Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton

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This post was most recently updated on December 18th, 2024

Little Boy Blue by Margaret FentonLittle Boy Blue: Social Worker Claire Conover Mystery #4 by Margaret Fenton
Publisher:  Aakenbaaken & Kent (Oct, 2024)
Category: Mystery, Amateur Sleuth
Tour Dates November 4-27, 2024
ISBN: 978-1958022184

Available in Print and ebook, 228 pages

Little Boy Blue

Description Little Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton

The latest installment in Fenton’s acclaimed southern mystery series, Claire Conover Mysteries, featuring Birmingham, Alabama child welfare social worker Claire Conover, Little Boy Blue is a confident, compelling, and captivating tale about long-buried secrets, revenge—and how nothing, absolutely nothing, is quite as it seems.

Claire Conover is in the midst of personal upheaval:  an indiscretion has cost Claire her relationship with longtime love Grant Summerville, and she is trying to weather the challenges of being a single foster mother to 13-year-old LaReesa Jones.  At least her job hasn’t put her in danger again—at least until Grant is accused of child abuse by a former employee, Regina Maynard.  Even though she and Grant are broken up, Claire vows to prove his innocence, despite repeated protests and warnings from her Unit Supervisor, Mac McAlister.  Convinced of Grant’s innocence, Claire starts to investigate.

Then Regina is murdered, and Claire takes charge of Regina’s six-year-old son, Dylan. When she starts to unravel the destruction and chaos Regina left behind, Claire realizes there is no shortage of suspects in Regina’s murder, including Grant himself. Regina had plenty of enemies, including people she stole from and ex-lovers she was blackmailing. But who wanted her dead?  And more importantly why?

Complicating matters even further, LaReesa’s drug-addled biological mother comes back into the picture, causing the teenager to spiral– and causing Claire immeasurable anxiety over what the future could hold.

The stakes have never been higher:  against the backdrop of a ticking clock, Claire and Grant must work together to solve Regina’s murder before Grant loses everything. But it’s clear that someone doesn’t want the truth to come to light, and soon Claire herself becomes the target.  She’s lost Grant, she’s afraid she could lose LaReesa …but this time, Claire may lose something even more valuable:  her life.

Teeming with tension, simmering suspense, and a riveting storyline, Little Boy Blue is mesmerizing.  An extraordinary new entry in Margaret Fenton’s Little series, Little Boy Blue is a brilliantly rendered, briskly paced mystery that brims with real, relatable characters, authenticity, and a powerhouse of a plot that will leave readers breathless.

Praise for Social Worker Claire Conover Mysteries

“Did my usual thing of plunging in without reading the blurb on the back cover and my heart sank when I saw the story was about social services and child welfare? So glad I wasn’t put off as this is a great, well told, murder mystery with a cast of interesting characters.
The book has a nice writing style and kept me reading as the plot developed at a frantic pace. I had real trouble putting this down and finished it in two sittings as I couldn’t wait to find out the conclusion.”- Kevin Cannon, Monty’s Book Reviews

“Claire, a social worker, finds herself involved in the death of a clients child. Little Mikey only 3 dies and when they found out it was because of a drug overdose his mom, -a long time addict gone clean – gets sent to jail. But nothing is quite like it seems because Claire does not give up until she finds out the truth –even if it puts her life in danger. Finished this book in 2 days. Could not put it down.” =-Agnes, Bubbie’s Books

“Little White Lies” by Margaret Fenton captured my attention with an intriguing storyline that never wavered throughout. I voraciously tore through the pages of this immersive book in one sitting; it was the ultimate escape from reality! I loved piecing together the clues from this political mystery.  The author did an excellent job of illustrating conflict within a relationship.
“Little White Lies” had all the necessary ingredients for a deliciously immersive mystery—perfect pacing, well-developed characters, and puzzling clues to uncover. Readers interested in books about racial disparity and familial dysfunction will be quickly immersed in the story.”- Reader Views’s Review

“Margaret Fenton has given the reader a wonderfully written mystery in Little White Lies that has so much exciting action and so very many lies that the reader will be completely involved and not put it down until the very last page. In Claire, the author gives the reader an excellent main character that we come to care about.
Quill says: This is an excellent and well-rounded story that I would recommend to anyone who loves a really good mystery. It would be a huge surprise if, after reading Little White Lies, you don’t turn around and go right out to read the first two books in the series. I, for one, cannot wait to see what happens to Claire and the others in the next book.”- Feathered Quill Book Reviews

About Margaret FentonLittle Boy Blue by Margaret Fenton

Award winning author, Margaret Fenton spent nearly ten years as a child and family therapist for her county’s child welfare department before focusing on writing. Hence, her work tends to reflect her interest in social causes and mental health, especially where kids are concerned. She has been a planning coordinator of Murder in the Magic City since its inception in 2003. Margaret lives in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover with her husband, a retired software developer, and their adorable Papillons.
She received her B.A. in English from the Newcomb College of Tulane University.

Website: https://margaretfenton.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557966351056

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What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

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This post was most recently updated on October 2nd, 2024

What They Said About Luisa by Erika RummelWhat They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

Publisher:  Dundurn Press (June 18, 2024)
Category: Historical Fiction, African American Historical Fiction, Women’s Literature
Tour Dates September 10-October 3, 2024
ISBN: 978-1459752771
Available in Print and ebook, 306 pages

What They Said About Luisa

Description What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

An enchanting telling of the complex and fascinating life of real-life Luisa Abrego of Seville, who forges a new life after freedom from slavery in colonial Mexico and gets caught in the far-reaching Spanish Inquisition.

Luisa Abrego, a slave in Seville, is set free upon her master’s death and marries a white man. After boarding Luisa’s illegitimate child with the nuns of St. Clare, the couple sets out for Mexico. There Luisa is accused of bigamy and tried in the court of the Inquisition.

The narratives here are not Luisa’s own. They are those of witnesses who encountered her: housewives, nuns, miners, lawyers, inquisitors.  These are European voices,  in whose accounts, a fractured portrait of a fascinating and complex woman emerges, like glimpses of a figure moving past a mirror.

Based on 16th century trial records of the real Luisa, this novel is not just one woman’s life in fragments, but a carefully researched imagining, told in vivid, distinct voices, of how the Inquisition affected the Spanish colonies.

Praise For What They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

Bookbub: listed among 10 best historical fiction books of 2024

“A deep dive into 16th century Spain and Mexico, during the dangerous times of the Spanish Inquisition, superbly crafted by an experienced historical novelist. A must read.”-Pam Royl, author of The Last Secret

“Rummel’s whole novel is marvellous, full of wisdom, learning, and insight.”-Jonathan Locke Hart, historian, literary scholar, and poet

“a captivating and meticulously researched historical novel that offers a vivid and compelling portrayal of the life of Luisa Abrego, an emancipated woman who forges a new future for herself in colonial Mexico. an intriguing subject and narrative approach, making it a literary masterpiece that deserves to be cherished and experienced. Rummel’s storytelling is both enchanting and thought-provoking, as she weaves a complex and fascinating tale of Luisa’s life, from her emancipation in Seville to her journey to colonial Mexico. The author’s attention to historical detail and her carefully researched imagining of Luisa’s life bring the sixteenth-century setting to life, offering readers a rich and immersive reading experience.”-Trishita Das, GluedToBook

“Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. The characters are wonderfully flushed out and realized, and the history in it is vivid and ever-present. I would highly recommend this book.”- Colleen Earle, Goodreads

“an illuminating novel of historical fiction set in Seville, Spain during the 16th century and the Spanish Inquisition. Refreshing. Brilliantly told from multiple perspectives.”-Dizzy, Goodreads

About Erika RummelWhat They Said About Luisa by Erika Rummel

Award winning author, Erika Rummel is the author of more than a dozen non-fiction books and ten novels. Her tenth novel, ‘’What They Said About Luisa’  was published on June 18, 2024..

She won the Random House Creative Writing Award (2011) for a chapter from ‘The Effects of Isolation on the Brain’ and The Colorado Independent Publishers’ Association’ Award for Best Historical Novel, in 2018. She is the recipient of a Getty Fellowship and the Killam Award.

Erika grew up in Vienna, emigrated to Canada and obtained a PhD from the University of Toronto. She taught at Wilfrid Laurier and U of Toronto.  She divides her time between Toronto and Los Angeles and has lived in Argentina, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Erika’s Website: http://www.erikarummel.com/
Erika’s Blog: http://rummelsincrediblestories.blogspot.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/historycracks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erikarummelauthor

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That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

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This post was most recently updated on October 7th, 2024

That Day and What Came After by Rebecca DanielsThat Day and What Came After:  Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years by Rebecca Daniels

Publisher: Sunbury Press (June 4, 2024)
Category: Non Fiction, Memoir, Death, Grief, Bereavement , Life Stages
Tour dates: September 9-October 8, 2024
ISBN: 979-8888192047
Available in Print and ebook, 182 pages

That Day and What Came After

Description That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

What if you came home one day and found your husband dead in his favorite chair? This grief memoir explores the author’s experience of the unexpected death of her husband from sudden cardiac arrest a mere three months after his doctors had pronounced him hale and healthy. The author shares her experiences in the immediate aftermath of the abrupt shock of discovery, reminisces about the details of the couple’s late-in-life courtship and marriage, and imparts other experiences she has had along the grieving road in the years since becoming a widow.

In our society, we often don’t want to talk or even think about death, so stereotypes about widows exist. However, each person’s grief journey is unique, and sharing tales of those experiences can be helpful and useful for those who find themselves in a similar situation. Though not a self-help book, this memoir is the story of a widow who defied the stereotype that widows are expected to “get over it” and move on with their quiet lives. Instead, this widow “got through it” and is now sharing her journey in hopes of helping others in comparable circumstances.

Praise That Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

“Author Rebecca Daniels and I have a lot in common, We both found and married our husbands a bit later in life. We both had our marriage stories cut short in an instant by death, and we were both widowed by cardiac arrest.
I needed the soothing and validating words that Daniels provides as she gently and lovingly walks us through what it’s like to be suddenly widowed.
In addition to her grief story, Rebecca gives us a beautiful glimpse into the love story between her and Skip, and as readers, we almost feel as if we are losing him too. As a writer, Rebecca has a way of making the words flow, so that reading them feels less like an effort and more like floating or being guided along.”- Kelley Lynn, Certified Grief Counselor, viral TED talk speaker, and author of My Husband Is Not a Rainbow: the brutally awful, hilarious truth about Life, Love, Grief, and Loss.

“That Day And What Came After is a moving story of a love found later in life and lost too soon. In this memoir, Rebecca contemplates deeper questions and chronicles navigating the minutiae of day-to-day life after losing her beloved partner. Heartbreak and loneliness are tempered by found family and precious memories. By turns sorrowful, hopeful, and reflective.”- Natalie Pinter, author of The Fragile Keepers

Praise Finding Sisters by Rebecca Daniels

“I was intrigued how the author was able to use DNA and other investigative measures to find what she could about her biological family. I admired her courage and persistence in continuing her search. It was fascinating to see what she discovered, who she met along the way, and how she was able to deal with the information. I enjoyed reading how it all unfolded. I loved it.”-Amy, Locks, Hooks, and Books 

“Finding your roots can be a tricky subject, but for the author, Rebecca Daniels, it became a life mission of finding her roots.  Her entire journey is neatly documented, giving others who have the same desire to follow through on their journey. Every detail blends well with her story, which gave me a genuine appreciation of her experiences.”-Lynelle, Inspire To Read

“Finding Sisters is an excellent example of what it takes to solve a family mystery. Yet it’s also a captivating story of human relationships in the age of secrecy-revealing DNA databases. As Rebecca Daniels so skillfully illustrates. By sharing her thoughts and insights throughout this journey, Rebecca makes the story refreshingly honest and personal. Like no other DNA success story, Finding Sisters uses footnotes and family tree diagrams to show exactly how the search unfolds. This makes the book a clever hybrid of a memoir and a case study.”-Richard Hill, Author of “Finding Family: My Search for Roots and the Secrets in My DNA”

“In Rebecca Daniels’ memoir Finding Sisters, she takes us on her personal journey for answers surrounding her adoption, birth family, and ancestral heritage and introduces us to genealogy research and the increasingly popular genealogy websites that make familial matches from DNA databases. Of all the encounters and relationships, she chronicles during her search. This book is not just ideal for those interested in genealogy research and ancestry websites, but also those wanting to uncover more of what makes them who they are. And isn’t that all of us to some degree?”–Maia Williamson, author of Where the Tree Frogs Took Me

About Rebecca DanielsThat Day and What Came After by Rebecca Daniels

Award winning Author, Rebecca Daniels (MFA, PhD) taught performance, writing, and speaking in liberal arts universities for over 25 years, including St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, from 1992-2015. She was the founding producing director of Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland, OR, directed with many professional Portland theatre companies in the 1980s, and is the author of the groundbreaking Women Stage Directors Speak: Exploring the Effects of Gender on Their Work (McFarland, 1996, 2000) and has been published in multiple professional theatre journals.

After her retirement from teaching, she turned her focus to creative non-fiction and began her association with Sunbury Press with Keeping the Lights on for Ike: Daily Life of a Utilities Engineer at AFHQ in Europe During WWII; or, What to Say in Letters Home When You’re Not Allowed to Write about the War (Sunbury Press, 2019), a book based on her father’s letter home from Europe during WWII.

Her second book with Sunbury, Finding Sisters: How One Adoptee Used DNA Testing and Determination to Uncover Family Secrets and Find Her Birth Family explores how DNA testing, combined with traditional genealogical research, helped her find her genetic parents, two half-sisters, and other relatives in spite of being given up for a closed adoption at birth.

Her newest book with Sunbury (2024) is a memoir about her late-in-life second marriage and sudden widowhood called That Day and What Came After: Finding and Losing the Love of My Life in Six Short Years.

Website: https://rebecca-daniels.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecca.daniels.9

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Waterborne by J. Luke Bennecke: On Tour

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This post was most recently updated on October 14th, 2024

Waterborne by J. Luke BenneckeWaterborne by J. Luke Bennecke
Publisher: Jaytech Publishing, May 2024
Category: Medical Thriller
Tour Dates September 16-October 7, 2024
ISBN: 978-0965771597
Available in Print and ebook, 320 pages

Waterborne

Description Waterborne by J. Luke Bennecke

Civil engineer Jake Bendel is in danger—in danger of running afoul of the Governor of California.  Jake, the project director of a multi-billion-dollar plan to solve California’s drought crisis, is spearheading a controversial, polarizing, but revolutionary desalination project.  But the project is only 3/5 complete, and time is running out on what’s hailed as a last resort in California’s battle against a brutal, decades-long drought.

Running afoul of the Governor is about to be the least of Jake’s concerns when he and his longtime friend and fellow engineer Paige Terner find themselves terrorized by a maniacal, stop-at-nothing terrorist intent on revenge—revenge and catastrophe.

Jake learns that a mysterious waterborne virus is poisoning people throughout the state—and the source of the virus is his desalination plants.  But how has this mystery virus wiggled its way into the water supply?

In a pulse quickening race against time, Jake must uncover the truth. And that means dodging bullets, confronting the ghosts of his past, weathering a mounting body count, and withstanding threats that come way too close to home.

What Jake uncovers is a secret network of vengeful terrorists with an unspeakably sinister plan. But before Jake can find a way to cure the masses, he is injected with the virus.  Against the backdrop of a ticking clock, Jake is forced to track down the leader of the terrorist group. The stakes couldn’t be higher as he navigates through layers of betrayal and manipulation.

Millions of lives hang in the balance—including Jake’s—in this standout thriller about bioterror unleashed, the brilliance of scientific pursuit, and the enduring spirit of a man who refuses to give in.

A high octane, high tech, high stakes thriller that brims with action, tantalizing twists, and a pulse-racing plot, Waterborne grabs readers from the first page—and doesn’t let go.  Arresting, imaginative, disquieting, and teeming with tension, Waterborne is unrelenting, unquestionably realistic, and unputdownable. J. Luke Bennecke’s Waterborne is a masterfully-rendered, gripping tale that will leave readers breathless.

Praise for Waterborne by J. Luke Bennecke

“With intriguing concepts and well-rounded protagonists, J. Luke Bennecke’s WATERBORNE is a high-octane page-turning thriller, elevated by fascinating scientific detail and an empathetic hero.”- Indie Reader

“An entertaining, action-packed tale involving viruses and terrorism.”- Kirkus Reviews

“Waterborne is recommended to those who love thrillers with a technological and engineering basis rather than a militaristic or espionage one. And anyone who enjoys thrillers where regular (though brilliant) people find themselves in incredibly high-stakes situations will find plenty to dig into as well.” Independent Book Review

“This is an action packed, fast paced thriller set in the immediate future that is equal parts thought provoking, edge-of-your-seat thrilling. Easy to read and fast paced with plenty of thrills.”- Avonna Loves Genres

“Bennecke was able to create a suspenseful story that was driven by an action-packed plot. The book pulled me in and left me eager for the next installment.”-OnlineBookClub.org

About J. Luke BenneckeWaterborne by J. Luke Bennecke

Multi award winning and best selling author, J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineer with a well-spent career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. He is the author of three bestselling, award-winning thrillers: Civil Terror: Gridlock, Waterborne, and his 2023 release Echo from a Bayou

Website: https://www.jlukebennecke.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jlukebennecke
(X) Twitter: https://x.com/jlukebennecke
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlukebennecke/

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Waterborne by J. Luke Bennecke