Kobo – Rosepoint Publishing

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid #AudiobookReview #FictionSagas

Goodreads Choice Award – Winner for Readers’ Favorite Historiacal Fiction (2025), Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Audiobook (2025)

Book Blurb:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK From the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six comes an epic new novel set against the backdrop of the 1980s space shuttle program about the extraordinary lengths we go to live and love beyond our limits.

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Good Housekeeping, Them, Marie Claire, Book Riot, Library Journal, Chicago Public Library, She Reads

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University and as aunt to her precocious niece, Frances. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates: Top Gun pilot Hank Redmond and scientist John Griffin, who are kind and easygoing even when the stakes are highest; mission specialist Lydia Danes, who has worked too hard to play nice; warmhearted Donna Fitzgerald, who is navigating her own secrets; and Vanessa Ford, the magnetic and mysterious aeronautical engineer, who can fix any engine and fly any plane.

As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe.

Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Fast-paced, thrilling, and emotional, Atmosphere is Taylor Jenkins Reid at her best: transporting readers to iconic times and places, creating complex protagonists, and telling a passionate and soaring story about the transformative power of love—this time among the stars.

My Review:

Well, phooey. Not what I expected. But it says right up top that it’s a love story. Obviously, not one of my favorite genres.

I really enjoyed Daisy Jones and The Six, and somehow expected that same level of realism in the space industry turned fiction for the consumption of the masses.

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid — Atmosphere – US cover

Joan Goodwin has always been fascinated with the stars and space, and though she is a successful professor at Rice University is immediately consumed with the desire to become an astronaut when she reads an advertisement looking for women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program.

Despite all the odds, she and a select few other women complete the training and are now vying for the upcoming scheduled missions with the few men also selected. These are the elite of the elite: scientists, engineers, and military combat pilots.

The storyline, which is told in a split timeline, details Joan’s story, her family, and her academic achievements. She is singularly devoted to her little niece, Frances, with whom she’s at times at odds with her sister, Barbara. Lots of support characters, mostly lightly developed, who run the gamut from the light-hearted to the back-stabbing Lydia.

I enjoyed some of the discussions regarding the stars, their positions, and history. Somewhere in the middle, however, the storyline veered away from the original mission and strongly into the love story. Once started as an ode to the stars, now drowning in emotional philosophical discussions.

I felt like I was promised an explosive, cutting-edge women in space piece with a double-edged sword. Also, the ending was too predictable. Too much personal development; too little in the aerospace industry. (I think it’s a 3-star effort, but I’m adding a half-star for the subplot with her sister. A well-written antagonist—kept me listening.)

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 point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Fiction Sagas, Family Saga Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Random House Audio
ASIN: B0DKZMG16C
Listening Length: 9 hrs 52 mins
Narrators: Kristen DiMercurio, Julia Whelan, Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: June 3, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, After I Do, and Forever, Interrupted. Her newest novel, Malibu Rising, is out now. She lives in Los Angeles.

You can follow her on Instagram @tjenkinsreid.

Tis the Season!

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

A Voice of the Wilderness Novel Book 1

Book Blurb:

This gripping novel about survival and family is based on the real story of one wolf’s incredible journey to find a safe place to call home. This irresistible tale by award-winning author Rosanne Parry is for fans of Sara Pennypacker’s Pax and Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan.

Swift, a young wolf cub, lives with his pack in the mountains learning to hunt, competing with his brothers and sisters for hierarchy, and watching over a new litter of cubs. Then a rival pack attacks, and Swift and his family scatter.

Alone and scared, Swift must flee and find a new home. His journey takes him a remarkable one thousand miles across the Pacific Northwest. The trip is full of peril, and Swift encounters forest fires, hunters, highways, and hunger before he finds his new home.

Inspired by the extraordinary true story of a wolf named OR-7 (or Journey), this irresistible tale of survival invites readers to experience and imagine what it would be like to be one of the most misunderstood animals on earth. This gripping and appealing novel about family, courage, loyalty, and the natural world is for fans of Fred Gipson’s Old Yeller and Katherine Applegate’s Endling.

Includes information about the real wolf who inspired the novel.

My Review:

Okay, so it’s billed as a middle school book, but certainly not one that an adult can’t enjoy as well.

As most of you who follow my blog know, I tend toward animal stories (well, among the suspense and thrillers), most predominantly dogs. This is close, and while not exactly a Canis Lupus Familiaris (domestic dog), a Canis Lupus (wolf). Our domesticated dogs, of course, a subspecies of the wolf, though it’s uncanny how many look and still have inborn Lupus traits.

Such a controversy with wolves! The ranchers cite the wolves’ tendency to take down domestic animals and hunters their game animals. The ever-encroaching spread of human habitation tends to push their boundaries.

Still, they go a long way to creating a balanced ecology and restoring biodiversity. Their management creates a tear in the normal cycle of life.

A Wold Called Wander by Rosanne Parry — A Wolf Called Wander-US cover

This is a story remarkably told from a wolf pup’s POV. He is Swift and his pack includes brothers and sisters along with mom and dad who keep them fed, train them in noble wolf ways, and protect them—until the day a rival pack attacks and he and his family are forced to flee.

It’s a coming-of-age story. And Swift has a lot to learn to survive as he is suddenly thrust into a raw world he is not totally prepared for. Since each in the pack has its “job”, he has never yet truly brought down prey.

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry — A Wolf Called Wander – UK cover

I love that the narrative follows the true story of a real wolf that had been tagged and followed through a thousand mile journey as he seeks a new territory to call his home. The epilogue at the end describes the life of the wolf and wolves in general, as well as the tracking of the wolf’s odyssey. Along the way, he encounters coyote packs, a deadly forest fire, and a lack of food/prey and water confronting and surviving each. He meets a female eventually and together create their own pack family in the Siskiyou’s of northern California, southern Oregon.

Having lived in Yreka (California) a number of times, I can attest to the beauty of the area and the miles of remote forested wilderness. It’s a gorgeous, largely untamed area, boasting 14,000 foot Mt. Shasta (a dormant volcano).

I greatly enjoyed the narration by Kirby Heyborne for his lively reading of the audiobook. I had to chuckle, however, when he mispronounced Siskiyou—obviously never having heard it pronounced correctly.

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: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Children’s Fox & Wolf Books, Animal Action & Adventure for Children, Animal Fiction for Children
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B07NDLGJL1
Listening Length: 3 hrs 54 mins
Narrator: Kirby Heyborne
Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Rosanne Parry is the author of seven award-winning middle grade novels, including the newly released A Whale of the Wild and the NY Times best seller A Wolf Called Wander which is published in 11 languages. Rosanne is a part-time bookseller at legendary Portland independent bookstore, Annie Blooms, and is the captain of the League of Exceptional Writers, a free mentoring workshop for young avid readers and writers (on hiatus until 2022). She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in Portland Oregon and writes in a treehouse in her backyard. You can find Rosanne at http://www.rosanneparry.com

Here’s a list of all her books

Heart of a Shepherd
Second Fiddle
Written in Stone
The Turn of the Tide
Last of the Name
A Wolf Called Wander
A Whale of the Wild

#throwbackthursday

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Mercy Carr Mystery Book 7

Book Blurb:

Mercy and Troy are looking forward to baby Felicity’s first holiday season, and they’re determined to make it a Christmas to remember. At Northshire’s annual Solstice Soirée, hosted by Northshire’s finest and funded by Mercy’s billionaire pal Feinberg, Amy’s little girl Helena is sitting on Santa Claus’s lap. She’s telling him she’d like a Bitty Baby doll just like little Felicity when the bearded man leaps up, thrusts the toddler at her mother Amy, and staggers away from the festivities. He disappears into the woods. By the time Elvis and Mercy find him, Santa Claus aka the town mayor, is lying on his back, dead. A yule log made of oak sits on his chest, burning bright, a beacon of light on the darkest day of the year.

This strange murder is the first of a series of similar Solstice-themed killings targeting the town’s most prominent citizens. Beloved family friend Lillian Jenkins, the grande dame of Northshire, could be next. Mercy and Troy and the dogs must team up with Thrasher and Harrington to capture The Yuletide Killer before he strikes again, this time far closer to home.

My Review:

I’ve been a fan of the author and this series since the first Mercy Carr mystery I stumbled across, the last one being Home at Night (#5) read and reviewed in July 2023. (Dang! I missed number six!) And I greatly enjoyed them all, so grabbed this one as soon as I saw it offered on NetGalley.

Last I read, Mercy and Troy (her game warden hubby) had bought an old Victorian called Grackle Tree Farm as they were expecting to expand their family beyond their respective working dogs, Elvis (the Malinois) and Suzy Bear (the Newfoundland). “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

I still trip over that name every time I see it printed, but this installment has the couple looking forward to baby Felicity’s first Christmas. They are preparing for the Solstice Soirée, as well as other activities, including choirs and Santa.

Unfortunately, Elvis finds Santa (the town’s mayor) dead in the woods with a Yule log burning on his chest. It’s followed shortly by the second murder, and soon the Druid-inspired celebration and ensuing village festivities are not looking so jolly.

I still love those dogs, complementary to each other, and look forward to their contributions to the plot line. However, this novel, meant to be a Christmas-themed narrative, tries to keep the spirit of the season at the forefront.

“As she spoke, she was struck by the contrasts that marked their lives: crime and crib, poaching and playtime, murder and motherhood…a seemingly random and yet eternal cycle of hope and despair, happiness and sorrow, light and dark.“

The storyline appears to put the domestic themes in front of the mystery. Mercy tends to find babysitters easily enough when she wants to dash off on another clue in the murders. (So much for “just being a mom” now.) Also, while I was fascinated with the Druid folklore and practices, I became a bit disillusioned that the antagonists reverted to the Russian oligarch thing. (There’s gotta be other bad guys out there.)

“The neo-pagan legend recounted the story of two brothers, the Holly King and the Oak King, and their endless battle of the seasons. The Holly King ruled winter…the winter solstice marked the victory of the Oak King…until the summer solstice when the Holly King won the crown…”

I do enjoy the author’s writing style, which includes quotables and prose:

“May the log burn,
May the wheel turn,
May evil spurn,
May the Sun return.”

While I was a bit disappointed in this installment, I look forward to the next, and indeed will go back and see if I can find the one I missed.

“The past is prologue.”

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250389992
ASIN: B0DPTMPYYZ
Print Length: 308 pages
Publication Date: December 2, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: PAULA MUNIER is a literary agent and the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A BORROWING OF BONES, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and was recently named the Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Book of the Year. The second, BLIND SEARCH, pubbed in November 2019. The third, THE HIDING PLACE, will debut in March 2021.

Paula was inspired to write the series by the hero working dogs she met through Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescues, Newfoundland/retriever mix Bear, Great Pyrenees/Australian cattle dog mix Bliss, and Malinois mix Blondie, and a lifelong passion for crime fiction.

Paula also written three popular books on writing: PLOT PERFECT, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS, and WRITING WITH QUIET HANDS, as well as the acclaimed memoir FIXING FREDDIE: A True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle, and HAPPIER EVERY DAY: Simple ways to bring more peace, contentment and joy into your life.

She lives in New England with her family, her three rescue dogs, and a rescue torbie tabby named Ursula. Find Paula at http://www.paulamunier.com.

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

Everyone has secrets, but not everyone has remorse…

A terrible accident.

Meghan Michaels is trying to find balance between being a single mom and working full time as an ICU nurse, when a patient named Caitlin arrives in her ward with a traumatic brain injury. They say she jumped from a bridge and plunged over twenty feet to the train tracks below.

A shocking revelation.

When a witness comes forward with new details about Caitlin’s fall, it calls everything they know into question. Was a crime committed? Did someone actually push Caitlin, and if so, who… and why?

No one is safe.

Meghan lets herself get close to Caitlin until she’s deeply entangled in the mystery surrounding her. Only when it’s too late, does she realize that she and her daughter could be the next victims…

My Review:

My first experience with this author and my head is still swimming. I thought I was confused, but maybe it was the author.

I’ve gotten into complex, multi-layered storylines before, but this one took that idea and ran too far with it.

First, it was a slow start. Prologue hooked interest, then let the interest wane in a long, detailed narrative about—everything. Meghan is an ICU nurse in Chicago. We don’t live too far from Chicago and take a shuttle to the VA hospital occasionally for my veteran hubby. My son works in Chicago and I’m becoming familiar with a few streets but would rather not hear about them more than once or twice. I’m not a fan.

Then the twists start happening and suddenly it seems like too much is happening and holes open that don’t get closed even in denouement. I never really became invested in the MC, then disliked her daughter, and then the more I knew of Caitlin—ur—Nat, intensely disliked her as well.

The plot seemed to be crammed with twists but most resulted in confusion, contradiction, made no sense. The plot line was stutter-step. One of the threads was pretty obvious early on and later a couple others just became a bit absurd, leaving me shaking my head.

I’m not sure if this book was a good example of the author’s writing style and may try another. But I’ll have to think about it for awhile.

Did you read this book? Did your assessment fall on the love it side or the meh side?

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: Psychological Thrillers, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
ASIN: B0C4C9Q2KT
Listening Length: 10 hrs 32 mins
Narrator: Andi Arndt
Publication Date: April 2, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Mary Kubica is a New York Times bestselling author of suspense thrillers including The Good Girl, The Other Mrs., and Local Woman Missing. Her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller” (Kirkus) and “a writer of vice-like control” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (L.A. Times). She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and children.

Visit Mary at http://www.marykubica.com/

Happy Holidays--Have a great Sunday!

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger #AudiobookReview #ComingofAgeFiction

Best Mystery, Thriller and Suspense

Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers’ Favorite Mystery & Thriller-2013

Book Blurb:

Award-winning author William Kent Krueger has gained an immense fan base for his Cork O’Connor series. In Ordinary Grace, Krueger looks back to 1961 to tell the story of Frank Drum, a boy on the cusp of manhood. A typical 13-year-old with a strong, loving family, Frank is devastated when a tragedy forces him to face the unthinkable – and to take on a maturity beyond his years.

My Review:

Krueger has found his chops and he’s using them again—or perhaps this is the one that started it, given Ordinary Grace was published in 2013. This Tender Land (set during the Depression) was published in 2019, The River We Remember in 2023 (Iron Lake in 2010. The latter is the only one whose main character is not a child and the start of a series.)

The characters are richly developed, become real, and easy to care about them all. The settings describe 50s or 60s landscapes, people, and morality. Frank, at thirteen, is growing up in an average household in an average small town, Minnesota. It’s so easy to visualize the area and feel the upper Midwest weather, almost like a cloak.

While his mother does not have a career, she is an accomplished musical director, musician. Frank has a younger brother, Jake, who has an unfortunate stutter and an older sister.

When eighteen-year-old Ariel is murdered, it spells the end of innocence as the boys knew it, and pretty much destroys their mother. Only their father, a local minister who lives the faith he preaches, manages to hold on and struggles with keeping his family together. The impact the death has on the little town is enormous and most have an unsubstantiated idea of who was responsible.

Once again, in Kreuger’s story, there is a sympathetic Native American that is the accused, although he manages to disappear before they can apprehend him. Also, as in This Tender Land, the narrator is a pre-teen or early teen on the cusp of losing his innocence in people and the world.

Themes of discrimination, intolerance, heart-crushing circumstances. The plots between his books are eerily similar, multi-layered, and complex. The author also examines love and faith, the latter of which plays a heavy part in the storytelling.

The twist at the end caught me by surprise—never really a person of interest—nor one I gave thought to. It’s tragic and forever.

Still, how would I rate this one, compared to the three others I’ve read by the same author? This one holds the interest, it’s engaging, and you must know who and why.

I can recommend this one. But I prefer This Tender Land.

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: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Coming of Age Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B00BPA1T8G
Listening Length: 10 hrs 59 mins
Narrator: Rich Orlow
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 40 years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.

Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received a number of awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last five novels were all New York Times bestsellers.

“Ordinary Grace,” his stand-alone novel published in 2013, received the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition for the best novel published in that year. “Manitou Canyon,” number fifteen in his Cork O’Connor series, was released in September 2016. Visit his website at http://www.williamkentkrueger.com.

Read with a friend.

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner #AudiobookReview #HistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.

My Review:

My first experience with this author and I’m sure an excellent entry into her beautifully crafted writing style.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish emigrant who answered an ad in a desperate attempt to escape her squalid circumstances into which she’d fallen since arriving in New York. The tiny tenement lacking running water or bathroom facilities is shared with several other women.

The ad seeks a pseudo-mother for his five-year-old so he can appear to be a happily married sales member of his insurance company. She is successful in her bid and finds herself traveling from New York to San Francisco to live with Martin and Kat. The five-year-old is reticent and silent at first, Martin Hocking remains aloof after a quick court wedding the day she arrives, but the house is beautiful and she is made comfortable.

It’s not long before she bonds with Kat, who is precocious and adorable. Sophie hoped that she’d learn to love Martin, but he has not changed in his remote stance toward her and she realizes that it won’t happen.

Then she has a surprise visitor. It doesn’t take long in the conversation before Sophie realizes she’s been in a sham of a marriage and that her good-looking husband is no one she ever knew. Belinda is pregnant. Martin isn’t just cold and remote; he’s evil and apparently dangerous, and together they plot their escape.

Before either can take any measures, however, the big 1906 earthquake happens, throwing them into a world of death, destruction, fires, and desperate attempts to escape the city for a return to Belinda’s quarters in a nearby city.

Along the way, they discover another woman with deep ties to Martin and Kat.

The author is quite the storyteller and weaves an intricate tale of friendship, deception, mystery, and suspense. There is a space in about one half(?) of the book that sagged just a bit for me, became a bit repetitive, and lost the previous pace. Still, it managed a wild denouement at the end and made for a satisfying climax.

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: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B089P13956
Listening Length: 10 hrs 39 mins
Narrators: Alana Kerr Collins, Jason Culp
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Susan Meissner is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than three-quarters of a million books in print in eighteen languages. Her novels include The Nature of Fragile Things, starred review Publishers Weekly; The Last Year of the War, a Library Reads and Real Simple top pick; As Bright as Heaven, starred review from Library Journal; Secrets of a Charmed Life, a 2015 Goodreads Choice award finalist; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten women’s fiction titles for 2014. She is also RITA finalist and Christy Award and Carol Award winner. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.

Visit Susan at her website: https://susanmeissnerauthor.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/susanmeissnerauthor/ on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/susan.meissner

Audiobooks with headphones — Graphic books and coffee courtesy Freepik.com

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben #AudiobookReview #crimethrillers

Amazon Charts #10 this week

Nominee for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards [Vote Now]

Book Blurb:

A full-cast recording featuring Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Saskia Maarleveld, Peter Ganim, Suehyla El-Attar Young, Kiff VandenHeuvel, and James Fouhey

An unforgettable suspense novel that combines the storytelling talents of Academy Award-winning actor Reese Witherspoon and internationally bestselling author Harlan Coben, Gone Before Goodbye is the story of a woman trapped in a deadly conspiracy—where uncovering the truth could cost her everything.

Maggie McCabe is teetering on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned Army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge, where she could make the most impact. And it was all going to plan…until it wasn’t.

Upside down after a devastating series of tragedies leads to her medical license being revoked, Maggie has lost her purpose, but not her nerve or her passion. At her lowest point, she is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite plastic surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy, as well as absolute discretion.

Halfway across the globe, sequestered in the lap of luxury and cutting-edge technology, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance.

Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfills her end of the agreement. But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself—or she will be the next one who is…

My Review:

Wow, I love the name of this book! That title will stick in the brain and roll easily off your tongue when you speak about it. So how does the rest of the book stack up?

First, I guess we might have expected that Reese would narrate protagonist Maggie McCabe. That decision might have weakened the character somewhat without a professional narrator in the translation from written to spoken word by inflection often either over the top or insufficient. Nowhere did I expect a book authored by Reese to include women cosmetic surgeons, Russian baddies, and biker gangs. (Although I must confess I liked Pork Chop.)

Did Harlan add his drama and suspense only to have Reese decide it was a good thing, so repeat it with her edits? It bogged down somewhere in the middle for me and several times rehashed scenarios we’d already visited before. The dialogue appears to have a difference in origination and is uneven in character.

Goodreads shows more three and four-star reviews than five with a deeply divided reaction to the characters and the pacing. There are as many narrators as characters, including Reese herself as well as one of my favorites, Saskia Maarleveld. Amazon notes in her bio that it is Reese’s debut novel, co-authored.

But What Did AI Say?

For those burning to know (as was I) just how much Reese contributed to that obvious Harlan Coban writing style, AI says it was a true collaboration “where both were involved in the writing process…”

Writing process? Aren’t we also talking plot?? Isn’t that a signature Coban plot and pace?

No, says, AI.

Noted that it was originally Witherspoon’s idea, pitched to Coben who ran with it, obviously “contributing his expertise in plotting and structure…signature twists and suspense. “

But hey, you know how AI can, and often does, make mistakes. You read it? Did you read Coban or Witherspoon?

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 point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Mystery Action & Adventure, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B0DJ9K5CLM
Listening Length: 10 hrs 34 mins
Narrators: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Suehyla El-Attar Young, Peter Ganim, Saskia Maarleveld, James Fouhey
Publication Date: October 14, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Authors:

With over 80 million books in print worldwide, Harlan Coben is the #1 New York Times author of thirty five novels including WIN, THE BOY FROM THE WOODS, RUN AWAY, FOOL ME ONCE, TELL NO ONE and the renowned Myron Bolitar series. His books are published in 46 languages around the globe.

Harlan is the creator and executive producer of several Netflix television dramas including FOOL ME ONCE, STAY CLOSE, THE STRANGER, SAFE, THE FIVE, THE INNOCENT and THE WOODS. He is also the creator and executive producer of the Prime Video series Harlan Coben’s SHELTER, based on his young adult books featuring Mickey Bolitar. Harlan was the showrunner and executive producer for two French TV mini-series, UNE CHANCE DE TROP (NO SECOND CHANCE) and JUST UN REGARD (JUST ONE LOOK). KEINE ZWEIT CHANCE, also based on Harlan’s novel, aired in Germany on Sat1.

Harlan’s novel TELL NO ONE (NE LE DIS A PERSONNE) was turned into the renowned French film, directed by Guillaume Canet and starring Francois Cluzet. The movie was the top box office foreign-language film of the year in the USA, won the Lumiere (French Golden Globe) for best picture and was nominated for nine Cesars (French Oscar) and won four, including best actor, best director and best music.

Winner of the Edgar Award, Shamus Award and Anthony Award – the first author to win all three – international bestselling author Harlan Coben’s critically-acclaimed novels have been called “ingenious” (New York Times), “poignant and insightful” (Los Angeles Times), “consistently entertaining” (Houston Chronicle), “superb” (Chicago Tribune) and “must reading” (Philadelphia Inquirer).

In his first books, Coben immersed himself in the exploits of sports agent Myron Bolitar. Critics loved the series, saying, “You race to turn pages…both suspenseful and often surprisingly funny” (People). After seven books Coben wanted to try something different. “I came up with a great idea that simply would not work for Myron,” says Coben. The result was the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller TELL NO ONE, which became the most decorated thriller of the year. Two books later, Bookspan, recognizing Coben’s broad international appeal, named NO SECOND CHANCE its first ever International Book of the Month in 2003 – the Main Selection in 15 different countries.

Harlan was the first writer in more than a decade to be invited to write fiction for the NEW YORK TIMES op-ed page. His Father’s Day short story, THE KEY TO MY FATHER, appeared June 15, 2003. His essays and columns have appeared in many top publications including the New York Times, Parade Magazine and Bloomberg Views.

Harlan has received an eclectic variety of honors from all over the world. In Paris, he was awarded the prestigious Vermeil Medal of Honor for contributions to culture and society by the Mayor of Paris. He has won the El Premio del Novela Negra RBA in Spain, the Grand Prix de Lectrices in France, and the CWA/ITV3 Bestseller Dagger for favorite crime novelist in England. On the other end of the spectrum, Little League Baseball inducted Harlan into their Hall of Excellence in 2013, and Harlan is also a member of the New England Basketball Hall of Fame from his playing days at Amherst College.

Harlan was born in Newark, New Jersey. He still lives in New Jersey with his wife, Anne Armstrong-Coben MD, a pediatrician, and their four children.

Reese Witherspoon is an award-winning actress, producer, founder and New York Times bestselling author. She won an Academy Award® for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line and was later nominated in that same category for Wild in 2014, which she also produced. Witherspoon also starred in beloved films Sweet Home Alabama, Legally Blonde, and Election, as well as the award-winning television series Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and The Morning Show. Her other film credits include Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, Universal Pictures’ animated musical comedy Sing and Sing 2. In addition to her acting and producer roles, Witherspoon is an author and founder. In 2018, Reese released her first book, Whiskey in a Teacup, which was an instant bestseller. In 2016, she established the media brand Hello Sunshine. Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms–from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series–all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese’s Book Club, Reese’s YA Book Club and newly launched Gen-Z focused brand Sunnie. Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. She’ll soon release her first novel, Gone Before Goodbye, a thriller, co-authored by Harlan Coben on October 14th.

Audiobooks with earphones and earbuds

Muddled Through by Barbara Ross #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Maine Clambake Mystery Book 10

Book Blurb:

Mud season takes on a whole new meaning in the coastal town of Busman’s Harbor, Maine, when local business owners sling dirt at one another in a heated feud over a proposed pedestrian mall. Vandalism is one thing, but murder means Julia Snowden of the Snowden Family Clambake steps in to clean up the case . . .

When Julia spots police cars in front of Lupine Design, she races over. Her sister Livvie works there as a potter. Livvie is unharmed but surrounded by smashed up pottery. The police find the owner Zoey Butterfield digging clay by a nearby bay, but she has no idea who would target her store. Zoey is a vocal advocate for turning four blocks of Main Street into a pedestrian mall on summer weekends. Other shop owners, including her next-door neighbor, are vehemently opposed. Could a small-town fight provoke such destruction? When a murder follows the break-in, it’s up to Julia to dig through the secrets and lies to uncover the truth . . .

My Review:

When last I tuned in to the Snowden Family Clambake mysteries, the family had decided to renovate the mansion on the Busman’s Harbor land where they hold their seasonal popular clambakes.

Julia Snowden has not quite started prep for another clambake season when the owner of the pottery shop where her sister Livvie works is arrested for the murder of Phinney Hardison in the unit on the other side of her shop. Zoey Butterfield is rather new to Busman’s Harbor and is lobbying for an unpopular pedestrian mall proposal. She and the ole boy had a big row at the town hall meeting the previous evening. Livvie asked Julia for help in the investigation as having found the guy in their shared basement makes it look like a done deal for the cops.

Well, shucks. Where’s my fish story? No fight over lobster traps or clam field? Where’s my perfumed ocean scent hanging in the air over fire coals? I rather missed that.

Okay, well, of course, there are other issues going on, not the least of which the recent breakup with Chris. I was rather ambivalent about him—but now it looks like there might be another prospect in the wind. Julia, however, does have a new friend in Zoey that I assume will appear in future series installments.

I loved Book 9, Shucked Apart, and later read Book 11, Hidden Beneath, and have read a number of her other Maine Clambake mysteries as well as another of her series, but keep coming back to this series with the atmospheric odors of the coast, the vision of the area, and the food—oh my stars—the food! You just can’t get fresh seafood in the Midwest and we must live vicariously through these delightful cozy series.

So, although I understand there is a mud season in Maine, it just didn’t compare to those clambake seasons for me. Mind you, there were recipes in this one as well at the end of the narrative. Somehow, this installment didn’t capture that ocean breeze excitement for me.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuths, Women Sleuths, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ISBN: 978-1496735706
ASIN: B09HRCJYXF
Print Length: 274 pages
Publication Date: June 28, 2022
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Barbara Ross is the author of the Maine Clambake Mysteries and the Jane Darrowfield Mysteries. Her books have been nominated for multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and have won the Maine Literary Award for Crime Fiction. She lives in Portland, Maine. Readers can visit her website at http://www.barbararossauthor.com