Blood of Saints

In Maegan Beaumont's Blood of Saints, the 4th installment in the Sabrina Vaughn thriller series, she delivered us a powerful and most disturbing psychological thriller that would blow your mind. For Sabrina Vaughn, who was formally known as Melissa Walker twenty years ago, when she was tortured, raped and presumably killed by her half-brother Wade, she lived in hiding with her own small family. But when trouble knocked on her doorstep, they needed her to come out and help the FBI stop a serial killer. Posing as a FBI agent as Clare Vance, she needed to rediscover the connect to her past and connect us to the people she used to known. While she heard her brother's voice in her head, she would have to weave through the evidence and find out who's following iin Wade's footsteps. The closer she get to the truth, she would have to fight to save her other life in order to get back home.

This was a wild and twisted psychological thriller that will get under your skin. I cared for Sabrina and how she survived by a miracle by her own half-brother. I also cared for Michael and became curious about Courtney Church as well. I loved the dual locations of Arizona and Montana, which were two different settings with vivid scenes to set the storyline. This would make your skin crawl and break into a cold sweat with drama, suspense, intrigue and non-stop action with a hint of mystery.

Will you stop the blood of saints?

How to Tame a Duke

In Juliana Gray's How to Tame Your Duke, the first installment in the Princess in Hiding historical romance series, she delivered a powerful knockout punch in this novel. For Princess Emilie, she's always looking for adventure. But when danger threatens her family from Germany, she took refuge and went into hiding, disguising herself as a male tutor for the Duke of Ashland's teenage son. As she transformed herself, she came to know about Ashland's family and to know the man herself better. When she was mistaken for a woman of the night at a hotel, she got to know him more intimately. For the Duke himself, a former soldier disfigured and with one hand from the war, he fell in love with Emilie until her true identity exposed herself. Until he can profess his feelings for her, he had to put away the demons from his past in order to have a future for himself and Emilie.

This was a wonderful historical romance novel. I fell in love with Emilie's story about how she had to go undercover and protected her true identity. I cared for Ashland, when he thawed out and became whole again, while he searched for answers in the past. I adored Freddie as well. I loved the London and Yorkshire dual scenes and vivid locations for the settings to put us right there. This had a bit of diversity, since Ashland's scarred, disfigured and missing a hand. This would take you into a heartfelt journey with drama, tons of romance, intrigue and non-stop action.


Will you be taming a duke today?

Arsenic with Austen

In Katherine Bolger Hyde's Arsenic with Austen, the first installment with the Crime with the Classics  mystery series, you'll sink into this mystery with a twist. When Emily Cavanaugh inherits her great-aunt's property inheritance, she didn't know what she had gotten herself into. She travels to Stony Beach to help take care of her late Aunt Beatrice's affairs. Little did she know, she would deal with a conniving mayor, a real estate agent and a distant cousin. She also came across her high school boyfriend Luke Richards, who's now a sheriff in the small beachy town. Things do go up in smoke, when people target her and the people closest to her to get to the money. She invested herself into her love of books and the classic Jane Austen series to discover who murdered her aunt and wanted her dead with a shocking twist in the end.

This was a charming mystery debut with a classic-themed twist or two. I cared for Emily, a widow, and a college university, who came into this windfall. I also cared for Katie, Marguerite and Luke, too. I liked how Luke and Emily rekindled their love and aired out their past faults and transgressions. I loved the seashore town of Stony Beach in Oregon with its own picturesque neighborhood. Plus, I adored the love for reading, writing and everything Austen. This would get you hooked in no time with drama, suspense, a hint of romance and non-stop action.

Will you try Arsenic with Austen today?

Murder on the Switzerland Trail

In Mike Befeler's Murder on the Switzerland Trail, he gave us a classic mystery with an intriguing tale. It's June 1919 after the Depression era, Officer Harry McBride and his wife Susan went on a train ride from Boulder to Eldora, Colorado. Along the ride, they were joined by a couple of passengers to took the same trip. At first, it sounded like a fascinated trip to see the scenery, but there was a lot of tension in the area and a lot of gripes for one person named Frederick Hammond, a war veteran who recovered from influenza. There was a lot of swipes at each other and jobs to set him off. At the stop of Eldora, before they returned to Boulder, Frederick was murdered on his way to board the train. Now it was up to Harry to uncover whodunit before they stopped at Boulder. As the only fellow police officer on the job, he made a shocking discovery before the culprit would stop at nothing in the end with a bittersweet ending.

This was a pretty decent mystery in my book, but due to a lot of factual information via the train ride, the murder took place halfway through the novel and not earlier. I did like the scenic route via the train on the Switzerland Trail from Boulder to Eldora, Colorado and the tidbits of historical knowledge thrown in. I liked Harry and most of the characters, though I couldn't stand Professor Sager and Frederick Hammond altogether. This is nice for a light ride from start to finish with a lot of intrigue to suck you in and take you on a ride of your own with drama, tension, and little non-stop action.

Check out Murder on the Switzerland Trail today!

No Game for a Dame

In M Ruth Myers's No Game for a Dame, the first installment in the Maggie Sullivan historical mystery series, we're transferred back in time to hit the easy streets. In Post-Depression era in Ohio, Maggie Sullivan is a private eye and hoping to catch her first case. It all started when someone threatened her in her office and the police have an eye on her. When she worked on a case to help Lewis Throckmorton's nephew, Peter Stowe, who's in a bind, it was up to her to find out what's it all about. As soon as she unraveled the mystery on who was behind the threats for him and even on her, she doesn't break under pressure, even when her first client dumps her. When she believed she had it, she discovered who was behind it, when her life was on the line to fight for her own life.

This was a fantastic historical mystery that took place in 1930s Ohio. This paid homage to hard boiled mysteries from the past decade. I really cared for Maggie and how she made out on her own, when danger darkened her footsteps. I also cared for Flora, Thelma and Peter and a couple of cops. I loved the 1930s Ohio was the idealistic location and settings for this interesting twisted turn for historical mysteries. This would take you back into time, when things weren't so easy and everything was cheaper than a dime with non-stop action, drama, intrigue and suspense.

Will you check out No Game for a Dame today?

Only the Hunted Run

In Neely Tucker's Only the Hunted Run, the third installment in the Sully Carter mystery series, he had interwoven a fascinating mystery with a hint of some historical facts. It all started at the mass shooting at the Capital, when Sully himself encountered a crazy psychopathic who killed the senator who was on the run. Now Sully had an exclusive story as a reporter in Washington D.C., when he had dug up this mass shooter named "Terry Waters" from Oklahoma. In a blink of an eye, they faced each other and had some kind of bond, since they both lost their mothers who were murdered. For Sully, he left his nephew Josh with his friend Alexis, while he took off to Oklahoma to dig up dirt on Waters himself. There, he discovered his true identity and his family life before he left it all behind. When he had uncovered almost everything, he went back to St. Elizabeth's a most notable hospital for the criminal insane to see for himself. But after he had blown his cover, his nemesis had a trick up his own sleeves to make ends meets in an explosive ending.

This was an intriguing and delightful look at journalism at its finest in Washington D.C. We had a closer look at the criminal insane and the judicial system when it comes to mental health. I did care for Sully and his nephew Josh, when Sully had encountered some gruesome acts of violence. I did like the dual locations of Washington D.C. and Oklahoma to show a depicting look at how things were back then and now. This fast-paced mystery will leave you hanging at the edge of your seat with non-stop action, suspense, intrigue and lots of drama on every page.

Will you be ready to read Only the Hunted Run real soon?

Dead`Beat

In Patricia Hall's  Dead Beat, get ready to do the time warp again. Before the Beatles made it big in Liverpool and London in the 1960s, a serial killer had struck the SoHo area with some gruesome deaths. For Kate O'Donnell, a young woman trying to make it as a professional photographer to impress her boss, she was also looking for her brother Thomas who she haven't seen it in years. For DC Harry Barnard, he's looking for a suspect in a line of murders of queers and runaways, while he has his eyes on Kate and Tom. While the both of them looking for answers, they dealt with the taboo  subject of same-sex relationships, corrupt cops and a gangly mobster who might stand in their way. In the end, they came to the shocking truth with a disturbing ending on who it was.

This was a stand out historical mystery to portray how London was back in the day in the 1960s. I really cared for Kate and how she made herself known in the world as a young professional photographer, while she looked for her brother. As for Harry, I thought he was okay who was only doing his job and did nab the right bad guy. I hated how they portrayed queers. I did like the dual locations of Liverpool and London in the 1960s time period for this storyline with crisp settings for the scenery. Great drama, suspense, intrigue, and a lot if intense non-stop action in this moving plot.

Follow the trail of music to the sound of a dead beat today.