Dead Ringer: Book Spotlight

I need a mail demon slayer. (I have been reading demon slayer books lately.) The Chicago Post Office demons are at it again. I was suppose to review Mary Burton's new suspense thriller Dead Ringer, but the Chicago Post Office demons decided that they wanted to read the book first. I agreed to review the book in early October, but I never received it. But when I opened my mailbox today, the resent copy was there. So as soon as I have read it. I will post a review. You gotta love the Chicago Post Office demons. At least they like to read.

So instead of a review, it is a book spotlight. Just a little tease to get you excited about this new book which is in stores now or at Amazon .com.

About The Book:

SOME NIGHTMARES.

Beside each body, he leaves a simple charm bearing a woman's name. Ruth. Martha. Judith. The victims were strangers to each other, but they have been chosen with the utmost care. Each bears a striking resemblance to Kendall Shaw, a local anchorwoman … each brutally strangled by a madman whose obsession will never end...

DON'T FADE.

In front of the cameras, Kendall is the picture of stylish confidence. But at night she's haunted by nightmares in which she is young, alone, and filled with fear. Are these memories-or omens? Despite warnings from Richmond Detective Jacob Warwick, Kendall can't stop investigating the recent string of murders. She knows she holds the key to catching an obsessed psychopath-if he doesn't get to her first.

WITH DAYLIGHT

The deeper Kendall and Jacob dig into the victims' backgrounds, the more terrifying the discoveries. For from the shadows of the past, a legacy of evil has resurfaced. Every murder, every moment has been leading to Kendall. And this time, nothing will stop the killer making her his final victim.

If you want to read an excerpt of Dead Ringer check out Mary Burton's website.

After reading the excerpt, It seems like it will be an intense read. I want to learn more about the relationship between Detective Jacob Warwick and news reporter Kendall Shaw. I hope that this will be a I can't put this book down read.


About The Author:

Mary Burton confesses to a baking addiction and a fascination with the people who hunt serial killers. The former is genetic. The latter began during the twenty years that the Southside Strangler, D.C. Sniper and the Hampton Roads killers stalked her home state of Virginia. These killers terrorized residents and claimed twenty-six victims before their capture

Why did they kill? What demons drove them? How did they choose their victims? Burton’s questions led to inspiration and the USA Today best selling author began developing the characters whose horrific assaults would drive the plots of her romantic suspense novels I’M WATCHING YOU and DEAD RINGER.

Her commitment to realism in her writing has led to eye-opening interviews with local law enforcement, forensic seminars and the firing range. She is a graduate from the Henrico County Citizens Police Academy and attended Sisters in Crime’s three day Forensic University program.

Born and raised in Richmond, Mary Burton is an avid cook as well as baker, and even volunteered as a kitchen assistant at a local culinary school to hone her skills. When not writing and researching she can be found hiking, doing yoga and playing with her miniature dachshund puppies, Buddy and Bella. Currently, she is working on her next novel.

You can visit Pump Up Your Book Promotions to find reviews of this book, interviews with Mary Burton and guest blogging done by Mary Burton. You can also visit Mary Burton's Website for further information about this book.

The Darker Side

Welcome to Cody McFadyen's Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour.

The Darker Side by Cody Mcfadyen is the third book in the Smoky Barrett series.

About the Book:
A lie, a long-ago affair, a dark desire- everyone has secrets they take to the grave. No one knew that better than FBI Special Agent Smoky Barrett. But what secret was a very private young woman keeping that led her to her very public murder? And what kind of killer was so driven and so brazenly daring that he'd take her life on a commercial airliner thirty thousand feed in middair, a killer so accomplished that he'd leave only a small souvenir behind?

These are the questions that bring Smoky and her handpicked team of experienced manhunters from L.A. to the autumn chill of Washington, D.C., by order of the FBI director himself - and at the special request of a high-powered grieving D.C. mother.

As a mother, Smoky knows the pain of losing a child - it nearly killed her once before. As a cop with her own twisted past, she takes every murder personally, which is both her greatest strength and her only weakness. Brilliant, merciless, righteous, the killer Smoky is hunting this time is on his own personal mission, whose cost in innocent human lives he's only begun to collect. For in his eyes no one is innocent; everyone harbors a secret sin, including Smoky Barrett.

Soon Smoky will have to confront a flawless killer who knows her flaws with murderous intimacy.

OK, it is almost 11:00 at night and I have to start this review all over. Somehow as I was getting ready to post, I lost my Internet connection and all that I had written was lost. So as I have to get up early and finish my lesson plan for work I will keep this review short.

Review:
Secrets are central theme to this book. We learn about Smoky's secret, which she has to come to terms with so that her relationship with the man she is seeing, Tommy, can move on to the next level.

The Serial Killer wants to be hunted. He leads Smoky and her team on a cat and mouse chase. They need to solve the clues before there is a next victim.

Cody McFadyen is a visual and detailed writer. He has done his research well. He makes everything believable.

I found The Darker Side to be a suspenseful read. I was one the edge of my seat as I read the book. I can't wait until book 4 comes out so that I can continue to read about Smoky and her team adventures.

Shadow Man

After reading The Faces of Death by Cody McFadyen, I wanted to read the first book in the Smoky Barrett series. I went to the Library and checked out Shadow Man.

We met Smoky after she has been knifed and scarred, raped and her family is killed by a serial killer that her FBI team and her have been tracking. She is trying to decide if she should live or die; when she learns that her best friend from high school has been killed and that the killer tied her friend's daughter to the body and left the girl there for three days. Smoky receives a message from the killer taunting her. Something awakens in Smoky that she thought was died and she goes in search of the killer who calls himself Jack the Ripper 2.

After reading The Faces of Death, I had high expectations for Shadow Man. It did not live up to my expectations. The book started out slow. I had a hard time getting into the book but around page 200 things got better. The chase was on to find out who the killer was and stop him from killing again. Things became more intense and fast. I understand that this was Cory McFadyen's first book and he was still refining his writing style. I wish it had the same intensity as The Faces on Death.

I figured out who the killer was early and then I made the most cardinal sin a reader can do. I read ahead to see if I was right and I was. Reading ahead can be a good thing or a bad thing in this case it was a bad thing. It made a slow book slower.

If you want to read a book in the Smoky Barrett series, either read the series in order or start with The Faces of Death and not read the Shadow Man. Wow I did not realize how much I did not like this book until I wrote the review. Sorry Cody.

But I did love The Faces of Death. You can check out my review at http://readingmama.blogspot.com/2008/08/face-of-death.html I just began to read the third book in the Smoky Series, The Darker Side. So far it is good. A murder on an airplane and no body saw anything. How does that sound, chilling?

Happy Reading

Left To Die

Welcome to Lisa Jackson's Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour.

This is a rescheduled review of Left to Die by Lisa Jackson.

A Serial Killer was loose in Grizzly Falls, Montana. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli wanted a career making case, but not this case. After four murders, they have nothing to go on; but the killer's mysterious notes. That he leaves with the bodies.

The Serial Killer has a mission. To be successful woman must die. He believes that he is smarter than the police. They can not see his vision, but in time they will.

Jillian Rivers is trapped in her wrecked car. Then a stranger pulls her free. He says his name is Zane MacGregor a trail guide. Is he friend or foe?

There are three story lines in this book. There is the Serial Killer's, the police detective's who are trying to solve this case and their personal lives, and Jullian's story.

Regan Pescoli personal life is very complicated. She has two children and an ex-husband who has remarried. Her daughter thinks that he is the cooler parent and her step mom is great. Her son wanted nothing to do with him, because he is not his father. But when he gets into trouble and his mom gets tough. He runs to his step-dad. She has to deal with all of this and still find out who the serial killer is. I am glad that we get to know more about her in the sequel to Left To Day, Chosen To Die. Chosen To Die will be released in August 2009

I liked that we get to peak into the Serial Killer's mind. It was chilling that we get to hear his thoughts and what he thinks of his destiny.

Jillian's story is interesting as well. She left Seattle to find if her first husband was still alive. As she is driving down a snow covered road. Her tires are shot out and she goes off the road, down a ridge. Has she been saved only to die later?

The ending is unexpected.

It took a while for me to get into the book, but once I did I liked it. I must be weird, but for me the best part was when we were in the Serial Killer's mind.

This book is a suspenseful thriller with some romance thrown in. Give this book a chance. Once you get past the first part of the book, you should become intrigued to see what happens in the end.

Happy Reading

The Face of Death

Welcome to Cody McFadyen's Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour.


The Face of Death by Cody McFadyen is intense psychological thriller with a chilling serial killer.

Synopsis:


A sixteen-year-old girl holds a gun to her head at the scene of a grisly triple homicide. She claims "The Stranger" killed her adoptive family, that he's been following her all her life, killing everyone she ever loved, and that no one believes her. But Special Agent Smoky Barret does. Her team has been handpicked from among the nation's elite law enforcement specialists and they are as obsessed and relentless as the psychos they hunt; they'll have to be to deal with this case.

For another vicious double homicide reveals a killer embarked on a dark crusade of trauma and death : an "artist" who's molding Sarah into the perfect victim-and the ultimate weapon. To catch him, Smoky is going to have to put her own fragile, once-shattered life on the line. For The Stranger is all too real, all too close, and all too determined. And when he finally shows his face, Smoky had better be ready to face her worst fear.
from back cover

When I finished reading The Face of Death, I was liked oh my gosh how am I going to review this book. All I can say is that I LOVED IT.

Smoky Barrett is an intense FBI Agent who has both physical and emotional scars that she has acquired from past cases. She heads the Violent Crimes Unit in Los Angeles. She has a decision to make to stay with her team in L.A. or become a teacher of new FBI recruits in Quantico. I love Smoky. She is a tough lady who is able to overcome her past. She cares about her adopted daughter and her friends. They have become her family.

Not that I am an expert in serial killers, but I feel that The Stranger is a little bit different then the typical serial killers that we read about. The Stranger has planned all of this years ago and over time his plans have come to fruition. That is what I find chilling about this book.

For a couple of night after I read the book, I had a hard time sleeping. I was afraid that someone would come into my house. That is how intense this book was. I don't even know when the last time a book made me react that way.

A word of caution there is graphic violence. It was shocking to read what The Stranger did to his victims but I feel that it was necessary to put it into the book so that we and Smoky can see into The Stranger's mind.

This is the second book in the Smoky Barrett series. You do not need to read the first book to understand the second. McFadyen explains the past so you can understand what happened to Smoky. The first book in the series is Shadow Man. The third book The Darker Side will be available in October. I will be looking for these two books so that I can read more about Smoky.

About the Author:

Cody McFadyen was born in Texas in 1968. He now resides in California. He designed websites before selling his first novel. He lives with his two black labs, often referred to as ‘The Black Forces of Destruction.’ His first novel Shadow Man and his second book were both international best sellers.

I'm Watching You/Rescheduled Review

Today I was to review Mary Burton's new book I'm Watching You. But I am still waiting for the book. Where is the book? Lost somewhere in space I guess. But I did receive Lisa Jackson's Left to Die. As soon as I read the book I will put up a review. But back to I'm Watching You since I am unable to write a review I would like to give you some information about this new book just like I did with Left to Die.

This is the synopsis that I got off of Mary Burton's Publishers, Kensington Publishing, website.

He’ll Taste Their Fear…

The first kill was easy. The second much easier. No guilt, no remorse, just a rush of adrenaline surging through him as each life drains away, and the pleasure of knowing that their deaths help his beloved Lindsay. And there are so many more who deserve to die…

Hear Their Screams…

The first twisted gift to Lindsay O’Neil arrives hidden in a bouquet of flowers. When her estranged husband, Detective Zack Kier, is assigned to the case, Lindsay’s past comes back with a vengeance. Because only Zack knows the dark secret she lives with—or so she thinks. Now nothing can prepare her for the nightmare to come…

And Watch Them Die…

Everything Lindsay’s stalker does, every life he takes, is for her. But when Lindsay spurns his gifts, she and those she loves most become targets of a depraved madman whose rage is growing, and who is waiting, watching, closer than she ever feared

This book sounds like it will be an exciting and thrilling read. Does it give you chills and make you wonder what Lindsay stalker is up to and why he killing for her?

If you visit Kensington Publishing's website, you can read a chapter from I'm Watching You. I found the chapter to be chilling.

You can visit Pump Up Your Book Promotions to find reviews of this book, interviews with Mary Burton and guest blogging by Mary Burton. You can also visit Mary Burton's Website for further information about this book.

Left to Die/Review rescheduled

I was schedule to post a review for Lisa Jackson's new book Left To Die but for whatever reason I have not received the book yet. I hope it is not my post office. Chicago is notoriously known to have bad postal service. But I have not had any problems before. I have not received three books that I am schedule to review. I have emailed the people who I am working with, still no books. It makes me wonder if it is the post office. Needless to say I am getting frustrated. I want my books. They look so good. Enough ranting, back to what I want to say.

Since I am unable to review Left To Die by Lisa Jackson; I still wanted to give you some information related to this new book. It is available in stores everywhere. Ok I have seen it at Target, Walmart and Borders. So I assume it is available in stores everywhere.

This is a book description that I got off of Lisa Jackson's publisher website.

Nothing’s More Terrifying…

One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piece, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can’t yet see the beauty in his work—but soon, very soon, they will…

Than Being Left Alone…

In the lonely woods around Grizzly Point, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer’s cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come…

To Die…

When Jillian Rivers opens her eyes, she’s trapped in a mangled car. Then a stranger, claiming to be a trail guide named Zane McGregor, pries her free. Though she’s grateful, something about him sets Jillian on edge. And if she knew what lay out there in the woods of Montana, she’d be truly terrified. Because someone is waiting…watching…poised to strike and make Jillian the next victim…

Does it sound good? It seems that it will be a terrifying and suspenseful read.

If you visit her publisher's website, you can also read a chapter from Left to Die.

Since I am unable to write a review for you, you can go to Pump Up Your Book Promotions to see other reviews related to this book, Lisa Jackson's interviews and Lisa Jackson being a guest blogger. You can also visit Lisa Jackson's website for more information on the book. The website has a book trailer for Left to Die, you should go check it out.

When I receive the book, I will post my review.

Happy Reading