The Church of Spilled Blood by Jesse Miles #Thriller #Suspense #RussianBallet

The Plot:

Jack Salvo teaches philosophy one night a week at a local community college, but he pays his bills by working as a Los Angeles private detective.

When a group of world-class Russian ballet dancers visits L.A., he signs on as a bodyguard. It’s a piece of cake. All he has to do is hang out with beautiful women. Then one of his charges is kidnapped from under his nose. In pursuing the kidnappers, he evades the FBI, finds bullet-riddled bodies near the Hollywood Sign, and dodges bullets.

Drawn into a web of deceit and maniacal revenge, he finds himself in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Now he’s a fish-out-of-water—an L.A. private eye in a strange land. The most popular historical site in town is called The Church of Our Savior Built on Spilled Blood. When Salvo tries to save the life of a ballerina with whom he has developed a close personal relationship, the church lives up to its name.

About the Author:

Jesse Miles grew up in central California, where his ancestors had arrived from Arkansas and Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl migration. When he was eleven years old, his father took him on a business trip to Los Angeles, and little Jesse immediately decided he wanted to live in L.A.

During his college years in Orange County and Los Angeles, his part-time and summer jobs included work as an insurance investigator in the Hollywood area. That particular work experience provided some thought-provoking insights into the human condition and laid part of the foundation for his writing detective novels.

He earned an MBA at UCLA and put in three decades with a large corporation, working mostly in computer security and other phases of security. Over the years, he worked with a wide range of law enforcement and military intelligence veterans, learning many lessons of criminality, investigation, and survival.

Jesse currently lives in the Brentwood district of Los Angeles. His interests include classic films, pro football, pro bicycle racing, Russian ballet, and Formula 1. In his spare time, he goes to the gym and hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains.

For more detail see his website at http://jessemilesbooks.com.

Review:

Jack Salvo is an unusual kind of private investigator. He teaches philosophy, and is a romantic. He lives in a nice area of Los Angeles, but his office is in a run-down neighborhood. When he’s offered the opportunity to act as bodyguard to a group of visiting Russian ballerinas who already have their own security detail, he takes it, figuring it’ll be a nice vacation watching pretty girls dance—until one of the girls is kidnapped on his watch. Despite the fact that the LAPD, FBI, and Russian police are on the case, Jack can’t let it go. The girl was his responsibility.

I like Jack. He’s a refreshing kind of hero—an alpha male who isn’t overly macho. He doesn’t have bulging biceps, and everyone knows ballet dancers are usually built like stick-figures, so the heroine doesn’t have “lush curves.” Maybe I’ve been reading too many bodice-rippers. Maybe it’s because he’s written by a man.

Are writers getting better or am I starting to get senile? Mr. Miles not only held my attention from the first page; he kept me guessing until the end. And someone in his circle actually knows grammar. The Church of Spilled Blood was a pleasure to read!

Author Website:  http://jessemilesbooks.com

Warnings:  Violence

Length:  218 Pages

Digital Price:  $2.99

Buy Link:  https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01LA5IZ96

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On the Run: Big Mike and Minnie by Susan Amanda Kelly

Blurb:

World, meet Minerva Coolidge, New York fashion model and disaster-magnet. Now meet Big Mike, her tough, tattooed, taciturn, somewhat reluctant bodyguard.

Minnie is only one runway show away from being a supermodel. She gave up bacon for that show so heaven help anyone who gets in her way. But Minnie has been ordered home to the west coast by her over-protective, criminal family. Trouble has followed her to the east coast. Minnie refuses to give up her hard-won freedom. So her family foists a bodyguard on her until they can fetch her home. Big Mike is exactly the kind of alpha tough guy she left home to escape. Overbearing. Distractingly yummy. And just like the men she grew up with, he totally underestimates her.

Big Mike takes one look at Minnie Coolidge and recognizes her as Trouble-With-A-Capital-T. Killer face, killer body, killer family and the survival instincts of a hen. He begrudgingly agrees to babysit her as a favor to her brother, an old army buddy. How hard can it be for an ex-biker, ex-Special Forces, international security specialist to keep one pretty nitwit safe for one day? And then she runs rings around him. Turns out Minnie's smart, mouthy and tough. Everything he likes. Loves. But he's only passing through. He can't wait to hand the hot disaster-magnet over to her brother, or can he?

Can true love conquer all? Maybe. But first, Minnie and Big Mike have to survive an attempted kidnapping, stash a corpse, rescue her bad-tempered cat, handle her vapid pop star admirer, avoid her geriatric sex-therapist neighbor, outwit the paparazzi and manage her crazily over-protective brother.

About the Author:

Susan Amanda Kelly loves making up stuff in her head. She drives her husband to distraction by suddenly stopping, mid-conversation, and staring off into space. She once spent five hours at sea, on a boat, muttering: "Where would he hide the body?" She hopes the video footage of that trip has been wiped. She finally decided to put the characters that inhabit her head, onto paper. It was like opening the door on a lunatic asylum—glorious bedlam. She hopes her readers come to love her characters as much as she does. She writes action-packed romantic comedies. And her husband is convinced her male leads are based on him. Not the body-hiding psychopath, of course. Sign up to be the first to hear about her new releases: http://eepurl.com/bIb7G5

Review:

On the Run: Big Mike and Minnie was a fun read. Minerva Coolidge is a mafia princess who doesn’t want to be cossetted by her family—not even when her life is in danger. She can take care of herself, thank you very much. That is, when she’s not spilling things, dropping things, or trying to run in designer five-inch spiked heels. On the other hand, she’s smart, savvy, and resourceful. And with her perfect features, blonde hair, and big eyes people underestimate her all the time. Especially men.

Big Mike’s used to being in charge. Ex-military, mercenary, he’s been offered bodyguard jobs before. But babysitting the pampered and entitled is not his idea of real work. Until he agrees to do a favor for his old Army buddy and guard his pal’s kid sister. As the blurb says, Minnie runs rings around Big Mike, and they encounter lots of adventure, along with loads of humor and plenty of romance. Big Mike and Minnie will grab you on the first page and keep you running with them right through the last.

Author Website:  http://eepurl.com/bIb7G5

Heat Rating:  R

Length:  155 Pages

Digital Price:  $0.99

Buy Link:  https://www.amazon.com/Run-Big-Mike-Minnie-Book-ebook/dp/B018KTWEHO

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The Rebel’s Redemption by Jacquie Biggar

Blurb:

Annie Campbell's predictable and cozy life gets turned on its side when her son's prodigal father returns to town. Then an old enemy shows up, and the outcome will not only place her in danger, but their son as well.

Jared Martin left Tidal Falls a hotheaded youth, and has seen his share of violence in the eight years he's served Uncle Sam. Floundering, bitter, and disillusioned he returns to his hometown to regain his bearings.

Then he finds out he's a father.

When an old enemy follows and causes mayhem in the small town, can Jared overcome the odds to protect the woman he's always loved and the child he never knew, or will it be too late?

About the Author:

Jacquie lives in paradise along the west coast of Canada with her husband, daughter, and grandson. She loves reading, writing, flower gardening and spoiling her German shepherd, Annie and calico cat, Harley.

Jacquie swears she can't function without strong, black coffee.

Review by Rochelle:

As a Navy veteran, I especially appreciate books about my fellow vets, especially those who served in combat. There’s a special camaraderie among people who have served together in harm’s way that carries over into civilian life. I see it every Tuesday and Thursday when I volunteer at the VA. So, I have a soft spot in my heart for these heroes and their stories.

That said, Ms. Biggar and her editor need to spend some time listening to these guys speak. She marred good story with stilted dialog. Here’s a scene from The Rebel’s Redemption in which Jared meets his best friend in a bar. The friend is already quite drunk.

“Hey, I thought you were going to stand me up.” [sic] Ty said as Jared pulled up a chair and swiped some of the bottles on the table off to one side.

There are two major problems with this sentence. First, a man as drunk as Ty would probably slur his words. At the very least he’d say something like “gonna” instead of “going to.” Second, when using a dialog tag, one should end the preceding sentence with a comma, not a period. Overuse of dialog tags is another thing authors need to watch out for. Anytime you can replace a dialog tag with an action, it’s best to do so. With an action, you would use a period at the end of the sentence inside the quotation mark. Had I edited this, I’d have slurred Ty’s speech, got rid of the dialog tag, and replaced it with an action. “Hey,I thought you were gonn’ stan’ me up.” Ty hiccupped as Jared…”

And that’s why my daughter sent me a Facebook photo that said, “I’m mentally editing everything you say to me.”

The Rebel’s Redemption really was a great page-burning story with a strong heroine, compassionate hero, and well-drawn supporting characters. It just needed looser language and a better editor. That’s why I’m giving it four roses.

Heat Rating:  PG-13

Length:  235 Pages

Prices:

Print:  $9.99

Digital:  $3.49

Buy Link:  http://www.jacquiebiggar.com/rebel-s-redemption.html

Author Web Site:  http://jacquiebiggar.com

Facebook:  http://Facebook.com/jacqbiggar

Twitter:  http://Twitter.com/jacqbiggar

Author Amazon Page:  http://www.amazon.com/Jacquie-Biggar/e/B00MSIJQBG/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

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

Thanks for visiting. Donna, Julie, & Rochelle