Killing the Story

An accidental death that was no accident…

For the record, Estelle Crane, the gutsy editor of The Observer newspaper, died after a hard fall on ice. But years later, her son discovers a cryptic note hinting her death might not have been an accident after all.

Was Estelle pursuing a big story that put her life in danger?

That’s what Isabel Long — along with her 93-year-old mother, Maria, her ‘Watson’ — agrees to investigate in Dillard, a town whose best days are in the past.

A former journalist, Isabel follows leads and interviews sources, new and familiar. She quickly finds a formidable threat in Police Chief James Hawthorne, who makes it clear Isabel is not welcome in his town — and who warns her against poking her nose into Estelle’s death.

Of course, that’s after Isabel has discovered the chief’s questionable policing and a troubled history with Estelle that goes way back.

Killing the story means dropping it because there aren’t enough facts to back it up. But Isabel won’t make that mistake. She’ll see this one through to the very end.

Can she uncover the plot that led to Estelle’s murder?

Killing the Story is the fourth in the popular Isabel Long Mystery Series. 

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08BDL9KKR

US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BDL9KKR

Author Bio – Joan Livingston is the author of novels for adult and young readers. Killing the Story, published by Darkstroke Books, is the fourth in her Isabel Long Mystery Series, featuring a longtime journalist who becomes an amateur P.I. solving cold cases in rural New England.

She draws upon her own experience as a longtime journalist in Massachusetts and New Mexico to create Isabel Long, a sassy, savvy widow who uses the skills she acquired in the business to solve what appears to be impossible cases. She also relies on her deep knowledge of rural Western Massachusetts, where she lives, to create realistic characters and settings — from country bars (where Isabel works part-time) to a general store’s backroom where gossipy old men meet.

She credits her mother, Algerina — the inspiration for Maria, Isabel Long’s ‘Watson’ — for instilling in her a love of reading and the power of the written word.

Social Media Links –

Website: www.joanlivingston.net. 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/JoanLivingstonAuthor/

Twitter: @joanlivingston 

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/JoanLivingston_Author

Goodreads: www.Goodreads.com/Joan_Livingston

MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

A Dead Editor

A Crooked Cop

What’s the Connection?

Isabel finds herself in danger again, but she will not stop searching or following leads until she is satisfied that she has done all she can for Emerson’s quest to find out the real story behind his mother’s death. Isabel will experience all kinds of characters to get to the bottom of the case, and her mother will be right there with her, maybe not always physically, but she is always asking Isabel for updates.

Killing The Story is fast paced and as all of Ms. Livingston’s books that I’ve read, full of great characters and a lot of danger and crazy situations. Isabel is always up for the adventures that she partakes in to find out the truth behind the cases she takes. She’s even up for the danger that always seems to find her. However, along with the danger comes the friendships, respect and support from the neighbors and community. This story was full of suspense, danger, and action. This case was a close to Isabel because Estelle Crane, Emerson’s mother, was a co-owner and operator of The Observer, and she was as tenacious, determined, and a reporter that didn’t have a problem reporting all of the news. Isabel is finding a kindred spirit with Estelle the more she delves into her death.

I love this story and the characters are always so interesting and entertaining. I love Isabel’s relationships that she makes and has with the towns folk as well as those that she ends up questioning. Ms. Livingston’s stories take place in Western Massachusetts and the description of the characters in the small townships around where Isabel lives as well as Conwell remind me of the small towns and countryside in Vermont. I love the Isabel Long stories. These stories always start off with suspense and adventures and this continues throughout the entire book. I give this story a 5-star review and look forward to more Isabel Long stories in the future.

MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

Bohdan decided to leave the Bratva along with is Pakhan, Konstantin Silvanov to make a better life for himself. Bohdan, Konstantin and Andrius, Konstantin’s friend, have decided to go into a legal business of well-trained security guards. As they are preparing to start up their business, Bohdan has decided that he needs to find a way to get close to Dasha, his first love. Bohdan is convinced that Dasha betrayed him and wants retribution, but when he discovers the danger that Dasha is already in, he decides that he needs to protect her and save her.

Dasha is in a loveless, abusive, domineering marriage and her only escape and joy is when she’s dancing. She is a prima ballerina and her husband is her manager, keeper, and abuser.  The one night that she saw Bohdan backstage keeps popping back up in her mind and she is noticing that when she thinks of him, she feels more alive than usual. She can’t forget how he betrayed her, but her heart doesn’t seem to care.

I loved this story. The characters are full of life, dangerous, loyal to those they care about, and want more out of life than what they’ve had. These stories are action packed from start to finish and the passion these characters have is hot. They love, protect, fight, and care fiercely and they won’t let anyone get in their way when they set their sights on the women that complete them. I am loving this series and cannot wait for Maxim’s story to come out. It looks to be another action packed, deadly, suspenseful story. I give this story a 5-star review and I just have to say that I love Bohdan and the way he accepts his broken nose as a good thing, he’s also pretty sexy.

Title: Within the Shadows
Author: T. L. Mahrt
Genre: Suspense Romance

Target Audience: Target avatar is readers of steamy suspenseful romance novel, mostly woman, ages rom 18-55.

Release Date: Preorders Released: May, 28 2020 and Release Date: August 28, 2020

Trigger Warnings: Mid violence, domestic assault and heavy sexual content. Profanity language used.

Reviews:
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19755994.T_L_Mahrt

Within the shadows:

Synopsis

Emma’s world is rocked as the real monster lurking in the shadows is unveiled. 

Emma Andrews’ last memory of her mother is seeing her bleeding to death on the bathroom floor. Several years later, Emma is kidnapped and forced to face the same monster that killed her mother. Quickly, Emma—a daydreamer with an inventive personality—must learn to separate her fantasies from reality in order to differentiate friend or foe.

As secrets unfold and the shadows emerge, Emma wonders if she can endure reliving the trauma of her past. One thing she does know for certain—she can’t do it alone.

Will Emma escape from this monster alive? Will Chance still love her after she reveals her past? Or, will someone new teach Emma the true strength hiding within her?

About the Author:

T. L. Mahrt is a former business owner, where she utilized her education in cosmetology, barbering and massage therapy for several years. She was raised on and is currently living on a farm in Nebraska, where you can find her running barefoot in the country side with her loving husband and inspiring children and massive dogs.

After having her son, who was born with Cerebral Palsy, she made the life altering decision to stay home to care for her two children and pursue her love for writing. She has a love for romance and poetry where, her overactive imagination, along with her adventures and up beat lifestyle drives her inspiration for her writing.

Marketing/Buy Links:

Website,

https://www.tlmahrt.com

(You can find most all things here)

Buy Links at:

Audible,

Coming soon

Amazon,

Social Media:

Facebook

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Twitter

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Instagram

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Tumblr

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Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19755994.T_L_Mahrt

Facebook readers Group

https://m.facebook.com/groups/527890547837793/?ref=share

MY REVIEW:

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 out of 5

Emma has four men vying for her attention and love. She was orphaned when she was a young girl and grew up in the system for the most part. One of the men that wants her for his own is twisted and he found a way to keep himself in her life for a time while she was in the Foster System, but then Jarrett Gage lost track of her when he left the job as her counselor. One man wants to marry her and is in love with her, but she believes he is the man that abused her and hurt her when she was a little girl. Her belief that he was the shadow man, was never disputed by Rick. One man is in love with her, but his job is to make sure that nothing happens to her, track down missing people and observe from afar, until she becomes the person he needs to track down to save and protect. Andy is the man that saves Emma in her dreams, can he be the one to save her in real life? Can he save her from the Mr. JD after her memory begins to come back? Then there is the man that loves her and is her bodyguard. She believes she’s in love with Chance, but now that her memory has returned and she realizes everything that she pushed down deep in her psyche, she is no longer the woman that Chance fell in love with and she has realized that she is not in love with him.

This story is was the first book I read in this series by T.L. Mahrt, but it did not distract from the story, nor did I feel lost while reading it. It is full of action, suspense, danger and great characters that have a lot going on. There are some parts of this story that I wanted to read a few lines ahead because I was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. The author did a great job of keeping me on my seat wondering if and when Jarrett would show up and reclaim Emma. It also had me wondering which character on the team was untrustworthy and questionable in protecting Emma. I give this story a 4-star review and hope to read more from T.L. Mahrt in the near future. More of Emma and the characters in Within The Shadows would be great.