To any authors/publishers/ tour companies that are looking for the reviews that I signed up for please know this is very hard to do.
I will be stopping reviews temporarily. My husband passed away February 1st and my new normal is a bit scary right now and I am unable to concentrate on a book to do justice to the book and authors.
I will still do spotlight posts if you wish it is just the reviews at this time. I apologize for this, but it isn't fair to you if I signed up to do a review and haven't been able to because I can't concentrate on any books.
Thank you for your understanding during this difficult time. I appreciate all of you.
Kathleen Kelly
April 2nd 2024
Genre: Historical Mystery Series: Muirteach MacPhee Mystery, Book 4
Scotland, 1375: Muirteach MacPhee and his wife Mariota visit Edinburgh Castle, assisting the Lord of the Isles in his negotiations with King Robert II. A trading vessel arrives at the nearby port of Leith from the far away Norse settlement in Greenland. The ship brings unexpected diversion and carries coveted wares: gyrfalcons, unicorn’s horns, and fine furs. Both King Robert and the Lord of the Isles desire the rare birds, easily worth a king’s ransom.
Muirteach and Mariota, unaccustomed to the sophistication of castle life, initially find pleasure in the heady and flirtatious glamor of the royal court. Then sudden and unexpected cruelty, followed by the senseless death of a beautiful young girl, plunge the couple into a murky sea of alliances and intrigue that stretches from Scotland across the icy western ocean to the far northern lands of the Norse, leaving trails of treachery and murder in its wake.
Praise for the Award-Winning Muirteach MacPhee Mysteries
“McDuffie brings. this period to life in such a way that the reader is transported. Her characters are rich and multi-faceted. . . the perfect blend of history, rich in historical detail, and a mysterious investigation.” -The Most Happy Reader
“A superb mystery, and historically correct in every aspect. McDuffie knows her Scottish history and this period intimately and is a powerful storyteller.” -Reading the Ages
“Well-paced and engrossing.” -Kirkus Reviews
“A good choice.” -Library Journal
“Well worth reading.” -CelticLady’s Reviews
About the Author
A fan of historical fiction since childhood, Susan McDuffie spent such vast amounts of time reading stories set in the past that she wondered if she had mistakenly been born in the wrong century. As an adult her discovery that Clorox was not marketed prior to 1922 reconciled her to life in this era. Susan’s childhood interest in Scotland was fueled by family stories of the McDuffie clan’s ancestral lands on Colonsay and their traditional role as “Keeper of the Records” for the Lords of the Isles. On her first visit to Scotland she hitchhiked her way through the Hebrides, and her initial visit to Colonsay and the Oronsay Priory ruins planted the seeds for her medieval mysteries. Those seeds have grown into the Muirteach MacPhee mysteries, set in medieval Scotland during the Celtic Lordship of the Isles. The series includes A MASS FOR THE DEAD, THE FAERIE HILLS (2011 New Mexico Book Awards “Best Historical Novel”), THE STUDY OF MURDER (New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards Finalist 2014), and THE DEATH OF A FALCON. Susan frequently presents at workshops and conferences and regularly reviews historical fiction books for the Historical Novel Society’s “Historical Novels Review.
Susan lives in New Mexico and shares her life with a Native American artist and four cosseted cats. She enjoys taking flamenco dance classes in her spare time. Susan loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via Facebook or through her website.
My Thoughts The Death of a Falcom is a murder mystery set in Scotland, 1375 and features Muirteach MacPhee and his wife Mariota. While visiting Edinburgh Castle, Muirteach is assisting the Lord of the Isles in negotiations with King Robert II. while there a shipping vessel arrives from the far northern country, Greenland. The master of the ship, his daughter and stepson arrive with gyrfalcons, largest of the falcon species. The King is interested in two of the birds, but someone kills one of the birds and badly wounds the other. Right after that, the daughter of the shipmaster is killed. With the investigative abilities of Muirteach and his wife, they try to find out what happened to the birds and the young girl. What they find is surprising and dangerous to both of them. This is book 4 of the Muirteach MacPhee Murder Mystery series. No need to read the previous books, I didn't but I want to learn more about Muirteach and Mariotta. I really enjoyed this book, as I am an avid fan of historical fiction, especially medieval era. Like I said, no need to read the previous stories but if you want to learn more like I do, then you should. The research in the story really shows as far as Greenland, Norse sagas, and the Inuit. I really enjoyed it! Love historical fiction? Go check it out! I received a copy of this book from the author for review!
Friday, May 11 Review at Broken Teepee Review at CelticLady’s Reviews Giveaway During the Blog Tour we will be giving away 5 paperback copies & 5 eBooks of The Death of a Falcon! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on May 11th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to US residents only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.
P.I. Duke Rogers finds himself in a combustible situation in this racially charged thriller. His case might have to wait… The immediate problem: getting out of South Central Los Angeles in one piece during the 1992 “Rodney King” riots and that’s just the beginning of his problems. Duke finds an old “friend” for a client. The client’s “friend,” an up and coming African-American actress, ends up dead. Duke knows his client did it. Feeling guilty that he inadvertently helped the killer find the victim, he wants to track down the client/killer. He starts his mission by going to the dead actress’ family in South Central L.A.—and while there the “Rodney King” riots ignite. While Duke searches for the killer he must also deal with the racism of his partner, Jack, and from Warren, the murder victim’s brother, who is a mirror image of Jack in that department. He must also confront his own possible latent racism—even as he’s in an interracial relationship with the dead woman’s sister.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller Published by: Down & Out Books Publication Date: May 21st 2018 Number of Pages: 340 ISBN: 9781370062423 Series: Duke Rogers #1
Paul D. Marks is the author of the Shamus Award-Winning mystery-thriller White Heat. Publishers Weekly calls White Heat a “taut crime yarn.” His story Ghosts of Bunker Hill was voted #1 in the 2016 Ellery Queen Readers Poll. Howling at the Moon (EQMM 11/14) was short-listed for both the 2015 Anthony and Macavity Awards. Midwest Review calls his novella Vortex “…a nonstop staccato action noir.” Marks’ story Windward, from the Coast to Coast: Private Eyes from Sea to Shining Sea anthology, has been selected for the 2018 Best American Mystery Stories (fall 2018), edited by Louise Penny & Otto Penzler.
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Paul D. Marks. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on May 8 and runs through May 14, 2018. Void where prohibited.
When a ruthless American aluminum company plans to strip mine the Jamaican rainforest, they send former Navy SEAL Will Taylor to Montego Bay to deal with local resistance. But he’s unaware that the British had signed a treaty deeding it to the Jamaican Maroons, descendants of escaped slaves, over 300 years ago. The Maroons fought and died for their land then, and are willing to do so now. Upon Will’s arrival, a series of inexplicable murders begin, some carried out with deadly snake daggers that were owned and used by Annie Palmer, a voodoo priestess better known as the White Witch. She was killed 200 years prior, but is said to still haunt the island. Forced into the middle of it, Will is finally convinced to join the Maroons, headed by Vertise Broderick, a Maroon who resigned from the New York Times to return to Jamaica to save the rainforest. To stop the mining, they hire a Jamaican attorney to prove that the Maroon/British treaty is still valid, and they take it upon themselves to solve the White Witch murders, because the legend of the White Witch can’t possibly be true…
Book Details:
Genre: Thriller Published by: Story Merchant Press Publication Date: March 5, 2018 Number of Pages: 307 ISBN: 978-0-991621-5-6
After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, Larry spent the first half of his professional life as a trial lawyer. He tried well over 300 cases and won more than 95% of them. Although he had not taken a writing class since freshman English (back when they wrote on stone tablets), he figured that he had read enough novels and knew enough about trials, lawyers, judges, and courtrooms that he could do it. Besides, his late, older brother, Thomas Thompson, was one of the best true crime writers to ever set a pen to paper; so, just maybe, there was something in the Thompson gene pool that would be guide him into this new career. He started writing his first novel about a dozen years ago and published it a couple of years thereafter. He has now written five highly acclaimed legal thrillers. White Witch is number six with many more to come. Larry is married to his wife, Vicki. He has three children scattered from Colorado to Austin to Boca Raton, and four grandchildren. He has been trying to retire from the law practice to devote full time to writing. Hopefully, that will occur by the end of 2018. He still lives in Houston, but spends his summers in Vail CO, high on a mountain where he is inspired by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
My Thoughts: Will Taylor, a ruthless ex-Navy Seal works for Global American Metals is sent to Jamaica by his boss to deal with the locals. The Maroons, an indigenous tribe of people who live in the mountains where the mines are located. They are not happy with the company and do what they can to keep the mines from stripping the land. What Will finds upon arrival in Jamaica is a land steeped in superstitions. The White Witch was a name the locals had given to a white woman who not only made life unbearable but also involved murder. The Maroons were escaped slaves who ran away from their Spanish-owned plantations when the British took the Caribbean island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. The slaves had a treaty with Spain that provided them the land up in the mountains and rainforests in perpetuity. They get upset when Global American Metals wants to further have their mines there. The locals feel that that is not what they want because of the mines. The Maroons fought to get their land and they are prepared to keep fighting for their land. Will is an employee of Global and is really there to protect the company from the locals quest to keep their land and drive the mine out of Jamaica. Will meets Vertise, daughter of the leader and after a couple murders that are tied to Global, the case of Global against the Maroons is sent to court. This novel is definitely character driven and has a real historical and eery feel with the murders, voodoo rituals and local superstitions. I was prepared to not like this book as I had never read anything about Jamaican history. After the prologe I was actually hooked. It did take me awhile to read it but that was all me and not the book! If you love a good suspenseful historical story of Jamaica, then I recommend that you go get yourself a copy, you can also enter the giveaway!
Tour Participants:
Visit the other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews and giveaways!
Giveaway
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Larry D Thompson. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift card. The giveaway begins on March 5, 2018 and runs through May 6, 2018. Void where prohibited.
Cake and Punishment: A Southern Cake Baker Mystery by Maymee Bell
About the Book
Cake and Punishment: A Southern Cake Baker Mystery Cozy Mystery 1st in Series Setting - Kentucky
Crooked Lane Books (May 8, 2018)
Hardcover 257 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683315711
Digital ASIN: B075QJM2W8
In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, Sophia Cummings, pastry chef extraordinaire, must craft the perfect cake for an old friend’s wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder.
Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef. Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York City. She’s not there a minute before she’s charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte’s wedding cake. The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile’s body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.
With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it’s not Emile’s. She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef. The mood in the country club is grim: Emile’s peppery personality had burned members and staff alike. Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?