Author: JAB

Judith A. Barrett writes fast-paced dark thrillers, romantic suspense, and mysteries with a twist featuring sharp minds, moral tension, and characters who refuse to stay victims. Best known for her dark vigilante thriller series starring Maggie Sloan, Judith creates stories where small towns hide dangerous secrets, instinct matters more than appearances, and justice is rarely simple. Judith lives on a small farm in rural Georgia with her husband, two dogs, and a flock of unapologetically sassy chickens. Thou shalt not plagiarize. (See Commandment #8) But it's okay to share!
QuickJAB

Cyber Monday Shopping

JAB
Cat Shopping on Cyber Monday

 

What do you think about on Sunday night after you’ve gone to bed? In the olden days when I was employed in the Corporate world, I’d lie awake and worry about all the stress and deadlines that had piled up from being out of the office for four days. Good times.

Last night after a weekend of being reminded by ads and emails that Cyber Monday bargains were in the works, I wondered when and how Cyber Monday got started. These days, when I wonder about something in the middle of the night, I hop online and do a little research first thing in the morning.

What I learned: In the early 2000’s, savvy marketers noticed a creeping trend of online shopping on the Monday following Thanksgiving. They surmised that people either didn’t finish all their Black Friday shopping or were opting to avoid the craziness of waiting in line in the cold at four o’clock in the morning for a bargain, only to be trampled in the crush when the doors opened at the insane hour of six am or discovered their item had been completely sold out before they made it into the store. More good times.

Each year, more and more shoppers waited until they got to work on Monday to do their online shopping on the faster, more secure Corporate internet. Of course, that was against Company Policy, but pfft.

In 2005, the US National Retail Federation coined the term “Cyber Monday,” and an entire nation became slackers at work on the Monday after Thanksgiving. In 2020, data shows that Americans spent a record $10.8 billion online by the end of Cyber Monday, and 2021 is expected to break that record.

 Not to be outdone, I’ve jumped onto the Cyber Monday train, and TAGGED BY DEATH, Book 1 of the Riley Malloy thriller series, is free today.  As a bonus, Amazon joined me and lowered the price of the $17.99 paperback to the unbelievable price of $9.92! 

 

Now’s your chance for a real Cyber Monday bargain that won’t disappear before you’ve finished your Monday morning coffee or tea!

Only the vet tech who’s a dog whisperer can identify a serial killer if she can put the pieces together before she’s murdered; death follows her.

Want the complete Riley Malloy Thriller Series with one click? Here you go!

QuickJAB

Bingeworthy Thriller

JAB

MAGGIE SLOAN THRILLER SERIES

When Maggie and her unusual team uncover long-hidden crimes, the desperate criminals attack, and Maggie fights for survival. It’s kill or be killed.

 

Maggie Sloan, librarian and self-taught spy and her unforgettable, unique team avenge a heart-wrenching murder in I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A SPY, BOOK 1.

In RED IS THE NEW GRAY, BOOK 2, Maggie and her team travel to Galveston Island, Texas. Maggie  persists in her pursuit to uncover the deadly crime and the vicious criminal who has escaped detection for years.

In HIDDEN BY FIRE, BOOK 3, When Maggie and her team investigate the puzzling clues that point to a long ago, unsolved theft of famous works of art, Maggie intends to discover the truth hidden behind the series of fires.

In ONE EYE ON THE KILLER, BOOK 4, Maggie uses her uncanny skills and talents to piece together the deaths of senior center residents and staff and the theft of valuable jewelry. A deadly attack on Maggie leaves her maimed, but the killer wants her dead.

What the Readers say:

A well-crafted story! If you’ve thought you have it all figured out, the story jack-knives off the page and spins you in a whole other direction. Very fulfilling. — Amazon

I love it! Taut, well plotted mystery. Beautiful turns of phrase. Laugh aloud moments. A kickass heroine. Imaginary companions who are somehow tangible. You’ll love it, too. — Amazon

Have you read some of the Maggie books? Tap the download button for the ones you have missed!

QuickJAB

Once Upon a Halloween…

JAB

A Wicked and Wild Cozy Mystery Anthology 

Halloween, the day where the veil between the normal and the paranormal is as thin as a whisker on a witch’s chin…
 
Twenty-three cozy mystery authors cook up tales of fun, mayhem, and murder!
 
With a sprinkle of seniors with sharp minds and smart mouths, a dash of witches with familiars with more sass than sense, and a pinch of whodunits in quaint little towns…
 
Don’t miss the Exclusive DONUT LADY Halloween Story, SWEET SCARY DEAL, found only in ONCE UPON A HALLOWEEN!
 
PREORDER NOW for your copy of the October 18 Release of ONCE UPON A HALLOWEEN!
 

QuickJAB

Hot Summer and Hot Peppers

JAB

Our jalapeno plants are producing fat, hot jalapenos. I can’t make jalapeno jelly to go with cream cheese on top of crackers, though, because we’d never be able to eat all the jelly before next year. Pickled jalapenos, however, go with everything – cheeseburgers, scrambled eggs, tacos, enchiladas, mixed with cream cheese for bagels, sloppy joes, spaghetti, fried potatoes…

Our jalapenos tend to be mild, but that’s our New Mexico-Texas taste buds talking. 

How many pounds are in a peck? It depends… the internet appears to be fond of random numbers. For example, a peck of apples is 12-14 pounds;  a peck of tomatoes is 10ish pounds… there’s a meandering trail on the internet of conflicting information if you’re ever tired of scrolling the same old stuff and want to read something different with no memes… be my guest.

While you’re doing that, I’ll be canning on the back deck in the sticky Georgia summer heat because who wants to overtax the air conditioning system with a canning pot that is full of boiling water? 

Bring a big ole glass of sweet tea if you wander by, and I’ll tell you a story about how the ripening of peppers can lead to a grand adventure. Better yet, bring a pitcher because you know one of my stories always leads to another…

 

 

QuickJAB

Series Readers Are Awesome

JAB

RILEY MALLOY MYSTERY/THRILLER BOOK 2

For all the readers who are advanced series readers and already read TAGGED BY DEATH, BOOK 1, here is BOOK 2.

For all the series readers who wanted to be sure there’s a BOOK 2, here you go! Also, please read BOOK 1 first, because RILEY MALLOY MYSTERY SERIES is an actual series that follows the challenges of Riley Malloy, fulltime vet tech and part time crime buster.

DEFY DEATH 

Riley, vet tech and dog whisperer, stands in the way of a desperate criminal. Easy fix. Kill Riley.

DEFY Cover Book 2 Jan 31 2021 ebook 

TAP for DEFY BY DEATH

For all the thriller and mystery readers that missed TAGGED BY DEATH, BOOK 1, you are not forgotten either.

TAP for TAGGED BY DEATH, Book 1

 

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Another Sweet Donut Lady Novel with a Side of Murder

JAB

Donut Lady Mystery Series continues with Book 5, SWEET SECRET DEAL.

Donut Lady is in a race to uncover the secrets and solve the murders before the desperate killer murders her.

Donut Lady’s reputation for solving murders continues to grow in Book 5 of the Donut Lady Mystery saga.

SSD 3D JPG

KAREN O’BRIEN is puzzled by the secrets of a respected, longtime resident of Asbury. How many secret partners can any one person have? And when one of the partners and then another is murdered, Karen is convinced the killer must have been one of the other partners, but which one? And why? The Donut Lady asks too many questions and uncovers too many secrets. She’s in the killer’s crosshairs.

DONUT LADY mysteries are best enjoyed by starting with Book 1: SWEET SEAL SEALED.

SweetDealSealedBuy  SweetDealConcealedBuy   SweetDealRevealedBuySweetDealAppealedBuy  SweetSecretDealBuy

DonutLadyMysterySeries 3D 5 Books July 25 2021

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More than Ever…Survival

JAB

The GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES continues with Book 4, DANGER IN THE FIELD.

A killer obsessed with hate seeks revenge.

Stuart and Aimee Louise scrap their plans to return to Florida when their neighbors fall victim to home invasions and murder. After the ruthless gang halts all travel with roadblocks and the attacks escalate, Stuart and Aimee Louise suspect someone on their team is the target. When the callous enemy closes in, Stuart and Aimee Louise plan their own attack.

Stuart, Aimee Louise, and Rosalie stayed in Georgia because lawlessness still rules. No electricity has become the new normal as their fight for survival continues in Book 4 of the Grid Down Survival saga.

GRID DOWN SURVIVAL is best enjoyed by starting with Book 1: DANGER IN THE CLOUDS as our SURVIVAL heroes grow with each new adventure.

DangerInThe CloudsBuy    DangerInThe WindBuy DangeronThe RoadBuy DangerinTheFieldBuy

GRID DOWN SURVIVAL SERIES BOOKS 1 2 3 4 June 2021

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A New Mystery Series

JAB

A new series means we’ll be introduced to a story about a new person with a problem to solve. 

Meet RILEY MALLOY, a talented veterinary technician who understands her patients. When her employer abruptly closes the veterinary clinic where she has always worked, she adopts an abandoned dog at the worst possible time – no job and no animals allowed in her apartment building.

After she moves to her family’s hometown for a new job, death follows her.

TAGGED BY DEATH

Riley Malloy has a remarkable talent for understanding her veterinary patients. Unknowingly, she’s also the only one who can identify a serial killer. 

As one murder follows another, the evidence she discovers may lead her to expose the murderer’s scheme. When she gets too close, Riley finds herself in the crosshairs of the desperate killer as he escalates to a final murder. Can Riley escape his deadly intentions?

QuickJAB

2020 – View from the Author’s Seat

JAB

My goal for 2020 was to write and publish four books.

One of the four books I planned was a complete rewrite of a novella because it was Book 1 of a series. Little did I know in my younger years – back in the day – of 2018 that a novella is not Book 1 of a series of novels; instead, it is Book 0.5. Learning is fun. And hard. New Book 1 became a novel and is officially Second Edition of Book 1.

The other three books were planned to be one book for each of my three series. My editor was busy, as all editors are, but she was onboard for four.

Then 2020 happened, and just like the rest of the world, both my editor and I were less busy than we had planned. I wrote, she edited, and I published six books in 2020.