#bookreviewer – Page 30 – Rosepoint Publishing

Can’t We Be Friends by Eliza Knight – Denny S Bryce #AudiobookReview #BiographicalFiction

A Novel of Ella Fitgerald and Marilyn Monroe

Book Blurb:

Award-winning author Denny S. Bryce and USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight collaborate on a brilliant novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe.

One woman was recognized as the premiere singer of her era with perfect pitch and tireless ambition.

One woman was the most glamorous star in Hollywood, a sex symbol who took the world by storm.

And their friendship was fast and firm…

1952: Ella Fitzgerald is a renowned jazz singer whose only roadblock to longevity is society’s attitude toward women and race. Marilyn Monroe’s star is rising despite ongoing battles with movie studio bigwigs and boyfriends. When she needs help with her singing, she wants only the best—and the best is the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald. But Ella isn’t a singing teacher and declines—then the two women meet, and to everyone’s surprise but their own, they become fast friends.

On the surface, what could they have in common? Yet each was underestimated by the men in their lives—husbands, managers, hangers-on. And both were determined to gain. Each fought for professional independence and personal agency in a time when women were expected to surrender control to those same men.

This novel reveals and celebrates their surprising bond over a decade and serves as a poignant reminder of how true friendship can cross differences to bolster and sustain us through haunting heartbreak and wild success.

My Review:

Marilyn died in 1962, the year we were married. Many historical events happened the same year and I must confess many of them were lost in my own life concerns at the time. Born in 1926, Marilyn was thirty-six. Born in 1917, Ella passed in 1996 at 79 years. Both achieved legendary status, and while it is true that they did form a friendship, this is a fiction accounting of that friendship.

At times, the palaver got so thick, I completely discounted the incident. Indeed, it’s explained at the end of the book that (remember) it is a work of fiction.

What isn’t fiction is that given the time in the civil rights movement, Monroe’s support of Ella could have hurt her career which was already flourishing. It was because Marilyn was up for a pic in which she was to sing that she began hounding Ella to coach her as Ella was admittedly one of her singing idols.

Ella was well-known and successful but struggled for the level of acceptance and the better gigs as that of Lena Horne, Dinah Washington, and Nina Simone. And Ella was a big woman. The Mocambo wanted small and pretty; Marilyn helped her get into the Mocambo.

While I was fully engaged in the voice of Ella in the audiobook, I found the voice of Marilyn annoying at times, cloying, sure she did not use her public persona voice during all the private conversations.

An audiobook, I hoped for a tidbit of one of Ella’s songs. And then there was the iconic Happy Birthday song to President Kennedy by Marilyn—that breathy, sexy song so familiar to generations of fans.

The book jumps between reflections of Ella and Marilyn, sometimes creating a disjointed narrative, Ella coming over as most authentic. I enjoyed the different stories of both ladies and their families, including the account of Ella’s Aunt Virginia! Marilyn’s story inevitably covered failed marriages, including the extremely physically abusive Joe DiMaggio marriage, although Arthur Miller—while not physically abusive—swung just as hard to the mental side of abusive and was just as damaging.

“There is something in the bond of an honest friendship between women that a lover can never breach and that fake friends will never understand.”

To her credit, Ella didn’t drink, smoke, or do drugs and that became a heavy wedge between their friendship. While Ella decried Marilyn’s increasing dependency on drugs and booze, she couldn’t be a part of it.

Lots of literary license here, still there are tidbits to be gleaned between dramatic recreations or fictionalized accounts of what may have or could have happened. The authors spent untold hours in research. Perhaps the most telling is the insight given in the epilogue.

If you enjoy biographical accounts, historical accounts of some of our famous personalities, you might very well enjoy this collaboration. I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Biographical Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Biographical Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B0C7DXY8TW
Listening Length: 11 hrs 15 mins
Narrators: Karen Chilton, Caroline Hewitt
Publication Date: March 5, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Can’t We Be Friends [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Authors:

Eliza Knight is an award winning, USA Today and international bestselling author. Her love of history began as a young girl when she traipsed the halls of Versailles and ran through the fields in Southern France. She can still remember standing before the great golden palace, and imagining what life must have been like. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, her weekends were filled with visits to museums, and historical reenactments. Escape into history for courageous heroines, irresistible heroes and daring escapades. Join Eliza (sometimes as E.) on riveting historical journeys that cross landscapes around the world. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and Novelists, Inc., the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, a co-host on the History, Books and Wine podcast and a co-host for the true crime podcast, Crime Feast.

While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she tries to keep up with her three not-so-little children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses, two very naughty Newfies, and a turtle named Fish.

Look for STARRING ADELE ASTAIRE a story full of glitz and glam, delving into the life of Adele Astaire, a spirited and talented woman who served up smiles and love both on and off the stage—with and without her also famous brother Fred Astaire— along with a determined young dancer with rags-to-riches dreams. Coming in June 2024, THE QUEEN’S FAITHFUL COMPANION.

For more information about book club visits, downloadable reader guides, upcoming author events, book news, newsletter and more, visit her website: http://www.elizaknight.com

If you love history and want to dive in for some fun, visit Eliza’s popular, award-winning blog:

http://historyundressed.com or her history podcast: https://historybooksandwinepodcast.buzzsprout.com

To connect on social media, visit/follow Eliza at the following:

Twitter: @elizaknight

Denny S. Bryce is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical fiction. A former dancer and public relations professional, Denny is an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Drexel University, a book critic for NPR, and a freelance writer whose work has appeared in USA Today and Harper’s Bazaar. She is also a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers. Originally from Ohio, she likes to call Chicago her hometown but currently resides in Savannah, Georgia. You can find her online at DennySBryce.com.

Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Associates, represents her.

#TuesdayBookBlog

City of Secrets by P J Tracy – #BookReview – #policeprocedurals

Book Blurb:

LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan returns in P. J. Tracy’s City of Secrets, the next book in the series praised by the New York Times Book Review: “Tracy seems to have found her literary sweet spot.”

Los Angeles Police Detective Margaret Nolan and her partner have worked a lot of different cases, ones where things aren’t always as they appear. And it’s Nolan’s job to find the truth in the darkness around her. When they’re called to the scene of what looks like a fatal car-jacking, Nolan soon realizes her victim was a founder of a company about to sell for millions, and within a day of his death, his partner’s wife is abducted. As Nolan learns more about the victim and his life, she gets pulled into a disturbing world of sex, violence, and big business; and an even darker world, where whispers of an “Angel of Death” are beginning to surface.

One of today’s finest crime writers, P. J. Tracy has created a series that is a rich and authentic portrait of LA, filled with the tragedy and optimism of her multi-layered characters and a story guaranteed to keep readers enthralled.

His Review:

Bruce Messane is filthy rich. He has the attitude to go along with the money. He is cruel and repulsive to everyone. Camille, one of his former wives, would dearly love to see him underground. The only good thing to come out of that union is his very lovely daughter Mimi. Mimi is the apple of his eye.

Mimi is beautiful, blond and every man’s eye turns when she enters the room. Mimi has only one problem, she has learned to hate all men! Her male victims gladly follow her until her true mission is revealed.

Detective Margaret Nolan fought hard to get her position in the LA SWAT Division. How could she have known over 13 years ago just how much she would grow to hate the job and the idiots assigned to her as her partners! She had hoped to be kicked upstairs into management but instead is dragging inept partners to investigate cases. Her latest partner is no better than her last thirty or so.

When Bruce Messane and his wife are found brutally murdered, Detective Nolan is assigned to bring the killer to justice. She will have to drag one of the rookies with her to teach them the ropes. Just the thought of this task makes her groan and turn even more caustic. What a lucky junior trainee/partner!

This book is well written with a few belly-laughs during the reading. With a rather slow start, the action is evenly paced and the results are predictable. I enjoyed the characters and can recommend it as a great distraction. 3.5 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0CGRZCFBV
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: August 20, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: PJ Tracy is the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, authors of the New York Times and internationally bestselling MONKEEWRENCH series, and winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards.

After PJ’s death in 2016, Traci began writing the Detective Margaret Nolan series, set in Los Angeles, where she lived for many years. DEEP INTO THE DARK and DESOLATION CANYON are available now, and the third novel, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, will be released in January 2023.

Have a Great Sunday

Gone to Dust by Matt Goldman – #AudiobookReview – #TBT

Book Blurb:

Set in Minnesota, Gone to Dust is the debut private-eye murder mystery from Emmy Award-winning Seinfeld writer Matt Goldman.

A brutal crime. The ultimate cover-up. How do you solve a murder with no useable evidence?

Private detective Nils Shapiro is focused on forgetting his ex-wife and keeping warm during another Minneapolis winter when a former colleague, neighboring Edina Police Detective Anders Ellegaard, calls with the impossible.

Suburban divorcée Maggie Somerville was found murdered in her bedroom, her body covered with the dust from hundreds of emptied vacuum cleaner bags, all potential DNA evidence obscured by the calculating killer.

Digging into Maggie’s cell-phone records, Nils finds that the most frequently called number belongs to a mysterious young woman whose true identity could shatter the Somerville family – but could she be guilty of murder?

After the FBI demands that Nils drop the case, Nils and Ellegaard are forced to take their investigation underground, where the case grows as murky as the contents of the vacuum cleaner bags. Is this a strange case of domestic violence or something with far-reaching, sinister implications?

My Review:

Okay, yes. I was looking for an audiobook, a nice mystery, and the blurb sounded interesting. And of course, dropping the Emmy Award-winning Seinfeld writer’s name helped. (As it happens, however, that show was not one I watched.)

The setting is Minnesota in the winter and I was reading it in the upper Midwest before we slowly ground into spring, so thought I might identify. Only so far though. Minnesota is a whole nother winter.

I’m not sure what it was. Yes, you have to say covering a body in vacuum cleaner dust patiently gathered from hundreds of vacuum cleaner bags is unusual. Even Nils Shapiro, the “Scandinavian Jew” might have been considered an unusual character, certainly considering he still pined after his ex. (I often wondered why then she is an “ex.”)

Just not one that really grabbed me. Nils is a contradiction alright. He was trying for the police department when there was a change in the budget, so he managed to create a private detective agency. I guess he found a modicum of success as he is called by a police detective buddy to help him with his vacuum dust case.

For one, there are too many degrees of coincidence. Small town—okay—I get it. Everybody knows everybody or is a relative. There are red herrings, twists, and the plot involves Nils the man as much as the case. It isn’t too hard to figure out the perp. An easy read (or listen) and entertaining but it just didn’t have the tension sufficient for me to get excited.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Jewish Literature, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
ASIN: B074G4TM97
Listening Length: 7 hrs 24 mins
Narrator: MacLeod Andrews
Publication Date: August 15, 2017
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Gone to Dust [Amazon]

The Author: Matt Goldman is New York Times Best Selling author and Emmy Award-winning TV writer. He has been nominated for a Shamus Award and is a Nero Award Finalist. His TV credits include Seinfeld, Ellen, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.

#ThrowbackThursday

Small Mercies: A Novel by Dennis Lehane #AudiobookReview #historicalthrillers

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Best Books of the Year 2023

Book Blurb:

Instant New York Times Bestseller

“Small Mercies is thought provoking, engaging, enraging, and can’t-put-it-down entertainment.”—Stephen King

The acclaimed New York Times bestselling writer returns with a masterpiece to rival Mystic River—an all-consuming tale of revenge, family love, festering hate, and insidious power, set against one of the most tumultuous episodes in Boston’s history.

In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors. Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.

One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home. That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances.

The two events seem unconnected. But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.

Set against the hot, tumultuous months when the city’s desegregation of its public schools exploded in violence, Small Mercies is a superb thriller, a brutal depiction of criminality and power, and an unflinching portrait of the dark heart of American racism. It is a mesmerizing and wrenching work that only Dennis Lehane could write.

My Review:

The air in Southy (deeply Irish South Boston) is crackling both from the summer temps and also from the recent mandate to bus students from mostly white South Boston High to mostly Black Roxbury and vice versa. It’s 1974 and there is a sharp divide in integration from both sides. Violence is teetering on the slightest provocation and it won’t take much to light that match.

Mary Pat Fennessy is struggling like the rest in the projects; not enough money for anything, a teenage daughter pushing boundaries, and now missing. Mary Pat is not a woman who will go quietly in the night. She’s been a scrapper all her life, there is little that scares her and she was taught never to run from trouble. She starts a search for her daughter that disturbs the neighborhood Irish mob boss.

The story hooks immediately, such a dark period, rampant racism backdropped against a widow who has already lost an only son. She confronts with disbelief what she discovers about her daughter and that may be the last straw.

The well-plotted novel is dark, extremely atmospheric of the brutality of the time and locality, the gangs. The frustration weighs heavily, pain and grief in attendance, Mary Pat is an exceptionally well-drawn main character. The narrator nails the heavy resignation.

Yes, triggers of racism, language, sexual abuse, drugs. Hard to read or listen to this one and no way not to.

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

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Thrillers, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B0B8PHDJLD
Listening Length: 10 hrs 23 mins
Narrator: Robin Miles
Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Small Mercies [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Dennis Lehane (born Aug 4th, 1966) is an American author. He has written several novels, including the New York Times bestseller Mystic River, which was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also called Mystic River, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon (Lehane can be briefly seen waving from a car in the parade scene at the end of the film). The novel was a finalist for the PEN/Winship Award and won the Anthony Award and the Barry Award for Best Novel, the Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction, and France’s Prix Mystere de la Critique.

Bio and photo from Goodreads.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Two of a Kind: The Beginning by Gail Meath #BookReview #HolidayFiction

Jax Diamond Mysteries Book 4

Book Blurb:

It would take a pint-sized miracle to save this Christmas holiday. A prequel novella.

December, New York City, 1923
Officer Jax Diamond doesn’t always play by the rules, and he’s in the hot seat again with the captain of his precinct. So, when a brazen little puppy alerts him of a crime, Jax is ordered to stand down or get canned.

On the city streets, broke and alone, Jax beats himself up for not following his own instincts and saving a boy’s life. Even the little tramp who keeps trailing him everywhere can’t lift his spirits. But crime never stops in New York City and a string of deadly Christmas capers spirals out of control.

The city’s only hope is Jax and his new pint-sized partner who team up to save the Christmas holidays during the Roaring Twenties.

My Review:

I love it when a historical novel captures not only the atmosphere but the vernacular of the period—in this case, the Roaring Twenties. Even though it is Book 4 of the series, this novella is issued as a prequel to establish the introduction of the puppy Ace as the canine partner of Jax. See that cover? Can you not just love that face?

So, yes, I was drawn in, always looking for a good book with a dog involved and a PI in New York nearing Christmas checks the boxes. It doesn’t take long to be there in the midst of the action, which begins almost immediately.

The German Shepherd will have your heart thinking a 120 lb dog might just be the right companion for you—well—I thought the same of the series in which a Belgian Malinois is featured until I read a profile of the latter (lighter weight, faster, more agile). (But no, thinking I’ll stick to the under 15 lb breeds.) Jax is clever, caring, relatable, and multi-talented. Jax and Ace make an effective, engaging team.

There are skillful twists and turns and the Christmas season permeates throughout with the well-plotted narrative focusing on seasonal criminal activities. Fast and easy to read.

I previously read Book 1 of the series, Songbird, and was taken with the period and the characters. Definitely an engaging series and nice that each can be read as a standalone. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Holiday Fiction, Traditional Detective Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery
Publisher: Cranberry Pond Publishing
ASIN: B0BC981875
Print Length: 112 pages
Publication Date: November 25, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Two of a Kind [Amazon]

The Author: Gail Meath is the author of the multi-award winning Jax Diamond Mysteries, the fun series about of a wise-cracking PI, his sweet German Shepherd partner, Ace, and his Broadway singing heartthrob, Laura, as they solve crazy crimes during the Roaring Twenties. She’s currently working on the first book in her exciting new 1930s mystery series, Stone & Steele Mysteries, takes place during the glamorous Golden Age of Hollywood. As always, she blends the most loveable characters with a good, solid mystery.

Gail also has a growing list of other award-winning historical romances, mysteries, westerns, and fictional biographies of true heroines. She lives in a small village in Upstate New York with her husband and their sweet, little Boston Terrier, and she spends loads of time with her grandchildren.

Loggin' off

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

#1 Best Seller in Historical World War II Fiction

Book Blurb:

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother?

From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes Kristin Hannah’s powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past.

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end.

Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

My Review:

Stalwart and stoic, the mother of Meredith and Nina was Russian-born and as unemotional and cold to her daughters as a Siberian winter. The sisters, 180 degrees in temperament and life experience gave up some time in their early teens vying for their mother’s attention that was never going to come. They adored their dad.

The problem, and the premise of the novel, is the promise he exacted from Meredith as he lay dying—one she freely gave to ease her dad’s passage—but certainly not one she expected to actually keep.

Meredith is the Earth Mother, deftly handling family and career to exhaustion, taking on more than she should, not realizing she could ever say no. She took on the care of her parents while Nina, the younger sister galllivanted over the globe in search of her next Pulitzer Prize photo. A photojournalist of some reputation, she never stayed in one place long, always scurrying to the next big story—somewhere across the globe.

The two sisters under one roof never do well together for long, particularly when they are left with their mother. It is Nina who finally decides she will discover “the story.”

Be prepared to hang in there. I’ve read a number of Hannah books and they always capture my attention quickly. I think this is possibly the longest to go beyond mundane back story, dual timeline then and now, to get to the crux of the matter. Then it heats up.

With the slow build during the first half then, I guess the author isn’t worried about wringing out the last bit of emotion in either sister, the mother so cold and austere as to barely register as background noise. Anya loved her winter garden. It’s where she could go and be lost to the world—and she was—often.

So, while I was waiting for something to happen, it apparently did and swept right over me and I had to play a little catch-up. I enjoyed getting into the war years in Leningrad as I often wonder how people can go on in these heinous circumstances. What drives them forward? Keeps them from quitting? In this instance, wasn’t it Anya’s children?

The descriptions have the reader shivering with both the weather and the conditions of war. I never quite understood Anya’s arm’s length love for her American children. She was certainly capable of demonstrable love toward her husband. The sisters being opposites rang true of families; one the ant, the other the grasshopper.

A story of a dysfunctional family finally looking for redemption. Did the conclusion smooth everything out—make it all better? Maybe.

Never too late? Maybe.

But for me, too little too late. Sorry.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, 20^th Century Historical Fiction, Mothers & Children Fiction
Publisher: St Martin’s Press, First Edition (January 28, 2010)
ASIN: B003672JHG
Print Length: 401 pages
Publication Date: January 28, 2010
Source: Library
Title Link(s): Winter Garden [Amazon]

The Author: Kristin Hannah is the award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels. Her newest novel, The Women, about the nurses who served in the Vietnam war, will be released on February 6, 2024.

The Four Winds was published in February of 2021 and immediately hit #1 on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Indie bookstore’s bestseller lists. Additionally, it was selected as a book club pick by the both Today Show and The Book Of the Month club, which named it the best book of 2021.

In 2018, The Great Alone became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller and was named the Best Historical Novel of the Year by Goodreads.

In 2015, The Nightingale became an international blockbuster and was Goodreads Best Historical fiction novel for 2015 and won the coveted People’s Choice award for best fiction in the same year. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, iTunes, Buzzfeed, the Wall Street Journal, Paste, and The Week.

The Nightingale is currently in pre-production at Tri Star. Firefly Lane, her beloved novel about two best friends, was the #1 Netflix series around the world, in the week it came out. The popular tv show stars Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.

A former attorney, Kristin lives in the Pacific Northwest.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Your Forgotten Sons by Anne Montgomery #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Bud Richardville is inducted into the Army as the United States prepares to enter World War II in 1943.

A chance comment has Bud assigned to the Graves Registration Service, where his unit is tasked with locating, identifying, and burying the dead. Bud ships out, leaving behind his new wife, Lorraine: a mysterious woman who has stolen his heart but whose shadowy past leaves many unanswered questions.

When Bud and his men hit the beach at Normandy, they are immediately thrust into the horrors of what working in a graves unit entails. Bud is beaten down by the gruesome demands of his job and losses in his personal life, but then he meets Eva, an optimistic soul who despite the war can see a positive future. Will Eva’s love be enough to save him?

My Thoughts:

When I received the request to read this book, I was interested and thought the CE would be as well. I’ve read many fiction books with all kinds of tales of WWII (and the CE many more), but neither of us ever conjured a unit specifically assigned to retrieve, identify, and bury the thousands who did not survive. And just when you thought no assignment could be worse than the front lines, along comes the story of the 606 Graves Registration Service.

The story of Bud is tragic and evokes strong emotions, a sense of having lost a buddy in arms, a brother you knew and loved, naïve even with his battle-weary experience. He rushed into a marriage after he was drafted at 29 and quickly became a unit leader owing to his civilian experience and age. The responsibility for his men weighed heavily on him. In the meantime, there was little communication from his bride, Lorraine never reciprocated the loving notes he wrote to her.

Bud’s unit landed in Normandy shortly after the first assault, moved onto the Battle of the Bulge, witnessed the carnage of the underground tunnels of Brest. They were allowed a short break in Luxembourg City before traveling to Dachau, even more horrific and deadly to the psyche.

Somewhere in the middle, he meets Ava and while she represents love, respect, and respite from the war experience he never receives from Lorraine, it adds a Catholic note of guilt to their relationship. Still, the reader holds out a glimmer of hope that this will end well for Bud. That life will go on post-war.

The conclusion may not be what the reader expects, however, and the reveal is shocking. Something I didn’t know and couldn’t fathom might not have been an uncommon occurrence. War is hell. 5 stars

His Thoughts:

The battlefield is littered with the dead and dying. Sometimes there is only a part of the former soldier or combatant and identification is impossible. These are represented by the tombs of the Unknown Soldiers. Anne Montgomery has written a very touching story about the people who handle the deceased in the war zones.

This story is thoughtfully written by the author and reviews the struggles that Joseph “Bud” Richardville encountered during WWII. Imagine handling thousands of dead individuals including German and concentration camp victims as well as the thousands killed during such tragic days as D-Day and the invasion at Normandy!

The gathering of the victims from the invasion still trapped inside landing craft or killed at the beaches was horrific. Collecting and identifying the dead at the beach and preparing the military cemeteries was a daunting task. Laying out the grids and making sure that the resting places are well structured and symmetrical took careful attention to detail.

This book follows the life of “Bud” Richardville as he wrestles with the daily task of deceased military personnel being sorted and identified to receive a proper burial. Some of the casualties may include nothing but a shoe with a foot inside. The Quartermaster Graves Registration Company at times assisted in burying the enemy dead with dignity as well.

Ms. Montgomery handles this saga with respectful humanity. The horrors of war are manyfold and should never be forgotten. I congratulate her on her excellent handling of this very emotive subject. 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are our honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Biographical Fiction, Historical World War II Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction
Publisher: Next Chapter
ASIN: B0CT3JCZ46
Print Length: 233 pages
Publication Date: May 29, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Anne Butler Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, author, and amateur sports official. Her first TV job came at WRBL-TV in Columbus, Georgia, and led to positions at WROC-TV in Rochester, New York, KTSP-TV in Phoenix, Arizona, and ESPN in Bristol, Connecticut, where she anchored the Emmy and ACE award-winning SportsCenter. She finished her on-camera broadcasting career with a two-year stint as the studio host for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. Montgomery was a freelance and/or staff reporter for six publications, writing sports, features, movie reviews, and archeological pieces. Her novels include The Castle, A Light in the Desert, Wild Horses on the Salt, The Scent of Rain, and Wolf Catcher. Montgomery taught sports reporting at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and taught high school journalism for 20 years. She was an amateur sports official for four decades, a time during which she called baseball, ice hockey, soccer, and basketball games and served as a high school football referee and crew chief. Montgomery is a foster mom to three sons and a daughter. When she can, she indulges in her passions: rock collecting, scuba diving, theater, and playing her guitar.

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Missing Piece: A Novel (Dismas Hardy Book 19) by John Lescroart #BookReview

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

The beloved New York Times bestselling Dismas Hardy series returns with a “perfect piece of entertainment from a master storyteller” (Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author) about a relentlessly twisty murder mystery.

No one mourned when San Francisco DA Wes Farrell put Paul Riley in prison eleven years ago for the rape and murder of his girlfriend. And no one is particularly happy to see him again when he’s released after The Exoneration Initiative uncovered evidence that pinned the crime on someone else. In fact, Riley soon turns up murdered, surrounded by the loot from his latest scam. But if Riley was innocent all along, who wanted him dead?

To the cops, it’s straightforward: the still-grieving father of Riley’s dead girlfriend killed him. Farrell, now out of politics and practicing law with master attorney Dismas Hardy, agrees to represent the defendant, Doug Rush—and is left in the dust when Rush suddenly vanishes. At a loss, Farrell and Hardy ask PI Abe Glitsky to track down the potentially lethal defendant.

The search takes Glitsky through an investigative hall of mirrors populated by wounded parents, crooked cops, cheating spouses, and single-minded vigilantes. As Glitsky embraces and then discards one enticing theory after another, the truth seems to recede ever further. So far that he begins to question his own moral compass in this “hypnotic and powerful” (Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author) thriller that’ll keep you guessing until the very end.

His Review:

People die quickly in this tome. There is a pair of detectives that are on the case and their boss is irritated that they could not immediately solve it. He feels that his detectives spend entirely too much time in the office or wandering around town trying to put the pieces together. He wants a quick indictment and threatens their livelihood unless he sees immediate results.

The investigative pair of Waverly and Yamashiro have been together for many years and are the investigative spear point for the department. They ask questions at the last place the victim was seen alive, the local watering hole.

The solution seems very circular to me with the potential perpetrator coming back into the detective’s focus repeatedly. The actual criminal does not appear until very late in the novel. I felt I was receiving false leads over and over again. The reveal when it finally arrived was quick and succinct near the last chapter. The dialog at times had some funny twists and I found myself laughing out loud at a few of the antics.

This book will entertain readers when they toss logic to the wind and go with the flow. Enjoy! 3.5 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, Serial Killer Thrillers
Publisher: Atria Books
ASIN: B08VKLGQ71
Print Length: 301 pages
Publication Date: March 29, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): The Missing Piece [Amazon]

The Author: “John Lescroart‘s writing skills are a national treasure.” —The Huffington Post

John Lescroart is the author of twenty-nine novels, nineteen of which have been New York Times Bestsellers. Libraries Unlimited places him among “The 100 Most Popular Thriller and Suspense Authors.” With sales of over twelve million copies, his books have been translated into twenty-two languages in more than seventy-five countries, and his short stories appear in many anthologies.

John’s first book, SUNBURN, won the Joseph Henry Jackson Award for Best Novel by a California author. DEAD IRISH, THE 13TH JUROR, and THE KEEPER were nominees for the Shamus, Anthony, and Silver Falchion Best Mystery Novel, respectively; additionally THE 13TH JUROR is included in the International Thriller Writers publication “100 Must-Read Thrillers Of All Time.” HARD EVIDENCE made “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Ultimate Reading List.” THE SUSPECT was the American Author’s Association 2007 Book of the Year. THE MOTIVE was an Audie Finalist of the Audio Publishers Association. THE MERCY RULE, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, THE SUSPECT, THE FALL and THE RULE OF LAW have been major market Book Club selections. John’s books have been Main Selections of one or more of the Literary Guild, Mystery Guild, and Book of the Month Club.