Your Weekend Read: BLOOD IS THICKER THAN MONEY

 

 

Book Title: Blood is Thicker than Money: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, book 38

Book buy link: https://bit.ly/4lF8s5a

My Amazon page: https://amzn.to/3AaI8xf

My blog page / Joe Congel Fiction Stories: https://bit.ly/3H60Da2

 

Blurb:

Ronnie Spatch Senior, brutally murdered. An empty safe. What warranted the murder of an old man?

Retired New York City police detective Brandon Turner is just trying to enjoy time with his girlfriend, her sixteen-year-old son, and his dog, Max. They are his priority.

But he has a nagging feeling that something is missing. An itch that needs to be scratched. He misses the action his former job provided. It was an adrenaline rush retirement just can’t fill.

So, when Ronnie Spatch Junior asks for his help with finding the person who killed his father on their family farm, Turner uses it as an opportunity to scratch that itch. Which he does by starting his own private detective agency and launching himself straight into a murder investigation.

While searching the farm for clues, Turner discovers Ronnie Junior lying unconscious on the barn floor with a hunting knife sticking out of his stomach. It quickly became clear to him his client’s father’s death was much more than a simple robbery gone wrong.

Austin PD Sergeant Investigator Palmer Kraus is on loan to the Magnolia Bluff Police Department. When he shows up unannounced at the crime scene, Turner realizes he’ll have to deal with Magnolia Bluff’s finest once again. Only this time, he can do it on his own terms.

Follow the breadcrumbs left behind in Joe Congel’s most compelling mystery to date. Blood is Thicker than Money, book 38 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, is a mystery not to be missed as Turner tries to balance everyday life while going all in grappling to solve a crime that doesn’t stop at murder.

 

Bio:

 

Joe Congel grew up in Syracuse, NY, and currently lives in beautiful Charlotte, NC. He got his first break in the world of publishing when he illustrated the humorous book, Housetraining Your VCR, A Help Manual for Humans, published by Grapevine Publications back in the early ’90s.

A few years after Housetraining set the world on fire, Joe decided that he was better suited as a writer rather than as an artist, so he began crafting stories that allowed the reader to use their own imagination to add the visuals to the narrative.

Since he’s enjoyed reading murder mysteries and PI detective stories all his life, he felt he had a pretty good grasp on how to create an engaging character in the world of private detecting. DEAD IS FOREVER is the first book in the Razzman Mystery Crime Files series, featuring Tony Razzolito, PI. The book is set in Syracuse, NY, and Charlotte, NC, with upcoming books in the series concentrated more in and around the Charlotte area. Joe is uniquely qualified to write about both areas of the country since he lived in Syracuse for 36 years and Charlotte for the last 25 plus years.

When he’s not writing, you will most likely find him spoiling his three grandchildren.

 

Three Foodie Facts about Brandon Turner (Main Character):

Even though he’s living in Magnolia Bluff, Texas, Brandon’s favorite foods reflect his New York roots –

Nothing like the taste of biting into a good New York hotdog. Brandon’s favorite place to indulge when he’s in the city is Gray’s Papaya. The crisp snap of the skin when you take that first bite is the hallmark of a flavorful all-beef Sabretts quality dog eating experience.

A pepperoni slice from Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village. He loves to grab a couple of slices, a drink and sit in the park and watch the people go by while enjoying one of the best thin crust pizza slices in the city. Always a long line at the door – always worth the wait.

Chicken Riggies. When Brandon was a detective with the NYPD, he spent the holidays at his girlfriend’s (at the time) parent’s home in Utica, NY. They introduced him to this wonderful blend of chicken breast (cut into small bites), mushrooms, green peppers, and onion, mixed with a creamy tomato sauce and poured over rigatoni pasta. Since moving to Texas, he’s been cooking up his own version and enjoying this distinctively northeastern dish in the southwest. 

 

AND

 

I'm over at Cowboy Kisses posting on Judge Roy Bean who held his court cases in his saloon.  He was quite a fascinating character. If interested stop by and say hey.

IWSG Wednesday AND Did You Know

 

The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.

 

Twitter handle: @TheIWSG  

Hashtag: #IWSG 

The awesome co-hosts for the August 7 posting of the IWSG are Feather Stone, Kim Lajevardi, Diedre Knight, C. Lee McKenzie, and Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

 

August 7 question - Do you use AI in your writing and if so how? Do you use it for your posts? Incorporate it into your stories? Use it for research? Audio?

I use IA for guest posts on specific topics and I have out one audio that’s AI. What about you? Have you tried AI on audio?

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July/August Reviews in no particular order

* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.

CATCH A TIGER BY THE TOE by Joe Congel

This is book twenty-six of twenty-seven in the Magnolia Bluffs Series and the second focused on Brandon Turner retired NYPD police officer.

In book twenty-six, there’s a serial killer on the loose, in this small Texas town, that has killed two young children and has his eye on a third. Beside each victim he leaves a stuffed toy tiger and a nursery rhyme. Brandon comes out of retirement to help the Magnolia Bluffs’ police catch the killer.

If anyone but Joe Congel had written this, I probably wouldn't have read it because of the subject matter: child murder. But being a Congel fan this was not an option. The story, as expected, was a riveting tale.  The author handled the subject matter with sensitivity and didn’t get bogged down with macabre details. The tension builds through the book and ends with a high-octane chase to catch the killer before he kills again AND offers some unexpected twists at the end.

If you are a murder mystery aficionado, a Congel fan or just appreciate a good tale I think you’ll enjoy this one as much as I did. 

Available at Amazon

 

THE SILVER LEOPARD by Zoe Cass

This is a classic example of the romantic suspense genre written in the 70s.

Caroline has escaped a lonely and unhappy childhood by moving to London and developing a successful career buying and selling antiques. With her mother's death, she is called back to Scotland where danger and evil linger.

Recommended for those that enjoy classic romantic suspense.

Available at Amazon

 

LEGEND IN GREEN VELVET by Elizabeth Peters

Elizabeth Peters at her best.

This is an enjoyable read about a young American on her way to work at a Scottish archeological dig when she gets embroiled in a murder. Sprinkled throughout with laugh-out-loud moments, this is a must read for Elizabeth Peters fans.

Available at Amazon

 

 

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New Releases

BECAUSE NO ONE NOTICED by C. Lee McKenzie

(Editors' Pick)

Five juniors at Las Animas High have a long history together. They love, dislike, or tolerate each other depending on the day. Occupied with class assignments, career choices, family disharmony, and the usual teen turbulence, none of them thinks seriously of the danger lurking in their near future or how fragile and temporary life is.

Inspired by real-life tragedy, the story unfolds in alternating points of view as the characters explore the resilience of their hearts and their ability to rebuild their lives after a shattering tragedy.

Available at Amazon

 

MATEO'S WOMAN by Sandra Cox

Delilah is dead.

With her demise, everyone should be safe, but something insidious is happening to Mateo’s town and to the woman he loves. People are dying and Blair is changing, taking on mannerisms that are clearly not her own. Becoming a danger to herself and others. He has no idea what is happening to the town’s people but he has an inkling of what is happening to Blair and what he’s thinking just isn’t possible. But whether it’s possible or not, he has to pry Blair from the evil that’s sunk its fangs into her. Now it's a race against time to save the woman he loves and get to the bottom of who is killing Grizzly’s citizenry. And if that’s not enough of a challenge for the shapeshifting sheriff, his future mother-in-law has come for a visit.

Available at Amazon 

NOW OPTIONED FOR TELEVISION!
Every book can be read as a standalone mystery - hop in anywhere in the series!

USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has her cast of characters embroiled in three Halloween hijinks --- a murder, a robbery, and a ghost story!

 Available at Amazon

AND

Did you know, Dr. Seuss (Theodore Seuss Geisel)  was credited for inventing the term nerd?

 

For more information: 20 Dr. Seuss Facts - Fun Facts You Didn't Know About Dr. Seuss - Parade