Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Life In Death by Harlow Coban


Life In Death by Harlow Coban
Published By: Wine Not Publishing
Release Date: February 19, 2012
Format: Kindle - 194 KB - 88 pages
ASIN: B007B4S9JW
Genre: Murder Mystery / Suspense / Thriller


About The Author: 






Harlow Coban was born in Kansas City, MO but grew up in Denver, CO. She relocated to North Carolina five years ago with her husband, two dogs, and 16 year old twins.

She shares a birthday with the notorious Napoleon Bonaparte. In keeping with his legacy, she is currently working on taking over the world. Harlow's positive attitude and fresh take on life are her tools and conquest is certain.

She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16 year old twins' driving.

Her debut novel, Life In Death (February 2012), is a murder mystery which pulls from real-life situations from her own family history. She felt compelled to share her story with the world while offering a thrilling, entertaining, and amusing escape for readers.

In keeping with her commitment to improving the lives of children, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of her book will be donated to the Boys and Girls Club in her home state of North Carolina.

She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and her website.

AUTHOR WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
GOODREADS
Harlow Coban's Life In Death Virtual Book Tour Page On Goddess Fish Promotions


BUY THE BOOK: Life In Death
AMAZON


Disclaimer: At the request of the author and Goddess Fish Promotions, a PDF edition of the book was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest review and participation in the virtual book tour event.

Virtual Book Tour Event: on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in association with Goddess Fish Promotions, author Harlow Coban participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews.
http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/author-guest-post-harlow-coban-author.html




* Virtual Book Tour Contest*


The virtual book tour for Harlow Coban's debut novel, Life In Death runs from March 23 - April 13, 2012. At each blog stop on the tour, the author will be giving away a prize which may include (but isn't limited to):

Amazon Gift Cards
Book Lover Note Cards
Journals
Kindle Cover
Book Tote
Hunger Games Trilogy

Post a comment below and on Harlow's Author Guest Post to enter the virtual book tour contest. if you follow the tour stops and comment on each blog, the more you comment, the better the chances for winning!



Book Description: 

When a girl that social worker Kari Marchant places in foster care is brutally murdered, she's compelled to learn why. Her quest for the truth pits her against friends and coworkers. As Kari works to solve the horrific plot, more people die. She's been targeted for death and she doesn't even know it. How far should she go to learn the truth - even if it threatens her life? 

When homicide detective Rance Nicolet meets Kari, his attraction to her is powerful - and the feeling is mutual. But things between them go terribly wrong when Kari's old lover is found murdered with a letter from her in his pocket. The evidence against Kari is damning. Rance's personal and professional lives collide. Does he blindly believe the woman he's falling in love with or follow the evidence no matter where it leads?


Book Excerpt:

"Frost. Call on line one." The voice boomed overhead and interrupted Scott Frost mid-climb. He jumped off his truck, pushed up the sleeves on his dingy green work shirt and walked to the phone mounted on the wall, his face a scowl of irritation.

He grabbed the receiver. "Hello."

"They found Patience," his wife Andrea, whispered.

Mammoth garbage trucks rumbled and shook the walls as they rolled out into the street for the day's work, their giant bellies hungry for trash. Scott strained to hear his wife over the noise.

"I told you never to call me here."

"Do you know what they did to her?" Her voice rose an octave.

"Hold it together." He clenched his fist and resisted the impulse to smash it through the wall. "She's the one who ran off." 

"She didn't deserve that. Nobody deserves that."

The phone slipped a bit in his sweaty hand. Tolerance had never been one of Scott's virtues, and what little he did have waned with each whiny word his wife uttered. "It'll all be over soon, you know that." 

"They won't let us out."

He gnashed his teeth together until the noise in his head drowned out the roar of garbage trucks. The pumping of his heart escalated and Scott imagined he could feel his blood pressure rising. 

"Damn it, Andrea, take a valium. These people are dangerous. They'll kill us if we flake out." 


My Book Review:

Kari Marchant is a social worker who has dedicated her life to improving the lives of children at risk. When one of her kids, Patience Dolo is found brutally murdered, Kari knew she had failed this one, and she vows to find out what happened. Homicide detective Rance Nicolet and his partner Rudy Cobb are investigating the murder of Patience Dolo, and when they interview Kari, sparks fly and there is an instant attraction between Kari and Rance. While Kari is searching for the truth in the murder of Patience, she gets too close and other people she knows are murdered, which puts doubt of her innocence in Rance's mind. Is Kari involved in these brutal murders, or is someone trying to set her up? 

Life In Death is a fast-paced chilling novella that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. The storyline has a lot of twists and turns that keeps the reader riveted and guessing what will happen next. There are a lot of characters in the story, their individual complexities are intriguing, but there are so many characters and plot changes that a reader can become easily confused. The description of the murder scenes are brutal and chilling, which is exactly what true murder mystery fans crave, and this story has plenty of that. The only thing that didn't sit well with me is that some of the subplots didn't make sense to me, I would have preferred if the story was a full length novel, but then again, perhaps the author is just whetting our appetite for her next installment of this series. 

Life In Death is the author's first novella, and with that being said, I think she does a good job of writing a story that provides the reader with enough suspense and intrigue, that they will want to read the next books in the series. Murder mystery, suspense and thriller fans, give this fast-paced little novella a chance, it will provide the thrills and chills that you crave!


RATING: 3 STARS *** (My Rating) / 4 STARS **** (Amazon Rating)



4 comments:

  1. Thank you for your review. I am looking forward to reading LIFE IN DEATH.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  2. Thank you Marybelle for visiting my blog site. I hope you get a chance to read this intriguing novella. :)

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  3. Hi Kathleen...Greetings from Wilmington! It's beautiful here now. Everything is in bloom but it's too early for the Azalea Festival. All the blooming will be over by then! Hope things are looking great at your beach.

    @capefearlibn

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    1. Hey Catherine! Glad to see all is well in beautiful NC. Here in NJ we're having some typical spring like weather in the 60s, not beach weather yet! lol

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