Crime thriller that won't disappoint!

Fireson Bay by G. G. Stokes is a psychological thriller rife with action, suspense, drama, romance, and clever unpredictable plot twists. Agent Bay takes on a dead cop case and with the help of small-town Coroner Dr. Lucretia Cook is soon on the trail of a serial killer. I was into it from the start and the breathtaking pacing kept the pages turning with the discovery that all the victims are all serial killers. I was thinking, this would make a great movie!

 

Cook and Fireson fall in love and their relationship adds depth to the plot with all kinds of things raising questions about her. She’s a secretive person with a dysfunctional family past. When an attempt is made on her life it raises more questions. Does she know something that could help catch the serial killer? OR Is she a serial killer? OR is she a woman who has suffered great loss in the past and it affects her present?

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Bookhookup Review: Fireson Bay

I don’t want to say too much because I wouldn’t want to spoil this read for anyone. I think it will make my top ten list for 2024. What I will say is that I loved untangling this murder mystery and trying to figure out who dunnit. But I didn’t know until the reveal at the end. If you enjoy crime thriller mysteries that take a twist that turns everything on its head Fireson Bay will not disappoint! Highly recommend it to those who enjoy books like DCI Harry Grimm CrimeThrillers by David J. Gatward. Fireson Bay delivers it all with a side of romance. I am happy to award Fireson Bay 5 out of 5 stars and I look forward to reading Fireson Bay: Resurrection (book 2).

 

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As BookHookup, I am a longtime book reviewer. I received a free review copy of this book from the author and have not received compensation for reviewing or recommending it. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites

Astounding YA Dark Fantasy whodunit

Slipstream is a YA Sci-fi/Dark Fantasy thriller that opens with a gruesome murder of a young pregnant Asian heiress. When the authorities arrive, they find her sliced open and the baby gone. A necklace retrieved from the body turns out to be a high-tech amulet. The eccentric engraver who crafted it was a founding member of the defunct Pacific Rim Rapturits. It turns out the dead woman is his daughter and the half-sister of Detective Connor, who is working the case. Years pass with no breaks in the case until Connor learns that the baby lived, and her name is Raven. 

 

 

Alice Godwin uses Dark Fantasy as the canvas on which she paints this fantasy whodunit with the flare of a noir thriller. The opening chapter delivers just enough backstory to generate questions that frame the plot that unfolds in fractured pieces from varying points of view that fit together like a Japanese puzzle box. 

 

When the reader meets Raven, she is 16, lives in a post-apoplectic high-tech world where ecopods drive below the streets through a cobweb of underground freeways and some live in eco-tech housing and artificial closed ecological systems. Yet, Raven's world still suffers from inequality and injustice as power and wealth control lives and enrich the already-rich minority. 

 

Raven isn’t among the rich. She’s a gifted young lady with remote viewing skills, being reared by the carnies. Her visions fill her with dread, but she finds solace in a place called the Ghostlands where the whisperings of the web and electromagnetic humming that surround everything no longer haunt her. Here her head is silent. Here she enters a free-fall state into silver streams where things are tranquil and perfect–until Ceriful, a being from another reality crosses boundaries and brings the slipstream in his wake. Raven’s essence flows into it. He needs Raven to restore his realm. But, if she does, what does it mean for her world?

 

Book Recommendation

I recommend this book to those looking for their next fantasy mystery read. Filled with suspense, foreshadowing, and flashbacks, it delivers a surprise ending. Whether you’re interested in cozies or noir fiction, I’m sure this magical mystery will glue you to the edge of your seat. The opening chapters had a disjointed feel as scenes jumped to differing points of view and made for a slow start, but I realized those early chapters laid the foundation I needed to unlock the puzzle of this dark fantasy mystery. People who enjoy books like Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Stickland will find this book to their liking. I give it four stars and look forward to book 2.

 

As BookHookup, I am a long-time book reviewer, and I received Slipstream as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with #Black Phoenix Book Tours. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites.

 

  

About the Author Alice Godwin

Raised in the most southern of Australian cities, Hobart (Nipaluna), capital of the heart-shaped island of Tasmania (Lutruwita), gateway to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. Impacted by the mystical land of her childhood, Alice can recall days of climbing through Eden-like forests and around glacial waterfalls, where mystical ravens and colorful parrots flew through the Antarctic Beech forests, adding to her sense of wonder in the world around her.

 

Her family were European exiles from various countries from Turkey to Lithuania. She is the first mother in four generations to give birth to her children in the same country she was born in. Her first job was in the Editorial Library of The Mercury newspaper in Hobart before joining the chaotic, colourful world of fashion in a design studio off Chapel Street in South Yarra, Melbourne. Eventually she headed further north to Sydney and some interesting years working at the Museum of Contemporary Art situated between the iconic Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on Circular Quay.

 

Around this time she began writing and her first short story was shortlisted in the Northern Territory awards and printed in their anthology ‘Extra-Territorial’ and so she continued, stopping briefly for a few years when her two sons took her on other adventures. She has had forty short stories published in magazines, anthologies, and literary journals in Australia, USA and UK. She won the Australian Horror Writers Assoc short story of the year (2008), Wyvern Publications UK YA short story competition and has been shortlisted for the Irish Aeon Award.

 

Alice Godwin’s Social Media

http://www.alicegodwin.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mermaiddreams88/

https://www.facebook.com/AliceGodwinAuthor/

Hague Publishing’s Social Media

https://haguepublishing.com/blog/

https://www.facebook.com/HaguePublishing

Fantasy romance filled with tension, forbidden attraction, and lives forever altered

Eve Koguce’s debut novel, Neglected Merge (book one in the Neglected Merge trilogy), serves up a captivating fantasy romance set in a world following an apocalyptic event known as the Merge. However, Neglected Merge does not unfold within a typical dystopian backdrop. Instead, the story portrayed in brighter milieus displays life in a somewhat normal and positive vein. But is it?

 

This fast-paced adventure romance balances drama and romance with an intricate plot that introduces two utopian-type cultures separated by mountains and societal norms. On one side live the Wingless,, and on the other, the Winged Ones. The story opens in an apartment of Tauria on the Wingless side, where people accept the order they’ve been born within without question. Tauria’s normal-day cascades into chaos when an injured Winged One, Doron, crash-lands into her apartment out of nowhere. “He was uncomfortable to look at – alien – and at the same time, her first impulse was to touch him. She held back.”

Tauria nurses him back to health over a few days, which turns out to be a life-changing decision, not only for Tauria and Doron but for their worlds. They become friends and quickly more than friends.

Neglected Merge is full of tension, forbidden attraction, and lives forever altered with two diverse cultures challenged to reinstate face-to-face communication. When Tauria learns that Doron is a prince, it only complicates their relationship and leads to an unpredictable plot rife with unexpected twists that keep the pages turning.

I give this book a solid 4 stars and recommend it to readers who enjoy clean fantasy romance and forbidden-love woman’s sagas like the Twilight Saga series. A couple of things I found lacking in Neglected Merge were that the understanding of the Merge event remained unclear for most of the story. Secondly, Doron and Tauria’s love came off as too perfect at times, and the process of building a unique, three-dimensional character with depth, personality, and clear motivations was shortchanged, in my opinion. I’m not saying they were shallow or uninteresting in any way. They were not, but I won’t say more because I don’t want to include spoilers. Overall, I found the story entertaining, thought-provoking, and well worth the read.

As Book Hookup, I am a longtime book reviewer, and I received this book as a free review copy and have not been compensated for reviewing or recommending it. This review is posted in collaboration with BookTasters. Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

 

About the Author

Multi-award-winning author Eve Koguce has been in love with books for as long as she remembers herself. The typewriter her first attempts at writing had been made at still sits proudly on its shelf in the basement.

After fifteen years spent trying to fit into the office work pattern, Eve Koguce had decided to pursue her dreams and turned to writing.

Eve Koguce lives on the coast of the Baltic Sea with her husband, her son, and their two exceedingly charming ginger cats. She loves nature, history, and literature. Her hobby – and a childhood dream that came true – is horse riding.

Eve's debut novel “Neglected Merge” - book one in the Neglected Merge trilogy - has won three awards in the following book awards contests: (i) Silver Medal in the 2021 Global Book Awards in the Science Fiction / Fantasy category, (ii) Award Finalist in the 2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest in the Fantasy General category, and (iii) Honorable Mention in the 2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

You can find out more about the author on:

Blog: Eve's Book Diary: Literary journey of an office career escapee, www.evekoguce.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/eve_koguce

Twitter: @EveKoguce

Instagram: @eve_koguce_books

Facebook: Eve Koguce Books https://www.facebook.com/evekoguce/