Suspense

#FuturisticFriday review: The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle

the-marriage-lie

Photo Credit: Mira, 12/27

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

The Marriage Lie

Summary: Even the perfect marriage has its dark side… 

Iris and Will’s marriage is as close to perfect as it can be: a large house in a nice Atlanta neighborhood, rewarding careers and the excitement of trying for their first baby. But on the morning Will leaves for a business trip to Orlando, Iris’s happy world comes to an abrupt halt. Another plane headed for Seattle has crashed into a field, killing everyone on board, and according to the airline, Will was one of the passengers on this plane.

Grief-stricken and confused, Iris is convinced it all must be a huge misunderstanding. But as time passes and there is still no sign of Will, she reluctantly accepts that he is gone. Still, Iris needs answers. Why did Will lie about where he was going? What is in Seattle? And what else has he lied about? As Iris sets off on a desperate quest to find out what her husband was keeping from her, the answers she receives will shock her to her very core. Continue reading →

All Day And A Night by Alafair Burke

All Day and a Night by Alafair Burke

Photo Credit: Goodreads

Traveling With T was given ALL DAY AND A NIGHT at BEA 2014.

All Day and A Night

Ellie Hatcher, NYPD Detective,  and her partner JJ Rogan are approached by their superiors to be part of a special task force for reviewing old crimes and making sure that the conviction was on the up and up. Ellie is not too happy about this because it’s putting her in a weird place with her current boyfriend, Max Donovan ADA. But, when the superiors want you to be part of this- you just have to find a way to handle it. Continue reading →

Johnny Shaw Interviews Jimmy Veeder (Plaster City Blog Tour & Giveaway)

Plaster City by Johnny Shaw

Photo Credit: Thomas and Mercer

Today, Traveling With T is a stop on the Plaster City by Johnny Shaw blog tour! My stop on the tour consists of the humorous interview that Johnny Shaw conducts with his main character, Jimmy Veeder. After you read the interview, be sure and enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter link ( Kindle Fire HD and e-copy of PLASTER CITY!)

Continue reading →

After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman

After I'm Gone

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After I’m Gone

Felix Brewer is a man with a plan- he has big dreams. Wants to have a fancy house, money and security, all the creature comforts of life. Felix is not afraid of hard work- he’s also not afraid of breaking the law and bending the rules to get ahead in life. When Felix meets Bambi- there is an instant attraction. Bambi is Felix’s idea of a perfect woman- cultured and beautiful.

Felix not only has no problem bending the law for his own gain, he also does not have a problem breaking his vows- which he does with his mistress, Julie. When the law finally catches up to Felix, he does what a man with shady business connections does- he takes the money and runs- leaving behind, Bambi, his 3 daughters and Julie. 5 women- 5 women whose lives were irrevocably changed after Felix left. Bambi also feels that Julie knew more than what she let on- and resentment builds. 10 years after Felix disappears, Julie leaves- most think to join Felix in the new life he’s made. Until Julie’s remains are found- which shines a spotlight on the day that Julie disappears.

Enter Roberto “Sandy” Sanchez- former police officer- now he works on cold cases- he has a good track record following up with the clues and finding justice- even after everyone else has given up. When Sandy begins to search for clues about Julie’s disappearance- the trail twists and turns along with Felix’s disappearance and life of crime. Felix’s daughters and his wife, Bambi, all have reason for Julie to disappear. But, years later, would any of them had the ability to make this happen? Or is there more to this story than meets the eye?

Sandy knows the truth is out there. And he knows he’s the person to find out the answers.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This was my first Laura Lippman novel- and I thoroughly enjoyed AFTER I’M GONE. A man disappears, his mistress disappears 10 years later- common sense tells you the 2 are together. But common sense meet Laura Lippman- she takes a story that has been told before- and creates a story with intrigue and mystery- a story that the reader will devour.

AFTER I’M GONE is told in “current time” and flashback tales- with clues and suspects littered throughout the story. The story, while the main focus is on what happened to Julie, the subplots of how Felix came to disappear and how life without Felix shaped the women he loves lives without him make for a great addition to the storyline. As the reader follows the clues with Sandy- they must question everyone and everything.

Recommended.

 

*This book, AFTER I’M GONE, was sent to Traveling With T by William-Morrow Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

T Traveling With T pic sign off

Hunted by Elizabeth Heiter

hunted fb

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

Hunted

Evelyn Baine is criminal profiler with the FBI. Evelyn has wanted to work with the FBI for many years- and her star is rising and she’s making quite a reputation for herself. When called in to profile the Bakersville Burier, Evelyn knows she must work hard to create a profile before too many innocent people are killed. What Evelyn does not count on is how the Bakersville Burier will change her life- and how deeply it will affect her. Continue reading →

The Tulip Eaters by Antoinette van Heugten (+ giveaway)

The Tulip Eaters FB

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

This book was sent to Traveling With T in exchange for a fair and honest review.

 

The Tulip Eaters

It’s a regular day for Nora. Work and then going home to see her mother and her sweet baby, Rose. Until Nora gets home to the worst nightmare she’s ever experienced. Her mother, shot in the head. And a strange man, dead. Both of those incidents are alarming enough- but even more- where is the baby? Did someone kidnap the baby while her mother was being killed? Are the 2 incidents connected?

Nora, frantic with worry about her baby, only knows that she must find her child. Her life is not worth living if she cannot find her child. As Nora is packing some things of her mother’s away- she finds a metal box. And the box changes everything that Nora knows about her parents. Nora finds out a deep secret- a secret that she never wanted to know. Slowly, Nora begins to realize that the murder of her mother and the kidnapping of her daughter are linked- and have to do with the past, with a life before Nora.

Nora boards a plane to Amsterdam, to find answers to the questions she found in Houston, TX in a metal box. To find out if her parents were what the secrets in the box suggest. Once in Amsterdam- Nora finds out that there are people there- people in high places- who will go to incredible lengths to keep Nora from her daughter- all in part of a payback for the acts Nora’s parents committed against them. Can Nora find out what happened in Amsterdam years ago? Can Nora find her daughter? And will Nora’s former lover, Nico, help her or break her heart again?

Secrets, lies, and betrayal- Amsterdam is filled with those 3 things. Nora must solve the mystery to find out why her daughter was kidnapped, to even have a chance of finding Rose.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts

This is my first Antoinette V. Heugten book and I enjoyed this story. The reader knows pretty quickly why Nora’s mother was murdered- what her secret is. But, as the reader joins Nora- the reader finds that while some fairly key information was revealed in the first 100+ pages- not all was revealed- and that’s why you keep turning the pages.

There are a few twists- some are slightly predictable, some are not. There are a few things about this book that the reader can nitpick- timing of some scenes- but for the most part- enjoyable.

Some of the characters are not as well-drawn out as the others or perhaps the characters that are more memorable to me had evil personalities which added an extra layer.

This story has themes of betrayal, secrets and lies- but wove throughout is a theme of forgiveness. Forgiveness and understanding for yourself, for others.

 

 

*This book was sent to Traveling With T from a publicist in exchange for a fair and honest review. Above thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

 

 

Giveaway details:

Check the Rafflecopter Link for 1 copy of The Tulip Eaters (US only!) Giveaway runs from 1-8/1-14.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T Traveling With T pic sign off

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

river road

Photo Credit: Goodreads

This book was sent to Traveling With T by Putnam Books.

River Road by Jayne Ann Krentz

13 years ago, Lucy Sullivan was saved from a night of horrors by a guardian angel, Mason Fletcher. Lucy, embarrassed about being taken away from the party- especially by the boy she has a crush on, is not aware of the near danger she was in.  Mason, seeing Lucy as a kid, just knows he needed to save her from what evils were planned for the night. After Lucy is safe at home, Mason goes back to the party- where a confrontation with the ring-leader of danger, Tristan Brinker, happens. Within a few days of the party- Brinker is missing- presumed dead due to a drug deal gone bad.

13 years later, Lucy- grown up, more confident,  and contented with her job as a forensic genealogist, returns to Summer River. Her return is about her Aunt Sara, who has recently died with her friend Mary in a car crash. Lucy and Mason see each other when she returns- and there is a spark- Lucy is not the kid she once was and Mason’s charms have developed with age nicely. The first night back in town for Lucy does not end well- she and Mason discover a body in the fireplace of Sara’s house- a fireplace that was shoddily covered up. Did Sara kill a man? And could this man be Brinker?

Lucy is determined to get to the bottom of the situation. And the deeper she digs, the more she finds out that everything has it’s roots in that night 13 years ago. With Mason’s help, Lucy is able to start putting pieces together- and even begins to question the car crash of Sara and Mary’s.

Danger, drugs, romance, suspense, and wine country- all combine to create a story that is fast paced and worth a read.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

This is my first Jayne Ann Krentz book- and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. With the roots of the story happening in a party in town- and secrets, sins and blackmail happening over a course of 13 years- most of the characters have a reason to be a suspect. Slowly, though, the reader begins to understand that there is more to the story than meets the eye. The romance between Lucy and Mason is enjoyable- and the mystery is also good.

If you are looking for a book with equal parts romance and suspense- I’m recommending Broken Road by Jayne Ann Krentz.

*This book was provided to Traveling With T by Putnam Books in exchange for a fair and honest review. All above thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

T Traveling With T pic sign off

Giveaway: The Night is Forever by Heather Graham

the night is forever

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

Thanks to Harlequin books, I have a copy of The Night is Forever to give away to a lucky commenter!

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads:

What happened here, on a historic ranch outside Nashville, during the Civil War? And what’s happening now?

Olivia Gordon works at the Horse Farm, a facility that assists patients with mental and physical recovery; her specialty is animal therapy. She’s always loved her job, always felt safe ;until now.

People are dying, starting with the facility’s founder, whose body is discovered in a ravine on the property and site of a massacre in 1862. And before every death, Liv sees a horse and rider, wearing a soldier’s garb, in the night sky. Warning? Omen? Or clue?

Liv calls in her cousin Malachi and his Krewe, an FBI unit of paranormal investigators, to discover the truth. New Krewe member Dustin Blake knows they need Liv’s involvement in the case, yet he’s worried about her safety. Because he and Liv quickly become more than colleagues and he doesn’t want to lose her to the endless night.

Want to win this book? Comment below (please leave your email- you may use the AT and DOT). The giveaway runs from October 25th-October 30th at 11:59pmEST. Winner will be announced October 31st. Giveaway is open to US/Canada!

Inherit the Dead- Twenty Thrilling Writers, 1 Chilling Mystery

inherit the dead

Photo Credit: Goodreads

 

Inherit the Dead is a collaborative effort amongst 20 great and fantastic mystery writers in their own right. They teamed up to write this book to help benefit the group Safe Horizon– a victim assistance agency that provides a multitude of options and support for victims of various crimes.

With each author writing a chapter, one might wonder if the book flows nicely- and I’m here to say, it does. The mystery is good, the plot interesting. Some chapters are a bit better than others- but that’s just my opinion. Overall, a good book to read for mystery/crime buffs.

Inherit The Dead

Meet Perry Christo- a PI that has a checkered past. Once a police officer, until he was forced to retire- Perry is a broken man. Perry’s job was part of his identity- and being accused of being a dirty cop is something that haunts him daily.  He laments about the loss of his marriage and daughter, the loss of his former job as a police officer- and often wonders how things could have been different.

Perry has been hired to find a girl. A daughter of a wealthy woman, Julia Drusilla, is looking for her daughter, Angelina. Angelina or Angel as she likes to be called- is almost 21, a fun and spirited woman- and has a difficult relationship with her mother. Her mom wants her found because on her 21st birthday, Angel will inherit a great deal of money- but only if she signs on her 21st birthday. Perry is a bit skeptical about Julia- but he decides to help her find Angel.

The search for Angel is not going to be easy, though. Her father hasn’t seen her and is not worried, her best friend doesn’t want to help Perry and Angel’s lover is 10 kinds of shady.  When Perry finds out information about the last night anyone saw Angel, his feelings of dread rise- as Perry thinks that someone might have been stalking Angel. The question is- who? And why? Because she was about to inherit a great sum of money? An inheritance that no one is supposed to know about? Or did Angel make an enemy that had nothing to do with her inheritance?

Perry is not sure who to trust. Or where to look. He only knows that finding Angel is his top priority- he feels that this girl needs him. Even though she’s had a life of privilege, she’s in trouble. Can Perry find Angel? Will Angel inherit the money? Or has Angel’s fate been determined before Perry was hired?

A twist and turn of a tale- mystery and suspense- some family drama, some police procedure- all creates a story that is sure to entertain.

 

Traveling With T’s Thoughts

Entertaining. Enjoyable. At first, I was unsure how 1 book written by 20 authors was going to work- would the story flow? Would it be enjoyable?  Yes and Yes. While some chapters, in my opinion, are better than others- overall, the book is a nice piece of work. The plot and the characters are thought-out, the ending is fast  and intense- and there are enough clues and red-herrings dropped through-out the book to entice a reader and keep them guessing.

 

*This book was sent to me by Touchstone Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.