Review # 271: Rally 'Round the Corpse - An Abel Adventures Mystery by Hy Conrad

Description: (book jacket)

     It's been two years since her fiancé's death. Amy Abel needs to start over. What better way for a shy, risk-averse woman to start than to sink all her savings into a travel agency specializing in adventure? Her first project is a mystery road rally through the European countryside. 

     At the starting line in Monte Carlo, Amy finds herself attracted to Marcus Alvarez, the most mysterious of her two dozen game-loving clients. But the rally gets off to a rocky start when an eccentric writer, the only person who knows the game's solution, is himself murdered back in New York. 

     Who would kill a harmless mystery geek? And why are weird accidents beginning to happen along the way? To her horror, Amy discovers that this fictional mystery was based on a real, unsolved case, one that Marcus knows too much about. Now she has no choice but to join forces with Fanny, her domineering mother, and solve this on her own, before the killer strikes again.

Review:

     MONK, a TV dramedy series about an obsessive compulsive detective, is one of my all-time favorite shows, so when I had the opportunity to read a book by the show's writer/producer, Hy Conrad, I grabbed a bleach-wipe and pounced on it! The characters are phenomenal, each multifaceted individual breathing new life, (and new clues), into the mystery. Fanny and Amy, a mother-daughter duo, are two of my favorites! Their witty repartee, eccentricities, and well-developed personalities are realistic and complimentary, always keeping each other in check. The dialogue follows suit, full of engaging conversations and well-placed laughs. There were a few times that I had to take a break because I was laughing too much, especially during Amy's awkward moments, (no spoilers!). The plot is terrifically written and well-detailed, Hy Conrad is definitely a seasoned manufacturer of mystery and suspense. Every new clue changed my outlook on the case's resolution - a true whodunit; the twists and turns fast and sinuous, yet surprising. I can honestly say that I was in the dark about the killer's identity throughout most of the book, and I was quite taken-aback by the ending. I also loved the parallel mysteries, as well as the book's fun and lighthearted tone. My high expectations were definitely met! Recommended for all mystery lovers!

Rating: On the Run (4/5)

*** I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author

     Best known for his work in mysteries, Hy was one of the original writers for the groundbreaking series,Monk. He worked on the show for all eight seasons, the final two as Co-Executive Producer, and received three Edgar Nominations from the Mystery Writers of America for “Best TV Episode.”

     In a related project, Hy was Executive Producer and head writer of Little Monk, a series of short films featuring Adrian Monk as a ten-year-old. His latest TV work was as writer and Consulting Producer for White Collar.

     Hy is also the author of hundreds of short stories and ten books of short whodunits, which have been sold around the world in fourteen languages. Hy’s first full-length comedy/mystery play, Home Exchange, premiered at the Waterfront Playhouse in Key West in May 2012. And, in a different vein, he recently authored a humor book calledThings Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know.

Hy splits his time among Key West, Vermont and New York City.

Author Website: http://www.hyconrad.com/

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Tour Schedule 

So Many Precious Books Jan 6 Giveaway & Feature 

Minding Spot Jan 7 Review 

Book Lover Stop Jan 8 Review & Giveaway 

Thoughts in Progress Jan 9 Review 

Thoughts in Progress Jan 10 Giveaway & Interview 

Book Dilettante Jan 11 Review 

Tabula Rasa Jan 11 Review 

Tabula Rasa Jan 12 Interview 

Sweeps4Bloggers Jan 12 Review & Giveaway 

The Bookworm Jan 13 Review 

Book Lover's Library Jan 14 Review 

Book Lover's Library Jan 14 Guest Post & Giveaway 

Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Jan 15 Review 

Celtic Lady Jan 16 Review 

Book Angels Jan 17 Review 

Book Angels Jan 18 Guest Post $ Giveaway 

Ann's Reading Corner Jan 19 Review 

Booksie's Blog Jan 20 Review 

Socrates Book Reviews Jan 21 Review 

Socrates Book Reviews Jan 21 Guest Post & Giveaway 

How Mysterious Jan 22 Review 

Library of Clean Reads Jan 23 Review & Giveaway 

Turning the Pages Jan 25 Review 

Turning the Pages Jan 25 Interview 

Bookvisions Jan 26 Review 

I'd Rather Be Reading Jan 27 Review & Giveway 

Paperback Pursuer Jan 28 Review 

Writing Daze Jan 29 Guest Post 

Back To Books Jan 29 Review & G iveaway 

Heck of a Bunch Jan 30 Review & Giveaway 

¡Miraculous! Jan 31 Guest Post & Giveaway 

Review Room Feb 1 Review 

Freda's Voice Feb 2 Review & Giveaway 

Man of LaBook Feb 3 Review 

Man of LaBook Feb 4 Interview & Giveaway 

Melissa's Midnight Musings Feb 5 Review & Giveaway 

Peaceful Wishing Feb 6 Review 

Peaceful Wishing Feb 7 Guest Post & Giveaway 

Dark Haven Maven Feb 8 Review 

Butterfly-o-Meter Books Feb 9 Guest Post & Spotlight 

MN Girl in LA Feb 11 Review 

MN Girl in LA Feb 12 Interview & Giveaway 

Bea's Book Nook Feb 12 Review 

Romancing the Book Feb 13 Review 

Romancing the Book Feb 14 Guest Post & Giveaway 

Review # 270: Catch Me If You Know How - Internet Edition by Travis Morgan

Description: (from Amazon)

     This book teaches basic computer forensics to any level computer user. You do not need to be an intermediate or advanced computer user to understand this book or to know how to implement any of the procedures. It's very easy to navigate, with clear screenshots as examples. 

• Stop Cyberbullying
• Catch Your Spouse Cheating
• Stop Pornography Addiction
• Save Your Teen from Suicide
• Save Your Child from a Pedophile
• Stop a Compulsive Online Gambler
• Prevent Mass Murders or Terrorism
• Discover Who's Wasting Company Time
• ANYONE CAN UNDERSTAND IT!
• ANYONE CAN DO IT!

Review:

     Catch Me If You Know How is a beginner's step-by-step guide to discovering anyone's internet habits! Are your kids and teens on dangerous sites? Is your spouse or employee perusing unsavory sites regarding gambling, guns, drugs or pornography? If you are unsure of the answers,  this is definitely the book for you! Travis Morgan's intro to basic computer forensics can be understood and used by any reader; topics include: Web Browsing, Emails, Social Media, Chat and Instant Messaging, Peer To Peer File Sharing and other technologies, as well as advanced tips for monitoring and controlling internet access. Each chapter is broken down into easy-to-read large print sections complete with instructions and diagrams detailing how to search and protect your computer and your family. I am pretty proficient with computers, but I even learned a few things that I have started putting into practice! Although some of the tips and tools may seem like an invasion of privacy, they could save time, money, a marriage or even a life! Better to be safe than sorry." This is a must read for parents in the "tech" generation - even the comic-like illustrations help to get the points across! Highly recommended to all readers!

Rating: On the Run (4.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

About the Author: (from Amazon)

     Travis Morgan is an established Computer Specialist who has gained his knowledge through both professional and personal means. Travis' detailed personality and drive to learn new and innovative technologies is his "niche". In his 20 years of IT education and experience stemming from his own love for computers, he has been a successful entrepreneur and previously an Institutional Director of Information Technology and Vice President for a national college. His vast experience and education in Information Technology has afforded him the knowledge and experience to not only recognize personal behaviors and traits of subordinates and co-workers, but also the technical aspects of how abuses occur and the detection and tracking of those behaviors on personal, corporate and public computer systems.

     Additionally, Travis has been exposed to technical and non-technical computer users in corporate, small business and residential environments. Various experiences and witnessing first hand the abusive nature of some people and the Internet, has led him to write this compelling book to help parents, teachers and anyone else who feels the need to understand how to track inappropriate behavior of users of the Internet.
With our society relying more and more on technology, Travis recognizes the dire need to educate and promote understanding of the growing dilemma of protecting our children online, observing and reviewing internet behaviors and protecting their households. Travis is concerned with the technology that exposes our most sacred lives, our children, which is why he has become an advocate of this purpose.

     With all the horror stories we hear in our everyday lives regarding events attributed to internet use, it is Travis' attempt to aid those closest to a potential problem to have the tools necessary to avert any harm that could possibly be in progress or have previously occurred, through use of the internet.

     Travis, who is now a deaf/blind man, lives in Temecula, CA, with his wife and two youngest children.

P.S. Look for more books to come in the 'Catch Me If You Know How' series.

Blogoversary Giveaway!!!

I am feeling extra generous in 2013! This year I am going big - giving away one Kindle Fire, two $50 Amazon Gift Cards, and one Mystery Box full of books!!! Four lucky winners will be chosen at random using the Rafflecopter form below! Complete the simple activities (follow TPP blog/Twitter/Facebook/etc...) for a chance to win!!! Good Luck! 

..."and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

The giveaway will not end until I have reached 100 NetworkedBlogs followers!!!

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Guestpost: Have Fun! by AB Bard

  Have Fun!

by AB Bard

     I am a writer with a multiple personality. That makes me two writers. No three. No – well, as you can see, this is not an argument I can win.

     One of my personalities is AB Bard, the anarchic author of The Killer Poet’s Guide to Immortality. If I told you what it’s about, I’d have to kill you. But I assure you, it is an uplifting story.

     Another of my personalities is as a writer of serious historical fiction. There’s the perennial Kindle favorite (former #1 on KINDLE!) Just Deceits: A Historical Courtroom Mystery. And there’s the less flashy but more meaningful Bones Beneath Our Feet: A Historical Novel of Puget Sound. You can’t go wrong with either one.

     I don’t much like selling myself, so I often make fun of the process. This doesn't really get me anywhere, but it feels good. If you are a writer starting out on this path, there are really two schools of thought. One (the one we hear more of in these mercenary times) is to figure out what the market wants, then try to write it, and market the hell out of yourself. The other is to write what you love, the market be damned! The first is like any other job, only less likely to pay anything, so I figure what’s the point of being a writer if you aren't writing what you love? You might as well make widgets for $11.95 an hour. At least then you could afford a bowling league.

     As you can tell, I’m a firm adherent to the second school of thought, which is more like playtime on the recess than school. I recall the graduation address given by IF Stone, the famous investigative journalist to my class at Reed College. His totally serious advice to the graduates boiled down to this: Have fun! Life’s short, enjoy yourself. If you’re always worried about what’s next, you’re likely to miss the joy right in front of your nose. That’s my writing philosophy, and my living philosophy. And that’s about the only thing that all my personalities can agree on.

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About the book:

     The Killer Poet’s Guide to Immortality is the riveting tale of a frustrated poet who decides that the best way to get his work read is by pinning it to corpses with a dagger. Alternately profound and hilarious, this novel chronicles in rapid-fire succession AB Bard’s obsessive murder spree, rise to media notoriety, capture, trial, and execution by lethal injection.

Then it presses further, into the future . . .

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About the Author:

     Reclusive Seattle author AB Bard’s poetry has twice been nominated for the Pushcart. He is the author under a pseudonym of two other hysterical novels, or perhaps historical novels, neither of which is funny. Mr. Bard is not now, nor has he ever been, a member of the Republican Party. Mr. Bard does not Tweet. He was awarded a sheepskin (BAaa) from Reed College Sleeper Cell. His one super power is the ability to repel all conventional measures of literary success. Mr. Bard is lap to a cat, pal to a girl, God to a dog, & dog to the Man.

To find out more, please visit him at http://www.abbard.com

Spotlight: The Unspeakable by Tessa Stockton

Description:

Who said forgiveness was easy?

     When a furtive conflict is pitted between violent leftist guerrillas and a rightwing paramilitary group in Colombia, a North American woman mistakenly gets caught in the middle. “I spent four months, one week and two days in a clandestine prison referred to as The Water Cave. Every day I stared hell in the face, and each day I wanted to die. I don’t want to share too much too quickly. To understand fully, you must join hands with me, fasten your heart to mine, and course through my book. Stumble over the incomprehensible human rights journey with me. I’ve pondered it to the brink of questionable sanity, and it is the only way. It’s the only way to explain. I suppose I should consider myself lucky I survived at all—for many did not—yet, perplexingly so, that’s not the premise of this narrative. He altered my life, marked me forever. But it’s not how you might imagine. This is a story involving Horacio Botello, my torturer known as Puma.”

Purchase your copy:

BARNES & NOBLE | WINGS PRESS

About the Author:

     A veteran of the performing arts and worldwide missions, Tessa Stockton also contributed as a writer/editor for ministry publications, ghostwriter for political content, and headed a column on the topic of forgiveness. Today she writes novels in a variety of genres, often laced with romance and intrigue. In addition to her Christian suspense/thriller, THE UNSPEAKABLE, she’s the author of the political intrigue/romance, THE UNFORGIVABLE, a fable, LOVE AND LULL, and the upcoming inspirational fantasy romance, WIND’S ARIA, with more in the works.

Visit the Author:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

~ ~ ~ $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD + 2 BOOK GIVEAWAY ~ ~ ~

Pump Up Your Book and Tessa Stockton are teaming up to give you a chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Here's how it works:

This promotion will run from January 14 - February 15. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on February 16, 2013. Each blogger who participates is eligible to enter and win. Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour. The prize includes a $25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash, one paperback copy of The Unspeakable and one paperback copy of The Unforgiveable. This giveaway is only open to those over the age of 18 and can accept an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash. You must be a resident of the U.S. to win.

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Review # 269: Healthy Shame... How to Spank your inner Monkey! by Joseph W. Dopp

Description:

     A quirky Christian guide to fighting off life's most taboo temptations, as well as other lapses in self-control.

Review:

     Idea-wise, I have to give Joseph W. Dopp credit for coming up with such an interesting way to get his (and God's) point across to readers. His unique perspective on social and religious issues pulls readers into a metaphor filled "discussion" about life, God, sin, self-control and self-worth; however, the formatting is one of the most nauseatingly confusing set-ups that I have ever witnessed! Opening up the book reveals a jaunty combination of size 8pt font fragments, bold and italicized lettering, mixed lower and uppercase letters (in the same word), quotes, fill-in-the-blanks and random usage of punctuation. His explanation on page five is as follows:

"I will mix metaphors and speak in a Blend of Civil Slang & Christianese;

So as to Establish Humor, Teaching, Biblical Relevance & Deep Convictions!

I will mix in Poetic Rants, that I hope will Crescendo the point Deep into the Heart!

I will use & mis-use CAPS & mince words to ACCENTuate ROOT concepts in words!

Don't be Shallow! If the Church is an inch Deep & mile Wide, Let's DEEPen the pool.

Just because it's punny doesn't mean it's funny! It may just be WORTHy in it's Duplicity!

I will Exclaim, Exclamatory TRUTH throughout this book... suggeSting THAT,

I may be YELLING with the same PASSION for

YOUR SOUL as John the Baptist!"

     This discombobulating blend of characters makes it very difficult to focus on the material being presented, as well as the words themselves. I found myself reading entire chapters and only grasping small bits of information; further hindered by the small text. Ignoring the evident formatting issues, I do believe that Dopp's experience with addiction and counseling has created a refreshing presentation and writing style, much more humorous and biblical-based than I expected. Although long-winded rants are not my favorite kinds of narratives, I can see the appeal of the non-traditional approach. The apes are a nice touch, (no spoilers). Overall, I would have enjoyed and appreciated Healthy Shame more had it seen an editor before being published. 

Rating: DNR (2/5)

*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. 

Review # 268: A Season for Tending by Cindy Woodsmall

Description: (from Amazon)

Old Order Amish Rhoda Byler’s unusual gift and her remarkable abilities to grow herbs and berries have caused many to think her odd. As rumors mount that Rhoda’s “gift” is a detriment to the community, she chooses isolation, spending her time in her fruit garden and on her thriving canning business.

     Miles away in Harvest Mills, Samuel King struggles to keep his family’s apple orchard profitable. As the eldest son, Samuel farms with his brothers, the irrepressible Jacob and brash Eli, while his longtime girlfriend Catherine remains hopeful that Samuel will marry her when he feels financially stable.

     Meanwhile, Samuel’s younger sister Leah is testing all the boundaries during her rumschpringe, and finds herself far from home in Rhoda’s garden after a night of partying gone badly. But Leah’s poor choices serve as a bridge between Rhoda and the King family when a tragic mistake in the orchard leaves Samuel searching for solutions.
Rhoda’s expertise in canning could be the answer, but she struggles with guilt over the tragic death of her sister and doesn’t trust herself outside her garden walls. As the lines between business, love, and family begin to blur, can Rhoda finally open up to a new life? And what effect will this odd, amazing woman have on the entire King family?

Review:

     Having recently read some of Cindy Woodsmall's novels, I was very excited about receiving a copy of A Season for Tending! Her characters always seem to live on and off the pages, inspiring me as I read their stories, and Rhoda, Samuel, Leah, Catherine and Eli are prime examples. Everyone has a unique back-story and a distinct personality, but it is the well-plotted circumstances that round out the mix. I loved reading about Rhoda's garden and how it shaped her emotions and experiences - she bloomed throughout the novel, becoming a very strong and well-developed character. As always, the story was written well, and the descriptive language brought me straight into the world of the Amish, stirring up emotions and, in some cases, bringing back memories. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but the fruit of the story ripened at a very slow pace, and the ending felt unresolved, (no spoilers); hopefully, the second book in the Amish Vines and Orchards series will tie up some of the loose ends.

Rating: Bounty's Out (3.5/5)

*** I received this book from the author (Blogging for Books) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.