August 2018 – Books in the Garden

JUSTICE BETRAYED

A MEMPHIS COLD CASE MYSTERY, #3

PATRICIA BRADLEY

Genre: Fiction / Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Revell

Date of Publication: June 5, 2018

Number of Pages: 352

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It’s Elvis Week in Memphis, and homicide detective Rachel Sloan isn’t sure her day could get any stranger when aging Elvis impersonator Vic Vegas asks to see her. But when he produces a photo of her murdered mother with four Elvis impersonators—one of whom had also been murdered soon after the photo was taken—she’s forced to reevaluate. Is there some connection between the two unsolved cases? And could the recent break-in at Vic’s home be tied to his obsession with finding his friend’s killer?

When yet another person in the photo is murdered, Rachel suddenly has her hands full investigating three cases. Lieutenant Boone Callahan offers his help, but their checkered romantic past threatens to get in the way. Can they solve the cases before the murderer makes Rachel victim number four?

“The third installment of Bradley’s Memphis Cold Case series focuses on a cold case related to a homicide detective’s past…Bradley includes the unique character of Erin who seems as if she is a real person and takes great care to portray her respectfully.”

—RT Book Reviews

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Interview with Boone Callahan,

a Main Character from Justice Betrayed

by Patricia Bradley

“You busy?”

I looked from my computer to the doorway. Lieutenant Boone Callahan leaned against it, a frown on his face. “A little. Do you have a problem?”

He rolled his broad shoulders. “No. I just want to hang out.”

I hate it when characters won’t tell me what’s wrong, when I have to drag it out of them. I closed the top on my MacBook. “Spit it out.”

“Spit what out?” Nevertheless, he stepped into the room and moved a research book from the Queen Anne chair beside my desk before he sat down. Of course, his 6’2” frame looked ridiculous in it.

“Hold on a sec,” I said, and changed places with him. My leather chair suited him much better. “Now, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He crossed his arms and stared out the window.

I waited, tapping my toe.

After two minutes of staring, he turned to me. “Why did you put Rachel in homicide? I mean, why didn’t you leave her in burglary?”

“You don’t like working with her?”

“I didn’t say that.” He smiled. “Actually, she’s great to work with. She’s smart, determined, pretty…” Boone bit his bottom lip. “Maybe too pretty. I can’t keep my mind on my job. It’s driving me crazy.”

He didn’t know how that warmed my heart. I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “Exactly what do you want me to do about it?”

“It would help if she wasn’t so independent.”

I eyed him. “And how do you propose I do that? You two have taken over the story…I try to get you to do one thing and you do the exact opposite.”

Boone pointed to himself. “Me? Nah…you know I’m a by-the-book person. Say, couldn’t you make her a little more like that? I mean, she goes off on these tangents, and I don’t have any control over her. I’m afraid she’s going to get herself killed.”

I doodled with my pencil. “And that would bother you?”

“Yeah! I love—I…I mean, she matters a lot to me, but we’re all wrong for each other. Besides, we’re in the same department, and I’m her supervisor—no way can we fall in love. One of us would have to leave Homicide.”

“Really?” I tap my finger to my lip, thinking.

His eyes widened. “Uh, uh. You’re not going to—” He jumped up and palmed his hands up. “No. Don’t you dare try to get us together. Not happening. Not in a million years. I don’t want to leave Homicide and neither does Rachel.”

“If you say so.” I took my chair back and shooed him out of my office. I’d just figured out another way to torture the both of them.

Patricia Bradley is the award-winning author of Justice Delayed and Justice Buried, as well as the Logan Point series. She is cofounder of Aiming for Healthy Families, Inc., and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She lives in Mississippi.

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

GRAND PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series + Elvis Umbrella + $10 Starbucks Gift Card

2^ND PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series

+ $15 Barnes & Noble Gift Card

3^RD PRIZE: All Three Books in the Memphis Cold Case Series

+ $10 Starbucks Gift Card

(US ONLY)

August 15-24, 2018

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CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

8/15/18	Excerpt Part 1	Missus Gonzo
8/15/18	BONUS post	Hall Ways Blog
8/16/18	Excerpt Part 2	Forgotten Winds
8/17/18	Review	Dressed to Read
8/18/18	Author Video	Chapter Break Book Blog
8/19/18	Review	Reading by Moonlight
8/20/18	Character Interview	Books in the Garden
8/21/18	Review	The Clueless Gent
8/22/18	Excerpt Part 3	StoreyBook Reviews
8/23/18	Excerpt Part 4	Book Fidelity
8/24/18	Review	That’s What She’s Reading

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THE HOPE OF

AZURE SPRINGS

RACHEL FORDHAM

Genre: Inspirational Historical Romance

Date of Publication: July 3, 2018

Publisher: Revell

Number of Pages: 336

ABOUT THE BOOK: Seven years ago, orphaned and alone, Em finally arrived at a new home in Iowa after riding the orphan train. But secrets from her past haunt her, and her new life in the Western wilderness is a rough one. When her guardian is shot and killed, Em, now nineteen, finally has the chance to search for her long-lost sister, but she won’t be able to do it alone.

For Azure Springs Sheriff Caleb Reynolds, securing justice for the waifish and injured Em is just part of his job. He’s determined to solve every case put before him in order to impress his parents and make a name for himself. Caleb expects to succeed. What he doesn’t expect is the hold this strange young woman will have on his heart.

Welcome to the charming town of Azure Springs, Iowa, where people care deeply for one another and, sometimes, even fall in love.

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PRAISE FOR THE HOPE OF AZURE SPRINGS: “In her promising first novel, Fordham assembles an endearing cast of characters in the rugged Midwest plains for a tale about surviving and thriving. . . .Fordham depicts heartbreaking emotional and physical suffering, while beautifully illustrating the power in simple acts of kindness to foster healing, hope, and happiness.”

—Booklist

EXCERPT: PROLOGUE

FROM THE HOPE OF AZURE SPRINGS

Iowa, 1881

She dead?”

Em heard a man’s voice from somewhere above her. A strange thumping pulsed through her with each word he spoke. Her throat burned, screaming for water, but she could not cry out.

“There’s life in her. Not much of it though,” a second, raspier voice answered. She felt a hand press against her throat and then move over her body, gently probing. “She’s bleeding pretty bad.”

“Gunshot?” the first voice asked.

If only her eyes would open, and she could see them. Straining, she struggled to pull her heavy eyelids open. Finally, bits of light darted in front of her eyes, but she could not focus. The faces above her were fuzzy and indiscernible.

Fear swept through her, suddenly waking her battered body. Afraid the men from before had returned, she opened her eyes wide, finding strength that only moments before she had lacked. With thrashing arms, she flailed at the men. Her arms flopped about but offered little defense—she was too weak from blood loss. And then they moved no longer, subdued by large, strong hands.

“Easy, girl. We aren’t going to hurt you. We just want to help. Take you into town, that’s all. There’s a good doctor there.” The man’s deep voice sounded gentle, but still she did not trust him. Voices could be deceiving. Arms could hurt as well as help. She knew these things well.

Soon she felt her body being raised above the ground, and moments later the hard planks of a wagon became the resting place for her injured frame. Too weak to move, she lay looking at the sky, wishing there were a way to end the agony, but knowing that for Lucy she would fight on.

Once the wagon lurched forward, she lost track of everything again. The wheels bouncing over ruts made her pain so intense that everything closed around her and then faded to black.

Click here to read Chapter One of The Hope of Azure Springs

A short review from me: I was fortunate to get to read The Hope of Azure Springs for this blitz. There’s a lot of pain but also a lot of healing. I found myself both smiling and crying while reading this book. It was very well written and captivated me from the start. There were beautiful messages spread throughout the book about living life, beauty, character, and hope. I hope you’ll get a chance to read it.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Rachel Fordham started writing when her children began begging her for stories at night. She’d pull a book from the shelf, but they’d insist she make one up. She hasn’t stopped since. She lives with her husband and children on an island in the state of Washington.

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