Waiting out the rain, Milo Everhart takes stock of her widowhood and the handsome man standing in the door to the bar. Little does she know she will meet that man again and again under both passionate and terrifying circumstances.
Tristram Brody waits for his date, too conscious of the beautiful woman sitting by the door. Little does he know that she will hate him for trying to destroy her beloved art center, and even suspect him of murder. Nor that she will be drawn inevitably into his arms.
Little does either of them suspect they will be embroiled in not one, but two murders, in which the fate of the Torpedo Factory, an art center housed in an old munitions factory on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, will be decided.
Author Name: M. S. Spencer
Author URL: http://http:msspencertalespinner.blogspot.comAuthor Bio
Although M. S. Spencer has lived in Chicago, Boston, New York, France, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, and England, the last 30 years have been spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher, kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director and parent. Once she escaped academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She holds a BA from Vassar College, a Diploma in Arabic Studies from the American University in Cairo, and Masters in Anthropology and in Library Science from the University of Chicago. All of this tends to insinuate itself into her works.
Ms. Spencer has published seven romance novels. The first two, Lost in His Arms and Lost and Found, were published by Red Rose Publishing. The other five—Losers Keepers, Triptych, Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders, Mai Tais and Mayhem: Murder at Mote Marine, and Lapses of Memory—were published by Secret Cravings. She has two fabulous grown children, but only one cat (down from three, plus a dog, a snake and two hamsters). She currently divides her time between the Gulf coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
ISBN: 978-1-61885-250-2
Cover Artist: Dawné Dominique
Word Count: 64697
Formats: EPUB, HTML, LIT, MOBI, PDF
Title: Artful Dodging
Author: M.S. Spencer
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Buy Link: Buy Artful Dodging Here!
Rating: 
You Need To/Gotta Read
Reviewed By: Erin O’Quinn
Blurb:
Waiting out the rain, Milo Everhart takes stock of her widowhood and the handsome man standing in the door to the bar. Little does she know she will meet that man again and again under both passionate and terrifying circumstances.
Tristram Brody waits for his date, too conscious of the beautiful woman sitting by the door. Little does he know that she will hate him for trying to destroy her beloved art center, and even suspect him of murder. Nor that she will be drawn inevitably into his arms.
Little does either of them suspect they will be embroiled in not one, but two murders, in which the fate of the Torpedo Factory, an art center housed in an old munitions factory on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, will be decided.
Review:
M.S. Spencer has written a good murder-suspense romance, Artful Dodging, driven not just by multiple corpses and bewildering clues, but by sparkling wit and earthy, believable love scenes.
Milo is an artist, a kind of craftsperson who, with scores of other creative souls, uses the Torpedo Factory building as an artists’ enclave. Tristram Brodie is a retired marine and a successful lawyer representing a man who wants to subsume the art center under the oh-so-crass wing of a big-box store.
These two beautiful people have every reason to be attracted to each other–and to be repelled from each other too. First, Milo is a widow, her marine husband only a year in his grave; and Tristram, too, has lost his own wife in an airplane accident. Second, Tristram represents the tycoon trying to take over her beloved art center. She resents his obvious interest in subsuming the Torpedo Factory, and he thinks she is shallow for not seeing the obvious advantages to such a business arrangement. So sparks fly.
Yes, sparks fly, in between even more electric kisses and thrumming, exciting lovemaking, I found their chemistry to be fresh and believable.
Wondering whether the stranger she sees in the bar might be waiting for a woman, Milo thinks, “He probably always has a date, even during Lent.” And later she says of the striking Tristram, “Apparently being handsome had become a habit.”
After they have made love a few times, Milo admits that she is wholly attracted to this man, even though she feels guilty about betraying the memory of her deceased husband. “I want him grinding his hips into mine and whispering dirty words in my ear. I want to feel the tension, the rising pressure, the feel of that hard rod inside me, the rhythm of mating, the sweet release. I want to see that beatific smile on his face when I’ve given him the best ride of his life.”
Lest we forget, the story is also a murder mystery. Milo finds not just one body, but two. The mystery becomes more and more close to home, involving the caretaker of the art building and other people close to her and her friends. The “artful dodging” refers not just to the off-and-on relationship of the main characters but also to the movements of the men and women around them, any one of whom may be the killer. At the end, when Milo comes face to face with the killer, the dodging is over and she must face the stark reality of murder.
But it is the romance between the protagonists that I will remember with a bit of a pleasurable twinge and a smile. The characters are very well imagined and their interpersonal tensions, required by the very genre, are very well handled.
I give this book a 4.5 out of 5. Although the mystery itself is a bit labored and even a tad dull, the romance is delicious and memorable, and the writer shows that she is nimble at her craft.
Artful Dodging: The Torpedo Factory Murders
Waiting out the rain, Milo Everhart takes stock of her widowhood and the handsome man standing in the door to the bar. Little does she know she will meet that man again and again under both passionate and terrifying circumstances.
Tristram Brody waits for his date, too conscious of the beautiful woman sitting by the door. Little does he know that she will hate him for tryin...more
ebook
Published April 24th 2012 by Secret Cravings
Artful Dodging; The Torpedo Factory Muders by M.S. Spencer
Waiting out the rain, Milo Everhart takes stock of her widowhood and the handsome man standing in the door to the bar. Little does she know she will meet that man again and again under both passionate and terrifying circumstances.
Tristram Brody waits for his date, too conscious of the beautiful woman sitting by the door. Little does he know that she will hate him for trying to destroy her beloved art center, and even suspect him of murder. Nor that she will be drawn inevitably into his arms.
Little does either of them suspect they will be embroiled in not one, but two murders, in which the fate of the Torpedo Factory, an art center housed in an old munitions factory on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, will be decided.
This is the third book I’ve read by M.S. Spencer and it did not disappoint me. Her books are tightly written, her characters well-drawn and she keeps me guessing who did it right up until the end—which is difficult to do, because I usually guess at least halfway through. But when you read her biography, you can understand how she manages it. Ms. Spencer is well-educated, well-traveled and she brings a wealth of experience into her writing, along with a finely-honed sense of the craft. Bravo. I highly recommend this book.
Length: 202 Pages
Price: $5.99
You’ll notice I always include the publisher’s buy link. That’s because authors usually receive 40% of the book price from the publisher. Editors and cover artists usually receive about 5%. When you buy a book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble or another third-party vendor, they take a hefty cut and the author, editors and cover artists receive their cuts from what is left. So, if a book costs $5.99 at E-Book Publisher.com and you buy from there, the author will receive about $2.40. If you buy the book at Amazon, the author will receive about $0.83.
Downloading the file from your computer to your Kindle is as easy as transferring any file from your computer to a USB flash drive. Plug the USB end of your chord into a USB port on your computer and simply move the file from your “Downloads” box to your Kindle/Documents/Books directory. I actually download my books using “Save As” to a “Books” file on my computer that’s sorted by my publisher, friends, and books “to review,” and then transfer them to my Kindle from there. That way, if there’s a glitch with my Kindle, the books are on my computer. Your author will be happy you did when he/she sees his/her royalty statement.
 Posted by reviewing.vixens on November 14, 2012 at 10:20 PM |
|
Waiting out the rain, Milo Everhart takes stock of her widowhood and the handsome man standing in the door to the bar. Little does she know she will meet that man again and again under both passionate and terrifying circumstances.
Tristram Brody waits for his date, too conscious of the beautiful woman sitting by the door. Little does he know that she will hate him for trying to destroy her beloved art center, and even suspect him of murder. Nor that she will be drawn inevitably into his arms.
Little does either of them suspect they will be embroiled in not one, but two murders, in which the fate of the Torpedo Factory, an art center housed in an old munitions factory on the waterfront in Old Town Alexandria, will be decided.
Title: Artful Dodging: the Torpedo Factory Murders
Author: M. S. Spencer
Genre: Romantic Suspense/Mystery
Publisher: Secret Cravings Publishing
Reviewed By: Raven
Artfully Dodging: The Torpedo Factory Murders by M. S. Spencer is a Romantic Suspense/Mystery revolving around an artists community who call the Torpedo Factory home. The Torpedo Factory is literally that, or rather was, repurposed from mass destruction to beauty and life.
The main female character, Milo Everhart, is embroiled in the center of both this artists community and the imminent murder mystery. Our main male character, Tristram Brodie, former Marine turned lawyer in the same town as Milo, is helping the big box company trying to oust the artists from the Factory. They butt heads between bursts of sexual encounters before they each seem to take a side after the untimely demise within the Factory.
While reading this book I found the language a bit frivolous and often times too descriptive that it distracted me. Our main female seemed to have an attack of conscience every other chapter that had me wondering where the story line was headed. There were several moments in the book though that caught me off-guard and, quite literally, had me laughing out loud. The conclusion, ie: solving of the crime, was well thought out, well described and filled the reader in well.
Though the writing was a bit overdone in my opinion and there were a few jerky moment's where the story leapt from point A to B, I would have to say that it was an overall good telling by M. S. Spencer and I may just read her next book.
PG-13 - Very Interesting
Quite good, we recommend it
Story Excerpt
The sleet had tapered off, and the moon began its stroll across the cumulus highway as Milo entered the restaurant. She passed through the dining room to the cozy bar in the back. Tristram sat in one of the overstuffed club chairs. He saw her and waved to the bartender.
“Jack Daniels?”
“Sure.”
He ordered drinks and a plate of assorted cheeses.
Three hours, four more rounds, and two more cheese plates later, Milo figured she’d better start asking Tristram some questions. But she didn’t really feel like it. She felt like she knew enough already, so she settled for gazing into his deep green eyes and smiling inanely. Which was okay because apparently that’s what Tristram had settled for too. Milo realized with a jolt that no one had said anything for at least five minutes. Come on, Milo. You’re too old for crushes.
“I really must be going. It’s been very…”
He reached across the table, put a gentle hand on her neck, and brought her into blissful contact with his lips. “Nice.”
She realigned her jaw and her heart and rose a little shakily. “Um.”
He jumped up. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
“I…okay.”
They walked stiffly out of the bar, stumbling only once on the threshold. Tristram steadied her. A few minutes later they broke apart to take a breath. The sidewalk had cleared during the evening, and they were alone. He took her back into his arms and kissed her, moving his tongue around the inside of her lips and making slurping noises as though she tasted like a chocolate milkshake.
He pulled away but held onto her hand. “Let’s go home.”
She let him lead her down King Street to a black Jaguar, and they drove in silence the few blocks to Lee Street. The moon rode high over a little terraced park. They watched it float a minute, then Tristram took her hand again and they went inside.
Adult Excerpt
“Magical.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
Across the river the lights of Fort Washington dotted the water with pinpricks of phosphorescence. Behind the couple on the bench the strings of silver bulbs outlining George Washington’s home shone brightly, creating long black shadows down the lawn. Two heads nestled together. Milo purred.
“Are you cold?”
“A little.”
“You want to go in?”
“No. I’m too content to move.”
She heard the chuckle in his voice. “It’s been a…nice day, hasn’t it?”
She snuggled closer under his arm. “Very.”
He kissed the top of her head tentatively. “Do you mind?”
“Uh uh.”
He pulled her chin toward him and softly kissed her lips. She was too relaxed, too happy to argue. Tristram peered at her. “I can’t see your face. Are you smiling?”
For an answer, she reached up and pulled him to her. A few minutes later he placed a gentle hand on her breast and tickled the nipple through the layers of fabric, making her heart spin.
“Let’s go home.”
The familiar words brought her back to reality. “What about Ursula?”
“Ursula? What about her?”
“Don’t you live together?”
He paused. “No.” The unspoken words were clear. No more questions.
On the drive back, her tranquil state gave way to anticipation. Tristram whipped his Jaguar in and out of the sleepy parkway traffic, never overly reckless, but enough to get her heart beating faster. He didn’t speak. For some reason, his silence aroused her even more. What is he thinking? Is he going to make love to me or drop me off like so much used tissue?
They pulled up in front of Tristram’s townhouse on Lee Street. The last time they’d been together, the surroundings had paled before other, more pressing needs. Now, as he handed her out, Milo paused to survey the park that lay between them and the river. The sky opened up here, a change from the tall, impendent row houses and narrow streets of Old Town. Stars flashed in the Milky Way, and the moon grinned at her as she shivered in the chill breeze.
Tristram took her arm. “Do you think we’ll have a white Christmas this year?”
The question first hit her as so unromantic, she worried her little dream would dissipate into the night, but then the words took on a cozy kind of comfort, like the chitchat of an old established couple. “I don’t know.”
He sniffed the air. “Smells like snow. Come on, Milo.”
She followed him, stifling both the disappointment and her desire. He’s going to offer me a drink and send me home. And that’s okay. I’ll be fine. Oh, but look at that butt and those shoulders. Is he sexier in Armani or L.L. Bean?
He closed the door behind her, ran his arms around her middle, and kissed the back of her neck. The little hairs rose to meet him. Electricity shot through her like a high-tension power line. He touched the top of her head and slowly spun her around to face him. His eyes burned into hers, and her mouth went dry.
“Milo?”
“Yes, Tristram?”
“Do you know where you are?”
“Um…your house?”
He grinned. “Just checking. You didn’t remember much about our last…encounter, and I want to make sure you are conscious during every single minute you spend here.”
Yeah, right. Forget the small talk and take me to bed, you big gorgeous lug.
“Okay.”
Oh my God, I said that out loud! Shit.
It was too late to take back. He didn’t appear to be listening anyway. He dropped her coat on the floor and lifted her, taking the stairs two at a time. Translucent shafts of light from a recessed panel illuminated the California king that took up most of the room.
Tristram lit a tall, white candle on the bureau and touched her shoulder. “Milo? May I?”
One hand went to the buttons on her blouse, and he undid them carefully. Why did he have to be so polite? Why didn’t he just rip her clothes off like he did the last time? Not that I remember. She let the blouse fall, her breath coming in short gasps. He reached out and cupped one of her breasts, encased in delicate orchid lace. He pulled the lace down with his index finger, allowing the nipple to lift its hungry head. He flicked at it until it stood up hard and ready for something more substantial. Obligingly, he leaned down and licked it. Then he gently unhooked the bra and licked the other nipple. Milo didn’t think she could stand much more.
His hand moved to the button of her jeans. She tightened her abdomen as he unzipped them and let his hand reach in and cup the mound. She fought the urge to press against it but gave in when he started to knead. Her vulva inflamed, releasing the juices like slow-moving lava, soaking the thin material of her bikini.
He pulled the jeans off and knelt before her. His fingers wormed their way under the panties and tickled her yearning lips. Her mind emptied of everything but the aching in her vagina. He rolled the bit of lace off, tossed it in a corner, and began to suck. Slurping and swallowing, he twisted the sensitive flesh and sent his tongue to palpate her clitoris. Milo spread her legs wider, her pussy riding his mouth like a rodeo cowgirl. The candle flickered, shimmering on his desire-glazed eyes. She shouldn’t have looked at his face—it brought her to instant orgasm. She held a hand to her mouth to stop the scream. He pulled away from her, dribbling wet kisses down the inside of her thighs.
Then her lover moved lightning fast. He tore his clothes off, pushed her onto the bed, and moved up to close with her. His cock, hard and healthy, inserted itself into her. She folded her legs around his back and began the delectable climb to climax. He slid in and out, his penis scratching the itch inside her vagina. There. Almost there. Almost…arggggh.
He collapsed on top of her.
None
