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Alexis Morgan

Author of Dark Protector

65+ Works 3,410 Members 105 Reviews 7 Favorited

About the Author

Series

Works by Alexis Morgan

Dark Protector (2006) 427 copies, 14 reviews
Dark Defender (2006) 331 copies, 5 reviews
In Darkness Reborn (2007) 265 copies, 5 reviews
Redeemed in Darkness (2007) 264 copies, 4 reviews
Darkness Unknown (2009) 234 copies, 4 reviews
Dark Warrior Unleashed (2008) 225 copies, 3 reviews
Defeat the Darkness (2010) 169 copies
Dark Warrior Unbroken (2009) 168 copies, 5 reviews
Bound by Darkness (2011) 123 copies, 2 reviews
The Darkness Beyond (2011) 121 copies, 1 review
Dark Warrior Untamed (2010) 121 copies
My Lady Mage (2012) 95 copies, 6 reviews
Death by Committee (2019) 91 copies, 9 reviews
Vampire Vendetta (2010) 68 copies, 2 reviews
Death by Jack-o’-Lantern (2019) 63 copies, 6 reviews
Darkness on Fire (2011) 54 copies
Her Knight's Quest (2013) 39 copies, 5 reviews
Death by Auction (2020) 36 copies, 3 reviews
A Vampire's Vindication (2010) 34 copies
A Time for Home (2013) 33 copies, 3 reviews
Death by Intermission (2021) 31 copies, 3 reviews
The Vampire's Desire (2009) 30 copies
More Than a Touch (2010) 30 copies, 1 review
Savage Redemption (2012) 27 copies, 1 review
Death by the Finish Line (2021) 23 copies, 2 reviews
A Reason to Love (2014) 23 copies, 1 review
The Outlaw Groom (2005) 20 copies
Honor's Price (2014) 19 copies, 4 reviews
Come Home For Christmas (2005) 18 copies, 1 review
Immortal Cowboy (2014) 18 copies, 1 review
Death by Arts and Crafts (2022) 18 copies, 4 reviews
A Vampire's Salvation (2011) 16 copies
A Lawman for Christmas (2003) 15 copies
In Darkness Transformed (2018) 11 copies
Darkness Torn Asunder (2015) 11 copies
Always Be True: Tino (2016) 10 copies, 3 reviews
Annie's Christmas (2004) 10 copies
Love, Always and Forever (2017) 9 copies, 3 reviews
King of Hearts (2002) 9 copies
Luck of the Draw (2002) 9 copies
Rough Edges (1993) 9 copies
The Book of Love (2002) 9 copies
Always for You: Jack (2016) 7 copies, 2 reviews
A Lethal Truth (2024) 7 copies
4th of July Picnic (2004) 6 copies
Atone in Darkness (2018) 6 copies
The Candy Dad (1996) 6 copies
The Reluctant Guardian (2023) 5 copies
To Trust a Hero (2023) 4 copies
What's at Stake 3 copies, 1 review
Vampiiri kättemaks (2010) 2 copies
Yankee Wife (2000) 2 copies
Bound (2012) 1 copy, 1 review
The Lawman's Promise (2023) 1 copy
Twice bitten (2011) 1 copy
Wish upon a Hero (2000) 1 copy

Associated Works

The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance (2008) — Contributor — 439 copies, 12 reviews
Christmas on Main Street (Anthology 4-in-1) (2013) — Contributor — 90 copies, 2 reviews
A Vampire for Christmas [Anthology 4-in-1] (2011) — Contributor — 67 copies, 5 reviews

Tagged

Common Knowledge

Other names
Pritchard, Pat
Morgan, Alexis (pseudonym)
Prichard, Patricia L.
Gender
female
Agent
Michelle Grajkowski
Short biography
Alexis Morgan has always been an avid reader, and she loves spending her days with hunky heroes and gutsy heroines. By the end of this year, she will have published twenty-five books, novellas, and short stories, including contemporary romances, American West Historicals, and Paranormal Romances. She has been nominated for numerous industry awards, including the RITA© from the Romance Writers of America, the top award in the romance genre. Alexis loves to hear from fans. [retrieved 2/2/2013 from Amazon.com; apparently c. 2011]
Birthplace
Missouri, USA
Associated Place (for map)
Missouri, USA

Members

Reviews

125 reviews
Bam! I love that it starts out strong right off the bat! Tino and Natalie prove to be a fun, spicy and exciting pair. Tino is the protective sort without being a jerk about it, he's manly and all man. Natalie is fun, quirky, and just dying to be herself in the midst of her family's wealth and high standards.
The major conflict comes in with the issue of being true to yourself. If you aren't being yourself, how will you survive, and how will your partner know the real you?
I enjoyed Morgan's show more character and plot, mostly. The reconciliation and ending seemed a bit rushed to me, and didn't flow as naturally as the rest of the book. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and hope we get another installment to see what happens with Mikhail.
*I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review
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Abby McCree lives in Snowberry Creek, Oregon, after having inherited her late aunt's home and carriage house tenant, Tripp Blackston. Over the course of time she and Tripp have become closer, even though he keeps his past a secret. But he's enlisted her (without her consent) to be part of the veteran's group, and Abby has retaliated by enlisting him as one of the people who are being "auctioned off" for a date night in order to raise money for the group. What she hasn't said, though, is that show more she plans on making a sniper bid herself and 'winning' him. But just as she's ready to make her bid, a voice in the back of the room yells out a lot more cash than anyone expects -- and Tripp is now being paired with his ex-wife, Valerie. The ex-wife he never told her about...

When Abby sees Valerie arguing with the emcee Bryce, a local boy made good who left town, she notices it because she needs to pay him the rest of his fee. But shortly after, she hunts him down in the parking lot, and finds him dead, hanging half out of his car. Calling Sheriff Gage Logan, who's also attending the event, he tells Abby not to leave while the police figure things out. But it's not long before Valerie becomes the main suspect, and Tripp asks Abby if Valerie can stay with her - because the only other option is Tripp's small one-bedroom home. While Abby's not pleased, she'd rather host the woman she privately refers to as 'the barnacle' than have her in Tripp's home. Now Tripp has asked for Abby's help in proving Valerie innocent, and Gage has warned them both not to investigate or they'll wind up in jail. So what's the worst evil between the two - letting Gage take his time in finding the right person, or having Tripp's ex in her home - making her life miserable and a play for him...

This is the third book in the series and I am glad to say that it's just as good as the first two. I actually like Abby quite a bit, since she's not one of those women who go around blatantly accusing people of being a murderer and at least tries to couch her questions nicely. Her relationship with Tripp is growing every day, and it's nice to see that they're taking their time while they dance around each other, in more ways than one.

Naturally, I couldn't stand Valerie (and I question anyone who liked her) and couldn't wait for her to leave. It was hilarious with Abby calling her 'the barnacle' and was the main indication that Abby was jealous of the woman (although she did have other private thoughts from time to time about it); Tripp, for his part, was completely oblivious to it for the first part of the book, but while he felt sympathetic to Valerie and wanted to protect her, you could tell he was more protective of Abby, which is how it should be.

We had a few red herrings as to murder suspects - and those that were, other than Valerie, seemed to surprise us with their responses to the questions. With the ones that were out there, it seemed obvious who the murderer would wind up to be, but even still, there were surprises yet to come and although there was a hint earlier that made it easy to figure out who the killer would be, the journey getting there made all the difference.

The plot was drawn nicely with Bryce's past eventually coming out and reasons why people would have motives to murder the man; although we knew that this must be the cast all along, it was still interesting to hear the stories why. Even Valerie's reasons seemed plausible, but like Tripp, I couldn't see her doing the deed; as awful as she was, I just couldn't see her killing anyone.

While I'm becoming fond of all the main characters in this series, it's nice to keep getting glimpses of their pasts and who they are now. I really enjoying learning about them and the mystery itself is believable enough to keep you reading in one sitting. While I was sorry for the book to end, it gives me something to look forward to as I wait for the next one to make its appearance. Highly recommended.
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Abby McCree is a young divorceé who inherited her late aunt's home in small-town Snowberry Creek, Washington. It's getting close to Halloween, and she's on one of the planning committees. But she has more on her mind -- her tenant, ex-Special Forces soldier Tripp Blackston, often has trouble sleeping and walks around, and she's seen him head to the park with a full backpack and come back with it empty. So on this night, she decides to allow her curiosity get the better of her and follows show more him, which isn't a good idea. Mostly because she's accosted by a man who sneaks up behind her and she soon discovers that he's Sergeant Kevin Montgomery, and a friend of Tripp's. Once she meets him and realizes he's having problems, she promises Tripp she'll stay out of it.

But the next day she's having coffee in town and sees him in an altercation with an ornery farmer, Ronald Minter, who accuses him of trespassing and stealing pumpkins from him. Before the altercation can get physical, Montgomery walks back into the park and the forest. But that's not all -- someone is carving pumpkins with very lifelike features and leaving them on peoples' porches around town. It's a puzzle no one seems to be able to figure out.

Then Abby is asked to take her elderly friend Glenda out to Minter's farm to get a box of pumpkins for the Halloween Festival, and she gladly agrees. Because it's raining, she tells Glenda to stay in the car and she'll get them. But she can't find Minter anywhere, so she checks to see if he's in his corn maze -- and he is. Dead. After calling the cops, Police Chief Gage Logan shows up with detectives from elsewhere, since it's their jurisdiction. After being questioned, Abby leaves and figures that will be the end of it. But little does she know that both she and Tripp will be pulled into the investigation, and it will get worse. Montgomery is suspected of the crime, and Abby doesn't think he's guilty. Will she be able to find a killer before an innocent man is arrested for murder?

This is the second book in the series and I enjoyed it immensely. Abby is a delightful character; she's strong, independent, intelligent, has a fierce sense of loyalty; yet she's also soft-hearted and at times a tad (shall we say) overly curious. She stands up for what she believes in, and doesn't back away from confrontations.

The dialogue is witty and fun, and there were many humorous moments along with the somber. It kept the story moving along at a rapid pace, and therefore I read it in one sitting (without even getting up for a new cup of coffee. High praise indeed). The townspeople are more involved in this tale, and we are seeing that Abby's friendship with many of them is growing. While as in any story there are unlikable characters, at least in this one there is a reason for them being around, and it only made it more convincing.

The mystery is, of course, the reason for the story, and it is quite intriguing. While of course we know Sergeant Montgomery isn't the killer, there is a lot of fun looking for the person who may be so. Since I read a lot of these mysteries, I was pretty sure I knew the answer, but it's the journey that is the most fun to see the reason why Minter was murdered. And it's one I don't think anyone could have discovered, yet finding out the identity of the murderer is rather sad. The reasons people kill will never cease to amaze me, even when those reasons are age-old.

In the end, everything comes together perfectly just the way it should be, and we are given a bit of a tease regarding the next book (but I will tell you that this book doesn't 'hold you hostage' because I absolutely detest authors who do that). This author, while new, is a welcome addition to the cozy genre and I eagerly await the next in the series. Recommended.
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Abby McCree is a recent divorceé who's been left her Aunt Sybil's big Victorian home and its contents. She's also doing well financially due to the fact she escaped her marriage with half the proceeds of the company that she and her husband started and ran together, and her aunt left her a tidy sum as well. So for now, she doesn't need to work, because it seems she already has a full schedule - even if it's not one of her choosing.

It seems she's also inherited her aunt's obligations to the show more town, which include running the Quilting Guild and chairing the town's Committee on Senior Affairs, even though she doesn't quilt and isn't a senior. Somehow she hasn't been able to free herself of these duties, so decides to make the best of it until someone else takes over.

She's also 'inherited' her aunt's tenant, Tripp Blackston, an ex-soldier who's now a student at the local college and lives in the carriage house behind her home. Tripp isn't the friendliest of people, but he handles his part of the bargain - doing chores around the home in exchange for reduced rent. Last but not least, she's also inherited her aunt's mostly-Mastiff dog Zeke. Yes, Abby definitely has a full life.

One day she's trying to cut the blackberry bushes in her yard when Tripp suggests that they hire goats, who will eat their way through. Strange as it seems, Abby is willing to go along with it. But she's not so willing to go along with what the goats seem to have dug up - a body buried in her yard, wrapped in a shroud that appears to be part of a quilt she recognizes as belonging to her aunt.

When the police determine it's the body of Dolly Cayhill, whom everyone thought was still out of town (which she does every year after Christmas, being a snowbird), Abby begins hearing rumors how her aunt and Dolly hated and were constantly trying to one-up each other. She also hears that they got into a fight over the Senior Committee, and Sybil was accused of poisoning members of the guild using Dolly's famous crab dip.

Even though she and Tripp don't believe a word of it, it doesn't count - especially since Tripp is also in the rumor mill of being the one to move and bury the body. While the sheriff, Tripp's friend Gage Logan, is investigating, he won't tell Abby anything and she doesn't want to sit around twiddling her thumbs while waiting to find out who murdered the woman. After all, she has her aunt's reputation to protect, so what if she ruffles a few feathers? However, those feathers don't want to be ruffled, and Abby soon finds that maybe the murderer isn't done with killing yet...

This is the first book in a new series, and I really didn't know what to expect. I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by it. The plot is well written and well thought out, giving the reader something to look forward to - and it's not another nosy amateur sleuth who walks around demanding answers and accusing everyone of murder.

She's also not one of those women who can't cook and eats fast food whenever she's hungry, or doesn't even have dog food in the house and needs to run to the store every night when she realizes she needs to feed her pet. Abby, having once run her own business, bakes quite a bit when she's restless and keeps her pet in plenty of food and treats.

She's also not invasive in her questioning. While she does ask questions, they're innocuous and basically just to get people to offer whatever information they want to give her. She never presses anyone or makes them uncomfortable. It's a breath of fresh air in the 'crime-solving' world. I like the fact that she's not making enemies in town (although she did 'inherit' once again, enemies in the form of Dolly's friends).

When the ending comes and the killer is revealed, the clues were there all along, and while I knew who the murderer was, it was enjoyable to watch it all play out; while Abby didn't knowingly put herself in danger, yes, she took a risk, but what kind of mystery would it have been if she played it safe throughout the entire story?

All in all, an entertaining tale that is worth reading. So get your self a cup of coffee (or tea, if you prefer), sit back, relax and travel with Abby on a lively journey of intrigue and discovery. I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.
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Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
65
Also by
3
Members
3,410
Popularity
#7,472
Rating
½ 3.6
Reviews
105
ISBNs
134
Languages
4
Favorited
7

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