“I truly enjoyed the killer’s motive for doing what he did; it was unusual and humorous in an absurdist way.” – Dead Comic Standing by Karen Vaughan

 

Stand-up comic Dave Feener has a great rapport with his audience, so when his body is found maliciously stabbed a short distance away from The Laff Attak where he’s just performed, there seems to be no real motive for the brutal murder. A serial killer who does not think local comics are funny has just begun his rampage.
Constables Mike Borneo and Lissa Cassway along with detective Vince Vetters are racing to find the killer before he claims another victim. Was Feener just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Left with his wedding ring and his wallet, Feener’s body isn’t even cold when the killer strikes again-this time stabbing Phil Vetters, a comic known for his redneck shtick and the brother of detective Vince Vetters. Just as Vince vows revenge, the killer makes a fateful mistake when he stabs another comic and does not ensure his victim is dead before he leaves the crime scene. The killer is a sicko, but not an idiot. He’s right under everyone’s noses, and the anticipation of a righteous kill is all just part of the fun. Only time will tell if the killer will have the last laugh.

An Avid Reader

Laughing and Dying

After having read Daytona Dead by Karen Vaughan, I knew she had a sense of humor. But this was decidedly different from that novel. Dead Comic Standing was a delightful, five-star read. It was easy to slip into this novel about someone prowling the comedy clubs of Edmonton, killing comedians after they’ve performed their stand-up routines. Part of the enjoyment for me was reading the comedy elements. I also felt I got an inside view of the way comedy clubs are run. Part police procedural, part whodunit, and part thriller, I breezed through this enjoyable novel. It was great fun. I truly enjoyed the killer’s motive for doing what he did; it was unusual and humorous in an absurdist way. A wonderful way to spend some time.

#Cozies #Mystery, #LauraAndGerry, #Sherlock/Holmes

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“I would treasure this and other books by Judy Mastralango in hardback as a special gift to grandchildren.” – Poems From Toy Land by World Renowned Illustrator Judy Mastrangelo, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joyce Kilmer, Christina Rossetti, Eugene Field

POEMS FROM TOY LAND is an Illustrated volume of favorite classical poems from well-known authors such as Eugene Field, Joyce Kilmer, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christina Rossetti, etc. This book showcases the beautiful, colorful, and imaginative artwork by Judy Mastrangelo. It also includes some of her own original poems.

Polly

Journey into Toyland

Having read all these poems they are varied as they are profoundly enhanced by wonderful illustrations, pictures, and poems in a swirl of rainbow colours. I Loved this book.
I would treasure this and other books by Judy Mastralango in hardback as a special gift to grandchildren.

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“A journalist, a murdered drug dealer, and so much more!” – Baked: A Mariner’s Bluff Mini-Mystery – Book 2 by Jade Lazlow

 

Defrocked New York Times journalist, Trina Sharp is forced to take a job at a small-town paper in the struggling tourist town of Mariner’s Bluff.
The tourist town plans its first-ever fishing tournament and the body of a murdered drug dealer turns up in the middle of downtown.

Trina’s nose for news is off and running as she investigates and finds her girl crush at the center of the mystery. Follow Trina on the trail as she works on the most important assignment of her life, saving the girl she loves.

Viv Drewa

A journalist, a murdered drug dealer, and so much more!

Trina Sharp finds a job in a small town and this leads her to use her investigative journalist know-how to help solve a murder. This murder has a lot of twists and turns and will leave you reeling until the end.

I highly recommend this book!

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“Well Written And Fun To Read.” – Killer Among Us (Carson Reno Book 3) by Gerald W. Darnell

 

All Carson Reno, Mystery Series Books, are standalone novels. It is not necessary to read them in any particular order.

The witness protection program had simply not worked as promised. He and his wife had been relocated to a one-horse hick town in West Tennessee, with a promise to start life over – on the right side of the law, this time.
His factory job lasted less than a year. A strike and major labor dispute had cost him his job – and his running around with other women had cost him his wife. He never intended for any of this to happen, but it seemed he was meeting failure at every turn. He had made that difficult move from the underworld to the real world with all good intentions of making it stick – it wasn’t working. Things were dragging him back, and he was finding it too easy to drift into the dark side of life once again.
He knew that if he crossed back over, all chances and opportunity for a life in the real world were over – his one chance gone forever. While he resisted, it just didn’t seem to matter – circumstances were taking him back – he couldn’t stop himself.
He started by renewing some old contacts, asking the right questions, and finally by offering his services for hire. It didn’t take long for things to happen, and contract offers coming his way.
They started with a call from Anthony ‘Tony’ Scarsetti. He had worked for Tony in the past, and he believed they held a mutual respect for each other – him for his skills and Tony for his leadership. Tony was a rival of Steve Carrollton, and their competition for the vices in Memphis and on Beale Street was well known. Evidently, Carrollton had been temporarily sidelined – but his operations continued. Tony was looking for some professional help to make his temporary situation a permanent one.
Once again in his life, things were looking up, and he was feeling good about himself – being useful. His skills were needed, and he would again be a contributor. His little house on Mullins Avenue, in this hick town of Humboldt, would also be useful. Quiet, out of the main activity in Memphis, and allowing him to operate under the radar. Besides, the government had bought it, why not put it to good use?
He would start by sharpening the skills that had once made him successful. After all, failure was not an option in this business – only death. Hours in the local forests and woods would give him the privacy required – he had the perfect set-up and the perfect location. Nobody local to challenge him, and besides, if someone did – he was still the best at what he did. Everybody knew that.

JonJTN

Well Written And Fun To Read.

As a native of the real town that is the setting for most of the Carson Reno adventures, I probably get more involved than the casual reader of mysteries. But, aside from being able to actually remember the locations in the book, the stories are logically devised and well written. Carson, as chronicled by Gerald, is fun to follow.

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“When science meets fantasy involving time travel is where the storyline lives and shines.” – Red Sarah by Carol Ann Kauffman

 

Sarah is a beautiful redhead who works for a special agency that fixes broken timelines and rescues historically significant people who are in trouble. She has a special set of skills that allow her to ‘tap’ someone out of a dangerous situation. Her present assignment is to find and rescue a prince whose son eliminates hunger and disease on his island nation.“Save the Prince; save the King; and save the Reds. In doing so, Red Sarah may just save herself, who knows, but what might be the cost? Moving from modern-day wisecrackery to a time of romance long ago, Carol Ann Kauffman’s tale is filled with majesty and bravery. This time travel story is a gift for all.” – Amazon Review“Sarah has one job, and that is to rescue Crown Prince Lucas of Mist from captivity in a dungeon. Yet everything is not as it seems and will Sarah be able to stop an upcoming war?
This was an interesting book about time travel and trying not to disrupt the time continuum. I liked Sarah, and it was interesting where she and Lucas ended up.”
-Amazon Review

Luv2read

An enjoyable read

This is a fun easy, fast read. When science meets fantasy involving time travel is where the storyline lives and shines. The characters: Sarah a lovely redhead and a prince. The story starts out with Sarah approaching an apparent lifeless figure on the floor of a dark dungeon. She has come to help the Crown Prince Lucas of the Mist Kingdom in the highland of LaMere. The prince corrects her by saying he’s not the Crown Prince but his brother and if she saves him, he has nothing to offer here. She does return the next night with food. As conversation ensues the reader discovers that the prince’s father, King Theodore of the House of Walker is close-minded, stubborn, vicious, and brutal per the prince and per Sarah a beast. The prince was out riding on his horse and woke up in the dungeon. He was apparently falsely accused of attacking and killing two men per Sarah but he protests he attacked no one. As it turns out he is in fact the Crown Prince and learns that his two other brothers have been murdered. Here the story conflict has been set and the storyline moves along at a rapid clip. Without retelling the whole story suffice it to say it was an easy, sit down in a couple of hours by the fireplace fast read. It’s worth picking it up to find out if Sarah manifested the courage necessary to ultimately be the heroine she set out to be. No spoilers. I enjoyed the read right down to the poignant dedication after the story.

#AuthorNetwork,#IndieBooksPromo, #amreading, #amwriting, #indiepromo

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“Buy this book and look for her other work! You will not be disappointed” – An Unexpected Affair by Angela Gray

 

Years of emotional abuse have ended. The divorce is final, it’s over. With not even a child to tie her down, she is free to open a business. Freedom comes at a cost. She is alone and can’t go to his family for comfort as she used to.
Addison hired a student. He’s gorgeous, competent, and if she was ten years younger… but she’s not and he’s her employee. Still, she can dream, can’t she?

Nixiena

Amazing

First time I listened to this story was in the Christmas Treasures short story collection and I was not disappointed. Angela has a great way of building characters that are very relatable with strong females and this book is no exception. She leaves you turning pages waiting and hoping and hooks you in. I’ve read all her work and looking forward to even more!

Buy this book and look for her other work! You will not be disappointed:)

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NEW FROM Andi Lawrencovna – Lost Boys: A Second Star Story: An M/M Fantasy Reimagining of Captain Hook

 

There is a story of a boy who never grew up. A boy who crossed worlds by learning to fly and fought pirates with a fairy at his side.
This is not that story.
This is the story of a man who took to the seas to escape his past and avoid his future, and the elf who dared to cross hooks with the pirate lord of the deep.

Redlord

A soldier serves out of duty and honor, loyalty to his kingdom – love of his lord. Love was what killed him, and the prayer that his prince might survive when he did not. Captured, condemned, and enslaved, Marius D’Corre died in his chains.

The man who survived… The pirate who emerged…left behind the name he once owned and boarded his ship to never look back.

Tolthe

Clerics are not meant to leave their Woods, living and loving within the trees they call home, one with the forest that claims all elves as kin. All except Tolthe, who stands in the shadows, never welcome amongst his brethren.

When the alfara is stolen, and Diety demanded one take up the hunt for the scythe, it felt only right that he leave the Dienobo behind for whatever adventure waited across the world.

Lost Boys

There’s only so long you can run from the past before it catches up. And only so far you can travel before the home you’ve always longed for finds you.

When pirate meets priest, two worlds collide: the past Red can’t seem to leave behind, and the future Toma doesn’t know how to spare the thief from. For the first in a long time, neither soldier nor elf is alone, but being found only means there is more at stake to lose…

This book is a dark fantasy reimagining of the origins of Captain Hook and is intended for mature readers. There is triggering content that some readers may find distressing and language that might shock a sailor. For content warnings please click on the book cover and scroll to the copyright page.

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