Books are food for my soul! Pull up a beach chair and stick your toes in the sand as the Jersey surf rolls in and out, now open your book and let your imagination take you away.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Death At First Sight by Lena Gregory (Author Guest Post / Book Review / Contest Giveaway)

In association with Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, Jersey Girl Book Reviews is pleased to host the virtual book tour event for Death At First Sight by author Lena Gregory!







Author Guest Post

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Lena Gregory

I always enjoy getting to know my readers, so I figure what better way to start than to share a little about myself. I’d love for you to leave a comment below sharing some things people don’t know about you and telling me if you share any of my interests!

1. My husband and I live on the south shore of eastern Long Island. We have three amazing kids, ages twenty-five, seventeen and five. Yes, my little guy came as quite a very happy surprise! And I am extremely family oriented. I enjoy nothing more than spending time with my husband and kids.

2. I absolutely love big dogs. At the moment, we have a Golden Retriever, a Weimaraner, and an Australian Shepherd. I lost my Bernese Mountain Dog/ Golden Retriever mix two years ago, and my heart is still broken. When my daughter and son-in-law finish building their house and move out, they’ll take two of the dogs with them, and then I’ll get a couple more. Of course, we’ll check out the animal shelter first when the time comes, but I would love another Bernese Mountain Dog, a Leonberger, or a Rhodesian Ridgeback. What do you think?






3. I am a master at procrastination. I don’t have a lot of writing time, but sometimes, when I do sit down to write, I just can’t seem to get going. So I tell myself there are important things I have to do before I can start writing. The first of those is usually facebook, because there might be something interesting I “need” to know. I love to chat with readers, my agent, and other authors, so I often hang out there for a bit. Then I check all of my emails, because, you know, something really important that wasn’t there five minutes ago, might be there now. And then I head for twitter. By the time I finish all of that, I’m usually hungry so, I grab a snack, then finally sit down to get started.

4. I am addicted to Diet Pepsi and chocolate!

5. I have worked many jobs, some I loved, others not as much. I was a dance teacher and choreographer for more than twenty years. When my daughter was in high school I choreographed and co-directed several high school musicals. I also worked in a deli, which will feature in a mystery I’m currently outlining. And I cleaned houses in the Hamptons, which gave me more material than you could imagine for a future cozy mystery series.

6. I am painfully shy. As much as I love socializing and even meeting new people, I do much better one on one than I do in a group.

7. I believe in ghosts, and they do feature in my first series, as well as a second series I am currently outlining.

8. I am very high strung and rarely relax. I go from the time I get up around 6:30 am until the time I go to bed, anywhere between 12:30 and 2:00 am. I talk fast, I move fast, and I always have a list a mile long of things I have to get finished in a day. Of course, I usually forget or misplace the list, so it doesn’t always help much.

Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know if you share any of those same traits.




About The Author



Lena Gregory lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.

When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.


Author Website
Amazon Author Page
Facebook
Twitter 
Google+
Pinterest
Goodreads




Book Review



Death At First Sight by Lena Grgeory
Book 1: A Bay Island Psychic Mystery Series
Publisher: Berkley / Penguin Publishing Group
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Format: Paperback - 304 pages
               Kindle - 972 KB
               Nook - 787 KB
ISBN: 978-0425282748
ASIN: B01BK0SQBS
BNID: 978-0698406452
Genre: Cozy Mystery



Buy The Book:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
Kobo
Penguin Random House
Goodreads


Buy The Series: A Bay Island Psychic Mystery Series
Book 1: Death At First Sight
Book 2: Occult And Battery (Pub Date: April 4, 2017)
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
Kobo
Penguin Random House
Goodreads



Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.



Book Description:

FIRST IN A VISIONARY NEW MYSTERY SERIES. 


It doesn’t take a crystal ball to see that something’s not right on Bay Island…

Since she left her psychiatric practice in New York City to open up a psychic shop in her hometown on Bay Island, Cass Donovan has given her fair share of readings to conflicted customers. But what she sees in Ellie Callahan’s future doesn’t bode well.

When Ellie’s mother, Marge, publicly confronts Cass about the reading, the embarrassment makes her want to curl up and die. And when she later stumbles across Marge’s body—and is a suspect in her murder—Cass is suddenly the star of Bay Island’s rumor mill.

Cass is determined to prove her innocence and save Ellie from meeting the fate in her unfortunate vision. But even with the help of her friends Bee and Stephanie, Cass will have to channel some serious sleuthing instincts to find the real killer…



My Book Review:

In Death At First Sight, the first book in the Bay Island Psychic Mystery series, author Lena Gregory weaves an intriguing cozy mystery tale that follows the amateur sleuth adventures of psychic Cass Donovan when she finds herself a suspect in the death of local resident Marge Hawkins.

Set in the quaint Long Island coastal town of Bay Island, Cass is the owner of Mystical Musings, a psychic shop in her hometown. She has provided the local residents with many psychic readings, but after a disturbing reading for Ellie Callahan leaves Cass with a dark feeling, she is publicly confronted by Ellie's mother Marge Hawkins, who tells Cass to leave her daughter alone. And to make matters worse, Cass stumbles upon Marge's dead body in the local theater the next morning, and is arrested on the suspicion of murder. Using her psychic abilities and with the help of best friends Stephanie and Bee, Cass is determined to find the real killer and clear her name.

Death At First Sight is a captivating and fast-paced whodunit tale that has enough quirky characters, witty banter and humor, drama, danger, and intriguing twists and turns that will keep you guessing the identity of the murderer. You can't help but get caught up in the drama and calamity that ensues as Cass uses her psychic instincts to solve the murder and clear her name. Cass' amateur investigative adventure unfolds with a wonderful balance of comedy, drama, and suspense that easily kept me guessing, and left me wanting more. I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I enjoyed the rich description of the quaint coastal Long Island setting of Bay Island, there is nothing like being transported away to a beach setting that invites you sink your feet in the sand and surf.

Death At First Sight is an entertaining cozy murder mystery that will easily engage you to join Cass in her latest psychic mystery adventures!


RATING: 5 STARS 






Contest Giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway




Virtual Book Tour




Tour Schedule:

November 1 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 1 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW
November 2 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
November 2 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 3 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 3 – Books,Dreams,Life – REVIEW
November 4 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 4 – Island Confidential – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 5 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 5 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW
November 6 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW
November 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
November 8 – The Mysterious Ink Spot – REVIEW, GUEST POST
November 8 – Sleuth Cafe – CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 9 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
November 9 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 10 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW
November 11 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
November 12 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – REVIEW
November 13 – Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! – REVIEW
November 13 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST



4 comments:

  1. We met a man a few months ago who had 2 Leonbergers -- they were so sweet, but so BIG! I love Bernese Mountain Dogs too ~

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  2. Thank you so much for sharing the release of Death at First Sight and for such a lovely review. I'm so happy you enjoyed my story :)

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    1. Hi Lena! Thank you for the opportunity to feature your book on my blog. Death At First Sight is a fun cozy mystery. I look forward to reading the next book in the series. :)

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