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Friday, 19 December 2025

spotlight on: Cape Breton Mysteries (Police Procedurals) by RENEE DEGROOT

For fans of P.D. James and Ruth Rendell,

this series brings the classic police procedural to life

in a Canadian setting.

Even peaceful Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, has its dark side. Aging detective Gordie MacLean and his partner Roxanne Albright must dig beneath the surface of quiet maritime communities to bring killers to justice.

About the Books

Cape Breton Mysteries

Universal link for the series:

https://mybook.to/CapeBretonSeries

The books (in order)

In rural Cape Breton, an aging detective leads his first murder case to find a killer who will stop at nothing to guard long-buried secrets. Partnered with a young, ambitious female detective complicates his life even more.

Gordie MacLean, a 53-year-old bachelor detective is content minding his own patch of Cape Breton Island with its rugged coastal landscape and low crime rate. When the remains of a missing person are discovered though, he’s in the right place at the right time to be lead on the case. MacLean battles his sergeant’s scorn and his own demons to prove that he can hunt down the killer; a killer who will stop at nothing to protect their long-buried secrets.

read an excerpt

Excerpt from Garden Girl:

Prologue August 17th, 2009

Sarah turned away. Her heart pounded with the joy of it all. The words she had just spoken were still in her mouth: “It’s my decision and honestly, I just don’t care about your opinion anymore.”

She smiled as half a dozen crows rose from the fence rail, cawing noisily in fear as the shadow of a mighty bald eagle soared above, his eye no doubt trained on his scurrying victims below. Sarah took a deep breath, enjoying the early evening breeze that carried the sound of wailing seagulls and the smell of decaying seaweed. In the distance, the sun sparkled on the choppy waters between her vantage point on Cape Breton and the mainland of Nova Scotia. Sarah was so focussed on the happy view of her future, set against the backdrop of this beloved spot, that she didn’t hear the soft sound of a length of two-by- four lumber being hefted. She didn’t see the shadow as it was swung.

In one instant she felt happier than in all of her nineteen-year life, and in the next she was in blinding pain as the weapon crushed her skull. She cried out in shock, but the sound was short-lived on her dying lips.

MORE OF THE SERIES

book 2

A murdered Cape Breton lobster fisherman draws Detectives Gordie MacLean and Roxanne Albright into a dark world lurking below the surface of a sleepy Maritime community.

Caught up in an investigation that threatens the lives of those he loves, Detective Gordie MacLean and his partner are drawn into a dark world far removed from the seemingly simple life of a lobster fisherman.

In book two of the Cape Breton Mystery series, MacLean and Albright must untangle a web of treachery to solve the mystery behind an unexplained death before innocent victims pay the price.

Book 3

A newcomer to Cape Breton, Gretha Braun is brutally murdered. Tensions between Detective Gordie MacLean and Roxanne Albright erupt, as their priorities diverge.

Leaving her past in Germany, Gretha Braun’s new life on Cape Breton Island Canada is cut short when she is brutally murdered.

With international and local pressures urgently demanding they find the killer, Detectives Gordie MacLean and Roxanne Albright sort through a suspect list that ranges from overseas to Maclean’s own backyard. Frustrated when he is relegated to a backseat role on the case, MacLean finds himself in a dispute with his partner as their priorities diverge.

Book 4

A beautiful rose. A dead man. The killer that connects them. MacLean and Albright have never confronted a case like this.

As a new crime unfolds, Detective Gordie MacLean finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue that will not only test his skills but also change his life forever.

A local horticulturist has created a new rose variety that everyone is talking about. On the day of his big reveal, though, Detective MacLean is shocked to find Tommy MacNeil’s body amongst decapitated roses in the garden center.

MacLean assumes he and his partner, Roxanne Albright, can approach the case as they have before. He doesn’t know they are hunting a killer unlike any they’ve encountered previously.

Will Gordie MacLean realize death shadows him in time?

Book 5

In the woods of Cape Breton Island, Canada, an eccentric woman is found murdered. Detectives are shocked when they investigate her past; not realizing the danger they confront.

When an eccentric woman is found murdered in her secluded home in the Cape Breton woods, Detective Gordie MacLean and his team must dig into her past to uncover the secrets that may have led to her death. In over their heads, MacLean faces tough choices to solve the crime. Book 5 of this police procedural sees big changes for the detectives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renny deGroot was born in Nova Scotia, Canada, a first-generation Canadian of Dutch parents.

Her novels have been shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, a Whistler Independent Book Award and a Toby Award (for best Independent Canadian Mystery). They have been awarded several readers’ awards from the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. She has published mystery, historical fiction, short stories and non-fiction.

Renny has a BA in English Literature from Trent University and studied creative writing at Ryerson University. She lives in rural Ontario with her Great Pyrenees and vacations at her cottage in Nova Scotia.

www.rennydegroot.com

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Helen Hollick

Website: https://helenhollick.net/

Amazon Author Page: https://viewauthor.at/HelenHollick

My Coffee Pot Book Tour Guest: Paoletta – An Eye for an Eye by J.R. Powell

Welcome to my Blog!
Wander through worlds
real and fictional,
meet interesting people,
visit exciting places
and find good books
to enjoy along the way!

About the Book

Book Title: Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye

Series: Paoletta

Author Name: J.R. Powell

Publication Date: 28 November 2024

Pages: 421

Genre: Historical thriller

Any Triggers: Violence, sexual assault and rape, drug and alcohol abuse, and language and attitudes that reflect the time and culture in which it is set, but which may be considered outdated and offensive today.

Exiled to a Caribbean island, Paoletta Cadoville and her family cling to the hope of one day returning to their Parisian home. But in a single, devastating moment, that dream is shattered. Alone and horrifically scarred, Paoletta embarks on a perilous quest to uncover the truth behind her family’s tragic fate, only to become entangled in a web of political intrigue, secret societies, and dangerous alliances.

In a Paris overshadowed by the guillotine, Paoletta must decide how much of her humanity she’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of vengeance. Will she achieve justice for her family or lose herself to the darkness that threatens to consume her?

Paoletta – An Eye for an Eye is a historical thriller set during the French Revolution and a stark reminder that in times of upheaval, innocence is the first to fall, and revenge demands a price paid in blood.

Buy Link:

Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XvgEe

Author Bio:

Originally from the UK, J.R. Powell lives in Germany, where he works as a translator and editor.

His debut novel was published in 2024, marking the first instalment of a new historical thriller series. Paoletta – an Eye for an Eye follows Paoletta Cadoville, a young woman driven by vengeance after the murder of her family during the French Revolution.

Drawing inspiration from his time living in Paris, Powell immersed himself in the city’s rich and brutal history to craft a story that brings a lesser-explored period to life with the momentum and intensity of a gritty, modern thriller.

Author Links:

Linktree:

https://linktr.ee/J.R.Powell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_j.r.powell/

Threads:

https://www.threads.com/@author_j.r.powell

Bluesky:

https://bsky.app/profile/author-jrpowell.bsky.social

Book Bub:

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/j-r-powell-d4a62b78-1483-4a63-8c91-eb1852102c55

Amazon Author Page:

https://www.amazon.com/stores/J.R.-Powell/author/B0DNG27M7X

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/53348452.J_R_Powell

read an excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter 1

“I doubt Saint-Thomas d’Aquin bears any resemblance to how we remember it,” Papa grumbled, his tone plain. “And Paris is not the safest place to be for anyone these days.”

“There’s talk of war in Paris now,” Florian added, absently chewing on his thumbnail.

His words struck me like a cold gust of wind, leaving a sharp ache in the pit of my belly. I had heard rumours of war before, but they were just rumours; they had no reason to be true. The Bastille had fallen three years prior, and nothing had happened since then.

“That’s absurd!” said Mamma, throwing cold water on Florian’s claims. “Where did you hear that? Was it Uncle Stefano? Do remember he gets his news from drunks and harlots.”

“It’s true,” Florian insisted, my flesh prickling with dread as I listened. “New arrivals at the Café Quiberon – it’s all they talk about.”

Mamma’s face hardened as she scoured his forlorn gaze for the truth.

“Nonsense – we’re far from France,” she remarked, her tone intended to soothe us as if to assert that we were but a trifling speck on the farthest reaches of the world.

“But what if it does reach us?” I asked nonetheless, my arms wrapping anxiously around me.

“It shan’t!” Mamma said firmly and gave my hand a tight squeeze. She swallowed hard and stared at the air and dust swirling in the candle’s glow before her nose. “But if it should, we won’t get involved in anything that doesn’t concern us. We’re not French. This isn’t our revolution. We’re not fighting anybody.”

“Have you forgotten Britain and Spain, chérie?” Papa said, looking at Mamma sternly. “They’ll be on us like wolves in a henhouse if France goes to war with Austria. What do you propose we do when British frigates swarm the bay?”

My heart sank. War? It seemed impossible. Yet, it was as if a dark, ominous cloud had crept up on us, shrouding everything in its path. War could stop us from ever going home again. We’d be stranded in this godforsaken place, far from everything we knew and loved. My skin simmered, and my throat swelled as I pondered such horrible thoughts.

“Paoletta, amore, go and find out where that water has got to,” Mamma said, her voice clipped with impatience.

I found Agnés just beyond the kitchen threshold, her brow adorned with beads of sweat as she wrestled with jugs of water in either hand. The scent of herring sizzling in a skillet mingled with the aroma of a plump chicken turning over a crackling fire in a rich and spicy fog. Yet, a curious stillness gripped Agnés, her attention held by whatever lurked at the bottom of the tiny timber passage to the pantry.

Following her gaze, I saw Uncle Stefano, half-buried in the shadows, slobbering all over another young, dark-skinned girl, his hands racing to capture as much of her skin as possible. The repugnant sight froze my skin. Each wet smack of his chapped lips grated on my senses, turning my head to the hearth’s flames, but the vile image was already seared into my mind’s eye. With a sour mouth, I ushered poor Agnés to the dining room, desperate to shield her from my Uncle’s lechery. She placed the water on the table with an obedient nod to Mamma and made to leave, but something outside had ensnared her attention.

My belly jolted as a black mass, scarcely larger than a fist, shot through the window and landed with a jarring thud upon the table. It rolled between the plates, hissing and sparking with an unnerving vitality. A profound silence engulfed us, the room fading into a ghostly blur. An icy dread gripped my insides as I clung to the door frame. Papa’s eyes widened in unfeigned horror. Mamma drew a sharp breath, poised to scream. Then, with a blinding flash, the world was plunged into darkness.