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Newly appointed Detective Dustin McCall finds himself thrust into a series of baffling murders plaguing the picturesque town of Durango, Colorado. His mentor, Jim Marlow, is forced to step aside due to a medical emergency. Facing this relentless wave of back-to-back murders alone, Dustin begins to doubt his abilities.

In the shadows, a sinister murderer lurks, orchestrating the bloodshed from the depths of his hidden basement lair. Whispered commands reach his nefarious underlings while he watches the gruesome acts unfold on a bank of monitors with exactly ten addresses. His enigmatic presence is marked by an ever-present elixir.

Victoria Miller, seeking treatment for migraines through hypnosis, experiences an unexpected transformation. Her headaches disappear, and she gains an unusual gift—visions of the crime scenes haunting Durango. Her newfound abilities draw her to Detective McCall, raising questions about her clairvoyance.

As the murders hit closer to home, McCall’s world unravels when a friend becomes a victim, and his fiancée receives an ominous gift. The unsettling mystery deepens—who is the mastermind lurking behind these heinous acts? How is Victoria entangled? Why these targets? How many more must die before McCall can unmask the relentless perpetrator?

My Review:

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice storyReviewed in the United States on September 11, 2024

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This is the first book I’ve read by this author. What drew me into reading was the mix of Christianity and the mystery aspect rather than murder. All three came into play, and the culprit was more diabolical than my own mother! And she was diabolical! The story is well woven and miss directs on purpose, which keeps the reader engaged.

Book Title: Devin’s Dreams

Author: D. C. Wilkinson

Publication Date: February 26, 2024

Publisher: Ingram Spark

Pages: 360 (print version)

Genre: Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @dcwilkinson2024 @cathiedunn @MaryLSchmidt

Instagram Handle: dcwilkinson2024 @thecoffeepotbookclub

Hashtags: #HistoricalFiction #ComingOfAge #BlogTour #BookBlast #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2024/08/blog-tour-devins-dreams-by-d-c-wilkinson.html

Book Title and Author Name:

Devin’s Dreams

By D. C. Wilkinson

Audiobook Narrator: John York

Blurb:

Devin Sharp, a gentle-natured boy, has trouble sleeping. Recurring visions of strangers moving among shadows in his bedroom keep waking him at night. He swears that what he sees and hears is real. To no avail. No one believes him. An older sibling taunts him. “Silly dreams,” she says. But are they?

Coming of age as a gay teen in the seventies, Devin’s sleep issues are just one more secret safely locked up in his closet. But not for long. Freshman year in college brings a measure of freedom and a chance to explore well beyond the boundaries of stifling social molds.

Experimenting with a powerful drug, Devin’s quirky visions resurface. This time, however, something is different. A rabbit hole materializes out of nowhere. Thrust into it by a mysterious force, Devin is hurled into another world centuries before his own. There, awaiting, a host of strangers appear to know him…

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Universal Buy Link: https://mybook.to/iVqEby

Author Bio:

D. C. Wilkinson’s passion for historical fiction, portal fantasies and cappuccinos inspired him to write “Devin’s Dreams,” his debut novel. A lifelong voyager of inner and outer realms, he began his career in the Midwest as a student of Language Arts and the Humanities before relocating to the East Coast in his early twenties. A graduate of Columbia University and former New York City public school teacher, he now calls Connecticut his home, where he resides with his spouse and their beloved beagle.

Author Links:

Twitter: https://x.com/dcwilkinson2024

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-c-wilkinson-4b870b14b/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/dcwilkinson2024

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/dcwilkinson2024

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0CWV35Q1M

Book Title: The Signare of Gorée

Author: Laura Rahme

Publication Date: 9^th September 2024

Publisher: Independently Published

Pages: 301

Genre: Historical Mystery / Historical Fiction

Twitter Handle: @cathiedunn

Instagram Handles: @laurarahmegram @thecoffeepotbookclub @MaryLSchmidt

Hashtags: #HistoricalMystery #HistoricalFiction #BlogTour #TheCoffeePotBookClub

Tour Schedule Page: https://thecoffeepotbookclub.blogspot.com/2024/07/blog-tour-the-signare-of-goree-by-laura-rahme.html

Title and Author Name:

The Signare of Gorée

By Laura Rahme

Blurb:

1846. In the heat of West Africa, the French navy uncovers the corpses of two French soldiers. Inspector Maurice Leroux arrives at the island of Gorée. It seems death has come to this small colonial outpost off the Senegal coast, home to the prosperous mixed-blood women known as the signares.

The navy suspects that the Bambara people, emboldened by approaching emancipation, may be out for blood. While confronted by the locals’ strange magical beliefs, Maurice remains skeptical. Does malevolence play a part, or are these deaths accidental, brought upon by the brutality of nature in an island known as the white man’s grave?

But when murder strikes, it becomes clear that a killer is stalking Gorée.

Swept by a mystery unlike any he has known, Maurice meets Signare Angélique Aussenac. The proud métis, deserted by her wealthy Bordeaux lover, casts her spell upon Maurice.

But beyond the throbbing sounds of the tam-tams and the glittering signare soirées, danger lurks. Someone is watching. And the deaths go on.

Could the killer be one of the rich Bordeaux merchants? Or are they hiding among the powerful signares?

A historical mystery spanning France and Senegal, THE SIGNARE OF GORÉE explores a world of magic, murder, and passion.

Why writing The Signare of Gorée was special to me

Born in Senegal like my father, I dearly wanted to write a novel set on the island of Gorée. From an early age I had been fascinated by its past.

For four centuries, Africa’s western coast served as ports of departure for slave trading ships bound for the American continent. Unlike what you might have heard, the island of Gorée off the coast of Senegal was not the largest slave exporting center in Africa. That title goes to the Kingdom of Loango which stretched across parts of modern Angola and Congo. Playing a lesser role in Senegal’s human traffic, Gorée was nevertheless home to one of many concentration camps where slaves were held and readied to be shipped to the Americas, embarking on a harrowing sea passage where only an average sixty percent would survive. Other exporting locations in Senegal included the island of Saint-Louis, Rufisque, Karabine, and Ziguinchor.

I beheld this tragic historical past, but I could not find a story I liked to go with it.

Then ten years ago, I stumbled across an online article about the powerful female traders who lived in both Gorée and Saint-Louis. Of mixed blood, bearing a title derived from the Portuguese word, senhora, which means lady, these signares came from a world that has long vanished. Captivated by these women who ran businesses and were so independent in many ways, I promised myself that I would write a novel that featured signares.

When I began writing The Signare of Gorée in 2022, I chose to feature the signare whose villa, still visited today, has made her famous all over the world: Anna Colas Pépin. In 2013, Barack Obama himself had visited Anna Colas Pépin’s house. Yet he, along with many who are not aware of the “captiveries” or official slave holding establishments that existed on the island – notably in its old military forts, see the house as the main slave holding place from which captives departed Gorée, and call it, “The House of Slaves”. With this in mind, I was keen to bring Anna Colas Pépin to life.

Things were working out. I had my setting, and I had my signares. But what I most wanted for this historical mystery was a cultural beat, a magic realism flavor of the brand I had tasted with stories like Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits. All my novels weave in a touch of the supernatural. Even my French chef biopic, The Secret of Chantilly, plays with fairy tale elements and often blurs the lines between reality and the wondrous realm. For The Signare of Gorée, I dearly wanted to highlight Senegalese folklore. My aim was to marry local cultural beliefs with the more cerebral aspects of the mystery. It turned out to be great fun and the result was just what I would expect of a story set in Senegal. Because when one studies Senegalese culture, one very often encounters syncretistic belief systems and behaviors.

In turns out there would be a further unique angle to my historical mystery set on Gorée island. It was not one I had imagined, and it took me by surprise.

It was while researching an 1839 review from Les Annales Maritimes et Coloniales (Colonial Maritime Annals published by the French Marine Ministry) that I stumbled on something by accident.

I was having a fantastic time reading about a 1837/1838 naval ship expedition along the West African coast, from Gorée all the way to what is now Angola, when the ship’s writer happened to mention a lieutenant’s name. Was I dreaming? The Mr Candeau he had referred to sounded very much like one of my ancestors, but I was not certain. The ship’s name was La Triomphante. At least that was a clue…

After reviewing the naval officers in my family’s Candeau genealogy and perusing the list of ships, along with their destinations, I found him! The lieutenant was my ancestor, Jules Leopold Candeau (we call him Leopold), and he was stationed in Gorée for several years. It was likely a base for patrolling the coast to intercept illegal slave traders. I could not believe it. According to the expedition described in the maritime annals, he would have sailed past Casamance, Sierra Leone, and into Dahomey. He would have witnessed firsthand the fierce Amazons who guarded the Dahomey king and hunted elephants. I was blown away.

This was beyond serendipity. It was as though from my DNA, into which all inter-generational memories are locked, a memory had been activated and led me to this discovery. I know for certain that my ancestors are always there, and I believe that Leopold Candeau was waiting for me to find him along my research journey.

It turns out, he was not the only one of my ancestors to set foot on Gorée. His great-grandfather, the infamous slave trader, Jean-Baptiste Candeau, would have stopped there on occasions. Similarly, his grandfather, the corsair Jean-Baptiste Antoine Candeau, who in his life spent 11 years in English captivity (bless him!), mysteriously died at sea off the coast of Senegal just after his retirement.

In the end I mention all three men in The Signare of Gorée. I am so glad I did that, and this novel is now more personal and meaningful to me as a result. Writing this book has been a wonderful experience.

Buy Links:

This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4Nl7xz

Author Bio:

Laura Rahme is the author of seven historical novels. Born in Dakar, Senegal where she spent her early childhood, she moved to Australia at the age of ten. A graduate of two Honors degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Psychology, she has worked over two decades as an IT professional. Her greatest joy comes from travel, researching history, and penning historical mysteries. She now lives in France with her screenwriting husband.

Author Links:

Website: https://teranga-and-sun.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurarahme.author/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurarahmegram/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/teranga/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Laura-Rahme/author/B008P7CF8K

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6449755.Laura_Rahme

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Top reviews from the United States

Northern Lights

5.0 out of 5 stars A Heart-Eye-Opening Memoir

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2024

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A Heart-Eye-Opening Memoir

“Her Alibi” by Mary L. Schmidt is a compelling and extraordinary memoir that delves deep into the harrowing experiences of a daughter enduring severe physical and mental abuse from her bipolar mother, aptly named “The Drama Queen.” This book is not just an eye-opener; it is a profound journey into the life of a child who faced unimaginable hardships and emerged stronger.
 
Mary’s story is a stark reminder of the hidden traumas many children endure behind closed doors. The narrative is raw and unflinching, shedding light on the often-unspoken horrors of child abuse. Yet, it goes beyond merely recounting these painful experiences. It opens the door to understanding and empathy for those who have survived such violence and have grown into resilient adults.
 
Schmidt’s writing is powerful and evocative, drawing readers into her world and making them feel every emotion she experienced. This memoir is not just a story of survival; it is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the importance of compassion and understanding.

“Her Alibi” is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of abuse and the incredible resilience of those who endure it. It will stay with you long after you turn the last page, leaving you with a deeper sense of empathy and a desire to offer a caring hug to all the survivors out there.

Thank you for reading my book.

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From Amazon:

In the turbulent aftermath of World War I, Germany is a nation reeling from hardship and chaos.

Here, three friends—Elisabeth, Adam, and Hannah—find comfort in each other as they grow up in these challenging times. Their lives take a dramatic turn with the rise of Adolf Hitler, testing their bond in ways they never imagined.

As Hitler’s Final Solution sweeps across the country, Adam and Hannah are thrust into a perilous situation, fighting for survival. Elisabeth, too, faces her own battles, confronting a hidden enemy who threatens her very existence. The promise they made to stick together is put to the ultimate test.

Their stories diverge, leading each on an unexpected journey through a world torn apart by conflict.

My Review:

This book made me feel much of how WW2 went, yet not being there in person, not having been yet, I truly can’t feel the true feelings of those during that time. There’s always sadness when books are read that take place during a horrible time. With that comes precious moments of love and family. Testing your faith. Loss of those killed. Births of new babies. Time marches on. Yet this book has all of that with the reality of how different struggles were dealt with. A true saga.

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From Amazon:

D.G. Kaye is back, and as she reflects on some of her more memorable vacations and travel snags, she finds herself constantly struggling to keep one step ahead of the ever-changing guidelines of the airlines—with her overweight luggage in tow. Her stories alert us to some of the pitfalls of being an obsessive shopper, especially when it comes time for D.G. to bring her treasures home, and remind us of the simpler days when traveling was a breeze. In her quest to keep from tipping the scales, D.G. strives to devise new tricks to fit everything in her suitcases on each trip. Why is she consistently a target for Canada customs on her return journeys? D.G.’s witty tales take us from airports, to travel escapades with best friends, to reflections on how time can change the places we hold dear in our hearts. Her memories will entertain and have you reminiscing about some of your own most treasured journeys—and perhaps make you contemplate revamping your packing strategies.

My Review:

This was a nice memoir with a lot of chuckles along the way. I could relate to the changes in Las Vegas, and I hope the author has had a chance to visit Tahoe or Reno. I wish I’d had her problems with overweight baggage on hee trips around the world. As a little kid, I dreamed of traveling but never had the chance. As an adult, I never went out of state until age 32 – my honeymoon. That was one state over to Colorado and a six plus hour drive one way. The author’s had trips I can’t even begin to imagine. She’s had blessings with a loving mother, husband, and best friends for decades. She does include many travel tips if you fly.

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If Outlander, Karate Kid, Leap Year, Survivor, Brave New World, and Frankenstein had a love child, J.G. MacLeod’s The Once and Future Love would be the result. This final instalment of the MacLeod Scottish Time Travel Rom Com series is an epic mashup of historical romance, action, adventure, science fiction, and satire that is both lighthearted escapism and a prescient SOS call.

Brigid MacDonald leads a mundane existence in Huntsville, Ontario. Her childhood as an orphan in foster care was traumatic enough, so why should she take risks that could cause her more emotional damage? Instead, Brigid thrives on the predictability of her coffee barista job, and being a sensei at the dojo where she teaches karate. The most exciting things that happen to her are hanging out with her BFF, Selma, being adored by fellow black belt, Mark, and finding her neighbour’s cat when he escapes from his apartment.

That all changes when she discovers a strange man, magically transported inside her storage closet one night. He’s ridiculously tall and handsome, wears a blue-and-green kilt, and speaks an ancient dialect that confounds explanation. Where is he from, and how did he get there? None of Brigid’s theories explain his bizarre appearance, nor the fact he doesn’t understand anything about modern society. Worse yet, he’s been gravely injured and reveals that he challenged his elder brother to prevent his clan from marching upon their sworn enemy. What’s a girl to do?

Ferghus MacLeod is equally shocked to find himself in a country he’s never heard of before, in the home of the bonniest lass he’s ever laid eyes upon. Her Canadian accent warms his blood and almost makes him forget he should try to return home. He doesn’t understand why someone so accomplished has been left without the protection of a clan. Despite Ferghus’s commitment to his own people, he can’t deny his growing attraction for this intriguing redhead, which pushes his self control to its limit. It wouldn’t hurt if he stuck around for a few more days, would it?

As Ferghus tries to acclimatize himself to life in the twenty-first century, and Brigid attempts to win the prize money in a survival competition so she can return to university, the pair discovers their chance meeting might not have been as accidental as they once believed. Not only could the star-crossed lovers be in danger, but the rest of humanity, too.

“Naethin’ is certain in yer time; ye’ve cut down the trees, and burned the roots with ‘em.”

Can Brigid MacDonald and Ferghus MacLeod work together to solve the mystery of the time travel and confess their true feelings for one another before forces beyond their control destroy their past, present, and future love?

***This slow-burn romantic comedy combines beloved elements of contemporary romance, historical fiction, sci-fi, romantic suspense, mystery, and social commentary, and promises a fast-paced adventure without heavy politics and absolutely no sexual violence.***

Author’s Notes:
The Once and Future Love contains tropes of the romance genre, as well as carefully-chosen historical inaccuracies to facilitate the plot. While this 3rd book in the trilogy can be read as a standalone, the ‘Easter Eggs’ and humour are enhanced by reading The Future Bride and The Past Love first.

My Review:

What a truly wonderful and pleasurable book to read. I laughed so hard in the beginning, trying to put myself into Ferghus, any coming straight out of the 1500s into 2019. Surely, he was terrified of motor vehicles, let alone planes, cell phones, computers, light bulbs, the whole bit. Fergus remained true to his character from the 1500s and kept Bridgid safe. The mix with non-human DNA was a bit of a stretch, but fit right in with the story. Five shiny gold stars.

Her Alibi took Silver in this year’s Reader’s Favorite contest! Book Link

Reviewed by Essien Asian for Readers’ Favorite

As a child, Mary could not figure out why her mother’s behavior toward her tended to be either violent or angry. As she got older the relationship between them only got worse, so much so that she could not wait to get out of living under her mother’s control. Her siblings were not immune and even her mother’s partners bore their fair share of her vitriolic attacks. After she had moved out, got married, and started her own family, you would expect that Mary would be free of her mother’s machinations. Then she received a call about her stepfather’s death which coincided with her mother’s strange late-hour visit. Could it be that her mother somehow found a way to rope Mary into her fiendish scheme? One so unbelievable it could involve murder? Find out in Her Alibi by Mary L. Schmidt.

Mary L. Schmidt tells a compelling story in her book. Her accounts are detailed and graphic, leaving precious little to the imagination. She explains her family history thoroughly, making it easier to understand her story. It is difficult to believe that some of the events transpired in the way she recorded them, but the way the details come together in the latter stages gives the reader ample opportunity to draw conclusions as to the mental state of Mary’s mother and her capabilities. Her Alibi is another example of where reality trumps fiction and Schmidt must be commended for finding the courage to pen this book.