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Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Hide and Seek by Jo A. Hiestand - Book Tour - Book Sale - Book Trailer - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hey, lovelies!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Jo A. Hiestand and her new book, “Hide and Seek”!  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 $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Jo and to increase your chances of winning!

This eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!  See below for more details.

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


Hide and Seek
by Jo A. Hiestand

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GENRE: British Mystery

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BLURB:

Playing a mystery game seems the perfect way to celebrate Jamie Kydd’s promotion to Detective Sergeant rank.  But the game turns real when a body turns up in the pretend crime scene.  Perhaps worse than spoiling the party, the corpse is someone Jamie knows.

Even though the police take on the case, Jamie asks his friend, former police detective Michael McLaren, to also investigate—concerned that the victim’s criminal past may dampen the Constabulary’s usual fervor to nab his killer. It seems to have been a smart decision, for the police aren’t expending a lot of energy on the inquiry.

Suspects float around McLaren…half truthful, hard to find.  More like wraiths than flesh and blood.  If the victim’s burglary partner, ex-wife, or childhood friend didn’t kill Dan, who did?

It’s a desperate game between McLaren and a killer who’s playing Hide and Seek.

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EXCERPT TWO:

The area in back of the pub was illuminated by one light fixture plopped in what looked like an approximate center of the wall. It cast a feeble yellowish tint to the ground immediately beneath it before fading into the night. McLaren could see no one in the immediate area. Cursing, he jogged toward the building’s far corner.

He stopped several feet from the end of the pub. If he angled his torchlight around the corner, he might alert the assailant of the pursuit. If he switched off the light, he might be stepping into a trap.

Thinking it less likely the man would be plastered along the wall, waiting for McLaren to appear, he shone the light onto the ground, several feet ahead of him, and eased around the edge of the building. No one.

No one hid along or near the wall.

Thinking the man had either run onto the main street or doubled back in the darkness to finish off the victim, McLaren retraced his steps.

As he eased around the edge of the building near the car park, an opaque form lunged at him and knocked the mobile from his hand. Darkness enveloped him, and a moment later something slammed into his stomach.

He cringed and grasped his midriff as he doubled over. A kick to his shin brought him to the ground. A second kick smashed into his side.

The last thing he heard was a scuffling sound that faded into the silence.

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BOOK TRAILER:


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MY BOOK REVIEW:


Turn off BBC and one-click “Hide and Seek,” for an ace British Mystery!!!

This book is such an engaging, entertaining, intriguing, mysterious, suspenseful, thrilling read!!!

I really enjoyed teaming back up again with one of my favorite English Investigators, McLaren!

This is the fourth book I’ve read and enjoyed from the accomplished author, Jo A. Hiestand.  So, I was thrilled to get the chance to read her latest work – “Hide and Seek,” which is Book Twelve in the McLaren Mysteries Book Series.

Jo’s writing only continues to improve and grow with each book!  I know she will be author I will continue to read over the years!

It was really great catching back up with McLaren!  He really has become one of my favorite English investigators!  He is charming, kindhearted, intelligent, compassionate, polite, benevolent, and sincere.  He is exactly who I would want on the case if I ever needed that kind of help.

This book is not quite like the usual McLaren cases and with the considerable addition of Jamie Kydd on the team it only improved the story line.  Jamie was a valuable addition to this book and a very likable, genuine, relatable character.  The partnership and mentorship between Jamie and McLaren showed a strong, enriched connection, with promising development and growth.  I really enjoyed these two characters working together and I hope to see more of them together in this series.

It is clear the author did a thorough and extensive amount of research while constructing this book.  That plus her own unique advantage of having previously spent time in England, created reliable and credible details throughout the story line.

Ms. Hiestand’s skilled knowledge of the mystery and crime solving discipline continues to shine through in her elegantly crafted and detailed scenes.

This book has exceptional mystery crime solving structure with enough clues and excitement to keep you guessing, but still practical and realistic in police procedures.  And of course, there are some fun red herrings that will keep you on your toes as you try to solve the case!!

I loved the added extras the author provided at the beginning of the book.  The author included a list of characters with a short description of who they are they and how they relate to the story.  I love when author’s do this because books that are character driven (enjoyably so), like this book, can sometimes get confusing or overwhelming with so many character names.  So, it helps to have a quick reference section to easily follow along.  I also really liked that the author included a map of “McLaren’s Patch of Derbyshire.”  All these extras really enhanced the story and provided important details for the reader to follow along.

This book has a creative story line that evenly flows, superb writing style with meticulously well-described scenes, strongly developed characters, is steady paced, and completely keeps you fully entertained!!

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 Twelve of the McLaren Mysteries Book Series.  Although, this book is part of a book series, it can absolutely be read on its own as a standalone.  As you can see, I started in the middle of the series, with book seven, nine, ten, now twelve, and haven’t got lost yet lol!  However, there are strong and significant character and story line overlaps so it may be more enjoyable to start with book one to get the full benefits of this book series!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!  I think all British mystery readers and mystery fans will like this book too – and this book series!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!

**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/R3HWFMG0803LQJ

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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.

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 details filling both her Peak District mysteries and the McLaren mystery series.

In 1999 Jo returned to Webster University to major in English.  She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and departmental honors.

Her McLaren mystery, BLACK MOON, received the 2019 ‘N.N. Light Best Mystery Book’ award.

Jo lives in the St. Louis area with her cat, Tennyson, and way too many kilts.

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CONNECT WITH JO:

Website:

Blog:

Newsletter:

Email:
johiestand@gmail.com

Facebook Fan Page:

Facebook Personal Page:
https://www.facebook.com/jo.hiestand.3

Pinterest:

Instagram:

YouTube:

BookBub Author Page:

BookBub Book Page:

Goodreads Author Page:

Goodreads Book Page:

Amazon Author Page:

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BOOK BUY LINKS & BOOK SALE INFO:

**The Hide and Seek eBook is on SALE during the book tour for ONLY $0.99!!!**


Amazon Kindle eBook:

Amazon Paperback:

Barnes and Noble Nook eBook:

Kobo eBook:

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Jo will be awarding a $30 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.

14 comments:

  1. 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! :)

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    1. Ally, I must say I'm overwhelmed by your review. Thank you so much for your kind words. And thanks for being a stop on today's tour. I appreciate both! ;-)

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  2. Yes, it is. I'm overwhelmed! Thanks for stopping by, Victoria.

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  3. Hi, Rita. Glad you like the excerpt. Thanks and good luck with the raffle drawing.

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  4. Enjoyed the excerpt, love mysteries!

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  5. Thanks, Tetewa. I'm glad you did. Thanks for commenting.

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  6. Thank you, Ally, for hosting my book today. And of course thank you for the superb book review! I look forward to coming back sometime with another McLaren book!

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  7. I encourage reading so having a family who loves to read I sure support.Thanks for sharing your terrific read with us.

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  8. Kudos to you for encouraging reading. And thanks for leaving your comment -- good luck with the raffle drawing.

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  9. Good evening, Jo, my question for you today is, have you ever considered co-authoring a book and if so, who would you most like to work with?

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  10. Good evening, my question for you today is, would you like to see your book made into a movie and if so, who is in your dream cast?

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  11. I like the cover. It definitely draws you in.

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  12. Happy Friday! My question for you today is, are you a spontaneous or a scheduled writer?

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