#historicalmystery – Page 2 – Rosepoint Publishing

Roaring Liberty: The Queenstown Series – Book 4 by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

in Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

New York City, 1922

Harp Devereaux is torn. Part of her desperately wants to return to Ireland to finish what she and her family and friends started, and to witness the departure of the British forces from Ireland after eight hundred long years. But the other part finds life in America during the Roaring Twenties too exciting to trade for the sleepy streets of County Cork.

She and JohnJoe are united and determined to sample all that life after the Great War has to offer, but life Stateside is not as free and easy as Harp first imagines and soon she finds herself longing for the simplicity of her homeland.

She wants to live life on her own terms but life is never simple, on either side of the Atlantic, and there are sinister forces at work, determined to bring them all down..

My Review:

Book 4 of the Queenstown series wraps it up in classic style, managing to resolve all the issues in a fast-moving and immersive conclusion.

While I was not able to walk in Harp’s shoes, I do so enjoy all the characters, especially JohnJoe and in this entry to the series Jerry, Elliot, and Celia. Harp and JohnJoe hesitantly form a vaudeville act upon the insistence of Jerry who will act as manager and promoter, as well as Elliot (on violin) and Celia, their bookkeeper and seamstress.

After Rose and Matt return to Ireland, Harp feels free to live as she wants to live her life and that’s as a performer—beginning in New York where they find a lucrative level of success, particularly after Elliot pens an original that is picked as a favorite in their venues.

But there are issues back home and Jerry opens an opportunity to play in Dublin allowing Harp to see her mother again. While in Ireland, however, they discover the tentative and long-awaited peace treaty with Britain divides their country between those who are agreeable to the terms and those who are not, creating a dangerous climate and turning former friends to enemies.

Also, there is the issue of the home that Harp inherited when her “father” claimed her as his heir, bypassing his own brother who took possession of Cliff House following their hasty exodus to the states.

The well-paced narrative slowed somewhat in the middle as issues having been introduced were more carefully examined and possible remedies posited, while song lyrics were introduced (including the iconic Irish ballad “Danny Boy” (which always brings tears to my eyes) or repeated. I must say the lyrics of Elliot’s “original song” “Your Heart Will Know” is absolutely, hauntingly beautiful.

There are themes of the struggle of women in society (“Until all women were free, none were”), lifestyle, as well as the continued troubles with the British and class distinction.

I am one of the lucky few to receive an advance reader’s copy of this author’s works. I’ve enjoyed all of them, including The Harp and the Rose, Book 3, and find each delightful, atmospheric, and educational as well as engaging and entertaining. Book 4, Roaring Liberty is out now and highly recommended although you might wish to begin (if you haven’t already) with Book 1, Last Port of Call.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: British Historical Literature, Historical Irish Fiction, Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction
ISBN: ‎B09QFC6LNB
ASIN: B09DBWW184
Print Length: 480 pages
Publication Date: January 17, 2022 – Just Released!
Source: Author request
Title Link: Roaring Liberty [Amazon]

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.

My current series, The Queenstown Series, centres on twelve year old Harp Devereaux and her mother Rose and the first book opens on the day Titanic sails from Queenstown, Co Cork on her last fateful journey. It is a bestselling series and people really seem to connect to the precocious Harp and her hard-working mother as they battle to survive in a society where conforming and playing by the rules was paramount. It is so far a three book series, The West’s Awake, and The Harp and the Rose being the next two books but I’m currently writing book four…

[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.

Read her complete bio on Amazon or visit her website at Jean Grainer.com

A Valiant Deceit (An Olive Bright Mystery Book 2) by Stephanie Graves – #BookReview – #historicalmysteries

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Young pigeoneer Olive Bright has been conscripted, with her racing birds, to aid the fight against the Nazis. It’s not the daring role she’d envisioned for herself, but her quiet little English village is not nearly as sheltered as she imagined . . .

Returning to Pipley following her FANY (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry) training, Olive is eager to step up her involvement in the war effort. Her pigeons are being conscripted to aid the Belgian resistance, and it’s up to Olive to choose the best birds for the mission. To protect the secrecy of their work, she must also continue the ruse of being romantically involved with her superior, Captain Jameson Aldridge, a task made more challenging by the fact that she really does have feelings for the gruff Irish intelligence officer.

But perhaps the greatest challenge of all comes when an instructor at Station XVII, the top-secret training school housed at Brickendonbury Manor, is found dead in Balls Wood by a troop of Girl Guides. The police quickly rule Lieutenant Jeremy Beckett’s death an accident, but based on clues she finds at the scene, Olive begins to suspect he might have been a spy. Involving the reluctant Jamie, she is determined to solve the murder and possibly stop a threat to their intelligence efforts which could put the Belgians—not to mention her pigeons—in grave danger.

His Review:

Bullets and bombs were not the only weapons in use during WW II. During war, information is extremely valuable. Troop movements, weapons deployment, and stockpiles are viable targets of value. The distance between the British Isles and the European mainland is very small in some locations.

Olive has been using and training pigeons for racing and sport. Small packets of information attached to a pigeon’s legs are usually undetectable. The birds were often dropped into enemy territory with spies. Vital troop movements and concentrations could then be sent back to England via these birds. Olive was very proud of her flock and their accomplishments.

She became very attached to her aviary friends and gave each of them a name. As they were shuttled into Belgium and France, she would look for them to return to their cages. Attached to their legs were usually a 2 1/2 to 3 inch canister with a coded message inserted. The messages helped to win the war and protect some of the inserted spies and combatants.

Stephanie Graves has added a valuable piece of war history and memorabilia in this entertaining tale. Her character, Olive, is a Nancy Drew want to be who has solved some crimes in her day. Her commanding officer is Jameson Aldridge. He is skeptical of the entire mission and continually questions she and her birds’ abilities to help in the war effort.

Grudgingly he admits to her accomplishments, but keeps a close rein on her activities, as she tends to get herself into trouble with her constant delving into other people’s affairs. The story is fun and imaginative. I really enjoyed the author and her repartee between the characters. Overall, a very fun and engaging read. 5 stars – 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: Historical World War II Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B093XVNDBH
Print Length: 329 pages
Publication Date: January 25, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): A Valiant Deceit [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: STEPHANIE GRAVES has recently turned from happily-ever-afters to murder. The author of four published novels under the pseudonym Alyssa Goodnight, she transitioned to writing under her real name with her debut historical mystery, OLIVE BRIGHT, PIGEONEER. Her books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, First for Women and Woman’s World. She lives with her family and two rescue pups in Houston.

Visit her at msstephgraves.com to subscribe to her newsletter or find her on FB, Twitter, Instagram or BookBub.

Songbird (Jax Diamond Mysteries Book 1) by Gail Meath –#BookReview – #historicalmysteries

Book Blurb:

Meet Jax Diamond, a sharp, sophisticated, skilled, no-nonsense private detective. Or is he? Glued to his side is his canine partner, Ace, a fierce and unrelenting German Shepherd whose mere presence terrorizes criminals into submission. Well, maybe not.

But the two of them are a whole lot smarter than they look. And they have their hands full when a playwright’s death is declared natural causes, and his new manuscript worth a million bucks is missing.

Laura Graystone, a beautiful rising Broadway star, is dragged into the heart of their investigation, and she’s none too happy about it. Especially when danger first strikes, and she needs to rely on her own ingenuity to save their hides.

Join Jax, Laura and Ace on a fun yet deadly ride during the Roaring Twenties that takes twists and turns, and a race against time to find the real murderer before he/she/they stop them permanently.

My Review:

I was absolutely taken by this gorgeous book cover and I love the period of the twenties. Women were just beginning to break out, jazz, blues, and the Charleston were the rage, prohibition in 1920 caused the rise of “speakeasies” (illegal taverns). A very colorful time in American history. And, of course, I enjoy historical fiction.

Laura Graystone is the songbird, rising quickly in the musical theatre. She has the opportunity of filling the limelight when the production’s leading lady is mysteriously murdered.

Jax Diamond (what a perfect name!) is the PI, former detective, who is sure that the death of a playwright who has written a musical especially with her talent and voice in mind dies with what looks like natural causes. Not.

The first book in the series, we are gradually introduced to their backgrounds and the twenties atmosphere of New York. Jax has a formidable looking GSD he named Ace and the dog figures prominently in the storyline (which, of course, I also enjoy). Jax is multi-talented and mysterious—not revealing all about himself.

The author has tried to keep the authentic feeling of the period with both the speech (vernacular), and the sights and sounds of the prohibition era, including historic Coney Island. There are subtle sub-plots and twists and turns that keeps the reader pursuing justice.

There is a romance between the two with a cautious exploration of their relationship. Jax, however, lost his usual cool persona when there was a perceived threat to Laura, which seemed an over reaction to the situation.

The copy I received from NetGalley seemed to be an uncorrected proof as there were so many edit misses it sometimes slowed the read to visually correct either missing words, punctuation, or words used incorrectly. Otherwise, I found the storyline interesting, well-plotted and fast-paced, the characters well on their way to development, and the conclusion fitting.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery
ASIN: B09HMRCVCL
Print Length: 212 pages
Publication Date: November 11, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Indie Bookstore

The Author: Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.

The subgenres of her books vary from action-packed westerns, plot twisting murder mysteries and biographies of powerful women who defied the strict rules of society fighting for the freedom of their countries. Her romances may exclude steamy sexual scenes, yet the intensity between heroine and hero will satisfy your deepest fantasies.

Outside of writing, she spends loads of time with her husband, children and grandchildren. http://www.gailmeath.com

Enjoy Your Weekend!

The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novels – Audiobook Tour for iRead Book Tours by Michelle Cox – #BookReview and #Giveaway

Join me for the audiobook review of Book 1 in the series of these unique historical fiction sagas.

Join Us for this Audiobook Series Tour from Aug 31 to Oct 2, 2020!SERIES DETAILS:
Series Title: Henrietta and Inspector Howard by Michelle Cox
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Release dates: November 2017; April 2017; April 2018; April 2019; April 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes,
though there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Details:Book Title: A Girl Like You (The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series) by Michelle Cox
Narrated by: Jayne A Entwistle
Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Audiobook Release date: November, 2017
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though
there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Description:

Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar on Chicago’s
northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the
big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide, leaving Henrietta to care
for her antagonistic mother and younger siblings. Henrietta is
eventually persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance
hall—and just when she’s beginning to enjoy herself, the floor matron
turns up dead. When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene,
Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him—and is plunged into Chicago’s
grittier underworld. Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to
her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who
believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most
unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe—even from the
Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant
for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and
the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most
unsuitable ways.

My Review:

Prohibition may have ended, but the lasting effects of the Great Depression just keeps a lot of folks down. Henrietta is the oldest of eight of a widowed mother with very strict Victorian attitudes. She secured a job, the only one she could get at her age, cleaning at Poor Petes, the owner Hennessy becoming almost a father figure. She goes from cleaning to a 26 Girl, and finally needs ever more money to feed her family.

Difficult to continue the game 26, she discovers a job working as a taxi dancer. More money for home! The manager unfortunately turns up dead and the cold, aloof inspector turns out to be one of the men she danced with the evening before.

Still very young and inexperienced even having worked around men; men drinking, and not on their best behavior, she is later talked into taking an “usherette” position at the Marlowe working undercover for the inspector. She is to glean what info she can and report back. Of course, all this while trying to keep her activities secret from her family.

Working at the scandalous burlesque club turns out to be a great deal more risqué that she’d imagined or signed up for. Still, there is an attraction for the inspector and a quest to discover what happened to a couple girls who went missing there, including the sister of one of her former taxi-club co-workers. But she continues to get deeper and deeper into a very perilous situation.

I enjoyed the campy style the narrator adopted, mimicking the manner that some of those old shows might have used. For an extremely attractive, almost beautiful woman working in the circumstances though, she seemed at times dangerously open-mouthed and naïve and certainly produced a few gasping moments. There is romance afoot but with quite an age spread. Still, the times and the characters spin a dodgy, smoke-filled, booze riddled atmosphere that becomes quite entertaining.

Buy the Book:
Audible ~Amazon.com
Chirp ~ Apple ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

Additional Books in the Series:

Book Details:Book Title: A Ring of Truth (The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series) by Michelle Cox
Narrated by: Jayne A Entwistle
Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Audiobook Release date: May, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though
there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Description:

In this second book of the series, Henrietta and Clive delightfully
rewrite Pride and Prejudice―with a hint of mystery! Newly engaged, Clive
and Henrietta now begin the difficult task of meeting each other’s
family. “Difficult” because Clive has neglected to tell Henrietta that
he is in fact the heir to the Howard estate and fortune, and Henrietta
has just discovered that her mother has been hiding secrets about her
past as well. When Clive brings Henrietta to the family estate to meet
his parents, they are less than enthused about his impoverished
intended. Left alone in this extravagant new world when Clive returns to
the city, Henrietta finds herself more at home with the servants than
his family, much to the disapproval of Mrs. Howard―and soon gets caught
up in the disappearance of an elderly servant’s ring, not realizing that
in doing so she has become part of a bigger, darker plot. As Clive and
Henrietta attempt to discover the truth in the two very different worlds
unraveling around them, they both begin to wonder: Are they meant for
each other after all?

Buy the Book:
Audible ~Amazon.com
Chirp ~ Apple ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

Book Details:Book Title: A Promise Given (The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series) by Michelle Cox
Narrated by: Jayne A Entwistle
Length: 14 hrs and 21 mins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Audiobook Release date: February, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though
there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Description:

This third book in the Henrietta and Inspector Howard series provides a
delightful romp through the English countryside and back. Anxious to be
married, Henrietta and Clive push forward with their wedding plans
despite their family differences, made worse now by Oldrich Exley’s
attempts to control the Von Harmons. When the long-awaited wedding day
arrives, there is more unfolding than just Clive and Henrietta’s vows of
love. Stanley and Elsie’s relationship is sorely tested by the presence
of the dashing Lieutenant Harrison Barnes-Smith and by Henrietta’s
friend Rose―a situation that grows increasingly dark and confused as
time goes on. As Clive and Henrietta begin their honeymoon at Castle
Linley, the Howards’ ancestral estate in England, they encounter a whole
new host of characters, including the eccentric Lord and Lady Linley
and Clive’s mysterious cousin, Wallace. When a man is murdered in the
village on the night of a house party at the Castle, Wallace comes under
suspicion―and Clive and Henrietta are reluctantly drawn into the case,
despite Clive’s anxiety at involving his new bride and Henrietta’s
distracting news from home. Delicately attempting to work together for
the first time, Clive and Henrietta set out to prove Wallace’s
innocence, uncovering as they do so some rather shocking truths that
will shake the Linley name and estate forever.

Buy the Book:
Audible ~ Amazon.com
Chirp ~ Apple ~ Kobo ~ Google Store

Book Details:Book Title: A Veil Removed (The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series) by Michelle Cox
Narrated by: Jayne A Entwistle
Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Audiobook Release date: April, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though
there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Description:

Murder is never far from this sexy couple . . . even during the
holidays! Their honeymoon abruptly ended by the untimely death of Alcott
Howard, Clive and Henrietta return to Highbury, where Clive discovers
all is not as it should be. Increasingly convinced that his father’s
death was not an accident, Clive launches his own investigation, despite
his mother’s belief that he has become “mentally disturbed” with grief.
Henrietta eventually joins forces with Clive on their first real case,
which becomes darker―and deadlier―than they imagined as they get closer
to the truth behind Alcott’s troubled affairs. Meanwhile, Henrietta’s
sister, Elsie, begins, at Henrietta’s orchestration, to take classes at a
women’s college―an attempt to evade her troubles and prevent any
further romantic temptations. When she meets a bookish German custodian
at the school, however, he challenges her to think for herself . . .
even as she discovers some shocking secrets about his past life.

Buy the Book:
Amazon.com ~ Chirp ~ Apple
Kobo ~ Google Store

Book Details:Book Title: A Child Lost (The Henrietta and Inspector Howard Series) by Michelle Cox
Narrated by: Jayne A Entwistle
Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
Category: Adult Fiction (18+)
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Michelle Cox
Audiobook Release date: June, 2020
Content Rating: R: Books 1-2 do not have any sex scenes, though
there is sexual reference, Books 3-5 do have explicit sex scenes
(tasteful). There is periodic swearing and violence, but not a lot.
There are some dark themes (though not graphic examples) of suicide,
prostitution, mob involvement, rape, drinking, homosexuality.

Book Description:

A spiritualist, an insane asylum, a lost little girl . . . When
Clive, anxious to distract a depressed Henrietta, begs Sergeant Frank
Davis for a case, he is assigned to investigating a seemingly boring
affair: a spiritualist woman operating in an abandoned schoolhouse on
the edge of town who is suspected of robbing people of their valuables.
What begins as an open and shut case becomes more complicated, however,
when Henrietta―much to Clive’s dismay―begins to believe the
spiritualist’s strange ramblings. Meanwhile, Elsie implores Clive and
Henrietta to help her and the object of her budding love, Gunther,
locate the whereabouts of one Liesel Klinkhammer, the German woman
Gunther has traveled to America to find and the mother of the little
girl, Anna, whom he has brought along with him. The search leads them to
Dunning Asylum, where they discover some terrible truths about Liesel.
When the child, Anna, is herself mistakenly admitted to the asylum after
an epileptic fit, Clive and Henrietta return to Dunning to retrieve
her. This time, however, Henrietta begins to suspect that something
darker may be happening. When Clive doesn’t believe her, she decides to
take matters into her own hands . . . with horrifying results.

Buy the Book:
Audible ~ Amazon.com
Chirp ~ Apple ~ Kobo

Meet the Narrator:Jayne Entwistle was born in the North of England and lived in a myriad
of places (Vancouver, San Francisco, Tucson, Sequim, Seattle) before
landing in Los Angeles. She is an avid improviser who hitched her
space-work wagon to Patrick Bristow’s company, Improvatorium, where she
studied, taught, directed and performed improv. She is an award-winning
audiobook narrator best known for her narration of the Flavia de Luce
series by Alan Bradley. She also received the 2015 Odyssey Honour Award
for The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry and
the 2016 Odyssey Award for, The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly
Brubaker Bradley. When not inhaling books for work or pleasure, Jayne
works in film, television and commercials. The biggest star she has ever
worked with is Shaquille O’Neal. He is quite literally THE biggest star
she has ever worked with. Ever. He’s really big!

Meet the Author:Michelle Cox is the author of the multiple award-winning Henrietta and
Inspector Howard series as well as “Novel Notes of Local Lore,” a weekly
blog dedicated to Chicago’s forgotten residents. She suspects she may
have once lived in the 1930s and, having yet to discover a handy time
machine lying around, has resorted to writing about the era as a way of
getting herself back there. Coincidentally, her books have been praised
by Kirkus, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Booklist,
and many others, so she might be on to something. Unbeknownst to most,
Michelle hoards board games she doesn’t have time to play and is, not
surprisingly, addicted to period dramas and big band music. Also
marmalade.

Connect with the Author: website ~ facebook ~twitter ~ instagram ~ goodreads

Tour Schedule:Aug 31 – Bookish Paradise – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Aug 31 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Aug 31 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / guest post / giveaway
Sep 1 – Lamon Reviews – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Sep 1 – Rebecca Graf on Medium – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Sep 2 – Bookriot – audiobook review for A Child Lost / author interview / giveaway
Sep 2 – Rajiv’s Reviews – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Sep 2 – Library of Clean Reads – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Sep 3 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Sep 3 – Amy’s Booket List – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Sep 4 – Rebecca Graf on Medium – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth Sep 4 – Rajiv’s Reviews – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 7 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 7 – Books for Books – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Sep 7 – Rajiv’s Reviews – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 8 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – series spotlight
Sep 8 – Rebecca Graf on Medium – audiobook review of A Promise Given
Sep 9 – Jazzy Book Reviews – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Sep 9 – Rajiv’s Reviews – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 9 – Library of Clean Reads – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 10 – Amy’s Booket List – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth
Sep 10 – Rosepoint Publishing – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Sep 11 – Books for Books – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth
Sep 11- Rebecca Graf on Medium – audiobook review of A Veil Removed
Sep 14 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 14 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 14 – Rajiv’s Reviews – audiobook review of A Child Lost / giveaway
Sep 15 – Olio By Marilyn – audiobook review of A Girl Like You / giveaway
Sep 15 – Rebecca Graf on Medium – audiobook review of A Child Lost
Sep 16 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 16 – Library of Clean Reads – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 17 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 17 – Amy’s Booket List – audiobook review of A Promise Given
Sep 18 – Books for Books – audiobook review of A Promise Given
Sep 18 – From the TBR Pile – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Sep 21 – Books for Books – audiobook review of A Veil Removed
Sep 21 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 22 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – audiobook review of A Child Lost / giveaway
Sep 22 – Olio By Marilyn – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth / giveaway
Sep 23 – Book Corner News and Reviews – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 23 – Library of Clean Reads – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 24 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 24 – Amy’s Booket List – audiobook review of A Veil Removed
Sep 25 – Books for Books – audiobook review of A Child Lost
Sep 25 – From the TBR Pile – audiobook review of A Ring of Truth
Sep 28 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 28 – From the TBR Pile – audiobook review of A Promise Given
Sep 29 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Sep 30 – Olio By Marilyn – audiobook review of A Promise Given / giveaway
Sep 30 – Library of Clean Reads – audiobook review of A Child Lost / giveawaySep 30 – From the TBR Pile – audiobook review of A Veil Removed
Oct 1 – Olio By Marilyn – audiobook review of A Veil Removed / giveaway
Oct 1 – History from a Woman’s Perspective – audiobook review of A Girl Like You
Oct 1 – Amy’s Booket List – audiobook review of A Child Lost
Oct 2 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of A Child Lost / giveaway
Oct 2 – From the TBR Pile – audiobook review of A Child Lost

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Book Tour – Speakeasy by A M Dunnewin – a #suspensethriller for RABT Book Tours & PR

Suspense Thriller / Historical

Date Published: 12/21/2011

Publisher: Dark Hour Press, LLC

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The novella is centered on Eddie Durante, owner of a speakeasy who’s supported by his mobster uncle—the boss of the Durante family. Eddie is a young widower after his family’s rival, the Caprice family, murdered his wife over a territory dispute. After devising a plan that retaliated against four of the rivaling capos, Eddie is left with the daunting task to try and move on. That is, until he’s notified that the Caprices have put a hit man in the speakeasy—and Eddie’s name is on the list. But things take an unexpected turn when Eddie instead starts to find the dead bodies of his relatives, the ones who had helped in the retaliation.

Behind the backdrop of jazz music and glistening flappers, murder after murder begins to unravel as revenge takes center stage, and Eddie soon learns that some secrets can’t be taken to the grave.

My Thoughts

Payback’s a bitch, baby.

Eddie Durante is the epitome of a speakeasy owner. It’s a novella and he isn’t fully-developed–doesn’t have to be. It’s the 20s. Flappers, moonshiners, hot jazz music, and girls in dazzling costumes, revealing, sexy, setting the tone for the darkened secreted underground club. Haven’t we all seen 20s movies, dark, noir, tommy guns (“Chicago typewriters”), mobsters, cigarette smoke stifling the air mixed with the smell of gin and sweat.

Eddie’s speakeasy is backed by his uncle, a mobster, boss of the Durante family. And Eddie’s trying to get over the death of his wife Kate, killed by the rival Caprice family. He gets the message there is a hit out on him. An eye for an eye just keeps working back and forth, like the legendary Hatfields and McCoys…as long as there is still one in the “family”…and the bodies start popping up. It’s payback. If they are after him, why is the rest of his crew being picked off? This one catches him off guard. How unusual.

But who is being set up here? Eddie or the reader? Something isn’t adding up. Dialogue and inner thoughts bring history to light, justification. He loved his wife, how could this not be made right then? The pace does a quick-step, theories, and suspense ramps up. Who is the architect of this plot? Did you figure it out? Not I.

I’m the naive one–not until the astonishing twist in the conclusion did the mind-blowing reveal take me by surprise. This is one you’ll breeze through right to the sucker-punch ending. Oomph!

About the Author

A. M. Dunnewin grew up with a taste for mysteries and thrillers, inherited ever so lovingly from her family. An affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association, A. M.’s own stories cover a wide range of genres that tend to take a dark turn when least expected. With a B.A. in Psychology, she’s a gambler of words, obsessed with chai tea, and addicted to books – everything from classical literature to graphic novels. Other hobbies include art, history, music, equestrianism, and a good classic film. She currently dwells in Northern California.

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Book Blitz – Speakeasy by A M Dunnewin for RABT Book Tours and PR

Suspense Thriller / Historical

Date Published: 12/21/2011

Publisher: Dark Hour Press, LLC

The novella is centered on Eddie Durante, owner of a speakeasy who’s supported by his mobster uncle—the boss of the Durante family. Eddie is a young widower after his family’s rival, the Caprice family, murdered his wife over a territory dispute. After devising a plan that retaliated against four of the rivaling capos, Eddie is left with the daunting task to try and move on. That is, until he’s notified that the Caprices have put a hit man in the speakeasy—and Eddie’s name is on the list. But things take an unexpected turn when Eddie instead starts to find the dead bodies of his relatives, the ones who had helped in the retaliation.

Behind the backdrop of jazz music and glistening flappers, murder after murder begins to unravel as revenge takes center stage, and Eddie soon learns that some secrets can’t be taken to the grave.

Excerpt

Once the doors were closed, Sal didn’t take long to get right to the point. “They know it was you, Eddie.”

The words slapped him across the face, but Eddie didn’t respond.

“That you were the one who came up with the idea,” Sal continued. “They’re out for retaliation, and it’s rumored that they’ve sent a torpedo into this juice joint of yours. That’s part of the reason why I’m not being too open with the information. Afraid of who might be listening.”

A hit man in his speakeasy. Eddie stared out the windshield, watching Sal begin to light a cigarette out of the corner of his eye. “I had a lot of ideas,” he remarked hoarsely, fear and dread subtly mixing into his thoughts.

“Only took one,” Sal responded as he lit the cigarette. He silently offered one to Eddie, who refused with a shake of his head. “Sorry, kid,” Sal explained as he took a puff. “After what they did to your wife, I wouldn’t have blamed ya.”

Eddie remained silent, his eyes drifting to the bootleggers who were moving the last of the crates. No wonder they weren’t laying their eyes on him. He was a dead target.

Sal took another drag on his cigarette, taking a moment for himself. “Don’t worry, though,” he finally remarked. “Your family’s got your back. My brother-in-law, your dear uncle, has requested that Joe stay by your side until we can square away if there’s a torpedo and who it is.”

“What?” Eddie balked, shattering his calm exterior.

“It’s temporary,” Sal cooed, trying to calm the young man down. “He’s just some extra protection.”

Eddie gawked, unable to believe that they’d send Joe, of all people, to protect him. “He’s crazy,” was all Eddie could summarize when it came to his cousin.

“He’s happy,” Sal tried to smooth over.

“Trigger happy,” Eddie corrected.

Sal shrugged his shoulders. “He gets the job done. And when the boss’ favorite nephew needs protection, the boss will only send the very best.”

“I don’t need protection,” Eddie fought back, trying not to raise his voice to the lunacy. “And even if I did, I have Anthony and Marcus in there—”

“Little orphan Anthony and Baby Marcus?” Sal choked, half laughing, half sputtering on the cigarette smoke. “Marcus is too naive, and Anthony,” but Sal had to chuckle first before he could continue. “Well, ya better just pray your killer isn’t a female.”

“Thanks for warning me,” Eddie begrudgingly admitted as he pulled the door handle…

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The Angel’s Trumpet: Nineteenth Century Historical Legal Thriller and Mystery (Portia of the Pacific Book 4) by James Musgrave – A #BookReview

An Historical Legal Thriller review by the CE.

Book Blurb:

An 1887 Handmaid Gets Her Revenge in This Superb Historical Legal Thriller and Mystery

Author Margaret Atwood creates a dystopian future in The Handmaid’s Tale. James Musgrave’s sexist dystopia is based on fact.

Attorney Clara Foltz’s California legal team is chosen by President Grover Cleveland to defend a mulatto suffragette who has assassinated his Supreme Court nominee, Justice Marshal Owens. When her client is found dead in the jail cell, the hunt begins for the killer.

“James Musgrave’s The Angel’s Trumpet is one of those rare historical mysteries that is both entirely plausible and yet truly original. A richly researched adventure into the complex social web of Gilded Age Washington, featuring deeply-realized and re-imagined luminaries including actress Sarah Bernhardt and President and Mrs. Cleveland, the novel is also surprisingly modern in its sensibilities, a compelling romp into an earlier era’s struggle with addiction and vice and secrecy and race relations, and, most of all, hidden sources of power. You will read this book in one sitting–and you will be very glad that you did. A meticulously-plotted gem from a master of the genre.” Jacob M. Appel, author of the Dundee International Book Award winner, The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up.

His Review:

Explore late 19^th Century life in our nation’s capital in this intriguing mystery. Grover Cleveland and his young wife are intricately involved in the plot. When a young woman stabs to death a Supreme Court nominee and waits to watch him die, the intrigue expands.

Clara Shortridge Foltz is chosen to defend the killer who is caught red-handed with her hand on the knife. Immediately the question of why comes to mind: Clara is described as a three-time loser in defending clients. Should be an open and shut case then, right?

Add in other historical figures from this time period including the Divine Ms. Sarah Bernhardt and Susan B. Anthony and the narrative becomes a political basketball.

Enjoy a ride through the Suffragette movement, the kidnapping of a President’s wife and a sinister plot to destroy evidence and the defendants, and you have a real page-turner. Washington, DC during this time period was certainly not a place you would want to live!

The characters are well developed and exhibit independence of character clearly missing in many women of that time period. They are looked down upon by most of the males in this book. Washington DC is described as a place where a negro needed to go if they wanted to succeed. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is declaring some legislation unconstitutional to reverse desegregation legislation during the post-civil war era.

The end product is a microcosm of the problems facing the population during that time period. Many of those problems still linger today but it is a pleasure to revisit that era and reinspect the issues.

We received this digital download from the publisher through NetGalley in anticipation of an honest review and these are my independent opinions. 5/5 stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Legal Thrillers, African American Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense, Assassination Thriller
Publisher: EMRE Publishing

ISBN-10:1943457395
ISBN-13:978-1943457397
ASIN: B07XGDB4KX

Print Length: 202 pages
Publication Date: January 1, 2020
Source: Local (Audiobook Selections) Library
Title Link: The Angel’s Trumpet
Find the Angel’s Trumpet at:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
IndieBound.org

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author: James Musgrave was born in Fall River, Massachusetts. He taught as a Professor of English and worked as a Supervisor, Management Development at Caltech, Pasadena and at various San Diego colleges. He is now the author and publisher at EMRE Publishing, LLC in San Diego. He has won many writing awards, and his mysteries are “featured selections” by the American Library Association. He was also a Finalist in the Bram Stoker Awards, First Place Award for Best Historical Mystery in the Chanticleer International Book Awards, and a Finalist in the Heekin Fellowship.

Please contact the author at: jamesmusgrave2122@att.net
Sign-up for the Author’s Newsletter at: emrepublishing.com

The Master’s Apprentice (A Re-Telling of the Faust Legend) by Oliver Pötzsch – a #BookReview #historicalfantasy

A review by the CE of Book 1 in a new series of #renaissancehistoricalfiction

Book Blurb:

A young man’s destined quest becomes a dance with the devil in a mesmerizing retelling of the Faust legend by the bestselling author of the Hangman’s Daughter Tales series.

It’s the fifteenth century and only heretics are curious about the universe.

Germany, 1494. Born under a rare alignment of the stars, Johann Georg Gerlach, “the lucky one” to his mother—is fated for greatness. But Johann’s studies and wonder at the sky have made him suspect. Especially in wake of the child disappearances that have left the God-fearing locals trembling and his one true love trapped in terrified catatonia. Her only words: “I have seen the devil…”

Banished from Knittlingen as cursed, Johann crosses paths with Tonio del Moravia. The traveling fortune-teller and master of the arcane arts recognizes something extraordinary in the wanderer. Taking Johann under his wing, Tonio promises a new world of knowledge and sensations. But with it comes a sinister web of deception and a chilling prophecy.

The stars are set to align again. Now Johann must draw on the skills of his apprenticeship to solve the dark mystery that grips his village in fear and the deepening mystery of his own destiny.

His Review:

Johann Georg was born as a result of a triste between his beautiful mother and a stranger. His father hated him. His mother called him Faustus (the lucky one) born under a lucky star. His father despised him and gave him no fatherly love. At eight years he meets our villain, Tonio, and his life is forever cursed by this devil personified.

Oliver Pötzsch has captured the essence of life in the middle ages and the turmoil that was Europe. His translation of the writing regarding Faust is laudable. His translator, Lisa Reinhardt, makes the German language come to life in English.

Europe is a cesspool of intrigue and disease. How anyone survived is totally a mystery. Devil worship abounds and the church with its’ Inquisitors does it’s best to stamp out any but the “true religion.” Johann is blessed with a great mind and tremendously inquisitive instinct. The devil knows that he will be a great addition to his earthly realm.

Cannibalism and vampires have nothing on this story! Become engrossed in a life of struggle, travel which is near impossible, and villains of the first magnitude. Weep with the characters in this story as they overcome enormous hardships to they struggle through life. Does good always triumph over evil? Dive into this narrative and seek the answer. CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Renaissance Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Historical Mystery
Publisher: Amazon Crossing

ISBN-10:1542009987
ISBN-13:978-1542009980
ASIN: B07WGDKKYC

Print Length: 475+ pages
Publication Date: To be released April 28, 2020
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Master’s Apprentice

Rosepoint Publishing: Five of Five Stars

The Author: (Amazon) Oliver Pötzsch, born in 1970, has worked for years as a scriptwriter for Bavarian television. He himself is a descendant of one of Bavaria’s leading dynasties of executioners. He lives in Munich with his family. Photo © Dominik Parzinger.

(Goodreads) Oliver Pötzsch is a German writer and filmmaker. After high school he attended the German School of Journalism in Munich from 1992 to 1997. He then worked for Radio Bavaria. In addition to his professional activities in radio and television, Pötzsch researched his family history. He is a descendant of the Kuisle, from the 16th to the 19th Century a famous dynasty of executioners in Schongau.