Book Review: A Willing Murder

Sara Medlar is a household name in romance, with millions of books sold. But lately, retirement has been boring her and she’s found herself back in her hometown of Lachlan, Florida, remodeling the grand old mansion she’d admired as a child. Then Sara’s niece Kate comes to town for a job in real estate; she approaches her estranged yet incredibly famous aunt for a place to stay while she gets herself settled. But when she arrives, she finds she’s not the only long-term houseguest. Jackson Wyatt, with his deniable good looks and charm, already has his own room and clearly has got her aunt wrapped around his finger.

Book Review: Toil and Trouble

A relative newcomer to Lily Dale, the quirky New York lakeside village populated by spiritual mediums, young widow Bella Jordan doesn’t have time to believe in supernatural entities. She has enough to tackle, what with running Valley View guesthouse, wrangling her seven-year-old son Max and their growing army of pets, and dealing with her lovable but meddlesome neighbors.

So when Pandora Feeney, Valley View’s highly eccentric – and reputedly highly psychic – owner, portentously predicts that something wicked this way comes, Bella’s more worried about the fact that Pandora’s announced she plans to move back into the guesthouse than about approaching danger. Besides, the local theatre is putting on a performance of Macbeth, so it’s no wonder that sorcery and black magic are in the air.

Lily Dale is safe. Bella’s sure of it. Even if one of her female guests at Valley View is setting her oddly on edge and Max is seeing witches behind every corner. Little does Bella know that a storm is coming, with the power to blow her life, and Max’s, right off course... or far, far worse.

Book Review: Revolution

Revolution is a detailed exploration into the era of Prince’s most prolific and groundbreaking music made with considerable inspiration and performed by a unique cadre of musicians he gathered and relentlessly drove to be the sonic, visual, and ideological reflection of his evolving vision. Although being the most self-contained, versatile, and prolific artist of his era, Prince reveled in the band, a multi-racial, intergender unit that acted as both family and loyal acolytes that embodied his ethos, expressed his pathos, and lifted him to rarified heights of pop dominance.

This is the story of the genre-shifting, multi-media, trailblazing Prince & the Revolution from their humble inception to their precipitous rise in celebrated hit singles, albums, films, and tours to their controversial and shocking demise.

Book Review: Etiquette for Lovers and Killers

It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to 'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the last people to see Gertrude alive... and the first to see her dead.

Book Review: A Legionnaire's Guide to Love and Peace

On the eve of the battle that will decide the realm of Telrus’s fate, Katrien takes a hard look at her prospects. A mere legionnaire, she and her spear will be at the fore in the morning, facing off against the Demon Lord and his wretched army, and it’s all but certain she’ll perish in the fight. But if the end of the world is mere hours away, there’s no reason not to hook up with her handsome, dedicated battle partner, Emory—despite any antifraternization policies their centurion may have in place.

Only the world doesn’t end the next day. Instead, an insufferable prince raised in hiding comes out of nowhere with a plucky band of heroes, defeats the Demon Lord, and seals the rift to the hellish plane. The realm is saved. The war is over. And Kat suddenly has a lot more future than she knows what to do with. It’s a future that could include Emory. . . . if only he weren’t so set on staying enlisted in the very army Kat was unwillingly drafted into.

Book Review: Kill Your Darlings

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband. What happens next has everything to do with what happened before.

The story of Wendy and Thom’s marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple’s lives—their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague—all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago. The secret, that has kept them bound together, has each wondering if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries it to the grave.

Book Review: Killer Deals at Mayview Mall

For childhood actor turned private eye Paul Washington, investigating a theft at his childhood mall was a dream come true. But when a body turns up the second day on the job, the case turns into a whodunnit. With his dream girl as the prime suspect, can the pop-culture-obsessed detective crack the case and clear her name before it's too late?

80s and 90s kids unite - this cozy mystery is ready to take your Gen X and Millennial hearts on a fast paced adventure through your childhood.

Killer Deals at Mayview Mall by Steven Templar will be published June 3, 2025. Mysterious Ink Publishing / Victory Editing provided an early galley for review.