YvonneFirst up this week, there is a welcome return to fiction Books, by author Mark Stevens. Despite my tardiness in reading the last book he entrusted to me, he has accepted my apologies and by coincidence has recently completed the latest book in the series, a copy of which he has gifted to me and which is due for publication in the autumn.
‘THE MELANCHOLY HOWL‘ (ALLISON COIL MYSTERY #5) by MARK STEVENS
Circling vultures lead hunting outfitter Allison Coil to an angry man tied to a tree. The man will answer none of Allison’s obvious questions.
Devo, a frequent ally of Allison’s and the leader of a group of scrappy devolutionists, has gone missing. Allison’s best friend, Trudy Heath, finds herself intrigued by the overtures of a retired rock star who has put down roots to grow tomatoes.
And Trudy’s boyfriend, newspaper reporter Duncan Bloom, is tempted by an opportunity to reslove his bleak finances by taking a flyer on Colorado’s fastest growing industry, retail marijuana.
Allison’s trail across The Flat Tops Wilderness leads to an airplane wreck, a murder, and a cunning conspiracy.
The Melancholy Howl braids interweaving threads of mystery as Allison, Trudy, Duncan and Devo’s followers test the definition of family and the dangerous boundaries of trust.
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I am so lucky to have a small group of amazing publishers, who keep me well supplied with some lovely new stories to read and share and some excellent authors to feature. Francesca from Austin Macauley sent through a Kindle download of this book, for my perusal.
‘THE IVAN‘ by ERIN ELDRIDGE
Elise lives in occupied Berlin, under Russian rule. Her husband, Erich, is in France with the German army, then becomes a prisoner of war.…
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A lovely surprise from Clare at Head Of Zeus, when a beautiful hard copy of this book arrived in the post, completely unannounced, but very much appreciated.
‘BETTY CHURCH AND THE SUFFOLK VAMPIRE‘ by M.R.C. KASASIAN
September 1939.
A new day dawns in Sackwater, not that this sleepy backwater is taking much notice…
Inspector Betty Church – one of the few female officers on the force – has arrived from London to fill a vacancy at Sackwater police station. But Betty isn’t new here. This is the place she grew up. The place she thought she’d left behind for good.
Time ticks slowly in Sackwater, and crime is of a decidedly lighter shade. Having solved the case of the missing buttons, Betty’s called to the train station to investigate a missing bench. But though there’s no bench, there is a body. A smartly dressed man, murdered in broad daylight, with two distinctive puncture wounds in his throat.
While the locals gossip about the Suffolk Vampire, Betty Church readies herself to hunt a dangerous killer.
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MAILBOX MONDAY
… is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house during the last week. Be warned that Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
Mailbox Monday now has a permanent home, where links may be added each week. So why not stop by, leave a link to your own Mailbox Monday post, oh! and don’t forget to leave a comment for our three new joint administrators, after all, we all like to receive them … Your Hosts for ‘Mailbox Monday’
Leslie of ‘Under My Apple Tree’
Serena of ‘Savvy Verse & Wit’
Martha of ‘Reviews By Martha’s Bookshelf’
This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… You never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
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An angry man tied to a tree; scrappy devolutionists; a retired rock star who has put down roots to grow tomatoes; a cunning conspiracy. …. Ooh I’m really liking the sound of The Melancholy Howl .
The Suffolk Vampire also sounds good and is something I while keep a look out for. I’m not sure about The Ivan though as nothing about it ‘speaks.’ to me.
Set in 1939, I can imagine that Betty Church is definitely the odd one out in a very male oriented profession. I am just hoping that the narrative and writing style fits the time frame. I guess I am expecting a character somewhere between Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot!
When you put it like that, it makes the Allison Coil books sound something like a mystery caper series, but that’s not at all how it is coming across to me, as I am now reading book #4. To be honest though, I have missed the first three books altogether and within reason, catching up on the back story hasn’t been too difficult.
I hope that you manage to track down at least one of the books, so that we can compare notes 🙂
Each of these appeal to me in one way or another, but I’m not sure any will make it to my wish list at this point. Perhaps if you feature them again (guest post, beginnings, or teaser lines) I’ll succumb to temptation. 🙂
Definitely three good new additions to my shelf this week and I shall certainly being posting additional feature articles for each of them, although I only have one of them lined up for a guest post and that is Mark Stevens, author of ‘The Allison Coil’ mystery series.
You do quite often give in and add extra books to your wish list, so I shall wait and see with these three 🙂
It will come as no surprise that these probably won’t make it to my TBR list. I hope you’ll enjoy them, Yvonne. Have a good week!
I do wonder if ‘The Ivan’ might have a storyline which would suit you, but with so many great new books hitting the shelves daily, there is no point considering something which isn’t just right for you.
Thanks for taking the time to visit though, I always appreciate your comments and Happy Reading 🙂
Those sound like interesting books for your Mailbox Monday post, Yvonne. Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire appeals to me most but then I am a bit odd that way. Enjoy.
I hope you managed in the awful heat today? We went looking at cars, went to two garages in Exeter and then couldn’t stand it any more. We headed home and stopped off on the way for a nice pub lunch. I gather it could get even worse as the week progresses.
This is definitely not a week to be working, although sometimes it is much cooler inside rather than out.
We have a couple of things to sign off at the solicitor, regarding my late FIL’s estate, so will be braving the heat in Southampton tomorrow.
Friday we have planned a day out to Ryde I of W, which was a joint 60th gift from friends, including a meal out in a nice restaurant there. I am really hoping it cools down a little, so that I can enjoy it.
I am really looking forward to reading the first ‘Betty Church – Sackwater Mystery’ series. I am also tempted to read Martin Kasasian’s earlier series ‘The Gower Street Detective’. I think we might both enjoy those 🙂
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/m-r-c-kasasian/
Enjoy the books Yvonne. They all look good, especially the Betty Church one with that vampire twist. Enjoy 🙂 and have a good week.
As the timeframe for ‘Betty Church…’ is 1939, it will be interesting to see how author, Martin Kasasian, visualizes and shares, his interpretation of a vampire, by comparison to authors writing in the same genre, but with a modern day time and storyline.
We are right in the middle of, what is for me, a horrendous heatwave. Working and sleeping is almost impossible and there are so many red and sunburnt bodies out there, it is scary. Here’s hoping for a cooler next week 🙂
You got a nice variety of books. My dad loved westerns but I don’t think I’ve ever read one so I would probably start with The Melancholy Howl to see if I liked it. Happy reading!
Back in the day, my dad also enjoyed reading traditional westerns, but this is one of those genres which seems to have died out completely. I do still see the odd episode of programmes such as ‘The Virginian’ being run on one of the more obscure TV channels, but few if any children today, would know what you were talking about if you mentioned a western!
I guess that this series could be construed as the modern day equivalent, with the storylines being loosly based around hunting in the Colorado Flat Tops wilderness and with the series main protagonist, Allison Coil, being a hunting guide and some time detective!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope that your week is going well s far 🙂
These are three good sounding mystery/suspense titles. I especially like the looks of Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire. Happy Reading!
Whenever multiple books are featured in a MM post, there is always one which seems to come out on top in the popularity stakes and this week it is definitely ‘Betty Church And The Suffolk Vampire’!
Thanks for taking the time to check out this week’s post and I hope to chat with you at MM when you host again soon 🙂
They all look good, Yvonne.
Great on your publishers….that is such fun when that happens. I love getting books in the mail.
I hope your week is good.
As I seem to have so little time for reading and blogging right now, it is actually quite nice to have just a small group of publishers and authors who keep in regular contact.
They are always so understanding about allowing plenty of time for me to prepare any promotional posts and in return, they know exactly what they are going to get from me, so it’s a win, win situation 🙂
We are in the middle of a heatwave right now and this weather just doesn’t agree with me in any way, shape or form, so I hate to be a party pooper, but I do hope that it breaks soon 🙂