Fruit of the Poisonous Tree by Norm Harris - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Norm Harris and his exciting new book, “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” here on FAB!!  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 $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Norm and to increase your chances of winning!!

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

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

Spider Green Mystery Thriller Series

Book One

by Norm Harris

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GENRE: Mystery / Thriller (Legal Military)

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BOOK BLURB:

Fruit of the Poisonous Tree begins the riveting Spider Green Mystery Thriller series. If you enjoy razor-sharp dialogue, strong-willed people, suspense, twists, and high-octane action, then Faydra "Spider" Green, the intrepid female sleuth and unpretentious hero in this taut, fast-paced adventure, will appeal to you.

"Fay is a kick-butt adrenaline-rushing heroine who knows how to hold her own. Norm Harris is a brilliant author who knows how to write thrillers," said N N Light Amazon "Vine™ Voice" reviewer.

 A female lawyer must prove a war hero's innocence. Meanwhile, Navy SEALs hijack a Russian warship to stop a North Korean missile crisis.

Every now and again, a unique story comes our way, a story unlike any we may have read before. Such is Fruit of the Poisonous Tree, author Norm Harris's critically acclaimed legal military mystery thriller. The story's focal point is Faydra "Spider" Green, a dedicated Navy JAG lawyer who has lived her life in the shadows of a great and powerful man: her father, former President of the United States William Green. Green cannot heal the wound in his relationship with his daughter. His former power and influence curse Faydra and cause her to wonder if her accomplishments were her own doing.

A lawyer by trade, Faydra is both anxious and excited as she undertakes her first homicide investigation —the brutal murder of a Navy SEAL She reasons that a successful investigation will provide her the opportunity to validate her sense of self-worth. Faydra soon realizes that the accused man, a Special Ops Marine war hero, may be innocent thanks to her remarkable deductive abilities. The Navy is using her as a pawn in a complex cover-up.

Meanwhile, a seasoned Navy Sea Captain, Egan Fletcher, whose wife had died eight years earlier, struggles to balance his Navy career with raising a son. When the Navy purposefully pairs him with Faydra in a meeting, the two Navy officers embark on an adrenaline-pumping adventure. It is a top-secret mission- impossible that will take them halfway around the world in an attempt to avert a catastrophic act of terrorism in the form of biological warfare.

Set against the dramatic backdrop of Washington State's Puget Sound and the mystique of East Asia, Fadra's story revolves around a woman who appears to be as pure as the driven snow—yet, she is driven by an insatiable need to complete any assignment, no matter how dangerous. Along the way, she transforms into a symbol of hope, perseverance, and a woman's ability to overcome life-threatening events.

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EXCERPT ONE:

Fay turned and descended the ladder to the waiting boat. She dug deep into her soul to gather what courage she now carried with her to the dark and foreboding place known to all seafarers as “Davy Jones’ Locker.”

The frigid night air slapped her face as the small boat raced across the flat surface of the night water; sea spray soaked her face and hands. She squinted and fixed her gaze on the wall of black now standing before her. I’m going to need severe beauty salon time when I get back to civilization, she thought.

Shortly after, the boat arrived at the prescribed dive location. The dive team donned their facemasks and tested their gear—then, one by one, the divers rolled backward from the boat and into the water. Fay was last to leave the safety of the small boat.

The cold salt water stung her skin momentarily, until the thin layer of water between her skin and her wetsuit warmed to a tolerable temperature. She bobbed on the surface for a moment, then flicked on her underwater torch. Fay then slipped beneath the water’s surface and began her descent toward the bottom.

The wreck was ninety feet below. The Carr came to rest upright on the edge of a reef. The ship had not completely settled and was subject to shifting with each tide change. All good reasons for her to exercise extreme caution.

Nothing could have prepared Fay for the frightening feeling she experienced as she struggled to see and gain some sense of direction. She could tell she was sinking, but only because the luminous dial of her depth gauge so indicated. Following the eerie flickering lights of the three torches preceding her, she suppressed her fear and the feeling of claustrophobia by thinking of those people nearest to her heart.

Occasionally, the glow cast by the divers’ torches below her would momentarily disappear. She supposed—prayed—it was perhaps Romeo or Juliet passing between her line of sight and the torches, temporarily interrupting the beams of light, rather than a predator.

Fay grew fascinated by the many air bubbles emitted by the divers, reflected in the light of their torches’ eerie glow. Like a surreal field of vapor flowers, they appeared and disappeared as they slowly wobbled toward the surface. Fay reached for a bubble but instead found it to be a jellyfish, not a bubble as she had first thought.

Fay stopped sinking. Although she could not see it, she assumed they had reached the wreck. She brought her wrist to within inches of her face to check the luminous reading on her depth gauge. Eighty-seven feet.

She strained her eyes in a vain attempt to see through the black water. Fay may as well have been swimming in a cup of Seattle’s Best Coffee. All she could see was the light from the torch she held in her hand. She experienced complete disorientation. No up, no down. Someone, Andrew Lawrence perhaps, grasped her wrist. He was dragging her somewhere. She saw a deck rail, then a deck, and finally passed through a hatchway. They were now inside the Carr. There was only one light ahead of her—Andrew’s.

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book is intriguing, captivating, and kept this reader engaged from page one!!

This book quickly starts off with the arrest of Marine Master Sergeant Simon Linn for the brutal murder of Navy SEAL Paul Charma.  While the Seattle Police Department arrive in the middle of the night at Sergeant Linn’s apartment and take him into custody, Linn seems quite confused and half-asleep, but politely cooperates.  Navy Captain Vern Towsley quickly receives word about Linn’s arrest and promptly orders Lieutenant Commander Faydra Green to go fetch Sergeant Linn from the Seattle Police Department and to take custody of the decorated Marine.  Faydra Green, the daughter of a former U.S. President and a highly skilled and dedicated Navy JAG Lawyer, follows her orders and has Sergeant Linn released into her custody.  Fay quickly hits it off with Simon as they go over the events on the ferry ride back to the base.  While Fay seems apt to believe in Simon’s innocence she continues to conduct a preliminary investigation into the ordeal as she was instructed to do.  With more and more evidence confirming that the war hero is actually innocent and that there is way more to this story Fay keeps on the case to find the killer and expose an even bigger plot that she refuses to back down from.

This book is full of exciting, thrilling, and suspenseful scenes that are sure to completely captivate the reader and keep them on the edge of their seat!!

This book has quite a few tricky story lines that will keep even the best mystery crime solvers on their toes as they discover an even bigger, complex plot that is sure to blow them away!!

I think one of my favorite things about this book, besides the intriguing plots of course, was the author’s ability to describe details so uniquely and vividly.  For example, “The glass in the frame exploded, spraying shards across the bare hardwood.” (Harris 1). “She savored the sound of vendors spraying mists of water on fresh produce and hearing the catch-of-the-day tossed onto large beds of ice.” (Harris 36).  The author’s detailed writing made scenes so easy to picture, I have no doubt I was picturing exactly what he had imagined when he wrote those words.

I truly appreciated the author’s well-researched and knowledgeable legal military writing style that felt authentic and accurate.

While I really did enjoy reading this book there were a couple digs I did have a problem with.  First off, while I liked the main character, Fay, I found her (and her assistant petty officer Pearce) overt usage of Southern twang a bit annoying.  Every sentence with “y’all,” felt tiresome.  I understand Southern writing and I have several friends from the South, and yes, they do say, “y’all,” quite often, but it’s not after almost every sentence.  It just felt a bit overused and really detracted from the character’s sophistication.  Plus, as the daughter of the former President of the United States, I just expected her to be a bit more polished and well-spoken.  Secondly, I felt there were a few technical errors.  For instance, the original cause of death for Navy SEAL Charma was drowning?!  He was stabbed in the neck severing his carotid artery.  So, I’m not sure how the cause would be drowning?!  Wouldn’t it be exsanguination??  Complete blood loss, even if he choked on his own blood, I don’t think the official cause would be listed as drowning.  My health degree only gets me so far, but this still seemed strange to me.  Also, some of the military terms felt oddly used as they were more technically worded than commonly worded.  Such as, I know the official term is Ka-Bar Knife, but I have only referred to hearing them as a K bar from actual military soldiers and via TV shows and other books. And the term “mild cold virus,” seemed awkwardly worded as it was used multiple times to describe Fay, when a simple "cold," or "virus," or "bug," would do.  Of course, these are just minor catches that I picked up on and noted.

Also, I want to point out that the beginning of the book is a bit character heavy as many characters and their titles are quickly introduced.  While this seemed a bit overwhelming at times it did seem necessary for these characters to be swiftly integrated into the story at that point.

This book is Book One of Five in the "Spider Green Mystery Book Series."  This book can be read as a standalone, but it already showcases an intriguing start to a promising new book series.  I am looking forward to reviewing Book Two, “Arid Sea,” later this summer.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!!  I think all mystery, suspense, thriller book readers, and legal military book fans will like this book too!!  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/R3H1UWG9ETO0QU

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THE SPIDER GREEN BOOK SERIES:

This book, “Fruit of the Poisonous Tree,” is Book One of Five in “The Spider Green Mystery Thriller Book Series,” by Norm Harris.  For more info on this exciting new book series check out my blog post that covers all the details – including book buy links here:

https://fabulousandbrunette.blogspot.com/2022/03/spider-green-mystery-book-series-by.html

Also, be sure to continue to stop by as FAB will be reading, reviewing, and hosting Books 1-4 of this series over the next few months!!!

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AUTHOR BIO:

Norm Harris' first novel debuted on an Amazon bestseller list in 2002. It was a one-and-done, but now he's back with a plan to publish a couple of sequels to that first mystery/thriller of days gone by. Except for time spent in military service, he is a second-generation Seattleite (that's what they call those who dwell in the shadow of Mt. Rainier), with his legal beagle son, K-K, and five giant tropical fish. His upcoming release, Arid Sea, is the third book in what he hopes to be an award-winning Spider Green Mystery Story series.

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CONNECT WITH NORM:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/norm.harris.3386

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/norm-harris

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree-by-norm-harris

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/780557.Norm_Harris

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60133632-fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3Jrbd77

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/36E6yAA

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3CXN9Xe

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Fruit-Poisonous-Spider-Mystery-Thriller-ebook/dp/B09L56XS21

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Fruit-Poisonous-Tree-Norm-Harris/dp/1509240993

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree-norm-harris/1140489582?ean=2940160792262

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree-norm-harris/1140489582?ean=9781509240999

Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Fruit-Poisonous-Tree-Norm-Harris/9781509240999

Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Fruit-Poisonous-Tree/Norm-Harris/9781509240999

Bookshop Paperback:

https://bookshop.org/books/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree/9781509240999

Google Play eBook:

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Norm_Harris_Fruit_of_the_Poisonous_Tree?id=6pBWEAAAQBAJ

Kobo US eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree-2

Kobo CA eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree-2

The Wild Rose Press eBook/Paperback:

https://www.thewildrosepress.com/book-post/fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Norm will be awarding a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.