Hey, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Jo A.
Hiestand and her new book, “Empty Handed”!
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 $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back daily to interact with Jo and
to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Empty
Handed
by Jo
A. Hiestand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: British Mystery
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BLURB:
One
dark night artist Craig Saxton went missing from his village. His body was found thirty-two hours later in
the river, floating like a bobber on a fishing line. Rumors swell like tidal
waves: did his ex-wife or his fiancée’s father kill this likeable young man? Or
was it simply a case of jealousy by the village’s other artist? Now, two years
later, Craig’s fiancée hopes ex-police detective Michael McLaren can find out.
From speaking to villagers, McLaren quickly realizes that what appears to be a
straightforward investigation is fast becoming as tangled as fishing lines. Are
the fish poaching incidents, the reappearance of the local ghost, and assaults
on him merely to muddy the investigative waters, or are they connected to
Craig’s death? McLaren has his hands full. They become even fuller when a
nemesis from his past appears one night, bent on revenge. And the inevitable
struggle opens a new future for one man…and leaves the other empty handed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT TWO:
The
man frowned and seemed to tower above her. He took an eternity to answer. “Why
are you inquiring?”
“I
met him the other day. I’d heard about him before that. He impressed me with
his knowledge. I’d like to know more of his background.”
“Why
not ask Mr. McLaren?”
Victoria
gave a tight-lipped smile and shrugged. Her thumb stroked the back of her ring.
The gem had let her down. Moonstone was linked to feminine energy. It brought
healing, nourishing the wearer and returning her to her complete self. It was
the moon’s gem and imparted the curative water. She needed McLaren in her life
and needed the benefits of the moonstone. How would she survive without either
of them? She coughed and slid her fingertip onto the stone. “I did ask him. But
he’s too modest. He wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“Well,
I’d take that as a strong hint, wouldn’t you? Mr. McLaren obviously doesn’t
want to talk about himself. You’d be best to drop it.”
“I
just thought that you might know him and could—“
“I’m
sorry. Even if I did know him, I wouldn’t give out private information. It’s nothing
to do with you personally, please understand.”
“Sure.
Department policy. Sorry to bother you.” She stepped out of the van, aware of
the thud of her heart and the tears in her eyes. One good thing: it was nearly
dark. No one could see her crying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK TRAILER:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
This book is such an interesting, intriguing, suspenseful, British
mystery!
I enjoyed teaming back up again with one of my favorite English
Investigators, McLaren!
This
is the third book I’ve read from the accomplished author, Jo A. Hiestand. Last year, I had previously read and enjoyed Jo’s
other book, “An Unwilling Suspect,” which is Book Seven in the McLaren
Mysteries Book Series and then just a few months ago I read her other book, “Photo
Shoot,” which is Book Nine in the same book series. So, I was thrilled to get
the chance to read her latest work – which also happens to be part of the same
series. “Empty Handed,” is Book Ten in
the McLaren Mysteries Book Series.
Jo’s writing only continues to improve and grow with each
book! I know she will be an author I will
continue to read over the years!
This book focuses mostly on the main character, Michael McLaren,
an English investigator and the cold case of local village artist, Craig
Saxton.
McLaren
is still reeling from the loss of his fiancé and wants to just keep busy at
home. But after he receives a plea from
a woman, Victoria, begging for him to come and investigate her fiancé’s murder,
he can’t help but grapple with the echoing resemblance and the feelings of losing the
one you were about to spend the rest of your life with. McLaren agrees to take on Victoria’s fiancé,
Craig Saxton’s case. Unfortunately, this
supposedly small, sleepy village seems anything but when McLaren discovers poachers,
a mysterious ghost story with similarities to the current case, lots of crazy drama,
and he is physically attacked multiple times while on the hunt to find the
killer! McLaren’s simple case just got
complicated!
It
was great catching back up with McLaren!
He is kind, charming, intelligent, compassionate, and sincere. It is obvious he is still heartbroken and going
through the five stages of grief over the recent loss of his fiancé, Dena. I think taking this case felt like he was
reconnecting with Dena. When Victoria
called and left a message on McLaren’s answering machine saying she loved her fiancé,
McLaren couldn’t help but draw the parallel lines and reflect on the similarities
of their two shared circumstances. It’s not
hard to see why McLaren was so passionate about solving this case and wanting
to bring justice and answers for Victoria.
Ms. Hiestand’s skilled knowledge of the mystery and crime
solving discipline continues to shine through in her elegant and detailed scenes.
There are some predictable scenes. However, there are still a few unexpected
twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
This
book is book ten of the McLaren Mysteries Book Series. Regardless, of having some insight to this
book series it can still easily be read on its own without any confusion. However, having read three books in this book
series now, I am an even bigger fan of McLaren and would recommend checking out
the entire series – not because you need to read them for the books to make
sense, but because you’ll want to read them, because of how intriguing and
entertaining they are!
All in all, I enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely
recommend it! I think all mystery and
crime thriller fans will like this book too!
So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be
disappointed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
A
month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to
the joys of Things British. Since then,
she has been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived there during her
professional folksinging stint. This
intimate knowledge of Britain forms the backbone of both the Peak District
mysteries and the McLaren mystery series.
Jo’s
insistence
for accuracy--from police methods and location layout to the general “feel” of
the area--has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire for research. These explorations and conferences with
police friends provide the detail filling the books.
In
1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and
departmental honors.
Her
cat, Tennyson, shares her St. Louis-area home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH JO:
Jo’s super adorable kitty,
Tennyson
PC – IG @joahiestand
Website:
Blog:
Newsletter:
Email:
johiestand@gmail.com
Facebook:
Pinterest:
Instagram:
YouTube:
BookBub Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
Jo’s cute raccoon munching on cat food (top pic); Jo’s silly
groundhog, Humphrey scarfing down a melon (bottom pic)
PC – IG @joahiestand
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Nook eBook:
Kobo eBook:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Jo will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a
randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is 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.
Jo ~ Good morning! Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I really enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteAlly, thank you for the lovely review! I'm honored you like the book and especially McLaren so much! Thanks for providing the stop of the tour. I appreciate it and the review! jo
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteAlways fun to hear about another new great book. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for logging onto Ally's site, James. Good luck with the drawing!
DeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteHi, Rita. Thanks for dropping in. Good luck to you with the raffle drawing.
DeleteThanks for sharing and for the awesome giveaway :)
ReplyDeleteVictoria, thank you for coming to Ally's site today. I wish you luck with the drawing.
ReplyDeleteI'll bid everyone good night. And I thank Ally again for providing this week's stop on the review tour...and for the very nice book review. I am very grateful.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the review!
ReplyDelete--Trix