Rosepoint Publishing

The Cartagena Cartel by T C Roberts #BookReview #travelhumor

The Misadventures of a Modern-Day Nomad: Book 2

Book Blurb:

Archie Flynn, heartbroken and restless, flees his homeland in search of adventure, freedom, and a fresh start as a digital nomad. His destination? Cartagena, Colombia.

But paradise turns to peril when a chance encounter with a femme fatale leaves him drugged, robbed, and broke in a city where desperation breeds bad decisions. Forced into a dangerous game with the local cartel and corrupt cops, Archie’s dream of escape quickly spirals into a nightmare.

Just when all seems lost, the enigmatic Julianna steps into his life—an unexpected ally who rekindles his faith in women and offers a glimmer of hope. But in a city where romance and danger walk hand in hand, can Archie survive long enough to rewrite his fate?

The Cartagena Cartel is a gripping, darkly comedic thriller about heartbreak, survival, and self-discovery in the underbelly of paradise.

His Review:

The largest cash crop for Cartagena is drugs and the second biggest for the country of Columbia. The drug cartels run the country, the government, and the police force. Archie Ignatius Flynn is an Australian who has made Columbia his current home and is a drug enthusiast. He is in the city to write and send stories back to Australia regarding the enormous drug problem. However, as you read the story you realize that drugs are not a problem for Cartagena but rather for the rest of the world.

Entering the country is risky in and of itself. The rain forest is a large part of the country and the many ways to die are incredible.

The rain forest is not an environment to be taken lightly and many die each year thinking they can enter it, but Archie is not involved in the rain forest at this time. He does enjoy a little recreational cocaine and has a number of very beautiful women who pursue him. One of these lovely ladies is involved with people who drug him and steal his identity, passport, and all of his money. If he had not prepaid for his lodging, he would be penniless and out in the street.

I found this to be a very interesting book and a warning for non-drug users to avoid the country at all costs. The women are gorgeous and engaging. However, their target may be you, the tourist, and all of your possessions. (At one point, Archie is left totally naked in the street with nothing.) There are scenes that lend a dark, noir foreboding to the storyline. Read and be forewarned by his adventures! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Any opinion expressed here is my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Travel Humor, Crime Action Fiction, Crime Action & Adventure
ASIN: B0F1FHFW8W
Print Length: 301 pages
Publication Date: April 8, 2025
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: T.C. Roberts is the independent author of the non-fiction title, “Goodbye Office, Hello World!”, his debut novel, “Highly Flawed Individual”, and the forthcoming sequel, “The Cartagena Cartel”. Originally from Sydney, Tim has no fixed address and considers himself a citizen of the world. When he is not writing, he’s exploring new places, swimming in the ocean or seeking out his next destination.

AI generated graphic courtesy Freepik.com

The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

A Dave Robicheaux Novel Book 1

Book Blurb:

New York Times best-selling author James Lee Burke’s Dave Robicheaux novels began with this first hard-hitting entry in the series.

In The Neon Rain, Detective Robicheaux fishes a prostitute’s corpse from a New Orleans bayou and finds that no one, not even the law, cares about a dead hooker.

My Review:

My first go-round with this author and I gotta admit checked most of the boxes for me. I could identify with the time period, if not “Nalans” and, indeed, New Orleans is a whole character unto itself.

It’s good I was listening to the audiobook as the author did a beautiful job of the accents (French), dialects of the locals (Cajun), as well as the protagonist’s name, Robicheaux (pronounced Row-be-show).

Even better when I start a healthy (24 installments in the series??) with Book 1. Yes, the first book is usually an introduction to the main character, the location, and the setting, in this case, the police department. Back then we had a lot of veterans, some still fresh from ‘Nam. Dave Robicheaux has apparently been back long enough to have achieved detective level with the local police department.

I loved how the description of the area rolled off the tongue of the narrator, making it almost sensual. I got a feeling pretty quickly about gritty Robicheaux, hardened from battle, brass, baddies, and loss. He’s no one to mess with.

When he discovers a young prostitute’s body, it hits him hard, and he throws all effort at finding the perp. Unfortunately, it also begins to uncover a lot more than he bargained for, and he reverts to drinking again and is placed on leave.

No problem.

He goes rogue.

In the meantime, the reader is treated to the prose created by the beauty of the bayou, the music, the mood, the food, the heat, the French Quarter, and the rain. In our experience, the latter happened every afternoon about 4 p.m. Ever notice that moss hanging from those iconic trees? Did you wonder why?

Graphic details, descriptions, and language paint a noir picture through the storyline and solid support characters. It is well-paced, suspenseful, gritty, and within a hard-boiled mystery. Armchair tourist? This might well be one trip you’ll enjoy.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Fiction, Suspense
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0028TY1GU
Listening Length: 8 hrs 22 mins
Narrator: Will Patton
Publication Date: May 5, 2009
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK

The Author: James Lee Burke is a New York Times bestselling author, three-time winner of the Edgar Award as well as the Grand Master Award from Mystery Writers of America, winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger and Gold Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, and the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts in Fiction.

#ThrowbackThursday

Watchers by Dean Koontz #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.

That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation…

My Review:

Yeah, so I’ll admit it—the cover got me first—and then, despite my son’s admonition about my reading choices (“Koontz is a horror writer, mom”), I grab a Koontz book when I see one.

Watchers by Dean Koontz — Watchers cover posted on Goodreads

Well, mercy, first we are introduced to Travis and the golden retriever (Koontz’ favorite dog) whom he later names Einstein. Travis is an ex-Delta Force now reduced to a lonely, lost soul without much that’ll get him up in the morning. Whether PTSD or the losses he’s suffered and, inexplicably, blames himself (it’s a curse), he’s lost any macho he ever had.

It’s the dog that saves him from a lonely walk in a deserted forest that hides an unnamed monster. Explaining to the dog that he can’t keep him (he’s cursed), he notices this is not your average dog at the outset. Yeah, he keeps him.

In the meantime, we are introduced to Nora, and it’s pretty obvious this will be a romantic match—these two severely damaged persons are made for each other. Nora, never having had a pet is not put off by the dog or his size and quickly realizes that he must be special.

So, wait…

Have you read this? It’s not like it’s a new book and there was quite some sentiment about it. Admittedly, there were a few problems that even I discerned.

Still, I got so involved in the storyline that I couldn’t stop flipping pages. Yeah, I read it—this was not one of my audiobooks. So, I’m flipping pages, and I just LOVE this dog. Unfortunately, he has a history, and the history is trying to catch up with him.

He’s a lab dog. I don’t mean Labrador—I mean laboratory. And the same lab that spawned him also spawned his opposite. Not a dog—but a brutal, nasty animal. Travis (even Travis) realizes this is not a dog he can return to the lab. Poor doggy.

Also, did I mention there’s a hit man out there on a mission?

If you haven’t read it, I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll just have to trust me. It’s a wild ride whether or not you have to suspend some disbelief. Just go with it and enjoy the story.

I received the eBook loan from my local library for the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own. I do enjoy a Dean Koontz doggy story! Recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Ghost Suspense, US Horror Fiction, Horror Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (reprint edition)
ISBN: 0425221806
ASIN: B001974DG0
Print Length: 402 pages
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Dean Koontz, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirits of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Murder in Galway by Carlene O’Connor #BookReview #InternationalMystery&Crime

A Home to Ireland Mystery Book 1

Book Blurb:

In the first installment of bestselling author Carlene O’Connor’s new Home to Ireland Mystery series, New York Tara Meehan’s first trip to Galway, Ireland may be her last.

Jump right into the beauty and splendor—and murder—of Tara’s Irish adventure! With a gorgeous setting, suspicious characters, and a deadly mystery—Murder in Galway will have you packing your bags…

Tara never imagined her introduction to Ireland like this—carrying her mam’s ashes to honor her final request: “Tell Johnny I’m sorry…Take me home.” She’s never met her mam’s estranged brother, Johnny Meehan, who owns an architectural salvage business in Galway. Although Tara is immediately charmed by the medieval city, the locals seem wary of strangers and a gypsy warns her that death is all around.

When Tara arrives at her uncle’s stone cottage, the prophesy seems true. A dead man lies sprawled over the threshold in a pool of blood. The victim turns out to be Johnny’s wealthiest client, and her missing uncle is the garda’s number-one suspect. In trying to find Johnny and solve the crime, Tara uncovers her mam and uncle’s troubled past. But with a desperate killer about, she had better mind herself, or they’ll be tossing her ashes in Galway Bay…

His Review:

Ah, the lure of Ireland to the progeny of Irish ancestors. Tara’s mother had immigrated to the United States from Ireland in her mid20’s. She did not explain to her daughter why she immigrated except that she had some “troubles” with a few of her neighbors. The problem was never explained. Upon her mother’s death Tara decided to go back to Ireland to see if she could understand the reason why.

There is an old warehouse full of odds and ends that has supported her mother’s brother since she left Ireland. Tara goes to the old warehouse in which her mother has an interest. Upon arriving at the building, a dead man is sprawled across the threshold of the business! The local law enforcement called Guarda start to investigate with Tara’s uncle being the principal suspect. In Galway less than 24 hours and she is already embroiled in a major crime!

Tara is an aspiring investigator and she begins to outline the crime and possible suspects. Meanwhile, the Guarda is working to get enough evidence to charge Tara with the crime. Their recommendation is that she leave Ireland immediately.

A budding romance blossoms between Tara and a young man named Danny, however, who has been operating the business since her uncle’s disappearance. The evidence of the crimes seems to always circle back to Tara’s visit to her mother’s homeland!

This book has many interesting twists and turns and a budding romance between Tara and Danny. Will the death spoil their chance for romance? Will Tara be charged with murder? These questions and many more are answered in the book. Read and enjoy this Irish mystery in Book 1 of A Home to Ireland Mystery series Book 1.

[Note: This book was on my list for #ReadingIrelandMonth25 this year, but didn’t get posted in March. It’s late.

[I read Book 2, A Murder in Connemara back in July of 2021 and really enjoyed it. I also read the last three O’Connor novels from the County Kerry series and many more from her other series as well. Thought the CE would enjoy this one. I must say, he was ready to pack his bags and fly to the Emerald Isle.]

C E Williams We received a copy of this book from our library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: International Mystery & Crime, Cozy Culinary Mysteries, Ghost Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
ASIN: B07TT34D26
Print Length: 297 pages
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. She writes the bestselling IRISH VILLAGE MYSTERIES, the HOME TO IRELAND series, and the new COUNTY KERRY MYSTERIES. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, and optioned for television. Readers can find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086525205106 or through her website: http://www.carleneoconnor.net

Reading Ireland Month 25 — 746 Books is hosting this annual challenge. Mix and match your formats!

Open Season: An Alex Delaware Novel by Jonathan Kellerman #AudiobookReview #PoliceProceduralMysteries

Book Blurb:

The most beloved and enduring duo in American crime fiction is back.

People come to Los Angeles to chase their dreams. Sometimes they find themselves cast into a nightmare. And sometimes, the most ardent dreamers turn out to be the most vicious monsters.

The body of an aspiring actress is found dumped near a hospital emergency room. She’s been drugged and murdered and the motive for the callous crime remains maddeningly out of reach. Until, a prime suspect materializes. Another Hollywood hopeful. Only to be shot dead by a sniper using a weapon that turns out to have been catalogued in a previous murder. And another, before that. It’s not long before more bodies begin piling up.

What makes the murderous spree baffling is the apparent lack of connection among the victims. Is this the work of a random thrill killer, the toughest of all cases to unravel?

But as Alex and Milo dig deeper they’re faced with an even knottier scenario: a highly complex killer with deep-seated motivation that will require all of their highly honed skills to decipher.

The latest thriller from #1 New York Times bestseller Jonathan Kellerman, is a tale of psychological complexity, dark suspense, and shocking surprises. A wild ride through L.A.’s surreal underbelly climaxed by an edge-of-the chair conclusion.

My Review:

It’s been a couple years since my last Alex Delaware book, The Ghost Orchid, as my last two reads by this author have included his son Jesse as co-author in the Clay Edison series. I was a little disappointed in the last Clay Edison, A Measure of Darkness, while I loved my last Alex Delaware book.

The Alex Delaware series always has three main characters: Alex, Milo, and the City of Los Angeles. Goodness, if anyone can make LA sound exciting, adventurous, and exotic, Kellerman can. His descriptions of the people and environs are atmospheric and always create a setting full of anticipation.

In this installment, they are involved in the murder and dumping of a young, aspiring actress. But of course that would only be the tip of the iceberg and soon there will be more bodies, both victim and perp.

Alex, as a main character, has been grandfathered in as a “volunteer” in the department (the series is that old), a partner to Milo, an official LA detective.

I don’t know if it was the narrator or the writing, but there has always been the sense that Alex is the intelligent one, though then the question would be how Milo made it this far. But he did seem more a ding-a-ling this time. Still, he is the one with the resources of the department while Alex provides cerebral input. Together, they are effective.

I’m still not sure where it went wrong for me this time. Yes, an audiobook; yes, I’m multi-tasking while listening; yes, there’s been another 90-degree flip in the storyline and now where am I? New characters, new case. Related? I guess so. Somehow, it became a bit of a blur for me, and there were short spaces of time I tuned out. Not good for an audiobook!

So, yeah, a little disappointed in Book 40 but looking forward to Book 41.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B0D5Z2L5B6
Listening Length: 9 hrs 10 mins
Narrator: John Rubinstein
Publication Date: February 4, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

The Author: Jonathan Kellerman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than three dozen bestselling crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter. With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes. With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored The Golem of Hollywood and The Golem of Paris. He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars. He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and has been nominated for a Shamus Award. Jonathan and Faye Kellerman live in California, New Mexico, and New York.

Graphic - It's so hard to choose!

Rosepoint Reviews – March Recap – Spring Cleaning and Getting Fit

Rosepoint Review Recap-March-Hello April!

March is usually a good month for me, a birthday month and fewer frozen temps. By now in California, I’d have veggie and flower starts getting ready for transplant. I’ve learned the hard way, however, that in upper Midwest, you’d better wait for Mother’s Day (May). So, April, rather than sequestering with a good book, hot chocolate, and favorite chair is time for Spring Cleaning. Garage to deck, the whole place needs a thorough clearing, cleaning, and paint touch ups. Reading time may suffer a bit, but I’ll certainly make use of audiobooks!

Just in case Spring Cleaning isn’t enough, the CE and I decided it was time to get back into shape and rejoined our old fitness center. Still not satisfied with that one, however, I decided to look into “the Y” again and discovered my handy dandy insurance would cover the fees. Joy!

Good grief, we were overwhelmed with the mammoth size of the facility, much less all the new machines, technology, classes, social opportunities (we signed up for a “Senior Soiree” 20s dinner dance next week), indoor and outdoor pools, spa, outside courts, as well as many other scheduled outdoor activities. Usually content with walking and riding my bike in the summer, I discovered muscles I’d forgotten about. (They didn’t forget me.) The sophisticated machines also reported on my height, weight, and “BioAge” the latter being happy news. I even looked at swimsuits!

So, yes, I anticipate using audiobooks more in April and probably May as well while I begin to plant both veggie and flower beds for the summer. Usually relying on Libby to find the audiobooks I was interested in and couldn’t find, decided to revert back to my old account in Hoopla and, wah la! There were several I’d failed to find in Libby, both Hoopla and Libby available at my local library. Love that library!

Of course I still find ARCs in NetGalley, as well as receive author and publisher requests. March, of course, is #ReadingIrelandMonth25, the #Begorrathon25, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books, and I participated in that again, managing five books, one movie, and one article–an old St Patrick’s Day story. We read and reviewed ten books between us in March that included six audiobooks. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Reviews - March Recap

The Builders by Maeve BInchy (#begorrathon25)
The Greatest Band That Never Was by Jeff Meshel (CE for Netgalley)
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (audiobook)
First Pub on the Right by Irish Anderson (#begorrathon25)
Milkman by Anna Burns (audiobook – #begorrathon25)
Brooklyn by Colm Toibin (audiobook)
Cher by Cher (audiobook)
Into the Storm by Rachel Grant
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney (audiobook)
Long Island by Colm Toibin (#begorrathon25 – audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

While I greatly enjoyed Cher’s memoir, I was a little disappointed she did not wholly narrate and that it was Part I. Gotta wait for Part II? But, no, Water for Elephants had me glued to the pages—well, earbuds. I stopped a couple times to research certain points of the novel, from Circus practices to elephants. Who couldn’t love Rosie? Then I went looking for the movie and was disappointed it wasn’t streaming on anything I could watch.

**Favorite for March – Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen**

My Reading Challenges page…

My Goodreads Challenge is currently at 44 of a 2025 goal of 125. As always, my Challenge page suffers from neglect. Surely there’ll be a quiet time when I can catch up.

Just a small rant before I close: I’ve used Yahoo for my email since I started using a computer. The changes recently ravaged by whoever decided it was time to destroy it has got me thinking of fleeing. The problem being, I’m not a whole lot happier with any of the others. Yahoo has managed to combine both my blog account and my personal account, making for a nightmare of duplications and deletions. When I decided to just delete everything in the personal account, it also deleted all emails from my blog account. (Sorry if you didn’t hear from me.) Are you struggling with the new Yahoo as well or should I put it down to my age (again)?

Welcome to my new subscribers! So glad you joined this group and I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you here. I always appreciate your comments! Have an invigorating April!

Where will your books take you this month?

Long Island by Colm Toibin #AudiobookReview #ReadingIrelandMonth25

Book 2 of 2: Ellis Lacey

Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction (2024)

Book Blurb:

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Stunning.” —People * “Dazzling yet devastating…Tóibín is simply one of the world’s best living literary writers.” —The Boston Globe * “Momentous and hugely affecting.” —The Wall Street Journal *

From the beloved, critically acclaimed, bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving novel featuring Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work in twenty years.

Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island, with their wives and children and Tony’s parents, a huge extended family. It is the spring of 1976 and Eilis is now forty with two teenage children. Though her ties to Ireland remain stronger than those that hold her to her new land and home, she has not returned in decades.

One day, when Tony is at work, an Irishman comes to the door asking for Eilis by name. He tells her that his wife is pregnant with Tony’s child and that when the baby is born, he will not raise it but instead deposit it on Eilis’s doorstep. It is what Eilis does—and what she refuses to do—in response to this stunning news that makes Tóibín’s novel so riveting and suspenseful.

My Review:

No, I never saw the movie Brooklyn, but did read the novel and while I found it rather profound, the ending left me empty. I suppose we are to expect conflict—is that what drives a literary fiction plot? But must it always be crushing?

Book 1 sends Eilis back to Tony Fiorello, the plumber she met and was coerced into marrying in the US without the time to thoroughly examine her motives. His large Italian family settled in a cul-de-sac houses from each other so that she is heavily immersed in Italians contributing a son and daughter to the growing dynasty.

Long Island by Colm Toibin — Long Island cover-US

The hook at the beginning of the narrative sets the tone for the book, as she is confronted by the irate husband of the woman Tony has impregnated. His family rallies and decides what would be done without her input or agreement—and she won’t have it.

Her mother nearing her eightieth birthday, Eilish decides on going back to Ireland to celebrate that milestone. There’s been a twenty-year absence, much to be caught up, and she’ll decide what to do while in Ireland. Her kids will join her later and get to know their Irish relatives. That they hadn’t an interest before is something I couldn’t fathom—their mother’s family. Were they so heavily involved in the dad’s side, not even curious about the other half of their heritage left in Ireland?

If I had a small problem investing in Eilish before, I now found her cold and flat. She is one of three POVs in this installment, one of the two others being Jim, the man she really loved and left without explanation, and the woman, Nancy, who is now quietly betrothed to Jim. Nancy was a best friend of Eilish; not any more.

Once again, Jim takes a back seat to the strings being yanked around him and I tend to find the conniving onerous. Must women always be painted this way? Eilish’s mother is horrible, another support character I found a bit loathsome, while her brothers, particularly one, an understanding saint to her situation. And it’s he who would finally find a resolution to the problem. A man to the rescue.

So, no, once again, I found the ending lacking in satisfaction. Is there no happy ever after from his author? The book leaves me sad and gloomy. It’s been a struggle and there is no resolution for the reader.

Of course, Toibin was on my list of Irish authors for this year’s Reading Ireland Month, the #Begorrathon25, hosted by Cathy at 746 Books having already read and reviewed Brooklyn. This one finishes the short series.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Urban Fiction, City Life Fiction, Family Life Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0CLHGRG3K
Listening Length: 9 hrs 40 mins
Narrator: Jessie Buckley
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Colm Tóibín is the author of ten novels, including The Magician, winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize; The Master, winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; Brooklyn, winner of the Costa Book Award; The Testament of Mary, and Nora Webster, as well as two story collections and several books of criticism. He is the Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and has been named as the laureate for Irish fiction for 2022-2025 by the Arts Council of Ireland. Three times shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Toibin lives in Dublin and New York.

Reading Ireland Month 2025

Beautiful Ugly: A Novel by Alice Feeney #AudiobookReview #DomesticThrillers

Editors’ pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

My Review:

Boy, howdy, I do get tired of damaged narrators. Grady Green is a narcissistic author whose wife apparently disappeared the very day he was over the moon with the news he’d landed New York bestseller status. He couldn’t wait to tell her, but the journalist stopped her car on the way home to check out someone in the road and was never seen again. Yeah. They found her car.

Grady is a mess. The loss of his wife appears to put the kibosh on his writing skills. He’s hit the wall and struggling with everything, staring down the laptop as it continues to cool its jets. That’s when his publisher mentions she has a cabin on an island in which he could sequester himself peacefully and just write.

And I gotta admit. I was hooked in this first part. He’s almost sympathetic. The cabin is nice. Very nice. The view of the water and the area surreal. His dog Columbo loves it. The only problem is the people of the little village—too small to have much—they are a tight bunch who heave a big sigh when tourist season is over—for them it’s over—and he’s not a particularly welcome guest.

It’s weird then that things begin to manifest—seeing his wife. Is sure he sees his wife. Or maybe not. The deeper into his history, the less sympathy I felt, and there were really no support characters that grabbed me. Pretty unlikable all round. Except for Columbo.

The storyline became complex, and the more so, the more incredulous or implausible it became as well. Yeah, twists that didn’t make sense. I had to shake my head…wait, what?

The author built suspense alright and kept this reader turning pages, and it was getting pretty far out there until the one big one in the denouement. To the point of almost being funny. Really? Okay, Karma is a b*tch.

Fan of Feeney? You may very well find this one a thriller you’ll enjoy. You can’t say it isn’t entertaining.

I also read and enjoyed Good Bad Girl a couple years ago, along with a couple others, but find this author still a bit inconsistent for me. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Family Life Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0D3QS21DQ
Listening Length: 9 hrs 19 mins
Narrator: Richard Armitage, Tuppence Middleton
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author of novels including His & Hers, Sometimes I Lie, Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations, with His & Hers currently in production for Netflix, produced by Jessica Chastain, and starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal.

Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years. Her seventh novel, Beautiful Ugly, will be published around the world in January 2025.

You can follow Alice on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. To find out the latest book and TV news, or to sign up for Alice’s free newsletter, please visit alicefeeney dot com

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