Steal it All: Donovan Thief for Hire, Book Three by Chuck Bowie

 Blurb:

The third story in the series Donovan: Thief For Hire, begins with a brutal daylight murder of an English citizen in the Canadian embassy in London, England. The ambassador calls upon a combination of Scotland Yard and the RCMP.

Then there’s the ace up his sleeve. Sean Donovan, a thief for hire who doubles as a security consultant.

But Donovan isn’t nearby. He’s in Canada, learning about the business of winemaking and thinking about his new girl, and contemplating his recent exit from the business of theft.

Even as he inches away from a life of crime, an art collector he owes a favor to, approaches him: is he willing to do the tiniest of thefts? Would Donovan track down a missing piece of art? Can the collector, Gaia, be trusted? Of course not. Can Donovan resist? Of course not. Is there easy money to be made? Oh, yes.

Nothing is ever easy for him.

Donovan may be betting his life on this gig.

About the Author:

Chuck Bowie graduated from the University of New Brunswick in Canada with a bachelor degree in Science. He still lives in on the East Coast of Canada, an hour north or east of Maine. Growing up as an Air Force brat, his writing is influenced by the study of human nature and how people behave, habits he picked up as his family moved nineteen times in his first twenty-one years. Chuck loves food, wine, music and travel—and all play a role in his work.

His writing will often draw upon elements of these experiences to round out his characters and plotlines. Chuck is involved in the world of music, supporting local musicians—occasionally playing with them and always celebrating their successes. Because he enjoys venting as much as the next fellow, Chuck will at times share his thoughts with a brief essay, some of which can be found on his website. http://chuckbowie.ca

He is working through the fourth novel in the suspense-thriller series: Donovan: Thief For Hire. It is titled The Body On The Underwater Road, and is the first in the series with scenes from his home province.

Chuck is married with two adult musician sons. He and his wife, Lois, live in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Review:

In Steal it All, Book Three of the Donovan: Thief for Hire series, Sean Donovan has retired from his career as a security agent/master thief, and has been quietly working his way through the various at a family-owned Ontario winery having financial problems, with an eye toward buying the place and working side-by-side with the current owners to keep it running with the family feeling for the workers and quality the label has always represented. He neither wants to see the winery turned into a corporate factory, nor the family and workers ousted. Donavan could use a few more dollars to do so comfortably, however.

Enter the Canadian government. And his old nemesis, Gaia,—both of whom have jobs for him. The government wants him to travel to England to join a task force investigating the murder of an Embassy employee that took place in his office, and the suicide of his murderer. The case isn’t as open/shut as it appears, as no one, not even Scotland Yard, can identify the murderer. Gaia’s little art theft seems quite simple in comparison. But then, when is anything ever simple?

I confess—I’m a fan of Sean Donovan. I’ve read the entire series, and so far, the quality remains high. Each book is a stand-alone. Mr. Bowie relies on the page-burning twisty plots and the character-driven high quality of his writing to keep fans coming back to his books, rather than cliff-hanger endings. It’s fun trying to guess who the bad guys are and why they do what they do. Mr. Bowie is an author who manages to stump me, at least partly. I highly recommend Steal it All, and all of the Donovan: Thief for Hire books. You don’t necessarily have to read them in order, but I like to do so with series.

Author Website:  http://www.chuckbowie.ca/

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  254 Pages

Digital Price:  $5.99

Buy Link:  https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/new-releases/series/steal-it-all-detail

You’ll notice we always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40-50% of the net proceeds from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40-$2.99. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $1.70-$2.10.

Download the file from the publisher onto your computer as you would any other file. I’ve created a folder for books on my computer, with subfolders by source (Marketing for Romance Writers, Net Galley, Authors who find me on Kindle lists, etc.). That way, if there’s a glitch with your Kindle, the books are on your computer. Some publishers send books in all digital formats. If my Kindle breaks and my kids buy me a Nook, I won’t have to replace all of my books. If you have a Kindle and your hubby has a Nook, you won’t have to buy separate copies, so buying directly from the publisher can save you money.

Moving the file from your computer to your e-reader is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the larger USB end of your e-reader charging chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from the folder into which you’ve downloaded the book to Documents/Books directory on your e-reader. You can move the file by highlighting it and dragging it to the documents directory in you Kindle you want to move it to. Or right click on it, and then left click copy or move. Or hit Control/C for copy, Control/X for cut, and Control/V for paste.

Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.

Thanks for visiting.

If Only by Norma Budden

Blurb:

While still in high school, Demi gave birth to a baby girl and, feeling she had no other options, put her up for adoption. Having moved on with her life—gotten married and having had two other children—16 years later, Demi Glenn suddenly cannot get her firstborn daughter out of her mind. After hiring two private detectives but getting no solid information to go on, Demi turns to the one man who will not come back empty-handed, who will not give up until he finds the answers—David Alexander, a married father of two daughters—the father of the baby she had given up so long ago who had no idea he had sired a child as a teen. Together, will they be able to find their daughter without their families being torn apart or will fate intervene, upsetting their lives in a way they'd never dreamed in the pursuit of finding the daughter they can no longer live without?

Review by Rochelle Weber:

Demi Glenn has recurring nightmares that her firstborn child, born while she was a teen and put up for adoption, is in danger. She sees someone sinister chasing her daughter down a beach. She hires two different private detectives, neither of whom can find the child. Desperate, she turns to the one PI she knows will not stop until he finds the girl—David Alexander—her high school sweetheart, and the baby’s father. Both are married with children and neither has told their families about the baby. How could David tell his family? Demi never told him about the baby.

Their child, Renee, has never felt quite comfortable with her parents. They have different interests, and as an only child, she’s lonely. She’s often wondered if she could be adopted, but her mother swears she’s not. Still, that vague discomfort is always there. But, she’s looking forward to the future. Her best friend/boyfriend is leaving for college, and her parents are allowing her to go live with her Aunt in Alberta to be close to him. She can’t wait to start this next adventure in her life.

I never figured out when, where or how Renee was in danger aside from her adoptive parents finding out her birth parents were looking for her and trying to keep her from finding out she was adopted or from meeting them. I spent much of If Only waiting for Renee to be in danger, but it never really happened, and I felt a bit cheated.

There is a mystery here with elements of the paranormal as Demi, David, and Renee all reach out to each other in their dreams. And there’s a bit of a chase scene at the end, but again—I never felt Renee was in danger of anything but being prevented from meeting Demi and David. There is danger, but it’s not directed toward Renee. Just don’t look for the scene that seems to keep recurring in Demi’s dreams. You won’t find it. If you read If Only without the expectation of anyone chasing Renee down a beach or anywhere else, you’ll enjoy it.

Length:  202 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $9.99

Digital:  $2.99

Buy Link:  http://www.amazon.com/If-Only-Norma-Budden/dp/1507870930/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427823069&sr=8-1&keywords=If+Only+%2B+Norma+Budden

Thanks for visiting. Rose, Julie, Donna, & Rochelle