Shadow of Murder Book Tour A Palooza, Guest Post + Giveaway {Ends 7/1/22}

Review By LAWonder10:

Five Stars for Lauren Carr’s 14th book of the Mac Faraday Murder Mysteries, ‘Shadow of Murder’! In this upcoming New Release, she has recaptured the fun of cute “creatures” with the fast-moving, suspenseful and captivating mystery, along with her usual touch of romance.
In her new release, she has included an element, unlike her other stories… The element of the paranormal. This adds to the mystery and suspense in a “creepy” way.
Further, new and entertaining members of the animal kingdom, join “Mayor Gnarly” in enhancing the humor and intrigue of this fantastic story.
In this “past meets present” scenario, past and present friends and acquaintances are brought together in this mindboggling, confounding new “Who Did It?” masterpiece!
Spoiler: The ending is unusually bittersweet and unexpected.
As always, Lauren Carr’s characters are very diverse and feel so real! The scenes are described so well, one feels like he/she is in the midst of them. The Title has the familiar “play on words” depicting the plot very well. The Cover is always simple , yet profound, in it’s depiction of a key part of the story.
The Mac Faraday does not have to be read as a series but one is truly missing a lot of entertaining scenarios if he/she doesn’t read the preceding books of the series. They are so much more enjoyable when one reads them in order. So many fun, clarifying points will be missed when reading the book as a stand alone.
For Fans, You won’t want to miss this outstanding new development in the Mac Faraday Murder Mystery series. It is incogitable1
*This book was gifted me with no pressure, whatsoever, to post a positive review, This is my honest review.

Other Books in the Series:

WHEN PARANORMAL CREEPS INTO A MYSTERY NOVEL
By Lauren Carr, author of SHADOW OF MURDER

Fans of the Mac Faraday Mysteries will notice something different in my latest installment, SHADOW OF MURDER—a touch of paranormal. Please note, I did not set out to write a paranormal novel. Honestly, the characters took me in that direction. When I realized where the plotline was going, I got scared.
The only previous novel in which I included a touch of paranormal was THE MURDERS AT ASTAIRE CASTLE. That Halloween mystery included rumors and hints of wolfmen and shapeshifters.
SHADOW OR MURDER was different. While writing, I often allow my characters to take over the storyline. When I realized the plotline was weaving into the area of paranormal spirits and demons, I got scared. I feared that I was writing about something that was totally out of my league.
I stopped and delved into research on something with which I was unfamiliar. That’s one of the reasons it took so long to write SHADOW OF MURDER! I had quite a few conversations with our church pastor, JoAnne Alexander, about the matter. She was a lot of help and even generously did a beta read of the book to ensure me that I hadn’t totally lost my mind.
But then, after conversations with JoAnne and as I dove deeper into the story of SHADOW OF MURDER, I became more aware about how easily some people can be influenced when they open themselves up to malevolent spirits and how much damage they can do to those around them. No, we don’t have demon possession and exorcisms in SHADOW OF MURDER! There are no scenes where someone is strapped to a bed and splashed with holy water. Rather, this mystery suggests that a suspect or two have been influenced by and are motivated by malevolent spirits or demons who have their own agendas.
Writing SHADOW OF MURDER did make me more aware of what could be going on in the spiritual realm. Before, I was vaguely aware that there could be invisible beings around us. Like that maybe my late mother, my biggest fan, was watching me write from over my shoulder and saying, “Good job!” or “When are you going to get Gnarly hit by a car?” (My mother hated Gnarly and often said I should get him hit by a car.) I have a friend who says that she can always tell when her late father is around when she smells his pipe. No one she knows smokes. So where is that scent coming from?
Has my research and writing of SHADOW OF MURDER convinced me that the actions of some around us has been influenced by something beyond their own motivations? Maybe by something sinister beyond our own realm? Like the spiritual realm? Well, my answer to that is to take a look at what is happening around us and around the world. What do you think?
That would be enough to make anyone anxious until you consider that where there is evil, there is also good. I mean, if we didn’t have evil, then we wouldn’t know what good is, right?
In SHADOW OF MURDER, there is also the suggestion of a guardian angel watching over one of the characters—and the form that this guardian angel takes. There is an early scene in SHADOW OF MURDER that suggests a cocky cockatoo named Teddy miraculously saves Erica Hart. Was that Teddy acting on his own, or was his actions influenced by a guardian angel.
Consider this. There is a scripture in the Bible that says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2) Who says these angels have to take human form? Who says mouthy cockatoo who likes to spout movie quotes and sing rock-n-roll can’t be a guardian angel in disguise?