A Fine Year for Murder + Giveaway
Welcome to Lauren Carr's Audiobook-a-palooza Blog Tour! To celebrate the release of Lauren Carr's mysteries in audiobook format, we have 14 books from her three series on tour!
The Mac Faraday Mystery Series:
Book Description:
Old loves die hard...and in the worst places.
In Old Loves Die Hard, Lauren Carr continues the rags-to-riches story of Mac Faraday, an underpaid homicide detective who inherits 270 million dollars and an estate on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, from his birth mother on the day his divorce becomes final.
Mac is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up-and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac's private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.
The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac's murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife's lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac's old cases?
With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn's reputation, before its five-stars - and more bodies - start dropping!
Book Description:
Answer: when that man is the heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, you get him a cold case to solve.
In Shades of Murder, Mac Faraday is once again the heir to an unbelievable fortune. This time the benefactor is a collector of stolen art. But this isn't just any stolen work of art - it's a masterpiece with a murder attached to it.
Ilysa Ramsay was in the midst of taking the art world by storm with her artistic genius. Hours after unveiling her latest masterpiece, she is found dead in her Deep Creek Lake studio, and her painting is nowhere to be found.
Almost a decade later, the long lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece has found its way into Mac Faraday's hands and he can't resist the urge to delve into the case.
A world away, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, former JAG lawyer Joshua Thornton agrees to do a favor for the last person he would ever expect - a convicted serial killer.
The favor: solve the one murder wrongly attributed to him.
Joshua finds an unexpected ally in Cameron Gates, a spunky detective who has reason to believe the young woman known to the media only as Jane Doe, victim number four, was the victim of a copycat. Together, Joshua and Cameron set out to light a flame under the cold case only to find that someone behind the scenes wants the case to remain cold, and is willing to kill to keep it that way.
Little do these detectives know that the paths of their respective cases are on a collision course when they follow the clues to bring them together in a showdown with a killer who's got a talent for murder!
Book Description:
In this fourth mystery on Deep Creek Lake, Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs in mobsters and federal agents.
After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars - Archie Monday!
Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lakeshore resort town, things may be hotter than even he can handle.
Book Description:
Never tell Mac Faraday not to do something.
Spencer's police chief, David O'Callaghan, learns this lesson the hard way when he orders Mac Faraday to stay away from the south end of Spencer's mountaintop - even though he owns the property. It doesn't take long for Mac to find out what lies on the other side of the stone wall and locked gate, on which hangs a sign warning visitors to Keep Out!
Topping the list of the 10 top haunted places in America, Astaire Castle is associated with two suicides, three mysterious disappearances, and four murders since it was built almost a century ago - and Mac Faraday owns it!
In spite of David's warning, Mac can't resist unlocking the gate to see the castle that supposedly hasn't seen a living soul since his late mother had ordered it closed up after the double homicide and disappearance of Damian Wagner, a world-famous master of horror novels.
What starts out as a quick tour of a dusty old castle turns into another Mac Faraday adventure when Astaire Castle becomes the scene of even more murders. Mac is going to need to put all of his investigative talents to work to sort out this case that involves the strangest characters he has run into yet - including a wolf man. No, we're not talking about Gnarly.
Book Description:
Fame comes at a price. Some pay with their privacy. Others pay with their pride. Khloe Everest paid with her life.
Determined to get her pretty face in front of the cameras, Khloe Everest fakes an abduction only to make a grand entrance in the midst of a press conference held by Spencer's Police Chief David O'Callaghan.
Three years later, after failing to catapult her notoriety into a long-lasting celebrity, Khloe Everest returns to Spencer upon her mother's sudden death and seemingly finds another weapon to propel herself into the spotlight. Unfortunately, someone kills her before she can make this entrance.
In Lauren Carr's sixth Mac Faraday Mystery, Mac and his friends come up against reality stars, politicians, has-beens, and wannabes. Mac also finds himself face-to-face with an old foe from his past who had managed to escape arrest during their last encounter. Now, Mac sees that his adversary has only become more powerful, and dangerous, with the passage of time.
Intent to not let this killer escape again, Mac and his friends need to put all of their talents together to put a stop to a cold-blooded lady killer.
Determined to get her pretty face in front of the cameras, Khloe Everest fakes an abduction only to make a grand entrance in the midst of a press conference held by Spencer's Police Chief David O'Callaghan.
Three years later, after failing to catapult her notoriety into a long-lasting celebrity, Khloe Everest returns to Spencer upon her mother's sudden death and seemingly finds another weapon to propel herself into the spotlight. Unfortunately, someone kills her before she can make this entrance.
In Lauren Carr's sixth Mac Faraday Mystery, Mac and his friends come up against reality stars, politicians, has-beens, and wannabes. Mac also finds himself face-to-face with an old foe from his past who had managed to escape arrest during their last encounter. Now, Mac sees that his adversary has only become more powerful, and dangerous, with the passage of time.
Intent to not let this killer escape again, Mac and his friends need to put all of their talents together to put a stop to a cold-blooded lady killer.
Buy the Audiobook ~ Book
Book Description:
With three days left to the year, Deep Creek Lake is hopping with holiday vacationers and wedding guests pouring into the Spencer Inn for Mac Faraday and Archie Monday's huge wedding ceremony which is being touted as the social event of the year.
But droopy flowers and guests who failed to RSVP are the least of Mac's and Archie's problems when a professional hit squad hits Spencer Manor to send the groom, Joshua Thornton, Archie's mother, and Gnarly running for their lives.
With time running out before the big day, Mac Faraday and Spencer's small police force have to sort through the clues to figure out not only who has been targeted for assassination, but also who is determined to stop everything...forever!
Spring is in the air. In Deep Creek Lake, the burst of blossoms on the trees has the effect of a starting pistol in the race to get the resort area ready in time for the seasonal residents return to Spencer, Maryland.
This year, the Spencer Inn, Mac Faraday's five-star resort, has the added duty of preparing for the Diablo Ball, an annual benefit event that used to kick off Deep Creek Lake's summer season. The exclusive gala has drawn in A-listers from across the country, including suspects and witnesses connected to Ashton Piedmont, a young woman who had disappeared while skinny dipping in Deep Creek Lake five years earlier, days after the last Diablo Ball.
Intrigued by a mysterious phone call from a young woman claiming to be Ashton, retired homicide detective Mac Faraday can't resist diving head first into the cold case. But he's not the only one. Someone behind the scenes has gone to a lot of trouble to bring Ashton Piedmont's friends and enemies to the Diablo Ball, which promises to be a gala event to die for!
Police Chief David O'Callaghan and Chelsea Adams' wedding day is fast approaching. Unfortunately, at the last minute, David discovers that there is one small problem to be taken care of before he can walk down the aisle - divorce his first wife!
Lauren Carr takes fans of the Mac Faraday mysteries to the Big Apple in this nail-biting adventure. In Cancelled Vows, David, Mac, and Gnarly, too, rush to New York City to dissolve David's marriage to an old girlfriend - and he's got five days to get it done. When murder throws up a road block, it is up to David's best man, Mac Faraday, and Gnarly, K9-in-waiting, to sort through the clues to get David to the church in time!
The Lovers in Crime Mystery Series:
Spunky Cameron Gates is tasked with solving the murder of Cherry Pickens, a legendary star of pornographic films, whose body turns up in an abandoned freezer. The case has a personal connection to her lover, Joshua Thornton, because the freezer was located in his cousin's basement. It doesn't take long for their investigation to reveal that the risqué star's roots were buried in their rural Ohio Valley community, something that Cherry had kept off her show business bio. She should have kept her hometown off her road map, too - because when this starlet came running home from the mob, it proved to be a fatal homecoming.
When Homicide Detective Cameron Gates befriends Dolly, the little old lady who lives across the street, she is warned not to get lured into helping the elderly woman by investigating the unsolved murder of one of her girls. "She's senile," Cameron is warned. "It's not a real murder."
Such is not the case. After Dolly is brutally murdered, Cameron discovers that the sweet blue-haired lady's "girl" was a call girl who had been killed in a mysterious double homicide.
Meanwhile, Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton is looking for answers to the murder of a childhood friend, a sheriff deputy whose cruiser is found at the bottom of a lake. The deputy had disappeared almost 20 years ago while privately investigating the murder of a local prostitute.
It doesn't take long for the Lovers in Crime to put their cases together to reveal a long-kept secret that some believe is worth killing to keep undercover.
Book Description:
Joshua's eldest son, Joshua Thornton Jr. (J.J.) has graduated at the top of his class from law school and returns home to spend the summer studying for the bar exam. However, to Joshua's and Cameron's shock and dismay, J.J. moves into the main house at Russell Ridge Farm and Orchards, the largest dairy farm in the Ohio Valley, in order to rekindle a romance with Suellen Russell, the one-time leader of a rock band who is twice his age. Quickly, they learn that she has a deep dark secret.
The move brings long buried tensions between the father and son to the surface - not the least of which being J.J.'s inexplicable dislike for his stepmother Cameron. But when a brutal killer strikes, the Lovers in Crime must set all differences with Joshua's son aside to solve the crime before J.J. ends up in the cross-hairs of a murderer.
The Thorny Rose Mystery Series:
Book Description:
Five women with seemingly nothing in common are found brutally murdered in a townhome outside Washington, DC. Among the many questions surrounding the massacre is what had brought these apparent strangers together only to be killed.
Taking on his first official murder case, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton, USN, believes that if he can uncover the thread connecting the victims, then he can find their murderer.
Before long, the case takes an unexpected turn when Murphy discovers that one of the victims has a connection to his stepmother, Homicide Detective Cameron Gates. One wintry night, over a dozen years before, her first husband, a Pennsylvania State trooper, had been run down while working a night shift on the turnpike.
In this first installment of the Thorny Rose Mysteries, Lieutenant Murphy Thornton and Jessica Faraday sift through a web of lies and cover-ups. Together, can the detectives uncover the truth without falling victim to a cunning killer?
Book Description:
After 10 months of marital bliss, Jessica Faraday and Murphy Thornton are still discovering and adjusting to their life together. Settled in their new home, everything appears to be perfect...except in the middle of the night when, in the darkest shadows of her subconscious, a deep secret from Jessica's past creeps to the surface to make her strike out at Murphy.
When investigative journalist Dallas Walker tells the couple about her latest case, known as the Pine Bridge Massacre, they realize Jessica may have witnessed the murder of a family while visiting family at the winery near-by, and suppressed the memory.
Determined to uncover the truth and find justice for the murder victims, Jessica and Murphy return to the scene of the crime with Dallas Walker, a spunky bull-headed Texan. Can this family reunion bring closure for a community touched by tragedy or will this prickly get-together bring an end to the Thorny Rose couple?
My Review
This is the second book in this series. I am happy to revisit with Jessica and Murphy. Kill and Run was the first book I read from this author. I enjoyed that book a lot. This time, I listened to the audio version of this book. Which brought a different experience to this book. A very good one. Narrator, C. J. McAllister really brought life to all of the characters as well as the story. Listening to Mr. McAllister read this book kept my interest. There are times where I have listened to books only to find it becoming background noise. This was not the case. After just listening to one book from Mr. McAllister, it is easy to see why he was honored with the title "Audible Approved Producer." I enjoyed listening to this book so much that I plan to check out other audio books narrated by Ms. McAllister.
Back to the story. Murphy is the bomb. He brought the comedic relief to this story. I could not get enough of him. Yet, the way he interacted with Jessica and helping her with the case and her nightmares, showed just how much love he has for her. Jessica is no wallflower. She will not stop until she has solved the case. Not to be missed; Dallas added a nice layer of dynamics to Jessica and Murphy. Got to love a strong willed Texan. This story had some intriguing characters. They sure kept the story entertaining. I have to say that this series is my favorite thus far from author, Lauren Carr.
Content Rating:
All of Lauren Carr's books are rated PG-13 because they are murder mysteries and will contains murder scenes. Some of the books contain violence associated with military assignments. There are some books that contain sex scenes which are not explicit. There is little profanity, no f-words.
Meet the Author:
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband and three dogs (including the real Gnarly’s klutzy nephew Sterling) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Meet the Narrators:
Over the past several years Dan Lawson has appeared in numerous spots for radio, television and the internet. He has worked with All-State, Sprint PCS, Mountain Dew and many more. His unique ability to mimic existing characters and celebrities has landed him diverse voice match work ranging from Charlie Sheen to Morgan Freeman.
In 2008 Dan was cast as the first American voice actor for the Korean video game company, Nexon. Over the next several years Dan was the flagship voice of the company, appearing in such titles as Mabinogi, Maple Story, Vindictus, Dragon Nest, Dungeon Fighter Online and Atlantica. In total he has voiced nearly 100 characters for Nexon.
In late 2012 Dan’s voice over career took an unexpected turn into book narration. His first audition landed him the job of narrating The Psychology of Twilight, a psychological look at the wide-spread obsession of the Twilight saga created by Stephanie Meyer. Eighteen more audiobook narrations have followed and show no signs of slowing down.
C.J. McAllister is an Audible Approved Producer -- "Audible Approved producers are the best audiobook producers in the business." Only a small number are awarded this honor.
C.J. has produced best-selling audiobooks in multiple genres/styles, TV commercials/promo teasers, animation projects, interviews (TV and radio), corporate presentations.
Another Audible Approved narrator, voice actor James Lewis has established a solid reputation in fiction as well as non-ficton audiobooks. At latest count, he's narrated nearly 50.
Although his specialty is noir fiction, James has done several non-fiction books as well on a range of people and subjects: Butch and Sundance, General Custer, Revolutionary War, psychic development, taxes.
James Lewis has been awarded the AudioFile Earphone Award for narration, "The Last Outlaws". It's about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
A broadcast veteran of over 30 years, Mike Alger is best known as the award-winning Chief Meteorologist for KTVN-TV in Reno, NV. He is also a successful author, having penned the Mystery-Thriller novel "Snow Storm," and is the narrator of the audiobook of the same name.
Guest Post: When to Let Go of Your Book
By Lauren Carr
Several months ago, I rejected a project in which an author
asked me to edit his book. Not only did I turn down the job because my schedule
does not allow me to edit other authors’ books anymore, but there was another
reason I had turned down the project.
The first installment in a trilogy, the book had already
been edited and released to the public to favorable reviews. Two years later,
readers of this first book were waiting for the next installment, which the
writer had still not finished. However, instead of focusing on completing the
second book, he had decided to go back to work on the first—already completed
and released—book.
Note that the changes this author wanted to make were not
glaring grammatical errors that he wanted me to correct. Rather, a year or so
after the book’s release, he had picked it up again and started reading it and
decided that he could “fine-tune” it.
Frankly, this is not an uncommon problem with some writers.
Just the other day I saw where the author of one book, which had been released
three years ago, announced that he had just received his first shipment of this
same book: “Revamped and Re-Released.”
Why? I wondered.
This book had received a ton of good reviews. Why has he not moved on to write another book?
Some writers simply have a problem letting go.
Just like how some writers have a problem focusing on one
project to its completion, other writers have the opposite problem. They can’t
let go and walk away after having written the words “The End.”
There were always at least one or two writers who can’t let
go of “their baby” (as I heard one writer describe it) when I teach a novel
writing class. They are easy to spot. They have a book inside them that they
have been working on for five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years.
I can still remember the very first thing I learned about
writing on my first day of college. It was in my first writing class that my
journalism professor said, “Writers never finish
a project. They quit working on it.”
He went on to explain that a writer can edit, re-write,
revise, and proofread an article, short story, or book over and over again, and
still find sections that can be fine tuned or corrections to be made. That’s
why professional writers must set a deadline in which they force themselves to
walk away from the project—at which point they aren’t necessarily done, but
rather they have let it go to move onto their next project.
This is why writers who don’t let go, walk away, and never
look back will continue to write, edit, rewrite, re-edit, proofread one single book
for their whole lives. Because—
In reality, it is impossible to finish writing a book.
Here’s a few pointers for writers who want to become
prolific authors with more than one, twenty-year-old unfinished novel under
their belt:
1)
Set a deadline to finish your book. I have been
told that writers with a journalism background learn early on how to let go.
They are forced to due to tight deadlines. I was trained to get a project done
by my deadline and then let it go, walk away, and then start on the next book.
As a full-time author, I still work on deadlines—even though they are
self-imposed.
2)
Make each round of editing and proofreading
count. Remember that you will always find sections that can be “fine-tuned”
every time you go through. With this in mind, set a limit of how many times you
will read through your project and when you do, be ruthless in your search for
errors.
Every writer is different. Personally, after completing
the rough draft, I go through a manuscript to rewrite it. Then, I will edit it.
After editing, I send it to my editor.
(While my current work in progress is with the editor, I will start
working on my next book.) Then, after going through the edits, I will proofread
the book after layout. That is five times that I will go through a book.
3)
Once your book is released, don’t look back.
Move onward! Unless you discover that your book has a big glaring flaw, resist
the urge to read through it again. (Once, six weeks after a book was released,
I was contacted by a reader who discovered that I had a city in the wrong
country. This mistake was missed by two editors and a proofreader! I simply
corrected that error—resisting the urge to look any further, and re-released
the book.)
I guarantee, when you go back to look at a book you
wrote a few years ago, you will definitely think, “Gee, I could have done that
better,” Or “I should have done that.” Yes, every writer does that.
But, the pros who have more than one twenty-year-old
unfinished book under their belt, they let each book go, direct their attention
on the next book, and never look back.
Enter the Giveaway!
Ends July 22
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