Barnes & Noble – Page 29 – Rosepoint Publishing

A Line in the Sand by Kevin Powers – #BookReview – Political Thrillers & Suspense

Book Blurb:

In this “spellbinding and totally original thriller” (Philipp Meyer, author of The Son) a lonely veteran’s gruesome discovery throws him right into the face of danger as a twisted investigation unravels the secrets of his dark past.

One early morning on a Norfolk beach in Virginia, a dead body is discovered by a man taking his daily swim—Arman Bajalan, formerly an interpreter in Iraq. After narrowly surviving an assassination attempt that killed his wife and child, Arman has been given lonely sanctuary in the US as a maintenance worker at the Sea Breeze Motel. Now, convinced that the body is connected to his past, he knows he is still not safe.

Seasoned detective Catherine Wheel and her newly minted partner have little to go on beyond a bus ticket in the dead man’s pocket. It leads them to Sally Ewell, a local journalist as grief-stricken as Arman is by the Iraq War, who is investigating a corporation on the cusp of landing a multi-billion-dollar government defense contract.

As victims mount around Arman, taking the team down wrong turns and towards startling evidence, they find themselves in a race, committed to unraveling the truth and keeping Arman alive—even if it costs them absolutely everything.

His Review:

Life can be short in third-world countries. Arman had a lovely wife and daughter in Afghanistan during the war. He received fair compensation as an interpreter for the U.S. military. However, he lost both of them during the conflict and would never forgive himself for not staying there to protect them.

Sally was stationed in Afghanistan at the time and they became good comrades and associates. With his family gone and nobody left in his home country, he emigrated to the United States and worked as an informant with law enforcement. Sally considers him one of her best assets. Her record is exemplary and her boss is jealous of her successes and wants her fired from the police force.

People die with an alarming frequency in a usually quiet seaside town on the east coast. Sally realizes that her success in catching criminals is directly related to the intel that Arman provides. They have a mutual respect and admiration for each other; two loners navigating the sea of life with constant danger.

Kevin Powers presents the life of drug dealers and immigrants who are forced to become involved with them by necessity. Losing an entire family during a war and then being required to become engaged in illegal activities to survive is harsh. The refugee is subjected to the same pressures that the war placed upon he and his family in his own country. Eye-opening and an engaging read. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Political Thrillers & Suspense, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Military Thrillers
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
ASIN: B0BD4G2Y5M
Print Length: 369 pages
Publication Date: May 16, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Kevin Powers is the author of The Yellow Birds, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Guardian First Book Award, and was a National Book Award Finalist. He was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, and holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was a Michener Fellow in Poetry. He served in the US Army in 2004 and 2005 in Iraq, where he was deployed as a machine gunner in Mosul and Tal Afar.

Have a good Weekend!

Flop Dead Gorgeous by David Rosenfelt – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

An Andy Carpenter Mystery Book 27

in Animal Fiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Lights, camera, action in bestselling author David Rosenfelt’s Flop Dead Gorgeous, as Andy Carpenter goes bicoastal to prove an old friend’s innocence.

Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter remembers every dog that’s come through the Tara Foundation’s doors, but the most well-known alum of the dog rescue organization that Andy founded in Paterson, New Jersey, may be Mamie. Adopted by famous actress Jenny Nichols—Andy’s high school girlfriend—the miniature French poodle is now practically a starlet in her own right.

Andy doesn’t hold it against his friend. In fact, he and his wife, Laurie, have dinner with Jenny while she’s in town filming her next big hit. But after an eventful meal, there’s a plot twist the next morning that none of them see coming: Jenny’s costar is found dead, a knife in his back. It’s not long before Jenny is arrested for the murder and finds herself in need of Andy’s legal services.

While Mamie becomes reacquainted with Tara, Andy’s golden retriever, Andy digs into the lives of the rich and famous.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

My Review:

Attorney Andy Carpenter is very wealthy and retired. Or at least he’s worked very hard at retiring, but it seems something always comes up that touches him personally and he has to, absolutely must, be involved in their defense.

This time, though, it really is personal, as the accused is an old high school flame, now a well-known movie star, Jenny Nichols. When back in Paterson, she adopted a mini-poodle from Andy’s Tara Foundation. So don’t you know he has an investment in seeing her found not guilty.

Andy has an amazing team, including his wife, an ex-cop and her K-Team which includes Corey and his retired police dog Simon Garfunkel. There are others, of course, including Marcus Clark, who is far more vocal this time than in previous installments. All work beautifully to round out an all-star cast of characters you come to know and love.

Now comes all the grunt work, meetings, assignments, and investigation. If Jenny didn’t do it, who did? Each well-developed character gets to shine, including the dogs—and we do love the dogs!

Andy is full of his snarky sense of humor as they weave through threads, twists, and misdirections.

These stories aren’t simple, they develop layers not always initially satisfied. I was surprised at the courtroom outcome this time. I don’t ever remember such a development before but remind you that these stories are all different. Author Rosenfelt always presents a new wrinkle.

Remarkable this is Book #27 and can still be fresh and unique. I’ve read or listened to most of this series and often fall back on an audiobook I might have missed, including my last Holy Chow. I love the banter, the investigation, and the courtroom footwork. This is one of my favorite series and I must assume yours as well. If not—check it out!

I received a complimentary review copy of this uncorrected digital galley from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you, thank you! These are my honest thoughts and, as usual, looking for the next installment.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Traditional Detective Mysteries
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0B9KV1T2L
Print Length: 272 pages
Publication Date: July 4, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Flop Dead Gorgeous [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: David Rosenfelt, a native of Paterson, New Jersey, is a graduate of NYU. He was the former marketing president for Tri-Star Pictures before becoming a writer of novels and screenplays. “Open And Shut” was his first novel; “First Degree,” his second novel, was named a best book of 2003 by Publishers Weekly. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and 35 dogs.

#TuesdayBookBlog

North of Nowhere: A Thriller by Allison Brennan – #BookReview – #crimethrillers

Book Blurb:

New York Times bestseller Allison Brennan’s latest standalone is an unputdownable race to the dramatic finish.

After five years in hiding from their murderous father, the day Kristen and Ryan McIntyre have been dreading has arrived: Boyd McIntyre, head of a Los Angeles crime family, has at last tracked his kids to a small Montana town and is minutes away from kidnapping them. They barely escape in a small plane, but gunfire hits the fuel line. The pilot, a man who has been raising them as his own, manages to crash land in the middle of the Montana wilderness. The siblings hike deep into the woods, searching desperately for safety—unaware of the severity of the approaching storm.

Boyd’s sister Ruby left Los Angeles for the Army years ago, cutting off contact in order to help keep her niece and nephew safe and free from the horrors of the McIntyre clan. So when she gets an emergency call that the plane has gone down with the kids inside, she drops everything to try save them.

As the storm builds, Ruby isn’t the only person looking for them. Boyd has hired an expert tracker to find and bring them home. And rancher Nick Lorenzo, who knows these mountains better than anyone and doesn’t understand why the kids are running, is on their trail too.

But there is a greater threat to Kristen and Ryan out there. More volatile than the incoming blizzard, more dangerous than the family they ran from or the natural predators they could encounter. Who finds them first could determine if they live or die. . .

His Review:

How dare Tony take Kristen and Ryan in his plane and attempt to get to Ennis, Montana! Their father, Boyd Mc Intyre, is not someone to be trifled with. Tony is trying to protect the children from their father and particularly their grandmother, who is a woman with no discernable sympathy or soul.

As Tony is taxiing the plane for takeoff a sharpshooter hits him but he is determined to rescue the two children. Then a second shot goes through the aircraft and lodges in Tony’s chest. Gravely wounded he crash lands the plane in Lost Lake. Wounded and unable to help the sixteen and ten-year-olds, they become his rescuers.

Boyd sets out to recover his two kids. The description of the difficulties and terrain is a breathtaking visual of the lovely Montana mountains. Kristen, the oldest, tries her best to save Tony!

This story explores the corruption and lawlessness of the very wealthy and their families. Boyd has no compunction about removing anyone who gets in his way. There is always a lot going on—numerous characters.

The conclusion to the story illuminates the thinking of absurdly rich people with no morals. I was both exasperated and aghast at the cruelty exhibited by this ludicrously rich family. 4 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 Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Disaster Fiction, Military Thrillers, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0B9KX9185
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Print Length: 368 pages
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of three dozen thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and spends all her non-writing time as a sports spectator, chauffeur, and short-order cook for her munchkins. She has a dog, two cats, and three chickens. Allison and her family live in northern California.

Have a Great Sunday

Hidden Beneath by Barbara Ross – #BookReview – #CozyCulinaryMysteries

A Maine Clambake Mystery Book 11

Book Blurb:

Serving up mouthwatering shellfish, the Snowden Family Clambake has become a beloved institution in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. But when new clues rise to the surface five years after the disappearance of Julia Snowden’ s mother’s friend, the family business shifts to sleuthing . . .

Julia and her mother, Jacqueline, have come to the exclusive summer colony of Chipmunk Island to attend a memorial service for Jacqueline’s old friend Ginny, who’s been officially declared dead half a decade after she went out for her daily swim in the harbor and was never seen again. But something seems fishy at the service—especially with the ladies of the Wednesday Club. As Julia and Jacqueline begin looking into Ginny’s cold case, a present-day murder stirs the pot, and mother and daughter must dive into the deep end to get to the bottom of both mysteries . . .

My Review:

One of my favorite series and the one that has me planning a trip to Bar Harbor. (I’ll be looking for lobster.) Julia lives with her sister and mother where they annually set up a clambake with hungry customers ferried in on a set schedule.

In this installment, a friend of her mother went missing five years previous and has now been declared dead. There is to be a memorial service on the small island where she lived and is said to have gone missing following her routine afternoon swim. Something goes weird, however, when Julia’s mother, who has been declared executor of the will reunites with the group.

First, it doesn’t make sense that she was named executor as they had not been close in years. The will involves a complicated division of property and Jacqueline calls on Julia for help in going through everything and delivering what she can to the appropriate recipients.

In the meantime, there are twists and turns, the group with which Jacqueline was involved is quirky, harboring secrets, and obviously hiding clues to her friend’s disappearance as well as an earlier death deemed accidental—not. The storyline goes complicated with sub-stories.

As always, the characters come to life, the support characters both good and bad. There is a new boyfriend for which we’ll reserve judgment. It’s not the complex storyline delivered before as in Installment 9, Shucked Apart. Perhaps I missed the clambake on their Busman’s Harbor property. The mystery and suspense weren’t quite as strong this time.

Still, it’s a lovely series, entertaining, fun and fast read and I’m always looking for the next one.

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: Cozy Culinary Mysteries, Cozy Culinary Mystery, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0BGYV3W33
Print Length: 230 pages
Publication Date: June 27, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at http://www.barbararossauthor.com

Have a great weekend!

When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

– Nominee for Best Fiction (2015)

Book Blurb:

Mahmoud’s passion for his wife Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world—a life of education, work, and comfort—implodes when their country is engulfed in war, and the Taliban rises to power.

Mahmoud, a civil engineer, becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered. Forced to flee Kabul with her three children, Fereiba has one hope to survive: she must find a way to cross Europe and reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness. Exhausted and brokenhearted but undefeated, Fereiba manages to smuggle them as far as Greece. But in a busy market square, their fate takes a frightening turn when her teenage son, Saleem, becomes separated from the rest of the family.

Faced with an impossible choice, Fereiba pushes on with her daughter and baby, while Saleem falls into the shadowy underground network of undocumented Afghans who haunt the streets of Europe’s capitals. Across the continent Fereiba and Saleem struggle to reunite, and ultimately find a place where they can begin to reconstruct their lives.

My Review:

I read this as it was chosen for the March-May read for my local library book club, As the Page Turns. With the exception of one book so far, it would not have been my choice. Sometimes that works well, introducing me to a new author that I’ll enjoy reading.

Fereiba must flee Afghanistan with her two children and a newborn after her husband, a civil engineer, is killed by the Taliban. Life has become untenable and she is hoping to seek asylum in England with a relative. There appears to be little relief or safety, however, on the journey fraught with peril through Turkey, Greece, and Italy.

Most of the storyline is told through the eyes of Fereiba, although towards the latter half of the novel, Saleem, her oldest child, becomes the POV. He is in his teens, but short of street experiences which he will be forced to confront the hard way.

It is a graphically realistic narrative, creating the fear, poverty, and hunger, they face on their journey. It’s dangerous and Fereiba is also faced with the failing health of her newborn son as well as the loss of much of the funds they’d allocated for the crossing.

It’s a slow build-up, facing insurmountable odds and solving one problem, only to be faced with the next. Then, suddenly…

It ends.

I thought it was my cell phone Kindle app and looked forward for the conclusion. In looking for it, however, and reading other reviews we all apparently discovered the same. There is no resolution, no conclusion. The writing style is compelling, if somewhat deliberate and drawn out, but the ending left me high and dry. I assume that was intentional, leaving the reader to understand the struggle faced by refugees. And it’s true, we can’t see a happy ending there.

I received a copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Historical Fiction, Women’s Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow (Reprint edition)
ASIN: B00OY3STN4
Print Length: 389 pages
Publication Date: July 21, 2015
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Nadia Hashimi is a pediatrician turned novelist who draws on her Afghan culture to craft internationally bestselling books for adults as well as young readers. Her novels span generations and continents, taking on themes like forced migration, conflict, poverty, misogyny, colonialism, and addiction. She enjoys conversations with readers of all ages in libraries, book festivals, classrooms, and living rooms. With translations in seventeen languages, she’s connected with readers around the world.

Nadia was born and raised in New York and New Jersey. Both her parents were born in Afghanistan and left in the early 1970s, before the Soviet invasion. Her mother, granddaughter of a notable Afghan poet, traveled to Europe to obtain a Master’s degree in civil engineering and her father came to the United States, where he worked hard to fulfill his American dream and build a new, brighter life for his immediate and extended family. Nadia was fortunate to be surrounded by a large family of aunts, uncles and cousins, keeping the Afghan culture an integral part of their daily lives.

Nadia graduated from Brandeis University with degrees in Middle Eastern Studies and Biology. She studied medicine in Brooklyn, New York, and then completed her pediatric residency training at NYU and Bellevue hospitals before moving to Maryland with her husband. On days off from a busy emergency room and after years of avid reading, she began crafting stories that drew on her heritage and the complex experiences of Afghans.

In 2003, she made her first trip to Afghanistan with her parents who had not returned to their homeland since leaving in the 1970s. She continues to serve on boards of organizations committed to educating and nurturing Afghanistan’s most vulnerable children and empowering the female leaders of tomorrow. She is a member of the US-Afghan Women’s Council and an advisor to Kallion, an organization that seeks to elevate leadership through humanities. Locally, she serves as a Montgomery County health care commissioner and organizing committee member of the Gaithersburg Book Festival.

She and her husband are the beaming parents of four curious, rock star children, an African Grey parrot named Nickel who reminds the kids to brush their teeth, and Justice, the hungriest Rhodesian Ridgeback you’ve ever met.

Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter or via her website (www.nadiahashimi.com) to learn more or request a virtual book club visit. She’s quite social.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Snapshot by Don Keith and George Wallace – #BookReview – #SeaStories

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

(The Hunter Killer Series Book 8)

Book Blurb:

When an international crisis erupts in eastern Russia, the US Navy must race to avoid a nuclear apocalypse.

The Sea of Okhotsk north of the Japanese Home Islands is a cold and unforgiving place. Its icy, dark waters can change from a glass-smooth calm into a raging maelstrom in a heartbeat. The shores surrounding the sea, home to Siberian tigers and prowling wolf packs, are equally forbidding. Far from Mother Russia, beyond Siberia, it is a mostly forgotten land—even though it is the home of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

It is here that the Children of the Gulags, descendants of Stalin’s infamous prison camps and long-time inhabitants of this harsh land, have slowly maneuvered into position. Their leaders are convinced they can now carve out and lay claim to a homeland of their own. But they must fan the flames of international tension among the Chinese, North Koreans, the Russians, NATO, and the Americans. Pitting them all against each other as the Children attempt to wrest away their new nation from Russia.

Thrust into a simmering conflict that threatens to spill over into nuclear Armageddon, head of US Naval Intelligence Admiral Jon Ward is faced with the impossible task of keeping the peace between nations. Forced into a game of intrigue and sinister political maneuvering, he must utilize the stealthy US submarines, SEALs, and other US assets to extinguish a conflict at the edge of the world—all while trying to give hope to an historically oppressed people in their own dreams of freedom.

Admiral Ward is about to face the toughest mission of his career..and one wrong move could ignite a nuclear war.

His Review:

The “Silent Service” utilizes vessels which ply the sea in secret. Clandestine voyages are essential for the security and safety of every country. Russia has a very sophisticated submarine service. Their equipment and ships are comparable to the United States in many respects. This novel touches upon these services.

The Sea of Okhotsk is considered by Russia to be within their sovereign territory. The United States maintains the 12 mile limit and considers any water beyond the 12 mile limit of any country to be international waters. Russia considers their limit to be 150 miles from their shores. The above-mentioned sea is totally surrounded by Russian lands and is therefore considered part of Mother Russia. Our submarines go into these waters often to monitor our potential enemy.

Henrietta Foster is the Commander of the submarine Gato which routinely enters this sea to protect U.S. interests and to monitor Russian shipping. Russia is not happy about this event. Gato wants to identify some of the more modern anti-submarine warfare systems aboard the Russian submarines. Acoustical equipment can identify most ships around the world by the sounds of the machinery and equipment on the craft.

The Seventh Fleet sends in a task force to test the responses of the Russians. The potential for catastrophic responses by both sides is always a factor. These writers illuminate the problem very well and the novel presents the ever-present danger. I found this book intriguing and exciting as the situation unfolded. I recommend it to anyone interested in world affairs and naval tactics. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Sea Stories, War & Military Action Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
ASIN: B0B1F79QP1
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: May 16, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Authors: [Don Keith] For a complete bio and a list of Don’s books, visit http://www.donkeith.com. Join Don’s mailing list for bonus content and HUNTER KILLER SERIES book updates: https://bit.ly/3otCajd Click FOLLOW for instant notification of new releases. Or visit http://www.wallace-keith.com

Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith has lived in the South all his life and is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Broadcast and Film. As a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting and was also the first winner of Troy University’s Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don was twice named Billboard Magazine “Radio Personality of the Year.” His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, received the Alabama Library Association’s “Fiction of the Year” award. He has since published more than thirty-five books, fiction and non-fiction, including several nationally best-selling thrillers. One of them, FIRING POINT, was the basis for the hit motion picture HUNTER KILLER, starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman.

His writing has also appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, CQ Magazine, The American Legion Magazine, The K9YA Telegraph, and The Irish Times. He has also appeared on scores of TV shows from Fox Nation to Blaze TV to CSPAN’s “Book TV.” He is also a partner in a film production company, Fig Tree Media Group, and was writer and producer of the documentary COLORS OF CHARACTER, based on his biography, DREAM ON. He also has written several scripts and has other projects in various stages of pre-production for movies and television.

Don frequently conducts seminars and writing workshops around the country and is an in-demand public speaker.

Among other topics, Don has written extensively about World War II history. He sponsors the UNTOLD MILLIONS Project, an effort to encourage the capture and publication of eyewitness accounts of major historical events such as the Great Depression, World War II and other wars, the space program, the Civil Rights struggle, and more. The project web site is http://www.untoldmillions.net.

Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. Contact him at don@donkeith.com. Don’s web site is www.donkeith.com.

George Wallace [Goodreads] Born and raised in Eastern Ohio, Commander Wallace received his commission in the US Navy and a degree in engineering from The Ohio State University. After the obligatory and memorable interview with Admiral Rickover, he was accepted into the nuclear power and submarine communities. He served on two of Admiral Rickover’s famous “Forty One for Freedom”, the USS John Adams SSBN 620 and the USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624, during which time he made nine one-hundred-day deterrent patrols through the height of the Cold War.

Commander Wallace served as Executive Officer on the Sturgeon class nuclear attack submarine Spadefish. Spadefish and all her sisters were decommissioned during the downsizing that occurred in the 1990′s. The passing of that great ship served as the inspiration for “Final Bearing.”

Commander Wallace then commanded the Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine USS Houston SSN 713 from February 1990 to August 1992. During this tour of duty he worked extensively with the SEAL community developing SEAL/submarine tactics. Under his command, the Houston was awarded the CIA Meritorious Unit Citation.

Commander George Wallace retired to the civilian business world in 1995, after twenty-two years of service on nuclear submarines.

Commander Wallace lives with his wife, Penny, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Happy Mother's Day

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn – #AudiobookReview – #WWIIHistoricalFiction

nominee

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet librarian who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.

In the snowbound city of Kiev, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper—a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC—until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness. But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

My Review:

Yes, it’s true that I’ve become a die-hard fan of Kate Quinn’s solidly amazing female historical protagonists—and BONUS—based on true stories!

I always appreciate her notes regarding the extensive and fascinating research into the woman that becomes the legend. And then Kate performs her magic.

In this case, the storyline surrounds the growth of young Mila Pavlichenko from single mother to storied war sniper. Mila carefully strives to be both mother and father to her young son after she splits from a domineering, (mentally) abusive husband. Thinking that a young man should be taught about weapons as a father would do his son, she seeks to learn enough about guns that she can share the respect as well as the skill with him.

But she quickly learns she is good at it.

Very good.

And when war with Hitler finds Russia, she joins the fight—not as a nurse or admin assistant—but as a sniper and is soon known as Lady Death.

While she decries her count, the record of 300 does not go unnoticed, by either her own country or the Nazis. It is decided she might be better (safer) sent with a delegation to the US in an effort to enlist the efforts to set up another front.

The characters are amazing. From Mila to her lovers (the soon-to-be ex, the perfect foil), as well as the snippets of Eleanor Roosevelt. The descriptions of the isolation, the targets, the atmosphere draws you in.

Much of the narrative is posed as fiction and then juxtaposed against a “memoir” that sounds directly from Mila’s pen. The difference in interpretation of the event produces a few lighter moments although this storyline presents a somber telling devoid of much of the humor found in either The Rose Code or The Huntress. I learned as much about war and what women are capable of in this as the former two novels.

I listened to The Huntress in January and was totally sold on this author’s dedication to writing strong and dedicated women warriors. They are gripping and engaging entertainment and I can’t wait until the next one. The narrator is amazing.

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

Book Details:

Genre: World War II Historical Fiction, War & Military Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B09F5312NL
Listening Length: 12 hrs 51 mins
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Diamond Eye [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.

The Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld is an experienced audiobook narrator and voice-over actress based in New York City. Raised in New Zealand and France, she is highly skilled with accents and dialects, and many of her books have been narrated entirely in accents other than her own. In addition to audiobooks, Saskia’s voice can be heard in animation, video games, and commercials. She attributes her love and understanding of reading books aloud to coming from a large family where audiobooks were the only way to get through car rides without fighting! Visit saskiamaarleveld.com to learn more.

#ThrowbackThursday

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard – #BookReview – #psychologicalthrillers

Book Blurb:

Summer and Leo would do anything for each other. Inspired by the way each has had to carve her place in a hostile and unforgiving world, and united by the call of the open road, they travel around sunny California in Summer’s tricked-out Land Cruiser. It’s not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they crave from the painful pasts they’ve left behind. But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, Summer is a skilled pickpocket, a small-time thief, and a con artist—and Leo, determined to pay her own way, has learned a trick or two.

Eager for a big score, Leo catches in her crosshairs Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. When her charm wins him over, Leo is rewarded with an invitation to his private island off the California coastline for a night of fabulous excess. She eagerly anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and endless stories to share with Summer.

Instead, Leo disappears.

On her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what really happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo—she’s not on the island as far as they know. Plus, there was only one way on the island—and no way off—for the coming days. Trapped in a scheme she helped initiate, could Summer have met her match?

His Review:

What entertainment can a billionaire not afford? Michael is very handsome and his blue eyes bewitch young women. Leo is immediately smitten and follows him to his island retreat. Summer, her best friend, wonders what happened to this free spirit and discovers that Leo may have gone to the recluses’ island.

Leo is honored and thrilled that Michael would choose her to go to his island retreat and offer to paint her portrait. His wall is filled with smiling, lovely young ladies. Summer, however, is not convinced that this is a good idea. Her best friend is now incommunicado and she goes to the island to find her friend.

Javier is fiercely loyal to Michael and will protect him with his life. All of the ladies who visit Michael on the island are approved by Javier as there is a danger and potential loss of livelihood if Michael’s secrets are revealed. Summer coming to the island without a real invitation is clearly troubling!

Wendy Heard has developed a fluid and frightening tale of intrigue and suspense off the California coast. The primary lesson of this tale is: “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Enjoy the narrative and its’ myriad twists. 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: Women’s Psychological Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN-10: ‎ 0593599314
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0593599310
ASIN: B0BF8PYCMX
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: June 13, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Wendy Heard is the author of acclaimed suspense and thrillers for adults and teens, including THE KILL CLUB, SHE’S TOO PRETTY TO BURN, and DEAD END GIRLS. Wendy has spent most of her life in Los Angeles, California, which is on fire more than she would honestly prefer, and can often be found haunting local hiking trails and bookstores. She loves all things vintage and has a collection of thrillers and adventure books from the 80s. You can access free short stories and an interactive fiction game through her newsletter at www.wendyheard.com.