The Hitcher

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!!

Book Tour Hosted by Silver Dagger Book Tours

Thank you to author Ditter Kellen for the gifted copy of this book and thank you to Silver Dagger Book Tours for allowing me to be part of this tour. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Synopsis

Five bodies. One serial killer. And a terrified woman’s will to survive…

Tina Duggar lives a quiet life in Bay County, Florida, working for animal control and spending time with her significant other, Investigator Mike Parker.
But a road trip with two of her closest friends takes a deadly turn after they pick up a mysterious blue-eyed hitcher…and Tina’s life is suddenly shattered.
Her fun outing turns into a bloodbath as the hitcher begins brutally slaughtering innocent girls along the interstate, forcing Tina to watch.
Saving her for last…
With her time running out and the police, the FBI, and even Mike himself desperately searching for her, Tina is forced into a terrifying game of wits with one of the most horrific serial killers Florida has seen since Bundy.
But will she survive the twisted mind of… the hitcher?

* * * * * Warning * * * * *

This book contains scenes that some might find difficult to read. Purchase with caution.

Review

I was really excited to read this book after I found out it was a psychological thriller. The synopsis sounded good and this was a never before read author, so I thought I would take a chance on the book. While this book was a good read, it was not the psychological thriller I thought it would be. For me, the storyline was good, but I was not hanging on every word trying to figure out what would happen next. I did not feel uncomfortable when I read it, nor did I check my door locks to make sure I was safe (yes, I sometimes do this if the psychological suspense is that good!). The storyline was good, I just felt like the story was predictable and there was not enough psychological suspense for me. Once the first three murders happened, I felt like I could guess the rest of the book. I am sad that this did not turn out to be the book I thought it would be, however, I am glad that I discovered a new author, Ditter Kellen. While this book did not do it for me, I still am excited to read some of her other books! Even though I did not like the way the book was written, I still encourage you to pick up the book. Everyone reads books differently, and maybe this was not the book for me, but it could be the book for you!!!

Rating

Meet the Author

Ditter Kellen is the USA Today Bestselling Author of Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Crime Fiction Novels. She loves spinning edgy, heart-pounding mysteries that will leave you guessing until the very end. That includes psychological thrillers with a touch of horror, as well as family drama laced with murder and jaw dropping scenes, some might find difficult to read.

​Ditter resides in Alabama with her husband and many unique farm animals. She adores French fries and her phone is permanently attached to her ear.

Author Links

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Giveaway

Click on the Amazon Gift Card and scroll to bottom of page to enter!!

The Apartment

Thank you NetGalley, and K.L. Slater for the gifted copy of The Apartment.

Synopsis

It’s an opportunity she can’t refuse. The woman before her tried…

Meet Freya Miller. She needs a miracle. Her husband betrayed her. She is about to lose her family home. And her 5-year-old daughter, Skye, will lose the security she has always know. Freya doesn’t know what she is going to do, that is until she met Dr. Marsden in a coffee shop. He is looking for a new tenant in a fashionable area of London. But the best part is, the apartment is shockingly affordable. To Freya, the Addler House sounds too good to be true…but Freya really doesn’t have any other choices and plus Dr. Marsden is adamant that she and Skye will be a perfect fit with the other residents in the home.

Meet the Addler House. The Addler House has secrets. And Freya, she feels like she is being watched…even with her door being locked. A short time after moving in, objects begin moving, there are strange, unfamiliar smells in the apartment, and then there is that blinking light of a concealed camera. Is Freya dream home hiding a nightmarish reality? Was it chance that let Freya and Skye to the Addler house or was it something much more sinister and dark?

As pieces start clicking into place, and as the truth slowly comes out about The Addler House, can Freya and Skye get out or will they be locked in The Addler House forever?

Review

K.L. Slater is a new to me author and this is the first book of her’s that I have read. I thought, overall, the story was good. The book was well written and the characters were immediately likable. Honestly for me, it was the characters that kept me reading. While the story was interesting, I felt like the idea of taking an apartment with no questions asked and the idea that the apartment would only cost what you can afford seems too far fetched to me. Once I got past that part of the plot, the psychological part of this book was intriguing. Like Freya, I too could not figure out what was going on and who to trust and who not to trust. The biggest thing that I did not like about the psychological part of the book was that it was wrapped up way to fast for my liking. I did not feel like there was enough suspense, nor was there enough “start and restarts” of trying to figure out the “who done it.” Once things had started to unravel it was like that was the end of the story and it was finished up quick. I wish it would have been a little more drawn out. Over all this book was good and I would choose to pick up another book of K.L. Slater‘s.

Rating

About the Author

My writing journey . . .

After years of trying to get published and never getting further than the slush pile, I went back to university at the age of 40 where I gained  a first-class honours degree in English & Creative Writing and an MA in Creative Writing with distinction.

Although I also had a day job during the five years I studied at university, the courses gave me the time and space to try different writing and increased my confidence and belief in my writing. Before I graduated from my MA, I had secured representation at the Darley Anderson Literacy, TV and Film Agency who got me my first book deal. My literary agent is Camilla Bolton.

My first adult psychological thriller for Bookouture, ‘Safe with Me’,  actually started life as my dissertation on my English & Creative Writing degree in 2010.

The creepy voice of Anna came to me strong and insistent . . . she wanted to be written, she wouldn’t go away. I’m so glad I listened!

I first became published writing Young Adult fiction for Macmillan Children’s Books under the name Kim Slater. My award-winning YA debut, SMART, started life as a short story for my MA in Creative Writing in 2012.

I am now a full-time writer. I have a daughter and two stepsons and live with my husband in Nottingham and Yorkshire.

The Family Upstairs

This month I had the pleasure of participating in a buddy read with We Be Book’N. This book club gets me into so much trouble…turning me on to new books to read and sucking me in to buddy reads, but I would not have it any other way!!! 🙂

Synopsis

In The Family Upstairs, the master of “bone-chilling suspense” (People) brings us the can’t-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets. 

Goodreads.com Synopsis of The Family Upstairs

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone.

Meet Libby Jones. Adopted as a young child, Libby has always wondered who she is. Days after her 25th birthday, Libby receives a letter in the mail that she has been waiting for her entire life. The letter not only tells her the identity of her birth parents, but also tells her that she has inherited her parent’s abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames Rive. The home is worth millions!!! Everything in Libby’s life is about to change. Little does she know that others have been waiting this day as well…

Review

The only way to describe this book is weird…the kind of weird that you can’t keep but reading!! This is the first book that I have read by Lisa Jewell, even though I have several of her books on my shelves! And while weird, this book did not disappoint! When I first started reading this book, I thought it was going to be a nice story about Libby and her inherited home and how she fixes it up (I have a bad or good habit of not reading the synopsis of a book before I read it). Boy was I wrong!! This book flips back and forth between the present and 25 years ago. It describes Libby’s life now, but also the disturbing life going on at 16 Cheyne Walk. As I read the descriptions of the lives that were being lived at 16 Cheyne Walk, I was in awe and a little mad about what was happening at the home. I was frustrated with the things that the kids in the house were going through (enter my social work background). This book was like an accident scene…you know, the kind that you know you should look away from, but at the same time, can’t bear to turn away form. Lisa Jewel tells a fantastically haunting story that captured me early on. The story was intriguing and you could not help wondering what was going to happen next. Lisa Jewel‘s writing is wonderfully descriptive and I could imagine the home and the experiences in my mind’s eye. This book was full of suspense and mystery that kept me guessing to the very end. The only thing about this book that I didn’t like was that it wrapped up too quickly…I felt there was more story to tell and more to wrap up. This book left me wishing for more!!

I am so glad that I finally read a book by Lisa Jewell. I am also glad that I read this book as a buddy read as we all had fun sharing our theories of what was happening in the book. It was wonderful to be able to share frustrations with the book and know I was not the only one feeling that way!!! Lisa Jewel is definitely on my list of authors to continue to read. I am excited to get my hands on the other books that she has written!!!

Rating

About the Author

Lisa was born in London in 1968. Her mother was a secretary and her father was a textile agent and she was brought up in the northernmost reaches of London with her two younger sisters. She was educated at a Catholic girls’ Grammar school in Finchley. After leaving school at sixteen she spent two years at Barnet College doing an arts foundation course and then two years at Epsom School of Art & Design studying Fashion Illustration and Communication.

She worked for the fashion chain Warehouse for three years as a PR assistant and then for Thomas Pink, the Jermyn Street shirt company for four years as a receptionist and PA. She started her first novel, Ralph’s Party, for a bet in 1996. She finished it in 1997 and it was published by Penguin books in May 1998. It went on to become the best-selling debut novel of that year.

She has since written a further nine novels, as is currently at work on her eleventh.

She now lives in an innermost part of north London with her husband Jascha, an IT consultant, her daughters, Amelie and Evie and her silver tabbies, Jack and Milly.

No Exit

I am in a book club on Facebook called We Be Book’N. One of the Buddy Reads this month was the book No Exit. This book had been sitting on my shelf for a while and I had been hearing good things, so I jumped into the Buddy Read.

Synopsis

A kidnapped little girl locked in a stranger’s van. No help for miles. What would you do?

Meet Darby Thorne. A college student in Colorado, she leaves school to travel to Utah to see her dying mother. Darby is trying to beat the blizzard that is on its way, but unfortunately the blizzard is upon her faster than she predicted. With the roads becoming impassable, Darby is forced to pull over at a remote highway rest stop to wait out the storm. Darby enters the rest stop and finds 4 complete strangers.

All Darby knows about her mom is that she is “okay.” Desperate to call home, Darby struggles to find a signal. In her search, Darby makes a horrifying discovery. In the van parked next to her car is a little girl locked in an animal crate! At first Darby believes that she is just seeing things, but then her mind goes into overdrive…who is the child? Why has she been taken? How can she save the little girl?

In her struggle to save the little girl, Darby must figure out which one of the strangers is the kidnapper. Darby needs to save her life and the little girl’s, but the question is Who Can She Trust?

Review

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Taylor Adams is a stellar writer! They weren’t kidding when they said he “diabolically ratchets up the tension with every page.” This was a book that was FANTASTIC from start to finish. This book pulled me in at page one and I could not put it down until I finished. Each time I thought I had figured out who the kidnapper was and how Darcy was going to save herself and the little girl, Taylor Adams would throw a wrench in my predictions taking the tension up notch after notch until I could not turn the pages fast enough!! There were so many twist and turns to this book that definitely left me on the edge of my seat. Taylor Adams writes in such a way that allows you to feel the stress of the situation and the stress of the characters. In addition, there were places in the book where I felt myself holding my breath wondering what turn the story would take next. This book was incredible! I cannot recommend it enough!!!

Rating

About the Author

Taylor Adams directed the acclaimed short film And I Feel Fine in 2008 and graduated from Eastern Washington University with the Excellence in Screenwriting Award and the prestigious Edmund G. Yarwood Award. His directorial work has screened at the Seattle True Independent Film Festival and his writing has been featured on KAYU-TV’s Fox Life blog. He has worked in the film/television industry for several years and lives in Washington state.

Adams is the author of EYESHOT, OUR LAST NIGHT, and NO EXIT, published by Joffe Books (http://www.joffebooks.com/).

Author Bio taken from https://tayloradamsauthor.com/

Book Spotlight: Little Lovely Things

Check out Little Lovely Things written by Maureen Joyce Connolly!!

Published April 2, 2019!!

Synopsis

Meet Claire Rawlings. She chose the wrong time to get sick. While on the highway, on her way to drop off the kids at daycare so she can get to work as a medical resident, Claire does not have time for the nausea that is beginning to overtake her. Getting more nauseated by the minute, Claire’s world suddenly turns sideways causing her to stop at a gas station, run to the bathroom and pass out. While this is alarming in itself, Claire’s two young daughters are sleeping in the back seat of the car when Claire passes out. Claire wakes up just a few minutes later, but her car and THE KIDS are gone!!!

The police are called, but they have no leads as to who took Claire’s daughters let alone where they could be. As each hour, then day passes with no word on the girls, guilt presses down on Claire. While feeling guilty about her missing children, Claire tries to hold onto her strained marriage.

But then, a witness comes forward…a potentially unreliable witness. But Claire clings to the hope that her daughters are out there somewhere and this man may know where.

Taken from the book jacket itself: “Little Lovely Things is the story of a family shattered by unthinkable tragedy, and the unexpected intersection of heartbreak and hope.”

Where to Buy…

You can buy the book now at these following places…

Amazon

Barnes and Nobel

Books-A-Million

Indiebound

Or purchase an audio version to listen to in the car…

Audible

Google Play

audiobooks.com

I really hope you enjoy this read (or listen)!!!

Travels of Quinn

This month, I had the pleasure of working with the Cozy Mystery Review Crew to read and review the book Travels of Quinn by Sasscer Hill.

Synopsis

Meet Quinn who was born an Irish American Traveller gypsy. Raised by her father and step-family, Quinn was trained from an early age to be a con artist. During one of her cons, things go awry and Quinn is arrested for attempted robbery. Quinn is sentenced to pay restitution working on a horse farm, which Quinn surprisingly loves as she falls in love with each of the horses.

Then one day, the farm’s owner is brutally murdered and Quinn becomes the prime suspect in that murder. Quinn goes on the run and uses every scam and con she knows to not only save herself but prove her innocence. Can Quinn figure out the real murder before she goes to prison for life for a murder she did not commit or will she be murdered herself because she knows too much?

Review

For some reason, I have always had a fascination with gypsies. I am not sure if it is because of all the stories that I have heard about them or if it is because there are so many different types of gypsies with their own life styles and customs. Whatever the reason, when I read the synopsis of this book, I knew I just had to read it! And let me tell you, Sasscer Hill’s book did not disappoint!!

From page one, Sasscer Hill’s writing pulled me right in! The descriptions of Quinn and her family had me turning pages to see what kind of con they would pull next!! Then, Quinn is caught in the act of stealing and the story completely changed. It captured me into a murder mystery that kept me guessing at every page! I thought I had figured out what had happened early on, but each time I thought I had the entire mystery figured out, a new piece of the story was introduced and all my theories about what had happened went POOF! I enjoyed every minute of this book, and had a hard time putting it down, which is probably why I finished the book in 2 days!!!

I must admit that I a so glad that I found this book and author, however I am disappointed that there is not another book about Quinn. I am hoping that Sasscer Hill writes more books about Quinn, but for now, I will settle reading some of her other books (which I am sure will be just as good as this one)!! I am so glad to have discovered this author.

Rating

You Kill Me

I again had the pleasure of partnering with Goddess Fish Promotions for a book review of You Kill Me by Holly LeRoy. I, as much as the next person love a good “police solving a crime” book and this one did not disappoint.

Synopsis

Eve Sharpe is a Lieutenant for the Chicago Police Department. During her time on the force she has been known for her toughness. While investigating a case, Eve takes a lot of hits that begin to make her second guess her toughness and that also make her lose her edge. With her career crashing down around her, Eve begins to wonder if the press and politicians are right…that she is a cold blooded killer or if she is just losing her mind. As Eve is put on administrative leave, she continues to wonder if this is an officer involved shooting that was a “good shoot” gone wrong and therefore an honest mistake or if it is something much more terrible.

Review

I must say, Holly LeRoy did not disappoint with this book!! From page 1, I was hooked!! Holly LeRoy wrote a suspenseful, intriguing book with surprises at every turn. For me, I never knew what was going to happen in the story or to Eve next! This book really kept me guessing! This book was full of excitement and suspense which kept me on my toes throughout the pages. While Eve is a fictional character, the way Holly LeRoy wrote about her really made me feel for her and with every blow that she took, I felt I was taking the blow with her. I questioned her sanity with her. I felt her disappointment and her frustration. And I was really mad, with Eve, at all the people who knew her for so long and did not believe in her as a cop. I must say I was really angry for Eve throughout most of the book! Overall I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to pick up another book about Eve Sharp!!

Excerpt

It only took a couple of minutes to get to the scene. The Chicago Grand Hotel sat half a block from the Mag Mile near the museum. Built in the 1890’s it was restored in 2001, covered in glitzy looking polished brass and white marble. Even though it usually gleamed in the daytime, the sleet sweeping in off the lake made it looked gray and blocky, more like a Soviet prison. In front, a garish, fully involved crime scene revealed itself in stark contrast.   Flashing blue lights, yellow tape, a couple of cruisers. Uniforms directing traffic. Battery operated lights blasted through the snow swirls, lighting up the scene like a movie set.

I headed over to the body while Walt went to talk to the first on the scene. The ME, a photographer, and a tech crouched over the dead girl while a couple of other uniforms erected a blue plastic tent in an effort to shelter the body from gawkers. I touched the ME on the shoulder and Harold Slezak glanced up at me. “One of yours?” he said and turned the girl’s face to the light.

I knelt and felt my stomach lurch as I looked down. A deep, bloody skull depression on her forehead, her arms were twisted around the wrong way and zip-tied at the wrist. Yellow bile stained her pink sweatshirt.

“Yes. It’s Debi Miller.”

Her blue eyes open, flecks of snow had begun to stick to her face. She was already starting to freeze.

Rating

Viable Hostage

I again had the pleasure of working with Goddess Fish Promotions for this book review. I must honestly admit that I had never heard of Audrey J. Cole before doing this book review, even though it says clear as day that she is a USA Today Best Selling Author. I was excited to get introduced to a new author and well as a story that sounded very intriguing.

Synopsis

Malorie’s best friend is missing, but no one seems concerned about the wayward medical student’s mysterious disappearance—until another student’s partial remains wash ashore a Seattle beach… 

When Malorie witnesses her best friend and roommate leave a campus bar with a mystery date driving a silver Mercedes, she suspects foul play, especially when Lani fails to return home the next day. Both women, med students in their final year at Elliott Bay University, have a lot riding on the line, but due to Lani’s wild past, no one in her family is worried. When Malorie’s fears for her roommate deepen, she turns to her Uncle Wade, a Sergeant at Seattle Homicide. 

Within 48 hours after Lani goes missing, the partial remains of a brutally murdered young woman wash up on Alki Beach, and a human hand is found in a crab pot off Bainbridge Island. When one of the bodies is identified as a pregnant, fourth-year medical student, Wade believes there’s a connection with Lani’s disappearance. And, that they might be looking for a serial killer. 

Malorie suspects Lani’s kidnapper is someone they know, possibly even one of their professors at the university, a prominent Seattle anesthesiologist whose wife is the president of EBU. But when Detective Blake Stephenson discovers evidence that links another suspect to the professor’s Mercedes, he and Wade must act fast to attempt a wild rescue in the middle of Puget Sound.

Review

This book was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Audrey J. Cole’s writing captured me from the first page and held my attention until the last page. I hated that I could not read this book all in one sitting. Every time I had a minute I would pick up this book and ready. Audrey J. Cole also did a fantastic job in keeping you guessing throughout the story. I thought I knew from early on, what was happening, and the ending shocked me! It was not at all what I expected. Audrey J. Cole writes in wonderfully descriptive sentences that leave you wanting to read more. You feel like you are in the story and experiencing what the characters are experiencing. I even found myself imaging that I was one of the characters in this story as that is how real it felt. While I had never heard of Audrey J. Cole before reading this fantastic book, I certainly will not forget her name now, and will for sure be picking up more of her books!!!

Rating

This was for sure a 5 compass + read!!

Excerpt

There was something evil in the way he had looked at her. He was dangerous. Psychotic. Malorie could see it in his eyes. Those cold, dark eyes. He was chasing her.

Malorie ran faster, with so much adrenaline she didn’t feel the ache in her legs or the burn in her lungs as she gasped for air. She could feel him getting closer. Hear the sound of his boots scrape against the pavement behind her. He’s going to kill me.

She felt him close in behind her. A sharp pain ripped through her arm as he grabbed her and drew her close to him with tremendous strength. Malorie opened her mouth to scream as she was awakened by the sound of her alarm.

She wasn’t being chased. She was in Lani’s room. She sat up in her roommate’s bed, sweating through her t-shirt and breathing hard.

She silenced her alarm, flooded simultaneously with relief that it was just a dream and the familiar dread that her best friend was missing and possibly never coming back.

Giveaway!!!!!

Audrey J. Cole will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click HERE to enter!!!