HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wow, can you believe it? It’s already 2015! The years keep flying past us. Those of you familiar with my blog, may have noticed that two pages have been deleted. The Publishers Directory and the Blog Exchange were deleted due to the death of the sponsor of both pages. Maurice was a wonderful guy and a great help to new and aspiring authors and he will be missed.

Ok, on to this new year. The first review is Mary Firmin’s debut novel, Deadly Pleasures. The author provided me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest, impartial review.

This is a very well done romantic mystery from the dark side. Megan Riley is a divorced woman coming to terms with some personal demons as she struggles with the poor economy and a real estate business. She and her three best friends, tired of their cheating husbands and boyfriends, decide to turn the tables. All members of the Bayside Yacht Club, they agree to hire a “boytoy” by the name of Michael Harrington. Little do they know, he is the prime suspect in the grisly bondage murders. She soon finds herself in the murder investigation and falling for the detective in charge, Matt Donovan. There are elements of bondage, torture and sadism and many suspects other than Michael. Some may be closer than she knows!

Ok, that is all I am going to say. I will not give away any spoilers!

In my opinion, Ms. Firmin handled this extremely well. The pacing was just right, slow enough to give you a chance to think but fast enough to keep your heart racing. The subject of bondage and sexual content was tastefully described and wouldn’t damage the sensibilities of my aunt Mabel. What I found very refreshing, was the lack of grammatical errors and typos. This is not inherent solely in debut authors, by the way. Many traditionally published established A-list authors have some that slip by the editors. I usually catch them because that is what I look for in my own writing. I detected none in this novel at all, so my highest high five to Mary for that! In summary, I would recommend Deadly Pleasures to all those mystery buffs out there who like a thrill ride that is a bit off the beaten path. If you like a surprise ending in the bargain, then you will be even more satisfied. I wonder if Mary could tell us if she is planning a series? I would definitely love to see more of Megan and Matt and see where their relationship goes! Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Pleasures-Mary-Firmin-ebook/dp/B00JDTTSAM/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1420754696&sr=1-2&keywords=Deadly+Pleasures. Thanks, Mary!

My smile rating is: 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂