Citizen K-9: A K Team Novel by David Rosenfelt – #Audiobook Review – #AnimalFiction

Citizen K-9 by David Rosenfelt

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The Paterson Police Department has created a cold case division, and they want to hire the private investigators known as the K Team to look into the crimes. After all, Corey Douglas and his K-9 partner, German shepherd Simon Garfunkel, recently retired from the force. Plus, another K Team member, Laurie Collins, used to be a cop as well.

Their first cold case hits home for the K Team. A decade ago, at Laurie’s 10th high school reunion, two of their friends simply…vanished. At the time Laurie had just left the force, and Corey was in a different department, so they had no choice but to watch from the sidelines. With no leads, the case went cold.

As the team starts to delve deeper into the events leading up to that night – reopening old wounds along the way – the pieces start to come together. But someone wants to stop them from uncovering the truth behind the disappearance, by any means necessary.

In Citizen K-9, best-selling author David Rosenfelt masterfully blends mystery with dogs and humor to create an investigative team that listeners will be rooting for book after book.

My Review:

Yes, this is a spin-off of one of my favorite series, Andy Carpenter, so I was a bit wary of anything that didn’t include the wise-ass attorney. However, I tried the K-Team because a number of the characters that are included in the Andy Carpenter series are featured in this one except Andy Carpenter is exchanged for retired cop Corey Douglas and Carpenter’s dogs for Simon Garfunkel, also a retired (canine) cop. (With me so far?)

But it is not Andy Carpenter by any other name.

Corey works with Laurie, also a retired cop (seriously, is there anyone left on the Paterson NJ police force?), and Laurie also happens to be Andy’s wife. AH HA, you say! Yes, a little nepotism, but this series gets a whole lot more serious.

The K Team works with the Paterson NJ police using their consultant funds to work on cold cases. Perfect. And this cold case involves two former classmates of Laurie’s, both disappearing after a high school reunion almost ten years ago.

As you can see, I haven’t lost a mystery with several dogs, as now there is one very serious German Shepherd and a favorite of the precinct. I have though lost the snarky, sarcastic wise-cracking Andy Carpenter, but I must say, Corey is growing on me despite his quirky personality. And, he may have a steady girl now—enter a budding romance.

This is not the Andy Carpenter series with one new character (minus the courtroom scenes), although you may wish to go back to Book 1 just to get the intro to Corey. I really enjoy Fred Berman’s voice as Corey, he does a great job, and Rosenfelt manages to work Carpenter in for free (cameo) legal appearances. These are complex mysteries with easy, fast, and engaging plots.

I read Book 2 February 2021, Animal Instinct, and thoroughly enjoyed it, found that it built well on the foundation set in this new series. While the concept borrows from the author’s successful characters of the Andy Carpenter series, these first three K-9s are engaging and entertaining and can be read as standalones. This one is just released and I urge you to check it out.

I received a complimentary review copy of this audiobook from the publisher and NetGalley. Thank you, thank you! These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B094DWV1FH
Listening Length: 5 hrs 53 mins
Narrator: Fred Berman
Publication Date: March 15, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Citizen K-9 [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

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

[Goodreads] I am a novelist with 27 dogs.

I have gotten to this dubious position with absolutely no planning, and at no stage in my life could I have predicted it. But here I am.

My childhood was relentlessly normal. The middle of three brothers, loving parents, a middle-class home in Paterson, New Jersey. We played sports, studied sporadically. laughed around the dinner table, and generally had a good time. By comparison, “Ozzie and Harriet’s” clan seemed bizarre.

I graduated NYU, then decided to go into the movie business. I was stunningly brilliant at a job interview with my uncle, who was President of United Artists, and was immediately hired. It set me off on a climb up the executive ladder, culminating in my becoming President of Marketing for Tri-Star Pictures. The movie landscape is filled with the movies I buried; for every “Rambo”, “The Natural” and “Rocky”, there are countless disasters.

I did manage to find the time to marry and have two children, both of whom are doing very well, and fortunately neither have inherited my eccentricities.

A number of years ago, I left the movie marketing business, to the sustained applause of hundreds of disgruntled producers and directors. I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote and sold a bunch of feature films, none of which ever came close to being actually filmed, and then a bunch of TV movies, some of which actually made it to the small screen. It’s safe to say that their impact on the American cultural scene has been minimal.

About fourteen years ago, my wife and I started the Tara Foundation, named in honor of the greatest Golden Retriever the world has ever known. We rescued almost 4,000 dogs, many of them Goldens, and found them loving homes. Our own home quickly became a sanctuary for those dogs that we rescued that were too old or sickly to be wanted by others. They surround me as I write this. It’s total lunacy, but it works, and they are a happy, safe group.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidr…
http://www.davidrosenfelt.com

The Narrator: Fred Berman Hundreds of commercials, promos, and video games; over 200 audiobooks and counting; 4 time winner of the Audie Award; 11 time winner of the Audiofile Earphone Award.

Poison Pen (Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting Mysteries Book 1) by Sheila Lowe – #BookReview – #DomesticThrillers

Poison Pen by Sheila Lowe

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

“IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED.”

Those were the words on the suicide note found near Lindsey Alexander’s body. The police say it is an apparent suicide. Case closed.

Or is it?

Ivan, Lindsey’s partner, disagrees. He hires forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose to poke around.

Motives for murder begin to pile up. Lindsey had made powerful enemies. Soon, a brutal attempt on Ivan’s life confirms Claudia’s fears.

A desperate enemy is lurking.
There is a massive target on Claudia’s back.

Claudia must join forces with intense LAPD detective Joel Jovanic to survive. They must stop the killer before the killer destroys her.

If you loved Simon McLeave’s A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series, you would most certainly love Sheila Lowe’s masterfully written forensic mystery thriller series.

His Review:

“Handwriting is similar to body language and tone of voice in that it reveals a lot of information about the writer.” Much scientific research has gone into this area of study. Handwriting can identify the writer and many of their mental characteristics. Claudia is an expert in that field. Could a suicide note supposedly written by the deceased actually have been written by another?

Ms. Lowe identifies the study of handwriting with the acumen of an investigator or artist painting a portrait of the author by the sample. Comparing the suicide note to known examples of the victim’s handwriting can quickly expose that a crime was committed. The topic goes much deeper however. Handwriting actually exposes various idiosyncrasies hidden in the psyche of the writer.

When a crime has been committed, the perpetrator will try to alter his/her handwriting. What better way than to print in block letters rather than write a note? Not a bad plan except for one little problem.

This particular note was uncharacteristic of the deceased. Unlike DNA or other clues, handwriting does not have a national database or another repository of historical evidence to draw from. I was impressed by the author’s description of the lengths a good handwriting analyst must go to; the types of letters, flowery curlicues, or rigidity, clearly identify a particular personality.

I suggest anyone with a desire to become a detective read this tome. It illuminates basic personality characteristics and styles the average person would never consider. Kudos to the author! Engaging and entertaining. 5 stars from CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Women’s Crime Fiction, Mystery Series
Publisher: Write Choice Ink
ASIN: B08WQ36GFP
Print Length: 350 pages
Publication Date: February 22, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Poison Pen [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble

The Author: Sheila Lowe writes stories of psychological suspense that put ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose in the award-winning Forensic Handwriting series, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting expert who testifies in court cases. She also writes the Beyond the Veil paranormal suspense series and nonfiction books about handwriting and personality.

Where to find Sheila

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/sheila-lowe
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/SheilaLoweBooksHandwritingExaminer
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/sheilalowebooks/
Amazon Author page – https://www.amazon.com/author/sheilalowe
Goodreads Author page – https://www.goodreads.com/SheilaLowe
LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/sheilalowe
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/sheila_lowe
YouTube Channel – https://bit.ly/3lfPUc7

Have a great weekend!

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne – #Audiobook Review – #TBT

A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne

A Reading Ireland Month book

“Ambition is putting a ladder to the sky.”
—American proverb

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Maurice Swift is handsome, charming, and hungry for fame. The one thing he doesn’t have is talent—but he’s not about to let a detail like that stand in his way. After all, a would-be writer can find stories anywhere. They don’t need to be his own.

Working as a waiter in a West Berlin hotel in 1988, Maurice engineers the perfect opportunity: a chance encounter with celebrated novelist Erich Ackermann. He quickly ingratiates himself with the powerful – but desperately lonely – older man, teasing out of Erich a terrible, long-held secret about his activities during the war. Perfect material for Maurice’s first novel.

Once Maurice has had a taste of literary fame, he knows he can stop at nothing in pursuit of that high. Moving from the Amalfi Coast, where he matches wits with Gore Vidal, to Manhattan and London, Maurice hones his talent for deceit and manipulation, preying on the talented and vulnerable in his cold-blooded climb to the top. But the higher he climbs, the further he has to fall. . . .

Sweeping across the late twentieth century, A Ladder to the Sky is a fascinating portrait of a relentlessly immoral man, a tour de force of storytelling, and the next great novel from an acclaimed literary virtuoso.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

My Review:

Maurice Swift—to what ends will this brilliantly manipulative character go to cement his life’s goal—that of a successful literary author?

OMG, did this one fairly bury me in amazing characters; fascinating, narcissistic, bold, secure and begins naively enough with the introduction to aging author Erich Ackermann. Erich is inexplicably attracted to young Maurice who exudes fan adoration in Erich’s books. So when Erich invites him to act as his assistant on a book tour, Maurice jumps at the chance. Erich falls heavily for young Maurice and it doesn’t help that Maurice is exceedingly attractive and aware of his sexual appeal.

Maurice, who would LOVE to write the next prize-winning literary novel but doesn’t have a clue how to come up with his own original story is, unfortunately, willing to do anything. Then Erich entrusts him with his most shameful haunting secrets and there’s Maurice’s story. It’s dark and deliciously deadly. It ultimately destroys Erich when it comes out but Maurice basks in the success. He can neatly and effectively avoid any guilt. It is, of course, Erich’s disgraceful act during the war that leads to the public outcry against him.

But while Maurice as despot is the main character, there comes a succession of deeply emotive characters, gripping, engaging. The well-developed part of Maurice’s wife; easy to love, sweet unsophisticated, and trusting, her POV comes to the forefront—for a short while.

Remember that old saying, “When the Gods want to punish us, they answer our prayers.” [Oscar Wilde]

Maurice always wanted to have a child of his own. In the meantime, there is a series of name-dropping that includes Gore (Vidal) whose conversations lead to some very witty, insightful glances into the cut-throat world of the literary (…that hack Swift). Dog eat dog. How far is Maurice willing to go to succeed, to be the one with the next bestseller. His bestseller or not?

At each turn, the plot goes from benign to cancerous, bland to black, and soon this reader is turning pages over jaw-dropping twists you wouldn’t have believed, was it not for the continued fleshing of the moral character of Maurice. Is he capable of this? Oh yes, he is. And it’s becoming frightening.

Maurice is a master at rationalization—he can always see where the fault lay in the other—himself as the innocent who merely provided the catalyst to the story—made it better. Why shouldn’t he reap the reward?

And then the end, when you think it’s caught up with him? The irony? The last laugh is on you, fellow reader. It’s a gotcha!

Now, have you ever wondered what the words are under the title? I know what it is. Have you read this book? Want to discuss it or are you curious what it says under the title? Ask me in the comments.

One last thought: The narrators did a superlative job on this audiobook, most especially that inebriate voice. So realistic. This novel still resonates with me and will for some time. I’ll look for more books from this author.

Book Details:

Genre: LGBTQ, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B07FW4C8BC
Listening Length: 11 hrs 32 mins
Narrators: Richard E. Grant, Richard Cordery, Nina Sosanya, Laurence Kennedy
Publication Date: November 13, 2018
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: A Ladder to the Sky [Amazon]

The Author: John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971. The winner of three Irish Book Awards, he is the author of thirteen novels for adults, six for younger readers and a collection of short stories. The international bestseller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was made into a Miramax feature film and has sold more than eleven million copies worldwide. His novels are published in over fifty languages. He lives in Dublin. http://www.johnboyne.com.

#throwbackthursday

Wolf Catcher by Anne Montgomery – #BookReview – Native American Literature

Wolf Catcher by Anne Montgomery

A Reading Ireland Month book

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

“Gardening is not about growing food, but about growing children.”

Book Blurb:

A reporter seeks information on an eleventh century magician and discovers that black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.

In 1939, archaeologists uncovered a tomb at the Northern Arizona site called Ridge Ruin. The man, bedecked in fine turquoise jewelry and intricate beadwork, was surrounded by wooden swords with handles carved into animal hooves and human hands. The Hopi workers stepped back from the grave, knowing what the Moochiwimi sticks meant. This man, buried nine-hundred years earlier, was a magician.

Former television journalist Kate Butler hangs on to her investigative reporting career by writing freelance magazine articles. Her research on The Magician shows he bore some European facial characteristics and physical qualities that made him different from the people who buried him. Her quest to discover The Magician’s origin carries her back to a time when the high desert world was shattered by the birth of a volcano and into the present-day dangers of archaeological looting where black market sales of antiquities can lead to murder.

My Review:

Boy, didn’t this one grip me quickly and keep me glued to the pages! I absolutely love reading fiction tales about the ancient history of our own beautiful United States—this one in the spectacular geographical area known as Arizona. Probably better known for searing summer desert heat, the state boasts a multitude of topographical diversity.

Chapel of the Holy Cross, Flagstaff AZ — Chapel of the Holy Cross

Flagstaff, north of Phoenix, is high desert at almost 7,000 feet, a little over eighteen miles from Ridge Ruin. When I was still riding my motorcycle, the girls and I rode to Prescott—and then a short ride to pricey but gorgeous Sedona, the artsy community not far from Flagstaff that features red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls, and inexplicably deep pine forests. Sedona (twenty-nine miles from Flagstaff) is unique and heart-poundingly stunning. While there, I’d recommend a visit to the (active Catholic) Chapel of the Holy Cross built into the red rocks that offer dramatic views.

So I was deeply and thoroughly embroiled in this imaginative novel that split the storyline in dual narratives: The current one and that of the eleventh century capturing a native people written so creatively, you’d swear it was taken from the pages of a diary.

Kate Butler is a freelancer working on an article regarding the discovery in 1939 of a tomb near Ridge Ruin where a man buried nine hundred years previously was obviously a magician and sacred member of the tribe populating the ridge. But was he of the tribe? If not, where did he come from? And here’s where it turns fascinating—enter the world of Kaya, Wolf Catcher, Deer Runner, Badger, and the white wolf, Spirit Warrior.

The Arizona high desert landscape in the tenth, eleventh century was changed by the active volcanoes of the area forcing tribes to abandon their villages and seek fresh game, water, and arable conditions. Some peoples were peacefully assimilated; some not so peacefully ventured to take by force the attractive conditions offered by distant communities.

Kaya, accepted to her village as a child, is a healer, but still not wholly one of them and keeps herself separate. Her skills, however, are unquestioned having learned from her mother. I loved her character and that of the support characters of the village. Their stories, their lives, come to life and breathe their circumstances to reality in the mind. Their experience as the storyline hurtles to conclusion is gripping.

The novel melds seamlessly much of fact with fiction. I love it when I’m moved to research the veracity of places like Ridge Ruin. Although to be accurate here, the author discloses her own discoveries when she was commissioned to write a feature article about The Magician by the Arizona Highways Magazine, and I must say managed to incorporate a complex tale here combining the tribal experience possibilities into an unputdownable account that includes a crushingly plausible antagonist bent on stealing artifacts.

“Our priority was the guys with guns, not the ones with shovels.”

Loved the cliff-hanging chapter endings. Well researched, well-plotted and paced, a historical mystery that raises still more questions about the migrations and origins of peoples and artifacts found in unlikely places.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts. Trust me, you’ll love it. Totally recommended and out now!

Book Details:

Genre: Native American Literature, US Historical Fiction
Publisher: TouchPoint Press
ASIN: B09MV1H4N3
Print Length: 382 pages
Publication Date: February 2, 2022
Source: Author inquiry

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Anne Butler Montgomery has worked as a television sportscaster, newspaper and magazine writer, teacher, 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, The Scent of Rain, A Light in the Desert, and Wild Horses on the Salt, Montgomery taught high school journalism for 20 years and 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. When she can, she indulges in her passions: rock collecting, musical theater, scuba diving, and playing her guitar.

Find Anne Montgomery on her website: https://annemontgomerywriter.com/

NB: Ms. Montgomery states she has “red hair and freckles” and is American of Irish descent.

Cathedral attribute: Red Rock Realty

Chasing Time by Thomas Reilly – #BookReview – #medicalthrillers

A Reading Ireland Month contribution

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Devastated by his wife’s terminal illness, retired teacher Tony Lucas seeks to recapture a lost magical key from his youth that has the power to predict the future and use it to unravel additional mysteries that could save her. Racing against time as the disease extracts its unforgiving toll, Tony embarks on an amazing quest involving a series of unexpected plot twists, cryptic clues, and memorable characters.

Driven by a strong male lead, this heartwarming book combines realistic medical elements with a hint of fantasy to create a gripping, suspenseful narrative. Reilly spins a compelling tale of a devoted husband’s resilience and perseverance as he pursues a life-saving mission that extends from Ancient Rome to modern-day America to the olive orchards of Spain.

His Review:

A strange talisman slips through time enhancing the lives of various individuals. Is time a continuous event with no beginning or no end? Lucius Fabius Antonius thought this might be true of the first century A.D. Lucius was an olive oil merchant in the Roman empire when disease ravaged the production in Italy. He was forced to look outside the empire and found a better product in Spain.

Two thousand plus years later Anthony Lucas waits patiently for a time capsule to be opened after it is discovered in a cornerstone of the old school. He is lucky to be chosen the recipient of the unusual talisman in the small copper box.

He discovers a five inch key-like object near an Italian restaurant which is intricately carved into the figure of a two-faced man. Tony tosses the key in his backpack and proceeds home. The box he won in class had an old newspaper clipping from 1906. The article included interesting happenings in that year along with some evidence of possible shady dealings from some of New York’s more prominent citizens.

Weird events continue to happen to the eighth-grader as he progresses through life.

This entire story is a very engrossing tale of what could be. As I read the book, I was drawn into the whirlpool of potential events in the confluence of time. I was so engrossed I could not put the story down but zipped through it. Start the book and you too will be all consumed! 5 stars – CE Williams

Thomas Michael Reilly—definitely of Irish descent—and my second novel by an Irish author or book about Ireland in participation with the eighth annual Reading Ireland Month. We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Medical Thrillers, Medical Fiction
Publisher: World Castle Publishing LLC
ASIN: B09DTJPPLR
Print Length: 160pages
Publication Date: September 13, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Chasing Time [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Thomas Reilly is a retired biotechnology scientist and executive who holds a doctoral degree in microbiology. He is the author of numerous essays and articles on science and technology. CHASING TIME, his first novel, is a gripping medical suspense story with a touch of magical realism that captures many elements of the drug research and development processes. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife Linda.

Reading Ireland Month 2022

February Rosepoint Review Recap—Welcome March! (Finally…)

Rosepoint Reviews February Recap

Rosepoint Reviews-February Recap

We finally got our snow, although still under the norm. Warmer temps are forecast finally though that will go back and forth for the most part of March. I am still setting up 2022 folders as I need them and now searching for Irish authors, Ireland related books, or other fun Ireland related possible posts in March for Reading Ireland Month where Cathy has some great author and book recommendations. The first book review for March will be The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham on March 4. I got the audiobook from NetGalley, a powerful and emotional Historical Fiction and one I heartily recommend.

Between the CE and I, we managed fifteen book reviews for February, most from NetGalley, audiobooks (local library and now more from NetGalley), a few from author requests as well as one blog tour. (Links to our reviews below.)

February reads

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘em Dead by Elle Cosimano
Trapped by Sigmund Brouwer (A CE review)
The Doomsday Medallion by Avanti Centrae (A CE 5* review)
Moment in Time by Suzanne Redfearn
To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear
Silencio by Mike Faricy (A CE review)
The Darkest Place by Phillip Margolin (A CE review)
The Unveiling of Polly Forrest by Charlotte Whitney
The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn
The Conversos by VEH Masters (A CE 5* review)
Every Little Secret by Sarah Clarke (A CE review)
The Art of the Decoy by Trish Esden
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
DoubleBlind by Libby Fischer Hellmann (A CE 5* review)
The Bucharest Dossier by William Maz (A CE review)

Reading Challenges

A short month, February, and so much going on have not gotten the challenge page updated. My challenges for 2022 are all listed and linked in the widget column on the right. You can check out the progress of my challenges by clicking the Reading Challenges page but so far I’m four books ahead on my Goodreads Challenge of 180 books at 32. And, I’m excited to mention that I’m over the 420 mark on the Readometer for NetGalley that I’ve posted in the widgets column!

Book Club and Reading/Listening Update

As the Page Turns Book Club finished The Song of Achilles and thinking the next would be The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi, listened to that too. But no, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, a Goodreads Choice Award nominee and all-round awesome Historical Fiction was chosen. It’s also a NYTimes bestseller, a USA Today bestseller, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and a PBS Book pick. Not bad, indeed! (Also one I’d overwhelmingly recommend.) I will be posting my review for The Henna Artist on Thursday, March 31. In the meantime, I’ll be reviewing in audiobook form Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann on Thursday, March 17 (perfect day for an audiobook for Reading Ireland Month) and from my local library whichever I can get by Gabriel Byrne, Kevin Barry, or Dervla McTiernan (as recommended by Cathy at 746 Books (thank you, Cathy).

Welcome to my new followers and a hardy thank you to those who continue to read, like, share, and comment. I do so appreciate you!!

Rosepoint winter graphic

DoubleBlind (Georgia Davis Series Book 6) by Libby Fischer Hellmann – #BookReview – #medicalthriller

DoubleBlind by Libby Fischer Hellmann

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

With little work during the pandemic, Chicago PI Georgia Davis agrees to help the best friend of fellow sleuth, Ellie Foreman. Susan Siler’s aunt died suddenly after her Covid booster, and Susan’s distraught mother wants the death investigated.

However, Georgia’s investigation is interrupted by a family trip to Nauvoo, Illinois, the one-time Mormon heartland. It’s there that her life unexpectedly intersects with the runaway spouse of a Mormon Fundamentalist. Back in Evanston, after Georgia is almost killed by a hit and run driver, she discovers that she and the escaped woman look remarkably alike.

Is someone trying to kill Georgia because of her death investigation case? Or is it a case of mistaken identity? And how can Georgia find her doppelganger before whoever wants them both dead tries again?

His Review:

The state of Utah was founded by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and Brigham Young. They were escaping religious persecution after John Smith formed the church in New York, fled to Illinois and was persecuted by organized religion and finally went to Utah to have a place they could worship and form their religion in peace.

A splinter group called the Fundamentalists are a radical group within the church whose sole purpose is to maintain the integrity of the original teachings of the founders. Those teachings include polygamy and this splinter group practice it today. The group has men with multiple partners, some as young as 13 or 14. Eden had married for love and the first years of her marriage were very happy. Then her husband found a younger woman and married her as well. Eden became a house charwoman and was often beaten and denigrated by her husband. Despite having three children she had to escape for her own sanity.

Eden runs to Chicago and environs around Illinois where the church first began. A large city offers a chance for anonymity. With no source of income, she is reduced to living in homeless shelters and relying upon the charity and hospitality of others. She is constantly looking over her shoulder and in fear of being dragged back to Utah. She fears for her life but wants to see her three children again.

Ms. Fischer-Hellman writes a very illuminating expose of the lives of these women married into this sect. Leaving husbands means giving up everything the woman has and escaping to another life, hidden. However, there are members of the sect who are very talented investigators and, if found, leaving a husband can result in beatings, imprisonment, and in some cases death.

I found this book enlightening on the Fundamentalist Sect of the Mormon Church and enjoyed the novel. It is a good primer for anyone who is considering joining this church and will need to evaluate the consequences. 5 stars – C.E. Williams

I read Book 5 of this series, High Crimes, and also found it to be a solid and riveting narrative. We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher by winning a Goodreads Giveaway that in no way influenced this review. He enjoyed her strong well-researched writing style as well and these are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Medical Thrillers, Medical Fiction, Women’s Adventure Fiction
Publisher: The Red Herrings Press
ASIN: B09JV6CMCJ
Print Length: 335 pages
Publication Date: March 8, 2022
Source: Publisher and Goodreads Giveaway
Title Link(s): DoubleBlind [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Libby would love to visit your Book Club or Library Via Zoom. Click here: https://www.libbyhellmann.com/book-clubs-and-libraries

Libby Fischer Hellmann is a critically acclaimed crime writer loved by readers the world over for her compulsively readable thrillers and strong female characters. Her fast-paced crime fiction spans 16 novels and 25 short stories. She also writes historical fiction stand-alones and edited the evergreen popular crime fiction anthology CHICAGO BLUES. Her newest historical fiction, A BEND IN THE RIVER was released in October, 2020.

With critics describing her work as “masterful” and “meticulously researched”, Libby’s thrilling and richly varied novels have won numerous awards. Libby is committed to her work, and in 2005-2006 she was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 3,400+ member organization dedicated to strengthening the voice of female mystery writers.

Libby started out in broadcast news, beginning her career as an assistant film editor for NBC News in New York before moving to DC to work with Robin MacNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. Retrained as an assistant director when Watergate broke, Libby helped produce PBS’s night-time broadcast of the hearings. She moved to Chicago to work for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller in Chicago in 1978, where she stayed until she left to found Fischer Hellmann Communications in 1985.

Originally from Washington, D.C.–where, she says, “When you’re sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you’re talking politics”– Libby earned a Masters Degree in Film Production from New York University and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to writing, Libby writes and produces videos, and conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training and crisis communications.

AN EYE FOR MURDER, introduced Ellie Foreman, a video producer and single mother who went on to star in five more novels in a series described by Libby as “a cross between Desperate Housewives and 24.” The mystery was nominated for several awards and described by Publisher’s Weekly as “a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense.” Libby’s second series follows the Chicago PI Georgia Davis, a no-nonsense detective who has been featured in five books so far. Her historical fiction includes what she calls her “Revolution Trilogy,” (Set the Night on Fire, A Bitter Veil, and Havana Lost) in which we meet young activists during the late Sixties, a young American woman who becomes trapped in the Iranian revolution, and a female Mafia boss in Cuba who chases power at the expense of love.

And if you’ve read this far, you deserve a reward! When you sign up for her newsletter, you’ll receive 7 free short stories, including the prequel to the AN EYE FOR MURDER series, which is the prequel to the Georgia Davis series, which will be the prequel… to who knows what? Whatever it is, Libby guarantees it will be compelling.

Click to sign up here: http://www.libbyhellmann.com/libby-fischer-hellmans-newsletter/

V Williams

Have a great weekend from Rosepoint Publishing

The Conversos (The Seton Chronicles Book 2) by V E H Masters – #BookReview – Renaissance Historical Fiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Europe 1547. The rising tide of the Reformation threatens bloody revolution. And the terror of the Inquisition grows, even for those who have converted.

Bethia, newly married tries to find her way in Antwerp, both the city and family she now belongs to a constant source of confusion – and sometimes fear. While her brother Will, enslaved on a French galley, doubts there will ever be an end to his torment.

Divided by faith, Bethia and Will each desperately seek a place of refuge from the looming maelstrom.

But there is no safe haven… unless Will denies his beliefs and Bethia surrenders those she loves.

His Review:

Europe in the sixteenth century is in major turmoil. War and intrigue are everywhere and the primary areas of power are near seas. Antwerp is one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Europe. Conscripted oarsmen power boats across vast oceans. Their life is miserable and they are nearly starved to death. They must sleep on the benches where they man the oars and are not allowed to go anywhere to relieve themselves. The stench is overwhelming!

V.E.H. Masters has illuminated this era with a kind gentleness that is refreshing. Conversos are Jews who have become Christians and their children and grandchildren follow the faith. Martin Luther has been the catalyst for the schism in the Catholic church and whole countries are being torn asunder by the battles.

Bethia has married a citizen of Antwerp and has joined him in his new home. She is conversant in a number of languages but her first is Scottish. Her husband Mainard is a loving provider and she is moved into his parents’ house. They are very wealthy and she is swept up in a new life. Her brother Will, in the meantime, has been subscripted into service as an oarsman on a French merchant vessel.

The metamorphosis of religions is intriguing and well portrayed. Lives and fortunes are lost based upon the religion one professes. The rise of Adolf Hitler is certainly not the first European conflict affecting Jews in Europe. This tale features a similar pressure on the Jewish community and their involvement in manufacturing and trade. Someone declaring you are Jewish can result in your fortune and livelihood being taken away and your expulsion from the country.

I found the fortunes of a young Scottish lass both fascinating and enlightening. Mass extermination was not the problem but expulsion from many countries and confiscation of all their worldly possessions could result in starvation. Third-generation Christians would not separate the families from their Jewish roots. The result is an eye-opening and intriguing glimpse into life during the Middle Ages. 5 stars – CE Williams

Although you could read this as a standalone, it is considered a sequel to The Castilians which we read and reviewed last year and also greatly enjoyed. We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. (These are his honest opinions.)

Book Details:

Genre: Renaissance Historical Fiction, Tudor Romance, Historical Biographical Fiction
Publisher: Nydie Books
ASIN: B09LDZLMV9
Print Length: 337 pages
Publication Date: November 8, 2021
Source: Author request
Title Link(s): The Conversos: Vivid and Compelling Historical Fiction [Amazon]
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.

When she learned that the group who took the castle and held it for over 14 months, resisting the many attempts to re-take it, called themselves the Castilians, she knew even then it was the perfect title for the story.

The sequel, The Conversos, which picks up to the hour where The Castilians left off, continues the dramatic adventures of Bethia and Will. To find out more please go to her website https://vehmasters.com/ and she would be honoured if you signed up for the newsletter.

The Castilians is now available as an audiobook on Audible, narrated by the talented actor and voice artist Beverley Wright.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Castilians-Gripping-Scottish-Historical-Chronicles/dp/B09NQ8G8Q8

snowy weekend