Shameless Review Of Karla Telega’s New Humorous Mystery Novel, "Box Of Rocks".

     This book is going to have you laughing your ass off. However, sadly, my ass is still as big as ever, so don’t count on it as a diet aid.

     Ted strolled into the kitchen in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, looking way too chipper for present company. He snagged a muffin and poured a cup of coffee. “What are you girls up to today, and should I notify the authorities?”

     “I’m planning to starch all your shorts before lunchtime,” Maggie grumbled, adding, “Bwa-ha-ha!”

     “I think that was specifically addressed in our marriage vows.”

     Cher looked over the list they had made. “Our first hobby is paranormal investigations”, she mused. “Does that mean we have to stay up all night staking out some graveyard?”

     Maggie grunted and propped her head up with one hand. She turned a bleary gaze up to Ted. “If we don’t come out alive, there’s a pot pie in the freezer.”

     Ok, if that’s not classic Karla-style humour, than I don’t know what is. Her new book, “Box of Rocks” is something that everyone should read if you like to laugh. And, even if you don’t like to laugh, than this will at least brighten your day.

     I’m not a huge fan of mysteries. I’m one of those kind of people who likes to know whodunit at the beginning of the book. But, even if you don’t like whodunit’s, you’re going to love this one. This one is so funny and bumbling that you can’t help but laugh.

     Cher and Maggie are a couple of girlfriends in their 50’s who are looking for a hobby to hopefully help Maggie overcome her need for therapy sessions and to allow her best friend, Cher to get a story to publish.

     There are some other characters in this book that will have you shaking your head. Sam is looking for the site where Paul Lakeland found this old Indian jar, but what he really wants is the directions to an old gold mine, long since abandoned.

     Then there’s this other guy, Bear, who is out to murder someone. He does, in cold blood. But, he realizes too late that it’s the wrong guy. Bear is kind of a bumbling criminal, not really thinking ahead….which then puts him behind. He kind of reminds me of the criminal running away from the scene, only to step on a rake, getting the handle in the face, sort of humour.

     I love how Karla, who has her own humour blog, has incorporated her brand of humour into her book. From the girls’ mishaps while panning for gold, to them getting kicked out of the paranormal investigations class for being too noisy and giggling, these two will be in your hearts. Oh, and let’s not forget the dogs.

     And, if you’re getting up there in age, you’ll understand the friendship, the love and the humour between Cher and Maggie. And, if you don’t think this book is funny, then there is something seriously wrong with you.

     This book rocks and I give it 5 stars!
 

A Spotlight of Norma Beishir, Author Of "Final Hours" and "Chasing The Wind"

     A while back, I reviewed Norma’s books, Final Hours and Chasing The Wind. CTW was a collaborative effort between Norma and her talented son, Collin. Collin has made the covers for Norma’s books (plus all five of mine and also for William Kendall’s, Heaven And Hell novel) so you know they’re going to fabulous.

     The novels are both wonderful, adventurous, and romantic. If you have not yet read these two books, then you should. I laughed with Norma’s classic humour in “Final Hours” and loved seeing the love grow between Lynne and Connor in “Chasing The Wind”.

     I had never before been interested in romances, but these are different. They aren’t just plain romances (which, by the way, I’ve grown to like since I wrote one myself) but suck you in with the adventures her characters take you on.

“There’s something else I’ve never told you about. I’ve had a nightmare–the same one–since I was fifteen. It’s always the same, it never changes. There’s a violent storm. I’m in the water, and it’s very cold. The current is overwhelming me. I’m struggling to stay affloat. I see a light, a boat, and try to swim toward it. There’s someone on the deck, calling to me, reaching for me, but I can’t quite make it. I see your face, just once, before I’m pulled under.”

“Mine?” Lynne asked.

“You,” Connor said. “The woman on the boat is you. I saw your face for the first time over twenty years ago. That’s why you seemed so familiar to me the night we met.”

“What do you think it means?” Lynne asked. She didn’t laugh, didn’t question his honesty or his sanity. She believed him.

“God gives us visions sometimes to lead us where we have to go.”    

     What an adventure! This very exciting book is filled with love, heartbreak, danger and a lot of very interesting characters.

     Lynne is a religious archeologist who wants to work on a dig in Egypt, but she isn’t able to start the dig due to lack of funding. In comes Connor Mackenzie. He asks his stepfather, Edward, to fund the project. He does, and Connor goes off on his own adventure with Lynne.

     But, there’s something mysterious about Connor. He has never been able to love anyone before. Any women he had before, he treated them like objects. He was afraid to love them in case they abandoned him like his mother did.

     But, when he meets Lynne, he realizes that she is different, and he does everything to get her to love him. And, she does. With everything that she is, she loves him.

     Connor is mysterious in other ways. He’s able to heal others with a single touch. He healed the baby bird that Lynne found, allowing it to be set free when he touched it. He healed the bruise she received when a rock fell on her shoulder during an earthquake, and the woman with cancer that he met when he was a young boy.

     “Go. The angels will guide you.”

     Connor and Lynne, married now and pregnant with a baby, are forced to run for their lives. Their love is tested in many ways when truths are brought to the forefront of their relationship.

     This is an excellent read. It will keep you on the edge of your seat as Connor and Lynne face danger after danger as they try to keep themselves, and their baby, alive.

     It isn’t a book that you will likely be able to read in an afternoon, but with so many very believable characters, you won’t be able to put it down. I highly recommend this wonderful story. The love story is beautiful and the story compelling. I give this novel a 5 star rating. You can buy this novel at Amazon.com

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     If I had believed in fate back then, I’d think it had guided me, that I was in that garage to meet Kate. If I could have done it all again, knowing what would happen, I would have still gone into the underground parking garage.

     I remember walking toward the car when the ground started to vibrate beneath my feet. At first, it didn’t register. I didn’t even suspect and earthquake–until the building started to shudder violently. I tried to run, but didn’t make it to the exit. I vaguely remember falling.

     Then everything went dark…

      Final Hours is about what you would do if you only had a few hours to live. How, and with whom, would you spend that time?

     Jamie Randall, a young, early thirties successful business man has been living a lie. A lie he thought he could have been out of by now. He’s living a life as a husband to a woman that he doesn’t love, having been trapped in the loveless marriage by her getting pregnant. His motivation for marrying her was for business purposes only. But, when she had the twin boys, he knew he couldn’t leave her. He loved his boys.

     On a business trip to Rome, an earthquake occurs, causing the underground parking lot of the hotel that he owns, to collapse. With a broken leg, crushed by a piece of concrete, he yells for help. That’s when he meets nature photographer, Kate.

     Maybe it was her beauty, or maybe it was his pain, but he instantly falls in love with her. He’s never cheated on his wife before, but suddenly, he wants to be with this woman. She is beautiful and kind, helping him stay alive. But, it’s more than that.

     And, so begins a love affair that spans 14 years, and from the beginning of the book to the end, their love grows.

     This is a book that will make you smile, laugh and cry. There is even one shocking element you find out at the end of the book. I wrote in my review on Amazon, that you know when a book is good when you can’t put it down. This was that book. I give this book five stars! You can find this novel at Amazon.com

     Please check out Norma’s books. You won’t be disappointed.