<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2024 10:34:38 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>facebook</category><category>goodreads</category><category>shelfari</category><title>Mary Firmin, author</title><description></description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>53</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4981327479465443855</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Sep 2013 19:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-09-26T12:19:48.839-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description></description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-post.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-6239088553439254968</guid><pubDate>Thu, 26 Sep 2013 19:18:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-09-26T12:18:01.372-07:00</atom:updated><title>A TASTE OF DEADLY PLEASURES</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Prologue&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sherrie Weston scrambled onto the big brass bed and rolled over onto her back. Naked, but for a red satin garter belt trimmed with lace and equally red mesh stockings, she struck a lewd pose for the fat, sweaty trick ogling her from the foot of the bed. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; This guy loves garter belts, thought Sherrie. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; A sudden sweep of euphoria mellowed her out from the top of her platinum head to the tips of her painted toenails, and she thanked the universe she’d snorted multiple lines of coke before George Fisher arrived, or she’d never be able to carry out her plan. On top of the other drugs in her system, it was enough to fly her to the fucking moon.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; She set down the ground rules. “No games today, George, I had a rough night.” And tonight is going to be worse. Sherrie tried not to think about the session she had planned for later that evening. To distract herself, she fixed George his favorite scotch-no-ice from the bottle on her dresser. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; George took the proffered glass and smiled around the cigarette pinched between his small, nicotine-stained teeth. He moved into the narrow space beside her bed, tugging at his tie. His piggy face oozed perspiration; his eyes glittered, and his fingers, thick as sausages, plucked the cigarette from his pale, wet lips. “That’s okay, babe, I just got time for a quickie.”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Trying to conceal her disgust, she watched him lean toward the nightstand and stub out the butt in a green ashtray next to a porcelain-framed photograph. Slowly, George lifted the scotch to his lips and studied the picture of Sherrie and her best friend, Allison Graham. Sherrie closed her eyes; dear, sweet Allison had been brutally murdered less than six months ago, her naked body tossed on the beach, like so much garbage. It hurt to think about it. Suddenly, as if he found the image of the two friends offensive, George reached forward and knocked the picture to the floor. Glass and porcelain shattered in a thousand pieces.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Even through the haze of drugs, Sherrie hated him. Hated him more than anyone she’d ever known, except for—she stopped herself. Tonight would come soon enough. As for George Fisher, she’d always known he was a freak. It just made it so much easier to stick it to him for a change.&amp;nbsp;“Come to bed, babe!” she cooed.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; In a flash, George was out of his shirt and pants and was peeling down his extra-large boxers. The bed dropped six inches when he belly flopped aboard, and with not even a “brace yourself, momma,” he was on top of her, pumping away.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Pressed deep into the mattress, Sherrie thought about her dead friend, Allison, and remembered her words: “Always lay it on them first, before they get off.” So she gave him a couple of “do it to me, baby’s,” and hit him with the big one. “Georgie?”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Yeah, baby,” he growled. “Do it to me.”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Georgie-e-e, I want twenty-five thousand dollars.”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Give it to me, baby.” His body slammed into her. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “No, baby, you give it to me—twenty-five grand. Bring it the next time you come.” She smiled at her own pun. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&quot;I’m cu—”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Remember the pink garter belt, George?” She smiled at the picture of him that came to mind.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “And the lacy pink bra?” She knew he knew what she meant. &lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Ugh. Oh, God. Aghhhh.” His skin turned the color of beets. Sweat dripped from his face onto her breast. His mouth contorted, sucking air.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; “Do it, Georgie. Oooh, Georgie-e-e.” Sherrie bucked her hips up and down, faster, faster, trying to get it over with. But he wouldn’t or couldn’t climax. He raised himself up and continued to grunt—awful piglike grunts, like he was in pain. Not the usual guttural moans. All of a sudden his body stiffened and went into spasm. One final groan, one heaving shudder, and he collapsed on top of her.That’s more like it. “Okay, George, get off.”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; He was heavy. Sherrie pushed. He wouldn’t budge. She pushed again. Nothing moved. She was pinned down. Deadweight. It was hard to breathe. “Dammit, George, move.”&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; Deadweight? &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; That’s when she knew. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; And that’s when she screamed, and screamed, and screamed.</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-taste-of-deadly-pleasures_2889.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>3</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-7358195280338832814</guid><pubDate>Sun, 18 Aug 2013 12:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-08-18T05:42:45.264-07:00</atom:updated><title>EMERGING WRITERS POST BY LAURENCE O&#39;BRYAN</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
New post on Laurence O&#39;Bryan - No 1 Best-Selling Conspiracy Thriller Author&lt;br /&gt;
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Emerging Writers Guest Post #58 – Deadly Pleasures – Mary Firmin&lt;br /&gt;
by Laurence O&#39;Bryan &lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; MARY FIRMIN&lt;br /&gt;
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I was born in Oldham, Lancashire, and now live in Rancho Mirage, California, a Desert Community they call the Playground of Presidents. My journey has been a long and rocky one, but brimming with life experience. One day, my friend Kathleen and I decided we wanted to go on the Johnny Carson Show. Since we had no other apparent talent we were determined to become writers. We selected a class at UCLA, HOW TO WRITE THE BESTSELLER; perfect for a couple of amateurs, right?&lt;br /&gt;
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A mere twenty years later, after many many classes,&amp;nbsp;I wrote Deadly Pleasures. The idea came from a story I heard about four men who hired a prostitute to service their appetites. They installed her in a plush apartment, shared the expenses and Voila! At first, I was going to create a murder mystery around this idea, but then I asked myself, why not use four women? It would be certainly be more interesting and forbidden. So here it is!&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; DEADLY PLEASURES&lt;br /&gt;
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Disgusted with their cheating men, Megan Riley and her three friends hire a time-share lover. They choose hunky stripper, Michael Harrington, unaware he is a suspect in a series of grisly murders. Enter hot, handsome Detective Matt Donovan--and Megan falls madly in love. Donovan and his partner are investigating the gruesome killings of several young prostitutes the press are calling The Bondage Murders. In her effort to protect her friends, Megan attempts her own investigation.&lt;br /&gt;
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She ends up in some pretty outrageous situations that cause Matt Donovan to regard her as a suspect, even as he realizes he has feelings for her. During their search for the Bondage Murder, the detectives embark on a wild ride through L.A.&#39;s private sex clubs, lewd bondage parlors, and the fabulous homes and yachts of the wealthy members of the Bayside Yacht Club. Finally, it takes them to the rugged and breathtaking coastline of Catalina Island for the terrifying finale. But who will be the next to die? The intrepid Megan Riley, Real Estate Agent to the rich; Alex Grant who married her tycoon husband for his money; Rachel Feinman, pining in a loveless marriage with her screenwriter husband; or poor, pathetic Kathleen who was recently divorced by smarmy television newsman, Gino Rosario?&lt;br /&gt;
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But, who is the Bondage Murderer? And who will escape the harrowing ride and the shocking, death defying ending on the high seas?&lt;br /&gt;
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Mary&#39;s blog:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/&quot;&gt;http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Deadly Pleasures on Amazon:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://goo.gl/m6uEt&quot;&gt;http://goo.gl/m6uEt&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Deadly Pleasures book trailer 2:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://goo.gl/ZZXtyd&quot;&gt;http://goo.gl/ZZXtyd&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Welcome to the guest post slot Mary. Deadly Pleasures has a great premise. I wish you well with your writing. I hope you finally get that slot on prime time!&lt;br /&gt;
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This guest post is part of a series where I will be showcasing emerging and established authors on this blog.&lt;br /&gt;
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You can help by visiting their sites, buying their books, sharing this post on Twitter and Facebook and coming back for the next post. You can also follow this site (click the button above right), to be notified by email on who is next in a few days time.&lt;br /&gt;
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And if you are a writer and want to be featured send me an email &lt;a href=&quot;mailto:lob@yourasms.com&quot;&gt;lob@yourasms.com&lt;/a&gt; and I will send you the submission guidelines.&lt;br /&gt;
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And please support this site and the promotion of writers by buying:&amp;nbsp; The Istanbul Puzzle &amp;amp; The Jerusalem Puzzle and pre-ordering The Manhattan Puzzle.&lt;br /&gt;
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Laurence O&#39;Bryan | 2013/08/18 at 7:08 am | Tags: Deadly Pleasures, emerging writers, guest posts, Mary Firmin | Categories: Guest posts | URL: &lt;a href=&quot;http://wp.me/pRnSF-Ib&quot;&gt;http://wp.me/pRnSF-Ib&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/08/emerging-writers-post-by-laurence-obryan.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-9198857429654935196</guid><pubDate>Sun, 11 Aug 2013 19:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-08-11T12:38:59.715-07:00</atom:updated><title>A MUST READ!!  UNPUTDOWNABLE!!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
THE JERUSALEM PUZZLE&lt;br /&gt;By &lt;br /&gt;Laurence O’Bryan&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;This book is a continuation of the Istanbul Puzzle which I absolutely loved and could not put down. The transition is seamless and Mr. O’Bryan’s main character, Sean Ryan, remains a well drafted hero. I love the author’s intense descriptions of all the Holy Places. Unlike Istanbul, I have visited Jerusalem, and I know the atmosphere in this city is unlike any other in the world. Mr. O’Bryan has captured the very essence of this Holy City, where the tangled web of Religious Beliefs literally thickens the air.&amp;nbsp; When Max Kaiser, archeologist and rival associate of Ryan’s, is found murdered; and Dr. Susan Hunter, who was translating an ancient Manuscript, disappears, Sean goes on the hunt. This long lost Manuscript could change the world as we know it, and he is determined to uncover its mysteries. If you love the rip-roaring thrill of Indiana Jones, and the scientific exploration of ancient cultures, you will love this book. Dan Brown has some serious competition from this brilliant Irish author, Laurence O’Bryan, whose writing is impeccable.&amp;nbsp; As you read, you find yourself absorbing complicated facts and theories, almost by osmosis, as if you yourself were a seasoned scientist. This is a gift belonging to few writers and I salute you Mr. O’Bryan. I have already ordered my copy of The Manhattan Puzzle, due out in October, and I cannot wait for it to arrive. You who have not read either The Istanbul Puzzle or The Jerusalem Puzzle have some happy hours ahead of you. Both of these books are a must read. And then, there&#39;s The Manhattan Puzzle!&lt;br /&gt;Mary Firmin, author Deadly Pleasures.&lt;br /&gt;
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Amazon Books:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://goo.gl/nadc28&quot;&gt;http://goo.gl/nadc28&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Web Site:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://lpobryan.com/&quot;&gt;http://lpobryan.com/&lt;/a&gt; &lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-must-read-unputdownable.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4594658320993551521</guid><pubDate>Fri, 02 Aug 2013 02:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-08-01T19:17:03.922-07:00</atom:updated><title>Deadly Pleasures&#39; Five Star Reviews.</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
Review of Deadly Pleasures From Kirkus Reviews: &quot;Firmin’s first novel is a first-rate murder mystery.&quot; &quot;A swiftly paced tale of lust, seduction, duplicity and horror, Firmin’s debut easily keeps the pages turning.&quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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From Clarion Reviews: &quot;Firmin writes more like a seasoned storyteller than a debut novelist, making good use of her personal experience as a yacht club member and author of a California society column to create sympathetic nuanced portraits of the wealthy who frequent such clubs while simultaneously poking fun at their eccentricities. All of the characters have good points and foibles, complex back stories, and reasons to keep readers rooting for them. Megan’s charm and pluck, insecurities, money troubles, and battle to stay alcohol-free make her an appealing, well-rounded protagonist. The action in the story comes fast and furious, alternating between sexy and lethal, sometimes straddling both extremes at once. Although the graphic descriptions of bondage torture may make some squirm, these detailed depictions of the seedy side of the bondage lifestyle make the gruesome murders all the more chilling.&quot; Jill Allen, Clarion Reviews From Blueink &lt;br /&gt;
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Reviews: &quot;Sex and the City meets James Patterson in this tale of friendship that&#39;s peppered with enough thriller action to make Deadly Pleasures a solid guilty pleasure.&quot; - Blue Ink Reviews</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/08/deadly-pleasures-five-star-reviews.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4532631459605688319</guid><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jul 2013 20:26:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-26T13:26:35.896-07:00</atom:updated><title>A Magnificent Blending of History and Fiction!!!</title><description>The Luck of the Weissensteiners&lt;br /&gt;(A Three Nation Trilogy)&lt;br /&gt;By&lt;br /&gt;
Christoph Fischer&lt;br /&gt;
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This is a `Tale of Two Families&#39; living their lives in the era up to and during World War 2. Life is simple but always a struggle--and it is about to grow worse. No one really sees the evil heading their way, in fact most people are in denial as the Plague of Anti-Semitism creeps across Europe like a deadly fog, overtaking country after country, leaving only death and devastation in its wake. The hatred infects everyone, turns friend against friend, family against family, husband against wife. Even entire Governments corrupt and will do anything to save themselves. Mr. Fischer has created a brilliant historical novel that is still too close for comfort and some of us may find difficult to read. The Weissensteiners are a Jewish family of weavers. They are masters of their craft and create exquisite tapestries that hang on the walls of the Nobles&#39; castles and the home of one Countess in particular. Greta is one of two daughters and a son that make up Jonah Weissensteiner&#39;s family. When she meets her prince, Wilhelm Winkelemeier, a clerk in the local book store, Greta is swept off her feet and soon becomes pregnant. Eventually they marry, not knowing how this event will radically affect both of their families. Wilhelm is the first to bail out. Encouraged by his mother he takes their first born blond Aryan-looking son to cousins in Berlin, leaving a pregnant and trusting Greta with his family. Wilhelm&#39;s family,the Winkelemeiers, are farmers and as the Czechoslovakian government falls to the Nazis they see nothing wrong with expanding their holdings with confiscated Jewish neighbors&#39; land. This all sets the stage for the greed, cruelty, persecution of not only the Jews, but Gypsies, homosexuals, and even the mentally ill. Mr. Fischer includes everyone in his tale of terror about man&#39;s inhumanity to man. But the pain and humiliation does not stop after the war. Families and friends are separated and moved around Europe like so much chattel. Even though I knew the characters are not real but drawn in Mr. Fischer&#39;s fertile imagination I found myself crying with these people in their misery, and then admiring them for their commitment to life, to their children, their families and friends. I could not stop reading this book, I wanted to know the next move of every character, especially Greta, and I highly recommend it to everyone. As a child I was raised in England. We had lots of air raids and rationing and discomfort but compared to what the European Jews and all the Displaced Persons suffered in those years, we were living in luxury. In my mind, dying once was not enough for those evil men who perpetrated these crimes against the minds, bodies, and souls of an entire race of Jewish men, women and children.&lt;br /&gt;Mary Firmin, author Deadly Pleasures. &lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-magnificent-blending-of-history-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-7054224582930843112</guid><pubDate>Fri, 19 Jul 2013 18:38:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-19T11:38:42.042-07:00</atom:updated><title>Compelling!  Intriguing!  Mindblowing!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
Schreiber&#39;s Secret&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;by&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Roger Radford&lt;br /&gt;
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Hi Friends,&lt;br /&gt;
I have just finished reading and reviewing Schreiber&#39;s Secrets by Roger Radford. I found it Compelling, Intriguing, and Mindblowing.&amp;nbsp;The story&amp;nbsp;begins in WW2 and&amp;nbsp;moves effortlessly to Modern Day London and back.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;If you like thrillers that carry an important message this is the one for you.&amp;nbsp; Mary.&lt;br /&gt;
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Compelling!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Roger Radford is a brilliant writer who has given us a front row seat to the atrocities the Nazis committed in World War 2. His vivid and graphic description of the actions of one man in one camp at Theresienstadt, near Prague, is an appalling indictment of man&#39;s inhumanity. The actions of SS officer Hans Schreiber are intolerable beyond imagining.&lt;br /&gt;
Intriguing!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;The prologue, set in Theresienstadt, switches to a horrific murder in London of the mid-nineties. The police are baffled by the mutilation of the body. When it is followed by yet another crime, equally brutal and with many similarities, they think they might have a serial killer on their hands. A young crime reporter, Mark Edwards, takes an interest in the case and begins to delve into the details. Meanwhile, Danielle Green, a magazine journalist, interviews a certain Henry Sonntag, ostensibly one of the inmates of Theresienstadt, who has come forward to tell his story. Mark and the beautiful Danielle&#39;s paths cross, and despite their religious and cultural disparities, they begin a romantic relationship. But will their love be enough to survive these differences, and the case that comes to dominate their lives?&lt;br /&gt;
Mind-blowing!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Where this dynamic plot takes you next is beyond praise, and rates it a mystery/thriller of the highest caliber! Mark goes back to Germany, the land of his ancestors, to research the family roots of Hans Schreiber. He seeks to solve the conundrum set by two men, defendant and accuser, fighting it out in London&#39;s Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. Mark finally uncovers the identity of the serial killer and reveals Hans Schreiber&#39;s stunning secret. As he uncovers the truth, we get a snapshot of today&#39;s Germany and how the Germans have survived in the aftermath of such a grotesque history.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;When you are finished with this thriller, you may have more questions than answers. But you will see with a clear eye the pack mentality of a people with the same mindset, and no moral compass. You will learn what happens when the world turns its eyes away from atrocities. This unforgettable book works on so many levels that no praise is too high. I would give it ten stars if I could.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;Mary Firmin, author Deadly Pleasures. </description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/07/compelling-intriguing-mindblowing.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-5708933330248672519</guid><pubDate>Mon, 08 Jul 2013 19:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-07-08T12:27:33.771-07:00</atom:updated><title>A Fascinating Read!!</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
I would&amp;nbsp; highly recommend this book, especially if you are a Spiritual Seeker. &lt;br /&gt;
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Pieces of You&lt;br /&gt;
By Joyce Elferdink &lt;br /&gt;
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This is a compelling story and not to be taken lightly. The author has done an incredible job of posing the Eternal Questions about Life, Death, and the Afterlife. The writing is skilled and her manipulation of time quite remarkable. If you are interested in some of the answers to Life’s Big Questions, you will love this book.&lt;br /&gt;
Janine and Mark have only just met online, and barely had time to let their budding romance blossom, when Mark is suddenly taken ill. He is suffering from kidney failure and is paralyzed and unable to communicate. This comes as a complete shock to Janine but she is determined to remain loyal and support him in any way she can.&lt;br /&gt;
In his coma state, Mark is taken on a Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carol kind of journey. Led by a friendly ghost named Zachri, Mark is taken through his PAST, through all the horrors of the Vietnam War, the deaths of his buddies, and the regrets he harbors even today. He is then taken through Social Horrors of the PRESENT, and eventually shown how his tenuous yet growing feelings for Janine will feature in his FUTURE. The author aims to capture a whole array of truths and I admire her dedication to this task. This is a complex and heartfelt book and will require you to answer many questions about your own Truth. Finally, Mark gets a sweet snapshot of the Afterlife and is asked to decide between Heaven and Janine. What would you do?&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin, Deadly Pleasures.&lt;br /&gt;
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To Purchase Pieces of You:&lt;br /&gt;
Amazon:&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://goo.gl/zrbWV&quot;&gt;http://goo.gl/zrbWV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-fascinating-read.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4130827603598876528</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:02:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-25T13:04:43.469-07:00</atom:updated><title> Review of Relics by R.D. Shah</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; WHAT A FANTASTIC PREMISE!!!&lt;br /&gt;
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I could not put this book down from the moment I began to read it. There are so many twists and turns in the plot that by the time I neared the end, I did not even know who the bad guys were let alone guess what they were up to. The author remains true to the History of The Church but creates his own machinations to further entice and enthrall us. Having spent some time in Rome myself, I know that Mr. Shah&#39;s descriptions capture the very essence of the Holy City. I am always concious of not revealing too much of the plot when I write a review, I would not want to deprive anyone of this exciting roller coaster ride. This is a must read. I cannot wait for Mr. Shah&#39;s next book. I only hope it is a sequel to this one.&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin, author Deadly Pleasures. </description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/06/review-of-relics-by-rd-shah.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-638304812099877699</guid><pubDate>Tue, 25 Jun 2013 20:01:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-06-25T13:01:43.422-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description></description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/06/blog-post.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-1604162320129595274</guid><pubDate>Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-28T13:09:20.443-07:00</atom:updated><title>Review of Memoirs from the Asylum</title><description>&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Emotional and terrifying!!!&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;A&amp;nbsp;Five Star Rating.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;br /&gt;
I&amp;nbsp;read Kenneth Weene&#39;s&amp;nbsp;intriguing book, Memoirs from the Asylum, at the end of last year. Not only was&amp;nbsp;it a fascinating read, the writing was incredibly good. Mr. Weene&#39;s points of view were of both patients and staff in a mental hospital. He&amp;nbsp;displays such insight you feel like you are completely in their minds, which at times is a terrifying place. What an uncomfortable feeling to hear the thoughts of the patients through the conversations playing out in their heads,&amp;nbsp;to see and feel how they act out their frustrations to such thoughts. Very often we hear in the minds of the Doctors and Staff, self-serving snippets, generally found in the&amp;nbsp;ones who hold the power. This book takes you on a journey through the modern day&amp;nbsp;insane asylum and&amp;nbsp;makes you wonder how much progress we have made over the years. It seems like there are no happy endings in the real lives of these patients and we worry&amp;nbsp;about what happens to them in the end. &lt;br /&gt;
Thank you, Kenneth Weene, for bringing it to our attention. I&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin, author of Deadly Pleasures.&lt;br /&gt;
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Memoirs from the Asylum is available in Paperback and Kindle. Link below. &lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-from-the-Asylum-ebook/dp/B004FN1VL0/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1364500729&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Memoirs+from+the+Asylum&quot;&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-from-the-Asylum-ebook/dp/B004FN1VL0/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_kin?s=books&amp;amp;ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1364500729&amp;amp;sr=1-1&amp;amp;keywords=Memoirs+from+the+Asylum&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/03/review-of-memoirs-from-asylum.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-3675262016950080459</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:15:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-20T14:22:30.156-07:00</atom:updated><title>Review of Instanbul Puzzle </title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
Since this is my first review on my blog, I wanted to bring&amp;nbsp;you something special.&amp;nbsp; This a fabulous book. Fortunately, the second book, Jerusalem Puzzle is equally good, and my expectations for Manhattan Puzzle, still in the works, is extremely high. Here is a talented new writer and I wish to introduce you to him.&amp;nbsp; Mr. O&#39;Bryan has informed us on his blog that Instanbul Puzzle has been optioned for a&amp;nbsp;movie and I am delighted at the news. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THE INSTANBUL PUZZLE&lt;br /&gt;
By&lt;br /&gt;
Laurence O&#39;Bryan&lt;br /&gt;
Within two pages of the beginning I knew this was a book I would be unable to put down. And I was right! It is literally full of all the subjects I love to read about: exotic places, religious intrigue, secret passages, ancient parchments, romance and murder. Mr. O&#39;Bryan keeps the story moving through every single page until you are breathless. Sean Ryan has not heard from his friend and colleague, Alek Zegliwski, for several days and he is more than a little worried. When he is contacted by the British Consulate in Instanbul, the news is not good. Sean decides to travel to Turkey in search of his friend. Author O&#39;Bryan&#39;s descriptions of the Turkish city and its inhabitants are first rate and the plot moves inexorably until the final sentence. Here is a new author who is ready and able to match anyone in storytelling. This book is well written, I could find little or nothing to criticize, in fact I enjoyed every single minute of it. I have purchased Mr. O&#39;Bryan&#39;s second book, the Jerusalem Puzzle, and cannot wait to get at it. If it is anything like this one, I will have to reserve a whole day to read it and finish it. Well done, Mr. O&#39;Bryan.&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin, Deadly Pleasures. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You can learn more about Laurence O&#39;Brian and purchase his books at:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.amazon.com/Laurence-OBryan/e/B005XIJDXY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1363814214&amp;amp;sr=1-1</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/03/review-of-instanbul-puzzle.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-5675589241709037253</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-20T14:22:45.604-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/The-Istanbul-Puzzle-ebook/dp/B005S9KQ8Y/ref=tmm_kin_title_0&quot;&gt;http://www.amazon.com/The-Istanbul-Puzzle-ebook/dp/B005S9KQ8Y/ref=tmm_kin_title_0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/03/httpwww.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4713894337630843405</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:04:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-20T14:22:45.597-07:00</atom:updated><title>A Fabulous Read</title><description>This is my first choice for my first review. I loved this book, and the good part is that Mr. O&#39;Bryan has also published Jerusalem Puzzle and is planning on writing the Manhattan Puzzle. Just recently, Mr. O&#39;Bryan announce he has just sold the movie rights to Instanbul Puzzle, so we have that to look forward to; presumably the other two books will follow suit.&amp;nbsp;Please ead this book.&amp;nbsp; Mary&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; THE INSTANBUL PUZZLE&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Laurence O&#39;Bryan&lt;/div&gt;
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Within two pages of the beginning I knew this was a book I would be unable to put down. And I was right! It is literally full of all the subjects I love to read about: exotic places, religious intrigue, secret passages, ancient parchments, romance and murder. Mr. O&#39;Bryan keeps the story moving through every single page until you are breathless. Sean Ryan has not heard from his friend and colleague, Alek Zegliwski, for several days and he is more than a little worried. When he is contacted by the British Consulate in Instanbul, the news is not good. Sean decides to travel to Turkey in search of his friend. Author O&#39;Bryan&#39;s descriptions of the Turkish city and its inhabitants are first rate and the plot moves inexorably until the final sentence. Here is a new author who is ready and able to match anyone in storytelling. This book is well written, I could find little or nothing to criticize, in fact I enjoyed every single minute of it. I have purchased Mr. O&#39;Bryan&#39;s second book, the Jerusalem Puzzle, and cannot wait to get at it. If it is anything like this one, I will have to reserve a whole day to read it and finish it. Well done, Mr. O&#39;Bryan.&lt;br /&gt;Mary Firmin, Deadly Pleasures. &lt;br /&gt;
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</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-fabulous-read.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-3745377971406352066</guid><pubDate>Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:20:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-19T13:20:54.597-07:00</atom:updated><title>Book Reviews by Mary Firmin</title><description>Hello to all my followers.&lt;br /&gt;
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I have not posted for a while because&amp;nbsp;I am working on my second book, DEADLY SECRETS. My first book is still doing very well on Amazon, especially on Kindle.&amp;nbsp; Deadly Pleasures garnered many awards and I received wonderful&amp;nbsp;support from my Desert Community.&amp;nbsp; I have recently sold two short stories to a Canadian Publisher for the anthology, THE SPEED OF DARK . It will be available for sale in a couple of weeks. I write this today to let you know that I am reading lots of good books and writing reviews for most of the ones some of you might like to read.&amp;nbsp;From time to time&amp;nbsp;I will pass these reviews on to you and hopefully you will check them out on Amazon. Thanks for your continued interest in my writing. &lt;br /&gt;
All the very best,&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin&lt;br /&gt;
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We have already received 4 rave reviews for The Speed of Dark,&amp;nbsp;an anthology&amp;nbsp;by 19 popular authors including 2 #horror stories by Mary Firmin.&lt;br /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://thecontrarycanadian.wordpress.co/&quot;&gt;http://thecontrarycanadian.wordpress.co&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-reviews-by-mary-firmin.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-3953540558008810260</guid><pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-01-22T10:49:22.496-08:00</atom:updated><title>&quot;HOT BOOK ON READER&#39;S DEN&quot;</title><description>Happy Monday Morning to Everyone.&lt;br /&gt;
Many exciting things have been happening for me and for the book. Reader&#39;s Den just awarded Deadly Pleasures &quot;HOT BOOK&quot; status. I am in the top 100 Indie Books, top 10% on Amazon Kindle, and the top 10% on softcover books out of 8 million books. &amp;nbsp;I know that Bill would be delighted if he were here to see it. I am looking forward to having my family for Thanksgiving and I wish you all a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING! &amp;nbsp;The Holidays look really exciting because of my grandson, Charlie, who just turned two years old. I just gave him a Kindle Fire for his birthday. By the time he is three he will be ready for &amp;nbsp;an Apple tablet. Thank you all for helping to make Deadly Pleasures such a success. I am working on Deadly Secrets as we speak. &lt;br /&gt;
All the best,&lt;br /&gt;
Mary Firmin&lt;br /&gt;
Reader&#39;s Den:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;http://www.thereadersden.com/bookshelf/deadly-pleasures/&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkG4ho4IhTaZNEXlTYV_ecBAS7iGSJGBRyT9jFeOWWxm9ohXixW3QfPGT0Gv12X8IXivu_IMyKclx8AHrC5LvFf1Ywj0g4Id4yXxTMKVgux4gGfCsMDyfbyv8K9V28Q4zFReBFiYs4PY/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkG4ho4IhTaZNEXlTYV_ecBAS7iGSJGBRyT9jFeOWWxm9ohXixW3QfPGT0Gv12X8IXivu_IMyKclx8AHrC5LvFf1Ywj0g4Id4yXxTMKVgux4gGfCsMDyfbyv8K9V28Q4zFReBFiYs4PY/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/10/hot-book-on-readers-den.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkG4ho4IhTaZNEXlTYV_ecBAS7iGSJGBRyT9jFeOWWxm9ohXixW3QfPGT0Gv12X8IXivu_IMyKclx8AHrC5LvFf1Ywj0g4Id4yXxTMKVgux4gGfCsMDyfbyv8K9V28Q4zFReBFiYs4PY/s72-c/deadlypleasures.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>8</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-4914791393471410601</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2012 03:44:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-10-28T22:09:29.599-07:00</atom:updated><title>BOOK OF THE WEEK AT READER&#39;S DEN</title><description>Hi everyone,&lt;br /&gt;
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It is so great to see my book popping up all over the place and I just wanted to share with everyone that it got Book of the Week at The Reader&#39;s Den. You can check it out by going to this link:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.thereadersden.com/book-of-the-week-2/&quot;&gt;http://www.thereadersden.com/book-of-the-week-2/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Thank you for all your support!&lt;br /&gt;
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Mary</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/09/book-of-week-at-readers-den_25.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-6687267689958928227</guid><pubDate>Wed, 05 Sep 2012 16:52:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-09-05T16:12:00.718-07:00</atom:updated><title>Deadly Pleasures won a Gold Medal!!!!</title><description>Hi Everyone,&lt;br /&gt;
I am so pleased to tell you that my book Deadly Pleasures won first place, a gold medal, in the mystery&amp;nbsp;category in the Readers Favorites International Book Contest. I was so excited when I made it to the top five finalists but I didn&#39;t think I would actually win. &lt;br /&gt;
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Check out this cool gold star I have from Reader&#39;s Favorites and if you haven&#39;t got your copy of Deadly Pleasures yet you can grab the kindle copy for .99 here:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Pleasures-Mary-Firmin/dp/1462042376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1346863836&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=Deadly+Pleasures&quot;&gt;http://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Pleasures-Mary-Firmin/dp/1462042376/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;qid=1346863836&amp;amp;sr=8-1&amp;amp;keywords=Deadly+Pleasures&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_nYqrw4_DerrhAGfwpH4pFErcRGMhUg8M8tY3Dy-icUYa4qrE5gDKksdyykCSzr1mJvjBv_moEvGgurak9MDIWW3RtyrUCqvdWuSXFdVIMrrbpUZ2-AMuHCkNH8kdW2iN6YWxAXcG98/s1600/goldheader.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_nYqrw4_DerrhAGfwpH4pFErcRGMhUg8M8tY3Dy-icUYa4qrE5gDKksdyykCSzr1mJvjBv_moEvGgurak9MDIWW3RtyrUCqvdWuSXFdVIMrrbpUZ2-AMuHCkNH8kdW2iN6YWxAXcG98/s1600/goldheader.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/09/my-book-won-gold-in-readers-favorite.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_nYqrw4_DerrhAGfwpH4pFErcRGMhUg8M8tY3Dy-icUYa4qrE5gDKksdyykCSzr1mJvjBv_moEvGgurak9MDIWW3RtyrUCqvdWuSXFdVIMrrbpUZ2-AMuHCkNH8kdW2iN6YWxAXcG98/s72-c/goldheader.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-7477598498756490313</guid><pubDate>Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-08-31T07:50:51.505-07:00</atom:updated><title>Some cool new reviews for Deadly Pleasures</title><description>I would like to invite you all to check out some new reviews that I have seen for Deadly Pleasures. This one the blogger picks who she would like to see play the roles of each character. See if you agree or disagree with her here:&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://julieschicklit.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-deadly-pleasures-by-mary-firmin.html&quot;&gt;http://julieschicklit.blogspot.com/2012/08/review-deadly-pleasures-by-mary-firmin.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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Then I found this surprising one at The PM Show with Philippe Mathews, I am so excited that all the promoting &amp;nbsp;I am doing is paying off and some people are finding my book and mentioning it on their shows!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;http://thepmshow.tv/my-reviews/deadly-pleasures-by-mary-firmin/&quot;&gt;http://thepmshow.tv/my-reviews/deadly-pleasures-by-mary-firmin/&lt;/a&gt;
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Now I need &amp;nbsp;to put the hammer down and finish writing Deadly Secrets!</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/08/some-cool-new-reviews-for-deadly.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-7897182814220230685</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-07-18T11:17:50.134-07:00</atom:updated><title>AWARDS FOR DEADLY PLEASURES</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
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&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Yeah! Deadly Pleasures is a winner!&lt;/h2&gt;
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Hi Friends,&lt;br /&gt;
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I want you to know that Deadly Pleasures has been selected as one of the top 100 Indie Books of 2012. It is thanks to all of you who have purchased the book and given me fabulous reviews. Please check the professional reviews below.&amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white;&quot;&gt;&quot;Firmin writes more like a seasoned storyteller than a debut novelist,...Deadly Pleasures &amp;nbsp;is recommended for readers who like to be both titillated and entertained. Ones certainly hopes that the author, an iUniverse Rising Star, has more naughty novels up her sleeves.&quot; Jill Allen, Clarion Reviews. (Five star review)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white;&quot;&gt;&quot;Firmin&#39;s first novel is a first-rate murder mystery...swiftly paced tale of lust, seduction, duplicity and horror, Firmin&#39;s debut easily keeps the pages turning.&quot; Kirkus Reviews&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
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&quot;Sex and the City meets James Patterson in this tale of friendship that&#39;s peppered with enough thriller action to make Deadly Pleasures a solid guilty pleasure.&quot; Blueink Reviews&lt;br /&gt;
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Deadly Pleasures doesn&#39;t rely on gimmicks. Firmin writes with authority. Fully developed characters keep the story moving. -Reviewed by Doris Parmett, National Best-selling author of Lies, Risk, and 11 other novels.&lt;br /&gt;
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&quot;There is a nice balance between romance and mystery making this a great read. I always enjoy a good mystery and I am looking forward to more of Firmin&#39;s books as this is one of the best mysteries I have read!&quot; -Kristie from Readers Favorite&lt;br /&gt;
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&quot;While I&#39;ve been struck by her abundant humor, I am a little ill at ease, how Mary Firmin, most evidently a woman, managed to acquire such intimate details of America&#39;s deepest abysmal levels of human depravity. If you are excited by murder, mutilations, SM or practically any other sign of human degeneracy, then this book is for you.&quot; -Stan Law&lt;br /&gt;
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&quot;A detective story with some powerful sado-masochism, Deadly Pleasures is set in the Hollywood lifestyle complete with wealth, yachts, trips to Catalina. It is filled with hot guys and hungry women. There&#39;s love, even love that fulfills and there is lots of infidelity. Best of all, it&#39;s well written. The mystery holds your attention, the characters matter, and the pages keep turning along with the twisting clues.&quot; -Kenneth A. Weene&lt;br /&gt;
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Men don&#39;t let the cover fool you check out the two reviews above that are from men! It&#39;s a great murder mystery that men and women both can enjoy! Get yourself a copy today! Amazon, Kindle, B&amp;amp;N&lt;br /&gt;
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Best Regards,&lt;br /&gt;
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Mary Firmin&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/07/awards-for-deadly-pleasures.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s72-c/deadlypleasures.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>2</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-684412500563568091</guid><pubDate>Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:58:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2013-03-20T14:22:45.609-07:00</atom:updated><title>NEW AWARD FOR DEADLY PLEASURES</title><description>&lt;div class=&quot;separator&quot; style=&quot;clear: both; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s1600/deadlypleasures.jpg&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0L7f2yLJaN_25euLjWDjeLS5miajQ9j81ZgxuPJtWFU0aH4oadMp184T9Cd9mQ2hpnQb1zwVzUSI6j8EatBfiBd_1sV6LhgxVz_lTqWlt5d98Z1xMA-Pb2eSjNqEWpDvQiNCTloVuFNk/s1600/CONTEST+BADGE+SEMI+FINALIST.png&quot; imageanchor=&quot;1&quot; style=&quot;clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;&quot;&gt;&lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0L7f2yLJaN_25euLjWDjeLS5miajQ9j81ZgxuPJtWFU0aH4oadMp184T9Cd9mQ2hpnQb1zwVzUSI6j8EatBfiBd_1sV6LhgxVz_lTqWlt5d98Z1xMA-Pb2eSjNqEWpDvQiNCTloVuFNk/s1600/CONTEST+BADGE+SEMI+FINALIST.png&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;Dear Friends,&lt;/h3&gt;
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I would like to let you know that Deadly Pleasures&amp;nbsp;&lt;/h3&gt;
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been awarded one of the top 100 Indie Books in 2012. &amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white;&quot;&gt;I am so proud of this accomplishment and want to thank all of your for making it possible.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h3&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-award-for-deadly-pleasures.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpEXCMU-lBwNYWmTWRRK5rNoNi0Ejwpn8i_HUY41qJe8xoWLFzoW3Gdlk9eAJDDKGA3vgVdDD1dBgllhagqvEJcxHQZTI9SszOqF-NNz90GE4EjXJ1n6FgGr-K5HWL5hIJ-sw6vug-ESQ/s72-c/deadlypleasures.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-5778124221580017507</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2012 01:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-07-15T18:27:12.745-07:00</atom:updated><title>A FUN REVIEW FOR DEADLY PLEASURES</title><description>&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-tab-span&quot; style=&quot;white-space: pre;&quot;&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Stan Law reviewed Deadly Pleasures&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;Deadly and most enticing Pleasures July 9, 2012&lt;br /&gt;
While I&#39;ve been struck by her abundant humor, I am a little ill at ease, how Mary Firmin, most evidently a woman, managed to acquire such intimate details of America&#39;s deepest abysmal levels of human depravity. If you are excited by murder, mutilations, SM or practically any other sign of human degeneracy, then this book is for you. If you like to look at all of the above with a wink and a tickle, than tickled you will be by Mary&#39;s frequent ventures into the realm of sardonic if often explosive bouts of humor. &quot;She was obsessed with her wieght, she survived solely on lettuce and Champagne.&quot; Don&#39;t you just love that turn of phrase?&lt;br /&gt;
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Either way, unless you are a vehement prude, you are going to enjoy this escapade. And if you are, don&#39;t show your copy to your wife. She&#39;ll only steal it to read it herself.&lt;br /&gt;
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As for ladies who&#39;d venture to read this book, well you are also going to enjoy romance. First timid, shy, then, gradually fulminating into a conflagration... you&#39;d better read it for yourself.&lt;br /&gt;
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Only please, Mary Firmin, do tell me that you did not do all the research yourself; and if you did, I hope you were wearing a bulletproof vest and a chastity belt. As for the four principal ladies in her novel, well, I am just a bit sorry that I am of an age that I could no longer qualify as their exclusive boytoy. Now that would be a hilarious experience.&lt;br /&gt;
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Stan I.S. Law, author of One Just Man&lt;br /&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/07/fun-review-for-deadly-pleasures.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-5493476773210888623</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 2012 18:07:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-06-26T13:50:13.557-07:00</atom:updated><title>Review of Deadly Pleasures by Micki Peluso</title><description>If you would like to read Micki&#39;s review connect with the link below. &amp;nbsp;Thanks everyone and I am so grateful for all these wonderful reviews. &amp;nbsp;Mary.&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.mallie1025.blogspot.com/&amp;nbsp;&lt;/a&gt;</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/06/review-of-deadly-pleasures-by-micki.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-2151455805298006162</guid><pubDate>Wed, 13 Jun 2012 02:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-06-12T19:29:53.570-07:00</atom:updated><title>Review of Deadly Pleasures by Marilou George</title><description>If you would like to read this review please click on the link below. &amp;nbsp;Thanks everyone, Mary Firmin&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;http://confessionsofreader.blogspot.com/2012/06/deadly-pleasures-by-mary-firmin.html?spref=tw</description><link>http://maryfirmin.blogspot.com/2012/06/new-review-by-marilou-george.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Mary Firmin)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1242980703630387928.post-7089800111540426924</guid><pubDate>Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:29:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-06-05T19:35:50.597-07:00</atom:updated><title>Review by Brenda Sorrels</title><description>&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; DEADLY PLEASURES&lt;br /&gt;
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If you want a great ride, something exciting and fast paced, then this is the perfect book to read. Things heat up right away in the opening scene where a drugged-up prostitute, Sherrie, (red garter belt and lace) is having sex with her trick, George. George is a member of the Bayside Yacht Club where our protagonist, Megan Riley and her three rich girlfriends hang out. Between grunts, groans and lots of sweat, George studies a framed photograph of Sherrie with her close friend, another prostitute named Allison, who was brutally murdered six months prior. George dies in ecstasy having an orgasm with Sherrie and the women of the Yacht Club are about to be pulled into a murder mystery!&amp;nbsp;As prostitutes continue to turn up dead, things ramp up even more and the Yacht Club ladies, as an antidote to their cheating husbands and boring lifestyle, hire a boy-toy. Megan, a struggling real estate agent and recovering alcoholic, is a breath of fresh air in the group and goes along only because of their friendship. There is a taste of reality TV in the superficiality, the cattiness, the whining. I could picture all of the women, except Megan, on “The Housewives of Orange County!” The boy-toy thing was amusing and a gutsy turn on the double standard. The plot thickens when their boy-toy turns out to be the suspected killer.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; Enter Matt Donovan an LAPD detective, widower and all-around good guy who is determined to find the horrific murderer….(victims are mutilated, their right breasts cut off) Megan and Matt are soon an item. The ride continues… on and off yachts, into the world of sadomasochism - scenes all vividly described and well rendered, very real. I admit I did learn something here. There was one “club” that was located in a house on top of a hill and people had to take a tram and have a password in order to get in. It was a party like I’ve never seen and reminded me of that Tom Cruise/Nicole Kidman movie “Eyes Wide Shut.”&lt;br /&gt;
The story never loses it’s roller-coaster pace and there is a thrilling scene in the end set on one of the yachts that left me on the edge of my seat. The ending was my favorite part of the book. All of the loose ends came together and all of the scenes paid off in a satisfying way. So, take your e-reader on the plane or grab your towel and hit the beach. Let “Deadly Pleasures” engage and entertain you in a really fun way!&lt;br /&gt;
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