IYSH - blitz

 

Fiction

Date Published: 04-17-2025

Snow Place Like Home

 

Snow Globe Shop Mystery, Book 5

Traditional Mystery/Amateur Sleuth, Small Town Fiction, Snow Globe Shop, Minnesota Mystery

Date Published: 01-09-2026

The Letter by Jo A. Hiestand

 

The Letter: A McLaren Mystery Prequel by Jo A. Hiestand
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Letter is the story of Barry Grady’s life. Barry is a character in the McLaren series, and this story tells us about his life before he graced the lives of Melanie and McLaren.

But this is much more than my little explanation. What this turned out to be for me was one of those stories you can’t put down. I found out that Barry had another life before I met him in McLaren’s world. He lived and worked another real life, well, ok, book life:) and a tragedy changed his life forever. I knew Barry in his “grown-up” life, but I wanted to know how he got here. Did he run away? Leave his family? Did he have a career, an education? Doesn’t sound like a little story of a single character, does it? It isn’t.

Jo Hiestand seems to bring out all these emotions in what is a fairly short read, 200+ pages. I was amazed that what is called a prequel could contain such a rich storyline full of events in Barry’s life and of the characters he met as he moved through each of his days. Every moment of it held my attention. Maybe it was the character Barry and how he lived his life, or maybe it was how much the author loved Barry, and her creation of him came alive in her writing of his story.

I don’t think you need to be familiar with the McLaren series to enjoy this book. I do think you’d be foolish to miss the chance to read such a good series.

View all my reviews

The Super Seeders

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Miles Hillmann will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

IYSH

 

Fiction

Date Published: 04-17-2025

Nana Claus and the Thank-You Notes

 

Children's Picture Book

Date Published: 07-02-2026

Publisher: Solander Press

The Road Home and other stories

 

Short fiction collection

Date Published: March 4, 2026 

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group 

Love Across Time

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddes Fish Promotions. Beth Ford will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Off Season

Detective Ramesh Ryan’s career with Sydney’s prestigious Organized Crime Unit is on the up, until he loses a court case against the city's most powerful drug dealer. In disgrace, the detective is relocated to the tiny Australian beach town of Barton.

It is off season in Barton—when its few criminals usually take a well-earned rest. But not this year! With the detective's arrival, the town suddenly becomes murder central. Two bodies are discovered in the space of days, both victims of drug overdoses. Then a mysterious foot is found washed up on the beach, and memories are awoken of an unsolved cold case of the teenager who disappeared fifteen years ago. Add to this a blossoming romance, along with a contract taken out on Ryan’s life, and it's clear that the detective has jumped out of the Sydney frying pan into the Barton fire.

 

What follows is an action-packed adventure, thrilling at every turn—where truth and lies are almost impossible to separate, and unexpected twists are the order of the day

The Flames of Soulflare

 

 This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. La Kayshal will be awarding $10 PayPal gift to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.