Kobo – Rosepoint Publishing

Forget You Saw Her: A Thriller by Noelle W Ihli #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

Seventeen years ago, Sabina made the most difficult decision of her life: giving her newborn daughter, Andrea, up for adoption. She’s lived with the guilt ever since, clinging to the hope that Andrea was safe, happy, and loved.

Then the letter from the police arrives.

Andrea Beaumont is a missing person.

Desperate for answers, Sabina dives headlong into a frantic search for the daughter she never knew. But the deeper she digs, the more certain she becomes that Andrea isn’t coming home.

And yet…as Sabina follows the disturbing trail of evidence, she swears she can feel her daughter reaching through her dreams, warning her—and guiding her toward the truth.

But someone else is watching—and keeping close tabs on Sabina’s search. And they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure the truth stays buried.

Inspired by true events, Forget You Saw Her is a standalone prequel to the blockbuster international bestseller Ask for Andrea, sure to keep readers gasping for air long into the night.

My Review:

Seems like I’ve been bumping into a number of books lately with the same common theme of adoption. It doesn’t sound like being female and adopted is a fun childhood and many of these books would have you kissing the feet of your own parents—if you have both.

I see by the posted reviews that this was a highly successful book, based on a true experience. Perhaps that makes it even more tragic, as this book contains a number of trigger warnings, not the least of which is abuse. With readers disclosing the level of emotion the narrative wrought, it was expected to be very poignant. And to some extent, it was.

Confession here—I have not read Ask for Andrea and, therefore, had no expectation other than the description in the blurb. You’d think then that the long, possible redundancy regarding some of the characters as they are fully fleshed would be familiar enough by those who had to become tedious. It was for me and slowed the pace to the point where there were small portions I might have tuned out.

Once again, noted it contained some elements of paranormal piqued my interest and, indeed, they were a point of re-engagement for me.

Somehow, I always look for the rainbow, good triumphs over evil, everything will turn out okay. In this novel, it is heart-breakingly unattainable. I never really attained a solid connection, still, a tragic event is emotional. The storyline is told through multiple POVs and is well plotted. The writing style is beautiful.

Not what the reader might expect. I didn’t get my happy ever after, maybe that’s my problem. You may very well find this a delicious, can’t put it down thriller. Go for it.

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: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Publisher: Simon Maverick
Narrators: Andi Arndt, Carlotta Brentan, Brittany Pressley
Release Date: November 4, 2025

Title Links:

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

The Author: USA Today bestselling author Noelle W. Ihli lives in Idaho with her husband, two sons, and three cats. When she’s not plotting her next thriller, she’s scaring herself with true-crime documentaries or going for a trail ride (with her trusty pepper spray).

Keep Them Close by David Ellis #AudiobookReview #DomesticThriller #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Two siblings. One murder. So many lies.

Siblings Allison and Luke have been through a lot together. They’ve always stood by each other. They’d do anything for each other.

Or so it seems.

When Allison’s husband, Finley, is murdered, the investigation threatens to expose the siblings’ darkest secrets. An illicit affair. A decades-old accident. A stunning deception. How do these events explain Finley’s death? How far will Allison and Luke go to keep their secrets buried? And can the siblings even trust one another anymore?

As the investigation winds tighter and past and present collide, the most shocking betrayal might lie a little too close to home…

My Review:

I usually love legal thrillers written by an attorney who knows the law, the ins and outs, and the manipulation of it. This is one of those, although the law can sometimes be a rather tedious subject also. That might be my problem here, as I have a notoriously short attention span and when it comes to thrillers, I want action, in court or out.

As much as I was impressed by Allison, sharp, intelligent, and quick witted, she also annoyed the socks off me sometimes. I often viewed her as entitled and there were a few times when she exhibited that arrogance to prove her point.

Several plot points going on in this domestic thriller. Turns out, between the two partners, she is the successful and, shall we say, more powerful person in this marriage. Given her husband is unfaithful and a waste at any of his get-rich schemes, perhaps it’s not wholly shocking that he should be the one who becomes the victim.

When Allison becomes the target of road rage, it appears to kick off a random list of unexpected twists. Allison has a great support team who adds an authenticity depth to the narrative and I enjoyed them. The plot turns complex with split POVs and timelines.

I felt the pacing waxed and waned a bit for me, the twists pushed boundaries of disbelief, but the ending may supply the gotcha you thought avoided. The ending neatly provides acknowledgment but left me angry with Allison.

Domestic history plays a heavy part in the denouement as well as sibling rivalry and tension. Allison plays her cards close, she knows the law, she can handle more than one case—that of her brother—and still handle a couple other nagging issues. Will one of those nagging issues spell the end of her storied career or end her relationship with her brother Luke?

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: Domestic Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Narrators: Robin McAlpine, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Kelli Tager
Release Date: June 30, 2026

Title Links:

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

The Author: David Ellis is a lawyer and the Edgar Allan Poe Award winner for Best First Novel for Line of Vision. Ellis attended Northwestern Law School and began his legal career in private practice in Chicago in 1993. He served as the House Prosecutor who tried and convicted Illinois Governor Blagojevich in the Impeachment Trial before the Illinois Senate. He was elected to the Illinois Appellate Court in 2014 and took office December 1, 2014. Ellis currently lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children.

Find David at David Ellis.com.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley #BookReview #HistoricalWWIIFiction

Book Blurb:

Some secrets refuse to die.

When journalist Kate Murray is approached by a stranger desperate to reveal the truth about a long-buried crime, her life is upended, and a dangerous journey begins. A tangled web of betrayal, loyalty, and courage draws Kate in as she follows the trail from present-day London to the shadowy alleys of wartime Europe. The answers lie in her own family’s hidden past, but with every step, she awakens powerful enemies. To bring a killer to justice, Kate must risk not only her career—but her life.

My Review:

When Andrew Deacon is killed right in front of Canadian journalist Kate Murray, she is drawn into who and why. Kate is in London covering a murder trial when an elderly British gentleman approaches and engages her in a quick invitation to meet regarding a murder story that never saw justice. He is killed by a hit and run driver as he’s walking away.

Every Secret Thing by Susanna Kearsley — Every Secret Thing – US cover

Perhaps she would not have given the man the time she did except that he asked after her grandmother.

It devolves into a split time line—that of WWII involving her grandmother—and a more recent somewhat hazy decade. Complexity ramps up with the sense of time and multiple locations and the transition is not always as smooth as it might be. How does a journalist afford to traipse all over the world, chasing clues, entirely on her own?

There is a mystery that works hard on suspense, with a side helping of a small but impactful romance. Oh, and I enjoyed that part, very poignant. For his very short appearance in the book, I grew to love Deacon.

Suddenly we are in a complicated novel of espionage spilling out of a WWII British embassy in Lisbon. There were occasions of disbelief—okay—just go with it. Decades after the war, suddenly Kate becomes the hunted and those around her at risk, including her grandmother. Hers was just the first of the body count. Still, that wasn’t Kate’s clue to stop interviewing people possibly associated with either the present or the murder never brought to justice.

The good guys and the bad guys, neither of whom could be wholly explained or examined as it was all national security, hush-hush. Parts I liked (the romance—yeah, me, liked that part—and parts I didn’t. Why the extensive confession—the long explanation—which still didn’t cover all the unexplained threads?

I think I was supposed to love this novel more than I actually did. Sorry about that but when you catch yourself dosing between chapters, there is bound to be something missing. Hard to know the bad guys; seems like all have an agenda and difficult to decipher which one was a positive.

Not just themes of war, but of disease, suicide, theft, and loss. Profound loss. If you love historical fiction and appreciate the spy game, you may very well enjoy this more so than I.

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: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction, Historical World War II & Holocaust Fiction
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 17, 2026

Title Link(s):

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

Susanna Kearsley - author — Susanna Kearsley – author

The Author: I’m a former museum curator, avid amateur genealogist, and writer of modern gothic novels that interweave contemporary suspense and romance with historical adventure, meaning they don’t fit neatly into any category and are therefore a marketer’s nightmare.

The Bookseller once said of me, in a review, “She has a poetic sensibility and a sense of mystery; she could write the modern Rebecca.”

So that’s what I strive for.

How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz #BookReview #AmateurSleuths #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

After the untimely death of her bestselling crime novelist mother, a young woman teams up with the fictional “ghost” of the heroine from her mother’s series in order to solve her mother’s murder.

After the tragic death of bestselling crime writer Annie Morrisey, her daughter, Niamh, moves into her mother’s country cottage to take care of her mother’s estate. Shut away from the world, Niamh doesn’t actually have to deal with the grief of her mother’s untimely passing. Until the day that two things happen: the advance copy of her mother’s final book lands on the doorstep and Leah Rebecca Overton appears in the kitchen.

Having a stranger show up in your house would be concerning at the best of times, but Leah isn’t a stranger—she’s the ultra-competent sleuth heroine from Annie’s novels. The antithesis of Niamh in every way, she’s lived in the fictitious character’s shadow for years. But why (and how) has Leah turned up now? And why can only Niamh see her? Leah is the last thing Niamh wants in her house or in her head, but she can’t ignore the sleuth…especially when Leah suspects there may have been more to Annie’s death than first suspected.

My Review:

I love it when I find a novel with a refreshing and unique plot line…at any rate, this was a new one for me. Of course I was attracted to the title, but even then, the title doesn’t really give away the storyline characters. I started to imagine a kind of Roger Rabbit scenario. Except Leah Overton is no Roger and Niamh is no private investigator.

How to Kill a Crime Writer by Sarah Lotz — How to Kill a Crime Writer – US cover

After best-selling author Anna Morrissey is found dead, her daughter Niamh moves into her cottage to take care of business and quietly grieve. But the circumstances of her mother’s death keep nagging at her. If there is no such thing as a coincidence, then this wasn’t just an accident.

As her anxiety ramps up, she confronts Leah in her kitchen. In the beginning of her mother’s exploration with her new series private investigator, Niamh was included in the forming of Leah, the loner, competent private investigator protagonist of her mother’s new bestsellers. Leah has confidence and skills Niamh could only dream of, and sure her manifestation is her increasing angst, she tries to dismiss it. Explain it away. But Leah won’t be explained away.

A character so well developed, could she actually take on a persona?

Leah is a strong personality. And she’s also sure that her Anna didn’t have an accident.

Trying not to visualize a ghost type appearance, I greatly enjoyed the character of Leah, blithely coming and going when she felt like it, issuing ultimatums, suggesting points of investigation, people of interest. Leah is rough on Niamh, forcing Niamh out of her shell and, (gasp) pro-active? She has to be to perform some of the tasks Leah has proposed for her.

How to Kill a Crime Writer - UK cover — How to Kill a Crime Writer – UK cover

The two characters couldn’t be more opposites. A total wussy as opposed to kick-ass Leah. They are so well developed you can’t help but like both and it’s fun to follow their dialogue and amusing to watch as Leah begins to mellow (just a bit, mind you) and Niamh grow.

The author threw a curve when she introduced a fantasy character in the life of a grief-stricken dropout mouse of a daughter. The sense of humor and plot line weaving in the villages’ characters and possible perps threw in enough twists to keep the reader dying to know what Leah would be doing next.

It’s a fun, fast read. Yeah, I know I’m among the minority here (what’s new?), but this time I apparently appreciated it more so than some of those who read before me. I thought it stirred the imagination. Recommended if you love the suggestion of fantasy, sense of humor, emotive characters and an engaging and entertaining novel.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuths, Women Sleuths, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 21, 2026

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Sarah Lotz is a novelist and screenwriter with a fondness for the macabre. She is the author of The Three, and lives in Cape Town with her family and other animals.

Recommendations

Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple #AudiobookReview #bookclub #TBT

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

I must confess: When I started this audiobook, I got as far as about 26% and DNF’d it. It wasn’t until book club was looming that I realized I’d DNF’d the monthly read. I have gotten to the point that I don’t like to waste much time on a book I’m not enjoying and I wasn’t enjoying this one.

My Thoughts

To say this was a quirky read would probably be an understatement. I’m not sure if it was the format, but I really didn’t care for the characters and Bernadette was a bit too far out for me. Her fifteen-year-old daughter, Bee, might have been the most sane of the household and she is fiercely devoted to her mother. Huh?

Bernadette moved with her family to Seattle where she is totally out of her element. An architect, she’s into some pretty eclectic stuff. I’m not at all sure she is a misplaced genius or already so far around the bend that her sudden disappearance should have caused so much as a ripple in her universe.

Still, she is also pretty devoted to her daughter and promised Bee that a straight A report card would grant her her fondest wish. But Bee’s sudden explosion of her own genius idea is a family trip to Antarctica. And she achieved that goal. The report card that is.

Bee is a fifteen-year-old, but her POV clearly reads younger to me. Maybe it is the world that revolved around this family, as I had a problem with most support characters as well. And just forget Bernadette’s husband.

So, wait a minute. What made this a Goodreads Choice Award nominee? The book club attendees were as sharply divided as I. There might have been some lighter moments in there, a satirical sense of humor, but not for me.

I wasn’t a fan of the writing style. Didn’t particularly like the characters and much of it stretched disbelief. This book just wasn’t for me.

Many thanks to our local well stocked library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own as well as my interpretation of the consensus of the book club participants.

Book Club Thoughts

The book provided many a lively discussion, often getting off topic, and with negatives often leading as well as positives. A number of the questions provided a deep dive into the possible reason that the storyline included excessively long and detailed communications between characters. Interesting that the moderator had watched the movie and highly recommended the movie as having hit all the highlights that would interest the reader while skipping the minutiae.

Items specifically examined were:

► Why is the story told by Bee, the daughter? Pretty much the only sane one in the group.

► What are the thoughts on Bernadette’s character. She’s definitely an independent creative, but perhaps her Twenty-Mile House was a bit too eccentric even for her.

► What finally sent Bernadette over the edge? Definitely the house. To put that much thought and time in it only to have it destroyed provided the final straw.

► Which character is most transformed? Audrey.

► Bernadette always acted as the outsider. Was she, and if so, who was responsible? She was definitely a non-conforming outsider.

I was gratified that on the whole many of the readers in the group found the book a bit outside their usual taste and had more than a few problems with the format. Definitely an unusual book with the ending feeling somewhat rushed and that left a few threads hanging.

Book Club Vote

Book Details:

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
Narrator: Kathleen Wilhoite
Publication Date: August 14, 2012

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Maria Semple is the author of THIS ONE IS MINE, WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE and TODAY WILL BE DIFFERENT. Her work has been translated into over twenty-five languages. Before turning to fiction, she wrote for the television shows Arrested Development, Ellen and Mad About You. She lives in Seattle.

The YMCA Bookclub

The Wedding People: A Novel by Alison Espach #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday #DarkHumor

Winner for Readers’ Favorite Fiction 2024

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A Today show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick, A Goodreads Choice Awards 2024 Winner, and long-listed in many Best of the Year 2024 picks!

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe’s plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

A Macmillan Audio production from Henry Holt & Company.

My Review:

The idea of the destination began with the death of Phoebe Stone’s cat, Harry.

Really? Did she need or deserve that too?

No.

So here she is in gorgeous Cornwall Inn, checking into the grand Rhode Island hotel alone that she dreamed of enjoying with her handsome hubby. She might have planned this in greater detail, but who needs a lot of luggage or itinerary when there was only one real plan in mind?

The end of all of it. The loss of mid-life crisis hubby to her best friend, the crushing disappointment of the failure of the IVF rounds, and although a successful university professor, a loss of interest in teaching. Just..so…tired of it all.

The fly in the ointment might be that she is the only person at the hotel this weekend who is not there for the wedding. Lila single-handedly created the Bridezilla concept, the wedding planned down to the most minute detail—and it didn’t involve Phoebe who appears to be an unwelcome interloper at the hotel, which was supposed to be exclusively hers. Insult to injury: Phoebe has the primo suite that views the beautiful wild and free Atlantic.

No problem. Lila will just go have a small discussion with her, but confronting Phoebe discovers Phoebe has come here to quietly discard her earthly bonds. At the hotel!! Well! Lila can’t have that during her wedding week (yes, week)!

While Phoebe is quietly realizing she is free now with her decision—she can be honest, open, and sharing—and she does—in spades. What happens during the development of both characters is the revelation both confronts during the week with heavy suicide interruptus constantly postponing the inevitable.

Sympathy goes to Phoebe, compassion for her sorrows and depression. Lila comes off just slightly less than despicable—but it’s only the Lila as she’s been groomed to be, formed through circumstance into a person that is not truly her.

Loved the setting, so atmospheric, and the support characters, which lent well to the mood of rising conflict as well as the disquieting awakening on both their parts. A dark theme written with thoughtful consideration as well as a sense of humor. A beautifully written story swelling with emotion and human idiosyncrasy. The conclusion was satisfying and left a smile on your face. Thank you to Lynne over at Fictionophile for her post of the book which caught my attention, and yeah, I loved it and happy to recommend also.

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.

Book Details:

Genre: Dark Humor, Family Life Fiction, Women’s Domestic Life Fiction
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Helen Laser
Release Date: July 30, 2024

Title Links:

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

The Author: Alison Espach is the author of the novels The Wedding People, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, an Indie Next Pick and Amazon Editors’ Pick for 2022, and The Adults, a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Barnes and Noble Discover pick. She has written for McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside Magazine, Joyland and other places. She teaches creative writing at Providence College in Rhode Island.

#ThrowbackThursday

Fighting Edge by Margaret Mizushima #BookReview #policeprocedurals #TuesdayBookBlog

A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

Book Blurb:

Major crimes intersect in this nail-biting installment of the Timber Creek K-9 mysteries by award-winning author Margaret Mizushima.

A routine welfare check becomes a nightmare when Deputy Mattie Walker finds a young mother dead and a hysterical toddler, possibly the only witness to a brutal crime. Before the investigative team can start piecing together what happened, Mattie discovers another criminal act in Timber Creek.

During a traffic stop for speeding, Mattie observes a nervous driver and a teenage passenger frozen with fear. A quick sweep of the car with her K-9 partner, Robo, reveals a dangerous mix of drugs and suspected human trafficking, providing Mattie with grounds to arrest the driver. After she places the teenager in protective custody, the sheriff’s department hands the case over to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

As the team gathers evidence and information, Mattie’s husband, veterinarian Cole Walker, notices suspicious activity during ambulatory calls at dog kennels, indicating yet a third crime lurking in the shadows. What begins as isolated incidents quickly reveals a chilling truth: Organized crime has infiltrated their rural mountain community.

Every clue leads to more questions, and each answer brings them closer to greater danger. Do Mattie and her law enforcement partners have what it takes to shut down this criminal ring before it claims more victims? And could its next victim be someone Mattie loves?

My Review:

I don’t miss a chance to read the latest Timber Creek K-9 Mystery by Ms. Mizushima. I love the characters and have watched their growth almost from Book 1. The protagonist is Deputy Mattie Walker, of course, but the star (at least for me) is Robo, the German Shepherd.

This installment starts right off with a welfare check of a young mother who is found dead with her toddler crying nearby. As always, however, these K-9 stories are layered in between Mattie’s home life. She and the local veterinarian Cole Walker married and created a ready-made family with her step-daughters Sophie and Angie. Sophie is the youngest and easiest as Angie has progressed to sullen teen. The family recently underwent a collective trauma for which they are now consulting a therapist. Maddie’s job creates a bit of tension by duties that keep her from family sessions.

I love the parts where not only Robo, but Cole are used in her police investigations and procedures are often explained. It’s interesting how Mattie gets Robo psyched up for a pursuit, but usually just the Kevlar vest means that Robo is going to work. His demeanor changes instantly and he’s all business. Serious business.

The author has a talent for storytelling, describing her well-developed characters and tackling topical issues such as human trafficking as well as domestic issues. The people seem real—we’ve watched them grow and meld. The pacing doesn’t waver or slow and the plot builds tension and suspense as each episode thread is tackled.

It’s a series where each book can be read as a standalone, but also as an old friend when read from the beginning

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 point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 8, 2026

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Margaret Mizushima writes the internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. She served as a past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was elected Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. She is the recipient of a Colorado Authors League Award, a Benjamin Franklin Book Award, a CIBA CLUE Award, and two Willa Literary Awards by Women Writing the West. Her books have been finalists for a SPUR Award by Western Writers of America, a Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award, and the Colorado Book Award. She and her husband recently moved from Colorado, where they raised two daughters and a multitude of animals, to a home in the Pacific Northwest. Find her on her website, Facebook, X, BlueSky, and Instagram.

Rosepoint Publishing--book haul — Graphic courtesy ChatGPT

Deserters: A Novel by Jerry Gabriel – #BookReview #TravelAdventureFiction #NetGalley #AcreBooks

Book Blurb:

An immersive adventure story set during the American Civil War follows four travelers as they escape toward the Western territories.

It is fall 1864, and Robert Riley has deserted his Army of the Potomac unit outside Petersburg, Virginia. Exhausted from years of war and worried about his motherless sons in Ohio, he returns to collect thirteen-year-old Michael and Sean, three years older, and flees to the Western territories. Along the way, he encounters Janey, an orphan at sixteen, who is also eager to go West. When Riley sees in her a quickness of mind, a brand of cunning that mirrors his own, he is persuaded to take her along.

Crossing the lower Midwest on horseback with little money and few possessions, the four are pursued by a wily private detective after the reward for turning in Riley. He manages to thwart the ragtag group, who abandon their plan of crossing the plains. They slip away by train to Chicago, and there, in that cold, stinking, dangerous metropolis, just before the 1864 election, they meet with problems beyond Riley’s ability to resolve. All four find themselves alone, at the mercy of fortune . . . and the fortune hunter, who finally gets the chance to face down his nemesis.

Deserters alternates between the perspectives of the four major characters as their relationships grow and shift, and as each of them strives to forge their way forward in the late war’s murky upheaval. A book whose antecedents include Charles Portis’s True Grit and Paulette Jiles’s News of the World, Gabriel’s immersive novel is an adventure story with psychological intricacy, emotional intensity, and historical heft.

His Review:

The tragedy that was the American Civil War took more American lives than any other conflict in history. The issue was the northern states fighting a group of southern states. Sometimes even brothers within a family were split between their loyalties to the area they were born and the flag they chose.

This book concentrates on the misery that was felt on both sides and the young people who decided that they did not want to fight in that war. One of the facts of this conflict was that it was illegal to avoid conscription into this war. Either on the side of the north or the south, avoiding being conscripted was punishable by death or immediately being sent back to the front, sometimes without a weapon.

Jerry Gabriel explores the paranoia and fear that any deserter had. Escaping this turmoil was fraught with danger. Even young children were employed to help find the deserters. Bounty hunters made a living capturing these individuals and getting them back to their respective armies.

The time was brutal and vicious and avoiding capture meant never going into a town if it could be avoided. Bounties being paid during times of economic tragedy resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being put back into inhumane prisons with no future. Read this story and witness the many facets of the Civil War not taught in schools. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Travel Adventure Fiction, Action & Adventure Literary Fiction, Literary Fiction
Publisher: Acre Books
Publication Date: May 15, 2026
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Jerry Gabriel is the author of two books of fiction, Drowned Boy and The Let Go. His first book, Drowned Boy, won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and the Towson Prize for Literature. He lives in Maryland with his wife and children, where he teaches writing at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.