Friday Favorites: Female Protagonist Action/Adventure Novel Series

 

Action and Adventure books are more than a mystery. There is a mystery of some sort of course, but the focus is on the actions and adventures of the characters more than the mysteries alone. In no particular order, the following are some of my favorite action and adventure books.

The Revenge Services Inc. Series

Currently there are 3 books in this series by Alex A. King. Kick the Bucket is the first book in the series with a main character who is 44 years old.  The second and third books in the series have main characters in their 30s. All three main characters work for Revenge Services Inc. Someone has wronged you and you want to get back at them with creativity, you consult the Revenge Services. 

A substantial part of all three books takes place in Greece. Come for the mystery, stay for the action, adventure, culture, and humor. All three books are available for purchase or through Kindle Unlimited. I really like that the women are not 20 somethings and that the plots show a good deal of creativity.  

Poppy Fields Adventures

Follow the adventures of Poppy Fields starting with Fields' Guide to Abductions by Julie Mulhern. Poppy is an influencer and rich "IT girl." People follow her on social media and in the news. Then one day her life is changed forever when she is abducted by a Mexican Cartel while on vacation. She rises to the occasion with some missteps. I don't think it's a spoiler to say she survives with plenty of humor and snark since there are 8 books in the series at this point. In each book we get to know her and the other characters better as we follow her increasingly wild adventures. Again, the books are available by purchase or Kindle Unlimited.

Killers of a Certain Age series
 

And just in case pretty, young protagonists aren't your thing, there are Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn.  Four attractive, older women who previously had worked as hitwomen find themselves on the other end of the gun. The women are in their 60s. They find out someone has taken a hit out on them. They must work together if they are going to survive. Book two is a lot of fun too. 

And More:

There are plenty more books that fall into this category that make for fun reads: The Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano, the Aunties series by Jesse Q. Sutanto, and the Confessions. of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series by J.B. Lynn to name a few. 

What books in this category do you like to read? Share them in the comments so we can add them to our ever growing TBR list.

Friday Favorites: Autobuy/Autoread Authors: Alex A. King

 

A question I've seen a lot asked of book readers and. book bloggers is, "Who do you autobuy?" I can understand that because it indicates which authors are deemed precious enough to part with money to be able to read them at your leisure. But some of us can't afford it as much as we'd like to.

I'd like to know, who do you autoread? Which authors' new books do you reserve from the library, or buy - first or second hand? Everyone has a few authors that they look forward to reading no matter what they are writing. And who it is, doesn't always remain the same, Sometimes it changes according to mood or life circumstances.

For me currently, one of my autoreads and autobuys is Alex A. King. She has written at least 5 different series. The first one I ran across was the Kat Makris series. Book one is titled Disorganized Crime. Kat grew up hearing tales from her father about Greece's boogeyman. Come to find out there is some truth to his tales and Kat must confront the somewhat familiar monster. Family Ghouls is the first book in the Greek Ghouls series. It's another fun series. The main character can see ghosts and has been tasked by her friend and neighbor to find out who killed her. Kick the Bucket is the first in the Revenge Services series. Each book focuses on a different character that works for the service. I thought the concept of an agency that helps people get revenge on others was interesting and a fun thing to read about. I also have enjoyed the Women of Greece series. Pants on Fire is the latest one. They are fun to read too. More romance, which I seldom read, than anything else. Each book focuses on a different woman and man. It came out last May and focuses on a woman who inherits half a house from her grandmother. The Penny Post Myth Agent series is still funny, but for some reason I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the other series. When I find out that she has something new coming out, I either read it on Kindle Unlimited or purchase the Kindle version.

What draws me to her writing is the humor and descriptions.  

“She did sarcasm like other people did breathing.― Alex A. King, Family Ghouls

“She's the most outgoing of them all and lives life without a backspace key. Or a volume button.”
― Alex A. King, Pride and All This Prejudice

"The fifty-something principal, who was never an educator herself, has the complexion of an old leather canteen and the personality of razor wire." -- Alex A. King, Pants on Fire

So, tell me one of your autoread or autobuy authors. Who is it that you can't wait to read when you've heard a new book is coming out or is out already?

Teaser Tuesday: Pants on Fire by Alex A. King

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read. 2: Open to a random page. 3: Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title and author so that other people can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser!

 The fifty-something principal, who was never an educator herself, has the complexion of an old leather canteen and the personality of razor wire. She's a person accustomed to finding fault in everything, including puppies and cake. As for children, mention kids and watch her inner Roald Dahl villain emerge. Any moment now Andreas expects her to present him with a massive chocolate cake and scream at him to eat until the plate is licked clean.(pp. 16-17)

Pants on Fire by Alex A. King was published May 9, 2025. It's part of the Women of Greece series. Each book can be read as a standalone. The series is a lot of fun and makes for great beach reading.

What are you reading?

Teaser Tuesday: Pants on Fire by Alex A. King

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read. 2: Open to a random page. 3: Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title and author so that other people can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser!

 

Nat is a Chihuahua, though. She'll never let this go. She's Katie's ride-or-die, and right now she's in her Die! Die! Die! mode. At this rate, Tyler won't be there for his child's birth. Not if she doesn't keep Nat away from sharp things. And poisons. 

p. 12 Pants on Fire by Alex A. King

Pants on Fire was published May 9, 2025. I think it would make a great Beach Read. It's the 10th book in The Women of Greece series and can be read as a standalone.

Teaser Tuesday: Pushing Daisies by Alex A. King

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read. 2: Open to a random page. 3: Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title and author so that other people can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teaser!

 Olives. A house like this meant they sold a lot of olives. More than I could eat in one sitting, for sure, and I could eat my weight in Greece’s pieces. (p. 50)

Pushing Daisies by Alex a. King was published March 27, 2026. It is the third book in the Revenge Services Inc. series.

 

Teaser Tuesday: Pants on Fire by Alex A. King

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

"Exactly. So it's better if I come there and take care of it in person, in case I have to yell at someone or bribe them. Although don't tell anyone this, but I'm terrible at yelling. I'm more likely to say "please" a lot and slink away without getting what I want."

--15% through on my Kindle

Pants on Fire by Alex A. King is the tenth book in the Women of Greece series. It was released May 9, 2025.

Book Review: Old Ghouls by Alex A. King

 

From the publisher:

As the owner of Finders Keepers, a business dedicated to finding solutions, gifts, and information that's eager to remain buried, Allie Callas has been desperate for a shot at playing Indiana Jones. Today is her lucky day. She’s got the hat. She’s got the backpack. She’s got the map with an X on it. And now she’s rummaging around in the bushes on a remote and nameless island for a clay pineapple. The job is a dubious success until the handover. One slip of a foot and the Greek island of Merope suddenly has a growing zombie problem.

If zombies aren’t enough to keep Allie busy, she’s been hired to clear a serial killer’s name. All evidence points to Greece’s favorite weatherman’s guilt, but his annoyingly attractive conman cousin insists she can find anything—even if that anything is nothing.

His logic is excruciating.

Allie might have an uncontrollable eye twitch, but she’s determined to enjoy the Christmas lights with her honey, Detective Leo Samaras, and to find a forever home for the enormous dog that’s taking over her home and heart. Although it's starting to look like she could use a sidekick with teeth.

My Thoughts:

This is book 7 in the Greek Ghouls Mysteries series. I still enjoyed reading it. The series is full of outlandish happenings and paranormal activity. A good example of this is that Allie's dead grandmother is hanging around and Allie can see her.

This time around though there are more paranormal beings. We learn more about the man in black. And there are zombies. Some of the zombies are an improvement on the person before they died. 

I enjoyed reading about Allie and her crazy life. I like that her relationship with Detective Leo Samaras is heating up. She is a good aunt to her nephew and niece who are also blessed with the ability to see dead people. Her sister still has trouble dealing with all this. There's not a lot of character development in this book, but there will be opportunities for growth in the next addition to the series. 

It's frustrating to have to wait for the next book. This one had a bit of a cliffhanger ending. Otherwise, the plot moved along at a good pace. The cliffhanger ending is the only reason I couldn't give it 5 out of 5 stars. Honestly, I hate it when authors use that as a hook.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I really enjoyed the characters and the madcap adventures of Allie and her four-legged companion. I love the humor in the book and the interactions between characters. I would recommend this series and book to people who enjoy humorous paranormal mysteries. And I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

Teaser Tuesday: Big Crime by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 "I'll be fine. Greece is just a lot. No, Greece is fine. It's my family and everything else. I've been shot at, abducted multiple times, lied to, a serial killer tried to kill me, and that's just the tip of the crimeberg. What I need to do is stuff everything down and weld a lid on it, until I have time and room to unpack." ( 57% through on my Kindle)

Big Crime: a Kat Makris Greek Mafia Novel by Alex A. King was published August 17th, 2022.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Forever and Never by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From her third-floor perch, Soula spots a problem in the vicinity. The owner of the village’s biggest mouth is visiting a neighbor. Kyria Dora’s ears are swiveling at this very moment, tuning in to the gossip channel. She’s quivering inside her black, cotton dress, her steel gray sausage curls jumping as she contemplates the delicious potential. A woman of a certain age—certainly a lot older than the thirty-five years she’ll confess to—Kyria Dora is a lot of woman, and all of it is straining against her buttons as she wobbles closer. (4% through on my Kindle)

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Family Crime by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 "Stavros and Takis are already busy snooping through Chris Floro's place."

   Christ in a cup, that figured. No doubt Grandma had issued the order seconds after Elias and I left this morning.

 "What are they hoping to find?"

 " Proof that he is a serial killer, I think. "

 "He'd be more welcome in the family if he was." (p. 23)

Family Crime by Alex A King was released yezterday. This is the 13th book in the Kat Makris Greek Mafia series.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: So Much Bull by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

Androniki Remi, Luke’s grandmother, possessed the local Greek community’s largest, sharpest beak. Can opener nose. Hide-piercing tongue. Bodies of countless opponents littering her past. Sticks and stones could break bones, but Luke’s grandmother could shred a human soul with a few well-placed words. If given the choice, I’d rather shove my arm in the wrong end of a crocodile than ring the doorbell of her colonial-style home. Sadly, crocodiles didn’t prowl the streets of Salem, so I was left with the more terrifying option. (p. 18 on my Kindle)

So Much Bull by Alex A. King was published October 23rd, 2021.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Mean Ghouls by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Not that I doubted my sister, but her claims of having the power of foresight or prophesy or whatever it was struck me as … unreal. This was Toula, for crying out loud. Her hobbies were asking to speak with the manager, rolling her eyes, and being mildly disappointed in me. (1% through on my Kindle)

Mean Ghouls by Alex A. King is book 6 in the Greek Ghouls mystery series. It was published August 23rd, 2021.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Belly Up by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“How do you figure?” Mom asked slowly. “Your sister already said a woman astronaut couldn’t win against a male caveman.” 

“And Ash already pointed out the sexism problem inherent in that hypothesis,” I said. “Whichever side has women will win because of one thing. We’ll make friends with any wild creatures—possibly wolves—through the time-honored tradition of sharing delicious snacks, and then those creatures will do the women’s bidding, including ravaging and devouring the other side, to keep the yummy snacks coming.” (p.37 The women are discussing who would win astronauts vs cavemen.)

Belly Up by Alex A. King is book 2 in the Revenge Services Inc. series. It was published March 12th, 2021.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Safari Crime by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Although Grandma is almost small enough to fit in a pocket--not a woman's pocket, because our pockets are tiny and frequently ornamental, if they're present at all--she has the uncanny ability to seem as if she's looking down on me when she peers along the substantial length of her nose. Many a man has peed himself when Grandma looks down her face potato at them. Not me. Not anymore. (p. 26 on my Kindle)

Safari Crime by Alex A. King was released April 19th, 2021. This is book 12 in the Kat Makris Greek Mafia series.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: Holy Ghouls by Alex A. King

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by The Purplebooker.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title and author so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Merope’s Best serves Merope’s worst coffee. I used the word coffee lightly because I’m not convinced that’s what the coffee shop sells. Mostly it peddles shock, horror, and public health scares—with hefty doses of caffeine added, concealing liquid atrocities behind the kind of names you find in any American coffee shop. (p. 19)

Holy Ghouls by Alex A. King was published January 4th, 2021.

Would you keep reading? What's your teaser this week? Share it or a link in the comments. Are you enjoying your book? Let us know! Happy Reading!