety of reasons.

The very first mystery in The Jacq of Spades is: where has Mrs. Bryce been for the past ten years?

 

The best way to describe the domed city of Dickens is social Darwinism taken to its extreme, as you find in much of Charles Dickens’ writings. These people have chose to live there, and of course, they believe their way is best.
Vulnerable is a short story which takes place just before The Jacq of Spades and answers this question. Finding her husband dead of suicide, Eleanora is immediately faced with his enormous debt which she knew nothing about – and his life insurance policy, which is void if he’s found to have taken his life. With the insurance money, she and her two sons can survive – if she hides how he died. But the police constable investigating her husband’s death thinks she’s murdered him. Thus the dilemma.

Author Interview with Sam Boush of the Cyber War series

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Sam boush

 

 

Please welcome Sam Boush author of All Systems Down

 

All Systems Down

 

 

 

Describe the process you went through to write this particular kind of book.

In short, I read a lot of books and talked to a lot of experts. I’m not an information security wonk, myself, so I leaned a lot on the thoughts and works of others. I joined a lot of groups, interviewed experts, and ultimately tried to write a fun, compelling, and accurate book. It’s a work of fiction. But that’s not to say it couldn’t happen.

 

 

Question mark pic MTW

 

 

How do you feel about the security of our infrastructure?

No one with any expertise in this area thinks our infrastructure is safe. People at power companies have told me how vulnerable their systems are. People at nuclear plants have told me how hackers have targeted their operations. It’s not just the online or software spaces that are vulnerable, though. Firmware and computer chip manufacturing aren’t even safe, especially when those chips are manufactured in East Asia.

 

 

Infrastructure MTW

 

 

Isn’t Ipv6 supposed to be inherently more secure?

That’s my understanding. But there isn’t a system that’s safe from hacking. If it’s connected to the Internet (and sometimes even if it isn’t) it can be hacked.

 

 

Name some surprising things you found in your research.

So many things. Did you know the Iranian government accessed the control systems of a dam north of Manhattan? Or that the Russians recently used cyber war to destroy 30 Ukrainian Howitzers? Or that last year hackers from a group called Dragonfly 2.0 accessed American power grid operations so deeply they could have induced blackouts at will?

 

 

Cyber crime MTW

 

 

How would we prepare for something like a blackout?

A short blackout is simple enough. You need light (candles/flashlights), heat (firewood/blankets), and a way to cook food. Water still runs in a blackout, since water towers are filled using generators.

A long blackout is a different story. And a long blackout where generators aren’t working and emergency services are shut down… well, that’s not something I could prepare for.

 

 

 

Blackout image MTW

 

 

 

Are you a prepper by any chance?

I’m not. Sadly, if disaster of any kind struck, I’d be out of food and water within the week. I don’t think many of my readers are preppers either, though I’ve had loads of people write in that they’re creating a cyber war emergency kit after reading the book.

Really, we should all be more prepared for emergencies than we are, no matter what kind. Here in the Pacific Northwest, a major earthquake is a reasonable concern. If my city were leveled by something like
that I’d be wishing I had a month’s worth of canned food!

 

 

Prepper image MTW

 

 

 

Who is Pak Han-Yong and what motivates him?

Pak Han-Yong is a junior lieutenant in the North Korean army. Specifically, he’s a member of Unit 101, a hacking unit focused on asymmetric warfare. There are many complicated characters in All Systems Down, but he’s fairly straightforward. A nationalist, he’s devoted to crushing the American imperialist infrastructure as a way to punish the nation that has kept his own country from achieving its rightful glory.

 

 

 

Hacker image MTW

 

 

 

What if you were Brendan Chogan? How would you survive?

This is the question that a lot of readers ask themselves: How would I survive if I were thrust, unprepared, into a global collapse of this scale? What would I do differently from the protagonist? Would I fortify my home, or leave?

If I were Brendan, I don’t know what I’d do. Maybe that’s part of the fun.

 

 

Survival image MTW

 

 

What are your favorite type of books to read?

I read a lot of non-fiction. But when I read fiction it’s sci-fi thrillers like Jurassic Park or technothrillers like The Hunt for Red October. But I read across genres, too. Right now I’m reading Stephen King’s Pet Semetary and David Benioff’s City of Thieves. I just finished Ken Follett’s Whiteout yesterday evening.

 

 

 

Books image MTW

 

 

Name a few things you struggle with as a writer.

What don’t I struggle with? I have trouble finding time to write. It’s difficult to manage publicity, book signings, marketing and outreach with the ticking clock of my next book deadline. Not to mention the obligation and joy of family time, taking my kids to school, spending time with my greater family, my friends, and my wife.

 

 

Do you follow a method for writing or are you more intuitive?

My method is to write flawed characters, end every chapter on a cliffhanger, have every scene advance both plot and character, and never write anything boring. And I usually have a broad idea of plot, even going into the first draft.

 

 

What are you working on next?

Book two of The Cyber War series is coming along nicely. It picks up right where book one left off.

 

 

 

Sam boush

 

 

Sam Boush is a novelist and award-winning journalist. He has worked as a wildland firefighter, journalist, and owner of a mid-sized marketing agency. Though he’s lived in France and Spain, his heart belongs to Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, Tehra, two wonderful children, and a messy cat that keeps them from owning anything nice. He is a member of the Center for Internet Security, International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, and Cloud Security Alliance.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin

 

 

All Systems Down

 

 

 

Don’t miss Mystery Thriller Week beginning April 12-22nd 2018! 

 

MTW Thin Banner April 2018

Blog Tour: Murder in the Mansion by Faith Martin

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Murder in the Mansion cover jpg

 

 

 

 

Blog Tour BANNER - Murder in the Mansion

 

 

 

 

MURDER IN THE MANSION by Faith Martin

Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery with a feisty female detective?

Meet DI HILLARY GREENE, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals.

Mattie Jones is found brutally stabbed to death in her palatial home. Hillary Greene is called in to investigate the murder of this wealthy woman.

Hillary discovers that Mattie’s snobby attitude had made her many enemies. Mattie was also going through a messy divorce and had a secret lover.

Meanwhile, in a terrifying turn of events, police officers are being gunned down outside their stations. A sniper is on the loose.

Can Hillary cope with the enemies within, a complex case, and the whole force under attack?

 

 

Police Faith Martin

 

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

 

Book Review - 3d rendered headline

 

 

DI Hillary Greene is back in the saddle with the latest crime to solve in book 8, Murder in the Mansion. I love navigating crimes alongside Hillary, even as she deals with relationships in the department, including dumping one of her lovers! A well written story with a skilled plot woven with great characters.

 

 

 

MURDER IN THE  MANSION is the eighth in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.

 

 

Mansion Faith Martin

 

THE LOCATION

Many villages on the borders of the Cotswolds have more than their fair share of large, impressive, Cotswold stone ‘mansions’ – homes in times past to the professional classes and farmers.  Large, mostly Georgian, with traditional kitchen gardens, orchards, and ornamental plantings, they are quintessentially English.

 

 

Mansion Location Faith Martin

 

 

THE DETECTIVES

DI Hillary Greene

An attractive woman in her forties, Hillary Greene is a police officer of many years’ experience, and came up through the ranks. Consequently, she knows how the system works, and is fiercely loyal to the force without being blinkered to its faults. She is a long-standing friend of her immediate superior officer, ‘Mellow’ Mallow and enjoys a rather enigmatic relationship with the steely Superintendent Marcus Donleavy. Popular with the rank and file for her no-nonsense attitude and competence.

DCI Philip ‘Mellow’ Mallow

Mel appreciates Hillary’s first-rate ability to solve her cases, and isn’t happy about her harassment by the officers from York. Known for his sartorial elegance and laid-back manners, he has a sharp mind, and an eye for the ladies. A good friend and ally for Hillary in her recent tribulations, he’s determined to keep his best investigator focused on the problems at hand.

 

 

 

 

Detective Faith Martin

 

 

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS “DOWN A NARROW PATH.”

 

 

Dive into the action!

 

Diving Faith Martin

 

Amazon

DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES

BOOK 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
BOOK 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
BOOK 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
BOOK 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE
BOOK 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY
BOOK 6: MURDER AT HOME
BOOK 7: MURDER IN THE MEADOW
BOOK 8: MURDER IN THE MANSION
Books 9-11 coming soon!

 

 

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AUTHOR BIO

Faith Martin has been writing for over 25 years, in four genres and under four different pen names. She was born in Oxford and sets most of her crime novels within sight of the city of dreaming spires. A real nature lover and afficionado of the countryside, descriptions of wildlife and native flora often find their way into her manuscripts. Right now, JOFFE BOOKS are re-issuing the first eleven of the DI Hillary Greene novels in new updated editions! The first 8 books in the series are available now. Books 9-11 coming soon!

Her romance novels, written under the name of Maxine Barry, are now available from Corazon Books. IMPOSTERS In PARADISE, and HEART OF FIRE are both out, and others will very quickly become available in the future.

Her first foray into writing ‘spooky’ crime, (and written under the pen name of Jessie Daniels) comes out in November 2017. THE LAVENDER LADY CASEFILE is published by Robert Hale, an imprint of Crowood Press.

As Joyce Cato, she writes more classically-inspired ‘proper’ whodunits. So if you like an amateur sleuth, plenty of clues and red herrings, plus a baffling murder mystery to solve, these are the books for you.

Jill Burkinshaw

Books n All Book Promotions

jill@booksnall.blog

https://booksnall.blog

 

How sampling a range of genres can help your writing

Posted on Posted in authors, guest postTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments

 

Sam boush

 

 

Reading it all How

sampling a range of genres can help your writing
By Sam Boush, author of All Systems Down

 

Most of us have a favorite genre. We read cozy mysteries. Or romance. Or thrillers. We write in these categories also. And we rarely step out of the warm, comfortable embrace of the fiction we know and care about into  other genres.

But we should.

Reading across genres helps us write better in our own. It can help us develop deeper characters, build better suspense, and create a richer, more realistic world to draw in the reader.

Here are four genres you should be reading to improve your writing.

 

 

Genre books

 

 

Westerns

When you think “Western” you might think about a lawman who comes in from the East. Or Tumbleweed. Or the Cowboys and Indian tropes.

But the best part about Westerns have nothing to do with those things. Instead, the real meat is in the villains.

We read about wickedness without consequence. Bad guys who do terrible things and make the reader seethe. And when we read a Western, it’s often this despicable antagonist who keeps us flipping page-after- page to reach the conclusion where, inevitably, justice prevails and the villain is driven off or killed.

One publisher called my antagonist “not very scary” and “almost clownish.” So what did I do? I swung by the library for a few Westerns and rewrote the villain. And it worked. After All Systems Down was published, Kirkus called my bad gal, “The most striking character… a terrifying villain.”

If your book has an antagonist who just isn’t bad enough, I strongly recommend reading this genre, to learn how to craft a truly repugnant but- believable bad guy. It worked for me.

 

 

Western

 

 

Romance

Even in non-Romance- genre fiction, readers like to see sparks. Emotion. Steamy love. You don’t have to be writing bodice-ripping scenes to benefit (though if you are writing sex scenes, you absolutely need to avoid ending up on the Telegraph’s list of bad ones.)

The kind of romance that enters your book may just be in how a husband looks at his wife from across the room. Or how a woman’s imagination takes flight when she hears a stranger at the door. But no matter how small, a little bit of romantic energy can charge up your writing. And Romance books can help.

 

 

Romance

 

 

Thriller

A ticking clock. A racing heart. Intrigue. These attributes of a thriller can give your writing a sense of urgency. Readers will turn pages faster, sweating sometimes, eager for an outcome.

If your work in progress doesn’t quite get your readers feeling like they’re straddling a kicking bull, maybe you should read how some of the great thriller writers build suspense by keeping readers on the edge of their seats as the plot builds to a climax.

 

 

thriller

 

 

Non-Fiction

A solid foundation in reality will allow you to create believable scenes and circumstances. Whether you’re writing about a character who loves old cars, a conversation with an arborist, or
cyber war, every conversation, thought and action can have more resonance if it’s well
researched.

Michael Crichton investigated DNA extensively to write Jurassic Park. Tom Clancy researched submarines. Harper Lee studied the legal system. And you, also, should be poring over non-fiction books so you get the details right, no matter what you’re writing about.

Personally, non-fiction is my favorite genre. Not only does it allow the writer to craft a world that meets expectations, but by learning new and interesting facts in this category we are able to surprise the reader with unexpected information.

No matter what you’re writing, looking outside your genre can add depth and intricacy. And if you’re feeling really adventurous, don’t be afraid to play genre-roulette at your local library. Give yourself five minutes to pick out three random books. Check them out and don’t read them until you’re home. This is a great way to kick writer’s block to the curb and maybe create depth in your secondary characters the reader could never have predicted.

 

 

Sam boush

 

 

Sam Boush is a novelist and award-winning journalist. He has worked as a wildland firefighter, journalist, and owner of a mid-sized marketing agency. Though he’s lived in France and Spain, his heart belongs to Portland, Oregon, where he lives with his wife, Tehra, two wonderful children, and a messy cat that keeps them from owning anything nice. He is a member of the Center for Internet Security, International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, and Cloud Security Alliance.

 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin

 

 

All Systems Down

 

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

 

 

 

Thanks Sam!

Blog Tour: Dark Angel by Helen H. Durrant

Posted on Posted in authors, Blog Tour, Book Review, Crime fictionTagged , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

 

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DARK ANGEL by HELEN H. DURRANT

Love gripping crime fiction? Discover Detective Stephen Greco, a meticulous policeman with a messy personal life.

Two young men break into an expensive house in Cheshire. They take money and jewellery — and a large amount of heroin. Within twenty-four hours they are found brutally murdered.

The killings have the hallmarks of a local drug baron. The two victims were also “angels” helping in a community project which seems to have been lowering the crime rate in the area.

Meanwhile, Detective Stephen Greco’s colleague and on-off girlfriend Grace is pregnant. He isn’t sure how he feels, and they haven’t told the boss.

This gripping and fast-paced crime mystery ends with a series of shocking twists.

If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Mel Sherratt, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will enjoy this exciting new crime fiction writer.

 

 

Book Review - 3d rendered headline

 

 

 

This was a stellar book! Crime fiction just how I like it. Interesting characters weaved into a fascinating plot and crime to solve. The perfect blend of narrative, dialogue, tension, conflict and mystery. I found it to be very engaging and compelling to read. Check it out!

 

THE DETECTIVES

DCI Stephen Greco is a meticulous policeman with a touch of O.C.D. Easy to admire, but difficult to like. He has created a new team after a personal tragedy threatened to end his career, and is struggling to care for his daughter.
DS Grace Harper is an ambitious young policewoman with excellent people skills. Like Greco, she is a single parent and tries to balance work and childcare.

 

 

 

Detective cartoon

 

THE SETTING

The Northern city of Manchester is a place of great diversity, from high-end restaurants and clubs for the moneyed classes to grim housing estates riven by crime and drugs.

DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE MYSTERY SERIES BY THE BEST-SELLING WRITER HELEN H. DURRANT

 

 

Satisfaction guaranteed

 

 

DCI GRECO
Book 1: DARK MURDER
Book 2: DARK HOUSES
Book 3: DARK TRADE
Book 4: DARK ANGEL

CALLADINE & BAYLISS 
Book 1: DEAD WRONG
Book 2: DEAD SILENT
Book 3: DEAD LIST
Book 4: DEAD LOST
Book 5: DEAD & BURIED
Book 6: DEAD NASTY
Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS

TALBOT DYSON
HIS THIRD VICTIM

 

 

Helen Durrant author pic

 

 

AUTHOR BIO

Helen sets her books in the area she has lived in for many years. The towns and villages that sit in the shelter of the Pennine hills. This is an area between two counties, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and between the city and the hills. It offers a rich mix of the industrial and the countryside and all the character therein.

Helen always planned to write crime novels. But until she retired from full-time work in a local further education college, it had to go on the back burner. Once she did retire – there was no excuse. She now writes full-time. Retirement proper will have to wait!

Currently there are seven books in the ‘Calladine & Bayliss’ series available – Dead Wrong, Dead Silent, Dead List, Dead Lost, Dead & Buried, Dead Nasty – and the latest – Dead Jealous.

Also available are three books in the new ‘DI Greco’ series – Dark Murder, Dark Houses, Dark Trade  and the latest – Dark Angel.

LINKS

Website: www.helenhdurrant.co.uk

Twitter: @hhdurrant

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helen.durrant.12

Jill Burkinshaw

Books n All Book Promotions

jill@booksnall.blog

https://booksnall.blog

 

 

 

 

Join the Ficitonary Finish Your Novel Contest

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Fictionary FYNC

 

 

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution to finish your novel and get published? Enter Fictionary’s Finish Your Novel Contest and your dream could come true. With FriesenPress.

 

Contest Details: http://bit.ly/2D3WrkC

-Kristina
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Join Fictionary’s Finish Your Novel Contest

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Author kristinastanley-75
Photo by Kimberley Rae Sanderson
Kristina Stanley CEO
Finish Your Novel!

 

Kristina Stanley is the author of the Stone Mountain Mystery Series. Her books have garnered the attention of prestigious crime writing organizations in Canada and England. Crime Writers of Canada nominated her first novel for the Unhanged Arthur award. The Crime Writers’ Association nominated her second novel for the Debut Dagger. Her first short story was published in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.

 

Kristinastanley.com | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

 

 

 

Descent

 

 

 

Blaze

 

 

 

Avalanche

 

 

 

Look the other way

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Need to Know by Karen Cleveland

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Need to Know Karen Cleveland

 

 

In pursuit of a Russian sleeper cell on American soil, a CIA analyst uncovers a dangerous secret that will test her loyalty to the agency—and to her family.

What do you do when everything you trust might be a lie?

Vivian Miller is a dedicated CIA counterintelligence analyst assigned to uncover the leaders of Russian sleeper cells in the United States. On track for a much-needed promotion, she’s developed a system for identifying Russian agents, seemingly normal people living in plain sight.

After accessing the computer of a potential Russian operative, Vivian stumbles on a secret dossier of deep-cover agents within America’s borders. A few clicks later, everything that matters to her—her job, her husband, even her four children—are threatened.

Vivian has vowed to defend her country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But now she’s facing impossible choices. Torn between loyalty and betrayal, allegiance and treason, love and suspicion, who can she trust?

 

Releases today! Need to Know is available now.

 

 

 

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I absolutely loved this book! Karen Cleveland comes out swinging in her debut novel with CIA counterintellligence analyst Vivian Miller. She discovers a secret so deep it rattles her to the core of every aspect of her life. She then struggles to solve a dilemma that seeks to rip her apart limb by limb. 

I really enjoyed the deep point of view for this type of thriller. I felt gripped by the protagonist’s anxiety, fear, love, vulnerability and moral dilemma. It made the story that much richer. 

 The tension is palpable with juicy conflict, and the suspense is off the charts.

Don’t miss it! It’ll be one of the best of 2018!

 

 

 

Karen Cleveland photo

 

Karen Cleveland spent eight years as a CIA analyst, the last six in counterterrorism. She has master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar, and from Harvard University. She lives in northern Virginia with her husband and two young kids.

 

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Murder in the Meadow Blog Tour with Author Faith Martin

Posted on Posted in authors, Blog Tour, Book Marketing, Book Review, Crime fictionTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments

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Blog Tour BANNER - Murder in the Meadow

 

 

 BOOK DESCRIPTION

MURDER IN THE MEADOW by Faith Martin

Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery  with a feisty female detective?

Meet DI HILLARY GREENE, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals.

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies’ man.

DI Hillary Greene discovers that there were many wealthy married women buying his paintings and taking ‘private’ art lesson from him.  It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead.

Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda.

Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from start to finish.

MURDER IN THE MEADOW  is the seventh in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire.
Perfect for fans of  Agatha Christie, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.

 

 

 

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If you haven’t started the DI Hillary Green series then you’re missing out. I always find it fascinating to peer into the point of view of protagonist Hillary. She investigates the mysterious death of a young Casanova who’s left by the river with red heart pinned to his chest. Who had the motivation to kill him? A former lover? A jealous one?

Faith Martin is having such great success by re-releasing this series with Joffe books. Her writing is really entertaining, witty, with great characters and well thought out plots. I recommend Murder in the Meadow and the rest of the series to anyone.

 

 

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THE LOCATION
The pretty iron stone village of Deddington.  Not far from the market town of Banbury (noted for its famous Banbury Cross of the nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, to see a fine lady upon a white horse, with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes.”)  It has an attractive and unusual church, antique shop and hotel, and several pubs known locally for their cuisine.  Although not a tourist spot as such, it is a picturesque spot.  Water meadows, such as the one where the body is found, are a feature of valleys in the area, and regularly flood in the winter time, adding  nutrients to the soil, making them especially lovely in the spring and summer, when they can flower quite spectacularly.

 

 

 

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THE DETECTIVES

DI Hillary Greene
An attractive woman in her forties, Hillary Greene is a police officer of many years’ experience, and came up through the ranks. Consequently, she knows how the system works, and is fiercely loyal to the force without being blinkered to its faults. She is a long-standing friend of her immediate superior officer, ‘Mellow’ Mallow and enjoys a rather enigmatic relationship with the steely Superintendent Marcus Donleavy. Popular with the rank and file for her no-nonsense attitude and competence.

DCI Philip ‘Mellow’ Mallow
Mel appreciates Hillary’s first-rate ability to solve her cases, and isn’t happy about her harassment by the officers from York. Known for his sartorial elegance and laid-back manners, he has a sharp mind, and an eye for the ladies. A good friend and ally for Hillary in her recent tribulations, he’s determined to keep his best investigator focused on the problems at hand.

 

 

 

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PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS “BESIDE A NARROW STREAM.”

DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES
BOOK 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
BOOK 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
BOOK 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
BOOK 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE
BOOK 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY
BOOK 6: MURDER AT HOME
BOOK 7: MURDER IN THE MEADOW
Books 8-11 coming soon!

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

 

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AUTHOR BIO

Faith Martin has been writing for over 25 years, in four genres and under four different pen names. She was born in Oxford and sets most of her crime novels within sight of the city of dreaming spires. A real nature lover and afficionado of the countryside, descriptions of wildlife and native flora often find their way into her manuscripts. Right now, JOFFE BOOKS are re-issuing the first eleven of the DI Hillary Greene novels in new updated editions! And the first of these, MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL. MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, MURDER IN THE VILLAGE, MURDER IN THE FAMILY and MURDER AT HOME are available now. Books 8-11 coming soon!

Her romance novels, written under the name of Maxine Barry, are now available from Corazon Books. IMPOSTERS In PARADISE, and HEART OF FIRE are both out, and others will very quickly become available in the future.

Her first foray into writing ‘spooky’ crime, (and written under the pen name of Jessie Daniels) comes out in November 2017. THE LAVENDER LADY CASEFILE is published by Robert Hale, an imprint of Crowood Press.

As Joyce Cato, she writes more classically-inspired ‘proper’ whodunits. So if you like an amateur sleuth, plenty of clues and red herrings, plus a baffling murder mystery to solve, these are the books for you.

 

 

 

Check out Jill’s Books n All Book Promotions! Crime books, book reviews, blog tours and more. Booksnall.blog

 

Don’t miss Mystery Thriller Week 2018. The new dates for this year are April 12th-22nd. Don’t miss out!