Digital Book Today: Weekly Featured Great Reads

Digital Book Today's Weekly Featured Great Reads:

• WHISPER CAPE by Regan Walsh
• MADNESS AND MURDER by Jenny Hilborne
• TALION by Mary Maddox
• SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE by Libby Fischer Hellmann
• NIGHT GAME by Carol Davis Luce
• TROLL OR DERBY, A FAIRY WICKED TALE by Red Tash
• SLEIGHT MALICE by Vicki Tyley
• SANDMAN by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

FREE AT KOBO: Two Birds - A Short Mystery

Looking for a quick read? My short mystery TWO BIRDS is now free at Kobo:

Kristine Abbey lies unconscious and bleeding on her kitchen floor. Crouched next to her with his hands clamped over the knife wound in her abdomen, her husband, Daniel, screams at the couple’s sister-in-law – and his ex-mistress – rooted in the doorway. Time slips away…

3,300 words

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OUT NOW: Bitter Nothings by Vicki Tyley

I’m thrilled to announce the release of my latest mystery, BITTER NOTHINGS:

Melbourne-based graphic designer Dervla Johns' life is turned upside down when her brothers, Emmet and Gabe, turn up on her doorstep with the horrific news that their stepmother, Lucinda, and their half-sister and half-brother have been murdered – shot dead in their beds. Her father, Warren, has vanished, and the police have him in their sights as prime suspect. Dervla refuses to believe it. That's until he turns up dead in his car on an isolated bush track, the weapon by his side. Mix in a dysfunctional family and a friend with an abusive husband and the lines start to blur…

AVAILABLE FROM:

AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | BARNES & NOBLE | KOBO | SMASHWORDS

On My Bookshelf: Seven Bones by Peter Seymour and Jason K Foster

Seven Bones by Peter Seymour and Jason K Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when both my wives end up deceased.” – Seven Bones

Australian Thomas Andrew Keir was acquitted of murdering his second wife, and his conviction for killing his first wife was twice overturned.

This is a case I’ve followed over the years, even to the extent of reading court transcripts, so I was more than a little interested in reading this book, especially as it’s told from the viewpoint of one of the detectives involved in the case, Peter Seymour.

The prologue wasn’t quite as strong as it could have been. For example, I find it hard to imagine a psychopath like Keir thinking “dammit” when the phone goes in the middle of burying his wife. However, the rest of the book made for compelling reading and gave invaluable insight into an intriguing case. If it weren't for the perseverance of a dedicated police officer, Keir would have got away with not just one but two murders.

The book also has a wonderful Aussie flavour. Blokes and mates abound.

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Fatal Liaison a Best Indie Books of 2012 Semifinalist

Exciting news: Fatal Liaison made the semifinals cut at The Kindle Book Review's BEST INDIE BOOKS OF 2012 contest.

I'm thrilled and honoured to be joining such writers as R S Guthrie, Jennifer Chase and Toni Dwiggins. Check out the full list here.

On My Bookshelf: The Merry-Go-Round by Donna Fasano

The Merry-Go-Round by Donna Fasano
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“The merry-go-round was traveling in reverse. The horses, tigers, bears, zebras were all circling tail-end first as if competing in some bizarre, backward race.” – The Merry-Go-Round

Thirty-eight-year-old lawyer Lauren Flynn harbours a lot of resentment toward her soon to be ex-husband, Greg. All she wants from him is his signature on the divorce papers. Or at least that’s what she tells herself.

While I didn’t feel that this was a comedy, it was one of the best romances I’ve read in a long time. Engaging story with strong, real people. Lots of sexual tension but no gratuitous sex scenes. Balanced pacing with no flat spots.

I didn’t warm to Lauren straight away, but the more I got to know her, the more she grew on me. In the beginning, she came across as quite hard and bitter, but I soon discovered that was only a veneer and brittle at that.

Highly recommended.

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On My Bookshelf: With Full Malice by Brenda Hill

With Full Malice by Brenda Hill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“She aimed for his heart and pulled the trigger. Blood sprayed from a blackened hole in his shirt and he staggered backward. The pistol recoiled, but she stepped forward and fired a second time, knocking him off his feet. Bending over his sprawled form, she fired again, putting a round through his temple.” – With Full Malice

This is the second Brenda Hill novel I’ve read. I enjoyed this one even more – it’s not quite as intense as Ten Times Guilty and the reading is effortless, the writing more assured.

Hill’s strength is her character development. The author explains it best when she says she writes about women in crisis, celebrating the inner strength women sometimes forget they possess. And it’s this growth that we see with Maddy Young, haunted by the murder of her parents when she was only six years old and the promise the killer made to return for her. I cared as much for Maddy as her grandmother and Detective Dexter Quinn did.

If you’re looking for a fast, easy read that packs a punch, then I highly recommend With Full Malice.

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