Book Spotlight of The Cadieux Murders by R.J. Koreto (#Contests- Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card)

THE CADIEUX MURDERS

by R.J. Koreto

November 4-29, 2024 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

The ink is still wet on the contract, but Wren Fontaine is already running into trouble as she renovates Cadieux House, a modernist masterpiece on Long Island's exclusive Gold Coast. The home's architect was the brilliant and eccentric Marius Cadieux, her father's mentor, and Ezra doesn't want Wren to change as much as a doorknob.

And the home itself comes with a dark past: In 1955, it was the site of the never-solved murder of its owner, Dennis Blaine. Cadieux himself was alleged to be having an affair with Dennis's wife, the stunningly beautiful Rebecca. It seems like yesterday's headlines, but then someone starts killing people with a connection to the house. The home's new owner—bestselling novelist Bronwyn Merrick—may be using the house to launch a fictionalized account of the 1955 crime. But someone may not want to her to. Just how far will Bronwyn's armed bodyguard go to protect her?

As Wren untangles the threads, she finds they all lead back to the house. Rebecca apparently inspired the strange, yet alluring residence, and both the home and its mistress may have caused uncontrolled emotions that led to tragedy. Wren uses all her architectural skills to decipher the hidden message Cadieux cunningly wove into the home's design. She must think back 20 years to when, as a little girl, she met Cadieux. Deeply impressed with Wren, he gave her a clue about the house—and his unusual friendship with Rebecca. With her girlfriend Hadley at her side, Wren eventually solves the mysteries of the home and the people who lived there, develops a grudging respect for modernist architecture—and learns something about the difference between love and obsession.

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: October 15, 2024
Number of Pages: 237
Series: The Historic Homes Mysteries, 3
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org | Audible | Goodreads | Level Best Books

Read an excerpt:

From Chapter 1

Wren stood on the shore and stared, trying to sort out her feelings about the ineffable house in front of her. She was only vaguely aware that while she looked at the house, her companion looked at her.

"So, Ms. Architect—what say you?" Bronwyn finally asked. Wren saw her wry smile. She knew she'd have to answer, and Bronwyn would expect it to be clever.

"Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness," Wren said.

"Is that an original observation?" asked Bronwyn.

Wren laughed. "You flatter me. It's the great modernist architect Frank Gehry. This house is very much of its time and place. Look at the white stucco walls, the glass and steel, the absolute cleanliness of lines. The geometric arrangement of the layers is mathematically perfect."

"Why do I sense a 'but' coming?" asked the woman, arching an eyebrow.

Wren knew there could be no softening the message. "I don't find it welcoming. There is something very self-aware about modernist homes. A look-at-me arrogance about them, as if they are doing you a favor of letting you inside." She paused, wondering if she had gone too far. "But maybe I'm being unfair. I haven't been inside it yet. And there's no doubt that it's stunning." She looked at Bronwyn, waiting for her reaction.

"Are you saying I may have made a mistake buying it?" asked Bronwyn. Wren heard the teasing in her voice.

"No. Nobody ever made a mistake buying a house that spoke to them." Yes, even if they spent $30 million for it. "If you are honest with yourself about what you want, you will be happy here. And if you are honest with me, I guarantee I can give you what you want with the renovation."

"Fair enough," said Bronwyn. "Was that Frank Gehry again?"

"No, that was entirely me."

"Ah. But as Gehry said, it should yearn for timeliness. Has this succeeded in that?"

"We'll need to give it another century."

Bronwyn nodded. "Maybe it's because I'm a writer. I become obsessed in making sure my books, the plots and subplots, are exciting. This house looks exciting. I was happy in my nice, simple co-op, and then my financial advisor told me I could do better. Much better. I fell in love with this right away. The more I walked through it, the more I liked it, the idea that I will be able to stay in it a long time, and keep finding something new about it."

"Then you absolutely did the right thing. Indeed, that is the very purpose of a house like this," said Wren. She mulled over her next statement. "When I was a girl, however, I wanted to live in a Victorian manor house, with a great hall with a huge hearth and handmade wooden furniture. I'd wear long dresses and be attended to by maids in starched uniforms." Did I just sound silly?

"That's very romantic," said Bronwyn, and Wren wondered if that was a criticism, a put-down for a flighty young girl. "But then again, I feel romantic about this, about men in classic tuxedos and women in Chanel dresses, with cigarettes and dry martinis and Dave Brubeck playing in the background. I guess we're both emotional that way, so despite our differences about favorite eras, I'm thinking hiring you is going to turn out to be a good decision as well."

Wren felt relief wash over her. She felt confident building houses but closing a deal—that involved people. She still didn’t trust her abilities when people were involved. Of course, there was still one more feature of the house they needed to discuss: The "tragedy." That's how the papers had described it.

But Wren wasn't going to bring it up first.

Bronwyn hugged her leather jacket. "It's a great view, but it's getting cold. Let's go inside."

Yes. Wren always looked over the outside first, but she was especially excited about seeing the interior. Until Bronwyn had bought it a few weeks ago, no one had been inside the house since the 1950s, except for the caretaker staff.

The house overwhelmed Wren despite herself. Oh yes, she thought, Marius Cadieux knew it would. He would be so amused. So very proud. No—smug. Even if it wasn't to her taste, there was no denying what Cadieux had achieved here: the soaring ceiling, the clever use of windows filling the house with light even on a dreary day, the unexpected curves and angles, the steel staircase, which also served as a sculpture. Wren just stared. There really was nothing to compare it to—a Cadieux house was always unique. She could see him standing over her, "Very nice, isn't it, little one? And of course, your client is overwhelmed by it, as she should be."

"I'm glad I bought a house that even knocks the socks off another architect," said Bronwyn, grinning.

"It certainly does," said Wren. "I've seen pictures, but they're not the same as really being inside it." Wren took in Bronwyn, with her attractive, angular face and the matching pixie haircut. Did the author indeed have a modernist personality, a match for this home, a connection with Cadieux? Indeed, did Bronwyn know how perfect she looked in her new house?

Wren walked among the rooms, taking note of the artful ways Cadieux had divided the house—very few true walls and doors, just a series of levels and passages, rectangular pillars clad in stone. Cadieux loved granite and marble, quartzite and sandstone, and merged them with oak and walnut, teak and lyptus. Wren saw Bronwyn marveling over it, even though she had already visited her new home several times. That was the thing about a Cadieux home, that Bronwyn had already realized: You could live there 40 years and marvel over it every day for the rest of your life.

"I'd like to see upstairs." Wren smiled. "But as you no doubt noticed, 'upstairs' is relative in a Cadieux house, with its intersecting layers. It just flows. That was a hallmark of Cadieux, but none I've seen are quite as…" She let her voice trail off.

"You can't find the word?" said Bronwyn.

"You're the writer—can you? Architectural journalists struggled to describe him. But here we go…'intriguing.' No other Cadieux house is as intriguing as this one. It may take me a while to figure it out."

"You mean, how it's put together?" asked Bronwyn.

"Oh no. That's easy. I meant what is its personality? Marius Cadieux stamped a personality on this house. It has a reason, and I will find out what that is. For now, we look at it: See the extraordinary flow of the house, the ways the rooms are separate and yet merge into each other, the way the light plays along the floors and walls. The materials blend into each other, and Cadieux is taught in every architecture school—as if you could teach this."

"It sounds like you studied him," said Bronwyn. "It sounds like you knew him. Did you?" She fixed her eyes on Wren, who gave that question some thought.

She didn't want to go there, not yet.

***

Excerpt from The Cadieux Murders by R.J. Koreto. Copyright 2024 by R.J. Koreto. Reproduced with permission from R.J. Koreto. All rights reserved.

 

Don't Miss The Previous Historic Homes Mysteries

The Greenleaf Murders

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

The Turnbull Murders

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

 

Author Bio:

Over the years, R.J. Koreto has been a magazine writer, website manager, textbook editor, novelist and merchant seaman. He was born and raised in New York City, graduated from Vassar College, and has wanted to be a writer since reading The Naked and the Dead. In addition to his novels, he has published short stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the 2020 Bouchercon Anthology and Paranoia Blues: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Paul Simon. His current series features Wren Fontaine, an architect who finds mysteries in the historic homes she renovates. He and his wife have two grown daughters, and they divide their time between Rockland County, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.

Catch Up With R.J. Koreto:
www.RJKoreto.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @rkoreto1
Instagram - @RJKoreto
Threads - @RJKoreto
Twitter/X - @RJKoreto
Facebook - @RJKoreto

Tour Participants:

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Book Spotlight of Double Barrel Bluff by Lou Berney

I want to welcome Lou Berney to Books R Us. Lou is the author of Double Barrel Bluff. Book three in the Shake Bouchon series. To be published Nov 5th. Thanks for stopping by.

About the Book:

During his years as a wheelman for the Armenian mob in Las Vegas, Shake Bouchon didn’t think of himself as the settling-down type. But now he’s happily married to Gina, the love of his life—and former adversary—in Indiana, of all places.

The great thing about Bloomington, for two people with exceptionally checkered pasts, is that everyone is nice and no one knows them. Until the day a brutal Armenian thug who has always hated Shake shows up in his backyard. He demands that Shake help him find the missing mob boss, the pakhan—the dangerous and beautiful Alexandra “Lexy” Ilandryan, who also happens to be Shake’s ex-girlfriend.

Shake’s got a lot of history with Lexy, so he reluctantly agrees to travel to Siem Reap, Cambodia, where she was last seen. Once there, he finds himself in a predatory underworld of Cambodian gangsters, mob politics, and opportunistic expats, where the stakes aren’t clear and everyone is looking to gain. With only the help of a clairvoyant hippie and the Armenian thug, Shake becomes involved in a high-stakes negotiation for Lexy that might cost him his own life. But perhaps most threatening of all is Gina’s wrath when she arrives in Cambodia intent on saving Shake from himself—and from all the people trying to kill him.

 

About the Author:

Lou Berney is the author of the novels Dark Ride, November Road, The Long and Faraway Gone, Whiplash River, and Gutshot Straight. His books have won the Edgar, Hammett, Steel Dagger, Barry, Macavity, Lefty, and Anthony awards, and he has been a finalist twice for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Ploughshares, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. He teaches in the MFA program at Oklahoma City University.

 

Connect with the Author: 

Website:

Goodreads

Amazon: 

Twitter:

Facebook:

Barnes and Noble: 

 

 

 

 

REVIEW OF THE TRIP BY PHOEBE MORGAN (A THRILLER)

I want to welcome Phoebe Morgan to Books R US. Phoebe has written a new thriller called The Trip to be published on Oct 8th. Thanks for stopping by.

 

About the Book:

A new heart-stopping thriller from the author of The Wild Girls in which two couples go on vacation and murder ensues.

How well do you know your friends?

Four friends are on the vacation of a lifetime in Thailand. Until a vicious murder shatters their paradise.

Four friends who would do anything for each other—until now.

Only one of them committed a crime.

But all four know how to keep a secret.

And they’re all guilty of something…

About the Author:

Phoebe Morgan is an author and editor. She studied English at Leeds University after growing up in the Suffolk countryside. She has previously worked as a journalist and now edits crime and women’s fiction for a publishing house during the day, and writes her own books in the evenings. She lives in London and you can follow her on Twitter @Phoebe_A_Morgan. The Doll House is her debut novel. It became a bestseller, topping the IBooks charts at #1 and the Amazon charts at #35.

 

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed the book. Four friends, Saskia, Theo, Holly, and Lucas, traveled to Thailand on an epic adventure, and trouble followed them the entire trip.  The author wrote each chapter in the character's POV and tied it together to create a good thriller. Each character has a little secret that is developed in the story. Saskia had committed a crime in her past and is followed by her accomplice Caleb, who was looking to ruin her life. I thought I had predicted the ending but was wrong; twists and turns led to the ending. If you like adventure, mystery, thrillers, and new destinations, this book is for you.

Buy the Book:

Amazon

Harper Collins:

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the ARC by the publisher via Netgalley and I was not compensated for my review

Review of They Will Kill You Next by Tim Kizer and James Rice

I want to welcome Tim Kizer and James Rice to Books R Us. Tim and James are the authors of the thriller They Will Kill You Next. This is the third book in the Detective David Hudson series. Thanks for stopping by

About the Book:

Four years ago, a plane disappeared without a trace. Now someone is killing those who know what happened to it.
As David Hudson investigates the murder of suspected CIA assassin Charles Harris, he finds that the killing might be connected to the mysterious disappearance of a passenger jet that occurred four years before.

Harris had a hit list with five names in his wallet when his body was found. Days before he was murdered, he tried to warn the targets that a very powerful man wanted them dead.

As David tries to figure out how the people on the hit list are connected, he comes to suspect that someone is killing those who know what happened to the missing plane.

Digging deeper, David uncovers a conspiracy involving some of the most powerful men in America.

About the Authors:

Tim Kizer:

Mr. Kizer is an author of suspense and mystery fiction. He resides in Southern California. He is currently working on his new suspense novel.

James Rice:

 Mr Rice is an American author that writes suspense thrillers with twisted plots. He loves to travel and discover new cultures. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife.

My thoughts:

I had trouble keeping track of all the characters in the story due to choppy dialogue that distracted me. While I usually can determine who the killer is, it took me a while to figure it out. Nonetheless, the many twists and turns kept me engaged, and I was able to finish the book. However, I wish the author had developed the characters more to add depth to the plot. I have not read any of the other books in the series; perhaps if I had, I would have been able to relate to the characters better.

Books in the series:

Book 1: I know who Killed Your Daughter

Book 2: Don't Tell Them I am Alive 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the book through Voracious Readers only for my honest opinion and I was not compensated for my review

REVIEW OF MURDER TOWN BY SHELLEY BURR

I want to welcome Shelley Burr to Books R Us. Shelly is the author of an international best seller Wake and she has returned with her novel Murder Town. To be published 11/5/24 by William Morrow. This is a thriller set in the Australian Outback that was originally published in Australia as Ripper.

 About the Book:

 Gemma Guillory has lived in the Australian Outback enclave of Rainier her entire life. She knows the tiny, red-dust town’s ins and

outs by heart, knows the people like they are her family, their quirks as if they were her own.

She also knows her once charming town is now remembered for one reason and one reason only: three innocent people died there at the hands of a serial killer. The last stop on the Rainier Ripper’s trail of deaths fifteen years ago was her picturesque little tea shop. She knows that the consequences of catching the Ripper still haunt her policeman husband and their marriage to this day, and some of her neighbors are desperate enough to welcome a dark tourism company keen to cash in on Rainier’s notoriety as the “Murder Town.”

When the tour guide is killed by a Ripper copycat on Gemma’s doorstep, the unease that has lurked quietly in the original killer’s wake explodes into the light, and Gemma is drawn into the investigation. Unbeknownst to her, so is a prisoner named Lane Holland, a former private investigator who earned a living cracking cold cases before he ran afoul of the law.

Gemma knows her town. She knows her people. Doesn't she?

 

About the Author:

Shelley Burris the author of the international bestseller, WAKE. She
works at the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment in Canberra, Australia. She grew up splitting her time between Newcastle and Glenrowan.

 

 

 

 

Connect with the Author: 

 https://www.shelleyburr.com.au/

https://x.com/ByssheShelley

 

My Thoughts:

I have always been a fan of thrillers, but I found this novel to be a bit confusing. Many characters were involved in the story line, and I had trouble keeping up with them. I had to reread some chapters to figure out what was happening in the story. I found the beginning of the book a bit slow but it picked up near the end. There were times that I wanted to stop reading but I pushed myself to finish the book. The ending was not impressive and disappointing. I hope the author's next novel will be more engaging and interesting.

 

Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the book for my honest review and I was not compensated for my review

REVIEW OF THE NEIGHBORS BY ANIA AHLBORN

Title: The Neighbors
Authors:  Ania Ahlborn
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Date Published:  November 27, 2012
Purchase Book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble


About the Book:


Everything—his childhood, his education, and the girl of his dreams—to look after his alcoholic mother. But enough is enough, and now he’s determined to get out and live his life. That means trading the home he grew up in for a rented room in the house of an old childhood friend— both of which are in sorry shape.
The only thing worse than Drew’s squalid new digs and sullen new roommate is the envy he feels for the house next door: a picture-perfect suburban domicile straight out of Norman Rockwell, with a couple of happy householders to match. But the better acquainted he gets with his new neighbors—especially the sweet and sexy Harlow Ward—the more he suspects unspeakable darkness beyond the white picket fence.

About the Author: 

Born in Ciechanów, Poland, Ania Ahlborn is also the author of the supernatural thriller Seed, and is currently working on her third novel. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico, enjoys gourmet cooking, baking, drawing, traveling, movies, and exploring the darkest depths of the human (and sometimes inhuman) condition. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and two dogs.


Connect with the Author:

http://www.aniaahlborn.com/
Facebook.
Twitter.
 

My Thoughts:


What a great psychological thriller. It was full of characters who were twisted, disturbed and they kept me engaged and interested. The main character Harlow was unpredictable showing up when you never expected it and the other characters complimented her personality well. This is one of the best books that I have read this year and I definitely will read her next book The Shuddering due out early 2013. A great read and highly recommended.

Disclaimer:

I received a free copy of the book for my honest review and I was not compensated for my review. 

 

INTERVIEW OF ROY SEGAL AUTHOR OF THE DEVIL'S DREAM

I Would like to welcome Roy Segal to Books R Us. Roy is the author of The Devil's Dream. Thanks for stopping by.

 Interview
 

What was your inspiration for writing “The Devil’s Dream?”

I am always amazed by documentaries about psychics solving crimes.  There seems to be some truth to the fact that psychics can give information to police detectives that could not be obtained in any other way.  I also like to write stories about characters that are upset by the injustices of this world.  Combine those two ideas and you get the narrator of my story, a man who has dreams about crimes yet to take place, who must struggle to find ways to prevent those crimes from taking place.  Thus, he can act to protect a victim, not just find the bad guy.

Do you ever have writer’s block?

I find when I am writing well there is a sense of action and movement, and drama.  When I get stuck I think that maybe I am just bored because I haven’t created enough suspense in my story.  I then try to think what twists will draw the reader in by creating more suspense.  There is an element of creativity to writing, but also an element of logic.  I want my novels to make sense.  Whatever kind of universe is created in the story, it should have consistent rules so that the readers always know what to expect.  In “Superman” for example, we know that he can’t be hurt by bullets from a gun, but that Kryptonite will weaken him and make him lose all his power.  Thus, the reader knows that if the bad guy has Kryptonite Superman is in trouble.  Whatever world is created in a novel, it should have consistent rules, even if there is magic or supernatural elements.

What advice would you give a writer starting out?

I would tell new writers to find the story that is burning inside them that wants to come out.  If a writer is inspired the reader will feel the energy and commitment the writer had when he wrote the story.  If the story is simply invented by a gimmick, however showy, the writing will suffer.  I think this is the key to good writing.

Who is your favorite character in the book?

Caroline Cash, the police officer, who is not sure if her boyfriend is a good guy or a villain.  She has the courage to offer her love completely, which many people can’t do.

Where can we buy your book?

It is available on Amazon.com for kindle and smashwords.com for kindle and ePub and nook and other formats.

AUTHOR BIO

          I am a private math tutor in New York City.  I help high school and college students pass their math courses, and I also tutor the SAT.  I have been writing fiction for nine years, and I have taken a dozen writing workshops at The New School and studied with Fran Gordon.  I write mystery and mainstream fiction.  I have recently attended the Book Expo America writing conference, and also the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference. 

BLOG TOUR AND REVIEW OF VOICES OF THE DEAD

I want to welcome Peter Leonard to Books R Us. Peter is touring the blogosphere with his suspense novel Voices of the Dead . Thanks for stopping by.

TITLE: Voices of the Dead

AUTHOR: Peter Leonard
PUBLISHER: The Story Plant

PUBLICATION DATE: 1/17/12.

PAGES: 320

 Synopsis:

The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges – he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

Brimming with action and dark humor, Voices of the Dead, firmly positions Peter Leonard as a writer ever suspense fan needs to read.


Read an Excerpt: 
 

Hess found out the woman lived on P Street in Georgetown, not far from the consulate. He told the ambassador he was having dinner with potential clients, and wanted to drive himself. It was unorthodox, but plausible. He had been issued one of the embassy’s Mercedes sedans. He stopped at a bookstore and bought a map of the area, and located P Street. He drove there and saw the Goldman residence, a federal-style brick townhouse.

Hess went to a restaurant and had dinner and a couple drinks. At ten o’clock he drove back, parked around the corner on 32nd Street between two other vehicles so the license plate was not visible to anyone driving by. He walked to the Goldmans’, stood next to a tree in front of the three-story townhouse. There were lights on the first floor. He walked to the front door and rang the buzzer. He could hear footsteps and voices inside. A light over the door went on. Hess stood in the open so whoever it was would see he was well dressed. The door opened, a man standing there, assumed he was Dr. Mitchell Goldman, dark hair, big nose, mid-forties, top of the shirt unbuttoned, exposing a gold chain and a five-pointed star.

Hess smiled. “My car is on the fritz. May I use your phone to call a tow truck?”

 Dr. Goldman stared at him with concern. “I am staying just down the street at the consulate,” Hess said, smiling. Now the door opened and he stepped into the elegant foyer, chandelier overhead, marble floor.

“Mitch, who is it?” a woman said from a big open room to his right.

Dr. Goldman looked in her direction. “Guy’s having car trouble, wants to use the phone.”
 “It’s ten o’clock at night.”
 “He’ll just be a minute,” the dentist said.

Hess could see the woman sitting on a couch, watching television.

“The phone’s in here.” The dentist started to move.

Hess drew the Luger from the pocket of his suit jacket,and aimed it at Goldman.

The dentist put his hands up. “Whoa. Easy.”
 “Who is in the house?”

 “Just the two of us.”

 “Are you expecting anyone?” He shook his head.

 “Tell her to come in here,” Hess said.

 “What do you want? You want money?” He took his wallet out and handed it to him. “There’s eight hundred dollars in there.”

 “Call her,” Hess said. “Hon, come here, will you?”

 “I’m watching ‘All in the Family.’ Can you wait till the commercial?”

 Hess could hear people laughing on the television.

 “Just for a minute,” the dentist said.

Hess saw her stand up and step around a low table in front of the couch, moving across the room, still looking back at the television. She turned her head as she entered the foyer and saw him holding the gun. Her hair looked darker in the dim light but he had only seen her briefly that day.

 “Oh-my-god,” she said, hands going up to her face.

 “We’re reasonable people,” the dentist said. “Tell us what you want.”

About the Author:

Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER, was published to international acclaim in 2008 (“A spectacular debut...you will be holding your breath until the final page.”– The New York Sun). It was followed by TRUST ME in 2009 (“TRUST ME is fast, sly and full of twists.” – Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author). The Story Plant will publish Leonard’s newest novel, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL, in the spring of 2012.


My Thoughts: 

I have to admit that I am not a fan of espionage thrillers but this book was fantastic. I was drawn in from the first page and finished the story rather quickly. There was action, suspense, humor and a cast of characters that made the book interesting. Throughout the book there are times when we find ourselves in Nazi Germany with scenes that were very realistic and well researched. The Main character, Harry, was a child during those horrific times and escapes death. When his daughter was killed by a diplomat, he travels to Munich to track the killer down. The killer looks familiar to him and he finally figures out who he is. All of the supporting characters interacted well. I especially liked Cordell who was Harry's sidekick. He was funny, charming and added energy to the story. If you like suspense and historical novels this is the book for you. 

Disclaimer: I was given a free book by the author and Partners in Crime Tours for my honest review and I was not compensated for my review.

REVIEW AND BLOG TOUR OF GODS AND FATHERS BY J. LEPORE (GIVEAWAY)

I want to welcome James LePore to Books R us. James is the author of numerous suspense novels and is touring the blogosphere with his newest novel Gods and Fathers being released today. Thanks for stopping by.

Book Details:

Title: Gods and Fathers

Publisher: The Story Plant.
Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Purchase: Amazon|Barnes & Noble.

About the Book:

Nationally bestselling author James LePore has established a reputation as a writer whose vividly drawn characters and morally complex plots have kept readers up to all hours turning pages. His new novel promises more sleepless nights and more nonstop thrills.

Matt DeMarco is an accomplished Manhattan attorney with more than his share of emotional baggage. His marriage ended disastrously, his ex-wife has pulled their son away from him, and her remarriage to a hugely successful Arab businessman has created complications for Matt on multiple levels. However, his life shifts from troubled to imperiled when two cops – men he's known for a long time – come into his home and arrest his son as the prime suspect in the murder of the boy's girlfriend.

Suddenly, the enmity between Matt and his only child is no longer relevant. Matt must do everything he can to clear his son, who he fully believes is innocent. Doing so will require him to quit his job and make enemies of former friends – and it will throw him up against forces he barely knew existed and can only begin to comprehend how to battle.

GODS AND FATHERS is at once a powerful mystery and a provocative international thriller, all of it presented with LePore's signature fascinating characters placed in dire circumstances where every choice poses new and potentially fatal challenges.

About the Author: 

James LePore is an attorney who has practiced law for more than two decades, and an accomplished photographer. He is the author of three previous novels, A WORLD I NEVER MADE, BLOOD OF MY BROTHER, and SONS AND PRINCES, as well as the story collection, ANYONE CAN DIE. He lives in Westchester County, NY with his wife, artist Karen Chandler. Please visit the author's site www.jamesleporefiction.com

 
Read an Excerpt:

“Why can’t you stay at your mother’s when they’re away?”
“I told you, Basil’s worried about security.”
Though this statement was challengeable on several levels, Matt let it pass. The marriage six years ago of Debra DeMarco, nee Rusillo, and Basil al-Hassan, a rich and handsome Syrian businessman, had marked the beginning of the end of Matt’s long and tortured fight for a place in his son’s heart. Armed with the ultimate weapon—-her new husband’s money—-Debra had made quick work of destroying the last vestiges of Matt’s hopes. A penthouse on Park Avenue, a beach house in Easthampton, a flat in Paris, a “cottage” in Bermuda, clothes and cars virtually on demand, Matt had no way of competing with all this, and no way of expressing his anger—-until tonight.
“What about Mina?” Matt asked.
“What about her?”
“Why aren’t you seeing her?”
“She’s studying.”
“Studying?”
“Yes, studying. You keep repeating what I say. She’s a student. Students study.”
This statement was delivered dismissively, not sarcastically. You’re stupid, Dad. I’m tired of you. Why am I bothering with you? are what Matt heard, and it occurred to him, with a clarity that shocked him after all these muddled and painful years of effort and rejection, effort and rejection, ad nauseum, that he could not hurt Michael, that his own son was indifferent to him, and this was a blow, and strangely a release.
“Well, your friends are assholes, and you are too, Michael. You’re an arrogant, shallow asshole. Where you came from, I don’t know. But not from me.”
“That could be. Maybe Mom had an affair–like you did--and I’m not your son. Do I care? No, I don’t. Can I go upstairs now? I’ll leave in the morning.”
In the kitchen, Matt poured himself another scotch. He took the pizza out of the refrigerator and sat down to eat it, surprised to find that he actually had an appetite. Until tonight, despite the bad cards he had drawn, he had never stopped trying to break through to his son. It’s over, he said to himself, over and done. He’s not your son. He’s Debra’s son, Basil’s son. You lost him a long time ago.
He finished the pizza and was wrapping the garbage to take out in the morning when the doorbell rang. Looking out the kitchen window he saw that it was snowing heavily. Those idiots, he thought, they’re probably stuck someplace. No choice but to let them in. But when he swung open the front door, it wasn’t Adnan and Ali, but his friends Jack McCann and Clarke Goode, homicide detectives who he had worked with for many years, standing facing him. He could see their unmarked car at the curb, and behind it, blocking his driveway, a Pound Ridge patrol car, its engine running and headlights on, two uniformed officers in the front seat. McCann, a florid Irishman whose blue eyes were usually lit by some inner secret joke, looked grim; and Goode, a gnarled black man who never failed to greet Matt with a big smile, was not smiling. Far from it.
“Come in. What’s up?” Matt said. Then, nodding toward the street where the patrol car sat: “What’s with the uniforms?”
The two detectives stepped into the foyer.
“Take your coats off,” Matt said. He could see they were dressed for work, sport jackets and ties on under their trench coats.
“Matt...,” McCann said.
“Talk, Jack,” Matt said. “Is somebody dead?”
“Is Michael home?” Goode asked. He had not taken off his coat, and neither had McCann.
“That’s his car out there,” Matt said. “You know that.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s upstairs.”
Matt looked from McCann to Goode, then back to McCann; looked in the eyes of each, and did not like what he saw. “What about Michael?” he asked.
“We’re here to arrest him,” McCann replied.
“For what?” Drugs, Matt thought, good, let the kid get a taste of the pain he’s always inflicting on others. Him and his two Arab suppliers.
“For murder, Matt,” Goode said.

My Thoughts:

I have always been a fan of suspense novels and Mr LePore's novel is full of twists and turns that kept me engaged and interested. Matt is an interesting character who has quite a temper but takes care of his family. There were times that I was a little confused by the switch of characters but I was able to follow the storyline.  All of the characters complemented each other and added to the story.  The ending was a surprise and the epilogue tied up the story well. the book was well written and I recommend it to everyone who likes a good mystery loaded with suspense.

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DISCLAIMER:

Every eBook received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites