In the ancient kingdom of Phrygia, tribal boy Karem Savas thirsts for revenge against King Sargon II, the man who killed his mother and kidnapped his sister. A deal with the dark goddess of the underworld propels him to a powerful position of leadership with a mighty army and thousands of loyal subjects. Crowned as King Midas, he rules from the prosperous capital city of Gordium, where the future shines bright for his two royal children, Prince Anchurus and Princess Zoe.
But Midas is unable to shake his traumatic past. As his deal with the dark goddess turns sour, he seeks help from another, never realizing it will be his undoing. Burdened with a cursed power and floundering against the savvy King Sargon II, Midas must right his wrongs and save his children before it is too late.
Packed with myth, magic, and vengeance, this captivating tale of King Midas begins the new mythological fantasy series from Colleen M. Story.
His Review:
Ah, everything you touch turns to gold! I remember this as a cherished childhood dream. Imagine, gold at every turn. I could have golden books and every coin gold instead of silver or clad coinage; what a dream.
Ms. Story paints a picture of an aging king trying to keep his kingdom from a jealous adversary. Mix in a couple of witches and the problem becomes compounded. To get the results of your dreams, you must give up your eternal soul! Money, however, is not the most important thing in most people’s lives. What about wives and children and other essentials such as food?
Greedy King Midas quickly discovers the problem with everything he touches turning to gold. How about a cool glass of water on a hot day? It becomes a heavy glass of gold with nothing to quench a thirst. Thank goodness for the sorceress who can alleviate some of the suffering by converting the gold back into food for humans.
Ms. Story has written a very interesting and thought-provoking story covering greed and all of its elements. I recommend you read and enjoy this fantasy. 4.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
The Author:Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, and speaker with over 25 years in the creative writing industry. “The Curse of King Midas,” her newest novel, was recognized as a top-ten finalist for the Claymore Award prior to publication. Her previous novels include “The Beached Ones” and “Loreena’s Gift,” which was a Foreword Reviews’ INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner.
Colleen’s series of popular success guides for writers—”Your Writing Matters,” “Writer Get Noticed!” and “Overwhelmed Writer Rescue”—have all been recognized for their distinction. She frequently serves as a motivational speaker, where she helps attendees remove mental and emotional blocks and tap into their unique creative powers.
A lifelong musician, Colleen plays the French horn in her local symphony and pit orchestras. When not writing, she’s exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest and making up more challenging games for her smart German Shepherd to play. Find more at colleenmstory dot com and writingandwellness dot com.
Apparently, the upper Midwest will follow the pattern of cold, winter-like weather with summer temps and warm weather and no chance to acclimate. Not sure the plants like that either, not knowing whether to slow or grow. The cool weather crops are loving it, of course. The flower bed is actually looking pretty good with weeds as high as flowers, and the fairy garden yielded enough tender sprouts that the rabbits and deer came out and mowed everything down. Both animals are cute—from afar—until you realize they are munching on freshly transplanted annuals. The ferns gave it up a long time ago.
Skip the next paragraph if you are following Punkin the Pom odyssey becoming a real dog. Apparently, she is beginning to sense there are things out there she might have been missing out on—walks being one of them. She’s doing pretty well with the CE. Not so sure about me walking her and tries more often than not to dart away from me, hitting the end of the line on her harness. Otherwise, still few treats, no toys, and no offers of companionship.
First, the CE and our daughter headed to California for a family reunion. I took the opportunity to do some heavy cleaning and projects easier done while the house was quiet (note all the audiobooks!) Then, the household turned upside down with the unexpected return of a family member and his puppy, a mini-Aussie/Jack Russell mix, who has way too much energy, appetite, and interest in all things food, treats, toys, and walks. She can’t get enough of any of those things…and Punkin is noticing.
May was a struggle, though we did read and review seventeen books, again leaning heavily on audiobooks and this time filling in where the CE missed a deadline or two.
As always, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.
The CE and I both read Your Forgotten Sons and loved it, touched us deeply, and will remain in memory.
Book of the Month for May—Your Forgotten Sons
My Reading Challenges page still is behind. I know it. Once again a vow to get to it when the chaos settles down. Right now, the Goodreads Challenge is four books behind schedule at 58 of 150.
Welcome to my new subscribers and I hope to get back to a schedule of visiting all of my followers soon!
In this engrossing, masterfully twisting new thriller from the #1 internationally bestselling author, a forensics trainee learns through a DNA test that she mysteriously disappeared as a baby thirty years ago—and her life is still in danger …
When Dr. Sloan Hastings submits her DNA to an online genealogy site for a research assignment, her goal is to better understand the treasure-trove of genetic information contained on ancestry websites. Brilliant and driven, Sloan is embarking on a fellowship in forensic pathology, training under the renowned Dr. Livia Cutty.
Sloan has one reservation about involving herself in the experiment: she’s adopted. Grateful for a loving home, she’s never considered tracking down her biological parents. The results of her search are shocking. Sloan’s DNA profile suggests her true identity is that of Charlotte Margolis, aka “Baby Charlotte,” who captured the nation’s attention when she mysteriously disappeared, along with her parents, in July 1995. Despite an exhaustive search, the family was never seen again, and no suspects were named in the case.
Sloan’s discovery leads her to the small town of Cedar Creek, Nevada, the site of her disappearance. It also leads her to Sheriff Eric Stamos. The Margolis family’s influence and power permeate every corner of Harrison County, and Eric is convinced that in learning the truth about her past, Sloan can also help discover what happened to Eric’s father, who died under suspicious circumstances soon after he started investigating her disappearance.
Slowly, over the course of a stifling summer, Sloan begins getting to know her relatives. Though initially welcoming, the Margolis family is also mysterious and tight-lipped. Not everyone seems happy about Sloan’s return, or the questions she’s asking. And the more she and Eric learn, the more apparent it becomes that the answers they both seek are buried in a graveyard of Margolis family secrets that some will do anything to keep hidden—no matter who else has to die …
My Review:
Don’t you just love it when the blurb saves you the time of reading the book? I listened to it anyway and for the most part found it very engaging.
It’s fun when a big topic of interest is used to create a unique book plot and the author takes this one and really runs with it. At the beginning, I found Sloan Hastings to be intelligent, independent, a pathologist who secured a fellowship under a forensic pathologist, an avenue Sloan was keen to explore. Her assignment is a DNA study and she is required to submit her own to create her dissertation.
Oops! She’s always known she was adopted, but isn’t sure how her adoptive parents will receive that news. But no prob. They’re cool with it.
There is a shocker, of course. She is “Baby Charlotte” (Margolis) who disappeared with her birth parents almost thirty years ago. Now for the fun part.
The Margolis family are very well to do and pretty much have the little town of Cedar Creek, Nevada wrapped up. They appear to receive her with open arms, thrilled at the discovery she is not only alive but back to discover her birth family. It’s her chance to dig into the mystery of her birth parents and get some history.
And here’s where it changes for me from her being a brilliant pathologist to a naïve, under-educated woman who requires detailed explanations that had me rolling my eyes and slapping my forehead.
Can she learn what happened to her parents and discover secrets buried for thirty years? The switch in timeline provides insight into Sloan’s birth parents, but you’ll have to start swallowing some disbelief. Twisty plot, interesting and engaging characters, and fast pace keep you flipping pages (sometimes looking for credulity). And I must admit, though I had my suspicions (eeny, meany), I picked the wrong one.
It’s entertaining. 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: Women Sleuth Mysteries, Psychological Thrillers, Women Sleuths Publisher:Recorded Books ASIN: B0CQZ3GZ48 Listening Length: 9 hrs 19 mins Narrator: Vivienne Leheny Publication Date: May 21, 2024 Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections) Title Link: Long Time Gone [Amazon] Barnes & Noble Kobo
The Author:Charlie Donlea is the USA Today and #1 International bestselling author of propulsive, female-driven thrillers including The Girl Who Was Taken, Don’t Believe It, Twenty Years Later, and Those Empty Eyes. His eighth thriller, LONG TIME GONE, explores the science of forensic genealogy.
A late bloomer, he was twenty years old when he read his first novel–THE FIRM by John Grisham–and knew he would someday write thrillers. Published in forty countries and translated into nearly twenty languages, his books have sold more than 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone and have been optioned for film and television.
Praised for his “soaring pace, teasing plot twists” (BookPage) and talent for writing an ending that “makes your jaw drop” (The New York Times Book Review), Donlea has been called a “bold new writer…on his way to becoming a major figure in the world of suspense” (Publishers Weekly).
He was born and raised in Chicago, where he continues to live with his wife and two children. Learn more at his interactive website at CharlieDonlea dot com.
Award-winning author Denny S. Bryce and USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight collaborate on a brilliant novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe.
One woman was recognized as the premiere singer of her era with perfect pitch and tireless ambition.
One woman was the most glamorous star in Hollywood, a sex symbol who took the world by storm.
And their friendship was fast and firm…
1952: Ella Fitzgerald is a renowned jazz singer whose only roadblock to longevity is society’s attitude toward women and race. Marilyn Monroe’s star is rising despite ongoing battles with movie studio bigwigs and boyfriends. When she needs help with her singing, she wants only the best—and the best is the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald. But Ella isn’t a singing teacher and declines—then the two women meet, and to everyone’s surprise but their own, they become fast friends.
On the surface, what could they have in common? Yet each was underestimated by the men in their lives—husbands, managers, hangers-on. And both were determined to gain. Each fought for professional independence and personal agency in a time when women were expected to surrender control to those same men.
This novel reveals and celebrates their surprising bond over a decade and serves as a poignant reminder of how true friendship can cross differences to bolster and sustain us through haunting heartbreak and wild success.
My Review:
Marilyn died in 1962, the year we were married. Many historical events happened the same year and I must confess many of them were lost in my own life concerns at the time. Born in 1926, Marilyn was thirty-six. Born in 1917, Ella passed in 1996 at 79 years. Both achieved legendary status, and while it is true that they did form a friendship, this is a fiction accounting of that friendship.
At times, the palaver got so thick, I completely discounted the incident. Indeed, it’s explained at the end of the book that (remember) it is a work of fiction.
What isn’t fiction is that given the time in the civil rights movement, Monroe’s support of Ella could have hurt her career which was already flourishing. It was because Marilyn was up for a pic in which she was to sing that she began hounding Ella to coach her as Ella was admittedly one of her singing idols.
Ella was well-known and successful but struggled for the level of acceptance and the better gigs as that of Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, and Nina Simone. And Ella was a big woman. The Mocambo wanted small and pretty; Marilyn helped her get into the Mocambo.
While I was fully engaged in the voice of Ella in the audiobook, I found the voice of Marilyn annoying at times, cloying, sure she did not use her public persona voice during all the private conversations.
An audiobook, I hoped for a tidbit of one of Ella’s songs. And then there was the iconic Happy Birthday song to President Kennedy by Marilyn—that breathy, sexy song so familiar to generations of fans.
The book jumps between reflections of Ella and Marilyn, sometimes creating a disjointed narrative, Ella coming over as most authentic. I enjoyed the different stories of both ladies and their families, including the account of Ella’s Aunt Virginia! Marilyn’s story inevitably covered failed marriages, including the extremely physically abusive Joe DiMaggio marriage, although Arthur Miller—while not physically abusive—swung just as hard to the mental side of abusive and was just as damaging.
“There is something in the bond of an honest friendship between women that a lover can never breach and that fake friends will never understand.”
To her credit, Ella didn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs and that became a heavy wedge between their friendship. While Ella decried Marilyn’s increasing dependency on drugs and booze, she couldn’t be a part of it.
Lots of literary license here, still there are tidbits to be gleaned between dramatic recreations or fictionalized accounts of what may have or could have happened. The authors spent untold hours in research. Perhaps the most telling is the insight given in the epilogue.
If you enjoy biographical accounts, historical accounts of some of our famous personalities, you might very well enjoy this collaboration. 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: Biographical Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction Publisher:HarperAudio ASIN: B0C7DXY8TW Listening Length: 11 hrs 15 mins Narrators: Karen Chilton, Caroline Hewitt Publication Date: March 5, 2024 Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections) Title Links: Can’t We Be Friends [Amazon-US] Amazon-UK Barnes & Noble Kobo
The Authors:
Eliza Knight is an award winning, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her love of history began as a young girl when she traipsed the halls of Versailles and ran through the fields in Southern France. She can still remember standing before the great golden palace, and imagining what life must have been like. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, her weekends were filled with visits to museums, and historical reenactments. Escape into history for courageous heroines, irresistible heroes and daring escapades. Join Eliza (sometimes as E.) on riveting historical journeys that cross landscapes around the world. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and Novelists, Inc., the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, a co-host on the History, Books and Wine podcast and a co-host for the true crime podcast, Crime Feast.
While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she tries to keep up with her three not-so-little children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses, two very naughty Newfies, and a turtle named Fish.
Look for STARRING ADELE ASTAIRE a story full of glitz and glam, delving into the life of Adele Astaire, a spirited and talented woman who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage—with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire— along with a determined young dancer with rags-to-riches dreams. Coming in June 2024, THE QUEEN’S FAITHFUL COMPANION.
For more information about book club visits, downloadable reader guides, upcoming author events, book news, newsletter and more, visit her website: http://www.elizaknight.com
If you love history and want to dive in for some fun, visit Eliza’s popular, award-winning blog:
To connect on social media, visit/follow Eliza at the following:
Twitter: @elizaknight
Denny S. Bryce is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical fiction. A former dancer and public relations professional, Denny is an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Drexel University, a book critic for NPR, and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in USA Today and Harper’s Bazaar. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers. Originally from Ohio, she likes to call Chicago her hometown but currently resides in Savannah, Georgia. You can find her online at DennySBryce.com.
LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan returns in P. J. Tracy’s City of Secrets, the next book in the series praised by the New York Times Book Review: “Tracy seems to have found her literary sweet spot.”
Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner have worked a lot of different cases, ones where things aren’t always as they appear. And it’s Nolan’s job to find the truth in the darkness around her. When they’re called to the scene of what looks like a fatal car-jacking, Nolan soon realizes her victim was a founder of a company about to sell for millions, and within a day of his death, his partner’s wife is abducted. As Nolan learns more about the victim and his life, she gets pulled into a disturbing world of sex, violence, and big business; and an even darker world, where whispers of an “Angel of Death” are beginning to surface.
One of today’s finest crime writers, P. J. Tracy has created a series that is a rich and authentic portrait of LA, filled with the tragedy and optimism of her multi-layered characters and a story guaranteed to keep readers enthralled.
His Review:
Bruce Messane is filthy rich. He has the attitude to go along with the money. He is cruel and repulsive to everyone. Camille, one of his former wives, would dearly love to see him underground. The only good thing to come out of that union is his very lovely daughter Mimi. Mimi is the apple of his eye.
Mimi is beautiful, blond and every man’s eye turns when she enters the room. Mimi has only one problem, she has learned to hate all men! Her male victims gladly follow her until her true mission is revealed.
Detective Margaret Nolan fought hard to get her position in the LA SWAT Division. How could she have known over 13 years ago just how much she would grow to hate the job and the idiots assigned to her as her partners! She had hoped to be kicked upstairs into management but instead is dragging inept partners to investigate cases. Her latest partner is no better than her last thirty or so.
When Bruce Messane and his wife are found brutally murdered, Detective Nolan is assigned to bring the killer to justice. She will have to drag one of the rookies with her to teach them the ropes. Just the thought of this task makes her groan and turn even more caustic. What a lucky junior trainee/partner!
This book is well written with a few belly-laughs during the reading. With a rather slow start, the action is evenly paced and the results are predictable. I enjoyed the characters and can recommend it as a great distraction. 3.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
The Author:PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, authors of the New York Times and internationally bestselling MONKEEWRENCH series, and winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards.
After PJ’s death in 2016, Traci began writing the Detective Margaret Nolan series, set in Los Angeles, where she lived for many years. DEEP INTO THE DARK and DESOLATION CANYON are available now, and the third novel, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, will be released in January 2023.
Set in Minnesota, Gone to Dust is the debut private-eye murder mystery from Emmy Award-winning Seinfeld writer Matt Goldman.
A brutal crime. The ultimate cover-up. How do you solve a murder with no useable evidence?
Private detective Nils Shapiro is focused on forgetting his ex-wife and keeping warm during another Minneapolis winter when a former colleague, neighboring Edina Police Detective Anders Ellegaard, calls with the impossible.
Suburban divorcée Maggie Somerville was found murdered in her bedroom, her body covered with the dust from hundreds of emptied vacuum cleaner bags, all potential DNA evidence obscured by the calculating killer.
Digging into Maggie’s cell-phone records, Nils finds that the most frequently called number belongs to a mysterious young woman whose true identity could shatter the Somerville family – but could she be guilty of murder?
After the FBI demands that Nils drop the case, Nils and Ellegaard are forced to take their investigation underground, where the case grows as murky as the contents of the vacuum cleaner bags. Is this a strange case of domestic violence or something with far-reaching, sinister implications?
My Review:
Okay, yes. I was looking for an audiobook, a nice mystery, and the blurb sounded interesting. And of course, dropping the Emmy Award-winning Seinfeld writer’s name helped. (As it happens, however, that show was not one I watched.)
The setting is Minnesota in the winter and I was reading it in the upper Midwest before we slowly ground into spring, so thought I might identify. Only so far though. Minnesota is a whole nother winter.
I’m not sure what it was. Yes, you have to say covering a body in vacuum cleaner dust patiently gathered from hundreds of vacuum cleaner bags is unusual. Even Nils Shapiro, the “Scandinavian Jew” might have been considered an unusual character, certainly considering he still pined after his ex. (I often wondered why then she is an “ex.”)
Just not one that really grabbed me. Nils is a contradiction alright. He was trying for the police department when there was a change in the budget, so he managed to create a private detective agency. I guess he found a modicum of success as he is called by a police detective buddy to help him with his vacuum dust case.
For one, there are too many degrees of coincidence. Small town—okay—I get it. Everybody knows everybody or is a relative. There are red herrings, twists, and the plot involves Nils the man as much as the case. It isn’t too hard to figure out the perp. An easy read (or listen) and entertaining but it just didn’t have the tension sufficient for me to get excited.
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: Jewish Literature, Private Investigator Mysteries Publisher:Blackstone Audio, Inc. ASIN: B074G4TM97 Listening Length: 7 hrs 24 mins Narrator: MacLeod Andrews Publication Date: August 15, 2017 Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections) Title Link: Gone to Dust [Amazon]
The Author:Matt Goldman is New York Times Best Selling author and Emmy Award-winning TV writer. He has been nominated for a Shamus Award and is a Nero Award Finalist. His TV credits include Seinfeld, Ellen, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.
“Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can’t-put-it-down entertainment.”—Stephen King
The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River—an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.
In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.
One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances.
The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.
Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.
My Review:
The air in Southy (deeply Irish South Boston) is crackling both from the summer temps and also from the recent mandate to bus students from mostly white South Boston High to mostly Black Roxbury and vice versa. It’s 1974 and there is a sharp divide in integration from both sides. Violence is teetering on the slightest provocation and it won’t take much to light that match.
Mary Pat Fennessy is struggling like the rest in the projects; not enough money for anything, a teenage daughter pushing boundaries, and now missing. Mary Pat is not a woman who will go quietly in the night. She’s been a scrapper all her life, there is little that scares her and she was taught never to run from trouble. She starts a search for her daughter that disturbs the neighborhood Irish mob boss.
The story hooks immediately, such a dark period, rampant racism backdropped against a widow who has already lost an only son. She confronts with disbelief what she discovers about her daughter and that may be the last straw.
The well-plotted novel is dark, extremely atmospheric of the brutality of the time and locality, the gangs. The frustration weighs heavily, pain and grief in attendance, Mary Pat is an exceptionally well-drawn main character. The narrator nails the heavy resignation.
Yes, triggers of racism, language, sexual abuse, drugs. Hard to read or listen to this one and no way not to.
I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Thrillers, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries Publisher:HarperAudio ASIN: B0B8PHDJLD Listening Length: 10 hrs 23 mins Narrator: Robin Miles Publication Date: April 25, 2023 Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections) Title Link: Small Mercies [Amazon] Barnes & Noble Kobo
The Author:Dennis Lehane (born Aug 4th, 1966) is an American author. He has written several novels, including the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also called Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon (Lehane can be briefly seen waving from a car in the parade scene at the end of the film). The novel was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction, and France’s Prix Mystere de la Critique.
It would take a pint-sized miracle to save this Christmas holiday. A prequel novella.
December, New York City, 1923 Officer Jax Diamond doesn’t always play by the rules, and he’s in the hot seat again with the captain of his precinct. So, when a brazen little puppy alerts him of a crime, Jax is ordered to stand down or get canned.
On the city streets, broke and alone, Jax beats himself up for not following his own instincts and saving a boy’s life. Even the little tramp who keeps trailing him everywhere can’t lift his spirits. But crime never stops in New York City and a string of deadly Christmas capers spirals out of control.
The city’s only hope is Jax and his new pint-sized partner who team up to save the Christmas holidays during the Roaring Twenties.
My Review:
I love it when a historical novel captures not only the atmosphere but the vernacular of the period—in this case, the Roaring Twenties. Even though it is Book 4 of the series, this novella is issued as a prequel to establish the introduction of the puppy Ace as the canine partner of Jax. See that cover? Can you not just love that face?
So, yes, I was drawn in, always looking for a good book with a dog involved and a PI in New York nearing Christmas checks the boxes. It doesn’t take long to be there in the midst of the action, which begins almost immediately.
The German Shepherd will have your heart thinking a 120 lb dog might just be the right companion for you—well—I thought the same of the series in which a Belgian Malinois is featured until I read a profile of the latter (lighter weight, faster, more agile). (But no, thinking I’ll stick to the under 15 lb breeds.) Jax is clever, caring, relatable, and multi-talented. Jax and Ace make an effective, engaging team.
There are skillful twists and turns and the Christmas season permeates throughout with the well-plotted narrative focusing on seasonal criminal activities. Fast and easy to read.
I previously read Book 1 of the series, Songbird, and was taken with the period and the characters. Definitely an engaging series and nice that each can be read as a standalone. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.
Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars
Book Details:
Genre: Holiday Fiction, Traditional Detective Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery Publisher: Cranberry Pond Publishing ASIN: B0BC981875 Print Length: 112 pages Publication Date: November 25, 2022 Source: Publisher and NetGalley Title Link: Two of a Kind [Amazon]
The Author:Gail Meath is the author of the multi-award winning Jax Diamond Mysteries, the fun series about of a wise-cracking PI, his sweet German Shepherd partner, Ace, and his Broadway singing heartthrob, Laura, as they solve crazy crimes during the Roaring Twenties. She’s currently working on the first book in her exciting new 1930s mystery series, Stone & Steele Mysteries, takes place during the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood. As always, she blends the most loveable characters with a good, solid mystery.
Gail also has a growing list of other award-winning historical romances, mysteries, westerns, and fictional biographies of true heroines. She lives in a small village in Upstate New York with her husband and their sweet, little Boston Terrier, and she spends loads of time with her grandchildren.
Ms. Story has written a very interesting and thought-provoking story covering greed and all of its elements. I recommend you read and enjoy this fantasy. 4.5 stars – CE Williams
The Author: Colleen M. Story is a novelist, freelance writer, and speaker with over 25 years in the creative writing industry. “The Curse of King Midas,” her newest novel, was recognized as a top-ten finalist for the Claymore Award prior to publication. Her previous novels include “The Beached Ones” and “Loreena’s Gift,” which was a Foreword Reviews’ INDIES Book of the Year Awards winner.
Rosepoint Publishing 