Customer Reviews

Fatal Fortune

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Fatal Fortune is a thrilling novel with scene after scene that keeps its readers on the edge of their chair and mesmerized by the vivid details and exciting plot.

The story begins with Harry Larson conducting a spine chilling meeting with some unknown being. The scene takes place in the cemetery of the small town of Cheyenne and this is the first of many times that the alluring suspense filled plot fills the air with emotions and fear.

After Harry's fateful meeting, Lottie Baldwin soon appears as the best friend of Harry's desperate wife, Janet Larson. Immediately the supernatural powers of Lottie become apparent and this delightful character takes over the plot and makes it her own. She is joined by her boyfriend Harlan Erikson, who is also a sergeant of the local police force.

Together Lottie, Janet and Harlan begin a Rollercoaster ride that changes all of their lives forever and plunges them toward disaster. These powerful characters are breathed to life with vivid dialogue and amazing details. Lottie's powers, and the love of her friend Janet, force her to engage in a dangerous game of cat and mouse where there are no rules and the stakes are life and death. Harlan tries to protect his beloved Lottie but hindered by the shortcomings of the small Cheyenne police force, and a Sheriff who like everyone else in town fears Lottie's strange abilities, he is unable to stop the terrors that Lottie is challenged to face.

There is nothing common about this story and what is least expected will always happen. From beginning to end Elizabeth carries her readers into a deep dark dimension of surprise and only the turning of each action filled page will provide the answers to all the questions that lay on their minds.

Elizabeth Delisi is a very talented author who has surpassed the barriers of intrigue and suspense with this artistic treasure. She has the exquisite ability to glue her readers to each page and provide them with a story that gently caresses and stimulates the imagination.

Thank you Elizabeth for sharing your remarkable work with me and providing me with a delicious read. I recommend that everyone sample this intriguing novel and let themselves be carried away by the talents of a true storyteller.

Reviewed by T.A. Von Reiman for The Coffee Cramp Reviews

A charming amateur sleuth mystery with a delightful heroine! Lottie Baldwin is a treat, from her quirky personality to her talent with Tarot cards. Her boyfriend, hunky deputy Harlan Erikson, might not be completely convinced of her psychic abilities, but he's head over heels in love with her, and who can blame him?

In Fatal Fortune, Lottie uses her powers to help find a friend's missing husband, and her adventures will keep you turning the pages until dawn. A masterful blend of humor, suspense and romance.

I'm hoping for a sequel VERY soon! Marvelous!

Lottie Baldwin impulsively moved to Cheyenne, North Dakota after a bad break up to be closer to her old college friend, Janet Larson. Janet stood by her and remained her friend even when the rest of the small town's population shunned her because of her "gift." Lottie had gradually made a place for herself there and did the occasional Tarot reading and other odd job to support herself. She started dating Harlan Erikson, a sheriff's deputy, and, even though he didn't believe in her special powers, Lottie truly felt that she was wearing him down and winning him over. So when Lottie heard that Harry Larson, Janet's husband, was missing, Lottie knew that he would never be coming back. She tried to remain optimistic for Janet's sake, but she wasn't surprised when Harry's body was found days later. Harlan doggedly pursued all leads to solve the murder, but he got nowhere fast. Lottie decided that it was time for her to step in and disguised herself to interview various people who knew Harry and might have been involved in his death. All clues seemed to point to Harry's construction company and the people involved with the new campus building, but who was the murderer? When Janet's daughter, Laura, was kidnapped, Lottie knew that they had run out of time and that she had to use whatever powers she had to find Laura and the demented man who took her and killed her father.

I started Fatal Fortune with high hopes because I had just finished Dearl's excellent series by the same publisher and there are so many good reviews here, but I was very disappointed. Lottie's talents were not dealt with very much and she seemed more scatterbrained and foolish than anything else. She kept taking very foolish risks and doing things in ways that could not really help the case. Harlan and the sheriff's department couldn't find out anything that Lottie found out right away, just by talking to people, which I find very hard to believe. I also felt that the storyline wasn't laid out very well. The author would start going towards something and then veer off on another topic or throw in some wild new challenge to keep the book going longer. The dialogue between the characters, especially Lottie & Harlan, seemed really sappy and trite. I think that this author has a lot of potential, but this book didn't do anything for me. Try Dearl's excellent Taylor Madison series or any of the Charlaine Harris series if you are looking for some cozy mysteries.

Harry Larson knows a secret. It is a secret which will have dire consequences for the former alcoholic. Harrys wife Janet turns to Lottie Baldwin, the one person she is sure can help when Harry goes missing. The two women find themselves rushing headlong into danger when they decide the police are moving too slowly in finding out what has become of Harry. Flamboyant Lottie Baldwin blew into Cheyenne, North Dakota following the end of a romance she would just as soon forget. The Tarot reading psychics abilities are dismissed by everyone in town except for her old college chum Janet Larson. Even Lotties sweetie, sheriffs sergeant Harlan Erikson is unwilling to accept that Lotties expertise is valid until he finds he has no choice but to rely on her feelings when Harry and Janets young daughter is kidnapped.

Fatal Fortune a first mystery thriller by Kansas writer Elizabeth Delisi is a keep you turning the page read. Her eccentric heroine Lottie with her feelings, extravagant style of dress and Tarot Cards is a marvelous, amicable character; one I hope Elizabeth will soon bring to us once more in a sequel when Lottie again helps Harlan and his buddies in the sheriffs office clean up another mystery.

The consternation felt by Janet is unmistakable and the foolhardiness driven behavior of Lottie as she tries to do something to help her friend is something we can all identify with. Well thought out, resourceful characters engaging in lively dialogue and believeable interwoven relationships are wonderfully characteristic of small town American and give this work a sense of being right there in the story. Delisi has an entertaining style with a hint of romance as she presents this fast paced thriller.

Fatal Fortune offers the reader a peek inside the mind of a troubled individual who will stop at nothing to enact the vengeance the character is sure is due. In a short time the reader comes to know how misguided delusion can become murderous intent.

Fatal Fortune by Elizabeth Delisi is a well wrought, suspense filled mystery thriller. We who enjoy thrillers are pleased to know Elizabeth has just completed another novel. Fatal Fortune is a narrative that will grab you from the opening page and will keep you reading right down to the last line. Highly perceptive work, and highly recommended.

Mystery author Elizabeth Delisi is also a professional editor for several electronic publishers, as well as for individuals. She is a staff writer for the web site NovelAdvice a newspaper columnist, and has taught creative writing courses at the community college level.

Elizabeth holds a B.A. in English with a Creative Writing major. She lives in Kansas with her husband, three children, and their dog.

Reviewed by Molly Martin

FATAL FORTUNE is an exciting, fast-paced mystery thriller entwined with a fun romance. The psychic, tarot-reading heroine, Lottie Baldwin is a tough, sassy blonde who's not afraid to go after the bad guys and get the job done herself, even though her new boyfriend, Harlan Erikson--a sergeant in the sheriff's office--tries at every turn to keep her out of the action for her own protection. But Lottie isn't afraid to get in over her head, especially when she has her trusty tarot cards at the ready to point her toward the next clue. Can you figure out whodunit before Lottie does? I couldn't! I loved the surprise twist at the end. Very inventive! Elizabeth Delisi is truly a gifted storyteller. FATAL FORTUNE has plenty of suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat and the perfect touch of romance to keep your heart pounding to the last page. Very highly recommended!

Lottie Balwin is aware that the citizens of Cheyenne, North Dakota "don't like her." All I can say is that the people in her adopted town must be pretty narrow-minded, because if Lottie moved in next door to me, I'd be thrilled! Lottie is a psychic, and her Tarot card readings are often right on the money. And aside from her unusual gift, she's cheerful, generous and fun-loving. No wonder Harlan Erikson, a local deputy, fell in love with her almost the instant he laid eyes on her.

When her best friend's husband disappears, Lottie puts her psychic abilities to use, managing to eventually convince even the skeptical Harlan that her powers are very real. What results is a mystery novel that holds a reader spellbound from first page to last.

Ms. Delisi has penned a winner, and I hope to read more of Lottie's adventures in the future. Terrific!

This novel mixes fortunetelling with crime.

Lottie Baldwin reads Tarot cards, occassionally gives art lessons, and does tax returns to support herself. Then, her best friend, Janet, comes to Lottie with a huge problem--her husband Harry has disappeared and the sheriff (who's Lottie is in-love with) doesn't seem to think it's worth looking into. But Lottie's Tarot cards tell her differently.

It's an okay read.

If you want to read an excellent mystery that has it all - adventure, romance and thrills wrapped up in a tight, unrelenting and engrossing tale - then Fatal Fortune is a must.

Lottie Baldwin, a determined, single-minded psychic, and her police sergeant boyfriend, Harlan Erikson, are pulled into a mystery that involves one man's disappearance and a child's kidnapping. Only by combining Harlan's detective experience with Lottie's ingenuity, tarot readings and gift of sight, are they finally able to unravel the truth behind the incidences - a truth that is more horrifying than either dared to expect.

This is Elizabeth Delisi's first novel, but having already read her second, Since All Is Passing, I knew I was in for a treat. I was not disappointed. Fatal Fortune kept me on tenterhooks into the wee hours. I'll be looking forward with anticipation to the next novel by this very talented author.

I loved Lottie, the heroine of Fatal Fortune. Her warmth and sensitivity shine through every page. I'm hoping to see more of her in future books. I also really enjoyed the tarot connection since I work with the cards myself. Each chapter begins with a tarot card that symbolizes what happens in that chapter. A clever idea, well-executed. There's lots to savor in this good read!

Fatal Fortune is one of my favorite mystery romance novels. I've read it twice. Lottie is a refreshingly different heroine, as Harlan is an unexpectantly unique hero. I love them both. An exciting book and a great first novel for Elizabeth Delisi. I, for one, will be waiting for another by her. Margery Harkness Casares