Janis Susan May

Reviews

Rating: 4 cups

Dark Music combines mystery with romantic suspense extremely well. The story is a locked room (or snowed in hotel) mystery in the tradition of Agatha Christie, but updated for today's reader. The main characters are very sympathetic, and Elizabeth is very likable. Jared is a spoiled brat of a man, but he grows up by the end of the story. The supporting characters are caricatures of people, but very entertaining. This is a story well worth reading.

Buy Now!

Maura
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance
Reviewer for Karen Find Out About New Books

Rating: FIVE BEACON REVIEW

Dark Music was a fantastic book. I don't usually read romance, and in the strictest sense of the word, it wasn't. There was love, there was intrigue, but there were no 'hot' scenes. It was a definite murder mystery, and a great one at that. Elizabeth is a great, deep, well-written character, and the rest of the cast practically leapt off the page. The setting, a beautiful mountain hotel, is perfectly depicted. This was supposed to be set in the 1960's, and except for a few references to "this new women's lib" and the fact that Elizabeth used a typewriter instead of a computer, I really didn't get that feeling. However, it did not detract from the book one bit, and could have been in any modern era. It was so well-done, easy to read and went so quickly, I was at the end almost before I knew it. If you are a romance fan, a writer (so many 'in' writers' jokes) or if you like a good whodunit, Dark Music will not disappoint. Bravo, Miss May!

I give this a 5. If there were a 6, I'd give it that. By far the best book I've reviewed up until now.

Reviewed by: Risseybug

Lighthouse Literary Reviews

Dark Music is one intriguing story. The interesting characters spin much excitement throughout this wonderful read. With a touch of murder and mayhem, Liz is thrown into a barrage of events that takes the reader into the whole ambiance of the setting. Her refreshing heroine is lively, and when she is paired with Jerry, it is like they are made for each other. The weaving of all the fascinating secondary characters, is a great addition to the cast. Janis Susan May brings us on-the-edge-of-the-seat drama, and I found myself not only driving right along with Liz on the icy roads to the snowy mountain resort, but chasing along with her in the corridors of the resort, searching for answers as to who might be behind the tragic events. Ms. May creates an ambiance that is vibrantly visual and keeps the reader in suspense until the final page of the story. I found this story a “scheming” good read.

Reviewed by: Linda L

Fallen Angel Reviews

Three Stars

Janis Susan May's murder mystery Dark Music may start a tad slow, but it quickly builds up the pace and the intensity. Elizabeth McAllister, an author of romance novels, is contracted to make a public appearance for fans. The convention is in Canada and rather than endure a flight with the other authors from the same publishing company, she insists on driving alone to the convention. She'd rather not attend the whole thing in the first place but duty says she must do her part along with her fellow authors, the group that has been dubbed the Fab Four.

Before the official start of the convention Canada experiences a late season blizzard. Due to the raging weather no on can get to and from the hotel. When a person from her past is also stuck in the hotel, Elizabeth is forced to reveal a secret she has kept hidden from the others. As she struggles to deal with her own past, a fellow best selling author is murdered in the hotel. Elizabeth is trying to figure out why the author was killed when another one is found murdered. Now only able to trust herself, Elizabeth is in fear for her own safety. The Fab Four are quickly getting killed, picked off one at a time. Trapped by the blizzard with the killer, Elizabeth knows she is being targeted, likely the next victim. There are several suspects who seem to fit each murder, so the identity of the true killer is cleverly hidden until the very end.
Dark Music is a very suspenseful murder mystery which, when it picked up the flow, went full steam ahead. And the interaction between Elizabeth and the man from her past adds romance as a second source of tension to the plot. . The cold of the weather can not dampen the rising heat between them. Dark Music is a good choice for summer reading for fans of both light romance and suspenseful mysteries.

Ali Jenkins, Front Street Reviews

Four Stars

Janis Susan May is one of the only romance novelist I read, and I am so happy she has once again graced the pages with her vivid imagery and her profound and slightly tongue in cheek use of words. Her characters are all so well described I feel like I just walked into a room, or a grand hotel in this case, and was part of the party. What is in most books of this genre an obvious development, only comes to light after the reader has felt the sweat, and breathed the anxious air that is shimmering off the pages. The setting for this book is magnificent, and her sense of humor and romance are at its best. Congratulations on an excellent escape novel!!!

Sally Bondi

Now re-released as PASSION’S CHOICE from Red Rose Publishing

"...Miss May's writing is so sure, so polished that you feel you actually stand with her characters, who are living, breathing people. Without a doubt Janis Susan May is the logical successor to Phyllis A. Whitney and Victoria Holt." - Sylvia Gentry, "Talking With..."

"...those who enjoy historical romance will find THE SANDS OF TIME: LOST IN EGYPT a pleasant read...if you are drawn to [Diana] Gabaldon, you will be pleased with Janis Susan May...I don't believe you'll be disappointed." - Christine I. Speakman, Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine ( FMAM.biz)

You can read the full review at:
http://www.fmam.biz/reviews/speakman/dec06.shtml#sands

The Land of Heart's Delight
A Memoir
ISBN Electronic: 978-1-934041-13-0
ISBN Paperback: 978-1-934041-14-7

4 out of 4 Roses

I don't normally read biographies, or other non-fiction for that matter, but sometimes you just have to reach beyond your comfort zones. I'm glad I did. "The Land of Heart's Delight" was a delight to read. Ms. Aletha Barrett May's life was beyond anything I ever knew and the telling twice as entertaining.

I never knew the USA Government actually had women teach other women how to take care of their homes. How to can and preserve their foods, make mattresses, make their clothes, even repair their sewing machines. I don't remember a time were you could leave all your windows and doors open on a hot summer night without worry. And I sure wouldn't want to drive through a herd of cows or through a living stream of frogs. And let's just forget about listening to rattlesnakes outside my bedroom window.

Janis Susan May has taken the stories her mother told her and has woven them into the memoir her mother would have written had she had the chance. I felt I knew Aletha, and my heart ached realizing that, yes, this wonderfully brave woman was no longer with us…as a matter of fact had died years ago.

I hadn't laughed out loud while reading in such a long time. My neighbors must have thought me crazy. Even as I read Aletha's story on the porch, I now write this review surrounded by those same neighbors.

I even did something I had never done before…I contacted the publisher because I so enjoyed this memoir.

I'll tell you what I told Dindy Robinson – Not only is "The Land of Heart's Delight" a great look back at a personal history, but it's marvelous glimpse into a small portion of the USA's post-depression history.

A must for memoir-reading lovers.

Christine Speakman - Muse Book Reviewer

*HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Four Stars

This is the touching memoir of Aletha Barrett May written by her daughter Janis Susan May. It chronicles four years of Aletha's life in South Texas while she served as a County Home Demonstration Agent. Her experiences range from teaching canning; a three-week visit to Mexico when travel was not commonplace and less so for single women; driving through a herd of Texas steers and a swarm of frogs; to an attempted sexual assault. It is a must-read for anyone interested in South Texas, the social requirements of a single woman in a small town with no entertainment and life in the U.S. during WWII.

Sharon T. Warren