Giveaway - Five Copies of Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon

You'll find lots of suspense and a down to earth hero and heroine, who are not "model beautiful", trying to protect a child from a an evil killer in Two Lethal Lies by Annie Solomon.

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Previous title: ONE DEADLY SIN

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPONSOR THIS GIVEAWAY.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

1. For your main entry Check out the Author's Five Fun Facts OR check out the Author's website - there is some really COOL and FUN info there! Tell me something you found interesting.
Make sure you leave your e-mail address!

2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

4. For TWO extra entries comment on the review post.

5. For another THREE extra entries comment on the guest post. 

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.

(Eight total entries possible.) MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL! Five winners!
* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on October 20, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries. 

Building Suspense - Guest Post by Annie Solomon

As reviewers, when we sign up for the Hachette blog tours we get to suggest Guest Post topics if we want to host a Guest Post. I am thrilled that Ms. Solomon is posting on one of my suggested questions. I figured it was a perfect topic for an author known for her wonderful romantic suspense novels. Thank you Ms. Solomon for sharing some author insight with us today!

DO YOU HAVE A FORMULA FOR BUILDING SUSPENSE?

Building suspense can be tricky in any novel—suspense or otherwise. It’s a matter of finding ways to create tension and to keep the stakes high. So, I wouldn’t say I have a formula, but I do have techniques.

One way is to hint at information but withhold it at the same time. Take the beginning of in Two Lethal Lies where the hero, Mitch Turner, performs a dangerous rescue. The circumstances would normally require a call for an ambulance, but Mitch has no cell phone and wouldn’t call even if he did. Right away the reader knows something’s up with him. The tension comes because there’s a gap between what the reader suspects and what she knows.

Another tried and true way is to throw bodies at the reader. Sounds grim, or does it sound glib? Either way, it works—unexpected death, especially of likable character, creates an aura of danger and menace. In Two Lethal Lies, I begin with the murder of a dog. And not just any dog. I went out of my way to create a dog that was loveable and heroic. Of course neither the readers or the characters know for sure how the dog died. Survival of the fittest or something more sinister? I hint at the answer but withhold anything definitive.

Throwing bodies at a story also helps keep the stakes high. I start with a dog but the next murder is of a secondary character. The stakes automatically rise. And, of course, the fear is that the killer will strike again, even closer to the characters we’ve come to love. 

 Atmosphere is another way to create suspense. The master of this is Daphne du Maurier in Rebecca. Although I wouldn’t put myself in the same class as du Maurier, I do use setting to heighten suspense. Hanover House, the ancestral home of Mitch and his brother, Dutch, gave me a chance to create a weirdly gothic New York mansion. As the heroine, Neesy Brown, explores it, she finds dark back hallways and empty rooms, a spider-infested attic, and other horrors. But she’s never threatened outright—until it’s too late.

Of course, all the technique in the world is only as good as the writer who uses them. I hope I’ve done a good enough job to give my readers Goosebumps now and again!

Be sure to read my review and enter the Giveaway for a chance to win the book!

Giveaway - Three Copies The Postcard Killers Audio Book by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

A fast paced thriller.

The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

Read by Katherine Kellgren, Eric Singer and Reg Rogersy

 

Start Reading Online

Watch the Video or listen to an excerpt. 

THANKS TO HACHETTE FOR PROVIDING THREE AUDIO CD BOOKS FOR GIVEAWAY.
TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

1. I'll give you a choice for the entry Comment: you can do any ONE or all if you wish -comment on any single a) - d) = ONE entry; comment on any one of a) - c) PLUS comment on d) = TWO entries.

a) Listen to an Excerpt  and leave a comment about that; OR
b) Visit Patterson's website and tell me something you found there of interest. OR
c) Check out information on author Liza Markland and tell me something about her. 
d) Tell me an artwork you think the killers might imitate for their photo art. ( I know it's macabre but I thought it would be interesting to see if anyone would be brave to answer this one.)

2. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

3. For another entry, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

4. For two extra entries comment on my review.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.
(Six total entries possible.) MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL!
 

THERE WILL BE THREE WINNERS!

* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on October 15, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Review: The Postcard Killers by Paterson and Marklund

Scenic Postcards announce the killers in the community but the gruesome murders seem to be unstoppable.
The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (August 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607883821
• ISBN-13: 978-1607883821

Genre: Crime Thriller
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Product Description
NYPD detective Jack Kanon is on a tour of Europe's most gorgeous cities. But the sights aren't what draw him--he sees each museum, each cathedral, and each restaurant through a killer's eyes.

Kanon's daughter, Kimmy, and her boyfriend were murdered while on vacation in Rome. Since then, young couples in Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, and Stockholm have become victims of the same sadistic killers. Now Kanon teams up with the Swedish reporter, Dessie Larsson. Every killing is preceded by a postcard to the local newspaper--and Kanon and Larsson think they know where the next victims will be. With relentless logic and unstoppable action, THE POSTCARD KILLERS may be James Patterson's most vivid and compelling thriller yet. 

Review: This was a really good audio mystery with grim, scarey villains, hapless guardia, a drunken NY detective and a pensive, clever reporter. I don't think the first part of the "product description" is accurate until halfway through the book but when Dessie, not Jacob, puts together the connection between the postcards and the locations. 

The serial murders are gruesome and staged by the twisted killers who are smart, creative, and precise so that they leave no evidence. Detective Jacob Kanon is determined to hunt them down since they killed his own daughter. He has good instincts but would do a better job investigating and analyzing the few clues that exist if he could keep his head out of the bottle.  He is pretty much of a drunk when he first meets Dessie and it is convenient that he manages to clean up pretty fast  ... at least his drinking if not his rumpled, appearance.

Dessie became the real investigative force using her journalistic skills as well as basic common sense to uncover clues piece by piece. She is the person to study the postcards and crime scene photos - the ones sent by the killers - till she sees a pattern connected to famous art works in each city. She is an interesting character with some surprisingly helpful family members.

I felt bad for the portrayal of the Stockholm Guardia (police) as petty and inept. Since the co-author is a Swedish crime writer I hope this isn’t an accurate representation.  There seemed to be no thought to looking for the trail of stolen goods and credit cards, nor checking the backgrounds of the suspects like Jacob did.

I liked the narration done in alternating voices of male and female. Although there were a few slow areas, for the most part the story moved with good intensity.  The climax was very intense and heightened by audio sounds of cars honking, people knocking on windows and gun shots. The problem was I was driving and I had to pause the disc due to the tension created which was distracting in traffic!

If you look with a critical eye you could probably find lots of weak and contrived plot and character issues in this story:  the ineffective police, the quick sobering of Jacob, a few characters (other reporters) uselessly cluttering the story without really getting their comeuppance, and the convenient help from Dessie’s family to catch the killers before they cross the border.  But I was listening for entertainment and not for great literary value or deep crime procedures. I found I could easily follow along and catch the clues while driving and I enjoyed the audio, flaws and all.

 xxx

Thank you to Anna at Hachette for the opportunity to listen to this audio book and for providing three copies for Giveaway.

If you want to listen to this one yourself, enter the Giveaway for a chance to win!

Mailbox Monday September 27, 2010

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

This Meme started  with Marcia at The Printed Page but is on blog tour and for September the host is Bermudaonian's Weblog.
Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

I have not had a chance to do a Mailbox post since August so I have quite a number of "Won" books. Maybe next week I'll post the books I purchased this month.... I actually did purchase some!

In early September I received a signed copy of Loves Me, Loves Me Knot by Heidi Betts. I have been wanting to read a book from her knitting series! I got this from a win a AuthorIsland. I used to visit every day but have been too busy and some of the books are more erotic than I am interested in. I just happened to stop by on a day when this was featured!  Thank you DeNita and Ms. Betts.

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I won books 1-5 of the 39 Clues series!  Then I won books 1-6 and I also won 1-7 at different blogs! Since I had accepted the first announcement of 1-5 I relinquished the other two sets.  I won this at HighTechDad Blog.  Thank you Michael and Author Patrick! I am hoping that Zane is old enough to enjoy these now.

The 39 Clues Book 1:The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan
The 39 Clues Book 2: One False Note by Gordon Korman
The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis
The 39 Clues Book 4: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson
The 39 Clues Book 5: The Black Circle signed by Patrick Carman

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I won Today I Found God by Greg Long 

at The Children's Book Review.

Thank you TCBR! 

I look forward to reading this with the Grandkids.

 

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I won these items at Blogfest:I won an eBook copy of Ordeal by T.K. Varenko from Ex Libris.

Thank you T.K. and Stella.

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I also won a Blogfest package at Book of Secrets 

where I got this Paranormal Romance Package:

These book covers are wonderful!

And Warrior Ascended: The Sons of the Zodiac looks pretty good too!

Thank you Diana!

I didn't win any Blogmania but I still had a good September. :)