Friday, May 1, 2020

Anchored By Death Blog Tour: Book Review + Giveaway

**I was given a copy of this book for free. I was not required to give a favorable review nor was any money received for this review. All comments and opinions are my own.

About the Book

Book:  Anchored by Death
Author: Catherine Finger
Genre:  Christian Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: June, 2017


Police Chief Jo Oliver needed a little time to herself. But when her escape to Wisconsin turns deadly, she teams up with FBI agent Nick Vitarello, hoping to catch the Bow Tie Killer. Their romantic past and complicated present leads them into uncharted territory as they match wits with a psychopath bent on destroying everything they hold dear.



Click here to get your copy.

About the Author


Catherine Finger loves to dream, write, and tell stories. Retired from a wonderful career in public education, she celebrates the ability to choose how to spend her time in a new way during the second half of life. So far, she chooses to write books, ride horses, serve others, and generally find her way into and out of trouble both on the road and at home.  She lives in the Midwest with a warm and wonderful combination of family and friends.

More from Catherine

Thank you for your interest in the Jo Oliver thriller series. Today we celebrate Anchored by Death—book three in the series. The basic plot for this book came as a result of an FBI workshop I attended on how profilers track killers. A particular method was presented that really stuck with me. As I thought it over, I had the idea to combine a map of Wisconsin with the tracking technique I had learned, and I actually built the crime scenes around the theory. I then created a killer who would do the sorts of things I had mapped out, and in that order. This was a satisfying challenge for Josie and I enjoyed my research jaunts throughout Wisconsin while writing the chase and takedown scenes.
When Josie’s off the clock and spending time with family and friends, you can catch our heroine in the kitchen. Ever since her infamous Flourless Chocolate Cake appeared in Anchored by Death, fans have requested the recipe. For the epicurean readers, here is the recipe she used when preparing this special treat:
Ingredients:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 ½ sticks butter
¼ salt
6 eggs, room temp
1 ½ cups sugar (white granulated or brown will do)
Confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder for dusting top and cake stand
How To:
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare springform or regular round pans with nonstick spray or butter and flour.
Melt chocolate, butter, and salt—microwave will work in a pinch—or add all to heatproof bowl and place over small saucepan of simmering water to melt without burning. Set aside to cool
Beat eggs and sugar until light and thickened, around 6-8 minutes. Fold in melted chocolate mixture until completely combined.
Pour batter into buttered and floured cake pan—springform or regular round—and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 90 minutes, until a toothpick comes out wet but relatively clean.
Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cocoa—Jo used a stencil for a quick and pretty design.
Thanks again for celebrating Anchored by Death—and know that I appreciate you. Readers are a special breed. As a lover of the written word and an author, I invite you to enjoy the read.

My Thoughts

When I first started reading Anchored by Death, I must admit that I did not realize that this book was part of a series. It is in fact book number three in the author's Jo Oliver thriller series. I very quickly figured this out. While there are some series that can be picked up at any time in the series without issue, I feel like this is one that you are most likely going to want to start from the beginning. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good story on it's own... but I certainly felt as if I were picking up in the middle. I found that I was unable to connect with the characters as I would have liked. There was a bit of backstory given, of course... but I do feel like there was a lot I was missing as well. While I didn't dislike the book, I feel I could have liked it a lot more had I connected with the characters better, and I am certain that would have come from reading the previous books in the series.

Still, there was a lot of positive going on in the story too. I always love a good suspense story, so that aspect definitely appealed to me. There was a bit of romance, but again I felt like this was one of those areas in which you really needed to read previous books to understand... as the relationship between the two was clearly established before this book! It was intriguing though, and I definitely will want to go back and see their whole story! There was also a strong Christian element in this story... perhaps more than others in the genre. We see the characters praying a lot (common in this type of book), but even moreso I feel like it really shows the power of those prayers.

Overall, it was a good read with the potential to be even better. I'd recommend it to fans of Christian suspense... but definitely suggest starting from the beginning to get the full appreciation for it. 


Blog Stops

Betti Mace, April 27
Holly Jo Morris, April 27
Older & Smarter?, April 28

Giveaway


To celebrate her tour, Catherine is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

4 Comments:

  1. Another great book to discover. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This sounds like a very good read.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks so much for sharing a book description and giveaway also. Sounds great!

    ReplyDelete

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