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Saving the Guilty by Liz Milliron #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Laurel Highlands Mystery Book 7

Book Blurb:

When defense attorney Sally Castle agrees to do a favor for an old friend she thinks the case will be simple: present the appeal for a murder conviction and the work is already done. But the more Sally looks into the facts of the case, the more problems she sees. Did sloppy police procedure result in the conviction of an innocent man?

State Trooper Jim Duncan is also working what seems like a straight-forward homicide: the execution-style murder of a man with suspected drug ties. But before the scene is released he learns the victim was living with a deep-cover fake identity. Why?

Jim and Sally pursue their separate investigations and lines begin to cross, leading them to wonder how separate the cases are. As they uncover murder, drugs, infidelity, and federal-level fraud, one thing becomes clear. Someone wants Sally’s client in jail. And they will go to any length, including murder, to keep him there.

My Review:

I enjoyed this character-driven plot where Sally Castle, an exceptional defense attorney and her boyfriend State Trooper Jim Duncan work together so beautifully, cooperatively, and supportively. She has a retired racer greyhound named Pixel. They work well as main characters while Sally’s law partner Tanelsa and Cavendish, Jim’s partner in the state police round out two strong support characters.

Sally agrees to take on a case for a friend in the hospital despite the bad timing which turns out to be a great deal more complex than viewed on first blush. When a second body is found that appears to be tied to the first, it’s Duncan and Cavendish who become involved in the case up to their eyeballs.

“I hope their definition of shortly isn’t the same as my doctor’s office.” (SOOO true!)

Matters become very convoluted very quickly as the author adds clues and twists that keep the reader turning pages. Dialogue is right on, authentic between intelligent and appealing characters. Easy to become invested between the good guys contrasting sharply against the bad guys. Ohhh, the tension.

An entertaining read from start to finish. The plot is well paced and complex but it was the characters I found most appealing. If you enjoy mystery, tension, legal fiction, and great characters, then this one will keep your interest. Recommended.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery Series, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0D9ZRF8JM
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: August 6, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Compassion, loyalty…and crime.

Liz Milliron is the author of the Laurel Highlands mystery series, featuring a Pennsylvania State Trooper and a Fayette County public defender in the scenic Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania, and The Homefront Mysteries, set in Buffalo in the early 1940s and following Betty Ahern, a Rosie the Riveter with dreams of being Sam Spade. Liz’s short fiction includes stories in Lucky Charms: 12 Crime Tales and The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fifth Course of Chaos, as well as stories in Mystery Most Historical, Fish Out of Water, and the Anthony-winning Blood on the Bayou. She is a past president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime, as well as a member of International Thriller Writers and Pennwriters. Liz splits her time between Pittsburgh and the Laurel Highlands, where she lives with her husband and a very spoiled retired-racer greyhound.

http://www.lizmilliron.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LizMilliron/

https://www.instagram.com/lizmilliron/

#TuesdayBookBlog

You’ll Never Find Me by Allison Brennan #AudiobookReview #WomenSleuthMysteries

Angelhart Investigations Book 1

If you love getting in on a new series with Book 1, you may want to check this one out.

Book Blurb:

Nothing brings family together like crime. In the first book in the thrilling new Angelhart series from New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan, private investigator Margot Angelhart helps clients the law overlooks, but when she takes on a case more dangerous than she imagined, teaming up with her estranged siblings may be her only hope for survival.

Working alone as a private investigator is tough. Estranged from her PI family, Margo Angelhart does what she must to get by—including taking on sordid cases that pay the bills, even if she’d rather be helping those the justice system has failed.

That is, until a cheating husband case she’s working intersects with her siblings’ corporate espionage investigation, forcing Margo to cooperate with the Angelhart firm. Now, as the siblings compare notes, it’s clear they need to work together before a white-collar crime escalates to murder.

With far more questions than answers and a key suspect on the run, they’ll need the whole family to pitch in. But as they investigate the ever-twisting mystery, Margo isn’t sharing everything. Can she learn to trust her family and heal their once-close relationship before her secrets put those she loves most in danger?

My Review:

The author introduces us to the Angelhart family in a new series. Not my first experience with the author but thought I’d try again with the first in a new series as I usually come in well after the characters are established with history.

Margo is a PI, estranged from the family. The dynamic with the family is strained and I had a hard time engaging with Margo’s character, discovering the separation from the family business was possibly explained in a prequel that I didn’t read it.

This narrative splits and creates a sub-plot. As the blurb describes, one of Margo’s cases and her siblings intersect. Margo is also trying to help a woman escape a dangerous situation with her husband. Add the dissension between Margo, her family, and why her dad is in prison and the storyline gets complex. She’s sure he didn’t commit the crime and can’t understand why her family won’t back her in working to clear his name.

There may be too many threads packed into the storyline—it becomes a bit convoluted—and working on separate plot points, found myself disassociating from the audio and not staying tuned.

The chapters bounce between different characters POV. Sometimes that works well for me. While it gives the reader more inside info into the thought processes of the characters, it became just too much in this case. The point seems to be setting them up for further inclusion in additional installments. I did enjoy the descriptions of the Phoenix area since we spent a year in Goodyear and got to understand the real beauty of the area.

Too many holes for me, bouncing POVs, switching plot threads, setting the stage for the next installment, and the conclusion left me with unanswered questions. I had somewhat the same experience with the writing style in The Wrong Victim last year. Again it seems, I want more potency in the main thread, more tension, faster pace, suspense.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women Sleuth Mysteries, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
ASIN: B0CT479PLS
Listening Length: 10 hrs 31 mins
Narrator: Hillary Huber
Publication Date: June 25, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: You’ll Never Find Me [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of more than forty thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and writes three books a year. Originally from northern California, in 2019 she and her husband relocated to Arizona where they enjoy baseball Spring Training, hiking, and spending time with their kids, grandson, and assorted pets.

Happy Thursday!

Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt #AudiobookReview #animalfiction

An Andy Carpenter Mystery #29

Book Blurb:

Paterson, New Jersey’s favorite reluctant lawyer Andy Carpenter returns in Dog Day Afternoon, the next mystery in this fan favorite series from National Bestselling Author David Rosenfelt.

Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter has run the Tara Foundation—the dog rescue organization named after his beloved golden retriever—for years. It’s always been his calling, even as Andy’s pulled into representing clients in court. His investigator, Marcus Clark, has been at Andy’s side for a long time. Even though they’ve known each other for years, Marcus keeps his personal life a mystery.

So it’s a shock when Marcus arrives at the Tara Foundation with two strangers in tow. Turns out Marcus takes disadvantaged young men under his wing, gets them jobs, a place to live, and a chance at a different life. And they want a dog. Andy’s specialty. One of the young men, Nick Williams, instantly falls in love with one of the dogs, Daisy.

When there’s a mass shooting at Nick’s work, leaving six dead, all signs point to Nick. Marcus, who’s never asked Andy for anything, asks Andy for help. Despite Nick’s troubled background, Andy trusts his friend and takes the case.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

My Review:

Yes, it’s time for another Andy Carpenter legal mystery narrated by one of my favorites, Grover Gardner—who is Andy Carpenter personified. I just have to hear that voice and I see the man. (Andy may need to walk his dogs a little longer.)

You’ll remember by now, since this is one of my favorite series, that Andy Carpenter has been trying to retire from being a defense attorney for years. He no longer needs to work but is heavily involved in the dog rescue organization he created with a partner, a former client. He has three dogs in his own family dynamic, each with very different personalities, levels of energy, and contributions to the storyline.

And then there is Marcus, who never known for his verbosity, suddenly seeks Andy’s help in the defense of a disadvantaged young man he helped get the job where there has now been a mass shooting. Marcus knows he couldn’t have done it, Nick is a dog lover.

I love the complexity of the installments. They are multi-layered and twisty, and you never know where the storyline is heading. These narratives are never simple. Andy has his usual crew besides Marcus, including Sam and his wife Laurie. Each character adds an authentic touch to the crew that helps with his investigation and legal proceedings.

Along the way, just in case things are getting heavy, are the usual banter, snide remarks, and casual snarky observations.

While the author follows his successful format pattern, the characters are well drawn and relatable, balance each other well, and the stories work as standalone. This is absolutely a series you’ll opt for the audiobook as Gardner’s narration is always a hoot and just too much fun. (Of course, it helps that the author has penned his signature sense of humor.)

The novels are always well-paced and, of course, I love the inclusion of the dogs. Each of the installments is engaging and entertaining.

This last book in the series I read in October 2023, Book 28, was ‘Twas the Bite Before Christmas” and I loved it. I’m thinking we’ll soon have one for Christmas 2024. I’m looking forward to it.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Traditional Detective Mysteries
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0CH1D7WJF
Listening Length: 7 hrs 13 mins
Narrator: Grover Gardner
Publication Date: July 2, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Dog Day Afternoon [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author:

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

Facebook
Website

The Narrator:

Grover Gardner’s narration career spans twenty-five years and over 550 audiobook titles. AudioFile Magazine has called him one of the “Best Voices of the Century” and features him in their annual “Golden Voices” update. Publishers Weekly named him Audiobook Narrator of the Year for 2005. His recordings have garnered 18 “Golden Earphones” awards from AudioFile and an Audie Award from the Audio Publishers’ Association.
http://grovergardner.blogspot.com/

Big Love and War Horse: a novel by Shallen Anne Chitwood #BookReview #HistoricalLiteraryFiction

Book Blurb:

In the wake of the Great Depression, during the 1942 bombings off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the Deacon family has lost the life they knew before the Second World War. As the family and their closest friends struggle to make sense of the secrets they keep from one another, their dogs—Big Love and War Horse—help them find the strength and endurance to survive the aftermath of devastating loss and adversity.

Abandoned by their father, Luke, after the sudden death of their mother, fifteen-year-old Jonas and his younger sister Kay are coming of age in a world shrouded in secrecy and uncertainty. Luke’s sister Linnie steps in to help mend the broken family, but haunted by her own hidden truths, her life is shattered by the past.
Through the intimate perspectives of the Deacon family and their dogs, this intricately woven tale of tragedy and love reminds us of the power of the human spirit to rise above seemingly impossible circumstances.

My Review:

Yes, of course, I grabbed this book because of the promise of dogs in the story—sweet cover.

The promise is kept and this turns out to be a great book with a fairly unique plot, the premise of the life of the dogs living with their humans in Autumn of 1942 in North Carolina. The family has been beset with a recent tragedy that has threatened to tear the remaining family members apart.

Jonas at fifteen, his sister a couple years younger, lost their mother to suicide and then their father in an inability to cope finding solace only in a bottle. The two have been left almost wholly on their own, learning to survive, and preparing for a harsh winter.

Told largely in the POV of the dogs as they observe their humans grappling with the changes to the family dynamic, Big Love, a old Great Pyrenees, and War Horse, a Doberman puppy too big to succeed as a Marine war dog, the reader is privy to the private struggles of the kids.

Their aunt comes around to check on the kids and later becomes a bigger part of the family. She has secrets and struggles of her own. The father eventually comes back and tries to make up to the kids, Jonas now bitter and angry at having been left to survive on their own. The reconciliation is slow and deeply moving, poignant.

The novel evokes many emotions as it navigates the grief, anger and profound confusion over the loss. The writing style is simple, sometimes reminding you it’s a debut author, while still managing a beautiful narrative.

A lot going on in this novel with twists and turns and themes of love, loss, murder, suicide, and reconciliation. I loved the interpretation of the circumstances by the dogs who do their best to take care of their humans while strongly conveying a canine sensibility to the situation rather than going anthropomorphic.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery Thriller Suspense Literary Fiction, Women’s Literary Fiction, Historical Literary Fiction
ASIN: B0D6RR9Z77
Print Length: 208 pages
Publication Date: June 10, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Shallen Anne Chitwood is the recipient of the Literary Titan’s Book Award for her debut novel Big Love and War Horse. She was born and raised in the Midwest. The time she spent on her grandparents’ farm down South and the stories she heard as a young girl influenced her writing and her way of life. After earning her Master of Science in Education from Southern Illinois University, she moved to Tennessee, where she and her husband live on their own farm. When she isn’t writing stories or poetry, Shallen can be found in the garden or tending to her furry and feathered friends.

Chill--It's Sunday

Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll #AudiobookReview #AmateurSleuth #standalone

Book Blurb:

Quinn Fleming, a San Diego florist grappling with post-traumatic amnesia, is the only witness to a murder … and the only one who can solve it—in a brand-new thrilling mystery from Sara Driscoll, author of the FBI K-9 novels!

After surviving a terrible attack, Quinn Fleming has recovered in every way but one—her ability to retain new memories. Now, months later, it appears to the outside world as if the San Diego florist’s life is back to normal. But Quinn is barely holding on, relying on a notebook she carries with her at all times, a record of her entire existence since the assault.

So when she witnesses a murder in the shadowy alley behind the florist shop, Quinn immediately writes down every terrifying detail of the incident before her amnesia wipes it away.

By the time the police arrive, there’s no body, no crime scene, and no clues. The killing seems as erased from reality as it is from Quinn’s mind … until the flashbacks begin.

Suddenly, fragments of memories are surfacing—mere glimpses of that horrible night, but enough to convince Quinn that somewhere, locked in her subconscious, is the key to solving the case … and she’s not the only one who knows. Somebody else has realized Quinn is a threat that needs to be eliminated. Now, with her life on the line and only her notes to guide her, Quinn sets out to find a killer she doesn’t remember, but can’t forget …

My Review:

Quinn Fleming has been left with a traumatic brain injury from an attack that she recovered from physically. She is now fully functional and working at a florist shop. She’s been left with the inability to retain short-term memories, however. Having reconciled to this new self, she has learned to live with it by immediately writing notes to herself and she keeps a journal.

One evening as she was closing the shop and tossing trash in the dumpster behind the store, she realized she was not alone in the alley. She witnesses what she believes to be a murder, victim of foul play, and also knew if she didn’t write her observations immediately, they’d be lost to her by the time she could give a complete statement to the police.

Unfortunately, when the police arrive, they do not find a body nor evidence of an attack. She apparently has history with Detective Reyes, however, and Detective Reyes learned how to keep Quinn’s involvement in the moment and tease out details. The question was: were the perps aware there was a witness?

I must confess I’ve read many of the author’s books and jumped on this just seeing her name. I didn’t realize it was a standalone and quickly understood it was not one of my favorite FBI K-9 series. I recently read Lockdown, Book 3 of the NYPD Negotiators series and enjoyed it, but still, it’s hard to beat one of her FBI K-9 novels.

The storyline seemed a slow burn for me. There was a lot of dialogue between Quinn and the detective, explanation of her brain injury, description of the elaborate system of notes she’d made and kept for herself so she could function somewhat normally.

While I enjoy the intelligence of her narratives, I guess I’ve gotten used to more activity, faster pace. The main character is well developed and I marveled at the patience the detective employed in gleaning out the tiniest memory from Quinn, but at times it was also a bit exasperating. Good book, yeah.

Interesting, yeah.

Unique, okay.

If you are a solid diehard fan of the author, then you may appreciate the burn. I am a fan, but obviously chose my favs early on and color me a bit disappointed if there are no dogs involved.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth, Women Sleuth Mysteries, Suspense
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0D2LRKGRS
Listening Length: 11 hrs 9 mins
Narrator: Cynthia Farrell
Publication Date: July 23, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Echoes of Memory – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sara Driscoll is the pen name of Jen J. Danna, coauthor of the Abbott and Lowell Forensic Mysteries and author of the FBI K-9s and the NYPD Negotiators. After over thirty years in infectious diseases research, Jen hung up her lab coat to concentrate on her real love—writing “exceptional” thrillers (Publishers Weekly). She is a member of the Crime Writers of Canada and lives with her husband and four rescued cats outside of Toronto, Ontario. You can follow the latest news on her books, including the FBI K-9s, at http://www.saradriscollauthor.com.

Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Forever within the memories of my heart.

Always remember, you are perfectly loved.

Bertie Jenkins has spent forty years serving as a midwife for her community in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee. Out of all the mothers she’s tended, none affects her more than the young teenager who shows up on her doorstep, injured, afraid, and expecting, one warm June day in 1943. As Bertie and her four sisters tenderly nurture Songbird back to health, the bond between the childless midwife and the motherless teen grows strong. But soon Songbird is forced to make a heartbreaking decision that will tear this little family apart.

Thirty years later, the day after his father’s funeral, Walker Wylie is stunned to learn he was adopted as an infant. The famous country singer enlists the help of adoption advocate Reese Chandler in the hopes of learning why he was abandoned by his birth parents. With the only clue he has in hand, Walker and Reese head deep into the Appalachian Mountains to track down Bertie Jenkins, the midwife who holds the secrets to Walker’s past.

My Review:

I can’t help it. I really enjoy dual timeline novels. The storyline of this novel starts in Appalachia during the 30s with five sisters, one of whom, Birdie, is a midwife.

The Jenkins sisters have a small farm in the mountains that manage to eke out just enough to sustain them through the worst. It is late one night when they are alerted about something or someone in the woods and upon investigating discover a young girl, pregnant and with a gunshot wound. They manage to save both she and her baby.

About thirty years later, the death of Walker Wylie’s father sets off a journey he never imagined. His mother divulges he was adopted and they knew very little of the circumstances of his birth.

Not a new or unique plot but the location of the southern mountains and the earlier time places you square in the cabin with the sisters as they nurse Songbird back to health and then the birth of her baby.

Wylie enlists the help of another midwife to find his birth parents. Wylie is apparently very well off having a successful singing career, but takes the time to see the journey of discovery through.

The characters are well drawn, although I was not able to engage with Wylie as much as the sisters. He does mellow out somewhat by the conclusion. There are themes of unwed teen pregnancy, Christian values, family (without the familial connection), and sacrifice.

The pace slows somewhat with the backstory of Wylie, but everything comes together beautifully, if not unexpectedly. A sweet story of adoption and love.

I received a digital copy of this book from my local library that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction, Christian Historical Fiction, Religious Historical Fiction
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction
ASIN: B0BX14RV95
Print Length: 339 pages
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels, including COUNT THE NIGHTS BY STARS, winner of the 2023 Christianity Today Book Award in Fiction, and UNDER THE TULIP TREE, a Christy Award and Selah Award finalist. As a woman of mixed heritage–her father’s family is Hispanic and her mother’s roots go back to Germany–she has always celebrated diversity and feels it’s important to see the world through the eyes of one another. Learning from the past and changing the future is why she writes historical fiction.

With both her sons grown, Michelle and her husband make their home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about.

Michelle loves hearing from readers! Connect with her at http://www.MichelleShocklee.com

#ThrowbackThursday

Zephyr Trails by Nicki Ehrlich #BookReview #HistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

The fine line between friends and enemies blurs as Ellis Cady sets out to reach the new frontier of post-Civil War America.
After waiting out winter at the Cady ranch in southern Missouri, hope blooms in the Spring of 1866. Ellis receives news of a mysterious man arriving in St. Louis. Will she find her father alive and well, or finally put his memory to rest?

Grasping at the illusive promise of her father’s whereabouts, Ellis is distracted by the intrepid trick rider, Jimmie, a woman who rides with Levi Jack’s Wild West Exhibition. Then, talk of reinstating a messenger service akin to the Pony Express rekindles a faded dream. Since the war’s devastation, important letters and messages still need to get through a Western landscape governed by Indians and outlaws. When an untimely epidemic threatens, Ellis finds herself back in the saddle, a young woman and her horse on a perilous trail.

My Review:

Zephyr Trails actually continues the story of Ellis Cady of Book 1 who discovers herself left alone with missing and passed family following the end of the Civil War. After the loss of her twin brother, she assumes his identity to more safely travel alone, cutting her hair and wearing male clothing. She is an accomplished horsewoman, so few note the small feminine tells she works hard to disguise.

Ellis is seeking her father, said to have finished out the war in a POW camp, as she pushes west toward remote relatives and her ultimate goal of settling west. As she studies her options and refines her skills, she takes on a number of jobs, working with a Wild West show and signing up for Pony Express rides.

Ellis is torn. She is picking up clues about her father and possibly finding avenues to the west while her aunt and uncle invite her to remain on their ranch in Missouri. I liked her connection to the characters in the Wild West show but obviously the plot could not sustain a storyline with her work in a show that doesn’t further her overriding goal.

I had a bit of a problem with the pace, which seemed to bog down a couple times, stalling while she grapples with her next course of action. The thread with the father becomes difficult, exhibiting PTSD symptoms. She struggles with her own identity, stubbornly independent. There are a couple reoccurring character relationships that appear to savor a connection without her apparent interest. (Maybe next installment?)

Did she find her father and re-establish some semblance of family? Or will she find her way west?

The CE read Ellis River in September, 2022, and loved it. I read Zephyr Trails as a standalone, perhaps would have been better had I started with Ellis River? I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Parenting & Relationships, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Bay Feather Books
ISBN-13: ‎979-8985997422
ASIN: B0D6X9DS4M
Print Length: 321 pages
Publication Date: June 24, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Nicki Ehrlich grew up in Southern Illinois before attending college at the University of Denver and later, Idaho State University, where she graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy/English. After living ten “horse-rich” years in Idaho, she moved on to Oregon, and later Washington, where she realized she had unwittingly traveled the Oregon Trail.

While living in the Pacific Northwest, Nicki continued to write fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, Ellis River, is the 2023 winner of the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book – fiction. The novel was also a finalist for the Eric Hoffer First Horizons Award, and received an Honorable Mention for the Eric Hoffer Grand Prize. Nicki has won additional awards for her poetry and creative writing, including the Writer’s Digest Annual Poetry Awards and the Ray Fabrizio Memorial Award. Nicki holds a Certificate in Creative Writing from Monterey Peninsula College and is a member of the Central Coast branch of the California Writers Club. She also holds a Coast Guard Captain’s License and currently lives on California’s inspiring central coast where she is at work on the sequel to Ellis River.

You can find Nicki at: NickiEhrlich.com, Instagram, and Goodreads.

The Broken Truth: A Thriller by Reavis Wortham #BookReview #ContemporaryWesternFiction

Tucker Snow Thrillers

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The endless Texas landscape hides all manner of sins…

Special Agent Tucker Snow knows there’s big money roaming the fields under the wide Texas sky—and the cattle rustlers committing large-scale thefts on remote ranches know it, too. But when a prominent local rancher dies unexpectedly and his property is quietly sold to an unknown buyer, Tucker suspects there’s something more sinister going on in his jurisdiction than the usual steal-and-resell racket. Still raw after the tragic death of his wife and young daughter, the lawman can’t bear the thought of more innocent lives destroyed by people whose greed poisons everything around them.

Working alongside his brother, Harley, Tucker uncovers a dark ring of organized crime that goes well beyond cattle rustling—a breed of deception and greed that has turned into a silent killer and will take down anyone who crosses its path. The question is whether Tuck and Harley will be able to shut it down before it finds the people they love the most…

His Review:

Ah the wild West and cattle rustling, memories of my childhood. Rustlers tracking across the prairies, sleeping under the open stars and collecting $10 to $20 a head on the animals delivered to a railhead. But that thieving life still plagues the country today with rustlers bagging up to $1,000 per head for these animals.

Tucker Snow is a special ranger for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Assn. He shows up at most stock sales and verifies the shipping tickets with the stock actually brought to market. Trying to catch cattle thieves is a full time and very dangerous job. With a horse trailer full of 10 or 12 head of animals the payoff is over $10,000. Many of these animals may have no brands or other identifying marks and the ownership is declared by possession.

Tucker’s brother Harley often assists him tracking lost shipments. He has a quick wit and even quicker temper. Together they team up to reduce the amount of thefts. The drivers of the getaway trailers are often very skilled. They also utilize decoy vehicles and intervention teams to separate Harley and Tucker from their goals. The banter between them is hilarious as they continue to track the bandits.

Revis has woven this story into a very believable narrative. State and Federal authorities often assist in capturing the thieves. Large-scale profits attract high-level, cold-blooded thieves. Consortiums grow and the biggest thieves get the richest. Can Tucker and Harley thwart these thieves? Enjoy! 5 stars – CE Williams

I read Hard Country last year and really enjoyed the writing style of the author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Contemporary Western Fiction, Organized Crime
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: 1728256739
ASIN: B0CMC3J2QY
Print Length: 375 pages
Publication Date: August 20, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: As a boy, award-winning writer, Reavis Z. Wortham hunted and fished the river bottoms near Chicota, Texas, the inspiration for the fictional setting for The Rock Hole and The Red River Mystery Series. He was born in Paris, Texas, but lived in Dallas. “We grew up in the city and went to school there, but every Friday evening my parents put us in the car and made the 120-mile drive to Chicota, where we truly lived at my grandparents’ place in the country until Sunday evening, when we came back to the city. Our real home was that little scratch farm in Lamar County.”

Author Reavis Z. Wortham’s first novel, The Rock Hole, is described by Kirkus Reviews as “an unpretentious gem written to the hilt and harrowing in its unpredictability.” Kirkus also listed it as one of the “Top 12 Mysteries of 2011.”

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Reavis also penned Doreen’s 24 HR Eat Gas Now Café. More than 2,500 newspaper and magazine articles bear the byline of this award-winning Texas writer. The Rock Hole was a finalist in the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award presented by the Independent Book Publishers Association, is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Writers’ League of Texas, International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch), and International Thriller Writers.

He lives with his wife, Shana, in northeast Texas.

Book Reviews - check