EVERY LITTLE THING by Pamela Klaffke

Published by Harlequin/ Mira Books
ISBN 13: 9780778329237 0778329232
I received an ARC-EBook Bound galley Edition from NetGalley, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (borrowed from NetGalley):   If it’s not one thing, it’s her mother.
  Before there were mommy bloggers, there was Britt. San Francisco’s brassy scandal queen filled her newspaper column with juicy details of her many marriages, cosmetic surgeries and everything about her only daughter, Mason.
  Then Britt dies. Suddenly and in spectacularly embarrassing fashion. So Mason-now thirty-five and vehemently un-Britt-like in every way-returns home to settle her affairs…though some affairs are not so easy to settle.
  Now caught in her own sordid debacle, Mason finds herself thrust back into the spotlight, and this time it’s her own doing.
  Struggling to define herself as anything other than Britt Junior, Mason soon discovers that Britt’s intensely public life still held some secrets. And though the overgrown teen rebel has always favored combat boots, she may yet walk a mile in her mother’s shoes.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: After reading the above synopsis, I thought this would be a perfect match for me to read. It was categorized as a humorous adult read and I assumed it was also going to be a “chick lit” book. When I first started accepting requests, I would read a minimum of 100 pages to decide if a book would go into a DNF pile, until an author and I had a discussion about my policy. He told me that a reader should be pulled into the story line a lot sooner than 100 pages so I changed my policy to 50 pages. I was very much looking forward to reading this book after have just completing a few in the mystery genre. However, to much disappointment, I struggled even to get to page 50. It was not at all what I thought it was going to be. For 50 pages, I was searching for what the plot was because all I was reading about were 5 adults, that were in their late twenties early thirties, and related by being step brothers and/or sisters. And in those first 50 pages what I did learn of these 5 adults was that they enjoyed drinking, where they were drinking and what they were drinking and what their actions were from drinking. Unfortunately, this book had to go in the DNF pile. It was not a book for me. Maybe if I had my old “Review Policy” of 100 pages, I would have been pulled into the story line, but the 50 page limit did not grab me. Or then maybe it is because I am not a twenty or thirty something and will leave it at that!

TO HAVE AND TO KILL by Mary Jane Clark
Published by Harper Collins
ISBN 978-0-06-199554-5
At the request of LibraryThing, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (borrowed from back of book): The delicious first book in the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author’s new Wedding Cake Mystery series.
  Piper Donovan never imagined that decorating wedding cakes could be so dangerous! A struggling actress with no immediate prospects and a recently broken engagement, Piper moves back in with her parents to take stock of her life. She steps tentatively into the family bakery business, and finds herself agreeing to create the wedding cake for the acclaimed star of a daytime television drama. But soon someone close to the bride-to-be is horribly murdered and it seems that somebody is ruthlessly determined to stop the wedding.
  With the help of her former neighbor, Jack, a handsome FBI agent with a soft spot for the gorgeous cake maker, Piper moves closer to the truth. As she narrows in on a suspect, Piper realizes that it’s hot in in the kitchen that she may be able to handle…….
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Before I give my thoughts and opinion, I have to be quite honest with you regarding some issues. This is the first book I have ever read by this author. And if you have followed this blog in the past, you know that I mainly read a more thriller-type mystery than a cozy. And I will now admit…..I have been missing out on some good books. Ms. Clark is definitely now on my radar and I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to her books. I loved her writing style. Short chapters with tidbits of cliff hangers. Introducing characters with small hints of their personalities throughout the story line that could or would make them the prime suspect. In some cases, the reader knows what the outcome of a certain scene will be but it is still heart pounding waiting for it to happen. I would definitely put this in the category of “a couldn’t put down”, which I didn’t. I am now an official member of the cozy mystery genre thanks to Mary Jane Clark!! Bravo!!

TO HAVE AND TO KILL by Mary Jane Clark
Published by Harper Collins
ISBN 978-0-06-199554-5
At the request of LibraryThing, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (borrowed from back of book): The delicious first book in the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author’s new Wedding Cake Mystery series.
  Piper Donovan never imagined that decorating wedding cakes could be so dangerous! A struggling actress with no immediate prospects and a recently broken engagement, Piper moves back in with her parents to take stock of her life. She steps tentatively into the family bakery business, and finds herself agreeing to create the wedding cake for the acclaimed star of a daytime television drama. But soon someone close to the bride-to-be is horribly murdered and it seems that somebody is ruthlessly determined to stop the wedding.
  With the help of her former neighbor, Jack, a handsome FBI agent with a soft spot for the gorgeous cake maker, Piper moves closer to the truth. As she narrows in on a suspect, Piper realizes that it’s hot in in the kitchen that she may be able to handle…….
  My Thoughts and Opinion: Before I give my thoughts and opinion, I have to be quite honest with you regarding some issues. This is the first book I have ever read by this author. And if you have followed this blog in the past, you know that I mainly read a more thriller-type mystery than a cozy. And I will now admit…..I have been missing out on some good books. Ms. Clark is definitely now on my radar and I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to her books. I loved her writing style. Short chapters with tidbits of cliff hangers. Introducing characters with small hints of their personalities throughout the story line that could or would make them the prime suspect. In some cases, the reader knows what the outcome of a certain scene will be but it is still heart pounding waiting for it to happen. I would definitely put this in the category of “a couldn’t put down”, which I didn’t. I am now an official member of the cozy mystery genre thanks to Mary Jane Clark!! Bravo!!

RESURRECTING ANTHONY by Linda Cole and Tony Cole
Published by Alexandra Publishing, LLC
ISBN 978-0-9843226-0-2
At the request of Meryl L. Moss Media, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book): Tony and Linda Cole were living the American Dream-a successful national training and consulting company, a nice home, a close-knit circle of friends and a loving family.
  Then came the call every parent dreads.
  Their twelve-year-old son Anthony had collapsed on the school playground. In the ensuing panic-stricken moments Anthony lay motionless, unconscious, not breathing. These critical minutes without oxygen left his brain damaged. In one heartbreaking afternoon their idyllic world was shattered and the son that Tony and Linda Cole knew was gone.
  Resurrecting Anthony is the true, inspiring story of an unexpected tragedy that steals a child from his family and initially leaves them full of grief and sorrow. It reveals the Cole family’s incredible devotion and determination-despite the medical evidence and advice of health professionals-to return Anthony to his previous self.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: If you have followed my blog for a while you will know that this is not the typical book that I either read or review. However, when Tricia contacted me and I read the synopsis, I thought it would be an interesting read on so many levels and I accepted. And I’m glad I did for many reasons. This book should be on everyone’s tbr list, for if and when you or someone you know, has to face a challenge . Hopefully, not something like the Cole’s had to endure but any of life’s trials. This book shows the resolve and personal strength that these parents exhibited in a time of a crisis and the honest emotions that they went through. It taught me, how not to take each and every minute for granted because, life as we know it, can change drastically in the next minute. This thought provoking and heart wrenching story was told through the father’s perspective, which at first took me by surprise but after thinking about it, how often do we get to understand a male’s emotions through a traumatic experience. The courage, love, perseverance and hope that these parents reveal is extraordinary. The ending, as a mother, could I let go of the past and accept the future? The ending is the beginning!!!

RESURRECTING ANTHONY by Linda Cole and Tony Cole
Published by Alexandra Publishing, LLC
ISBN 978-0-9843226-0-2
At the request of Meryl L. Moss Media, a TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (back of book): Tony and Linda Cole were living the American Dream-a successful national training and consulting company, a nice home, a close-knit circle of friends and a loving family.
  Then came the call every parent dreads.
  Their twelve-year-old son Anthony had collapsed on the school playground. In the ensuing panic-stricken moments Anthony lay motionless, unconscious, not breathing. These critical minutes without oxygen left his brain damaged. In one heartbreaking afternoon their idyllic world was shattered and the son that Tony and Linda Cole knew was gone.
  Resurrecting Anthony is the true, inspiring story of an unexpected tragedy that steals a child from his family and initially leaves them full of grief and sorrow. It reveals the Cole family’s incredible devotion and determination-despite the medical evidence and advice of health professionals-to return Anthony to his previous self.
  My Thoughts and Opinion: If you have followed my blog for a while you will know that this is not the typical book that I either read or review. However, when Tricia contacted me and I read the synopsis, I thought it would be an interesting read on so many levels and I accepted. And I’m glad I did for many reasons. This book should be on everyone’s tbr list, for if and when you or someone you know, has to face a challenge . Hopefully, not something like the Cole’s had to endure but any of life’s trials. This book shows the resolve and personal strength that these parents exhibited in a time of a crisis and the honest emotions that they went through. It taught me, how not to take each and every minute for granted because, life as we know it, can change drastically in the next minute. This thought provoking and heart wrenching story was told through the father’s perspective, which at first took me by surprise but after thinking about it, how often do we get to understand a male’s emotions through a traumatic experience. The courage, love, perseverance and hope that these parents reveal is extraordinary. The ending, as a mother, could I let go of the past and accept the future? The ending is the beginning!!!

    An adventurer and freelance photojournalist, Zandri has been the author of the blogs, Dangerous Dispatches and Embedded in Africa for Russia Today TV (RT). He also writes for other global publications, including Culture 11, Globalia and Globalspec. Zandri’s nonfiction has appeared in New York Newsday, Hudson Valley Magazine, Game and Fish Magazine and others, while his essays and short fiction have been featured in many journals including Fugue, Maryland Review and Orange Coast Magazine.
    He holds an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College and is a 2010 International Thriller Writer’s Awards panel judge. Zandri currently divides his time between New York and Europe. He is the drummer for the Albany-based punk band to Blisterz.

Published by StoneGate Ink

ISBN-13: 2940011815430
ISBN: 0011815434
An EBook edition, was purchased by me, for my personal reading enjoyment.
  Synopsis (borrowed from Amazon):   Getting caught is simply not an option.
  It’s been a year since Jack Marconi’s wife was killed. Ever since, he’s been slipping up at his job as warden at an upstate New York prison. It makes him the perfect patsy when a cop-killer breaks out–with the help of someone on the inside. Throwing himself into the hunt for the fleeing con, Jack doesn’t see what’s coming.
  Suddenly the walls are closing in. And in the next twenty-four hours, Jack will defy direct orders, tamper with evidence, kidnap the con’s girlfriend–and run from the law with a .45 hidden beneath his sports coat. Because Jack Marconi, keeper of laws, men, secrets, and memories, has been set up–by a conspiracy that has turned everyone he ever trusted into an enemy. And everything he ever believed in into the worst kind of lie.
  My Thoughts and Opinion:  It is ironic that today, the first of the year, that I am reviewing the first book that started it all. Even though this version has been rewritten, the original was Mr. Zandri’s first. I became hooked by this author when I read his other books, Moonlight Falls, The Remains, and the digital short, Pathological. Reading The Innocent, for me was like watching a toddler start to walk. Amazing!!!!

   What did I think of The Innocent? A heart pounding read!!! Non stop suspense!!!. Zandri is a genius when it comes to writing. He grabs you from the first few pages and doesn’t let go until the last word!! Masterful writing, whereas, he incorporates the present day plot and then transports the reader to another page turning subplot of the past and back to the present making it a page turning, can’t put down read!!! Due to one continuous spoiler, that I do not want to give away, the story line had this reader fleeing and breathless with the main character, Keeper Marconi. Phenomenal!!! Chilling!!! The only negative I am finding with Vin Zandri’s books is this, when I finish reading one, I want more!! Vincent Zandri and The Innocent are a Grand Slam!!!!!!