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Saturday, April 18, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Amish Country Murder
Author: Mary Alford
Genre:  Amish Suspense
Release Date: March 1, 2020
An Amish woman targeted by a serial killer
Is the only living witness…
As the sole woman to escape the Dead of Night Killer, Catherine Fisher’s the key to catching him—if he doesn’t kill her first. Now it’s up to FBI agent Sutter Brenneman to protect her. But with her memory missing and all clues indicating the serial killer took her for very personal reasons, it’ll take everything Sutter has to keep her safe.


Click here for your copy!
MY REVIEW
 Suggestions for reading this book are :
Find a comfortable place you want to stay for a few hours, gather snacks, seat belt not required but may come in handy and a steady heart beat would be helpful as you get ready for your adventure. 
Now you are prepared for the ride of your life in this action packed, edge of your seat suspense with surprises, unexpected twists and a cast of characters that jump off the page. The first few pages deliver an adrenaline rush that won’t stop till the end. I literally jumped out of my skin as Catherine tried to escape her captor. I screamed for her to run and not look back.  Her ordeal is written so vividly that I felt like I was watching a movie . In fact it should be made into a movie. 
Sutter is an expert FBI agent but I think at times he was overwhelmed with the strategy of the Dead of Night Killer. He seemed to know every step Catherine and Sutter took and their lives were constantly hanging by a thread. I could hear my heart beating as I rapidly turned pages. The author has grabbed my attention with this story. I loved how the mystery unfolded and oh how I wanted to tell Catherine to keep having faith.  
Catherine has amnesia after her attack by the Dead of Night Killer but she has a chance to get it back. There is where the danger lies for the killer. He must  have felt desperate to get to her knowing at any time she would remember everything. The killer is relentless in his pursuit of Catherine which had me trying to figure out where the dots would connect. Don’t miss this explosive story that takes you to the edge of danger and drops you into an unimaginable suspenseful ride. This story goes on my 2020 top favorite books. 

 I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit and the author. The review is my own opinion.

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling Author, Mary Alford, loves giving her readers the unexpected. Her titles have appeared on the USA Today Bestselling List, Publisher’s Weekly bestselling list, and have finaled in the Daphne Du Maurier award of excellence in mystery, The Beverly, The Maggie, and The Selah Awards.
As a writer, Mary is an avid reader. She loves to cook, can’t face the day without coffee, and her three granddaughters are the apple of her eye. She and her husband live in the heart of Texas in the middle of 70 acres with two cats and one dog.
Mary is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook and Twitter or any social platforms listed at www.maryalford.net.


More from Mary


Thank you for coming with me on this journey to the mountains of Montana, where the Amish Community of West Kootenai is nestled in the wide-open spaces of Big Sky Country, and a simple Amish way of life can be anything but. Especially when a serial killer is lurking nearby, waiting to take his next victim, and the clock is ticking.
Amish Country Murder is my second book set in the Amish Community of West Kootenai, Montana. My first book, Amish Country Kidnapping is available now at most book retailers.
As a reader, one of my favorite genres is Amish Suspense. There’s just something about a story that pits the simple and innocent Amish lifestyle with the dark and sometimes deadly world of a suspense. Good versus evil, so to speak.
When Catherine Fisher escapes the clutches of a serial killer, she can’t remember as single thing about her past before the monster took her.
FBI agent Sutter Brenneman has been working the Dead of Night Serial Killer case for a while. Catherine is his first living victim. Protecting Catherine and finding the killer before he strikes again is critical. Hiding out in Amish Country, Sutter is surrounded my memories of his own Amish past, rekindling old longings for the life lost to him. Is it possible to have it back? In the middle of a killer stalking their every move, Catherine and Sutter share many tender moments as their feelings for each other grow into love.
One of the things I love most about the Amish is their amazingly simple recipes that remind me of my childhood and the meals my mother used to prepare.
During one meal shared with an Amish couple, Catherine and Sutter enjoy sweet potato croquettes with meat loaf. Sweet potato croquettes are a simple side dish that is delicious and easy to prepare. I thought I’d share this recipe with you here.
AMISH SWEET POTATO CROQUETTES
  • 1 pt. of mashed sweet potatoes
  • 1 tblsp. butter
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tblsp. sugar
  • 1 egg white
  • breadcrumbs
  • marshmallows (optional)
Mash sweet potatoes very fine.  Add salt, sugar and melted butter to mashed sweet potatoes. Shape sweet potatoes into croquette rolls or patties.  Cool them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Remove from refrigerator and roll in breadcrumbs.  Dip them in the slightly beaten egg white, and then into the crumbs again. Bake in a shallow, greased baking dish for 20 minutes, at a temperature of 400 degrees F.  For an even sweeter version of this dish, you can place a marshmallow in the center of each (make sure it is covered completely by the potato mixture).
I so hope you enjoy this recipe and Amish Country Murder. And stay tuned for my next Amish Suspense set in West Kootenai, coming in November of this year.

Blog Stops

Batya’s Bits, April 14
Genesis 5020, April 14
The Avid Reader, April 15
Betti Mace, April 16
Older & Smarter?, April 21
Artistic Nobody, April 23 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)
Pause for Tales, April 23
Hallie Reads, April 24
Emily Yager, April 25
SPLASHES of Joy, April 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Mary is giving away the grand prize package of a Lavender Spa 10-piece Gift Basket with Tote, and a print copy of Amish Country Murder!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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Friday, April 17, 2020

About the Book

Book:  Desert Willow
Author: Patricia Beal
Genre:  Romance
Release Date: February 12, 2020
After a failed engagement, Captain Andrew Lee James has focused on building a career in the Army he loves. That commitment includes helping a feisty, out-of-work ballerina whose devotion to her grandmother’s dying wish immediately grabs his heart. She’s the one, but will he be able to win the heart of a woman who has vowed to never be involved with a soldier?
College graduate Clara Malone swore to never love anyone in the military again but when her dying grandmother asks her to deliver a love letter to the general who broke her heart decades ago, she agrees and finds herself escorted by a handsome Army captain whose kindness challenges her beliefs. Surrounded by desert willows that shower her path with pretty pink flowers and sing with the buzzing of hummingbirds, Clara enjoys the wild beauty of El Paso—and her time with Andrew—more than expected.
Can she deliver her grandmother’s last love letter without losing her heart to a man who represents everything she fears?

Click here to get your copy!
MY REVIEW
I really  liked the setting of El Paso for this book. My brother was stationed there years ago and I remember flying down there to visit him. The author describes it perfectly with the majestic mountains and the base where my brother lived. The story was a great look at army life and the dedication it involves.
Clara is an accomplished ballerina and I loved reading about the movements and hard work it took her to be a great dancer. She has come to El Paso to deliver a letter to a special person her grandmother knew.  I became interested in what that letter contained. Clara isn’t very keen on service  men as she has seen family members hurt by them with painful relationships. It was easy for her to guard her heart and stay detached from service men since other women in her family found their heart broken by them. 
Andrew is of course in the Army and right away Clara has her heart clamped shut. He seems to be honest and wanting to get to know her, but he will have to work hard to convince her he won’t hurt her. I realized that some members of Clara’s family doesn’t forgive easily.  I did like the part where Clara turns to someone to help her through something that happened in her past. I felt the emotions and the honesty as she confessed her sin. I think all of us think when we sin that God won’t forgive us. It’s a road we must  travel as we find our way back to God.
There was quite a bit of talk about sex before  marriage in the book which I felt the author handled well. It is important to the story because several characters deal with the issue and it shows how easy the enemy can convince you that it is okay to do. The ending is beautifully orchestrated with emotions and a deep sense of faith. 
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

About the Author

Patricia Beal is a 2015 Genesis semi-finalist and First Impressions finalist. A Season to Dance is her debut novel (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, May 2017). Her second novel comes out in February of 2020. Patricia graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati in 1998 with a B.A. in English Literature and has worked for the U.S. Army as a writer and editor for many years. Patricia writes from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and two children. You can find more info about Patricia on her website here.

More from Patricia

Desert Willow: A Love Song to the City of El Paso, to Family, and to Prince Harry
I enjoy this story so much! It’s great to finally get to share it with you.
Desert Willow started as a NaNoWriMo project in 2015 and has a lot of my grandma’s history in it—life in the German colonies of the south of Brazil, the beginning of the shoe industry there, and the story of the most influential man her town has ever known, my great-grandfather.
And what does that have to do with El Paso and Prince Harry?
Well, my Prince Harry lookalike, a young Army captain named Andrew Lee James who lives in El Paso, is helping the protagonist deliver her grandmother’s last love letter, a letter she was urged to write all those years ago after what happened in Brazil.
The contemporary story of Clara (protagonist) and Andrew was fun to write too because I’ve been around the Army since the nineties. We moved to Fort Bliss/El Paso in 2012 and lived there for six years. I thought I was going to hate it, but I loved it, so I just had to write an El Paso story.
Now I think that what I enjoyed the most about writing this novel was making all the connections and showing how the actions of a distant past affect and inform the modern story so deeply.
Some of you have journeyed with me for a while and know that my debut, A Season to Dance, was my salvation process. What comes after salvation can be hard. What’s that? Well, looking at past mistakes through God’s eyes and realizing just how wrong we were, for starters.
We know how quickly God forgives us, but can we forgive ourselves and each other as quickly?
Desert Willow deals with all that. And with Prince Harry… 😊

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, April 13
Robin’s Nest, April 14
Batya’s Bits, April 15
Older & Smarter?, April 16
Rebecca Tews, April 19
Emily Yager, April 20
Simple Harvest Reads, April 20 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Hallie Reads, April 20
Pause for Tales, April 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Patricia is giving away the grand prize of a Kindle Fire 7 (https://amzn.to/37TEN21)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

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Thursday, April 16, 2020


About the Book

Book:  One Hundred Valleys
Author: Bonnie Leon
Genre:  Historical Romance
Release Date: March 15, 2020
After the death of her mother, Emmalin Hammond discovers she is not the heiress she’d always assumed she’d be. The revelation exposes her fiancé true intentions when he withdraws his marriage proposal, leaving Emmalin heartbroken and humiliated. When she discovers the father she believed to be dead is still alive and living in the Oregon Territory she decides it is time to meet the man who has been hidden from her all of her life.
Accompanied by her Uncle Jonathon she sets out for the Oregon Territory in search of answers and hoping for a renewed relationship with her father. When tragedy strikes, she confronts the terrifying challenge of completing her quest alone. Faced with few options, she entrusts her life to a mountain man named Jacob Landon who agrees to transport her to a small settlement in Southern Oregon called Deer Creek, a place also known as the Land of One Hundred Valleys.
Emmalin is not prepared for the hardships of life in the Oregon wilderness. Each day presents a new challenge. Newfound friends, including the reserved Jacob Landon, come alongside to help her adapt and she gradually finds her way. Yet, she feels out of place. Should she brave the arduous journey back to Philadelphia and the life she once knew or remain and hope for something better in the Oregon wilderness?

Click here to get your copy!
MY REVIEW 
One of the things that drew me to this book was the adventure across country in the late 1850’s. I loved how vividly the author  describes the terrain and the danger that Emmalin faced. The story reminded me of my grandfather so much. He traveled by wagon to homestead his land in Oklahoma. The stories he told me were very similar to the one in this book with storms, Indians, hunting for food and months on the trail. I fell in love with the way the author writes with such power and emotions. 
I have not heard of this author before, but she is now on my list as a favorite of mine. Her writing explodes on the pages as she brings the characters to life. It was easy for me to like a Emmalin. Her desire to reconnect with her father is a journey of reconciliation, forgiveness and trust. She has lost her faith and I enjoyed reading how she was open about being angry at God. 

 Jacob is a wonderful character with compassion for the Indians. He has lived on his own for awhile but  he has deep  connection to the Indians . I am always sad when I read how land was taken away from the Indians and forced to live on reservations. I am part Comanche and this part of the story really made me emotional. The author does an outstanding job of showing both sides of this part in history . Jacob also has strong faith and his talks with Emmalin about God were very honest without being pushy. 

 There were a few times in the story where I tired of Emmalin going back and forth about staying in Deer Creek or returning home. I knew exactly what she needed to do but she wouldn’t listen to me. Yes I hollered at her as she rocked back and forth with her decision. Oh my goodness that girl needed to see what was right in front of her. I loved how the story shows us how important family is and how forgiveness releases joy in your life.

  I have enjoyed every minute I spent with Emmalin on her journey to find her father and experience the pioneer days . It is an emotional story that allows readers to see the hardship Indians endured as their land  was taken away. Jacob teaches us to look past the color of skin and see the heart of people while showing Emmalin a simpler way of life. Don’t miss this epic tale of the Wild West where God is always there to guide His people. 

 I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion. 

About the Author

Bonnie Leon is the author of twenty-two novels, including the recently released Return to the Misty Shore, the popular Alaskan Skies and bestselling The Journey of Eleven Moons. Bonnie’s books are being read internationally and she hears from readers in Australia, Europe, Poland, and even Africa. She enjoys speaking for women’s groups and mentoring up and coming authors.
Bonnie and her husband, Greg, live in Southern Oregon. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren.

More from Bonnie


Why this story?

In the spring of 1980 my husband and I, our two-year-old son, and our infant daughter left city life in Washington state and moved to Southern Oregon. We gave up our community of friends and family along with my husband’s reliable and well-paying job. Our friends thought we were crazy, but we were determined that Oregon was where we belonged. We were scared but not deterred.

I think the change in my own life as a young woman had a lot to do with why I wrote this story of Emmalin Hammond. To be sure, Emmalin’s level of difficulty and danger is distinctly different than mine, but there are similarities. We both experienced adventures, joy, and, yes, even danger.

Oregon has been my home for forty years now, and I am glad my husband and I made the decision to move here. We’ve had a good life in this wild and beautiful country. Sometimes I wonder about the women who made that choice during the nineteenth century. Emmalin set out on her harrowing journey to Oregon in the spring of 1855. Many who began that journey did not make it across the plains and desserts of America.
When I put down roots in Douglas County, Oregon I was thrilled to be here, but the changes weren’t all easy. The old farmhouse we lived in had more broken windows than intact ones. It was mouse infested. The plumbing needed major repair. And yet I loved it. The countryside was lush and green, and the rolling hillsides were dotted with farm animals, wildlife, and broad-limbed oak trees. There were wild blackberries sprawling along the farm’s fences and fresh fruit in our orchard. It looked much the same as the Oregon Emmalin discovered in my story, One Hundred Valleys.
I loved hard work and spent a lot of time splitting logs for our only heat source—a wood burning stove—felling trees on our new property, and working alongside my husband in our vegetable garden.
I had run-ins with things like poison oak and skunks, but that did not dampen my enthusiasm as a new Oregonian. I loved picking wild blackberries, fishing the high mountain lakes, hiking mountain trails, and fishing the North Umpqua river. I cherished those days as a farm wife and mother. Those were the best years of my life. I have never regretted our move to the beautiful land of one hundred valleys in Southern Oregon.

I am thankful for the early explorers who challenged the wilderness in the Oregon Territory more than a century ago. It is their courage and determination that made it possible for me and my family to live and thrive in this beautiful place.

Blog Stops

Bigreadersite, April 18
Emily Yager, April 18
Stories By Gina, April 19
Betti Mace, April 20
Pause for Tales, April 20
Splashes of Joy, April 21
Simple Harvest Reads, April 22 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Worthy2Read, April 23
Older & Smarter?, April 24
Vicky Sluiter, April 26
Mary Hake, April 26
Genesis 5020, April 27
Artistic Nobody, April 28 (Guest Review from Donna Cline)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Bonnie is giving away the grand prize package of a $15 Amazon Gift Card and Vintage Oregon myrtle wood porringer bowl!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
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