D. M. Barr

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

Grace Pierrepoint Rendell is the only child of an elderly billionaire. She has also been treated for paranoia since she was child. That hasn't stopped her from getting married and having children of her own. After she decided to secretly stop taking her meds she begins to suspect that her husband is planning to murder her for her inheritance after her father dies. Grace knows that no one will believe her due to her mental health issues. So she comes up with a plan. With the help of famous mystery writer Lynn Andrews, Grace plans on writing a book about a women in exactly the same circumstances as her. That way her husband can't follow through on his plans without implicating himself. But when Lynn is murdered, Grace is discovered standing over her body by Lynn's brother, Hack. With the help of some new friends it is up to grace to solve the murder and complete her book before she is accused of murder or worse, murdered herself.

This book was engaging and entertaining. Well I was able to guess the book's ending early on, I still enjoyed this story.… (meer)

Grace Pierrepoint Rendell, the only child of an ailing billionaire, has been treated for paranoia since childhood. When she secretly quits her meds, she begins to suspect that once her father passes, her husband will murder her for her inheritance. Realizing that no one will believe the ravings of a supposed psychotic, she devises a creative way to save herself—she will write herself out of danger, authoring a novel with the heroine in exactly the same circumstances, thus subtly exposing her husband's scheme to the world. She hires acclaimed author Lynn Andrews to help edit her literary insurance policy, but when Lynn is murdered, Grace is discovered standing over the bloody remains. The clock is ticking: can she write and publish her manuscript before she is strapped into a straitjacket, accused of homicide, or lowered six feet under?

With a cast of secondary characters whose challenges mirror Grace's own, Saving Grace is, at its core, an allegory for the struggle of the marginalized to be heard and live life on their own terms.… (meer)

In Murder Worth The Weight, author D.M. Barr weaves an intriguing romantic suspense tale that follows a young woman's determination to use her investigative reporter position, and as a passionate crusader against discrimination especially body shaming, to solve a pattern of weight-loss industry murders.

Camarin Torres is a recent NYU graduate with a degree in journalism and prelaw. After Camarin stopped a fat-shamer on a train platform, she met Lyle Fletcher, an ex-lawyer turned new owner/publisher of Trend fashion magazine on the train. Lyle was intrigued by her passion to make a difference as a anti-discrimination body acceptance crusader. He tells her that the magazine is going in a different editorial direction, and he offers her the position as an investigative reporter. When Camarin starts to research a recent weight-loss clinic owner's murder in Chicago, she discovers a pattern of gruesome weight-loss and body-shamer murders that occur in the cities that weight-loss evangelist Terry Mangel's Feel Good About Yourself revival events were held. As Camarin delves into Mangel's world against Lyle's orders, she puts herself in danger trying to identify the killer when she discovers that Lyle, who she's becoming romantically involved with may also be connected to a weight-loss vigilante group. Camarin is determined to figure out the killer at all costs, especially before it's too late.

Murder Worth The Weight is an intriguing romantic suspense tale that easily captivates the reader's attention, and draws them into Camarin's investigation. Camarin's determination to find the weight-loss industry killer is interwoven with her unexpected steamy romance with Trend Magazine owner Lyle Fletcher, who has his own vendetta that he's determined to see completed. As the dual storyline unfolds, it is told in a clever way, and is interwoven with enough raw emotions, chilling suspense, secrets, treachery, surprising twists and turns, and thought provoking intrigue, that easily keeps the reader engaged and guessing until the surprising conclusion.

Murder Worth The Weight is a cleverly written romantic suspense tale that takes the reader on one heck of a rollercoaster ride.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/10/murder-worth-weight-by-dm-bar...… (meer)

In The Queen Of Second Chances, author D.M. Barr weaves a lighthearted romantic tale of friendship, love and second chances.

Set in the Hudson Valley town of Rock Canyon, the reader is easily drawn into this entertaining story as they follow Carra Quinn and Jay Prentiss as they navigate the trials and tribulations of life and second chances.

Carra Quinn is a recent college graduate who wants to be a novelist. While trying to break into the literary profession, money is tight, and she is reluctantly pushed by her step-mother Bea to get her real estate agent license in order to help her score sales at the real estate agency she works at. Bea talks Carra into applying for a recreational aide position at a local senior center, and utilize her marketing scheme to talk the seniors into downsizing and list their homes with the real estate agency. But once Carra starts working at the senior center, she realizes that the senior center recreational program needs to be revitalized, and that some of the seniors really need help in their personal lives as well, and doing her step-mother's scheme is not what she is going to do, earning her the nickname "the queen of second chances" from the seniors.

Jay Prentiss is a successful elder care attorney who also has political aspirations. Jay's beloved Nana is a senior client at the local senior center, and he is very protective of her since she raised him after his parents died in a car accident when he was eight years old. Jay is one of the senior center's biggest contributors, but he's met his match when he meets Carra, and she shows him that the seniors need to be taken better care of at the senior center, and recruits him to help her make those changes.

Carra and Jay are both broken souls who have personal issues from their pasts that stymies them from having happiness in their lives, but can working together help them put their traumatic pasts behind them, and give them a second chance at finding love and happiness?

The Queen Of Second Chances is an enjoyable romantic comedy that easily keeps the reader engaged as they follow Carra and Jay's story. Told in the alternating first person narrative by Carra and third person narrative by Jay, the reader follows along as their unexpected meeting helps them not only help the lifestyles of the seniors at the senior center, but also helps both of them gain a sense of self-discovery, and a second chance at finding love and happiness in their lives.

There was a great mixture of emotion, drama, angst, humor, and crazy antics mixed in this story. The author does a great job of describing Carra and Jay's lives, especially with the flashbacks to their traumatic childhood memories throughout the story. You can't help but feel compassion for Carra and Jay as they face the ghosts from their pasts, and embrace the changes in their lives that helps them gain self-discovery, and find unexpected love along the way.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how much I enjoyed reading about the seniors and their hilarious scenes at the senior center. As a retired nursing home administrator, who also ran a senior center (adult day care), I couldn't help but reminsce over the fun time that I had with the senior clients. The senior characters and the description of the recreational program and overall administration of the senior center brought back a lot of memories that made me smile. You can't help but laugh at the crazy antics that Carra and the seniors engage in, and when you add in the the bond that grows between Carra and Jay, you have a lighthearted tale that is so much more special.

The Queen Of Second Chances is a heartfelt story that has enough emotional depth, drama, romance, comedy, and witty banter, that makes it a delightfully entertaining romantic comedy tale that romance fans will certainly enjoy!

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-queen-of-second-chances-b...… (meer)