I Feel So Unnecessary

Dream of the Dead West End Murders Book One By: M.G. Scarsbrook Genre: Mystery 270 pages Publisher: Createspace Publication Date: November 28, 2013 Get it at: Amazon B&N Synopsis: A WEALTHY THEATRE PRODUCER IS FOUND DEAD. A RARE, CORROSIVE POISON HAS BURNED THROUGH HIS STOMACH. NO ONE KNOWS WHY. Enter DI Jack Ravenshaw. A young, talented officer with a secret: he belongs to England's most famous dynasty of actors. When Scotland Yard uncovers his hidden past, his acting experience, and his formidable connections, he becomes the perfect choice to investigate the producer's killing. Against his wishes, he must return to London's West End. Cast back into one of the most vibrant - and violent - areas of the country, Ravenshaw is quickly surrounded by sexy performers, shadowy assistants, and powerful investors. Finding the truth seems almost impossible. Devious suspects lie at every turn. Corrupt officers sabotage his inquiry. Even his mind tricks ...

Paperback 146 pages Publisher: April Gloaming, Nashville, TN ( April 2013) * I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:   Timmy Enosh is a peculiar, small man: fivethree, onehundredandfifteen pounds, and is a pharmacist in Ashton City, Tennessee. He finds himself at fortythreeyearsold as his life starts to fall apart: his threehundred pound wife disappears, his romantic interest has lost interest and has gained hatred toward him, his coworkers harass him, customers verbally assault him, and he has the strange urge to adopt his foulmouthed, eighteenyearold coworker, Alex. When things start to pile up, Timmy must find a way to deal: he turns to Alex to supply him with marijuana, starts sewing an elaborate Mr. Mistoffelees costume, finds solace in the wild, etc., etc., etc. And the soft, constant wind of change blows him on, on, and on. My Review: The author describes this novella as "poetic fiction". And I could defi...

Formats: Kindle Nook 203 pages Publisher:  TKA Distribution (November 29, 2012) * I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: Underachiever Minette "Mini" Monroe has long dreamt of how much better life would be if only she were in charge of the world, said world being the independent bookstore in Westport, CT, where she's worked for the past half dozen years. After her beloved boss Colin Quimby is murdered, Mini gets her wish and also gets a chance to solve the case, aided by hot young Officer Michael "Mickey" Maus. Despite his unfortunate nickname - would any woman really voluntarily become part of Mini and Mickey Maus? - Mini takes a shine to him, but there's no real time for romance, not when Mini has her hands full dealing with Colin's viper's nest full of ex-wives, offspring, former business partners and current business rivals, all of whom had good reason to want to see Colin dead. W...

Kindle  or Nook edition Publisher: TKA Distribution (August 24, 2012) 257 pages  I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.  Synopsis: Mercury Lauren ( pronounced like Bacall, not Ralph)  is a successful author of satires. However, her books are usually listed under chick-lit so poor Mercury doesn't get any respect. All she wants is a review in the New York Times. Is that too much to ask? So when she meets the editor-in-chief of the book review she makes it her mission to convince him to give her books a chance. No matter what gets in her way nothing will stop her from...Pursuing the Times. Review: Loosely based on Pride and Prejudice the author has written a delightful romantic comedy. Mercury's adventures in stalking the editor of the NYTBR are chuckle worthy and the characters trade witty banter back and forth. I especially liked the e-mail exchanges between Mercury and her stalkee. Find out more about the au...

Paperback or E-book format Publisher: caregiving.com (March 5, 2013) First Edition 46 pages * I received a complimentary copy from caregiving.com for being a contributor. Synopsis: Love, the  fifth book in the CareGifters Book Series , features the poems, essays and artwork of family caregivers who turn love into a coping strategy. These family caregivers write of their love, remembering how they fell in love years before caregiving arrived and reflecting on how they stay in love long after caregiving stays. The book features love from all perspectives—between siblings, parents and children, spouses. A granddaughter becomes the memory keeper for a grandmother she loves dearly. A grandmother finds a hero in a little boy who she treasures. Proceeds from the book go to fund the CareGifters Program, which provides a grant of $500 to help a family caregiver in need. My Review:   A book of essays and poems by caregivers writing about their loved ones. A lov...

Formats: Hardcover Kindle Nook CD, Audiobook, Mp3 Publisher: Random House (January 29, 2013) I was given a complimentary copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:   Winter in the small mountain aerie of Alpine should be as quiet as new-fallen snow on the Cascades, but from the Grocery Basket to the Venison Inn, the town is humming. At the Alpine Advocate, editor Emma Lord and her staff are on deadline with a feature about the opening of RestHaven, a new rehab and mental health facility. Front Street is buzzing with gossip about Emma’s recent engagement to Sheriff Milo Dodge. And now that fool Wayne Eriks has climbed an electric pole in the middle of a storm and got himself electrocuted. Sheriff Dodge doesn’t buy the idea that Wayne’s death is an accident. But how—and, more important, why—he died is only one of the conundrums that keep the sheriff and Emma working overtime. Why is RestHaven giving Alpine so many restle...

Hardcover  Paperback Audible Audio Edition  E-book 388 pages Publisher: Delacourt Press (Feb.5th, 2013) The publisher provided me with a complimentary copy via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis:   Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they’re found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters’ diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies. Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred’s death, the English hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint’s tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place? The ...

E-book format 302 pages Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (January 2013) I was provided a coy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Penelope Fairweather leaves her country home and arrives in London with hopes of catching a husband. The dowager is her sponsor for the season but she certainly has her work cut out for her for Penelope is as dainty as a bull in a china shop. What follows is a series of misadventures and a duke who schemes to send Penelope back home. Will she find a husband or will the duke succeed in his plans? My review: First of all I like the cover art, it's very eye catching. As for the content of the book I found Penelope to be a plucky, delightful heroine. She's charming in her own way. I also enjoyed the scheming duke and his eccentric family members. I cried a little and chuckled a lot. It reminded me of "My Fair Lady". A very enjoyable read. Read an excerpt:   The dowager cast a worried glance at the d...

Paperback or Kindle format 308 pages Publisher: Amazon (January 2013) Synopsis:  Chloe Haskell, a runaway diva escapes her old life to start anew. She's enrolled in college and there she meets her old lover Rhys Ryther- a substitute professor. They rekindle their relationship but after she is cast in the school play strange things start happening to her. Has the man she ran away from and thought dead shadowing her again?  And will Rhys still want her when he finds out about her past? My Review: I'm a fan of The Phantom of the Opera so I was excited to read this book. After reading just a few pages I was hooked. The book had in Chloe a wounded figure that had me rooting for her to find happiness, and a creepy villain I wanted to see defeated. I also enjoyed the romance between Chloe and Rhys. It was also suspenseful and kept me interested. A nice debut novel.  I was given a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. My rating:   ...

E-book format 152 pages Publisher: Amazon Digital Services (November 2012) Synopsis: All 16 year old Hannah Sampson looks forward is going to college so she can leave her small town and dysfunctional family behind. What's dysfunctional about them... well her  father likes to buy dented cans- preferably without the label. Her mother obsessively takes pictures for her scrapbooks but  then doesn't let anyone look at her scrapbooks. Her 14 yr. old brother is headed for a life at a fast food place because of his grades and her 8 yr. old brother mostly uses sound effects to communicate. And none of them communicate with one another. Everything changes though on a trip to Disney World when Hannah stops being passive and finally speaks her mind. Then something is revealed by her parents that changes her world. My Review: This was a fast paced novel- it only took me a day to read it. I thought the author captured the voice of a 16 yr. old well. At first I wished the othe...