Teaser Tuesday (65)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Cuckoos of Batch Magna (Kindle Loc. 1186-89)
   - Peter Maughan


He had been wondering when this would happen, and here it was. His comeuppance. And it found him, as it were, without his trousers on.
Because, beleaguered and hungover, all he'd ended up with when he'd tried to find a story anywhere near convincing enough to explain the other Sally to this Sally, was a headache.

Safe Haven

Love hurts. There is nothing as painful as heartbreak. But in order to learn to love again, you must learn to trust again.


When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.

But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo’s empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Nicholas Sparks' novel, Safe Haven, is an emotionally moving story that inspires faith and hope in even the darkest of situations. When Erin escapes from her abusive husband she must learn how to survive, how to trust, and how to love without fear. 

Erin is the main character, who goes by Katie most of the novel, and she is a true inspiration to readers. She has been controlled, manipulated, and beaten most of her adult life by a husband who claims to love her. When she finally realizes that he will never change, no matter how many promises he makes, she decides to save her own life by running away. Erin is full of life, incredibly courageous, and braver than most. Readers will connect with her through these traits but also because she's good-hearted and sweet natured. The story of her past will pull readers in and the hope for her future will keep them reading until the bittersweet end. 

The plot of the story combines love and mystery. As it unfolds, readers learn that her husband hasn't given up on Erin and will do anything it takes to find her. Throughout the course of the novel, we see Erin reaching for her new life and opening herself up to new possibilities. But the horror of Erin's life isn't over yet as her husband and her past both come unbidden. 

Rating 3.5/5

Safe Haven

Lay Death at Her Door - Blog Tour

Synopsis:
Twenty years ago, Kate Cranbrook's eyewitness testimony sent the wrong man to prison for rape and murder. When new evidence exonerates him, Kate says that in the darkness and confusion, she must have mistaken her attacker's identity. She is lying. Kate would like nothing better than to turn her back on the past, but she is trapped in a stand-off with the real killer. When a body turns up on her doorstep, she resorts to desperate measures to free herself once and for all from a secret that is ruining her life.

Review:

Elizabeth Buhmann toys with readers, using her intriguing writing style and untrustworthy narrator, in her new novel, Lay Death at Her Door. This novel is a thriller from beginning to end as it is a confession from the main character, Kate. A confession of love and lies both laced with deceit. 

Readers are introduced to Kate as the narrator, a seemingly reliable source, and as the main character. Throughout the first few chapters, Kate admits that she twists the truth and as readers, we expect her story in conjunction with that confession to be true. Though it isn't. As the novel evolves, we learn that Kate cannot be trusted. And in the end, everyone will regret thinking otherwise. 

Kate is a manipulative character, full of wit and ready to play on the sympathy of others. She uses this to her advantage with every other character in the novel. If I didn't dislike her so much, I swear I'd love her. It's a torn relationship that Kate shares with readers. She makes herself out to be the victim and it's so easy to believe. Why would she lie to her readers? Because we set ourselves up to be lied to. And I think readers will thoroughly enjoy the wild mental goose chase that Kate sends them on. In fact, they'll probably recommend it to a friend. 

The plot of the novel is fantastic, though at times it is hard to follow. With a stream of conscious narrative that flashes between the past and present, the facts get a bit blurry. Add that the narrator is a compulsive liar and the line between fact and fiction vanishes completely. Buhmann doesn't even flinch getting dirty with the truth as Kate's biggest lie comes into the light: she sent the wrong man to prison. On purpose. Now she has a lot of loose ends to tie up, more people to convince she's the innocent one, and not enough time to get away from the real killer. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

Lay Death at Her Door

Meet the Author:

Elizabeth Buhmann is originally from Virginia, where her first novel is set, and like her main character, she lived several years abroad while growing up. She graduated magna cum laude from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh. For twenty years, she worked for the Texas Attorney General as a researcher and writer on criminal justice and crime victim issues. Elizabeth now lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, dog, and two chickens. She is an avid gardener, loves murder mysteries, and has a black sash in Tai Chi.

Elizabeth Buhmann's Webpage / Like Her on Facebook

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WWW Wednesday (54)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…


• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What do you think you’ll read next?

01. Currently Reading:
Lay Death at Her Door by Elizabeth Buhmann. When a young girl accuses a man of rape, he is sent to jail. Twenty-two years later, DNA testing is exonerating innocent criminals. When the DNA doesn't match the man she accused, all of Kate's lies come crumbling down. Blog Tour review on June 8th!

02. Recently Finished:
Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. R, a zombie, falls in love and finds himself wishing that he could be something other than Dead. Excuse the pun, it was a bloody good book! =)

03. Reading Next:
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. A mysterious woman turns up in a small town ready to re-start her life, as long as her past doesn't catch up with her.