BOOK TOUR & REVIEW: The Siren’s Scream by Thomas White #Mystery #Horror @ThomasW94914086 @pumpupyourbook

About the Book

 Title: The Siren’s Scream

Author: Thomas White

Publisher: Savvy Books

Pages: 492

Genre: Mystery/Horror

Release Date: October 5, 2022

Publisher: Savvy Books

Soft Cover: ISBN: ‎ 978-1088067819; 480 pages; $21.14

BOOK BLURB

An old mansion sits atop of a cliff, overlooking the ocean, in Santa Cruz, CA. A young realtor, Darcy Wainwright, manages to sell the dilapidated old house to Henry Childs, an obese nebbish who is obsessed with the property. In the backyard is a pool. Not an ordinary pool but a giant tide pool. In the tide pool is a siren with an evil agenda for revenge. 

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TEz7kx 

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sirens-scream-thomas-white/1142494493?ean=9781088067819

Purchase your copy at the author’s website: https://thomas-white-author.com/ 

 

Book Excerpt

Henry Childs led a life of total inconsequence. He had no friends, no hobbies, no guilty pleasures. He had spent his thirty-eight years in the space behind his mother’s aggression, lacking the courage to reach for anything more than this pitiless world deigned to dish to him.

Edith Childs screamed at Henry from the other room, “Henry, I’m bored. I want to go for a drive.”

Henry’s face scrunched in disdain, and the folds in his ample neck turned red. There was no denying her, not that he had ever had the backbone to attempt anything so drastic. Henry Childs had spent his thirty-eight years in the space behind his mother’s aggression, lacking the courage to reach for anything more than this pitiless world deigned to dish to him.

With a stoic exhale, he paused his video game, gulped down his cinnamon roll, lifted his considerable bulk out of the comfort of his reclining chair, and began the routine that would eventually get his mother from her bedroom to her wheelchair and into the car.

He grabbed her yellow sweater to be sure that she would stay warm.

“Henry, I’m not a child. I know if I’m cold or not.”

He held up the cardigan and attempted to help her into it.

“I can dress myself, thank you.”

Then there was the transfer from her sitting chair to her wheelchair.

“For goodness sakes, Henry, you would think this was the first time you’ve ever done this. Move the chair closer. I’m not an acrobat.”

…the parade out to the porch.

“Henry, don’t scrape the wall. You’re always so careless. We have gouges up and down the whole hallway.”

…down the ramp.

“Don’t go so fast. Are you trying to launch me into outer space?”

…across the walkway toward the car.

“Do you have to hit every bump on the walk? Wait, go back, I think you missed one.”

…then finally into the car.

“Be careful of my head. I don’t want to lose what sense I have left.”

By the time the car door was closed, with his disintegrating mother safely ensconced inside, Henry had sweat running down his forehead and was breathing hard. His double chins were dripping from each crevice, and his shirt was beginning to stain from the accumulating moisture. He dropped her chair into the trunk, wiped his brow on his sleeve, and embraced his final moments of silence before he opened the door and plopped behind the steering wheel of his Nissan Murano.

 

 Book Review – 4 stars

The Siren’s Scream will keep you on the edge of your seat. Full of twists and turns, it will keep you guessing. While I did enjoy the story, it took me a bit to get into it. Once I made it through the first chapter, I was eager to see what would happen next. This was my first time reading this author, but I’ll have to check out his other books.

*I received a copy as part of the book tour and have voluntarily left a review. The review above is only my opinion.

About the Author

 

Thomas White began his career as an actor. Several years later he found himself as an Artistic Director for a theatre in Southern California and the winner of several Drama-Logue and Critics awards for directing. As Tom’s career grew, he directed and co-produced the world tour of “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells”. The show toured for over two years, was translated into seven different languages and seen by over a million children. Tom served as President and Creative Director for Maiden Lane Entertainment for 24 years and worked on many large-scale corporate event productions that included Harley Davidson, Microsoft, Medtronic Diabetes, and dozens of others. The Siren’s Scream is Tom’s second novel that follows up Justice Rules which was nominated as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary contest.

Tom’s latest book is the mystery/horror, The Siren’s Scream.

Visit his website at www.thomas-white-author.com or connect with him at Twitter and Facebook.

 

RELEASE BLITZ: Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: Ten Steps from Baker Street by Thomas A. Burns, Jr #Mystery @RABTBookTours @3Mdetective

Mystery

Date Published: 03-01-2023

Publisher: Tekrighter, LLC

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

 

Return to the streets and alleys of Victorian London, where the game is
afoot once again! The Great Detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, and his
steadfast companion Dr. Watson are back for ten new cases, spanning the
length of the quintessential detective’s illustrious career. Beginning while
Holmes was still a green investigator in Montague Street, this collection
encompasses the 1880s and the 1890s, up to the dawn of the new
century.  Walk with Holmes as he puzzles over the problem of a drunken
teetotaler, celebrates an old English Christmas at the Red Lion, tracks down
the Camberwell poisoner, and experiences the horror in King Street. If
you’ve been pining for new traditional, canonical Sherlock Holmes tales, Ten
Steps from Baker Street is the collection you’ve been waiting for.

 

About the Author

Thomas A. Burns, Jr. is the author of the Natalie McMasters Mysteries. He
was born and grew up in New Jersey, attended Xavier High School in
Manhattan, earned B.S degrees in Zoology and Microbiology at Michigan State
University and a M.S. in Microbiology at North Carolina State University. He
currently resides in Wendell, North Carolina with his wife and son, four
cats and a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. As a kid, Tom started reading mysteries
with the Hardy Boys, Ken Holt and Rick Brant, and graduated to the classic
stories by authors such as A. Conan Doyle, Dorothy Sayers, John Dickson
Carr, Erle Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout, to name a few. Tom has written
fiction as a hobby all of his life, starting with Man from U.N.C.L.E.
stories in marble-backed copybooks in grade school. He built a career as
technical, science and medical writer and editor for nearly thirty years in
industry and government. Now that he’s retired to become a full-time a
novelist, he’s excited to publish his own mystery series, as well as to
contribute stories about his second-most favorite detective to the MX Book
of New Sherlock Holmes Stories.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook Group

Twitter

Blog

Goodreads

Instagram

Tumblr

Bookbub

Preorder Now

Amazon

B&N

Kobo

Smashwords 

Apple Books 

Tolino

 


RABT Book Tours & PR

BOOK TOUR: A Town Called Why by Rick Lenz #Mystery #Suspense @RickLenz @RRBookTours1

ATownCalledWhy copy

Welcome to the book tour for A Town Called Why by author Rick Lenz. Read on for more info and grab a copy today!

Front Cover (1)

A Town Called Why

Publication Date: February 21, 2023

Genre: Mystery/ Suspense/ Private Detective

Simple justice or an eye for an eye? Half-Apache cop confronts pure evil.

Colleagues of Frank Gaines, a half-Apache, Arizona desert town police detective, know him as a courageous man. Gaines doubts that. He suspects he’s afraid of not behaving courageously. He goes into therapy. This creates a new problem: he is falling in love with his therapist, a striking, full-blooded Apache woman, Sunny Kacheenay, granddaughter of a great shaman, who has mystical gifts of her own.

A distant maternal relative of Gaines dies by shotgun blast. Against her own best professional instincts, Sunny is forced to tell Gaines that by ancient, ancestral law, his sacred duty is to find, torture and kill the murderer.

Jokingly, Gaines tells her it’s not the 1800s anymore.

Sunny doesn’t laugh.

In the process of trying to hunt down the most malignant villain Gaines has ever heard of, he begins to test his courage for real and to recognize his true feelings about life, love, and courage.

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase Here!

About the Author

rick-lenz-banner

When Rick Lenz retired as a stage and film actor (playing opposite Ingrid Bergman, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Walter Matthau, Peter Sellers, etc.), his passion for drama refused to retire with him. Although he was an actor most of his life, he is also a seasoned writer. His plays have been produced Off-Broadway, on PBS television, and in regional theatres across the country. Rick’s memoir North of Hollywood was called “masterful” by Writer’s Digest. His first novel, The Alexandrite was named “one of the best books of the year” by Kirkus Reviews. Bret Easton Ellis called it “almost impossible to put down.” Rick’s books have won several awards, including, Readers Views (first place), the Chanticleer Somerset Grand Prize for Literary, Contemporary and Mainstream Fiction, an IPPY Award, and a Foreword Book of the Year. Most recently, his time-travel love story Hello, Rest of My Life was a 2022 Silver Nautilus Book Award winner (fiction), and Eric Hoffer Award finalist (fiction). He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Linda and an ever-shifting array of animals.

Rick Lenz | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Book Tour Organized By:

R&R Button

R&R Book Tours

BOOK TOUR & GIVEAWAY: The Metaphysical Detective by Kirsten Weiss #Paranormal #Mystery @GoddessFish

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Midlife Magic and Murder… and a Dog Named Dog.

When Riga Hayworth finds her new client dead, she smells a setup of metaphysical proportions. Now, to find a killer, Riga must travel from San Francisco to the underworld of Greek mythology… and make it back alive.

Donovan, Vinnie, Pen and Brigitte – the story that started it all. The Metaphysical Detective is the prequel to the Riga Hayworth series. If you like Gen-X, no-nonsense heroines and supernatural with your mystery, you’ll love The Metaphysical Detective.

Buy this quirky paranormal women’s fiction and explore the magical world of Riga Hayworth today!

 

 
 
Read an Excerpt

He fingered a tendril of auburn hair that had escaped her ponytail and fallen across her cheek. “Your expressions are as changeable as the clouds. What were you just thinking?”

He was close enough now for her to feel the heat from his body, and the forest stilled. Her being filled with a fevered waiting.

A woman laughed, her voice a raucous cawing, and Riga blinked. A party of hikers tramped along the trail beneath them. Someone below made a joke about mountain lions.

Riga relaxed onto her elbow. “I was thinking about an old movie called The Bishop’s Wife – the original version with David Niven and Cary Grant and Loretta Young.”

“Good movie,” he said. “It had a wine bottle that magically refilled itself. Port, I think. A bit sweet for my tastes, but this port was –” He stopped at Riga’s look. “What?”

Nonplussed, she stared. “You’ve just… taken my conversational thread in a completely different direction.”

“Sorry. You wanted to say something else about the movie?”

“Forget it.”

“No really, go on.”

“No.” Riga struggled not to laugh. “I don’t want to anymore.”

He sighed. “Okay. Let’s pretend I didn’t say anything about the wine bottle, even though it is the best part of the movie. You said you were thinking of The Bishop’s Wife. And I said, ‘really?’”

“Okay. What I was thinking was how sad it was that when the angel left, nobody remembered he’d ever been there and caused all those miracles to happen in their lives. They thought they’d just done it on their own.”

Donovan nodded. “I don’t think it mattered that the characters didn’t remember him. Their lives had been changed. Perhaps it was best they thought that they’d done it themselves.”

“I suppose,” Riga said, unconvinced. “But the movie was true in one sense – that’s the nature of the metaphysical experience. You can’t hold onto the experience. It comes and goes in a flash. You understand deep in your soul that something marvelous has happened, but you’ll never be able to prove or explain it.”

About the Author:

Kirsten Weiss conjures up action-packed witch mysteries based on contemporary and historical magical practices. Her witchy heroines aren’t perfect (and neither are their familiars), but they’re smart, they struggle, and they succeed.

Kirsten writes in a house high on a hill in the Colorado woods and occasionally ventures out for wine and chocolate. She is best known for her Doyle Witch and Riga Hayworth paranormal mystery books. Are you ready to be enchanted? Just turn the page and… voila!

Website
Newsletter
Amazon Author Page
Facebook
Instagram

Amazon
iBooks
Barnes and Noble
Google Play
Kobo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RELEASE BLITZ: Carrion by J.E. Irvin #Mystery #Suspense @RABTBookTours @JEIrvinauthor

A Byrd & Crowe Mystery Series, Book 1

Mystery / Suspense

Date Published: 10-15-2022

Publisher: New Atlantian Library

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

 

A young woman with a questionable past…

A family struggling to find common ground…

A murder victim with no known enemies…

 

Determined to overcome the dark secrets she helped reveal three years ago
when she rescued a baby from a locked car and ran away, Xandra Byrd is now a
student in criminology at the local community college and an accepted part
of her biological family. Still, she struggles to escape the demons of her
dysfunctional childhood. But when the woman who helped put her family back
together is murdered, and she and her brother implicated in the crime,
Xandra must return to the dark side of human nature in search of a killer.
Will she solve the mystery and clear her name, or will she become the next
victim?

About the Author

 

J.E. Irvin is the author of five mystery/thriller novels, a two-time winner
of the Whodunit Award, and a member of SistersinCrime, Central Ohio Fiction
Writers, Buckeye Crime Writers, and the Ohio Writers Association. Irvin, her
husband, and their two cats reside on the edge of a nature park which serves
as inspiration for her work. For more about the author, check out
http://www.janetirvin.com and sign up for her newsletter as well as updates on
future Byrd& Crowe mysteries.
 

 

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Instagram

 

Purchase Link

Amazon

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

RABT Book Tours & PR

BOOK TOUR: A Haunting at Marianwood by E.M. Munsch #mystery

A Haunting at Marianwood

Dash Hammond 
Book Six
E.M. Munsch
 
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Mystery and Horror, LLC
Date of Publication: October 18, 2022
ASIN: ‎B0BJ4GYGD2
ISBN-10: ‎1949281213
ISBN-13: ‎978-1949281217
Print length: ‎217 pages
 
Book Description: 
 
Life is good for Dash Hammond. He’s recently remarried his childhood sweetheart, Dr. Maevis Summers, and together they’re raising his four-year-old son, T.J. in the Hammond family homestead in Clover Pointe, Ohio. A retired Army colonel, Dash now keeps himself busy fixing everything from a leaky faucet to an unsolved murder.
 
It is no wonder that his cousin Billy McCafferty calls on Dash for a road trip to Kentucky when  his oldest sister is in trouble. The president of a religious order, Sister Miriam Patrice, Miri Pat to those who knew her before she took the veil, has been hearing things, seeing things and misplacing things. A very competent woman, she refuses to accept an unearthly reason for all this.
 
Marianwood, the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Mother of God, is located on an old plantation thought to be haunted by its original inhabitant, Miss Victoria Harris, who is rumored to prowl the grounds and cemetery in search of her murdered beau. 
 
When the Ohio contingent arrives, they discover that things are not as simple as your ordinary haunting. 
 
In a battle of wits, will the victor be supernatural or a very corporal retired Army colonel?
 
 

Excerpt:

A HAUNTING AT MARIANWOOD

Sister Miriam Patrice slid back from the kneeler. The quiet of the church soothed her as it wrapped its velvet cloak of serenity around her. She sat, hands folded,
once in prayer but now to stop the trembling. Glancing at the sunlight
streaming through the stained-glass windows casting a rainbow on the empty
pews, she drew in deep slow breaths. She looked at the watch pinned to her
tunic. Time to get back to work. She rose to leave the church, her place of
refuge, a place free from the distractions of the running the community and the
new retirement home the sisters established to help make ends meet.

The members of the Sisters of the Blessed Mother of God found their numbers
dwindling. New recruits, as Sister Miriam Patrice called them mimicking her
cousin Dash Hammond’s military jargon, were very rare. The teaching
congregation once had more than a hundred sisters. Vocations, callings to
either the religious or the educational side of the community, had fallen to less
than a handful each year.

As she walked down the aisle to the back of the church, she heard it again. Tap, tap, tap. She stopped to listen, making sure she wasn’t mistaken. That sound
sent shivers down her spine. Squaring her shoulders she walked to the doors
next to the church exit. One led up to the choir loft, the other down to the
cellar. In days past she had gone up the stairs; today she would go down.

Pulling the doorknob, Miriam Patrice met the resistance of a locked door. She pulled out her keys and unlocked it. She struggled with the door, suggesting to her
that no one had gone to the cellar in a while.

The stone steps were worn but sturdy. She moved cautiously into the darkness, one hand on the wall to steady her nervous knees, the other searching for the
handrail. Her hope was that the security guard forgot to close the door one day
and some critter, not two legged, was trapped down here and making the tap,
tap, tap sound. Logically she knew this was wrong, but the alternative could be
worse.

Decades ago they discovered one of the newer buildings constructed during a period of rapid expansion had been built on an underground spring. It wasn’t long before the building tilted, as did their finances. What a waste of time and money.
Fearful that what she would find was a tell-tale pooling or bubbling of water,
she moved forward slowly. She said a silent prayer that she would not stumble
into a puddle, a precursor of the inevitable unwelcome news.

Her trek seemed unnecessarily slow though reason told Miriam Patrice she should alert one of her sisters where she was just in case she lost her footing. But
her reasoning had not been the sharpest of late. She blamed her sleepless
nights, not because of an uneasy conscience but an overabundance of concern for
her congregation and its uncertain future, both financially and individually.

After spending a half an hour poking into the corners, searching for the origin of the sound, Miriam Patrice gave up. She needed a flashlight if she wanted to do
a proper search. Next time she would be prepared. Next time, she told herself,
she would be less skittish, more confident that she could deal with whatever
sprung up from the tap, tap, tap. After deciding this, she nodded to herself.
At least she didn’t hear a drip, drip, drip.

The sound had stopped so she returned to the church. As she locked the door behind her, the tap, tap, tap began again, louder this time. If she permitted herself, she would have said damn.



About the Author:

 
Elaine Munsch is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, but has spent her adult life in Louisville, Kentucky.  She graduated from Nazareth College of Kentucky located outside of Bardstown and attended The Ohio State University for her graduate work. She has been a bookseller for fifty years working in both large and small, chain and independent bookstores. She opened the first Barnes & Noble in Kentucky where she set up a mystery reading group which is still active today. She also taught classes in the mystery genre for the Veritas Society and joined the local chapter of Sisters in Crime.
  
With Susan Bell, she co-edited MYSTERY WITH A SPLASH OF BOURBON, an anthology of bourbon related stories.
 
As E.M. Munsch, she writes the Dash Hammond series set on the shores of Lake Erie. The latest title, A HAUNTING AT MARIANWOOD, is set to be released at the end of October.
 
 
 

BOOK TOUR: Floats the Dark Shadow by Yves Fey #mystery @YvesFey @CathieDunn

Floats the Dark Shadow

by Yves Fey

Young American painter Theodora Faraday struggles to become an artist in Belle Époque Paris. She’s tasted the champagne of success, illustrating poems for the Revenants, a group of poets led by her adored cousin, Averill.

When children she knows vanish mysteriously, Theo confronts Inspecteur Michel Devaux who suspects the Revenants are involved. Theo refuses to believe the killer could be a friend—could be the man she loves. Classic detection and occult revelation lead Michel and Theo through the dark underbelly of Paris, from catacombs to asylums, to the obscene ritual of a Black Mass.

Following the maze of clues they discover the murderer believes he is the reincarnation of the most evil serial killer in the history of France—Gilles de Rais. Once Joan of Arc’s lieutenant, after her death he plunged into an orgy of evil. The Church burned him at the stake for heresy, sorcery, and the depraved murder of hundreds of peasant children.

Whether deranged mind or demonic passion incite him, the killer must be found before he strikes again.

Buy Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/3GW2BO

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Floats-Dark-Shadow-mystery-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0BB88NZLC/

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Floats-Dark-Shadow-mystery-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0BB88NZLC/

Amazon CA:  https://www.amazon.ca/Floats-Dark-Shadow-mystery-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0BB88NZLC/

Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/Floats-Dark-Shadow-mystery-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B0BB88NZLC/

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/floats-the-dark-shadow-yves-fey/1112417004?ean=2940149661459

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/floats-the-dark-shadow

Audio: https://www.audible.com/pd/Floats-the-Dark-Shadow-Livre-Audio/B00IX13DGG

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/book/floats-the-dark-shadow/  

Michel Arrests Viperine at Leo Taxil’s Confession-Floats the Dark Shadow

Ignoring both Taxil and his faux monk, Michel turned his attention to Vipèrine, who had chosen a seat very near the podium. …. The diabolist was at least a plausible suspect—quite capable of provoking some drama to put himself center stage—but was he capable of true villainy? There was little information to be had on him before his appearance in Paris five years ago, not even his real name.

….Michel recognized someone else who provoked his curiosity. Theodora Faraday was sitting with the Revenants. He had seen the tall blonde roaming about Montmartre even before he interviewed her. Tonight she wore a gown of midnight blue satin. The deep hue set off her fair skin and pale, gleaming hair. She seemed far too dynamic for most of that coterie, literary aesthetes who lived on their nerves. He had read the premiere issue of their magazine, which had created quite a stir. There were several striking illustrations, but Michel did not remember them being by a woman. He must have assumed Theo to be a man. Or perhaps she assumed a different male nom de plume, as he’d seen her assume male dress. Quite illegal and quite flattering. She had very long legs.

“Assuming the guise of Miss Vaughan,” Taxil exclaimed, “I revealed the existence of secret rooms hidden within the Masonic temple in Charleston, Virginia. In one, a statue of Eve awaits. When a Templar Mistress is especially pleasing to Master Satan, this statue takes on life. Eve becomes the demon Astarte and bestows kisses on the chosen one.”

A tidbit in the grand tradition of Leo Taxil, ecclesiastical pornographer, Michel sneered silently. Lesbian demons on parade.

“Despicable charlatan!” the abbot cried.

“No priest will take your confession!”

Taxil moved on to the infamous forges buried beneath Gibraltar and fed by hellfire, and the outbursts faded. The opposing side brooded silently, which Michel thought boded ill. He quietly rose from his seat and stood against the back wall, free to move fast if there was trouble. His gaze roved over the gathering as Taxil embarked on a new tale of Vatican conspiracy. “After Jeanne d’Arc was burned at the stake, the executioner discovered that the heart of our heroine had not been consumed. He threw more burning pitch and sulphur upon it, but the heart would not burn! Finally, in desperation, Jeanne’s heart was tossed in the Seine.” Taxil raised a pudgy finger to punctuate his words. “Be sure that one day a mysterious angel will carry that heart, not to France, but to Italy, and Jeanne d’Arc will be canonized by the Pope. French pilgrims must henceforth go to Rome to view this miraculously retrieved heart.”

Odd. One of the Revenants had risen and was urged back to his seat by Theodora Faraday. Did the mockery of the Maid anger him? Many who cared nothing for Luciferian plots or Vatican conspiracy might still take offence at having France’s beloved heroine derided.

Enamored of his own voice, Taxil rumbled on, “Alas, the final success of my hoax was endangered by a Mason who declared these bizarre claims must be a Jesuit plot. Unfortunate Jesuits! I had sent them a fragment of Moloch’s tail as evidence of Palladism!”

In spite of himself, Michel’s curiosity was stirred. What had Taxil actually sent—mummified crocodile? Chief Cochefert would be captivated with this morsel. Personally, Michel preferred Taxil’s story of his first malicious prank—false tales of ravenous sharks hiding in sea caves off Marseilles.

“Fearing my magnificent creation would be suffocated by the evil oubliettes of the Vatican, I have chosen to confess.” With a grand gesture, Taxil proclaimed, “I have committed infanticide. Palladism, the child of my mind, is utterly dead. Its father has murdered it.” Taxil finished with a bow. Silence hovered for a moment, then cacophony reigned. Applause, laughter, jeers, hoots, and accusations rose in the air like myriad squawking birds. The abbot stood on his chair, gesturing for all the faithful to gather round, but the noise drowned out whatever he was saying.

Vipèrine rose, his height emphasized by his theatrical robes. The gleam of their gold embroidery caught the light and drew the attention of the audience. He lifted his chin truculently, his blue beard pointing at Taxil. “There is only one hoax—and that hoax is that Satan has no worshippers.”

Weaving through the stream of the infuriated leaving the auditorium, Michel moved swiftly as Taxil called out his answer, “Ah, monsieur, I acknowledge that he has his worshippers. But that does not mean he exists.”

Vipèrine swirled his cape, then flung up his hands. Fire burst from his fingertips. A flaming object winged like a bat sailed to the stage and exploded with spurts of flame and noxious spirals of black and yellow smoke. Screams of panic filled the hall—cries of “Bomb!” and “Fire!” Taxil ducked behind the podium. Gendarmes rushed to guard him. Still twenty feet away, Michel saw that no fire had actually ignited, though the smoke rose in sulphureous plumes.

Chaos reigned as the remaining audience rushed for the doors. Vipèrine raised his arms again, flames flashing from his fingers, and Michel guessed the next smoke cloud would cover his escape. Stepping into range, he aimed a hard lateral kick, driving his heel into Vipèrine’s thigh. Vipèrine reeled back with a snarl of surprise and pain. The chemical ball he held bounced across the floor, hissing loudly and leaking darkness.

“Police,” Michel said. “Surrender yourself.”

No novice to savate, Vipèrine aimed a savage kick at his ribs. Michel blocked and countered with a low undercut to the shins. Vipèrine lurched forward, grabbed a chair for balance, then swung it sideways at Michel’s head. Michel knocked it to the floor, but Vipèrine’s back leg sweep tumbled him. Michel rolled as he hit the floor and came up into a crouch. Vipèrine aimed another kick at his head. Michel dodged sideways, but Vipèrine’s foot grazed his face. A blaze of pain erupted on his cheek. The metallic tang of blood filled his nostrils. Vipèrine had razors set in his shoes. With cold fury, Michel rose and spun into a reverse kick that sent Vipèrine staggering. Another slammed him hard against the wall. Moving in, Michel twisted Vipèrine’s arm behind his back, pinning him in place as he drew his ligote and pulled it tight around Vipèrine’s wrist.

“You are under arrest for inciting a riot and assaulting an officer.” Blood spilled down from his cheek and onto his neck.

“Let me go now,” Vipèrine snarled, “and perhaps I will let you live.”

Disgusted with the melodrama, Michel dragged him up the aisle and into the lobby.

Author Bio:

Yves Fey has MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon, and a BA in Pictorial Arts from UCLA. Yves began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing at twelve.  

She’s been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, creator of ceramic beasties, writing teacher, illustrator, and has won prizes for her chocolate desserts. Her current obsession is creating perfumes inspired by her Parisian characters.

Yves lives in Albany with her mystery writer husband and their cats, Charlotte and Emily, the Flying Bronte Sisters.

Social Media Links:

Website: YvesFey.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YvesFey

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gayle-feyrer-366b9832/

Instagram: Gayle Feyrer (@yves_fey) • Instagram photos and videos

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.fr/yvesfey/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Yves-Fey/e/B008VHHPPC

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/499414.Yves_Fey

BOOK TOUR: In the Mood by M.W. Arnold #mystery #historicalfiction @mick859

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. M W Arnold will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

During a hectic couple of weeks in February 1944, the girls of the Air Transport Auxiliary Mystery Club must face devastating personal loss amongst their number. A member of an illegal faction blackmails Betty, whilst a mystery at Mary’s ancestral home threatens to cause more trouble than anyone thought possible. In the midst of what should be the happiest of times, the portents seem to be catching up and little is what it seems to be. Can the girls find the strength to battle forces both internal and external, yet still maintain their dignity and friendship?

Read an Excerpt

After lowering the shoebox into the newly dug hole behind Riverview Cottage, Walter stood up straight again.

“Over to you, Ruth,” he said, bowing his head.

Ruth nodded, bowed her head, and clasped her hands before her. “Dear Lord, in whom we trust and worship, accept this, a symbolic foot, to your mercy. Look over my son in his time of need, all his friends, and the subjects of His Majesty, King George the Sixth. Amen.”

“Amen,” Walter echoed and handed Ruth a trowel.

Bending down, Ruth shoveled some dirt over the box before passing the tool back to Walter, who did the same. Turning around, Ruth called for Bobby and placed him on the leash once he came to a halt at her ankles. Walter now filled in the rest of the hole and patted it down with the back of the trowel.

Dusting some dirt off his knees, Walter got to his feet. “Ready for work?”

Ruth cast one glance down at the small mound of earth. “I suppose.”

“There’s the enthusiasm I love!” he joked, offering Ruth his arm.

Taking it, Ruth led him toward the side entrance with Bobby pulling on his leash, eager for an early morning walk. Squeezing Walter’s hand, Ruth told him, “At least I can put in my next letter to my son that we’ve held a funeral for his foot. I feel a little guilty, as it’s a while now since I told him I’d do one.”

About the Author:

M W Arnold lives near Northampton, UK and is known to his family and friends as, Mick. He was in the Royal Air Force for 16 years, visiting many different countries and very much enjoying himself. If he ever meets the Queen, he will have to thank her. He began writing as these characters needed their own voices. For a few years now, he’s been a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, a wonderful group of writers who’ve welcomed this bloke into their fold with open arms.

Amazon Author Page
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
YouTube

Amazon
iBooks
Barnes and Noble

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BOOK BLITZ: Call to a Nightmare by Jim Lester #mystery #thriller @RABTBookTours

Mystery, Thriller

Published Date: August, 2022

 

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

 

It was the Roaring Twenties, the Jazz Age, the era of Model T Fords, bootleggers and G-men. Spiritualism was all the rage. Everyone wanted to talk to the dead. Except Dr. Alex Gabriel, who thought talking to the dead was ridiculous. Until he met Savannah Bishop, the country’s most unique medium. Using Savannah’s contacts with the World Beyond, Dr. Gabriel and Miss Bishop set out to solve a series of brutal murders that range from the glitz of Hollywood to the backwoods of Arkansas and eventually to the bohemian Left Bank of Paris and finally to pre-Nazi Berlin.

About the Author

Jim Lester holds a PhD in history and is the author of the historical novel, The Blind Boxer and a successful mystery novel called Deadline: New York about the early years of the paperback book industry. He is also the
author of four young adult novels and a non-fiction book entitled Hoop Crazy: College Basketball in the 1950s.

 

Contact Link

Website

Purchase Link

Amazon

Read FREE With Kindle Unlimited

RABT Book Tours & PR

BOOK BLAST: The Madness of Mercury by Connie Di Marco #Mystery #Contemporary @askzodia @GoddessFish

This post ispart of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Connie di Marco will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

The Zodiac Mysteries feature San Francisco astrologer, Julia Bonatti, who never thought murder would be part of her practice. In The Madness of Mercury, Julia’s outspoken advice in her newspaper column, AskZodia, makes her the target of a recently-arrived cult preacher who advocates love and compassion to those less fortunate. But the power-hungry preacher is waging war on sin and his Army of the Prophet will stop at nothing to silence those who would stand in his way. Julia is at the top of his list.

Read an Excerpt

“Thank God you’re there.” Gale sounded very shaky.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m at the Mystic Eye. Something very strange just happened. I heard a knock at the back door. I thought it might be you.”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes. I closed up and sent Cheryl home. When I opened the door . . . oh God, Julia. Someone left a dead cat on the doorstep.”

I cringed. “I’ll be right there.”

“I’m sorry. You don’t need to come. I wrapped it up and put it in plastic in the dumpster. It looked like its neck had been broken.”

“Don’t argue. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Less than that.”

I drove the length of California Street as fast as I could, slowing at each red light. Once I was sure no other cars were crossing I ran through several intersections. When I reached the Eye the shop was closed but the display lights were on in the front windows. I pulled down the alleyway and parked next to Gale’s car. I tapped on the door. “Gale, it’s me.” She opened the door immediately. The storeroom was dark. A stack of empty boxes and packing materials stood against the wall. Inside, the only light was a small desk lamp in the office.

Gale is tall and self-assured with a regal bearing. Tonight she was completely shaken. She hugged her arms, more from fright than from cold. “I feel bad now that I’ve called you. I was just so freaked out. I recognized the cat, it was the little gray one that hangs out behind the apartment building next door. I think it’s a stray. Everyone around here feeds it, even the restaurant people, and it’s such a friendly little thing. Some sick bastard probably gave it some food and then snapped its neck. God, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Shouldn’t you call the cops?”

“And tell them what? I found a dead cat? Please. Like they’d listen. Even if they thought someone had killed it, what could they do?”

“It shows a pattern of harassment. Might be worth making a report.”

She sighed. “Yeah. You’re probably right. I just wasn’t thinking straight. I was so upset.” She collapsed in the chair behind her desk.

I shrugged out of my coat. “Why are you here so late?”

“We just got a huge shipment of books and supplies in. Cheryl’s been working late every night so I sent her home. I had just finished stacking the boxes in the storeroom.” Gale shivered involuntarily. “Look, let’s get out of here. Have you eaten? Why don’t we go up the block and grab some food? Actually a drink sounds even better.”

“Okay.”

“Get your coat. We can leave the cars here and walk. I’ll just get my purse.”

I headed to the front door and checked that the locks were all in place. The drapes separating the display windows from the shop were drawn for privacy. Gale left the desk lamp on in the office and walked out to the front counter. As she reached under the counter for her purse, we heard glass breaking. Then I saw a flash of flame through the doorway to the back storeroom. I screamed. The empty boxes and packing materials had caught fire in an explosive flash. The smoke alarm started to ring, filling the shop with earsplitting sound. Using my coat like a blanket, I dropped it over the center of the flaming pile. It wasn’t going to be enough, but I had to do something before the entire storeroom went up, if not the building.

About the Author:

Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries featuring Julia Bonatti, a San Francisco astrologer who never thought murder would be part of her practice: The Madness of Mercury is the first in the series. Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the national bestselling Soup Lover’s Mysteries from Penguin Random House. You can find her excerpts and recipes in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The Crime Writers Association and Sisters in Crime.

Website
BookBub
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

Amazon
Barnesand Noble
IndieBound

a Rafflecopter giveaway