Just received word that Ladd Springs received 5 stars from the Indie Reader Discovery Awards!

LADD SPRINGS

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Dianne Venetta

5 Stars

Delaney Wilkins lives in the eastern mountains of Tennessee. Its beautiful, untouched country has been in her family for generations. Current owner, Ernie Ladd, Delaney’s uncle, refuses to sign over the title to Delaney’s daughter, Felicity, like he promised his sister, Susannah, on her deathbed. Complicating the acrimonious relationship between Delaney and Ernie is the arrival of Nick Harris, a hotel developer who wants to buy the land and build another in a line of eco-hotels amid the pristine wilderness, Clem Sweeney who has discovered a secret about the land and wants it for himself, and Annie Owens, who claims the land is rightfully hers, but hasn’t yet proved the paternity of her daughter, Casey. Family legacy battles greed in a race for the coveted property.

Author Dianne Venetta has written a winner with LADD SPRINGS, the first in the Ladd Springs series. Her descriptions of the eastern Tennessee landscape are beautifully detailed, enough so that it’s a character in and of itself, but not so much that it becomes unwieldy. The family feud between Delaney and Ernie is believable, as is the inclusion of Annie who claims to be family by way of the paternity of her daughter, Casey. In many ways, the battle could be between any family anywhere, and that’s part of what makes it intriguing. Outside of the family, there’s Nick, the handsome hotel developer, who serves as both foe and love interest for Delaney, and Clem, as the resident, idler bad guy. In general, all of the characters are well fleshed out, and play their intended parts well. Venetta takes her time with the story, keeping it well-paced and never rushing things just to move it along.

LADD SPRINGS isn’t a hardcore mystery, but appealing nonetheless for those who enjoy a good, solid story.

Reviewed by K.J. Pierce for IndieReader

****This month you can get ALL five ebooks for only $7.99…just in time to add to your summer reading list. Each book in the series has received 4 stars or better!

Available for your kindle and kindle apps. Ladd Springs Boxed Set

Losing Ladd has been released!

Felicity Wilkins might own Ladd Springs but when Jeremiah Ladd struts back into town with retaliation on his mind, she realizes how little her possession means. Not far behind him, Jillian Devane arrives on scene and between the two of them, everything Felicity holds dear is in jeopardy.

Travis Parker knows the players and knows the law. Problem is, Jeremiah and Jillian don’t play by the rules and thwart his every effort to bring them to justice. Complicating the situation is the impending trial against Travis’ twin brother Troy. Jack Foster continues to pursue his revenge against Troy, aided by his mother, Victoria. It’s a battle that threatens to blow up the small town until a secret box of letters discovered in an attic changes everything.

Cal Foster alone understands the valuable find, and uses it to protect his new family from the bloodlust of past quarrels they had nothing to do with. But one explosive evening on hotel property threatens Felicity’s entire world, throwing her at odds with Travis and placing her life in grave danger.

Will Jeremiah and Jillian finally exact their revenge on Hotel Ladd? Will Jack and Victoria prevail in their vendetta? Family feuds pack a powerful punch leaving no one untouched in the grand finale, Losing Ladd…

Book #3 in the Ladd Springs has been released!

 The mountain saga continues as a lucrative offer to buy Ladd Springs puts Annie Owens and Cal Foster on opposite sides of the Ladd family fortune. Each has a stake in the outcome, both have secrets to hide.

After years of battling the Ladd family, Annie Owens has finally procured her daughter’s legacy, title to Ladd Springs, a mecca of streams and springs in the eastern Tennessee mountains—only she can’t afford to keep it.

Cal Foster’s father owns the biggest bank in town and has devised a way to help Annie retain the property, but when hotel developer Jillian Devane offers to buy the land outright, Annie is torn. She’s tempted by the huge sum of money—money that will secure her daughter Casey’s future, something Cal cannot guarantee.

According to Annie’s sister, Lacy Ward, an insider with the Ladd family, Jillian’s proposal is tainted by revenge—the depth of which Annie has no idea. She only knows the woman is out to compete with the upcoming Ladd hotel making any deal with Jillian Devane tantamount to betrayal.

When Cal is offered a position with Hotel Ladd, Annie is backed against a wall. Selling to Jillian will end any hope for a future together with Cal, a man she has come to love. But it isn’t until Casey’s romance with Troy Parker blows apart that Annie’s decision is made.

Will “selling out” exile Annie from the Ladd family, including any chance for happiness with Cal Foster? Or can she find a way to make amends, ending a long-standing feud once and for all? Find out in this episode of Ladd Springs…