Monday, September 25, 2017

In the Stars by Zanna MacKenzie - #review


One desperate phone call is all it takes to turn Amber’s previously dull day into one speeding scarily out of control!

Amber Reed’s at work making up the horoscopes for the local newspaper and wishing for some excitement in her life, when she gets a phone call offering her just that.


Plunged into the middle of a celebrity murder investigation she’s desperately trying to convince the scarily handsome special agent assigned to solve the case that she can help him catch the killer.   Amber’s soon battling something far more dangerous than she could ever have imagined – and it has nothing to do with the equally scary chemistry fizzing between her and special agent Charlie.

Is it Amber’s wish for more excitement in her life which has landed her in big trouble – or is her fate written in the stars?

In The Stars is part of the fun, romantic Amber Reed Mystery series:

In The Stars (book 1)
On Trial ( book 1.5)
Precious (book 2)
Forever Mine (book 3)
Past Perfect (book 4)
Stop The Beat (book 5)
Paradise Lost (book 6)


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MY REVIEW

Is it me, or do books set in the UK (especially if written by British authors), have a totally different 'feel' from books set in the US and written by US authors?  But that's a very good thing, because it allows us to enjoy both Downton Abbey and Roots.  (Yeah, I know most of us are probably more familiar with the tv versions, but both were inspired by, or taken directly from books.)

This is my first experience with a book by Zanna MacKenzie, and if the list of books in the series hadn't been provided, I probably would have had to track them down and add them myself, because I have got to find out what happens next (and after that and after that)!  Amber is a great heroine.  She is very loyal to her friends, as evidenced by her undertaking to help out in the investigation into the murder of her college-boyfriend-turned-movie-heartthrob (Ennis's) brother (Joel), even though it initially is out of her comfort zone and eventually downright dangerous!

It's also fun watching (reading?) Amber's internal dialog about her 'possible' attraction to CCIA agent Charlie.  Like when she stumbles upon a badly injured man and when Charlie arrives on the scene, touches her hand or shoulder to see if she's ok and Amber thinks something akin to "Oooooh, that feels nice...wait a minute, what am I thinking?!?!?!)  Ditto when they *ahem* creatively gain access to the quarry offices after hours.  And the whole 'pretending to be a couple' business so Charlie can investigate on the sly is funny and totally wonderful.

Despite all the humor (or is that because of), the mystery and whodunit is also very engaging.  So what does the future hold for Amber (a little astrology humor there)?  Well, I don't know, but I can't wait to find out!

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MEET THE AUTHOR



I live in the UK (Derbyshire/ Leicestershire border) with my husband, 5 dogs, a vegetable patch that’s home to far too many weeds and an ever expanding library of books waiting to be read

Being a freelance writer and editor of business publications is my ‘day job’ but, at every opportunity, I can be found scribbling down notes on scenes for whatever novel I’m working on. I love it when the characters in my novels take on minds of their own and start deviating from the original plot.

I enjoy walking the dogs, gardening and reading.

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Click on the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to more reviews of In the Stars by Zanna MacKenzie.  You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for featuring my book. I'm so pleased you enjoyed reading In The Stars; thanks very much for the lovely review!!!! Best wishes, Zanna

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