Category Archives: HarlequinMira

June 17, 2012 · 4:27 pm

Blog Tour: Love Is Murder Excerpt Featuring J.T. Ellison, Q & A, & Review

http://booktrib.com

Book Trib has put together a 30 day Blog Tour for the exciting Love Is Murder anthology. Follow the Blog Tour and enter for your chance to win a copy of Love Is Murder and one of ten exclusive Love Is Murder blog tour badges featuring the authors’ signatures.

Excerpt from J.T. Ellison’s The Number of Man:

It began in a single moment, the briefest of connections. She, in pigtails, a miniature towheaded autocrat, ruling the playground as if it were her kingdom. He, sitting on the swings, the new boy, watching her cross the playground toward him, shoulders squared, prepared for battle. He was an outsider, an unknown, and therefore dangerous, and she needed to determine his loyalties. Only eight, he had been at the receiving end of this conversation several times; his mother wasn’t the most upright woman, had a tendency to follow her latest boyfriend when her previous love discarded her.

Ms. Ellison’s Bio:

J.T. Ellison is the international award-winning author of seven critically acclaimed novels, multiple short stories and has been published in over twenty countries. A former White House staffer, she has worked extensively with the Metro Nashville Police, the FBI and various other law enforcement organizations to research her novels. She lives in Nashville with her husband and a poorly trained cat, and is hard at work on her next novel. Visit Ms. Ellison’s website for more insight into her wicked imagination, or follow her on Twitter (@Thrillerchick).

Q & A with Ms. Ellison:

What is your guilty pleasure? People Magazine, facials, uninterrupted reading time, Gossip Girl

Describe your favorite meal. Italian, hands down. Preferably in country. But I’m not bad making it at home. Proscuitto and melon, caesar salad, papardelle with mushrooms in white truffle oil or lasagna or gnocchi al Sorrentino, tiramisu, an excellent red.

If you were not a writer, what would be your career? An architect, maybe, or fighter pilot. Or FBI.

If you could time travel, which year would be your destination? Anyplace where bathing was popular… seriously, probably Florence or Rome during Leonardo’s time.

What inspired your contribution to LOVE IS MURDER? It’s been brewing for years. I wrote a draft in 2006, couldn’t make it work, and shelved it until now. I felt sorry for Michael, and his delusions, and wanted to explore what it might be like to think someone you’re in love with loves you back.

My Review:

Title: Thriller 3: Love Is Murder Anthology by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Anthology
Length: 608 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Lori Armstrong * Jeff Ayers & Jon Land * Beverly Barton * William Bernhardt * Allison Brennan * Robert Browne * Pamela Callow * Lee Child * J.T. Ellison * Bill Floyd * Cindy Gerard * Heather Graham * Laura Griffin * Vicki Hinze * Andrea Kane *Julie Kenner * Sherrilyn Kenyon * Dianna Love * D.P. Lyle * James Macomber * Toni McGee Causey * Carla Neggers * Brenda Novak * Patricia Rosemoor * William Simon * Alexandra Sokoloff * Roxanne St. Claire * Mariah Stewart * Debra Webb

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in this original collection by thirty of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing romance suspense today.

Go on vacation with Allison Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire’s “bullet catcher”–bodyguard Donovan Rush–who may have met his match in the sexually charged “Diamond Drop.” Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child’s pitch-perfect “I Heard a Romantic Story” puts a whole new spin on Love Is Murder.

Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers–these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

The Review:

Love Is Murder is an action-packed, adventure-filled, pulse-pounding anthology. The stories are short but compelling and full of unexpected twists and turns. The various story settings take the reader to exotic international locations, island paradises and a variety of states here in the US. Murders, kidnappings, terrorist plots, robberies, stalkers and hostage situations keep the pages turning at a blistering pace. Fans of paranormal stories will be delighted to discover a few otherworldly tales mixed in among the more down to earth thrillers and chillers.

The Love Is Murder anthology is a superb showcase of some of today’s best suspense authors. The stories are well written and quite diverse. An entertaining read that fans of romantic suspense are sure to enjoy.

Don’t forget to visit Book Trib and enter for your chance to win a copy of Love Is Murder and one of ten exclusive Love Is Murder blog tour badges featuring the authors’ signatures.

1 Comment

Filed under Blog Tour, Contemporary, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, JT Ellison, Love Is Murder, Mystery, Rated B+, Romantic Suspense

June 7, 2012 · 3:56 am

Blog Tour: Love Is Murder Excerpt & Q & A with William Simon, and Review

http://booktrib.com

Book Trib has put together a 30 day Blog Tour for the exciting Love Is Murder anthology. Follow the Blog Tour and enter for your chance to win a copy Love Is Murder and one of ten exclusive Love Is Murder blog tour badges featuring the authors’ signatures.

Excerpt from William Simon’s Spider’s Tango:

Here’s a piece of advice you won’t find in any manual, leaflet, monograph, self-help book, or national talk show: when an agent with the FBI’s Violent Crimes Unit opens an email, then spends the next ten minutes vomiting in the men’s room, do not under any circumstances lean across the desk and look at the screen…

Mr. Simon’s Bio:

Since 2002, William Simon has been the owner and lead investigator for a licensed firm that handles computer forensics and electronic evidence exclusively. This work has led to a few interesting experiences.

He has a ridiculously broad-range DVD collection, listens to little else but music from the 1950s, still reads Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is proud of the fact that he saw both Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin—live and on stage—in Las Vegas, many years ago.

Earlier works published under the pseudonym “Will Graham” include Street Heat and Sometimes, There Really Are Monsters Under the Bed, both available in ebook editions. Spider’s Dance, a full-length novel featuring Nicholas White, is also available.

Visit Mr. Simon’s website for more info.

Q & A with Mr. Simon:

What is your guilty pleasure? “Drive-In” type movies, and a soft spot for the old Universal Studios Monsters. Thanks to the advent of home video, so many classics and forgotten movies are now available.

Describe your favorite meal. Italian resturants always get my attention.

If you were not a writer, what would be your career? Probably something in Federal law enforcement; family trade, so to speak.

If you could time travel, which year would be your destination? Victorian London, with antibiotics. I’d have had the chance to catch Jack the Ripper.

What inspired your contribution to LOVE IS MURDER? I’ve worked as a computer forensic investigator since 2002, and some of the cases have been less than pleasant. I’m not quite sure what triggered the entire plot, but the background was in place and it seemed logical to ‘write what I knew’.

My Review:

Title: Thriller 3: Love Is Murder Anthology by Sandra Brown
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: Harlequin MIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Anthology
Length: 608 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Lori Armstrong * Jeff Ayers & Jon Land * Beverly Barton * William Bernhardt * Allison Brennan * Robert Browne * Pamela Callow * Lee Child * J.T. Ellison * Bill Floyd * Cindy Gerard * Heather Graham * Laura Griffin * Vicki Hinze * Andrea Kane *Julie Kenner * Sherrilyn Kenyon * Dianna Love * D.P. Lyle * James Macomber * Toni McGee Causey * Carla Neggers * Brenda Novak * Patricia Rosemoor * William Simon * Alexandra Sokoloff * Roxanne St. Claire * Mariah Stewart * Debra Webb

Prepare for heart-racing suspense in this original collection by thirty of the hottest bestselling authors and new voices writing romance suspense today.

Go on vacation with Allison Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid, where she saves a man from drowning, only to discover he is in far greater danger on land. Meet Roxanne St. Claire’s “bullet catcher”–bodyguard Donovan Rush–who may have met his match in the sexually charged “Diamond Drop.” Debut author William Simon shows us what happens when the granddaughter of the president of the United States is kidnapped. And Lee Child’s pitch-perfect “I Heard a Romantic Story” puts a whole new spin on Love Is Murder.

Bodyguards, vigilantes, stalkers, serial killers, women (and men!) in jeopardy, cops, thieves, P.I.s, killers–these all-new stories will keep you thrilled and chilled late into the night.

The Review:

Love Is Murder is an action-packed, adventure-filled, pulse-pounding anthology. The stories are short but compelling and full of unexpected twists and turns. The various story settings take the reader to exotic international locations, island paradises and a variety of states here in the US. Murders, kidnappings, terrorist plots, robberies, stalkers and hostage situations keep the pages turning at a blistering pace. Fans of paranormal stories will be delighted to discover a few otherworldly tales mixed in among the more down to earth thrillers and chillers.

The Love Is Murder anthology is a superb showcase of some of today’s best suspense authors. The stories are well written and quite diverse. An entertaining read that fans of romantic suspense are sure to enjoy.

6 Comments

Filed under Blog Tour, Contemporary, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, Love Is Murder, Mystery, Rated B+, Romantic Suspense, William Simon

May 29, 2012 · 3:57 am

The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

Title: The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

For nine-year-old Beth Lowe, it should have been a magical summer—sun-kissed days lounging in rickety deck chairs, nights gathered around the fire. But what begins as an innocent vacation to Hungary ends with the devastating separation of her parents. Beth and her father return home alone, leaving her mother, Marika, behind.

Over the next seven summers, Beth walks a tightrope between worlds, fleeing her quiet home and distant father to bask in the intoxicating Hungarian countryside with Marika. It is during these enthralling summers that Beth comes to life and learns to love. But at sixteen, she uncovers a life-shattering secret, bringing her sacred summers with Marika abruptly to an end.

Now, years later, Beth receives a package containing a scrapbook, a haunting record of a time long forgotten. Suddenly, she is swept back to the world she left behind, forced to confront the betrayal that destroyed her—and to search her heart for forgiveness.

The Review:

Emylia Hall’s debut novel The Book of Summers is a moving and vibrant story about Beth Lowe’s magical summers in Hungary. Following her parents’ separation, Beth lives full time with her father, David, in Devon, but lives for her summers with her mother, Marika, in Hungary.

The Book of Summers is a story full of contrasts. Beth’s parents are complete opposites. Marika is a free spirit whose enjoyment of life bursts off the pages. She is fun-loving and Beth’s time in Hungary reflects Marika’s Bohemian and artist lifestyle. Beth’s lazy summer days are full of adventure where she eagerly explores the Hungarian countryside. Beth readily identifies with Marika and embraces her Hungarian heritage.

In sharp contrast, Beth’s life in Devon with David is quiet and subdued. David is a schoolteacher who is quite introverted and rather melancholy. While Beth occasionally challenges Marika’s authority, she easily acquiesces to her father’s wishes. As she enters her teen years, her father withdraws farther and farther from her, leaving Beth feeling lost and lonely in their too silent household.

The last summer that Beth spends with Marika is traumatic and forever changes Beth’s life and her relationships with both David and Marika. The events that transpire force Beth to question her very identity. Her sense of betrayal causes her to turn her back on the people who matter most to her.

The Book of Summers is a richly detailed novel that transports the reader back and forth in time and between England and Hungary. Emylia Hall’s descriptive writing style brings the characters and various settings vividly to life. The storyline is fresh and quite original. The reason for Beth’s estrangement from Marika was unexpected and rather shocking. The ending is bittersweet yet hopeful and the epilogue is absolutely perfect.

A novel with depth and emotion that I highly recommend.

4 Comments

Filed under Contemporary, Emylia Hall, Fiction, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, Literary, Rated B, The Book of Summers

April 24, 2012 · 3:58 am

The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

Title: The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Literary, Fiction
Length: 368 pages
Book Rating: B+

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A beloved daughter. A devastating choice. And now there’s no going back.

Four years ago, nineteen-year-old Travis Brown made a choice: to raise his newborn daughter on his own. While most of his friends were out partying and meeting girls, Travis was at home, changing diapers and worrying about keeping food on the table. But he’s never regretted his decision. Bella is the light of his life. The reason behind every move he makes. And so far, she is fed. Cared for. Safe.

But when Travis loses his construction job and his home, the security he’s worked so hard to create for Bella begins to crumble….

Then a miracle. A job in Raleigh has the power to turn their fortunes around. It has to. But when Travis arrives in Raleigh, there is no job, only an offer to participate in a onetime criminal act that promises quick money and no repercussions.

With nowhere else to turn, Travis must make another choice for his daughter’s sake.

Even if it means he might lose her.

The Review:

In The Good Father Diane Chamberlain brilliantly illustrates how far parents are willing to go to protect their children. Through the various characters’ stories, we see the different reasons for the decisions they make in their effort to make better lives for their children. But are they always the right decisions? And equally important, do parents always know best?

For Travis Brown, the decision to raise his daughter Bella as a single father is easy. His love for Bella is absolute, but an unexpected loss leaves him wondering if he made the right choice. Homeless and jobless, he makes a decision that has potentially devastating consequences.

For Bella’s mother, Robin Saville, it is her father’s decisions that change the outcome of her life. In an effort to protect his daughter’s health, he interferes in her life in unimaginable ways. Current events in her life bring the past to the forefront of her mind as she struggles to find her identity.

For Erin Patterson, a chance meeting with Travis and Bella allows her to put the tragic events of her own life into perspective. Through helping Travis, many of her wounds are healed and she is finally able to reconcile her painful past and move on with her life. It is her decisions that brings The Good Father to its suspenseful conclusion.

The Good Father provides wonderful insight into how someone can easily end up on the wrong path for the right reasons. It also teaches a very valuable lesson about how destructive parental interference can be when decisions are made based on what is best for the family, not the child. It is a powerful learning experience in how the best intentions can go horribly wrong.

The Good Father is an engrossing novel with a beautifully developed cast of appealing characters. The plot is unique and quite thought-provoking. Diane Chamberlain is a gifted storyteller with an engaging writing style that instantly catches and easily maintains her readers’ attention. An absolutely breathtaking account that demonstrates a parents’ unconditional love, The Good Father is a novel that should be on everyone’s reading list.

1 Comment

Filed under Contemporary, Diane Chamberlain, Fiction, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, Literary, Rated B+, The Good Father

· 3:56 am

A Deeper Darkness by J.T. Ellison

Title: A Deeper Darkness by J.T. Ellison
Dr. Samantha Owens Series Book One
Publisher: Harlequin
Imprint: HarlequinMIRA
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

First book in a brand new series by J.T. Ellison.

Into the flood again…

As a medical examiner, Samantha Owen’s job is to make a certain sense of death with crisp methodology and precision instruments.

But the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, the light vanished from Sam’s life. She’s pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrate—until she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C.

On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend’s mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam’s sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car.

Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan’s old notes. The trail leads her to the untouchable Xander—a soldier off-grid since his return from Afghanistan—and then to a series of brutal crimes stretching from that harsh mountainous war zone to this nation’s capital. The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody’s hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.

The Review:

A Deeper Darkness is a compelling mystery that provides an in-depth view into the oftentimes unseen toll that war takes on servicemembers and their families. J.T. Ellison brings many of war’s hidden battles to the forefront as Dr. Samantha Owens is unwittingly drawn into the investigation of the death of her former boyfriend Eddie Donovan.

Dr. Sam Owens is emotionally fragile and wracked with guilt over the deaths of her husband and children. Her trip to Washington, DC offers her some much needed distance from her tragic past. It provides her with valuable insight that allows her to begin to heal and move on with her life.

It is Sam’s forensic findings and a second murder involving one of Eddie’s Ranger buddies that changes the course of the murder investigation. Sam and Detective Darren Fletcher’s hunt for the killer exposes a horrific series of events that haunts the men whose close bond of friendship was forged by their wartime experiences.

A Deeper Darkness has an outstanding cast of well rounded three dimensional characters and a superb storyline. The plot goes in many varied and unexpected directions. J.T. Ellison provides a long list of suspects and she does a fantastic job keeping readers guessing the killer’s identity.

The ending of A Deeper Darkness is more of a beginning as Sam comes to terms with her past and moves forward with the help of her surprising new love interest. I am very much looking forward to seeing what Ms. Ellison has planned for this marvelous new series.

1 Comment

Filed under A Deeper Darkness, Contemporary, Dr Samantha Owens Series, Harlequin, HarlequinMira, JT Ellison, Mystery, Rated B