Self-Published Saturday: Review of Framed by Gail Meath

Self-Published Saturday is my effort to highlight self-published and Indie books and help the authors with the daunting task of marketing. Below is a review of Framed, Book 2 in the Jax Diamond Mystery series by Gail Meath. I must disclose before you read the review that I edited this book.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Things get pretty sticky for PI Jax Diamond and his courageous canine partner, Ace, when their best friend, a cop, is framed for murder. And not just anyone’s murder. The victim is the fiancée of the most notorious gangster in the city, Orin Marino, Jax’s worst enemy.

Laura Graystone, the budding Broadway Star and Jax’s new squeeze, proves to be an ingenious partner as they sift through clues trying to find the real murderer. But when Jax is pinched for another crime, Laura and Ace are forced to go undercover.

Hang on to your seat as Jax, Laura and Ace take you on another crazy, whodunit ride during the Roaring Twenties. Where no one is who they seem, and those who do, aren’t. Anything goes during an era of fun and frolic, song and dance, speakeasies, gangsters, bootlegging, and bribes.

BOOK REVIEW

Jax, Laura, and Ace are back, and the adventure starts immediately when Jax’s best friend Tim, a cop, is framed for murder. Can Jax clear Tim’s name or will he go down too? Laura is on hand to help, and Ace is more involved than ever as they face off with Jax’s enemy Orin Marino and try to find the real killer.

These three characters are becoming so dear to me. Jax is smart, rough around the edges, and extremely loyal to his friends. Laura is a capable and multi-talented woman who refuses to sit in the background for her own safety. Ace is the smartest dog on the planet. All three of them together make the perfect team. The character development of secondary characters also shone in this one, as we got to learn more about the fiery Carla and her falsely accused cop husband Tim. The descriptions of the clubs and lounges of the 1920s transport us there instantly, and we learn how speakeasies worked in the time of prohibition. Ace was even more involved in this novel, and I adored it. He takes the book to greater heights and makes us all fall in love with him. The music of the era is highlighted, as Laura sings some of the great songs of the period.

Packed with mystery, history, and canine heroism, this book will keep you entertained and guessing until the end.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gail Meath

Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.

The subgenres of her books vary from action-packed westerns, plot twisting murder mysteries and biographies of powerful women who defied the strict rules of society fighting for the freedom of their countries. Her romances may exclude steamy sexual scenes, yet the intensity between heroine and hero will satisfy your deepest fantasies.

Outside of writing, she spends loads of time with her husband, children and grandchildren.

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Book Review: A Christmas Legacy #Christmas #VictorianMystery

Gracie Tellman, former maid to Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, is enjoying her home and family in Victorian-era London and looking forward to Christmas with her daughter, Charlie, when a knock sounds at the door. Millie, a young maid in the Harcourt household, has come with disturbing news. High-quality food is disappearing, and it won’t be long before the mistress of the house finds out. The servants are scared that somebody will be accused of theft, and nobody knows the culprit. Gracie decides to take Millie’s place for nine days leading up to Christmas in order to solve this mystery. Gracie soon learns that all is not as it seems, and reveals that sometimes evil can parade about in fancy clothes.

This satisfying Christmas novella combines mystery, suspicion, upheaval, acts of kindness, and a Christmas miracle together to create a captivating story. The perils of servant life in a Victorian household are well described, and the young age of some of the servants at the time is shocking. The rich also had the ability in those days to completely ruin the lives of their servants by sending them to the street, homeless, with no reference. The fact that some homeowners held this power over the heads of those in their employ in order to terrorize them is disturbing. But despite the tumult, a sense of truth, loyalty, and fairness is also woven into the story, and it ends with a miracle so wonderful that it could only happen at Christmas. Anne Perry has once again created a Christmas tale that will captivate the reader and transport them straight to Victorian London during the holidays.

I received a free copy of this book from Ballantine Books for Historical Novels Review Magazine. My review is voluntary and my opinions are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotla

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