Monday, June 16, 2014

Book:Hide and Seek: Author Amy Shojai Pens Another Winner!

Author Amy Shojai to me, epitomizes the meaning of the word, Wordsmith .  I recently was afforded the honor of reviewing her second book in the September Day Thriller-Mystery-Suspense series,  titled Hide and Seek (her first was Lost and Found, which I also was afforded the honor of reviewing, after my dog, Dakota won the: Name That Dog" contest to help Amy find a name for some of the furry characters in her book.  More than 85 names were suggested with close to 800 votes!)


  While the first  book was excellent, Hide and Seek was SUPERB.

When reading Amy Shojai's mysteries, I never felt as if I was  a passive observer,  I felt as if I was  thrust  into the captivating and riveting story line. My heart pounded with anticipation, my stomach churned,  I grasped at my blanket that I was wrapped in on my couch and nestled deeper into it, dark fingers of suspense and fear pulled me   into the 240 plus pages of this nail-biter.

Overview (Courtesy of amyshojai.com)

A STALKER hides in plain sight.
A VICTIM faces her worst fear.
AND A DOG seeks the missing—and finds hope.
Eight years ago, animal behaviorist September Day escaped a sadistic captor who left her ashamed, terrified, and struggling with PTSD. She trusts no one—except her cat Macy and service dog Shadow.
Shadow also struggles with trust. A German Shepherd autism service dog who rescued his child partner only to lose his-boy forever, Shadow’s crippling fear of abandonment shakes his faith in humans.
They are each others’ only chance to survive the stalker’s vicious payback, but have only 24 hours to uncover the truth about Macy’s mysterious illness or pay the deadly consequences. When September learns to trust again, and a good-dog takes a chance on love, together they find hope in the midst of despair–and discover what family really means.

Author Amy Shojai is a certified animal behavior consultant and the award-winning author of 27 bestselling pet books.  Her "pedigree", makes the thoughts and actions of the animals depicted in Hide and Seek,  authentic and completely believable.  It also provides a sensitivity and in-depth understanding of an animal's motivation, needs and feelings that others with less experience would be hard-pressed to convey.

From Hide and Seek: As with LOST AND FOUND that launched this dog viewpoint series, much of this book is based on science, especially dog and cat behavior and learning theory, and the benefits of service dogs. A vast number of veterinarians, behaviorists, consultants, trainers and pet-centric writers and rescue organizations offered their incredible resources and support to help make the pet-centric storyline as accurate as possible.

The human characters that Author Shojai has crafted come to life on the pages in a vibrant and often terrifying way. Each character is masterfully woven into the plot,  with their own detailed sub-stories and histories, their purpose not always evident until details are revealed and the reader gasps in recognition of their relevance.

As Dr.Lorie Huston, the President of the Cat Writers Association states on the back cover,  Hide and Seek is "recommended for anyone who likes a "bite-your-nails, hold-your-breath" kind of thriller.
For me, Hide and Seek was more than just a book, it was an experience. If I used stars for ratings, it would receive the highest number of stars that I could assign to it.

In addition to the information about Author Amy Shojai mentioned above,  Amy is also the Puppies Expert at puppies.About.com, the cat behavior expert at cats.About.com, and has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet's DOGS 101 and CATS 101. Amy brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to public appearances.

$11.99 Trade Paper, $4.99 Kindle
Author: Amy Shojai
Series: September Day Series, Book 2
Genre: Thriller-Mystery-Suspense
Publisher: Cool Gus Publishing
Publication Year: 2014
ISBN: 9781621251477
Amy-Magic-Seren-Karma
Amy-Magic-Seren-Karma

WHERE YOU CAN FIND AMY SHOJAI:

AMY SHOJAI, CABC
IAABC Certified Behavior Consultant



In full disclosure: I was given a complimentary copy of Hide and Seek in exchange for my honest review which I was not compensated for. In an unprecedented move, I am featuring Hide and Seek on BOTH of my blogs today, because it's THAT GOOD.







44 comments:

  1. Ditto we must check it out. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  2. Sounds utterly thrilling! Yay! Take care
    x

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  3. Sounds like a great read!

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  4. I loved this book, too. I always tell people to not start this unless they have a good chunk of uninterrupted time ahead of them, because it's almost impossible to put down!

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    1. Ingrid you are right! And...with all of the detail it took me quite a bit longer than most do....I just ADORED IT!

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  5. Getting it on my Kindle device. Thanks for the recommendation, I'm always looking for summer reading.

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  6. That does sound like a great book. Got to save up our quarters. Great review. Take care.

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  7. Sounds like a great book, perfect review!

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  8. This one is going on the mom's summer reading list for sure!

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  9. This book sounds great!!!!! I will definitely have to get it this summer for sure!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  10. It sounds like a great summer read, we just hope the mom can handle all the excitement! MOL And we were excited to see Lorie's name too cause our mom chatted with her on the plane to Blogpaws.

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  11. My goodness that sounds really like a good one!

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  12. Meee-WOW, can you see my *virtual* tail wagging? I'm so thrilled you enjoyed the book (Magical-Dawg and Seren-Kitty send greetings...Karma wonders what all the fuss is about *s*). Really hope that folks will also share reviews on amazon, etc, that helps enormously for readers to find the book.

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    1. Amy MOL!!!!! Thank you!! Oh you made me laugh! Please send love back to Magical-Dawg and Seren!! MOL about Karma! Will definitely share the review on Amazon when I catch up with my email!

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    2. Thank you! So appreciate all the great shout-outs and interest. Hope everyone enjoys reading the book as much as I do writing it...

      Oh, and Karma thinks HE should star in the next one. We'll see....

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  13. That sounds like a great and exciting read. I really do need to get a Kindle but my broadband is so slow I don't know if it would work well.

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    1. Hi Flynn, thanks for the kind words! Once you download the book to your kindle (or to the PC or even to an iPhone--it's available all those places *s*) you don't need the Internet anymore. It's just...there. Thank heaven's for techie folks cuz I haven't a clue how else such "schtuff" works. *s*

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  14. Pawsome review, Caren! Mysteries are Glogirly's favorite...When there's a stack of books on her nightstand, the mysteries always find their way to the top!

    PS - not sure why, but we've been having some trouble commenting on your blog for the past few days. We've not been able to get the comment window to appear....the one you type in that is. Just thought you might like to know. It might be something on our end since others can obviously comment. not sure!

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    1. Thanks so much!!! Also, thanks about the commenting. Blogger was acting up for me yesterday (wouldn't let me load photos), so it could be that. Also, with my practically constant email outage there is a chance that maybe that was affected too? I don't know. Thanks much for alerting me to this.

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  15. Sounds like a really good book. Thanks for the review.
    Sue B

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  16. Sounds like a great read! We must tell the human to check it out... :-) Have a PURRFECT week! :-) xx Roxy & Tigerlino <3

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  17. Great review Caren! It is nice when the person doing the reviewing obviously loved the book (as you evidently did!) as that is always a wonderful recommendation!

    the critters in the cottage xo

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    1. LP thanks sooo much! I know, I guess I should restrain myself more lol. I truly LOVED this book!

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  18. Caren - if this comment is a duplicate, please delete it, but I think I am having trouble commenting through Google and so I am using the name/url method instead! I sure hope that it has not affected comments I have left you in past blog posts! Anyhow - great review!! I typically don't read mysteries, but based on your assessment of this thriller, I think I need to make an exception! I am so thrilled to consider Amy a friend and am not surprised that she wrote another fantastic book!

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    1. Hi Deb! Nope, it's not a duplicate! Thanks for your persistence! You and Glogirly were both having trouble, hoping it isn't a Google issue. I typically don't read mysteries either, I made an exception for Amy (on both of her books) and OMG I am THRILLED that I did. Her mysteries are so suspense-filled, I find most mysteries to be boring, and most of the time I could care less "who done it" lol, her's aren't like that at all!!! You will love it, I promise!

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    2. *blush* Deb, I would be honored for you to read the book and (hopefully) like it, too. Means a lot to have colleagues--and friends--be so supportive.

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  19. Oh my goodness---I can see my human Tommy already--needing me to curl up to during the scarey parts...we may need to get a copy of this book!! :) Thanks for the review!

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    1. yep you got it! Tommy will need you for sure! You will love it!

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  20. Wow, great review Caren, it seems more rare to find a book that one gets so engrossed in and that they aren't able to put down. It is interesting how her animal behaviorist element is interwoven with the storyline of the animals too.

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  21. Mommy is adding this book to her "book list"! Thanks for the review!

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  22. That sure sounds like a great book. We are going to have to check this one out, for sure!

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  23. Ooooooooooooooooo!
    That sounds like a great read!
    Very nice review :)
    Purrs Georgia and Julie,
    Treasure and JJ

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  24. Oh my! The cover looks so scary!
    Sounds like it will be good...

    Noodle

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  25. Glad yous enjoyed it.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi

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  26. Love knowing what books are out there :-)

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  27. Sounds like a great book! Mom loves a good thriller. We'll have to check it out!

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  28. Again, thanks to everyone for the kind comments. I love writing stories with special cats and dogs in the plot...makes it that much more special for me. And besides...my Magical-Dawg, Seren-Kitty and Karma-Kitten make sure they're well represented. *s*

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