Reviews 2017 – Page 2 – Rosepoint Publishing

Rosepoint Reviews – November Recap

Happy Holidays!

We are now on a frantic race to the end of the year! SOO much to do on top of regular blogging, reading and reviewing activities. Gifts, wrapping, cards, dinners, and events, one of which I’m participating in tomorrow at the Lake County Public Library! I will be presenting the new edition of Sole Survivor, new cover, as well as the story of how the painting came into my possession almost 90+ years after it was painted. If you just happen to be in the area….

Author Event - Lake County Public Library

Gearing up on holidays, and down on books, I read and reviewed seven books including many ARC’s, as well as #ThrowbackThursdays highlighting two of my favorites (Dr. Jan Pol and M. D. Grayson). Spent some heavy time doing #AmReading posts, as well as #TBR pics, which is a great way to introduce what I’ll be reading and reviewing next. These are concentrated on #Bookstagram and shared with this blog. Bookstagram gives me the opportunity to use that artistic inclination my grandfather bestowed on me, and it’s been a lot of fun.

The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz

My November reads, all ARC’s through NetGalley:

November 06 – Outside the Wire by Patricia Smiley
November 07 – Stay Calm and Collie On by Lane Stone
November 11 – The Tell All by Libby Howard
November 19 – The Whispering Room by Dean Koontz
November 21 – The Compass Island Incident by Wade Fowler
November 26 – The Plot is Murder by V. M. Burns
November 28 – Mayhem & Mass by Olivia Mathews

Here’s hoping all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a good day of food and family, but many of you not in the U.S. will also have a chance to do that on Christmas. There is something magical this time off year; in our part of the world, snowfall and the beautiful sights and smells of leaves, fireplaces, and winter-time activities. In my younger years, that included skiing. Now I’m looking wistfully at snowmobiles. Definitely on my bucket list!

Not all of my December reads are ARC’s from NetGalley, but the month has filled in very quickly. Hope all of you are avoiding the puddles and finding just the perfect gifts! Winter is a great time to read. Do you have one you are excited about? I’m always open to recommendations! ©2017 Virginia Williams I Love Likes and Comments--Please Share!

Mayhem & Mass – a Book Review

Title: Mayhem & Mass (A Sister Lou Mystery) by Olivia Matthews

Genre: Currently #623 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Crafts & Hobbies (and Animals) (huh?)

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: To be released November 28, 2017 – Happy Release Day!

Source: Kensington Books and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Mayhem & Mass – Simple cover includes a church in the background; not representative of the novel location setting, nor is there a cat in the book that I remember. “For a plain clothes nun, sleuthing is a habit…”

Yes, I must admit to being Protestant. My husband is the Catholic. After more than 50 years with him, I still scratch my head over some of the rituals, beads, saints (some that have been desainted), but must also admit to many practices and ceremonies that I’ve enjoyed as well. My hubby and I were extremely privileged to sing in a choir for (Saint) Pope John Paul II in 1989 at Castle Gondolfo. (You can’t deny that holy aura.) So it was when I saw the title and read the blurb that I had to request and read this book. Continue reading “Mayhem & Mass – a Book Review”

The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) – a Book Review

Title: The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) by V. M. Burns

Genre: Currently #1139 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Crafts & Hobbies

Publisher: Kensington Books

Publication Date: To be released November 28, 2017

Source: Kensington and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Plot is Murder – Great cover includes the protagonist’s poodles

Here is a 1930’s British Cozy Mystery within a contemporary American cozy mystery. The protagonist, Samantha (Sam) Washington has lost her husband with whom she shared a dream to open a mystery bookshop in North Harbor, Michigan. She sells the home they owned, collected the insurance money, and buys an older building downtown where she will convert the upper story into living quarters and the main level into her mystery book retail space with hopes of providing a limited assortment of teas and scones. She has a support group that includes her grandmother, Nana Jo, and her grandmother’s friends from the retirement community. Unfortunately, closing the sale was difficult, had to involve an attorney, and left her with major animosity toward the real estate agent–the weasel. Unfortunately, before she can open the store, Clayton Parker, the agent, is found murdered in her back yard. Continue reading “The Plot Is Murder (Mystery Bookshop) – a Book Review”

The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review

Title: The Compass Island Incident: November 1963 by Wade Fowler

Genre: Currently #1551 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Thrillers, Assassinations

Publisher: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press

Publication Date: November 22, 2017

Source: Sunbury Press – Milford House Press and NetGalley

Title and Cover: The Compass Island Incident – Compelling cover

I was excited to read this book for several reasons; one being yet another theory about the assassination of JFK, (2) it’s about one of our Navy ships, and (3) we certainly have history back then and can well remember the day. (Who can’t)

I’m sure we’ve never been satisfied with the findings of the Warren Commission that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. It was too monstrous, too heinous, too difficult to imagine that one disgruntled ex-Marine could have pulled off that act alone. No one believed it and wasn’t particularly surprised when the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was “probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.” It’s not like the barn door has ever closed on that discussion.

Therefore, another conspiracy theory may be laid out as a compelling fictional story and I enjoy those ship details and vernacular, the stories at sea of the roiling mountains of salt water and survival. “The Compass Island was no scat back. Evasion wasn’t her running style.” Continue reading “The Compass Island Incident – a Book Review”

The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel – a Book Review

Title: The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel by Dean Koontz

Genre: Currently #76 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank for Books, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine

Publication Date: To be released November 21, 2017

Source: Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley

Title: The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel

See what I mean? Obviously, I have been living under a rock, as if I’ve read a book by Dean Koontz before, you know I’d have remembered it. The Whispering Room is, yes, the second in the Jane Hawk series, having best-seller The Silent Corner directly preceding it, and apparently preceding it by only a few months(?! Is that even possible?). Apparently so, as here it is continuing exactly where the first left off (so I’ve been told). And–old story–I haven’t read the first one. Holy Moses! Mr. Koontz really puts the prose out prominently, doesn’t he? Continue reading “The Whispering Room: A Jane Hawk Novel – a Book Review”

The Tell-All – a Book Review

Title: The Tell All (Locust Point Mystery Book #1) by Libby Howard

Genre: Currently #281 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Supernatural, Ghosts, and #968 in Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Publication Date: July 24, 2017

Source: Direct request from Erin Zarro, Assistant for Libby Howard

Title and Cover: The Tell All – Cute, obvious cozy mystery

Kay Carrera is sixty and a recent widow with no support network of children or grand-children. Facing a silent home, she stops at a local shelter and picks out what appears to be an independent adult cat (aren’t they all) that shouldn’t require a lot of exercise or attention, but will be a warm body. A journalist prior to being a caregiver for her husband, she has managed to wrangle a position with a local PI as a skip-tracer. It still won’t be enough to forestall foreclosure on her beloved Victorian, so she accepts a suggestion from the realtor/friend to take on a boarder (a judge in the midst of a contentious divorce with two children). Also, she recently had cataract surgery and decides it’s time to learn to knit.

But the eye surgery leaves her with a small, but interesting side effect. Continue reading “The Tell-All – a Book Review”

Stay Calm and Collie On – a Book Review

Title: Stay Calm and Collie On (a Pet Palace Mystery #1) by Lane Stone

Genre: Currently #11374 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy

Publisher: Lyrical Underground

Publication Date: To be released November 7, 2017 – Happy Release Day!

Source: Lyrical Underground and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Stay Calm and Collie On – Absolutely compelling cover-definitely generates interest

Just look at that cover! It gets you, huh, pulls you in. And actually, it also conveys the plot of the book very well. The Buckingham Pet Palace has a British co-owner who comes over to inspect her investment. The Lewes, Delaware US side of the upscale doggy daycare and spa co-owner Sue Patrick, knows her business, and generally has a good crew who caters to their furry clientele. That is, until one of them goes off the puppy pad just about the time Lady Anthea Fitzwalter arrives from across the pond to investigate her asset. Henry is found deceased in a van with several dogs he was supposed to be taking home. So much for first impressions! Continue reading “Stay Calm and Collie On – a Book Review”

Outside the Wire – a Book Review

Title: Outside the Wire (a Pacific Homicide #2) by Patricia Smiley

Genre: Currently #4329 on Amazon Best Sellers Rank in Books, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, and Police Procedurals

Publisher: Midnight Ink

Publication Date: To be released November 8, 2017 – Happy Release Day!

Source: Midnight Ink and NetGalley

Title and Cover: Outside the Wire – Love the cover–striking colors

Outside the Wire features Davie Richards as a LAPD Homicide Detective. At last–a female protagonist not damaged beyond saving or sporting model-like height and classic features! Her Kung Fu will worry no one, but she is packing. This lady sounds real and with her years on the force as an officer and detective, she has history. This is the sophomore release of this series by Ms. Smiley and is an intelligent, thoughtful, and reflective narrative on our military back from ‘Nam. (Some fared better than others. Few were exempt from memories best left in the jungle.) Continue reading “Outside the Wire – a Book Review”