I've never done a book tour before, so after agreeing to participate in a TLC Book Tour for Julia Heaberlin's Playing Dead, I was a little nervous. What if I hated the book? It seems really awkward to link-up to a blog tour with a negative review, but I wouldn't give it a fake good review.
Luckily my worries were for nothing! I really enjoyed Playing Dead, even though I normally never would've picked a book like this. For one, all the cover blurbs mention how suspenseful it is, and we all know that I don't do suspense. For another, the main character is a girl named Tommie, and I have a thing about baby names. Tommie with an -ie? Weird.
But in spite of those things, Playing Dead was a fun, fast-paced, twisty mystery. It all starts when psychologist Tommie McCloud goes back to Texas for her father's funeral. She receives a letter from a woman claiming to be her mother, saying that Tommie was kidnapped from her thirty-one years ago. The woman Tommie always thought was her mother is in a nursing home with dementia, and can't answer Tommie's questions. So Tommie starts doing some research on her own, and quickly comes to suspect that her whole life might be a lie. She finds unpleasant ties to the Chicago Mafia, and then mysterious strangers start cropping up -- and several of them try to kill her. On the run for her life, Tommie has to question everything she's always thought was true. Who is her mother? Who is trying to kill her and why?
The story is set mainly in Texas, in the ranch country where Tommie has lived all her life. But her questions will take her back and forth across Texas, and as far as Chicago and New York in search of the truth. As the threats to Tommie, her sister Sadie, and her niece Maddie come from every direction, Tommie must dig deep within herself to find the answers to her questions and to figure out whom she can truly trust.
I recommend this book if you're a fan of suspenseful, surprising mysteries. Check out Julia Heaberlin's website if you want to know more about her or Playing Dead.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Should I recommend this to my grandma? Sure, unless she's easily frightened.
Win it! One of you (US addresses, no PO Boxes) can win a copy of Playing Dead for your own!
Update: 7/2 The first winner random.org picked was #12, Jill, who didn't want to be entered. The second was #5, Lisa, who set up the blog tour. But, the third time was the charm! #11, Kelly Wiggains, who lives in Texas and likes mysteries! Perfect! Congratulations Kelly, I'll be emailing you for your details...
I received a copy of the book (plus the copy one of you will win) in exchange for participating in the tour, but my opinions are all my own, and I was not compensated for them!
