Hi,
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host by W.F. Ranew and his new book, “Blue Magnolia”! For other stops on his 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 $15 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with W.F. and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
Blue Magnolia
by W.F. Ranew
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Mystery-Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
PI
Red Farlow dives headfirst into a hornets' nest of extremists. His new client,
Hank Tillman, only wants to get a shot at country music stardom. While playing
in a Georgia bar, Hank—known as Cowboy to his fans—stumbles into trouble. The
kind that kills. PI Red Farlow steps in to help him.
Hank’s
song, Redneck Devil, attracts the attention of a violent group called the Blue
Magnolia. Its leaders want him to perform at their next hate rally. There's
another, darker reason the Blue Magnolia wants Hank in its fold.
An
elderly patient in a Florida insane asylum reveals a decades-long secret that
devastates Hank. It’s the worst kind of fake news.
Can Farlow root out the truth? The PI has his own problems as he
confronts a hired killer face-to-face.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT THREE:
As
he connected the amp to the microphone, foot pedal, and other electrical
components, someone walked up to him.
“Can
I get you a Coke, sweetie pie?” the tender young voice behind him asked.
Hank
turned to see a divine presence. He couldn’t say anything for a moment because
he started trembling. Did her beauty do this to him? Or perhaps the way she
gently touched his shoulder and bent over slightly, revealing her ample
cleavage right there in his face? Yes, those things made him quiver at that
moment. Her perfume, her hair, everything about her tossed him up, down, and
all over the place. He didn’t think he could stand up. He just squatted there,
right knee on the floor, and nervously fiddled with the amp.
Shy
Hank. Shaky Hank. What-the-hell-do-I-say-now? Hank.
Finally,
he uttered, “Uh . . . ah . . . yes ma’am, please. A Coke. Yeah, that would be
fine. Thank you.”
Sybbe
smiled down at him. She turned and walked to the bar. She swayed, undulated,
bounced, all in a graceful way. She asked the bartender for the soft drink, a big
one, and cocked her right hip wide out with her left foot resting on the foot
railing, and looked back across the room at Hank.
She
winked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MY BOOK REVIEW:
I am a huge fan of country music and mystery books, so I was so
excited to read this book!
This book allows the reader to fully immerse in the Southern
culture and way of life.
This
book follows the story line of Hank “Cowboy,” Tillman and his ups and downs of
trying to make it as a big country music star.
Hank often finds trouble or trouble finds him sort of say. This leads to Hank getting into many bar
fights and ending up in jail. His cousin,
Mary Ellen, is supportive of Hank and often bails him out. While on a phone call to her mother, Mary
Ellen discusses trying to prevent Hank’s messes instead of cleaning up after
them. Her mother suggests hiring PI Red
Farrow to attend Hank’s gigs and help keep him away from mischief. But when Hank’s latest song draws the
attention of the Blue Magnolia madmen, his level of danger is about to skyrocket,
and he will need Red now more than ever. No spoilers here!! But you definitely will want to read this
book and find out what happens!!
This book featured
an interesting and intriguing story line with many elaborate plots and very
detailed scenes.
This book was written with a strong, gritty,
rough, and rowdy kind of vibe.
I
really liked that the author used real places in his book. For example, many of the bars and clubs featured
are actual places in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. I love being able to recognize locations and
possibly even visit those landmarks in the future.
I also really liked that the author included actual music lyrics
in the book. While Hank was singing and
writing songs those lyrics were featured, which made the singer seem more
credible and realistic.
Unfortunately,
I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters. This book strongly portrays Hank as a good ol’
Southern boy, but I didn’t find him come across that way. At the beginning of the book it states that
Hank has just recently had his THIRD DUI CRASH, which caused him to lose
his truck and his driver’s license. Sure,
that sounds like a celebrity alright, but this all happened before Hank’s big
break. And personally, I don’t think “good
people,” drink and drive, get into bar fights, and constantly end up in jail. Sorry to be blunt, but I found Hank to be a selfish,
irresponsible, drunk jerk!
I
liked Red for the most part and enjoyed reading his case notes that were
featured throughout the story. I would be
interested in possibly reading one of his other cases going forward as it seems
he will be a main character in additional books in this book series.
I
also enjoyed and appreciated the author’s depth of research that was thoroughly
highlighted in this book. His awareness
of the music industry, bar scene, and Southern history and culture – all added
insight and authenticity to the story.
However,
I have to admit that I found the writing style a bit confusing. There were many times I had to re-read
several passages as it either didn’t make sense, felt awkward wording, and/or
displayed improper tenses.
For
example, the book mentions Hank going to jail for 24hrs. Then his cousin, Mary Ellen, bailed him out
and got him a lawyer, who settled the case by paying a fine. Afterward, Cowboy headed back to
Georgia. Then the next chapter starts
with Hank calling his cousin, Mary Ellen to tell her he’s in jail and needs her
help for the exact same situation he already mentioned was solved. I had to go back and start both chapters over
because I thought I missed something, but I didn’t. It just made no sense! Then there’s odd wording such as, “Hank smiled
his smile…” (Ranew 173). And “The
August he was eight…” (Ranew 15).
Also, “Before going to meet the Nashville cops, Red peeked into the
private dining room and saw everyone, save Hank, was there for the celebration.”
(Ranew 170). I don’t know what “save
Hank,” means in the middle of that sentence.
I felt it should have been the word, “except,” or something along those
lines. There is also lots of wording
using the name “the man,” which refers to several different characters. One man reference is a drunk bar patron, one
man is a man at a bus station, one man is a CEO, etc. It felt weird and confusing to keep reading
the same reference to multiple characters.
This book is Book Two in the Red Farlow Mysteries Book Series. This book can be read as a standalone.
All in all, there were just a few hang-ups for me, but overall,
I still enjoyed reading this book and would still recommend it. I think all mystery fans and thriller readers
will like this book too! So, add it to
your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful
on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R3815CQXPMPG7F
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
W.F. Ranew is a
former newspaper reporter, editor, and communication executive. He started his
journalism career covering sports, police, and city council meetings at his
hometown newspaper, The Quitman Free Press. He also worked as a reporter and
editor for several regional dailies: The Augusta (Ga.) Chronicle, The Florida
Times-Union, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ranew
has written three previous novels: Rich and Gone (Tirgearr Publishing),
Schoolhouse Man and Candyman’s Sorrow. He lives with his wife, Dr. Lynn Ranew,
in Atlanta and St. Simons Island, Ga.
Find W.F. Ranew Online at the links below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH W.F.:
Website:
Blog:
Email:
WFRanew@gmail.com
Facebook:
Twitter:
LinkedIn:
Tirgearr Publishing Author Page:
BookBub Book Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
Kobo eBook:
Tirgearr Publishing eBook:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
W.F. will be awarding a $15 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.**
W.F. ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteDid you have to do any research when preparing to write your book?
ReplyDeleteYes, I do a lot of deep dives before I start writing and all along the way. My perspective and history from living many years in the South prepped me for writing about the characters and stories in all my books. Thanks for your comment.
DeleteIt's been great getting to discover your book and share with the readers in my family. Thank you and thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure.
DeleteThanks for hosting the tour.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteNew author for me, sounds good!
ReplyDeleteDid you help design the cover?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read!
ReplyDelete