LET'S GET COZY! THE CHRISTIE CURSE: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
THE CHRISTIE CURSE

 A Book Collector Mystery 

BY VICTORIA ABBOTT

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?

Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card-stealing ex and pending grad school loans.

Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good...but is it worth her life? 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between the always very funny and creative artist, photographer and short story author, Victoria Maffini and her mother, Mary Jane Maffini, award-winning author of three mystery series and two dozen short stories. Their four miniature dachshunds are understandably outraged that a pug and some Siamese cats have wiggled their way into the series. Please visit their website HERE to read the full "BIO" on this talented Mother and Daughter.

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 GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KAYLEIGH AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT BERKLEY PRIME CRIME AND PENGUIN BOOKS,

I HAVE ONE COPY OF THE CHRISTIE CURSE,

TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT THE CHRISTIE CURSE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT VICTORIA ABBOTT'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, MARCH 11

   GOOD LUCK!

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ARE YOU LISTENING? SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S" 
ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS

The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives 

BY BECKY AIKMAN

ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

Six marriages, six heartbreaks, one shared beginning. 

In her forties – a widow, too young, too modern to accept the role – Becky Aikman struggled to make sense of her place in an altered world.  In this transcendent and infectiously wise memoir, she explores surprising new discoveries about how people experience grief and transcend loss and, following her own remarriage, forms a group with five other young widows to test these unconventional ideas.  Together, these friends summon the humor, resilience, and striving spirit essential for anyone overcoming adversity.
 

Meet the Saturday Night Widows: ringleader Becky, an unsentimental journalist who lost her husband to cancer; Tara, a polished mother of two, whose husband died in the throes of alcoholism after she filed for divorce; Denise, a widow of just five months, now struggling to get by; Marcia, a hard-driving corporate lawyer; Dawn, an alluring self-made entrepreneur whose husband was killed in a sporting accident, leaving two small children behind; and Lesley, a housewife who returned home one day to find that her husband had committed suicide.
 

The women meet once a month, and over the course of a year, they strike out on ever more far-flung adventures, learning to live past the worst thing they thought could happen.  They share emotional peaks and valleys – dating, parenting, moving, finding meaningful work, and reinventing themselves – while turning traditional thinking about loss and recovery upside down.  Through it all runs the story of Aikman's own journey through grief and her love affair with a man who tempts her to marry again.  In a transporting story of what friends can achieve when they hold each other up, Saturday Night Widows is a rare book that will make you laugh, think, and remind yourself that despite the utter unpredictability and occasional tragedy of life, it is also precious, fragile, and often more joyous than we recognize. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A graduate of the School of Journalism at Columbia University, Becky Aikman was a writer and editor for Business Week and a reporter for Newsday.  She lives in New York City. 

PRAISE FOR SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS:

 “Their stories of loss are touching, and the wisdom they gain is a testament to the durability of the human spirit.” – People

 “Often desperate, sometimes feisty, partly hilarious, and warm as a fleecy blanket, Saturday Night Widows is a surprisingly feel-good, girl-bonding, which-role-will-Meryl-Streep-play-in-the-movie kind of a book. And I loved it….It’s sad, it’s happy, and, in fact, once you start Saturday Night Widows, you won’t be able to part with it.” – Terri Schlichenmeyer, Independent News

 “A spirited, insightful memoir about a group of young widows who gather together once a month to cheer each other on and have fun.” – Shelf Awareness

“Engaging and entertaining but not maudlin, Aikman shows a side of life that many readers probably don't think about.  A compassionate narrative about how one group of friends helped each other thrive after the deaths of their spouses.”– Kirkus Reviews

“It’s the spirit of a book that makes you love it.  And the spirit here, Becky Aikman’s spirit, is tough, honest, funny, smart, and generous to the world – all the equipment one needs when dealing with grief.  One would not wish to qualify for the widows’ club, but reading about it is heartening.”
– Roger Rosenblatt, author of Kayak Morning and Making Toast

 “For anyone who has ever loved, lost, and relied on the companionship of women, Saturday Night Widows is a gem of a read that will affirm the power of friendship, new beginnings, and the ability of the human spirit to survive and thrive.  I cheered on each of these women as they faced their own darkest moments and looked to the power of sisterhood and shared experience to remake their futures.” – Lee Woodruff, author of Those We Love Most and In an Instant

MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
Becky Aikman’s memoir, SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS, is quite different from what one might expect. This is not a maudlin story about women in black sitting around consoling each other. Instead, it is one where a small group of widows meet once a month on a Saturday to celebrate life and share in friendship. When Aikman’s husband died of cancer following a long battle, Becky was in her 40s and found herself not quite fitting into the typical widow mold. She did seek some help and attended a support group but realized quickly this was not a path for her to take. Most of the group were older and seemed almost to enjoy each other’s shared pain. She read books by noted authorities but none of those seemed to fit. Being proactive, Becky took in all that the latest research showed and came up with a plan. She formed THE SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS group.

Becky found other widows who would be supportive of each other while learning to live again themselves. The women were varied in ages, from 39 to 57, from different backgrounds and careers, and made up of some mothers, professionals, and/or housewives. Together they spent these Saturdays learning from each other and exploring new things. There was no leader as they each had contributions to make. Whether it was a gourmet cooking class or an exciting trip as a group, these women slowly became whole again while having fun doing it.

SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS isn’t just the story of Becky’s dealing with the loss of her husband as well as learning to love again, but rather it is a courageously honest, dynamic memoir that details the discovery, confessions, and the adventures of these charming women. With the camaraderie in the group, each member is able to share their personal story through tears and laughter. They find themselves starting to see some hope as well as a whole lot of fun along the way. Thanks to the group, each member learns they can live a fulfilling life again, looking forward to many rewarding years ahead. Readers will share in all their emotions while enjoying a rather unique and well written narrative. 

 GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO RICHARD AND THE GOOD PEOPLE

AT RANDOM HOUSE AUDIO BOOKS, I HAVE ONE

COPY OF THIS WONDERFUL AUDIO BOOK,

SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS,

TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY FOLLOWER

  

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE IN 
ORDER TO COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY
 

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT WIDOWS THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY 

 +1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH ON SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY

 +1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
 6 PM, EST, MARCH 11

GOOD LUCK!

 

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LET'S GET COZY! NICKLED-AND-DIMED TO DEATH: A PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 
 GIVEAWAY ENDED 
NICKLED-AND-DIMED TO DEATH

A Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery

BY DENISE SWANSON

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In New York Times bestselling author Denise Swanson’s “slightly zany”* new mystery series, Devereaux Sinclair loves running her old-fashioned store in her small Missouri hometown. If only murder didn’t keep landing on her doorstep...

Dev’s five-and-dime may be doing well, but her love life is in turmoil. She’s torn between Deputy U.S. Marshal Jake Del Vecchio, who is on an undercover assignment, and her ex-beau Noah Underwood, the local doctor from a high-society family. So she welcomes the distraction when Elise Whitmore offers her a great deal on antique chocolate molds that would be perfect for her Easter gift baskets. But do the molds actually belong to Elise’s soon-to-be ex-husband? In buying them, has Dev committed a felony?

When Elise is found shot to death, the mystery deepens—and Dev’s good friend Boone, who discovered the body, is taken into custody. With the help of her best buds, Dev must clear Boone’s name and find the real killer. Good thing that when it comes to amateur sleuths, they broke the mold with Dev Sinclair. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Denise Swanson has worked as a school psychologist for 17 years. She lives in Illinois with her husband, Dave, and their cool black cat, Boomerang. For more information, visit her website "Bio" HERE.

SOME OTHER BOOKS BY DENISE SWANSON:

 

 GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KAYLEIGH AND THE GOOD FOLKS

AT OBSIDIAN AND PENGUIN BOOKS, I HAVE

ONE COPY OF NICKLED-AND-DIMED TO DEATH

TO GIVE AWAY TO A LUCKY READER

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT NICKLE-AND-DIMED TO DEATH MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT DENISE SWANSON'S WEBSITE HERE 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, MARCH 9

 

GOOD LUCK!

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WEDNESDAY IS FOR WINNERS!

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S
WINNERS' ANNOUNCEMENT!

 

THE WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED 

BY EMAIL AND HAVE UNTIL NOON,
FEBRUARY 22, TO REPLY WITH THEIR
INFORMATION OR A NEW WINNER
WILL HAVE TO BE CHOSEN! 

**************************************

  TOWN IN A PUMPKIN BASH

A Candy Holliday Murder Mystery

BY B. B. HAYWOOD

THE WINNER IS:

#126 Kaye

**************************************************

THE FIFTH ASSASSIN

BY BRAD MELTZER

THE WINNER IS:

#43 Jo-Jo

*******************************************************

THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE

BY AYANA MATHIS

THE WINNER IS:

#86 Margie

*************************************************** 

  VEILED REVENGE

A Crime of Fashion Mystery

BY ELLEN BYERRUM

THE WINNER IS:

#56 Wendy Newcomb

**********************************************

THE GOOD HOUSE

BY ANN LEARY 

NARRATED BY MARY BETH HURT

THE WINNER IS:

#19 bermudaonion

*****************************************************

 

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ARE YOU LISTENING? FINALLY...MY REVIEW AND BONUS ENTRIES FOR THE FIFTH ASSASSIN

WELCOME TO BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S"

ARE YOU LISTENING? DAY"
I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY'S
AUDIO BOOK CHOICE....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
THE FIFTH ASSASSIN

BY BRAD MELTZER

REMINDER ABOUT THE AUDIO BOOK:

From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, there have been fourteen assassination attempts on the President of the United States.

Four have been successful.

But now, Beecher White -- the hero of the #1 bestseller The Inner Circle -- discovers a killer in Washington, DC who's meticulously recreating the crimes of the world's most famous assassins:
John Wilkes Booth.
Charles Guiteau.
Leon Czolgosz.
Lee Harvey Oswald.

But what's scariest of all is what all four assassins have in common. Historians have branded them as four lone wolves. But what if they were wrong?

Beecher is about to find out the truth: that over the course of a hundred years, all four assassins were secretly working together. What was their purpose? Who do they really work for? And why are they planning to killing the President today? Beecher's about to find out. And most terrifying, he's about to come face-to-face with the fifth assassin.                    

REMINDER ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Brad Meltzer is the author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers The Inner Circle and The Book of Fate, and six other bestselling thrillers. His first nonfiction work, Heroes for My Son, was also a New York Times bestseller. He is also the host of the History Channel series Brad Meltzer's Decoded, the Eisner Award-winning writer of the graphic novel Justice League of America, and one of the cocreators of the TV show Jack & Bobby. A graduate of the University of Michigan and Columbia Law School, he currently lives in Florida. But to see what really matters, please go to www.BradMeltzer.com. You can also see what he's doing right now at facebook.com/bradmeltzer and twitter.com/bradmeltzer.
   

MY THOUGHTS/PREVIEW: 
In THE FIFTH ASSASSIN, author Brad Meltzer has brought back Beecher White, an archivist with the National Archives who last thrilled readers in Meltzer’s THE INNER CIRCLE. As the story opens, one at a time, religious leaders in Washington, D.C. are murdered.  Beecher White realizes that each murder resembles the same method as one of the presidential assassinations. Beecher, we find out, is also a member of the Culper Ring (also introduced in THE INNER CIRCLE) and from his work with that group, he sees this pattern.

It seems the four successful presidential assassins - John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz, and Lee Harvey Oswald - were all part of a group known as The Knights of the Golden Circle. These Knights believe their mission is mandated from a higher power.  Where once they were thought to have had no connection other than by their reprehensible acts, Beecher brings together convincing research to show that they weren’t just random acts.  The question of why, and who they work for, is inconceivable. Everyone Beecher knows becomes suspect including an old friend, Marshall, who actually is among the inner circle of people who work with the President.

THE FIFTH ASSASSIN is indeed a political thriller at its best, filled with more twists and turns that you can imagine. I warn you to play close attention as you listen (or read) THE FIFTH ASSASSIN as it is fast moving and filled with so many important bits you don‘t want to overlook. It leads readers on a page turning, edge-of-your-seat ride up until the very end where only Brad Meltzer could sell this story to readers and make us finish the last sentence feeling this could actually be possible!

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO MITCH AND THE GOOD FOLKS

 AT HACHETTE AUDIO BOOKS, I HAVE

ONE COPY OF THE FIFTH ASSASSIN TO GIVE

 AWAY TO A LUCKY FOLLOWER

   
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES, PLEASE
--INCLUDE EMAIL ADDRESS IN COMMENT
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE IN

ORDER TO COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE ENTRY

 
HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT MY REVIEW OF THE FIFTH ASSASSIN THAT WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS AUDIO BOOK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND LEAVE A LINK I CAN FOLLOW IN THE ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT FEBRUARY GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU CAN COMMENT ON EACH ON SEPARATELY AND GAIN MORE ENTRIES THAT WAY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: BE SURE AND VISIT MY PREVIEW OF THIS AUDIO BOOK HERE AND COMMENT THERE AS WELL FOR MORE CHANCES TO WIN THIS AMAZING AUDIO BOOK

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
 6 PM, EST, FEBRUARY 20

GOOD LUCK!

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