Ticket to Ride: a young girl goes missing and an darker online world is exposed

Ticket To Ride is the fifteenth book in the Hart’s Ridge series by Kay Bratt. When a young woman disappears on her way to rehab, private investigator Taylor Gray is asked to follow her steps. When a young girl goes missing that hits closer to home, Taylor is thrown into the online world and the predators lurking in the shadows. As she searches, rumors and whispers of other girls gone missing under similar circumstances and every lead reveals a darker path and secrets involving powerful people who would do anything to keep them buried. With time running out, Taylor is determined to end the ring of predators who are luring vulnerable girls and the shadowy figures who are determined to silence those who threaten their system. Little does Taylor know that one link in the chain will throw the small town of Hart’s Ridge into turmoil. 

Ticket to Ride opens with a seemingly normal court case as a young woman must choose between jail or rehab and the story doesn’t stop. Page after page, readers are on a race against time as Taylor follows a case that hits too close to home. With gritty reality, Ticket to Ride brings to light the darkness and danger of an everyday activity: online games and communities. While online activities can be innocent, there are predators lurking, ready to lure innocent kids into a darker world. With each piece of evidence, Taylor gets closer to the true boss of this web of criminals and it will leave readers’ jaws on the floor when Taylor discovers who is behind it all. As the sixteenth book has been noticed, I am looking forward to Taylor’s future in Hart’s Ridge. I highly, highly recommend Ticket to Ride. 

Ticket to Ride is available in paperback and eBook

Looking for Smoke: a story of murder, mystery and a stark reality for Native women

Looking for Smoke by KA Cobell is a young adult fiction of murder, mystery and a very real situation plaguing young Native women. Mara Racette recently moved to the Blackfeet Reservation with her parents and is on the outside looking in. When Loren Arnoux includes her in a traditional Blackfeet giveaway to honor her missing sister, Rayanne, Mara thinks she is finally making friends. However, when Samantha White Tail, another girl from the giveaway, is found murdered, everyone who was a part of the giveaway becomes a person of interest. Each one may have had a motive. From Mara and Loren to Brody Clark, the class clown, and tough guy Eli First Kill, each with a deep mistrust of each, take the matter into their own hands to clear their names. Can they discover the truth? Is one of them a murderer?

I love stories about Native Indigenous people and their culture and struggles. So when the opportunity to read Looking for Smoke came up, I jumped at it. In a powerful debut novel, Ms. Cobell weaved a story of loss, betrayal and mystery that was engaging with a shocking twist and surprise that had my jaw on the floor! Weaved through the story is the very real nightmare of missing and murdered native women. The statistics the author discussed at the end of the book were heartbreaking and horrifying! The characters were complex and the growth throughout the story was great. The imagery and the descriptions of the festivals and rituals were breathtaking. I could not put this story down and read well into the night. I am looking forward to reading more stories by KA Cobell. I highly, highly recommend Looking for Smoke. 

Looking for Smoke will be available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook on June 4, 2024

The Summer We Lost Her: a story of every parent's nightmare

The Summer We Lost Her by Tish Cohen is the story of Matt and Elise Sorenson who spend the summer fixing up the family cabin for sale as they struggle to keep their lives together while praising their own career ambitions. Elise Sorenson is an equestrian with Olympic dreams. Matt is offered a partnership with his law firm. It is evident that they both are madly in love with each other and they adore their daughter, Gracie. However, they seem to be slowly growing apart. As they struggle to find a way to pursue their goals while remaining a family, tragedy strikes, and Gracie goes missing. Will they find Gracie safe and sound? Will they be able to bring their lives back together?

The Summer We Lost Her was a hard book to finish. I didn’t care for the characters especially Elise. It was hard to sympathize with her as she struggles with her dreams and her role as wife and mother. The first half was very slow as I was waiting for the drama of Gracie’s disappearance and the search for her. The second half seemed way too fast. The resolution to the story was a bit of a letdown and the overall feel of the story was uneven. At the end, I felt nothing for these characters: no sadness, no sympathy, no tears. I do not recommend The Summer We Lost Her.

The Summer We Lost Her

will be available June 4, 2019

in paperback, eBook and audiobook

A Game of Deceit: where can she turn?

A Game of Deceit by K.A. Davis is the story of one woman’s fight to discover the truth behind her husband’s sudden disappearance and the possible link to her father’s disappearance so many years ago. Kathryn Landry is a successful interior designer until one day when she arrives home to discover her husband, Neil, gone. His clothes and things are gone. Something’s fishy about him leaving as his important medication is still in the bathroom. She reports him missing and she is quickly pulled into a web of lies and mistrust that she doesn’t know who she can truly turn to. First, John Selton, a client and a private investigator, starts investigating Neil’s disappearance and Detective Mike Williams, who was a young detective who handled her father’s disappearance and doesn’t trust John. Both men try to sway Kathryn to his side, but who can she really believe? Will she find out what happened to her husband and her father?

A Game of Deceit is a fast paced story of cat and mouse as Kathryn finds herself in the middle of a sinister plot. I enjoyed every step as Kathryn wondered who to believe and trust. I was with Kathryn as she wavered between John and Mike. The ending! I totally didn’t see coming. Looking back over the clues, Ms. Davis does a great job at setting the final showdown between Kathryn and the story’s villain, who I cannot give away. The book also leaves it open for a sequel as not all has been revealed yet. If you have mystery and thrillers, you will enjoy A Game of Deceit. I highly recommend it.

A Game of Deceit

is available in paperback and eBook

Deliver Her: when a mother's plan goes horribly wrong

Deliver Her by Patricia Perry Donovan is a story about one mother’s desperate decision to help her teenage daughter. When the decision leads to her daughter missing and the desperate search to get her back. Meg Carmody’s 16 year old daughter, Alex, has been in a downward spiral since her best friend died in a car accident after her Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Desperate to put her back on track, Meg contacts The Birches a behavior facility which helps troubled teens. She arranges for a transport service to take Alex to the school. Carl and his friend, Carolyn, pick up Alex and they are on their way. But during a rain storm, Carl loses control of the car and when he regains consciousness, Alex is missing. The search is on. While at home, awaiting on news of Alex, Meg begins to discover the truth behind the car accident which killed Alex’s best friend. Will Meg be able to find Alex in time? Will Alex learn the truth about the accident? Will she be able to get her life back on track?

Deliver Her is a fast-paced, heart wrenching story about a mother’s desperate attempt to help her daughter and her daughter’s inner turmoil about her life after a tragic accident. I was hooked from page one as I read Meg’s desperation and fighting against all odds in order to get her daughter back. The book was fast paced and with very new revelation, a new twist in the tragic story which led Alex down this path. I highly recommend Deliver Her.

Deliver Her

is available on Amazon

in paperback for $14.95

and with KindleUnlimited