#bookseries – Page 17 – Rosepoint Publishing

The Wrong Side of Goodbye by Michael Connelly – #AudiobookReview – #ReadingIrelandMonth24

Harry Bosch Book 19

Book Blurb:

Harry Bosch is California’s newest private investigator. He doesn’t advertise, he doesn’t have an office, and he’s picky about who he works for, but it doesn’t matter. His chops from 30 years with the LAPD speak for themselves.

Soon one of Southern California’s biggest moguls comes calling. The reclusive billionaire has less than six months to live and a lifetime of regrets. He hires Bosch to find out whether he has an heir. Using all of his cold-case skills, Bosch pieces together a 65-year-old mystery and finds out that the case is not as simple – or as cold – as he thought.

My Review:

Harry Bosch is working as a volunteer reserve officer (working free) to keep himself in the system somewhere investigating a cold case for the San Fernando PD. He’s also moonlighting as a PI. In that capacity, he was hired by a billionaire to find an heir he may have produced when he was a college student and still very much under the thumb of family. Now he is very ill and believes he doesn’t have much time and, of course, his company would prefer no heirs be found.

The cold case may be just as tough, that of a serial rapist. Fortunately, with his hand still legimately capable of research within the department—some according to the book—some a serious no-no, he has resources and the time he can tap that will get him info not readily available at the time.

Both cases run concurrently and are simultaneously immersive.

I love the way the author manages to bring in a little backstory to explain the history of the persons in the foreground. The support characters are always lively and well developed, but it’s that voice of Bosch that provides that rich storytelling experience we’ve come to expect in a Connelly crime thriller.

This installment also includes Bosch’s half-brother Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer, a legal thriller spin-off made even more popular as a series on Netflix. It’s fun to dip into the legal side of his case and the necessary police procedures it will take to get the case to court.

I also appreciate his references to the freeway system allowing cross-town travel at snail speeds and the history of the different neighborhoods. It makes the city come alive in the imagination.

The double plot is done very well providing lots of twists and turns and both manage to converge successfully to conclusion.

I always think, “Alright, that has to be his best.” Then I read another and think the same. This one is engaging, provides tension and suspense with both stories having you root for a satisfying outcome. I don’t know how he manages it, but it always does.

Enjoying a couple of his other series as well, also listening to both Renée Ballard and The Lincoln Lawyer.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedural Mysteries, Crime Fiction, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Hachette Audio
ASIN: B01K3EKBXS
Listening Length: 10 hrs 21 mins
Narrator: Titus Welliver
Publication Date: November 1, 2016
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Wrong Side of Goodbye [Amazon]

The Author: Michael Connelly is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels and one work of nonfiction. With over eighty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty-five foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. A former newspaper reporter who worked the crime beat at the Los Angeles Times and the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Connelly has won numerous awards for his journalism and his fiction. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent New York Times bestsellers include Desert Star (2022), The Dark Hours (2021), The Law Of Innocence (2020), Fair Warning (2020), and The Night Fire (2019). Michael is the executive producer of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver and streaming on Amazon Prime/Amazon Freevee. He is the executive producer of The Lincoln Lawyer, streaming on Netflix, starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo. He is also the executive producer of the documentary films, “Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story’ and ‘Tales Of the American.’ He spends his time in California and Florida.

Titus Welliver - actor, narrator — Titus Welliver–Compliments of Wikipedia–thank you!

The Narrator: Titus B. Welliver is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayals of the Man in Black in Lost, Silas Adams in Deadwood, Jimmy O’Phelan in Sons of Anarchy, and the title role in the television series Bosch. Wikipedia Born: March 12, 1962, New Haven, CT.

Cheers

Obey All Laws by Cindy Goyette – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

A Probation Case Files Mystery

Book Blurb:

When Phoenix probation officer Casey Carson goes to work, she expects naked people to answer doors, meth-addicted clients to hit on her, and angry judges to chew her out in court. After a routine home visit with a client, a Diablo gang member, goes horribly wrong, she knows she must watch her back. Even she must admit that a one-eyed, bad-ass, angry gangster and his crew gunning for her is a bit more than she was trained to handle.

Casey has even more reason to fear Diablo when her cousin Hope goes missing, and it looks like their handiwork. With women vanishing at an alarming rate in the area, police treat Hope’s disappearance as a priority. Still, Casey can’t sit on the sidelines, even with her ex-husband leading the investigation. After she receives information that proves her suspicions about Diablo right, the gang will do anything to keep her from sharing it with police, even if that means taking her on a one-way trip to the desert.

My Review:

Well, here is a new and fresh take on a crime thriller coming from the unique perspective of a probation officer. Casey Carson is a seasoned, savvy PO officer. She is also a main character you can identify with. She’s smart when it comes to her job—well—not always as every main character I’ve ever known tends to go off by themselves without backup. As a reader, you can yell at them all you want. They won’t hear you.

Still, the author has packed some very likable characters behind her engaging main character, including an ex-husband, Barry Betz, that you keep asking why the “ex”?

“Detective Barry Betz that is, got out and walked toward me, shaking his head.

He looked good.

Damn it.”

From the opening action-packed chapter through the sub-plot with Casey’s cousin, the fast-paced narrative doesn’t lag or resort to constant repeats. It doesn’t help when Hope’s sister Joy arrives to help find her sister—only to heap on additional problems.

I love the dry sense of humor from the first person POV and the twists and turns, but no, didn’t need a new heat-inducing sexy neighbor clouding the issue with the ex. I liked the ex. But the new neighbor adds tension, suspicion, and a little fun.

So, really, this is a debut novel? I love the unique aspect and info coming from that side of the law. Since we lived for a short time just outside of Phoenix, I was fairly familiar with the area—and the heat—and descriptions give it an atmospheric and comfortably recognizable quality.

A great start for a new series and one I’m looking forward to.

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 own thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths, CrimeThrillers
Publisher: Level Best Books
ISBN-10: ‎1685125344
ISBN-13: ‎978-1685125349
ASIN: B0CQ17GQ8V
Print Length: 310 pages
Publication Date: January 9, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Cindy Goyette is a former probation officer who had a front row seat to the criminal justice system. Her experiences helped her create fiction that mirrors real life situations. Her mystery, OBEY ALL LAWS, is part of a series published in January of 2024 by Level Best Books. Cindy lives in Washington state with her husband and two Cocker Spaniels.

The Millionaire by Keenan Powell – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

A Maureen Gould Legal Thriller

Book Blurb:

Is Truth for Sale?

“The Millionaire” is in jail on a murder charge.
Violent inmates beat him savagely, trying to extort money.
To save his life, Maureen Gould must find the truth and free her client.

When Maureen Gould’s former client, Tony Paredes, known as “The Millionaire,” is accused of killing his abuser, she believes he’s innocent. But the authorities don’t care. They throw him into jail with violent criminals who almost beat him to death to extort money he doesn’t have.

As he recovers in the hospital, Maureen must find the evidence that will convince a jury to acquit him. If he goes back, the next beating will surely kill him.

My Review:

My turn for a Keenan Powell novel. The CE read both Implied Consent and The Sorrowful Girl, the latter of which should have been saved for March and Reading Ireland Month. He loved both of them. It’s definitely my turn.

I love a good legal thriller and Book 2 in the Maureen Gould Series is just that.

Gould is defending Tony Paredes accused of murdering the coach who raped him when Paredes was involved in the chess club of a private school. While those closely connected with the original lawsuit that Paredes eventually lost against Oscar Wenderholm believe he murdered Wenderholm, Gould believes her client is innocent. The evidence appears to be mainly circumstantial—he’s an easy, obvious perp.

It’s a multi-layered plot, one that involves Gould’s own secreted experience as well as Paredes’s story. The author has packed authentic support characters around her, including a prosecutor hubby and a daughter who wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. There is also a very intelligent kitty named Germaine Greer that at times I forgot was a cat.

As Gould picks away at what few leads she’s gotten, her client has been badly beaten in jail and is now in the hospital. If he’s sent back—he won’t make it out alive. In order to win his freedom, however, she’ll have to explode the case wide open, against a prosecutor who has never lost a case and it’ll cost the loss of her own secret in the doing.

It’s a multi-layered plot using Gould’s own secret and Paredes’ backstory that includes a court case he lost to jury tampering. While some of the evidence of the murder appears contrived, there seems to be a credible witness with the victim’s wife. But a gun planted in Paredes’ trunk? Come on…Every step forward leads to another twist and the biggest of all in the conclusion. Good storyline, great characters, and I love it when I get surprised.

I’ll be looking forward to her next installment—this one can be read as a standalone, but hubby really enjoyed Implied Consent—you may wish to begin with Book 1. (Books 1 and 2 are available as audiobooks.)

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: Three Hooligans Press LLC
ISBN: ‎B0CS9R5BFS
ASIN: B0CK677XCP
Print Length: 285 pages
Publication Date: January 26, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Kobo

The Author: Keenan Powell is the Agatha, Lefty, and Silver Falchion nominated author of the Maeve Malloy Mystery series.
Despite being one of original Dungeons and Dragons illustrators, art seemed an impractical pursuit – not an heiress, wouldn’t marry well, hated teaching – so she went to law school. The day after graduation, she moved to Alaska.
She is the author of the Maureen Gould Legal Thrillers, the Maeve Malloy Mysteries and numerous short stories.

The Longmire Defense by Craig Johnson – #AudiobookReview – #NativeAmericanLiterature

Walt Longmire #19

in Native American Literature

Book Blurb:

Walt Longmire faces one of his most challenging crime scenes as he tries to reckon with the revelations of his last case where he confronted the ghosts of his past and questioned the very nature of justice and mercy in the hard country of the West.

Deep in the heart of the Wyoming countryside, Sheriff of Absaroka County Walt Longmire is called to a crime scene like few others that he has seen. This crime brings up issues that go back to Walt’s grandfather’s time in Wyoming, as the revelations he learns about his grandfather come back to offer clues and motives for Walt’s investigation. Filled with back-country action, and with the great cast of characters that listeners have come to love with the Longmire series, this new book will be sure to satisfy both long-time listeners and those new to the series.

My Review:

Boy howdy, do I love getting back to that Longmire we’ve come to know and love along with all his cronies—all admittedly getting older (aren’t we all)—crustier around the edges but finally (in Longmire’s case) ready to admit he might need to slow down a bit.

The nineteenth installment of this successful series finds Longmire still recovering a bit from the sustained injuries received in Book 18, Hell and Back. Gees, he’s how old now? Actually, considering retirement? But first, he must take Dog and search for a woman whose GPS left her stranded and lost in the mountains with a storm coming on. He and Dog find her, but Dog also finds an interesting artifact stuck in the crags that will start a deep dive into an old, cold case. And it appears one that his grandfather might have been involved in.

Longmire is seldom on a simple case. No. This one is the same—the deeper the dive, the stickier the wicket. The reader is treated to most of the favorites, from Henry Standing Bear of the Red Pony to Vic, his deputy. In a moment of quiet reflection with Vic, he manages to make hash of what should have been a well-thought-out and tender, emotional moment. She disappears—pretty much the rest of the novel.

The reader is also treated to that wonderful narrator’s voice of George Guidall who sells the concept and the character of Longmire so well, it’d be impossible not to become engaged with both him and Absaroka County.

The investigation, as we’ve come to expect in a Longmire narrative, gets real complex real quick. There are flashbacks that fill in scenes from his grandfather’s life in the forties and the situation that appears to lead to monumental money chicanery that might involve billions. That’s B—billions of dollars—and an excellent reason to convince Longmire to knock off with the investigation already!

You know he won’t.

Love the mystery, love the well-plotted and paced storyline, the Western good ole boy but don’t take me for a fool, conversations. Yes, prose among the subtle conversations and developments with the characters (think Vic). Always another story in there and they don’t get old. This one is back on track after a couple slightly tilt, but can’t say I didn’t enjoy them as well.

Love the Longmire series! I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Native American Literature, Western Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0C5NZ1P9S
Listening Length: 9 hrs 43 mins
Narrator: George Guidall
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Longmire Defense [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, the basis for the hit Netflix original series Longmire. He is the recipient of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for fiction, the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for fiction, the Nouvel Observateur Prix du Roman Noir, and the Prix SNCF du Polar. His novella Spirit of Steamboat was the first One Book Wyoming selection. He lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population 25.
http://www.craigallenjohnson.com/

The Narrator: George Guidall is a prolific audiobook narrator and theatre actor. As of November 2014, he had recorded over 1,270 audiobooks, which was believed to be the record at the time. Wikipedia

Happy (Audiobook) Thursday

Rich Justice by Robert Bailey – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Jason Rich Book 3

Book Blurb:

In this twisty thriller from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Robert Bailey, a disgraced attorney’s mistakes come back to haunt him when he’s tried for a murder he didn’t commit.

Once the flashy, successful lawyer known for his in-your-face billboards—IN AN ACCIDENT? GET RICH—Jason Rich has fallen from grace, his reputation scrubbed of its glitz and his life stripped of the people he cares about. All thanks to meth kingpin Tyson Cade.

But when Cade is shot and killed in the heart of his territory, things go from bad to worse for Jason as he is charged with his murder.

To clear his name, Jason seeks help from an unlikely source: Shay Lankford, an old adversary and attorney almost as disgraced as Jason himself. Now Jason and Shay have even more to lose—their lives—as they dig into the dangerous truth behind Tyson Cade’s murder.

Neither time nor evidence is on their side, but after everything he’s lost, Jason is determined to save his future from the mistakes of his past—no matter the price.

His Review:

Small towns in Alabama are often one-horse towns. Guntersville is a very good example of this fact. The control of the town rests on a former US Army Colonel named Chuck Tonidandel. Everything in the town and immediate environs is controlled by Chuck and his three sons. Everyone else in the burg answered to the Colonel or his three sons.

Jason Dean was raised by the Colonel and everything he did was to please the Colonel. People who crossed the Colonel or his family wound up in various stages of dead. The local gendarme pointed out that Jason was responsible for the killings in the area. He lost his law license due to malfeasance and is in limbo waiting for a two-year suspension of said license.

This book is well written with the exception that it has too many murders. Anyone who seemed to cross the Colonel or Jason Dean wound up dead. There are simply too many deaths pointing back to the Tonidandels and their father, nor does the author leave the fairer sex out of the mix. Dating any lady in Guntersville could be a quick trip to a three-by-six-by-six future. I enjoyed the book but found the number of killings over the top. Read to see if you agree. 4 stars – CE Williams

[Note: It’s been a while since we read a Bailey book, Legacy of Lies, that one in 2020 that I read from a different series and thoroughly enjoyed. VW]

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: Sibling Fiction, Legal Thrillers
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 1662516630
ASIN: B0C62FWRL2
Print Length: 515 pages
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Robert Bailey is the bestselling author of the McMurtrie and Drake Legal Thrillers series, which includes The Final Reckoning, The Last Trial, Between Black and White, and The Professor. The first two novels in the series were Beverly Hills Book Awards legal thriller of the year winners, and Between Black and White was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year.

For the past nineteen years, Bailey has been a civil defense trial lawyer in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives with his wife and three children. For more information, please visit http://www.robertbaileybooks.com.

Wintertime Books and Reviews

Death in the Ozarks by Erik S Meyers – #BookReview – #TraditionalDetectiveMysteries

A Sally Witherspoon Mystery

Book Blurb:

A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a Cheers bartender, Sally Witherspoon, a 50-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves.

But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind her bar on a Saturday night, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who did it.

And she won’t stop until she does.

His Review:

Berry Springs is a small Ozark town and is usually very peaceful. However, all that changes with a sudden spate of unexplained deaths. Sally Witherspoon owns a club called “Sally’s Smasher.” Some evenings a large profit is made which then has to go into inventory for continued operations. Also, Sally envisions herself as a detective who can augment the local overworked police department.

When someone close to her and associated with Sally’s Smasher is suddenly and brutally killed, she feels that she is the one to assist the local law enforcement professionals. The town of Berry Springs has a very close-knit community and Sally cannot think of anyone who could be culpable, however, the culprit had used an unusual method of murder.

The local police department considers Sally’s investigation of the crime meddling. She is reminded that she may be charged with impeding an ongoing investigation. She volunteers what information she has gathered and the police chief grudgingly shares some of the department’s findings with her. The victims begin to mount up though and they are all people associated with her establishment.

Meddling in police work and crime investigation can be very dangerous as Sally soon finds out. Can she solve the mystery or will she become the next victim? Read and enjoy this thriller. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

The first in a new series with promise for compelling characters and location. 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: Traditional Detective Mysteries, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0CKWT4FY2
Print Length: 298 pages pages
Publication Date: December 12, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Erik S Meyers - author — Erik S Meyers – author

The Author: Currently in Austria, I’m an American abroad for years and years who has lived or worked in six countries on three continents, the longest in Germany. I’m an award-winning author and communications professional with 25 years of expertise in a variety of corporate roles, including a broad range of communications disciplines, technical writing and translation, and corporate strategy. Reading and writing are my passions, when I’m not hiking one of the amazing trails in Austria or elsewhere. My motto is “fight the hype” and I enjoy taking a unique, perhaps unorthodox, view of the current topics and trends.

https://www.erikmey.com

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Frigid February – Let’s Read!

Rosepoint Reviews-January Recap

Ugh, January is downright dreary and February promises to be dreary and freezing. It’s a good time to curl up with a good book, hot chocolate or mocha, and a fire. Well, I don’t have the fire, but the CE makes a super mocha and I have a nice preliminary list of books.

Update on the little Pom we adopted (skip if your eyes glaze over at the mention of a rescue dog): No big progress. Her winter coat has apparently settled in and she approaches the CE now—even going so far as to jump against his side of the bed in the morning to get him up. Now at four months with us though, still prefers her crate to human companionship. What in the world happens to a little dog kept as a breeder?!

February is shaping up to be a good reading month with several great books I’m excited to get to—SOON—I hope! (I’ll mention those below.) For January we barely managed ten books. Links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

January Recap

To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower
Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake (audiobook)
Nothing But the Bones by Brian Panowich (CE review)
Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena (audiobook)
Payback in Death by J D Robb
The Fury by Alex Michaelides (CE review)
Netflix Series All the Light We Cannot See vs eBook by Anthony Doerr
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (audiobook)
The Mongol Ascension by Andew Varga (CE review)
The Gem of Ireland’s Crown by Jean Grainger

Favorite Book of the Month

I loved both All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr as well as The Frozen River but was crushed by the climax of the former, so the nod has to go to The Frozen River.

Book of the Month for January—The Frozen River

My Reading Challenges page… I’ve discovered I’ll work on the challenge but am really terrible at reporting the results–not only with the host (and I apologize for that) but for updating the page as well. For 2024, I’ll begin by sharing the logo and the link. Unfortunately, I have not been able thus far to find the link to the 2024 Historical Fiction Challenge. If you know the link, would you share, please?

In an effort to change up the blog a bit, I’ve enlarged fonts and added a new page I call Netflix vs Book listing the posts made comparing either the movie or series with the original book. Check it out to see what you missed!

Also, just a quick Sneak Peak into what’s coming up in my February TBR:


Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn. I was quite taken by the story of the river witch–I’ll bet you would be too.	Being Henry by Henry Winkler. A memoir and didn’t we all love the Fonz? But this guy, as so many of the actors do, will surprise you.

Welcome to the New Year to my new subscribers! I appreciate all my followers and always appreciate your likes and comments.

Hello, Winter!

The Gem of Ireland’s Crown by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret Book 4

Book Blurb:

The opportunity of a lifetime lands in Peter Cullen’s lap and nothing is going to stop him taking full advantage, not even the misgivings of his wife. Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret has been flying high, but the real goal, the secret desire of Peter’s heart, America, is finally, incredibly, looking like a reality.

The troupe are not at all prepared for what awaits them in prohibition era Atlantic City and they are dazzled by the bright lights. Keeping discipline and ensuring everyone remains focused drives Peter to the edge of his patience, but he soon realises that this is the least of his problems, as the gloss and sheen of the New Jersey shore reveals a dark side, and somehow his cabaret has fallen foul of it.

My Review:

When last we left Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret, the troupe was experiencing the dark side of the troubles between the Irish and the English during the twenties. Political tensions created drama for Peter’s brother and Nick acknowledged his aristocratic status with an extended visit to Brockleton.

Book four introduces the cautious decision to sail to America where they have an eye-opening introduction to prohibition era Atlantic City, New Jersey. Maud Flynn owns the theatre where the cabaret will play as well as the troupe’s residential accommodations. She has made extensive arrangements for them and laid down rules and expectations. It appears to be a clean, tight ship surrounded by sights and sounds, as well as slang and colloquialisms.

As “Oscar Wilde’s line in his short story ‘The Canterville Ghost’: ‘We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, the language.”

There were interpersonal struggles as well between those who found romance from within their group, but were not exactly free to act on their passions. May and Peter have a daughter now, Aisling, who has become somewhat of a darling of the troupe. Many of the members have discovered her intelligence and aptitude for learning either their particular skill or language. There may have been no booze, but the living was rowdy.

“The old Irish adage that ‘twas often a fella got his nose broken by his mouth’ was particularly true here.”

Despite the wildly successful splash they’ve made with their acts, their interpersonal relationships begin to force hard decisions. Tension escalates as each has to take a hard look at status quo. Additionally, there is an ever-darkening atmosphere as people and activities at arm’s length hide behind those bright lights and change the course of plans. Issues with Peter’s brother Eamonn become seriously tragic.

I can imagine that Atlantic City during prohibition was probably a wide-open port city during prohibition, entertaining everything from bootlegging, speak-easies, and the Boardwalk to summer resorts. There were bound to be gangsters as well.

The widely diverse characters are a strong hook in this series as well as the descriptive location in this installment. Any threads previously hanging were handled quickly in an Epilogue—almost too quickly—but settled the characters and issues.

I received a review copy of this book from the author who in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Sagas, Saga Fiction, Family Saga Fiction
ASIN: B0CNGFLT6R
Print Length: 354 pages
Publication Date: February 7, 2024
Source: Author

Title Link(s): Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER – USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[Truncated]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

#TuesdayBookBlog