Monday, July 5, 2021

Just a Tidbit of Information


 A Mystery Series Set in Alaska



"You Are My Sunshine!" 

and how it became part of my books.

The editor of my first book, Murder, Madness & Love, suggested I give my heroine, Sarah, a peculiar habit. Something that would stand out and make her memorable as she navigated the emotions and stress of being stalked by a murderer.

I chose the song "You Are My Sunshine." A song I recalled from a tearjerker of a movie that made an impression on me when I was a child. The relationship of the father and daughter is what hit home for me. Anyway, it was one of those tugs on your heartstring movies. So, I chose the song for my character to use as something she would recall and absent-mindedly sing when highly stressed. Sometimes not even aware that she was. I thought it was a good choice. I thought it was an interesting reaction for Sarah to have when troubled.

Then later, she'd share that her father taught it to her to sing to her mother before they'd both leave for the long work separations that took them away from her. Meant to keep Sarah and her mother from crying. As an adult, it becomes her calming tool too.

I thought it was obscure and unique.

But it wasn't. Did you know it's one of the state songs of Louisiana? It's also the most commercially programmed number in American popular music. And it's been recorded by dozens, and I mean, dozens of artists. Google it, you'll see. No obscure little song this!

Just a little tidbit I thought you might find interesting. I hope you have! Thanks for visiting.

***

Get your copy of the Series

HERE!



Saturday, June 26, 2021

A Reader's Favorite - A Five Star Series!

A Passion for Murder

Book 6 of the Detective Quaid Mystery Series

By Yolanda Stout

 


BOOK REVIEW


Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite

 Steven Quaid and his colleagues in the Anchorage Police Department’s investigative unit are dealing with another serial killer. The media has called him Killer Clean, due to his routine of vicious rapes and murders, followed by using bleach to erase all traces of himself. A new FBI director has been assigned to the area, and he asked a psychologist/author named Alice Foxx to be a consultant on the case. At the same time, Steven was dealing with PTSD, as a result of a previous case. Frightening nightmares and assaults were negatively affecting his marriage to Sarah who also needed to care for their baby Tiama. A Passion for Murder: A Detective Quaid Mystery Book 6, penned by Yolanda Renee, is a thrilling, edge-of-your-seat read.

One of the most unique aspects of this story is the information about the effects on rape victims, as well as specific facts about the incidence of rape in Alaska. Likewise, the psychological effects of earlier traumas on present traumatic events are portrayed well; how these affect love relationships is also interesting. How these facts are interwoven into the plot is inventive and flows smoothly. Like all good mysteries, vague clues are interspersed throughout the chapters; a mystery lover may have to speculate who the serial killer could be. Character development is well-formed, and every reader will be able to easily imagine the personality of each character. Author Yolanda Renee has ended this series of mystery books with a well-crafted story in A Passion for Murder. A captivating read from the first page to the last!

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/a-passion-for-murder

Review Rating:

5 Stars 

~~***~~

Murder, Just Because

Book 5 of the Detective Quaid Mystery Series

By Yolanda Renee


BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed By K.C. Finn for Readers’ Favorite

Murder, Just Because is a work of mystery fiction in the detective/sleuth subgenre and was penned by author Yolanda Renée. The work is written for adult readers due to the usage of explicit language and some graphic scenes of violence and sexual situations. Subtitled ‘A Detective Quaid Mystery: The Return of The Snowman,” in this story we find ourselves once again with Steven Quaid after his successful capture of Stowy Jenkins, AKA the Snowman. Ten years later, Jenkins has escaped from prison and is hell-bent on punishing Quaid by picking off the people he cares about, one by one. As time ticks on and Jenkins gets closer to Quaid’s wife, Sarah, the detective must risk everything to put the Snowman to rest once and for all.

After several daring adventures in the world of serial killers and psychopaths, author Yolanda Renée manages to ramp up the stakes even higher in this non-stop thrill ride of terrifying situations and masterful deductions. Steven Quaid makes for a superb central figure with his sharp wits and well-honed instincts, but it was actually Sarah that impressed me most in terms of character development and her role in the plot. It’s wonderful to see an inclusive detective tale where other characters get to be resourceful and useful in their own right, and the effect gives an even more realistic and thrilling tone to the plot. Overall, I would highly recommend Murder, Just Because to readers seeking a thrilling cat and mouse action novel that bears all the hallmarks of a suspenseful and well-penned mystery too.

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/murder-just-because

Review Rating:

5 Stars 

~~***~~

The Snowman

Prequel to the Detective Quaid Mystery Series Book 4


By Yolanda Renee

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

 The Snowman by Yolanda Renee is a prequel to the Detective Quaid Mysteries. Stowy Jenkins goes by another name. The Alaskans call him the Snowman and he is an artist. His medium of choice? Blood. A medium he is obsessed with, an obsession that leads to multiple murders. Detective Steven Quaid is a rookie and he draws the short straw to go after the Snowman. The two are drawn together is some twisted way, a relationship that proves deadly, and it is anyone’s guess who will come out of it intact. What starts out as a murder investigation turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse and Detective Quaid works to stop any more bloody and gruesome murders. The Snowman doesn’t want to stop and taunts Quaid into a deadly finale.

The Snowman: The Prequel to the Detective Quaid Mysteries by Yolanda Renee answered many questions. I have read all of the Quaid mystery stories and this one filled in a lot of the gaps about his early years. However, it can be read on its own, although I would highly recommend reading it as part of the series. Excellent story, really well-written and truly gripping. Ms. Renee certainly knows how to describe a scene to the extent that you believe it to be real. Compared to the rest of the series, this is a very dark book, somewhat gruesome, but a fantastic read. The development of the plot and the characters were second to none, and I would recommend this to anyone who likes a macabre, bloody thriller – this one meets all the criteria!

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-snowman

~~***~~

Murder & Obsession

Book 3 of the Detective Quaid Mystery Series

By Yolanda Renee


BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed By Deborah Lloyd for Readers’ Favorite

The wilderness of Alaska is the setting for the third mystery novel in the Detective Quaid Mysteries, Murder & Obsession by Yolanda Renée. An Anchorage detective, Steven Quaid, renovates his wilderness cabin into a honeymoon retreat, preparing to bring his new bride, Sarah, there for a quiet honeymoon. After his work was complete, he set off on a hunting expedition. Upon his return, it appeared a murder had occurred in the cabin, and Sarah was missing. Being the primary suspect, Steven flees and the adventure begins. Not only does Steven have to fight the weather, wild bears, injuries, hunger and thirst, he is on a quest to find his beloved. Steven finds aid through the support of his uncle, and eventually his friends on the police force.

Murder & Obsession by Yolanda Renée offers many thrilling and suspense-filled moments. The reader becomes part of the breathtaking adventure, never quite sure which characters are on the side of honesty and justice, and which ones are corrupt and vicious. Ms. Renée presents a cast of many characters, some with dubious motivations and others with unwavering integrity. But, it is not always clear in which category some of these characters belong – making for an intriguing story. The romance of Steven and Sarah has not been a smooth road, and there are references to earlier times. It seems that reading the books in this series in order may be advisable, so that the history of their relationship is known. The many twists and turns in this novel create an enjoyable and entertaining read.


https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/murder-obsession


Review Rating:

4 Stars 


~~***~~

Memories of Murder

Book 2 of the Detective Quaid Mystery Series

By Yolanda Renee


BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed By Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite

Memories of Murder by Yolanda Renée is book 2 of the Detective Quaid Mysteries. Sarah is still having nightmares, only this time they are more real. Steven needs it to stop before it takes Sarah down. Caught up on another case, this time trying to prove himself, he shuts Sarah out but doesn’t like it when she takes up an offer to go on an art tour. Sarah is receiving roses but thinks they come from Steven – he knows better. Lucifer is out there, looking for his Lilith, but she is safe for now so he turns his attention to Sarah. She paints her nightmares, foretelling what it is to come, but will anyone believe her or will they continue to treat her as a disturbed and fragile woman? While the bodies continue to mount up, Lucifer is closing in on his real target – who will stop him, Steven or Sarah?


Memories of Murder (Detective Quaid Mysteries Book 2) is another example of how fine a writer Yolanda Renée is. I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 and could only hope that the second was as good – I certainly wasn’t disappointed. The mystery from book 1 continued in a similar vein with plenty going on to keep a reader’s attention. The old characters were developed a lot more and new ones introduced which kept the storyline fresh. I must say this was a deep plot this time, a little terrifying if I am honest, and it must have taken some time to weave all the threads of the different stories together. I hope that there will be a book three in the series although I’m not sure where it could go this time – maybe a different story altogether.


https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/memories-of-murder

 

Review Rating:

5 Stars 


~~***~~


Murder, Madness & Love

Book 1 of the Detective Quaid Mystery Series

By Yolanda Renee


BOOK REVIEW

 

Reviewed By Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers’ Favorite

Murder, Madness & Love (Detective Quaid Mysteries #1) by Yolanda Renée is a tale of murder, mystery and suspense. There’s a killer on the loose. A clever one. Sarah Palmer has earned herself the name of 'the black widow' after her husband died in a car accident. She flees to Anchorage in the hopes of making a new life for herself, but people are dying. Women who look like Sarah. Each one dies on the 14th of the month, a date that is well known to Sarah. Detective Quaid is in charge of the investigation and he has already made up his mind that Sarah is guilty. But he has to do his job and, together with a security firm, he does his best to protect Sarah while trying to find the culprit. He can’t work out if Sarah is genuinely innocent or if she is a mastermind at manipulation, but the bodies are piling up and Sarah’s nightmares are getting worse. Steven Quaid can’t take the chance that he has the guilty party – in case he doesn’t.

 

Murder, Madness & Love (Detective Quaid Mysteries #1) by Yolanda Renée is pure genius. I fell into this story right from the very first page and I genuinely could not put the book down until it was done. Yolanda Renée has woven a tale of sheer suspense, a story that is wound tight and runs like clockwork. The characters are extremely well developed and the details of their lives and their backgrounds seep out throughout the story. By the end of the book, you know those characters as if they were people you met with on a daily basis. The plot is ingenious. I thought I'd guessed who it was but, no, the story went off in a completely different direction and I don’t believe anyone will be able to guess the ending of this one. Excellent story, I'm really looking forward to the next one.


https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/murder-madness-love 


Review Rating:

5 Stars 

~~***~~


     





Friday, June 18, 2021

A Passion for Murder

 

The Alaskan Series 

book #6




"Her golden hair, career choice, and availability hit all tens on his list of go points.
A perfect thirty meant she had to die today!"


Another heinous crime occurs in Alaska, and with no time to heal from the last brutal case of The Snowman, and Stowy Jenkins, Detective Quaid returns to his job. PTSD, a former lover, and an odious villain test his mettle and his sanity.

Excerpt:

After she had her son taken care of, she tried to wake her husband. Sarah shook him gently. "Steven. Come to bed with me. You'll be more comfortable. I promise."

Startled, Steven jerked awake, grabbed her by the throat, his chair slamming shut with a loud thud as he stood. Forcing Sarah backward, he banged her head against the wall. The harsh growl from his throat sounded animalistic. His face contorted with the resolve to destroy his enemy.

Frightened and caught off guard Sarah tried to scream. Instead, she could barely croak his name. "Steven." Failing, she made a fist and struck him. "Get off me." She tried to yell.

Her wallop caught his attention. He loosened his grip as it took him a second to realize what he was doing. The newly hired Nanny rushed into the room. She stopped cold, unsure of what was happening.


*****

 AVAILABLE 
IN PAPERBACK TOO!



CONTEST!

The first person to comment with the answer to all 5 questions correctly, will win an Ebook copy of A Passion for Murder! All answers can be found in the first 5 books of the series.

1.     What name was given to Sarah's Washington State home?

2.     Steven proposed to Sarah three times, name one location.

3.     Who killed the sniper that was determined to take Sarah out?

4.     What was Stowy Jenkins 'normal' profession?

5.     What name was given to the Quaid's son?

Goodluck!

And Don't Forget 










COMING SOON








Wednesday, June 16, 2021

WEP - Great Wave


Great Loss

         

The sand held hints of the lives lost, strands of wire, coins, and jewels buried deep. Treasure hunters with metal detectors crisscrossed the beach. Devoid of its former glory. Only the palms stood tall. The resort was gone, and its entire population too.        

A breezy summer morning determined to be a blistering sweltering day had turned apocalyptic. A rogue wave forty stories high hit the coast. And, in the blink of an eye, everything disappeared. Mom and Dad had planned their retirement for years but barely had the chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor before nature heartlessly rebelled.

   Photo by Darice de Cuba on Unsplash


100 words

Yolanda Renée © 2021

***********

Thank you for reading my short flash submission for WEP's Great Wave Challenge. 

I hope you'll follow the links below to read more entries from a group of talented artists who've interpreted this monumental work of art in more magical and brilliant ways.


Monday, May 3, 2021

When Confusion Reigns

 


A Daily Walk

when the room closes in

and the heart beats too quickly

when confusion reigns

and answers just aren't there

when fear overwhelms

and doubts creep in

when quitting seems the only

alternative

I walk in the sunshine

I lift my eyes to the heavens

I pray – eyes wide open

silently to God above

when I return home

my head has cleared

my doubts disappeared

 Yolanda Renée (C) 2020



Monday, April 19, 2021

WEP - Freedom

 

Freedom

 

Nevaeh stared into the abyss. Between the sheer marble and granite walls, lava flowed with the blinding brilliance of the sun. Pops of flame exploded in whirlpools of unfathomable appetite. The heat kissed her obsidian skin with desire.

She stared at the magma, a death that assured no resurrection. Was this a choice she could make? Death or an eternity in Hell with a mad man?

*****

Recuperating from her recent escape attempt, Nevaeh curled up on the furs in front of a fire. Voices outside her prison hut alerted her to visitors. Without looking, she knew Ohin had entered the room. The atmosphere felt heavy, airless. She sat up but still faced the fire.

"Feeling better?" Ohin asked with faux concern.

Despite forehand knowledge, Nevaeh's heart jumped in her chest. Her body stiffened at the sound of his caustic voice. The warmth radiating from the fire turned to waves of ice that girdled her bones and captured her heart in a glacial chill.

"Adom will never know that I was behind your kidnapping. Be careful, or you'll be the cause of his death." Ohin warned as he stepped closer and knelt beside her.

He reached out to touch her cheek. "Tell me why? I look just like Adom. We are twins. Why not me?"

Nevaeh pulled away in disgust. "I did not fall for Adom's looks. I fell for his heart. Something you do not possess."

Ohin growled like an animal, stood, and pounded his staff on the mud floor. "I am rich, powerful, more so than Adom. You will see, my Queen, power is more important than heart!"

"I prefer an eternity in Hell to a minute with you. I will never be your wife. Force me and meet your death!" Her words held power, but her petite frame and lack of weapons instilled no fear.

Ohin stepped back but waved off her threat. "At one time, you had a choice, my lady. Be mine or cross the Atlantic in chains. But now I make the choice for you."

"Your threats do not frighten me. Adom is no fool. He will uncover you're evil. Instead of destroying the slave traders, you are their chief caboceer. You are a traitor to your own people."

Ohin laughed. "You're so wrong, Nevaeh. I am a King, and I will have you." As he spoke, a stranger joined them. "Meet, Dr. Zheng. He has a way to make even the dead live. And he's brought proof."

The sound of a clattering chain intensified the cold and tightened her gut into a knot. Was he planning to chain her to her prison? Nevaeh jumped to her feet. She moved closer to the fire but gauged her chance for escape. Her illness caused her to sway, but she fought the weakness.

"Don't test me, Nevaeh. You'll marry me. You'll even love me. If you doubt that, believe this."

Nothing in life had prepared her for the vision before her. Screams formed in the deepest part of her, but she held them inside as one hand covered her mouth and the other clenched. She wanted to close her eyes but could not. An abomination of nature lumbered toward her, and she had nowhere to go but Ohin's arms. Death was preferable.

The man she knew as Goren, her kidnapper, the same man she had witnessed being fed to wild dogs, slowly moved into the light. His death was a truth she could not doubt because she'd seen the horror. Yet he stood before her, held on a chain by two large men.

He barely had clothes or skin but moved forward on his own two feet. The skin that remained hung loose where the ravenous beasts had ripped him open with their teeth. Muscle hung in purple shreds, and broken bones protruded in ugly bloody angles. The smell of death wafted off him like a putrid fog. A dead man lived.

Ohin's next statement pierced Nevaeh like a spear through the heart.

"I will have you—even in death. You will be mine always. Adom is busy with the war. He'll understand your choice and move on. He has an entire kingdom of princesses to choose from."

The proof of his words stood, decomposing before her. Goren's eyes held her gaze, golden brown, rimmed in red, and clouded by tears. His eyes pleaded with her because his mouth and his throat were missing. The horrendously deformed, half-consumed body understood, knew his condition. Goren was fully aware of his own miscreation.

Nevaeh saw the horror of her future.

Ohin smiled. "The doctor is a genius."

Ohin had underestimated Nevaeh's strength and the loyalty of his undead pet. Goren turned his anger toward his master and attacked Ohin.

In the melee, Nevaeh bolted. She made it through the mountain tunnel and once again stood above the Gulf of Fire. Her pursuer not long behind. Ohin held the scars of Goren's attack, but Dr. Zheng held the head of Goren.

Goren still had life in his eyes. Even dismemberment was no cure for the doctor's faux life.

Nevaeh made her choice.

Ohin approached and bellowed, "There's nowhere to go, my Queen. Accept your fate."

Nevaeh, unafraid, faced him.

Ohin's minions, her people, stood behind him. She saw fear in their eyes as they watched and waited for her surrender.

"Hear me, my people—revolt against this evil. Your numbers alone will defeat him. Death may be your fate, but there is honor in death when evil also dies. You have a choice!"

Her heels teetered on the edge of the precipice.

"Come Nevaeh, I've no more patience."

She smiled. "My destiny. My choice. FREEDOM!"

Nevaeh felt the arms of angels catch her as the fires of Hell opened to swallow her.

Ohin screamed as Nevaeh disappeared into the abyss. The crowd behind him, hearing her words, seeing her sacrifice, pushed forward to the edge.

The volcano bellowed its acceptance of the evil surrendered, and an entire nation celebrated freedom.

~~**~~

1000 Words

Yolanda Renée © 2021

 https://www.thoughtco.com/african-slavery-101-44535

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa

The Door of No Return in Ouidah.

Copyright Wikipedia

Memorial to the slave trade through the port of Ouidah.

 

xxx