"Surrendered Love" by Laura V. Hilton / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

This is a love affair.  Yes, we do have an occasional trist at Killer Nashville.  In fact, several couples and one marriage have been the result of meetings that have taken place at Killer Nashville so, even though the murderous spirit prevails, there is a softer side to most of our attendees.  And some of you enjoy reading about love.

I’ve always had an interest in the Amish since many years ago seeing the movie “Witness” starring Harrison Ford.  “Surrendered Love” by Laura V. Hilton does not have the bathroom murder, but it does have mystery and the outside cop (though he originally came from Amish Land), the wayward child, and the reluctant, developing relationship between the two main characters.  I find this to be more than a love story, though.  Hilton has great characterizations and character arcs going for her and she’s obviously done her research.  It’s an examination of the old and the new, of stagnancy and growth.  There is also that undercurrent theme of “forgiveness,” which always gets me right in the gut.

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.killernashville.com). He reviews books daily for Killer Nashville’s Book of the Day. Publishers Weekly has named Stafford and Killer Nashville as one of the top 10 Nashville literary leaders playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” not only in middle-Tennessee, but also extending “beyond the city limits and into the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)  Having over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print, Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.oneofthemiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.jefferdeaverxomusic.com).

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Hunting Daylight" by Piper Maitland / Thursday, March 21, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

I’ve discovered a new series!  Today’s Book of the Day is two-for-one.  Fellow Tennessee writer Michael Lee West has duplicated herself into writing alter ego Piper Maitland.  Berkley sent “Hunting Daylight” by Piper Maitland for review.  Along with it, they sent the first book in the series, “Acquainted with the Night.”  I started reading the series and fell in love with both of them.  If you read the cover of “Hunting Daylight,” the books come across as a paranormal romance.  That shortchanges both and is far from truth.  These are books about vampires for smart readers.  Romance is the least of it.  There’s action, strong characters, fast, easy writing, science, humor, suspense, murder, thrills, romance, smart concept, delightful plotting, and even the author commitment to not always write outcomes in the way that readers might want.  It’s a ballsy ride.  In a literary genre full of vampires jumping page-to-page confusing action with plot, this is a novel for the thinking reader.  To enjoy the story to the fullest, start with the first one and read forward.  I started with the second, stopped, went to the first, and was glad I did.  Both books are over 500 pages and you’ll read them with the ease of 200.
– Clay Stafford, author and founder of Killer Nashville

Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

“Death in the Floating City” by Tasha Alexander / Wednesday, November 14, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander.

Venice. Cat fights. Ill-fated love. Murder.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

With “Death in the Floating City,” Tasha Alexander has written what I think is probably her best book in the seventh installment of the Lady Emily Hargreaves series. Lady Emily and her husband Colin are summoned to help solve the murder of Emily’s childhood associate’s father-in-law. Emily can’t stand her childhood friend. “Exchanging social niceties with Emma was far less pleasant than thinking about murder.” Ouch. The dialogue between these two women is delightful.

I’d put this in a more historical cozy category. It is a light book mixing love and murder in 19th Century Venice. Those who like a little romance with their mystery will love the descriptions of “the Floating City,” the parallel story of the 400 year-old family feud, and the zinger thrown in at the end. I won’t write more because I don’t wish to spoil the plot for those who wish to take the gondola ride. Suffice it to say, if you have not read any of Alexander’s work before, this one would be a grand one to push off with.

From Amazon:

“The Huffington Post calls Tears of Pearl author Tasha Alexander “one to watch – and read” and her new Lady Emily mystery set in Venice proves it!

Years ago, Emily’s childhood nemesis, Emma Callum, scandalized polite society when she eloped to Venice with an Italian count. But now her father-in-law lies murdered, and her husband has vanished. There’s no one Emma can turn to for help but Emily, who leaves at once with her husband, the dashing Colin Hargreaves, for Venice. There, her investigations take her from opulent palazzi to slums, libraries, and bordellos. Emily soon realizes that to solve the present day crime, she must first unravel a centuries old puzzle. But the past does not give up its secrets easily, especially when these revelations might threaten the interests of some very powerful people.”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.  For more information on Killer Nashville: A Conference for Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Writers & Literature Lovers go to our website at http://www.killernashville.com.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville