Sunday, March 31, 2019

Tour Kick Off: In the Promised Land by Angela Joseph @trincity #womensfiction #blogtour #nowontour #giveaway



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Women’s fiction
Date Published: June 29, 2018

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This third book in the Egypt trilogy wraps up the lives of the characters in a neat and satisfying way, according to some readers. Like the rest of the series, the story is set in the beautiful twin- island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. The two main characters, Marva and June, have come out of an abusive childhood (Egypt) and are now adults. Marva is a nun at a home for delinquent girls. Marva is known for being strict and well disciplined, but when her adoptive father is killed in a Muslim coup, the family relies on Marva’s levelheaded calm to help them get through their crisis. But little do they know that Marva has a crisis of her own, one that her discipline and her faith seem inadequate to handle.



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Angela is the author of the Egypt series, three books written in the women’s fiction genre, and  Women For All Seasons, a Christian non-fiction book. Angela’s work has also appeared in A Cup of Comfort For Mothers and Chicken Soup For the Soul. 


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April 1 - Valerie Ullmer - Excerpt
April 2 - Nana's Book Reviews - Spotlight
April 3 -  Literary Gold - Excerpt
April 4 - Alyssa's Book Blog - Spotlight
April 5 - The Avid Reader - Interview
April 6 - Book Addict - Spotlight
April 8 - Truly Trendy - Review
April 9 - Jazzy's Book Reviews - Spotlight
April 10 - Texas Book Nook - Review
April 11 - Tea Time and Books - Spotlight
April 12 - The Indie Express - Review
April 13 - RABT Reviews - Wrap Up




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Book Blitz: Jugend by Aalia Lanius #historical #fiction #excerpt #promo


Historical Fiction
Release Date: March 31, 2019
Publisher: Unsugarcoated Media

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In 1933, after Hitler's rise to power, the paramilitary HitlerJugend, or Hitler Youth, became the only permitted youth organization in Germany, then known as The Third Reich.   

It’s 1937 now, and a fourteen-year-old German youth, Ernst, is part of a secret mission which will send a group of teen-aged boys to London under the pretense of a bicycle tour to spy for the Nazis. The cyclists’ objective: identify both geographical and human targets for subsequent elimination as Europe approaches a flashpoint that Hitler intends to exploit by waging all-out war.  Ernst’s mentor, Officer Müller, considers him the perfect fit for a special assignment—spy on a wealthy British Jewish family considered a threat to the Reich as they shelter Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression.

In a parallel story, a modern-day American teen-aged orphan, Clark, has fallen under the spell of white supremacy ideology after a series of family misfortunes.  Having lost his mother as a child to cancer and then his father a couple of years later to war in Iraq, he is in the hands of his unscrupulous guardian who manages to plant him as a child-agent in a Muslim household.  Clark’s purpose: prove that the randomly-chosen Muslim family must be terrorists.

Each youth approaches his assignment with a masked heart filled with hate and a deep misunderstanding of who his hosts are, roiling the boys in emotional conflict as events unfold, and forcing each to face what will be the hardest decision of his entire life—help destroy what his handlers fear or find the courage to think for himself and face the consequences.  







Excerpt

Foreword
By Ben Parris

    In the 1930’s, the world was sinking into an abyss of bigotry and imperialism, each flawed concept nudging the other to the brink of global conflict. Eventually, virtually every country in a world awash in propaganda would be drawn into the coda of the Great War that could come to be known as World War II.

    Jugend’s story is wrapped in a little-known, fascinating true story of Hitler Youth trained to spy on England and Scotland in advance of the war the Nazis intended to start, roaming the countryside on bicycles to identify both geographical and human targets for destruction and assassination.  In Jugend, a Jewish family becomes the focus of a shameless mission to plant a boy in a household to work an agenda that is far from clear to him.

    In an eerily parallel story, Jugend also explores modern-day white supremacists in the United States who plant their own child-agent in a Muslim household. Here there is no multi-country alliance and state machinery to support a full-scale assault on decency, but the victims are targeted and the danger is real nonetheless.

    It’s the story of children caught up in an age-old conflict and used as next-generation guided missiles to perpetuate the agenda of hate.  It’s about how far we’ve come and where we need to be.  It’s about two individual children out of many who are forced to face moral choices to carry out missions of hate or to break their brainwashing through first-hand observation of those they were expected to revile.

    As a writer of historical fiction, I am always impressed when the flavor and details of an age are captured in both mood and accuracy; as an educator, I would like to see this particular insightful work in our public schools. With first-class, cinematic workmanship, Jugend provides a magnificent depiction of a course of events in a narrative that never flags or falters.

    This work, however, not only provides a tale of literary worth, but also occupies a higher plane of value by tackling the most complex aspects of the enduring human condition with both clarity and dignity.

    Here we find the ugliness and beauty of human nature, and the power and variability of culture to harm or heal. Jugend does not try to address all issues of racism and prejudice, and it shouldn’t.

    The story is a straightforward one that goes to the core of human understanding where light, tragedy and redemption can be found.


About the Author

AALIA LANIUS, a California native and convert to Islam in 1999, hails from a multi-cultural background, both German and Mediterranean, giving her first-hand knowledge of the topics addressed in her public speaking and creative works.  Her debut novel, Tough Love, a biographical fiction novel, has sold in countries around the world.  Visit the author online at www.UnsugarcoatedMedia.com.  Stay connected on Instagram: @aalia_unsugarcoated


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Saturday, March 30, 2019

Book Blitz: Native Companions: Dreamtime Mysteries by Jenni Barnett @JennMary1 #historicalfiction #promo


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World Literature, Historical Fiction
Date Published: August 2018
Publisher: Xlibris

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The prologue is a death-bed scene, where Rex Graham and his parents say goodbye to his beloved, Aboriginal grandmother. The young man promises to fulfill Granelda Yaraan’s dying wish to complete his doctorate degree in anthropology. While on study location in the Central Australian desert, Rex discovers a small Aboriginal artefact lying in a dry creek-bed bearing the markings of his tribal totem, whose territory is located in the south-easterly region of the continent.

On his return home, he lays awake, tormented by a vision of Gran’s face, urging him to discover the lost tribal dreamtime legends. He is planning a walkabout to the neighbouring bushland at Yaraan Grove, where an ancient, sacred tree is located, the resting place of his grandmother’s ashes.

Keen to discover some ground-breaking information for his thesis, Rex suddenly remembers a collection of old paintings that his Gran had treasured, promising to preserve them for him, until he was able to interpret their true meanings.

Rex crept down to the library safe, carefully unwrapping the very old parchments and spreading them out on the floor. There were 24 in all, a couple of mythical characters: a bunyip and a birdman known as a keeng-keeng, a hand-sketched map, and a mountain journey. The artist was Gran’s great-grandfather, yet he could obviously read and write because he had labeled some of his works in English grammar.

After carefully re-packing the collection, Rex returned it to the safe and slept soundly till day-break, when he loaded his back-pack and waved to his folk before departing on his journey of discovery. Rex spent the day exploring the magnificent lakeside National Park, but by evening, he was disappointed that he had not uncovered any clues about his ancestors, who had occupied the territory, other than the old scar-tree where his grandmothers remains rest, where a carving of the Booran totem ear-marked a large rock. Rex envisages Gran’s face in the scar on the tree-trunk, caused by Aboriginal boat-crafting. Feeling intoxicated by the bush atmosphere, he spreads his swag and reclines under ‘Gran Yan’s’ canopy.

As Rex falls asleep, the bush comes to life and Gran Yan shares stories with the young trees about the adventures and Dreamtime legends of the Booran tribe, that she learned from ancient priests who shared the mythology at corroborees.

The book is separated into six parts, each containing a glossary of characters involved in the odysseys. The preface contains an overview of Australian indigenous society, their philosophy of living, cultural traditions spiritualism, and language.

An index of tribal connection, names and a glossary of mixed Aboriginal languages and meanings are included at the end of the book, including a bibliography.

24 hand-drawn illustrations created by myself, are peppered throughout the book to keep the reader visually connected to events and characters as they transpire.



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About the Author

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I grew up in South Australia where I received an excellent education before training as a nurse. After a fulfilling nursing career, I spent several years working in the Flinders Ranges at Wilpena Pound where I learned a wealth of knowledge about Aboriginal history in the district. After marrying a farmer, I was kept busy raising four children before returning to my nursing career. It was at that point that I decided that too many people are over medicated with prescription drugs, and the pharmaceutical industry is over embodied in the medical discipline that is supposed to ‘do no harm’.

I undertook studies in traditional medicine and graduated with a degree in Naturopathy and herbal medicine, and went on to study Traditional Chinese Medicine practices including acupuncture, with which I am still a practicing therapist. Having written this story some years previously I was given approval by an indigenous friend to publish the story while living on Bribie Island, where I did most of my research.

After rewriting the story, I first published a junior version in 2017, but revised and rewrote the book, releasing it as junior to adult fiction book in 2018. I have also written a sequel, that was released concurrently, and the third book in the Dreamtime mysteries trilogy, Return to Eternity is almost completed.


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Friday, March 29, 2019

Book Blitz: The Bloodstone Series by Chris Karlsen @ChrisKarlsen1 #promo #historical #thriller #giveaway


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The Bloodstone Series
Historical Thriller
Date Published: Feb. 21, 2019
Publisher: Books to Go Now

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The set contains three stories centered around Victorian Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone. In Silk, the first in the series and set in 1888, the same year as the Ripper murders, Detective Bloodstone is chasing his own serial killer. With little evidence to go on, his few leads bring him under political scrutiny when his investigation results in a clash with an influential Viscount.

Snifter of Death is book two in the series. When a rash of wealthy men who have nothing in common other than the cause of their deaths...arsenic poisoning, Rudyard and his partner struggle as every lead they have ends up a dead end. The tip they need comes from an unusual source and they must peel the layers of the case away to discover the revenge filled suspect.

Choosing Heart or Home is the one story in the set that doesn’t have Rudyard working a criminal case. It is a warm-hearted romance set during Christmas 1889, he decides to go home to Wales to visit his family for the holidays and take the opportunity to introduce them to his lady love. As so often happens, things don’t go as Rudyard envisioned.


About the Author

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I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books. My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

  I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series, which is historical suspense with romantic elements. Each series has different time periods, which I find fun to write.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and four wild and crazy rescue dogs.


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Thursday, March 28, 2019

Book Blitz: Someday, Maybe by Elise Faber @faberelise #promo #yaromance #youngadult #excerpt


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YA Romance
Date Published: March 2019

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It’s okay to be different.

Ha. That’s what people are supposed to say, supposed to pretend in this new age, hipster reality that I live in. Except for high school students aren’t accepting and having my life up for debate in the halls, well . . . it really—really—sucks.

Then a single conversation with my dad shatters all of my childhood memories and my mom copes with his news by spending every hour losing herself in work. Suddenly, it’s not just my high school’s hallways that have become a freaking horror film. Just traversing the relationship between my parents is more dangerous than crossing a minefield.

So I’ve been keeping my head down, hoping to just survive my senior year. That is, until Jason Monroe waltzes into my life and invites me to Homecoming. The soccer god is popular, hot as hell, and my every teenaged fantasy come to life.

And for some insane reason, he likes me. Me. The Harry-Potter-loving, pajama-wearing, bookworm nerd who is too lazy to spend much time on makeup and hair. Somehow Jason Monroe likes me.

But my life falling apart means that I’m a terrible bet and Jason couldn’t possibly want to run the gauntlet of high school or my home life with me.

Except . . . what if he does?
 

Excerpt



“Dance?”

My eyes slid closed. How did he always know?

I turned, the same distant, friendly smile I’d perfected curving my lips.

His perfectly polite one greeted me in response.

And we stood there like two idiots, fake smiles on our faces and not knowing how to move forward.

Finally, I pointed to my shoes and said, “I don’t think my feet can take it.”

Real amusement crept into his expression. “That bad?”

I made a face. “Worse.”

“Here.” Before I could figure out what he was doing, Jason had knelt in front of me and slipped off my black four-inch pumps.

I would have protested, except it felt so good.

He set the heels aside and pulled me into his arms, instantly finding the song’s gentle beat. I relaxed against his chest, content to let him guide me to the music. There was no struggle, just wholehearted surrender.

Jason was second nature and my body, my mind, my heart recognized that.




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About the Author

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Aside from writing romance, Elise's passions are chocolate, Star Wars, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team -- the Sharks! -- are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise is the mom to two exuberant boys and is thoroughly addicted to Dancing With the Stars.


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Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Book Blitz: The Galactic Adventures of Hazel Gurecoa by Starlight @starlight_4512 #promo #scifi #adventure


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Science Fiction, Sci-fi Adventure
Publisher: Austin Macauley
Published: October 2018

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What is it like to live in 4519 AD in a suspended town in the Earth’s Stratosphere and commute to school in your Inter Galactic Vehicle? How far do the adventures take you? In this story, you will find yourself traveling with Hazel, Richie and their alien best friend, Dmitri, on an exciting roller coaster of a ride of electrifying but perilous adventures from Mars to Enceladus, from Gly to Drethna. You will have to deal with the annoying doorbell, alien creatures, and beings, while on a journey to understanding what Gurecoa is.


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About the Author

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Starlight is the author of the series, The Galactic Adventures of Hazel, which is an inspiration from her fascination of Space and the Unknown ever since her childhood. Through these series, she wants to bring imaginative adventures from different corners of the universe to young and inquisitive readers.

She is a software engineer and she has an MBA degree from Drucker School of Business, Claremont Graduate University. She also took a summer class from Oxford University.  With her knowledge of computer science and management skills, Starlight makes these galactic adventures not only a fascinating and entertaining story of future possibilities in artificial intelligence, technology and space travel, but also a tale crafted with problem-solving skills and ideas.  

She currently lives in California. She loves horseback riding and singing. You can follow her on twitter @starlight_4512.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Teaser Tuesday: Hide Not Seek by D.E. Haggerty @dehaggerty #mystery #romance #humor #excerpt #teaser #giveaway


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Cozy Mystery, Romance, Humor
Date Published: April 18th

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I know who you really are.

Pru has a secret, which she has no plans to reveal – ever. But after a woman is murdered and all clues point to her, she has no choice but to disclose her true identity. When her revelations help thwart the killer’s plan to frame Pru for the murder, the killer begins stalking her. With each note he sends, he gets closer. The police are stumped. Pru wants to run away. She really, really wants to run, but Ajax has found the woman of his dreams and he’s not letting her go anywhere. He can be patient. In the meantime, he’ll protect her with his life. Pru isn’t feeling very patient, and her friends, Mel and Terri, are definitely not willing to wait until the police discover who the stalker is. The three friends take matters into their own hands and jump headfirst into the investigation.

Will Pru and her friends uncover her stalker before he turns his violence on Pru?



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Excerpt

“What the heck are you wearing?”

In response to Pru’s question, Mel stuck her hip out and struck a pose. “You like?” She strutted off a few paces and then twirled around before swaggering back as if she were at a fashion show. Only women at a fashion show normally didn’t wear dark blue men’s pants suits. And they certainly never showed off bulky, black oxford shoes.

“Um…” Pru could think of nothing nice to say.

Terri, who was giggling next to her, didn’t have the same problem. “Did you raid Owen’s closet?”

Mel ignored her and reached into her pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses.

“When did you start wearing glasses?”

Terri leaned over and whispered to Pru, “she doesn’t.”

“This is my detective look,” Mel explained.

“Because all detectives wear glasses?” Terri turned to Pru. “I have no idea where she gets these ideas.”

Pru shrugged. “Not from books. Detectives in novels never wear glasses.” There may be some modern-day detectives who wore glasses, but Sherlock certainly didn’t although Hercule Poirot did use a pince-nez for reading. “I thought you said they would talk to us because we aren’t detectives. And now you’re dressed up as an extra on Law & Order.”

Terri bumped her shoulder. “Mel will do almost anything to buy a new outfit.”

Mel ignored them and picked a briefcase up for the ground. Another item she’d acquired for her detective ‘look’. “Let’s go.” She didn’t wait for a reply before marching off to the entrance of the Daily Grind, the coffee shop where Kathy Greene had been killed. Pru and Terri stood in the parking lot staring after her.

“Aren’t we going to come up with some kind of plan before parading in there?” Pru asked Terri.

“I’d say Mel is going to wing it, but I’ve learned there’s a method to her madness.” With a shrug, Terri followed Mel.

“Please tell me this method won’t end up with us at the police station again.”

Terri shook her head. “Sorry, can’t do that.”




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About the Author

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I grew up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic before returning to the law. But practicing law really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out running a B&B wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where, in between tennis matches and failing to save the world, I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.
Hide Not Seek is my fifteenth novel.


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Release Blitz: The Golden Hour by Malia Zaidi @MaliaZaidi #promo #historical #mystery #excerpt #giveaway


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The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 4
Mystery, Historical Mystery
Date Published: March 26, 2019
Publisher: BookBaby

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Lady Evelyn Carlisle has barely arrived in London when familial duty calls her away again. Her cousin Gemma is desperate for help with her ailing mother before her imminent wedding, which Evelyn knew nothing about! Aunt Agnes in tow, she journeys to Scotland, expecting to find Malmo Manor in turmoil. To her surprise, her Scottish family has been keeping far more secrets than the troubled state of their matriarch. Adding to the tension in the house a neighbor has opened his home, Elderbrooke Park, as a retreat for artistic veterans of the Great War. This development does not sit well with everyone in the community. Is the suspicion towards the residents a catalyst for murder? A tragedy at Elderbrooke Park's May Day celebration awakens Evelyn's sleuthing instinct, which is strengthened when the story of another unsolved death emerges, connected to her own family. What she uncovers on her quest to expose the truth will change several lives forever, including her own.

With the shadow of history looming over her, Evelyn must trust in her instinct and ability to comb through the past to understand the present, before the murderer can stop her and tragedy strikes again.



Other Books in the The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series



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A Poisonous Journey
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 1
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: August 2015


The year is 1925, a time that hovers between two catastrophic wars, a time of jazz and sparkle, and a time of peace and reflection. For Lady Evelyn, struggling to outrun the ghosts of her tragic past, it is a time of transformation.

Left orphaned after a fire when she was only four, Lady Evelyn Carlisle was raised in London by her stern aunt and uncle. Now, twenty years later she has grown restless and is keen to escape her chaperone's grasp. A letter from her cousin, Briony, living with her husband on Crete, comes at just the right time. Packing what she can, Lady Evelyn makes off for foreign shores.

Welcoming her are not only Briony and her husband, Jeffrey, but also his handsome and mysterious friends, Caspar Ballantine and Daniel Harper. Though the latter carries with him tragic memories of the Great War, Evelyn is glad to be in their company. With the sun warming her back and the dazzling sea in her sights, this fresh start seems destined for happy days ahead. Little does she know . . .

What starts off as a sunny holiday quickly turns into a sinister nightmare, when Evelyn stumbles across the corpse of one of her cousin's houseguests. Drawn into the mystery surrounding the murder, Evelyn embarks on a mission to discover the truth, forcing her to face her own past as well as a cold-hearted killer. With the help of her cousin, the handsome local police detective, and the mysterious Daniel Harper, will she uncover the truth, before another life is claimed?




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A Darker Shore
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 2
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: December 2016


1926: A year has passed since the events of "A Poisonous Journey" and Lady Evelyn has made a home for herself in Greece, living with her cousin, Briony, her husband, Jeffrey and Daniel Harper. Disturbing this island idyll is a letter, which arrives from France with troubling information about the Daniel’s long-believed-dead brother, Henry. A new journey awaits! With the shadows of the Great War reaching out, Lady Evelyn and Daniel voyage to Amiens in Northern France with the aim of discovering the truth behind the ominous letter. Upon their arrival, they are met not with clarity but rather with crime. Murder, to be precise. Is it linked to their presence in France, or even worse, to Henry himself? Evelyn and Daniel must confront their history as they try to make sense of the present before the killer can strike again, and the secrets of the past are lost forever.




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The Study of Silence
The Lady Evelyn Mystery Series, Book 3
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: February 2018


Lady Evelyn Carlisle has returned home to England, where she is completing her degree at St. Hugh's, a women's college in Oxford. Her days are spent poring over ancient texts and rushing to tutorials. All is well until a fateful morning when her peaceful student life is turned on its head. Stumbling upon the gruesome killing of someone she thought she knew, Evelyn is plunged into a murder investigation once more, much to the chagrin of her friends and family, as well as the intriguing Detective Lucas Stanton. The dreaming spires of Oxford begin to appear decidedly less romantic as she gathers clues, and learns far more than she ever wished to know about the darkness lurking beyond the polished veneer. Can she solve the crime before the killer strikes once more, this time to Evelyn's own detriment?





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 Excerpt
Prologue



"The water is wide, I can't cross o'er.

And neither have I the wings to fly.

Build me a boat that can carry two,

And both shall row, my love and I.



There is a ship and she sails the seas.

She's loaded deep, as deep can be;

But not as deep as the love I'm in

And I know not if I sink or swim.



I leaned my back up against a young oak

Thinking it were a trusty tree

But first it bent and then it broke

Thus did my love prove false to me.



O love is sweet and love is kind

The sweetest flow'r when first it's new

But love grows old and waxes cold

And fades away like the morning dew."



A song dances through the valley, bouncing from crag to crag, across the placid surface of the loch. Emerald hills caress the edge of the water as it laps gently against time-worn stones. The day is drawing to a close, the sky a hazy purple where it meets the peaks. The sun's reflection, an orange orb dipping into a western descent sets the water aflame. A sudden burst of ripples, spreading a fire. The tell-tale plop of a sinking stone. A satisfied chuckle. The crunch of feet flattening the dewy grass.

         It is the way of the young to walk and laugh and stomp about, beauty taken for granted. But youth is not forever, and the performer of the lilting melody, the thrower of the stone, cheerily, blindly trampling across the green, is not immortal.

            A sudden change in the atmosphere, almost imperceptible, the mere beating of a butterfly's wings.

            Four feet now move along the path; two leisurely and two slowly, furtively, unrhythmic in their gait, stalking, preying. The rustle of a bush to hide behind, the quick dart towards a tree might tell of this new arrival. However, those who are happy rarely fear. Those who are good, rarely anticipate the evil lurking within another.

            The sun touches the lowest peak, resting, it seems, upon that precarious perch.

            A sudden start.

            Silence.

            Two voices.

            A Scream.

            Only two feet leave the glen. Two feet and their owner with blood dripping from trembling hands.



About the author:

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Malia Zaidi is the author of The Lady Evelyn Mysteries. She studied at the University of Pittsburgh and at the University of Oxford. Having grown up in Germany, she currently lives in Washington DC, though through her love of reading, she resides vicariously (if temporarily) in countries around the world.


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