Review and GIVEAWAY of the well-written read "Stars Shine Bright" by Christy-award winning @sibellagiorello

Read on for my review of "The Stars Shine Bright", and be sure to check out the excellent trailer for the book, along with a giveaway for a copy of your own!

Special Agent Raleigh Harmon returns in this fifth installment of the "Raleigh Harmon" series, seeking to overcome the tarnish on her name for bending the rules of the FBI in her prior case. When she is given the chance to go undercover at a thoroughbred horse track, Emerald Downs, Raleigh jumps at the chance to prove her worth as an agent of excellence. Soon into the case of attempting to find out who is fixing the horse races, Raleigh learns that more is going on than initially suspected, and experiences an attempt on her life. While trying to uncover the truth, she also must sift through the debris of her personal life, reaching out to her mom in the mental hospital, fighting her attraction to Special Agent Jack Stephanson (who is her FBI contact while she's undercover), and sorting out her feelings for her fiance. Broken and exhausted, Raleigh lays it all on the line, "searching for a place where the stars shine bright".

I have loved each and every novel by Sibella Giorello, and the trend continues with The Stars Shine Bright. Giorello's writing is smooth and a joy to read, and each novel just gets better! Raleigh Harmon is a character that I've grown to absolutely appreciate over the course of the series, for her humour, her courage, and her heart of gold. I love that she always seems to find herself smack in the middle of trouble, with non-stop entertainment and unexpected discoveries to follow! She is a character who is painted with strokes of realism, complete with flaws but also with much to inspire. The setting of the race track provides for numerous potentially sinister characters, resulting in twists and turns in the story line that led me to an unexpected but most excellent conclusion. I continue to appreciate the mix of FBI fieldwork and geological discoveries, making for interesting plots. My only question upon turning the last page of the book is whether there will be more books to come starring my favorite FBI agent....I sure hope so!

I highly recommend this marvelous read, and grant it 5 out of 5 stars. Readers who have enjoyed the prior books starring Raleigh will love this one as well. And, if you haven't yet picked up one of Giorello's books, what are you waiting for? Now's your chance - you won't regret it.

An advanced reader's copy has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Thomas Nelson, for the purposes of this unbiased review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sibella Giorello writes an award-winning mystery series that follows the adventures of Raleigh Harmon, forensic geologist and FBI Special Agent. A former journalist, Sibella sowed nearly every wild oat before settling down with her husband Joe, a blues musician from Queens N.Y. They homeschool their children in the mountains of Washington state. For more information about Sibella and her books, please visit her website at www.sibellagiorello.com.

GIVEAWAY

I am giving away 1 copy of "Stars Shine Bright" to readers from the U.S. and Canada, courtesy of the publisher, Thomas Nelson! 

You can get 1 entry into the giveaway for each task you perform:

1. Become a follower of my blog (through Google Followers or Networked Blogs) then leave a comment confirming you became a follower. If you are already a follower, just leave a comment that you already follow and I'll give you 1 entry for that.

2. "Like" my Facebook page, and let me know you did so in a comment. (The link is at the top of the webpage). Let me know if you've already liked it, and I'll give you an entry.

3. Post about the giveaway on your own blog or on twitter or facebook and leave me a comment. You get 1 entry for each method of spreading the word!

4. Leave a comment answering the following question: "Who is your favourite FBI fictional character?"

++ Please include your email address in your comment so I can contact you to arrange to get the book in the mail to you.

That's all there is to it. Contest Ends July 13, 2012.

Good luck!