Lisa Henson
A deadly game is being played, one that threatens to cross political and national boundaries. Net Force is called into action to counteract the threat.
The book gives hints of things that have happened in past stories. For instance, Mike Carmody, the leader of Net Force, has clearly been part of something in the past that cost the military a lot of money and that caused him personal distress. It's hinted at, but we don't know what it is. It would be helpful to have those details from other books, but it isn't essential to the enjoyment of the story.
There are multiple storylines to keep up with, and sometimes I found it a little challenging to keep up with who was who and where they were. The characters were good, bad, and every shade of gray in between, but for the most part, they were all engaging. There were several to keep up with, but I didn't feel like many of the characters were throwaways.
The action was intense and high-tech. The book's descriptions of the Blood Lightning, Russian enhanced humans with so much power they were pretty well superheroes (okay, supervillains), were positively chilling. There are hackers and fighters and a supercomputer that's some pretty ramped-up AI, and it's spine-tingling to think of what could happen with actual technology like that in the real world.
The story doesn't tie everything up in a neat bow at the end, but leaves things open for future books in the series. If you like conclusive endings to your books, this one will be maddening for you. If you're going into it knowing there's more to come, though, it's a fascinating stopping point. I really want to read the next book to see where things go!
Cybersecurity is a timely and urgent issue in today's world. Net Force: Moving Target gives us one vision of how it could be used, and it will give you something to think about. If you like a good thriller that's very much on point with the times, this one is worth picking up. Jerome Preisler does a good job carrying on in Tom Clancy's stead, and I look forward to more of his books.
There's just something about a cozy mystery set in the 1920s that I find delightfully appealing. Verity Bright, Ann Sutton, Fliss Chester, I love them all. This, the second in Chester's Cressida Fawcett series, carries on in fine fashion.
Here we find Cressida off to a country house on the Cornish coast for a fancy-dress ball, along with her friend Dotty and her pug Ruby. The lady of the house, Lady Trevelyan, has asked Cressida to lend some decorating expertise while she's there, so Cressy is expecting nothing more than drinks and dancing, and maybe some time spent discussing design ideas and color schemes. What she doesn't expect is that Randolph, who once proposed marriage to Cressy and whose engagement to Selina Trevelyan is cause for celebration, won't survive the weekend.
Fliss Chester does a wonderful job of creating a setting I'd love to just step into! I've never been to Cornwall, but her descriptions of it certainly make me want to visit. And I do love her characters. Cressida may be an independent young woman, but she's got a good heart. She cares more for her friends and doing the right thing than abiding by what social niceties might expect of her.
Ruby the pug is a treat. I love stories with animal sidekicks, and Ruby snuffles around in adorable pug fashion. Here she has a couple of run-ins with the Trevelyans' Siamese cat, and she literally pokes her nose into things that give Cressida some insights into the crime she's investigating.
DCI Andrews and his sergeant from Scotland Yard are on the scene, so Cressy isn't fending for herself against an unknown killer. I appreciate that Andrews is conducting a proper police investigation, while acknowledging that Cressida may have access to conversations that people wouldn't have with the police. He doesn't just hand the investigation over to a civilian, but he does allow for some assistance to come from someone outside the force.
And there's no shortage of suspects for Cressida to investigate. From Trevelyan cousin Jago Trengrouse, to Roscoe the gardener, to maid (and another Trevelyan cousin) Morwenna, to someone else looking to make a name in the antiquities trade, to Selina Trevelyan herself, everyone seems to have had a spat with Randolph on the day he died. Cressida is kept busy chasing down one lead after another.
There's a bit of romance here, too. In the first book, Dotty's relationship with Basil ended badly, and her heart was broken. Here there's a glimmer that perhaps all hope on the romance front is not lost. And Dotty's brother Alfred knows that Cressida values her independence, but he may carry a bit of a torch for her anyway. Will a romance blossom for Cressida and Alfred in later books? We'll see!
So we've got Bright Young Things, a fancy-dress ball, an unexpected death involving the upper crust of society. Is it maybe a tiny bit formulaic? Sure. Does that matter? Not at all. Cressida Fawcett is a charming heroine, her friendship with Dotty is true, and the mystery is engaging. It's a lovely, light, escapist read that transports me to a time and place outside of my daily life, and that's what a good story does! Five stars for pure, unadulterated fun.
Lyn Farrell is a new author to me, and this was a fun introduction to her work!
Billy Jo is a young lady working for Rosedale Investigations, a firm headed by her grandfather, PD Pascoe. She wants to be more involved in investigations, but feels like the senior partners keep holding her back. When a woman comes to the firm requesting that they trace the provenance of a century-old painting, Billy Jo pushes to take the case. The senior partners are resistant, but Billy Jo finally persuades them to give her two weeks to try to track down the information. Little does Billy Jo realize she'll be putting herself in danger.
The painting's provenance and efforts to document it are a primary arc in the story, but there are other threads to chase as well. A woman is missing, and her grasping, greedy relatives want to know where she is (and whether they can get their mitts on her money if she's dead). Wayne, one of the Rosedale investigators, is preparing for his upcoming wedding to Lucy, and he's trying to find her younger sister in time for their big day. We see a relationship story line that I hope will develop in later books with PD's discovery of unexpected family.
And it all adds up to a quick, enjoyable read for me. The characters are likable – I think Dory is a particular favorite. I also liked that Farrell gave her bad guys some understandable reasons for their actions, and not just malicious intent. I mean, good intentions don't justify theft and mayhem and attempted (or actual) murder, but it gives the characters some unexpected depth.
If you enjoy a clean cozy mystery that will hold your attention, you'll want to read In the Frame! I look forward to reading more of Farrell's books.
Out of Time is the third in C. J. Peterson's Sands of Time trilogy. I read synopses of the first two and jumped right on into this one. What a ride!
Here we see a group of teens with special abilities – superpowers, if you will. They were created by Professor Noah Roth, who raised them with more interest in how their powers could be developed to benefit him than in actually caring for them. It was a hard childhood, and some of the teens, who have been scattered in facilities across the country, have broken free. Now they're racing against time to free the rest of their siblings. They know the Professor will be coming for them, it's just a question of whether they can shut him down before he takes them out.
For an additional twist of drama, the woman who adopted and raised two of the children lies comatose in a hospital somewhere in Pennsylvania. They also have to keep her from the Professor's clutches, and hope that she will wake up and return to them.
Professor Roth is what Professor X would be if he were a bad guy with zero redeeming qualities at all, who was only concerned about what his charges could do for him. The Professor here is a nasty, nasty piece of work. He's created these children for his own twisted purpose, and nothing will stand in the way of him getting what he wants.
I can imagine what a task it would be traveling cross-country with a vanful of kids. I've traveled with my own two, who don't have superpowers, and we weren't at risk of losing our freedom or our lives. Peterson ratchets that tension up by several levels as Wyatt, the man heading the charge to save as many of Roth's creations as possible, and the teens old enough to drive split their group up to go to different facilities. The stakes are high and time is running short. And when they learn that the Professor has an unexpected way of locating them, they realize that time is running out faster than they thought.
Many of the characters are teenagers, and there's a lot of typical teenage angst, with tempers occasionally flaring and romances breaking out. And there are moments that are both sweet and humorous, as children who have known nothing beyond the walls of their captivity learn about modern technology and conveniences.
The characters in this story talk openly about the Christian faith. For me, that's a big plus. Some of the characters are strong in their faith, some are struggling, some aren't quite sure they want to believe in this Jesus they're hearing about. It's refreshing to see an author who's not afraid to point readers to Christ. That makes me want to read not just the rest of this trilogy, but all of Ms. Peterson's books.
And the resolution of this book, y'all. I cheered. I got a little teary-eyed. I'm not telling you the details of how it winds up – that's Ms. Peterson's job, and she does it admirably. But it will be much easier for me to go back and read the first two books now knowing how it all ends!
Out of Time is a fast-paced, tense read that's hard to put down. The ending is deeply satisfying, and the faith on display is genuine. It's a five-star read for me.
I had nothing but good things to say about Teri M. Brown's first novel, Sunflowers Beneath the Snow. She set the bar high for her future books. And with An Enemy Like Me, she surpasses her earlier work.
An Enemy Like Me opens from the perspective of young William Miller. His parents are fighting for the first time, and his comfortable routine changes. His father leaves, and there is no definite answer as to when he will be back.
We then see the story unfold from different viewpoints: William as a child, William in 2016 as an adult looking back on his life, Jacob, and Bonnie. Jakob Mueller – now Jacob Miller – grew up in America, the child of German immigrants. His father died when Jacob was young, and his childhood and youth were times of privation and struggle.
Yet Jacob was making his way as a young man, and he met and married Bonnie, a young lady from a well-to-do family. They were young and in love. It wasn't long before they added William to the family. And then the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, and everything changed.
Before the United States entered the war, anti-German sentiment ran high, and Jacob felt this keenly. He was proud of his German heritage, but he was also proud to be an American. How can a man reconcile the two sides of himself? Jacob thought to do so by joining the military and fighting the Japanese, to show his love for his country.
There are some descriptions of the war itself, but Brown's focus is not the graphic horror that is war. Her focus is the battle of the heart and mind. Jacob felt the tension in which he lived as an American of German heritage. How could he be proud of his heritage and true to his country at the same time? He joined the military after Pearl Harbor, hoping to go into battle against the Japanese. They were not his people. He could fight them. But when his orders changed and he was sent to Germany, he struggled to make sense of a war that had him fighting against men who looked like him, who lived and loved and raised their families in the same place Jacob's ancestors had come from. How do you justify taking up arms against someone who could have been your friend, your neighbor, had circumstances been different? This is one of the all too human fronts on which the war was fought.
Brown also looks at the impact of war on a family over decades. We see William as a child, trying to understand why his father must leave and trying to uphold his father's wish that he, William, be a brave little soldier for his mother. We see his father's return through the eyes of William a little older, see Jacob's challenges at reentering civilian society and Bonnie's efforts to help him return more to himself. War changes people, so the story says. Brown examines how those changes hit and how they ripple through the years, impacting not only Jacob and Bonnie and their relationship, but rolling down to how William relates to his children.
The story is at times joyful and full of youthful exuberance. At other times, it is weighed down with despair, and hope seems hard to come by. Brown illustrates clearly that it may be nations that declare war, but it is fought by men and women on fronts foreign and domestic, and the effects of war do not end when a man hangs up his weapon and returns home.
Teri M. Brown is quite possibly one of the finest writers of historical fiction I've had the pleasure to read in recent memory. If you want to be pulled into a story that makes you consider historical events in a new light, if you want characters who will make you want to hug them and whose struggles will break your heart, you need to pick up An Enemy Like Me.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the author and Atmosphere Press. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
I loved my introduction to Dodo Dorchester, Murder on the Med. Murder Spoils the Fair raises the bar for the series!
Here we see Dodo as a working woman! (Not to worry, though, she hasn't left the lap of luxury entirely.) She's now a fashion ambassador for the House of Dubois. In that capacity, she has won the opportunity to provide the wardrobe for Miss 1924, one of ten young ladies representing famous women of history in an exhibit at the British Empire Fair. The exhibit is hosted by the biggest soap maker in England, and the young ladies chosen for it are expected (and contractually obligated) to behave in a manner above reproach. But when one of the lovely young models is found dead in her exhibit space, the fair may be over before it starts.
Once again, I am struck by how accepting law enforcement is of Dodo's ability to help. Here, the lead detective on the case acknowledges that Dodo has access to, and the chance to uncover, information that he does not, given her position working with the young ladies in the exhibit. So often in cozies involving amateur sleuths, I'm on edge, worrying that their efforts to help investigate are going to get them into trouble. I don't have that worry here, and it frees me up to enjoy the mystery, and Dodo's investigative efforts, that much more.
We see more of Lizzie, Dodo's maid (and occasionally, partner in investigations), in this book, too. She and her young man appear to be moving ahead in their relationship, and Dodo wholeheartedly encourages it. She puts her maid's happiness first, not any inconvenience she might suffer should Lizzie leave her service.
And Rupert and Dodo are getting along swimmingly, too! We see an interesting facet of Rupert's personality as he and Dodo discuss his plans for her twenty-first birthday party. I'm not going to tell you what the plans are (you have to read the book to find out!), but it's going to be quite a wingding.
Most importantly, the mystery is top-notch. Ann Sutton puts a unique spin on the whodunnit by her choice of villain in this story. She took me on quite the chase, with first one suspect, now another, now a third, but wait! A second dead body turns up and all three of those suspects were out of the picture! It was a treat unraveling clues along with Dodo.
I was also delighted to learn something I didn't know before. I had no idea there was a British Empire Exhibition, but it was an actual historical event. It was basically a big PR push on the part of the British government, and it sounds like it was quite the spectacle.
Murder Spoils the Fair is another five-star read for Ann Sutton. I recommend it for anyone who likes a good cozy with a little history and a spark or two of romance!
Christy Bailey is glad to answer her Aunt Betty's call for assistance at her bookshop. Her now ex-boyfriend has left her broke and given her no reason to stay, so she packs up her cat, Milton and Pearl, and leaves the big city behind for small-town Indiana. To her shock, when she arrives at the bookstore, she finds a woman dead inside – and her aunt unconscious on the floor with blood on her hands. Literally. And when she comes to, Aunt Betty has no memory of what happened. Local law enforcement doesn't seem too keen on looking far for other suspects, since Aunt Betty and the deceased had a bit of history. But Christy and her cats are on the case.
What an adorable start to a new series! I love the way life imitates art in the story. Christy writes children's books about the crime-solving kitties, Milton and Pearl. In her real life, Christy's actual cats seem to communicate with each other and with her to help track down clues and unravel the mystery. They aren't just pets. They have purr-sonality! Milton and Pearl are the stars of the story in my opinion.
Hartman gives us other likable characters as well. Aunt Betty is a treat! I'm not sure how old she's supposed to be, whether she's middle-aged like me or closer to the elderly end of the spectrum. But she is full of sass and wants to be involved in sorting out what happened. Christy's childhood friend, Janie, is also a lot of fun. Prone to being a little more huggy/touchy than I would be, but she's very sweet and a good friend to Christy.
I also liked the spark of potential romance between Christy and hunky ER doctor Micah. He seems like a genuinely good guy, with a personality that likely makes him a really good doctor. I hope to see their relationship develop in future stories.
The one thing that didn't hit quite right for me was the sheer number of curmudgeonly and outright unpleasant characters in the story. Small towns have characters, sure. I grew up in a small town. I live in one now. You've always got those people that everybody knows, and just accepts how they are. But to have so many unlikable characters in one small town? Maybe they didn't have to all be QUITE so disagreeable. Although that did make it a challenge to figure out which one of them was the killer, so perhaps there's some logic to that after all!
Clever cats, likable characters, a bookshop, and a well-written mystery all add up to a five-star read for me!
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from Gemma Halliday Publishing. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
Muskets & Masquerades is the second book of a planned trilogy. I haven't yet read the first, but after reading this one, I'll go back and catch up!
As the story opens, Jack, newly married to Annalisa, is summoned to France by the Committee of Secret Correspondence. He tries to persuade Annalisa to stay home, but she'll have none of that. They both set sail for France, but they're separated when the ship capsizes.
Annalisa awakes with no memory of the events that brought her to the luxurious residence where she finds herself. She is nursed back to health and starts to build a life there, with no idea whether her memories will ever return. Jack is captured by the British and held on the same ship where his brother, who fights for the British, is serving. You'd think his brother might have some compassion on him, but no. Oliver is rather a jerk to Jack.
Through trials and travails, Annalisa and Jack both make their way back to America. Each thought the other dead, and Jack has allowed himself to be persuaded into a position that threatens his marriage to Annalisa. She assumes her alter ego, Benjamin Cavendish, and joins the Continental Army.
Lindsey Fera writes a mighty good story! I loved Annalisa from the start. She is an unconventional woman, not allowing herself to be strictly limited by the expectations of her time period. She faces danger and difficulty with the emotions you'd expect, but she doesn't let challenges derail her. She perseveres.
And Jack. My heart just hurt for him and the choices he made. As the reader, I had the advantage of figuring out before he did just how much those choices would come back to bite him. He tries to do the right thing in his situation, he just doesn't have all the information that would let him know for sure what the right thing is.
I've seen a review or two mention the difficulty they had believing that the people who know Annalisa wouldn't recognize her even in men's clothing. I thought about that. I think we see what we expect to see a lot of the time, and no one in the Continental Army would have expected to see her in the thick of battle. (And she didn't fool everyone entirely!)
Ms. Fera has clearly done her research. The language her characters use is fitting of the time in which the story is set, and the events are depicted very well. The glossary of terms that she includes is very helpful, too, if there's a word the reader can't interpret from context.
If you enjoy an engaging, well-researched story that lets you imagine events as if you were there, with characters you may want to hug or shake (or maybe kick in the shins, depending), I highly recommend Muskets & Masquerades. Just start with the first story, Muskets & Minuets, and keep reading!
My thanks to the author for a review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
Doctor Cynthia Myers has found new passion and purpose serving on mission in a war-torn African country, providing medical care to villagers who would otherwise go without. Her hard-won peace is shattered when she is unable to save a local warlord's mortally wounded son, and her life and the lives of those she has workd with and served are now in danger.
Captain Rick Norton and his team seek out Doctor Myers when one of the team is seriously injured. They are able to permanently neutralize the threat the warlord's men pose. Thus begins the slow burn between pacifist doctor and committed soldier. Cynthia is very much opposed to guns and violence, and she isn't shy about telling Rick what she thinks of his career choice. He doesn't think much of her opposition and tells her so. But they both soon realize that they have feelings that go beyond dislike, or even just friendship. How can they – or can they – reconcile their opposing viewpoints?
I do love a good suspense novel, and Hallee Bridgeman delivers! The action is pretty intense in places. There are some nail-biting moments when Cynthia has to provide emergency medical care, finding a way to address injuries that are beyond the scope of her experience. Hostile forces are trying to keep our heroes from getting out of the jungle, and the team has to fight fire with fire. Their maneuvers to get to the landing zone for extraction are hair-raising! And getting back to civilization is no guarantee of safety, as the warlord and his men come after Cynthia and her father, now the Vice President of the United States, at a state dinner in Africa.
Cynthia and Rick are both strong characters with deeply held convictions. Bridgeman does a good job showing their thought processes as each works through their feelings for the other. I appreciated that both of the characters had a strong Christian faith, and that faith played a prominent role in their decisions and actions. Rick faces danger with courage – actual, weapon-wielding, potentially life-threatening danger. But Cynthia shows courage, too, in breaking free of what's expected of her to walk into God's plan for her life.
The soldiers on Rick's team are fascinating characters in their own right. Two of those soldiers, Bill “Drumstick” Sanders and Phil “Oz” Osbourne, get their own books in the series. I can't wait to see how their stories unfold!
An enemies to lovers clean romance, action aplenty, and characters that are easy to root for make this a five-star read for me. Highly recommended for people who enjoy a good Chris>tian fiction story that doesn't skimp on the suspense and that gives you that happily ever after.
Kylie Briscoe is in a situation no teenager should be in. She's trying to muddle her way through high school while doing her best to take care of her four-year-old sister, Aliza. Her mother is present, but embroiled in a life of drugs and criminal activity, so her care for her children is negligent at best. Then a thug shows up demanding payment for drugs, and there's no money to be had, so he plans to collect by other means. Kylie's mother points to her daughter and says, “Her first,” and Kylie knows things can't continue as they are. She takes Aliza and runs.
She and Aliza both make it to safety, but they soon find themselves separated – Aliza to her biological father, Kylie to the grandparents she doesn't remember. Kylie struggles with the loss of Aliza's presence, the only person who's meant anything to her. Taking care of her sister is all she's known, and now she can't even do that.
The moon has always been Kylie's source of solace. Through that, she finds a connection with her grandfather, who also has a passion for astronomy and who taught Kylie to look for the moon when she was very young. Bit by bit, new relationships start to take root in Kylie's heart. A new family starts to grow, and she begins to heal.
Beth Fehlbaum tells the story from Kylie's first-person perspective, and she has the voice of a surly, emotionally wrecked teenager just about down pat. Kylie's hurt, her difficulty accepting love from people who, at first, mean nothing to her, her challenges adjusting to a new normal – all those emotions come through clearly. At some points, Kylie is downright rude to her grandparents, who knew her as a very young child and who are trying their best to be the family she needs. But she isn't being rude just to be ugly. She's a child, facing the loss of the only family she's ever known, flawed though it might have been.
The diffculties Fehlbaum describes with the child protective system and the criminal justice system are realistically portrayed, and sometimes difficult to read. If you're sensitive to these topics, be mindful before you pick up the book. The system did let Kylie and Aliza down. Systems do that, no matter how well-intentioned they are. But there are people trying their best to help the girls, trying to work within the structure available to them. That's realistic, too. Just because a system fails doesn't mean the people within it don't care.
Ultimately, the story ends on a hopeful note, and that's what this is all about. Life happens, sometimes in painful and nasty ways. But a broken family doesn't have to lead to a broken life. With love and time, patience and people who care, healing can come. It's a solid four-star read for me.
A heroine who's Autistic? That caught my attention! I'm so glad it did.
Unseelie tells us the story of Iselia (Seelie) Graygrove and her identical twin sister, Isolde. Seelie is a changeling (at first I wasn't sure how a changeling could have an identical twin and both be living in the human world, but that's explained as the story unfolds). She and Isolde have fled their home and live by their wits and Isolde's skills as a thief. They look alike, but they are very different in abilities and personalities.
When they go after a legendary treasure at the home of a powerful family, they run afoul of not only the family, but also others looking to steal the same treasure. They flee, and along the way, find that the other thieves have interests in common with them, and they all fall in together. In the middle of pursuit and combat, Seelie is trying to master her unpredictable, unreliable, often dangerous magic that she has spent a lifetime squashing down.
Seelie is a fascinating character! The fact that she is autistic is part of who she is, and it plays a role in her interactions with people and things around her. But it isn't ALL she is. She's also a teenage girl who desperately wishes she could return home, who's afraid of the magic she carries but doesn't understand. She's a sister, a daughter, a friend.
The other characters weren't quite as well fleshed out as Seelie, but were still enjoyable. Raze has potential as a love interest, and the banter/sniping between him and Seelie was entertaining. I also really liked the tension in Olani, between her ability to be a ruthless combatant in a fight and then to gently heal people's injuries.
It was almost painful to see Seelie realizing that, even though she and Isolde are twins, they won't always share the same goals and ideas. I'm interested to read the second book in what is to be a duology to see how they handle that conflict. Seelie hasn't thought much beyond her desperate longing for home. Isolde, now that she's seen a world of adventure, wants more than just returning to what was.
And this is a young adult fantasy. The characters act like teenagers and young adults, not adults full-grown and mature. Sometimes they make stupid decisions. Sometimes their emotional upheaval is a little bit grating. But they learn from their choices, and they grow as characters. That's how this thing is supposed to work, right?
The characters are engaging, the storyline intriguing, and Housman's writing style is positively lyrical. All these elements combine to make this a solid four-star read for me, and to make Housman an author I'll read more from.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
The Sparrows of Montenegro is, in short, amazing. The story follows Tree Smith and Cedar Jones from their days in the U.S. Cavalry to the Rolling J Ranch. Tree is a giant of a man, and thinks himself unsightly and undeserving of love due to an unfortunate incident in his past. Cedar has also faced difficulties in his past, but he seems to carry himself through life with a bit more aplomb. The two are an inseparable duo, with a friendship forged in the crucible of battles fought and won.
They end up at the Rolling J Ranch in south Texas, Tree working as a cowhand and Cedar working as the cook. Here Tree befriends a couple of vaqueros who live across the river in the village of Montenegro. They learn of a deadly criminal, Gato Montes, the cat of the mountain, who is stalking the area. Gato Montes kills his victims in a particularly brutal fashion, and after he nearly takes out the sheriff of nearby Rosario, the sheriff asks Tree to go after the killer.
There are some fairly strong descriptions of the violence done by Gato Montes and by the Comanches who capture him and his gang. However, it isn't gratuitous. It serves as a stark contrast to Tree's gentleness, to the kindness of the people of Montenegro. It also accurately portrays the times. And while Gato Montes is a brutal murderer, Mayo shows the Comanche to have their own sense of justice. That justice may be harsh, but they give those they find deserving a fair chance. I thought that was one of the most interesting parts of the story. So often Native Americans are portrayed as wild savages who want nothing more than to hurt white people in the nastiest of ways. That wasn't how the Comanches interacted with Tree. They found something to respect in his actions, and so they gave Tree a chance to survive.
Mayo has, not necessarily a lyrical style of writing, but a style that paints vivid word pictures. I could picture Marco and his goats, Tree, Cedar, the people of the village. Mayo also writes fully realized characters, both good and evil, whose lives clearly illustrate that actions and choices have consequences, and who show us that good can prevail. And faith played a surprisingly strong role in the story. The people of Montenegro speak often of Dios and how His hand may be at work in the events unfolding in and around their town. It's nice to see characters portrayed as having faith in God and in His plan.
This wasn't your usual shoot-em-up Western. The Sparrows of Montenegro is a beautiful tale of a reluctant hero, of perseverance through hardship, of finding the good in things, of forgiveness and acceptance, both of others and of yourself. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a well-written story with heart and spirit and beauty.
Five sparrows...er, stars from me.
If y'all have read along with my blog or my reviews here for a hot minute, you know I love love love Lisa Regan's Josie Quinn books. (You can see all the posts where I run my mouth about Josie here.) That trend continues with The Innocent Wife, the sixteenth in the series.
Beau and Claudia Collins are well-known in Denton as the marriage advice gurus. They've got a popular TV show, they run a counseling practice, they've written books, and the face they present to the public is that of an adoring couple. Beau arrives home expecting that he and his wife will be celebrating their anniversary for the camera and for their adoring fans. Instead, he finds Claudia dead, the murder scene artfully staged, a puzzle box like the one Beau uses with clients in her hand.
Josie, Noah, and the team have their hands full with this one! The killer always seems to be one jump ahead, anticipating their efforts to trap him (or her?). The body count is rising, and everything they think of to pin down the killer, he easily sidesteps. That contributes significantly to the tension in the story.
Every story gives us a little insight into Josie's past. In this one, we get to meet Luke, her ex. He and his dog are able to help with the investigation, and even though Josie is a little uncomfortable with it, she knows his skills are needed. I'm interested to find out if we see more of Luke in future books.
As with all of Regan's books, there are suspects aplenty. Beau and Claudia's marriage wasn't as picture-perfect as the image they presented, and Beau wasn't exactly a faithful husband. (Kind of makes you wonder why he wasn't the one who ended up dead, with Claudia the prime suspect!) Were the murders motivated by jealousy? Greed? Trying to keep a secret safe? Regan does a fantastic job of keepingi the reader guessing and then unraveling the knot she's created to reveal the killer's identity and motive.
My one gripe is with the police questioning Beau when he was obviously drunk as Cooter Brown. In a former life, I was a prosecutor. If I'd gone to court with the testimony of a witness who may or may not have had full command of his mental faculties, the defense would have had a field day with it. Josie and Noah are experienced enough that they should know better. So, half a star off for that. Still four and a half, and that rounds up to five!
All in all, The Innocent Wife is another gripping suspense tale from the pen of Lisa Regan, and she remains firmly on my list of must-read authors. Go back to the start of the series and get to know Josie. You'll be glad you did!
The gorgeous cover of Daughters of Nantucket caught my attention. The compelling story held it.
Daughters of Nantucket is set on the island of Nantucket in 1846, shortly before the great fire that devastated the community that summer. We meet three women that live on Nantucket, each dealing with her own issues: Eliza Macy, financially strapped wife of a whaling captain who's gone more often than he's ashore; Meg Wright, a free Black woman hoping to build a business with her husband and a better future for her children; and Maria Mitchell, curator of the Atheneum, who's wrestling with her sexuality and her single status.
The three women's lives intersect in ways both positive and negative as the story unfolds. Eliza is barely hanging on financially. Her husband Henry has been at sea chasing whales for years, and the bank is threatening foreclosure. That's why she speaks out against the Wrights buying a building for their new shop close to where her daughter-in-law and son have a shop of their own. Or that's what Eliza tells herself. Meg will soon be giving birth to a baby that she prays will survive more than ten days. She is weary from being in the last stage of pregnancy and weary of fighting racism in this place that talks a good game about freedom and equality, but doesn't back the talk up with actions. Maria has dedicated her life to intellectual pursuits because she's attracted to women, and she knows that won't square with what's acceptable in society.
But disaster changes everything, and on July 13, 1846, disaster struck. A fire broke out in the business district, in the heart of town. In the heat of summer, with buildings made of flammable materials, the fire spread quickly and decimated Nantucket. The three women find themselves thrown together, trying to decide what really matters and what can – and should – be saved.
When I started this story, I thought Eliza was a stuck-up cow. The way she treated Meg in particular was pretty awful, and it didn't seem like there was anything likable about her. But as her story unfolded, she became more sympathetic. It still didn't excuse her actions at the start, but she was the character who showed the most growth. When it mattered, she did the right thing, and she tried to learn from her mistakes.
Maria and Meg are also wonderfully drawn characters. Maria has left the Quaker faith that her parents still hold, and she isn't interested in getting married because she isn't interested in men. She's dedicated her life to her astronomy and to the Atheneum and the educational opportunities it offers the town. But will the beautiful Linley Blake be the one to win Maria's heart? Meg wants better for her children, and when the supposedly anti-slavery/freedom for all Nantucketers decide to once again segregate the schools, Meg knows she can't stand for that. She makes a plan and takes action to right a major wrong. Her plans are bumped off track by the fire, but the book leaves you with the impression that those plans are just delayed, not stopped.
I didn't know anything about the Nantucket fire of 1846. I learned a lot in reading the story, both about the fire and about the whaling industry during that time. I had never really thought about how a community that's on an island, thirty miles out to sea, would deal with the destruction of almost all of their food, building supplies, businesses. How do they rebuild? It was interesting to consider (and no doubt a terrifying situation to live through).
I highly recommend Daughters of Nantucket if you want a well written work of historical fiction about a time period that isn't often depicted in stories. I also recommend for anyone who appreciates strong female characters who will make you want to hug them and shake them and cheer for them in turn.
Take a dollop of Western, a splash of sci-fi, a generous pinch of noir, and a sprinkling of romance, and you might come close to describing Thunder Road. Think of it like the Rifleman finding himself dropped into a casino scene from a James Bond movie crossed with The X-Files. (Now that I think about it, I did picture someone rather like Chuck Connors as our protagonist while I was reading!)
Former Ranger Jefferson Sharp is working as a livestock detective for the Fort Worth and Western Stockmen's Association. Life has gone a little sideways for him, as an unexplainable incident out in the field led to him having to put his horse down, losing his job, and finding out his wife has been cheating on him with his biggest rival. So when a local mobster hires Sharp to find an Army Air Force Major who's disappeared from his top secret job owing the mobster a pretty fat gambling debt, Sharp takes the opportunity.
Boy, does that decision lead him some places. It's 1947. Something has happened in Roswell, New Mexico, and Las Vegas isn't much more than a blip on the map with delusions of grandeur. Sharp finds himself rubbing elbows with the underworld on Fort Worth's notorious Thunder Road, confronting the military-industrial complex, and heading off into the desert to find answer to some questions that dangerous men might not want asked.
Colin Holmes has a way with words, and he creates a 1940s setting that really sucks the reader in! The story he tells is entertaining and suspenseful, and made me snort-laugh in a few places like a good Terry Pratchett tale does. He also does a great job of weaving in actual historical figures like Howard Hughes, Bugsy Siegel, and Meyer Lansky, adding to the enthralling nature of the world he's constructed.
I like the relationship between Jefferson and Roni. It isn't an insta-romance. He's a little slow on the uptake in figuring out that Roni isn't his buddy's kid sister anymore (maybe in part because his marriage has only very recently ended), and her exasperation with his slowness is just right. The ending of the book hints at more story to come, and I hope we see what direction life takes them.
Thunder Road may not have been the book I expected (because really, who could anticipate this level of genius?), but it was definitely the book I needed. Just the right amount of tension to keep you turning pages, enough intrigue to keep you guessing, and a perfect little kiss of romance for sweetness. I'd give it ten stars if I could, and I can't wait to read more from Colin Holmes.
I was already acquainted with the characters in Marlene M. Bell's Annalisse series from reading and reviewing Scattered Legacy, the third in the series. Now I'm going back to the start, to meet our characters again for the first time in Stolen Obsession.
Annalisse Drury is an antiques appraiser. She's reeling from the murder of her best friend Samantha, which may be linked to Samantha's missing bracelet, an ancient piece that's supposedly cursed. Although she doesn't feel much like socializing, she's at a gallery opening to support her friend Generosa (Gen) Zavos. When she sees a piece there that looks very similar to the cursed bracelet, she fears something horrible will befall her friend. Then Annalisse's boss dies at the opening, and her fears come to pass. She enlists Gen's handsome playboy son, Alec, to help convince Gen to get rid of the necklace before more troubles come.
The action starts rather abruptly right off the bat. It feels like Samantha's murder needs its own story. We know that it happened, we know that it was traumatizing for Annalisse, but we don't know any more of the details. How did Samantha get the cursed bracelet? What events led up to her death? Inquiring minds want to know!
The romance is an important part of the story, but not at the expense of the mystery and suspense. Annalisse is hesitant to trust Alec, almost reluctant to even admit that she's attracted to him, even when he's obviously attracted to her. But events place the two of them in a position where they have to rely on each other when Alec's parents are attacked on a boat and Gen is kidnapped. They've got to work together and with the authorities to try to get her back.
And oh, the suspense! Annalisse and Alec aren't sure who they can truly trust. They've got security, but something doesn't seem right. Has the detective in charge of the investigation really sent them to help, or are they bad guys, too? The closer you get to the end of the book, the more frenetic things get. Not only are they trying to rescue Gen, they're trying to save her life. She has a condition that requires medication, and the longer she's without her meds, the worse it is for her.
There are things I would have liked more detail on, and toward the end, I tended to lose track of who exactly the different bad guys were – it felt like a couple of new ones popped up in the thick of the chase. Overall, though, this was a lot of fun to read! I feel like I have a little bit of an unfair advantage, having already read the third in the series. I know how some of the characters will grow and develop. Even if I didn't have that little edge, though, Stolen Obsession is still a crackin' good book. I look forward to reading the second in the series, and I hope there are more to come after the third!
Sundown closes out Susan May Warren's Sky King Ranch trilogy in fine fashion. Sunrise told us Dodge Kingston's story, Sunburst Ranger's. (You can read my reviews for those two books here and here.) Sundown gives us the scoop on the third Kingston brother, Colt.
Tae, the mysterious woman who helped nurse Colt back to health when he returned home from Nigeria seriously injured, is regaining her memories and her voice. The book opens with a bang, as they place themselves in harm's way to try to salvage Tae's backpack from the wrecked plane that brought her to Alaska. She's insistent that it has her research, and she's also looking to prove to the Kingston clan that yes, she did break free from a Russian who kidnapped her, by finding the plane, and hopefully, a body. Colt doesn't know the details of what she's involved with, but he is determined to protect her.
The tension ratchets up when we learn that Tae is a medical researcher, working on a vaccine to protect against an ancient strain of smallpox that the Russians are getting ready to unleash on the world. Where will they strike? When? Can Tae recreate her vaccine research in time to protect people if the virus gets loose?
The use of a virus that's going to cause a lot of trouble if it gets loose is a timely background. There are plenty of opportunities for heroics from the Kingston brothers, and plenty of bad guys who need a good butt-kickin'. But the story isn't all shoot-em-up action. Tae and Colt are both wrestling with their faith and their feelings, wondering whether the other would be better if they just disappeared back into their old lives. Colt is the kind of man who runs toward the trouble when it starts, always in the thick of things. He isn't convinced that God is really looking out for him, and isn't sure he can find purpose if he isn't actively defending against evil.
Warren focuses not only on the action and suspense, but also the importance of family and faith. The Kingston brothers have had their problems, some bigger than others. But when it comes down to it, they've got each other's backs. Their faith isn't something taken out for show on a Sunday morning. It's down in the nitty gritty, dealing with questions of God's love, relationships, God's purpose for their lives – real issues that any of us may struggle with. Colt and his brothers are a little bit larger than life, and a regular day at my house doesn't look much like some of the situations they find themselves in. But it's nice to be reminded that the God who cares about Colt Kingston, Delta Force tough guy laying it on the line for his country, also cares about me, fighting my way through traffic to go to a job I'm not crazy about.
If you like a story that's chock-full of action, with clean romance and characters that are easy to relate to, and one that brings a touch of “happily ever after” into your everyday routine, you'll love Sundown. Read the whole trilogy (heck, scroll on down and enter to win it!). Susan May Warren may just become one of your new favorite authors. She's certainly one of mine!
When I was a prosecutor, I had the experience of taking a defendant to trial who claimed to be part of the Republic of Texas. It was...interesting. He was charged with driving with a suspended license. Since he didn't recognize the authority of the State of Texas, he didn't figure he needed to bother abiding by their requirement that he have a valid operator's license to drive on Texas roads. When the judge entered the courtroom, the defendant didn't stand as was customary because he didn't recognize the authority of the Texas judicial system, and by extension, the judge. The judge, knowing which way he rolled, had the pool of prospective jurors stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance before starting jury selection. He didn't stand. Since the flag had fringe, to his reckoning, that made it a maritime flag, and he wasn't under maritime jurisdiction. All manner of things marked him out as believing differently from others in the courtroom.
In Blue Running, Lori Ann Stephens crafts a compelling story set in a Texas which is the Republic of Texas come to life and ramped up on steroids. In the new Republic, religious conservative values are law, yet criminal motorcycle gangs run rampant and run roughshod over anyone in their path. Arming oneself isn't just a good idea, it's the law for anyone 14 years or older. There are no more flights to America. No internet that connects to anything beyond the Republic. A wall has been put up to keep “Scalers” – illegal immigrants – out of Texas (and also to keep Texas citizens in?). Any Scalers that do make it over the wall and past the plethora of gun-toting guards are to be shot on sight. And since any goods that have to be imported from America are subject to a heavy tax burden, there are a lot of ordinary things that are out of reach of ordinary people, setting up a big divide between the haves and the have-nots.
Bluebonnet Andrews – Blue – is 14 years old. She and her hard-drinking deputy sheriff father live in Blessing, Texas. They're somewhere south of the poverty line, and Blue is pretty much an outcast. When Maggie and her wealthy family move to town, for one glorious summer, Blue has a best friend. But when school starts and Maggie is snapped up by the popular crowd, Blue descends rapidly back toward her loner status.
When her gun accidentally discharges and Maggie ends up dead, Blue knows even her father can't protect her. She flees, seeking America and the mother she barely remembers, the mother who supposedly abandoned her and her father years ago. As she's scrambling to find a way out, Blue meets Jet, a pregnant Latin American immigrant who's also seeking to escape the Republic. The girls pool their resources and head for the border together.
The story hits on some heavy topics, including racism, women's rights, and human rights. One issue that stood out to me is the imposition of religious values as law. In this instance, it's conservative Christian values that are enshrined in statute (and there are likely some folks in today's society who think that would be the best thing ever). I've always said you can't legislate morality, and that proves to be true here. Religion as law notwithstanding, the new Republic of Texas is a much more violent and lawless place than ever the State of Texas appeared to be.
Stephens creates a fascinating cast of characters, and most of them are out only for themselves. But even in the midst of fleeing for her very life, Blue finds a few good people still out there. When she and Jet make their way to Austin and the mostly free collective of artists called the Neighborhood, she meets Darnell. We don't get a lot of backstory on him, but when Blue feels like she has to trust someone with her true story, he proves himself a friend in need and a friend indeed. So while things may seem bleak in the new Republic, people like Darnell demonstrate that there is still good left in people if we dig deep enough.
I won't tell you how it ends. Go get you a copy of the book and find out for yourself. I'll just say the ending leaves the reader with a lot to consider, and the epilogue left me with the Rolling Stones playing in my head: you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need.
Stephens has written a gripping tale that is not a mere fantasy. Given the current state of politics, and given that there has been a faction arguing for some time (and still arguing) that Texas should revert to being a free and independent republic, the picture Stephens paints is one that is all too conceivable should a worst-case scenario come to pass. That's some spine-tingling dystopian stuff right there, and should serve as a cautionary tale to anyone who's ever said “there ought to be a law.”
Five stars, and well worth the read.
The story opens with new curate Lyle Beaumont falling to his death from the bell tower at St. Saviour's. The bell ringers were on their way there for rehearsal. Another man, Stephen Henshall, a stranger to Abbeymead, was also on the scene. At first, this appears to be a tragic accident. But it soon turns out that the curate is not who he purported to be, and in fact, was not a curate at all. A note clenched in his hand suggests that perhaps his death was not accidental after all. What secrets did “Lyle Beaumont” hide that someone is now willing to kill to keep secret?
I simply love visiting Abbeymead! Merryn Allingham gives us a charming village filled with interesting characters, and a good mystery to boot.
Flora and Jack are in the thick of the investigation, and I love seeing them working together to solve the mystery. Their relationship is progressing, and while they may not be ready to commit for a lifetime, neither of them seems to be fighting their feelings any longer. That makes me happy, because I think they're just adorable together. I also liked seeing more of Investigator Ridley on the case, and I liked that he brought our amateur sleuths into the loop as much as he could.
There was no shortage of potential suspects. Turns out quite a few folks had reason not to like Mr. Beaumont-that-wasn't, and they were open about the fact that his death didn't grieve them too deeply. But which of them had the dead man offended enough that they were willing to kill over it? And kill more than once, as the primary suspect was found murdered, and Flora and Jack found themselves in harm's way due to their digging.
The nasty winter weather was almost a character in itself. Roads were treacherous, the chill was brutal, and it made me want to wrap myself up in a warm blanket while reading, even though the weather is much nicer here!
Merryn Allingham has another winner here. Her historical detail is impeccable, her characters are likeable, hateable, or somewhere in between, and Abbeymead is a delight. Highly recommended for reading while curled up with a blanket, a cat, and a hot cup of cocoa.
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
I was a fan of Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant series back in the day. So when I got the chance to read The Killing God, I jumped at it. (No, I hadn't read the first two in the trilogy. Y'all know how I am sometimes.)
Here we see two countries, Belleger and Amika, historical enemies united by the marriage of Bifalt and Estie, preparing for war against the Great God Rile. Rile and his forces are coming for the Last Repository and all the knowledge it holds. While Bifalt prepares for war, Estie rides for the Last Repository, hoping to learn more about the power she holds and how she might use it to defend her people.
The relationship between Bifalt and Estie is strained. They parted on less than loving terms. Bifalt hates magic and it pains him to know that his wife could become a Magister. Estie longs to reconcile with her husband, but is driven to know more about this power of hers. What power is it? What can it do? What price will it exact from her?
We've got some good fantasy elements here: good versus evil, a conflicted hero (and heroine), a seemingly insurmountable quest. Donaldson uses them to good advantage and writes a story that, once it sucks you in, is hard to put down.
The Magisters' powers were fascinating, and the price that each seemed to require the wielder to pay wasn't always what you'd expect. Rile's forces were also not the standard slash-and-burn soldiers. It was never a given that the good guys would win this one!
There wasn't a lot of character development on the side of evil – they were just the Big Bad and had to be stopped. But the Magisters, Bifalt's soldiers, Bifalt and Estie themselves, were all nicely written and made me care about what happened to them. Okay, some more than others. Some of the Magisters were just jerks and not terribly likeable, but I suppose wielding great power (and in some instances, carrying a very heavy burden for others) could make you that way.
The story does take a while to get rolling, and Rile's motivation for wanting to wipe out the Last Repository wasn't terribly clear to me. But that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I will go back and read the first two in the series, to see if Rile's actions make more sense to me after reading the story as a whole.
Four stars, and I recommend The Killing God and The Great God's War series to anyone who's a fan of high fantasy, with main characters that make you care about how things turn out for them. Stephen R. Donaldson doesn't give us a quick read, but he does give us a damn fine story here.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from Berkley and Netgalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
I do love a good English cozy! Clare Chase delivers with Mystery at Southwood School. Here we find Eve and her friend Viv hired to assist with catering for Founders Day at the prestigious Southwood School. Eve can't wait to see the school for herself, as it has quite the reputation. But she finds that all isn't pomp and circumstance in the halls of academia. Former student Natalie Somerson is also there for Founders Day, and while she may be well-known, she is definitely not well-liked. In fact, she seems to delight in stirring up trouble.
When Natalie is found dead, suspicion falls on Robin, Eve's clandestine love and a former police detective in deep cover to avoid men who would do him harm. He was seen with Natalie, and as a fill-in gardener at the school, he's a convenient scapegoat for the (rather inept) detective in charge. Eve knows that she has to figure out the truth before Robin's cover is blown.
I really enjoy this series! Eve is a wonderful character. As an obituary writer, she has the opportunity to interview potential suspects legitimately, and she can often unearth details that people might not mention to the police. This usually leads to her coming up with some idea to find out more by putting herself into precarious situations, which leads to some tense moments and a whole lot of mystery fun.
We learn a bit more about Robin here, and the potential threat to his identity and possibly his life (and Eve's!) is an interesting story arc. I really like Eve and Robin, and I was holding my breath to see how this thread would play out.
Chase kept me guessing as to who the guilty party really was. There were several people cast as the potential killer – the headmaster's wife, possibly jealous of Natalie's interest in her husband; the head girl, whose feelings for Natalie seemed to run hot and cold; Natalie's current husband, who may or may not have accused her of an affair. But each time I thought I'd figured it out, the story shifted, and the murderer was not who I expected it would be!
Murder at Southwood School is a lot of fun to read. It does what a good cozy should – it entertains, it lets you step outside your normal life for a bit, and it keeps you guessing until the end. I look forward to reading more in this series, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a British cozy.
Imagine that, due to a great catastrophe, all the digital information in the world was lost, and most of the hard copies, too. Imagine that electricity no longer flowed. Imagine that many people were killed. Cities and continents divided. Imagine, then, that the survivors regrouped as best as they could, played a huge game of telephone with the information they recalled, and then somewhere down the line, someone found snippets of information about history and tried to compile it into a book as best as they could. This is what you have in Liberty Bell and the Last American.
Liberty Bell is a plucky young lady setting out from home for the first time. Her trip goes awry when she's forced to jump from the train she's on to avoid men up to no good. She finds herself in the middle of nowhere with Secret Service agent Antonio Ice (who occasionally refers to himself as A.I.), and they fall in together to use the half of a map that they possess to find the gold in “Fort Knocks.”
Liberty is quite the student of The Americana, the trove of “knowledge” compiled about all the heroic Old Americans of the past, filled with what is thought to be their wisdom. When she and Antonio encounter various historical figures along their way, and finally discover a secret thought to be lost forever, it is Liberty's extensive knowledge of The Americana that may be able to unravel the riddles they're confronted with. Will Liberty be able to choose wisely? Or will a tyrannical madman take over all that remains sacred and plunge the world deeper into darkness?
This is a rip-snortin' good book! It's mixed-up history and reimagined future, with action, adventure, and a little romance all rolled up into one. James Stoddard must be a remarkable student of history to mix it up like he does. Liberty refers to The Americana often, and it is truly a mishmash of great Americans from throughout history, described as if they lived at the same time.
It's also a topsy-turvy treasure trove of pop culture references. We learn from The Americana that Yoosemitee is the Old Forest, “home of Bigfoot and King Kong.” We read about “the White Sands of the Nuklars” and “the ruins of the Golden Arches.” It's genius.
Yet underneath the humor, there is thought-provoking truth. Liberty Bell and Antonio don't find the gold of Fort Knocks. Instead, they find a far greater treasure. What they find wrecks everything Liberty thought about the Old Americans and the history of the “Yooessay,” as it's now known. She is crushed. But she is reminded by a figure from that past that the Old Americans were just flawed, imperfect people, but they fought for what was right, for an ideal that cannot die. She is reminded of what the true spirit of the Republic is.
Can tyranny be defeated again? Will the Old American ideals prevail and help to recreate a new, more perfect union? Grab a copy of Liberty Bell and the Last American and find out.
I give it five of the stars made famous by “Betsee Ross, the Star Weaver.”
Avery Elliott's grandfather raised her. She has always known him to be a man of faith and a straight shooter, in his business, personal, and political dealings. So when she sees him standing over the body of a dead man with a gun in his hand, it rattles her. Add to that a billing discrepancy that she discovers in regard to their company's construction of the Lago de Cobre Dam, and she begins to have serious questions—questions that are compounded by her grandfather's mysterious disappearance.
This was a real barnburner of a book! Mills kicked off the action early on, and it felt like a runaway horse. All I could do was hang on and keep turning the pages. Not only is Avery trying to figure out where her grandfather is and what his involvement with the dead man she saw might be, she's also trying to sort out how the dam their company built passed two inspections and now suddenly...doesn't. And to keep things revved up, there's a big hurricane headed toward Texas, and if that dam breaks, a lot of folks are going to be in a mess of trouble.
Faith is a clear theme in the book. Both Avery and Marc are Christians, but the events surrounding her grandfather's disappearance (for Avery) and his father's abandonment of him and his mother (for Marc) cause them to question. Avery is driven by her questioning of all the things she thought she knew to draw nearer to God through study and prayer, and we see both characters grow in their faith as a result of their struggles.
The pacing of the book is steady and compelling, and Mills throws in enough twists to keep the suspense high until the resolution. The characters were well written, and seeing Marc get to know the younger sister he didn't know he had was a nice sideline. I hope there are more stories written with these characters. I'd love to know what happens next!
Disclaimer: I received a review copy from the publisher and NetGalley. All opinions are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.
I thoroughly enjoyed Ellen Byron's Cajun Country Mystery series, and her Vintage Cookbook Mystery series is just as delightful. Wined and Died in New Orleans, second in the series, is a treat.
Ricki James-Diaz is settling into New Orleans. She's working to build up business for her vintage cookbook shop on the grounds of the Bon Vee Culinary House and Museum, and she's trying not to worry about potential bad weather in the form of a hurricane.
When a trove of valuable vintage wine is found on the property, Ricki thinks a post on social media about the find might attract some interest. Little did she know it would go viral, and Charbonnet cousins would start coming out of the woodwork, aiming for a cut of the proceeds. But a cousin ends up dead, and Eugenia ends up as the prime suspect. Can Ricki point the police in a different direction so they can find the real killer?
This book is full of so many good things! Characters I love (and love to hate), vintage cookbooks, recipes, and most of all, a darn good mystery. Byron expertly lays down a variety of trails for us to chase suspects down, and the killer wasn't someone I suspected. The fact that the murder weapon was a meat mallet from Ricki's shop doesn't exactly narrow down the field, either! A hurricane looming out in the Gulf raises the tension level a hair or two as well.
Eugenia's granddaughter is a particularly engaging character. Ricki has Olivia thrust upon her to help in the shop, and at first, it looks like she'll be more hindrance than help. But her social media savvy soon has Miss Vee's drawing attention for all the right reasons, and once you get past the Gen Z attitude, Olivia is a lovely young lady. I hope we see more of her in future books!
And as a Louisiana girl myself, I can say the setting Byron creates is on point. Some books set in my home state make me cringe. This one makes me feel like I'm hanging out with people I already know.
Be sure to check out the recipes included in the book. I can't wait to try those out. I do love a cozy mystery with recipes.
Five stars, and I can't wait for the next in the series!