Vol. 3 Issue 6
Recommendations
When the weather turns colder, I love reading crime and mystery novels, sitting in a cushy chair with a glass of red wine or a cup of steaming hot spiced tea. The four books I recommend in this issue are ideal for relaxing in the safety and comfort of home while the action and excitement fill the pages of a book. Two of the choices in this issue are new releases. Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux and Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff feature quirky amateur sleuths determined to put things right. Relentless and Duplicity by Shawn Wilson are two novels in a recent series featuring a veteran D.C. homicide detective.
Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux
Glory Broussard is an African American woman of a certain age, living in Lafayette, Louisianna. She is funny, sharp and doesn’t suffer fools lightly. A church going-woman who is also a bookie, Glory defies any attempt at stereotyping. When her best friend, Amity, an activist nun, is found dead in her apartment, the police conclude she committed suicide. Glory, who has known Amity since childhood, is convinced she was murdered and ends up proving she’s a lot smarter than the cops. She enlists the help of her daughter, Delphine, a New York lawyer, who comes to visit. Once the action starts, readers are along for an entertaining and illuminating ride. Along the way, Glory’s observations and opinions of people, her hometown and modern culture are laugh-out-loud hilarious and at the same time astute. She is a fun character to spend time with and, thankfully, the second book in the series is being released next year. It’s already on my TBR list.
Relentless and Duplicity by Shawn Wilson
Shawn Wilson has created skillfully plotted police procedurals in this series featuring Brian (Brick) Kavanagh, an experienced D.C. homicide detective partnered with a younger detective. In Relentless, the first novel in the series, Kavanagh investigates two murders that he considers connected, despite pushback from his superiors, who have already arrested a suspect. Kavanagh goes to work to prove the wrong person is charged with the crime. In the second novel, Duplicity, Kavanagh, now retired, works to find the missing wife and children of his ex-partner Ron. Kavanagh is convinced Ron’s family are victims of kidnapping while authorities consider Ron a possible suspect in their murders.
Sanctuary Motel by Alan Orloff
In Sanctuary Motel, award-winning author Alan Orloff introduces us to the likeable but aptly named, Mess Hopkins, proprietor of a highway motel long past its prime. Rather than worry about profits, Mess welcomes the homeless, victims of abuse and anyone who might need his help. When he takes in a mother and son, running from an abusive husband, he finds himself struggling to unravel the elusive truth, while his father and uncle pressure him to stop helping the downtrodden and bring the motel back to profitability.
Patronize Independent Booksellers
Whenever you buy books, please consider purchasing from independent booksellers who remain passionate about books, love to share their knowledge, and provide a vital link between readers and authors.
A Request
For those of you who have read and enjoyed my debut novel Killer Deals, I would greatly appreciate it if you would contribute a review on the Amazon website, if you haven’t already. Amazon sells the majority of books in the U.S. Your review will help get the word out about my book to a broad audience. Thank you for considering my request.
Watch your inbox for my next newsletter out in January 2024. In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations with me.
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