Memorial Day 2022
The Last Saxon King: A Jump in Time Novel (Book 1) by Andrew Varga – #BookReview – #historicalfiction
The Last Saxon King by Andrew Varga
Book Blurb:
Life is progressing normally for sixteen-year-old Dan Renfrew when he accidentally transports himself to England in the year 1066. He soon realizes that he’s trapped there, and that’s not his only astonishing discovery. Dan learns that he’s descended from a long line of time jumpers—secret heroes who travel to the past and resolve glitches in the time stream that threaten to alter subsequent history. The only way Dan can return home is to set history back on its proper course in the Anglo-Saxon age. This is no easy task. A Viking horde is ravaging England in the north while a Norman army threatens to invade from the south. In between and desperately struggling to hold on to his throne is Harold Godwinson, the newly-crowned English king. Dan is fighting to ensure that events play out correctly when he finds himself plunged into an even more lethal conflict. To save history, Dan must battle a band of malevolent time jumpers whose lust for wealth and power threatens the entire future of the world.
His Review:
Daniel’s father is being attacked by an assassin in their living room. A six-inch rod with a forgotten set of symbols is thrown to him by his father. He is given a phrase to say and is thrust back into the time of the Battle of Hastings. His adventure begins with Sunngifu who first meets him, telling him how inept and uneducated he is. His day goes down from there!
The rod seems to be a translation device and having it placed next to his skin allows him to talk to the people in the village. At 16 years of age, Dan is expected to join the local authority and fight for the kingdom. He has fallen into a time of great conflict. There is no choice; when the king or lord commands you, you must join and fight.
The class system is well described in this narrative as are the problems Daniel faces. The leaders in this part of the world are either royalty or the most-wealthy individuals. Peasants are required to fight for the royal and will be killed gruesomely if they do not comply but Daniel manages to become a companion to Edward and the future king of England.
The description of society as well as the interactions with the various characters describe a very colorful existence. Conscripted into the service of the overlord being mandatory, the conscripts must supply their own weapons. A farmer is not given a weapon but rather brings a pitchfork or hoe or some other farm implement.
Additional weapons are prizes of battle such as swords, lances, and poleaxes. A running count of the casualties inflicted on the other side is bragged about by the victors.
This author has developed a very fine example of life in the middle-ages and the dangers faced. Modern man is not equipped for these dangers. Can Daniel save himself long enough to return to his own time? Or, does he want to? 4 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy and the opportunity to read this book.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Historical Fiction, #timetravel, YA Fiction
Publisher: Imbrifex Books
ISBN-10: 1945501820
ISBN-13: 978-1945501821
ASIN: B0B1CBGDRV
Print Length: 316 pages
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Last Saxon King [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
The Author: I am a YA historical fiction author who takes great pains to ensure historical accuracy in my books, while still ensuring that I tell a great story. Although I enjoy reading and writing about all history, I have a particular fondness for European history from Greco-Roman times until the crusades.
I hope you enjoy my stories.
©2022 CE Williams – V Williams 
Tom Clancy Zero Hour (A Jack Ryan Jr Novel Book 9 by Don Bentley – #BookReview – #warfiction
Tom Clancy Zero Hour by Don Bentley
Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars 
in Military Thrillers
Book Blurb:
Jack Ryan, Jr. is the one man who can prevent a second Korean War in the latest thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.
When the leader of North Korea is catastrophically injured, his incapacitation inadvertently triggers a “dead-man’s switch,” activating an army of sleeper agents in South Korea and precipitating a struggle for succession.
Jack Ryan, Jr. is in Seoul to interview a potential addition to the Campus. But his benign trip takes a deadly turn when a wave of violence perpetrated by North Korean operatives grips South Korea’s capital. A mysterious voice from North Korea offers Jack a way to stop the peninsula’s rush to war, but her price may be more than he can afford to pay.
His Review:
North Korea has a cadre of renegade operatives working to overthrow the South Korean regime. Explosions are felt in Seoul as large crowds begin to crowd the capital. Escape is very difficult with the people frantically searching for places of safety. Meanwhile, the North Korean insurgents continue to plant many more bombs.
The ”Supreme Leader” has been missing for a number of days and the suspicion of a successful coup is rampant. The renegades are intent on initiating a war between the South and American advisors. They gather a detachment of soldiers intent on exacerbating the chaos.
A leading medical advisor to the “Supreme Leader” has him placed in a safe bunker near the border between the North and the South. The bunker is also a top-secret research facility for developing a new and very deadly chemical weapon to destroy the South Korean army and thousands of its’ people.
Jack Ryan Jr. joins up with a group of U.S. Navy Seals to attempt to thwart the potential of WW III. The Seals and Jack have a healthy disdainful respect for each other. Jack believes the Seals are effective but not very eloquent in the execution of plans. The give and take between the two is humorous. Can the plans of the radicals in the North Korean military succeed in starting WWIII?
Don Bentley writes a very convincing saga of cold war tensions and events. The Supreme Leader is only incapacitated for a week which appears long enough to start WWIII. The insurgents hope to eliminate the leader of North Korea and put themselves in power.
There is not a dull moment in this novel, it’s fast-paced and filled with action. The protagonist is self-confident, independent, and efficient. The narrative is gripping and the conclusion satisfying. 5 stars – CE Williams
We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced the CE’s review. These are his honest opinions.
Book Details:
Genre: Military Thrillers, War Fiction, Historical Thrillers
Publisher: G P Putnam’s Sons
ASIN: B09FNW2FV4
Print Length: 492 pages
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Tom Clancy Zero Hour [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
The Author: Don Bentley is the NYT bestselling author of the HOSTILE INTENT and Tom Clancy ZERO HOUR. Don is a former FBI Special Agent, SWAT Team member, and Army Apache helicopter pilot. Learn more at http://www.donbentleybooks.com
©2022 CE Williams – V Williams
Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir by Jennifer McGaha – #Audiobook Review – #TBT
Book Blurb:
When life gets your goat, bring in the herd
Jennifer McGaha never expected to own a goat named Merle. Or to be setting Merle up on dates and naming his doeling Merlene. She didn’t expect to be buying organic yogurt for her chickens. She never thought she would be pulling camouflage carpet off her ceiling or rescuing opossums from her barn and calling it “date night.” Most importantly, Jennifer never thought she would only have $4.57 in her bank account.
When Jennifer discovered that she and her husband owed back taxes—a lot of back taxes—her world changed. Now desperate to save money, they foreclosed on their beloved suburban home and moved their family to a one-hundred-year-old cabin in a North Carolina holler. Soon enough, Jennifer’s life began to more closely resemble her Appalachian ancestors than her upper-middle-class upbringing. But what started as a last-ditch effort to settle debts became a journey that revealed both the joys and challenges of living close to the land.
Told with bold wit, unflinching honesty, and a firm foot in the traditions of Appalachia, Flat Broke with Two Goats blends stories of homesteading with the journey of two people rediscovering the true meaning of home.
My Review:
OMG, so many reviewers disliked this memoir! And I must admit I had to agree with most of the arguments presented. I can’t even imagine not knowing you haven’t filed with the IRS in years. Robbing Peter to pay Paul until Peter drops a foreclosure on you.
From living well above your means and having your children in private schools to eating gourmet and drinking expensive craft beers. You can’t tell me there wasn’t a hint.
Well educated, this couple made every stupid financial decision you could make. And he was an accountant? Thinking he was handling the finances, she works part-time and plays homemaker, rearing the children, and caring for multiple animals.
Sounds nice—few women get to do that (or even want to) anymore. She tends to blame him for all their financial woes—but how did she miss all the dun letters or calls? Creditors can drive you crazy.
When they make the decision to let foreclosure happen as well as default on the second with their close friends, they flee to the Appalachians to live in an abandoned cabin in a North Carolina holler.
I’ve lived in tar paper shacks—they can be populated (depending on where you live) by spiders (especially black widows), snakes, and every manner of bug or mammal that can find a hole from the size of a pin to a dime. And their old cabin is no better. It takes a while, doing what little they can with what they saved by not paying their last several mortgage payments. UGH! I see a lot of beans in their future.
Gradually, however, she begins to think about chickens. She could raise them, gather and/or sell eggs. Then goats. GOATS! Not an animal I would have considered—remembering how well they perform head butts. And BTW, chickens do have personalities.
Here is what I don’t understand, however; where did they get the money to be buying chickens and build their coop, much less the appropriate provisions and feed for goats? For that matter, chicken feed isn’t cheap and chickens can waste almost as much as they eat. Descriptions of breeding the goats were penned in detail and don’t get me started on the vet bills.
You have to say that listening to this audiobook is like listening to an impending train wreck. They learn the hard way, not having had experience with animals other than canines, and make some big mistakes along the way. There are regrets, embarrassment, shame, loss, recriminations, and a lot of soul-searching. Plus, you gotta love the title.
Sometimes the decisions become outrageous. It’s easy to castigate others’ actions, particularly when so many people have experienced extreme financial conditions and similar hardships and found a way to work through them honorably. Still, the narration is excellent and the author’s wit and sense of humor shine through. As maddening as it can be, it’s also engaging, entertaining, at times enlightening. For one thing, I’ll never try to breed a goat.
The conclusion comes rather abruptly; guess there was nowhere else to go, but pretty much sums up the journey to living happily off the land.
I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from my local lovely library. These are my honest thoughts.
Book Details:
Genre: Agricultural & Food Sciences, Biographies of Women, Agricultural Science
Publisher: Tantor Audio
ASIN: B078WZVJSF
Listening Length: 9 hrs 19 mins
Narrator: Pam Ward
Publication Date: January 23, 2018
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Flat Broke with Two Goats [Amazon]
Rosepoint Publishing: Four stars
The Author: A native of Appalachia, Jennifer McGaha lives with her husband, five dogs, twenty-three chickens, and one high-maintenance cat in a tin-roofed cabin bordering the Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. Her creative nonfiction work has appeared in Brooklyner, Toad Suck Review, Switchback, Still, Portland Review, Little Patuxent Review, Lumina, Literary Mama, Mason’s Road, Now and Then, and others. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, mountain biking, sampling local beers, and playing with dogs.
©2022 V Williams –
The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey by Patricia Black-Gould – #BookReview
The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey by Patricia Black-Gould
Book Blurb:
A Star of David or a rosary? Lalka, a young girl, must reject one and accept the other without understanding why. Her mother makes a heartbreaking sacrifice to keep her daughter safe.
Poland, 1939. It’s no longer safe for the Jews. Lalka’s mother makes the excruciating choice to teach her the ways of Catholicism and send her to a convent for safekeeping. Little Lalka doesn’t understand why her mother would give her Crystal beads (a rosary) in exchange for her prize possession, her Star of David, a special gift from her father, or why she’s learning new songs and prayers. Lalka and her mother journey to a Convent, where the brave nuns take her under their wing and continue her Catholic education. When the Nazis come looking, will the training be enough? When forced with a difficult decision, will Lalka follow her heart or follow her mother’s directions? And will it be enough to save her life?
A beautiful story of sacrifice and bravery, The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey, highlights a piece of the Holocaust – the hidden children – told from the innocent perspective of a child. Readers also come to understand how people can come together, despite differences, when it really matters.
My Review:
Such a compassionate and realistic view of one of the ways in which a mother discovers how to keep her daughter safe in a treacherous and deadly time in 1939 Poland.
Lalka’s mother makes the choice to teach her seven-year-old daughter about Catholicism. It is not an easy choice to make. Before Lalka’s father died and left the two of them, he gave his daughter a Star of David—something she wore all the time—her treasure, his last gift to her.
Her mother, however, begins gently by playing a “game” with her daughter in which she exchanges the Star of David with a new necklace—that of crystal beads, a rosary. She then builds on that with prayers and songs, preparing her for the journey to a convent where the nuns will care for her and continue her education.
Lalka is left at the convent in a heartbreaking goodbye. Her mother promised to visit; and does for a while. When Sister Teresa calls Lalka to the office, Lalka is sure her mother is back but is greeted by two men who believe Lalka is a Jew. Lalka follows the instructions her mother gave her and is saved from being taken away.
The story is written for children between the ages of 5-12 years. It is beautifully illustrated with soft pastel colors and drawings that help a child to see and understand the circumstances and the wisdom given Lalka to survive. It’s a short and touching story of the Holocaust—a teachable moment—and unfortunately one that must continue.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Beautifully written and illustrated. Currently on pre-order. Recommended.
Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars 
Book Details:
Genre: Children’s Holocaust Fiction Books, Children’s Jewish Fiction, Children’s Judaism Books
Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press
ISBN-10: 1955119201
ISBN-13: 978-1955119207
ASIN: B09Z6SY3T9
Illustrator: Katya Royz
Print Length: 40 pages
Publication Date: June 14, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
The Author: Pat Black-Gould, PhD , is a clinical psychologist, author, and playwright. Her short stories have appeared in several literary journals and anthologies.
Many years ago, Pat heard a powerful story that haunted her until she committed it to paper. The Crystal Beads was first published in Jewish Fiction. net in 2020. The short story then won first-place honors in two writing competitions conducted by the National League of American Pen Women, Inc., Washington, D.C. The first was an award by the Pen Women Florida State Association. Pat then received the Flannery O’Connor Short Story Award as part of the National Biennial Letters Competition.
Pat felt it was important to bring the story to a younger audience. At that point, she rewrote it as a children’s book. She hopes that The Crystal Beads, Lalka’s Journey will do justice to the story she once heard and carry its message to younger generations.
Pat’s writing explores topics such as compassion, tolerance, and diversity. She continues to examine these themes in her upcoming novel, Limbo of the Moon, written with her co-writer, Steve Hardiman.
In addition, Pat (under the name of Patricia Black) has published a book chapter and journal articles on Deafness and Mental Heath with co-author, Neal Glickman, PhD.
©2022 V Williams
The Doctor’s Daughter by Shari J Ryan – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog
The Doctor’s Daughter by Shari J Ryan
Book Blurb:
Auschwitz, 1941: It was her father’s job to save the lives of the SS. But she chose to risk everything and save the lives of prisoners.
In Nazi-occupied Poland, Sofia cannot look her father in the eye. Sofia’s mother, her papa’s cherished wife, is Jewish—how dare he work as a doctor for the SS? She cannot forgive him, even if the bargain was made to spare their lives.
In the middle of the night, Isaac emerges from a packed train with hundreds of others. Beneath Auschwitz’s barbed wire, soldiers surround them, and gunshots pierce the dark sky. The SS decide prisoners’ fates on the spot—and Isaac is chosen to work, rather than to die.
Every day, Isaac and his fellow inmates are sent to a nearby farm. From sunup to sundown, they toil the land with barely a scrap to eat. Every breath feels like it could be Isaac’s last, so when he sees a beautiful auburn-haired girl peering out of the farmhouse window, it feels like a dream…
Sofia refuses to accept what she is seeing. Disobeying her father and evading the guards, she risks her life to sneak a letter to the green-eyed boy outside. She explains that she has hidden them food, and that she’ll do everything in her power to save them.
This secret exchange sparks an escape that should have been impossible—and a love story that is unforgettable. But is love enough in the face of evil? And when Sofia and Isaac are concealed underground, holding their breath as the Nazis hunt them, will they survive?
My Review:
Does a doctor in Poland living under the Nazi occupation really have an option if he’s expected to save the lives of the SS? During the darkest part of the war, life for the Jewish is extremely tenuous. The doctor is not Jewish, but his wife and daughter are and he makes a pact with the devil in exchange for the lives of his family.
Sofia, a teen is devastated and feels betrayal for her neighbors in her father’s efforts for the Germans. She has witnessed the prisoners from Auschwitz as they are brought in to work the land for the Germans.
“…watching us is their favorite form of entertainment—the SS officers…”
Sofia and her mother have been insulated by the favor of her father, living on their family’s farm established generations before. But rules and laws begin to turn ugly.
There is the POV of Sophia, Isaac, and Olivia, each as they strive to survive the horror they face daily, the ravishes of hunger, disease, faith.
For Isaac, he believes “every single day feels like ten, but without a future to look forward to.”
Isaac and his sister Olivia have lost both parents and live like sewer rats until they dare to venture out. When they are taken prisoner, Olivia is sent in one direction, Isaac another as a slave laborer on the farm owned by Sophia’s family and it is there they meet and conspire to find a way to better conditions.
The characters are well-formed under the author’s pen and tear at your heart, the atmosphere so dark and foreboding, so frightening. You can see the barbed wire, the soldiers with their guns, smell the decay, the death. It’s an extremely emotional read, the tears are there, the reality of much that happened. It’s almost impossible to fathom, impossible to forget. For these teens, a life borne of cruelty. Sophia noted,
“The war has been ongoing for more than a third of my life, and I can’t remember being free. I can’t recall if I was old enough to understand the perception of peace before it went away.”
The conclusion is a quiet reflection of those who fought, steadfastly refused to quit, sought hope when it seemed forever out of reach. A difficult read but recommended.
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 point Five Stars
Book Details:
Genre: War Fiction, Literary Sagas, Historical Literary Fiction
Publisher: Bookouture
ASIN: B09RK9ZWKR
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: April 28, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):
The Author: Shari J. Ryan is a USA Today Bestselling Author of Women’s Fiction, WWII Fiction, and 20th Century Historical Fiction with a focus on the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor.
Shortly after graduation from Johnson & Wales with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, Shari began her career as a graphic artist and freelance writer. She then found her passion for writing books in 2012 after her second son was born. Shari has been slaying words ever since.
With two Rone Awards and over 125k books sold, Shari has hit the USA Today Bestseller List, the Amazon’s Top 100, Barnes & Noble’s Top Ten, and iBooks at number one. Some of Shari’s bestselling books include Last Words, The Other Blue Sky, Unspoken Words and A Heart of Time.
Shari, a lifelong Boston girl, is happily married to her personal hero and US Marine and have two wonderful little boys. For more details about her books, visit: http://www.sharijryan.com
©20222022 V Williams
The Physicists’ Daughter by Mary Anna Evans – #BookReview – #historicalmysteries
The Physicists’ Daughter by Mary Anna Evans
Book Blurb:
New Orleans, 1944.
Sabotage. That’s the word on factory worker Justine Byrne’s mind as she is repeatedly called to weld machine parts that keep failing with no clear cause. Could someone inside the secretive Carbon Division be deliberately undermining the factory’s Allied war efforts?
Raised by her late parents to think logically, she also can’t help wondering just what the oddly shaped carbon gadgets she assembles day after day have to do with the boats the factory builds. When a crane inexplicably crashes to the factory floor, leaving a woman dead, Justine can no longer ignore her nagging fear that German spies are at work within the building, trying to put the factory and its workers out of commission.
Unable to trust anyone—not the charming men vying for her attention, not her unpleasant boss, and not even the women who work beside her—Justine draws on the legacy of her unconventional upbringing to keep her division running and protect her coworkers, her country, and herself from a war that is suddenly very close to home.
His Review:
Justine Byrne was taught welding, trained by her parents. She knew things that most Americans could only dream of. She was given a job at Higgins Industries Carbon Division. She and the people in the division were making parts designed by others that they had never seen assembled into anything. Justine’s parents had been killed because of the technology they helped develop.
Justine is young and lovely and two suitors are attempting to win her heart. One is a spy placed by Germany prior to WW II. The Higgins Plant was hidden in the bayous of southern Louisiana. There was an airfield next to the plant where the top-secret parts were made.
Supervisors at the plant were men with infirmities that kept them from being enlisted in the military. They were usually self-important oofs who lorded over everyone, particularly the women. They made life miserable for the better-looking girls.
Saboteurs were sent in by the Nazi’s to find out what was being made at the plant and also to slow or stop production. This was extremely unusual for a young lady during the war. Parts that were broken in the fabrication were quickly welded by her and production continued.
This tale of the valiant efforts by women hired in all war industries showed the ability of women to do jobs formerly only held by men. The women were being paid more than they had ever been paid before, the same wage as a man doing the same work. Six, ten to twelve-hour days, left them only Sundays to rest and prepare for the following week. The book is very well written and I could not put it down! 4.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars
Book Details:
Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ASIN: B09TGB4BVK
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Physicists’ Daughter [Amazon]
The Author: I’m the author of the upcoming historical suspense novel THE PHYSICISTS’ DAUGHTER and the award-winning Faye Longchamp archaeological mysteries. My thriller, WOUNDED EARTH, is available in print, ebook, and audiobook editions.
I’m a university professor of writing, and I’m also a chemical engineer by training and license, with a degree in engineering physics thrown in for spice. This background came in handy while writing THE PHYSICISTS’ DAUGHTER, which features Justine Byrne, who works at a Rosie-the-Riveter-type job during World War II. I like to describe Justine like this: “The Nazis are no match for the physicists’ daughter.” As for the protagonist of my archaeological mysteries, I’d say, “Faye Longchamp digs up trouble.” If you like strong, smart, independent female protagonists, I think you might like Justine and Faye.
My other fiction includes several short stories, available separately as ebooks, and as a collection in both ebook and print form, called JEWEL BOX: SHORT WORKS BY MARY ANNA EVANS. YOUR NOVEL, DAY BY DAY: A FICTION WRITER’S COMPANION is available for novelists in both ebook and print form.
I am a co-editor with Dr. JC Bernthal of an upcoming book on the bestselling novelist of all time, the BLOOMSBURY HANDBOOK TO AGATHA CHRISTIE. It is very much a labor of love to the Queen of Mystery.
I enjoy reading, writing, teaching, gardening, spending time with my family, cooking, and playing my 7-and-a-half-foot-long monster of a grand piano. For more information on my work, visit http://www.maryannaevans.com.
©2022 – CE Williams – V Williams
Playing With Fire by Mary Burton – #BookReview – Women’s Crime Fiction
Playing With Fire by Mary Burton
Book Blurb:
An unsolved mystery ignites a deadly game of chess in this scorching thriller from New York Times bestselling author Mary Burton.
A year after the infamous arsonist Nero was found dead in one of his latest fires, journalist Darcy Sampson receives a tip that the body found at the scene wasn’t Nero at all. Determined to solve the case, Darcy heads to her small hometown in Virginia to track Michael Gannon, an arsonist investigator who refuses to believe that Nero is dead.
But when a new series of fires in the area have a remarkable resemblance to the arsonist’s previous work, Darcy and Gannon are in a race against time to put a stop to Nero once and for all.
But Nero is ready and waiting for them, and he intends on teaching both Gannon and Darcy one last, fatal lesson.
His Review:
A firebug is terrorizing the Washington, D.C. area. Michael Gannon is an investigator whose primary mission is to apprehend the perpetrator. This particular criminal flaunts his crimes and leaves a matchbook with a very unique logo to flaunt his abilities.
Nine fires and twelve people died later, the man is identified only by the name “Nero”. The entire D. C. metropolitan area is paralyzed with fear. He always seems to be one step ahead of the investigators. However, in one of the fire scenes, a man found in a fetal position with evidence of the accelerants used on many of the fires leads the coroner to surmise the firebug has been caught in one of his own fires. The fires in the DC area suddenly stop.
Sometimes the worst enemy for investigators and law enforcement are the news people who try to scoop or break the story. The issue with the current string of arsons is a reporter who discloses confidential investigation information to help spark interest in his bylines. The arsonist realizes that the investigation may be getting too close and stops to let the dust clear.
Darcy Sampson is a reporter who decides to leave the DC area and go back to her hometown. Michael Gannon has retired and chooses her hometown as the place he will settle down in retirement. They meet at the strange scene of a fire in her hometown. Gannon’s abrasive demeanor instantly ignites a love/hate relationship.
Nero, the arsonist, misses the fires and the competition between him and Gannon. He happens to choose the same small town for his next fire. The competition is on for another incredible run. Gannon soon realizes that “Nero” the arsonist is certainly not dead. Can the newspaper reporter and Gannon become successful in stopping the arsonist? Fortunes and large properties hang in the balance. This is a fast-paced and gripping novel. Recommended! 4.5 stars – CE Williams
We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.
Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars
Book Details:
Genre: Women’s New Adult & College Fiction, Women’s Psychological Fiction, Women’s Crime Fiction
Publisher: HQ Digital
ASIN: B09W8QYG7C
Print Length: 205 pages
Publication Date: May 6, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Playing With Fire [Amazon.com.uk]
The Author: Mary Burton loves writing suspense, researching law enforcement and forensic procedures, morning walks, baking, books, and tiny dachshunds. She also enjoys hunting down serial killers, which she does in her New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels of suspense and romance. Library Journal has compared her work to that of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner, and Fresh Fiction likened her writing to that of James Patterson.
Mary is routinely featured among the top twenty writers in Amazon’s Author Rankings for romantic suspense, and her recent novel The Last Move claimed the number ten fiction slot in the Kindle eBooks Store.
Research is a favorite part of Mary’s day. She never tires of learning more about police work, evidence collection and analysis. She’s known for taking a hands-on approach, whether it means interviews with professionals in the field, forensic seminars or lessons at the firing range.
A Richmond native, Mary has lived there for most of her life. She is a graduate of Virginia’s Hollins University and worked in marketing before she began writing full time. Her first book was published in 2000 and she’s now the author of thirty-four published novels, five novellas and four works of contemporary women’s fiction written as Mary Ellen Taylor.
A member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., and Romance Writers of America, Mary is known for creating multiple suspense stories connected by characters, such as her recent The Forgotten Files novels. Her new book, Her Last Word, and The Last Move, break that mold.
When not traveling for research or visiting with readers at bookstores, book festivals and conferences, Mary remains very much a homebody. She and her husband spend time alternately enjoying and lamenting their empty nest and spoiling their four-legged babies Buddy, Bella and Tiki.
©2022 CE Williams – V Williams
Rosepoint Publishing 