Saturday, June 20, 2026

Spotlight of Death Was Not On the Guest List by Jenni L. Walsh


PHOTO SOURCE:

TYPORAMA

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DEATH WAS NOT ON THE GUEST LIST


JENNI L. WALSH
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS TAKEN FROM THE AUTHOR'S WEB PAGE.

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From USA Today bestselling author Jenni L. Walsh comes a witty Jazz Age mystery where rivalry, ambition, and deceit glitter under every chandelier…and no one gets out until the killer is unmasked.

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June 16, 2026
Thomas and Mercer
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PRAISE FOR DEATH WAS NOT ON THE GUEST LIST:

"Clever and exciting, this page-turner kept me guessing."  -- New York Times bestselling author Madeline Martin

"Don't miss this glitzy and irresistible drama of the jazz age." -- USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan

"The best kind of whodunit caper, with sharp-witted female sleuths on the case. Death Was Not on the Guest List serves up a dazzling cast of take-charge women determined to unmask a killer, even as the body count rises. Clever and exciting, this page-turner kept me guessing alongside Ginevra and Edith as they pieced together a wonderfully tangled mystery." -- Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book Society

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Completely entertaining! This witty and glam Roaring 20s thriller is Clue meets Knives Out with the cleverest element ever -- the fictional version of the debutantes who inspired the iconic characters in The Great Gatsby.  Captivating dialogue reveals suspicion, gossip, ambition and murder and a terrific relatable story.  Break out your champagne, your long pearls, and your cigarette holders… and don't miss this glitzy and irresistible drama of the jazz age." -- Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of All This Could Be Yours

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ABOUT  DEATH WAS NOT ON THE GUEST LIST:

In Chicago’s Gold Coast district, twenty of the city’s most glamorous socialites gather for a charity whist drive at the Bellevue House. Brightest among them are Ginevra King Mitchell and Edith Cummings, real-life debutantes who inspired Daisy Buchanan and Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby.

But when their sharp-tongued hostess turns up dead and a blizzard traps everyone inside, suspicion and gossip give way to fear. After all, one guest has a habit of burying husbands, another a proclivity for poison. Their charming veneers belie jealousies, ambitions, and deceits aplenty, enough to drive any one of them to kill.

As whispers turn to accusations, the police start closing in. Ginevra and Edith compete to solve the murder, uncovering secrets far more dangerous than the gossip columns ever revealed. But when a second body is found—strangled with Ginevra’s own pearls—their restless rivalry becomes a race for survival. Who’s next? And is the answer hidden in Fitzgerald’s exasperating novel? (Add on Goodreads)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Jenni L. Walsh is a USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud member of the Tall Poppy writers, a graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets.

For adults, Jenni has written historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, Unsinkable, Ace, Marvel, Spy, Sonora, and the forthcoming Death Was Not on the Guest List. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, Operation: Happy, The Bug Bandits, and the forthcoming Outlook Unclear.

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FIND THE AUTHOR AT THE LINKS BELOW:




Friday, June 19, 2026

Spotlight of 51% by Matt Witten

 

PHOTO SOURCE:

TYPORAMA

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51%


MATT WITTEN
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR.
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51% is a gritty, fast-paced thriller about power, justice, and what happens when everything—even people—can be owned.

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April 28, 2026

Level Best Books

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AUTHOR BLURBS:

“Matt Witten’s 51% is a thrilling and adventurous glimpse into an all-too-possible, terrifying future, with characters full of heart who fight for justice against the cruelty of corporate-led AI. I couldn't put this book down - read it now!" - Lee Matthew Goldberg, author of The Mentor and The Great Gimmelmans


"Sharp, urgent, and impossible to put down. 51% is the dystopian thriller America needs right now. A premise so good I wish I had thought of it." - Daniel G. Miller, USA Today bestselling author of The Orphanage By The Lake


"Part cop-drama, part dystopian-nightmare, and completely unputdownable, 51% draws us into a near-future society where everything is privatized and monitored. When a young girl owned by a syndicate is murdered, an officer in the for-profit NYPD, Inc., takes on the case—against the urging of his colleagues, as this investigation is not likely to pay out. A thought-provoking and propulsive look at greed, autonomy, and resilience in a world gone wrong." - Allison Buccola, author of The Ascent


"Matt Witten takes us on a hallucinatory trip into a dystopian near-future in which fire and police departments, once-public hospitals, and even streets have been ruthlessly privatized, services go to the highest bidder, and the indebted sell themselves to profit-making syndicates. Witten’s noir thriller moves at propulsive speed, intertwining beleaguered cops, corporate predators, underground rebels, and AI-driven supercomputers. It is a world whose seeds, Witten suggests, have already been planted." – Fergus M. Bordewich, award-winning author of Klan War


Here are excerpts from a few reviews: 
"51% is a wildly imaginative mashup of a dystopian sci-fi adventure and a police procedural. A heady, exuberant treat, Matt Witten's latest sets him apart from his peers." - Andres Kabel, readlistenwatch.com


"Think Minority Report and Bladerunner meet Idiocracy. Witten has crafted a thrilling and entertaining story featuring a frightening world we better hope remains on the pages of a novel." - Steve Netter, Best Thriller Books


"This was wild!" - @readthisandsteep on Instagram. "If, like me, you are not usually drawn to futuristic fiction, don't worry — while 51% is set in the future, it remains highly relevant, accessible, and incredibly entertaining. I cannot recommend this book highly enough." - Zelda Smit, Featz Reviews.

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OTHER REVIEWS:


https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/51


https://irresponsiblereader.com/?s=51%25


https://firstcluereviews.com/?p=5179

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ABOUT 51%:


In a future where corporations own everything—including people—one murder ignites a revolution.

 

Twenty years from now, the United States is completely privatized. The Big Six syndicates own schools, roads, police departments… even human beings.

 

When a young immigrant woman—51% owned by the syndicates—is brutally murdered, NYPD, Inc. detective Juke O'Keefe and his partner, crime marketing consultant Haylee Navarro, catch the case. Pregnant and broke, Haylee knows they can’t crowdfund enough from a dead immigrant to pay for basic forensics, let alone their paychecks. But Juke, with his old-school sense of justice, is determined to find the killer.

 

Their search for the truth leads them to Juke’s ex, a Resistance leader on the syndicates’ most wanted list. As the three join forces, they stumble onto a conspiracy designed to destroy the last shreds of American freedom. To rescue fifty-one percenters—and everyone else—from syndicate control, they’ll have to defeat the Red Queen, the most ruthless, powerful AI in the world.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:



Matt Witten is a TV writer, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter who has written for Law & Order, House, Pretty Little Liars, Supernatural, CSI: Miami, and many other shows.


His thriller The Necklace has been published in eight languages and optioned for film by Leonardo DiCaprio.


Killer Story won a Foreword Indie award for Best Mystery.


Matt wrote four amateur sleuth novelsincluding the Malice Domestic Award-winning Breakfast at Madeline’s, and has been nominated for two Edgars and an Emmy.


His speculative thriller 51% came out last month; NBC has hired him to cowrite a TV adaptation.


You can read Matt’s piece “Burn, Baby, Burn: Losing Our Home in the Palisades Fire” here.

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FIND THE AUTHOR AT THE LINKS BELOW:





Book Blogger Hop - 6/19/2026

                                           

Question of the Week:

Do you prefer writing long, detailed reviews or quick, punchy ones? 
(submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

My Answer:

I prefer writing in between detailed and quick.

I give the gist of the book without going into too much detail - it’s not a book report.  ðŸ˜ƒ 

Then I give a sentence about who would enjoy the book.

Friendly Fill-Ins - 6/19/2026

                                                      

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FRIENDLY FILL-INS:

1. Let's bring back _______.

2. _________is the new ________.

3. I appreciate that my local area _______.

4. _______ is my least favorite part about where I live.

MY ANSWERS:

1.  Let’s bring back respect everywhere.

2.  Seventy is the new Fifty.

3.  I appreciate that my local area has a Farmer’s Market.

4.  No clothing stores or good restaurants close by are my least favorite parts about where I live.




 

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Spotlight of Summer's Never Over by Darby Bozeman


PHOTO SOURCE:

TYPORAMA
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SUMMER'S NEVER OVER
DARBY BOZEMAN
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF TARA O'CONNOR | SENIOR PUBLICIST | BERKLEY, AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE AND THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE

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This summer, the irresistible voice and surprising twists of We Were Liars meets the eerie summer camp setting of The God of the Woods in Darby Bozeman’s riveting dual-timeline debut thriller.

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June 9, 2026
Berkley Trade Original
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PRAISE FOR SUMMER'S NEVER OVER:

“Eerie and propulsive. A fantastic debut that will have you racing toward its final pages.”—Jessica Goodman, New York Times bestselling author of The Counselors

“Darby Bozeman has the perfect beach read in this sinister summer camp thriller, where the paradisical woods of Dread’s Cove hide not only hot bodies and cold waters, but dark secrets. Summer’s Never Over is like the best campfire s’mores: layered, singed by flame around the edges, a little dark, a little sweet, and a whole lot addictive. Thriller lovers will gobble this up.”—Ashley Winstead, USA Today bestselling author of This Book Will Bury Me

“Equal parts sultry romance and gripping mystery, Summer’s Never Over pulled me under like a riptide, each twist sharper and each revelation more satisfying than the last. A shimmering debut about the love that won’t let you go, the friendships that change you, and the long-buried secrets that threaten to ignite it all.”—Kelsey Cox, bestselling author of Party of Liars

“A book that feels like August sun on your skin and spooky nights by a crackling fire, Summer’s Never Over lives up to its nostalgic title. A must-read for anyone chasing that high of a sparkling summer on the lake—or the spine-tingling chill that awakens after sundown.”—Ande Pliego, USA Today Bestselling author of You are Fatally Invited

Summer’s Never Over is the perfect book to curl up with after a long day spent in the sun, when all you want to do is hide under the covers with a page-turning mystery. The atmospheric summer camp setting is a dreamy backdrop for the threads of romance and mystery that Bozeman so expertly weaves throughout the plot.”—Olivia Muenter, USA Today Bestselling Author of Such a Bad Influence

“Darby Bozeman’s Summer’s Never Over is a mesmerizing story about friendship and secrets that will keep you riveted until the very last page. Reading this book is like returning to summer camp, full of new best friends and whispered confidences… except in this version, not all is as it seems, and it dawns on you that those hidden truths just might lead to your horrific demise. Bozeman’s writing succeeds on both a level of incredible tension and lyrical prose, making it sure to be your next unputdownable thriller.”—Jessica Payne, author of Somebody Worth Killing

“Darby Bozeman’s debut is simmering with suspense and summer camp nostalgia. Packed with emotional tension and haunting imagery, Summer’s Never Over is the perfect vacation read!”—Miranda Smith, author of Smile for the Cameras

Summer’s Never Over has everything you want in a summer thriller: a tight-knit summer camp setting, long-buried secrets, sizzling romance, and tension that crackles from every page. Darby Bozeman’s debut is as intoxicating as the intense, all-consuming female friendships at its center—I couldn’t put it down!”—Olivia Worley, author of So Happy Together

“An addicting mix of family secrets, sweltering summer love and the ever twisting strands of female friendship, in Summer’s Never Over, Darby Bozeman skillfully weaves heart-panging romance with a gripping murder mystery. I couldn’t read it fast enough.”—Catherine Walsh, author of Holiday Romance

“Impressive debut…an addictive thriller ideal for summer reading.”Publishers Weekly

**PRAISE TAKEN FROM 

THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE**

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ABOUT SUMMER'S NEVER OVER:

In this addictive dual-timeline debut novel, a woman confronts her past at the remote Southern summer camp where the tragic death of her fellow counselor may not have been an accident after all.

Five years ago, Greer left her family’s summer camp in the mountains of Georgia and vowed she’d never return. An idyllic season had turned into a nightmare after a mysterious Phantom began stalking the camp—and ended with Greer’s friend and fellow counselor dead. Losing Steph shattered everything, and Greer’s been fleeing from the grief ever since.

But then Greer’s mother dies, and Greer finds herself back at Dread’s Cove, surrounded by the people she was closest to that intense summer. Two ex-boyfriends—one a childhood sweetheart, the other the guy she’s never gotten over—and old friends. Including Margo, Steph’s best friend.

Greer and Margo didn’t leave things on the best of terms. But now, Margo needs her. Margo never believed that Steph’s death in that horrific fire was an accident—and she’s on the trail of an explosive secret Steph took to her grave.

Greer has to make a choice: keep the Cove’s secrets and her own, or finally face the truth about that summer.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Darby Bozeman grew up in Portland, Oregon, but she’s spent the better part of her adult life in the South.


She has a master’s in teaching from the University of Georgia and she taught middle school English for five years.


When she’s not reading or writing, she loves acting in community theater and discussing pop culture.


She lives in Knoxville with her husband, Bryan, and their cat, Claude.


**AUTHOR INFORMATION TAKEN 
FROM THE PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE and PHOTO TAKEN FROM AUTHOR'S GOODREADS PAGE**

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FOLLOW THE AUTHOR: