Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell
Book Tour August 1 - August 31, 2020
Synopsis:
Farm For Sale. 360-acre lot with ranch-style home. Refurbished barn. Corpse not included.
To find her missing aunt, she has to unearth the secrets of the past. But lies and deceit run through the very heart of their town…
What started out as a promising relationship with adventurer and tycoon Alec Zavos has fizzled into an uncertain future for antiquities expert Annalisse Drury. Returning to Walker Farm in Upstate New York to see her Aunt Kate should have been a welcome homecoming and distraction. Instead, she finds the childhood home she expected to inherit is for sale, without her permission. What’s worse, Kate’s ranch manager makes a gruesome discovery in the barn: the body of an unidentified man, dead by foul play.
Annalisse turns to Alec for help. She and her aunt shelter on his estate in the Catskills while the authorities canvass the scene. But when Kate herself disappears without a trace, Annalisse fears the worst: that one of the many secrets of her hometown has ensnared her family—a secret someone is willing to kill for to keep hidden.
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After the excitement that Annalisse and Alec faced in Stolen Obsession, I was curious where the new adventure would take them. The scenery is slightly less exotic; but nonetheless, the action makes up for staying stateside. Once Auntie Kate is missing, Annalisse faces another wild ride of chasing down leads and warding off people who put her in danger.
I was taken back a bit when Alec proposes so soon into the book and she refuses. I felt like it was a cold, odd rejection. She was heading to visit with Kate because she felt like Alec was pulling away, then she gets what she wants deep down and it's a flat-out no. I tried to put myself in her shoes and let that one slide --- but it nagged me through the entire book.
Along the search for Kate, Annalisse seemed to drift away from Alec in a few ways. The romance was minimal, making me wonder if they'd end the book together. I'm hoping that will increase in the next book.
Bell does an amazing job twisting you into confusion with the pieces of evidence gathered from one chapter to the next. When the big reveal happens, it will add even more questions. When they're answered, it's definitely quite the twist that foreshadows what is to come. The ending leaves me hopeful; but also with more questions.
Overall, I have to give this book 4.5 stars. I wanted to give it 5; but I couldn't get past the slight shift in Annalisse's behavior (even prior to the news she receives). She frustrated me and I couldn't feel for her like I wanted to. She lowers herself to the same level as Kate's children, causing a slight loss of respect.
About the Author
Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News, to name a few.
Her catalog venture, Ewephoric, began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Order Ewephoric gifts online or request a catalog at TexasSheep.com.
Marlene and her husband, Gregg, reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.
Catch Up With Marlene M. Bell: MarleneMBell.com, Goodreads, BookBub, Twitter, & Facebook
Stolen Obsession (Annalisse Series Book 1)
People die, but legends live on.
New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.
Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act.
Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.
Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?
Hold on for a heart-thumping, thrilling adventure through exotic lands in this fast-moving romantic suspense mystery by Marlene M. Bell.
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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Marlene M. Bell. There will be 4 winners. Two (2) winners will each win one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. Two (2) winners will each win a set of autographed books, a notebook, and silver jewelry. The giveaway begins on August 1, 2020 and runs through September 2, 2020. Open to U.S. and Canada addresses only. Void where prohibited.
This sounds like a series I would love to get into. Putting it on my list!!!