New Releases | Self-Publishing Review

Shopping Cart Annie by Cordy Fitzgerald

Shopping Cart Annie by Cordy Fitzgerald Conspiracies and intrigue abound in Cordy Fitzgerald’s entertaining debut mystery, Shopping Cart Annie.

Retired schoolteacher, Dr. Inez Buchanan is approached by Dolly David, a former neighbor’s godmother, who begs her to help find her granddaughter, now in her mid-thirties. She disappeared years earlier and Dolly believes that her granddaughter is alive, living in Afghanistan with a Taliban husband. She tells Inez that her granddaughter had recently contacted her, asking for money.

Days later, Inez learns that Dolly has committed suicide, naming her as the primary executor of Dolly’s billion dollar estate. A shocked Inez becomes determined to carry out […]

Marta Cheng2018-08-24T09:58:34+02:00August 23rd, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Double Down by Bruce Wessell

Double Down by Bruce Wessell Sometimes, the course of a life can change in the blink of an eye, as Bruce Wessell demonstrates in his entertaining Vegas adventure, Double Down.

As a hard-working food sales representative in Iowa, Johnny’s set to win the prestigious Pinnacle Award – until he’s told that some customer returns have disqualified him from winning the award. As if that weren’t bad enough, Johnny goes home to find his attorney girlfriend in bed with another guy.

The day goes really sideways when he gets jerked around by Bernie Jacks, a customer he can’t stand – and then retaliates by impulsively […]

Marta Cheng2018-08-07T10:18:25+02:00August 6th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

The Fantastic Phantasmic Detective Agency: And the Rebel Realm by D.L. Dugger

The Fantastic Phantasmic Detective Agency: And the Rebel Realm is the first delightful installment in the paranormal fiction series for middle-grade readers by D.L. Dugger.

Billy, Toby and Abby, twelve-year-old sleuths of The Fantastic Phantasmic Detective Agency, help a ghost called Mary find her cherished locket but in pursuing its disappearance, the friends soon find themselves locked in a mortuary run by a shady mortician. After escaping and returning the locket to her, a grateful Mary informs them that her friend needs help finding her missing brother. The three seek the help of a crabby medium, unaware that he’s made […]

Marta Cheng2018-07-31T10:33:32+02:00July 30th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Middle Grade Fiction Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews|

A Kiss of Little Consequence by BC Hartwell

A Kiss of Little Consequence by BC Hartwell A Kiss of Little Consequence by B.C. Hartwell is a novel filled with adventure and romance waiting at every turn. Parker Moon, a guide with Tourcey Travel Company, is convinced that he is destined to find true love and that it might just be on one of the tours he leads. Relying on his “vibe” he finds himself drawn to different females, hoping against hope that one of them will be “the one.”

While finishing up a tour in an exotic beach location, Parker receives a spiritual reading from a woman named Zafrina who had given him the “vibe.” She […]

SPR2019-01-11T14:51:15+02:00July 26th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Romance Book Reviews|

Escape to Death by Stephen Perkins

There are plenty of wild stories about the seedy underbelly of Hollywood, but in Escape to Death, the incredibly imaginative new novel by Stephen Perkins, Tinseltown is given a dark makeover with supernatural twists at every turn. From film noir detectives to the monstrous lives of the rich and famous, this novel is a non-stop ride that careens from one devilish thrill to the next.

When a young prostitute lands in L.A. with big dreams, her murder cuts that future short, but that doesn’t mean her ghost will let things go. When a seasoned PI with a classic gruff […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-07-26T10:49:30+02:00July 25th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Hollywood for Authors, Horror Book Reviews, Paranormal Book Reviews|

Bridges: To There by Gary W. Burns

Bridges by Gary W. Burns Gary Burns’ Bridges: To There is an evocative collection of poetry, but lacks the visceral immediacy of his earlier collections of meditative poetry, such as Clouds: On the Wind.

Within the first of the four sections, the poems contain the same mixture of Haiku-esque observation, yet contain a childlike rhyme scheme. For example, in “The Wind All About”:

In the trees, with ease
The bird flees the stir of leaves
When the spirit of the wind
Stirs us
Go we must

The effect this has is to draw the reader away from the actual words and images and focuses […]

SPR2018-07-18T08:15:24+02:00July 18th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Poetry Book Reviews|

Eaters and Overlords by Blaine C. Readler

Eaters and Overlords by award-winning author Blaine Readler is a contemporary science-based novel that will keep the reader guessing from the first word to the last. An interesting take on human and alien interaction, the novel makes the reader reconsider some previous notions about alien life that are so common to other books in the genre.

Terri and her teacher and friend Siderai find themselves in the middle of an alien expedition when they investigate a strange group of creatures that they run into during an excursion in the forest. The investigation quickly turns into them becoming captives of their […]

SPR2018-07-16T11:48:59+02:00July 15th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews|

Santa Fe Mojo (Vincent Malone Book 1) by Ted Clifton

Santa Fe Mojo (Vincent Malone Book 1) Pro athletes, stolen millions and murder make for an irresistible cocktail in Santa Fe Mojo, the first murder mystery in the Vincent Malone series by Ted Clifton.

Former legal investigator, Vincent Malone, is heading to Albuquerque where he’s hoping to live on the cheap until his Social Security benefits kick in. He makes it as far as Santa Fe where he impulsively finds work as a driver for a new bed and breakfast – only to find himself soon mixed up in the murder of a high-profile sports agent.

Charged with the crime is the dead man’s client, a […]

Marta Cheng2018-07-09T12:26:00+02:00July 8th, 2018|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Detective Fiction Book Reviews|