Showing posts with label Fina Fitzgibbons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fina Fitzgibbons. Show all posts

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Blog Tour: DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE by


Mystery/Suspense
5th in Series
Self Published (May 30, 2016)
File Size: 682 KB
Print Length: 272 pages
ASIN: B01GEK7UOI
Synopsis


While Denny battles demons of his own and Cookie and Clancy disappear, a pregnant Fina Fitzgibbons investigates the death of her friend’s husband and in doing so lands in the middle of a group of art and drug traffickers.

Review

Fina's "intern" happens on a body - the husband of a high school friend.  Fina and Cookie, both pregnant seek to help not only their friend, who seems out of touch, but also the their police detective friend, Jane. And of course, the interns are doing their own sleuthing to help Fina. The body count rises and then Cookie and Clancy disappear. Who is behind the art shipments, probably drug trafficking, and Denny's murder? Fina, Cookie, and Clancy are now all loose ends to be dealt with along with the others.  

Amidst the mystery and murders, Denny is still trying to deal with his father's death, his mother's new boyfriend, and the prospect of fatherhood. Anderson weaves in the different ways people grieve and the impact of their grief on others. Readers also get insight into how Fina is coping and the stressors of work, impending motherhood, and her strained marriage. The resolution - the "whodunit" makes sense and fits with the characters developed. This can be read as a stand alone.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review as part of this blog tour. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.
About The Author

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a member of Sisters in Crime, a graduate of Marquette University, and a life member of The Art Students League of New York. She has taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. Like Faulkner’s Dilsey, she’s seen the best and the worst, the first and the last. Through it all, and to understand it somewhat, she writes.

TOO QUIET IN BROOKLYN, the first in the Fina Fitzgibbons Brooklyn mystery series published December 2013. The second book in the series,MISSING BRANDY, published September 2014, and WHISKEY’S GONE published in January 2015 and completes a trilogy. The fourth book in Fina’s series, THE BROOKLYN DROP, published August 2015.

DEATH OF A SERPENT, the first in the Serafina Florio series, published January 2012. It began as a painting of the Lower East Side, the landmark immigrant neighborhood in Manhattan, and wound up as a mystery story set in nineteenth-century Sicily. NO MORE BROTHERS, a novella, published May 2012, the second in the series. The third book, DEATH IN BAGHERIA, published in December, followed by MURDER ON THE RUE CASSETTE in January 2014.

Author Links:
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Sunday, January 24, 2016

Blog Tour: DEATH OF A BROOKLYN LANDLORD by Susan Russo Anderson


A Mystery, A Kidnapping, A Missing Mom … The First Book in a NEW Spinoff Series!
Synopsis

When newly widowed Lorraine McDuffy gets a call in the middle of the night, it’s not the ghost of her dead husband on the line, but the trembling voice of an old flame, Frank Rizzo, a local butcher. He’s found the battered body of rent-gouging Brooklyn landlord Viktor Charnov. Felled by blunt trauma to the back of his head, the victim lies in the fetal position in the back of Frank’s shop, a pork chop clenched between his teeth. The distraught butcher asks Lorraine to investigate.

As the story moves through the entangled web left behind by the landlord’s evil dealings, Lorraine searches for Viktor’s estranged wife as well as a missing teen with ties to the landlord, believed to have jumped in despair from the Brooklyn Bridge two months earlier. Along the way, Lorraine spars with Detective First Grade Jane Templeton and cares for the victim’s ten-year-old son, baseball-loving Joey Charnov, while she searches for his mother. And despite her guilt, Lorraine and Frank deepen their relationship in fits and starts.




If you’re a fan of Fina Fitzgibbons and her crew, you’ll recognize the main characters in this new series—Lorraine McDuffy, Fina’s mother-in-law and protagonist in charge of the Fina Fitzgibbons Detective Agency while Fina and Denny are on their honeymoon; detectives Jane Templeton and Willoughby, her partner Minnie, admin assistant at Lucy’s and now taking on a greater role in the agency; Cookie and her husband, Clancy; and a newcomer, Fina’s estranged father, Paddy Fitzgibbons, who creates his own boozy havoc as he tangles with Lorraine and Cookie.

Review

Lorraine is in charge of Fina's investigating business and a novice at it, but determined to solve the murder of Viktor and possibly solve the disapearance of Nati, and find Joey's mother at the same time. The three mysteries - the murder, Nati, and Joey's mother - are intricately entwined with not so subtle innuendo of possible dark motives for Viktor's murder. The detectives on the job are perturbed by Lorraine and Cookie's actions, yet reluctantly grateful for all they find out. Paddy's drinking and the whirlwind "romance" between Lorraine and Frank add to the complexity. 

I liked Lorraine and her persistence on all three of the threads that are woven through the story, even if it means angering Jane and Willoughby.  Viktor is despicable to say the least and there are many reasons to celebrate his murder. I stayed up to finish it - the story is compelling, especially with regard to Nati. That said, this portrays the darker side of human behavior and may offend some. This is my first read by Anderson and I will check out her other series.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review as part of this blog tour. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

About the Author

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a member of Sisters in Crime, a graduate of Marquette University. She’s taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. Like Faulkner’s Dilsey, she’s seen the best and the worst, the first and the last. Through it all, and to understand it somewhat, she writes. Too Quiet in Brooklyn, the first book in the Fina Fitzgibbons Brooklyn mystery series, published December 2013. The second book in the series, Missing Brandy, about a missing teen, published September 2014, and Whiskey’s Gone, about the abduction of a single mom, completes a trilogy. The working title of the fourth is Dead in Brooklyn.
Author Links:

Website: http://susanrussoanderson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Susan-Russo-Anderson/349374975075796
Twitter @SusanRussoAnder

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