Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell... TLC Book Tour!

About the Book... Dr. Kay Scarpetta is working a highly suspicious death scene in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when an emergency alert sounds on her phone. A video link seems to be from her niece Lucy. But how can it be? It’s clearly a surveillance film of Lucy taken almost twenty years ago.

As Scarpetta watches she comes to grips with frightening secrets about her niece. That first clip and others sent soon after raise dangerous implications that increasingly isolate Scarpetta and leave her confused, alarmed, and not knowing where to turn. The diabolical presence and singularly “depraved heart” behind what unfolds seems obvious—but strangely, not to the FBI. Certainly that’s the message they send when they start harassing Lucy and begin building a case that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

In the latest novel in her bestselling series featuring medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta, Cornwell captivates readers again with the jolting twists, high-wire tension, and cutting-edge forensic detail for which she is renowned, proving yet again why she is the world’s number one bestselling crime writer.

What Did I Think of the Book? Patricia Cornwell never disappoints me. It's been years since I've devoured her Kay Scarpetta novels, but opening the pages of Depraved Heart felt like a homecoming in a way. All the familiar people were there and I even though I hadn't followed them in so long, I was able to settle right in without feeling lost.

This is typical Kay Scarpetta, with murder in the air and the need to solve the crime before innocent people start to be blamed. A diabolical previous character thought to be dead (Carrie) doesn't seem to be dead anymore and has come back to haunt Kay and her niece Lucy. But these once endearing characters seem to have changed a bit, and I'm not so in love with them anymore. Kay even seems to be a bit paranoid. But if you enjoy crime thrillers, do crack the spine on this one, because it's got all the ingredients of a good solid read.

About Patricia Cornwell

Patricia Cornwell is recognized as one of the world’s top bestselling crime authors with novels translated into thirty-six languages in more than 120 countries. Her novels have won numerous prestigious awards including the Edgar, the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger, the Anthony, the Macavity and the Prix du Roman d’Aventures. Beyond the Scarpetta series, Patricia has written a definitive book about Jack the Ripper, a biography and two more fiction series among others. Cornwell, a licensed helicopter pilot and scuba diver, actively researches the cutting-edge forensic technologies that inform her work. She was born in Miami, grew up in Montreat, North Carolina, and now lives and works in Boston.

Find out more about Patricia at her website, and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

To Learn More about Depraved Heart, visit Harper Collins! There you can read an excerpt, listen to an excerpt and purchase the book! Or if you'd prefer...

Purchase Links

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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*Chick with Books received a copy of Depraved Hearts in exchange for my honest review, and as part of hosting this tour for TLC Book Tours.

Do you Prey?...

The first machines on the site were the wreckers, like steel dinosaurs, plucking and pulling at the houses with jaws that ripped off chimneys, shingles, dormers, and eaves, clapboard and brick and stone and masonry, beams and stairs and balconies and joists, headers and doorjambs. Old dreams, dead ambitions, and lost lives, remembrance roses and spring lilacs, went in the dump trucks all together.

Buries Prey by John Sandford (release date: May 10th, 2011!)

Exciting news for John Sandford Fans with the release of the 21st mystery in the PREY series! Last May, I traveled back in time to 1992 and reviewed Silent Prey as part of the Days of Prey Tour, in which 21 Bloggers each reviewed one of the 20 books in the PREY series. Courtesy of G.P. Putmam Sons I am getting a sneak peak at the new book! Don't worry, I won't make you wait until May to hear all about it! I'll be cracking the spine on this very soon and reviewing it! But just from glancing through it, I think it's going to be nothing less that terrific! Do you Prey? What's your favorite Prey book?

The Blessing of the Animals by Katrina Kittle... A TLC Tour and Book Review

"A Moving Story of Forgiveness, Flexibility, Happiness and

the Art of Moving On."

The first thing I want to say about The Blessings of the Animals by Katrina Kittle, is that it is such a wonderful read. There is so much depth to the story and it is so well written that I found myself not being able to put it down. Not in a desperate need to finish it, but more like a delicious meal that fills your senses and that you want to savor every bite.

In the opening pages, we are introduced to Cami Anderson, who announces to us that her husband has left her, and on that morning...

"hours before I knew he would, I looked at the bruised March sky and recognized tornado green."

That tornado foreshadows what Cami is about to go through and how she got there. As a child she was fascinated by the violence of the storms so common in Ohio, and the hot headed stallion her father road in his olympic competitions. The need for thrills filled her life with "rock climbing, flying lessons, hitchhiking and drugs", but all this was nothing compared to the intoxicating sensation she got when she starved herself. All this came to a head when Bobby Binardi walked into her life. He was a bit of a bad boy, with problems of his own, but he saved her- literally by filling her life and feeding her starving body. Bobby was her best friend & roommates brother and a chef.

It's been 18 years since Bobby & Cami had gotten married. He runs his own restaurant, Tanti Baci, and Cami is a veterinarian. They have a teenage daughter, Gabby, and a whole family of misfit animals. They all live happily on the family farm... until Bobby decides he's "not happy". The day he walks out, is the day Cami must find herself again. But just as life seems to be falling apart for her, happiness seems to be filling the lives of everyone around her. Her best friend, Olive, who just happens to be her soon-to-be ex-husband's sister just got engaged and is planning her wedding, her parents are going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and her gay brother and his partner are celebrating the adoption of their little girl. Cami tries desperately to not be jaded when it comes to the happiness of everyone around her, and slowly she begins to heal. Part of this healing is through the love of the animals that fill her life, one of which is an abused horse she rescued who has to learn to trust again just like Cami. Divorce, relationships, falling in love, the healing power of animals, Katrina Kittle touches on all these things and more in her wonderful novel, The Blessings of the Animals. There are twists and a few turns as Katrina weaves the story, just like life itself. She paints such a true picture of the sadness when a relationship ends, and the complications it creates with the family & friends left behind. The characters are so well rounded, and the situations so realistic. And the relationships Cami has with the animals is beautiful, it's especially wonderful to read about how lovingly she nurses Moonshot, the abused horse in her care, back to health, mentally and physically. As if the storytelling isn't enough, Katrina paints wonderful images with her writing as well, with "bruised March skies" and "pear tree petals sprinkling down".

Animal lovers will enjoy this book! But it's also a story of personal healing, and will resonate with readers who can relate to a woman's struggle to become whole again.

A Little About Katrina... Katrina Kittle was born in Illinois but has lived in the Dayton area since first grade. She attended Ohio University and was Outstanding Graduating Senior for both the English and Education departments. She taught high school English and theatre at Centerville High School for five years, and she taught middle school English and theatre at the Miami Valley School for six. She has also worked as a house cleaner, a veterinary assistant, a children’s theatre director, a costumer, and as case management support for the AIDS Resource

Center (formerly AIDS Foundation Miami Valley). Katrina is the author of Traveling Light, Two Truths and a Lie, and The Kindness of Strangers. The Kindness of Strangers was a BookSense pick and the winner of the 2006 Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction. When not writing, Katrina enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, acting, and time spent in the presence of animals (especially horses). She is the proud aunt of Amy and Nathan, and lives in the Dayton area with her cat and a kickass garden. You can learn more about Katrina at her website, KatrinaKittle.com .

Katrina Kittle is making a stop here at Chick with Books as part of her Virtual Book Tour for The Blessings of the Animals! You can find her tour schedule at TLC Book Tours . AND, The Blessings of the Animals was officially released this past tuesday and is available from your local bookstore! I want to thank Trish of TLC Tours for inviting me to review Katrina's book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! And I'll be checking out the Katrina's other books now!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind... A TLC Blog Tour & Review

"Trust Yourself and Believe, Whatever Happens Don't Give Up..."

...William Kamkwamba

The simple act of turning on a light switch... opening a refrigerator full of food... going to school... These are all things most of us take for granted, but in William Kamkwamba's life these things were luxuries. Surviving famine, cholera and political treachery, William Kamkwamba shares his heartwrenching story of life in Malawi, "a country where magic rules and modern science was mystery."

I had seen William Kamkwamba on television being interviewed about his windmill. I was fascinated. How a small boy with a curiosity in how things worked was able to help bring electricity to his village was amazing. What I didn't know until I read the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, written by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, was how far William had to travel, not by miles but by the determination to live & have a more stable life, before he could make his idea a reality. In this emotionally charged story, William Kamkwamba is "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind". He was born into a family of poor farmers in a rural African village, with 6 siblings and the realities of a harsh African life, which included no electricity, or any other modern convenience, and living under a corrupt government that would rather see big profits than help the many small farmers that populated the country. Their livelihoods were wrapped up in the ability to grow their crops. They had to work around rainy seasons, dry spells and make the hard soil work for them. Then famine broke out, food became scarce, and people struggled to survive. Because of the famine, William had to drop out of school because his parents could no longer afford to send him. Though, he still had access to the library and used his time to keep his studies up. That library contained books on Physics and electricity donated by The American Institutes for Research. At the age of 14, with very little education, and not a very good grasp of English, William was inspired by the pictures in a book on windmills to see if he could build his own. A windmill could make electricity and bring water for irrigation. This could help not only his family, but his whole village...

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will pull you in. It's a story of desperation and loss, but as the story continues, uplifting. The beginning of the book really opens your eyes to the harsh realities of the life of an African farmer. But you also get a sense of a simpler life, one filled with magic and storytelling handed down from one generation to the next. I got a sense of community among the people of the village, even though they had very little, people tried to help one another with what they had. As you learn more about William and day to day life in his village, you begin to see what a special young man he is. Of course the villagers thought he was crazy, going through the scrap yard looking for pieces of this and that to "build a windmill". We all know the ending- he did make his windmill, and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is that story. There's also a wonderful "P.S." at the end of the book, an "afterwards" story entitled A Great Adventure that recounts some of the things that went on after the book was published. One of the wonderful things William mentions is meeting Dr. Mary Atwater, the woman who wrote Using Energy, the book that first inspired William to build his windmill. Dr. Atwater was "a black person in the American South during the 1950's, and she didn't have many great educational opportunities. It didn't help that she was also a girl, and a girl who loved science." But Dr. Atwater's dream came true through education, and she was "happy that I lived long enough to see that something I wrote could change someone's life."

William Kamkwamba will touch your heart. I felt such happiness when he was able to bring his dream to reality and help his village. But it doesn't stop there, because with worldwide attention, he's now helping to build schools and bring education into the communities of Africa. This is one very special story that will make you thankful for the bounty that you have, but also inspire you to follow your dreams, and to try and help others attain theirs. I would encourage anyone who enjoys inspirational stories to pick up this book. It's one story you won't forget.

Check out William Kamkwamba's Blog to learn more about him and his nonprofit organization Moving Windmills. I want to Thank Trish from TLC Tours for sending along a copy of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind for review! William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer will be touring the blogs with their book until the end of August, here are the other stops on the tour!

And in the meantime, here is a video of William talking about "How he harnessed the wind"...

TLC Book Tour & Review: Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon

Four College Students...

One Deadly Secret...

Dismantled by Jennifer McMahon is a thriller, a murder mystery and a ghost story all wrapped up in one. Four college art students, Henry, Tess, Winnie & Suz, form what they called the "Compassionate Dismantlers". Their manifesto included the first rule, which was,

"To understand the nature of a thing, it must be taken apart"

What this basically means is vandalism, dangerous pranks, and other such things. But something goes wrong one night, and a dangerous prank turns deadly... Suz is dead, and the friends decide to cover it up...

Soon after we open the book, we meet Henry and a very pregnant Tess as they visit "the cabin". The cabin where 8 months before, they and two other college art students, Winnie & Suz, lived and breathed their "dismantler" philosophy. Where they plotted their pranks to prove their point that in order to "understand something, it must be taken apart". They were all idealistic, young, full of life. But when the pranks turned fatal and Suz died, it was last night they all spent in that cabin... But we're not quite sure how Suz died... We're not privy to that bit of information just yet...

The story then shifts to present day, 9 years later. Henry and Tess are leading their "normal" married lives with their 9 year old daughter Emma. We get to know their life as adults, as parents, and we get to know Emma who's a normal, sweet, curious girl, but who also has a secret- her imaginary friend Danner, who seems so much more than imaginary at times. She tells Emma things, things she shouldn't know... Or is Emma just hallucinating? Hmmm I wonder... We find things aren't that sweet between Henry & Tess anymore, as Henry is living out in the barn on his own. But Henry & Tess are held together by Emma and that terrible secret they've both buried in the back of their minds - what happened to Suz... In an attempt to get them back together Mel, Emma's best friend, says they need to investigate and find something they can use towards that purpose... The two find Suz's journal hidden away in the barn, with addresses for the other dismantlers, and decide to send postcards to each of them with only the phrase,

"Dismantlement = Freedom"

When the cryptic postcard arrives in the mail to 3 of the "dismantlers", things take a deadly turn. One of the recipients of the postcard commits suicide, and that leads to an investigation, and questions about what happened 10 years ago... Old wounds are opened up, strange things start to happen. Could Suz really come back from the dead? It sure seems so, and it's fantastic!

What Jennifer McMahon has done is amazing. The story shifts between the present to the past, giving us glimpses into the relationships (and secrets) & life between the four college students, and as Jennifer does this, the story slowly unfolds before our eyes. All the pieces magically fitting together. The characters are so dynamic. Their feelings shift between suspicion and desire and it's exactly how you'd expect people to deal with what is happening. The relationships between the characters are well written and you can feel the idealism they felt as young college students and you can understand the unique relationships that formed between them. Jennifer also did a great job developing Emma, Henry & Tess's little girl. The angst of a 9 year old trying to fit in, find herself, have people like her, and dealing with her best friend, was so well written it really brings her to life. The relationship between Emma and her imaginary friend Danner is downright eerie and wonderfully portrayed. And when strange things start to happen, the story takes on that ghost story kind of feel to it and I loved it!

I found the story quite an addictive page turner! I couldn't put it down, because I just had to know what was going to happen next! This was one of those books I stayed up WAY past my bedtime to keep reading! Filled with twists and turns to keep my attention, and the ending... let's just say I loved that too! I would definitely put it on your TBR list if you enjoy novels that are character driven with plenty of suspense, thrill and a twist of the supernatural!

About the Author:

Jennifer grew up in her grandmother’s house in suburban Connecticut, where she was convinced a ghost named Virgil lived in the attic. She wrote her first short story in third grade, graduated with a BA from Goddard College and then studied poetry for a year in the MFA in Writing Program at Vermont College. A poem turned into a story, which turned into a novel, and she decided to take some time to think about whether she wanted to write poetry or fiction. She quit her last real job in 2000 to work on writing full time. You can learn more about the author and her books at Jennifer McMahon's website. *BTW, my reading group read Jennifer's book, Island of Lost Girls and everyone really enjoyed it.

I read Dismantled as part of TLC Book Tours. And I want to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for sending along a copy of Dismantle to review and the opportunity to participate in Jennifer McMahon' s Book Tour!

Hey, I'm sharing this book review at Cym Lowell's Book Review Party! You get follow the link to Cym Lowell's Blog to read more great reviews!

Allyson Roy Virtual Book Tour for Babydoll AND Giveaway!

Allyson Roy Virtual Book Tour for Babydoll

**And NOW a Giveaway!

And the winner is.... Elaine! Congrats Elaine! She has won a signed copy of Babydoll! And a Big Thank You to EVERYone who joined in on the fun!

Please join me in welcoming the "authors" Allyson Roy, to Chick with Books! Allyson Roy translates into Alice & Roy, husband and wife collaborating authors.

Roy, a graduate of the University Of The Arts in Philadelphia, has a background in theater, art and standup comedy. Alice, dancer/choreographer/teacher, double majored in dance and philosophy at the State University of New York. They spent many gypsy years living and working in the different neighborhoods of New York City and Philadelphia. Aside from being marriage and writing partners, they are also best friends, which is reflected in the heartfelt, go-the-distance friendship of their two main characters. And those two main characters are friends Benita Morales and Saylor Oz. The newest chapter in their friendship is Babydoll by Allyson Roy and is a bundle of fun....

About the Book... Combining wacky humor with gritty, urban suspense and a dash of romance, BABYDOLL is the second book in the Madcap Noir Saylor Oz mystery series set in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood. Three dead fashion models. A womanizing agent on the hunt for virgin talent. A daredevil boxer turned high-rise window washer. A burned out porn actress with a grudge. A pretty boy Irish illegal who’s good with a knife. A world famous lawyer with a bad case of self-importance. It would all be just another tabloid headline to Saylor Oz — except the young Nuyorican artist wrongly convicted of the killings is the brother of Benita Morales, her best friend. Height-challenged, warmhearted oddball, Saylor Oz, is convinced someone is reenacting murders from an old, X-rated movie called Bad, Bad Babydoll. But no one else thinks so, not even the sexy PI on the case. In her hunt to find the killer, Saylor ends up being part of a young genius designer’s zany plan to tweak the fashion world — and becomes the killer’s next target.

What Did I Think? I loved Saylor and the book! Saylor is a feisty fun character! How could you not like her- she's a sex therapist who trips over her own words and get's into the most interesting predicaments! And the story was so much fun! Alice & Roy refer to Babydoll as 'Madcap Noir, where crime, comedy and romance meet' and it certainly does! From the opening scene where Saylor tries to have the hunk of a PI watch a porn movie with her strickly for proving her point that it's a clue to the recent murders of 3 top models to her best friend Benita's pet mynah bird, Uncle Petey, reciting some key phrases from that movie, Babydoll is entertaining. The romance is hot, the writing is great and the story is a lot of fun! We really get an "education" along with the great storyline because even though Saylor is on the move to solve these murders to free her friend Benita's accused brother from jail, she just can't shake her day job as a sex therapist which tends to pop up in whatever she's doing! Think of Saylor as Stephanie Plum with added "heat"! This is the second book in the Saylor Oz mysteries. The first was Aphrodisiac, and I look forward to reading that and future books in this series!

Now onto our guests.... Alice and Roy!

When readers find out Allyson Roy translates into a husband and wife team named Alice and Roy they always ask us how we manage to blend two separate personalities into one voice -- and do it without killing each other. But the truth is, we’re all about blending opposites. In our Saylor Oz series we crossbreed suspense with wacky comedy, and we mix urban crime with fun, sexy girl stuff. While our two main characters are strong, confident professional women, they’re also insecure, vulnerable screw-ups who get themselves in over their heads. And, like the two of us, they bicker, banter and blame, but when it comes down to the real stuff they are deeply loyal and willing to put their lives on the line for each other.

In our writing process our opposite strengths and shortcomings fit together nicely. While Alice dreads facing the blank page, Roy is eager to step into it. Roy is inventive and impulsive by nature, so he gets down first draft ideas. Alice has a much longer attention span and an eye for detail and structure, so she moves in next. We’ve dubbed this system: the Marines and the Village Maker. In the final stages we work together and never consider a scene finished until we both approve it. And, yes, we do have areas where one of us dominates. Alice usually writes thex scenes, while Roy handles much of the comic dialogue.

Meanwhile, here’s a short quiz to see if you could write a book with your significant other. Are you ready?

You have a deadline, and the two of you have been working for hours in your home office. You encounter the following situations . . .

1. You’ve motored through all the snacks in the house and there’s only one piece of chocolate left. You say:

a. Go ahead, sweetie. Enjoy.

b. What say we split it?

c. Yo! That’s got my name on it. Touch it and I’ll break your fingers.

2. You’ve been focused on the same difficult scene for so long, Partner A keeps drifting into idle chatter about diverse subjects. You say:

a. You have such a fascinating array of knowledge. It’s one reason I love being around you.

b. Interesting info, honey. How about we save it for break.

c. Back on task, Bonzo. Like I give a rat’s buttocks about your new electronic golf ball retriever.

3. For obvious reasons, writers run the risk of becoming sedentary creatures. So when it’s time to work out, you say:

a. Gee, I love training side by side with you. Couples who sweat together, stick together.

b. Guess we better hit the gym.

c. Tennis time, Fatty. Twenty bucks says I can whip your sorry butt.

4. The section you’ve been working on all week has to be totally revised. You say:

a. Not a problem. We can do it, thanks to our being able to work so efficiently in a state of complete and unspoiled harmonious unity.

b. So we goofed. We’ll hit it out of the park next time at bat.

c. Don’t look at me, Slobbo. That dumbass part was your bogus idea.

Time’s Up! Correct answers found on page 321. Printed in reverse! Use a mirror.

Thanks, Suzanne, for having us as your guests today.

And thank you Alice and Roy for letting us in on how you two work so well together! And creating a fun quiz for us to see if we could work with our significant others!

Like to learn more about Allyson Roy? Visit their website HERE! Like to read an excerpt from Babydoll? Here's a LINK! You'll also find all sorts of fun information at their website HERE. Both Babydoll & Aphrodisiac are now available from your favorite bookstore!

**Guess what?! Allyson Roy, (aka Alice & Roy), decided to treat the readers of Chick with Books with a special giveaway for a signed copy of Babydoll! Thanks Allyson Roy! We love giveaway's here and appreciate the special treatment!

To Enter this Giveaway...

*For one entry leave me a comment with your email address!

*Get an extra entry for following my blog! Just leave a comment letting me know you're a follower! ( Not a follower yet? No problem, sign up by clicking on the 'followers" button! Just let me know you became a new follower!)

*For another entry Blog or tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link.

This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents! (No P.O. Boxes, please) Contest ends 11:59 pm EST on Sept. 26th. I'll randomly pick the winner the next day and email that person. Please check your email... winner must reply to me within 3 days... Good luck everyone!

The Allyson Roy Virtual Book Tour is organized by Trish of TLC Book Tours! Here are the other stops on the tour:

Tuesday, August 18th: The Eclectic Book Lover

Wednesday, August 19th: Jenn’s Bookshelf

Tuesday, August 25th: Jen’s Book Thoughts

Wednesday, August 26th: Cheryl’s Book Nook

Thursday, August 27th: Reading With Monie

Monday, August 31st: Books on the Brain (guest post)

Thursday, September 3rd: Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-a-holic

Tuesday, September 8th: GalleySmith

Wednesday, September 9th: Bookgasm

Thursday, September 10th: I’m Booking It

** P.S. Babydoll is Kindle Ready! So is Aphrodisiac!