2023 Reviews – Page 19 – Rosepoint Publishing

Wish You Were Here (The Wishing Tree Series Book 3) by Kay Bratt – #BookReview – #shortstories

“Wishes in branches tied with string. Someone’s hopes. Another’s dreams.”

Book Blurb:

Henry Harmon has been married more than sixty years to his bigger-than-life and talk-of-the-town wife, Greta, when he begins to see signs of a problem. When her diagnosis comes to light, he struggles to keep his oath of in sickness and health, and to do it alone.

On the other side of their small town is Neva Cabot, who many years ago put her own mental health first when she cut friendship ties with Greta. But Neva is the kindest of kind and has been the face of hospitality for their town for decades. Even so, it will take some soul-searching for her to be able to step up and help walk Henry through the hardest days of his life.

Janie Stallard and her two daughters have just moved in to the old Johnson’s house when they can’t make the next rent and will be forced to move out. Neva offers Janie a job and her family a safe haven while they figure out what they want to do, and Neva tries to figure out why they are really there.

My Review:

My introduction to this series and an emotionally draining one at that. Neva Cabot is the Linden Falls quiet but powerful voice. She has a pulse on the people and knows when to step up. In this case, she is aware that Henry Harmon is exhausted with the care he is trying to provide his wife. She has had dementia for some time and is ill as well.

Neva knows both Henry (a past beau) and his wife Greta with whom she was friends until their conflict separated them. Despite the feelings left between the three, she feels it’s time Henry had some much-needed support—whether or not Greta accepts it.

…”suspicion and paranoia went hand in hand with dementia patients.”

Neva has come to the aid of Janie and her two daughters, hiring her as a housekeeper so she can provide a roof over their heads and in the meantime the girls are becoming acquainted with Greta, who, with Henry spent many years traveling the world, seeing the sights, and enjoying life.

They didn’t have children but Greta is delighting in telling the girls about the different countries, including Taiwan. And, oh, did that bring back my own memories! As she spoke of Sun Moon Lake, I was reminded of the amebic dysentery bout I experienced there I’d gotten as a result of eating the food from vendors parked over the benjo ditches in Taipei where we’d go in search of something to eat after *s..t*-kicker night at the Maag Club. (Wonderful concerts with Tammy Wynette and Jeannie Seeley to name a couple.) Well, anyway…

I was enjoying the simple and poignant narrative at times touching close to home. There are a couple pets that lighten somewhat the heavy atmosphere. Neva is a great main character, empathetic and caring. Henry is very sympathetic. I could also identify with Janie (although I wondered how authentic the girls could be) and going into the conclusion felt my heart clutch.

Then—that little bombshell at the climax. Whoa! What a twist! Sweet, if not wholly credible. A short story that packs a powerful punch. I’m sure there are many readers who can relate to the characters and situations and I have to give the author credit for providing that zinger. Totally unexpected but satisfying.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author through a promo that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Friendship Fiction, Single Authors Short Stories, Short Stories
Publisher: Red Thread Publishing Group
ASIN: B09BDQ2H8R
Print Length: 155 pages
Publication Date: March 9, 2022
Source: Author’s promo
Title Link: Wish You Were Here [Amazon]

The Author: Kay Bratt; Writer, Rescuer, Wanderer

As a writer, Kay used writing to help her navigate a tumultuous childhood, followed by a decade of abuse as an adult. After working her way through the hard years, Kay emerged a survivor and a pursuer of peace—and finally found the courage to share her stories. She is the author of more than two dozen books, with ten of those published by Lake Union Publishing. Kay writes women’s fiction and historical fiction, and her books have fueled many exciting book club discussions. Her works have been translated into German, Korean, Chinese, Hungarian, Czech, Estonian, and have made it into the hands of more than a million readers around the world.

As a rescuer, Kay currently focuses her efforts on animal rescue and is the Director of Advocacy for Yorkie Rescue of the Carolinas. As a child advocate, she spent a number of years volunteering in a Chinese orphanage, as well as provided assistance for several nonprofit organizations that support children in China, including An Orphan’s Wish (AOW), Pearl River Outreach, and Love Without Boundaries. In the USA, she actively served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children in Georgia, and spear-headed numerous outreach programs for underprivileged children in the South Carolina area.

As a wanderer, Kay has lived in nearly three dozen different homes, on two continents and in states from coast to coast in the USA. She’s traveled to Mexico, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Central America, Bahamas, and Australia. Currently she and her soulmate of more than 25 years enjoy life in their forever home on the banks of Lake Hartwell in Georgia, USA.

Kay has been described as southern, spicy, and a little sassy. Social media forces her to overshare and you don’t want to miss some of the antics that goes on with her and the Bratt Pack.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and then buckle up and enjoy the ride. You can find a full list of her published works at http://www.kaybratt.com — To be notified when new books are released, please sign up for my monthly email newsletter at http://www.kaybratt.com or at this link:

https://www.subscribepage.com/kaybrattnewsletter

#TuesdayBookBlog

Implied Consent: A Maureen Gould Legal Thriller by Keenan Powell – #BookReview – #womensleuths

Book Blurb:

Introducing a new series with a twisty edge-of-your-seat courtroom thriller from award-nominated author Keenan Powell.

When a tearful young woman appears at attorney Maureen Gould’s office with a tale of workplace assault, Maureen agrees to fight for her. Surprise evidence? No problem. Witnesses hiding? Maureen will find them. Ironclad agreements? No such thing. But when the defendant, a Hollywood mogul, hires Maureen’s estranged father, long buried secrets pull her back into his dark orbit. Maureen must steel herself to protect her client even as the past threatens to destroy her marriage and her practice.

As Maureen fights for justice, doors are slammed in her face, a witness is murdered, and her office is burglarized. She doesn’t know who she can trust. Clearly, someone is trying to silence her. But Maureen knows that secrecy binds the shamed to the guilty. There is only one way to save her client, and herself, and that is to tell the truth.

His Review:

Maureen Gould felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Her mother and step-father doted on her constantly. In her fourteenth year that all changed. One day her step-father put her on his office couch and violated her. She felt guilty and full of shame! What had she done to cause such an action by him?

Josephine was recently fired from her job. Everything had been going well and she was being groomed as a production assistant with a major motion picture studio. Her future could not have looked brighter. Then late one night her boss was reviewing the studio’s next project with her when he grabbed her head and forced it down on him. She ran from the room ashamed and devastated. Early the next morning she was fired from the job she loved and told to leave the hotel they were staying in.

Josephine engages Maureen to sue the offending boss. Frank Gould represents the defendant and Maureen is seeking damages from her father’s employer! A young attorney, she is expected to lose against her highly influential and successful father.

The trial centers around the age-old axiom, “she asked for it.” Josephine is considered guilty until proven innocent. After all, she was wearing very provocative clothing and the offender was enticed to perform. The prosecution maintained that the real victim in this situation was the man who was enticed by the woman.

This is a very interesting story showing the dynamics of courtroom posturing and the assumption of guilt of the young woman in question. The narrative is enlightening and made me angry to think the victim in question was assumed to be the perpetrator. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women Sleuths
Publisher: Three Hooligans Press LLC
ASIN: B0BKYMP37V
Print Length: 351 pages
Publication Date: January 26, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Implied Consent [Amazon]

The Author: Keenan Powell is the Agatha, Lefty, and Silver Falchion nominated author of the Maeve Malloy Mystery series.

Despite being one of original Dungeons and Dragons illustrators, art seemed an impractical pursuit – not an heiress, wouldn’t marry well, hated teaching – so she went to law school. The day after graduation, she moved to Alaska.

She is the author of the Maeve Malloy Mysteries, a three-book series and numerous short stories. She belongs to Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She writes a legal column, Ipso Facto, for the Guppies newsletter, First Draft, and blogs with Miss Demeanors.

When not writing or practicing law, Keenan can be found oil painting or studying the Irish language.

Have a great weekend!

The Girl Across the Sea by Noëlle Harrison – #AudiobookReview – #fictionsagas

Book Blurb:

“I need you to find out what happened to my mother. The woman who sent me across the sea to Ireland. And never came to find me.”

Mairead’s world is falling apart. Recently separated, she has returned to her beautiful childhood home in Ireland to nurse her dying mother. But as Brigid sits pale and papery thin, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, she has one last request for her only daughter . . .

Brigid hands Mairead a stunning turquoise necklace and a small black-and-white photograph of her mother, Ellen, a woman she never met. She begs Mairead to go to New York, the last place Ellen was seen alive, and find out what became of her. Mairead cannot ignore her mother’s dying wish.

But when Mairead arrives in America, she is shocked by the secrets she uncovers. In an old church in Arizona she discovers her grandmother was a wanted woman in Ireland, accused of murder. What lies in her family’s past? And what does the turquoise necklace mean?

As she digs deeper, the trail leads Mairead to a small mossy graveyard in Ireland where she might finally learn the truth. But if she does, will she re-open old wounds, and put her own future into terrible danger?

My Review:

Ellen Lavelle realizes she can’t risk returning to Ireland with her husband and young daughter as she harbors a dark secret she hasn’t shared. She leaves them to sail from New York without her and flees, hoping to find a new life.

In the telling of the multi-plotted generational timeline, we are gradually fed the tragic story of Ellen Lavelle, her daughter Brigid, and her daughter Mairead. It is not until the 1980s when Mairead has a tragic turn in her marriage and is made aware of her mother’s terminal condition that she really gets to know the mother who was so cold in her affection for Mairead. Brigid begs her to find Ellen and discover the reason behind her abandonment.

As the reader is taken through the different timelines, the plot digs ever deeper into the characters’ lives, struggles, and talents. We gradually begin to understand how the events that began with Ellen shaped the lives of her daughter Brigid and her granddaughter Mairead.

I had a little difficulty accepting Ellen’s deadly response to the two men who were initially an unexpected rescue. It seemed a bit extreme, although I could certainly understand the anger. And Mairead, rebounding from her failed marriage reacted on the extreme side as well—what I thought was totally out of character.

Mired in the subplot is the family home and the call back to Ireland—there to discover once and for all just who Ellen was and the circumstances that created the misfortune that shaped three generations.

Still, it is well-plotted, well-paced with flipping between the different timelines and characters. The characters were so well developed that when they stepped unexpectedly into the extreme it was disturbing. Descriptions of locations whether Ireland or the US (especially Arizona) bordered on prose, poems, and quotes often lent weight to the often nostalgic atmosphere.

It is an engaging and entertaining narrative, if not emotional and disconcerting at times; the resolution of the castle a bit fanciful, but there is a drive to resolve all the loose ends which are covered admirably in conclusion. It keeps the reader reading (or listening, the narrator also performing admirably).

The CE read The Last Summer in Ireland in October 2022, and greatly enjoyed it. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library and enjoyed it as well. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Fiction Sagas, Women’s Fiction, Family Saga Fiction
Publisher: Tantor Audio
ASIN: B09YVPMN8T
Listening Length: 11 hrs 7 mins
Narrator: Esther Wane
Publication Date: May 17, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Girl Across the Sea [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

The Author: Welcome to my Author’s Page!

I’m an Irish author who’s been writing novels and plays for nearly thirty years. My first novel, Beatrice was published in August 2004 which was a bestseller in Ireland. This was followed by A Small Part Of me in 2005, I Remember in 2008, The Adulteress in 2010, The Secret Loves of Julia in 2012, The Gravity of Love in 2018, and The Island Girls in 2020.

My books have been published in over 12 different countries.

I am also published under the pen name Evie Blake and my Valentina Trilogy hit the Der Spiegel Bestseller List in 2013.

In 2014 I was one of 56 Irish Writers included in the anthology and exhibition Lines of Vision Irish Writers on Art at the National Gallery of Ireland, and published by Thames & Hudson.

I have also written five plays – Northern Landscapes, Black Virgin, Runaway Wife, The Good Sister, and Witches’ Gets, which featured in Cymera and Audacious Women Festivals in Edinburgh to sell out houses.

I currently live in Edinburgh in Scotland, and I am one of the founders of Aurora Writers’ Retreats, and part of the wellness hub The Space To BE.

If you like stories written from the heart, historical with contemporary timeslip, family mysteries and secrets, and always, always a love story set against evocative landscapes, you might like to pick up one of my books. My aim is to tell women’s stories from the past and present and to give voice to those who are rarely heard. Want to know more about me and my writing, go to http://www.noelleharrison.com

K, luv u, bye

The Devil’s Own: A tantalizing historical mystery by Maria McDonald – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A set of century-old diaries found in an attic draws an Irish couple into a tale of murder and madness, in this absorbing new suspense.

After forty years in the Irish army, Brian is looking forward to retiring and spending time with his wife—though he worries about adjusting to civilian life. While clearing the attic before they move house, he makes a discovery: three journals dating back to the early twentieth century.

One was written by Arthur, an ex-Connaught Ranger; another by Arthur’s wife, Edith, a colonel’s daughter; and the third by Henry, a British soldier and Arthur’s best friend.

Brian and his wife are soon engrossed in reading the diaries and following the intertwined stories of these three people from the past. But it soon becomes chillingly clear that these diaries contain more than the daily adventures of ordinary lives. Because one of the three is a killer . . .

My Review:

Well, how much fun was this?

This is one of those that I continued to read, fascinated, while my breakfast cereal became soggy.

A dual timeline novel that begins approximately 1880 to 1924 and the other present day. The main POV is that of Brian, retiring after spending forty years in the Irish army. His wife is thrilled with the new digs they’ve planned for years and eagerly looking forward to retiring with her hubby. It’s when Brian tackles the attic of the home previously occupied by myriad military families that he discovers journals hidden in a covered chest that date back a century where the real mystery suspense begins.

Brian and Jean become engrossed in reading what must have been the separate diaries of Arthur and his wife Edith, and that of Henry, Arthur’s best friend. The journals, however, turn rather dark and Henry’s diary becomes shocking.

The journals take turns as the narrative progresses through the story of Arthur as an orphaned child and his eventual history with the Connaught Rangers. Edith has given up being the privileged child of an officer stationed in India at the Curragh Camp with all the privileges attendant to the British military of the time. Their union is marred by Arthur’s drinking encouraged by his army buddy Henry.

I loved the chapters with Arthur and Edith; Henry’s chapters turn grisly as he describes his exploits. The descriptions of the bases or camps are vivid with detail and include interesting tidbits of military life of the time. The characters are fully developed and evoke immersion into the storyline, creating a bond between both the current angst-filled Brian and the tragedy of Edith’s marriage.

So engrossing the laying out of the backstory of the individuals, it’s easy to be fully invested in them by the time the well-plotted and paced storyline plays out. I suspicioned Henry’s story early on, but the novel is so absorbing I had no problem burying myself in the pages in a race to the conclusion.

Gripping, it is indeed tantalizing and a particularly satisfying read. As with most journeys, the fun is not always in the destination—it’s the ride.

I previously read Charlie Mac back in May 2018 and enjoyed it. The author outdid herself this time–loved it. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from Bloodhound Books and the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. This is one that will make my suggested favorites list for #readingirelandmonth in March.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Thrillers, Psychological Fiction
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
ASIN: B0BQ6LP15Y
Print Length: 348 pages
Publication Date: January 11, 2023
Source: Bloodhound Books and the author

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Originally from Belfast, Maria McDonald lives in Kildare, with her husband Gerry.

Maria is an avid reader who loves to write but only indulged in her passion for writing fiction after retirement. Since then, her short stories and articles have been published in Woman’s Way and Ireland’s Own, as well as numerous anthologies; Intermissions, Grattan Street Press Melbourne; Same page anthology, University College Cork; Fragments of Time, Amber Publishers. Maria is a founder member of Ink Tank Writing Group, based in Newbridge library and contributed to their anthologies, Timeless in Kildare and Let Me Tell You Something.

#TuesdayBookBlog

My Love Nikola Tesla by Ana Atanasković – #BookReview – #HistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

A new aspect of the greatest scientist of all times is brought forth in Ana Atanasković’s new book. The author dug deep to discover a softer side of Nikola Tesla. His social gatherings with the most famous individuals of his time, friendships with poets, writers and other visionaries, his impeccable sense of style were all kept on the margins of Tesla’s scientific brilliance. Ana masterfully revisits his ties to a woman whose life was forever changed by the Serbian wizard in a story full of emotions of the noble female heart. The reader is transported to the late 19th century New York with a flick of the page, to the time when magic existed, wizards walked the earth, and the heart of a dutiful wife contained the secrets of the universe.

His Review:

Katherine McMahon Johnson is married to Robert Johnson who adores her. She is the light of his life and he does everything he can to make her happy. Her marriage is a good one. The problem is that they have met Nikola Tesla. He is tall and brilliant and she is swept off her feet. Nikola on the other hand is a faithful friend to her husband and repulses her overtures.

Katherine fantasizes about a complete physical relationship with Nikola throughout her life. She raises children with Robert and they are placed at various embassies around the world representing our government. The problem is her infatuation never wavers. She recognizes her problem but cannot forget about Nikola and his aristocratic demeanor.

Her fantasies ultimately make her ill and reclusive. Neither her husband nor her children can shake her lust for Nikola. Even when stationed in foreign countries she continues to obsess over him! Such obsessive behavior and lust are overwhelming in their driving nature.

The narrative is at times slow paced and repetitive. Had hoped for a bit more Nikola and a little less obsessed Katherine. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
ASIN: B0BG6C6DPR
Print Length: 303 pages
Publication Date: October 1, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Ana Atanasković graduated English language and literature at the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade. Master’s degree – advertising in literature.

Books:

– collection of stories ‘Belgrade May Stories’ (2006)
– novel ‘Duet of Souls’ (2008)
– novel ‘Helene d’Anjou’ (2009, 2010)
– novel ‘My Love Nikola Tesla’ (2013)
– collection of stories ‘Belgrade is Love’ (2017)
– novel ‘Queen of Lilacs’ – extended edition of ‘Helene d’Anjou'(2019)
– novel ‘Davorjanka Paunovic’ (2020)
– revised edition of the novel ‘My Love Nikola Tesla’ (Laguna, 2021)
– Macedonian edition of ‘My Love Nikola Tesla’ (Ikona, 2022)
– English edition of ‘My Love Nikola Tesla’ (YU biblioteka, October 2022)

As a journalist, she wrote for Serbian edition of ELLE, as well as for many prominent Serbian magazines and websites (currently she writes for one printed magazine and two websites).

She has won several awards for best book reviews and stories. She also works as a content writer.

Official site: http://www.samovoli.wordpress.com

Christmas typewriter

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis – #Audiobook Review – #ThrowbackThursday

in Self Esteem

Book Blurb:

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • A HARPERS BAZAAR BEST BOOK OF 2022 • A PARADE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • A MARIE CLAIRE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK

In my book, you will meet a little girl named Viola who ran from her past until she made a life-changing decision to stop running forever.

This is my story, from a crumbling apartment in Central Falls, Rhode Island, to the stage in New York City, and beyond. This is the path I took to finding my purpose but also my voice in a world that didn’t always see me.

As I wrote Finding Me, my eyes were open to the truth of how our stories are often not given close examination. We are forced to reinvent them to fit into a crazy, competitive, judgmental world. So I wrote this for anyone running through life untethered, desperate and clawing their way through murky memories, trying to get to some form of self-love. For anyone who needs reminding that a life worth living can only be born from radical honesty and the courage to shed facades and be . . . you.

Finding Me is a deep reflection, a promise, and a love letter of sorts to self. My hope is that my story will inspire you to light up your own life with creative expression and rediscover who you were before the world put a label on you.

My Review:

I suppose unlike so many others who read and/or listened to this biography by Viola Davis that she was discovered through her signature role of Annalise Keeting. I must confess that we have never really gotten into that series.

No, I’d noticed Viola Davis long before that. Whether it was a bit part or otherwise, I’ve always noticed Ms. Davis. There was always something about her—that strong, confident presence. She commands her parts—delivers. So there was always respect, an interest in the person behind the parts. I always liked her.

Her narrative reminds me that no matter how difficult you thought your own childhood, there is always someone else who had it much worse. That was Viola. While I experienced many of those childhood traumas including poverty, the demon of an under-achieving father (until he split for good), or major hunger, I didn’t often know the massive trauma of extreme living conditions with cold and rats or bed-wetting (thank heaven). Nor did I know the pain of rejection because I was dark-skinned or could walk in those shoes.

Ms. Davis lays it all out. She writes a no-holds-barred account of her childhood, the ugly struggle of young adulthood after she discovered her avenue to independence and then doggedly worked to achieve what might have appeared to anyone else as unachievable.

This is an absolutely riveting account of the fight to claw her way into a profession that no one but a tremendously talented person could conquer. Given she was allowed little sense of self from which to draw, who could have bet on her success, and who else could narrate this memoir with the dark intensely bestowed to those cruel stories. She remembers the scars received along the way, those people who saw the spark, that light in her, and knew she was exceptional.

Did Viola pay some dues? Oh yes, in spades. It wasn’t always pretty—but she is beautiful.

“In the course of playing Annalise, I understood that I was no longer and never was that ugly Black nigga. The role liberated me. I said to myself: All I’ve got is me. And that is enough.”

I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Self-Esteem, Biographies of Women, Women’s Biographies
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B09F56PHTF
Listening Length: 9 hrs 15 mins
Narrator: Viola Davis
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Finding Me [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

When Irish Eyes Are Lying: The Kilteegan Bridge Story-Book 4 by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

in Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

Kilteegan Bridge, Ireland. 1975

Despite the best efforts to the older generation to maintain standards, short skirts, long hair and loud music are all the rage in Kilteegan Bridge.

Emmet Kogan has set his sights on an education at the prestigious Stanford University in California, while his cousin Nellie also longs to get away, but for very different reasons. If she’s to escape too, it will mean wrapping herself in a web of lies, but it’s a price she’s willing to pay.

Lena and Eli are terrified they will lose their boy to the bright lights of America forever, while Emily and Blackie make a decision to keep a dangerous secret, despite knowing the damage such duplicity can do.

On the exciting streets of 1970s San Francisco, two young Irish people have to learn to navigate this new world of wonderful opportunities and dangerous vices, and learn that no matter how open and accepting a society is, there are always rules.

Rules that if broken, carry a heavy penalty.

My Review:

This installment in the Kilteegan Bridge series had me ripping one direction and then another. I felt at the beginning like it might have been a bit of déjà vu with Lena.

Several storylines in this episode that included Nellie (déjà vu Lena), Nellie’s cousin Emmett and his birth dad Malachy, as well as Fintan Slattery’s misunderstanding of the power of the “Good People.”

Granted, I loved the insight into the “fairy” tales (the Good People) who can get downright dangerously vindictive when crossed. So many origins in our customs today that stem from ancient myths, gospels and superstitions handed down and still observed. (Leave the Hawthorn tree alone and do not violate the fairy ring!!)

To escape Nellie’s unhappy experience, she is invited and allowed to go to Palo Alto where Malachy is living with his birth father in preparation for going to Stanford. Another very eye-opening storyline that had me remembering my grandmother’s dread of what was happening in San Francisco. Totally involved in our own drama at home, however, none of that scary scene really touched me at the time. The drug and free love culture was spreading far afield, but I don’t remember it hitting Sacramento quite that hard. Or, maybe I was just that far removed.

Meanwhile, back at home in Kilteegan Bridge, Lena and Eli immersed in helping family Emily and Blackie takes a tragic turn, one that was gut-wrenching. I haven’t recovered from that yet and not happy with the turn the narrative has taken also hope it doesn’t go the way I suspect Book 5 will lead. Ms. Grainger pulled no punches in this one!

I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed each of the entries in the series, the last one More Harm Than Good, following each of the characters so well developed they are part of the neighborhood, I know and love them, each with immersive stories of their own. But this one hurt.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Saga Fiction
Publisher: Gold Harp Media
ASIN: B0BLTP1YCY
Print Length: 285 pages
Publication Date: January 17, 2023
Source: Author ARC
Title Link(s): When Irish Eyes Are Lying [Amazon]

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated—please see author’s page for full bio]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Breakneck (An Arliss Cutter Novel Book 5) by Marc Cameron – #BookReview – #terrorismthrillers

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Off the northeast coast of Russia, the captain and crew of a small crabbing vessel are brutally murdered by members of Bratva, the Russian mafia—their bodies stuffed into crab pots and thrown overboard. The killers scuttle the vessel off the coast of Alaska and slip ashore.

In Washington, DC, Supreme Court Justice Charlotte Morehouse prepares for a trip to Alaska, unaware that a killer is waiting to take his revenge—by livestreaming her death to the world.

In Anchorage, Alaska, Deputy US Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki are assigned to security detail at a judicial conference in Fairbanks. Lola is tasked with guarding Justice Townsend’s teenaged daughter while Cutter provides counter-surveillance. It’s a simple, routine assignment—until the mother and daughter decide to explore the Alaskan wilderness on the famous Glacier Discovery train. Hiding onboard are the Chechen terrorists, who launch a surprise attack. While they seize control of the engine, Cutter manages to escape with Justice Townsend by jumping off the moving train—and into the unforgiving wilderness.

With no supplies and no connection to the outside world, Cutter and the judge must cross a treacherous terrain to stay alive. Two of the terrorists are close behind. The others are on the train with the judge’s daughter—and they plan to execute her on camera. With so many lives at stake, Cutter knows there are only two options left: catch the train and kill them all . . . or all will be killed.

His Review:

The Russian mob is getting very tired of the American police units and particularly the Alaska State Troopers. One spoiled son of the lead gangster Maxim Rudenko is Alex. Alex wants to show everyone in the mob just how great and terrifying he can be. His father tries to hold him in check. He leads a group to hunt down the Alaska State Troopers as he felt this would give him a high ranking in the Russian mob.

Sam Benjamin has been in the force for over twenty years and is out on the lonely roads of Alaska doing routine coverage of the wide-open spaces. Alex and his cohorts decide to ambush Sam on the lonely Alaskan highway. Sam stops to assist what he believes is a stalled vehicle in the tundra and is cruelly killed by Alex and the group. The vehicle is hidden to slow down the search for the missing trooper and Alex feels he is now a Russian man.

The entire Alaska State Troopers cadre discovers the body and clues left that clearly identify the Russian mob and set out to avenge their fallen comrade and the hunt begins. Both the hunted and the hunters are bent on capturing or eliminating each other!

Arliss Cutter has been friends with Sam since he was a cub with the force. Everyone is intent on finding and bringing his killers to justice. There is an annual convention being held in Juneau for the Chief Justices of the American Court System and Alex hears that the AST will be providing security for the event. Alex sees that they will be able to kill a U.S. Supreme Court justice as well as the majority of the AST by acting as security for the event.

This is a fast-moving Arliss Cutter and Alaska State Trooper novel showing how quickly quiet can turn into bedlam and many people can die. The criminal minds are ruthless and dedicated to killing their enemies which includes anyone in law enforcement or the judicial system. Arliss Cutter and Chief Justice Morehouse are excellent candidates for the rampage.

We’ve read and reviewed other entries to this series, including most recently Book 4, Cold Snap, and Book 3, Bone Rattle, and always find them action-packed and fast-paced as well as intelligent and atmospheric. It’s fascinating to read of Alaska—our northern mysterious giant frontier. This read is fast paced and entertaining and can be read as a standalone. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Terrorism Thrillers, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0B84DPFRR
Print Length: 432 pages
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: A retired Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal, Marc Cameron spent nearly thirty years in law enforcement. His assignments have taken him from Alaska to Manhattan, Canada to Mexico and dozens of points in between. He holds a second degree black belt in Jujitsu and is a certified scuba diver and man-tracker.

An avid adventure motorcyclist, Cameron’s books heavily feature bikes and bikers–from OSI Agent Jericho Quinn’s beloved BMW GS to Harley Davidsons, Royal Enfields, Ducatis and…most everything on two wheels.

Cameron lives in the Alaska with his wife, blue heeler dog, and BMW GS motorcycle. Visit him at: http://www.marccameronbooks.com

Rosepoint Recommended-5 Stars