Book Review: “Golden Healer”

Box of Books Text: Book Reviews

About Golden Healer

I didn’t think my life could get any weirder, until the dreaded rollercoaster…

Amelina Scott’s destiny is to be a Krystallos: a magician of light, chosen to learn the ways of crystal magic on her 16th birthday. Located on a river pathway in a mysterious part of Cambridge, the Crystal Cottage is guarded by mythical beings.

Unfortunately, there are those who seek to harm this haven of light. Learning of Ryder – a Shadow Sorcerer with hypnotic powers – Amelina discovers that her own magic is now threatened, and that the Curse of Time might be unleashed again.

As secrets abound and the creatures of the Chronophage come alive, can Amelina become the true magician she needs to be?

A unique, imaginative mystery full of magic-wielding and dark elements, Golden Healer is a riveting adventure for anyone interested in fantasy, mythology or the world of the paranormal. NOTE: this book contains mention of self-harm, mental health issues and alludes to the potential dangers of sexual attraction, which may trigger younger/sensitive readers.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Golden-Healer-Curse-Time-Book-ebook/dp/B09R1MTQPY/

My Review of Golden Healer

I received a digital copy of Golden Healer, by M.J. Mallon, from the author in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own. I was excited when asked to review book 2 in Mallon’s The Curse of Time Series, as I recalled enjoying the first book in the series, Blood Stone. My review of Blood Stone: https://writingtoberead.com/2023/08/18/book-review-bloodstone/

I don’t have a lot of experience with magical realism, but once I get into the swing of it, and realize that magical happenings are an expected part of everyday life and just about anything is possible, the stories in this series start popping. Mallon writes magical realism with a skilled hand. Although the events of the story may seem a bit odd to the characters, they are taken as a matter of fact, they just are.

Amelina knows that something isn’t right. There are many strange things happening. Her friend Jade is determined to date Ryder, despite Amelina’s misgivings and her warnings that the boy is trouble. Jade thinks Amelina is just jealous and refuses to listen. Esme is still trapped inside the mirror and has lost her reflection, but Amelina doesn’t know how to free her. After taking her father’s youth and Krystalos powers by forcing him to ride the monster rollercoaster, the grasshopper has decided Amelina’s next on line for a ride. And the Crystal Cottage remains as mysterious as ever.

Rollercoasters with a high price, evil giant grasshoppers,mirror prisons, cats with human characteristics, evil shadow demons, magic welcome mats with attitude, and lots and lots of magic crystals. This story has it all.

This is one story you’ve to read to believe, and I do think reading the series in order could be helpful. A delightful and surprising story, which I truly enjoyed reading. I give Golden Healer five quills.

Five circles with WordCrafter quill logo in each one.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

Author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.


Writer’s Corner: The AI Dilemma

Caracature of a woman typing on a keyboard at a very messy desk. Text: Writer's Corner with Kaye Lynne Booth

As I sit down to write this, I have a feeling that it may turn into a rant. This AI thing really disturbs me, and it’s getting worse instead of better. If you’ve followed me in the past, you may know that I’ve been known to use AI editing tools such as ProWritingAide in the writing of my books, and also that I’ve utilized generative AI, such as the free versions of Chat GPT to help me form my words in some of my descriptions, as this is an area I am weak in. (Before the anti-AI group begins to raise a fuss, please note that I have never used the AI’s wording, but rather used it to get ideas on how I wanted to use my own words. So, AI does not, and has never, written any part of my books and stories for me.)

More recently, however, I’ve been rethinking this, and I’ll tell you why.

I Don’t Like Having AI Shoved Down My Throat

AI seems to be encroaching on my life in ways which are not wanted and have not been requested, and I’m guessing some of you may feel it, too. AI tools, which we’re told are meant to make our lives easier, such as Alexa, or Google Assistant, or Seri, or whatever, seem to be trying to help without being summoned to do so on occasion. When I’m having a discussion and my Google Assistant pops in with unrequested information uninvited…, to me, that’s kind of scary. We’re told these devices and apps, which we bring into our homes, or download onto our phones and carry with us everywhere, are not listening to us; that we must say the catch-word, (Alexa or Hey Google, etc…), to activate them, yet they pop into a conversation without being summoned, offering unrequested and unwanted information. Seems to me, the AI must be eavesdropping, and how scary is that, to think they are even capable of doing such a thing?

Advances in AI technology are being thrown at us hard and fast. My email now comes equipped with AI, which offers up a summary of each email I open, (I guess to save me the trouble of actually reading the correspondence?), and then, pops up in the middle of my replies, offering to rewrite it for me! As if I cannot be bothered to write my own reply. And most of the time, what it offers up is not even close to what I wish to say. When it pops up on my phone, I am often unable to continue with what I was writing until I can convince it to disappear from my screen, as if it intends to prevent me from replying myself. Not only is this a little scary, but it’s a lot aggravating.

I did not ask for these ‘upgrades’ to my email. They just suddenly appeared after the automatic updates. I opened my email and there they were, in my yahoo account. No one ask permission to shove AI tools in my face; no one asked if I desired them. But there they are, in the applications that I use. Microsoft did the same thing with Word, although theirs is not as pushy, appearing as a little comment icon over to the side of the screen that I can click on if I need it. (I don’t.)

My MS Word program and the WordPress platform both offer AI editors, but they leave it up to you whether to use them. You must click on them to bring them up. They don’t just pop up and try to take over. It’s a matter of choice with these programs, and I don’t have a problem with that.

Since the beginning of the year, I have backed off my use of AI, and only using the built in editor on MS Word to locate possible needed corrections, but fixing them myself, because I often don’t like the solutions offered. It is frequently wrong, suggesting words which aren’t at all what you wanted to say and totally miss the point. The same with AI editors, such as ProWritingAid. It seems you can’t just take AI’s word for it anyway. You still have to use your noggin.

In the Name of Progress

On her Risky/Women Substack, “AI Won’t Kill Your Career. Your Resistance to It Will.“, Rachel Rogers says, “Refusing to use AI in 2026 is the equivalent of refusing to use the internet in 2000.” She claims that if we don’t embrace AI in the early stages, we will be left behind and our businesses will suffer.

Well, guess what? That’s exactly what I did. In 2000, I refused to have a computer in my home or grant my children permission to use the internet at school, and it did give me a slow start. I was still writing on a manual typewriter and submitting work via snail mail in 1996. By 2000, I had decided snail mail submissions were too costly for me, and my writing had tapered off to near nothing.

I became disillusioned with the public school system when I finally gave in and signed the slip allowing my children internet access at school and almost immediately got a call saying my son had accessed an inappropriate site. As it turned out, their firewalls had failed, and my son had viewed a site with the image of a woman in a bikini. Although it wasn’t the end of the world, it was exactly the kind of thing which I had feared, and my children had only had access for two days. After that, I put my boys in a charter school, but once they reached the age for middle school, I chose to home school them through an online home school program.

The home-schooling program provided computers for each of my boys, but that meant I had to give in and allow computers in my home, and I had to allow my sons to have internet access. Once that happened, I had no choice but to learn to use them myself, and I soon discovered the many opportunities which the internet offered for writers. I mean, you could submit online and it didn’t even cost the price of a stamp. It changed my whole outlook on the matter and soon, I was carrying my own laptop with me everywhere. When required to do readings at a memoir workshop in 2011, everyone else came with folders of papers to read from. As I set up for reading, my comment was, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my life is in my laptop.” That was no joke, at that point, it really was. My computer had become an integral part of my life.

So, did my resistance to technology and the internet set me back, putting my writing business behind the times and leaving me at a disadvantage? Perhaps.

I certainly missed the dot-com craze. But one could argue that I was still in the learning phases and did not yet know how to put it all together at the time. This was prior to my enrollment in the graduate program in creative writing at Western State Colorado University, where I learned how to write a novel length work; before I learned how to publish and market my work in their masters in publishing program; before all the pieces were in place for me to turn my writing endeavors into a business.

It was also before aggregators like D2D came along which allow authors to publish digitally and on demand with no up-front costs. Before platforms like BookFunnel were available to allow me to create reader magnets, review copies, and giveaway gifts from my books. So, one might argue that it was actually perfect timing, because by the time I had figured out what it was I wanted to do, all the tools I needed to do it were available at my fingertips.

To Use AI or Not to Use AI? That is the Question.

AI can certainly do some amazing things. But there still exists great controversy about the way in which generative AI is trained, taking human authors’ words without their permission. Although that’s an argument for another day, it matters here because it was a big part of the reason I stopped using ProWritingAide in my editing process. That, and the fact that more than half the time, the AI was incorrect for the purposes of my stories, even if the English was correct.

I have always been anti-establishment. I don’t want the government, or anyone else, up in my business. I place a high value on my privacy, and I feel like AI devices are an invasion of privacy. I think maybe we need to send out a message to all these technology companies that are trying to push their AI technology down our throats and disable all their AI tools from our personal and business accounts. That’s big talk, but I don’t have a clue as to how to go about it. I didn’t ask for the AI and I don’t know how to get rid of it. I’ve tried ignoring them, but they don’t go away. And I haven’t found any way to turn them off or reject them.

But these are different tools we’re talking about than the AI tools, like Chat GPT and ProWritingAid, which I’ve used in my writing in the past. These tools are appearing in my email apps without having been requested or desired. The writing tools which I have used were tools which I sought out and was happy to find free versions. While I still feel AI editors miss the mark more often than not, they can be helpful, and I don’t feel that, using these tools in the manner that I do, is letting them write for me, or damaging the integrity of my work. In other words, my work is still mine.

I like the responsible approach presented by Alex Cattoni, in this video, “Your Biggest Advantage Over AI Starts Here”, on YouTube:

Let’s look at what we know about using AI.

  • We know that AI tools can be helpful in the writing process.
  • We know that it is possible to use AI in writing without replacing the human words with AI written content.
  • We know that it is possible to use AI tools and still put out content we can be proud of.
  • We know that AI is coming, whether we like it or not.
  • We know that to choose not to use AI may mean being left behind.

Choices Moving Forward

I may not know how to get rid of the AI tools that are being pushed through apps, but I can choose not to use the AI tools that pop up in my email, etc… I will not be rebellious of my writing tools, just because programmers insult my intelligence with the idea that I cannot read, interpret, or write my own emails. They may push them in my face, but that does not mean I have to use them.

I can chose which AI tools to use and how I use them, so that my writing can still remain mine. I don’t want to get left behind again, not when my writing business is finally beginning to take off. So, I am choosing to continue to utilize the AI editor in the MS Word program, but not access Copilot, which recently appeared in the same program, or ProWritingAid, since they try to rewrite my words and are often not correct.

I will also choose to use generative AI in creating my descriptions cautiously, and be very selective about any wording suggested, to keep my words, my own.

I will choose to be transparent in my writing, letting readers know when AI was used in my writing or in my covers.

What about you?

About Kaye Lynne Booth

Author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and WordCrafter Press.

Digital and Print copies of The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy

Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed


My Interview with Michael Parkes

Author Kaye Lynne Booth

Check it out. Michael Parkes interviewed me!

Kaye Lynne Booth Author Interview — Michael Parkes Author


Announcing the Winners of the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour Giveaway

Smothered Tour Banner

We had a great tour to launch the re-release of Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater and all of you who dropped by and left commengts helped. Now it’s time to find out who the three lucky winners are. Who will receive one of three digital copies of this original paranormal/supernatural romance, Smothered?

And the winners are…

(Drumroll please)

  • Writing to Freedom
  • Liz Gauffreau
  • RestlessJo

Congratulations to all of you, and happy reading!


Wrapping Up the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour

Smothered Tour Banner

To is the last day of the WordCrafter Smothered Book Blog Tour, and you can join us over at Poetry by Mich with a reading of the meet cute; an important element in any romance. I love what author B.T. Clearwater has done with this one. Check it out, and don’t forget to comment so we will know you were there. You could win a free digital copy of Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater.

(You can also catch this tour stop on Hotel by Masticadores and Masticadores Phillipines, and we’re happy to see you on any of these sights. Just join us whereever you can.)


Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour

Smothered Tour Banner

It’s Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour and we’re back here, on Writing to be Read with a reading from Chapter 10, by Jeff Bowles. In this reading, we’re hearing the p.o.v. of the ghost of Annie’s mother, Mary, who has been causing all kinds of havoc trying to express her disapproval of Annie’s relationship with Mike, or any man, really.

About Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater

Annie Brown’s life could use some renovation. She’s in trouble at work, her ex-boyfriend is stalking her, and she’s just inherited a dilapidated Victorian home from her late mother, who hasn’t quite moved out yet. The last thing Annie needs in her life is a man, but when handyman Mike Tolbert comes to fix her dishwasher, she lets him demo her doubt.

Mike doesn’t need the distraction of a relationship either. An Iraq War combat veteran and divorcee, Mike suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is dealing with a manipulative ex. Yet, something about Annie snags his heart and he finds he cannot walk away from her.

Annie’s mother doesn’t approve of their relationship, and she’s willing to cross from the realm of death to that of the living to control her daughter. With the ghost of her mother haunting them, Mike and Annie face his PTSD, her troubles at work, and a deadly plot to steal her childhood home, all while fighting to keep their love alive.

Book Cover: Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater A old-fashioned skeleton key with a woman's face with a hand over her mouth within and a man looking up and a woman yelling down at her.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Smothered

Excerpt Reading: “Ghostly Appearance by Mother” (Chap. 10)

About B.T. Clearwater

Author B.T. Clearwater

B.T. Clearwater grew up writing stories, winning Literary Student of the Year for Lake George Central High School in 1984. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Western State Colorado University, graduating both Summa Cum Laude, and is a two-time alum of the Superstars Writing Seminars run by Kevin J. Anderson. B.T. routinely judges the Zebulon writing contest for Pike’s Peak Writers, and has published fiction under the science fiction, fantasy, romance, western, horror, and crime genres under different pen names. B.T. Clearwater lives in Colorado Springs with a dog, a cat, and a cast of fictional characters for company.

The Giveaway

Leave a comment at each stop to let us know you were here

and get an entry for a chance at one of three digitals copies

to given away in a random drawing at the end of the tour.

This wraps up today’s tour stop on the WordCrafter Smothered Book Blog Tour. You can visit the other stops and get in on the giveaway through the links in the tour schedule below, for more readings and an interview with author B.T. Clearwater.

Tomorrow, you can find us on three separate blog sites with host, Michelle Ayon Navajas: Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores, and Masticadores Phillipines with the last reading, from chapter 5, where Mike and Annie first meet. Join us in the final send off for Smothered, and don’t forget to leave a comment so we know you were there.

Tour Schedule – June 1 – 5

Mon. 6/1: Writing to be Read – Reading: Annie’s Opening Scene (Chap. 1)

Tues. 6/2: Roberta Writes – Reading: Mike’s Flashback (Chap. 11)

Wed. 6/3: Undawnted – Interview by DL Mullan with B.T. Clearwater

Thurs. 6/4: Writing to be Read – Reading: A Ghostly Appearance by Mother Mary (Chap. 10)

Fri. 6/5: Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores, and Masticadores Phillipines – Reading: Meet Cute (Chap. 5)

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!


Day 3 of the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour

Smothered Tour Banner

It’s Day 3 of the WordCrafter Smothered Book Blog Tour, and we’re over at Undawnted, with host DL Mullan and an interview with author B.T. Clearwater. Won’t you join us and help send this paranormal romance off right? This is one you won’t want to miss.

Undawnted does not take comments, so please click the link below to catch the interview, but leave your comments here for the giveaway entries or to start a conversation.

Undawnted: The Official Site of DL Mullan: Undawnted Presents: Blog Book Tour for Smothered – Day 3


Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour

Smothered Tour Banner

It’s Day 2 of the WordCrafter Smothered Book Blog Tour and we’re over at Roberta Writes with another reading, and a great giveaway. Join us in sending off the re-release of this twisted paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater.


Welcome to the WordCrafter “Smothered” Book Blog Tour

It’s the opening day for the WordCrafter Smothered Book Blog Tour, here on Writing to be Read, and we’re celebrating the re-release tomorrow, of a fabulous paranormal romance by B.T. Clearwater, Smothered. For this tour, we’ll have readings at each stop rather than guest posts, and an author interview with host, Kay Castanada, over on Book Places, scheduled on Day 3. Once you get a taste of this ghostly romance story, I know you’ll want to come back for more, so please visit each tour stop and listen to the excerpt readings. Tell us your opinion in the comments and enter the giveaway for one of three digital copies of Smothered. (But, be kind, as I do the reading for two of the excerpts, and I’m not a professional narrator, although I’ve always been good at reading aloud.)

The Giveaway

Leave a comment at each stop to let us know you were here

and get an entry for a chance at one of three digitals copies

to given away in a random drawing at the end of the tour.

This complex paranormal romance was first published in 2017, by Permuted Press. You can read my review of the first edition here. But, let’s start of with a description and short trailer to tell you about this second edition, revised, with a gorgeous new cover. And then, I invite you to click on my excerpt reading from Chapter 1, of “Annie’s Opening Scene”, where we get our first glimpse of our heroine, Annie, and the story is set into motion.

About Smothered, by B.T. Clearwater

Annie Brown’s life could use some renovation. She’s in trouble at work, her ex-boyfriend is stalking her, and she’s just inherited a dilapidated Victorian home from her late mother, who hasn’t quite moved out yet. The last thing Annie needs in her life is a man, but when handyman Mike Tolbert comes to fix her dishwasher, she lets him demo her doubt.

Mike doesn’t need the distraction of a relationship either. An Iraq War combat veteran and divorcee, Mike suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is dealing with a manipulative ex. Yet, something about Annie snags his heart and he finds he cannot walk away from her.

Annie’s mother doesn’t approve of their relationship, and she’s willing to cross from the realm of death to that of the living to control her daughter. With the ghost of her mother haunting them, Mike and Annie face his PTSD, her troubles at work, and a deadly plot to steal her childhood home, all while fighting to keep their love alive.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/Smothered

Short Trailer for Smothered

Excerpt Reading: Annie’s Opening Scene (Chapter 1)

About B.T. Clearwater

Author B.T. Clearwater

B.T. Clearwater grew up writing stories, winning Literary Student of the Year for Lake George Central High School in 1984. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Western State Colorado University, graduating both Summa Cum Laude, and is a two-time alum of the Superstars Writing Seminars run by Kevin J. Anderson. B.T. routinely judges the Zebulon writing contest for Pike’s Peak Writers, and has published fiction under the science fiction, fantasy, romance, western, horror, and crime genres under different pen names. B.T. Clearwater lives in Colorado Springs with a dog, a cat, and a cast of fictional characters for company.

That about wraps things up for today. I want to thank you all for stopping in and I hope we piqued your interest enough that you’ll follow the tour to learn more. The links are in the schedule below, but remember, they won’t work until each tour stop goes live. Remember to leave your comments to get in on the giveaway.

Tour Schedule – June 1 – 5

Mon. 6/1: Writing to be Read – Reading: Annie’s Opening Scene (Chap. 1)

Tues. 6/2: Roberta Writes – Reading: Mike’s Flashback (Chap. 11)

Wed. 6/3: Undawnted – B.T. Clearwater Interview with DL Mullan

Thurs. 6/4: Writing to be Read – Reading: A Ghostly Appearance by Mother Mary (Chap. 10)

Fri. 6/5: Poetry by Mich, Hotel by Masticadores, and Masticadores Phillipines – Reading: Annie and Jason (Chap. 5)

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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!


Book Review: “Smoke and Secrets” & “The Corpse Wore Stilettos”

Box of Books Text: Book Reviews

About Smoke and Secrets

Charlie and Simm, Montreal pub owners with a knack for sleuthing, thought they were taking on a straightforward case when Noah Wolfe hired them to find his missing family fortune. Their search leads them to the idyllic town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, where they quickly realize this is no ordinary investigation. Joined by Noah’s sharp-witted sister-in-law, Sarah, they dig into the Wolfe family’s past at a grand estate brimming with secrets.

As tensions rise, Simm’s estranged brother and his wife arrive at the mansion, adding to the already crowded and mistrustful atmosphere. A simple search for lost money turns menacing with suspicious deaths, an attempted murder, and buried mysteries that refuse to stay hidden. The deeper they delve, the more dangerous the case becomes. Charlie and Simm are forced to confront their own fears and face a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to protect dark secrets, leading to a shocking climax that will change everything.

Award-winning author A.J. McCarthy brings back Charlie and Simm in this latest instalment of her mystery series. Can the much-loved couple outsmart a killer and unlock the puzzles that threaten them?

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYZX35V3/?bestFormat=true&k=smoke%20and%20secrets&ref

My Review of Smoke and Secrets

I received a digital copy of Smoke and Secrets, by A.J. McCarthy, from Sandra’s Book Club in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own.

Always a fan of good mysteries, Smoke and Secrets, is up there with the best of them. This mystery is a big jigsaw puzzle, unfolding gradually as each new piece is uncovered. But each piece added brings even more mystery and more questions to the table, leaving the reader scratching her head in puzzlement all the way to the end.

My one complaint was with formatting issues, which made the paragraph layout weird and was distracting from the story. My eyes like to read in smooth lines and properly formed paragraphs, so this was a problem for me. I also noticed that the formatting didn’t offer page breaks between chapters, although that really wasn’t a big deal.

Simm used to be a P.I. and now cases keep falling into his lap, and his wife, Charlie is all in on helping to solve the case. This time an old client, Noah, shows up with a new dilemma to look into. His family was murdered in the last case they handled for him, and now, his brother has died and the family fortune has mysteriously come up missing. Simm and Charlie go with Noah and his siter-in-law, Sarah, to investigate the mystery and see if they can pick up a trail on the family fortune. Simms estranged brother and sister-in-law, Walter and Clarisse, show up unexpected and uninvited to round off our cast of characters. But, it soon becomes apparent that someone murdered Noah’s brother and covered up the crime.

Journals with poetic clues, secret passages and hidden keys all play a part in solving this well-crafted mystery. I give Smoke and Secrets four quills.

Four circles with the WordCrafter Quill logo inside

About The Corpse Wore Stilettos

SHE WORE A DONNA KARAN MARKED FOR REPOSSESSION.

Since Kat Waters’s father took a trip to the slammer on what she’s sure are trumped-up racketeering charges, life’s been tough. All their assets are frozen, and she’s down to the last few pairs of Jimmy Choos she can swap for rent. To keep her family out of the homeless shelter, the former socialite took a job at the local morgue—a job she’s about to lose when the body of a murder victim goes missing on her watch.

HE WORE A CAPTIVATING SMILE.

While Kat’s processing the latest victim in the prostitute serial killings, ex-Special Forces soldier Burns McPhee strolls in with an air of confidence, expecting access to the Jane Doe. While Burns tries to flirt his way into examining the latest victim, whom he thinks is connected to the death of his best friend, someone else steals the body right out from under them.

THE CORPSE WORE STILETTOS.

Dodging questions from the cops and kidnapping attempts from a body-snatching psycho, Kat and Burns forge a deal. He’ll clear her name and keep her safe if she gets him information on her peculiar coworkers, one of whom he’s certain is involved with the body heist. But digging up secrets can lead to a lower life expectancy. The unlikely team will need all their talents not to end up as the morgue’s next clients while they hunt for a murderer, the missing corpse, and a pair of diamond-studded stilettos.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/Corpse-Wore-Stilettos-MJ-ONeill-ebook/dp/B07Q6VZ4V9/

My Review of The Corpse Wore Stilettos

I purchased a digital copy of The Corpse Wore Stilettos, by MJ Oniell, through a KindofBook Deal. I’m offering an honest review. All opinions stated here are my own. This murder mystery is book 1 of A Sharp-Dressed Corpse Mystery Series.

This was just a really cute murder mystery. Morgue worker Kat Waters finds herself in the middle of a body snatching. When all the evidence points to her involvement, and it seems the police aren’t inclined to look further, she finds herself playing amateur sleuth, searching for the real body-napper. She’s not sure who to trust, including ex-Special Forces soldier, Burns McFee, who always seems to show up in the oddest places, (like at the morgue at the same time the body was nabbed). Kat just keeps getting in deeper, and McFee offers to clear her name, so she teams up with him to investigate her slightly odd co-workers in order to discover who the inside man, or woman, is that aided in the body-napping.

While Mcfee has high-tech equipment and special ops people at his disposal, Kat relies on her good fashion sense to turn up clues about the well-dressed corpse and the body snatcher, just from observing their shoes, and eliminating suspects according to their attire. Filled with red-herrings, reversals, and lots of misdirection, this mystery leads to some surprising revelations.

A well-crafted murder mystery and a truly fun read. I give The Corpse Wore Stilettos five quills.

Five circles with WordCrafter quill logo in each one.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

Author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read in exchange for ARC digital copies, (she also accepts print copies). Have a book you’d like reviewed? You can request a review on the Book Review tab above.