Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Healer's Daughters by Jay Amberg

Book Details: Book Title:  The Healer's Daughters by Jay Amberg Category:  Adult Fiction, 312 pages Genre:  thriller Publisher:  Amika Press Release date:   July 2019 Format available for review:  print (USA & Canada), ebook  (mobi file (for Kindle), ePub, PDF) Tour dates: Sept 9 to Sept 20, 2019 Content Rating: Pg-13 + M (Some strong language, terrorism and violence) Book Description: ​A terrorist bombing in Bergama, Turkey kills twenty-three people including three children. Modern Bergama is built on the site of ancient Pergamon, a city whose art and wealth and culture rivaled Athens. It was also the home of the Aesklepion, the world’s greatest healing center, and the birthplace of Galen, the Roman Empire’s most famous doctor. Tuğçe Iskan, a Turkish Ministry investigator, finds evidence that links the terrorism to a powerful criminal family and to Galen’s life and Pergamon’s lost treasures. But Iskan is alone, an outcast in the Ministry because she is honest, diligent, and a woman. As Iskan delves more deeply into the heinous attack, she needs allies outside the Ministry. She must turn to Özlem Boroğlu, a local archeologist, and Boroğlu’s daughter Elif, an artist with an affinity for ancient Aegean goddesses. Can these three women defeat ISIL terrorists, criminal oligarchs, and corrupt officials? Can they even survive? Praise for The Healer's Daughters: ​"Amberg...shines at creating distinctive characters. Elif and others, for example, conduct a ritual to remember lost lives, which is a striking contrast to others who use the "Bergama Bombing" to boost their political careers. Moreover, Amberg deftly shows how viewing unfamiliar cultures as exotic can be insensitive; Özlem confronts a crass British photographer who thinks nothing of snapping pictures of praying mourners... A large, memorable cast augments this dramatic mystery/thriller." --Kirkus Reviews "Keep[s] readers on their toes. With its powerful blend of Turkish cultural explorations, international intrigue, a treasure hunt, historical references, and characters who hold their own special interests close to their hearts, The Healer's Daughters is an exceptional thriller that proves hard to put down." --Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review "All the elements [of] a compelling thriller--international terrorism; a greedy, powerful and ruthless criminal family; a group of inept, corrupt and "bought" government officials; a secret, elite, and clean anti-terror department of the said, corrupt government; and a principled, high-minded academic who will stop at nothing to ensure her country's past and valuable heritage is preserved for the ages." --Grant Leishman, Readers' Favorite "Drama, pressure, and tensions mount in a plot with great descriptive writing and scene setting.... A glimpse into different cultures, beliefs, and economies [and an] adventure filled with fear, danger, and discovery." --K.J. Simmill, Readers' Favorite Buy the Book: Amazon.com ~ Barnes and Noble ~ Amika Press Add to Goodreads

Meet the Author:   ​ Jay Amberg is the author of twelve books. He received a BA from Georgetown University and a PhD from Northwestern University. He has taught high school and college students since 1972. His latest book, The Healer’s Daughters, is now available from Amika Press. Amberg has also published Bone Box, Cycle, America’s Fool, Whale Song, and compiled 52 Poems for Men. Prior to Amika Press, Amberg published thriller novels Doubloon (Forge), Blackbird Singing (Forge) and Deep Gold (Warner Books). Among his books on teaching are School Smarts and The Study Skills Handbook, published by Good Year. Amberg wrote The Creative Writing Handbook (Good Year) with Mark Henry Larson and Verbal Review and Workbook for the SAT (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich) with Bob Boone. Connect with the author:   Website  ~  Twitter ~  Facebook GUEST POST: ​Six of the twelve books I’ve written have been thrillers. When I first began writing stories, I realized I had neither the breadth of experience nor the depth of insight into the human condition to write literary fiction. I was reading a lot of Graham Greene, who divided his own stories into serious literary fiction and what he called entertainments. I understood that even his entertainments had some interesting things to say about what’s going on here—and that the genre might be one I could handle.  I also realized that I was too young to write about what I knew but that I very much liked looking into things I wanted to know. My first thriller focused on the sinking in the North Sea of a British cruiser, HMS Edinburgh, during World War Two. The questions I entertained were What If the Edinburgh’s cargo wasn’t what it was purported to be? What if fifty years later the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States still all had reasons to make sure that cargo was never salvaged, never recovered?  I’ve been taken by these What If questions ever since. What if controversial documents concerning the origins of Christianity are unearthed? What if the only child of the most famous athlete in the country is kidnapped? What if vast Spanish treasure is discovered in the Florida Keys? What if a deadly virus is about to be loosed on Las Vegas? In the case of The Healer’s Daughters, What are the extended consequences of a deadly terrorist attack? What if local people are complicit in that terrorist attack? What if the attack is even more cynical and evil than it appears? I was also taken by the form of thrillers. By definition, there has to be rising action, complications, intrigue, danger. Things have to happen; events have to lead to some sort of climax. Characters have to make difficult choices and impactful decisions, have to decide what is the best thing to do, the right thing to do. This is the form of all good stories, of course, but thrillers, it seems to me, naturally do this. And, as with Graham Greene’s entertainments, there are still plenty of opportunities for a writer to include some insights about the human condition and provide commentary about what it is that we’re all doing here. BOOK TOUR SCHEDULE: ​Sept 9 – Working Mommy Journal – book review / giveaway Sept 10 – Rockin' Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway Sept 10 - Mystery Suspense Reviews - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway Sept 11 – Locks, Hooks and Books – book review / guest post / giveaway Sept 12 – Literary Flits – book review / giveaway Sept 13 – Life as Leels – book review / giveaway Sept 16 – A Fountain Of Books – book review / author interview / giveaway Sept 17 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book review / giveaway Sept 18 – JBronder Book Reviews – book review / guest post / giveaway Sept 18 - Books for Books - book review Sept 19 – My Reading Journeys – book review / author interview / giveaway Sept 20 - The Avid Inspri - book review / guest post / giveaway Sept 20 - Reading is My Passion – book review  ENTER THE GIVEAWAY: a Rafflecopter giveaway MY REVIEW The Healer’s Daughters is the first book I have read by Jay Amberg. This thrilling novel involves a terrorist attack in the Turkish city of Bergama. Three children are among the twenty three dead. The attack is believed to be connected to the ancient city of Pergamon, a city of priceless artifacts and treasures. Tuğçe Iskan is determined to investigate the link between the two. She enlists the help of Özlem Boroğlu, an archealosgist, and her daughter, Elif. These three women must find solve the mystery before it is too late. Will they be able to survive the ordeal and save others from another attack? I thought The Healer’s Daughters was a pretty good read. It is full of stay on the edge of your seat action, non stop adventure, unpredictable mystery and heart stopping suspense. I admired the main characters are Tuğçe, Özlem and Elif. These three women are so brave and courageous. I was intrigued by their story from start to finish. I had no problem reading the whole book in one day. I just could not put it down. I would have never guessed at how it all ended.  The Healer’s Daughters gets a well deserved five plus stars from me. I would give it one hundred stars if I could. Jay Amberg has earned himself a new fan. I can not wait to read more by him in the near future. I highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy a well written suspense filled thriller. I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.