Thursday, December 17, 2015

Landscape for Murder: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery & a Giveaway!


NEW RELEASE.....

A friend’s murder. An unconnected cast of suspects, including the victim’s missing adult daughter. As if that wasn’t enough, Brynn Bancroft’s winery has been broken into. Can she deal with her co-owner ex and help the police find her friend’s murder so she can finally overcome her own troubled past and enjoy family life with her teenage ward?


My Review

It's rare that I ever read a book twice. Especially so soon after reading it the first time. But I just couldn't believe that I hadn't picked up on so many of the subtle clues in Landscape for Murder, by Joyce T. Strand. Oh sure, I was once again drawn in by Brynn & Liam, hoping that they would finally agree to get back together, along with some of the characters I fell in love with in the previous Brynn Bancroft Mystery (Wayne & Mattie are adorable!). But there was of course a new crew of characters added to the mix that were quite suspicious at times (other times you were hoping that they had nothing to do with anything going on), if you even suspected them at all. And I definitely missed a key suspect in that mix! But of course the mysteries were solved (a double plot that secretly intertwined), Brynn once again found herself in a fight for her life & Liam of course was at her rescue so to speak. My inner romantic is dying to know the next step for Byrnn & Liam! Will they end up like Jillian & Chad?! (Please say yes!)

Landscape for Murder: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery can be read as a ststandalone book, but I do recommend reading the previous book, Hilltop Sunset: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery just because it's phenomenal & makes it that much better knowing the history of the characters. 


Book available from....

About Brynn Bancroft
Brynn Bancroft evolved from the Jillian Hillcrest mysteries where she served as Jillian’s manager while Chief Financial Officer of Harmonia Therapeutics in Silicon Valley. A shapely blonde with a MENSA IQ, she had an affair with the CEO of the company.

Unfortunately for Brynn, the CEO’s wife figured out that the two were involved and asked Brynn to leave the company, which she agreed to do.

In the meantime, her husband, Liam—not unfamiliar with extramarital affairs himself but also understanding that Brynn grew up in an abusive household- grew tired of waiting for Brynn to commit to their relationship and asked for a divorce. At the same time, he solicited her assistance in developing his new winery in Sonoma County, Calif.

Much like Jillian--who does appear in the Brynn Bancroft mysteries--Brynn, too, attracts mystery and murders as she grows to enjoy life at her ex-husband’s Hilltop Sunset Winery.

Also Available
Hilltop Sunset: A Brynn Bancroft Mystery

A mystery set in wine country pitting financial exec Brynn Bancroft against a determined stalker, a troubled love interest, and career clashes.

Brynn Bancroft learns that a former employee who beat her nearly to death has returned to stalk her and her friend, Jillian Hillcrest, also a former victim.

Recently divorced, Brynn turns to a new love interest only to encounter additional unwelcome issues. Meanwhile, short-timer Brynn, who has resigned from her Silicon Valley company, becomes bored fulfilling her remaining responsibilities there. She begins to prefer supporting the launch of her ex-husband’s new hilltop winery while waiting to move to her next position. Between her stalker and her new love interest, Brynn faces a series of life-changing events.

Book available from....

About the Author

Joyce T. Strand is the author of who-done-it mysteries set in the San Francisco Silicon Valley and Napa-Sonoma wine regions of California.

Her most recent novel, Landscape for Murder, follows Hilltop Sunset which was the first of a new series featuring protagonist Brynn Bancroft, a financial guru in transition to winemaker from corporate executive. Brynn Bancroft is a minor character in Strand's novels On Message, Open Meetings, and Fair Disclosure--three mysteries solved by Jillian Hillcrest, a publicist whose boss was Chief Financial Officer Brynn Bancroft.

Much like her protagonist Jillian Hillcrest, Joyce Strand headed corporate communications at several biotech and high-tech companies in California's Silicon Valley for more than 25 years. Unlike Jillian, however, she did not encounter murder in her career. She focused on writing by-lined articles, press releases, white papers, and brochures to publicize her companies and their products.

Strand has been a mystery fan since she read her first Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy stories as a teenager. She admits that in between reading Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, Erle Stanley Gardner, and John McDonald in her youth, she also checked out Tolstoy, Steinbeck, Faulkner, and Dostoyevsky, but her love of the “puzzle” always drew her back to the latest fictional detective. Today she favors John Grisham, Louise Penney, Linwood Barclay, Michael Connelly, and Stieg Larsson. She has always enjoyed the challenge of following clues to solve the puzzle of a mystery before it is revealed.

Joyce lives with her two cats and collection of cow statuary in Southern California, and seeks out and attends as many Broadway musicals and other stage plays as possible.

She received her Ph.D. from the George Washington University, Washington, D.C. and her B.A. from Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.

Find the author on the following sites....

Follow the book tour
I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY
1st Prize - Win $50 Amazon.com GC / Paypal Cash (winners choice) 
2nd Prize - Win $25 Amazon.com GC / Paypal Cash (winners choice)
Open Worldwide
Ending on Tuesday 22nd December at 11.59pm EST


Enter Below and Good Luck !!
a Rafflecopter giveaway



Friday, December 4, 2015

Swindled in Paradise & a Giveaway!


Sexy sleuths Madison and Fab race to uncover the truth behind a horrific crime… before a loved one pays the ultimate price.

Beautiful Tarpon Cove has everything you’d expect from a paradise retreat: Blue waters, white sand and … murder?

With deadly secrets and dark dealings brewing beneath the surface of Tarpon Cove, Madison and Fab are caught in a race against time to uncover the truth behind the grisly murder, which may only be the tip of the iceberg….

The eighth book in Deborah Brown’s Paradise series, Swindled in Paradise will take you on a high-speed thrill ride through non-stop action, steamy romance, and dark intrigue, and leave you begging for more.

The Paradise series, are Florida Keys mysteries, “great as stand-alone reads, but they're like chips...you won't be able to devour just one!”

My Review

I have to say that I was so not prepared for this one! I wondered what angle the talented Deborah Brown would take this time & I have to tell you that she left me on the edge of my chair while I was reading the latest in The Paradise series. I've read every book in this serie so obviously I've grown to love the main characters. But I wasn't mentally prepared for Didier, the love of Fab's life, to get himself caught up in a mess himself. I kept wondering how in the world Fab & Madison would be able to solve the latest mystery in time to keep Didier out of jail. Of course they saved the day with Creole & some Help, but it was a close call. And the ending...all I can say is FINALLY! (Perhaps some wedding bells with a few dead bodies for the next book? ;) *hint hint*)

Available to buy from.....

"Swindled in Paradise will take you on a high-speed ride through non-stop action adventure, romance, & suspense, & leave you begging for more." 

"LOVE this book series! Each new Paradise escapade surrounds you, and the characters... they unwittingly become your extended family."

"I absolutely love Madison & Fab! Their friendship and their adventures. These two can't stay away from trouble and I love it!"
Above reviews from Goodreads/Amazon

About the Author
I've been writing, in one way or another for as long as I can remember; writing poetry, short stories, a romance novel secretly stashed under the bed and sappy love letters. Fiction should be fun. I wanted to create the perfect beach book, to make the reader laugh, cry and cheer... and then run out and tell their friends about it.

My love of reading began when I was seven, the day I opened the cover of my first Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book. Mrs. P gave lessons to other children in how to behave and to me I learned to love the written word. I live with my family and demon children aka rescue cats in South Florida.
Find the author on the following sites....

Also available in the Paradise Series



Follow the Book Tour
Photobucket
I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
NOW FOR THE AUTHOR'S GIVEAWAY
Win $25 Amazon.com Giftcard / Paypal Cash
(winners choice)
Open Worldwide
Ending on Tuesday 22nd December at 11.59pm EST


Enter Below and Good Luck !!
a Rafflecopter giveaway