Sharing Beyond Books #76 Comment Giveaway November 24, 2012

Hello and Welcome to another SBB!

Happy Saturday Night. I hope everyone had a great week and those who celebrated Thanksgiving had a great day and couple days off. We had a lovely Thanksgiving at our house with daughter and her family and another nice visit today at their house helping them trim their tree. I have tried to rest up the last few days and I do feel better, though still not quite 100%.

Thank you to all who shared last week.

The answers were fun -- Although many of us are tempted by hobbies or sports we read about, few of us actually do try.  Several people did acknowledge that they tried cooking or baking after reading about recipes in books. :-) There were a couple of brave souls, like Linda Kwolek who would try if she had items handy, or Monica, who might actually try a sport or playing music after being inspired by reading.

This was another week of lots of thankfulness - again mostly family, friends, pets and health.A couple of you shared nice comments about traditions that you enjoy, like Jane putting the tree up right after Thanksgiving.

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The Winner from SBB #75 comments is: #13 Natasha There are still 5 'love' books to pick from and new Christmas choices. Natasha please choose a book (or GC if international) from the remaining five Love Books List for Giveaway, the new Christmas Giveaway Book list, OR pick from the Updated ARC/Review List and let me know your choice, your address and a choice of bookmarks by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #76 Questions

Q1. Margaret asks: Do you prefer a large paperback or a small paperback??

I'm not sure if Margaret means trade size books as larger paperback or means larger in page numbers. I don't think I have a preference between Trade size books or 'mass' market size although I guess a mass market size fits into my purse easier.  As to page length -- my favorite size is 300 to 375 although shorter books are nice for a quick read. I think twice before I pick up a book over 400 pages as I know it will take longer which impacts my weekly scheduling. So I know I have missed some good books that are long. ;-0 Sometimes I will listen to longer books which is what I did with the Harry Potter series. 

Image found at Curiosity Quills

Q2. My question this week: Did you do any BLACK FRIDAY shopping and if so how early did you go out??

A: I didn't originally plan to shop on Friday, except online. However my DH and I found some items at a local liquidator shop and the owner said she would be having a sale and would give us a discount on Friday. So we went out at 9:30 Friday morning to shop there and stopped in at Goodwill to look for a flannel jacket for my DH as one of his was wearing thin. I was glad we stopped as they had a discount on Audio books and I picked up some for my grandchildren and a couple for me! Fortunately, for us, there were no big crowds at either store.

Image found at Kool.cbslocal

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions.    Thanks for sending in questions! We can always use fresh questions.

Your turn to share:

1. Margaret asks: Do you prefer a large paperback or a small paperback??

2. My question this week: Did you do any BLACK FRIDAY shopping and if so how early did you go out??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the remaining Valentine and "Love" books (5 left) or the new Christmas Giveaway Books. Also I have added the Updated ARC/Review List now.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on any (or all) of the two/three questions above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.

I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made by Friday, November 30, 2012 at 10 PM central.

Winner of Enslaved

CONGRATULATIONS TO WINNER
OF
Giveaway Ended November 23, 2012

Giveaway ARC Enslaved.

Ashley

Ashley Please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me at mesreads AT gmail.com to confirm the win and I will arrange the mailing.  Please reply within 72 hours!
Thank you to all who entered this giveaway. 

Book Review and ARC Giveaway: Where Angels Rest by Kate Brady

This is another great romantic suspense from Kate Brady. 
Where Angels Rest
by Kate Brady

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Forever (November 20, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1455502049
• ISBN-13: 978-1455502042

Genre: Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: November 20, 2012
A RACE FOR SALVATION
For the past decade, psychologist Erin Sims has been helping victims of violent crimes move on with life . . . but the one person she can't save is the one who matters most. In only seven days, her brother will be executed for a murder he didn't commit. Convinced she knows the identity of the real killer, Erin is determined to find the man and bring him to justice.

A COUNTDOWN TO DESTRUCTION
Sheriff Nick Mann moved to rural Ohio hoping to forget the tragedies of his past. When Erin shows up in town, bringing scandal and unwanted media attention with her, Nick knows she's trouble. No one believes sleepy Hopewell could harbor a serial killer . . . until residents begin to disappear. Now as Nick untangles the dark secrets plaguing his town, he can't help falling for the beautiful woman with the warm heart and iron will. And, as the days tick by, the truth becomes clear: Erin is hunting a vicious murderer-one whose only escape is to silence her forever.

Review:
Erin has spent the last twelve years trying to prove her brother is an innocent man who was wrongly convicted. She doesn’t care that her own reputation has been tarnished in the process and that the police records passed from one agency to another label her as a zealot and ‘looney’. She believes that the true killer is hiding from justice and she isn’t afraid to get in his face to challenge him...even when that means she is violating a restraining order.

Erin’s efforts at locating the alleged true killer gives her brother a midnight hour reprieve on his execution. She now has one week to get the local authorities to verify the identification of the alleged suspect and provide any additional information that supports her claims that John Huggins is hiding as Jack Calloway, who may have been near the scene of a similar murder.

Nick Mann is a sheriff who left the high intensity of detective work in Los Angeles to return to his home town in rural Ohio. He thought he could hide from the tragedy, and scandal, of his past by serving in a small community. Now Erin Sims is bringing notoriety to his small town and he doesn’t like it.  Yet, as he begins to check out Erin’s allegations, he discovers that there are dark lies already hiding in his town. As more missing persons are uncovered, the pressure increases   and soon local residents are missing and dead bodies begin to fall into the investigation.

Erin suffers several direct attacks as well as a ransacking of her hotel room. Nick’s protective instincts kick in and he determines that not all is as it appears in the reports he has received. It is a race to get enough details to stay the execution for Erin’s brother while also keeping her alive and trying to uncover a serial killer.

I really enjoyed the intensity of this story. There is lots of action and suspense from the outset. Ms. Brady weaves in scenes from the view of “the Anglemaker” as he/she handles the victims and plots to get the next one in line. The clues provided could lead to one of several suspects so the reader is kept guessing as the danger builds. Erin and Nick are both characters with personal baggage and high intensity. Although they butt heads, they also manage to bring a certain awareness of hope to each other.

There is some rough language in the book - not a surprise in a story of a serial killer and cops. I was able to skip over it as the plot kept the momentum going until the end. The romance is mostly sensual tension which is well done and doesn’t detract from the suspense. This is a fast paced read filled with tension.  If you like romantic suspense I highly recommend Kate Brady as an author you should read.

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Nick has a reputation in his town:

“...Nick whipped Hopewell into shape and when the election came up, no one ran against him. You know his campaign motto was?”
    Erin shook her head.
    “Not on Nick’s watch. It wasn’t something he came up with; it was just what everyone said about him.”  Page 153.

Erin is surprised to learn Nick knew of the false negative medical history in her files:

...Her breath went shallow. One heartbeat at a time, she realized she didn’t have to convince him of anything. “Why did you believe me?”
    Those pale eyes met hers. “I didn’t wanna have the hots for a loon.” Page 212.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Forever div of Hachette.

This story is starts in Starke, Florida but takes place primarily in Hopewell, Ohio for my Where Are You Reading Challenge.
TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY for the ARC Copy.

ENTRY FORM HERE

For 3 Extra Bonus entries Visit the author's website and tell me something you find of interest.

* This contest is open US and Canada.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on December 7, 2012.
The winner will be randomly selected from all entries.
WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED on December 8, 2012.
Winners will have 72 hours to respond by email or the winners form linked in the announcement.

Saturday Snapshot (Nov 24, 2012) Our Seattle Visit Day 3

Our third day in Seattle we enjoyed lunch at the Space Needle and toured the wonderful Chihully Glass Exhibit. Lunch was lovely and the exhibit was really remarkable.

Below is a scene looking east from our lunch table in the Space Needle. We were fascinated by the 'predator' building that appears almost transparent to the left of the middle group of buildings

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Audio Book Review: The Crooked Wreath by Christianna Brand

This wonderfully puzzling mystery took more concentration than I expected!

The Crooked Wreath
by Christina Brandt
 David Thorn (Narrator)
Listening Length: 7 hours and 23 minutes
Program Type: Audiobook
Version: Unabridged
Publisher: HighBridge Company
Audible.com Release Date: August 7, 2012
Genre:  Mystery
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0

Book Description
Publication Date: November 1, 2011
A family patriarch is murdered on the eve of signing a new will
Sir Richard’s family has spent years waiting for him to die, but despite his weak heart, the old man simply refuses to cooperate. In the meantime, he makes their lives miserable by changing his will every few months, depending on which of his strange brood he favors that moment. Now he calls them together to announce his most diabolical revision yet: complete disinheritance of all the wastrels who bear his name. But he never gets a chance to sign the papers—by morning, he’s dead.
Scotland Yard sends Inspector Cockrill, the only detective clever enough to unravel the family’s tangle of jealousy and deceit. Each member had reason to kill Sir Richard, but which one plunged the syringe of poison into his heart? With a family this mad, nothing is as complicated as the truth.

Review:
A family of heirs gather to celebrate the holidays.  At the estate live the elderly patriarch, Sir Richard, and his second wife, and former mistress, Bella.  Visiting are the grandchildren, all potential heirs. Grandson, Philip, is a doctor who comes with his practical wife, Ellen, and their baby girl. Arriving with them is Philip’s cousin, Richard’s granddaughter, lonely Claire, who believes that she and Philip are in love and that he will leave his wife for her. Another granddaughter, flighty Peta, is the presumed ‘heiress’ under Sir Richard’s current Will. They pick up Edward, Bella’s grandson, who suffers from one psychosis or another. The latest diagnosis for Edward is that he is subject to ‘unconscious fugues’ (a brief period of amnesia) brought about by looking up suddenly.  Joining the group at the estate is Stephen, Sir Richard’s solicitor, who has been infatuated with Peta for years but feels he has nothing to offer an heiress.

Sir Richard has made a habit of controlling his heirs through changing his Will. This visit is very trying on Sir Richard’s fragile health and Philip, the doctor, shows everyone the medicine, syringe and dosage that should be used for Sir Richard’s weak heart.  Sir Richard is upset to learn about Philip’s affair with Claire, by Petra’s careless mockery of everyone and by the family bickering. He declares that he will disinherit all of the grandchildren and leave his estate to his second wife with restrictions precluding her from giving financial help to the grandchildren.  Bella doesn’t really want the responsibility of the estate which Sir Richard has maintained as a memorial to his elegant first wife.

Sir Richard retires to one of the lodges to await the delivery of the new Will for him to sign.  One or two of the heirs visit him before the garden path is raked and flattened by the gardener. The next morning Claire discovers Sir Richard dead in his chair with no apparent murder weapon, no footsteps and no new Will to be found.

Scotland Yard Inspector Cockrill soon discovers a nest of lies. The heirs seem to have collaborated on a story to protect Edward who may have had a fugue episode, after looking up at a crooked wreath, during which he may have committed the murder. Inspector Cockrill’s questions quickly begin to expose the family jealousies. Everyone had some motive for killing Sir Richard but how was it accomplished? 

Small clues are revealed along the way as theories are tossed out from the heirs against each other. I liked how the mystery clues are cleverly woven into the theories and the reader has to pay very close attention to try to discover the murderer and the method before it is finally revealed by Inspector Cockrill. As an interesting backdrop to the mystery are the effects of WWII on the family members.

Audio Notes: This got off to a bumpy start as I tried to sort our the characters while following the heavy accent of the narrator.  However, once I had the ‘suspects’ in line I thought the narrator did a good job of presenting the different voices and personalities. The reading then was completely enjoyable with the wry, dry humor befitting the British family of eccentrics. This is fairly short listening although it takes more concentration than some lighter tales might. I recommend the mystery and the audio for engaging reading. 
 

I received this for review from Highbridge Audio through AudioBook Jukebox.

I will add this to my New Author and Audio Challenge Lists.