jbronderbookreviews

This is the story of Liane who convinced her mother to adopt a little two week old kitten that she called Tammy. What follows is the 16 year journey of both of their lives together. Liane writes Tammy’s perspective from what she thinks she would have said in the different situations. If you have had the pleasure of any cat’s company it is easy to see exactly what Tammy “says”.

I loved this story as you follow along as Tammy is scared of the giants and how it takes her a while to start coming out of hiding and her shell. I loved all the antics Tammy got into and know exactly what Liane goes through having grown up on a farm with numerous barn cats, having several cats of my own, and raising several foster babies. Of course the ending breaks your heart but I believe that is the sign of a great pet.

This is an amazing story and one that I recommend for everyone to read. It will appeal to younger kids all the way to adults and cat/pet lovers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

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An 11 x 14 inch print of Tammy: The Little Cat With A Big Attitude book cover signed by the author and the illustrator

An 11 x 14 inch print of Darcy: The Dog Who Talked book cover signed by the author and the illustrator

A signed paperback of Tammy: The Little Cat With A Big Attitude

A signed paperback of Darcy: The Dog Who Talked

and a $10 Amazon GC (open internationally to wherever Amazon delivers)

• Narrated by: Mike Alger
  Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins
  Release date: October 23, 2018
• Publisher: Acorn Book Services

Content Rating: PG (mild violence and sexual suggestion)

Book Description:

In today’s hectic world, many whodunit fans don’t have time to get their mystery fix diving into a whole novel. Lauren Carr’s SPRING THAW AND OTHER MYSTERY SHORT STORIES is for these fans—but that doesn’t mean whodunit fans who do have time can’t dive in as well.

A novella, Spring Thaw features retired federal agent Chris Matheson from Lauren Carr’s newest bestselling cold case series. When his late father’s former friend is indicted for the seven year old murder of a church bishop, Chris renews old broken friendships to thaw out the cold case.

Featuring Mac Faraday from Lauren Carr’s popular Mac Faraday Mysteries, an estate auction turns into a deadly affair after Gnarly’s antics cause Mac to purchase a gem of a dress, which isn’t his color in Killing Bid. (Previously published in Lauren Carr’s BEAUTY TO DIE FOR.)

Beauty to Die For features the Lovers in Crime, Joshua Thornton and Cameron Gates in a race against the Angel of Death to clear the name of a dying woman’s son, who was framed for murdering Miss Pennsylvania. (Previously published in BEAUTY TO DIE FOR.)

Countdown to Murder returns to the Lovers in Crime where Cameron and Joshua try to solve the murder of a young pregnant widow before it happens. (Previously published in BEAUTY TO DIE FOR.)

Mystery fans will see that every dog has his day, especially if that dog is Gnarly. In Lucky Dog, Gnarly helps Mac Faraday to solve the murder of a wealthy society girl. (Previously published in BEAUTY TO DIE FOR.)

Dog Loving Mystery Fans will get a special treat when they read The Gnarly Rehabilitation Program. In this Gnarly Mystery Short, Bert and Ernie learn the hard way that crime does not pay when they dog nap Gnarly. (Previously published as a bonus feature with A WEDDING AND A KILLING.)

Gnarly, the rambunctious German shepherd, is also features in Lauren Carr’s Christmas short, A Gnarly Christmas. It is Christmas day and Gnarly has been up to his old tricks again. Now he’s in the dog house–or rather the boathouse–after stealing the Christmas feast! Moments after Archie and Mac leave Spencer Manor, Gnarly hears a call for help from Rocky, the Maltese down the street. Four assassins for hire have invaded the home of Rocky’s elderly owners. While the home invaders wait for instructions from a mysterious caller, Gnarly must plot to stop them. Can Gnarly save Christmas with only the help of an 8-pound Maltese dressed in an elf suit? (Previously published as a single short story by the same name.)

To read more audiobook reviews, please visit Lauren Carr’s page on iRead Book Tours.

“Lauren Carr is a master storyteller who combines the humor of Janet Evanovich and the investigative skills of Patricia Cornwell. She is always at the top of my reading list.”
– Sherry Fundin, Fundinmental

“Lauren Carr could give Agatha Christie a run for her money!”
– Charlene Mabie-Gamble, Literary R&R

“Lauren Carr’s books are never boring, that’s for sure. They entertain, give us a good mystery to dig into, keep the reader guessing, give us a few good laughs and make us eager for the next book. Warning: Lauren Carr’s series are addictive, so be ready to read more than just one book!”
– Laura Fabiani, Library of Clean Reads

“She is an amazing author that draws you into the story, makes you fall in love with the characters (they feel like family!) and keeps you guessing right to the very end.”
– Working Mommy Journal

“Lauren Carr does a good job of moving the quirky storyline along nicely with an abundance of witty dialogue. And you have no idea who the good guys are and who the bad guys are until the end.”
– Every Free Chance Book Reviews

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!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, 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 on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

Connect with the author: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

Guest Post

Living the Life of Gnarly: (Story of a K-9 Sidekick)

By Lauren Carr

 This guest post is the story of Gnarly, German Shepherd sidekick to Mac Faraday, the star detective of Lauren Carr’s Mac Faraday Mysteries.

Mac Faraday was a homicide detective in Washington, DC, when his life changed in one day. With the pound of a judge’s gavel, Mac’s twenty-year marriage was over and his wife got everything. He was wiped out financially. As he was leaving the courtroom, a lawyer approached him. Fearful that he was about to get another financial hit, Mac ran for three city blocks before he felt sorry for the little man chasing him.

With the expression of a child bursting to tell his secret, this lawyer informed Mac Faraday that the teenaged girl who had given him up for adoption forty-seven years earlier had grown up to become Robin Spencer, world famous murder mystery writer. Upon her death six weeks earlier, she had left her entire estate to her only child.

Mac Faraday also inherited Robin Spencer’s dog—Gnarly, who has recently been elected mayor of Spencer, Maryland, located on the shores of Deep Creek Lake.

Here’s Gnarly’s story, as dictated to Archie Monday, because Mac has grounded him from using the computer after ordering a $2000 Home Pet Spa, complete with a massage attachment, on his credit card.

Take it away, Gnarly!

I was born a poor German Shepherd at Beck’s Kennels, located in a small town in West Virginia called Inwood. Okay, maybe I wasn’t exactly poor, but let’s face it, it was a far cry from Spencer Manor on Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.

Well, I could tell you about my life in the Army, but then I would have to kill you. So, I guess you want to hear about how I ended up as chief of security at Spencer Manor, Mac Faraday’s multi-million-dollar estate, and mayor of Spencer. I know, most mayors quit their day jobs after getting elected, but I just can’t leave the security of my favorite human to just anyone. I mean, if something happens to Archie, then who’s going to feed me? Who’s going to take me to the salon? Who’s going to cover up my scandals?

Anyway, I digress …

It all started after the Army decided they needed to get rid—I mean, it was time for me to leave my life of service in the United States military.

Eventually, I ended up on Spencer Point, assigned to protect this less-than-nice woman named Katrina Singleton in It’s Murder, My Son.  Let’s just say she and I didn’t see eye-to-eye. I kept trying to tell her that someone was seriously stalking her, but she wouldn’t listen and kept telling me what a bad dog I was because I was digging up her yard. She kept locking me in the garage. Hello! It was my job to protect her and she’s locking me in the garage. How am I supposed to protect someone when I’m locked up?

But there was this nice police officer, David O’Callaghan. He listened. After Katrina’s murderer almost killed me when I tried to apprehend him, David took me to the vet. Katrina’s husband ordered them to put me to sleep, but Robin Spencer, the nice lady who lived next door to Katrina, saved me.

Life with Robin Spencer (until she died a couple of months later); and then Mac and Archie Monday (Robin’s assistant, now Mac’s wife) is the best. Mac has a tendency to get testy on occasion—like when I find things and bring them home. He especially gets mad when David, who it turned out is Mac’s half-brother, shows up in his role as chief of police and accuses me of stealing this stuff that I have found fair and square.

But, I flash everyone my big brown eyes. My favorite female human, Archie will jump to my defense and plead temporary insanity. David will agree to abuse his position as chief of police and cover up my crime. (He’s even paid off some of my victims to drop their complaints, but you didn’t hear that from me.) Mac will grumble, glare, and ground me.

I must confess that the life of a rich and famous K-9 is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Take Mac’s latest case in Crimes Past:

It was autumn. The weather was fair and mild and the leaves were at their height—I mean brilliant colors—until I stepped outside and a feral cat attached itself to my face and started biting my eyebrows.

Not a good way to start the day!

Of course, I had to defend myself. I bucked the cat off and snapped its neck. So, I’m standing there with puncture wounds on my head, bleeding, and Mc’s sanding there with his mouth hanging up and there’s a dead cat laying at our feet.

Meanwhile, we are well aware that right next door, the crazy cat lady who brought all of these feral cats to torment me, is just looking for something to get me into trouble―like I can’t get into trouble on my own without her help. She calls the police if I so much as sneeze and my phlegm hits her driveway.

What does Mac do? What any good political advisor will do. He throws me in the car and we get the hell out of there. Then, he calls David to get rid of the body. Only problem is that the dead body disappears.

Anyway, other than yet another political scandal, it was the perfect weekend for a wedding. No, not mine! I’m a confirmed bachelor. Let’s get that straight. Though, I do admit I have a favorite girl by the name of Storm. She’s Belgian, by the way. She lives with David O’Callaghan, who has been a bit sad lately since his last girlfriend took off for Paris.

Mac Faraday has offered up the Spencer Inn, his hotel, as a free venue for the daughter of a detective he used to work with. The bride’s late mother had been the victim of a double homicide—a case Mac had never solved. Of course, Mac does have a devious streak in him. The bride had invited all of her mother’s co-workers and friends—who happened to be suspects in the murder. (And to think he scolds me when I’m devious.)

David was supposed to help Mac on the case, which meant I got to spend some extra time with Storm, only he ended up blowing Mac off when some lady from his past showed up out of the blue with a young man who bore a striking resemblance to David. Storm liked them both right away, so I guess they were cool—which is a good thing considering what they asked me to do at the end of the weekend.

Mac was so desperate to explore every avenue for a break in the cold case for the double murder that he even entertained a suggestion from disgraced former detective Lou Gannon that one of their former friends was the killer.

So I was taking a nice nap in my reserved chair in the lounge at the Spencer Inn when a toilet blew up! That’s right. Someone blew up a toilet and set Mac’s hotel on fire—in my town! No one blows up a hotel in my town and gets away with it. Of course, I had to get straight to work biting butts and taking names.

That was all Mac needed to rip into this cold case to get to the truth. The big question was—which was of Mac’s old friends was really a cold-blooded killer.

Read Crimes Past to find out.

4 stars

Spring Thaw is the first short story in this collection. An old friends of Chris’ father is being charged with killing a church bishop seven years prior. Around the time of the murder he had cut ties with people but Chris is determined to help how his son. I loved how Chris was not going to just let this charge go without more proof and he discovers there is a lot more to the story than when everyone knows.

Included in this collection are also previously published stories with Mac Faraday where an estate sales leads to so much more. Cameron Gates and Joshua Thornton looking into a woman being threaten with dead roses. Joshua Thornton is asked to help clear the name of a dying woman’s son so she can go in peace. Mac looks into the death of a wealth woman by her dog hating ex. And of course there is Gnarly helping stop a robbery and getting out of a dognapping.

Having never read the other stories I was thrilled by this collection. They are all a great addition for anyone that enjoys mysteries and a wonderful sampling of Lauren Carr’s books. But then I learned that all but the first book have already been released. I’m torn on my feeling about this.

Overall I loved the book and I just love how Mike Alger brings these books to life. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

Enter for your chance to Win a $50 Amazon Gift Card courtesy of Lauren Carr, author of Crimes Past (open internationally to wherever Amazon delivers / 1 winner)