Rosepoint Publishing

Animal Instinct (A K Team Novel Book 2) by David Rosenfelt – a #BookReview – #animalfiction – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The K Team is back in the second installment in this spinoff series from bestselling author David Rosenfelt’s beloved Andy Carpenter mysteries.

Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, a German shepherd named Simon Garfunkel, are recently retired police officers turned private investigators. Along with fellow former cop Laurie Collins and her investigating partner, Marcus, they call themselves the K Team, in honor of Simon.

The K Team’s latest case – a recent unsolved murder – gives Corey a chance to solve “the one that got away”. Corey knew the murder victim from his time on the force, when he was unable to protect her in a domestic dispute. Now, he is convinced the same abusive boyfriend is responsible for her murder. With some help from Laurie’s lawyer husband, Andy Carpenter, the K Team is determined to prove what the police could not, no matter the cost. What they uncover is much more sinister than they could have imagined.

Known for his dog-loving stories and addictive characters, bestselling mystery author David Rosenfelt presents Animal Instinct, the second installment in this engrossing new series about a dynamite investigative team and their canine partner.

My Review:

Good to know that most of the easy reading crime or legal investigation thrillers in the Andy Carpenter ilk are alive and well in Rosenfelt’s new K Team’s series. All the favorite characters are there, even Andy Carpenter, although he takes second chair. This series is all about Corey Douglas and his also retired K-9 partner, Simon Garfunkel. Corey has a reluctant new love, Dani Kendall. Dani is all in—just that Corey can’t relax quite sufficiently yet (getting there) to believe it’s true.

In this episode, Corey is made aware of the death of a domestic violence he responded to when he was still on the force—and has had a guilty conscience since he couldn’t do more. He’s positive it was Lisa Yates then partner who killed her. But confronting him only lands him in jail on trumped up charges of murder…but if it wasn’t he or Kline, then who?

And why?

It’s an Andy Carpenter spin-off. You know the DV can’t be so simple. And, no, it isn’t and the more his own K team and then Andy Carpenter investigates, the more complex it becomes. Of course, when they convene at Carpenter’s house, it usually involves Simon getting to play with Andy’s two dogs, Tara and Sebastian. But again, in this episode, Simon doesn’t have a big role.

Before either Corey or Andy can get to the bottom of the complicated well-plotted and paced narrative, they land in court—one of my favorite parts of these novels—the courtroom scenes. That’s where Andy shines, although for the K Team series, not quite to his normal Carpenter series level of snark.

And, I’m surprised that this novel actually goes to verdict before the entire stratagem is exposed in the conclusion. Gees! Without exposing the true extensive scheme of the whole thing, can Andy really pull off a Not Guilty verdict? You’ll have to read to find out.

Still, I had to laugh at the writer who couldn’t stand not including his usual level of hilarity throughout the book and waited to expose it in his acknowledgements following the close thanking ALL those to which he showers a sincere thank you including (among pages of name dropping), “Atticus Finch; Jim and Open Carrey; Eli Manning; and Tom and Tape Delay.” Oh, that was precious. Loved it!

I read Book 1, The K Team and enjoyed; thought it just a little reserved, looking for its own separate foundation on which to build. Book 2 is a successful sophomore entry, firmly establishing the series, and can be read as a standalone. On pre-order now.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you, thank you! These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Minotaur Books, 1^st Edition

ASIN : B08BYCX738

Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: To be released April 6, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: [Goodreads-David Rosenselt] I am a novelist with 27 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, “Ozzie and Harriet’s” clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every “Rambo”, “The Natural” and “Rocky”, there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither have inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It’s safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About fourteen years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. They surround me as I write this. It’s total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidr…

Dog Days by Ericka Waller – A #BookReview – Friendship Fiction

Book Blurb:

George is a grumpy, belligerent old man who has just lost his wife. She has left him notes around the home and a miniature dachshund puppy called Poppy. But George doesn’t want a dog, he wants to fight everyone who is trying to help him.

Dan has OCD but has channeled his energy into his career as a therapist. Afraid to acknowledge his true feelings, his most meaningful relationship so far is with his dog Fitz. That is, until Atticus walks into his life.

Lizzie is living in a women’s refuge with her son Lenny. Her body is covered in scars and she has shut herself off from the world. She distrusts dogs, but when she starts having to walk the refuge’s dog, Maud, things begin to change.

As three strangers’ lives unravel and intersect, they ultimately must accept what fate has in store for them with their dogs by their sides. Set against the backdrop of Brighton, Dog Days is an inspiring, unflinching, and deeply moving novel about life, and the way dogs can help us understand it, and each other, a little better.

His Review:

Three very different lives in a book of fragility and loss. George has lost his dear wife Ellen and has great difficulty extracting himself from his living room chair. Despair takes many faces and lonely despair is but one. George has never been a people person and his departed wife is the antithesis of his life.

Lizzie has escaped a brutal marriage. Running off with her son and living in a shelter for battered women is her refuge. She has a brilliant mind hiding behind secrets that she holds close to her chest. Her husband, Greg, has been abusive and she wants to hide that fact from herself and the world.

Dan is a practicing psychologist trying to help those who have lost their way. Atticus comes into his office and begins treatment. Dan remains professional although he is attracted to the handsome Atticus. His problem with Atticus is that he cannot get him to open up. Without a patient disclosing problems to be sorted, the psychologist is failing in his endeavor.

Three very different scenarios in one book. The lives of the characters do not intersect although they live in the same area. Lizzie is sympathetic, George is despicable, and Dan is pathetic. This author has taken these people and made a case for the trials and difficulties we all face in life. Her writing is entertaining and engaging.

How can anyone put up with a cantankerous old fuddy-duddy, George. Particularly, since he is a man who is only interested in himself and what life can give him. Betty, at the request of his first wife, tries to engage and help him. He is abusive and why she would put up with him makes for a very interesting narrative. She cleaned and cooked and fed him while being continually mentally abused.

The overall impression this book leaves is that opposites attract and sometimes we will put up with anything to be with the ones who attract us. Life has a way of equalizing our desires. Pain at times seems to be a cure for boredom. Ericka puts this into the each of the characters as well as the dogs in each characters care. Her endings are definitely worth reading and I felt the book made some pointed observations about how each individual handles the life and love they are given and the losses they incur. I highly recommend it. Currently on pre-order. 4 stars – CE Williams

Thank you to Alexis Neuville at St. Martin’s Press for my review copy. These are my honest opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Family Fiction, Animal Fiction
Publisher: St Martin’s Press

ASIN : B08FZ7FZYD

Print Length: 368 pages
Publication Date: To be released May 11, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: Dog Days [Amazon]
Also find the book at these locations:
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Ericka Waller is 39 and lives in Brighton with three daughters, too many pets and a husband.

She is an award winning blogger and columnist.

When not writing she can be found walking her dogs, reading in the bath or buying stuff off eBay.
©2021 CE Williams – V Williams

Spring Upon a Crime (A Seattle Wilderness Mystery Book 2) by ML Erdahl – a #BookReview – #cozymystery

Roxie—“The hostess lacked certain social filters and either enjoyed pushing boundaries or didn’t recognize what they were…”

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Wilderness guide Crystal Rainey leads a group of college students to a private campground amidst the awe-inspiring Olympic Rain Forest. The excursion is ruined when the charming hostess Roxie is discovered standing over the land owner’s body, murder weapon in hand.

Enlisted to investigate the crime to absolve her friend, Crystal descends on the quiet city of Forks to find loggers, developers, and eco-protesters circling the property, intent on either exploiting or protecting the bastion of old-growth forest. The list of suspects is intimidating. Can Crystal find answers in a community determined to keep her in the dark?

My Review:

Author Erdahl has embraced the cozy mystery genre and produced a sweet, clean mystery that is fun, confident reading. Protagonist Crystal is still faking her way through her wilderness guide gig finding gorgeous new backdrops in the Pacific Northwest of Washington and she is holding her own weight (and good-naturedly the initiations into mountain hiking). (My motorcycle buddy used to refer to the Pacific Northwest as the Great Northwet—she lived near Seattle and saw her share of rainfall.)

In this episode, we see Crystal has put in sufficient time under her belt that she is becoming more secure in her role as wilderness guide. She’s a quick study and can hold her own with the more seasoned guides, this time into the Olympic Rain Forest. Unfortunately, once arrived with her college students at the private campground where they’ll spend several days, she discovers her friend and hostess Roxie at the scene of a very fresh murder. Not good.

The power struggle for land between loggers and developers is a very real one that has been in the news off and on for decades. Years ago, riding our motorcycles south after leaving Victoria Island down the Olympic Peninsula, we came across miles of clear cut forest. The stumps and devastation was depressing to witness. Of course, logging is a gargantuan business, and the fight between the two attracts environmentalists, “tree huggers.” So the storyline hit close to home and was a familiar one.

The characters are becoming more developed, more human, complete with foibles and strong suits, and the mystery progressed at a steady pace, bringing in descriptions of the scenic area, information about the mountains, and some history with it. Easy to smell that clean mountain pine scent and revel in the blue sky (when it makes an appearance).

It’s a clever and immersive story, bits of back story eased in, this can work as a standalone. (Read my review of Book 1, Winter Takes All.) There is a building of tension and twists, scrutiny of possible perps, and I must admit I didn’t guess whodunit going into the conclusion. A great follow up to the first in the series, just the right amount of atmosphere, romance, snappy dialogue, and mystery. And while Crystal doesn’t have a dog, she has a cat named ELF (an acronism), who is becoming an integral part of the engaging characters.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. These are my honest thoughts. Now available at your favorite retailer.

N.B. The author just posted receipt of a Five Star Award for Spring Upon a Crime from @readersfavoritecom.

Book Details:

Genre: #cozymystery #AmateurSleuths #WomenSleuths
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Inc

ASIN : B08P87F6J1

Print Length: 213 pages
Publication Date: January 13, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Award-winning author ML Erdahl lives amidst the trees of the Pacific Northwest, where he pens humorous cozy mystery novels set in the wilderness he has spent his lifetime exploring. The only thing slowing him down is when his adorable rescue dogs, Skip and Daisy, demand to be petted and cuddled on his lap while he types. When he’s not wandering the mountains, you can find him gardening, reading, or searching for the best coffee in Seattle with his wife, Emily.

Deep South (Anna Pigeon #8) by Nevada Barr – An #Audiobook Review – Cultural Heritage Fiction -#ThrowbackThursday

“You stick your finger in the water and you pull it out, and that is how much of a hole you leave when you’re gone.” (Finger in the water test–Multiple sources)

Book Blurb:

Nevada Barr‘s ever-popular Anna Pigeon series is consistently praised as “exceptional” (Denver Post), “stunning” (Seattle Times), and “superb” (New York Times Book Review). In Deep South, Park Ranger Anna Pigeon heads to Mississippi, only to encounter terrible secrets in the heart of the south…

Anna Pigeon finally gives in to her bureaucratic clock-and signs on for a promotion. Next thing she knows, she’s knee-deep in mud and Mississippi. Not exactly what she had in mind. Almost immediately, as the new district ranger on the Natchez Trace, Anna discovers the body of a young prom queen near a country cemetery, a sheet around her head, a noose around her neck. It’s a bizarre twist on a best-forgotten past of frightening racial undertones. As fast as the ever-encroaching kudzu vines of the region, the roots of this story run deep-and threaten to suffocate anyone in the way, including Anna…

My Review:

My second book by Nevada Barr in her Anna Pigeon, US National Park Service series and I enjoyed this one possibly even more than my first, Hunting Season. While we are working through the trope of the lone female in a normally male bastion, the park service, I greatly appreciate the strong, independent woman portrayed as Anna Pigeon.

Willing to tackle just about anything (while admitting in some circumstances fear), she still plows through as if being a female doesn’t matter. In this case, a white woman and a Yankee in a new promotion as District Ranger on the Natchez Trace of Mississippi. Oh, and new to the south as well, she has several strikes against her before she even begins.

It’s apparent immediately she isn’t wanted, welcome, or tolerated. Still, before she can really settle into the new position or thoroughly meet her subordinates, she encounters the murder of a sixteen year old girl. The girl’s body is left with racial implications.

Dealing with the investigation, the road blocks thrown up by her deputies, and confronting an attraction for one of the men, she manages each confrontation with calm and intelligence and is making headway in the mystery.

I love the information regarding the historic area of Mississippi, the Natchez Trace being an ambitious trail from Natchez to Nashville, some 444 miles and three states. Underlying the Trace information is the Civil War stories that permeate the area in general and the Trace in particular.

Anna is well developed, we can see who she is without having read the seven prior to this entry, and in this episode, strong interpersonal relationships are borne of the circumstances that create engaging support characters.

These narratives set an early hook, reel you in, and don’t let go. It is a well-plotted and fast paced storyline that keeps you reading (in this instance—listening) and hard to pause.

Hard push into the explosive conclusion and the calming collective following. An oldie but a goodie that rallies interest in the remaining books of the series—nineteen in all. A good mystery with culture cues. The narrator does an excellent, even superb job of narrative—forcing the pace, either faster or that ease into another discovery, or possible perp. Who was it killed that girl? I won’t tell.

Book Details:

Genre: Cultural Heritage Fiction, World Literature, Women Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0002QUWQY
Listening Length: 12 hrs 8 mins
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Publication Date: July 22, 2004
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Deep South [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Nevada [Barr] was born in the small western town of Yerington, Nevada and raised on a mountain airport in the Sierras. Both her parents were pilots and mechanics and her sister, Molly, continued the tradition by becoming a pilot for USAir.
Pushed out of the nest, Nevada fell into the theatre, receiving her BA in speech and drama and her MFA in Acting before making the pilgrimage to New York City, then Minneapolis, MN. For eighteen years she worked on stage, in commercials, industrial training films and did voice-overs for radio. During this time she became interested in the environmental movement and began working in the National Parks during the summers — Isle Royale in Michigan, Guadalupe Mountains in Texas, Mesa Verde in Colorado, and then on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi.
Woven throughout these seemingly disparate careers was the written word. Nevada wrote and presented campfire stories, taught storytelling and was a travel writer and restaurant critic. Her first novel, Bitterweet was published in 1983. The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of the wilderness, the summer she worked in west Texas. The first book, Track of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada’s experiences as a boat patrol ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, Colorado where Nevada worked as a law enforcement ranger for two seasons.
The rest is, shall we say, HISTORY! Nevada’s books and accomplishments have become numerous and the presses continue to roll, so in the interest of NOT having to update this page, books, awards, status on the New York Times Best Seller List — and more — will be enumerated with the relevant books else where on this website.

The Narrator: [Barbara Rosenblat] has recorded over 600 audiobooks in a distinguished career that has garnered 8 Audie Awards, 50 plus Earphone Awards from Audiofile Magazine for exceptional recordings and numerous accolades over the years. She has been inducted into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame. One critic wrote, ‘Barbara is to audiobooks what Meryl Streep is to film’. Her book, ‘Audiobook Narrator- The Art of Recording Audiobooks’ provides personal guidance for those pursuing this avenue of art and is a direct result of answering many questions at personal appearances and at her masterclasses about the craft.

Barbara has also done a lot of animation, anime, and video games as well as documentaries and commercials. (Bio and pic from Hasty Book List.)

The Spirit of Animal Healing: An Integrative Medicine Guide to a Higher State of Well-being by Marty Goldstein – A #BookReview – Small Animal Veterinary Medicine

Happy #bookrelease Day!

Book Blurb:

The Spirit of Animal Healing is the follow up to Dr. Marty Goldstein’s bestselling book on holistic veterinary medicine, The Nature of Animal Healing.

It is chock full of the very latest integrative medical knowledge (which combines conventional therapies with complementary and alternative medicine). Coupled with the vast amount of specialized expertise and learning Dr. Marty has gained from his own practice over the past 45 years, the book takes readers on a journey to the leading edge of integrative veterinary understanding to achieve greater insight into the minds and bodies of their animal companions.

However, this book is not simply a new edition of Dr. Marty’s first book with some refreshed content. It is a completely new book in which Dr. Marty turns the traditional approach to animal care upside down. The Spirit of Animal Healing provides readers with the most up to-date tools and knowledge they need to keep their dogs and cats healthy and prevent disease from occurring in the first place, instead of just treating their animal companions when they are sick.

Topics covered include:
*Nutrition and supplements
*Integrative remedies and harmful treatments
*Cutting edge therapies
*The truth about vaccinations
*The latest in cancer treatments
*The spiritual nature of animals
*True, mind-blowing cases from over the years
-And much more!

His Review:

Dr. Goldstein casts a practiced eye on the health and wellness of dogs in this comprehensive veterinarian knowledge based book for small animals. It is an enlightening look into the cloistered profession of veterinary medicine and some of the prejudices Dr. Goldstein had to overcome.

Holistic medicine has been around for thousands of years. Herbal healing and acupuncture are also thousands of years old. However, the re-introduction of these practices for animals was met with the same prejudices and resistance as they were in human medicine. The book alludes to these problems often. Diet, whether it be for humans or for animals, is integral to health and life satisfaction. We really are what we eat.

The introduction of healthy diets and abstinence from genetically modified organisms is enlightening. I came away with the impression that some of animal illnesses and cancers can be directly traced to the foods that they are given to eat and the businesses that flourish by selling substandard raw materials to the animal food industry. Changing of an animals’ diet can sometimes reduce or actually eliminate tumors and other maladies of the animals being treated.

Living a healthy and active life is a goal for our animals. Adding chemicals or supplements to extend the shelf life of feeds causes more harm than good in many cases. Quality of life should be a key ingredient in any food stuff supplied for animals. However, heavy metals and other results of our mechanized civilization adversely affects the well being of many animals.

Through the efforts of the worlds’ medical associations and veterinarian associations, the identification of these problems and in many cases their elimination is directly sourced to vigilant practicing doctors in these fields. Doctor Goldstein is one of the doctors who works to identify and halt bad practices. I feel healthy foods systems should be required reading for all students looking to enter the fields of human and/or veterinary medicine. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Our thanks to Sara Beth Haring of St. Martin’s Press for our complimentary review copy of this book through NetGalley. These are my honest and unbiased opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Small Animal Veterinary Medicine, Pet Food & Nutrition, Vaccinations
Publisher: St. Martin’s Essentials; 1^st Edition

ISBN-10 : 1250249694
ISBN-13 : 978-1250249692
ASIN : B08BYDB35K

Print Length: 384 pages
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Spirit of Animal Healing [Amazon]
Also find the book at these locations:
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Dr. Marty Goldstein‘s Smith Ridge Veterinary Center is in South Salem, New York. He received his D.V.M. from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and has been at the forefront of integrative medicine for pets for decades. He has many cats and dogs, all of which are quite old and healthy. Dr. Goldstein is also the author of The Nature of Animal Healing. [Goodreads bio]

January Rosepoint Reviews Recap—Welcome Valentines Month February

Rosepoint Reviews-January Recap

Welcome February! Valentines, chocolates, hearts, and roses month. Lovely way to brighten the winter blast and a perfect time to snuggle in, stoke the fire, heat some hot chocolate (see how I keep coming back to chocolate?), and grab a good book!

The CE and I pounded out eighteen reviews—so much for slacking back on the schedule this year! So glad to have his help now, as the schedule has gotten quite hectic. I wanted to write another article, but have only had time to write reviews. “Soon come,” as his Rastamon buddy character would say in the Road to Key West series by Michael Reisig. If you missed my full review of any of the January books, the links are listed under the pictures, and I sincerely hope you’ve read several of these–but let me know!

My book reviews for January included a number of amazing book we gave five stars:

Most of the Jan reviews were from NetGalley, four were audiobooks, and one was a direct author request. We binge-watched a couple more Netflix, this last one with Kiefer Sutherland, Designated Survivor. Deadly politics.

Certainly getting a great start on the NetGalley Challenge with eleven and with the CE contributions to those titles I might not normally read, including non-fiction.

Twenty-two books so far toward my ultimate Goodreads goal of 175 this year. I began keeping a Goodreads (and achieved the goal) in 2013, missing only 2015—a tough year for us living in the RV in Yuma and monitoring our mothers in California. I don’t know, however, how to get those completed badges.

Audiobooks – Five! I’ll be posting regularly on Thursday.

Historical Fiction – Two in January—and those were both read by the CE.

You can check out my challenges progress by clicking on my Reading Challenges page.

Hoping to see the Covid pandemic wind down—at least a little where you are. We are beginning to be “cautiously optimistic.” In the meantime, I’m armed with double and triple layer masks with removable filters—it’s like science fiction gone non-fiction.

As always, welcome to my new followers—and those who continue to support the blog through your participation, likes, and comments. You help me grow and keep me going. Thank you!

Churchill’s Secret Messenger by Alan Hlad – A #BookReview – #historicalfiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

London, 1941: In a cramped bunker in Winston Churchill’s Cabinet War Rooms, underneath Westminster’s Treasury building, civilian women huddle at desks, typing up confidential documents and reports. Since her parents were killed in a bombing raid, Rose Teasdale has spent more hours than usual in Room 60, working double shifts, growing accustomed to the burnt scent of the Prime Minister’s cigars permeating the stale air. Winning the war is the only thing that matters, and she will gladly do her part. And when Rose’s fluency in French comes to the attention of Churchill himself, it brings a rare yet dangerous opportunity.

Rose is recruited for the Special Operations Executive, a secret British organization that conducts espionage in Nazi-occupied Europe. After weeks of grueling training, Rose parachutes into France with a new codename: Dragonfly. Posing as a cosmetics saleswoman in Paris, she ferries messages to and from the Resistance, knowing that the slightest misstep means capture or death.

Soon Rose is assigned to a new mission with Lazare Aron, a French Resistance fighter who has watched his beloved Paris become a shell of itself, with desolate streets and buildings draped in Swastikas. Since his parents were sent to a German work camp, Lazare has dedicated himself to the cause with the same fervor as Rose. Yet Rose’s very loyalty brings risks as she undertakes a high-stakes prison raid, and discovers how much she may have to sacrifice to justify Churchill’s faith in her . . .

His Review:

Air raids are a nightly terror in London. Working in the war room underground is a task many young ladies are willingly doing to help the war effort. Rose Teasdale is proud to be doing her part. An interpreter is needed late at night when Winston is having a discussion with General Charles de Gaulle and Commandant Martel. The latter speaks no English. Rose volunteers to assist. Rose’s ability to flawlessly translate English to French does not go unnoticed.

Meanwhile a young man, Lazare Anon, is preparing and posting flyers suggesting the population resist Nazi occupation. He is crossing a river when he sees an old man reading one of his posters. An SS officer sees him reading the poster, pulls him away and executes him in front of his wife. Lazare is devastated. The ruthless character of the occupiers is crushing.

Her brother Charles was shot down over the English Channel and never recovered. Her parents and the house she grew up in are destroyed in one of the nightly blitzes. She is very heartbroken and angry because her entire family is now dead due to the Battle of Britain and she would like to do more to aid the war effort.

Being an enemy agent in a foreign country is a death sentence if caught. Rose is taught how to survive and is trained by the SOE (Special Operations Executive) to be dropped into France to assist in clandestine operations and communications. Should she be caught her death will be slow and painful as the Nazi’s try to extract as much information as possible. With her entire family dead at the hands of the enemy she is willing to be placed in France.

This book is an excellent example of the trials of many volunteers who served during WW II. The characters are well vetted and believable as saboteurs. This book ended with my having a much deeper appreciation of the people who did everything they could to defeat the enemy. 5 stars – CE Williams

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from publisher through NetGalley. These are my honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, Jewish Historical Fiction, Historical European Fiction
Publisher: A John Scognamiglio Book

ASIN : B08F2XLBCZ

Print Length: 398 pages
Publication Date: April 27, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Churchill’s Secret Messenger [Amazon]

Also find the book at these locations:
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Alan Hlad is the international and USA Today bestselling author of The Long Flight Home. He is a member of the Historical Novel Society, Literary Cleveland, and the Akron Writers’ Group. Alan is a corporate executive turned writer who lives in Ohio with his wife and children. You can find him online at alanhlad.com, Facebook.com/AuthorAlanHlad, and on Instagram @AlanHlad.

Bitter Rain (Kate Fox Book 3) by Shannon Baker – a #BookReview – #mysteries

“A lump the size of a Bartlett pear made its way down her throat.

Book Blurb:

Sheriff Kate Fox is still settling into her new role when Deputy Kyle Red Owl’s sister, Shelly, vanishes from the nearby Lakota reservation. Convinced it’s an “Indian issue,” neighboring sheriffs are reluctant to get involved. Tempers flare—and Kate knows things are bound to get even more heated.

But when Kate and Kyle start to gather evidence, they realize the case isn’t at all what it seems.

Their search for Shelly has uncovered deep-buried family secrets, and soon, Shelly isn’t the only one in danger.

As Kate struggles to nail down a suspect—and with the truth seeming just out of reach—the new sheriff knows she’s running out of time.

And then she makes a big mistake. Can Kate right the wrong in time to save the life that’s hanging in the balance?

My Review:

The storyline centers around the Nebraska Sandhills across the South Dakota state line and the crushing poverty level of the Lakota at the Antelope Ridge Reservation. I enjoy books about the Midwest and any parts east of my native California—always so eye-opening. The Sandhills situate in an area of low population, cattle outnumbering humans by approximately fifty to one.

In this episode of the series, Sheriff Kate Fox is called to the site of an apparent accident but finding no one there except Sheriff Lee Barnett on scene from a different county is sent away with the explanation it must have been an auto from the local rez and whoever was driving had someone pick them up. It’s obviously good ole boy territory and as a newly elected female sheriff, she’s not totally accepted, particularly when it appears to be an Indian issue.

But Kate had gotten a call from a terrified young female pleading for help. And she is one who listens to her gut feeling. The missing female turns out to be her own Deputy’s sister, Shelly, and now Deputy Kyle Red Owl is also heavily drawn into the search.

Turns out, she is pretty much blocked in her investigation at every turn, but she does manage a small lead every now and then only serving to further muddy the waters.

In the meantime, the area not known for friendly rain is experiencing one gully washer after another, which doesn’t help.

Further hampering interview efforts besides the divisive racial issue is her own family. As the middle child with seven brothers and sisters (or is it nine?), either the oldest, youngest, or any in between is constantly intruding on her time. It doesn’t help that her immense family and familial obligations and expectations seem to override pretty much any other minute she isn’t thinking about her missing niece. Well, bring it on!

The conditions of the people populating the reservation describes conditions beyond dismally, buying into the old stereotype, and painting a crushing scene of desperation.

A lot going on in this novel, the mystery, the family sub-plot, and the deeply descriptive prose of the area. The author is nothing if not full of analogies and has one for every occasion:

“We stood as natural as ketchup on ice cream.”
“To say I was relieved to wish them a fun day would be like calling Lake Michigan a puddle.”

Philosophical thoughts:

“It was the face of fake compassion I hated worse than cooked cabbage.”
“It’ll be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”
“It’ll stop hurting when the pain goes away.”

As a newly elected sheriff, Kate has a lot to prove—not just to the county apparently—but also to her family. A rather unique writing style that cried “tilt” as often as it spoke a deeply meaning thought. A theme of hanging in there, overcoming, concessions, and adapting.
The conclusion included a twist I certainly didn’t see coming, although all the leads were to the over-obvious. Interesting, thoughtful, deeply disturbing, and also engaging and entertaining.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley. It appears this novel was previously released in 2018, new cover, but I’m in for a penny, in for a pound, and looking forward to Book 4.

Rosepoint Rating: Four stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Detective Fiction, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Mystery Series
Publisher: Severn River Publishing

ASIN : B08PDVXL26

Print Length: 276 pages
Publication Date: February 9, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Shannon Baker is author of the Kate Fox Mystery series. Set in rural Nebraska cattle country, according to a starred review in Library Journal, “Baker’s writing evokes the beauty of the Nebraska Sandhills, and her colorful cast of secondary characters adds a depth of charm.” Now a resident of Tucson, Baker spent 20 years in the Nebraska Sandhills, where cattle outnumber people by more than 50:1. Shannon is proud to have been chosen Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2014 and 2017 Writer of the Year.

Baker also writes the Nora Abbott mystery series, a fast-paced mix of Hopi Indian mysticism, environmental issues, and murder. The first in the series, Height of Deception, is set in Flagstaff, AZ, where she lived for several years and worked for The Grand Canyon Trust, a hotbed of environmentalists who, usually, don’t resort to murder. It is a 2013 finalist in the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards.

A lover of the great outdoors, she can be found backpacking in the Rockies, traipsing to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, skiing mountains and plains, kayaking lakes, hiking, cycling, and diving whenever she gets the chance. Having the desert for a backyard is a daily thrill, bringing javelinas, rattlesnakes, zillions of birds, and spectacular sunsets every day.

Arizona sunsets notwithstanding, Baker is, and always will be, a Nebraska Husker. Go Big Red.