Killing Johnny Miracle

#crimethriller

by JK Franko

October 16 – November 10, 2023 Virtual Book Tour

Johnny Miracle thinks he’s got it all… and he’s in love, just not with his wife, Mary. He wants a divorce and he’s got leverage. Johnny knows her deepest, darkest secret. He’s going to use that to take everything: her vineyard, her money, and her priceless family heirloom. He’ll do whatever it takes to get it all.

But, as Grandma Nellie used to say, “No man, no matter how smart or strong, can compete with a motivated woman.” Mary is a motivated woman, she’s got her own agenda, and it doesn’t include losing. She’s going to kill Johnny. To get away with it, she needs a plan and an alibi. And she thinks she has both.

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My Thoughts:

Reading the blurb for this book, I felt like I was going to be treated to one of those women-killer shows that I love to watch and keep my husband in line with (KIDDING! Okay, so yes, I watch them, but I married one of the good ones. Please feel free to laugh at the second part of that sentence). They dynamics of marriage – a ritual as old as time – is fascinating. Even more so when you get a front row seat to the demise of one.

J.K. Franco takes us on a twisted version of a crime thriller that needs to be hitting every single bookshelf of crime thriller lovers everywhere. I was white-knuckled as I read, gripping the covers between my hands, only relieving them long enough to flip to the next page. We get the treat of two stories that are intricately woven with subplots that develop and smack us in the face before we can really connect the dots. I had to pick my mouth up several times throughout when realization hit me at how certain aspects intertwine.

Love and betrayal are always messy when they go hand in hand and that’s precisely why I loved this book. We all like to pretend like we’d be the “adults” of the situation and simply move on, but there were secrets, lies, and revenge that led our key players to reach the boundaries of what they could/would tolerate. When we read about cases like this in the news or see it on TV, we don’t get all the critical background information that you get in a story like this. You’ll quickly discover where your lines of morals rest and question your own ideas on what you’d do in particular situations that Mary found herself in.

Follow the Book Tour!

10/17 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
10/18 Review @ Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
10/19 Review @ Book Corner News & Reviews
10/20 Review @ Catreader18
10/21 Review @ tea. and. titles
10/23 Review @ Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense
10/24 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
10/25 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
10/27 Review @ nanasbookreviews
11/01 Review @ fundinmental
11/02 Review @ Novels Alive
11/02 Review @ Wendy B
11/03 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
11/04 Review @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
11/06 Review @ Books with Bircky
11/06 Review @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews
11/07 Review @ Nesies Place
11/08 Review @ elaine_sapp65
11/10 Podcast reading of the excerpt @ Books to the Ceiling
11/10 Review @ Melissa As Blog

Author Bio:

J.K. Franko was born in Texas and spent his childhood in Corpus Christi where he attended St. Patrick’s Elementary and Incarnate Word Academy. He was educated by Irish nuns who thought his conduct poor and academic effort lacking. Franko admittedly spent too much time at the video arcade, playing hacky sack, and later hanging out with friends drinking beer and listening to eighties music (this was in the eighties) at Swantner Park.

He would not change any of that (if he could).

Franko got his act together in college, during what he calls his Tour of Texas: Del Mar College, Baylor University, University of Dallas, University of the Incarnate Word (BA Philosophy, cum laude), St. Mary’s Law School (Juris Doctor, summa cum laude), and UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business (MBA, Kozmetsky Scholar).

He worked for ten years as a trial lawyer in Texas, then went on to work as an executive in the Fortune 100 in Europe and Asia.

Franko has written a number of non-fiction books and articles. But storytelling has always been his passion.

Publication of Franko’s first three novels—the Eye for Eye trilogy—was complete in 2020, with international publication in translation beginning in 2021.

He will be publishing two books in 2023: Killing Johnny Miracle and The Black Book.