Private Deception by Tamara Ward (Jade O'Reilly #1)

(I purchased this book.)

Back of the Book Blurb:
Sassy private investigator Jade O’Reilly thinks she’s hit rock bottom when, in the midst of obtaining photos of a cheating spouse in a second-story apartment, she falls off a swing set to the feet of an attractive mystery man. But the next day, when Jade discovers the man’s identity—he’s a detective with the local Sweetwater, NC, police—she learns that the cheating spouse was murdered and Jade herself is a suspect. Rock bottom just got a new definition.

Private Deception is the first novel in the Jade O’Reilly Mystery series by Amazon Bestselling Mystery and Romantic Suspense Author Tamara Ward. The novel’s prequel, the short story Jade O’Reilly and the Ice Queen, joins Jade O’Reilly and the Mysterious Musician, a short story that follows Jade on an adventure after this novel. In all three, action and light romance combine with engaging characters and humor for page-turning whodunits set in the fictional coastal town of Sweetwater, NC.

Review:
Private Investigator Jade O'Reilly is a pretty tough young woman with a bunch of older brothers. This was self-published in July of 2012 and is a really well-written mystery with humor, a realistically sexy potential romance, and interesting characters.
But the best aspect of Private Deception is Jade herself.  The author has created a complicated, emotionally wounded young woman who is trying her best to make a life for herself.  She is smart, funny, a little nuts, and completely likeable.  Jade is navigating the tricky waters of adulthood, as she has recently broken up with her fiance, a really great guy and her brother's best friend.  The entire town thinks she should stay with him,but Jade doesn't love him, she just really likes him.  Trying to stay true to herself against her brothers, her ex-fiance and her hometown puts incredible pressure on her, but she hangs tough.  The fact that nobody approves of her chosen profession frustrates her as well, but Jade is strong (and stubborn) enough to stick to her path.  Along the way she has adventures and misadventures, starts dating the sexy new cop in town, and begins to put a painful family past behind her.
Really enjoyable story - I'm looking forward to reading the author's other books.



Click here for more information about Tamara Ward.

Amazon Bestselling Mystery Author Tamara Ward’s storylines and characters combine for fun, fast-paced, can’t-put-it-down reads. Her published mystery novels include Private Deception, Storm Surge, and Silver Flashing. In her mysteries, you’ll find characters who keep readers hooked, strong-willed women sleuths, and a sprinkling of humor.

Click on the pictures below to go to the book page at Barnes & Noble:
      

Fearless (Harlequin Intrigue #1434) by HelenKay Dimon

 
(I purchased this book.)

Blurb:

His job had once torn them apart… but now it was the only thing that could bring them back together

Davis Weeks had a sterling reputation for high-priority, under-the-radar rescue missions. His role in the prestigious undercover agency Corcoran Team trumped everything. Even Lara Bart. Though his loyalty to his position had once driven her away, Lara knew she had to tame her emotions if she wanted to survive. Whether she liked it or not, he was the only man who could protect her.

Showing up at his door after dodging one attempt on her life, she knew Davis had the tools to make sure the next one failed, as well. But was his past to blame for the sudden attacks? Or was the answer, just like their intense relationship, not so clear-cut?

Review:
Published in June 2013, this is an entertaining and sexy romance.  It's a fast read, and Davis is a great hero.  Strong, smart, highly trained in all the alpha male arts, and very protective.  But it was his protective nature that drove a wedge between him and Lara.  His efforts to keep her safe also kept her in the dark, and she'd had enough.  But when she really needed him, she made the decision not to give him all the information, keeping him in the dark as well.  Fearless picks up several months later, and Lara and Davis are still in denial and still in love. 
As they try to figure out which of them is the actual target of the assassin, Davis calls in his brother and his team.  Pretty soon there's even more murder and mayhem, the plot gets more complicated but effectively forces them to stick together and work on their relationship.  Lara manages to hold her own in the action scenes, and the mystery of who is behind the murder plot and why was satisfying and kept me guessing until the end.



Join HelenKay Dimon on her website.

Check out HelenKay Dimon on Goodreads.

       

The Graveyard Speaks by Hunter Shea

(I downloaded this book during a free offer.)

Blurb:

Some secrets can’t stay buried.

Deep in a dark, snow-covered cemetery, a terrifying, moaning apparition rises from the same grave night after night. Even the most hardened caretakers won’t go near the Spooner gravestone on their midnight rounds. Only one ghost hunter has the will to face the unknown, but at what price? In the chilling blackness, only Jessica Backman is prepared to answer the spectral cry from beyond when the graveyard speaks

Review:
I downloaded this little 52 page gem for free, and am so pleased I did.  Hunter Shea is a horror writer, and according to his bio he was raised on The Night Stalker, The Twilight Zone and In Search Of.   Any fan of Kolchak is going to be cool.  I still have a fond spot in my heart for Darren McGavin.  But anyway.....The Graveyard Speaks is a great little spooky story about a college student and ghost-hunter (except she calls them EBs) named Jessica.  Jessica is following in the footsteps of her deceased father, and she also seems to have the ability to send ghosts......somewhere, simply by naming them and ordering them to leave.  She has no idea why she can do such a thing.  Jessica is asked to investigate a haunting in Woodlawn Cemetery by one of the night watchmen, and she quickly learns that something is definitely going on at the grave of one Meredith Spooner.  But is the black mass and screaming woman's voice that of Meredith?

As much as I love the novella format (kids, work, pets, yadda-yadd-yadda, you get the idea), it's really hard for an author to develop a believable, detailed world of compelling characters and a tight plot in just a few pages.  But Shea nails it in this atmospheric story.

Check it out!




Check out Hunter Shea's website.
Follow Hunter Shea on Goodreads.

                    

FREE Book Alert! DEATHSCAPE by Dana Marton

Blurb:
After a near-death experience, artist Ashley Price is compelled to paint visions of the dead. Then she paints a man buried alive and, recognizing the  surroundings, she rushes to save him.

Instead of being grateful to her for rescuing him, Detective Jack Sullivan accuses her of being in league with a serial killer. He swears he will put her behind bars. Except, the more time he spends with her, the more he falls under her spell. Can he trust her, or is he walking into another deadly trap?

DEATHSCAPE is available for FREE through July 26,  2013. Click HERE to order!
With over 270 reviews and an average rating of 4.5, this is one great deal.


Captain Bing's story, DEATHTRAP, is now available!






If you enjoy fast paced thrillers, try Dana Marton's suspense bundle: AGENTS UNDER FIRE  
On sale for a limited time for 99 cents! 
Check out my reviews of the Agents Under Fire novellas on this blog - I LOVED them!




National bestselling author Dana Marton writes fast-paced action-adventure romances that take her readers all over the globe. She is a Rita Award finalist and the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. She loves writing stories of intrigue, filled with dangerous plots that try her tough-as-nails heroes and the special women they fall in love with. Her books have been published in seven languages in eleven countries around the world.

Check out Dana on Facebook, or at her website.

Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake

(I purchased this book.)


Blurb: 

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

Review:
This was a delightfully creepy and intense teen horror novel that grabbed me from the beginning.  Cas is the narrator, a seventeen year old boy who has been killing dangerous ghosts for years, a skill he inherited from his murdered father along with a power-infused athame (ritual knife).  Cas and his mother move every few months as they hunt and kill ghosts who are killing humans.  They have a convenient and secretive extensive network of friends who know of their abilities, and many of their ghost tips come from referrals from previous exterminations.  Apparently Cas' father was part of some arcane college group providing Cas and his mother with support, and research when necessary.
Cas is a really interesting character.  Raised in the lifestyle of his roving ghost-killing father and witch-mother, he's never known another way of living, and his goal in life has been to kill the ghost that murdered his father.  For the most part, Cas doesn't act or think like a typical teenager, and going to school is just a necessary exercise in fitting in and making contacts to extract local ghost stories.  But when he moves to Thunder Bay to investigate a local ghost called Anna Dressed In Blood, his habits begin to change.  He actually makes a couple of friends, in spite of his arrogance and condescending attitude.  He observes his fellow students in a patronizing and superior manner, much like an observer from another species.  And in a way, Cas IS from another species.  He's not normal, his family's not normal, and his destiny and abilities set him apart from others.  But the world of the living is starting to reach out to Cas, just as Anna will reach out to him in a most unexpected manner.
I know this book has been out for two years, but to describe any more plot details would really be more of a spoiler.  So I'll focus on the writing.
Kendare Blake is a hypnotic writer.  The prose moves along in a rhythmic cadence that bespells the reader, cocooning them in a magical bubble that is the world of Anna Dressed In Blood.
Here is an example early in the story, shortly after Cas has arrived in Thunder Bay and is searching for Anna's house.

"I can feel her there, mingled into the mud of a hundred other ghosts, some shuffling and harmless, others full of rage.  I can't imagine what it is to be dead; it's a strange idea to me, having known so many ghosts.  It's still a mystery.  I don't quite understand why some people stay and others don't.  I wonder where those who leave have gone.  I wonder if the ones I kill go to the same place."

The near-hypnotic quality is enhanced by the author's use of the present tense, placing the reader in the story as it's happening and creating a sense of urgency.  I could not put this book down.

Is this a perfect book?  Nope, if there even is such a thing - books are too personal.  But the discrepancies and plot shortcuts (Cas gets letters everywhere he moves about ghost tips, but he lives a secret nomadic life? A mysterious mentor of his father's who gives out tidbits of info at critical times. How come Cas and his mother talk about their cat being able to see ghosts, but ignore the poor feline when he is FREAKING OUT about their new attic?) are happily overlooked by the magical world of Anna Dressed In Blood.
Read it!




Join Kendare Blake on Goodreads.
Check out Kendare Blake's website.

     

BEACH BOOK BONANZA GIVEAWAY!!!

Fabulous Romantic Suspense Author Dana Marton and several of her equally talented romance author friends have grouped together to offer a giveaway for a $50 gift card, to your choice of either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Make sure you check the Facebook Author pages of all these talented ladies, as many are running book giveaways as well.  These ten authors write in many different Romance styles and genres, so go find something new to read and love.
 
Here's a list of participating authors in no particular order - click on their names to be taken to their Facebook Author pages!:

Dana Marton     
Jayne Rylon
Debra Kayn
Robyn Peterman
Cat Johnson
Alannah Lynne
Leah Braemel
Ciara Knight
Virna DePaul
Paige Tyler
 

Resurrection in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law Series #5) by Jana DeLeon

(I purchased this book.)

Blurb:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jana DeLeon, RESURRECTION IN MUDBUG, aka The Return of Helena Henry!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the bayou…

Jadyn St. James is excited to start her job as game warden in Mudbug, Louisiana, and hopes it is the beginning of a new and improved life. She expected to run across any number of odd occurrences in the small bayou town, but she never thought her life would be in danger within a matter of days. And that’s not even the worst thing.
Helena Henry was hell on wheels—both alive and dead—when she resided in Mudbug, and a year in heaven hasn’t improved her one bit. Now, she’s back and has brought trouble with her.

When it becomes apparent that a major crime is occurring in Mudbug, Colt Bertrand is more than frustrated to be saddled with an inexperienced game warden, especially one who looks like Jadyn. But it soon becomes apparent that they need to put their differences aside if they expect to solve the crime, and more importantly, stay alive.

Review:
Helena's back and Mudbug's got her!  Specifically it's Maryse, Mildred, and Jadyn who are the unfortunate locals who can see and hear the not-so-dearly departed Helena Henry.  Turns out she's pissed off God, which is completely believable (and oh, so funny to hear her describe it)!  When she turns up in Mudbug, and pops back into Maryse's life (literally, of course), Maryse and then Mildred are aghast, afronted and afeared, all with good reason.  But when they realize Maryse's newly arrived game warden cousin, Jadyn, can see her as well, they now something bad's going to happen.  As fans of this delightfully nutty series already know, Helena is visible to new people when they are in mortal danger.  Nobody knows if Helena is the deadly bad luck charm, or if those in mortal danger simply gain the ability to see and hear Helena in all her sartorial splendor (Jana DeLeon has outdone herself with the funny and horrifying outfits conjured by Helena).
Pretty soon somebody's shooting at Jadyn, right after she walks into in a deadly smuggling operation her first day on the job.  As Jadyn tries to solve the crime, stay alive, and assist the hunky sheriff Colt Bertrand, she must also deal with Helena and her "help".
The perfect blend of zany antics, laugh-out-loud humor and a really good mystery make this a delightful adventure in Mudbug!


I love the cover with Helena's ghostly leg!


Check out the sidebar on the right and click on Jana DeLeon's name for my other reviews of her books!


Check out Jana DeLeon's website.


  

Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Blurb:
Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted novel of Regency manners and mores that will delight Austen enthusiasts with its wit and elegant expression.

Review:
Lady Susan is a story told exclusively through letters sent between the characters.  (It's called an epistolary novel - in case somebody else was wondering.)  I can't believe I never read this book before, as I love Jane Austen.  But it was well worth the unintentional wait.
The first several pages were rather confusing, as I figured out who was who and what their relationships were and what events were being referred to, both past and present.  But once I sorted these matters out, Lady Susan was a delightful, snarky, insightful window into the personalities of the widow Lady Susan, who happens to be a manipulative coquette (polite terminology for a slutty flirt), her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, her daughter, her best friend, and her latest conquest.
I'm no psychiatrist, but I'd say Lady Susan is a textbook example of a sociopath - she is narcissistic, charming, intelligent, has no shame or guilt, views her daughter as a pawn and tool, and considers the emotional pain of others to be a personal triumph.  These characteristics, while horrible, make her an incredibly entertaining character.  The letters penned by Susan to her equally immoral friend are refreshingly honest, as she brags to her confidante about her gleeful success in stealing the affections of the married Mr. Mainwaring, and her delight in making his wife unhappy.  Susan also shares her feelings about her poor daughter Frederica, who she detests and actively seeks to make miserable.  All of her machinations have a two-fold goal:  to manipulate those around her for her entertainment and personal gain, and to find herself a suitable second husband.
Will Lady Susan get her comeuppance?  Will she force her daughter into marriage with a man in love with the mother?  Will Lady Susan's sister-in-law convince her infatuated brother she is a lying coquette?  I couldn't wait to find out  - absolutely loved this one!


 Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817)

Novels:
Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)
Emma(1815)
Northanger Abbey (1818, posthumous)
Persuasion (1818, posthumous)

Short Fiction:
Lady Susan (1805)

Various other works of poems, prayers, letters, etc.


For more information check out the official Jane Austen website, or the Jane Austen Society of North America.


This BBC production with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth is the definitive film version of Pride and Prejudice (IMHO - but I'm still right!).



 

Cowboy With A Cause (Harlequin Romantic Suspense) by Carla Cassidy

(I purchased this book.)

Blurb:

"I'd apologize for kissing you, but I'm not all that sorry."  Dancer Melanie Brooks had escaped small-town Oklahoma, giving up the country for Broadway's bright lights. Yet after her mother's funeral called her back, her own health issues forced her to stay. Now her tenant, too-hot-for-his-own-good Adam Benson, is giving her a reason to dance again. But has a killer set his sights on her, too?
Adam knows a little something about fresh starts. As for his beautiful neighbor, he doesn't see a wheelchair—he sees a woman who understands. But as the heat grows between them, he can't avoid the feeling that more than her big-city past haunts her—and that danger has been lurking, waiting to strike….

Review:
Published in December 2012, this was a really nice romantic suspense novel.  Melanie is an interesting heroine - she's angry and bitter after being confined to a wheelchair due to an injury shortly after her mother's death.  She lost her mother, her ability to walk, and her dance career in the space of a few weeks, so her bitterness is understandable.  When we meet Melanie she's had seven months to adjust to life in her childhood home, and is short on money and living on disability.  Her plan to rent out the second floor brings Adam to her door, and his presence starts to bring Melanie out of her angry bubble of self-pity.  Adam's kindness and insistence that she can do anything make Melanie start to believe in herself, and the ability to have a life.  Falling in love with Melanie is the start of Adam's healing as well.  Adam has become mired in his own despair due to family tragedy, and by convincing Melanie to move on with her life, he does the same to himself.
The romance and attraction between them felt sweet and natural.  The intensity of their relationship is heightened by the presence of a killer who is after Melanie. All in all, a very satisfying blend of romance and mystery.  I look forward to reading more Carla Cassidy books.



Check out Carla Cassidy's website.  She has written over eighty books!
Carla Cassidy on Goodreads.

 

Pirate Dave and His Randy Adventures (Career Ending Romance Spoof) by Robyn Peterman

(I downloaded this during a free Amazon offer, it is currently still free on Barnes & Noble and Amazon.)

**This book and review is for readers over the age of 18**

Back of the Book Blurb:
After all was said and done, the disgusting novella meant to destroy a story stealing New York Time’s best-selling author’s career was successful. Rena, an accountant with no discernible literary talent, and her band of adorable porno writing grannies came up with the worst piece of literature, (and I use that word loosely), that was ever written. Amazingly enough, it became a cult classic. Who in the hell knew there was an underground need to know and love a Time-Traveling Vampire Warlock with erectile dysfunction and his conjoined lady loves, Laverne and Shirley?
Apparently the need is there and now so is the full version of their story . . .

** Special Note from Author Robyn Peterman **
This is a spoof. A profane romance spoof not meant for anyone under 18. I was threatened lovingly and repeatedly by my readers to write the full version of Pirate Dave. He was born of the need to create a horrific career ending romance novel to destroy a really bad, nasty villainess . . . and Thank you Buddha in a tube top, it worked! I laughed my way through writing this and I hope you will enjoy this small slice of my warped brain. NO, this is not what I normally write, but I certainly had a good time penning it! If you want to read the real romance story, you’ll have to peruse HOW HARD CAN IT BE? You’ll find the first three chapters at the end of the hot mess you’re about to read . . . And now, I give you the career ending novella, (hopefully not mine) otherwise known as PIRATE DAVE AND HIS RANDY ADVENTURES.


Review:
Published in May 2013, this was delightfully silly, raunchy and dirty.  I learned more creative euphemisms for the male genitalia and swear words in this one novella than I've acquired in the last 10+ years. 

This is the story of Pirate Dave, a narcissistic time-traveling vampire warlock with a permanent erection, a crew of scurvy, smelly, and terrified pirates, and a long-term Scrabble war via cellphone with Poseidon.  As the story opens, Pirate Dave is braving an earthquake to locate his ultimate concubine, who actually turns out to be a two-fer, as she's one half of conjoined twins named Laverne and Shirley. 

Thankfully the story mainly takes place in 1492, because Laverne and Shirley do not seem to mind Dave's lice-infested chest hair, or his "manly" body odor.  Personal hygiene is not a primary concern for pirates, thank you very much.  In between accidentally slaughtering his crew, boinking Shirley, screaming insults at Poseidon (who responds with well-placed lightning bolts), and time-traveling for antibiotics and shopping binges, Dave manages to cross paths with a blind troll, a surgical team at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, and an immortal hag with giant fake boobs.
Truly a renaissance man!
This novella had me laughing, snickering, giggling and constantly yelling to my bemused husband, "Hey Honey, have you ever heard this one?" Even my manly stud of a mate learned a few things from Pirate Dave, my friends.
Everyone needs a little Pirate Dave in their life.  Bawdy smut with laugh-out-loud humor is a rare combination.  Go download this little gem!




Thank you, Ms. Peterman, you are obviously one cool, intelligent woman and a broad I would love to hang out with.


For more information, visit Robyn Peterman's website.
Click on the images below to go to Amazon.

   

Seductively (Playing for Hearts #2) by Debra Kayn

(This manuscript was sent to me by the author for consideration.)


Book Blurb:
Independent and goal orientated, Diana Spenner has set her sights on buying the old Ferriday House and running her own Bed and Breakfast by the end of the year. Nothing will sway her from her plans, especially the famous hockey player Dominic Chekovsky, who can't take no for an answer. But, when Dominic strolls into Cottage Grove and begs her in his thick Russian accent to keep his adoring female fans away from him, she's not going to turn him down—because the job pays half a million dollars.

Dominic Chekovsky life is out of control. American women go crazy around him. They invade his personal space, leave their husbands for him, and make his life hell. Except, Diana. She's the one woman who always turns him down, no matter how many times he asks her out on a date. Now he's desperate. He needs Diana's help to figure out why she's the only female immune to his charm, so he can continue to play hockey in the United States. Maybe when Diana finally allows herself to say yes to having sex with him, he'll be over his wild fascination with the one woman who always tells him no.

Warning: Sexy Russian accent, big ego, and thick, hard thighs on ice. Go Sharks!

Review:
This was a really fun and sweet romance.  Dominic is one hot hero (Hockey player. Russian. Big blonde athlete.  Enough said.) and my only complaint is I really wanted this book read to me by a deep-voiced man with a Russian accent, preferably one sitting next to me on the couch, rubbing my feet and ........OK, I digress, but this sexy little (112 pages) story really ignites the fantasy part of my brain.
Diana is a very disciplined, hard-working woman with the crystal clear goal of owning a bed and breakfast.  She's been working in the hotel business for several years and is ready to start her own business.   And as much as she dislikes Dominic and the lifestyle he apparently lives, she is not going to turn down half a million dollars for posing as his girlfriend for two weeks.
Naturally there is more to Dominic than meets the eye, and Diana is in deep trouble.  Ignoring her physical attraction to Dom was hard enough, but discovering the fact that he's a really nice guy makes it impossible to keep her feelings neutral. 
Dominic's sweet wooing of Diana is romantic and touching, even as her resistance to his advances feels realistic and smart.  I loved the fact that as the reader, I felt romanced by Dominic even as Diana does.  Little by little I switched my loyalties from Diana to Dominic as his true nature is revealed, rooting for both of them and their happy-ever-after.

 Check out my review of Breathing His Air.


Find Seductively on Goodreads.

Check out the Debra Kayn's website.

   

Maids of Misfortune by M. Louisa Locke

(I purchased this book.)

Back of the Book Blurb:
It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt.

Annie Fuller also has a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl's clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen.

Nate Dawson has a problem. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to believe that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior.

Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted historical mystery set in the foggy gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco.

Review:

Published in December 2009, this is a wonderful blend of mystery, with a touch of romance, set against a period backdrop of 1879 San Francisco.  I was completely absorbed from the beginning, as the reader sees Annie in her dual roles as a boarding-house owner and in her role as Madam Sibyl (love the appropriate name).  It's fascinating that the word "respectable" needs to be placed in front of the phrase "boarding-house", as they were frequently fronts for a much older profession.  Annie is young, extremely smart, capable, and just barely hanging on to her status and her inherited boarding-house through the profits earned by Madam Sibyl.  Annie had been left destitute when her husband killed himself, after spending the considerable fortune Annie had brought to the marriage through her dowry.  Unable to overtly use her considerable financial and business skills to support herself due to societal constraints, Annie is forced to rely on the charity of her in-laws, and is shunted from one to another until she inherits the house.

When one of her favorite clients and friends dies unexpectedly, Annie believes it to be murder, and has to convince the family lawyer Nate Dawson, who happens to be young, handsome, hunky and open-minded.  His affection for Annie and his tolerance for her escapades is sorely tested, however, as Annie's investigation puts her in all kinds of dangerous situations.

 Annie and Nate feel like real people, and I found myself alternately cheering for Annie and scared to death for her, as she poses as a maid and hunts for clues to the murder.  The setting and situation are so clearly described, I could feel the societal constraints holding Annie back at every turn, always requiring that she dress, speak, and behave a certain way, whether as a respectable widow or as the maid she pretends to be for part of the book.  I was frustrated for her, even as she found methods to work within and around these class rules.
Fascinating story, with a well-crafted mystery, realistic characters, and a lovely romance - highly recommended!

Check out the author's Goodreads page.

Check out the author's website for more information.

Meet the Author

M. Louisa Locke is a retired professor of U.S. and Women’s History, who has embarked on a second career as an historical fiction writer. The first two published books in her series of historical mysteries set in Victorian San Francisco, Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits feature Annie Fuller, a boardinghouse owner and clairvoyant, and Nate Dawson, a San Francisco lawyer, who together investigate murders and other crimes, while her short stories, Dandy Detects and The Miss Moffets Mend a Marriage, give secondary characters from this series a chance to get involved in their own minor mysteries.

Locke's fiction garnered awards from the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and the IndieBRAG and have been consistent best   sellers in the historical mystery category. Locke is also the president of the Board of Directors of the Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative.

Currently living in San Diego, Dr. Locke is working on Bloody Lessons, the next full-length installment of her Annie Fuller/Nate Dawson series. For more about M. Louisa Locke and her work, see http://mlouisalocke.com/.