Cheryl's Book Nook

FIRST CUT Author: Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell ISBN: 9781335008305 Publication Date: January 7, 2020 Publisher: Hanover Square Press BOOK SUMMARY: Wife and husband duo Dr. Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell first enthralled the book world with their runaway bestselling memoir Working Stiff—a fearless account of a young forensic pathologist’s “rookie season” as a NYC medical examiner. This winter, Dr. Melinek, now a prominent forensic pathologist in the Bay Area, once again joins forces with writer T.J. Mitchell to take their first stab at fiction. The result: FIRST CUT (Hanover Square Press; Hardcover; January 7, 2020; $26.99)—a gritty and compelling crime debut about a hard-nosed San Francisco medical examiner who uncovers a dangerous conspiracy connecting the seedy underbelly of the city’s nefarious opioid traffickers and its ever-shifting terrain of tech startups. Dr. Jessie Teska has made a chilling discovery. A suspected overdose case contains hints of something more si...

Good Girls Lie Author: J.T. Ellison ISBN: 9780778330776 Publication Date: 12/30/19 Publisher: MIRA Books Description J.T. Ellison’s pulse-pounding new psychological thriller examines the tenuous bonds of friendship, the power of lies and the desperate lengths people will go to in order to protect their secrets. Goode girls don’t lie… Perched atop a hill in the tiny town of Marchburg, Virginia, The Goode School is a prestigious prep school known as a Silent Ivy. The boarding school of choice for daughters of the rich and influential, it accepts only the best and the brightest. Its elite status, long-held traditions and honor code are ideal for preparing exceptional young women for brilliant futures at Ivy League universities and beyond. But a stranger has come to Goode, and this ivy has turned poisonous. In a world where appearances are everything, as long as students pretend to follow the rules, no one questions...

Pathfinder by Anna Schmidt Publication Date: 12/31/2019 Return to a time when the West was Wild… Captain Max Winslow was once a pathfinder for the Army, blazing trails and keeping his brothers-in-arms safe. Now he’s the star of a Wild West show, reminding curious audiences of days long gone. The world around him may be changing, but that doesn’t mean he has to accept it—not when there are frontiers yet to be explored. When Max first sets eyes on no-nonsense Harvey Girl Emma Elliot, he knows that anything between them would be impossible. She’s a realist embracing what the future holds, while he’s a dreamer, determined to preserve the West he once knew. And yet something about Emma’s strength of will calls to him. It isn’t long before Max must decide: is there room in his dream for love, or will his resolve to hang on to the past jeopardize their future? Award-winning author ANNA SCHMIDT delights in creating stories where her characters must wrestle with the challenges of the...

Dexter meets Victoria Schwab in this dark and compelling fantasy about a girl who seeks revenge on the boy who betrayed her, a sequel to the critically acclaimed Not Even Bones . After escaping her kidnappers and destroying the black market where she was held captive, all Nita wants is to find a way to live her life without looking over her shoulder. But with a video of her ability to self-heal all over the dark web, Nita knows she’s still a prime target on the black market. There’s only one way to keep herself safe. Nita must make herself so feared that no one would ever dare come after her again. And the best way to start building her reputation? Take her revenge on Fabricio, the boy who sold Nita to her kidnappers. But killing Fabricio is harder than Nita thought it would be, even with Kovit by her side. Now caught in a game of kill or be killed, Nita will do whatever it takes to win. My Review I have seen the first book in this series but never read it. After finishing this...

Two candles flaring at a Christmas crib. A nurse who steps inside a church to light them. A gunshot emptied in a man’s head in the creaking stillness before dawn, that the nurse says she didn’t hear. It’s 1947 in the snowbound, war-scarred City of London, where Pandora’s Box just got opened in the ruins, City Police has a vice killing on its hands, and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to help spare his blushes. Like the Buddha says, everything is connected. So it all can be explained. But that’s a little cryptic when you happen to be the shamus, and you’re standing over a corpse. Two candles flaring at a Christmas crib. A nurse who steps inside a church to light them. A gunshot emptied in a man’s head in the creaking stillness before dawn, that the nurse says she didn’t hear. It’s 1947 in the snowbound, war-scarred City of London, where Pandora’s Box just got opened in the ruins, City Police has a vice killing on its hands, and a spooked councilor hires a shamus to help spare hi...

The Way Back to You by Sharon Sala Publication Date: 12/31/2019 What do you do when your whole life is turned upside down? Sully Raines sets out to find his birth mother, and ends up in Blessings, Georgia. A new surprise awaits him here, but of the best kind—his childhood sweetheart, whom he hasn’t seen since she moved away when they were teens, is living in Blessings now. He’s not sure she’s as happy to see him as he is to see her, but it’s been a lot of years, and a lot of water under the bridge… Sully’s heartfelt search for answers about his past might just turn out to be the key to his future… SHARON SALA has over one hundred books in print and has published in five different genres. She is an eight-time RITA finalist, five-time Career Achievement winner from RT Book Reviews, and five-time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award. She lives in Norman, Oklahoma. Purchase Links: Amazon B&N Apple  IndieBound BAM Excerpt: Sully drove straight to the fl...

 Loki Ascending by Asa Maria Bradley Publication Date: 12/31/2019 LOKI WANTS TO END THE WORLD Only they can stop him—but at what cost? Although Scott Brisbane is human, he’s developed an inner warrior—a berserker that wants to claim Irja Vainio as his own. Irja is an immortal Viking healer, but she hasn’t used her true powers for centuries. The last time she did, someone close to her ended up dead. So instead she relies on medicine and science to protect her tribe while denying her feelings for Scott. But the Viking warriors are falling mysteriously ill, and without magic, Irja’s knowledge of healing isn’t enough. When the trickster god Loki offers her a cure, it comes with a steep price that could cost Irja everything. She needs Scott’s help, the man whose loyalty to the Vikings is unmatched, whose love for Irja cannot be broken—and whose inner fury has yet to be unleashed. Originally a native of Sweden, ASA MARIA BRADLEY came to the United States as a high school exchange ...

Sometimes a little Christmas magic can rekindle the most unexpected romances… Sheriff Kace Laramie and his brothers found long-awaited happiness when they moved to Coldwater, Texas, as foster children. But the feel-good story has one bittersweet twist—his brief marriage to local rich girl Jana Parker. When that blew up, Kace vowed never to marry again and has kept Jana mostly off his mind…until she comes back to town, needing his help. Recently divorced for a second time, Jana just wants to create a good life for her young daughter—and keep her mother from marrying Kace’s gold-digging father. Asking him for help may be wrong given their history. But as the stakes—and their chemistry—make the Christmas season sizzle, Jana knows how much more wrong it would be to let a love this magical slip away again… My Review What made this book for me was Kace and Jana. I liked these two together. Jana was headstrong but nothing that Kace could not handle. You could tell that they ...