The young nanny for a prominent political family gets drawn into a web of deadly lies—including her own—in this stunning debut thriller with the menacing twists of Megan Abbott and the exquisite suspense of Laura Lippman.

“An exciting, intoxicating debut, it will hold you until its startling final pages.”
—Megan Abbott, bestselling author of Dare Me and Give Me Your Hand

They are Phoenix’s First Family: handsome Philip Martin, son of the sitting Senator, an ex-football player who carries himself with an easy grace and appears destined to step into his father’s seat when the time is right; his wife Marina, the stylish and elegant director of Phoenix’s fine arts museum; and their four-year-old daughter Amabel, beautiful and precocious and beloved.

Finn Hunt is working a dull office job to pay off her college debt when she meets Philip and charms Amabel. She eagerly agrees to nanny, thinking she’s lucked into the job of a lifetime. Though the glamour of the Martins’ lifestyle undeniably dazzles Finn, her real pleasure comes from being part of the family: sharing quick jokes with Philip in the kitchen before he leaves for work; staying late when Marina needs a last-minute sitter; and spending long days with Amabel, who is often treated more like a photo op than a child.

But behind every façade lurks a less attractive truth. When a young woman approaches Finn, claiming a connection with Philip and asking Finn to pass on a message, Finn becomes caught up in a web of deceit with the senate seat at its center. And Finn isn’t exactly innocent herself: she too has a background she has kept hidden, and under the hot Phoenix sun, everything is about to be laid bare. . . .

This debut novel had me turning pages as fast as I could read!! A thrilling three hundred and eighty-four pages of entertainment!

After graduating from college Finn, as she likes to be called, leaves Illinois and her secrets behind and doesn’t look back in her rearview mirror as she drives on to Arizona. She is the new Finn, mature, reserved and artistic.

As fate has it, she meets Philip Martin, son of Senator James Martin. As their relationship grows, Philip hires her to be a nanny to his and his wife’s, Marina, daughter Amabel. She falls in love with the little girl.

Then one day her perfect life is interrupted when a stranger, Iris, tells her that she is pregnant with Philip’s child and needs Finn’s help.

Then the absolute tragedy happens. Finn feels responsible and will not let up trying to find out the answers.

Every character has dark and disturbing secrets that lie beneath the superficial facades.

The author supplies the reader with tiny tidbits of the characters, like bread crumbs, that keeps the suspense at a fast paced speed. And those bread crumbs will have you reading long into the night to find the answers.

It all comes together in the last few pages. Even though I was surprised at the ending, I felt that I needed more, which is why I gave it 4 stars.

If you are a psychological thriller junkie like me, then pick this book up. I am putting Ms. Dimberg on my “authors to read” list and hope her next book is in the works.

Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

Mailbox Monday

Tuesday:
A FIRE SPARKLING by Julianne MacLean ~ eBook from Prime
WHAT YOU DID by Claire McGowan ~ eBook from Prime
THE WIVES by Tarryn Fisher ~ eBook from Harlequin via NetGalley
A MOTHER’S LOSS by Jo Crow ~ eBook purchase
Saturday:
A MONSTER OF ALL TIME by JT Hunter ~ eBook from Author

The True Story of Danny Rolling, The Gainesville Ripper

Ambitious, attractive, and full of potential, five young college students prepared for the new semester. They dreamed of beginning careers and starting families. They had a lifetime of experiences in front of them. But death came without warning in the dark of the night.

Brutally ending five promising lives, leaving behind three gruesome crime scenes, the Gainesville Ripper terrorized the University of Florida, casting an ominous shadow across a frightened college town.

What evil lurked inside him?

What demons drove him to kill?

What made him A Monster of All Time?

Book Details:

Genre: True Crime
Published by: RJ Parker Publishing
Publication Date: September 4th 2018
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 1987902521 (ISBN13: 9781987902525)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Author Bio:

J.T. Hunter is an attorney with over fourteen years of experience practicing law, including criminal law and appeals, and he has significant training in criminal investigation techniques. He is also a college professor in Florida where his teaching interests focus on the intersection of criminal psychology, law, and literature.

JT’s bestselling true crime books include:

Welcome and thank you for stopping by CMash Reads

What inspired you to write this book?

I remember hearing about the Gainesville student murders committed by Danny Rolling back when they happened, and I was struck by their similar impact on the college-town community as occurred with Ted Bundy’s crimes at Florida State University in Tallahassee. Then the more I researched Rolling the more interesting the story became.

What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?

The most difficult parts to write about were the murders. The crime scenes were very bloody because of the way Rolling killed his victims, and in some cases, because of what he did to their bodies afterward.

Give us a glimpse of the research that went into this book.

While researching the case, I gained access to the Alachua County State Attorney’s voluminous case files in Gainesville just before they were to be disposed of (and by voluminous I mean rows and rows of six foot high metal storage shelves). These materials included banker’s boxes of letters written by Rolling and interviews in which he detailed how he went about his crimes.

How did you come up with the title?

During an interview, one of Danny Rolling’s fellow inmates called him “a monster of all time”.

Your routine in writing? Any idiosyncrasies?

Once I decide on a subject to write about, I spend a lot of time researching newspaper archives. Then I get court documents, depositions, interview transcripts, and the like, before reaching out to witnesses. The process is substantially the same every time. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

Tell us why we should read your book?

The book gives you a glimpse into the mind of serial killer Danny Rolling and sheds some light on why he committed such terrible acts. It also illuminates the power of the media through the story of the falsely accused Edward Humphrey.

Are you working on your next novel? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Yes, I’m currently working on a story about a 12-year-old girl who was abducted while walking home from her bus stop. Her body was found a week later. She had been sexually assaulted. The case went unsolved for decades until an amazing break came thanks to familial DNA.

Fun Questions:
Your novel will be a movie. You would you cast?

Robert Downey Jr. or Joaquin Phoenix as Danny Rolling.

Favorite leisure activities/hobbies?

Movies, baseball, and reading.

Favorite foods?

Thai, sushi, Indian.

Catch Up With J.T. Hunter On:
jthunter.org, Goodreads, BookBub, & Facebook!

Read an excerpt:

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Enter Giveaway!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for JT Hunter. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card each. The giveaway begins on July 1, 2019 and runs through August 2, 2019. Void where prohibited.

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1. I like my ________________ with _________________.
2. When I was _______________, I had to have ___________________.
3. I spend the most time thinking about _________.
4. _________ is a risk worth taking.

1. I like my coffee with with milk only.

2. When I was young and as long as I can remember, I had to have books..

3. I spend the most time thinking about my sons and granddaughters.

4. To love unconditionally is a risk worth taking.

Mailbox Monday

Wednesday:
THE MURDER LIST by Hank Phillippi Ryan ~ eBook from MacMillan/Tor Forge via NetGalley
TOO CLOSE by Natalie Daniels ~ TPB from Harper Paperbacks
Thursday:
TELL ME WHO WE WERE by Kate McQuade ~ ARC TPB from Harper Collins
Friday:
SHE WAS THE QUIET ONE by Michele Campbell ~ TPB from St. Martin’s Press

1. Summer is a good time to ___________________.
2. The most recent _____________ that I _______________________ was ___________________.
3. I thought I would grow out of _________, but I haven’t.
4. I feel annoyed when people ask me _________.

1. Summer is a good time to spend as much time outside relaxing and reading, sitting on the deck or by the pool. Especially since the older I get, the more I despise the cold, snow and the days getting dark at 4 pm.
2. The most recent online purchase that I ordered was a mug to add to my collection. Of course, book related.
3. I thought I would grow out of acquiring new books when I have so many that I haven’t read yet. I would need a few extra lifetimes to read the ones I have in my TBR bookcases and on my Kindle., but I haven’t.
   **This was a difficult question for me. How would you answer?**
4. I feel annoyed when people ask me very personal questions especially from acquaintenaces.

Synopsis:

A man is shot dead in front of City Hall in Philadelphia where his family is tangled in a bitter lawsuit. One brave woman, drawn there by a work of art, finds herself following a twisted trail to the hills of Le Marche in Italy to learn why. All the while, the cloud of fraud grows thicker and darker around her. But, as C. S. Forester said, perhaps the scandal of fraud enhances the flavor.

This thrilling story grabs and holds the reader from the first chapter through unexpected twists all the way to the richly satisfying ending. Art expert Claire Bliss and police Comandante Baldo are joined and antagonized by unforgettable characters in both Philadelphia and Italy. The authenticity of Ferreri’s players and their territories give special vibrance to the novel.

Lovers of the Renaissance will be drawn in immediately by the book’s cover, a painting of Mary Magdalene by Carlo Crivelli (ca. 1480) in the Rijksmuseum. Inside the book, a great art crime story unfolds together with a gem of a murder mystery.

A Cloud of Fraud is colorful, fast-moving entertainment.

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Published by: Linda Ferreri Trustee
Publication Date: May 7, 2017
Number of Pages: 315
ISBN: 978-0-578-47624-7
Purchase Links: Amazon | Kindle | Apple Books | Goodreads

Author Bio:

Linda Ferreri is the author of several art crime novels as well as witty illustrated iBooks. She is a highly respected international art law expert who divides her time between the United States and Le Marche in Italy.

Sometimes she says her most amusing book was her first, The King of UNINI, a sophisticated little romance set in Paris.

Welcome and thank you for stopping by CMash Reads

Thanks very much for having me here!

Reading and Writing:
What inspired you to write this book?

A lawsuit is a nasty thing, I believe, and it changes people. I have been a lawyer for many years and seen some of the problems caused by litigation, which I abhor. Nothing is worse than a family lawsuit. So, it began there. But the painting on the cover of the book…oh I really love it. Mary Magdalene by Carlo Crivelli, the version in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. That, too, because he painted in my territory in Italy…Le Marche.

What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?

Not getting stuck in a plot hole. The story is full of twists and turns and red herrings. The author has to follow those closely in a mystery.

Give us a glimpse of the research that went into this book.

Years of being an art historian and studying artworks in museums takes the mind to all sorts of “sources” of information. I had to do some serious work on Carlo Crivelli, the painter. I read an excellent catalogue prepared for a recent exhibition of his works at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. He was long forgotten but has had his own little renaissance, thank goodness.

How did you come up with the title?

A judge once spoke those words. Truer words were never spoken about the affairs in too many courtrooms.

Your routine in writing? Any idiosyncrasies?

I like sunny locations and quiet around me. For these mysteries, I cannot focus with music or too much other noise around me.

Tell us why we should read your book?

The characters are, I think, delicious and the settings, also. Anyone who knows Philadelphia politics will have a chuckle and anyone who dreams of the Italian countryside and those beautiful medieval hill towns will have some lovely images. The story is very satisfying. I think bright people like to read mysteries like this that take them on a ride and satisfy in the end because they fully occupy the mind. It’s quite visual and I really do hope someone makes this tale into a film. The scenery alone is worth that.

Are you working on your next novel? If so, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Yes. There is a strong character in Miami Beach, Florida involved. I’d like to tell you all of what happens to her but I can’t without spoiling the story. She’s young, single, poor and has a major adventure. Along the way, she solves a few life problems. But don’t all heroines do that?

Fun Questions:
Your novel will be a movie. You would you cast?

Oh please, God! And the choice role in this book is Rose. That is the role that all mature actresses should line up to play. Nobody tall or blond. I think that Helen Mirren can play any role, so we’ll put a wig on her and give her the job. Besides, she owns a pomegranate ranch in southern Italy and she knows plenty of Italian.

Favorite leisure activities/hobbies?

I grow roses and make rose water. And I knit all the time. Cant live without roses or knitting. Nope.

Favorite foods?

Italian food, of course, and Vietnamese. I took cooking lessons for a few days in Saigon and learned to make wonderful foods, only to get home to the US to discover that many of the ingredients are impossible to buy. Darn it.

Catch Up With Linda Ferreri On:
acloudoffraud.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Twitter, & Facebook!

Read an excerpt:

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Enter To Win!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Linda Ferreri. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on June 1, 2019 and runs through July 2, 2019. Void where prohibited.

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Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours