Guest Post: Mary Burton

Warm temperatures came to Virginia this past January weekend. Instead of the expected low 30s the mercury rose to 70 degrees. I turned off the fireplace, put aside my winter coat, and set off on my morning walk with the dogs--and how nice to have it be a real treat and not a chilly chore. My miniature dachshunds Buddy and Bella were full of energy and a few times Buddy was so energized by the weather he ran past the fence into the woods after a squirrel.

The rising temperature had even changed the whole ambiance of the house. It seemed more open and bright, even more cheerful than the days of cold temps and gloomy sky. This brief break from winter was a reminder to me of how important setting is to a novel. Not just the weather, but also the time of the year and the location. Every city has its own character and has to be considered when plotting a novel because those quirks play into the tone of a story.

I’ve always treated setting as a character in my books, which is why I put so much thought into the setting in my latest novel THE SEVENTH VICTIM. I’d considered many locations: Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco. But in the end I was drawn to Austin, Texas. Not only does the city have a rich history and weather extremes but also it's the state capital and a university town. And as an artists' town it’s a delightful contrast to the ruggedness of the rest of the state.

My heroine in THE SEVENTH VICTIM is Lara Church a teacher and photographer who typifies Austin’s quirky nature. And my hero, James Beck is a Texas Ranger and a true reflection of the Lone Star state. THE SEVENTH VICTIM would have been just as fun to write if I’d chosen to set it in a different place but, quite simply, it would have been . . . well . . . different.

The Seventh Victim by Mary Burton
Genre: crime fiction

About The Seventh Victim:

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED
It’s been seven years since the Seattle Strangler terrorized the city. His victims were all young, pretty, their lifeless bodies found wrapped in a home-sewn white dress. But there was one who miraculously escaped death, just before the Strangler disappeared…

KILL
Lara Church has only hazy memories of her long-ago attack. What she does have is a home in Austin, a job, and a chance at a normal life at last. Then Texas Ranger James Beck arrives on her doorstep with shattering news: The Strangler is back. And this time, he’s in Austin…

AND KILL AGAIN…
He’s always craved her, even as he killed the others. For so long he’s been waiting to unleash the beast within. And this time, he’ll prove he holds her life in his hands—right before he ends it forever…

Source: Info in the About The Seventh Victim was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13637842-the-seventh-victim on 20/01/2013.

Buy Link(s):

About Mary Burton:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the author of nineteen novels including her latest thriller, THE SEVENTH VICTIM. Her highly praised books include Before She Dies, Senseless, Merciless, Dying Scream, Dead Ringer and I’m Watching You.

A Richmond native whose family’s roots run as deep as the nation’s, Mary still lives there. She attended Virginia’s Hollins University and began a career in marketing. Eventually, she decided the stories buzzing around her brain really did deserve her attention. She left her job and wrote her first novel, a historical romance published in 2000.

Mary wrote eleven more romance novels and three novellas before embracing the dark world of suspense. She even brought danger to her novella Christmas Past, which appears in the New York Times bestselling holiday anthology Silver Bells. Her story, Snow Maiden, was featured in the USA Today bestselling collection A Hero’s Kiss.

Research led her to both the Henrico County Citizens Police Academy and the Richmond FBI Citizen’s Academy as well as Sisters in Crime’s Forensic University program and the Writers Police Academy in Jamestown, North Carolina, where the focus was on undercover work, autopsies, and the theories behind why people kill.

Mary writes full time. When not killing people, she spends time in the kitchen, practices yoga, enjoys her family and her miniature dachshunds, and completes courses toward her Baking & Pastry Arts Certificate at the University of Richmond’s Culinary Arts Program. She has just completed her next novel, NO ESCAPE, which will be published in November 2013.

Mary's Links:
www.maryburton.com
facebook.com/maryburtonfanpage
www.kensingtonbooks.com

Dreaming Of Books International Giveaway!

Dreaming Of Books Giveaway Hop: Your Choice Of Book From A Our List

Runs from the 18th to the 24th of January, 2013. Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf.

Winner to pick their choice of book from our lineup!

Ends on January 24. This giveaway is open to international readers. Winner will be announced soon thereafter. Winner will also be sent an email notification with this email address: cherrymischif-winnr[at]yahoo[dot]com, in which winner has to reply within 72 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be picked. Please read the Terms & Conditions at the bottom of the rafflecopter form and this blog's Disclaimer as they form part of the giveaway rules. Also please note that some of the books are used and had been pre-read by me while some are brand new and never been read. Fill in the rafflecopter below to enter. If rafflecopter does not load in your browser, leave your email address in the comment section (in broken pattern same as my email above to avoid spam bots) and that will include you in the draw, however, you will not be able to take advantage of the optional entries offered in the rafflecopter. More entries means more chances of winning. Alternatively you can try and see if you could access the rafflecopter form HERE.

Hunger Like No Other by Kresly Cole
(Paranormal Romance)

Everneath by Brodi Ashton
(Urban Fantasy)

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
(YA UF)

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
(MiddleGrade UF)

The Crossing Of Ingo by Helen Dunmore
(YA UF)

Every Dead Thing by John Connolly
(Crime Fiction)

Awakening by S.J. Bolton
(I think this might be Crime Horror, but I'm not sure [haven't read this book yet]. If you know what genre this book actually belongs to please let me know.)

The Harrowing by Alexandra Sokoloff
(Horror)

Kissed By An Angel by Elizabeth Chandler
(Urban Fantasy)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
If you can't see the rafflecopter form, try going HERE.


Visit the other blogs to win more bookish prizes!

WW28: FALLING KINGDOMS

WW28 book offering: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Prosperous Auranos, however, struck an agreement with Paelsia. They subsidized the planting of vineyards over all the fertile farmland in Paelsia - land that could have been used to grow crops to feed its people and livestock.

And thus the hunger and suffering started...

About Falling Kingdoms:

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power -- brutally transforming their subjects' lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished -- and finds himself the leader of a people's revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past -- and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that's certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

Source: Info in the About Falling Kingdoms was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12954620-falling-kingdoms on 05/05/2012.

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous - WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

Thank you to Tiffanie of Mostly YA Lit for hosting the December New Release Giveaway Hop which made it possible for me to win Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes!

Review: RIVERS OF LONDON

Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch
Read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
Book 1 of Peter Grant series
Genre: urban fantasy, police investigaiton
Format: hardback & audiobook

About Rivers Of London:

Probationary Constable Peter Grant dreams of being a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police. Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Source: Info in the About Rivers Of London was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8680417-midnight-riot on 26/11/2012.

Narrative Evaluation:

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's voice has a slurrish quality to it that made his words just a tad bit unclear at times. I think this gets more promounced as he reads along. When he is fresh, from what I presume is from breaks, his words becomes clearer again. This took a lot of getting used to and sort of distracted me from enjoying this book more than I would otherwise if not for that. However I did like his Welsh accent! Man, it sounds very authentic!!

The book has this coat-of-arms or insignia in the title page and I presume that this has something to do with the secret fellowship of human wizards in which Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale is now the sole surviving full member and is headquartered at the Folly in Russell Square, London. However, this secret organization was not even named in the book. It was just a "secret fellowship", never mind the symbol being explained. I wonder if this would get explained in book 2... It's loose ends like that which contributed to bringing the entertainment value of this book down a bit. Plus there are little holes in the world building. Don't get me wrong, the overall picture is beautiful! But there are holes in the tapestry which detracted from it's beauty. Despite that, I probably would still read on with this series because I really like the premise. A police Harry Dresden?!! That is just too irresistible for the urban fantasy geek in me to resist. Probably why I like the Grimm TV series so much even if some parts of it is annoying. But this is only Book 1 and I am optimistic and hope that Ben Aaronovitch would get better as he writes along and that the second book would be better... Plus I like the humour with which Ben Aaronovitch writes. A book which makes me laugh or smile would always get brownie points with me!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 4
World building = 3.5
Cover art = 1
Pace = (9 hours & 58 minutes listening time)
Plot = 4
Narrator = 4
Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In Rivers Of London Series:

Review: VENGEANCE IN DEATH

Vengeance in Death by JD Robb
Book 6 of the In Death series
Narrated by Martha Harmon Pardee
Genre: SciFi murder mystery, police investigation, crime fiction
Format: paperback & audiobook

About Vengeance in Death:

He is an expert with the latest technology...a madman with the mind of a genius and the heart of a killer. He quietly stalks his prey. Then he haunts the police with cryptic riddles about the crimes he is about to commit - always solved moments too late to save the victims' lives.

Police lieutenant Eve Dallas found the first victim butchered in his own home. The second lost his life in a vacant luxury apartment. The two men had little in common. Both suffered unspeakable torture before their deaths. And both had ties to an ugly secret of 10 years past - a secret shared by none other than Eve's new husband, Roarke.

Source: Info in the About Vengeance in Death was taken from Audible at http://www.theaudiobookstore.com/j-d-robb/vengeance-in-death-in_bkbrll000126.aspx on 15/03/2012.

Review:

I think this book has the thickest plot yet in this series thus far. I actually did not guess who the bad guy is. At all! Unlike previous books where my guess was proven correct. Lots and lots of kudos to this book for a tricky plot! Usually when it's book 6 into the series it gets repetitive and the series goes downhill for me like the Carpathian series did. However Vengeance in Death deviates from that pattern. This book, even if it is the 6th installment in the series, did not read like "same old, same old", but kept the reader engaged and kept it's novelty fresh. You gotta give the series kudos for achieving that, six books down the line! Additionally, I believe that Vengeance in Death can be read on it's own. So you do not have to suffer through reading 5 books of lesser entertainment value to enjoy this one, you can just dive straight in! Not that the previous books were not good, no! It's just that some of it were better than others. Having said that, a reader would probably appreciate the characters and events better if this series is read in chronological order. Specially with Book 1 giving the basics of succeeding plots. So basically, it depends on what kind of reader you are, in deciding whether or not to read this book as a stand alone or not.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 1
Pace = N/A (10 hours & 48 min)
Plot = 4.5
Narrator = 4.5
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries