A Good Man Gone, A Mercy Watts Mystery by A.W. Hartoin Review and giveaway

A Good Man Gone, A Mercy Watts Mystery

by A.W. Hartoin

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BLURB:

It’s summer in St. Louis and Mercy Watts is on vacation from her parents. The great detective and his nosy wife are on a cruise and Mercy thinks she’s off the hook for doing any investigating for them. But when a family friend has a fatal heart attack, Dad has one of his famous feelings and orders Mercy to look into it. Mercy tries not to get sucked in. She really does, but she’s her father’s daughter. Soon Gavin’s death leads to a more grisly one, the death of a bride on her wedding day. Can the two be connected? Was Gavin murdered? Now Mercy can’t stop. You do for family. That’s all there is to it.

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Excerpt

I crouched on the edge of my parents’ bed, my toes gripping the side board until I stood and let fly. I fell, eyes closed, into the marshmallow fluff of what my mother called The Oasis. I lay, face down, sinking into the double layers of down, smelling Mom’s perfume and feeling the stress flow out of me. Heaven. It didn’t get any better. Well, maybe a mouth full of dark chocolate would’ve upped the ante, but it was pretty much bliss, especially after my last two weeks.

I’d just finished a double shift in St. James’s emergency room, at time-and-a-half, thank you very much. Two and a half weeks in any ER was way too much. I was sick to death of drunk-driving accidents and ear infections. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to go back. I worked PRN, which meant I worked through an agency and filled in when somebody was short a nurse. I didn’t love being a nurse, but I liked it. Which was something I couldn’t quite explain. People thought nursing was warm and fuzzy, helping people, curing the ill, all that crap. For me, it meant getting vomited on or felt up at least a once a week. I seemed to bring it out in people, the worst, I mean. I walked in the room and people did what they quickly wished they hadn’t. But still I liked nursing, and I was good at it. There’s a lot to be said for being good at something and, occasionally, people were grateful. Plus, I set my own hours. That was the part that my dad loved. I could set my schedule to suit him. It was enough to make me consider a permanent position.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A.W. Hartoin is the author of the Mercy Watts mystery series and the Away From Whipplethorn fantasy series. She lives in Colorado with her husband, two children, and six bad chickens.

https://www.facebook.com/anne.hartoin

www.awhartoin.com

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D1CPG5I

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/322959

A.W. will be awarding a backlist ebook on each stop, It Started with Whisper, to a randomly drawn commenter, and a $30.00 Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

Follow the tour and comment; the more they comment, the better their chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/07/virtual-review-tour-good-man-gone-by-w.html

My Review:

I was immediately hooked after reading the first chapter. I felt so bad for Gavin's wife and then I had to know the truth behind his death. I liked Mercy, and laughed when she wore her mom's cloths and drove her dad's car. I can remember watching my mom getting dressed and wishing I could be like her. It is funny how adults think differently then their younger selves. I really liked the supporting characters and I was hoping that none of them would die. I also really enjoyed the mystery and the ending. I was surprised at the killer, and I liked how the author used family as a central theme. I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own. I would like to read the rest of this series.