Sunday Salon: Witches and Mobsters

Today’s Sunday Salon deals with witches and mobsters (not monsters) to help get you in the mood for Halloween.

BLACKWORK by Monica Ferris

With Halloween just a week away, a book involving a witch and murder seem to fit the bill.

BLACKWORK (now in paperback) takes readers to Excelsior, Minnesota, where the town is preparing for its Halloween celebration and parade.

Protagonist Betsy Devonshire, owner of the Crewel World needle work shop, is helping out as are the other downtown business owners. All is going well at an organizational meeting until a drunken Ryan McMurphy accuses Leona Cunningham of being a witch. Leona is co-owner of The Barleywire, a microbrewery-pub, where the meeting is being held.

From there things begin to look bad for Leona. Within minutes, Ryan is involved in a wreck and a short time later he’s found dead. There are no marks on his body and he was found inside a locked basement room.

Betsy embarks on a search for the real killer and the list of suspects grows. There are plenty of twists, turns, surprises and more intrigue as Betsy gets closer to finding the real killer. I was able to figure out how Ryan was killed, but not who killed him. That was a surprise.

The 13th installment in the Needlecraft Mystery series, BLACKWORK is a stand alone book. This was my first introduction to Betsy and her quirky friends, but it won’t be my last. This is a delightful read from beginning to end where a counted cross-stitch pattern has been included.

I can’t wait to see what Betsy and the gang get into next. Not to mention Betsy has a handsome new tenant that just might add to the intrigue and mystery next time.

Author Monica Ferris’ website is http://monica-ferris.com/

Blackwork by Monica Ferris, A Needlecraft Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime, @2010, ISBN: 978-0-425-23742-7, Paperback, 304 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

-----

DON’T BLINK by James Patterson and Howard Roughan

Nick Daniels is a reporter who is always chasing after that ‘one’ great story to make his career when one literally finds him.

A major league baseball player who years before let his fans down during a world series by not showing up wants to have his first interview since then with Nick.

When the two finally set down for the interview at a local restaurant, a lawyer for a notorious mob boss is shot at the next table. Chaos erupts and the ballplayer disappears. Later when Nick is listening to his tape recording from the interview, he overhears who ordered the hit on the lawyer.

From there Nick and others around him are thrown into turmoil between warring mob bosses, corrupt officials and even jealous lovers. More people are murdered and Nick realizes all is not what it seems. Trying to find the answers he’s looking for, Nick may soon be faced with the biggest question yet - is it really worth it?

The unabridged version of DON’T BLINK is only 6 disc long (approximately 7 hours), but it’s an action-packed adventure from beginning to end. It is a big graphic as to how some of the hits are carried out so this isn't a cozy mystery, but a thriller.

Maybe I like the story more than most because it deals with a reporter and what he would and wouldn’t do for a story, and especially how far he’d go for the people he cares about.

Don‘t Blink by James Patterson and Howard Roughan, Read by David Patrick Kelly, Hachette Audio, @2010, ISBN: 978-1-60788-234-3, 6 Disc, App. 7 Hrs. Run Time

FTC Full Disclosure - I requested this audio book and it was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.