The Devil Don't Knock Blog Tour

 
Susan Sims Moody, the author of the book The Devil Don't Knock, is a friend from school.  Recently on Facebook, she asked for people to review one of her three books and post something on their blog, Facebook, Amazon and/or Barnes & Noble.  Since I love to do book reviews, I volunteered my services.

The Devil Don't Knock is the third in the Jennifer Martin series but it can stand alone on its own merit.  At first, I wasn't sure what to expect.  When I hear about local authors, I tend to look at their work and judge it different from one I might find on the Best Sellers List.  I really enjoyed this book.  As I read it, I felt myself drawn into the characters and the situations in which they found themselves.  Susan had twists and turns in the right places and it wasn't predictable (at least to me - hehe).  As I began to develop my own ideas as to what might happen, I was pleasantly surprised when it didn't work out the way I thought it would.  I'm afraid if I write more about the book, I will give important information away and spoil it for you.  Let me say this, I loved this book!!

There were two problems I had towards the end (and these are just personal preferences).  The first problem was with two of the minor characters who spoke Spanish.  A translation noting what was said would have been really helpful.  The website I used to translate the lines was really rough and made it a little difficult trying to figure out what they were talking about.  The second was with Arcana.  Her character seemed important in the beginning and throughout the development of the story but seemed underutilized in the end.  Granted, she is in a very important scene at the end but her character just seems anti-climatic.  Other than that, I love this book!  I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to read southern fiction or just something different.

Susan Sims Moody is a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State University.  She is married to Tom and has two children.  They currently live in Wisconsin.


The author provided a free copy of this book for review.  I was not compensated in any way.

**At the time this post was written, the final cover had not been completely decided.  I will try to add it later.

Mercy Blog Tour

 

SUMMARY:

MERCY, set in the small Mississippi town of the same name, weaves a tale of past and present and reveals what can happen to three generations of family when money and secrets collide.

Davis Sanford, contemptuously dismissed by his family almost a decade ago, is a recovering alcoholic and the grandchild of local timber baron and pillar of the community, Frank Sanford.  An early-morning phone call from his old haunt of Mercy draws Davis home one more time for the impending death of the family patriarch.  Jennifer Martin returns to the scene as Davis's girlfriend, and the two embark on a weekend journey through his past.

As the prodigal son copes with his grandfather's mortality, he must also face his disapproving father and a wealth of personal history he has tried for years to leave behind.  Together with Jennifer, Davis uncovers one family secret after another, at last discovering the sin that has shaped, conflicted, and ultimately driven them all to the tragic existences they lead.

REVIEW:
Mercy is Susan Sims Moody's second novel.  It is different from her other two novels in that it includes little vignettes of the past and that it is darker towards the end of the story.  In the vignettes, you see the secrets that affected the three generations come about.  You also see what can happen to person when keeping a secret becomes unbearable.  Davis faces his family members and his past as he works to figure out what happened to a letter his grandfather wrote to his wife, Cora.  He also shows how a tragic past does not have to be your future.

Mercy is a good story with a lot of twists and turns.  The ending is dark and caught me a little by surprise.  I kind of thought it might happened but was astonished that it actually did occur in the story.

The author provided a free copy of this book for review.  I was not compensated in any way.

Susan Sims Moody is a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State University.  She is married to Tom and has two children.  They currently live in Wisconsin.

Flatlands Blog Tour

SUMMARY:
Jennifer Martin hated the idea of returning to Mississippi.  She hated the heat, the boredom, and the flat land that sprawled for miles and miles.  Jennifer never imagined that Bedford had anything exciting or worthwhle to offer her.  But within a day of returning to her hometown, she finds a job, a friend, and a mystery that could cost her life.

REVIEW:
Flatlands is the first book written by Mississippi native Susan Sims Moody.  Her story revolves around Jennifer Martin, a young college graduate who returns home reluctantly.  Longing for a job as a reporter at a big city newspaper, she instead gets a job at the three-person weekly paper in her hometown, located in the Mississippi Delta.  As she gets settled into her small rental house, Jennifer finds a small film canister in the wall while helping her friend Davis do some small maintenance work.  Little does she know, the house contains items that its former occupant wants back desperately, no matter the cost.  Susan weaves her story together in a seamless fashion, leaving her reader turning the pages wanting more.  It is a fairly quick read.  I finished all 135 pages in just a few hours.  It was a great book and very enjoyable.  I would suggest it to anyone looking for a great read.

Susan Sims Moody is a native Mississippian and graduate of Mississippi State University.  She is married to Tom and has two children.  They currently live in Wisconsin.

The author provided a free copy of this book for review.  I was not compensated in any way.