#debutnovel – Rosepoint Publishing

Party of Liars: A Novel by Kelsey Cox #AudiobookReview #crimethrillers

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Featuring multicast narration, a lavish, Texas-sized Sweet Sixteen turns deadly in this twisty, pulse-pounding new novel—serving up a fresh take on a classic locked-room whodunnit. Let the festivities begin…

Today is Sophie Matthews’s sixteenth birthday party, an exclusive black-tie bash in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, where secrets are as deep-rooted as the sprawling live oaks. Sophie’s dad has spared no expense, and his renovated cliffside mansion—once thought haunted and shuttered for years from outsiders—is now hosting the event of the season. Then, just before the candles on the three-tiered red velvet cake are blown out, a body falls from the balcony onto the starlit dance floor below.

It’s a killer guest list . . .

DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl

ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house

MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume

KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of

Everyone is invited in. Not everyone will get out alive.

My Review:

I confess. I downloaded this book because one of my favorite narrators worked the audiobook, Saskia Maarleveld. And yes, come time, I recognized her voice. Unfortunately, there were a lot of other voices as well, and the constant switching back and forth had my head spinning.

So, honestly? I found this book to be a bit of a slog. I can’t say bored. Well, maybe I can. Between all the characters, most unlikable, I had a difficult time engaging in any of them, although the new mother, Dani, had my sympathy once or twice.

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox — Party of Liars – UK cover

This is supposed to be a thriller, then not just character and voice switch, but time switches (before, during, after) slow the pace and was difficult to navigate. We are talking Dani, a new mom and step-mom to birthday girl, Sophie, turning sixteen and her dad, Ethan’s, reason for an all out, way over the top adult chance to show off their renovated mansion, wealth, and position to just about everyone but birthday girl’s friends. Well wait, there’s Mikayla, but Mikayla is just…messed up!

All the dialogue is relegated to background noise and becomes too easy to shut off as the listener waits for a change to someone else. Not really a thriller, although I must admit I listened to Órlaith. Ethan is just icky. Off with him!

I didn’t think it had all that many twists and turns but did enjoy that last little zinger delivered at the end. HA! Hadn’t given thought to that angle, but yeah. That worked for me.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0DFRCW5M2
Listening Length: 10 hrs 57 mins
Narrator: Dan Bittner, Kate Handford, Pearl Hewitt, Saskia Maarleveld, Suzy Jackson
Publication Date: July 1, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Kelsey Cox (she/her) received her MFA in fiction from Purdue University and works from home in the Texas Hill Country. You can often find her writing at Mammen Family Public Library, chasing around her two young daughters, or watching British mysteries with her mom and aunts. On nights when bedtime goes as planned, she enjoys curling up on the sofa, glass of wine in hand, and a book with complicated characters and a killer twist in her lap. Party of Liars is her debut novel.

Happy Autumn

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes- #Audiobook Review – #psychologicalthrillers

Book Blurb:

Armed with only hazy memories, a woman who long ago witnessed her friend’s sudden, mysterious death, and has since spent her life trying to forget, sets out to track down answers. What she uncovers, deep in the woods, is hardly to be believed….

Maya was a high school senior when her best friend, Aubrey, mysteriously dropped dead in front of the enigmatic man named Frank whom they’d been spending time with all summer.

Seven years later, Maya lives in Boston with a loving boyfriend and is kicking the secret addiction that has allowed her to cope with what happened years ago, the gaps in her memories, and the lost time that she can’t account for. But her past comes rushing back when she comes across a recent YouTube video in which a young woman suddenly keels over and dies in a diner while sitting across from none other than Frank. Plunged into the trauma that has defined her life, Maya heads to her Berkshires hometown to relive that fateful summer—the influence Frank once had on her and the obsessive jealousy that nearly destroyed her friendship with Aubrey.

At her mother’s house, she excavates fragments of her past and notices hidden messages in her deceased Guatemalan father’s book that didn’t stand out to her earlier. To save herself, she must understand a story written before she was born, but time keeps running out, and soon, all roads are leading back to Frank’s cabin….

Utterly unique and captivating, The House in the Pines keeps you guessing about whether we can ever fully confront the past and return home.

My Review:

It’s not like I haven’t sucked up to a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick before (witness my recent review of both the audiobook and the Daisy Jones and the Six Netflix series, but really—this one?

Yes, I noticed it was a book pick, but also read the blurb and thought it sounded interesting. After all, it was billed as a “can’t put it down” debut and I needed an audiobook. I thought I’d wised up to that kind of hype, but obviously needed to read a few of the posted GR reviews first.

Maya has issues, lots of baggage, and she’s steadfastly refused to let it go through seven years of meds, booze, and shrinks. Now that she’s seen a video that duplicates the death of her best high school friend, up to and including the very man that was in attendance of the former death, she’s at it again, while trying to dodge accusations of mental illness, issues with drying out and investigating two similar deaths.

Maya has returned to her Berkshires hometown to look into the matter further. She has a boyfriend, but he is unaware of her struggles with drugs, memory lapses, and booze. The support characters are not fully developed and except for Frank, couldn’t engage in either them or Maya. Frank is just…creepy.

I had a problem with the flip-in-time sequences, the entry into the mystery of the Guatemalan father’s book, and the law student (oblivious) boyfriend. The pace is slowww and there were periods when it just seemed to die. Then something would happen and I’d tune back in.

There are times when it just doesn’t mesh and there are holes that aren’t filled with logic. The big reveal isn’t a big surprise as it seemed to be hinting—heading that way. The conclusion, while disquieting, is unfulfilling.

Maybe I’m just getting tired of damaged MCs, and I won’t call this a snooze fest, but neither did it capture my interest from the beginning. I got tired of Maya’s problems (guess I just don’t have the patience anymore) and areas that ran in disbelief.

Do you read Witherspoon’s book picks? This one? If so, do you agree or disagree with this pick?

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

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Psychological Fiction, Women’s Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B09X51M1NK
Listening Length: 8 hrs 34 mins
Narrator: Marisol Ramirez
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The House in the Pines [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Three stars

The Author: Ana Reyes is a writer in Los Angeles with an MFA from Louisiana State University. Her work has appeared in Bodega, Pear Noir, The New Delta Review and elsewhere. The House in the Pines is her first novel.

K, luv u, bye

Sons of Liberty by Matthew Speiser – #BookReview – #HistoricalMystery

“That the America his father had served in war, that he’d exalted in peace, was a notion, not a nation.”

Book Blurb:

Sons of Liberty charts the extraordinary life of Ulysses Brooke, a rising political star in Old Virginia, who’s not all he seems. When, in 1845, he’s arrested for theft and treason, the world learns the truth: Brooke is an abolitionist and secret revolutionary, with a trove of buried treasure. Readers will uncover the tumult of his past, meeting his tragic love, Rebecca, and his enslaved partner-in-crime, Cato. We’ll learn, too, of the ripples he leaves across centuries, from the suspicious rise of Gilded Age icon Sam Billings, to hard-charging investigations by FBI agent Alvin Starkman and his wife Faye.

This debut novel from author and historian Matthew Speiser is a page-turning action story of human cruelty and compassion. It propels the reader from the glittering champagne parties of the antebellum South, to brutal slave quarters burning with the anguish and aspirations of America, to the high-octane offices of high-flying bankers and federal agents entering the modern age.

Sons of Liberty is an exciting, interwoven narrative set against the soaring ideals and lethal dangers of this nation’s boiling history. Unlock it for yourself, and become immersed in this tale of romance and betrayal, cast in the shadows of America’s defining wars.

My Review:

A timely read for February, this one written by an author with an exceptional curriculum vitae of American history.

Although this begins early in the 1800s, there are three time periods in which the telling of the original story plays out. It is Ulysses Brooke who crafts a plan that he hopes will benefit not only Cato, his childhood buddy, but the rest of the slaves on his family’s farm. With the realization he cannot pull his plan off by himself, he actually enlists the help of Cato and another boyhood friend who holds the same abolitionist sentiments as he.

Yes, he’s going to steal the very gold that has been gleaned by the slave market, but he won’t be caught with it as he creates a trove of buried treasure. He’s careful about all the locations having created a book in which detailed maps and instructions are left regarding the location of each burial site. Brilliant, huh? And he manages to do this successfully for years.

Enter the second era and a long one, the Billings family believe they are not only descendants of one of the three, but have the map book and proof they should legally have rights to the hoard. Sam Billings has unlocked much info from his family’s past and he grapples with it for decades.

Left now almost a century later to wrestle further over the investigation by FBI agent Starkman and his wife Faye (a woman of color), the FBI man bites like a bulldog into the story after an appearance in his office by descendants, hoping to finally get to the bottom of the whole thing.

The period of time with Ulysses is dark, emotional, and at times heart-wrenching. You want so much for Ulysses to succeed in his endeavors, his heart is in the right place, he and Cato well fleshed and empathetic. The long period with Sam could at times be a bit confusing, reconciling the year, and characters involved in his portion of the story. It seemed to slow the pace somewhat. The conclusion with the FBI agent draws most threads together, however, providing a satisfying ending to a complex and topical, well-written storyline.

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: Military Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, US Historical Fiction
Publisher: Black Rose Writing

ISBN-10: ‎ 1685131085
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1685131081

ASIN: B0BBJZPHPJ
Print Length: 352 pages
Publication Date: January 26, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Matthew Speiser has written numerous pieces grappling with American history, in publications ranging from the Tennessee Historical Quarterly to McSweeney’s. His doctoral dissertation examined battles over our national memory of the Civil War, which were waged long after the actual battlefields had quieted. As Chair of the History department at the Marymount School in Manhattan, and trustee on the Garrison Board of Education in Garrison, New York, Dr. Speiser engages with the legacy of America’s past every day. He holds a PhD in U.S. History from the University of Virginia. In this, his debut novel, he crafts a riveting tale with historical accuracy and a crackling, vivid style that keeps his audience engaged throughout. –This text refers to the paperback edition.

Have a great weekend!

The Castilians: A story of the siege of St Andrews Castle by VEH Masters -#BookReview – Historical Scottish Fiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

1546, and Scotland is bludgeoned by Henry VIII, determined to marry his son to the infant Mary, Queen of Scots. A few among the Scottish nobles, for both political and religious reasons, are eager for this alliance too. They kill Cardinal Beaton, who is Mary’s great protector, and take St Andrews Castle, expecting rescue any day from England.

For a sister and brother, spirited Bethia and rebellious Will, living in St Andrews and caught up on opposite sides, the siege becomes a fight for survival. As the long blockade unravels, it also becomes a test of their loyalties and what’s more important: to save their family, stay true to their beliefs, or to save themselves.

This debut novel closely follows the tumultuous events of the siege of St Andrews Castle, and its dramatic re-taking

‘A clever blend of fact and fiction, with engaging characters, gripping action, tension and drama galore, and a dash of romance. For lovers of Scotland and Scottish history this is a great read.’ Margaret Skea: winner of the Beryl Bainbridge Award.

‘The setting, the history and the characters all come together in a perfect blend. I highly recommend this intriguing novel.’ Jean M Roberts

‘The darker side of St Andrews Castle’s history, written with such delightful detail I could almost taste and smell the medieval streets of the historic town!’ Lynsey Maxwell

‘This book has everything I like – suspense, romance and humour. Beautifully descriptive and left me thinking about the characters even after I finished reading it.’

Finalist, Wishing Shelf Book Awards

His Review:

The Reformation is in its’ infancy! Martin Luther has started a movement that will separate brother from brother, father from son and countries will wage war as a result. The early years in the 1500’s were not a great time to be alive! The control of the family is ruled by a dictatorial father and a society can turn against a family in an instant. The ruling class is only too happy to seize a families’ property and turn them out into the street penniless.

A man is being burned at the stake for preaching the gospel in opposition to the Catholic Church. Elspeth’s brother Will is outraged as are many of the people in the city. Will and a group of reformers calling themselves The Castilians take over the castle of the local Cardinal Beaton who has exacted large “tithes” from the local population. The Cardinal is living in splendor in Castle St. Andrews. The Castle was the former home of a Queen of Scotland. The storehouse is filled with all kinds of excellent foods and drinks while food is scarce for the population.

Occupying the castle is the central theme of the story. I found the accompanying theme of Elspeth trying to save her brother even more compelling. She is a strong lass who often ignores her father in attempts to aid and save her brothers’ life. The description of the castle and its’ surrounds paint a vivid scene of life during that time period.

Unaccompanied young females are looked upon with avarice and wonton lust! Elspeth’s endeavors to get food and other necessities to her brother put her in danger of rape, although she does have some young men in the community who look after and protect her from some of these miscreants. Meanwhile her father is looking for a convenient marriage for his daughter. This will keep him in the lifestyle to which he has become accustomed. Family alliances are critical to maintaining this good lifestyle.

International trade and pilgrimage are part of the charm of the town. Elspeth becomes very interested in one of these pilgrims who came to pray at the local St. Andrews Cathedral. She is torn between obeying her father, helping her brother, and avoiding being paired with a local fat but affluent man. He is called “Fat Norman.” He is solicitous towards Elspeth and seems a gentle soul. She could do worse!

Overall, the flavor of this narrative is both engaging and enlightening. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in historical environs and strong protagonists. 5 stars-C.E. Williams

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author through direct request. This in no way swayed my opinion and these are my unbiased thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical British & Irish Literature, Historical Scottish Fiction, Scottish Historical Romance
Publisher: Nydie Books

ASIN : B08NYSLN9Z

Print Length: 239 pages
Publication Date: November 26, 2020
Source: Direct author request
Title Link: The Castilians
Also find the book on Barnes and Noble

The Author: VEH Masters was born and grew up on a farm just outside of St. Andrews in Scotland. She’s been fascinated by the siege of St Andrews Castle ever since her history teacher took the class on a visit, which included going down the siege tunnel dug out of rock and peering into the bottle dungeon where Cardinal Beaton’s body is said to have been kept, pickled in salt, for over a year.

She’s lived for most of her life nearby and St Andrews is one of her two favourite places in the world. She now lives between Penicuik and Peebles, which are both pretty amazing towns too.

The Castilians is her debut novel and she’s currently working on a sequel. Find her on Twitter and her Website.

Sockeye by Michael F Tevlin – A #BookReview #readingirelandmonth20

A Review by associate CE.

Book Blurb:

Joe Wallace returns to this remote Oregon valley from self-imposed exile to bury the father who abandoned him a decade ago. Sad, alone and drinking, Joe has nearly given up on life and love.

Things change when Joe meets Ana, whose Nez Perce ancestors once called this valley home. Joe joins Ana’s cause to restore a lost sockeye salmon run to the lake where he grew up. As their relationship deepens, their peril grows. Somebody wants them gone – or dead.

The escalating threats rekindle a fire Joe thought was dead or buried in him. When his jealous brother tries to develop the family’s land, Joe must make a stand.

In the end, Joe discovers a life worth living, with a woman he was meant to love, in the place he was meant to live. And he realizes the redemption possible in a deep connection to the land.

His Review:

Do sons need to atone for the failings of their fathers? This author explores this issue in this sad and revealing story set in one of Oregon’s most beautiful settings. Joe Wallace left under the pressure of an alcoholic father and a murdered fiancée. He thought Alaska and a life of fishing could keep him insulated from the loneliness and heartbreak of lost love.

But life does not offer solitude as forgiveness for forgotten memories. Joe comes back for the funeral of his father only to confront the devils of his past. Do-gooders are attempting to restore the salmon runs in outback Oregon. They see the controlled waterways and dams as a total rape of the natural environment.

Of course, there is sibling rivalry between Joe and his older brother. The family homestead of 160 acres is a prime opportunity for developers to change this ranch forever. His older brother has been counting the value of the land for years. All that is needed is to have Joe and his sister McKenzie agree to sell the property to developers. Neither of them wants to sell the property and lose their childhood home and memories.

A young Nez Perce Indian lady is part of a consortium to blow up the dam and revert the land and river to its’ natural flow. Most of the small town is against the plan because the dam provides life-giving water to the ranches and farms in this semi-arid region. No matter which way they turn, the Wallace family is going to make enemies.

Alcoholism is a cruel taskmaster. No matter where you go it will always seek you out. Old man Wallace had places where bottles were hidden all around the ranch property. Like father like son, Joe knew all of the secret hiding places and followed in his fathers’ shadow. He felt he would never be able to live up to the example set by his dad and the bottle was a convenient crutch.

The young lady, Ana, falls in love with Joe. The old adage that two people influenced by alcohol will always seek each other holds true in the story. Disaster is always a bottle away. These well-developed characters fight through this problem and it almost destroys them. A son is born to them and Ana struggles to keep Joe centered on his new family.

This narrative is well developed and engaging. Anyone coming from a broken home destroyed by alcohol will recognize much of this storyline. I found the story compelling. 4/5 stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Native American Literature, Family Life Fiction, Small Town and Rural Fiction
Publisher: Black Rose Writing

ISBN-10:1684334659
ISBN-13:978-1684334650
ASIN: B084Q83GS5

Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: March 12, 2020
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Sockeye (Amazon link)

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

The Author: Michael F. Tevlin was born not far from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York, and grew up on Staten Island. He is the second of five children. His father was a New York cop, and both his parents were the children of Irish immigrants. He has a bachelor’s from the State University of New York at Oneonta and a master’s in journalism from the University of Oregon. He and his wife, Diane, moved to Oregon when they were 25 and put down roots. He worked briefly as a reporter before moving on to a corporate and freelance writing career. His first novel, “Sockeye,” will be published by Black Rose Writing in March 2020. He plays guitar and sings, loves the outdoors, surfs occasionally when visiting his older son in California and fly-fishes whenever he can with his younger son. He and Diane have two grandkids and live in Portland.