Book Blitz: The One That Got Away by Joe Clifford

 

Thriller, Crime Thriller Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Down & Out Books

Only one girl survives a string of abductions. The killer captured, no more girls would die. Until another one does.

It’s been seven years since Kira Shanks was reported missing and presumed dead. Alex Salerno has been living in New York City, piecemealing paychecks to earn a livable wage, trying to forget those three days locked underground and her affair with Sean Riley, the married detective who rescued her. When Noah Lee, hometown reporter with a journalistic pedigree, requests an interview, Alex returns to Reine and Riley, reopening old wounds. What begins as a Q&A for a newspaper article soon turns into an opportunity for money, closure and—justice. The disappearance of Kira Shanks has long been hung on Benny Brudzienski, a hulking man-child who is currently a brain-addled guest at the Galloway State Mental Hospital. But after Alex reconnects with ex-classmates and frenemies, doubts are cast on that guilt. Alex is drawn into a dangerous game of show and tell in an insular town where everyone has a secret to hide. And as more details emerge about the night Kira Shanks went missing, Alex discovers there are some willing to kill to protect the horrific truth.

In the modern vein of Dark Places and Mystic River, The One That Got Away is a dark, psychological thriller featuring a compelling, conflicted heroine and a page-turning narrative that races toward its final, shocking conclusion.

About The Author

Joe Clifford is the author of several books, including The Lakehouse, Skunk Train, Occam’s Razor, The One That Got Away, Junkie Love, and the Jay Porter Thriller Series, as well as editor of the anthologies Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen; Just to Watch Them Die: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Johnny Cash, and Hard Sentences, which he co-edited. Joe’s writing can be found at www.joeclifford.com.

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Book Blitz: The Silent Speak by Val Collins

The Silent Speak
Val Collins
Publication date: February 23rd 2021
Genres: Adult, Thriller

“There’s a lunatic out there who butchered five innocent people and nobody is looking for him.”

Aoife Walsh has plenty keeping her busy—finalising her divorce from her manipulative husband, settling into her still-new relationship with Detective Conor Moloney, and trying to win the trust of his teenage son. So for the moment, her fledgeling career as a freelance journalist has been put on hold.

Then comes the horrific news that an entire family has been slaughtered in their own home. Aoife is shocked to discover two of the victims were members of her on-again-off-again book club. Even more disturbing is the revelation that the police believe it was a murder-suicide.

That’s when Aoife receives a tantalising offer. Lisa, the main suspect’s sister, will grant Aoife access to the victims’ extended family for an exclusive news story—if Aoife will help find the real killer. Moved by Lisa’s unwavering belief in her brother’s innocence, Aoife agrees to help.

As she digs into the secrets of her fellow book club members, Aoife discovers potential suspects everywhere: people having affairs, a jealous husband, and a power-hungry business partner who’s clearly hiding something.

Aoife keeps pulling at the threads of the story, untangling more and more deception. Is the killer really dead and buried? Is it someone Aoife already knows? Could the lunatic be closer than Aoife ever imagined?

You won’t be able to put down this twisty thriller from international bestselling author Val Collins.

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—

PROLOGUE:

She read the note again.

Twice in the past three years, similar notes had been splashed all over the newspapers. She knew immediately what it meant, but her brain wouldn’t allow her to process it. For several minutes she just stared at it. Her lips formed words that never came. When her brain caught up, it went straight to denial.

This could not be happening.

Things like this did not happen in ordinary families.

Not in families like hers.

She pulled down the door handle. The door was unlocked. That was a good sign, right? She would go into the house and find everything exactly as it had always been. There just had to be some simple explanation for that note. Yes, she nodded to herself, relieved to have come to a decision. She nudged the door open and put one foot on the wooden floor. The house was eerily quiet. No kids running around. No noise from the kitchen.

‘Now don’t panic,’ she muttered to herself. ‘Everything will be fine. Just go inside.’

She tried to lift her foot, but her brain wouldn’t cooperate. Hands shaking, she pulled out her mobile and dialled 999. She was still frozen in the doorway when the police arrived.

Author Bio:

Val Collins is the author of the award-winning psychological thriller GIRL TARGETED, the international bestseller ONLY LIES REMAIN and her new release THE SILENT SPEAK. All three books feature heroine Aoife Walsh.

A native of Ireland, Val began reading at the age of three and still devours books at the rate of one per week. Her favourite authors range from Philippa Gregory and Sophie Kinsella to Lee Child and Linwood Barclay.

Join Val online at valcollinsbooks.com, and on social media @valcollinsbooks.

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Book Blitz: Suffer Little Children by Freda Hansburg

Suffer Little Children
Freda Hansburg
Published by: Red Adept Publishing
Publication date: January 26th 2021
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller

Robin Perry’s life is finally on track with her dream job and a promising relationship with Ben Martin, even if his two spoiled children, Amber and Jaden, hate her. But things take a downhill turn when Gloria Reyes, an acquaintance of Ben’s, asks her to admit her young son to a cancer study meant for adults and Robin, heartbroken, must turn her down. But Gloria won’t take no for an answer and begins an insidious crusade to force the issue.

Amber Martin hates living with her crazy mother since her parents’ divorce, but she can hardly live with her dad, who’s too busy with “Miss Perfect” these days. When Amber runs into her mother’s friend Gloria, she’s glad to finally meet an adult who seems to be on her side. But as Amber becomes friends with Gloria’s sickly son, Alex, she begins to think Gloria is not as nice as she first thought, and Alex may be in trouble.

As Gloria’s threatening behavior escalates, Robin must protect the children while finding a way to save her career and her relationship with Ben. But Gloria always manages to stay one step ahead. When a secret comes to light, Robin discovers the stakes are even higher than she imagined.

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—

EXCERPT:

“Morning.” Robin settled into the chair opposite Gloria’s as a waitress approached. “Just coffee, please.”

Gloria set down her cup. “So?”

Getting right down to business then. Robin braced herself. So much the better.

“I’ve kept my part of our bargain,” Gloria announced.

“Bargain?” Robin’s eyebrows shot up.

“I spoke to Vanessa about the therapy. I managed to be quite convincing. You see, she posted a rant on Facebook yesterday after Amber defaced a library book.” Gloria shrugged. “I seized the opportunity.”

A bitter taste filled Robin’s mouth. Trashed library books, trashed kids on social media. She should be happy Gloria took advantage of the situation, but she wished Ben had persuaded Vanessa.

The woman’s dark eyes fixed on her. “Now, what about your part?”

Robin bristled. She’d made no promises. The waitress appeared with her coffee. Robin didn’t intend to stay long enough to drink it.

“I made a few inquiries yesterday,” she told Gloria. “Formally and informally. I found no new information about Pediatric MATCH. It’s still slated to launch sometime next year.” Robin took a breath. There, I said it. “I’m sorry.”

Gloria shook her head. “Not good enough.”

Robin sat upright. “What?”

“That’s not soon enough. My son’s life is at stake.” Gloria’s eyes bored into Robin’s. “You have kids?”

“A son in college.” Robin didn’t like bringing Sean into the conversation.

“Suppose it were him?” Gloria kept her voice low, and Robin had to lean forward to hear. “What would you do to save him?”

The same question Robin had asked herself yesterday. Anything.

“Or one of Ben’s kids,” Gloria continued without waiting for Robin’s reply. “But that would be different, wouldn’t it?” Her lips twisted in a mocking smile. “Convenient, even.”

Robin sat up and pushed aside her coffee. “I have to go. I’m due at the wrap-up session.” Reminding herself that the unnerving woman had a dying child, she added, “Gloria, if I were in your shoes, I’d be as desperate as you are. Medical research doesn’t always follow the timetable we want, but MATCH will move ahead, and when it expands to include children, it will be safer, on more solid ground.” She hoped she sounded as clear as Will had last night, but either way, she would end the discussion. “I promise I’ll keep my ears open and let you know of any developments.” She pushed her chair back from the table.

“You’ll do more than that, Robin. You’re a very responsible person. I’m counting on you.”

Robin stood, her chair rattling. “Goodbye, Gloria.”

“I’ll be eager to hear what you come up with.” Gloria’s smile widened, revealing her white teeth. “I’ll be in touch.”

Author Bio:

Freda Hansburg is a psychologist and author of Tell on You, winner of the 2020 Independent Press Award for Psychological Thriller, the 2019 New York City Big Book Award for Suspense, and Thriller Finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Her mystery thriller, Shrink Rapt, is now available from Micro Publishing Media and her new psychological suspense novel, Suffer Little Children, will be released by Red Adept Publishing on January 26th, 2021. She is currently working on her fourth psychological thriller, Trick or Treat.

Freda is also co-author with Mel Silberman of the self-help books, PeopleSmart: Developing Your Interpersonal Intelligence – a bestseller translated into a dozen languages – and Working PeopleSmart. She has the good fortune to live on beautiful Hilton Head Island. There, she takes refuge from her fevered imagination by sitting on her dock and watching pelicans and dolphins fishing on the intracoastal. Freda is an avid Pickleball player who has spent her entire adult life being mistaken for Carol Burnett.

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Book Tour & Giveaway: BLack Willows by Jill Hand

Black Willows

Trapnell Thriller Book 2

by Jill Hand

Genre: Thriller

A mysterious cowboy is stalking the eccentric Trapnell siblings. Is he a supernatural entity or a hired killer? To complicate things, the will making them heirs to their billionaire father’s estate is missing and a relative has returned from a watery grave.

Last time, the Trapnells saved the world from destruction. This time they may not be able to save themselves. Black Willows is a darkly funny Southern-fried adventure, complete with Voodoo, arson, and alligators.

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White Oaks

Trapnell Thriller Book 1

“An ingeniously dark comic thriller about greed, gluttony and murder that is destined for the big screen.” –Best Thrillers

Aimee Trapnell reluctantly leaves her apartment on Manhattan’s Central Park West to return to her childhood home in Georgia for her father’s ninetieth birthday. Also on hand are her two brothers, wily Marsh and ne’er-do-well Trainor. With a forty-billion-dollar inheritance at stake, they’re willing to do whatever it takes to make the old man happy.

To their shock they learn that what their father wants for his birthday is to kill someone. He doesn’t care who it is. He just wants to know what it’s like to commit murder.

Betrayal, double-dealing, and fast-paced action set the Trapnells on a collision course with an unexpected villain. Their journey takes them from the swamps of Georgia, to Italy’s glittering Amalfi coast, to rugged Yellowstone National Park.

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Jill Hand is a member of International Thriller Writers. Her Southern Gothic novels, White Oaks, and Black Willows, are available on Amazon and from the publisher, Black Rose Writing.

Advance readers called White Oaks a fast-paced, hilarious account of three siblings who are competing for their father’s forty-billion-dollar fortune while trying to prevent the destruction of Planet Earth.

Diane Donovan, senior reviewer from Midwest Book Review praised White Oaks, calling it, “an unusually multifaceted tale that holds the ability to prompt laughter from thriller-style tension.”

A sequel to White Oaks, Black Willows, follows the adventures of the squabbling, dysfunctional Trapnell family.

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Book Blitz: Starburst Over China by R.H. Kohno

 

Psychic Thriller, Thriller

Published: December 2020

Publisher: MindStir Media

Starburst Over China takes Detective Jim Sato, a dedicated cop, and Gilda Dobrowski, a small city psychic, back to the StarCenter at Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters to engage in a Top Secret project to telepathically manipulate a Chinese–a CCP_member–working in intelligence as a section chief in the Ministry of State Security. The duo are hooked up to UB-X-00, a giant AI super computer that enhances their brain waves and bioenergy, in an attempt to stir up trouble–any kind of trouble–which the President of the United States can use in his dealings with China, the No. 2 power, in his bid to maintain U.S. hegemony to stop the progression toward triggering the Thucydides Trap.

About The Author

R. H. Kohno has been writing for a number of years ever since he graduated from English, Advanced Writing Curriculum, at the University of Washington where he also served as editor in chief of the campus literary magazine, Assay. He went through the concentration camp experience during WWII, repatriated to war-torn postwar Japan and grew up there in isolated exile as a lookalike American outsider. He returned to the United States to get married and complete his college education. He has since written a number of works which are described on his website, rhkohno.com. He is the father of two sons living in Oregon and Utah.

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Cover Reveal: The Black Candle Killings by Andrew Segal

Conspiracy Series, Book 3

Detective Thriller

Date Published: March 1st 2021

Publisher: Happy London Press

A church going district of North London and a neighbourhood where friendly residents know each other. But when a brutally murdered woman is found next to a burned-out black candle, a strange mark etched deep into her back, the locals became afraid.

Her old boss, a Chief Superintendent in the Met, calls for PI, Tammy Pierre’s assistance. He’s aware of her Caribbean links, and knowledge of Obiah, a voodoo curse found in Trinidad, and used, some claim, to commit bizarre murders. So, is it voodoo? Or just superstition?

A trip to the West Indies reveals some disturbing facts, new evidence of child abuse and murders going undetected for over twenty years.

Returning to London, her situation becomes dangerous – is it all more than Tammy had bargained for?

About the Author

Having never written a dramatic word in my life some thirty years ago, an idea for a short story popped into my head. With the encouragement of my wife and daughter I wrote a tale about a timid and ineffectual man and his pet cat, called Cat and Mouse. Wife and daughter approved so I produced more stories and then joined a writers’ group who also liked what I wrote.

Sir George Everest said, they climbed that mountain, ‘Because it is there.’ The same might be said of writing. Why do we write? because of the idea, the notion, the thought. ‘Because it is there,’ and the irresistible urge to put it down in print.

My inspirations have come from real people, events or situations that have presented themselves. Titles like, I am a Contract Killer, Beads of Blood, Death Zone, License to Kill, are all based on my own lifetime experiences, questions asked, incidents occurring. So far, nobody has been murdered on my watch. But the notion gave rise to the impetus to write my first murder mystery, The Lyme Regis Murders. Could I make the jump after years of writing macabre short stories to a full-length drama? That familiar beating in the gut, said, ‘Yes, try it. Give it a go.’

And so to that cosy coastal town where nothing untoward ever happens. Or perhaps it does. The author seeks to shatter notions, change people’s perceptions, spoil long held views. That was my intention in entering into the world of crime thrillers. I’ve found that ‘nice’ people are not always what they seem. The helpless can be transformed into the most dangerous, the most dangerous become the most harmless. It’s all up to the writer and what they’re hoping to achieve. For me, so far, there have been several children’s books, one collection of short stories, with three more planned and three novels completed, plus a fourth in the mixer.

Whilst a short story might be written with a flurry of adrenalin in the space of a few hours, a book will need more than just a flash of creativity. It will need, perseverance, discipline and dogged determination. But then, isn’t that what is required of every ambition?

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Book Blitz: Capturing Fate by Abbie Roads

Capturing Fate
Abbie Roads
(Fatal Truth #2)
Publication date: January 28th 2021
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Thriller

Can love untangle a web of lies and expose the truth?

A loner with a mysterious childhood…

FBI agent Dolan Watts is no stranger to pain. From his childhood spent in foster care to his daily grind of hunting down hardened criminals, it’s been the one constant through the years. Pain carved out gut feelings he can trust and instincts able to solve cases in record time. Until now. Confronted by a malicious new enemy who revels in mind games, Dolan begins to doubt his own perceptions. Fearing he’s spiraling into insanity, he seeks help from the one woman who can shine light into the darkness consuming him.

A woman haunted by a secret…

Psychologist Daughter Dawson sabotaged her own safety the moment she accepted Dolan as a client. Still, she felt compelled to help him. Dolan’s past mirrored many of the questions about her own, making his torment achingly familiar. Despite their growing attraction, her career demands she keep an ethical distance. Yet when she makes the mistake of confiding in him, both their lives are thrust into unimaginable danger.

Nightmares come to life…

When gruesome tragedy uncovers a serial killer’s twisted agenda, Daughter and Dolan must cling to each other if they hope to survive. Can they stop the body count from rising? Or will they find their only purpose from the start was to be pawns in a reign of evil?

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—

EXCERPT:

She wanted more. All of it. Hand-holding and kissing and long, lazy lovemaking. She opened her eyes and hoped he could read her feelings in them. The next two years were going to be torture, and it was all her fault.

His face was naked with longing, desire, deep affection. It was beautiful to see this powerful man baring his emotions to her. Emotions that had everything to do with her, with wanting her. It was a heady drug, one she wanted to overdose on. If she never saw him after today, she’d forever remember the way he looked at her right now, like she was his entire universe.

He slid his hand into her hair, the movement causing a rash of goose bumps to break out all over her body. “I’m sorry for breaking the rules. I take all the blame.”

She opened her mouth to ask him what rule he’d broken, just as his lips landed on hers. The world fell out from under her. She grabbed on to him to keep from falling, latching onto his shirt and yanking him closer. His arms clamped around her, holding her even tighter to him, and the raw male strength of his body against hers was a revelation. Heat radiated off him like he was her own personal sun.

And then his tongue was in her mouth—warm and tasting like a wish. The salt of her tears mingled to make this kiss the one that all other kisses would be measured by.

And then it was over and he was pulling away. She wanted to beg him to keep kissing her, and maybe the world and the two years separating them would disappear.

He looked down at her, his face ravaged by the war raging inside him, the same one inside her—the nearly overwhelming need to be together, the rules be damned.

He stared at her for an endless moment, a muscle in his jaw ticking, then turned and walked to his car.

Tears flowed as she watched him drive away. At the end of the parking lot, he stopped before pulling out onto the road. She couldn’t see inside the car, but knew he was watching her in the rearview mirror. A sob choked in her throat. If she cried any harder, he’d turn around and come back for her, but she couldn’t let him.

He drove out of the parking lot and out of her life. She turned to her car and saw the bouquet he’d given her sitting on the roof.

She mashed her face in the pretty flowers and watered them with her tears.

Author Bio:

Seven Things about Abbie Roads:
1. She loves Snicker Parfaits. Gotta start with what’s most important, right?
2. She writes dark emotional books featuring damaged characters, but always gives her hero and heroine a happy ending… after torturing them for three hundred pages.
3. By day she’s a mental health counselor known for her blunt, honest style of therapy. At night she burns up the keyboard. Well… Burn might be too strong a word. She at least sits with her hands poised over the keyboard, waiting for inspiration to strike. And when it does–the keyboard might get a little warm.
4. She can’t stand it when people drive slowly in the passing lane. Just saying. That’s major annoying. Right?
5. She loves taking pictures of things she thinks are pretty.
6. She lives in Marion, Ohio with her favorite fellow and two fur babies.
7. Being a published author is a dream come true for her.

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Book Blitz: Shame Of It All by KT Grant

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Suspense, Thriller

Date Published: December 2020

Revenge is a dish best served cold. But for Mercy Pryce her revenge will scald one’s soul and leave behind a burnt-out husk if she has her way.

Mercy has returned to her hometown of Cartleigh, New York after twenty years. The lakeside community is the perfect location for Yakim Zeldovich, her Russian billionaire employer’s state of the art manufacturing facility. Acting as a consultant for Zeldovich, she’s on an undercover mission, not as an angel of mercy, but one of mischief, deceit and torture. Her ultimate goal is to ruin Cartleigh because of a horrible trauma she suffered in high school. The one responsible for her wrath is Colton Hahn, Cartleigh’s beloved mayor, and the object of her retaliation. The town’s golden boy, who she once adored as an impressionable teenager, brutally raped her and left her for dead at seventeen.

Consumed by years of grief and growing rage, she has targeted Colton, who may also be responsible for the death of her best friend, Marina, his fiancé. She will avenge Marina and finally take down the monster who tried to ruin her life.

Her success may come at a horrible price. But it will all be worth it if she can take away everything Colton holds dear, including him surrendering his heart and soul to her in the process.

About The Author

KT Grant is a self-proclaimed eccentric redhead who not only loves to read a wide variety of romances, but also loves writing it. Under her alter-ego, Katiebabs, she’s a former book blogger and entertainment columnist who still doesn’t shy away from voicing her opinion.

A proud native of New Jersey, KT is multi-published and writes Gay, Lesbian and Straight romance. KT has also been a top ten best-selling author at Amazon.

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Cover Reveal: Manflu by Simone De Munoz

Thriller

Date Published: 3/26/21

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

Following a global pandemic, which has either killed or weakened most of the male population, women now dominate all aspects of life.

Dr. Morgan Digby, married to a man rendered bedbound from his bout with manflu a decade prior, is working tirelessly on a vaccine, yet obstacles keep springing up in her path.

When she meets a handsome neighbor who has never been exposed to the deadly virus, things become…complicated. There’s something between them, but he can’t leave his home.

Morgan’s struggle to remain faithful to her ailing husband isn’t her only battle. Someone has been one step ahead of her, countering her every move. Will she find a vaccine before it’s too late to protect those she loves?

About the Author

Simone de Muñoz writes dystopian, or perhaps utopian, fiction, depending on your perspective, where women drive the story and sometimes even run the world. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in economics from MIT, which she uses in her day job as a data analyst at a nonprofit. Based in Silicon Valley, she lives with her patient husband, their two young sons, and a grumpy dog named Fish. Manflu is her debut novel.

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Book Blitz: The Last Humans A New Dawn by Steven M. Moore

 

Post-apocalyptic Thriller

Published: December 2020

Penny Castro survived the biowarfare apocalypse and created a family. Her post-apocalyptic idyll on their citrus ranch is interrupted by the US government’s plan to stop another attack…and get some revenge. Penny and husband Alex, along with others, are drafted to carry out the plan—in their case, forced to do so by the government’s kidnapping of their young children. But the enemy has surprises awaiting them when a submarine delivers them to that foreign shore.

About The Author

Steven M. Moore was born in California and has lived in various parts of the US and Colombia, South America. He always wanted to be a storyteller but had to postpone that dream to work in academia and R&D as a physicist. His travels around Europe, South America, and the US, for work or pleasure, taught him a lot about the human condition and our wonderful human diversity, a learning process that started during his childhood in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

Steve writes sci-fi, mysteries, and thrillers, short fiction, blog articles, and book and movie reviews. He has written many novels, including three for young adults under the pen name A.B. Carolan—his list of works includes six series. He also has published four short story collections. He also has an active blog where he posts opinions about reading, writing, and the publishing business of interest to readers and authors alike.

He and his wife now live just outside New York City.

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