From the bestselling author of The Marriage Lie and Three Days Missing comes a riveting new novel of suspense about a woman who, in a fight for survival, must decide just how far she’ll go to escape the person she once loved

Beth Murphy is on the run…

For nearly a year, Beth has been planning for this day. A day some people might call any other Wednesday, but Beth prefers to see it as her new beginning–one with a new look, new name and new city. Beth has given her plan significant thought, because one small slip and her violent husband will find her.

Sabine Hardison is missing…

A couple hundred miles away, Jeffrey returns home from a work trip to find his wife, Sabine, is missing. Wherever she is, she’s taken almost nothing with her. Her abandoned car is the only evidence the police have, and all signs point to foul play.

As the police search for leads, the case becomes more and more convoluted. Sabine’s carefully laid plans for her future indicate trouble at home, and a husband who would be better off with her gone. The detective on the case will stop at nothing to find out what happened and bring this missing woman home. Where is Sabine? And who is Beth? The only thing that’s certain is that someone is lying and the truth won’t stay buried for long.

I became a fan of Kimberly Belle after reading THE MARRIAGE LIE  and then her subsequent books THREE DAYS MISSING  and THE LAST BREATH. I wasn’t taking any chances of not receiving an ARC of her upcoming book, DEAR WIFE, so I was delighted when I received a copy via NetGalley and then surprise book mail in a print format.

As the synopsis states, Beth Murphy, her new identity, is on the run from her abusive husband. She has planned for this day for 10 months.

On the same day another woman, Sabine Hardison, goes missing. Her husband becomes the sole suspect when details of their marriage are brought to light.

Detective Marcus Durand, a veteran on the force, is determined to find out what happened to Sabine but is “gut feeling” is that she is deceased.

Following Beth’s journey of her planned escape is tense and page turning. The suspense is thrilling throughout the book.

Without giving any spoilers, could these 2 women be one in the same?

The story is captivating and immensely engrossing! How it all comes together is mind-blowing! The ending is jaw-dropping and the reader will not see it coming!

If you haven’t read a Kimberly Belle book and you enjoy thrillers, this is the author for you. Highly recommend this book and all of her previous books.

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

• This blog was founded on the premise to write honest reviews, to the best of my ability, no matter who from, where from and/or how the book was obtained, and will continue to do so, even if it is through PICT or PBP.
• I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
• I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

Mailbox Monday

Sunday:
WHAT SHE NEVER SAID by Catharine Riggs ~ eBook from Author via NetGalley
Tuesday:
THE TWELFTH CHILD by Bette Lee Crosby ~ eBook from Prime

1. I could use some suggestions for _________________________.
2. I never refuse _________________.
3. I hope _________ never changes.
4. I would rate _________ a 10 out of 10.

1. I could use some suggestions for being able to read faster since there are so many books I want to read and so little “me time” in my day to read..

2. I never refuse books or dessert.

3. I hope my love for reading never changes.

4. I would rate my granddaughters a 10 out of 10.

Synopsis:

A brunette in a bridal gown turns up in Pickett County, Tennessee, throat slit and ring finger missing. She’s the latest victim of the Wedding Crasher, a serial killer who murders women just weeks before their weddings.

Samantha Tate is Picket County’s yoga-loving, poker-playing new sheriff, a former Nashville homicide detective who struggles with her inner demons. To catch the meticulous murderer, Sam will have to follow her instincts and ignore her worst impulses. Can she stop the Wedding Crasher before another bride-to-be dies?

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery
Published by: Ruthenia Press
Publication Date: May 8, 2019
Number of Pages: 340
ISBN: 978-0-9995487-3-8
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Author Bio:

Nikki Stern is the author of the inspirational HOPE IN SMALL DOSES, a 2015 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal finalist, and the thriller THE FORMER ASSASSIN, a 2018 Kindle Book Review category finalist. Her essays are included in three anthologies and she co-authored the interactive Café Noir murder mystery series, published by Samuel French. Eight of her short stories have been published in various online journals and she was a Mark Twain Royal Nonesuch finalist for her short story “Long Away and Far Ago.” Nikki is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.

Welcome and thank you for stopping by CMash Reads

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

I was thinking I’d like to create a character as compelling, maybe as restless, as Lee Child’s Jack Reacher. A bit more settled than that but not much. No strong attachments, no commitments, running from a nightmare that would extend through a series, if I were writing one.

What was the biggest challenge in writing this book?

The nature of the lead character changed completely per the advice of a developmental editor I resisted for a LONG time. The character had to change, but that particular rewrite, unlike earlier revisions, was a beast. Forty percent of the book changed. Sam Tate’s essence changed. I didn’t know if it would work; I think it did.

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

I get into the details as to how murders are investigated in an underpopulated rural county like Pickett County. Every state is different, every jurisdiction. The sheriff’s office, the coroners and Medical Examiner, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and any of these departments and agencies might interact with an FBI field agent. I find this kind of crime procedural nitty-gritty fascinating. It has to be accurately portrayed. Fortunately, I was put in touch with some invaluable experts.

How did you come up with the title?

The book takes its title from the name of the serial killer at the center of the investigation

Your routine in writing? Any idiosyncrasies?

When I’m working on a book, I put in four to seven hours a day and that’s not counting my thinking process, which is non-stop. I do take time off between books, sometimes a LOT of time off. But I always end up doing something related to the business end.

Tell us why we should read your book?

The central character, Samantha (Sam) Tate) is a complex, conflicted, utterly likeable character. She’s resourceful, resolute and she’s in danger, which is always appealing. The plot contains plenty of twists and turns; the ending is a surprise; the writing is strong. Readers will have a good time.

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

It’s the second in the Sam Tate series. For reasons I can’t disclose, Sam relocates to the eastern shore of Maryland where she’s joined a local police department and is leading a murder investigation that involves rumors of buried treasure.

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

Hmm. I’m not sure these actors are the right age but perhaps Angie Harmon as Sam and Damian Lewis as Terry.

Favorite leisure activities/hobbies?

Biking, reading, yoga, playing with my dog Molly

Favorite foods?

Roast chicken with root vegetables. Graham crackers. Anything chocolate.

Catch Up With Nikki Stern On:
nikkistern.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 Nikki Stern. There will be 2 winners of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card each. 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

From Sandie Jones, the author of the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller The Other Woman, comes an addictively readable new domestic suspense about a wife, her husband, and the woman who is supposedly her best friend.

THE WIFE: For Alice, life has never been better. With her second husband, she has a successful business, two children, and a beautiful house.

HER HUSBAND: Alice knows that life could have been different if her first husband had lived, but Nathan’s arrival into her life gave her back the happiness she craved.

HER BEST FRIEND: Through the ups and downs of life, from celebratory nights out to comforting each other through loss, Alice knows that with her best friend Beth by her side, they can survive anything together. So when Nathan starts acting strangely, Alice turns to Beth for help. But soon, Alice begins to wonder whether her trust has been misplaced . . .

The first mistake could be her last.

Without reiterating the synopsis, I will say what made me choose this book to read and what I thought.

Once again, from the FB book groups I follow, I saw a lot of “buzz” about it so knew I wanted to read it. Before I started reading it, I did see some reviews, some that stated that had a slow start. However, I didn’t feel that was the case or it was because the Prologue pulled me right in and I wanted to know “who it was” from the Prologue (sorry..no spoiler…you will just have to read it).

This year I have been reading mostly Psychological Thrillers and trying so hard to figure them out. I thought that with this book that I had solved the “who”, which I was partly right but the motive, what and why eluded me.

But then, with the intense conclusion of the book, I realized I had been partially right but that was just a smidgen of the story.

The suspense was fluid. The characters believable, but at the same time, I was leery of each of the cast because the Prologue was always at the forefront of my mind. Many twists and turns!

This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Jones but will be checking out her previous books.

Another great Psychological read!!!

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

Mailbox Monday

Monday:
WHISPER ME THIS by Kerry Anne King ~ eBook (personal purchase)
THE KEPT WOMAN by Karin Slaughter ~ eBook from Prime
HEAVENSCRIBE Part One by Christine Nolfi ~ eBook from Author
THE ROAD SHE LEFT BEHIND by Christine Nolfi ~ eBook from Lake Union Publishing via NetGalley
Wednesday:
SUNBURN by Laura Lippman ~ TPB from Harper Collins
STONE COLD HEART by Caz Frear ~ Hc from Harper Collins

This year, one of the Challenges I signed up for is Blog All About It, hosted by The Herd Presents. The guideline is basically a blogging prompt challenge. Each month there’s a different prompt that you can interpret as you’d like then create a blog post around it. The 2019 list of prompts can be seen here on my Challenge Page. I will be posting for this Challenge on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

I usually schedule my posts for the 2nd Saturday of the month but having bronchitis has delayed me by a week.

I will admit, this month’s prompt was difficult for me since I am a self-proclaimed wuss!! I really had to dig deep to decide how risk is/was part of my life.

Jumping out of a plane? Hell NO!!! I’m terrified of heights, so bad that I have trouble getting beyond the 4th step on a ladder. Roller coasters? Nope!! Same reason!

I realized that maybe the greatest risk(s), I have taken in my life, has to do with my health, specifically my back surgeries. Most people would probably say each of the 8 times would be risks, but looking back, I feel that 2 of them were highly risky and 1 of them I took a huge leap of faith.

After my 2nd operation, and 2 pregnancies, I was in trouble again. My youngest was 6 months old and my oldest was 2 years old. The pain once again excruciating so I went back to Boston for an evaluation. After X-rays, myelogram, etc, I received a phone call 3 or 4 days before Christmas from my surgeon. The news wasn’t good. My fusion had let go and he wanted me admitted asap. There was NO WAY I was going to be in the hospital during Christmas and I told him so. His words haunt me to this day, “you are taking a huge risk, paralysis could be possible”. I told him that I would be careful and that he could admit me right after the holidays.

As I think back, I’m not sure what the heck I was thinking that I took the chance of being severely compromised. Prayers and faith protected me and I had the surgery the first week in January and it was successful.

In 2009/2010, I was in trouble again. Another surgical procedure and this one was a 2-day consecutive surgery that had to be performed. However, this one left me worse after the surgery than before. A had a severe reaction to a medication that was prescribed and once home, I fell twice. Because of the falls, the fusion and my spine healed in a 45-degree angle. Mechanically I couldn’t stand straight, had to walk with a cane, couldn’t walk 50 feet without difficulty, had more pain after than before and had a poor quality of life. And as each year went by, the pain got worse and the pain meds kept getting increased with little to no relief.

In 2014, I had had enough. I had to take another chance so back to Boston., where again I was blessed and protected. The surgeon I saw was one of only 5 on the East Coast that performed the surgery I needed and it would be another 2-day consecutive procedure. However, I was told up front that 3 things could happen. The surgeon would go in and if it was too bad,
he would just close me right back up, or that he would do the procedure but couldn’t guarantee I would be better and the third was that it would be successful. I decided to take the chance.

While in recovery on the first day, the surgeon came in and said that another day would be added to the procedure. What could I say? So I told him to go for it. What I didn’t know until one of my post-op visits, the surgeon told me that what was done in surgery hadn’t been done before. He put me into a medically induced coma for day 2 and 3 because all of the previous hardware was removed and he couldn’t take the chance of me moving around since nothing was holding my spine in place.

Two days after the surgery, the doctor came to visit me and said it was time to see the outcome. So he made me stand. As I stood and went past the 45-degree angle and kept going until I was standing straight. The tears fell, not only mine but his too.

To this day, I can stand straight, don’t need a cane, can hold and lift my granddaughters clean my house, which I had to have someone in the past because I couldn’t, go shopping, etc., etc. I do sometimes have pain but nothing like before. Because of all the surgeries, I do have severe arthritis so if I overdo or the weather changes, there is pain but now it can be controlled.

This is what I look like on the inside. I do have 2 rods on each side f my spine, which is hard to see in the films.

I took a huge risk. But I can honestly say, because of my faith and the faith in the doctor, I was lucky!!!! This time success!! And I’m not naive, I’m sure other discs will deteriorate with age but I’ll cross that bridge then. Right now I’m enjoying my life!!

1. I hope _________________________ never goes out of business.
2. So far, the highlight of my year has been__________________.
3. _________ takes up too much time.
4. If I didn’t have to sleep, I would spend that extra time _________.

1. I hope Amazon and D&D never goes out of business.

2. So far, the highlight of my year has been the birth of my 2nd granddaughter and being able to spend 2 weeks helping out with my girls since they live out of state.

3. Household chores take up too much time.

4. If I didn’t have to sleep, I would spend that extra time reading!!!!! .