Kirkus Picked Wicked Eddies!

I just found out that my Wicked Eddies recent release is on the Kirkus Book Reviews "Critics Picks in Mystery & Crime" list. They bill themselves as "The World's Toughest Book Critics," so I am especially proud!

Thank you, Kirkus Reviews!!

Whoo hoo! I'm excited. Kirkus Reviews came through for me again with another good review for one of my books. They gave away quite a bit of the plot of Wicked Eddies (release date May 8) in the body of the review, so I'm not going to quote it all here, but here's the last line:

"Once again, Groundwater, mixing mystery with outdoor adventure, comes up with an excursion that will please most comers."

-- Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2012

Top Ten Review Blurbs for DEADLY CURRENTS

During the few months before the release of Deadly Currents, the first book in my new Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures mystery series, and during the month after the release, I've been collecting review blurbs from print and on-line book reviewers. I posted a few of them as they were published, but I decided to gather them all up and share a short blurb from my top ten favorites with my blog readers. Needless to say, I've been very, very pleased with and thankful for the reception Deadly Currents has received from reviewers.

If you have read Deadly Currents, I'd love to hear what you think of it, either personally, by contacting me at my website, or even better, on-line at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, or anywhere else other mystery readers could see your reviews.

Here's the Top Ten:

“Readers who enjoy fast-moving stories and wilderness environments will keep turning the pages of this promising series debut.”
-- Booklist Online, January 24, 2011

“Groundwater kicks off a new series that combines outdoor action with more than a modicum of old-fashioned detection.”
-- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2011

“This enjoyable first in a new cozy series from Groundwater introduces Mandy Tanner, ‘a brand new seasonal river ranger’ on Colorado's Arkansas River.”
-- Publisher's Weekly, January 10, 2011

“With a fresh locale and a spunky ... heroine, this is a promising new series by the author of the gift-basket designer Claire Hanover mysteries.”
-- Library Journal, March 1, 2011

“Groundwater’s novel is filled with river lore, vivid descriptions, and loving depictions of the varied characters who make up the tight-knit community.”
-- Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, June, 2011

“This was a wave-smashing soak-yourself-to-the-bone ride and I’m looking forward to the next adventure in this energizing series.”
-- Dru’s Book Musings, March 17, 2011

“The novel moves like a category five: raging, foaming, and churning all the way to the end. Hold on to the covers of this novel, the pages turn quickly, as racing through this whodunit is not an option.”
-- Gelati’s Scoop, March 1, 2011

“Deadly Currents leaves the readers thirsty for more. The writing is simple but superb, the characters come alive--rising from the pages because of their realistic depictions and dialogue.”
-- Miami Books Examiner, March 5, 2011

“Those who enjoy environmental mysteries – Sandi Ault’s Jamaica Wild series, Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series, C.J. Box’s Joe Picket series, ... to name just a few – will welcome this new addition to their ranks.”
-- Mystery Series Examiner, February 20, 2011

“In Deadly Currents you will be taken through the rapids just as fast and just as deadly as the river itself. She will also give you one last Class IV ride at the very end as she reveals the true killer. Reading Deadly Currents has made me feel as though I’ve actually ridden the river myself.”
-- A Book and A Dish, March 16, 2011

Two Wonderful Reviews for Deadly Currents!

I'm tickled pink--and red and yellow and orange (fireworks colors!)--to announce that I've received two wonderful reviews for my March 8 release, Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series.

The first is from Publishers Weekly. Here's the first line:

"This enjoyable first in a new cozy series from Groundwater (To Hell in a Handbasket) introduces Mandy Tanner, "a brand new seasonal river ranger" on Colorado's Arkansas River."
-- Publisher's Weekly, January 10, 2011

The second is from Kirkus Reviews, and I liked it so much that I'm going to quote the whole thing:

"DEADLY CURRENTS
Author: Groundwater, Beth

A rafting trip down the Arkansas River gives a young Colorado river ranger a lesson in murder.

Mandy Tanner learned plenty about Pine Creek, the Numbers and Wildhorse Canyon when she worked as a guide for her Uncle Bill’s adventure tours. Now she’s using her skills to protect paddlers from the dangers of whitewater. Even an experienced guide like Gonzo Gordon wipes out every now and then, and when he flips his raft in a class V, Mandy handily plucks Hannah Fowler from the rapids. Tom King isn’t so lucky; when Mandy hauls him ashore from her cataraft, his pulse is thready. After the land developer dies on the way to the hospital, his widow Paula threatens to sue Mandy’s uncle. By the time the coroner decides that King was poisoned, not drowned, Bill Tanner is dead too. And although Mandy knows that poor diet and lack of exercise were as responsible for her uncle’s heart attack as the stress of getting blamed for Tom King’s death, she still wants to find the culprit. Not her brother David’s eagerness to sell the business and get back to his accounting practice, not her boyfriend Rob Juarez’s overprotective concern, not Chafee County Sheriff's Detective Quintana’s pleas, not even the rock through her window warning her off can stop the young ranger’s need to find the truth about how Tom King died on her watch.

Groundwater (To Hell in a Handbasket, 2009, etc.) kicks off a new series that combines outdoor action with more than a modicum of old-fashioned detection."
-- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2011

These publications are two of the "Big Four" that librarians and booksellers pay attention to when making decisions about ordering books. The other two are Booklist and Library Journal. I'm thrilled to be batting .500 (so far). ;-)