Friday, November 20, 2020

BOOK: June Green Leaves of Deceit by Carol Ann Kauffman

 


Join Cat Collier is this serial mystery short story series, described as a cross between Nancy Drew and Mike Hammer.

Carter disappoints Cat in the worst possible way. She begins to doubt her worth. Can a new location bolster Cat’s self-confidence? Is she strong enough to let a new love in?

June Green Leaves of Deceit continues and adventures and misadventures of Mary Catherine Collier, known as Cat, as she opens a second online investigation office, away from Heaton Valley and the love and support she’s known there. Can she make it on her own? 


Amazon Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DYFCFS

Here are some reviews:

Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2019
Verified Purchase
Cat Collier is one of my favorite female detectives! In this book, she opens an office in New York to try to expand her business, and prove to herself that she can make it on her own.
Hurt after Carter runs off, as he does when there are problems, she decides to open another office. The building she moves into is run down, and owned by a hermit who lives on the top floor. After getting his okay to update the office she and Spencer, the hermit, start building a loving relationship. I can't tell you more, you'll have to read it!
I highly recommend this book!!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2019
Verified Purchase
I just love these Cat Collier Mystery’s! Each time I find myself trying to figure out who did what and why? But this one has so many elements to it, that it’s kinda hard to but my finger on the killer. I have my suspicions and my why, but I’ll probably be wrong and shocked to find it all out. This one leaves you hanging and starving for the next book. If you like good clean down to earth mysteries, then I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2019
Verified Purchase

But, wait! Read an excerpt before you buy:


Chapter One
Gauze and Breeze


It was a perfect June morning in northeastern Ohio. The sun illuminated the periwinkle sky as a gentle breeze fluttered through the open window of my gorgeous office on the eighth floor of the beautiful Palazzo Castellano, a hotel situated in the center of downtown Heaton Valley. Perfect morning. Perfect office. Perfect little town.
So why was I so damn miserable? 
I have everything a girl could want. I’m living my dream. I have my own private online investigation business in a big, beautiful office that adjoins the office of a sweet, handsome lawyer who just happens to love me to pieces. I have a new car, gorgeous clothes, and a huge rock of an engagement ring so big I could use to put out an eye in a street fight. I have a wonderful circle of friends and family who love and support me in whatever I do. I am my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do. 
So then… why the misery?
I don’t know. Because I’m not the person I used to be, maybe. My motto has always been honesty is the best policy. But one lie led to two, then four, and they continued to grow at an alarming rate. I almost needed to carry around a notebook to write down my lies in order to keep them straight. But I was afraid I’d lose it, someone would find it, and discover my deceit.
I’m no longer the honest human being I thought I was. Lately, I lie to people on a daily basis. I lie to my mother. I told her I met Kayko in Los Angeles last year at the newspaper convention. I told her there was nothing serious going on between Kayko and my brother Dane. I told her Kayko would probably be going back to California soon. 
My wonderful fiancĂ© whom I adore? Yes, I lie to him, too. Of course, you can come with me, Carter. And no, I’m not up to anything. And I nurture those lies and cuddle up to them and keep them warm. 
I am keeping the truth from my brother Dane about his new girlfriend, Kayko. He thinks she’s a little wounded bird. And he is dead-set on saving this orphaned waif. Little does he know, she not an orphan. She has family and a betrothed in China. She was part in a human trafficking ring, and not the abused part. She lived as a homeless person on the streets of Detroit. And her name is made up, like every other part of her life.
I lied to my client Jack Harlan. I know who the father of his girlfriend’s daughter is, and it’s not some dead Italian Art professor. Lystra’s father is very much alive and is an extremely dangerous and powerful criminal. And as far as keeping his fiancĂ©e Simone out of the loop? Well, guess what, she knows everything.
And I lied to Kayko. Sure, I can get you papers so you can stay in the country legally. Sure, I can keep you safe. Sure, I can hide you from international sex trade criminals.
I took a deep breathe. Stop it, Cat. Everybody tells a few untruths every now and then, don’t they? Maybe I was blowing this whole honesty crisis out of proportion. Maybe a walk in the park across the street would clear my head and help me feel better. I pulled on my jacket and put my wallet and keys in my pocket. 

Just then I heard the sound of stiletto heels clicking on the tile floor, slowly, deliberately, almost seductively, into Carter’s adjoining office. He likes to keep the door between our two offices open in case I get into trouble. He believes private investigation tends to draw out the most unsavory of characters and he worries about my safety. I peeked around the corner.
The most gorgeous girl I ever saw in my life was standing in Carter’s office. A beautiful face framed with long, flowing, shiny brown curls gazed at Carter. Her hands on her hips, feet apart, her tiny gauzy dress blowing slightly in the breeze. Skin, hair, figure, nails, outfit - all perfect.
“Hello, Lover,” the beautiful creature purred.
“Yvette!” called Carter.
Yvette. Of course, my finance’s ex-girlfriend had to be the most beautiful girl in the world.
“What are you doing here?” Carter said in shock.
“I miss you, Rick,” she cooed as she walked runway-style around his desk. 
I hid around the corner, plastering myself to the wall, trying to calm myself. I peeked around slowly.
She pulled open his bottom desk drawer.
“What are you want?” Carter asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I want… you. I want you back.”
Yvette put her foot up on the bottom drawer. The sun streaming through the window left nothing to the imagination. Little Miss Yvette, the beautiful underwear model, wasn’t wearing any.
“Yvette, I’m engaged to a …
She reached over and grasped his hand. She placed his hand gently on her uppermost inner thigh, then slid it up.
Carter moaned. 
I knew that particular moan. I knew it very well. I held my stomach. I thought I was going to puke. I needed to get out of the office. I couldn’t bear to stand here and listen to her… to them… I slipped off my shoes and quietly made for my office door.
Once in the hallway, I ran to the elevator at break-neck speed. I went up to our penthouse apartment. I just made it into the bathroom. Crying and puking. Heaving and sobbing.
I knew it! I just knew the someday he’d want his old life back. Big Manhattan lawyer with his underwear model Barbie Doll of a girlfriend. Why would he be satisfied with this boring, little hick-town existence? With me? Why was I surprised? I knew it was coming. More sobs, more heaves. 
I threw some clothes in a suitcase and found some shoes. I placed my big, beautiful, heart-shaped diamond engagement ring in the center of the dining room table. I ran. 
Where could I go? I let my friend Marcy Winegard stay at my old shoebox of an apartment while she looks for a place. She and boyfriend Carl Hayden called it quits and she needed a place. I could stay with my sister. I know she would take me, but she was at work and I need to get out of here right now. Where could I go?

“Mom?” I cried.
“What is it, Cat? What’s wrong?”
“Carter…” I blubbered. “And Yvette.”
My normally nasty, caustic, supercritical mother wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her. She stroked my hair.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, honey. He was really something special. You two were so happy. So, he packed up and went back to New York and the underwear model girlfriend, huh?”
“No. She came to his office. In this flimsy, little see-through dress. I was just leaving. I saw…” I cried some more. “I saw her seduce him. He didn’t try to stop her. He didn’t push her away. He didn’t say stop. He… he moaned.” More tears and sobs.
“Men! They’re horrible, disgusting creatures. Sex maniacs, all of them. They have no self-respect or self-control.”
“Not Daddy.”
      “No, not your father. And not your brother. But all the rest of them."






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Thursday, November 19, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT: The Man Who Lost His Head


Dear Gentle Readers,

Doc Martin’s Martin Clune stars as a stuffy English Museum curator who is sent to a small island in New Zealand to return a cultural mask that has a special significance to a particular Maori tribe. A funny and romantic film with beautiful scenery, a great cast, and a happy ending. What else could you want?
I thoroughly enjoyed this. I hope you do, too.

Hugs,
Carol








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Wednesday, November 18, 2020

RECIPE: Easy Pumpkin Cake from the Annuzzi Family Cookbook

 

 EASY PUMPKIN CAKE





1 large can of pumpkin

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup sugar

1½ teaspoon ginger

1½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

3 beaten eggs

1 box yellow cake mix, regular size

1/3 cup melted butter


Grease bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Combine first six ingredients. Pour into pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top evenly. Drizzle melted butter over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.


Dear Gentle Readers,

 This is another of my mother's recipes, and one that is perfect for the Thanksgiving season. It's easy because you simply add to a cake mix.

I am not much of a pumpkin person, but my husband is. This is a quick, easy way to fill the house with wonderful aromas of the season. 

Hugs,

Carol






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Tuesday, November 17, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Eye of the Moon by Ivan Obolensky

 



Eye of the Moon by Ivan Obolensky was a delightful paranormal mystery surrounding the death of an outrageous woman and a beautiful old mansion, from the viewpoint of two old friends, Percy and Johnny, reconnecting after twenty years. It gives us a glimpse into the life of the American Superrich and their lavish lifestyle. Beautifully written with wonderful characters included Rhinebeck, the house, as much a character as Percy and Johnny, and Robert the Bruce, the dog. I highly recommend. 









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Sunday, November 15, 2020

SCHEDULE: November 16 - 20, 2020


 Mon., November 16 - ART:
Ohio Artist Clyde Singer
Tues., November 17 - BOOK REVIEW:
Eye of there Moon
by Ivan Obolensky
Wed., November 18 - Recipe:
Easy Pumpkin Cake
Thurs., November 19 - ENTERTAINMENT:
The Man Who Lost His Head
ACORN
Fri., November 20 - BOOK:
June Green Leaves of Deceit
by Carol Ann Kauffman







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Friday, November 13, 2020

BOOK: The Captain and the Ambassador by Carol Ann Kauffman



 

Ambassador Tull Redmond is looking for a quick ride home back to Earth after ending her twenty-year mission as peace negotiator. All she wants is peace, quiet, and to be left alone. She boards the Earth Starship Giuseppe Verdi with its questionable leader, Captain Ben Jacobs anyway. 


It's the fastest way home. Her quarters has a full bath, a space view window, and a large, real bed! How bad could this rule-breaking, authority-defying Captain Casanova be? High Council hates him, true, but his crew loves him. 

Surely, she's too old and tired to be drawn into this bad boy of the quadrant's personal circus. 

Will Ambassador Redmond get the quiet, uneventful ride home she craves?


Some Amazon Reviews:


"If you love Science Fiction, Romance, Adventure and a cliff hanger out of nowhere, then this book is for you. Carol Ann Kauffman writes clean romance and with her details and your own mind, you don’t need hot and sexy, it’s already there. I love that about her romance novels. She allows me to enjoy the true meaning of the story and lets my imagination do the rest.
This is about two people heading home to Earth. Neither expected love to come into play and neither expected huge trouble from an ex. But when you are told on ship that your spouse has passed away, well that gives you permission to move on, even if it is with the Captain of a spaceship.
Well there is a huge chain of events with one going to jail, one being shot out of the garbage chute and one who just wants to be happy with a new life on earth. There is love making in front of a huge window looking out at the vast space and stars. There is vengeance and madness and down right evil. But there is a mystery mixed throughout it all and so many surprises along the way, especially the end.
I love Carol Ann Kauffman’s work and highly recommend her books to everyone!"



"'The Captain and The Ambassador' is an enjoyable blend of science fiction adventure, space-travel and lighthearted romance, with some well-developed mystery and drama woven through the story, infusing it with greater depth and tension.Regardless of the fact that the book is largely set beyond earth, Kauffman demonstrates the universal truths of human nature through her characters. It's easy to see that a character in a book is putting other concerns ahead of those of the heart, but on reflection, the reader understands that this is very often the sort of limitation that an individual puts on oneself for one or more different reasons. It takes only a little empathy for the reader to want the heroes of the story to end up happy, but this also carries the reminder that it's important for each individual, reader included, to choose the life that makes them happy, too. Whether it's because they have enjoyed them or because they haven't, everyone understands the value and importance of acceptance, love, personal freedom and justice, and it is those qualities that make 'The Captain and The Ambassador' a satisfying and enjoyable read."



"Kauffman gives a try at sci-fi and it's an amazing story!

Thursday, November 12, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT: Away (Netflix)


 
Away is an American sci-fi series on Netflix starring Hillary Swank. She plays an astronaut who has to leave her family for a tour of duty in space. It premiered in September 2020. 

The three-year mission is loaded with danger and problems, some foreseen and some that came out of nowhere.

All and all, it was enjoyable.














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Wednesday, November 11, 2020

RECIPE: Special Event Sweet Potatoes from the Annuzzi Family Cookbook


Special Event Sweet Potatoes


2 large cans yams, vacuumed packed or drained.

1 stick of butter

1½ c. maple syrup

1 1/3 c brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Cherry juice from the maraschino cherries

1 can pineapple slices

I can pineapple chunks

1 bottle of maraschino cherries



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large saucepan, melt butter, add maple syrup, cherry juice, and brown sugar.  Stir until thickened.  Cook pineapple slices until translucent (just a few minutes).  Remove from heat and set aside.  Add yams, cherries, and pineapple chunks.  Simmer for 20 minutes, basting yams with the sauce frequently.  Do not turn them too much or they will get all mushy.  Remove from heat. 

 

In ovenware with a lid, place the yams and pineapple chunks, and all the cherries except 9 (or however many pineapple slices you have).  Arrange pineapple slices on the top, put a cherry in the center of each slice.  Pour the syrup over the top.  Wipe the edge of the ovenware (because it will be very hard to get the lid off if it had any syrup on it).  Put the lid on.  Bake for 30 minutes.


Dear Gentle Readers,

This was one of my mother's recipes. These sweet potatoes are fabulous. They were the number one requested item on the menu for every big party our family had. I hope you and your loved ones will enjoy them, too!

Hugs,

Carol




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Tuesday, November 10, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Dark Eyed Stranger, A Magical Marriage Bureau Book, by Alison Jean Ash


 I love the Magical Marriage Bureau series and none of Alison Jean Ash’s books ever disappoint. The Dark Eyed Stranger is a delightful paranormal romance between a handsome, sensitive, dark-eyed Italian cafĂ© owner and a green-eyed red head librarian just coming into her own. They are nudged together by a trio of colorful witch sisters, their magic potions, and a beautiful, old Tuscan painting in a church. Sweet, short, and sensational.

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Eyed-Stranger-Magical-Marriage-Bureau-ebook/dp/B08KR7K13Y







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Sunday, November 8, 2020

SCHEDULE: November 9 - 13, 2020


 Mon., November 9 - ART:
Folk Artist
Debbie "Mama" Criswell
Tues., November 10 - BOOK REVIEW:
Dark Eyed Stranger
by Alison Jean Ash
Wed., November 11 - RECIPE:
Special Event Sweet Potatoes
from the
 Annuzzi Family Cookbook
Thurs., November 12 - ENTERTAINMENT:
Away
(Netflix)
Fri., November 13 - BOOK:
The Captain and †he Ambassador
by Carol Ann Kauffman










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