Thursday, August 13, 2015

Review & Giveaway: Secrets Don't Keep by Elora Ramirez



Secrets Dont Keep Synopsis:

My name is Kera Collins, and I would do anything for a golden nod.

At first glance, my life appears perfect: the best friends, the best school, the attention of Dex Albright, the deliciously irresistible grandson to the Headmaster. All I need is the prestige behind La Boheme, an elite secret society formed within the walls of my school, and my life would be complete. Once I’m in, I’ll be the one with all of the secrets.

It’s just…no one told me these secrets could kill.

Buy Links:
Amazon
What I thought about Secrets Don't Keep
I was eager to read this because I really liked the two previous books I read by this author, and the synopsis for Secrets Don't Keep was very different from those books so I was intrigued.  

Secrets Don't Keep has a little bit of everything -- romance, suspense, and mystery.  It's about secret societies, the filthy rich and what their privilege brings to them, and how it can easily get carried away.

Kera Collins has been waiting for one thing -- that's the invitation for the secret society at the elite school she attends that can open up all sorts of doors for her.  Her best friends are waiting too, but not everyone gets in.

Dex Albright is her boyfriend, one of those instant boyfriends where their eyes meet, and it's over.  Okay, maybe not quite that instant, but things move quickly between them. I liked these two together.

Then there's Sebastian, Kera's best friend, and Season, her roommate.  They just happen to be entwined with the mystery of the secret society, especially after they uncover some questionable activities. 

When the invites to La Boheme are delivered, it causes quite a bit of tension between the friends.  But that isn't all there is to it and details regarding the true motives of the headmaster and his secret society get unraveled and gradually revealed. 

The story is told with chapters alternating between past and present. This helps  build up a good amount of tension by revealing what's going on in little bits. I thought the author did a great job of keeping this story moving quickly.  I really tore through it because I was really drawn into the story.

It's been a while since I've read a YA that had such a nice blend of action, suspense and romance.  Secrets Don't Keep manages to be sexy without being explicit, which I like in a YA read. 

So likable characters, with a predictable plot made interesting with a crafty delivery, the right pacing, a nice level of complexity and good writing.  I enjoyed this and will be looking for more from this author. 

ARC provided for review.



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Blog Tour Schedule:
August 11
Book Briefs        Review Only     
Coffee Books & Art         Excerpt
Her Book Thoughts        Review
August 12
Pages Abound   Review
A Dream Within A Dream           Excerpt
booknista           Excerpt
August 13
Red Hot _+ Blue Reads  Review Only     
I Read Indie                      Playlist 
FMR Book Grind              Review Only     
Souls Readers                  Excerpt
August 14
21st Century Once Upon A Times            Excerpt
grownupfangirl               Guest Post        
Once Upon A Twilight    Review Only     
August 15
The Nerdgirl Review       Review
The Golden Mantle        Review
Mythical Books                Guest Post        
August 16
SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews        Dreamcast        
The Smut-Brarians         Review
Natural Bri - Pursuits of Life        Review
August 17
Books and Bubble Bath               Review
A girl and her books       Review
August 18
Resch Reads and Reviews           Review Only     
Alpha Book Club             Review
August 19
Oops! I Read A Book Again         Excerpt
Evermore Books             Guest Post        
Adventures in Writing                  Excerpt
August 20
Southern Belle Book Blog            Excerpt
August 21
Collector of book boyfriends      Dreamcast        
August 22
Romance Obsessed Book Blog                 Review
August 23
YOLOFORALIVING           Review
Boundless Book Reviews             Excerpt
Books Can Take You There         Review
August 24
In a Bookish World         Excerpt
Love Affair With Fiction               Excerpt
August 25
Between The Lines         Review Only     
The Book Enthusiast      Dreamcast        
alpha book club              Review
The Phantom Paragrapher          Review Only     
Jax's Book Magic             Review

Elora Ramirez Bio:


Elora Ramirez has been telling stories her whole life.

It started when she was four, when she taught herself how to read and write as a way to entertain herself while her grandmother kicked and danced in aerobics class. She cut her teeth on books from Dr. Seuss and writing anywhere she could find the space -- including her Fischer Price kitchenette, the pages of picture books, and Highlights Magazines.

She's matured a bit since then, now choosing to write in the margins of her books and on the mirrors of her apartment ideas and thoughts surrounding story and what makes us human. You can read more on her blog, eloranicole.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Release Week Blitz, Excerpt & Giveaway: Better When He's Brave by Jay Crownover

Better When He's Brave - Release Week Blitz banner  

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the

Release Week Blitz

for Jay Crownover's

BETTER WHEN HE'S BRAVE!! 

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE
is a
New Adult Contemporary Romance
and is a part of
Jay Crownover’s Welcome to the Point Series

This awesome book is available now! Go grab your copy today!

   

Better When Hes Brave - cover

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE Synopsis:

In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover’s third novel in her sexy, thrilling Welcome to the Point series, a woman’s search for repentance leads her to the one man from her past she can’t forget as they join forces to save their city—and the explosive love neither can live without.

Titus King sees the world in black and white. Right and wrong. Which is why as a teenager he left behind the only family he’d ever known to make a better life for himself. Now a police detective in one of the worst cities in the country, he can’t deny his life has turned into a million different shades of gray.

The new criminal element in The Point has brought vengeance and destruction right to Titus’s front door, and the difference between right and wrong is nothing compared to keeping those he loves alive. To add to his already strained moral compass, the beautiful and mysterious Reeve Black has made her way back to town, and she might be as dangerous to Titus as the guy trying to destroy the Point because he needs her—in more ways than one.

Reeve knows all about how ruthless this new threat to destroy The Point can be… and instead of running away, she wants to help. She has a lot to repent for and saving the city, plus the hot cop that she hasn’t been able to forget might just be the only way she can finally find some inner peace.

With an entire city poised on the brink of war, Titus and Reeve stand in the crossfire—and it will take two brave souls to fight for the ultimate love.


BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE Excerpt:


It hit me like a ton of bricks. So heavy and hard it almost took me to my knees. Roark had been going after the thing that mattered most to me from the very beginning. I cared about the people that still had a shot to make it out of the Point. I fought for the innocent and the young because I often felt like no one else was going to. Every person that Roark had hurt, had twisted, had infected in his quest to exact his revenge had been someone I’d sworn I would protect and keep safe.
It started with the kid whose neck he snapped and ditched outside of the Pit. Just some dumb jock barely in his twenties that liked to gamble, but he was just a kid and deserved a better end. Then it was the club. Before it burned to the ground, Nassir had been deliberately lured away and all the victims were just kids out looking for some trouble and fun. They lost their lives doing what kids all across the country did every single day. After that it was the girl on the dock and the armed stripper at Spanky’s. Two girls too young to be caught up in that kind of life and too young to be dead. Two girls I should’ve been able to keep safe. And lastly there was my brother. Sure, Bax was far from innocent, far from having a shot at a good and law-abiding life, but he was still my only family, my blood, and even if I had let him down in the past, I took my duty to keep him safe and keep him out of trouble to heart now. Killing Bax would have served the dual purpose of exacting revenge on the man who Roark thought was responsible for his father’s death and rubbing salt into the wound I would suffer for being unable to protect him.
The realization of how insidious and malicious as well as how fucking brilliant in his evil machinations Roark was had me shaking so hard I almost missed Brysen’s words as she whispered “Someone needs to stop him; he can’t be allowed to go after anyone anymore.”
I blew out a breath and tried to steady myself. “I’m trying.”
She narrowed her very blue eyes. “Try harder.”
No wonder Race was sprung on her. She looked like a doll but had the bite of a barracuda. She was his perfect match in that way—all golden and glossy on the outside but made of stronger, more resilient stuff on the inside. If Roark did have Karsen, I sure hoped the younger Carter was as tough as Brysen.
Just as the big, black utility vehicles with SWAT team members and the bomb technicians rolled up to the scene, the metal front doors at the front of the school clanked open and Booker came striding through with his arm wrapped around an obviously shaken and upset Karsen. The teen looked so tiny and fragile next to the giant man that it had murderous rage toward Roark thumping heavy not just through my heart but the heart of the beast that was wide awake in my chest and hungry for retribution.
Brysen let out a squeal and took off running toward the duo. I should’ve stopped her considering the building still wasn’t secure and I still had no idea where Roark was lurking, but I didn’t have the heart to keep her away from her sister. The two blondes hugged and then they were both crying as Booker was ripped away from the teen and slapped into cuffs by the same cop he has shoved over only moments before.
Karsen started yelling when the cop started to haul Booker away, but Brysen shushed her and guided her over to where I was still standing. I watched curiously as the guys dressed in black tactical gear unloaded a robot that looked like something from Star Wars and used a computer to guide it toward the front of the school. I was dying to know if they were going to find anything or if this had all been some elaborate ruse Roark had staged only to show me he had me right where he wanted me.
“Are you okay?” The teenager was crying big, fat, silent tears but she looked unharmed. She nodded and looked in the direction where the cops had taken Booker.
“Why is he getting arrested? He was the only one that came and looked for me.” Ouch. That accusation burned hot across my skin.
“He pushed a cop. They tend to take offense at that. Why were you still inside the building, Karsen? What happened?” I didn’t want to press her too hard because she was obviously pretty shaken up but I didn’t have any time to waste either.

And don’t miss the previous books in 

The Point Series!

Better WhenHe's Bad

BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

Better When Hes Bold

BETTER WHEN HE’S BOLD

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes


   Better When He's Brave - Available Now    


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Jay Crownover 

About Jay Crownover: 

Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and The Point series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs. 

  


    

Website ** Blog ** Facebook ** Twitter

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE Goodreads 

Jay Crownover Goodreads

 

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Monday, August 10, 2015

Release day launch with Excerpt & Giveaway: Secrets Don't Keep by Elora Ramirez

Secrets Don't Keep RDL BanIt’s release day for 
Elora Ramirez’s 
Secrets Don’t Keep! 

 I am so excited about this fantastic young adult thriller, and I’m super excited to be sharing it with you. 

Elora is sharing an exclusive excerpt with us, and a giveaway, so be sure to check it all out!


unnamed (19)


Secrets Don’t Keep Synopsis:

My name is Kera Collins, and I would do anything for a golden nod.

At first glance, my life appears perfect: the best friends, the best school, the attention of Dex Albright, the deliciously irresistible grandson to the Headmaster. All I need is the prestige behind La Boheme, an elite secret society formed within the walls of my school, and my life would be complete. Once I’m in, I’ll be the one with all of the secrets.

It’s just…no one told me these secrets could kill.

Buy Links

 
 Amazon    

Exclusive Excerpt

I know most people don’t get excited about the beginning of another school year, but I’m not most people, and this isn’t your ordinary school. And somewhere deep inside, I think there’s a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe this will be the year I get a golden envelope.

It sounds hilarious and fake, but it’s legit, and the definition behind Grove’s legacy of A-list alumni.

La Boheme.

A secret society offering immediate acceptance into an Ivy League of your choice. Social proof that lasts for decades. First dibs on societies that are just tiny rumors on our nation’s radar.

Skull and Bones.

Euclians.

Bilderberg.

From there, the influence is unlimited. The society dates back to our school’s origin and holds roots in the birth of some of the most promising universities. Essentially, La Boheme is the breeding ground for the nation’s elite.

The envelopes come the first week of school. I would do anything for a golden nod. I rub my fingers together in a small circle and daydream about endless funds and absolute power.

We make our way down the cobblestone drive and I watch the lacrosse team, already on campus for practices, run drills on a nearby field. Given the way a few of them keep tripping over their sticks, I imagine this must be the first year team. To their right a few guys throw a football across the quad. Everywhere students are getting situated and carrying boxes into their tiny rooms, now makeshift homes until Christmas break.

A slow smile spreads across my face and I nervously tap my fingers against my bare legs. My phone vibrates and I glance down to read the text. It’s Season.

OMG where are you?! You’ll never believe the rug I brought back from Bali. It’s divine.

I shake my head and type in a quick response.

It’s about time you texted. I just got here. Be there soon.
I shift in my seat with anticipation. This year, Season and I managed to get into Ivy Hall, the building reserved for a select number of seniors. It’s by and large the most striking of the dorms, with stone edifices and ivy that snakes it’s way up and over the walls. For the past three years, we dreamed about living here one day. It rests against the back of the campus and in front of a wooded area that’s a rumored host to many soirees reserved for the third and fourth years. But that’s just a cover. Those parties?

They’re La Boheme.

At least, that’s what I’ve heard.

Just getting into the dorm feels like a transcendent promise.

I gaze out the window and shuffle my feet in anticipation.



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Blogs Taking Part in the Release Day Launch

Blog Name

In a Bookish World

Red Hot _+ Blue Reads

Collector of book boyfriends

The Nerdgirl Review

Romance Obsessed Book Blog

The Shadow Realm

A World Between Folded Pages

Tumbleweed Book Reviews

Mythical Books

Souls Readers

Pages Abound

Pages Abound

Natural Bri - Pursuits of Life

The Book Enthusiast

Coffee Books & Art

alpha book club

Alpha Book Club

21st Century Once Upon A Times

Books Can Take You There

Avid Reader Musings

Adventures in Writing

Jael's Reviews

Jax's Book Magic

A Dream Within A Dream

A girl and her books

undercover book reviews

I Read Indie

Up All Night Book Addict

Resch Reads and Reviews

Books and Bubble Bath

The Golden Mantle

Between The Lines

Boundless Book Reviews

Evermore Books

Love Affair With Fiction

Literary Meanderings

I Dare You ToRead

YOLOFORALIVING

The Smut-Brarians

booknista

One Night Book Stand

Ogitchida Kwe's Book Blog

Zili in the Sky

oh the book feels

Lost in Ever After

G & T Indié Cafe

Country Gals Sexy Reads

Deszy könyvajánlója

Have Words Will Scribble

BCS Reviews

Blushing Book Blog

Nerdy Book Freak

Elora Ramirez Bio:
unnamed (22)
 
Elora Ramirez has been telling stories her whole life.

It started when she was four, when she taught herself how to read and write as a way to entertain herself while her grandmother kicked and danced in aerobics class. She cut her teeth on books from Dr. Seuss and writing anywhere she could find the space -- including her Fischer Price kitchenette, the pages of picture books, and Highlights Magazines.

She's matured a bit since then, now choosing to write in the margins of her books and on the mirrors of her apartment ideas and thoughts surrounding story and what makes us human. You can read more on her blog, eloranicole.com
 Links: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Author Goodreads  

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, Giveaway:Better When He's Brave by Jay Crownover

Better When He's Brave - Review & Excerpt Tour banner  

We are so incredibly excited to bring you the

Review & Excerpt Tour
for
Jay Crownover's 

BETTER WHEN HE'S BRAVE!! 

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE
is a
New Adult Contemporary Romance novel
being published by HarperCollins,
and it is the 3rd book in
Welcome to the Point Series
.

This amazing book releases on August 11th!!

 

Better When Hes Brave - cover

Amazon ** Barnes & Noble ** iTunes

About BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE:

In New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover’s third novel in her sexy, thrilling Welcome to the Point series, a woman’s search for repentance leads her to the one man from her past she can’t forget as they join forces to save their city—and the explosive love neither can live without.

Titus King sees the world in black and white. Right and wrong. Which is why as a teenager he left behind the only family he’d ever known to make a better life for himself. Now a police detective in one of the worst cities in the country, he can’t deny his life has turned into a million different shades of gray.

The new criminal element in The Point has brought vengeance and destruction right to Titus’s front door, and the difference between right and wrong is nothing compared to keeping those he loves alive. To add to his already strained moral compass, the beautiful and mysterious Reeve Black has made her way back to town, and she might be as dangerous to Titus as the guy trying to destroy the Point because he needs her—in more ways than one.

Reeve knows all about how ruthless this new threat to destroy The Point can be… and instead of running away, she wants to help. She has a lot to repent for and saving the city, plus the hot cop that she hasn’t been able to forget might just be the only way she can finally find some inner peace.

With an entire city poised on the brink of war, Titus and Reeve stand in the crossfire—and it will take two brave souls to fight for the ultimate love.



Excerpt 
Prove it.

Those odd, dark blue eyes flashed the challenge at me and I couldn’t resist it. Not the challenge or the girl. I didn’t like that she got under my skin. I hated that she was right at the center of this mess with Roark, and it really, really grated across my already taut nerves that even with no makeup on and looking like she hadn’t slept a wink, she was still the most gorgeous woman I had ever seen. I didn’t want to notice that. I didn’t want my dick to twitch when she touched me, but it did, which was going to make pretending to be infatuated with her easy and so much harder at the same time. She knew it too. 
Prove it.
Okay. I would prove the shit out of the fact that I could do what I had to do in order to make this scheme of mine work. I could pretend to like her, which really was the only thing that would be fake. I couldn’t reconcile the way my pulse leaped every time she turned that midnight-blue gaze on me with the fact that she had orchestrated a man’s murder. She was beautiful but she was also deadly. She was just as hard as this place we came from, and I’d had enough of the city hammering against my foundation, as it was. Lusting after a woman who had it in her to be just as cold, and just as calculating, as any other criminal I locked up on a day-to-day basis was nowhere for my head to be while I was on the brink of war with her deranged ex-lover.
I was pissed off when I bent my head toward her. I was mad at myself. I was mad at her. More than all of that, though, I was furious that either one of us had to be in this situation in the first place. Every time I turned around, another bad thing or bad person was nipping at my heels. It was getting harder and harder to stay a step ahead. Eventually I was going to trip up and go down and there would no one left with any kind of conscience in this place, no one left that cared about justice and righteousness.
That anger had my hands shaking as I reached up and used my thumbs to tilt her head back so her mouth was pointed up at me. I didn’t have much time to date, didn’t have the patience for a woman who didn’t understand that I was trying to save an entire city from itself and that this took up most of my attention and energy. The ones I did date were never just the right height, just the right size, and they sure as hell never looked as perfect and as tempting as this woman did. None of them had ever fit me the way she did and that pissed me off even more. 

What I thought about Better When He's Brave

Better When He's Brave is a cop and criminal love story that takes place in one of the most gritty and dangerous areas simply called "The Point".  Titus King has made it his life's mission to stay on the right side of the law in a place where corruption runs rampant and even good guys can have some very questionable behavior.  

When Reeve Black returns to The Point after leaving her witness protection program, she lays a bucket of trouble at Titus's feet, and he's just the type of guy that will take it on, just because it's the right thing to do.  Not only is Reeve a witness in the case against Novak, she's also the girl that facilitated Dovie's abduction back in Better When He's Bad, the first book in the series.  She's not well-liked by Bax, Race and their women, but Titus gives her his protection, because there's a whole lot of chemistry between them. Oh yeah,  a lot of chemistry.  

While Titus tries to flush out Roark, the dirty cop after Reeve, he's also trying to resist their obvious attraction between them.  But it's impossible, and once they give in to their feelings for each other, there are some other big issues to deal with, one involving a situation with Bax that had me saying --"oh Jay, you didn't go there!"  I liked that Jay Crownover has the guts to take the characters in this series into some super dangerous situations because those dangerous situations often have some very serious consequences.

There's a criminal to catch and a potential traitor in their midst that challenge Titus, but when it all comes down to it, both Titus and Reeve have the bravery needed to take this situation to its explosive conclusion.

I love this series. It's dark, gritty and doesn't paint the bad stuff with a romantic brush.  I like that about it.  But what I love the most about this series are the women.  They are strong and capable. They love their men with a passion that puts them right in the line of danger. And they don't take crap from anyone, even if that means they could get hurt too.

Jay Crownover does a great job of showing that love can exist in the most dangerous of places with this series, and Better When He's Brave does an awesome job of pushing that point home.

ARC provided for review.

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

And don’t miss the previous books in The Point Series!

Better WhenHe's Bad

BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

Better When Hes Bold

BETTER WHEN HE’S BOLD

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iTunes

 

Follow the rest of the tour!

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE – Review & Excerpt Tour

August 3rd
Textteaser – Review & Excerpt
People Like Books – Review & Excerpt
Vilma'sBook Blog – Excerpt
Book Babes Unite – Review & Excerpt
August 4th
Ceres Books World – Review
LuLoFangirl – Excerpt
Random Book Muses – Review & Excerpt
Martini Times Romance – Review & Excerpt
August 5th
Greyland Reviews – Excerpt
Talk Books to Me – Review
Ficwishes – Review
Milky Way of Books – Review & Excerpt
Words with Sarah – Review & Excerpt
August 6th
NightOwl Reader – Review & Excerpt
From the TBR Pile – Review & Excerpt
TjLovesToRead – Review & Excerpt
August 7th
Book Freak – Review
The Book Hoarders – Review & Excerpt
The Fairest of All Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Total Book Geek – Review & Excerpt
Zili in the Sky – Review & Excerpt
August 8th
Nose Stuck In A Book – Review & Excerpt
Reese's Review – Review & Excerpt
Guilty indulgence – Review & Excerpt
August 9th
Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt
Oh My Shelves – Excerpt
Romance Addict Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
August 10th
Morning Books and Coffee – Review & Excerpt
Jen in Bookland – Review & Excerpt
StuckInBooks – Review & Excerpt
August 11th
Bookalicious Babes Blog – Review & Excerpt
Literati Literature Lovers –Review & Excerpt
Book Starlets – Review & Excerpt
Waves of Fiction – Review
August 12th
Desert Divas Book Addiction – Review & Excerpt
Emilie's Book World – Review & Excerpt
Biblio Belles – Review
Ali's Reviews and More – Review & Excerpt
August 13th
Works of Fiction – Review
kimberlyfaye reads – Review
Fiction Fangirls – Excerpt
Reading is Sexy – Review & Excerpt
Obsessive Book Nerd – Review & Excerpt
August 14th
t'irla's talk – Review & Excerpt
Book Sojourner – Review & Excerpt
Shameless Book Club – Review & Excerpt
Typical Distractions – Review & Excerpt
Read Love Blog – Review & Excerpt
August 15th
Pages Abound – Review & Excerpt
Girls With Books – Review & Excerpt
August 16th
BBF BookBoyfriends – Review & Excerpt
Scandalous Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
August 17th
Red Cheeks Reads – Review & Excerpt
August 18th
Alii's Book Jungle – Review & Excerpt
Mommy Reads What?! – Review
Love N Books – Review
August 19th
Flirty Fiction Blog – Review & Excerpt
Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt
Got More Books – Review & Excerpt
August 20th
The Revolving Bookcase – Review & Excerpt
NC 2 DC – Review & Excerpt
PBC – Excerpt
August 21st
The Book Enthusiast – Review & Excerpt
EscapeNBooks – Review & Excerpt
A Literary Perusal – Review & Excerpt

 Jay Crownover

    

About Jay Crownover: Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and The Point series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

      

Website ** Blog ** Facebook ** Twitter

BETTER WHEN HE’S BRAVE Goodreads 

 Jay Crownover Goodreads

 
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Review:Long Buried (Doctors of Darkness #6) by Ellery Kane

The past always rises. In 1997, the seniors of Sweetbriar High School buried a time capsule at their graduation ceremony. That same night,...