Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Good Neighbors by J. Q. Rose

  
 Jim and Gloria Hart, snowbirds from Michigan, always help out the neighbors in their Florida retirement community when asked. Who knew being good could turn out to be so bad?


I wish I could be a snowbird and have Jim and Gloria Hart for neighbors.  They’re so helpful and they sound like fun people to have around even if you don’t play golf.  Between solving the mystery of last year’s deaths at their Florida winter retirement community, helping a neighbor who fell in her bathtub and plant-sitting for a neighbors who surprised his wife with a Christmas cruise, they’re all round good people.  Besides, who ever got into trouble just plant sitting?

I disturbed the peace at Wendy’s because I was laughing so hard reading this while I had lunch.  It’s another great waiting room read—the kind of short-story you can devour along with a quick burger or while waiting to see the doctor.  But try not to laugh too loudly unless you want to tell people what you’re reading.  On second thought, go ahead.  Laugh out loud.  Don’t be afraid to let people know how much you’re enjoying Ms. Rose’s writing.  Isn’t a good hearty laugh in the middle of Wendy’s a great recommendation for a book?  Just try not to choke on your food or snort pop through your nose.

Price:  $0.99



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Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Antique Toy Con by John Russo




Jason Chapman recently retired from the Merchant Marines decides to follow in his parents’ footsteps by traveling the antique road show circuit as he did with them as a child. Having left him a fair collection of dolls and toys to start with, he soon discovers the value of one in particular. He also recalled how his father was once duped by an unsavoury collector and vowed to not let any of them get the better of him. In fact he had a plan to retaliate. Like all plans however the unforeseen can happen.


This is a very short story by John Russo.  Mornings when I just missed my bus on the way to work, I probably could have read it before the next one came.   

Bent on revenge, Jason Chapman travels the antique show circuit selling fake toy cars.  He inserts old pennies into them to “authenticate” their ages.  He will, after all, be selling them to antique dealers who know a thing or two about such things.  His fakes have to pass inspection.  I found the story fascinating since I don’t know very much about antiques, even though revenge isn’t my cup of tea.  Jason’s painstaking forgeries are almost flawless and his sales technique—I wish I had him selling my books.  I do recommend this short story.


Price:  $0.99

Sunday, January 15, 2012

The Forget-Me-Nots by Ginger Simpson



Blurb:

Sarah Palmer’s mother has passed, and desperate for something familiar to hold onto, Sarah goes through her mother’s jewelry box. Inside she finds three bars joined together with a black ribbon. The metal’s tarnished condition hides the words engraved on each and sends Sarah in search of someone who can explain their meaning and why her mother never shared them with her.

Excerpt:

Sarah fidgeted while the jeweler used a special polish to clean the tarnished surface of the first sterling bar. He finished and handed it to her.

“Looks like this one says Clara.”

“That was my mother’s name.” Sarah looked at the now-visible letters and nodded.

The glasses balancing on the man’s nose made his pores look huge. Sarah wanted to push the frame up where it belonged, but instead gazed through the glass cases at wristwatches until he finished with the next charm.

“Here’s number two.”

She took the charm. The day was crystal clear, along with month and year. April 14, 1941. She closed her eyes and searched her memory for some association with the date. Mom had never mentioned anything about her life previous to Dad. Maybe the clue was on the final charm. Sarah chewed her bottom lip and waited.

“Number three. Do you know someone named Leon?” The man dangled the charm in the air.

Sarah shook her head and accepted the third piece from him. “Never heard of anyone by that name.”

The jeweler stood with a blank expression, as if waiting for something. Sarah’s cheeks warmed. She clasped the charms tight in one hand and reached for her wallet with the other. “I’m sorry. How much do I owe you?”

He held up a hand. “No charge. Can I do anything else for you today?”

“You’ve been very helpful already, but I wonder if you’ve ever seen anything like these before—know what they’re called?” She opened her palm and spread the charms apart.

He smiled. “As a matter of fact I have.” He took one and placed it on the counter. “I’ve seen them in my ‘collectibles’ book.” Pulling a magnifying glass from a shelf behind him, he held it over the sterling piece. “See those little flowers on the end? They’re called Forget-Me-Nots, and also the name given to this particular type of keepsake.”

Sarah bent and viewed the small blossoms intricately placed on the bar’s end, then glanced up. “What significance do they hold, if any?”

“The charms were very popular during World War II. They were given in friendship and collected until one had enough to create an entire bracelet. I don’t know much more about them, but I’m sure you can research the Internet for more information.”

“I will.” Sarah’s heart raced. She wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or the anxiety of not knowing who Leon was. She couldn’t wait to tell Melinda.


This is another wonderful “waiting room” read.  Just seventeen pages of cozy mystery.  Who was Leon and why did he give Sarah’s mother a keepsake?  Why did her mother never mention him and where is he now?  Accompany Sarah on her search into her mother’s past.  You’ll enjoy it.  I did.

Price:  $0.99

Sunday, January 8, 2012

No Ordinary Love by Kate Lynd


A human rebel against the Capturian Forces, Caliope was enslaved for five years and tortured. She never expected to meet James, a half-breed too human for his own good.
Their connection is electric.
Their love is forbidden.
Their daughter may be Earth’s only hope.
Excerpt:
When I woke I was in a small room, naked except for the salves on my skin and a warm blanket wrapped around my body. I looked around. James was sleeping in a chair next to the bed with a shotgun at his side. I tried to sit up and his eyes flickered open.
“Keep still. They’ll sense you.”
His nearness was enough to make me yearn for his touch. Relationships between Capturians and humans were taboo by their very nature. But James himself was an anomaly. He was the offspring of a Capturian Master and his female human slave. He never talked about it, but I knew it left him with a bitterness and heaviness that not even the oldest of human survivors had.
He’d been a guard on the slave ship I’d originally been sent to, early on in the fighting. The ‘experiments’ had been torturous. During my first six months there, they tried to break me. Every night I was in tears. Angry, bitter, terrified tears. When I slept there was no relief, either, as I was haunted in my dreams by the things they had done to me in the day time. Eventually I lost all sense of time or place. I was about to fall on my sword when James was assigned to watch me and make sure I didn’t rally the other human slaves. Instead of plunging me into utter darkness and suspending me in air, he’d come to me, that first night, and held me through it.


I was greatly enjoying this story, and then…it stopped.  I felt as though I’d left a book on the El.  I had to check with the author before I wrote this review, to see whether there was more coming.  Fortunately, there is.  No Ordinary Love is the first in a series and I fervently hope Ms. Lynd gets busy and writes more of it, because her characters really engaged me and the ending left me yearning for the rest of the story.  Hurry up, Ms. Lynd!


Price:  $2.50

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Dangerous Voice by Kat Holmes


 
Back Cover:

Forty-seven year old Phaia Mykos is a meek and mild librarian by day, but to put her daughter through college she turns into the sexy and alluring Sasha by night. Using her voice, she teases and titillates men on the phone.

But when women in her line of work suddenly find themselves under attack, it’s only a matter of time until the madman turns his eye on the one called Sasha.

To trap the stalker, the police send hunky and much younger detective Derek Hoffman to her door. Long has she desired the man and circumstances provide her the perfect opportunity to get what she wants, hopefully before her obsessed fan silences her for good.

Excerpt:

“So we can explain how this is going to work.” He spoke to her as though she was a simpleton and Phaia decided then and there she didn’t like Derek’s partner. “I must admit, I’m surprised you let your daughter conduct such business in your home. Morals aren’t what they used to be.”

“Archie, that’s enough!” Derek hissed at his partner. “We’re not here to judge.”

Phaia burst out laughing. Oh, this is too much. They think her daughter is Sasha. Archie Gibson seemed like such a stiff shirt she could only imagine what his reaction would be when he found out the truth. Both men looked at her as though she’d taken leave of her senses and that just made Phaia laugh even harder. This might just end up being fun after all.

“I hate to burst your bubble, but Noelle is away at college. Anyway, she isn’t the one you want to talk to. Noelle isn’t Sasha.” Pausing for effect, Phaia grinned wide as she looked directly into Archie’s eyes. “I’m Sasha.”


Phaia is a bit of a cougar who has been drooling over her hunky, younger next-door neighbor, Derek Hoffman ever since he moved in.  But she allowed her discomfort about their age difference to keep her from acting on her feelings.  After all—she’s pushing fifty and why would he be interested in the prim, proper middle-aged librarian next door?  And she’s not about to confess she moonlights as Sasha, phone-sex goddess to keep her daughter at Princeton.  So when someone hacks into her boss’ server and starts assaulting her colleagues, imagine her surprise that one of the two cops who show up to provide protection is none other than Derreck.  She can definitely live without his condescending partner, but she has plans for him.

I highly recommend this great short read.


Price:  $2.50

Buy Link:  http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=268&category_id=9&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1