Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Giveaway: A Dozen Books From My Recommended Shelf!



How are you feeling today? Feeling like winning some books? How about winning your choice from a dozen books on my Recommended Shelf? Take a look at the stack of mighty fine reading I've been saving for you, and then I'll tell you more about them later!




Quit drooling over the books and pay attention-- it's time for....


Some Information:

  1. Each person who enters will be eligible to win ONE book from my Recommended Shelf. 
  2. When you enter, you will be giving me the titles of the three books you'd like to win the most. No being greedy and asking for them all.
  3. I'll have synopses and/or links to my reviews for each book later so you can make informed choices. Yes, there are some popular authors here, but there are also some new ones. Don't be afraid to try something different-- after all, every one of them is free!

The Rules:


To enter, all you have to do is send an email to kittlingbooks(at)gmail(dot)com, and that email must have everything on this list:
  1. The subject line of the email must say "RS Giveaway."
  2. The body of the email must contain the following: (A) Your email address, (B) Your mailing address, and (C) The titles of the three books you're most interested in winning.
  3. All entries must be received by 11:59 PM, Tuesday, May 31. The twelve winners will be announced on Friday, June 3.
That's it. There are no other hoops to jump through. Just remember: you may be giving me the titles of three books, but you will only be winning one. Twelve books, twelve winners! Oh-- and if your email is missing any one of the four required elements, you will not be eligible for the drawing.



Make Your Selections from These Books:



A Killer Ball at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison
My Rating: A
Read my review.

Synopsis: "When antique dealer Kat Stanford stumbles upon the partially mummified body of a young woman in an abandoned wing at Honeychurch Hall, suspicion falls on those who had been living there many years ago. And it appears that the deceased had been murdered. Given her mother Iris’s checkered past, Kat is not surprised to learn that Iris knew the victim.

Meanwhile, the unexpected appearance of former lothario Bryan Laney sets female hearts aflutter. Despite the passing years, time has not dampened his ardor for Iris, but the feeling is not reciprocated.

With stories of hidden treasure and secret chambers, past and present collide. As Kat becomes embroiled once more in her mother’s mysterious and tumultuous bygone days, she comes to realize that life is never black and white, and sometimes it is necessary to risk your own life to protect the lives of the ones you love.



Gold of Our Fathers by Kwei Quartey
My Rating: A-
Read my review.  

Synopsis: "Darko Dawson has just been promoted to Chief Inspector in the Ghana Police Service—the promotion even comes with a (rather modest) salary bump. But he doesn’t have long to celebrate because his new boss is transferring him from Accra, Ghana’s capital, out to remote Obuasi in the Ashanti region, an area now notorious for the illegal exploitation of its gold mines.

When Dawson arrives at the Obuasi headquarters, he finds it in complete disarray. The office is a mess of uncatalogued evidence and cold case files, morale is low, and discipline among officers is lax. On only his second day on the job, the body of a Chinese mine owner is unearthed in his own gold quarry. As Dawson investigates the case, he quickly learns how dangerous it is to pursue justice in this kingdom of illegal gold mines, where the worst offenders have so much money they have no fear of the law
." 



King Maybe by Timothy Hallinan
My Rating: A
Read my review.  

Synopsis: "Los Angeles’s most talented burglar, Junior Bender, is in the middle of stealing one of the world’s rarest stamps from a professional killer when his luck suddenly turns sour. It takes an unexpected assist to get him out alive, but his escape sets off a chain reaction of blackmail, strong-arming, and escalating crime. By the time Junior is forced to commit his third burglary of the week—in the impregnable fortress that’s home to the ruthless studio mogul called King Maybe—he’s beginning to wish he’d just let the killer take a crack at him.


See Also Murder by Larry D. Sweazy
My Rating: A
Read my review.

Synopsis: "1964—Life on the North Dakota farm hasn’t always been easy for Marjorie Trumaine. She has begun working as a professional indexer to help with the bills—which have only gotten worse since the accident that left her husband, Hank, blind and paralyzed. When her nearest neighbors are murdered in their beds, though, Marjorie suddenly has to deal with new and terrifying problems.

Sheriff Hilo Jenkins brings her a strange amulet, found clutched in the hand of her murdered neighbor, and asks her to quietly find out what it is. Marjorie uses all the skills she has developed as an indexer to research the amulet and look into the murders, but as she closes in on the killer, and people around her continue to die, she realizes that the murderer is also closing in on her.



Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper
Recommended by blogger Lesa Holstine.

Synopsis: "Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna is just a few hours away from wrapping up her latest job: a destination wedding in the charming, colonial Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. The reception is all set up, the tequila donkey is waiting outside, and the bride and groom are standing on the altar, pledging their eternal love. But just as the priest is about to pronounce them husband and wife, one of the bridesmaids upstages the couple by collapsing into a floral arrangement, a definite wedding "don't." Kelsey soon discovers that the girl hasn't just fainted--she's dead.



Losing a bridesmaid is bad enough, but when the bride's sister is arrested for murder, the demanding mother of the bride insists that Kelsey fix the matter at once. And although Kelsey is pretty sure investigating a murder isn't in her contract, crossing the well-connected Mrs. Abernathy could be a career-killer. Before she can leave Mexico and get back to planning weddings, Kelsey must deal with stubborn detectives, a rekindled romance, and late-night death threats in this smart, funny cozy mystery debut
." 



The Butcher Bird by S. D. Sykes
UK edition signed by the author.
My Rating: A
Read my review

Synopsis: "Oswald de Lacy is growing up fast in his new position as Lord of Somershill Manor. The Black Death changed many things, and just as it took away his father and elder brothers, leaving Oswald to be recalled from the monastery where he expected to spend his life, so it has taken many of his villagers and servants. However, there is still the same amount of work to be done in the farms and fields, and the few people left to do it think they should be paid more - something the King himself has forbidden.

Just as anger begins to spread, the story of the Butcher Bird takes flight. People claim to have witnessed a huge creature in the skies. A new-born baby is found impaled on a thorn bush. And then more children disappear.

Convinced the bird is just a superstitious rumour, Oswald must discover what is really happening. He can expect no help from his snobbish mother and his scheming sister Clemence, who is determined to protect her own child, but happy to neglect her step-daughters.

From the plague-ruined villages of Kent to the thief-infested streets of London and the luxurious bedchamber of a bewitching lady, Oswald's journey is full of danger, dark intrigue and shocking revelations.  


The Cat Sitter's Whiskers by Blaize and John Clement
Recommended by a Poisoned Pen staff member.

Synopsis: "Pet sitter Dixie Hemingway is on the prowl again in the newest installment of Blaize Clement's classic and beloved series of cozy mysteries, now written by her son, John Clement, using Blaize's notes and ideas for future adventures. 

Set in the sleepy beach-side town of Siesta Key, Florida, THE CAT SITTER'S WHISKERS catches up with Dixie as she heads off for work one morning in the dimly lit hours before sunrise. 

Her very first client of the morning is Barney Feldman, a Maine coon cat with a reputation for mischief who's guarding his vacationing owner's valuable collection of decidedly creepy antique masks. But someone's hiding in the house when she arrives, and they sneak up and knock her out cold. When the cops arrive at the house, there's just one problem: no one has broken in and nothing is missing.

Searching for answers, Dixie soon finds herself hopelessly trapped in a murky world of black market antiques, dark-hearted secrets, and murderous revenge… a mystery only she can solve."  


The Highwayman by Craig Johnson
My Rating: A+
Read my review

Synopsis: "When Wyoming highway patrolman Rosey Wayman is transferred to the beautiful and imposing landscape of the Wind River Canyon, an area the troopers refer to as no-man's-land because of the lack of radio communication, she starts receiving “officer needs assistance” calls. The problem? They're coming from Bobby Womack, a legendary Arapaho patrolman who met a fiery death in the canyon almost a half-century ago. With an investigation that spans this world and the next, Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear take on a case that pits them against a legend: The Highwayman.


The Sea Detective by Mark Douglas-Home
UK edition.
My Rating: A+
Read my review.

Synopsis: "Cal McGill is an Edinburgh-based oceanographer, environmentalist and one-of-a-kind investigator.

Using his knowledge of the waves - ocean currents, prevailing winds, shipping records - McGill can track where objects have come from, or where they've gone. It's a unique skill that can help solve all sorts of mysteries.

Such as when two severed feet wash up miles apart on two different islands off the coast of Scotland. Most strangely, forensic tests reveal that the feet belong to the same body.

As Cal McGill investigates, he unravels a web of corruption, exploitation and violence, which threatens many lives across the globe - very soon including his own..."  
 
 
The Singer from Memphis by Gary Corby
My Rating: A
Read my review
 
Synopsis: "Nicolaos, the only private investigator in ancient Athens, discovers that helping an author with his book research can be very dangerous. The would-be author Herodotus has hired Nico and his priestess wife, Diotima, to accompany him to Egypt to research that ancient country’s history. Unfortunately, Egypt happens to be in the throes of a rebellion against its overlords, the Persian Empire. Pirates infest the sea route. Three different armies roam the Egyptian countryside. The river is full of crocodiles. Everywhere Nico turns, there’s a secret agent ready to kill him, and he can’t find a decent cup of wine anywhere. A simple historical investigation turns into a dangerous adventure of international espionage." 
 
 
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan
My Rating: A+
Read my review
 
Synopsis: "Despite their many differences, Detective Rachel Getty trusts her boss, Esa Khattak, implicitly. But she's still uneasy at Khattak's tight-lipped secrecy when he asks her to look into Christopher Drayton's death. Drayton's apparently accidental fall from a cliff doesn't seem to warrant a police investigation, particularly not from Rachel and Khattak's team, which handles minority-sensitive cases. But when she learns that Drayton may have been living under an assumed name, Rachel begins to understand why Khattak is tip-toeing around this case. It soon comes to light that Drayton may have been a war criminal with ties to the Srebrenica massacre of 1995.
 
If that's true, any number of people might have had reason to help Drayton to his death, and a murder investigation could have far-reaching ripples throughout the community. But as Rachel and Khattak dig deeper into the life and death of Christopher Drayton, every question seems to lead only to more questions, with no easy answers. Had the specters of Srebrenica returned to haunt Drayton at the end, or had he been keeping secrets of an entirely different nature? Or, after all, did a man just fall to his death from the Bluffs?

In her spellbinding debut, Ausma Zehanat Khan has written a complex and provocative story of loss, redemption, and the cost of justice that will linger with readers long after turning the final page.


The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths
UK edition signed by the author.
My Rating: A
Read my review.  

Synopsis: "When Ruth's friend Cathbad sees a vision of the Virgin Mary, in a white gown and blue cloak, in the graveyard next to the cottage he is house-sitting, he takes it in his stride. Walsingham has strong connections to Mary, and Cathbad is a druid after all; visions come with the job. But when the body of a woman in a blue dressing-gown is found dead the next day in a nearby ditch, it is clear Cathbad's vision was all too human, and that a horrible crime has been committed. DCI Nelson and his team are called in for the murder investigation, and soon establish that the dead woman was a recovering addict being treated at a nearby private hospital.

Ruth, a devout atheist, has managed to avoid Walsingham during her seventeen years in Norfolk. But then an old university friend, Hilary Smithson, asks to meet her in the village, and Ruth is amazed to discover that her friend is now a priest. Hilary has been receiving vitriolic anonymous letters targeting women priests - letters containing references to local archaeology and a striking phrase about a woman 'clad in blue, weeping for the world'.

Then another woman is murdered - a priest.

As Walsingham prepares for its annual Easter re-enactment of the Crucifixion, the race is on to unmask the killer before they strike again...



There you go! There is some amazing reading on my Recommended Shelf, so make your choices and send in that email! Don't be afraid to try a new author. As I said before-- these books are free, so take a chance! 



12 comments:

  1. You are so generous, Cathy!! Thanks for doing this.

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  2. I love the way you do these contests. Thank you!

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    1. You're welcome, Pamela. I'm glad you enjoy them!

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  3. That's very kind of you and this is the fairest way to do it. I must ponder these important choices.

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  4. Thank you so much for this opportunity. There are books you list that I've never heard of, but look so good to read.

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    1. That's one of the beauties of this giveaway-- they are ALL good reads! Of course... maybe that's not such a beauty, since I'm making everyone choose just three and then only win one. Hmmm... I'd hate to think I have a latent sadistic streak. Yikes!

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  5. Must we choose three? Can we pick one or two? Please advise.

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    1. No, you don't have to choose three. You can choose one. You can choose two. Just don't choose more than three.

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  6. What a wonderful chance to win such a good new book! And either way, I've been able to add a few new ones to my TBR list! Thanks so much!

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    1. You're very welcome. I'm glad you found a title or two that tickled your fancy!

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Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!