Spotlight: Cold Case True Crime by Denise N. Wheatley

Cold Case True Crime by Denise N. Wheatley is available on June 29.

Book Description

True crime is her beat.

But this cold case is personal…

Samantha Vincent has turned her fascination with true crime into a popular blog. When an old friend asks her to investigate a murder the police couldn’t solve, she begins to suspect that the cops want this case to go cold. Sam is confident she’ll catch the killer when Detective Gregory Harris agrees to help her, but everything changes when she becomes a target…

Excerpt

Samantha Vincent flinched when the coffee shop door slammed shut behind her. She stared down the dark, vacant street in search of her car—she hadn’t realized she’d parked so far away.

The temperature had dropped severely since she’d arrived at the café. There was now a stinging chill in the night air. She set out toward the sidewalk, tightening her houndstooth-patterned scarf in an effort to block the wind as it whistled eerily past her ears.

Samantha had spent the day working on her popular true crime cold case blog, Someone Knows Something, and time had gotten away from her. By now, businesses were closed and most residents of small-town Gattenburg, Illinois, had retired for the evening.

A frigid breeze whipped through her golden-brown bob and blew open Samantha’s black wool peacoat, sending unsettling shivers throughout her entire body. But it wasn’t just the icy climate that had unnerved her.

She was still rattled by an email she’d received from Ava Jennings, an old high school friend whose family Samantha had grown close to after spending countless days at their home during her teenage years. In her message, Ava pleaded with Samantha to investigate her brother Jacob’s mysterious death, which police had just officially stated was cold with no leads.

Tree branches scraped against dim streetlights that barely illuminated the road. Samantha glanced down at the ground, her lone shadow a stark reminder that she was unaccompanied in the unnerving darkness. Moments like these brought on paranoid thoughts of all the unsolved cases she worked so hard to crack. Many of those victims found themselves in her exact same position seconds before their demise—isolated and vulnerable.

Samantha pushed those disturbing thoughts out of her mind and hurried along the pavement. Her feet ached in her high-heeled boots. But in spite of the pain, she clenched her jaw and fought through it, anxious to get off the desolate street and inside her car.

Just when Samantha’s convertible appeared in the hazy distance, the sound of screeching tires pierced her eardrums.

She stopped abruptly. The vehicle’s engine emitted a menacing roar.

Samantha spun around, almost losing her footing. Bright yellow headlights blinded her squinted chestnut eyes. She inhaled sharply, watching while the black sedan crept toward her.

She curled her hands into tight fists and took a step back, her lean legs quivering in the wind. Remembering the mini stun gun she’d slipped into her back pocket, Samantha pulled it out and contemplated making a run for her car. But she was too afraid to turn her back on the man she presumed was behind the wheel.

Collin Wentworth…

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About the Author

Denise N. Wheatley loves happy endings and the art of storytelling. Her novels run the romance gamut, and she strives to pen entertaining books that embody matters of the heart. She's an RWA member and holds a B.A. in English from the University of Illinois. When Denise isn't writing, she enjoys watching true crime tv and chatting with readers. Follow her on Instagram: @denise_wheatley_writer Twitter: @DeniseWheatley BookBub: @denisenwheatley Goodreads: Denise N. Wheatley

Connect with the Author

Website: https://www.denisenwheatley.com/p/i-am-lover-of-romance-happy-endings-and.html

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/denise_wheatley_writer/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeniseWheatley

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/denise-n-wheatley 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3118421.Denise_N_Wheatley

Spotlight: Such a Good Girl by Willow Rose

Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

FBI-profiler Eva Rae Thomas faces a devious plan in bestselling author Willow Rose’s blood-rushing thriller of murder and revenge.

A girl falls from the penthouse floor of an apartment in Washington, D.C.

Media Mogul Richard Wanton owns the apartment and is seen standing on the balcony when the girl falls.

He is accused of killing her, but the FBI is struggling to find enough solid evidence to convict him.

They have a witness, someone who was in the apartment when it happened, but she doesn’t want to talk to them.

She’ll only speak to one person, ex-FBI profiler Eva Rae Thomas. The problem is, Eva Rae Thomas has no interest in talking to her.

As a matter of fact, she’d rather see this woman dead than have to face her.

But Eva Rae Thomas isn’t someone who can leave a case alone, especially not when she starts to ask questions and things aren’t adding up.

As she digs in deeper—with the entire world watching—she soon finds herself in too deep and realizes she can’t trust anyone’s motives.

But by then, it is too late, and the killer is already tracking her down.

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About the Author

Willow Rose is a multi-million-copy best-selling Author and an Amazon ALL-star Author of more than 80 novels. 

Several of her books have reached the top 10 of ALL books on Amazon in the US, UK, and Canada. She has sold more than six million books all over the world. 

She writes Mystery, Thriller, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Horror, Supernatural thrillers, and Fantasy. 

Willow's books are fast-paced, nail-biting pageturners with twists you won't see coming. That's why her fans call her The Queen of Plot-Twists.

Willow lives on Florida's Space Coast with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing or reading, you will find her surfing and watching the dolphins play in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.  

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Spotlight: Come Fly With Me by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

(Invertary Too, #1)
Publication date: June 28th 2021
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

They married in their teens. They haven’t seen each other in ten years. And now they have to fake a relationship to keep their land.

At seventeen, Katya Savage eloped with her lifelong best friend, Brodie MacGregor. Everything was perfect for two glorious years—until Katya became obsessed with her great-grandmother’s legacy. To be fair, who wouldn’t get excited about having a female bomber pilot in the family tree? Brodie, that's who. Because when Katya asked him to help her find a plane exactly like the one her great-gran flew during World War Two, he had a hissy fit and gave her an ultimatum—him or the plane. Yeah, that was a dumb move…

Anyway, now Katya’s back. With her plane. And all she wants to do is set up a scenic flight business on the land gifted to them both. Unfortunately, there are a few teeny tiny problems with her plan: 1. Brodie has his own ideas for the land that don’t involve her or her plane. 2. The family who gifted the land to them wants it back. 3. The only way to keep the land is to convince their families, the town, and a bunch of lawyers that they’re back together again.

Now, if they could just stop fighting long enough to act like they’re in love…

Excerpt

It wasn’t every day you watched a World War Two Soviet fighter plane make its way up the main street of a small Highland town. To be fair, it was wingless and secured to a flatbed lorry at the time, not flying over the cobblestone road. Still, the sight was definitely out of place in among the crooked old white houses that made up the high street. Nor did it blend in with the green hills and blue loch that gave the town of Invertary its picturesque setting. In fact, the aircraft was such an oddity—in a town where oddities were commonplace—that it’d brought everyone out to watch the spectacle.

“So, she’s really come home then?”

At his younger brother Darach’s words, Brodie MacGregor grimaced. “It would appear so.”

“And she has the plane she went off to find.”

“Aye.” The self-same plane that was responsible for ending his marriage.

“I hear tell she’s a rocket in the sky. Can fly pretty much anything you put in front of her.”

Brodie cocked an eyebrow at his brother. “Where exactly did you hear that?”

“A wee bird told me.” The dickhead grinned. “Must make you feel like a complete arse, seeing as you told her she’d never make it as a pilot or find one of the planes her granny used to fly. In fact, some might say you had egg on your face from being so bloody arrogant in the first place.”

“If some were to say that within my hearing, it would be the last words they uttered.”

From the mocking smile on Darach’s face, it was clear he wasn’t intimidated by his brother’s threat. Idiot. Even though Darach had a couple of inches on Brodie, and some army training under his belt, the numpty still thought he could take him in a fight. Brodie knew better. Unlike Darach, he never pulled his punches with his brothers. It was the only way he’d managed to survive growing up as the middle child of seven boys.

“Did she give you a heads-up she was coming back?” Darach asked, lifting his chin toward the cab of the truck, where Brodie’s ex-wife sat behind the wheel.

“A letter from her lawyer.”

“So, she’s still pissed at you, then.”

“You could say that. I was charged for the postage.”

Darach burst out laughing. “I always liked that girl.”

Aye, and so had Brodie. Liking Katya was never the problem—living with her was.

When the truck sped past, he caught sight of Katya’s face as she stared straight ahead. And just like that, his jeans became uncomfortably tight while his stomach did a backward somersault. Almost ten years since they’d parted ways, and all it took was one glimpse to make him want to bed her. It came as a brutal blow to his ego to discover his Katya addiction hadn’t waned. And he’d just bet she would laugh her head off if she ever found out.

Darach elbowed Brodie to get his attention. “Does it bother you that she’s still calling herself MacGregor?”

“No.”

Sure, it’d been a slap in the face when she’d kept the name and dumped the man, but he could hardly blame her. MacGregor was preferable to Savage any day of the week. In fact, he’d often wondered if one of the reasons she’d been so eager to marry, despite them both being barely legal, was just to get rid of her family name.

But then, there were easier ways to achieve that than taking on a MacGregor.

“Do you think she heard about your plans?” Darach mused as they watched the plane disappear over the crest of the hill at the top of town.

“I’d be surprised. Her family doesn’t exactly live on this planet most of the time. Even if they heard the gossip, it probably didn’t register.”

Darach grinned widely. “Have to say, I kinda miss the family dinners we had when you two were together.”

Yeah, it was hard not to smile at those memories. Brodie caught his brother’s eye, and they both said, “Delia Savage’s dramatic monologues!” And burst into fits of laughter.

“But seriously.” Darach wiped at his eyes as he sobered. “What are you going to do if she has plans for your land?”

And just like that, all the humor in the situation was sucked right out. “I’ll do what I have to.” Both their names might be on the title, but he’d been the one tending the land for the past decade. Katya hadn’t set foot on it since she’d walked out on him.

“Eh, I hate to point this out, big brother, but you don’t exactly have a lot of options. Unless you split the land down the middle.”

Aye, that wasn’t going to work. Their plot of land was a long, narrow rectangle, with the best views lying on one of the shorter sides. Even if they halved it, neither of them would take the back section with the crappy views. And you couldn’t split it lengthwise, because they’d both end up with a strip that was too narrow to be of any decent use.

“She’ll just have to see reason.” Brodie folded his arms over his faded blue plaid shirt.

Darach nodded. “Because Katya’s well known for her ability to see reason. Like when you told her to do exactly that, right before she left you.”

“This is different.” It had to be. “We’ve both grown up since then. Surely now, we can act with civility toward each other?”

“The letter from her lawyer seemed really civil.”

Brodie glared at Darach as he wondered for the millionth time why he’d been cursed with six smart-arsed morons for brothers. “Are you trying to help here?”

“Mainly, I’m trying to ensure I get a ringside seat for whatever happens next. I know it’s going tae be helluva entertaining.” He mimed an explosion, with sound effects.

“Dickhead.”

“Entertained dickhead. One whose sister-in-law has returned to town and is about to drive my brother insane.”

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About the Author

Janet is a Scot who moved to New Zealand fifteen years ago. Among other things, she’s been an artist, a teacher, a security guard at a castle, a magazine editor, and a cleaner in a drop in center for drug addicts (NOT the best job!). She now writes full-time and is working on her 19th book. Her books have won several awards, including the Daphne du Maurier award for excellence in mystery and suspense. When she isn’t living in her head, she raises two kids, one husband, and several random animals. She survives on chocolate and caffeine.

Connect:
https://janetelizabethhenderson.com/
https://janetelizabethhenderson.com/3543-2/
https://www.facebook.com/author.janetelizabethhenderson/
https://www.pinterest.nz/janetehenderson/
https://www.instagram.com/janetelizabeth.henderson/

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Spotlight: My Lucky #13 by Piper Rayne

Release Date: June 29

Lucky.

The one adjective used to describe my entire hockey career. I prefer to call it hard work, at least I did until my game went to complete crap. I haven’t scored in eight games and my team owner is talking about trading me.

I’ve never believed in superstitions. Never needed one. I suppose I was “lucky” in that way. But now the best way to refer to me is desperate. I’d wear the same socks for an entire year just to be the high-scoring center I used to be.

Imagine my surprise when after spending New Year’s Eve with a woman, I score a hat trick in the next game—that’s three goals in one game for you non-hockey lovers. Now, I have to track her down and bribe her to do it again before every game. Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m not talking about it.

I find her and when I get to know her better, I end up spending more time thinking about her than my game, but she’s made it clear she wants no part of me. She’s going to learn that I didn’t become a professional hockey player without having to fight for what I want.

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About the Author

Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.

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Spotlight: Guarding Colton's Child by Lara Lacombe

Guarding Colton's Child by Lara Lacombe is available on May 25.

Book Description

To keep her family safe

He’ll risk everything, even his heart…

After losing his family, Dr. Stavros Makris could never imagine trusting again. So when Desiree Colton rushes her toddler, Danny, to the ER, Stavros must keep things professional with mother and son. But then a kidnapper targets Danny, and Stavros lets down his guard, forging an unbreakable bond with Desiree. As sparks fly between them, they work against the clock to protect the little boy from a criminal closing in…

Excerpt

Stavros tapped his knuckles lightly on the door in announcement and entered the room. He was greeted by the sight of a woman sitting on the gurney, rocking back and forth as she held a boy in her arms. She looked up as he entered the room, and when their eyes met, Stavros felt a little shock jolt through his body.

He knew this woman. But how?

Feeling flustered, he frowned slightly as he studied her face, wishing he’d taken a look at the chart first. “Hi, I’m Dr. Makris. What’s going on tonight?” Even though the nurse had given him a report of the pertinent information, he always liked to have his patients, or their parents, tell their story again, so he could hear the tone of their voice and see their expressions. Sometimes, the way someone moved or what they didn’t say was just as important as their symptoms.

“Danny woke up about an hour ago with a high fever,” the mother said. “I tried to get him to drink water, but he refused. The night nurse at his doctor’s office said to bring him straight here.”

Stavros heard the fear in the woman’s voice; it was clear she was scared for her baby. Empathy swelled in his chest. He remembered all too well what it had felt like to hold a feverish child, to fret and worry over every little cough or sniffle. He’d thought his medical training would give him some much-needed perspective when it came to his daughter’s health, but if anything, the opposite had happened. He’d been so aware of the worst-case scenario, of all the things that could go wrong. He’d been the one to call the pediatrician for every little thing, his wife standing in the background trying to calm him down.

“Tell me about Danny,” Stavros said. He kept his voice level and calm, and walked Danny’s mother through the questions that would help him make his diagnosis.

She didn’t hesitate to answer him, and based on her detailed responses, Stavros could tell she was an attentive mother.

“All right,” he said. “Let’s see if your little guy will let me examine him.” Stavros already had a presumptive diagnosis in mind, but he always performed a physical exam to confirm his suspicions.

The toddler’s mother gently turned her son, and Stavros got his first good look at the boy’s face. “I know you!” The words flew from his mouth before he realized he was speaking.

Her expression turned guarded. “Oh?”

Stavros realized he’d put his foot in it, but there was nothing to be done for that now. He nodded. “I…uh…I helped look for your son a few months ago, after he was taken from the hotel.”

“You did?” Stavros heard the relief in her voice, noticed the way her body relaxed now that he’d explained his reaction.

“Yeah. I joined a search party after my shift that night.”

“Oh, wow,” she replied. “That was very kind of you.

I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. I didn’t get a chance to thank all the people who helped look for Danny.”

Stavros waved away her gratitude. He didn’t want to tell her that he’d had to do it—he’d been driven by the memories of his own daughter’s kidnapping. As soon as he’d heard another child was in the same kind of jeopardy, he hadn’t hesitated. He’d jumped in his car at the end of his shift and headed to the hotel, needing to help in some way. Logically, he knew he’d been trying to save this boy the way he hadn’t been able to save his daughter. But at the time, he’d been ruled by emotions and the desperate desire to make a difference. Finding Danny wouldn’t bring Sammy back—he’d known that. But he wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t at least tried.

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About the Author

Lara Lacombe is a recovering research scientist turned college professor who now spends her days writing and wrangling a toddler.  She lives in Texas with her family and two entitled cats, and loves chocolate and her Crock Pot.  She uses Facebook to procrastinate--stop by Lara Lacombe Books if you'd like to chat!

Connect with the Author

Website: http://laralacombe.blogspot.com/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaraLacombe1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laralacombe?lang=en

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7082218.Lara_Lacombe

Spotlight: Forever Start Now by Stefanie London

What happens when two people who’ve given up on forever find it in each other…?

Single men are as scarce in Forever Falls as a vegetarian at a barbecue. That is, until Ethan Hammersmith moves in. After his fiancée gave him an ultimatum, he left Australia and never looked back. He isn't in America to find a new girlfriend, though. He's searching for the father he never knew. But now it's like he has a flashing sign above his head that says "available." Thankfully, the manager of the local diner is willing to give him cover―if only she weren't so distractingly adorable.

Monroe Roberts, town misanthrope and divorcée, knocked "forever" permanently off her wish list ever since the love of her life skipped town with the cliché yoga instructor. And good riddance. She's got this struggling diner to keep her busy, trying anything to boost sales…until a hot Australian strolls in and changes everything. Monroe's restaurant is packed full of women who aren’t there to order food, unless Ethan is on the menu. This could sink her business faster than ever. So―light bulb―what if they pretend to be together?

It sounds like the perfect plan. Until they realize there is some very real chemistry in this fake relationship. But is it enough to heal two hearts that have been so deeply wounded?

Excerpt

Excerpted from Forever Starts Now, by Stefanie London. Entangled Publishing, 2021. Reprinted with permission.

Her gazed flicked over his shoulder and she caught her sisters ducking back into the dining room, caught spying. “I don’t want things to get messy.”

Messy was the thing she avoided most in the world. It’s why she didn’t date after her ex left. It’s why she didn’t want the Sunshine Diner to change hands. It’s why she didn’t want to deal with this whole screw-up of a divorce.

And having a fake relationship with a man you’re impossibly attracted to isn’t messy? Get real. 

Ethan put his hands on her hips and pushed her against the kitchen counter, his hips flat against her belly as he wedged her in place. Then he inclined his head back toward the dining room. “They’re spying on us, aren’t they?”

“Absolutely.”

“We should sell it.”

His fingers toyed with the hem of her sweater, the stark black one she’d chosen because she knew it made the best of her red hair. Because she wanted to look good...to feel good. Her heart thudded in her chest and there was a tightness gathering in her belly, an instant ache between her legs, and a shakiness in her breath that she hadn’t felt in a long damn time.

“It’s not necessary,” she protested, but her hands came up to his chest as if her body was the one at the control panel of her brain. His chest was hard and sculpted beneath her palms and she had to stop herself from rubbing against him.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a flash of move- ment. Loren.

“Okay, they’re still watching us.”

“Siblings,” he said with a chuckle. “Always so nosy.”

One hand came up to cup the angle of her jaw, and his thumb brushed the edge of her lip. He was waiting, holding himself in that delicious space of anticipation, looking for a green light. That was the arrangement; she was the one who had to demand the kiss. Not him. She hadn’t known at the time that she was setting herself up for a trap. Taking away plausible deniability. Taking away the option to blame the kiss on him. Because they didn’t need to kiss right now—her family had bought the act already, hook, line, and sinker.

But she wanted to kiss Ethan...and that was a problem.

“This is purely for maintaining our cover,” she said, knowing that every word of it was a lie. A self-serving, self- protecting lie.

“Of course.” His lips brushed the space next to the corner of her mouth, so close and yet the distance felt like pure, unadulterated torture. “Why else would we do it?”

“No reason at all.”

“Are you going to hate it?” he asked, his lips so close to hers now that she felt the whisper of air between them as he spoke

 “Every second of it,” she whispered. “You’re repulsive.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

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About the Author

Growing up in Australia, Stefanie London came from a family of women who loved to read. Her favorite activity was going shopping with her Nan during school holidays, where she would sit on the floor of the bookstore with her little sister and painstakingly select the books to spend her allowance on. Stefanie lives with her very own hero and enough books to sink a ship. She frequently indulges in her passions for good coffee, French perfume, high heels and zombie movies. At night she writes sexy, contemporary romance stories and tries not to spend too much time shopping online and watching baby animal videos on YouTube. www.stefanie-london.com