Sazerac, Sleuth & Slay Cozy Mystery Travels

 

Sazerac, Sleuth & Slay

By Mary Cunningham

Planning on a trip to New Orleans? I recommend booking a cozy trip to The Big Easy with mystery travel agent Andi Anna Jones. You'll enjoy yourself with this amateur sleuth's memorable sense of humor. Your tourist tours will include Andi's commitment to following clues. She's driven to solve a mystery. Her least favorite client is threatening to sue her business in a big way when his wife has gone off track on her reserved trip to New Orleans. Andi is concerned for her client, and for her business, and compelled by the intrigue.

Along the way, Andi's confronted with a potential serial killer, five unsolved murders. Savor the gumbo of clues with Andi as she tries to detect and stop this murderer before another person falls. Enjoy the trip as you follow Andi through this magical city, and deep into the bayou. You'll have every opportunity, alongside your wisecracking sleuth, to solve this mystery and catch a killer.

This is the second book in the Andi Anna Jones Mystery Series. Let the good times roll as you enjoy the author's vivid description of this amazing setting. Pack your bags and catch a cozy vacation with great twists, and all that jazz.

Wheels Up For A Great Reading Ride

 Mid-Flight

By Lisa Wilkes

Fasten your seatbelt for a fast take off into the future, and all is not smooth in 2037. Author Lisa Wilkes has skillfully crafted a future world that is reeling from disaster, fear, and tyranny.

Flight attendant Lexi Brennan is heartbroken from the loss of her best friend in a plane accident. Emotionally drained, her introduction to Jason at a training week recharges her, as sparks fly. It's quite a passionate surprise.

Lexi embodies an intriguing spirit, wearing her heart on her sleeve. The author artfully shows Lexi's heartfelt feelings and personal philosophies, and readers fall in love with Lexi, her compassion, and her thoughtfulness. I can't get enough of her, and she inspires.

What can such a character do when she realizes the depth of cruelty and terror threatening the world around her? This soulful character attempts to build alliances to act for change. Can she get through the turbulence unscathed? Can change be made? It's an exciting and gripping emotional journey, skillfully written. Fascinating read and inspiring.

Ripples of Paranormal Romance Delight

 

Lady of the Mirrored Lake

by Jennifer Ivy Walker

What a magical story that brightens and warms the heart. Tristan and Isolde has always been a favorite legend for me, and this author is masterful and talented in creating her depiction of this magical story. These characters are so embraceable. 

The immersion in paranormal is enchanting, and also action packed. When evil emerges the tension builds. This book is so engaging, I never wanted to put it down. So glad there's a third in the series to come because I didn't want it to end. The writing is compelling, and the steamy romance is soulful. Highly recommended.

Join Incredible Kayak Misadventures

 

The Misadventures of a

Cross-America Kayaker

By Hank Landau

From deep within yourself, have you ever heard a voice dare you to attempt what may be the wildest, perhaps craziest, perilous, beautiful experience imaginable? Join the author who answered yes. He jumped into a seven year soulful and challenging journey of a lifetime. He paddled over seven years across 4,700 miles on nineteen waterways and rivers, six of them going upstream. He touched seventeen states, starting at the Pacific Ocean and ending at the Atlantic. Reading his epic escapade, his close encounters are sometimes laugh out loud funny, and sometimes dangerous and downright scary misadventures. What began as a question, ended in complete wonder over all that this one kayaker learned.

This book is a beautiful tale of discoveries, now shared with dare devils and dreamers. It's a telling of discoveries from a lone, thoughtful kayaker about his world environment, with an insightful and historical perspective about humanity. Each chapter, and each page reveals your opportunity to taste the great outdoors from one coast to the next. The emotions spill off the pages, and the love and support of his family throughout is also stirring.

The author's writing style is so engaging, you'll feel as if you're riding right along with him. Seize this opportunity. You'll not just read about these travels, you'll experience the beauty, the questions, the solitude, the camping stops, the dangers, the excitement, the humor, and so much more. The large, wide world is full of surprises that need to be faced as they burst upon the scene. It's also full of miles of serenity and beauty prompting creative reflections on life itself.

Woven into this incredible story are references to the history of so many of the locations traveled through. The simplicity and dynamics of seeing life from the kayak as a vehicle, brings historical comparisons filled with meaning. Communicating the impacts of civilization on the environment, and of society on people is truly thought provoking.

Author Hank Landau spent a lifetime messing about in power boats, sail boats, rowboats, canoes and kayaks. He attended the US Coast Guard Academy where he sailed on the Coast Guard square-rigged ship Eagle and served as an Army officer during the war in Viet Nam. Later in his career Dr. Landau, a PhD in Civil Environmental Engineering, worked in the Geo-environmental field.

Death Rings A Bell - You'll Fall For This Read

 

Death Rings A Bell

By Linda Hope Lee

Nina Foster is delighted at the invitation to be a presenter at the prestigious Pacific University's Literary Festival. Nina is happy to Juggle her librarian duties with a return to her alma mater for this event, and the excitement of a reunion with her English professor and mentor. When Death Rings A Bell in the campus tower, Nina is faced with a challenging mystery. She doesn't believe it was suicide, as the police concluded. She's determined to find out who killed her mentor, and why. Newspaper reporter Stephen Kraslow does all he can to help his dear girlfriend in finding clues. Nina greatly appreciates the help, although at times she surprisingly wonders if mysteries are actually easier to solve than relationships.

Nina begins her search for clues by talking with the only witness of Gwyneth Miller's plummit to death from the top of the tower. It was the sound of the bell that grabbed Cara's attention as the professor's life ended in a tragic plunge. Nina does not rely only on the account related by this shocked student of what she saw. It doesn't take long before Nina and Stephen have gathered information indicating motives, means, and opportunity for a list of suspects, including university staff, students, and even noted authors on site as headline speakers for the Literary Festival. Clues accumulate from conversations overheard, suspicious behavior, physical finds, and more unexpected sources. What could an exploration inside the tower itself reveal? Nina hopes to get the key, get that door open, and check it out from the ground level and all the way up to the top, where Gwyneth spent her last moments. Danger threatens as the suspect list narrows.

There's no rest for the amateur sleuth when she take breaks from her analysis either. She's needed at her library, she has an important presentation to get ready for the Literary Festival that will begin on schedule, and Stephen has an important question about their future, hovering over them. Is Nina ready for the next big step in their relationship?

Linda Hope Lee has authored a fun puzzler, that's a continuation of the engaging Nina Foster Mystery Series. The recurring characters are a delight to meet again, and the new cast will tickle your curiosity. The plot is intriguing, the killer is cunning, and and the novel is entertaining. Whether you read to try your hand at solving the mystery, or purely for the story, you'll enjoy this cozy mystery.

A resident of the Pacific Northwest, author Linda Hope Lee writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and mystery novels. She also enjoys watercolor paintings, photography, collecting children's books, and anything to do with wire-haired terriers.

Behind The Mask - A Revealing Read

 

Behind The Mask
By Dana Ridenour

Undercover FBI agents know the mask must stay in place until the assignment is done. Lives depend on it, especially their own. Special Agent Alexis Montgomery, Lexie, is fresh from her training in Virginia and now on her first undercover case across the country in Los Angeles. Now she's under the gun, living under an assumed identity, and infiltrating a dangerous cell of the Animal Liberation Front. As Lexie goes to work connecting with ALF members, she begins to realize the emotional depths of this work. Over time she's building friendships with suspects. She's being pulled into some of their beliefs as she sinks deeper into their lives. She's filled with self-doubt over the betrayal her work requires of her. The job calls for Lexie to build relationships in order to betray relationships. Is that something she can do to her new friends? If not, what danger will then surround her?

While on the job an undercover agent like Lexie, who lives for an extended period in isolation from her real life learns about the loneliness, high stress, and desperation that is found Behind The Mask. Even her inside-the-FBI contact agent Kate is a new friendship for Lexie, and they have a lot to learn about each other. An opportunistic meeting with Savannah, a freshman at the college, convinces Lexie she may have found the key to connecting with the dangerous group the FBI suspects of domestic terrorism. The connection with Savannah leads to key actors Nick and Haley, but also brings a devastating dilemma. Lexie and Savannah quickly became fast friends, true best friends. This sincere relationship could be an achilles heel to the whole FBI operation, or could Lexie turn it into the key to prosecution? Will Lexie have to betray Savannah to get what she wants, and if so how will Savannah and her fellow ALF members react to that?

Savannah's boyfriend Nick masterminds a violent action against a laboratory doing animal testing. He includes Savannah for her first underground action, and also her roommate Haley who has been a member of the ALF for several years. When plans go deadly wrong, Savannah finds herself up to her chin in deep, hot water. She's sworn to secrecy by Nick and Haley as they all try to evade arrest. Lexie has a theory what happened, but she desperately needs to obtain proof, before her FBI managers close her case prematurely.

Author Dana Ridenour creates a thrilling, psychological puzzle with great, unexpected twists. The plot includes fascinating insights into the pressures and perils of an undercover agent's job. This first book in the Lexie Montgomery FBI series is a fast paced read that still takes time to explore the multi-dimensional personalities of the characters and their relationships with each other.

Dana Ridenour is an award-winning author and retired FBI Special Agent. During her twenty-year career she was assigned to four different FBI Field Divisions and had the opportunity to work a wide variety of cases to include multi-faceted narcotics investigations, domestic sex trafficking of minors, and violent crime. She spent most of her career as an FBI undercover operative.

Dana’s first novel, Behind The Mask, won numerous literary awards and was named one of the Best Indie Books of 2016 by Kirkus Reviews. Her second novel, Beyond The Cabin received the 2018 Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Thriller or Suspense Novel. The third book in the FBI undercover series, Below The Radar, was the 2020 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Winner in the Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist genre as well as the 2021 Feathered Quill Book Awards Gold/First Place winner for best Adult Fiction. Dana’s three novels are currently in development for television.

A Thriller Recommended At All Costs

 

At All Costs

The Volya Series

By J. Robert Kinney

Evil and ruthless terror spreads worldwide from the Nasha Volya, a dangerous and illicit organization growing stronger than ever before. Their reach is worldwide. Can a U.S. Congressman be working with them too? Franklin Holt and his small team of three freelancing federal agents vow to stop this menacing group, once and for all. If unsuccessful, their cost is the ultimate price. This team fights a mission to make the world safe, although they stand now at a huge disadvantage. Framed for crimes they didn’t commit, the team members are separated, and now operate from the shadows: from behind bars, and on the run. They are hunted by both the law and the Volya, yet their fight goes on to accomplish their mission At All Costs. How can they coordinate their efforts? Can they stop the dire threat in time?

Author J. Robert Kinney has created a thrilling Volya series. In this third book of the series the stakes stab through the heart and soul of civilization, and time is running out. This fight for justice and freedom propels Franklin and his band - Sloan, Shannon and Eve, to different destinations around the world. Franklin was never trained for what he must face. In fact, all their skills are taxed. Nevertheless, the chase is on. They must stop the Volya and unearth the truth before countless innocent lives are lost. Everything is at stake. This time none of them are prepared for what this battle will cost, or the ghosts from the past they'll resurrect.

The pacing of this thriller is high speed action and there are many surprises around the corners. The plotting is skillful. There is more that this author has woven into this story of intrigue. Author J. Robert Kinney has thoughtfully breathed life into these characters. Their motives and personalities are fascinating and compel them in their actions. As the story continues, more clues about the characters are artfully revealed. The history and human nature behind the Volya are as gripping as the lives of the other characters.

The tension, suspense, and chills in this story will have you under an adrenaline spell throughout.

Dr. J. Robert Kinney is an award-winning suspense/thriller author. His published novels include the award-winning trilogy, The Volya Series. The second in the series, Ring of Conspiracy was named the Best Suspense of 2020, winning the Silver Falchion from the Killer Nashville International Writers Conference. His most recent, At All Costs was a finalist for the Claymore Award for Best Upcoming Thriller. With a PhD in political science, with specialties in international relations & terrorism studies, as well as degrees in psychology and forensic science, Kinney has worked in research for a government contractor, in federal public policy in DC, and taught university courses on global politics.