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Showing posts with label A First Date with Death. Show all posts
Showing posts with label A First Date with Death. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Review: A First Date With Death by Diana Orgain


A First Date With Death
Author:  Diana Orgain
Series:  A Love or Money Mystery 1
Publisher:  Berkley, March 3, 2015
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages
List Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9780425271681 (print)
Review Copy:  Provided by the Publisher

Reality TV meets murder in the first in a new mystery series from the author of the Maternal Instincts Mysteries and co-author the New York Times bestselling Scrapbooking Mysteries.

When brokenhearted Georgia Thornton goes looking for romance on reality TV, she has nothing to lose—apart from a good man, a cash prize, and maybe her life…

What was Georgia thinking? Sure, some cad ditched her at the altar, but can she really find love on TV? Her best friend—and producer of the reality show Love or Money—thinks so. Ten men. Ten adventure-filled dates. What can go wrong? For starters, a faulty bungee cord that hurls Georgia’s first date into a tragic spiral off the Golden Gate Bridge.

He’s replaced by Paul Sanders, Georgia’s former fiancé. But the cop isn’t looking for a TV gig. Suspecting that the lover’s leap was no accident, Paul’s going undercover. When another bachelor gets a fatal kiss-off, the reality is that someone has killer new plans for the show—and for Georgia herself. Now, under the threat of permanent cancellation, Georgia fears that the only man on the set she can trust is the one man she just can’t count on…
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound


Jennifer's Review

Diana Orgain’s A First Date with Death is the debut novel of her new Love or Money Mystery Series. This book follows former police officer Georgia Thornton, who has agreed to be on a new reality show entitled Love or Money. Georgia has to evaluate ten eligible men during various adventure dates, some of whom are looking for love, some for money. To win the game of love, and a substantial monetary prize, which she will then split with her new beau, Georgia’s final choice must be one of the bachelors looking for love, if her choice is in the game just for the money, not only does she lose her heart, but she also loses her claim to the money. Things start off badly when her first date, Arron’s, bungee cord fails, plunging him off the Golden Gate Bridge, and gets worse, when her former fiancé, Paul Sanders, takes his spot as a bachelor to investigate the accidents that keep occurring during the filming.

Georgia has recently lost her job and her fiancé, sending her life into a nose dive. In a moment of weakness, she agrees to be on the show to help her friend Becca, who is a production assistant on Love or Money. Georgia has serious reservations about the show from the beginning, but the accidents and deaths that are plaguing the production peak her investigative interest, and she goes from being an unenthusiastic reality star, to an amateur sleuth, trying to stop the chaos before anyone else can get hurt, along with trying to win the prize money and possibly find true love. She is portrayed as a strong woman, who has made some poor choices and is trying hard to overcome them. Paul came off as a little smarmy right from the start, and I found myself hoping early on that Georgia would not choose him in the end. Among the bachelors, a few standouts were Nathan, the adorable surfer boy, Edward, the hunky doctor, dark and mysterious writer Scott, and armed forces vet Derek. The show’s producer, Cheryl, is a bossy and brassy woman who comes off as a bit of a caricature of a Hollywood shark, but this works well in the story and gives Georgia an amusing foil. Georgia’s dad becomes involved in the plot partway through the novel and brings heart to the storyline and solace to poor Georgia.

Many of the chapters begin with a little vignette surrounding an interview with one of the bachelors. These scenes reveal which men are on the show for love and which for money, and give the reader a glimpse into the bachelors’ motivations and backgrounds. The story is fast paced and has two branches. The first being the mystery, which is tidied up nicely in the end, and the second being Georgia’s search for self worth and stability amid the plastic and fabricated world of reality television. The reader will be rooting for her to ultimately find those things, along with lasting love. In the end, as long as Georgia gets what she needs, the big payout doesn’t seem very important.

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Guest Post by Diana Orgain: A First Date with Death - March 4, 2015


Please welcome Diana Orgain to The Qwillery. A First Date with Death, the 1st Love or Money Mystery, was published by Berkley on February 3rd.







A FIRST DATE WITH DEATH: A Love or Money Mystery 
by Diana Orgain

I am so happy to introduce A First Date with Death to you. I wrote the book because like many of you, I’m a huge fan of some reality TV programs. I especially love those shows that deal with dating or a love story. I’m riveted by the human dynamics of watching one girl/boy go after the person that is unavailable while completing shunning the contestant that proclaims ever-lasting love. And yes, I’ve been known to yell at the TV.

But, of course, I’m a mystery author at heart. So, I began to wonder what would happen if I played with that setting and placed a mystery around it?

A First Date with Death was born! What could be more fun than to mix up the venue of reality TV and a murder mystery? (Although I promise you no one was harmed during the writing of this book). But if you watch any of the commercials for the TV Shows of which I speak, you know that usually there’s a fair amount of tears.

I hope you won’t cry when you read A First Date with Death except maybe from laughter. Oh - and there is a bit of suspense, not only will you have to keep guessing "who done it" but also you’ll have to guess who wins the show!

I'd love to hear from you. You can find my website at: www.dianaorgain.com Or email me at: [email protected].





A First Date With Death
A Love or Money Mystery 1
Berkley, March 3, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 304 pages

Reality TV meets murder in the first in a new mystery series from the author of the Maternal Instincts Mysteries and co-author the New York Times bestselling Scrapbooking Mysteries.

When brokenhearted Georgia Thornton goes looking for romance on reality TV, she has nothing to lose—apart from a good man, a cash prize, and maybe her life…

What was Georgia thinking? Sure, some cad ditched her at the altar, but can she really find love on TV? Her best friend—and producer of the reality show Love or Money—thinks so. Ten men. Ten adventure-filled dates. What can go wrong? For starters, a faulty bungee cord that hurls Georgia’s first date into a tragic spiral off the Golden Gate Bridge.

He’s replaced by Paul Sanders, Georgia’s former fiancé. But the cop isn’t looking for a TV gig. Suspecting that the lover’s leap was no accident, Paul’s going undercover. When another bachelor gets a fatal kiss-off, the reality is that someone has killer new plans for the show—and for Georgia herself. Now, under the threat of permanent cancellation, Georgia fears that the only man on the set she can trust is the one man she just can’t count on…
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound





About Diana

Diana Orgain is the author of the Maternal Instincts Mysteries and coauthor of Gilt Trip with Laura Childs in the New York Times bestselling Scrapbooking Mysteries. She holds a B.A and M.F.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University with a minor in acting. Diana has acted professionally both on stage and in national commercials. She’s written several plays, which were produced at San Francisco State University, GreenHouse Productions, and PlayGround. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children. Visit her at www.dianaorgain.com.


Website  ~  Twitter @DianaOrgain  ~  Facebook




The Giveaway

What:  One entrant will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of A First Date with Death by Diana Orgain from the publisher. US ONLY

How:  Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a US mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on March 25, 2015. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.

*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change.*

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