mysteries – Rosepoint Publishing

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger – #AudiobookReview – #HistoricalFiction

Best Books of the Year 2023

Nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller (2023)

Book Blurb:

On Memorial Day in Jewel, Minnesota, the body of wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River, dead from a shotgun blast. The investigation falls to Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero who still carries the physical and emotional scars from his military service. Even before Dern has the results of the autopsy, vicious rumors begin to circulate that the killer must be Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran who has recently returned to Jewel with a Japanese wife. As suspicions and accusations mount and the town teeters on the edge of more violence, Dern struggles not only to find the truth of Quinn’s murder but also put to rest the demons from his own past.

Caught up in the torrent of anger that sweeps through Jewel are a war widow and her adolescent son, the intrepid publisher of the local newspaper, an aging deputy, and a crusading female lawyer, all of whom struggle with their own tragic histories and harbor secrets that Quinn’s death threatens to expose.

My Review:

Oh my goodness. It’s a heavy one, this novel.

Memorial Day in the 50s in Jewel, Minnesota was several lifetimes ago. Men who returned from WWII and the recent Korean conflict are still working through their PTSD difficulties, assimilation back into society. It was a decade of violent memories, intolerance, and prejudices, and in this little community, as most, those who exploit and reap the spoils.

Main character Sheriff Brody Dern is one of the local decorated war heroes. Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran another but he returned with a Japanese wife who was recently fired by the Quinns before her employer, wealthy landowner Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the river. While there is not a lot of loss felt by the residents, they immediately suspect Bluestone.

Many support characters among the well-developed main characters create a multi-layered picture of the townspeople, struggles, and dynamics. From bold, colorful depictions of the area to the emotions, tempers, and prejudices of the people, the storyline captures the suspense and tension of the investigation.

Certainly there are themes of discrimination and intolerance as well as the foil in the young boys subplot to throw the reader off. More than one twist here but all roads lead to a satisfactory conclusion and in the meantime, a study of human nature in the prose provides thoughtful reflection.

The author penned an immersive story with engaging characters—but you may have to hang in there long enough to enjoy 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: Historical Fiction, Mysteries
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN-10: ‎ 198217921X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1982179212
ASIN: B0BW1YTM96
Listening Length: 13 hrs 33 mins
Narrator: CJ Wilson
Publication Date: September 5, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: The River We Remember [Amazon]
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.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

The Highwayman (Book 11.5 of the Walt Longmire series) by Craig Johnson – An #Audiobook Review – #westernfiction – #throwbackthursday

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear embark on their latest adventure in this novella set in the world of Craig Johnson’s New York Times best-selling Longmire series – the basis for the hit drama Longmire, now on Netflix.

When Wyoming highway patrolman Rosey Wayman is transferred to the beautiful and imposing landscape of the Wind River Canyon, an area the troopers refer to as no-man’s-land because of the lack of radio communication, she starts receiving “officer needs assistance” calls. The problem? They’re coming from Bobby Womack, a legendary Arapaho patrolman who met a fiery death in the canyon almost a half-century ago.

With an investigation that spans this world and the next, Sheriff Walt Longmire and Henry Standing Bear take on a case that pits them against a legend: The Highwayman.

My Review:

At the risk of sounding like a broken record—have you tried one of the Craig Johnson, Walt Longmire series of books yet? I continue to go through the vast audiobook collection of the Longmire series at my local library and stumbled on this novella length audiobook released back in 2016. Gees, I love these books!

I introduced my readers to our binge of the series when I compared the TV Netflix version with the Longmire books by Craig Johnson here. AND, I was delighted to hear beautifully executed audiobooks of the series by narrator George Guidall. OMG—he does such a wonderful baritone of narration—his inflection, tone, and pace perfect!

Craig Johnson has an exquisite way with words—his descriptions conjuring the visual, the scent of the scene, the chill or heat of the air, and the tension of the characters. The characters? Wonderful! Longmire has had enough time and experience under his badge to handle just about any scenario you can throw at him. The dialogue, particularly between he and Standing Bear (Henry) of the Cheyenne Nation, full of respect, honor, emotion. Their banter can argue philosophical or devolve into the humorous. Dialogue is so natural—you can hear the affection—it’s genuine.

In this short but well-packed and plotted narrative, there is a call from Rosie, a newly transferred Wyoming HP who is receiving radio calls at the same time of night from Bobby Womack. Can’t be, however, as he is an Arapaho patrolman who died in a fiery collision 50 years ago in the Wind River Tunnel. Others have investigated but no one—NO ONE—is picking up Bobby Womack besides Rosie.

I love the folklore of the local Arapaho, Shoshone, and Cherokee and the delightful dip into the paranormal. If Womack is a ghost come back to Rosie—what is he trying to tell her? The conclusion calms the waters, but not before it was one heckava level five ride over the rapids.

Absolutely riveting, page-turning, spellbinding storytelling. You don’t have to read the first eleven to enjoy this short read. You’ll love the characters, the setting, the pace. Don’t like western fiction? What about literary fiction level fleshed dynamic characters and prose that’ll keep the light burning late? Don’t let the genre labels fool you. Trust me.

Book Details:

Genre: Western Fiction, Mysteries, Ghost Suspense, Ghost Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B01EM8BSRY
Print Length: 190 pages
Listening Length: 3 hrs 43 mins
Narrator: George Guidall
Publication Date: May 17, 2016
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Highwayman [Amazon]

https://youtu.be/YhoQHUlKz5g

The Author: Craig Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve Walt Longmire mystery novels, which are the basis for Longmire, the hit Netflix original drama. The Cold Dish won Le Prix du Polar Nouvel Observateur/Bibliobs. Death Without Company, the Wyoming Historical Association’s Book of the Year, won France’s Le Prix 813, and Another Man’s Moccasins was the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award Winner and the Mountains & Plains Book of the Year. The Dark Horse, the fifth in the series, was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and Junkyard Dogs won The Watson Award for a mystery novel with the best sidekick. Hell Is Empty, selected by Library Journal as the Best Mystery of the Year, was a New York Times best seller, as was As the Crow Flies, which won the Rocky for the best crime novel typifying the western United States. A Serpent’s Tooth opened as a New York Times bestseller as did Any Other Name and Wait for Signs, Johnson’s collection of short stories. Spirit of Steamboat was selected by the State Library as the inaugural One Book Wyoming and included visits to sixty-three libraries. Johnson lives in Ucross, Wyoming, population twenty-five.

The Narrator: Widely recognized as the world’s most acclaimed and most prolific narrator of audiobooks, George Guidall has brought a consistent artistry to his readings, delighting listeners for over 20 years. His narrations of classics like Crime and Punishment, Frankenstein, The Iliad, Don Quixote, and Les Miserables, along with many popular best sellers, have set a standard for excellence recognized throughout the audiobook industry. His recordings have garnered uniformly excellent reviews from Audiofile, Kliatt, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, The New York Times, and a variety of national newspapers and magazines. He has also received several Audie Awards—the industry’s equivalent of an Oscar— and holds the record for receiving the most Earphone Awards for excellence in narration given by Audiofile Magazine which has named him one of the original “Golden Voices” in the audiobook industry. He has been honored by the Audio Publishers Association with a life-time achievement award for his record of more than 1,300 unabridged narrations.

Along with his award-winning work as an audiobook narrator, Guidall has also enjoyed a career in the theatre, including starring roles on Broadway, an Obie award for best performance Off-Broadway, and has shared the stage at the New York Shakespeare Festival with Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, and Meryl Streep. In addition to TV dramas such as Law & Order, he has appeared on most of the daytime television series.

Happy Thursday

Photo background attribution of the Wind River Tunnel: Our Empty Nest

Crimson at Cape May (The Haunted Shores Mysteries Book 2) by Randy Overbeck – a #BookReview – #ghoststories

“Cape May: the country’s most haunted seaport.”

Book Blurb:

No matter how far you run, you can never really escape a haunted past.

Darrell Henshaw—teacher, coach, and paranormal sensitive—learned this lesson the hard way. Now, with his job gone and few options, he heads for Cape May to coach a summer football camp. The resort town, with gorgeous beaches, rich history and famous Victorian mansions, might just be the getaway he needs. Only, no one told him Cape May is the most haunted seaport on the East Coast.

When a resident ghost, the Haunted Bride, stalks Darrell, begging for his help, he can’t refuse, and joins forces with Cassie, another sensitive. As Darrell and the street-wise teen investigate the bride’s death, they uncover something far more sinister than a murder. Can Darrell and Cassie expose those behind the crimes before they end up becoming the next victims?

My Review:

When I participated in a blog blitz for the author’s book titled Blood on the Chesapeake, I was intrigued by the premise. Something about ghost stories pulls me in and I wasn’t disappointed with this—his second in the series. I suppose you might begin with Book 1 as it would explain about Darrell’s history—but I read this as a standlone and had no problem catching on pretty quickly that this was an unusual educator.

Darrell Henshaw is first a history teacher, and coach, and then a paranormal sensitive. He’s been asked to assist the coach at a summer football camp in Cape May. Oh my goodness…a quarter of the way into the book I was looking at pictures of the beautiful beach resort community and wondering how quickly I could make the trip to the East Coast. Sooo atmospheric. (I’m a big fan of the coast anyway—the Pacific though.) However, Cape May, with it’s history, Victorian Mansions, and no end of ghostly stories catches up to Darrell in a hurry. And the Haunted Bride is a douzy.

Darrell is an interesting protagonist. He has his foibles—for one, he’s OCD—and he’d lost his job back in Wilshire when he backed off defending himself in order that two of his player’s would keep their scholarships. So he grabbed this opportunity, leaving behind the bewildering state of affairs connected with his frame up and his sweetie, Erin, although she’ll soon join him.

It doesn’t take long before he sees a ghost—and she is very persistent. Then he meets Cassie. Cassie believes he might have the same powers of perception as she. And she’s seen the same persistent ghost. The Haunted Bride has found her conduits, unwitting and unwilling as though they may be, but she won’t let up.

Darrell is a personality I’d have a problem with in real life. He doesn’t scream romantic partner to me, but he can be endearing, sincere, and just as persistent. He must or he’ll just keep getting that ghost, cropping up where he least expects.

Erin is patient, understanding, kind, and still a bit skeptical of his visions, but is beginning to show interest—actually encouraging. She is feminine and motherly and seems to instantly know how to calm Cassie—pursue her visions. Cassie is a Goth, would be homeless except for the crib she’s sharing with a guy in exchange for favors. And she has contacts. They know where to get the good stuff and they share. The nervous interest in her character goes from cautious to compassion.

The well-plotted storyline keeps a steady pace through two-thirds of the book and then gradually ups the ante, adds tension, grit, drops more pieces of the puzzle then explodes. When the dust settles, all is right with the world. The main characters will go on to Book 3 and I’ll be looking for them there.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and these are my honest, unbiased thoughts. NB: CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY recently won its first national award, the Gold Award from Literary Titan.

Book Details:

Genre: Ghost Fiction, Ghost Mysteries, Mysteries
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press Inc

ASIN : B089P2PG1B

Print Length: 308 pages
Publication Date: July 20, 2020
Source: Direct Author Request

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four of Five Stars

The Author: Dr. Randy Overbeck is a veteran educator who has served children as a teacher, a college professor and school leader. During his more than three decades of experience, his responsibilities have ranged from senior prom advisor to superintendent and he has lived the roles of many of the characters in his fiction. A tireless advocate for literacy instruction, Dr. Overbeck has won state and national awards for his work and has also served on numerous state and national educational boards.

An accomplished writer for more than two decades, he has been published in trade journals, professional texts and newspapers. His first novel, LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND, published by Heroic Teacher Press, is a thriller about a terrorist takeover of a high school and the teacher who defeats the terrorists. The work earned rave reviews and was named the 2011 Silver Award for Thriller of the Year from ReadersFavorite.com. His newest work, BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE, released in 2019, has also garnered five-star reviews and won a national award, the Gold Award from Literary Titan.

When he is not writing, Dr. Overbeck is often in demand as a speaker to groups, large and small. His speaking experiences run the gamut from delivering a keynote at a national conference to a participant in a federal policy debate on education. During the past several years, he has shared his tribute, “Teachers–the Real American Heroes” with more than 150 clubs and organizations, introducing audiences across the country to his first novel, LEAVE NO CHILD BEHIND. Currently, Dr. Overbeck is sharing his newest presentation, “Things That Go Bump in the Night,” a fun and intriguing talk about the role of ghosts in our culture, and introducing audiences to his ghost story/mystery, BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE.

A member of the Mystery Writers of America, he is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Midwest Writers’ Workshop and Killer Nashville.

Dr. Overbeck is married to Cathy, his wife and partner for more than 40 years, and they have three grown children–settled in three different states across the country–as well as seven grandchildren, whom he loves to spoil. For him, time not devoted to writing and speaking is spent traveling to visit family and other favorite spots around the US.

Hello October! Are We Reading #Thrillers?

Hello October!

Welcome October! Surely it can’t be already! Halloween, followed closely by Thanksgiving, and then we’re into the holidays. When my two babies were little, I couldn’t wait to tear into decorating for Halloween, but my daughter was born on October 14th, so I always tried to make sure we celebrated her birthday first! However, Harvest time and October can be a beautiful month with clean, crisp air, and a great time to start ripping into thrillers, horror, paranormal, and mysteries. Leave the lights on!

As you may have guessed from noting the covers in the above photo, I’ll be participating in a number of cozy mystery book tours, including Assault and Beadery by Mollie Cox Bryan, Glitter Bomb by Laura Childs, and The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller (A Haunted Bookshop Mystery #6) by Cleo Coyle (sounds perfect, huh?).

Heavier reads are interspersed with the cozies, including Open Your Eyes by Paula Daly (a thriller), The Enigma Source by Breakfield and Burkey (you’ll remember I started that last week about crypto-currency and got distracted), and Time’s Up, Afton by Brent Jones, which is the fourth and final in his spine-tingling, nerve-jangling Afton Morrison series (See my reviews for the first three on this blog). Then I’ll wrap the month up with The Long Paw of the Law (Paw Enforcement #7) by Diane Kelly. That cover is too cute to ignore and you know how much I love K-9 books!

All books noted above are from NetGalley with the exception of Time’s Up, Afton which is an author request. That’s a good start but you know I’ll be adding to the TBR as I still have a few slots to fill. I know, right?—I can’t believe it either! Seems so many of the cozies are scheduled for November book tours. (In the meantime, before the temps drop I have a quilt to finish!)

Do you have any of these novels on your TBR also? Are you recommending thrillers for Halloween? Send me your recommendations–please–and thank you!

Rosepoint #BookReviews – September Recap

Review Recap - September

Oh my gosh! Got into some super reads in September, (eleven!) stretched my reading chops with a horror, a couple thrillers, political conspiracy, and K-9 (service dog) mysteries. I really love the stories about those valiant, stout-hearted canines who do so much for us without so much as a clue what it all means. (Or maybe they do! Long as we’re happy–they’re happy.)

Greatly enjoy working on graphics and sometimes when I see a particular cover love to stretch the imagination into a bookstagram. And it’s fun heading into fall to switch themes now with harvest colors and later, Halloween. I stay on the lookout for new tutorials, but so often when I’ve tried the technique discover it’s for business or paid accounts only. (Either that or my programs are just way too old.) And “stories”? Gees, I could write a book on what I DON’T know about stories. So, no I don’t know what I’m doing, but at least I can still deliver a review on a timely basis.

My book reviews for September:

Cast No Shadow: A Short Story by Brandon Dragan

Malice at the Manor by J Marshall Gordon

Lackbeard by Cody B Stewart and Adam Rocke

How many have you read? Did you agree with my analysis? Click the links below to read any reviews you might have missed.

Sept 2 – The Forbidden Door – a #BookReview – #greatreads – Dean Koontz

Sept 4 – Nice Try, Afton – a #BookReview – Brent Jones

Sept 7 – Deadly Dram: A Whisky Business Mystery by Melinda Mullet #BookTour #BookReview #Giveaway

Sept 9 – A Borrowing of Bones – a #BookReview – Paula Munier

Sept 11-Cast No Shadow: A Short Story #Review – Brandon Dragan

Sept 14-Malice at the Manor – a #BookReview – J Marshall Gordon

Sept 16-Read and Gone – a #BookReview #BookTour #Giveaway – Allison Brook

Sept 18-Lackbeard – a Children’s Fantasy Pirate Adventure #BookReview – Cody B Stewart and Adam Rocke

Sept 21-In Cold Chocolate by Dorothy St. James #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway

Sept 25-Malice by Jennifer Jaynes – a #BookReview

Sept 27-High Crimes by Libby Fischer Hellmann – a #BookReview

The books above came from author requests, NetGalley, and/or part of book tours. The ole October TBR is stacking up to include a number of cozy mysteries from NetGalley for reviews and book tours as well as an author request. The Throwback Thursdays have included books published more than a year ago but reviewed this year by the CE. My conundrum has become the skewed stats on Goodreads and Amazon accounts as I receive his books through BookBub but they appear on both Amazon and Goodreads. (EEK!) Taking his reviews out of my numbers, I’m still five short of achieving my Goodreads Challenge. Yes, I’m working on fixing that…in the meantime

A big thank to all my new followers and as always so appreciate you who continue to read and comment! Thank you!