Blurb:
Set in New York City and Narragansett, Rhode
Island in 1990, meet Claire Kennedy, successful mystery book editor at Cauldron
Press. Her most famous client, the reclusive Sarah Winesong, has written her
first new novel in five years, and Claire is ready to break out the champagne!
And
then, in walks Tony Nichols. He’s gorgeous, angry and full of accusations that
start with “Cauldron Press stole my book” and end with “Sarah Winesong is a
fraud”.
This
contemporary cozy mystery has a stellar cast of would-be villains and one real
one who will stop at nothing to eliminate his nefarious scheme from coming to
light, including stalk and try to kill Claire and Tony!
Excerpt:
Tony
Nichols used both hands to push through the revolving door into the Waldorf
Astoria. A second later he stood inside the hotel, his dark eyes methodically searching
the throng of well-dressed guests.
The
woman he sought was nowhere in sight.
Keeping
his head down and his shoulders square, Tony walked through the richly paneled
lobby. His demeanor was defensive, as if he expected to be asked to leave.
The
people around him flashed discreet smiles, and their intimate conversations
annoyed him.
Once
he’d have felt right at home threading through this throng of professionals,
greeting and being greeted affectionately. But today only disinterested glances
were cast his way, the sour tang of insults too long held back burned in his
mouth.
The
person at the front desk directed him up to the third floor, where the
socializing was now in full swing. Usually courteous, Tony snapped a curt no
when a tray of canapés was offered to him by a gaping waitress. With a deep
breath he reminded himself to stay calm until he had completed his task.
Everything
was at stake.
Lengthening
his stride, Tony reached the doorway of the main banquet room. A skinny redhead
in a black sequined gown standing in the shadows took him by surprise.
“Why
don’t I fill out a name tag for you? We really aren’t all that mysterious
here.”
Turning
to her, the lean muscles working slowly in his jaw, Tony measured out his
words. “Why don’t you. The name’s Poe. E. A. Poe.”
The
redhead smiled. “Poe. How appropriate. Any relation to the Poe?” Her black felt
marker squeaked against the paper.
“Just
in spirit.” Slapping the white adhesive tag against his shirt, Tony walked over
to the table bearing a Register Here sign. The chairs behind it were empty, but
a banner tacked on to the wall behind it heralded the 45th Annual Mystery
Writers Convention. He was in the right place.
Turning back to search the now even more crowded room, his anxiety began to turn to anger. He fixed his stare on the groups of threes and fours moving into the room and studied each woman. Several, including a couple of blonds, returned his look.
But
he did nothing to encourage any of them to speak to him. Only one woman
interested him today.
Look for a tall blond woman about thirty with
freckles. She is wearing a scarlet jacket and miniskirt. With a croc belt.
Isn’t that what the receptionist at Cauldron
Press had said? Damn, every other woman here had on that color, he thought.
He
discarded his original plan. He had planned to confront the editor in her
office when Cauldron’s secretary told him the woman would not be back until
Monday. But Tony now realized it might be impossible to find her in this crowd
or, once finding her, to get her alone. But he had to keep trying. His business
could not wait five days.
Tony
was jostled out of his thoughts when a large group of Mystery Society members
moved in his direction. Backtracking to the banquet room doorway, he noticed
that the redhead was gone. Most of the people were sitting at the tables
inside, as a battalion of waiters bustled around the room. He glanced at his
watch.
It
had been twenty-four hours since the phone call that had confirmed his suspicions.
Time was running out. He had to find Claire Kennedy now.
Find
her. And convince her she would be better off dead than publishing that book.
My Review:
4 stars
If
you’re looking for a thrilling, suspenseful read, look no further. Stranger
Than Fiction definitely lives up to its name. I loved the mix of murder, mystery,
suspense, and romance and I enjoyed that it was set in the publishing industry.
The characters were realistic and engaging, while the plot was full of twists
and turns, and an unexpected ending. I was kept on the edge of my seat, and
couldn’t put the book down. The only thing I didn’t like was that the romance
between Tony and Claire felt forced to me at times. Other than that, this was an interesting and suspenseful read.
November
30: Room With Books
November 30: Our Families Adventure
November 30: Sharing Links and Wisdom
December 7: Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
December 7: Journey of a Bookseller
December 7: Romorror Fan Girl
December 14: Unabridged Andra's
December 14: Romantic Fanatic
December 14: The Book Review
December 14: Katie's Clean Book Collection
December 28: The Reading Addict
December 28: LibriAmoriMiei
December 28: Books Are Love
November 30: Our Families Adventure
November 30: Sharing Links and Wisdom
December 7: Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock
December 7: Journey of a Bookseller
December 7: Romorror Fan Girl
December 14: Unabridged Andra's
December 14: Romantic Fanatic
December 14: The Book Review
December 14: Katie's Clean Book Collection
December 28: The Reading Addict
December 28: LibriAmoriMiei
December 28: Books Are Love
Author Bio and Links:
Emelle
Gamble became a writer at an early age. At six years old, she was bursting with
the requisite childhood stories of introspection, and this itch to tell tales
evolved into bad teen poetry and tortured short works that, thankfully, never
saw the light of day, or an editor’s red pen.
She
took her first stab at writing a novel in an adult education class in Mobile,
Alabama when her kids were in bed for the night. As ‘M.L. Gamble,’ she
published several romantic suspense novels with Harlequin Intrigue. She now
publishes novels of Ordinary Women in Extraordinary Situations with SoulMate
Publishing and Posh Publishing …works ranging from women’s fiction to thrillers
and romantic suspense.
Always
intrigued by the words ‘what if’, Gamble’s books feature an ordinary woman
confronted with an extraordinary situation. Emelle celebrates the adventurous
spirit of readers, and hopes each will enjoy the exciting and surprising
journeys her characters take.
Emelle
lives in suburban Washington D.C. with her hero of thirty years, Philip, and
two orange cats, Lucy and Bella. Like all good villains, the cats claim to have
their reasons for misbehaving. Her children are happily launched on their own
and are both contributing great things to society, their mother’s fondest wish.
Emelle
welcomes any reader interested in emailing her and
hopes they will visit her website or her Author Emelle
Gamble FaceBook page.
The book will be FREE during the Tour