Tag: series

a look at ‘Abandoned’ by Mary Martinez #RomanticSuspense #series @marylmartinez @ReviewByCrystal

On By Casey's CornerIn Authors & Books, Book Tours1 Comment

Abandoned
By Mary Martinez

About the Book: 

Glenna Beckett loves her family dearly, but being the youngest of six can be overwhelming. Moving across country helped her learn who she was outside the family. She’s built a successful business in the form of a quaint shop on Main Street of Calistoga, that sells a bit of everything vintage, the new age term for antique. What more does she need?

Then he walked into her shop. International playboy, Lance Gordon. After a whirlwind courtship he asks her to marry him. Burying a niggle of doubt in the pit of her tummy, she says yes. He’s even agreed to have the wedding in Brooklyn so her family can attend. But he never arrives.

Glenna refused to believe she’d been abandoned at the altar and asks her brother, Tyler, to contact an agent friend on the West Coast to search for Lance.

Patrick McGinnis can’t believe he’s walking into a prissy shop in the high end of the Napa Valley searching for a missing groom. The bride, Glenna Beckett, is everything he feared, drop dead gorgeous, and a spoiled brat. Not that he’d ever tell her brother that. He hates wild goose chases, and this mission is exactly that. Patrick’s certain the playboy fiancé is off wooing some other delectable creature.

Unfortunately, once Patrick started to dig, he finds there’s more to the tale and it will take all his skills as an agent to keep Glenna safe. Especially when the case takes a turn and threatens the safety of his son, Finn.


The Beckett Series Free and/or On Sale Through 3/8/18:

Disappear (Book I The Beckett Series)
FREE – https://dl.bookfunnel.com/3zymvpmjib
Innocent (Book II The Beckett Series)
Only $.99 Amazon Buy Link
Quiet (Book III The Beckett Series)
Only $.99 Amazon Buy Link
Illusion – Utopia the Beginning (Book IV The Beckett Series)
Only $.99 Amazon Buy Link
Profit – Utopia the Conclusion (Book V The Beckett Series)
Only $.99 Amazon Buy Link

Abandoned  (Book V The Beckett Series)
Amazon Buy Link

For more links:
Website: www.marymartinez.com

Excerpt:
Patrick McGinnis thumbed his phone off and dropped the thing on the table with a thud. What had he just agreed to? He held in a groan, barely.
“What’s up dad? You look like you just ate a sour grape.”
Finnegan, his sixteen-year old son, and the joy of his life, walked to the cupboard and pulled out a bowl. He filled it with cereal and added milk and then joined Patrick at the table. He dipped his spoon for a large scoop, and as he brought it to his mouth, Finn gave him the I’m waiting look.
“I just received a call from an old friend,” he said in way of explanation, he really didn’t like talking work with his son.
“It must not have been a good conversation.”
“It was good to catch up. He was with me at Quantico.” Best to focus on the old acquaintance part.
“Dad, I’m in high school. You can stop sheltering me now. He must have called for a reason. One you’re not too thrilled about. What’s up?” He repeated his earlier question.
Damn, Finn was growing up to fast. And the kid was right. He had a tendency to shield him from his work. Something he’d always tried to do, but more since Finn was three and the worst thing that could ever happened to a child had happened.
“Tyler is an agent in New York, however, he has a sister in Calistoga.”
His son let out a hoot of laughter. “Match-making from the east coast.”
“Ha, ha. No, his sister seems to have lost her fiancé and her assistant.”
“What they elope and left her behind? Why’d he call you?”
“The fiancé never arrived at the wedding. And then when his sister went to open her shop she found the assistant had been shot.”
“Oh.” Finn ate for a few minutes in silence. “Does the lost fiancé and the dead assistant have something to do with each other?”
“That’s one of the things Ty wants me to find out.”
Finn suspended his spoon half way to his mouth. “What is the other?”
“He wants me to find the missing fiancé for his sister.” He pulled his fingers through his hair. “It’s a wild goose chase if you ask me. If the guy had wanted to get married he’d have been at the wedding.”
“You’d think, unless he couldn’t.”
Patrick contemplated his son. He would make a good detective. He’d already helped solve a few of his cases, by just listening and making comments that brought other solutions to mind. Patrick wasn’t sure he wanted that for his son. He loved being a federal agent. For a while, after the incident with his son, he’d tried something else. However, his true passion was law enforcement and he’d been placed back on duty within the year.
You couldn’t help where your heart led you. No matter the consequences. 
“That is what I need to find out.” He stood and poured more coffee into his cup to warm up the cooling liquid. He leaned a hip on the counter while he sipped. “What’s going on at school today?”
Finn finished his cereal and stood to wash his bowl out. He appeared to be thinking as he put his dishes in the dishwasher.
“I have an algebra test. Just a fair warning, Dad, it’s kicking my ass.”
“Language son.” But he smiled, he’d heard a lot worse. “I have a few minutes do you need my help?”
His son gave him a skeptical look, which was well warranted. Algebra had thoroughly kicked his ass in high school, too, to the point he’d needed Saturday morning classes to pass the damn class.
After a moment he answered. “No, Mrs. Stewart said she’d meet me before school.”
“Old Mrs. Stewart is still there? I had her for Algebra.” He smiled and resisted the urge to ruffle his son’s hair. Since the boy was almost as tall as he was, it’d be a little awkward anyway. “You’re in good hands then. Do you want me to drop you on my way to Calistoga?”
 
Author Bio:

Mary lives in Magna, a little town west of Salt Lake City, Utah. Together with her husband, she has six grown children, and six wonderful grandsons and five beautiful granddaughters. She loves to spend time with family and friends–she includes good books as friends!
Mary and her husband love to travel, especially to the Caribbean for relaxing, and Italy for the wine. And most recently she discovered she was Irish and Scottish, of course they had to visit Ireland and Scotland. Mary fell in love with both, but the green hills of Ireland felt like home. With the experience from the exotic places she has visited, she is able to fill her books with colorful descriptions of cities, painting a colorful backdrop for her characters. One of her favorite US destinations is New York/Brooklyn, where her beloved Beckett’s live. When she visits, she can wander their neighborhoods, favorite parks, and visit their favorite pub, Putnum’s.

 They are avid concert ‘Ho’s’! Yes, they pretty much want to do them all. They love outdoor amphitheaters the best and attend as many during the warmer months as possible.

 Mary writes mostly romantic suspense, romance, women’s fiction, and she has just begun to dabble in young adult mystery. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA). During her writing career she has been a conference coordinator, workshop presenter, and chapter president for the Utah Chapter of RWA. In 2007 she was presented with the Utah RWA service award in acknowledgment and appreciation for outstanding service. Mary has also participated in numerous library panels on writing and co-presented a workshop on writing a series at the League of Utah Writers conference.
Mary and her husband are also enthusiastic college football fans. They have season tickets to the UTES, University of Utah Football and they tailgate every game. They love tailgating so much, that they were married at a tailgating in 1999.
GO UTES!

Website and social media links:
Buy Link Amazon:

www.amazon.com/Mary-Martinez/e/B006MWJ1T6

Website: www.marymartinez.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryMartinez
Twitter: twitter.com/marylmartinez
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mlmartinez3/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/1646623.Mary_Martinez
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCTww3B2ofa11UPFrSe0WGAg
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/marylmartinez3
Mary’s Garden Blog: marysbooksblogger.blogspot.com
The After Work Cook: theafterworkcook.blogspot.com 

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a look at The Poppy McGuire Mysteries by Anina Collins #mystery #series @SDSXXTours

On By Casey's CornerIn Authors & Books, Book ToursLeave a comment
The Eleventh Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 1
by Anina Collins
Genre: Cozy Mystery
196 pages
Poppy McGuire has always been a curious soul, but it’s her life that’s usually the topic of conversation in the small town of Sunset Ridge. But now one of the town’s most important citizens has been found murdered, and everyone’s life is suspect.
What begins as a friendly wager with her old friend Officer Derek Hampton soon becomes far more for Poppy, and she turns to Alex Montero for help, but the enigmatic former Baltimore cop’s quiet way hides as many secrets as each suspect they encounter.
Everyone in Sunset Ridge has something to hide, but Poppy and Alex are determined to uncover the identity of the murderer. They just have to watch that they don’t become the next victims.
After Hours
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 2
202 pages
While life in Sunset Ridge is quaint and charming during the day, what happens after the sun goes down might shock the citizens of this small town. Things are heating up in Poppy McGuire’s home town, and it isn’t just the July weather.
Poppy and her new partner Alex have their eyes opened to the realities of Sunset Ridge after dark when a traveling salesman is murdered in his room at the Hotel Piermont, a common destination for cheating spouses on the outskirts of town. When they find out what he sells, the mystery gets even more interesting.
Top of the Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 3
204 pages
Controversy sells as much as sex, and nobody knows that better than the local radio morning DJ who loves to talk politics. His shows enrage people, but who hated Lee Reynolds enough to shoot him point blank and leave him for dead in the woods outside of town?
Poppy and Alex have no shortage of suspects and for once aren’t at odds on who they like for the crime. But all is not well between the partners. This time, murder has brought with it a new love interest for Poppy, but Alex isn’t happy with this turn of events.
Will he lose Poppy, the one person he trusts in Sunset Ridge?
The Darkest Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 4
210 pages
Poppy and Alex come up against their toughest case yet, and they may never be the same again.
When someone close to both Poppy and Alex is found brutally murdered, all the clues point to Alex as the killer. But Poppy knows in her heart that her partner could never commit such a heinous crime. As the evidence begins to mount against him, Poppy must race against the clock to prove that the man she trusts with her very life isn’t the murderer, even as everyone around her is convinced of his guilt.
But if Alex isn’t the killer, who is? As the mystery unravels, the past and present finally meet in Sunset Ridge.
Happy Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 5
266 pages
Poppy and Alex are back for another mystery in Happy Hour, the fifth book in the Poppy McGuire Mystery Series!
Springtime brings warm weather and murder to Sunset Ridge, and for Poppy, this particular case strikes close to home.
Antiques dealer Marcus Tyne is found dead in the front seat of his friend’s car outside of McGuire’s after a Cinco de Mayo celebration, but at first glance, there’s no reason why he’s dead.
Until the coroner finds out he’s been poisoned.
When a second man is poisoned, Poppy and Alex are thrust into a mystery that threatens to tear them apart. While they struggle to solve the case as their differences become more apparent, a murderer walks free in Sunset Ridge and may have another victim in their sights.
The Witching Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 6
207 pages
In the middle of a late summertime heatwave, a woman Poppy interviewed for an article on paganism is found with a dagger buried in her chest in the woods out near Alex’s house. Initially, Stephen and Craig are given the case, but when Derek determines that this murder shouldn’t be their first big case together, Alex and Poppy are brought in to help.
But Stephen has never liked Poppy, and tensions quickly begin to run high between the two sets of partners. The Sunset Ridge police force can’t afford to have infighting if they want to solve this case before a fear of witches takes hold in town.
It doesn’t take long before everyone reaches their breaking point and Alex wonders if he will be a Sunset Ridge police officer for much longer. Life is about to change for him and Poppy, but will that change mean the end of his time in town?
The Finest Hour
Poppy McGuire Mysteries Book 7
Join Poppy and Alex for the final Poppy McGuire mystery!
For three years, Poppy and Alex have worked together solving cases in their small town of Sunset Ridge, first as just co-workers but later as partners in nearly every sense of the word. Now they’re about to take the final step and become husband and wife, but in the midst of getting ready for what folks around town are calling the wedding of the year, the murder of someone involved in the preparations makes their plans go awry.
Samuel Morrow, the kind man who has run Morrow’s Jewelers for over twenty years, is found murdered in an apparent break-in, and there’s no shortage of suspects who may have had a reason to kill him. Oddly enough, something very valuable to Poppy and Alex is missing from his store too. Is the theft connected to the murder?
As they hunt for Samuel’s killer, carefully eliminating suspect after suspect, they must juggle cake tastings and reception planning, as all the while someone’s watching their favorite amateur sleuth. Will Poppy and Alex solve the case and reach the altar, or will the killer make their ever after far less than happy?
Anina Collins has always loved a good mystery. As a child, her favorite books were Nancy Drew books passed down from her grandmother, and as she grew up, she moved on to Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and their famous detectives. She currently lives in North Carolina and writes her Poppy McGuire Mystery series.
Follow the tour HERE for exclusive content and a giveaway!

a look at the Northstar Security Firm #Series by Stanalei Fletcher #RomanticSuspense @StanaleiFletch @ReviewByCrystal

On By Casey's CornerIn Authors & Books, Book Tours1 Comment

Stanalei Fletcher’s January Blowout Sale Blog Tour
All 5 Northstar Security Series books are on sale for only 
$.99 during the tour only!

GiveAway: Stanalei is offering some fabulous prizes during this tour. One Lucky winner will have the chance to choose an ebook from her backlist, another lucky winner will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate, and one lucky winner will have the chance to choose a print book from Stanalei’s backlist. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember to follow along with the tour to increase your chances of winning. You may find the other tour locations here. 

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Series Blurb: 

Northstar Security Firm is an elite private security agency whose mission statement: GUIDED BY THE TRUTH, is the guiding principle to provide justice for those who have been wronged. Founded by former CIA agents Byron O’Neal, Katherine O’Neal, and Sean Malone, Northstar Security has a ninety-nine percent success rate. That one percent is a still open case involving Katherine’s murder and Sean Malone’s career-ending gunshot wound. Nothing is a hundred percent guaranteed, and angst over one unsolved case doesn’t stop good men and women from fulfilling their duty.
Proving Ground

Northstar Security Series Book #1

About the Book: 

A screw-up, a wild fire, and a bio-terrorist. What could go wrong?
Proving Ground introduces the high stakes world of The Northstar Security Firm. Caitlin Malone’s only hope of saving her town, maybe even the entire country, is pinned on the one man who broke her heart.

Screw-ups don’t get second chances. That’s what Caitlin Malone believes when she returns to Oregon after failing her first Northstar Security assignment. When she inadvertently stumbles across a plot to steal deadly pathogens from the bio-lab near her hometown, she sees a chance at redemption.

USDA Forest Ranger, John ‘Mac’ MacAlistair, doesn’t want to babysit the motorcycle club holding their annual rally in his national forest. To make matters worse, Caitlin is attending the rally with Mac’s estranged uncle. Having her home again brings up feelings that are better left buried.

It’s early September. Any spark will send the dry timber into a raging fire. The terrorists are counting on that distraction to work in their favor. When Caitlin is trapped by the wildfire, her only hope of rescue is pinned on Mac, the man she’s tried two years to forget. Before they can share their feelings, Mac and Caitlin must first escape the burning forest and stop the terrorists from releasing the deadly pathogens.

Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Excerpt:
…he couldn’t reach the knife. Although handy in most situations, it would be useless against a gun. His only chance of coming out unscathed in this encounter would be quick reflexes and luck. Mostly luck.
Breathing slowly, he cleared his mind, took a cautious step forward—and froze when he heard the click of the gun’s safety release.
The time it took to consider alternatives should’ve been spent backing out the door. However, in his nearly thirty years, he’d only run away from one situation, which, although dangerous to his emotional well-being, hadn’t been life threatening. He wasn’t backing down now.
The gun didn’t waver. The person behind it remained shadowed, but steady hands indicated someone other than a fly-by-night burglar. Had one of Sean’s old nemeses come after him for some long overdue retribution?
“I don’t know who you are.” Mac kept his voice calm, soothing. “But I’m pretty sure I’m not the person you want to shoot.”
The snick of a switch and a blaze of overhead light prevented more talk. Blinded by the sudden brightness, Mac stood rooted to the floor, hands in the air, not daring to make any sudden moves.
“Damn it, Mac, I could’ve killed you!”
Caitlin Malone.
Mac’s heart stirred to life. Blood surged through his veins as his breath released on a whoosh. He lowered his hands, but his body refused to budge. His reaction had nothing to do with the fact Caitlin had greeted him with a shotgun, and everything to do with the woman herself.

Dead Reckoning
Northstar Security Series Book #2
About the Book: 

Byron O’Neal, Northstar Security Firm’s director didn’t always run an elite private investigation firm. His early CIA years were spent chasing Soviet spies. Now his past is catching up, and Kellee, Bryon’s daughter is caught in the middle of a game of Russian Roulette. Northstar agent and former Navy SEAL, Egan Maddox, is tasked to save Kellee from the Russian mafia before it’s too late, a task that puts not only his life, but his heart on the line.

 Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press


Beyond Duty
Northstar Security Series Book #3

About the Book: 
When Northstar Security Firm investigates the blackmail of a U.S. Senator, agents Riley O’Neal and Mary “Chip” Anderson don the unwelcome cover of newlyweds to find two kidnapped women and stop the blackmail – and posing as newlyweds to avert a national security crisis is a lot harder than it seems.

 Buy Links: 
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press


Breaking the Honor Code
Northstar Security Series Book #4

About the Book: 
Cyber-terrorism brings even the most powerful companies to their knees. When Northstar Security Firm discovers a breach inside their computer firewall, agent Sloan Cartland will do anything to help the firm’s brilliant computer tech, Allison Richards, find the culprit—even after he learns that all evidence of the hack points back to Allison.


 Buy Links: 

Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

Tell It Like It Is
Northstar Security Series Book #5

About the Book: 

FBI agent, Nelson Kane’s Aunt Rosalee has a story to tell. Someone wants her stopped. When Northstar Security’s unconventional bodyguard, Justine Shelby, is assigned as Aunt Rosalee’s protection, Shelby learns she’s as welcome as a wiretap at the annual J. Edgar Hoover Christmas party. Ornaments start to fly when Shelby informs by-the-book, Agent Kane to stay out of the way while she helps his aunt complete her tell-all memoirs.

Buy Links:
Amazon | The Wild Rose Press

About the Author:

Stanalei’s love of writing romance stems from reading favorites such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Barbara Cartland, and Alistair MacLean. She has over twenty years of training in the martial arts and holds the rank of Sandan, a third-degree black belt, in Aikido.
After a taste of life on both U.S. coasts, she now resides near the beautiful Wasatch Mountain Range with her hero, who just happens to be her best friend and husband. Together they enjoy backcountry dirt trails on a RZR, visiting our National Parks, or exploring museums and ghost towns. You may visit Stanalei at: 

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