Featuring: Chariss K. Walker - Cozy Mysteries, Romantic Suspense Psychic Thrillers, Dystopian and more

 Happy Friday and end of  April. 

I have a new to me author that I thought you might be interested in hearing about.

I found out about Chariss thru Authors XP. I think I have mentioned that I am on the Authors XP mailing list. This is a great place to get ARC's, other read and review, heads up on new books, free books, and opportunities to join "Street Teams" - helping authors by sharing and reviewing their books. You can set your genre interests so you get info on books you may be interested in. 

Here is that website in case you are interested in joining their list: https://authorsxp.com/

An opportunity recently came through Authors XP to be a part of a Street Team for Chariss K Walker. I liked the the sound of her books so I joined. 

Chariss has several series.

Becky Tibbs - A North Carolina Medium's Mystery Series: A Cozy Mystery series with a paranormal twist..

"Becky Tibbs, a medium in Asheville North Carolina, works with ghosts every day. She helps them with their unfinished business and sometimes that includes solving the mysteries surrounding their deaths. This a light cozy ghost mystery series." 

There are 10 books in this series with more to come.

The Vision Chronicle Series: A Romantic Suspense Psychic Thriller series:

"Mike Lewis has a secret that he has kept for fifteen years. Is it a gift or a curse? He sees the future through a kaleidoscope, but when he stops fighting this ability it changes and evolves with his acceptance. Once, Mike only saw images of horrifying distant events that didn't affect him personally but now the visions warn him of his own impending dangerous situations. Only a few days after he finally shares the secret, he discovers that someone is after him and they’re determined to learn all they can about his ability. The further he delves the eerier it gets until Mike finally realizes that the best he can do is learn how to protect himself, stand and fight as long as he can, and then run. When he runs, chaos follows.
The Vision Chronicles, an eight book series, details Mike’s changing ability. As the titles change, so does his ability and the method through which he sees the visions. Each book covers approximately eight weeks in his life. It's a fast-paced reality thriller series, so hang onto your butt as you learn of the challenges he faces and Mike's honest self-reflections. There are moments of intimacy and tenderness that can bring a tear or a nod of understanding, along with heart-pounding instances of abduction, imprisonment, and near-death experiences. Through every challenge, Mike uses his mystic ability selflessly to help his family and friends."

There are eight books in this series. 

The Alec Winters Series: Dark Fiction

"This supernatural suspense series is a controversial tale of transformation to angel and demon where Alec Winters roams the gritty streets of New Orleans to protect its innocent victims and brutally destroy the wicked people who hurt them."

There are four books in this series.

Serena McKay novels: Dystopian Crime Novels: There are two books in this series 

"Serena McKay, P.I., lives in a post-apocalyptic dystopian time where the rich get richer and the poor are homeless. Existence in August City is nightmarish at best and disastrously chilling at worst. Serena has suffered from devastating emotional and physical abuse but she continues to do her job in spite of it."

Dystopian Fantasy Series: There are three books in this series.

2121 Trilogy, A Dystopian Fantasy Story, is written for Young Adults, New Adults, and All Age Adults who enjoy dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction with a bit of horror.
TheTriloby includes Salazar, Book 1, Sondra, Book 2, and Dinah, Book 3.

Chariss also has several non fiction books. 

I read A Medium's Birthday Surprise: Book One in the Becky Tibbs series.

About: "Becky Tibbs didn’t ask for the job or the gift of being a medium, but after her parents died, the unusual ability became a bequest – a gift handed down from her mother’s side of the family.

An optimistic and positive young woman, Becky determines to make the best of a difficult situation in the small town of Asheville, North Carolina where the smallest detail is noticed and everyone knows everything about everyone else.

Becky deals with a lot of departed spirits in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Such a job can get rather hectic at times. Misunderstood ghosts can create a lot of sticky problems for the living and a community such as hers.

Used to dealing with ghosts on a daily basis, Becky is not easily surprised. However, on her 26th birthday, Becky gets the biggest shock she’s had in the past ten years and it’s a doozy."

While this is a cozy mystery series, the main characters are dealing with real issues - not all cozy.  Becky's brother and sister, Bobby and Barbara, also have the "gift" of seeing ghosts. Problem is they do not want this gift, whereas Becky has embraced it and frequently helps ghosts to move on. The dark side to this cozy mystery is that Bobby is dealing with it by drinking and Barbara is self medicating, both to numb their ability. I am interested to see how these characters develop and how they deal with the issues. I also like paranormal twists. 

About Chariss K. Walker: 

"Award-winning author, Chariss K. Walker, M.Msc., Reiki Master/Teacher, writes both fiction and nonfiction books with a metaphysical and spiritual component. Her fiction expresses a visionary/metaphysical message that illustrates growth in a character's consciousness while utilizing a paranormal aspect."

If you would like to find out more about Chariss, I recommend checking out her website. 

https://chariss.com/

Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor

 Happy Spring! I hope it is nice weather where you are. I just heard from a high school friend that it snowed again yesterday where I used to live. Wow. 

Our Mystery Book Club met in the library last week for the second month in a row! Everyone is so glad to be back. Even the library staff is glad the book clubs are back. They are posting the meetings and book selections on the website again. That really made me feel like we were back.   We may have lost a few regulars through all of this. But we seem to have good core group. Time will tell. 

For our April selection, it was readers choice of the Brad Thor Scot Harvath series. I had seen Brad Thor speak virtually last year and it got me interested.. Since he has 21 books in the series now, it was reader's choice in case some had already read some of the books.

The Scot Harvath books are political thrillers. I chose to start at the beginning and read the first book:

The Lions of Lucerne

About: "On the snowy Utah slopes, thirty Secret Service agents are viciously executed and the vacationing president of the United States kidnapped, seemingly by the Fatah, a lethal terrorist organization in the Middle East. But Scot Harvath, surviving agent and ex-Navy SEAL, doesn't believe the Fatah is responsible. A shadowy coalition comprises some of the highest-ranking officials in government and business – men who operate above the law, realize the threat Scot poses to their hidden agenda, and will do anything to stop him. Framed for murder and on the run, Scot takes to the towering mountains of Switzerland with beautiful Claudia Mueller of the Swiss Federal Attorney's Office. They brave subzero temperatures and sheer heights of treacherous Mount Pilatus, and the den of notorious professional killers."

There is some interesting background to this book. 

First, Brad Thor's background: "Brad has served as a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Analytic Red Cell Unit. He has also lectured to law enforcement organizations on over-the-horizon/future threats, and has been a keynote speaker for the National Tactical Officers Association annual conference. In 2008, Brad shadowed a Black Ops team in Afghanistan to research his thriller, The Apostle. Brad graduated cum laude from the University of Southern California where he studied creative writing, film, and television production. Prior to becoming a novelist, Brad was the award-winning creator, producer, writer and host of the critically acclaimed national public television series, Traveling Lite."

Second: During his days of hosting a travel show, he had been to Switzerland and seen the Lion Monument or The Lion of Lucerne rock carving. He thought it would make a good book cover and/or title. 

Third: Thor saw an article about a Swiss Intelligence officer who was embezzling money from the Swiss government and training his own shadow militia in the Alps.

The idea for this first book was born.

I really liked The Lions of Lucerne. I listened to it in audio. It is very fast paced with constant action. 

Everyone in the MBC liked the book or books they had read in this series. A couple people went on to read more than one of the books. One person had read them all before and enjoyed revisiting the books. There certainly had to have been a great deal of research for this books in this series. The books often deal with things that are going on in the world and gave many of us a "that could happen" feeling. We all agreed, that it didn't seem like Scot Harvath would live to be in another book. lol 

All in all, this series is a good pick if you like political thrillers and lots of action.

https://bradthor.com/

Coming to Hallmark: Diane Mott Davidson's Dying for Chocolate, and Cut, Color Murder

 I am excited about this one. I like all of the Hallmark Mysteries but I used to read Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Bear series years ago. Lucky for me I caught a commercial for her second book in the series, showing on Hallmark Mysteries

Curious Caterer: Dying for Chocolate

Sunday April 10, 8 p.m. central time

About: "Colorado caterer Goldy Berry teams with detective Tom Schultz to identify the ingredients that led to the mysterious death of her friend — and ends up discovering a hidden recipe for murder. Starring Nikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker."

This series was first published in 1990 with Catering to Nobody. As above, Goldy Bear has a catering business in Colorado. She has a nuisance of an ex husband and if I remember correctly, a child or children. The weather is usually bad. She has a catering van she has to maneuver in the Colorado terrain. Someone usually ends up dead and she tries to find out "who dunnit". 

I have read all but the last two books, I think. I picked up this series as one of my first books when I got back to reading after getting two children past the toddler stage and could read a chapter here and there again. I set up my DVR to record this. The only thing I am noticing already, is Goldy looks fancier than I remember or pictured her in the books. 

Another Hallmark Mystery that was on in February but I missed, is repeating Sunday April 10 at 6 p.m.

Cut, Color, Murder

"When a beauty pageant creator is found dead, a savvy hairdresser works with a detective and risks everything to clear the names of those she loves. Starring Julie Gonzalo and Ryan McPartlin."

I will be watching for more Hallmark Mysteries and let you know as they come up.