Teaser Tuesday 392: Alpha Wolf

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser comes from Alpha Wolf by Linda O. Johnston.

Crack!

Dr. Melanie Harding’s hands jerked. Seated at her scuffed wooden desk, she nearly dropped the financial statement she’d been studying—the first month’s figures for her new veterinary practice.

Had that been a gunshot?

(Chapter 1)

~*~*~*~*~*~

As a tree walked into his path, he slammed on his brakes. Oh, yeah. Something was definitely wrong.

(Chapter 9)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Alpha Force #1


When Dr. Melanie Harding comes to rural Maryland to open a veterinarian clinic, she has no intention of buying into the area's absurd werewolf legends. Until she rescues an ordinary dog shot with a silver bullet, and meets his sexy owner, Major Drew Connell.A founding member of the Alpha Force on a nearby military base, Drew has developed an elixir that helps werewolves control their shape-shifting abilities. Drew has always tried to keep his distance from the civilian population, but Melanie's sweet and gentle nature soon wears down his defenses. With the attacks on people and animals in the area mounting, can their fiery attraction withstand their toughest challenge?

Teaser Tuesday 379: The New Deputy in Town

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from an older Harlequin Intrigue, The New Deputy in Town by BJ Daniels.

Her hand trembled as she opened the closet to find the baseball bat where she’d hidden it in the very back corner. After last time, she’d considered getting rid of the bat. Instead, she’d wipred off the splattering of blood as best she could and kept it.

(Opening paragraph, Chapter One)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: Whitehorse, MT #2

Deputy Sheriff Nick Rogers found out small-town life meant adjusting to two things--gossips and Laney Cavanaugh. And neither was much help in solving a bridal shower murder.

Some days it appeared like everyone in Whitehorse had a secret--including their new lawman. And falling for Laney wasn't a good way to maintain a low profile. Nick might have been new to Whitehorse, but he wasn't above getting his hands dirty. Even if everybody in Laney's family had it in for the victim, and they were fixing for a fight. Wedding bells were always trouble, and, unfortunately, trouble always had a way of hunting Nick down.

Teaser Tuesday 374: Perfect Touch

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week’s teaser is by Elizabeth Lowell from her romantic suspense, Perfect Touch.

The motel room door was ajar.

She pushed the door open with her big purse and froze.

(Chapter 1)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

The queen of romantic suspense returns with a heart-racing tale in which a former soldier turned rancher and a beautiful designer race to stop a vicious killer—a battle for survival that threatens to explode in an intense and irresistible passion

An art dealer and owner of her own design studio, Perfect Touch, Sarah "Sam" Maddox travels the world to find the ideal artwork for her clients. Her sophisticated, comfortable life in San Francisco is light years away from the poverty of her family's dairy farm, and Sam will do whatever it takes to keep her business strong. A dedicated urban career woman focused on her work, she doesn't have time or energy for a family or distracting romantic entanglements.

Jay Vermillion recently inherited Vermillion Sky, a working ranch near Wyoming's breathtaking Grand Teton Mountains—and the estates of the rich and restless. While he was fighting in two wars, his father tried to keep the homestead running, until illness stole his fight and then his life. Jay's determined to restore Vermillion Sky, but first he’s got to settle a vicious battle with his former stepmother over some of his late father’s paintings. The last thing on his mind is a finding a wife and creating a sixth generation of Vermillions.

When Jay hires Sam to handle his father's artwork, it's love at first sight—a mutually inconvenient attraction that is soon complicated by a double murder at the edge of the ranch and a potential betrayal even closer to home. Working together to unmask a murderer, Sam and Jay try to fight the intense heat between them. Then the killer targets Sam. And suddenly, Jay, the war-weary soldier, finds something he’s once again willing to die for . . .

Teaser Tuesday 373: Come Sundown

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from Come Sundown by Nora Roberts, her most recent single title suspense.

Later, Alice would think of that indecision, that few minutes of hesitation standing in the bitter wind on the shoulder of the road. The few minutes before she took a step toward the fields, the mountains, that would have taken her into lengthening shadows of the pines, away from the road.

(Prologue)

ABOUT THE BOOK:


The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…

When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

Teaser Tuesday 370: Incriminating Passion

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser is from an older romantic suspense by Ann Voss Peterson, Incriminating Passion, which is set locally in Madison, WI.

Andrea braced herself and prayed. The Lexus flew over the edge, weightless for a moment. Then gravity dragged her down to the black water below.

(Chapter One)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

DEFENDING THE INNOCENT

Someone was trying to kill Andrea Kirkland. And with good reason. For she was the only witness to a murder. A murder her mind refused to recall. A murder assistant D.A. John Cohen needed her to remember so that she could testify and put an end to the threats, the danger. Until then, John felt duty bound to protect her. Just until the murderer was found, he told himself. After all, she was his key witness. But once the passion exploded between them, the rugged D.A. came to realize that his key witness had come to mean so much more . . .

Teaser Tuesday 363: Sacred Sins

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's snippet comes from an older romantic suspense by Nora Roberts, Sacred Sins.

He'd known she'd come. Hadn't he been told to keep watch? Wasn't his head, even now, almost bursting from the pressure of the Voice? He'd been chosen, given the burden and the glory.

(Chapter One)

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Series: D.C. Detectives #1

Combining explosive suspense with sensual passion, Nora Roberts turns up the heat in this classic tale — the sizzling story of a man and woman on the trail of a demented killer, a search that will plunge them headlong into danger....

In the lazy days of summer, a merciless heat wave is the biggest story in Washington, D.C. But the weather is knocked off the front pages when a young woman is found strangled to death. A note left behind reads Her sins are forgiven her.

Two more victims soon follow, and suddenly every headline is devoted to the killer the press has dubbed “the Priest.” When the police ask top-notch psychiatrist Dr. Tess Court to help with their investigation, she comes up with a disturbing portrait of a twisted soul.

Detective Ben Paris doesn’t give a damn about the killer’s psyche. What he can’t easily dismiss is Tess. Tall, dark, and good-looking, Ben has a legendary reputation with women, but the coolly elegant Tess doesn’t react to him like other women he’s known — and he finds the challenge enticing.

Now, as the two are thrown together in a perilous quest to stop a serial killer, the flame of white-hot passion flares. But someone also has his eyes on the beautiful blond doctor ... and Ben can only pray that if the madman strikes, he'll be able to stop him before it’s too late....

Teaser Tuesday 357: Carnal Innocence

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser comes from an older single title rom-suspense by Nora Roberts, Carnal Innocence. This one had me guessing whodunit right up to the end.

The air was raw with February the morning Bobby Lee Fuller found the first body. They would say he found it, when in truth what he’d done was trip over what was left of Arnette Gantry. Either way, the end was the same, and Bobby Lee would live with wide white face floating into his dreams for a long time to come.

(Opening paragraph)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Nora Roberts, bestselling author of The Reef and Genuine Lies, mixes scorching passion with icy suspense in her classic novel of murder and infatuation in a southern town now available in hardcover for the first time.

In the small town of Innocence, Mississippi, days are long, nights are fragrant, and secrets are hard to keep. But when a brutal killer starts claiming the lives of the town's most attractive women, lifelong neighbors are forced to wonder if the culprit is a stranger lurking in the bayou...or someone right next door.

World-famous concert violinist Caroline Waverly knows nothing of the murders when she arrives in Innocence. Burned out from a childhood lost to endless rehearsals and an all-too-public breakup with the conductor who was her lover, Caroline is looking for a little peace and some time to think. She hopes that a stay at her late grandmother's house the one with a covered porch just made for soft summer nights will provide the tranquillity she needs. But Innocence has something else to offer Caroline: a man named Tucker Longstreet.

Blessed with the Longstreet good looks, lazy charm, and family fortune, Tucker is a tall, cool drink of water and he knows it. He likes to keep his romances short and shallow. But one look at Caroline, and Tucker realizes that she is unlike any other woman he's met. Tightly coiled and coolly reserved, Caroline is determined to fight him off. She might be able to do a better job if she hadn't felt an unexpected thrill at his ardent advances...and if she hadn't been so scared after finding a third murder victim in the murky waters behind her home.

For Caroline Waverly,a beautiful summer interlude could turn into much more or could stir a killer's crazed dreams. Because there's just one small problem with her new romance: Tucker is the leading suspect in the killings.

Teaser Tuesday 349: KCPD Protector

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of the holiday, I bring you a teaser from KCPD Protector, a rom-suspense by Julie Miller. I've fallen behind in this series of books, so it was fun catching up a bit.

But the moment she spun around and would have seen his face, he released her or she was knocked free. Several people surged between them, blocking her view.

(Chapter Seven)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

There was no way Deputy Commissioner George Madigan was going to let his beautiful assistant fall prey to a stalker. Because Elise Brown wasn’t just another employee. Her vulnerable blue eyes triggered all of George’s protective instincts . . . and now her life was in jeopardy.

Working together almost 24/7 to bring the perp to justice—and sharing kisses passionate enough to ignite a Kansas City heat wave—George and Elise had forged the kind of partnership that could keep her out of harm’s way and potentially lead to happily ever after.

Until a deadly tornado struck and Elise was taken hostage . . . .

Teaser Tuesday 314: The Obsession

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of Books and a Beat. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week's teaser comes from the latest single-title offering by Nora Roberts, The Obsession. This was a good rom-suspense, even if her foreshadowing was so obvious I recognized the villain as soon as we met him/her.

She didn’t know what woke her, and no matter how many times she relived that night, no matter where the nightmares chased her, she never would.


(Opening paragraph)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Teaser Tuesday 259: The Liar

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week's teasers comes from THE LIAR by Nora Roberts, her latest single title release. This is from about midway through the book -- so far it's been pretty good.

And the truck rammed him again faster, harder, sending him into a skid that has his tires smoking over the rough shoulder. Griff fought his truck back, but the next hit, right at the curve, sent him careening off the road, skidding over the shoulder and into the oak tree green with spring.

~*~*~*~

He groped for the phone, watched his vision waver like he'd stuck his head under water.

Don't pass out, he ordered himself.

(Chapter 17)

ABOUT THE BOOK:


Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions . . .

The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn't just dead. He never really existed.

Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning . . .

Teaser Tuesday 246: The Collector

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week's teaser comes from The Collector by Nora Roberts.

"That's enough, that's enough," Lila murmured, preparing to call 911.

Then everything froze.


(Chapter one)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a novel of a woman who needs nothing, a man who sees everything, and the web of deceit, greed, and danger that brings them together—and could tear them apart . . .

When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother is't capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarified circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . .

Thursday Thirteen 358: Recently Read

My last Recently Read post of the year! Here's a look at what I've read the last couple months. For a fifth consecutive year, I have successfully completed my Goodreads challenge of 100 books in a year — and I did it before Christmas this year. Last year I was struggling to get that last book in before New Year's Eve. It will be interesting to see how many over I go this year. As always, click on any cover to find out more about a book.














BOOK NOTES

ROW 1: I started November by catching up on a couple books in the "Pepper Martin" series by Casey Daniels, Dead Man Talking (#5) and Tomb With a View (#6). Three more to go . . . The Mournful Teddy was read for a November mini challenge and is first in a "Bear Collectors" series.

ROW 2: Under the Hill is a short mystery story by Sheila Connolly that is currently free at B&N and Amazon. Biting the Moon and Dakota are books one and two respectively in the "Andi Oliver" series by Martha Grimes. Dakota was chosen for a "Read the USA" mystery challenge (North Dakota was one of several difficult states to find). I recommend reading these in order, as I did. Also note that both contain gritty material some readers may not like.

ROW 3: I am trying to catch up on Lisa Scottoline's books, beginning with Think Twice, (Rosato & Associates #11). Two more to go there, as well as a couple non-series books. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a classic children's book I had never read before and loved. I highly recommend this to writers and those who love word play. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham was read for a quarterly group read. I liked this one a lot more than anticipated.

ROW 4: The Aristocrat by Catherine Coulter is a slightly older romance plucked out of Mount TBR for an "Autumn/Fall" challenge. A White Cougar Christmas is a Christmas novella that is currently free at B&N and Amazon. I won The Heart of Christmas by Brenda Novak through a contest at Goodreads. It is book seven in her "Whiskey Creek" series, but other than some confusion on relationships, I didn't feel I missed much by not reading the previous six books.

ROW 5: Book number 100 in my Goodreads annual challenge is by a favorite author, Vicki Lewis Thompson. A Last Chance Christmas is book seventeen in her "Sons of Chance" series.



YOUR TURN: What are you reading right now?


LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen 335: Recently Read

Here's a look at some of the books I've been reading the last couple months. As always, click on any cover or link to find out more about a particular book from GoodReads.














BOOK NOTES


ROW 1: Nerd is the first in a romantic comedy series, and I have to be honest — I did not like this one as much as other books by VLT I've read. Victoria Laurie was the May Featured Author in the Cozy Mysteries group at GoodReads. Better Read Than Dead and A Vision of Murder are books two and three respectively in her "Psychic Eye" mystery series. The mysteries themselves are pretty good, but the author's "just then" fetish (see Monday's post) nearly killed me. It's unnecessary, distracting, and made me want to headslap the author with one of her books. It will be a good long while before I attempt another in this series.

ROW 2: The three in this row are all short stories or novellas that were free from B&N. The first two were okay, but I did not like the latter. Beauty and the Best Man (still free): Nook / Kindle * You Send Me (now $2.99): Nook / Kindle * The Stolen Child (still free): Nook / Not available on Kindle

ROW 3: The romantic suspense row, and not a bad read among them. Night Diver was the latest offering from Elizabeth Lowell. Blood Brothers is the book one in NR's Sign of Seven series — I have book two slated for this month. The Witness is a single title release from NR that was out a year or two ago.

ROW 4: Grace Interrupted and The Lost Symbol were both read for recent mini-challenges in the Cozy Mystery group, and I enjoyed catching up on both of these series. Leslie Meier was the April Featured Author for the same group. Mistletoe Murder is book one of the Lucy Stone series. It was an okay read, but did not inspire me to read more of the series.

ROW 5: One Hundred Years of Solitude was the April Classics group read. Not bad, but not an easy or fast read, either. Sadly, the author passed away while the group was reading and discussing his book.



What are you reading right now?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Teaser Tuesday 219: Night Diver

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!



This week's teaser comes from Night Diver, a new romantic suspense by Elizabeth Lowell. This paragraph, describing a tropical storm, sent chills up my spine.

The sun was below the horizon, yet an orange glow persisted beneath the wild sky. Clouds lit up like slow-motion napalm, gold at the lowest layers, purple and bruised above. For a moment the evening was held in thrall by an unearthly calm. Then the wind churned, blurring all boundaries, blending whitecaps with mist into a salty sideways rain.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell plunges into the adventurous and deadly world of underwater treasure hunters in a heart-stopping tale that superbly combines atmosphere, action, romance, and suspense.

After a family tragedy, Kate Donnelly left the Caribbean behind forever. But a series of bad management decisions has left her family's diving and marine recovery business drowning in red ink. Now her brother pleads with her to come back to the island nation of St Vincent. Without Kate's financial expertise, the iconic treasure-hunting enterprise started by her grandfather will go under. Unable to say no to the little family she has left, Kate heads back to the beautiful and terrifying ocean that still haunts her nightmares.

Holden Cameron was addicted to the adrenaline rush of active duty -- including narrowly surviving an underwater explosives accident. The last thing the former British military diver wants is to babysit a family of thieves on a tropical island -- even if they are the world-famous Diving Donnellys. But in his new civilian job, Holden must investigate the suspicious activity surrounding a Donnelly dive to recover treasure from the ancient wreck of a pirate ship.

When equipment, treasure, and even divers begin to disappear, Kate and Holden form an uneasy alliance to uncover the truth. But the deeper they plummet into the mystery, the closer they come to each other. Soon they are sharing their deepest fears and darkest secrets -- and a combustible chemistry too hot to ignore.

Teaser Tuesday 216: The Witness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week, I am finishing up The Witness, a rom-suspense by Nora Roberts. And yes, for those keeping score, this is the seventh Roberts book I've read this year, and the fifth to be featured for Teaser Tuesday. Probably won't be the last, either, as there are several more at top of Mount TBR.

She ran blindly, eyes wide and glazed, breath ripping out of her lungs in sobs and gasps. She couldn't release the scream clawing at her throat.

(Chapter 4)

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.

Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems designer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.

The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature and unromantic viewpoint intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights.

And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

Thursday Thirteen 323: Authors/Series to Catch up On

March is National Reading Month, so I thought I'd share thirteen authors whose books have been languishing far too long in Mount TBR and need to be caught up on . . .

1. Nora Roberts -- I've just caught up on two of her trilogies, but there are other series and single title books awaiting my attention. Like an entire bin full. Not kidding. That does not include the books under her J.D. Robb persona, none of which I have read. I have enough to catch up on without adding those into the mix.

2. Toni Blake -- I have a few of her single title books to catch up on, under both her TB and Lacey Alexander personas -- including the two most recent "Destiny" novels. I had difficulty finding book five in the "Destiny" series locally, and I don't like reading series out of order. Meanwhile, I've seen book six everywhere. Anyway, I didn't buy it online last fall, as there was a chance it might show up for Christmas. Which, of course, it didn't, so then I decided to wait until after the birthday. Turns out that was a good move. *G*

3. Catherine Coulter -- I started reading her FBI series but have fallen way behind. I also have older romance titles in Mount TBR that I never got round to.

4. Elizabeth Lowell -- Both series and single title books, romance and suspense.

5. Iris Johansen -- Eve Duncan series, as well as a couple single titles.



6. Lisa Scottoline -- I have two or three (okay, maybe four) books of hers to catch up on, including a Rosato & Associates.

7. Jordan Dane -- I started two different series of hers, have the rest of both in Mount TBR, but have yet to get back to them.

8. Deanna Raybourn -- I read the first two Lady Julia Grey books, but the next two have sat untouched in Mount TBR for more than a year now. Oops.

9. Lisa Gardner -- I read several by her a few years back, still have several moldering in Mount TBR, and wouldn't you know her most recent one sounds really good.

10. Johanna Lindsey -- I did a major catch-up on her books a few years ago (fourteen read over one year), but still have several more in Mount TBR. Doesn't help that a few more have come out since my catch-up.

11. Kay Hooper -- I've kept up with her Bishop series (though I do have the most recent one to read), but have several earlier books to catch up on.

12. Elizabeth Berg -- I have several older books, as well as one or two more recent titles, somewhere in Mount TBR. I'm not even going to think of those I've yet to lay hands on, such as one due out later this year.

13. Carla Neggers -- This is actually a new-to-me author, but I've managed to acquire a lot of her backlist via Half Price Books and the monthly library used book sale. Sigh . . . now to catch up!


What about you? Is there an author whose books you'd like to catch up on? A series in which you've fallen behind?



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen

Thursday Thirteen 319: Recently Read

Time for a glimps of what I've been reading. Some of these were read in December (hence several Christmas selections), and a few are from this year. I'm off to a good start in my goal of 100 in the Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge. As always, click on any cover for more info about a particular book.













BOOK NOTES:

ROW 1: These were all books set around Christmas and read in December. Cowboys and Angels is #13 in VLT's "Sons of Chance" series. Carol for a Corpse is book 15 in the "Hemlock Falls" series. I don't usually read series out of order, but I happened upon this one at the used book sale for only 50 cents, it is set at Christmas, and I don't expect to find the previous books any time soon. So . . . an exception was made. More Naughty was a stand-alone plucked out of Mount TBR.

ROW 2: The last three books read in 2013. Unsung Hero is book one of the "Troubleshooters" series. Untraceable is book one of the "Tracers" series. The last was a stand-alone.

ROW 3: The first three books finished in 2014. I tried to finish Epiphany (a 3-in-1 anthology) before the year ended, but between getting sick and New Year's . . . that didn't happen. The others are books five and six of Julie Miller's "The Precinct: Task Force" series.

ROW 4: The Canterville Ghost is short and something I've wanted to read for a while now. The Hound of the Baskervilles was the January selection for a Goodreads classics group. I decided to also read A Study in Scarlet. (Technically, they are in one volumn, but in order for them to count individually in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, I had to list them separately.) Also, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the December Featured Author in the GR Cozy Mysteries group, so they served a dual purpose.

ROW 5: Dance Upon the Air is book one of the "Three Sisters Island" trilogy and was a January group read for a GR author group. Books two and three are to be read in February and March.



LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen