​Denise Holmes trudged along her street. It was darts night at the pub and she didn't want to be late. She was a homebody, but Thursday was her night to cut loose. Maybe throw some darts and indulge in some pints with her mates.

Denise was having a good run of luck lately having gotten a job six months ago after a stint in rehab for various drug and alcohol dependencies she'd suffered over the years. the only drawback was that her parents still treated her like a troubled child and didn't like the fact that she chose to walk home from work. For Pete's sake she was thirty-nine years old. It was a short route from the office to the flat. What could possibly happen?

Denise approached her door and was getting her keys ready when someone grabbed her from behind. "Let me go you sod! Is that you Trevor? I said it was over!" Denise screamed at the top of her lungs.

Her captor said nothing but threw a burlap sack over her head and shoved her in the back of a car. He then grabbed her keys from her and went into her house. "Hey those are mine!" She yelled but he was too far away. Denise sat there wondering what this was all about. It had to be her ex getting revenge for being dumped. What a wanker!

​Gigi Sedlmayer, Book Excellence Award Finalist winning author of the Talon series

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing story of survival
Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2020Verified Purchase
It is world War II, Soldiers are getting diploid to join the war in Germany.
So was Tom. He had to go just before Christmas. His family hoped he would be back by Christmas.
But tragedy happens. Tom was separated from his platoon, while running to safety.
Hiding he knew he had to come out and go to and find the border to Switzerland, to safety. But not really knowing where to go, an owl found him and helped him. Not really believing, but he still followed it.
Did the owl really guided him to safety? And was he found before he starved to death? Could he spent Christmas with his family?
A very inspiring story. I recommend it to everyone.

​Marta Moran Bishop’s Darkness Descends is powerful, gripping work! It’s a compelling, sometimes scathing prequel to her first series title, The Between Times. Set in a dystopian city-state, Bishop indicts a patriarchal oligarchy that feeds a rape culture at the same time as it plots the overthrow of the rule of law with the anarchic rule of a well-managed mob psyche. The Roman people were given bread and circuses. The crowds in Darkness Descends are handed Rebecca, Jewell’s mother, and a crucial charter character of the series, who faces public torture, humiliation, assault, and finally, auto-da-fé, burning at the stake, which she accepts as her fate as the ultimate sacrifice for a greater good. Bishop pulls no punches. The blows land all the harder when one realizes she is not working solely from imagination. She has incorporated into her literary tapestry the warp of today’s culture, with the weft of actual history, including a chilling early Twentieth Century plot by brutal American financial moguls to overthrow the United States government. Who knew?! This book is devastating. I’m praying for an uplifting third installment to arrive in my Kindle soon, but given Bishop’s dim view of humanity and history, I’m not holding out too much hope for a Pixar ending. Every win in Bishop’s world comes at a great price, and the brilliant Darkness Descends is no exception. Of course, I absolutely can’t wait to see what Bishop will come up with next!
Robert Blake Whitehill, Author/Screenwriter - The Ben Blackshaw Series

What if...for the first time in the history of the United States we took a social and economic nose dive into oblivion? THE BETWEEN TIMES is just such a scenario. A story that reads like a folk tale from the past, but in reality is a fantastic possibility based on the choices available to us today.

The premise is nothing short of an incredible imagination as modern day Chicago fades into an evil darkness separated by a wall. A separateness ruled by the upper society that isolates and mistreats the poor. These less fortunate people, in a short amount of time find themselves forced to live in the lower communities suffering from mistreatment comparable only to the concentration camps during WWII. Women are no longer human beings, but are nothing more than breeding animals kept only to prevent extinction of the race. The conditions are bleak and seemingly hopeless.

It is the belief in a Legend that becomes the driving force behind the survival. A young girl named Jewel, living in the captivity of this devastating socioeconomic environment, is the dream. She manifests hope and magic from within this beautiful tale.

Fantastical, Magical, & Mystical in a story that will make you believe it is about a long forgotten past, but in reality is a possible future! I wholeheartedly recommend this remarkable highly imaginative novel!

Cold Coffee (Reviews by Theodocia McLean)
5.0 out of 5 stars Think Twice When An Owl Hoots!
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2016
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If you enjoy reading murder mysteries and have the stomach for graphic scenes and detailed forensic evidence, Midnight Owl will be a great read. If you like continuing sagas where the first book keeps you waiting for the author to write and release the next book in the series so you can find out if your suspicions are right or wrong, this Joe Leverette (Mystery Book One) should be in your hands as Call Of The Owl (Joe Leverette Mystery Book Two) is promised for release in 2016.

Well written adult material, realistic characters, easy to follow dialog and a plot that reinforces monsters do exist.

I always quote a passage to show the authors style, but I am very careful not to spoil the story. Quote:

“Heather North had felt as if someone were following her for a while now, weeks to be exact. The sensation was driving her crazy.

She lived in a relatively safe area with a short walk from her parking spot to her apartment, but the feeling was much stronger tonight and it made the walk look a lot farther.

Behind the large SUV to the left of her car, a figure waited. He watched Heather get her purse and sweater out of her car and lock the door. He watched her look around nervously, checking her surroundings before heading to her apartment.

The one thing that Heather really didn't like was that there was no fence between the parking lot and the small wooded area next to it. Her insecurity tonight made it feel even more ominous. A great horned owl gave off three quick hoots making Heather jump and almost drop what she was carrying.

Before she had a chance to step away from her car, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and a damp cloth was clamped tightly over her mouth. She dropped her purse, keys and sweater and everything went dark.”

What happens next will cause your blood to run cold, but you will not stop turning the pages because the sleuth in you will want answers.

I suspect Author Viv Drewa’s studies in medicinal chemistry at the University of Michigan played a silent role in her active criminal investigation mind set. No doubt her ability to hold her reader’s attention through suspense is attributive to her writing experience since 1963.

Dreams and Owls have played roles in folklore throughout history. How do dreams and the hoots of an Owl play out this mystery and will the author who is known as ‘Owl Lady’ give us any hoots in book two of this series?

Cold Coffee Press/Café endorses Midnight Owl (Joe Leverette Mystery Book One) by Viv Drewa as a mystery suspense thriller. We reviewed this book from Kindle/PDF format. The review was completed on March 22, 2016.
​

​Take one beautiful vindictive woman....she's 1 part bimbo and 2 parts lethal gangsta- gun moll.
Watch her try and hold onto her 84 year old husband by having his octogenarian paramour knocked off. Sometimes greed and jealousy lead to the last resort ……MURDER!
Laura, Gerry and Gibbons try to stop her from also killing her husband, without getting them selves knocked off in the process!

​Viv Drewa

5.0 out of 5 stars Another fantastic book by Karen Vaughan!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 25, 2018
I love the way Vaughan has her characters interact with each other. They are well developed and believable. Her scenes are described in such a way you can easily picture them.
Moreover, let’s not forget the humor she added! Murder and humor are her trademark, and the humor is woven into the story at the appropriate time and adds the perfect comedy relief.
I highly recommend “Over Her Dead Body” to anyone who loves a good murder mystery and some good laughs!

​M. M. Bishop Award-winning author and poet

5.0 out of 5 stars​A MURDER MYSTERY TO DIE FOR!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
​Karen Vaughan has once again given us a dynamite murder mystery in book two of her Laura & Gerry Murder Mystery series.
Take one trashy, gold-digger, psychotic woman, with a mob boss for a daddy, and a jealous streak that would make any normally insane woman look like a saint. Throw in flying melons, baseball bats, and a sweet, gentle, rich elderly man, and Laura (corpse magnet) soon to be Fitz, and you have a masterpiece of crime, insanity, murder, and yes romance.
It takes a lot to write a great murder mystery, but even more one with humor wrapped into the package.
Kudos to Ms. Vaughan for once again giving us a class act book to blow away the cobwebs from our minds and entertain us while doing so.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND this read.

​Winnie Award Winner at the Equus Film Festival. Best Equine Rescue book.
Dinky: The Nurse Mare’s Foal is the story of one little foals fight for survival after being taken from his mother within hours of his birth. Dinky, takes us on a poignant trip through the heart and mind of an animal, who was born for the sole purpose of producing milk in the mare. In the elite world of horses, Dinky was considered a by-product, a ‘junk foal.’

Dinky’s story will resonate with animal lovers, as well as anyone who has adopted. Although a horse, his story has been called an adoption story. The reader can follow him through the heartbreak, cruelty, loneliness, and finally to happiness in his forever home. His story is based on true events. Each event from the moment the author met Dinky actually happened, though it is the author’s interpretation of what he might have been thinking and feeling during the occasions described in his story. His early life which is unknown has been fictionalized by the author and constructed through research and imagination.

There are many wonderful animal rescue leagues, many are very empathic to these young animals, though some are not. Since Ms. Bishop has no knowledge of Dinky’s early days she used the latter to enhance the strength of his story.

It will break your heart, open your eyes, lift you up, and teach you much about horses. It is suitable for all ages.

​Jade Lazlow

5.0 out of 5 stars A Story about Horses, Humans, Cruelty, and Hope
Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020Verified Purchase
This is the second book I've read from Marta Moran Bishop. In Dinky: The Nurse Mare's Foal, Bishop explores the real and dramatized history of her real-life foal, Dinky. The horse was born to a nurse mare, a horse that is mated for the sole purpose of keeping a supply of milk for high dollar foals. Dinky was taken from his mother and denied a normal upbringing for the sake of profit. It's a heartbreaking tale about how humans exploit these creatures and the effect the practice has on the horses themselves. As with other books by Ms. Bishop, this book is steeped in drama and contains harsh realities couched within the story. It makes you think about horses, humans, and humanity in general. I loved this book. It was eye-opening for me and made me re-think the horse industry. If you enjoy a deeply emotional story that leaves you with a sense of hope for a better future, you'll love Dinky.
Jade Lazlow

​M. M. Bishop Award-winning author and poet
5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking Reality
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2018In nineteen-thirteen, when Lucjen finds out that he will be drafted into the Russian military, and forced to fight his friends and neighbors for the Russian Czar. He and his friend Franciszek, join twenty other people in an harrowing escape to the Americas.

Ms. Drewa's short story of her grandfather's escape holds all the fear, terror, and hardship one would expect if they themself were living through it.

I hope that Ms. Drewa turns this suspense filled story into a novella. This brief glimpse into the times leaves one begging for more.

Kudos to Viv Drewa for taking on the telling of her grandfather's journey. A must read for both history buffs and those who love adventure, and suspense.

​Laura Hamilton wakes up one morning only to find out a dead body inside her apartment. It was, after all, her ex-coworker, “Velcro” Hodges, a debt collector who was known to leech on his prey until the debt is already paid in full. But why was he dropped insider Laura’s room?
Now someone wants Laura to be dead. As the plot thickens, Laura tries to find out on who could possibly want her next to be in cold blood. Lead Detective Inspector Jeff Gibbons helps her, tracking any leads he gets, but that doesn’t seem to help solve the puzzle.

​5.0 out of 5 stars Meet Laura in this fun first book in the series
Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017
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Great first book in this fun series that I read out of sequence and still enjoyed very much. Corpse magnet, Laura, is on her own in this first book written before Gerry joins her on her misadventures. She's a funny, sarcastic, unpredictable character who takes up sleuthing when a dead body turns up in her apartment. More than a little motivation, that's for sure! Several secondary characters add interest along with more than a little sleaze as Laura sets out alongside Detective Inspector Jeff Gibbons to find out whodunit. I'm not going to tell you that, of course, or reveal how Laura figures it out. You need to read this book and have the fun doing that for yourself

​M. M. Bishop Award-winning author and poet
5.0 out of 5 stars DEATH TAKES US ALL
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2013
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Dead on arrival, a Laura Hamilton murder mystery by Karen Vaughan is a must read for anyone who loves a mystery with a bit of twisted humor.

Ms. Vaughan, brings us a brilliant and funny character in Laura Hamilton. This book is a definite keeper and will find a place in my reread list through the years. Truly who cannot love a book whose main character is full of charm, wit, and adventure.

A highly recommended murder mystery.