Author: Brenda Whiteside
Series: Love and Murder #2
Pages: 300
Date Published: January 7th, 2015
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Format: ebook
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours
Synopsis:
Mystery writer, Phoebe Anderson, owes her success to killing her first husband on paper seventeen years earlier. Now, someone has actually done it. When she decides to take a few days away on the ranch of her best friend’s brother-in-law, she doesn’t expect romance to find her...or murder to follow her.
Mason Meadowlark is happy with his wild cowboy ways, avoiding love since the death of his baby and the end of his marriage twenty years ago. When Phoebe shows up, he fights to control his emotions, but soon wonders if she just might be worth the risk of opening his heart again.
With an obsessed fan close on her heels, Phoebe is thrown into her own murder mystery…and the next target on his list is Mason.
~My Thoughts~
Southwest of Love and Murder is pretty much all it says it is in the title. Southwestern location? Check...lots of heat and probably tacos. Love? Check...Our heroine Phoebe unexpectedly falls in love with cowboy Mason Meadowlark. (I'm sensing a great superhero name there...what do you think? The Killer Cowboy has a ring to it....). And last but not least, Murder? But of course! Someone turns up dead, and it's up to our new duo of Killer Cowboy and heroine to find out who.
Although this is the second book in a series, you really could only tell by vague references every now and then to another couple that probably paired off in the first book. People seemed to be familiar and weren't as explained as I would have liked, but hey...I guess I should just go back and read book one if I want to know.
Phoebe as a character actually was a little blah to me. She does the standard "woman" thing of vaguely considering losing a few pounds, complaining internally that the hot guy couldn't possibly want plain her, and several other standards of the genre that tend to irritate the life out of me....However she was a fabulous author...which is sweet, and knew how to take care of herself which was also a plus. Mainly though, I liked the interplay between Mason and Phoebe the most.
As for the writing strength of the piece, I particularly enjoyed it when Phoebe found Carla's body. I know..."liking" that kind of a thing is a bit odd...but I thought the scene was very well written! I've included it below as my chosen excerpt because I liked it so much. It was interesting to see Phoebe face murder in real life after she'd written about it for years. Violence may be easy to see and experience on paper and in the media, but when it comes to your doorstep, it changes a person and you can almost feel that change overtake Phoebe-a very cool character moment from Brenda!
Although this is the second book in a series, you really could only tell by vague references every now and then to another couple that probably paired off in the first book. People seemed to be familiar and weren't as explained as I would have liked, but hey...I guess I should just go back and read book one if I want to know.
Phoebe as a character actually was a little blah to me. She does the standard "woman" thing of vaguely considering losing a few pounds, complaining internally that the hot guy couldn't possibly want plain her, and several other standards of the genre that tend to irritate the life out of me....However she was a fabulous author...which is sweet, and knew how to take care of herself which was also a plus. Mainly though, I liked the interplay between Mason and Phoebe the most.
As for the writing strength of the piece, I particularly enjoyed it when Phoebe found Carla's body. I know..."liking" that kind of a thing is a bit odd...but I thought the scene was very well written! I've included it below as my chosen excerpt because I liked it so much. It was interesting to see Phoebe face murder in real life after she'd written about it for years. Violence may be easy to see and experience on paper and in the media, but when it comes to your doorstep, it changes a person and you can almost feel that change overtake Phoebe-a very cool character moment from Brenda!
~Try an Excerpt!~
Phoebe shuddered and stilled.
Like the aftershocks of an earthquake, trembling overtook
her body. Her knees wobbled, but Mason caught her before she collapsed.
“What’s wrong?” He hugged her briefly then brought his face
even with hers. “Phoebe, tell me. Why are you shaking? What’s happened?”
“Oh my God, Mason.” She spread her hands on his chest and
glanced back at the bathroom. “Tell someone to call an ambulance. Hurry!”
He took a step toward the ladies’ room, but she grabbed his
shirtfront. “No!” She peered around him and shouted. “Someone call nine one
one.”
Mason touched his pocket. “My cell’s in the truck.” He
grabbed the shoulder of a male customer, the closest person to them. “You got a
cell on you?”
The man nodded and pulled a phone from his pocket.
“Call nine one one right now. There’s been…” His face
questioned her.
“Someone’s badly hurt in the bathroom. Oh hell, hurry!” She
thumped her palms against his chest.
The man pulled out his cell as he raced into the ladies’
room.
Phoebe wrapped her arms around Mason, tipped her chin
upward, and found the words. “It’s that waitress, Mason. Carla.”
His expression went blank, from concern for her to no
comprehension.
“There’s so much blood.” She stifled a gag, the sweet,
copper penny reek still heavy in her nostrils. “Her throat.” A shudder rippled
the length of her body. “I think she’s dead.”
~Meet Brenda~
Brenda spends
most of her time writing stories of discovery and love entangled with suspense.
The rest of her time is spent tending vegetables on the small family farm she
shares with her husband, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Together,
they’ve embraced an age-old lifestyle that has been mostly lost in the United
States - multiple generations living under one roof, who share the workload,
follow their individual dreams and reap the benefits of combined talents.
Although she
didn’t start out to write romance, she’s found all good stories involve
complicated human relationships. She’s also found no matter a person’s age, a
new discovery is right around every corner. Whether humorous or serious,
straight contemporary or suspense, all her books revolve around those two
facts.
Visit Brenda
at www.brendawhiteside.com.
Or on
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/brendawhitesid2
She blogs on
the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She blogs
about writing and prairie life at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/
Brenda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
It sounds like the title is a good fit.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Mary.
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excerpt, I enjoyed reading it :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed, Lisa.
DeleteAndra, thanks for hosting me and my book and my giveaway! And thank you for an honest review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here Brenda! It was a fun read :)
DeleteI liked how Brenda brought this web site to my attention, and now I'll be coming back often! Thanks, Brenda - and Andra Lyn!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Andra will be glad to hear that! Thanks, Laney.
DeleteThank you Laney! I'm excited to have you here!
DeleteI love this series and can't wait to read the third book! I found Phoebe to be a normal woman. Those of us who our middle aged, do think the things Phoebe thinks. It's what makes us human. I agree with you, Andra, on the well written scenes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for chiming in, Jody.
DeleteI enjoyed the excerpt, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rita!
DeleteThe excerpt and honest review. Love hero's name, BTW :-)
ReplyDeleteI think so, too. And thank you, Diane.
DeleteGreat excerpt and really good review.
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by!
DeleteI like the excerpt and cover; thanks for the giveaway. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome and thanks for coming by, Cali.
DeleteI really enjoyed the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThanks and I enjoyed you stopping by, Flip.
DeleteI love the excerpt. Sounds like a great book
ReplyDeleteThank you, Teresa. Glad you think so!
Deleteinteresting blurb
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review and excerpt!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Glenda.
DeleteThis is a new to me series. It's always the right time to read a cowboy romance and with mystery and murder thrown in it couldn't get any better.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you now know about my series, Deanne!
DeleteEnjoyed reading your review, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to read it, Nikolina.
DeleteBrenda is a new-to-me author. I usually read historical romances but I do like the occasional murder-mystery story. This one sounds like a good one. Thanks for your honest review too. Helps a lot in determining if I would like the book.
ReplyDeleteHope you'll take a chance on me, Karen! Thanks for dropping in.
DeleteI enjoyed reading about the author! Always fun to get to know the person behind the writing.
ReplyDeleteHi Sydney. Thanks
DeleteSounds like a great book, Brenda. Good luck
ReplyDeleteThanks and thanks, Marlow.
DeleteI enjoyed the excerpt and review, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Judy. Thanks so much!!
DeleteI have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, Patrick. Thanks for stopping.
DeleteThanks, Patrick. Good luck on the drawing.
DeleteThanks for saying so, Patrick!
DeleteMy favorite part of the post is the author bio especially the part where she feels that no matter a person’s age, a new discovery is right around every corner
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading about your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI love the bio with info about you and I absolutely love the idea of generations living together and being a community. We did this when my grnaddaughter was a baby and the whole family loves and takes cae of the new parents and baby making life a little easier.
ReplyDelete