#blogger – Page 30 – Rosepoint Publishing

12 Coffins by Lewis Pennington #BookReview #Crime & MysteryScienceFiction

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Brothers Cody and Drew Edwards and their gang of mischievous friends are looking for excitement in their sleepy little southern town through games of make-believe and even fake seances. It is only when they venture into a supposedly haunted coffin factory that they get more than they had hoped for. When they discover that lying in the coffins grants them paranormal abilities, they begin a mysterious journey involving murder, deceit, and greed along with the power to prevent one of the nation’s most devastating events. Determined to use their power for good, they realize that every action they take is accompanied by harrowing consequences. In this crucible of danger and discovery, family bonds and friendships are tested, and true strength of character is revealed. The stakes couldn’t be higher, but neither could their determination.

My Review:

Hoo boy! I opened a whole new genre for myself this time, not just a YA but a Teen & Young Adult Paranormal & Urban Fantasy. That’s a mouthful, huh? but this book, as weird as the plot is, plays with your mind, conjures visions, and reminds you even if not male, what it was like to be a youngster with boundless imagination.

I loved the boys, particularly the older boy, Drew. He was the perfect big brother to Cody but it was Cody’s POV that powered the storyline. Opening with the solemn funeral procession for Kennedy, Cody sets the stage for the modest beginnings of their youth with their grandmother while their widowed mother studied to become an anesthetist. A lovely property with neighbor kids about their age formed a powerful bond back when the kids played outside together until called for supper.

It was a sad time for the nation and made a profound impact on the kids. So it’s perfectly plausible that the kids might incorporate the newly discovered “Fletcher and Son Coffin Company during the time the schools were closed in their daring plans. And, learning something about Drew, might also be possible, given his bravado, that Drew might challenge himself (with his neighbor gang as witnesses) to enter the building…late at night.

Not just Drew, there are more support characters you come to love, Mr. Merriweather for one (though the Capuchin monkey not so much). There are bad guys who are sincerely bad.

I can’t say too much more about the well-plotted and paced tale, just to say that it’s full of suspense, fun, and mystery. Sweet the clever and calm way he deals with his young and sincere brother with the brash idea.

The CE read The Memory Stones, the author’s time travel fiction back in June of 2021 and said, “The characters are engaging, endearing, and feel real” and I totally concur. A totally different kind of read for me, but a sweet one. You don’t have to be a teen to enjoy this one, just let your inner child or imagination connect.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These opinions are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Crime & Mystery Science Fiction, Teen & Young Adult Paranormal & Urban Fantasy eBooks, Paranormal Suspense
Publisher: Silver Lining Publishing
ASIN: B0CYXSKD6F
Print Length: 322 pages
Publication Date: June 13, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Lewis Pennington graduated from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina with a degree in Graphic Design and Marketing. Upon graduation, he moved to New York City where he began his career with the now-defunct Science Fiction Magazine Omni Magazine. After decades of navigating through the corporate marketing maze, he is now focusing on his next chapter in life–providing readers with inspirational fiction. Lewis and his family live in Asheville, North Carolina. [Goodreads]

Website

https://lewispennington.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/chrispennington

Have a great day!

The Comfort of Ghosts: Maisie Dobbs Book 18 by Jacqueline Winspear #AudiobookReview #HistoricalMysteries

in Historical Mysteries

Book Blurb:

A MILESTONE IN HISTORICAL MYSTERY FICTION AS MAISIE DOBBS TAKES HER FINAL BOW

London, 1945: Four adolescent orphans with a dark wartime history are squatting in a vacant Belgravia mansion—the owners having fled London under heavy Luftwaffe bombing. Psychologist and Investigator Maisie Dobbs visits the mansion on behalf of the owners and discovers that a demobilized soldier, gravely ill and reeling from his experiences overseas, has taken shelter with the group.

aisie’s quest to bring comfort to the youngsters and the ailing soldier brings to light a decades-old mystery concerning Maisie’s first husband, James Compton, who was killed while piloting an experimental fighter aircraft. As Maisie unravels the threads of her dead husband’s life, she is forced to examine her own painful past and question beliefs she has always accepted as true.

The award-winning Maisie Dobbs series has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers, audiences drawn to a woman who is of her time, yet familiar in ours—and who inspires with her resilience and capacity for endurance. This final assignment of her own choosing not only opens a new future for Maisie and her family, but serves as a fascinating portrayal of the challenges facing the people of Britain at the close of the Second World War.

My Review:

The eighteenth in the series and I didn’t realize when I got it, intended to be the last. As I read it, however, it seemed an obvious goodbye; farewell.

This is one of those series where the protagonist actually ages with the years, beginning in 2003 as a teen in the early twentieth century and ending in 2024 having lived through two world wars. This book ends with the end of WWII in 1945, post-war UK.

The author does a beautiful job of molding a young woman through her service as a young maid to becoming a nurse during the war and extending her expertise to becoming a private investigator, psychologist. She has endured love and lost it, experienced the death of both husband and child but she never turned inward, instead becoming a compassionate support for post-war individuals and their stories.

This story is about the discovery of children who, like many post-war individuals, discovered empty or abandoned homes in which to squat. The children eventually tell a harrowing story of the service to their country they were to execute should there have been an invasion of the English shores. It’s a shocking story now becoming familiar. A sad testament to the use of one last desperate commodity.

Maisie also begins to uncover secrets tied to her own past when yet another revelation is made that has her digging into the death of her first husband. The dual plot line leads to doors that will open to a peaceful future and quell heartaches she’s failed to conquer. A lovely conclusion pulling together threads not closed prior to Book 18.

Back in February 2022, I read To Die But Once and greatly enjoyed it, vowed to read more in the series. It’s a great historical novel with the mystery well drawn and satisfying then in the conclusion. I can recommend to any who enjoys a detective story authentically mixed with WWII wartime drama.

This installment signals the end of an era, sad to say of a lovely series that draws you in and invests in the characters so you might very well wish to begin with Book 1. The narrator does an emotional job of it, conveying her own goodbye.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Women Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0CQZ3TJG1
Listening Length: 10 hrs 6 mins
Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy
Publication Date: June 4, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Comfort of Ghosts [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author:

Jacqueline Winspear is the author of eighteen novels in the award-winning, New York Times, National and International bestselling series featuring psychologist-investigator Maisie Dobbs. In addition, Jacqueline’s 2023 non-series novel, The White Lady was a New York Times and National bestseller, and her 2014 WW1 novel, The Care and Management of Lies, was again a New York Times and National bestseller, as well as a Dayton Literary Peace Prize finalist. Jacqueline has also published two non-fiction books, What Would Maisie Do? and an Edgar-nominated memoir, This Time Next Year We’ll Be Laughing. Jacqueline’s work encompasses essays and journalism covering a wide range of subjects, from women working in wildfire management to articles on international education and social history. [Amazon]

Jacqueline Winspear was born and raised in the county of Kent, England. Following higher education at the University of London’s Institute of Education, Jacqueline worked in academic publishing, in higher education and in marketing communications in the UK.

She emigrated to the United States in 1990, and while working in business and as a personal / professional coach, Jacqueline embarked upon a life-long dream to be a writer.

A regular contributor to journals covering international education, Jacqueline has published articles in women’s magazines and has also recorded her essays for KQED radio in San Francisco. She currently divides her time between Ojai and the San Francisco Bay Area and is a regular visitor to the United Kingdom and Europe.

Jacqueline is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, Among the Mad, and An Incomplete Revenge, and other nationally bestselling Maisie Dobbs novels. She has won numerous awards for her work, including the Agatha, Alex, and Macavity awards for the first book in the series, Maisie Dobbs, which was also nominated for the Edgar Award for best novel and was a New York Times Notable Book. [Goodreads]

The Narrator: Orlagh Cassidy is an American actress, both parents from Dublin, Ireland. She works in Theatre, Television and Film and has recorded numerous award winning audiobooks and commercials. She can be seen in ‘St. Vincent’ with Bill Murray as well many guest starring roles on ‘Homeland’, ‘Billions’, ‘Good Wife’, ‘Elementary’ and ‘The Mysteries Of Laura’. She has worked in New York theatre at MTC, The Public Theatre, MCC, Origin Theatre Company and The Irish Rep where she received a Drama Desk nomination for the role of ‘Mamie’ in the ‘The Field’ in 2007. She is a recipient of The Princess Grace Foundation Award and has a BFA from SUNY Purchase.

City Gone Askew by Matt Cost #BookReview #InternationalMystery&Crime

A Brooklyn 8 Ballo Mystery Book 2

Blurb:

Award-winning author Matt Cost brings us back to Brooklyn in the Roaring ’20s and Hungarian private eye, 8 Ballo, who is hired by Theda Lazar Vogel to prove that her husband was murdered. His colorful cast of friends returns, as well as legendary figures such as Dorothy Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Bugsy Siegel, and Lucky Luciano.

8 discovers that a priceless Aquila—an ancient eagle Roman standard carried into battle 2,000 years ago—was stolen from Karl Vogel when he was killed. This provides ties to a secret German organization known as the Batavi. But Vogel was also involved in the eugenics movement centered in Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island, as well as being involved with the Ku Klux Klan.

As 8 peels back layers of the underbelly of 1920s Brooklyn, the more complicated and dangerous it becomes for him and those who are important to him. What is happening at Cold Spring Harbor with Herman Wall and the eugenics movement? Who are the mysterious Germans threatening 8? And what is the identity of the charismatic Grand Cyclops? 8 must race against time to uncover the truth and put a stop to the most chilling triumvirate ever conceived.

His Review:

The Aquila carried into battle by the Romans is a gold and silver eagle about 1 foot tall. A barbaric Germanic tribe led by a former Roman officer took it when they defeated the Romans. Theda Vogel’s husband Karl got it during the occupation of Germany after the Second World War. Theda knows it is priceless and wants it back. 8 Ballo also needs to identify her husband’s killers.

Youn City Gone Askew by Matt Cost g ladies are apparently becoming part of a eugenics movement that became common in many large cities in the United States during this time. 8 Ballo is enraged by this thoughtless crime.

Matt Cost has explored these problems with rare insight. 8 works to help the well-healed maintain a distance from crime and corruption. At the same time, he also has some major allies in Bugsy Siegel and other major crime heads. The country is being controlled by White Supremacists and crooked public officials.

This book is very enlightening and will expand public understanding of those turbulent times. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

I read Book 1 of this series back in April last year and greatly enjoyed. The series tackles a tough historical period for the country as well as the world. Many thanks to the author for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: International Mystery & Crime, Historical Mysteries, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Encircle Publications
ISBN-10: ‎ 1645995445
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1645995449
ASIN: B0D3SXMD59
Print Length: 304 pages pages
Publication Date: July 31, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Over the years, [Matthew Langdon] Cost has owned a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. He has also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable.

During those years, since age eight actually, the true passion has been writing. I Am Cuba: Fidel Castro and the Cuban Revolution (Encircle Publications, March, 2020) was his first traditionally published novel.

Mainely Power is the first of the Mainely Mystery trilogy featuring private detective Goff Langdon. This will be followed by Mainely Fear (coming in December, 2020), and Mainely Money (to be released in May, 2021).

Cost now lives in Brunswick, Maine, with his wife, Harper. There are four grown children: Brittany, Pearson, Miranda, and Ryan. A chocolate Lab and a basset hound round out the mix. He now spends his days at the computer, writing.

Enjoy Your Sunday

Daughter of Mine: A Novel by Megan Miranda – #AudiobookReview – #psychologicalthrillers

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Book Blurb:

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake’s longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she’s warily drawn back to the town—and people—she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel’s not the only relic of the past to return: a drought has descended on the region, and as the water level in the lake drops, long-hidden secrets begin to emerge…including evidence that may help finally explain the mystery of her mother’s disappearance.

Riveting and suspenseful, Daughter of Mine is Megan Miranda’s best novel yet, filled with “delicious twists, dark secrets, and a deadly past” (Ashley Elston, New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins) that will keep you listening late into the night.

My Review:

Not my first dance with Megan Miranda and her style of writing–slow burn dark family secrets held tightly to the chest with closed fists and set determined jaw. I found much the same in The Last to Vanish.

The first and most obvious twist in this novel is the way the author sets out the timeline and chapters, fusing Hazel Sharp’s story with an area-wide ongoing drought and beginning each chapter with the number of days without rain. Indeed, it’s changing the landscape of her childhood home and Mirror Lake is now revealing secrets that directly impact her.

Hazel has returned after her father dies to discover, and to her brother’s shock, that he left his home and property to her—not them. She is bewildered; they are disgusted. It’s not as if they were ever close as step-siblings.

Her father was a respected law enforcement officer of the community when her mother up and left—never to return. The devastation and feelings of abandonment have never really left. But the cars being exposed by receding waters have opened a shocking new twist to the story—what really happened to her mother?

Clever, the way the chapters add atmospheric tension to the plot as Hazel grapples with her brothers over the home and now whether or not her dad might have had something to do with her mother’s disappearance. The heat causes rise to short tempers; everyone is on edge.

While there was interest in the storyline, I could not fully engage with Hazel nor wrap my head around the backstories of her brothers…(I don’t remember them ever being designated as “step”). So many family secrets, not much of a bond. She and her mother came rather late in their family story.

Lose attention until the next little twist, then re-engage. It’s a weird family dynamic. Once the rain begins the pace rushes into denouement and it’s over. Eh, okay. If you are an MM fan, then you may find this of interest with the way she’s noted chapter headings or you appreciate her build of tension. I just needed it to move a little faster, I guess.

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: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0C7YD57GS
Listening Length: 10 hrs 27 mins
Narrator: Inés del Castillo
Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Daughter of Mine [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Megan Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls; The Perfect Stranger; The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick; The Girl from Widow Hills; Such a Quiet Place; and The Last to Vanish. She has also written several books for young adults. She grew up in New Jersey, graduated from MIT, and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.

Her next book, The Only Survivors, will be published on April 11th, 2023.

Follow @MeganLMiranda on Instagram, @AuthorMeganMiranda on Facebook, or visit http://www.meganmiranda.com

Audiobook Review

Headphones courtesy Racool Studio

Knee High by the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Murder by Month Mystery Book 3

Book Blurb:

Independence Day comes with fireworks, a budding romance, and hometown murder in this sharp and witty mystery by Edgar Award–nominated author Jess Lourey.

When Fourth of July weekend coincides with Wenonga Days—the annual celebration of a locally famous Ojibwe leader—the town of Battle Lake double-dips on the tourist trade. This year the hullabaloo hasn’t even started and there’s already a story for reporter Mira James.

The Chief Wenonga statue has disappeared, leaving behind drops of human blood and a big question for Mira: How and why would anyone steal a twenty-three-foot monument? Things go from curious to worse when a local man is kidnapped. And from worse to downright gruesome when a corpse is found in the lakeside cabin of a horticultural hottie Mira’s been crushing on from afar.

Mira has no choice but to trail a statue thief, find a missing person, and clear an earthy dreamboat’s name from a murder charge. Not to mention risk her own life to unmask a cold-blooded killer.

My Review:

Yes, it’s Book 3 of the series, and no, I haven’t read the first or second, but see there are quite a number of them, changing slightly from Mystery (number) to Romcom Mystery (number). This one caught my eye because of the saying; it’s one very familiar in our area as well and the timing was perfect—I read it over the July 4^th long weekend.

“Farm mythology declared that if the corn was knee high by the Fourth of July, it’d be a bumper crop.”

Mira as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in the tiny town of Battle Lake is rather a scatterbrain and I don’t remember exactly how she got the position as she is also supposed to be the local librarian. In a town that size, I suspect they don’t necessarily have to be there all the time as Mira seems free to go about her investigation with little problem.

The focus this installment is the theft of the Chief Wenonga statue, some 23’ of him, leaving behind a base with obvious blood drops. I like the atmospheric location of the little town in Minnesota, apparently an actual lake town, and wonder how they feel about the way they are portrayed in the series.

I thought it was an interesting storyline, although I wondered about the July weather sounding more like Florida than Minnesota, and the quirky characters made for some snappy, snarky dialogue. It wasn’t so much the mystery as the writing style, phrases, colloquial words I hadn’t seen or heard in a long, long time that gave me a chuckle and kept me turning pages.

On the whole, a rather simplistic cozy with a side focus on gardening and animals (dog and cat) rather than food and recipes and very light on the romcom side of cozy. Thank you!

I enjoyed the tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and found it to be a fast, easy read. Yes, it bends toward silly but I see these are rereleases of books published much earlier with the month theme. Okay, then I’ll have to check out August Moon—whenever it’s released—and give this one 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

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: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Heist Thrillers, Mystery Romance, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ASIN: B0CQMJM931
Print Length: 220 pages
Publication Date: June 25, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Jess Lourey writes about secrets.

She’s the Amazon Charts bestselling, Edgar-nominated, ITW Thriller, Anthony, and Minnesota Book Award-winning author of young adult, magical realism, crime fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books. She’s a retired professor of writing and sociology, a recipient of The Loft’s Excellence in Teaching fellowship, and a TEDx presenter (check out her TEDx Talk to discover the surprising inspiration behind MAY DAY, her first published novel).

She lives in Minneapolis with a rotating batch of foster kittens (and occasional foster puppies, but man are those goobers a lot of work). Drop by jessicalourey.com to find out more.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer #AudiobookReview #Botony&Plants

Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

in Native American Demographic Studies

Book Blurb:

As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.

In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as “the younger brothers of creation”. As she explores these themes, she circles toward a central argument: The awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.

My Review:

Okay, another non-fiction for the year, but one beautifully and eloquently told by an esteemed professor. As a botanist and daughter of indigenous peoples, her heart and mind are very closely associated with the earth and all her gifts. Indeed, a central theme of the book is reciprocity, second only to gratitude, in which much time and celebration is given to Mother Earth and her abundant gifts acknowledged.

Beautifully written, filled with prose, the novel reflects her deeply rooted love of nature and the tools mankind uses and/or continues to overlook or squander.

So many interesting chapters, so much to learn, so many mysteries exposed in a book that carefully folds together the science and spirit of how and why everything we see has a reason.

I’ve often heard the old adage that a natural remedy is often and miraculously found near a poisonous one. I was told to beware of the poison ivy in my fairy garden, but I don’t have any Jewelweed down there, nor have I been in contact with the nasty ivy.

I loved the chapter on the “Three Sisters”, the combination of beans, squash, and corn, but really that is just one example of symbiotic plants and a whole study in itself. I also loved learning all about the maple trees of the Great Lakes region as we are still fairly new to the area and so much to learn. The cycle of the trees is a fascination as well.

Of course, the indigenous sensibilities permeate throughout the book, adding an aesthetic or ethereal quality to the prose. If there was some duplication or overly extended explanation of something that might have been mentioned before, that was okay with me. At my age, it doesn’t hurt to hear or read it more than once.

The author narrated the audiobook and, I thought, did a lovely job of it. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my own opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Indigenous Demographic Studies, Native American Demographic Studies, Botany & Plants
Publisher: Tantor Audio
ASIN: B01H4772CU
Listening Length: 16 hrs 44 mins
Narrator: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Publication Date: December 27, 2015
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Braiding Sweetgrass [Amazon]

The Author: Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. [Amazon]

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return. [Goodreads]

Have a good week!

First Lie Wins: A Novel by Ashley Elston #AudiobookReview #psychologicalthrillers

#19 this week

Book Blurb:

Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a doting boyfriend, a house with a with a white picket fence, a tight group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss, Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity, but she knows this job isn’t like the others. Ryan has gotten under her skin, and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes—especially after what happened last time.

Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn’t be higher—but then, Evie has always liked a challenge. .

My Review:

ARGH! I’m fence sitting on this one! If I had to give it definitive stars, I guess I’d have to point to my confusion mainly with Devon. The book does have a hook at the beginning and does a nice job of steering you straight into a well-plotted storyline about a girl who evolved as she must to survive, given her lack of support. Her mother was dying. Slowly. And needed a lot of meds. Evie found a way.

Well, NOW she’s Evie. It wasn’t always thus. She’s smart, however, evolving as she must always take it to the next level until she is noticed by Mr. Smith. And Mr. Smith has specific jobs that she may be tailored for—a profitable experience for them both—until she gets a little cocky.

But Evie is tough, dangerous even, and she’s learned to be observant. She’s successful.

Until her next mark is Ryan.

Lots of twists and turns here, Evie playing games with Mr. Smith. But is she smarter than him or being played herself? And where, how did I miss the entry of Devon? Once revealed, he continues to show up like a bad penny—although admittedly—just in time.

The timeline has a habit of switching up or back as well, filling in a lot of voids, but unraveling my investment in the current storyline. The pacing is interesting. The characters are engaging and I must admit I did enjoy the reveal, the conclusion as unbelievable as it was.

This is one of those that had me scratching my head. I just read…what? You may love it if a fan of psychological thrillers with an unusual plot. Just be prepared to suspend some disbelief.

Narrated by one of my favorite narrators–as always an incredible job. 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: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, Suspense Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B0C4BHDZGM
Listening Length: 9 hrs 16 mins
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Publication Date: January 2, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: First Lie Wins [Amazon]

The Author: Ashley Elston lives in North Louisiana with her husband and three sons. She was a wedding and portrait photographer for ten years so most of her Saturday nights included eating cake, realizing no shoe is comfortable after standing for more than six hours and inevitably watching some groomsman do the alligator across the dance floor. Now, Ashley helps her husband run their small business and she writes as often as possible.

Website
http://ashleyelston.com

Twitter
http://twitter.com/ashley_elston

URL
https://www.goodreads.com/ashleyelston

Happy 4th!

Beyond Reasonable Doubt by Robert Dugoni #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog Keera Duggan Book 2

Keera Duggan Book 2

Book Blurb:

A master manipulator accused of murder. An attorney sworn to defend her. Keera Duggan returns in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

When Jenna Bernstein, disgraced wunderkind CEO of a controversial biotech company, is accused of murdering her former partner and lover, she turns to Seattle attorney Keera Duggan to defend her. Keera is more than a master chess player who brings her intuitive moves into court—she’s Jenna’s childhood friend. But considering their history, Keera knows that where Jenna goes, trouble follows.

Five years earlier, Keera’s father successfully defended Jenna when she was tried for the killing of her company’s chief scientist who threatened to go public with allegations of corporate fraud. Keera knows Jenna too well. When she was a kid, Keera saw Jenna for what she was: a manipulative and frighteningly controlling sociopath. Now, with only circumstantial evidence against Jenna, Keera is willing to bury any trepidation she might have to defend a woman she believes, this time, to be innocent.

As the investigation gets underway and disturbing questions arise, Keera puts her trust in a client who swears that this time she’s telling nothing but the truth. If this is all just another devious game, Keera might be working to set a murderer free.

My Review:

The second in the series, the first Her Deadly Game read by the CE in October 2022, was my turn and I had no problem reading it as a standalone.

Keera’s father taught her to play chess and play very well. She uses many of those techniques as she takes on Jenna Bernstein, an old childhood friend turned nemesis. Jenna will never tell the truth when a lie will do and at this age doesn’t seem to be able to distinguish between the two. She declares her innocence, however, when her business partner is found murdered. And what do you know? She clearly has motive, means, and apparently opportunity. Or was the latter just more manipulation to play the all too obvious?

“…any kind of SODDI defense–some other dude did it.”

As always with Dugoni’s complex plots, it won’t be easy to get to the bottom of the disturbing premise. Jenna is a deeply unlikable character. Keera comes off as smart, quick-witted, and street-smart savvy. She was taught by the best, her dad, the “Irish Brawler.” I appreciated her character as she turned a jaundiced eye on Jenna, who clearly appeared to be a sociopath. There is the promise of what might be a romantic thread with open-minded Detective Rossi, who appears may be strong support in coming series episodes.

Of course, it is a legal thriller and as always I love those courtroom scenes, the jousting, the timing, and the use of the nuances of the law—so like chess moves—with an eye on plays well down the line.

As the book weaves the way through the mysteries, twists, and revelations, the storyline moves smoothly into the conclusion. Any reader who enjoys legal thrillers will certainly appreciate the Dugoni writing style. It’s gripping, entertaining, and well paced.

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: Legal Thrillers, Murder, Murder Thrillers
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 166250022X
ASIN: B0CRWV4125
Print Length: 365 pages
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Robert Dugoni is the critically acclaimed New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post and #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite police series set in Seattle, which has sold more than 10 million books worldwide. He is also the author of The Charles Jenkins espionage series, the David Sloane legal thriller series, the Keera Duggan legal thriller series, and several stand-alone novels including The 7th Canon, Damage Control, the literary novels, The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell – Suspense Magazine’s Book of the Year, for which Dugoni’s narration won an AudioFile Earphones Award and the critically acclaimed, The World Played Chess; historical novels based on true events: A Killing on the Hill about Seattle during the great depression and Hold Strong, a WWII novel; as well as the nonfiction exposé The Cyanide Canary, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year. Several of his novels have been optioned for movies and television series. Dugoni is the recipient of the Nancy Pearl Award for Fiction and multiple awards for best novel set in the Pacific Northwest. He has also been a finalist for many other awards including the International Thriller Award, the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction, the Silver Falchion Award for mystery, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.