Sunday, April 13, 2025

Showcase of Someone Had To Lie by Jack Luellen and a $20 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Someone Had to Lie by Jack Luellen Banner

SOMEONE HAD TO LIE

by Jack Luellen

March 31 - April 25, 2025 

Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

THE JAMES BUTLER MYSTERIES

Some cases never let you go.

Reeling from the sudden death of a close friend, James Butler and Erica Walsh are pulled back into the shadow world of Mexican cartels and the CIA. Seeking to avenge the murder of their friend with only his haphazard notes to guide them, they puzzle through the possible connections searching for anything concrete. As they investigate his murder, and his notes, they find unsettling links between drug trafficking, American gangs, the CIA, and the opioid epidemic.

Determined to find the truth hidden among cases they thought were long closed, Butler and Walsh call on friends and colleagues to help them survive the crosshairs that got their friend killed. With the threat spreading across more of their contacts, they must uncover the truth before they are buried in lies.

Someone Had to Lie by Jack Luellen

The James Butler mysteries from Jack Luellen seamlessly weave fact with fiction, introducing nonfiction material in the midst of fast-paced murder mysteries.

Praise for Someone Had to Lie:

"Jack Luellen crafts an intriguing tale, interwoven with proven facts about the deadliest drug in our society, Fentanyl. Someone Had to Lie takes the reader on an educational journey into the biggest cartels and Narcos in the world and provides a behind the scenes glimpse of cartel operations through his lead character James Butler. Gripping storytelling! A must read!"
~ Leo Silva, Author of Reign of Terror, Former DEA Supervisory Special Agent

Book Details:

Genre: Crime; Mystery
Published by: Torchflame Books
Publication Date: March 11, 2025
Number of Pages: 294
ISBN: 9781611533705 (ISBN10: 1611533708)
Series: The James Butler Mysteries, Book 2
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Torchflame Books

Read an excerpt:

“Is that music playing in your office? You never listen to music at work?”

“I do on rare occasions.”

“That’s Alice Merton. How are you even aware of her music?” Erica asks, gobsmacked.

“I’m not, but I met Detective Torres at a Starbucks this morning and it was playing, and I liked it. I asked a Gen Z barista who the artist was and played it when I got in,” James says.

“I’m in shock.”

“I’m evolving,” James says, his words interrupted by the playing of the Johnny Rivers hit “Secret Agent Man” from his cell phone. “Alexa, off. Tim, hi, thanks for calling back. Erica is here with some information to share.”

“Hi, Erica. What’s going on?” Tim says.

“After we left the jail today, I went back to the office to work, and a few minutes ago, Belmonte called me to tell me that the DEA had been quote, ‘Requested,’ end quote to refrain from investigating or prosecuting Javier and that Javier was being moved to a different facility. Belmonte said the directive apparently came from the DNI. He called me from a burner phone and suggested we keep the circle of information as small as possible,” Erica explains.

“Holy crap,” Tim says.

“Any idea who could have that kind of juice?” James asks.

“None in particular,” Tim says.

“You didn’t tell anyone about meeting Javier?” Erica asks.

“Of course not,” Tim replies.

“Then how did anyone—” Erica begins.

“I have no idea,” Tim interrupts.

“One thing seems certain,” James says. “Aguilar was spot on. It is bigger than we knew.”

***

Excerpt from Chapter 24 of Someone Had to Lie by Jack Luellen. Copyright 2025 by Jack Luellen. Reproduced with permission from Jack Luellen. All rights reserved.

 

Author Bio:

author

Jack Luellen is a Denver, Colorado, attorney with more than 30 years of experience. In practice, Jack has tried cases to courts and juries, and has written hundreds of briefs, motions, and memoranda, to state and federal courts, including federal courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court.

In 1990, Jack first started working on cases related to the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena and has investigated the case in the years since that time. Jack's investigations have taken him to foreign countries and included interviews with witnesses both notorious and infamous. This work has been the background to Jack's upcoming novel Someone Had to Die.

Jack is the proud parent of an amazing daughter and is a weekend warrior on the tennis courts.

Catch Up With Jack Luellen:

LuellenWriting.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram - @luellen_writing
Threads - @luellen_writing
X - @jack_luellen
Facebook - @Luellen Writing

 

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This Week At Silver's Reviews

 


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Saturday, April 12, 2025

Spotlight of Boy With Wings by Mark Mustian


PHOTO SOURCE:
TYPORAMA
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    BOY WITH WINGS
MARK MUSTIAN
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF JACKIE KARNETH | SENIOR PUBLICIST | BOOKS FORWARD
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What does it mean to be different?


A fantastical and poignant tale that dives into America’s history with freak shows, and what it means to be different in this world.

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 March 15, 2025

Koehler Books

Literary Fiction, Historical

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PRAISE FOR THE AUTHOR:

“In this propulsive tale of the magic lurking inside our mortality, Mark Mustian has conjured a surreal hero. Here is a translucent rendering of boyhood and aberration, of the fault lines of race and the frailty of religion. In sentences that are equally primal and poetic, Mustian transports us through the shacks, camps, circuses, and back alleys of the Depression-era South, asking a still-resonant question: what's the price of belonging in a society that's already broken?”–Katy Simpson Smith, author of “The Everlasting,” for “Boy With Wings”


“Novelist Mustian writes relentlessly, telling [Ahmet’s] haunting story in brief bursts of luminous yet entirely unsentimental prose and reminding us that, when life gets bloody, we had better watch out for our own humanity.”—Library Journal (Starred Review), for “The Gendarme”


“Every decade or so, I find a novel that I sense, just by reading the basic description, will become unforgettable; after reading only 20 pages of ‘The Gendarme,’ my impression was confirmed with great force. For this decade, and this reader, ‘The Gendarme’ is that extraordinary, unforgettable novel…”—BookPage, for “The Gendarme”


“A well-plotted, well-told story with a powerful, moving message…”—Baton Rouge Advocate, for “The Gendarme”


“A brilliantly conceived and carefully crafted novel…”—Southern Literary Review, for “The Gendarme”


“This is a harrowing and truly important novel by a splendid American writer.”—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Hell and A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain,” for “The Gendarme”


“Vibrant and alive, the kind of book where the blood pumps mightily” –Kristen Arnett, NYT bestselling author of “Mostly Dead Things”

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ABOUT BOY WITH WINGS:

Johnny Cruel is born with strange appendages on his back, frightening his neighbors and leaving him struggling to find a home.


Johnny ends up in a “freak show” traveling the 1930s South, where he bares his back to onlookers who come to gape and fawn.


Is he a horror or an angel? Should he hide himself to live his life?


As Johnny comes to grips with his uniqueness, he embarks on a journey of love and finds the miracles that give our lives meaning.


Mustian’s thrilling and emotional story of self-discovery is perfect for book clubs and fans of historical fiction. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


MARK MUSTIAN is the author of the novels “The Return” and “The Gendarme,” the latter an international bestseller that has been published in eleven languages.


He was a finalist for the Dayton International Literary Peace Prize, shortlisted for the Saroyan International Award for Writing, and the winner of the Florida Gold Book Award for fiction.


He is the founder and president of the Word of South Festival of Literature and Music in Tallahassee, Florida, now in its tenth year.


A former elected official and an attorney, he lives in Florida and Michigan with his wife and elderly dog.


Learn more at: www.markmustian.com


FOLLOW MARK MUSTIAN ON SOCIAL MEDIA:


Facebook: @MarkMustianAuthor


Twitter: @MarkMustian

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An Interview with

Mark Mustian

1. What inspired you to write “Boy With Wings”?

I’ve thought about writing this book for quite some time. I’ve started it, stopped it, begun again, made revisions. I wanted to dig into what it means to be different, and how that truly feels.


2. Although there are no “freak shows” today as there were in the 1930s, do you believe there’s a contemporary equivalent?

There actually are still a few traveling freak shows, but oddities today are shown mostly on the Internet and TV. Just as in the 1930’s, there’s much that is fake, and some that is real.


3. What is the significance of ignorance and superstition in this book?

Ignorance and superstition are related in certain ways to belief (and religion). We tend to equate anything we don’t or can’t understand to God, but at the same time we fear it. Human oddities seem a perfect example—we’re fascinated even as we’re repelled.

4. What role does spirituality play in the book?

The main character, Johnny, struggles with his body and his belief. Is it God he believes in, or the Bible, or even something else? He struggles also with the role society seems to want him to play. I think those struggles are there for all of us, and spirituality is the path (with its many branches) that can lead us through.

5. As a Southern writer, how do race and religion connect to the book and reflect the region you call home?

It’s hard to write as a Southerner without addressing race and religion, or at least it is for me. Each so permeates life here, and arguments can be made that we’ve come a long way on both, or that we haven’t come very far at all (and don’t want to). Dichotomies are everywhere: the hypocrisies of the Church, the unwillingness to look past oneself, the tribalism that’s in our blood, the absolute beauty of the land and its people. All fertile ground for a writer.


6. Have you ever been in situations where you were perceived as “the odd man out”?


Absolutely—I think everyone has at some point in their life. Some people thrive on it, but I believe that it’s hard for most. It starts early, when we’re kids—I remember being ostracized because I wasn’t “cool.” That impacted my life, for better and sometimes for worse.


7. Why do you think people are fascinated with “weird,” and at the same time repulsed by it?


I saw an article one time where the musician Sting claimed to be an “adrenaline junkie.” I think almost everyone is, to a certain degree—we want to be stimulated, to feel that little rush of anger, revulsion, happiness or something else, to take us out of the humdrum of everyday life. Each day there’s a car crash somewhere, and nearly all of us stop to look.


8. Tell us a little bit about your work with Word of South Festival in Tallahassee, Florida.


When “The Gendarme” was published, I was invited to speak at a number of literary festivals around the country. I was a Tallahassee City Commissioner then, and thought, “We should do something like that here!” Five years later, Word of South was born. We had our first festival in 2015, and it rained all weekend, but eleven years later, we’re still putting authors and musicians together in all sorts of unique ways. There’s really not much like it anywhere in the world.


9. What’s next for you?


More books! I’m working on a fantastic story set in late antiquity (the 400s), and a Civil War piece, as well. I hope to keep digging into why we do the things we do and believe the things we believe (or say we do).

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Friday, April 11, 2025

Spotlight and Excerpt of Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan


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THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS
YIGIT TURHAN
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ALL INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS COURTESY OF CHERYL LEE | PUBLICITY INTERN | HARPER COLLINS PUBLISHERS
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A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.
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April 8, 2025

Harlequin Trade Publishing / MIRA

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ABOUT THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS:

A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.

The struggling writer is out of options.

He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat.

But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful.

Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.

As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death.

Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.

But he might not survive long enough to write it.

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EXCERPT OF THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS:

Prologue

Perihan gazed at the opulent villas lined up like precious pearls on a necklace, feeling overwhelmed by their excessive beauty. The sight was almost terrifying, reminiscent of the antique pearls adorning her own necklace. As the dark clouds were illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning, she shook off her thoughts and quickened her pace along the deserted road. The gentle raindrops on her tired face felt like an omi­nous sign. The unexpected gust of wind, unusual for a mild November afternoon, added to her unease.

On her seventieth birthday, Perihan had indulged in a day of shopping at Milan’s most luxurious stores. Despite her age, she possessed a strong physique, with firm knees, agile move­ments, and enough strength to carry her shopping bags from the stores to her home. The kind store managers at Cartier and Valentino had offered to send the packages to her address with a courier, but she declined, insisting she could manage on her own. Though she lacked a family to celebrate with, her small group of friends had arranged to gather at the villa, refusing to let her spend the evening alone. They had asked her to leave the house and return around seven o’clock. Glancing at her watch, Perihan realized she was already half an hour late.

Oh my… Licia must have already set the table, she thought as she turned the corner onto Via Marco de Marchi, where she resided. Just then, another lightning bolt flashed across the sky, and a large monarch butterfly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Despite the heavy rain, Perihan could hear the faint flapping of its wings. The butterfly had bright orange and black stripes, with one wing decorated with symmetric white dots. It seemed to hover in midair.

“What a miracle,” Perihan exclaimed, a smile stretching across her wrinkled face. “It’s been years since I last saw this one…and on my birthday!” Hastily shifting the heavy bags onto her shoulder, she wiped the raindrops from her eyes with her long red nails and followed the butterfly. It fluttered around in circles for a few moments, before darting straight ahead. Despite the downpour, the orange-and-black wings moved swiftly. Overwhelmed with excitement, Perihan dis­regarded the red light—and almost got hit by an old Ford passing by. The driver, an unattractive man with numerous moles and few teeth, leaned out of the window and cursed at her in an Italian dialect she couldn’t understand. Unfazed by his behavior, Perihan remained focused on following the butterfly, which flew rapidly and ascended into the sky.

“I wonder where it disappeared to,” she mused with a melancholic expression on her face. The rain intensified, the drainage problems in the area turning the road into a pool of water. Perihan’s bare feet were drenched as the rain seeped through the open toes of her green python slingbacks.

“You’re blocking my view.” The unexpected comment startled her. She looked at the stranger, hoping to recognize a friendly face, but it was no one she knew. She turned to notice the growing crowd of people with their faces hidden behind their phone screens. She wondered if they were filming her. Lacking an umbrella, her meticulously coiffed hair now wet, her makeup smudged, and her silk skirt ruined by the muddy street, Perihan was struck by the crowd’s indifference. They shifted slightly to the right, attempting to remove her from their line of sight, all the while continuing to record whatever had caught their attention. Curious, Perihan turned around and was terrified by what she saw. In shock, she dropped her red shopping bags, causing more muddy water to splatter onto her skirt and completely destroying her shoes.

“This can’t be happening,” she screamed to the sky at the top of her lungs. Her knees trembled uncontrollably, left her unsure about taking another five steps to cross the road. Peri­han noticed the cameras turning toward her in her peripheral vision, but she paid no mind to the desperation and terror that would eventually go viral on numerous social media networks in multiple countries. Her villa loomed in front of her, con­cealed by high walls covered with lush green bushes—now invaded by hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies. They hovered over the garden, flapping their wings vigorously de­spite the pouring rain. The entire structure, partially visible through the bushes, seemed imprisoned within a butterfly sanctuary. When Perihan realized the creatures were all mon­archs, each one so exquisite and valuable, she paused. Beauty had a threshold, and beyond it, it became a captivating terror, holding people’s attention hostage to fulfill its own needs. She propelled herself into the flooded road, heading for the gar­den gate. With what little strength remained after the ordeal, she pushed her way through the floral Art Nouveau door.

“Licia! Where are you?” she shouted upon entering the gar­den. Before closing the door behind her, she turned to scream at the onlookers, “Leave! The show’s over! This is my prop­erty!” Yet, the crowd remained unaffected, mesmerized by the extraordinary natural phenomenon unfolding before them.

Licia, Perihan’s housekeeper and closest friend of nearly forty years, looked like a ghost. Her complexion was drained of color, her wet hair clung to her face in disheveled patches, and her shoes were ruined by dark mud. She trembled as she spoke. “Perihan… We did our best, but…” Licia glanced quickly at their small group of friends, who observed the scene from the kitchen window on the first floor of the house. Perihan brushed Licia aside with the back of her hand and made her way toward the large greenhouse on the left side of the gar­den. Orange butterflies continued to emerge rapidly through a broken pane in its ceiling, swarming through the air. Looking up at the vortex of butterflies resembling a brewing tornado, Perihan felt a wave of dizziness. Her bony hand reached for the intricately detailed metal handle of the greenhouse door, but fear gripped her body. She hesitated, afraid to enter, yet knowing she had no other choice. Slowly, she pushed the door open, entered, and closed it behind her.

Licia tried to conceal her sobbing behind her hands. Should she follow Perihan into the greenhouse or return to the house? The rain cascaded like a waterfall, obstructing not only her movements but her thoughts as well. She compelled herself to decide, but the sudden outburst from within the green­house froze her in place.

“No… No… No!” Perihan’s voice echoed, growing louder with each repetition—until the world fell silent, save for the raindrops tapping against any surface they encountered. The darkness beneath the swarm of butterflies gradually gave way to a dull light as they departed from the house. Licia collapsed onto her knees and allowed herself to sink into the saturated garden soil, her tears mingling with the raindrops. Once the first monarch butterfly Perihan had witnessed a few moments earlier found its way to her villa, it hovered briefly over the garden before heading in the same direction as the others. When the last of the butterflies vanished, no trace of the mi­raculous event remained.

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Excerpted from THEIR MONSTROUS HEARTS by Yigit Turhan.

Copyright © 2025 by Yigit Turhan.

Published by MIRA, an imprint of HTP/HarperCollins.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Yigit Turhan was born in Ankara, Turkey.


A lifelong reader, he owes his love of horror to his grandmother and the films she shared with him.


He has previously published a horror novel in Turkish. He lives in Milan, Italy, where he holds a C-suite role at a renowned fashion house.


This is his English-language debut.

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SOCIAL LINKS:


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