Book Review: Murder On Moonshine Hill by Joan C. Curtis

Jenna Scali is back with a new mystery to solve!

In Murder on Moonshine Hill by Joan C. Curtis, Jenna reluctantly accepts to attend a friend's wedding, after coming across a cryptic message tucked inside the invitation. This friend, Marcy, was her best friend when they were younger. They were inseparable but drifted apart after a tragic incident.   The fallout still affected Jenna and if it hadn't been for that message, she would have given the wedding a miss.

Not expecting anything untoward, Jenna along with her good friend Quentin head off to Moonshine Hill.  Upon arriving at the inn, she meets various characters that make up the wedding party. Her reunion with Marcy raises more red flags that Jenna's curiosity is unable to dismiss. A murder sees Marcy being the prime suspect which prompts Jenna to discover the truth.

Murder on Moonshine Hill is a suspenseful, gripping and well-written story. The plot is fast paced, well thought out and will keep you wondering right to the very end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I for one, can't wait to read another Jenna Scali mystery.

Book Review: All We Left Behind by Ingrid Sundberg

When Marion Taylor, the shy bookworm, meets sexy soccer captain Kurt Medford at a party, what seems like a sure thing quickly turns into a total mess. One moment they’re alone in the middle of a lake, igniting sparks of electricity. The next, they’re on dry land, pretending they’ve never met. But rather than the end, that night is the beginning of something real, terrifying, and completely unforgettable for them both.

As Marion and Kurt struggle to build a relationship from the fractured pieces of their pasts, every kiss they share uncovers memories both would rather keep buried. Marion desperately wants to trust Kurt and share the one secret she’s never told anyone—but some truths aren’t meant to be spoken out loud. Kurt is also still haunted by his mother’s death, by the people he hurt, and by the mistakes he can never take back.

Explosive together and hollow apart, Marion and Kurt seem totally wrong for each other—but could they turn out to be more right than they ever thought possible?

All We Left Behind by Ingrid Sundberg is a story about first love, but it is not your traditional love story. This story is gritty and raw. It touches on loss, addiction, abuse.

This is a story about Marion, who is a shy girl and who has a huge secret. Fearing that it would ruin everything if it came out, she has kept it to herself. Not even telling her father or her best friend, Lillith. As her complete opposite, Lillith challenges Marion. She keeps pushing Marion's safe boundaries one of them is to have sex.

When Marion meets the popular soccer captain, Kurt at a party, sparks fly; they have a connection. However, coming from dysfunctional families, they both need to come to terms with the secrets of their past. As the story progresses, you can't help but wonder how the two can move past their personal tragedies  and make their relationship work.

Ingrid Sundberg's writing is detailed and the storyline was engaging. Through her writing, she showed the complications of teenage or first love especially if tragedy is involved. 

Book Review: e-Murderer by Joan C. Curtis

e-Murderer is a psychological suspense thriller, written by award-winning Joan C. Curtis who also wrote The Clock Strikes Midnight. It is a story about Jenna Scali and her determination to find a psychotic killer.

It all starts with a disturbing email. Assuming it was spam, Jenna thought nothing of it, until the news of a murder is published.  With each incoming email, the media report another murder, and it is not long before Jenna comes to the realisation that she is the next victim. She embarks on a sleuthing mission to find the killer before he strikes again.

The story drew me in from the start. Like Jenna, I work in an office and check my emails regularly throughout the day. Just the thought of getting emails which describe a murder, is chilling and nerve-wracking.

I thought I had figured out who the killer was. But as the story progressed, the tension and danger also intensified. Some of the other characters started to come across as guilty and this challenged my theory, keeping me guessing right to the end.

I can see how e-Murderer won first place in the Malice Domestic grants competition for new writers, as I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written story. I totally recommend it and I look forward to another Jenna Scali mystery.

Book Review: The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis

The Clock Strikes Midnight by Joan C. Curtis is a heart-wrenching story of two sisters and how tragedy, betrayal and secrets tear their family apart.

The events and trauma of the past are overwhelming and to escape it, Janie runs away. Once she left the town, she never looks back. Instead, she starts a new life and in the process abandons her sister.  Marlene stays in the same town and tries to make her life work. But, she has issues. The release of their stepfather from prison and a ticking time bomb causes Janie to set things in motion and the sisters meet after twenty long years.

The suspense and mystery was a page turner and had me hooked. With every small revelation, I asked myself questions, one of them being, "Why would the mother marry a person like Ralph?" But as I kept reading, I formed my own conclusions, which turned out to be correct.

The characters draw you in. Their emotions, fears and secrets, slowly unravelling as the story progresses. Their past is hell and tragic. Their current situation is sad. Janie may have become a successful business woman, but her past haunts her; she has secrets. Marlene has issues of her own. Depressed, she also feels let down by her sister for leaving her to deal with the aftermath. Her emotions spiral out of control. One thing leads to another as she gradually loses control of herself.

Alternating between past and present, the story builds a picture of what the girls go through. The different points of view is clever. You get a deeper sense of the anguish and secrets that surround the two sisters. The mother's point of view is an eye-opener. The glimpse into her life is certainly interesting and worrying.

I loved everything about this book. It had a gripping storyline, elements of suspense and mystery.

Book Review: Zeke by Wodke Hawkinson

Zeke is a psychological thriller and is a very chilling and disturbing read. It is a dark story of sexual obsession, twisted motives, and evil. There were elements about it that made me cringe in horror.

The story is about Sue. A young and insecure woman who meets and is seduced, quite cleverly, by a handsome man, Zeke. Zeke seems to have it all. He is charming, confident and good looking. From the onset, it's apparent that he is up to no good. He is dangerous and cunning as he plays with the emotions of lonely and vulnerable people.

As the story progresses, his psychopathic personality comes to light. Everything he does is scary; the things he makes Sue do and how he manipulates her is chilling.

In the case of Zeke, beauty is skin deep. He is truly a scary and disturbing character. At times, I had to stop reading as the scenes were too gruesome. I felt I couldn't abandon Sue, and I kept going till I got to the end. This well-written story is certainly not for the weak-hearted. 

Book Review: Shallow Waters by Rebecca Bradley

When the naked, battered body of an unidentified teenager is found dumped in an alleyway, post-mortem finds evidence of a harrowing series of events.

Another teenage death with the same MO pushes DI Hannah Robbins and her team on the Nottingham City division Major Crimes Unit, to their limits, and across county borders. In a race against the clock they attempt to unpick a thick web of lies and deceit to uncover the truth behind the deaths.

But it doesn't stop there. When catching a killer isn't enough, just how far are the team willing to push themselves to save the next girl?

Shallow Waters by Rebecca Bradley is a really great read. It is fast paced, has great characters and a compelling yet dark storyline. It is about Detective Inspector Hannah Robbins and her team who are on the hunt for a killer. A killer who abducts, abuses, and murders young teenagers.

The tension builds with each page. So does the anxiety. The pressure, the suspense, the emotions of the characters and what they go through, all drew me in. I read the book as if I was part of DI Hannah's team. As the urgency to find the killer intensified, so did my need to keep reading. When I got to the end, I felt relieved but, I also felt extremely sad.

This well-written and disturbing story had me hooked right from the beginning. I look forward to another DI Hannah mystery.

Copyright Tia J. Lee 2015

All Rights Reserved.

Book Review: Only For You by Genna Rulon

Only For You is Genna Rulon's debut novel. It is a well-written story revolving around two friends, Everleigh, and Sam, who are at university. They fear for their safety as attacks on female students is on the rise more so when they hear that the women are raped. The fear intensifies as the assaults escalate to murders.

Only For You  has it all: mystery, suspense, humour and love. You can feel the deep love between the two friends and the budding romance between Everleigh and Hunter.

Everleigh is a strong and brazen woman. Her sassiness and her interactions with others and Hunter, in particular, are both funny and entertaining as she tries to establish an upper hand with their verbal sparring. Her friendship is honest and no matter what the situation she stood tall and strong.

Hunter is a mystery at the start, but it wasn't long before I guessed what he represented. He is sexy, sweet, a martial arts expert, muscles galore, and he genuinely cares not only for Everleigh but others too.

Only For You  is a standalone book. It does leave you wanting to know what happens to the secondary characters, Sam in particular. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading Sam's story in Pieces For You and her next two books in the For You series.

Copyright Tia J. Lee 2015

All Rights Reserved.