The House on Devil's Bar by Jessie McAlan - Book Tour - Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Jessie McAlan and her new book, “The House on Devil's Bar”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a brown agate pendant 2.5”x1.5” size!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Jessie and to increase your chances of winning!

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!

The House on Devil's Bar

by Jessie McAlan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: US Amateur Sleuth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

The police verdict of a woman’s accidental drowning in the Mississippi River does more than set tongues wagging in the small Missouri town of Klim; it starts a flood of cancellations that threaten to sink Rona Murray’s bakery and events business. And blacken her good name. Determined to save both, she starts her own investigation to prove she and her property are blameless.  Barbara Lindborg had stopped by Linn House to consider renting it for a party. Yet, when Rona returned from accepting a delivery, the woman had vanished.

Rona’s preliminary search for Barbara yields nothing more than suggestive footprints on the Bar.  Did the woman accidentally fall into the river?  Was she pushed – and if so, why?  A later hunt reveals Barbara’s cell phone in the woods. How did it get halfway up the hill if the woman drowned a hundred feet below? The phone’s camera holds snaps of Klim, its residents, and the Bar. Do any of these hold a clue to her death? Or did her and Rona’s earlier conversation about history and treasure have a different meaning?

Suspects and motives pop up like bubbles in yeast. Is Matt, an employee, still bitter about his and Barbara’s divorce? What about Rona’s own ex, Johnny? Is he trying to drive her out of business, or is his current girlfriend, Crystal, jealous of their relationship and trying to eliminate the competition? A bit like calling the kettle black, for Crystal seems very friendly with Frank, the bad boy neighbor. Frank isn’t lily-white, either. He dislikes Rona; is he behind the pranks on her property or mixed up in Barbara’s death?  It isn’t until Rona’s life is threatened one stormy night that she learns the killer’s identity and her true feelings about Johnny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT ONE:

Rona paused in the doorway and watched Crystal climb the steps to the gazebo.

Johnny smiled, amused at Rona’s interest. “She’s a nature lover.”

“Yeah?”

“Forget about her for the moment, Ronnie.”

“I’d be glad to. Can you? She seems to be…well endowed.”

“Yes.”

“I’m speaking of all those gold bracelets, Dear.”

“Right. I think they’re trinkets from her ex-husband.”

“I didn’t know the wife got gifts at the divorce proceedings.”

“I didn’t phrase that right, Ronnie. He gave them to her during their marriage.”

“So she clings to them instead of his arm. Charming.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW:

Sadly, I found this book to be a bit slow and somewhat confusing at times.

This book focuses on Rona, the owner of Rona Murray’s Bakery and Events.  After Rona’s business is negatively impacted by a woman’s disappearance and her possible accidental drowning Rona takes it upon herself to solve the mystery and get her business back on the fast track.

There are lots of details and analogies that I thought went a little overboard.  Maybe it’s how people in Missouri talk?  I found it occasionally distracting and tiresome.

It’s clear Rona is no professional sleuth.  I found Rona to be quite bold, stubborn, persistent, and naïve.  She definitely doesn’t have a hard time finding trouble or holding back.  Unfortunately, this combo allows for her to end up in some tricky situations that she may or may not make it out of alive.

The pace of the book is mostly slow, but there are a few twists and turns that unfold throughout the book, that create some suspense.

There were so many characters that bounced in and out throughout the story.  It was somewhat difficult to keep everyone straight and identify their importance or relevance to the case.  Perhaps this was more to introduce the town for future books in the series rather than their significance to this particular story.

There is a lot of detail in this book that allow for the reader to easily picture the cute, small town of Klim, Missouri.  The countryside and river truly sound beautifully picturesque.

This book is book one in The Linn House Mystery Book Series.

If you enjoy small towns and amateur mystery books then you should add, “House on Devil’s Bar,” to your TBR List!

Although, this was not a favorite for me, I do have high hopes for Jessie McAlan’s writing and look forward to seeing what the rest of the series brings.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1YX3V8TIZ2ILZ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR BIO:

A family trip to the Big Spring area in the Missouri Ozarks introduced Jessie to the wonders of nature.  Her summer stints as a camp counselor and canoeing instructor cemented her enthusiasm.  This love of the natural world and the river flows through her Linn House mysteries.

In 2001 Jessie graduated from Webster University with a BA degree and departmental honors in English.

She lives in the St Louis, MO area and spends as much time as she can camping and watching the barges on the river.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONNECT WITH JESSIE:

Website:

http://www.jessie-mcalan.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Jessie-McAlan-Mysteries-257832941350367

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16850946.Jessie_McAlan

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35130498-the-house-on-devil-s-bar

Amazon Author Page:

http://amzn.to/2tDnSBg

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon Kindle:

http://amzn.to/2eHXsYt

Amazon Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2eHwX5p

Amazon CA Ebook:

http://goo.gl/T6CPGH

Amazon CA Paperback:

http://goo.gl/t43B6R

Amazon UK Ebook:

http://goo.gl/jcJ0DJ

Amazon UK Paperback:

http://goo.gl/z3i9gL

Amazon FR Ebook:

http://goo.gl/7oOfVc

Amazon FR Paperback:

http://goo.gl/7oOfVc

Amazon AU Ebook:

http://goo.gl/UQY4V2

Amazon DE Ebook:

http://goo.gl/tgRNNG

Amazon Paperback:

http://goo.gl/2MCnqA

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-house-on-devils-bar-ms-jessie-mcalan/1126395280

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GIVEAWAY INFO:

Jessie will be awarding a brown agate pendant 2.5”x1.5” size to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.