BOOK BLITZ: The Boutique Hotel by Melissa D. MacKinnon

Today, we are excited to share this Book Blitz spotlighting Melissa D. MaKinnon's The Boutique Hotel, a standalone mystery. To highlight this novel, we have a sneak peak with an exclusive excerpt. Plus, we have a blitz-wide giveaway as well. So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy NOW!

Genre:

Adult

Mystery

Publish Date:

July 29, 2025

Publisher:

Friesen Press

Synopsis:

“The Boutique Hotel is a richly absorbing novel. From the opening pages, MacKinnon weaves multiple narrative threads…with nuance, compelling the reader ever forward through its layered and engaging plot.”

—The Seaboard Review of Books

What happened in the days leading to murder at a glamorous destination wedding?

The story is set against the sophisticated backdrop of Nice, France. Evie Hansen, a travel agent determined to prove her worth, attends a destination wedding at the luxurious Negresco Hotel while staying at The Boutique Hotel au Coeur de Nice. She has sworn off dating, having suddenly been dropped by her boyfriend. Enter lawyer Jacob Liszt who is recovering from a stormy relationship and reluctant to start a new one.

Evie’s professional goals are upended by her discovery of a body on the hotel’s terrace. The search for answers leads her to partner with Jacob. Their investigation into the murder reveals disturbing truths about The Boutique Hotel, drawing them into a dangerous web of secrets and lies. They dig deeper, facing mounting peril, while navigating their growing feelings for each other.

Evie is forced to confront not only the dark realities of the case but her own life choices and aspirations.

The book delivers a series of fast-paced twists, culminating in a dramatic resolution.

With its vivid setting, complex characters, and timely themes, the book offers a compelling exploration of justice, self-discovery, and the pursuit of truth in the face of adversity.

      

  

*Excerpt*

As I’m taking photos of the art on the walls of the huge Reception Room, as per Pinkie’s request, vases of exquisite flowers on pedestals draw my attention. The arrangements of lilies, hydrangeas, white roses and other blossoms beckon. I take in the fresh, sweet, bouquet, redolent of spring days under our magnolia tree. If only I could have taken that tree with me when I sold the house.

Jacob walks toward me. When our eyes meet, he curls his lip in that irresistible way of his. I smile back.

“You’re so lovely. A flower in full bloom. Can I take your picture?” “Yes, please,” I say. I position myself in front of the arrangements.

“I’ll send it to you.”
An older man nearby stops. “I’ll take your picture, if you like.”

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Melissa D. MacKinnon loves reading, writing and travelling. She holds bachelor’s degrees in English and Education. Her first book, The Remarkable Meadow Andrews, was published in 2024. Melissa lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada.

Stay connected with Melissa D. MacKinnon

     

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway Open to the U.S. and Canada

- ends November 13, 2025

Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box

The Boutique Hotel Blitz

Book Blitz Organized by

BOOK BLITZ: Descendants of the Big House by C. Vonzale Lewis

Today, we have a Book Blitz to kick off celebrating the new release of author C. Vonzale Lewis's Descendants of the Big House. part of the A Horde of Dead Poets collections. To celebrate this new release, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a blitz-wide giveaway to share! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy NOW!

Genre:

Adult

Contemporary

Fantasy/Mystery

Series:

A Horde of Dead Poets, #6

Publish Date:

October 14, 2025

Publisher:

Percy's Heart Press

Synopsis:

Beatrice Monroe is still getting used to the knowledge that she was born a champion for Good and Evil. She spends her days combing through her great grandmother’s journals trying to find answers to what this newfound ability means for her as a member of law enforcement.

When a woman walks into her precinct claiming her aunt was murdered, Beatrice discovers a link between their families that may just have the answers she needs. But those answers are not easy to find. Because this mystery’s roots are buried in the past with five young girls and what they gave birth to…in The Big House.

Descendants of the Big House is a standalone installment in A Horde of Dead Poets collection featuring seven authors and their stories inspired by famous literary poems. If you often find yourself steering toward a dark, mysterious, isolated location; if family curses haunt you and unreliable narrators keep you in suspense, you won’t want to miss a single volume in this gripping collection.

Perfect for fans of T. Kingfisher, Simone St. James, Stephen King, and Shirley Jackson.

      

  

*Excerpt*

The Silverwood, Georgia police department had five detectives and twenty patrol officers for the twenty-seven thousand residents, most of whom were well into the senior years. We had our share of crime but most of it occurred during and after the tourist season. 

On days like this, Chief Declouette had us going through what she’d dubbed as the ‘Fresh Eyes’ review. Old cases were brought out and exchanged between the five detectives to see if we could find any new leads. No one liked that sort of scrutiny of their work. 

My partner Raphael and I were looking through an old hit and run. My quick read-through let me know we were never going to solve it. The driver wasn’t a local. The plates were stolen. And every drunken eyewitness statement read like a fever-dream, with varying degrees of lunacy intertwined. Rarely did we find witnesses who astutely observed what was going on around them. Which meant most statements were filled with fabrications and embellishments with only a kernel of truth thrown in. And it was our job to weed through all of it. 

With a heavy sigh, I returned to my own search. And tried not to think about how it was also turning out to be pointless. 

The next few pages were more of the same. It was as if Grandma Lucille’s mind was slowly deteriorating. Like she was screaming in her head and nobody was listening. One entry was dated the year before she died. All I remember from that time was the joy she had in my college acceptance. I pictured her on the day I left. Mouth stretched wide in a smile, while tears of joy streamed down her face. “You have somethin’ in you that will make you a great officer, my little Beatrice. Somethin’ great.” 

Now her words held a deeper meaning. She had known what I was and would become one day. Police. Why didn’t she warn me? Why didn’t she tell me about all the horrific things she had done and the ways in which I might be forced to do the same?  

But I wished she’d told us she was suffering. 

I turned the page.

This was the end of everything. I read the date. A few weeks before she died, she had covered the page with a single message: 

We are born in sin. We are born in sin. We are born in sin. 

And the last line: 

Just twisted souls upon the Tree of Life. 

None of her previous journals had references to Christianity or any other religion, so why was she talking about sin? 

I got up and went to the breakroom, needing a minute to think. The coffee was gone, and my throat was still dry. After retrieving a bottle of water from the refrigerator, I cracked the sealed cap, leaned against the counter and sipped—thoughts on that single line.  

Just twisted souls upon the Tree of Life. 

The first idea that came to mind was puppetry. Our souls like marionettes hung from branches, jerking and dancing until their strings tangled. Was that what Champions were? And what would that make the Tree of Life? The puppeteer, a great manipulator.

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Carla Vonzale Lewis likes her martini’s shaken…never stirred. Though she was born in Georgia, please don’t mistake her for a Georgia peach. She’s more like a prickly pear. Speaking of being born, someone asked her recently if she remembered her birth, and all she had to say was, “Yes, I do remember that handsy doctor pulling me out into the cold. Right Bastard!!!”

Despite being born in the South, she grew up in the North. California to be exact. And every once in a great while, she gets to experience all four seasons. But mostly, it’s just heat. 

Her debut novel, LINEAGE, was released July 16, 2019 and she fully intends to ride that joy for the rest of her life. 

When she’s not concocting her next contemporary fantasy story, she enjoys reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince her husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.

Stay connected with C. Vonzale Lewis

       

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway Open Internationally

- ends October 23, 2025

Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box

Descendants of the Big House Blitz

Book Blitz Organized by

BOOK BLITZ: Current of Darkness by Robert Brighton

Today, we have a Book Blitz to share for Award-winning Author Robert Brighton's Current of Darkness, An Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mystery. To celebrate this new release, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a blitz-wide giveaway to share! So... Be sure to check it out and grab your copy NOW!

Genre:

Adult

Historical Mystery

Series:

An Avenging Angel Detective Agency™ Mystery

Publish Date:

March 19,2024

Publisher:

Ashwood Press

Synopsis:

“Unforgettable female leads power this stellar historical mystery” (BookLife Reviews) by Robert Brighton, told with “writing that is on par with the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” (Manhattan Book Review).

A swirling tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal, Current of Darkness follows aspiring sleuth Sarah Payne behind the sleek, honeymoon façade of Gilded Age Niagara Falls and into a shadowy demimonde of ruthless union bosses, saboteurs, and tycoons-including the powerful, handsome, and mysterious Charles Kendall, whose intentions toward Sarah are unclear.

Meanwhile, sultry widow Alicia Miller is set on taking charge of her murdered husband’s company-only to find herself pitted against the new majority owner, who has his own ideas about women in the world of men. But cunning and captivating Alicia has ideas, too-and will stop at nothing to come out on top.

Both women will have to find the courage and resourcefulness-and set aside their own simmering feud-to survive in this “winning story of action, sabotage, cutthroat business dealings, and women daring to be something new at the dawn of the American century” (BookLife Reviews).

A captivating, page-turning, and immersive tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal – set against the backdrop of the glittering Gilded Age. Current of Darkness will draw readers in, and hold them under, until its final, explosive pages.

Read the Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries in any order.

       

*Excerpt*

ALICIA MAKES AN OMELET

When Alicia got back to the front door of Miller Envelope Company, damned if the thing wasn’t unlocked. She jerked the door open and saw none other than her Majority Owner, Howie Gaines, crossing the lobby, his foot almost to the first tread of the staircase.
“Howie!” she called, and he turned.
“Mrs. Miller,” he said. “I hope you weren’t waiting. I usually get here early.”
“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” she said. “But you need to come with me first.”
He returned to the front door. “What’s wrong?” he said.
“Follow me,” she said, crooking a finger. Together they walked along the Division Street side of the building and back to the loading dock area. The cigarette smoker was sitting on the loading dock again, smoking another cigarette. When he spied Gaines, he stubbed out his smoke and jumped down. “Mr. Gaines,” he said. “Good morning.”
“Shevlin,” Gaines said. “Good morning to you.”
“Go get those other two men who were with you just now,” Allie said to Shevlin, waving the back of her hand in his direction. He eyed her and then glanced at Gaines, who nodded. Shevlin hopped up on the loading dock, still trailing smoke, and went into the depths of the factory, and reemerged with the lanky man and the other one in tow.
“What is this all about?” Gaines asked Alicia.
“Teaching a lesson,” she said as the two men shuffled onto the dock with Shevlin. Allie looked up at them. “Who are these men?” she said to Howie, who stood by looking puzzled.
“Utz, on the left, and Kiesler. They’re two of our best delivery men.”
“Mr. Shevlin, Mr. Utz, Mr. Kiesler,” Alicia said. “We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Alicia Hall Miller. Miller as in Miller Envelope. You must know it—it’s your employer.”
The three men could almost be heard to swallow audibly. The lanky man, Kiesler, who seemed to occupy a leadership role, cleared his throat. “We’re sorry, ma’am, about . . . earlier. Didn’t know who you were.”
“I see,” Alicia said. “You’re sorry, then.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Kiesler said.
“And you two? Are you sorry, as well?”
Utz and Shevlin nodded, somewhat sheepishly, mumbling assent.
“Well, good. Thank you for that,” she said. “Now, guess what else you are? In addition to ‘sorry’?”
The men looked back at her blankly.
“You’re fired,” she said. “All three of you. Right now. Go collect whatever shit you have in your lockers and get out.” She looked at her watch. “You have precisely two minutes to leave my property. If you don’t, you’ll wish you had. The chief of police owes me at least one favor.”
Gaines touched her arm. “Mrs. Miller,” he said under his breath, “a word?”
“What do you want?” she said, jerking her arm away. “These men were insufferably rude to me just a few minutes ago.”
“You can’t hire and fire people,” Howie said quietly, his face quite crimson. “You’re a minority owner. You don’t have the authority to—”
“I won’t make a habit of it, Gaines,” she said, “but I just did fire them, and fired they will remain. Now do not challenge me on this, or we’re going to have a very bad first day together.”
The three men were looking at Gaines and Alicia’s little sidebar conference. Gaines turned back to them. “You heard her,” he said. “You’re dismissed.”
The men muttered a few choice words and disappeared into the building to collect their belongings. Allie and Gaines trudged back to the front entrance.
“Those are—were—three of our best workers, you know,” he said to her as they mounted the staircase inside. “Do you know how difficult it is to replace good laborers?”
“You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,” she said. “And do you know how difficult it is to replace customers? I don’t want anyone who represents our company to treat anyone in the way I was treated. It’s simply not acceptable. They merely picked on the wrong person today, but my guess is that they’re rude to everyone. And they’re the ones driving around delivering our product? Gaines, we need pleasant, polite people meeting our customers, not surly bastards like those three. And they’re lazy. Smokers are all lazy. Every last goddamn one of them.”
“Fine, fine,” Howie said, as they stood on the upper landing, outside their office. “I don’t disagree with you, but—”
“Then don’t,” Alicia said. “Don’t say, ‘I don’t disagree with you,’ and then begin disagreeing with me. I absolutely loathethat sort of thing. It reminds me of visitors who drop by and, after a few minutes, consult their watches and say, ‘Well, I’d better let you get back to your more pressing matters,’ or some such horseshit. They’re the ones with pressing matters, and they want to blame me for it. If I have pressing matters, I say so.”
Howie seemed perplexed.
“Do you understand, Gaines? It’s a simile. I’m drawing a comparison, so that you can understand what your new business partner hates.” One corner of her mouth rippled up.
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
“Then you know what I would like to do? When you introduce me to the company today—the whole staff—I am going to emphasize that every person who works here is going to treat everyone as though he were a customer. Or she. Or they’ll be hitting the bricks, just like Shevlin and company.”
“People aren’t going to like that,” he said, working the lock of their office door and putting his hand on the doorknob.
“Isn’t that their hard luck. Oh, and by the way”—she put her hand over his on the knob—“these offices open at 7:30, sharp. Not 7:45, not between 7:35 and 7:30. We can’t expect anyone else to be punctual and attentive to their jobs if we’re not. People look at us and decide what they can get away with. We have excellent streetcars here in Buffalo, and broad sidewalks, and so there’s no cause to be late. None. Understand?”
Howie smirked at her. “You will understand, Mrs. Miller, I don’t plan to be lectured by a minority owner—”
“It’s Alicia,” she said. “Or just Miller. Like any other business partner. Not Mrs. Miller. I’m not calling you Mr. Gaines, you can depend on that.”
“As you wish, Miller,” he said. “Now may I please go into my office?”
“It’s our office, and yes, you may.” 
**

~~~~~

The Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mystery series:

  

(covers link to Goodreads)

       

~~~~~

**About the Author**

Award-winning author Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age, and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. In his Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries, Brighton exposes the turbulence of the era - its passions, dreams, and disasters - against a backdrop of careful research on the places, sights, sounds, and smells of the time. 

When he is not walking the streets in the footsteps of the Avenging Angels, sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 50 countries around the world, personally throwing himself into every situation his characters will face - from underground ruins to opium dens - and (so far) living to tell about it. 

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Paris, Brighton is an avid student of early 20th Century history and literature, an ardent and relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.

Stay connected with Robert Brighton

     

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Giveaway Open Internationally

- ends March 28, 2024

Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box

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