Saturday, November 27, 2021

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 6

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!


We're featuring one book from the Harlequin series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!


Day 6: Christmas Vendetta





CHRISTMAS VENDETTA by Valerie Hansen (on-sale Nov.30, Love Inspired Suspense): Is she a mistaken target…or next on an enemy’s hit list? Sandy Lynn Forrester's Christmas holiday takes a terrifying turn when someone breaks into her home and attacks her roommate…thinking it's her. But no one believes that an imprisoned man from Sandy Lynn's past is behind the attacks—except for her high school heartbreak, ex-cop Clay Danforth. Can she trust Clay to keep her safe in the Ozark wilderness long enough to stop a ruthless criminal’s vengeance?

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Excerpt

The lack of explanation from Clay caused her to glance over at him. Instead of paying attention to her, he was frowning and looking in the car mirrors.


Sandy Lynn whipped around as far as her seat belt would allow. Since the snow had stopped, more people had ventured outside, evidently to take advantage of the respite. The street was crowded. “What? What do you see?”


“Probably nothing.”


“Okay,” she drawled, “then why are you making scary faces?”


“I’m not.” Clay flashed her a lopsided smile. “This is my normal face.”


“Maybe it’s the black-and-blue eye socket that makes you look odd,” she said, not believing that excuse for an instant.


Again he stayed silent. She felt the car begin to accelerate. The tires slipped in the slushy street, and they fishtailed several times before Clay got it under control.


“Okay. That does it. What is going on?”

“We’re being followed,” Clay said as he sped up, sliding again and again. “I’m heading for the police station.”


“Finally, something that makes sense.” Bracing with her left hand on the dash, her right gripping the over-the-door assist handle, Sandy Lynn did her best to anchor herself on the seat.


Clay turned corner after corner until she was unsure of their position. “I thought you said—”

A hard smack jolted her car and snapped her head back against the support at the top of the seat. She wanted to shout orders at him, to tell him how to get them out of this situation, but truth to tell, she didn’t have a clue.


Prayer would be good, she reasoned, if she had the words to pray or knew what to ask for.


Survival leaped into her thoughts as she called out wordlessly to her heavenly Father.


The car was hit again. Clay righted it.


A harder smash followed quickly.


Clay hollered, “Hang on!”


They went airborne, diving nose-first into a drainage ditch. 

Sandy Lynn saw his head snap forward just as the airbag engulfed him. The passenger side of the dated vehicle was not equipped with crash protection, so the seat belt was the only thing keeping her from flying through the shattering windshield. 

Breathless and shocked, she just sat there, wondering if this was as bad as it was going to get or if their pursuers were going to stop to finish them off.

About the Author



Valerie Hansen resides in the rural Ozarks where she writes the books of her heart, primarily for Love Inspired Romance and Suspense. She is married to her childhood sweetheart and has worked as a teacher's-aide, EMT, fire dept. dispatcher, dog breeder, commercial artist, dulcimer builder, Veterinarian's asst., 4-H leader, Sunday School teacher, antique restorer and certified Storm Spotter, etc. See ValerieHansen.com for more!




Friday, November 26, 2021

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 5

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!


We're featuring one book from the Harlequin series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!


Day 5: Buried Cold Case Secrets




BURIED COLD CASE SECRETS by Sami A. Abrams (on-sale Dec.28, Love Inspired Suspense): Recovering her missing memories could be the key to solving a murder. Searching for her best friend’s remains could help forensic anthropologist Melanie Hutton regain her memories of when they were both kidnapped—unless the killer gets to Melanie first. For her safety, Melanie must rely on Detective Jason Cooper, who still blames her for his sister’s death. Can Jason set the past aside to solve the cold-case murder…and shield Melanie from the same fate?


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Excerpt

“Does it still hurt?”


She jumped.


“Didn’t mean to startle you. Guess I have a habit of doing that.” Jason rested against the neighboring tree.


Several deep breaths later, she forced a smile. “It’s okay.”


He narrowed his gaze and studied her a moment. “Well? Does it?”


“A little.” Truthfully, a lot, but Jason didn’t need to know that. “I, uh, wanted to thank you for watching out for me today.”


“Just doing my job.” The muscles in his neck and shoulders tensed.


“We both know it’s more than that.” She wiped her hand down her face. “Jason. We’re going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Do you think we can call a truce, at least while we do our jobs?”


His jaw twitched, and he remained silent.


She’d asked a lot, but the strain between them had to stop. She watched him for a few minutes then shook her head.


“Never mind.” She pushed from the trunk and limped to the hole in the ground. Her lead-filled heart threatened to drop to her feet. To think that fifteen years ago, she’d had a crush on him. He’d teased her and Allison, but he’d never allowed others to speak unkind words to them. If only she could return to those carefree days. The days before she had died on the inside and her friend had died for real.


Someday, Allison, I’ll find your body. I promise.


She swiped the wetness from her cheeks and lowered herself into the grave. The movement mimicked her mood. She picked up her trowel and searched for more bones.


An hour later, Melanie’s headache had become unbearable, causing her stomach to roil. Just what she needed, to lose her lunch in front of Jason. Scanning the grave, she spotted the paintbrush she used for delicate work. She grasped the handle, but dropped it. She tried again, but her fingers refused to cooperate. Her eyelids grew heavy. Something was off. She sat on the edge of the hole.


“Jason, help.” Her words were slurred. She struggled to stay upright. The trees in front of her blurred and swayed. 

He kneeled down and came face-to-face with her. “What’s wrong?”


“I don’t know.”


“Help me out here. What’s the last thing you did?” 

“I—I…” She struggled against the gray cloud jumbling her thoughts. “Took a break a while ago. Only digging since.”


His gaze flew to a spot behind her.


She wilted into him. Her vision tunneled, and darkness closed in.


“Keith! Grab the cooler and her bag!”


Jason’s frantic voice registered, but her body had shut down.


His warm arms lifted her. Her head bobbed and landed on his shoulder.


Her cheek bounced against his chest in cadence with the pounding of his feet on the path. 

His rhythmic breathing was the last thing she heard before the world went dark.

 

About the Author


Two-time Genesis winner Sami A. Abrams and her husband live in Northern California, but she’ll always be a Kansas girl at heart. She enjoys visiting her two grown children and spoiling their sweet fur babies. Most evenings, if Sami’s not watching sports,you’ll find her engrossed in a romantic suspense novel. She thinks a crime plus a little romance is the recipe for a great story. Visit her at
http://www.samiaabrams.com.



Thursday, November 25, 2021

Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour - Day 4

Welcome to the Harlequin Series Investigator Blog Tour!


We're featuring one book from the Harlequin series each day for the rest of the week. Looking for something new to read or to gift to someone this holiday season? Harlequin's got you covered! Join us here Monday through Saturday this week to learn about your next great read!


Day 4: His to Defend



HIS TO DEFEND by Sharon C. Cooper (on-sale Dec.28, Harlequin Romantic Suspense): A romantic reunion…threatened by their past. Amina Kelly broke Sergeant Maxwell Layton's heart when she married his best friend. But the detective never forgot her…or the sizzling attraction they never acted on. Years later, while Maxwell and Amina work together to find her ex's killer, Maxwell finds his desire for the nurse stronger than ever. As he puts his life on the line to keep Amina safe, Maxwell realizes that the greatest risk of all might be to his heart.


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Excerpt

“Do you think the break-in is connected to the mugging?” Amina asked.


Maxwell’s eyebrows shot up. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought she was a mind reader. Earlier, when he considered the two incidences might’ve been connected, he hadn’t planned to say anything to her just yet. But in case they were, he needed to do some digging. What he didn’t want to do was scare her, but he also wanted her to be on alert.


“Yes,” he said honestly. “It’s too much of a coincidence. I’m even wondering if that botched mugging wasn’t an attempted kidnapping.”


Her hand went to her chest. “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working.”


“Sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is scare you, but something is going on. Until we figure out what, 


I think you should stay here. In the meantime, can you think of anything you have that someone might want? A family heirloom? Gold? Bonds? A limited-edition book? Anything?”


“No, nothing like that. I have a pair of diamond earrings that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school.”


“I might be way off with this next question, but I have to ask. Do you have anything of Jeremy’s?”


She frowned. “Not that I can think of—why?”


“I don’t know. I might be way off, but I wonder if any of this has to do with his murder?” Maxwell wiped his hands and grabbed his cell phone off the counter. About a half an hour ago, Danny had texted him a still shot of the suspect.


Maxwell held up his phone to her. “Do you recognize this guy?”


Amina stared at the photo for a few minutes. The quality wasn’t great, and much of the man’s face was hard to make out, but she might know him.


She eventually shook her head. “He doesn’t look familiar. Should I know him? Who is he?”


“The suspected killer.”

About the Author


Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author, Sharon C. Cooper, loves anything that involves romance with a happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies, or real life. Sharon writes contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense and enjoys rainy days, carpet picnics, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She’s been nominated for numerous awards and is the recipient of an Emma Award for Romantic Suspense of the Year 2015 (Truth or Consequences), Emma Award - Interracial Romance of the Year 2015 (All You’ll Ever Need), and BRAB (book club) Award -Breakout Author of the Year 2014. When Sharon is not writing or working, she’s hanging out with her amazing husband, doing volunteer work or reading a good book (a romance of course). To read more about Sharon and her novels, visit www.sharoncooper.net