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The Magnolia Series #2
Blood Loss
Karina and LiAnn worked hard to put the awful memories behind them of the nightmare they walked into at The Magnolia and all the death and destruction caused by the former owners. As they settled into their new roles as managers of the upscale independent living facility, LiAnn reconnects with her true love and Karina continues to explore the new relationship with a sexy cowboy named Bo.
Each are haunted by the atrocities committed at The Magnolia and how close Karina came to dying at the hands of mafia monsters. With the help of her mother, beloved grandparents, new job, an enormous dog, and a hunky, younger man to keep her mind occupied, Karina lets her guard down, naively assuming the worst is over for her family.
Unfortunately, she’s wrong.
When one of the elderly residents of The Magnolia reveals the truth about a shady past, the entire Tuck family find themselves embroiled in one of Arkansas’s most notorious mysteries from 1957. The disappearance of a beloved attorney and her young charge was never solved, bodies never found, and even after over 60 years, Karina and LiAnn discover there are still those who intend to keep it that way.
Each are haunted by the atrocities committed at The Magnolia and how close Karina came to dying at the hands of mafia monsters. With the help of her mother, beloved grandparents, new job, an enormous dog, and a hunky, younger man to keep her mind occupied, Karina lets her guard down, naively assuming the worst is over for her family.
Unfortunately, she’s wrong.
When one of the elderly residents of The Magnolia reveals the truth about a shady past, the entire Tuck family find themselves embroiled in one of Arkansas’s most notorious mysteries from 1957. The disappearance of a beloved attorney and her young charge was never solved, bodies never found, and even after over 60 years, Karina and LiAnn discover there are still those who intend to keep it that way.
293 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2017
26 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Ashley Fontainne
47 books149 followersAshley writes in multiple genres ranging from mystery/thrillers to suspenseful paranormal to dark comedy. The recipient of numerous awards for her gritty, no-holds barred style of writing, her stories will captivate and pull you inside the lives of her characters and intricate plot lines.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 24, 2017
I am so happy to be back with some familiar friends and am looking for another mystery to solve. Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne and her mother, Lillian Hansen, is the second Magnolia story, based on a true one, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
We pick up where Blood Ties ended, but I believe you can read this as a stand alone. If this is your first foray into the Magnolia series, I do recommend starting at the beginning.
The Magnolia has become Karina’s home. She and her mother inherited the home for the elderly and it seems like mysteries and danger arise from the house itself.
Karina’s nightmare awakens her, but it’s nice having her hunkie boyfriend at her side. Bo tells her the nightmares will pass.
“They’re all dead thanks to you, so that makes you the predator, not the prey.”
Karina is a strong, determined ex cop, as is her mother. They have put that behind them, but it’s a good thing they have those skills to draw on.
She’s tough, snarky and has a potty mouth. Pull a gun on her and she’ll blow your head off, but she has a big heart and guards it well.
Death by dick wouldn’t fly anyway, though it would be a memorable obituary for sure, going viral in hours. (Karina’s thoughts about Bo’s insatiable libido).
I laughed out loud when I read her version of the song You Don’t Own Me.
Karina has me cracking up throughout the pages and I love being inside her head.
It is that kind of writing that gives Ashley’s stories a fun and humorous bent and keeps me coming back for more. I think humor goes hand in hand with romance and mystery.
My first big surprise I never saw coming. No warning, but at least it’s all good.
“Like the Good Book says, the love of money is the root of all evil. And it’s a thick root that runs deep into bloodstained dirt.”
Government conspiracies? Never underestimate the power of greed. Some will stop at nothing.
A home for old folks…not surprising there are skeletons in the closet and secrets hidden. In 1957 two women vanished without a trace and the game is afoot.
Karina misses the rush of the hunt, so when the mystery appears, she jumps on it, regardless of being warned off. It’s just not in her nature. She cannot resist the mystery and I know she will find danger.
I’m onto you Ashley. The second surprise is about Karina. I didn’t see this one either and I love when the author can surprise me. Ashley Fontainne has that ability, and so much more. She draws me into the story quickly and easily. The characters become my friends. I worry about them, want the best for them, and if I could climb into the pages of the book, I would help them. As it is, all I can do is read…
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne.
To see more visit fundinmental
We pick up where Blood Ties ended, but I believe you can read this as a stand alone. If this is your first foray into the Magnolia series, I do recommend starting at the beginning.
The Magnolia has become Karina’s home. She and her mother inherited the home for the elderly and it seems like mysteries and danger arise from the house itself.
Karina’s nightmare awakens her, but it’s nice having her hunkie boyfriend at her side. Bo tells her the nightmares will pass.
“They’re all dead thanks to you, so that makes you the predator, not the prey.”
Karina is a strong, determined ex cop, as is her mother. They have put that behind them, but it’s a good thing they have those skills to draw on.
She’s tough, snarky and has a potty mouth. Pull a gun on her and she’ll blow your head off, but she has a big heart and guards it well.
Death by dick wouldn’t fly anyway, though it would be a memorable obituary for sure, going viral in hours. (Karina’s thoughts about Bo’s insatiable libido).
I laughed out loud when I read her version of the song You Don’t Own Me.
Karina has me cracking up throughout the pages and I love being inside her head.
It is that kind of writing that gives Ashley’s stories a fun and humorous bent and keeps me coming back for more. I think humor goes hand in hand with romance and mystery.
My first big surprise I never saw coming. No warning, but at least it’s all good.
“Like the Good Book says, the love of money is the root of all evil. And it’s a thick root that runs deep into bloodstained dirt.”
Government conspiracies? Never underestimate the power of greed. Some will stop at nothing.
A home for old folks…not surprising there are skeletons in the closet and secrets hidden. In 1957 two women vanished without a trace and the game is afoot.
Karina misses the rush of the hunt, so when the mystery appears, she jumps on it, regardless of being warned off. It’s just not in her nature. She cannot resist the mystery and I know she will find danger.
I’m onto you Ashley. The second surprise is about Karina. I didn’t see this one either and I love when the author can surprise me. Ashley Fontainne has that ability, and so much more. She draws me into the story quickly and easily. The characters become my friends. I worry about them, want the best for them, and if I could climb into the pages of the book, I would help them. As it is, all I can do is read…
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne.
To see more visit fundinmental
September 6, 2017
I was kind of expecting and hoping for this book to be a bit scary. In fact, it was lacking in suspense. Yet, what kept me staying with this book until the end were the characters. The residents of the Magnolia, Karina, LiAnn, their parents, and Gram. It was for the characters that were intriguing that it was like I was part of this family. As far as the story was involved, it was fine.
Just like the author's, this was the first time that I heard the name Maud Robinson Crawford. Maud is who this story is loosely based on. In real life she disappeared and her case has not been solved. Which, as this story is a "what if", Maud's case was solved, I felt like the authors could have dressed up the story a bit more. The case as told by the residents of Magnolia was slow and not a lot of action happening. Although, the authors did fine wrapping up the story in the end.
Just like the author's, this was the first time that I heard the name Maud Robinson Crawford. Maud is who this story is loosely based on. In real life she disappeared and her case has not been solved. Which, as this story is a "what if", Maud's case was solved, I felt like the authors could have dressed up the story a bit more. The case as told by the residents of Magnolia was slow and not a lot of action happening. Although, the authors did fine wrapping up the story in the end.
August 11, 2017
MY THOUGHTS
The former owners of an independent living facility, The Magnolia, left the place in shambles amidst death and terrible conditions. When Karina and LiAnn, the new managers walked through the front door, the sight would stay with them for a long time. So they dug in and worked hard to bring the place back up to the upscale facility it used to be. So many wrongs were committed at The Magnolia and both young women are constantly reminded of what went on, including facing death by some of the mafia. But they need to move on. There are those who help Karina get over everything that happened including her mother and grandparents. She has this new job as manager of the independent living facility, a sexy new man, and a loving huge dog. Everything is fine, she can finally relax. But, wait a minute. As soon as she thinks things are going fine, the worst is over.........reality sets in. She is far from right. A secret is brought to light by one of the residents. Thus in 1957 one of the most prominent mystery in Arkansas emerges.
We're talking the disappearance of an attorney and her young charge. Mystery remains a mystery, never solved. No bodies found, no clues, at least none that anyone is willing to let out in the open. There are those who know what happened but are adamant about leaving it in the past, a deep, dark secret of the past.
The author wrote an interesting suspense mystery. It read quickly with no having to re-read sections to figure out what you read. It was a good combination of mystery, suspense, secrets, a bit of romance and questions to be answered. The author had you being an investigator, trying to figure out what the dark secrets are and when you find out, well, you're investigating again to find out what happened, why and who did the crime. You are on the edge of your seat with the suspense building with each page as it turns. You'll find yourself making yourself breath. You'll find your mind thinking of the mystery and trying to solve it. The author didn't hold back on the suspense, starting out slow and building with each page.
Can this mystery be solved after 60 years? Will the dark secrets come to light in order to solve this age old mystery.? Did the attorney and her charge die by murder or was it an accident? What happened to the bodies? Was it connected to the original owners of The Magnolia? And How? Will the two young women be able to put all of this behind them and move forward?
Above all: Who "dun it" and why? If you love suspense, dark secrets and like being an arm chair investigator, then the author gives you it all. Oh, and don't forget the sexy cowboy!
I received a complimentary copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review it.
The former owners of an independent living facility, The Magnolia, left the place in shambles amidst death and terrible conditions. When Karina and LiAnn, the new managers walked through the front door, the sight would stay with them for a long time. So they dug in and worked hard to bring the place back up to the upscale facility it used to be. So many wrongs were committed at The Magnolia and both young women are constantly reminded of what went on, including facing death by some of the mafia. But they need to move on. There are those who help Karina get over everything that happened including her mother and grandparents. She has this new job as manager of the independent living facility, a sexy new man, and a loving huge dog. Everything is fine, she can finally relax. But, wait a minute. As soon as she thinks things are going fine, the worst is over.........reality sets in. She is far from right. A secret is brought to light by one of the residents. Thus in 1957 one of the most prominent mystery in Arkansas emerges.
We're talking the disappearance of an attorney and her young charge. Mystery remains a mystery, never solved. No bodies found, no clues, at least none that anyone is willing to let out in the open. There are those who know what happened but are adamant about leaving it in the past, a deep, dark secret of the past.
The author wrote an interesting suspense mystery. It read quickly with no having to re-read sections to figure out what you read. It was a good combination of mystery, suspense, secrets, a bit of romance and questions to be answered. The author had you being an investigator, trying to figure out what the dark secrets are and when you find out, well, you're investigating again to find out what happened, why and who did the crime. You are on the edge of your seat with the suspense building with each page as it turns. You'll find yourself making yourself breath. You'll find your mind thinking of the mystery and trying to solve it. The author didn't hold back on the suspense, starting out slow and building with each page.
Can this mystery be solved after 60 years? Will the dark secrets come to light in order to solve this age old mystery.? Did the attorney and her charge die by murder or was it an accident? What happened to the bodies? Was it connected to the original owners of The Magnolia? And How? Will the two young women be able to put all of this behind them and move forward?
Above all: Who "dun it" and why? If you love suspense, dark secrets and like being an arm chair investigator, then the author gives you it all. Oh, and don't forget the sexy cowboy!
I received a complimentary copy of this book and voluntarily decided to review it.
September 5, 2017
"Blood Loss" is actually the second book in a series by Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen, however don't let that stop you if you haven't read the first book. I jumped into book two blind, but I was still able to enjoy it and knew what was happening. The authors did a great job of putting little pieces of information in so that the reader could know what had previously happened to all of the characters.
This book definitely kept my attention (I read it in a day). The characters were well thought out and personable, so I wanted to see what happened with their story. The book has a cast of characters, and each one of them has their own personality and backstory. It made it so that the reader didn't get confused between the great amount of people involved in the story.
While I did enjoy the book as a whole, there were some technical aspects that I thought could have been better. At points throughout "Blood Loss", the dialogue seemed a bit forced. It was like the characters needed to say everything they were thinking and used dialogue as exposition. This made it seem like the authors were telling us instead of showing us details that would move the story along.
The story is told from multiple points of view, but it mainly focuses on Karina. Karina is the character who is driving the story forward and investigating the mysteries that are surrounding her, even though she had been through trauma in the first book, and a fair share in this one as well. Her persistence and strength is something that I admired, and she still was able to show instances of vulnerability without appearing weak.
I enjoyed the plot as well as the characters created by these two authors, and that was more than enough to get past those technical aspects for me to recommend this book and want to read more of the series.
This book definitely kept my attention (I read it in a day). The characters were well thought out and personable, so I wanted to see what happened with their story. The book has a cast of characters, and each one of them has their own personality and backstory. It made it so that the reader didn't get confused between the great amount of people involved in the story.
While I did enjoy the book as a whole, there were some technical aspects that I thought could have been better. At points throughout "Blood Loss", the dialogue seemed a bit forced. It was like the characters needed to say everything they were thinking and used dialogue as exposition. This made it seem like the authors were telling us instead of showing us details that would move the story along.
The story is told from multiple points of view, but it mainly focuses on Karina. Karina is the character who is driving the story forward and investigating the mysteries that are surrounding her, even though she had been through trauma in the first book, and a fair share in this one as well. Her persistence and strength is something that I admired, and she still was able to show instances of vulnerability without appearing weak.
I enjoyed the plot as well as the characters created by these two authors, and that was more than enough to get past those technical aspects for me to recommend this book and want to read more of the series.
October 19, 2020
A very unexpecting turn of events within this story. Book two could have been a stand-alone as it was really detailed. When a secret from the past comes to light, you know Karina and LiAnn are not just going to let it go. I mean, how could they? Between having P.I. blood in ya along with cop blood, you can not turn down a good mystery. I felt bad for Karina as she has had it pretty hard. Dealing with mobsters in the first book and finally getting her life together only to have secrets come to light that pisses her off and has something horrible happen to her, making it even more troubling for her. So at the end of all this, I did not agree with Karina's decision.....doesn't matter if you love the dude or not. He made a huge mistake, and literally, you do just that!! Yet, I guess to each their own in life.
The characters were really done really well, and the storyline was good. My only issue was the retelling of the memories that Karina and LiAnn had from the first book. I know they were nightmares, but I kept going to wait as I started the book. Am I rereading book 1? To each their own. After we got past the nightmare parts, it was an easy flow of reading for me. I was engrossed in the story. I really liked how the author took an actual disappearance of someone and did, what if it happened. I liked how they took a different spin on it.
The characters were really done really well, and the storyline was good. My only issue was the retelling of the memories that Karina and LiAnn had from the first book. I know they were nightmares, but I kept going to wait as I started the book. Am I rereading book 1? To each their own. After we got past the nightmare parts, it was an easy flow of reading for me. I was engrossed in the story. I really liked how the author took an actual disappearance of someone and did, what if it happened. I liked how they took a different spin on it.
September 7, 2017
FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Pump Up Your Book in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.
Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne & Lillian Hansen was a fascinating book. This is the second book in the series, and I haven’t read the first book, but I still understood what was going on in this book. I did wish I knew more of the back story, but it didn’t make me want to stop reading this book. Right from the start this book hooked my interest and keep me interested right up through the end of the book. This book didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, but it did hold my interest throughout the entire thing. I was such a fan of the characters that I am going to go back and read the first book even though I do know how it all works out in the end. If you like mystery books, I would check this book out.
Blood Loss by Ashley Fontainne & Lillian Hansen was a fascinating book. This is the second book in the series, and I haven’t read the first book, but I still understood what was going on in this book. I did wish I knew more of the back story, but it didn’t make me want to stop reading this book. Right from the start this book hooked my interest and keep me interested right up through the end of the book. This book didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat, but it did hold my interest throughout the entire thing. I was such a fan of the characters that I am going to go back and read the first book even though I do know how it all works out in the end. If you like mystery books, I would check this book out.
February 2, 2018
Audible:This is the second book in a series.It is good.I liked the characters more than I did in the first book.We start by hearing a harrowing story of Karinas mothers best friend.Karina and her mother seem to still be in the mobs sites.Terrible things happen ,people die and yet there seems to be no mourning by any of the characters.Rebecca Roberts is a great narrator.“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”
August 19, 2018
I read both Magnolia books back to back. The second book had several pages that seemed to be taken directly from the first book and used as a way to recap some events from the first book in the second book. If I had read these books with more distance in between them it wouldn’t have been an issue; but I didn’t and it was a small annoyance because I wanted to dive into the new book. Glad I kept with it because the twists and turns brought my rating to a 4.
September 13, 2017
If you love a good on the edge of your seat read this would be the one... I had more chills reading this book than I have in a long time. Lost a little sleep reading this too since it was hard to put down. This is one of those books that you have on you read again and again and again list!
March 20, 2018
An exviting mystety. Well written and suspensful. Hard to stop readinf and didnt wantit to end?
!oved this book. So suspenseful, well written. I did. n't want it to end because the characters were so real!
!oved this book. So suspenseful, well written. I did. n't want it to end because the characters were so real!
August 18, 2017
This book gave me the shivers. This book ran chills down my spine. As creepy and relentless as the fingers of fog rising from a southern swamp, this book will wrap its tendrils around you and not let go. Once you start reading any book by Ashley Fontainne, you'll be lost. You won't be able to stop reading until the last page because her words, and her stories, are just that mesmerizing. As an added bonus, this book actually entwines a real-life unsolved mystery at its core, and with the addition of photos and links to the real crime, you literally will not be able to stop yourself from becoming immersed in this book. This is actually book two in the Magnolia series, but can easily be read as a standalone, although I highly recommend you read this, and every book, in Ms. Fontainne's repertoire.
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