Lots of news below, but first, a big welcome to new subscribers. I’m always amazed at how this newsletter has grown into a cast of thousands, propelled by mystery lovers like you.

Welcome to all, thank you so much and happy reading!

1. Mystery Crew Review Countdown Contest

The gang at the Mystery Crew Review is offering a Christmas-themed book giveaway. Enter to win 24 eBooks and a brand new Kindle Fire8HD using code CARMENAMATO for extra contest entries. 

https://gleam.io/BHSxl/the-mystery-review-crew-countdown-to-christmas

FELIZ NAVIDAD FROM ACAPULCO is part of the book bundle. Emilia Cruz and Franco Silvio go undercover during the holiday season to crack a drug smuggling ring. 

Silvio as Santa? No spoilers, but if you’ve read the Detective Emilia Cruz series, you have an idea of how well that’s going to go. In Silvio’s defense, the suit didn’t come with instructions . . . 

2. Detective Emilia Cruz’s “guest appearance” on the Kerrian’s Notebook blog 

Kerrian’s Notebook is by fictional detective Charlie Kerrian. Entries range from his meetups with other cops to notes on crime clues and murder weapons. The genius behind this format is Patti Phillips, who also runs Nightstand Reviews.

Charlie provides an intro for Emilia’s account of delivering a lecture about searching for missing persons. In her words . . . 

“I never expected to be lecturing a bunch of norteamericano detectives about hunting for missing persons in Mexico, but there I was in Alexandria, Virginia, sweating bullets and trying to remember how to speak English. My plan was to stumble through my presentation, fly back to Acapulco and slay my boss, Lieutenant Franco Silvio, for sending me to this conference on law enforcement.”

Find the entire post here: https://pattiphillipsbooks.com/kerriansnotebook/2022/11/visiting-detective-emilia-cruz-hunt-for-the-missing/

3. Winter Reads

Friends from Story Origin have a slate of books to check out when you need a break from holiday stress and winter weather. Click on each image for more.

THE STONE OF DESTINY by Roberts & Maclay

A long-lost treasure leads to the dark history of the Habsburgs and a breathless hunt across Europe.

VANISHED by Jade Madden

FBI Agent Faith Black teams with a local sheriff to investigate a murky woodland mystery.

THE PLAGUE WALKER MEDICAL THRILLERS: Books 1-4 by Michael Angel

Epidemiologist Leigh Austen scours the world to identify and stop deadly pathogens and viruses.

SAVAGE PLAN by A.J. Faris

A journalist seeks to expose a drug cartel that might be responsible for her sister’s death.

#excerpt

Get the first Galliano Club thriller and find out how the trouble started!

ORDER OF BATTLE by Bruns and Olson

This fictional account of the intrigue behind Russia’s war in Ukraine is so gripping and authentic you’ll think you are there, whether it’s on the battlefield, in a conference room, or in the sky. Expect layers of deceit, dueling agendas, and a front row seat inside the Kremlin’s power player machine.

Russian President Vitaly Luchnik is determined to resuscitate the USSR. The sharpest tool at his disposal is the Wagner Group, a mercenary militia run by a close friend known as The Chef. Skilled and ruthless, Pavel Kozlov runs things on the ground for the Wagner Group. In Ukraine, he foments violence that gives Luchnik an excuse to send in Russian troops.

Tasked with coming up with answers to the spiraling situation, Don Riley of the CIA’s Emerging Threats Group also has to deal with an adversary within the Agency. The Deputy Director for Operations is a slick operator who wants to exploit a tech-savvy contractor group used as a proxy for US boots on the ground against the Wagner Group.

There are so many delicious layers of deception happening here that you want to really savor this book. Beyond the tech details that authors Bruns and Olson excel at, the scenes inside the Kremlin are especially good, with Luchnik the puppet master becoming both bolder and more erratic as pressure is applied to his forces in Ukraine. 

Yet there’s deception on the US side as well, as the contractors fighting the proxy war are driven to take more risks. Soon, the legality of their actions is in doubt. Don Riley is in the thick of things, as he’s been in the previous Command and Control books, but those who don’t like his influence are determined to take him off the field. Is the US president still on Don’s side? Or are the wrong voices whispering in the presidential ear?

The novel is 3^rd in the Command and Control series but works equally well as a standalone. 

In ORDER OF BATTLE, may the most devious—and coldblooded—schemer win.

Now that’s authentic.

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