Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.
Stand up against him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being laid upon your brothers and sisters throughout the world.
After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace – who has called you into His eternal glory in Messiah – will Himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.
1 Peter 5:8-10
Imperfect Justice
By Cara Putman
The world may be convinced Kaylene Adams killed her daughter and then was shot by police, but attorney Emilie Wesley knows a different story. Kaylene would never hurt anyone. Her death shakes Emilie’s belief that she can make a difference for women in violent marriages. Self-doubt plagues her as she struggles to continue her work in the wake of the tragedy.
Reid Billings thought he knew his sister—right up until he learned how she died. He discovers a letter from Kaylene begging him to fight for custody of her daughters if anything should happen to her. No attorney in her right mind would support an uncle instead of the father in a custody case, but Kaylene’s letter claims Emilie Wesley will help him.
Thrown together in the race to save Kaylene’s surviving daughter, Emily and Reid pursue the constantly evasive truth. If they can hang on to hope together, can they save a young girl-and find a future for themselves in the process?
ISLAND BREEZES
This book is about abusive family situations and what appears to be a murder/suicide. Emilie is drawn into all this, because she works at a center where Kaylene Adams was seeking help.
She is further drawn in when Kaylene’s brother wants her to help him gain custody of his remaining niece, who is critically injured in that shooting event. As it happens, they are racing against the clock.
This author keeps your attention even if you’ve already decided you know who the shooter actually was. Be prepared for some surprises.
Thank you, Ms Putman, for sucking me into your book. I’m proud you’re a fellow Hoosier. I’m looking forward to many more books from you.
***I received this book free of charge from Litfuse.***
Cara Putman is the author of more than 25 legal thrillers, historical romances, and romantic suspense novels. She has won or been a finalist for honors including the ACFW Book of the Year and the Christian Retailing’s BEST Award. Cara graduated high school at 16, college at 20, completed her law degree at 27, and recently received her MBA. She is a practicing attorney, teaches undergraduate and graduate law courses at a Big Ten business school, and is a homeschooling mom of four. She lives with her husband and children in Indiana.
Find out more about Cara at http://caraputman.com
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, to know how you ought to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:6
It’s the fall of 1976, and New York’s Chinatown is in turmoil over news that Mao’s daughter is seeking asylum in the U.S. Robert Chow is a detective in training, and he is thrilled when his girlfriend Lonnie scores an interview with the Chinese representative of Mao’s daughter. But hours after the interview, the man is found dead. Lonnie, the last person to see him alive, is the main suspect.
As Lonnie is subjected to increasing amounts of intimidation from his fellow policemen, who want to close the case, Robert is tempted to reach into his own bag of dirty tricks. Will he stay on the right side of the law, or will his loyalty to Lonnie get the better of him? Find out in this exciting and fast-paced mystery set in one of New York’s most fascinating neighborhoods.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery
Published by: Witness Impulse
Publication Date: November 21st 2017
Number of Pages:
ISBN: 0062444204 (ISBN13: 9780062444202)
Series: Detective Robert Chow #3
Purchase Links: Amazon ? | Barnes & Noble ? | Goodreads ?
The woman was standing in a pool of wet ashes, her hands at her sides. She was about five seven but that was with heels on. Her thick black hair cascaded over her ears and shoulders, and she did something to it to make it shiny. A light brown coat stopped above a skirt that stopped midway down two taut thighs in stockings with a dull glow.
I smirked because I was sure that she had spent some time thinking about how she wanted to look from the rear. To men.
But this was no time for amusement. I came in close to her forehead and growled under my breath, “Barbara, what the hell are you doing here!”
When she turned around I saw my head and torso in her two black, sparkling eyes. Her face was long and not too narrow and came down to a chin that fairy princesses had. Her red lips, usually curved like a little blossom, were pulled taut into a wide smile.
She grabbed my arm and said, “Robert!”
“This is a crime scene! Now let’s get out of this thing!”
“I’m so sorry!”
She continued to hold on to me as we stepped over the tape together, matching leg for leg. I had lost part of my mind in Nam, but she had lost a lot more. Barbara used to be the prettiest girl in Chinatown. Now she was its prettiest widow.
“You know anything about the fire, Barbara?” I looked into her face. There was lightning behind her dark eyes.
“No. I don’t. Can we stop whispering now?”
“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter at this point,” I said in full voice.
“Look, I didn’t mean any harm. I just had to see the place up close. Artie Yee published my first story, back when I was in grade school.”
“I didn’t know about that.”
“I brought it into school to show everybody. Don’t you remember?”
“How am I supposed to remember that one thing? You always had something to show off in school. If it wasn’t a story you wrote, it’d be a story about you.”
She snorted.
“Did you stay in touch with Artie over the years?” I asked.
“I’d run into him from time to time.”
“Were the two of you friends?”
“Oh, no, no. I learned to keep my distance from that one. Did you know that he asked me to marry him when I turned eighteen?”
“He wasn’t much better looking back then, was he?”
“He looked like a younger walrus.”
“You’re not enemies with Artie, though, are you?”
“I’m not one of them, but he has many enemies,” she said. “You know that.”
“He did his part in pissing off all areas of Chinatown.”
“Artie doesn’t respect authority. That’s a good thing for a journalist.”
“Then how come you didn’t keep writing for him?”
“Artie doesn’t respect women.” She shivered and then slapped my arm. “I heard Paul got into that program at Columbia.”
“Thanks to you,” I said.
“Thanks in part to me, anyway.” She paused. “Doesn’t that mean you’ll take me to dinner?”
“Maybe Paul should.”
“Get serious. Actually, maybe Paul should come and meet my youngest sister. You know she’s up at Columbia because she got into Barnard early. Maybe she should stick to Chinatown boys, like I should have.”
“Hey, Barbara, let’s talk about this later. I have to get back to work here.”
“You’re going to call me?”
“I’ll get in touch.”
She walked off and I returned to my post.
Years ago, Barbara and her three younger sisters were the four little princesses of Chinatown. She liked to say that her parents never did get that son, but the truth was her parents learned to love all their daughters to death. They all had beauty and smarts, and because of that you knew they’d get out of Chinatown and never come back.
But Barbara did return after her husband was killed in Khe Sanh. The oldest, the prettiest, and the smartest of the sisters, she moved back alone into their old family home to find some comfort, I guess.
There was a brief period when I thought she was the love of my life, but it was a while ago and it ended embarrassingly enough. Thinking about it again put me in a bad mood.
“Hello Sunshine,” said Vandyne.
“It was Barbara,” I said.
“Oh! What the hell was she doing there?”
“She wanted to see the place up close. Artie published one of her stories back when she was a smart, little girl.”
“Seriously, though, could she have had anything at all to do with this?”
“Her? No way, man!”
“Do you know that for sure?”
“Yes,” I said. “I would bet my soul on it.”
***
Excerpt from One Red Bastard by Ed Lin. Copyright © 2017 by Ed Lin. Reproduced with permission from Witness Impulse. All rights reserved.
ISLAND BREEZES
This book takes place in Chinatown, and therefore, offers some unique situations and settings. This is a novel I did not want to put down. Not only because of the action, but also because of the historical and cultural insight into the world of Robert and Lonnie. I always enjoy learning something new when I read.
Robert has quite a struggle trying to investigate a murder which his girlfriend is suspected of committing. It’s especially difficult since he’s been ordered to stay away from the case. It keeps him on his toes.
I’ve enjoyed being introduced to the many facets of Robert Chow. Now I’m going to have to make a library run so that I can become more immersed in this character.
Thank you, Mr. Lin, for broadening my literary experiences. How soon can I expect the next Robert Chow book?
***Book provided without charge by Partners in Crime Tours.***
Ed Lin, a native New Yorker of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, is the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards and is an all-around standup kinda guy. His books include Waylaid and This Is a Bust, both published by Kaya Press in 2002 and 2007, respectively. Snakes Can’t Run and One Red Bastard, which both continue the story of Robert Chow set in This Is a Bust, were published by Minotaur Books. His latest book, Ghost Month, a Taipei-based mystery, was published by Soho Crime in July 2014. Lin lives in Brooklyn with his wife, actress Cindy Cheung, and son.
Click here to view the One Red Bastard by Ed Lin Participants
“But I tell you that on the Day of Judgment, men will give account for every careless word they speak.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Matthew 12: 36, 37
Deadly Proof
By Rachel Dylan
You’ll be on the edge of your seat reading the start of
Rachel Dylan’s Atlanta Justice series.
Tapped as lead counsel in a corporate cover-up lawsuit against Mason Pharmaceutical, Kate Sullivan knows this case could make her career. What really drives her, though, is getting justice for the victims whose lives were ruined by the company’s dangerous new drug. But when a whistleblower turns up dead, it paints a target on the back of everyone involved.
Former Army Ranger turned private investigator Landon James steps in to handle security for Kate. He’s still haunted by mistakes in his past and is determined never to let something like that happen again. But it soon appears someone is willing to do anything—even commit murder—to keep the case from going to trial.
As danger closes in, Landon can’t help but admire Kate’s courage and resolve—but will her determination not to back down become too great of a risk?
ISLAND BREEZES
It seems that a big pharmaceutical company will do just about anything for money. That’s certainly a timely topic.
There’s coverups and slanted studies to get FDA approval so that they can get a drug on the market. It appears that Mason Pharmaceutical will even go as far as murder to keep the money rolling in.
Now that they’re being sued, just how desperate will they become? Attorney Kate Sullivan will soon find out. She hired Landon James as a private investigator, but he turns into her body guard.
This was one of those books I just couldn’t put down. Thank you so much, Ms Dylan. I’ve not read any of your previous work, but you’re up there on my list with Lynette Eason.
***I received this book free of charge from Litfuse.***
Rachel Dylan was a litigator in one of the nation’s most elite law firms for more than eight years and now works as an attorney at one of the Big Three automobile manufacturers. She is the author of four Love Inspired Suspense novels and lives in Michigan with her husband. She is active on social media, and you can visit her website at racheldylan.com.
The Gift
By Shelley Shepard Gray
Danger strikes Hart County again in Shelley Shepard Gray’s new release!
The Schwartz family is happy to be spending Christmas on their new farm in Hart County. But when Susanna Schwartz hears gunshots that causes her buggy to overturn, and then her little sister falls through a wooden bridge into the icy creek, it becomes clear from these dangerous “accidents” that someone wants them gone.
Neil Vance has been heartbroken ever since his parents lost their family farm. He knows it’s not the Schwartz family’s fault, but he can’t help but be resentful. Until he meets Susanna. She is kind-hearted and bold, and Neil can’t stop thinking about her pretty green eyes.
Neil thinks the accidents are just that, but Susanna’s father is convinced the Vance family is responsible. Susanna refuses to believe Neil would do anything to harm her. She’s fallen in love with him and knows he is a good man. But her family is ready to pack up and move, and time is running out to uncover the truth before someone gets hurt. . . or worse.
ISLAND BREEZES
The Schwartz family is experiencing all kinds of mishaps and dangerous situations while trying to enjoy their new farm in Hart County.
Some of the other residents think it’s only right since the Schwartz stole the farm from the Vances. But it gets complicated when Susanna and Neil start falling for each other.
This seems to be the beginning of an Amish Hatfield and McCoy type feud, and both sides are in danger. This certainly isn’t looking like a Christmas season filled with love, happiness and peace.
Shelley Shepard Gray is one of my favorite Amish writers. She definitely didn’t disappoint me with this book. I’m looking forward to more Amish of Hart County books.
***I received this book free of charge from Litfuse.***
Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
The summer of 1889 was proving to be a strange one for Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner.
They had a sexual pervert loose. The man didn’t actually harm women but threatened them at knife point, fondling them, and ultimately stealing their stockings.
Far more serious were the murders of influential men, which appeared random other than they were all killed by arsenic poison. Never had he and his partner had cases with so little workable evidence.
Also, the rivalry between him and his detective nemesis at London’s other police department was intensifying. That nemesis was the boxing champion of their department and looking to challenge Rudyard, who never trained as a boxer.
Besides Rudyard’s pride being at stake, and the pride of his station, his nemesis also had in his possession a photograph of the woman Rudyard cares very much for. The new lady in Rudyard’s life had captured his heart and he’d fight the devil himself to save her reputation.
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Suspense
Published by: Books to Go Now
Publication Date: May 16, 2017
Number of Pages: 376
ISBN: 9781545211090
Series: The Bloodstone #2 | This is a Stand Alone Novel
Purchase Links: Amazon ? | Barnes & Noble ? | Kobo ? | Goodreads ?
“What address do you show for the Cross family?” the Vicar asked. Her mind went completely blank. Finally, she blurted the only one that came to her, which was no doubt wrong. “Park Lane.”
The Vicar smirked. Not smiled. Smirked. That meant it had to be wrong.
“I suggest you start there. In the meantime, I will have my housekeeper escort you out. I don’t know what you’re playing at but I don’t care for mischief. You’ll do your soul a good turn to drop a coin in the poor box on your way to the street.” He rang a small bell on his desk and the housekeeper came. “See this lady out.”
Graciela stood on the top stair of the chapel cursing her luck when a man’s disturbingly familiar laugh interrupted her thoughts. She took a quick step to the left and flattened herself against one of the portico pillars. The horrible laugh rippled over from close by. It sounded like Detective Bloodstone’s from the morning she’d bailed out Addy. He’d said something that sent the shine boy scampering away and had all the detectives snickering, including Bloodstone.
Taking a deep breath, she peered around the edge of the pillar expecting to see the detective. His presence would’ve been the perfect end to this entire St. Jude’s Chapel mission-turned-catastrophe. To her great relief, it came from a carriage driver. She hadn’t noticed a group of them gathered at the corner waiting to be hired. Graciela, you had no reason to be frightened. You’d done nothing wrong. Stop being such a ninny.
She left the church and headed home. Zachary would be getting up from her nap soon. The whole way home she questioned her luck. A dozen people are murdered every day in London.
How hard can it be to kill someone?
Excerpt from Snifter of Death by Chris Karlsen. Copyright © 2017 by Chris Karlsen. Reproduced with permission from Chris Karlsen. All rights reserved.
ISLAND BREEZES
A pervert who had a thing about women’s stockings. Business men being poisoned. How on earth were they related?
Even a couple detectives were fighting in the midst of these seemingly clueless crimes. Literally.
Then we get some blackmail tossed in. This book covers a broad swath of crimes and passions.
Thank you, Ms Karlsen, for sucking me into a book I couldn’t lay down. This is the first Chris Karlsen book I’ve read. Now I have to go back and read Book 1 of the Bloodstone series while I impatiently wait for Book 3.
***Book provided without charge by Partners in Crime Tours.***
I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods, which I find fun to write.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.
Stop by these great hosts for guest posts, interviews, reviews, and giveaways!
Click here to view the Snifter of Death by Chris Karlsen Participants
After a whistleblower in the pharmaceutical cover-up case dies, attorney Kate Sullivan knows the stakes are much higher than her other lawsuits. Get ready to stay up way past your bedtime turning the pages to find out what happens next in Rachel Dylan’s new legal thriller, Deadly Proof. Trying to forget the past, former Army Ranger turned private investigator Landon James is hired by Kate to look into the whistleblower’s allegation. He also soon finds himself falling for the passionate and earnest young lawyer. As the case deepens, it appears someone is willing to risk everything—even murder—to keep the case from going to trial.
Enter to win a copy of Deadly Proof. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced December 7 on the Litfuse blog!
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If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10