Tree Swing Reading

New Release Giveaway: "Afloat" by Erin Healy

Erin Healy is a really great author!  Be sure to enter to win this book!

How to enter...

Here are the rules for the giveaway:

1. Post a comment below.

2. In the post include an answer to the random question of the week.

Today's Question in honor of Mother's Day: What's a dish your mama made, that if set in front of you today would whisk you right back to childhood?

My Answer: Grilled cheese sandwiches, roast beef, or pea soup! 

3. Be sure to leave some way for me to reach you should you win (an email preferably).

4. Closing date to enter for this book is: May 19. Winner will be announced on May 20.

Today's Book is Afloat by Erin Healy.

Dark waters are rising.

There’s sabotage lurking in the waters of Eagle’s Talon, an elite floating community designed by gifted architect Vance Nolan. There’s also something else in the water—a mysterious presence friendly to some and hostile to others. And when disaster strikes, not even the saboteur expects it to be the first in a series of crushing blows.

Stranded by a flood and surrounded by unnatural darkness, a limping band of residents, builders, and investors set their sights on escape. Single mom Danielle Clement will do whatever it takes to save her young son Simeon, but she doesn’t know who to follow: her charismatic lover and aspiring politician Tony Dean, who dotes on her and her boy, or the selfless Vance, who promises protection for everyone who stays with him—based on a vision and a faith she doesn’t share.

In this watery world where everyone's secrets will eventually come to light, survival might have more to do with uncovering the truth than with getting out alive.

Review of "Cuts Like a Knife" by M.K. Gilroy

Description:

"An intense, eerie, funny and suspenseful thriller ... M.K. Gilroy's debut is a sure-fire winner." - USA TODAY
 
Detective Kristen Conner goes undercover to find a serial killer only to find herself as his next favorite target.

When Leslie Reed is found dead in her fashionable townhome, a red flag goes up in Washington, D.C. The FBI knows an elusive "organized killer" on a decade-long crime spree is at work again.  The problem is the Feds have only one tenuous lead to assist local police in the manhunt ... a most unlikely place the killer likes to find his victims.

Conner is light one her feet and packs a powerful punch - growing up in a cop's home, intense hand-to-hand combat training, and not being able to shoot a handgun straight - all encourage that. Her life is built on faith and family: she only misses church when she is fighting with her mom and glamorous TV news reporter sister - or relentlessly tracking down a ruthless killer.

Kristen is a good cop but she's never faced an adversary like the man the alternative press has dubbed the Cutter Shark.  From the opening chase scene that leads her to a back alley where a punk with a knife awaits her, to the climactic scene where she goes one-on-one with the hauntingly familiar man who is killing innocent women in her town, Cuts Like a Knife, is loaded with action, humor, a dash of romance, and wry introspection through the voice of its irrepressible lead character.

My Thoughts:

I've found another fabulous suspense author!  Another can't-miss favorite.  I really loved this book!  I thought Kristen was fabulous.  She's so real and human, with mistakes (with the best intentions) and pure heart. I was both laughing over her antics and holding my breath with the suspense of it.  I really like Gilroy's writing style and the way the storyline moves.  Can't wait to read more by him! 

If you like suspense, be sure to grab this book!  Will definitely be on my list of favorites for this year!

Book Bullets:

• My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Genre: Suspense Fiction
• Part of a Series: yes, Kristen Conner Mystery Series book 1
  
• Publication year: 2012
• Publisher: Worthy Publishing
  

New Release from Candace Calvert! "Rescue Team"

“. . . had me intrigued by page 1, laughing by page 2, and in love with the hero by page 3.”
--JORDYN REDWOOD, author of Proof, Poison

Calvert is one of my favorite romantic suspense writers! Looking forward to reading her latest!

Title: Resuce Team

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: Tyndale House

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Series: yes, Grace Medical Book 2

Publisher's Description

 

Tired of running from her past, nurse Kate Callison intends to become Austin Grace Hospital’s permanent ER director and make Texas her home. Despite staff friction, she’s moving ahead. Then unthinkable tragedy wraps the ER in crime tape, bringing swarms of media, legal chaos—and a search-and-rescue hero who seems determined to meddle in her life.

For Wes Tanner, nothing beats finding someone who’s lost; he’s known that helpless terror firsthand. So he’ll expand his team’s lifeline of hope: K9 tracking, swift water rescue, even horse-mounted searches. He’s ready for anything—except Austin Grace’s prickly and dismissive ER director.

As Kate and Wes discover more about each other, new respect becomes something deeper. Kate wonders if her heart might have finally found a home. Then an unsolved missing persons case—and a startling new one—become catalysts that threaten the loss of all she and Wes have found.

To find out more about Candace Calvert, check out her website.

Be sure to check out book 1 in the series too!

New from the amazing Robert Liparulo! "The Judgment Stone"

I really like this series and can't wait to read this one!  I'm mad I've got all this work to finish this month, because I just want to READ.  Don't miss this series by Robert Liparulo, he's one of my favorite suspense authors ever.

Title: Judgement Stone

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Suspense Fiction

Series: yes, Immortal Files Series Book 2

Publisher's Description

The Clan is on a mission to defy God by destroying those with the strongest faith.

When a group of ruthless immortals—known as The Clan—attack St. Catherine's monastery at the base of Mt. Sinai, they steal one of the world's holiest artifacts: a piece of stone from the Ten Commandments. Those who touch the Stone can see into the spiritual world: angels, demons, and the blue threads of light ascending to Heaven that signal the presence of believers who are connected to God.

Only Jagger—a spiritually wounded husband, father, and former Army Ranger—and Owen—an immortal himself—have any hope of stopping the Clan's horrific plans.

But another group of immortals, who believe that Jagger's wife holds the secret to salvation, is after her. Torn between stopping the Clan and protecting his family, there are no easy answers for Jagger. Laying aside his faith in high-tech gadgetry and in his own strength and abilities and embracing true faith isn't easy for someone who has resisted for 3,000 years. But it may be the only key to his salvation.

To find out more about Robert Liparulo, check out his website.

Check out book one in the series too!

Erin Healy's New Suspense is Out! "Afloat"

Erin Healy writes fantastic suspense!  People living on a "floating community" and surrounded by danger...sounds so scarey...and a perfect suspense!

Title: Afloat

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Suspense Fiction

Series:no

 Publisher's Description

Dark waters are rising.

There’s sabotage lurking in the waters of Eagle’s Talon, an elite floating community designed by gifted architect Vance Nolan. There’s also something else in the water—a mysterious presence friendly to some and hostile to others. And when disaster strikes, not even the saboteur expects it to be the first in a series of crushing blows.

Stranded by a flood and surrounded by unnatural darkness, a limping band of residents, builders, and investors set their sights on escape. Single mom Danielle Clement will do whatever it takes to save her young son Simeon, but she doesn’t know who to follow: her charismatic lover and aspiring politician Tony Dean, who dotes on her and her boy, or the selfless Vance, who promises protection for everyone who stays with him—based on a vision and a faith she doesn’t share.

In this watery world where everyone's secrets will eventually come to light, survival might have more to do with uncovering the truth than with getting out alive.

To find out more about Erin Healy, check out her website.

New Suspense from "Must Read" Author Kathy Herman: Not by Sight

Kathy Herman is one of my favorite suspense authors! Excited to read her new series!

Title: Not by Sight

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: David C. Cook

Genre: Suspense Fiction

Series: yes, Ozark Moutain Trilogy Book 1

Publisher's Description

Her Sister Couldn’t Be Alive … Could She?

 

It had to be Riley Jo. She was certain. . .wasn’t she? But when Abby Cummings tells her mother she thought she saw her sister at the store, her mother quickly dismisses the idea. After all, Riley Jo and their father had been missing for years. Presumably dead. Yet Abby cannot ignore her intuition. Telling her friend J. D., they investigate. But J. D. may know more about the disappearance than he’s telling, or even realizes. And as they work to uncover what happened, all they have to go on is blind faith. Will it be enough. . .especially considering what the truth might be?

To find out more about Kathy Herman, check out her website.

New Suspense from Lynette Eason: When a Secret Kills

Lynette Eason writes wonderful romantic suspense! 

Title: When a Secret Kills

Released:
April 2013

Publisher: Revell

Genre: Romantic Suspense Fiction

Series: yes: Deadly Reunion Series #3

Publisher's Description

 
Investigative reporter Jillian Carter knows it's time to put the past to rest. She's tired of looking over her shoulder, letting a killer go free. She's no longer the scared kid who changed her name and disappeared. Now, no matter what the cost, Jillian must do what she is trained to do--ferret out the truth and expose it. Senator Frank Hoffman committed murder ten years ago--and Jillian watched it happen.

Didn't she?

Not even the enigmatic and attractive Colton Brady, her ex-boyfriend and nephew of the killer, will be able to make her leave this alone. Get ready for the spine-tingling, nail-biting conclusion to an explosive series.

 

To find out more about Lynette Eason, check out her website.

Review of "Poison" by Jordyn Redwood

Description:

Five years ago, Keelyn Samuels's armed, mentally ill stepfather took her family hostage in their house in rural Colorado. She and her half-sister Raven made it out alive, but others did not. Authorities blamed the father's frequent hallucinations about a being named Lucent, but in the end, even the best of the FBI's hostage negotiators failed to overcome the man's delusions and end the standoff peacefully.

SWAT team member Lee Watson was there that day. He watched it all unfold and was able to pull Keelyn and Raven from the grip of their demon-possessed father. Though partially successful, his team had still failed, and the outcome of that day-and that tortured family-has continued to plague Lee ever since. Though unusual for SWAT to reconnect with survivors, Lee bumped into Keelyn two years after the crisis, and they both found some peace in their budding relationship. But peace is hard to maintain when the memory returns . . . in the flesh.

Lucent is back, and he's no hallucination. In fact, he is a very real person with dangerous motives. He has kidnapped Raven's daughter, and--Keelyn worries--maybe has hurt Raven as well. Though she is estranged from her sister, Keelyn feels the immediate need to find Raven and save what family she has left. But when others who were involved in that fateful day start dying, some by mysterious circumstances, Keelyn wonders if she and Lee can emerge unscathed a second time.

The highly anticipated second installment of the Bloodline Trilogy explores the boundaries of faith and family and what happens when both are put to the test.

My Thoughts:

Another awesome book from one of my new favorite authors! I thought the suspense was great. The story kept me turning the pages quickly in anticipation of what unexpected turn of events would come next. The action never stops!  I am thrilled that there will be more to this series and can't wait to read the next book by Jordyn Redwood.

Book Bullets:

• My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Genre: Suspense Fiction
• Part of a Series: yes, book 2 of Bloodlines Series
  
• Publication year: 2013
• Publisher: Kregel Publications

New Suspense from Richard Mabry, M.D.: "Stress Test"

What would you do if you woke to find you’ve been charged with murder? And there’s no evidence to prove otherwise?

Title: Stress Test

Released:
March 2013

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Genre: Suspense Fiction

Series: no

Publisher's Description

 

They may not have enough evidence to convict him, but they have enough to ruin his life.

Dr. Matt Newman thought he was leaving his life in private practice for a better one in academic medicine. But the kidnappers who attacked him as he left his last shift in the ER have no such plans—they just want him dead. Bound and in the trunk of his car, Matt's only thought is escape. He does so, but at a price: a head injury that lands him in the ICU . . . where he awakens to discover he's being charged with murder.

Sandra Murray is a fiery, redheaded lawyer who swore she was done with doctors. But when Matt calls, she knows she can't walk away from defending someone who is truly innocent.

Matt's career is going down the drain. His freedom and perhaps his life may be next. But with the police convinced he's a murderer and the kidnappers still trying to finish what they started, finding the truth—and the faith to keep going—will be the toughest stress test Matt has ever endured.

To find out more about Richard Maby, M.D., check out his website.

Review of "Proof" by Jordyn Redwood

Description:

Dr. Lilly Reeves is a young, accomplished ER physician with her whole life ahead of her. But that life instantly changes when she becomes the fifth victim of a serial rapist. Believing it's the only way to recover her reputation and secure peace for herself, Lilly sets out to find--and punish--her assailant. Sporting a mysterious tattoo and unusually colored eyes, the rapist should be easy to identify. He even leaves what police would consider solid evidence. But when Lilly believes she has found him, DNA testing clears him as a suspect. How can she prove he is guilty, if science says he is not?

Distraught by the turn of events, Lilly suffers a setback and is fired from her job shortly after discovering she is pregnant as a result of her attack. Blinded by her desire for revenge, Lilly vows she will seize her life back and bring her rapist to justice--and the first step is figuring out how her nefarious assailant could cheat the usually conclusive DNA test. Her search must unravel the mystery of his genetic fingerprint even if it forces Lilly to deal with her own past and shaky faith. But the rapist is watching Lilly's every move. Can she discover the truth before he ends her life--and the life of her unborn child?

My Thoughts:

Oh yeah!  I found another favorite author!  This was a well-written and fast-paced suspense that grabbed me from the first page and kept me glued to the book the whole time!  Very exciting!  If you like a good suspense, you gotta try this author.  I already downloaded the next book in the series to my kindle so I could start it right away. 

Hooray for finding a fantastic new author in my favorite genre!

Book Bullets:

• My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Genre: Suspense Fiction
• Part of a Series: yes, book 1 of Bloodlines Series
  
• Publication year: 2012
• Publisher: Kregel Publications