#NetGalleyreviewer – Page 12 – Rosepoint Publishing

Rich Justice by Robert Bailey – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Jason Rich Book 3

Book Blurb:

In this twisty thriller from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Robert Bailey, a disgraced attorney’s mistakes come back to haunt him when he’s tried for a murder he didn’t commit.

Once the flashy, successful lawyer known for his in-your-face billboards—IN AN ACCIDENT? GET RICH—Jason Rich has fallen from grace, his reputation scrubbed of its glitz and his life stripped of the people he cares about. All thanks to meth kingpin Tyson Cade.

But when Cade is shot and killed in the heart of his territory, things go from bad to worse for Jason as he is charged with his murder.

To clear his name, Jason seeks help from an unlikely source: Shay Lankford, an old adversary and attorney almost as disgraced as Jason himself. Now Jason and Shay have even more to lose—their lives—as they dig into the dangerous truth behind Tyson Cade’s murder.

Neither time nor evidence is on their side, but after everything he’s lost, Jason is determined to save his future from the mistakes of his past—no matter the price.

His Review:

Small towns in Alabama are often one-horse towns. Guntersville is a very good example of this fact. The control of the town rests on a former US Army Colonel named Chuck Tonidandel. Everything in the town and immediate environs is controlled by Chuck and his three sons. Everyone else in the burg answered to the Colonel or his three sons.

Jason Dean was raised by the Colonel and everything he did was to please the Colonel. People who crossed the Colonel or his family wound up in various stages of dead. The local gendarme pointed out that Jason was responsible for the killings in the area. He lost his law license due to malfeasance and is in limbo waiting for a two-year suspension of said license.

This book is well written with the exception that it has too many murders. Anyone who seemed to cross the Colonel or Jason Dean wound up dead. There are simply too many deaths pointing back to the Tonidandels and their father, nor does the author leave the fairer sex out of the mix. Dating any lady in Guntersville could be a quick trip to a three-by-six-by-six future. I enjoyed the book but found the number of killings over the top. Read to see if you agree. 4 stars – CE Williams

[Note: It’s been a while since we read a Bailey book, Legacy of Lies, that one in 2020 that I read from a different series and thoroughly enjoyed. VW]

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Sibling Fiction, Legal Thrillers
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: 1662516630
ASIN: B0C62FWRL2
Print Length: 515 pages
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Robert Bailey is the bestselling author of the McMurtrie and Drake Legal Thrillers series, which includes The Final Reckoning, The Last Trial, Between Black and White, and The Professor. The first two novels in the series were Beverly Hills Book Awards legal thriller of the year winners, and Between Black and White was a finalist for the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year.

For the past nineteen years, Bailey has been a civil defense trial lawyer in his hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, where he lives with his wife and three children. For more information, please visit http://www.robertbaileybooks.com.

Wintertime Books and Reviews

The Great Gimmelmans by Lee Matthew Goldberg – #BookReview – #HeistCrime

Book Blurb:

Middle child Aaron Gimmelman watches as his family goes from a mild-mannered reform Jewish clan to having over a million dollars of stolen money stuffed in their RV’s cabinets while being pursued by the FBI and loan sharks. But it wasn’t always like that. His father Barry made a killing as a stockbroker, his mother Judith loved her collection of expensive hats, his older sister Steph was obsessed with pop stars, and little sister Jenny loved her stuffed possum, Seymour.

After losing all their money in the Crash of 1987, the family starts stealing from convenience stores, but when they hit a bank, they realize the talent they possess. The money starts rolling in and brings the family closer together, whereas back at home, no one had any time for bonding due to their busy schedules. But Barry’s desire for more, more, more will take its toll on the Gimmelmans, and Aaron is forced into an impossible choice: turn against his father, or let his family fall apart.

From Jersey, down to an Orthodox Jewish community in Florida where they hide out, and up to California, The Great Gimmelmans goes on a madcap ride through the 1980s. Filled with greed and love and the meaning of religion and tradition until the walls of the RV and the feds start closing in on the family, this thrilling literary tale mixes Michael Chabon and the Coen Brothers with equal parts humor and pathos.

BUCKLE UP!

My Review:

Well, knock me over with a feather.

I’m speechless.

Well, almost.

Nothing here I expected. Caught off-guard, more than once, the way this very well crafted, fast-paced narrative followed the thoughts of middle child Aaron Gimmelman. Aaron has an older and younger sister. His younger sister Jenny is a bit (no—a lot) different than other folks. But then, so are his mother and father.

Having been a successful and upper middle-class family, Aaron’s father Barry lost his job as a stockbroker in the crash of 1987. Not prepared, no clue what to do, where to go, or how to proceed, Aaron takes it upon himself to steal a few things for the family.

But his father, seeing a success replace the failures, takes on more and Aaron discovers he cannot close that Pandora’s box. The 80s grips his mom and dad and creates a monster he could not have foreseen. Caught between his father and the family, he goes along for the ride—literally—as the only remaining asset they have left is used to escape, first to Florida (and relatives) and then to California.

There is humor, but the humor is permeated with pathos. My mind kept reeling as the plot continued to spiral down into ever-deepening crevices into which none would scale unscathed. Disbelief rises and the reader is rooting for some way out, hoping for sanity to win out—the children to prevail—but this dysfunctional family has already gone too far.

I read with horror wondering how the parents could have degenerated this completely. The youngest child is scary—in fact, the characters are very well developed. Perhaps that was the problem, so real, could this actually happen? The writing style is poignant, the tragedy searing, the humor genuine.

“The sun peeking over the horizon, an orange flame mixed with purple dust.”

It’s a strongly mixed emotional message, using coming-of-age, humor, noir and thriller elements in themes of religion and family. No ending would satisfy everyone and my heart was crushed, the injustice of it all. Or was it? I kept going through the “what ifs.” What would you have done with Jenny? This book will hook and grip through the last heavy sigh. Brilliant, captivating storytelling. I’ll look for this author again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Recommended!

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Heist Crime, Heist Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0CCSPZD8Z
Print Length: 442 pages
Publication Date: November 14, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of twelve novels including THE ANCESTOR and THE MENTOR along with his five-book DESIRE CARD series. His YA series RUNAWAY TRAIN is currently with actress Raegan Revord from Young Sheldon attached to develop his original written pilot. THE GREAT GIMMELMANS comes out in 2023. He is a finalist for an Anthony Award and nominated for the Prix du Polar. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, he’s been published in multiple languages and his writing has also appeared as a contributor in CrimeReads, Pipeline Artists, LitHub, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Millions, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, LitReactor, Mystery Tribune, Monkeybicycle, Fiction Writers Review, Cagibi, Necessary Fiction, the anthology Dirty Boulevard, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Maudlin House and others. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at LeeMatthewGoldberg.com

His favorite authors are classic writers like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Hermann Hesse, Emily Bronte, W. Somerset Maugham and Raymond Chandler. For modern authors, he’s been influenced by Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis, Denis Johnson, John Irving, and Paul Auster.

Enjoy Your Sunday

Death in the Ozarks by Erik S Meyers – #BookReview – #TraditionalDetectiveMysteries

A Sally Witherspoon Mystery

Book Blurb:

A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a Cheers bartender, Sally Witherspoon, a 50-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves.

But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind her bar on a Saturday night, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who did it.

And she won’t stop until she does.

His Review:

Berry Springs is a small Ozark town and is usually very peaceful. However, all that changes with a sudden spate of unexplained deaths. Sally Witherspoon owns a club called “Sally’s Smasher.” Some evenings a large profit is made which then has to go into inventory for continued operations. Also, Sally envisions herself as a detective who can augment the local overworked police department.

When someone close to her and associated with Sally’s Smasher is suddenly and brutally killed, she feels that she is the one to assist the local law enforcement professionals. The town of Berry Springs has a very close-knit community and Sally cannot think of anyone who could be culpable, however, the culprit had used an unusual method of murder.

The local police department considers Sally’s investigation of the crime meddling. She is reminded that she may be charged with impeding an ongoing investigation. She volunteers what information she has gathered and the police chief grudgingly shares some of the department’s findings with her. The victims begin to mount up though and they are all people associated with her establishment.

Meddling in police work and crime investigation can be very dangerous as Sally soon finds out. Can she solve the mystery or will she become the next victim? Read and enjoy this thriller. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

The first in a new series with promise for compelling characters and location. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Traditional Detective Mysteries, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0CKWT4FY2
Print Length: 298 pages pages
Publication Date: December 12, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Erik S Meyers - author — Erik S Meyers – author

The Author: Currently in Austria, I’m an American abroad for years and years who has lived or worked in six countries on three continents, the longest in Germany. I’m an award-winning author and communications professional with 25 years of expertise in a variety of corporate roles, including a broad range of communications disciplines, technical writing and translation, and corporate strategy. Reading and writing are my passions, when I’m not hiking one of the amazing trails in Austria or elsewhere. My motto is “fight the hype” and I enjoy taking a unique, perhaps unorthodox, view of the current topics and trends.

https://www.erikmey.com

Rosepoint Reviews – January Recap – Frigid February – Let’s Read!

Rosepoint Reviews-January Recap

Ugh, January is downright dreary and February promises to be dreary and freezing. It’s a good time to curl up with a good book, hot chocolate or mocha, and a fire. Well, I don’t have the fire, but the CE makes a super mocha and I have a nice preliminary list of books.

Update on the little Pom we adopted (skip if your eyes glaze over at the mention of a rescue dog): No big progress. Her winter coat has apparently settled in and she approaches the CE now—even going so far as to jump against his side of the bed in the morning to get him up. Now at four months with us though, still prefers her crate to human companionship. What in the world happens to a little dog kept as a breeder?!

February is shaping up to be a good reading month with several great books I’m excited to get to—SOON—I hope! (I’ll mention those below.) For January we barely managed ten books. Links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

January Recap

To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower
Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake (audiobook)
Nothing But the Bones by Brian Panowich (CE review)
Everyone Here is Lying by Shari Lapena (audiobook)
Payback in Death by J D Robb
The Fury by Alex Michaelides (CE review)
Netflix Series All the Light We Cannot See vs eBook by Anthony Doerr
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (audiobook)
The Mongol Ascension by Andew Varga (CE review)
The Gem of Ireland’s Crown by Jean Grainger

Favorite Book of the Month

I loved both All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr as well as The Frozen River but was crushed by the climax of the former, so the nod has to go to The Frozen River.

Book of the Month for January—The Frozen River

My Reading Challenges page… I’ve discovered I’ll work on the challenge but am really terrible at reporting the results–not only with the host (and I apologize for that) but for updating the page as well. For 2024, I’ll begin by sharing the logo and the link. Unfortunately, I have not been able thus far to find the link to the 2024 Historical Fiction Challenge. If you know the link, would you share, please?

In an effort to change up the blog a bit, I’ve enlarged fonts and added a new page I call Netflix vs Book listing the posts made comparing either the movie or series with the original book. Check it out to see what you missed!

Also, just a quick Sneak Peak into what’s coming up in my February TBR:


Where Butterflies Wander by Suzanne Redfearn. I was quite taken by the story of the river witch–I’ll bet you would be too.	Being Henry by Henry Winkler. A memoir and didn’t we all love the Fonz? But this guy, as so many of the actors do, will surprise you.

Welcome to the New Year to my new subscribers! I appreciate all my followers and always appreciate your likes and comments.

Hello, Winter!

The Mongol Ascension by Andrew Varga – #BookReview – #YAFairyTale

A Jump in Time Novel, Book Three

Book Blurb:

MISSION: SAVE THE WORLD

DESTINATION: ANCIENT MONGOLIA

Seventeen-year-old Dan Renfrew leads a normal high school life full of all the usual challenges: homework, bullies, and the baffling world of dating. It would be enough for most teens, but Dan has a secret. He’s a time jumper, a member of a clandestine cadre tasked with journeying to the past to repair glitches in history that imperil subsequent events. This responsibility alone is daunting, but it’s even more crucial now. A band of rogue time jumpers is bent on taking over the world, and Dan can’t find any allies to join him in the fight to stop them.

In a last-ditch effort to foil the conspiracy, Dan and his partner Sam plunge into history together. Landing on the steppes of Mongolia in the year 1179, they meet a brave Mongol teen on a courageous quest to rescue his kidnapped wife. But Dan and Sam soon discover that there’s far more at stake than a stolen bride. They’re thrust into a desperate race against time to save the Mongol Empire—and the future of the entire world.

His Review:

As a child, I often dreamt of skipping through time and space. What a thrill it would be to watch the Roman legions march through the known world and conquering every foe. Or possibly being at the Roman Forum with a meeting of the Senators would fulfill my fantasies. Ah, if this were only possible!

Dan is a young high school student who has a strange ability. He belongs to a group that can skip back and forth in time with the use of a strange transmitter. The only problem is he could wind up dead on any of these time jumps. His goal is to correct glitches in time that may alter the future by altering the past. He and his friend Sam (Samantha) have the same devices and travel together. The device also assists in adjusting speech and other communications into understandable language.

Dan’s father died on one of the time jumps, so he learns to defend himself at the hands of Roman Gladiators among other professional fighting groups. One key to winning in battle is getting the upper hand or jump on the enemy. He has the opportunity to display this to a high school bully which gains him quite the reputation.

A time glitch has occurred during the 5^th to 7^th centuries and he and Sam decide to go back to save humanity and fix the glitch. The issue is: will they die trying or will they actually meet the group they need to help? This particular glitch centers around Gengis Khan! Gengis is considered one of the premier historical figures of all time. As history tells us, Gengis spent his life in battles; both in Asia and in Europe. How can a teenager from the 21^st Century become one of the Khan’s trusted allies?

This book moves well and seems historically accurate. I warn every reader to be sure they have time to devote to the book. You won’t want to put it down! 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tales & Folklore, Teen & Young Adult Fantasy Action & Adventure, Teen & Young Adult Sword & Sorcery Fantasy
Publisher: Imbrifex Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 1955307040
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1955307048
ASIN: B0CL7QLTHS
Print Length: 297 pages
Publication Date: September 3, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

Andrew Varga - author — Andrew Vara – author

The Author: I am a YA historical fiction author who takes great pains to ensure historical accuracy in my books, while still ensuring that I tell a great story. Although I enjoy reading and writing about all history, I have a particular fondness for European history from Greco-Roman times until the crusades.

I hope you enjoy my stories.

Relax, it's Sunday

The Fury by Alex Michaelides – #BookReview – #suspensethrillers

in Murder Thrillers (Hardcover)

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (Kindle)

Book Blurb:

This is a tale of murder.

Or maybe that’s not quite true. At its heart, it’s a love story, isn’t it?

Lana Farrar is a reclusive ex–movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island.

I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it at the time ― it caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press sensation: a celebrity; a private island cut off by the wind…and a murder.

We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse ― a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death, as one of us was found murdered.

But who am I?

My name is Elliot Chase, and I’m going to tell you a story unlike any you’ve ever heard.

His Review:

A mentally disturbed playwright is marooned on an island with the cast of his play. He is egocentric and his world revolves around his plays and the actors that bring them to life. He has fallen in love with the leading lady but unfortunately, she has another love interest. Why does this feel like a Greek tragedy?

The main character is an artist and a great writer in his mind. His narrative develops as the play progresses. All of the characters are involved in his play and as the work develops he becomes detached from reality. He writes the dialogue as the changes to the play develop.

Although the leading lady loves another, he is sure she will learn to love him if she just gives him the chance. The other man, however, seems to hang on and always spoils his plans. What can he do to become the leading man in her life?

I found this book to be slow at times and a little Edgar Allen Poe-ish in some of the scenes. He talks to himself and the reader as the plot develops and it does, indeed, defy the reader to keep up with the twists. 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense Thrillers, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Celadon Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 125075898X
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250758989
ASIN: B0BXTB6HSN
Print Length: 295 pages
Publication Date: January 16, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Alex Michaelides was born and raised in Cyprus. He has an M.A. in English Literature from Trinity College, Cambridge University, and an M.A. in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. The Silent Patient was his first novel, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and has sold more than 6.5 million copies worldwide. The rights have been sold in a record-breaking 51 countries, and the book has been optioned for film by Plan B. His second novel, The Maidens, was an instant New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for television by Miramax Television and Stone Village.

Enjoy Your Sunday!

Nothing But the Bones by Brian Panowich – #BookReview – #SmallTownandRuralFiction

Book Blurb:

With lyrical prose and hard-hitting depictions of the hardscrabble life in the rural south, Brian Panowich, author of Bull Mountain, Like Lions, and Hard Cash Valley, delivers a gripping new chapter in his tales of McFalls County in Nothing But the Bones.

In McFalls County, local crime boss Gareth Burroughs runs everything on the mountain. And Nelson “Nails” McKenna has been his enforcer since he was a teenager, though his heart’s not really in the dirty work. Then one night in a local roadhouse, Nails goes too far, defending a woman, and even Burroughs’s reach can’t get him out of this one. With a dead body and countless witnesses, Nails and the woman become fugitives on the run, and unlikely partners.

But on the road to Jacksonville, where a possible escape awaits, there’s more than one interested party on the pair’s trail, and the glimpse they had of getting away scot free suddenly seems elusive. In the end, Nails must make one final stand for his freedom—or pay with both of their lives.

His Review:

Nelson McKenna is a very big, handicapped young man. He finds himself the target of every bully in the community. The community is small and a gang decides to entertain themselves with the community dimwit. He makes up for the handicap though with a very large frame and muscles that don’t quit.

The bullies make the mistake of trying to rekindle their high school fun by taunting Nelson. His boss (Burroughs) catches them, however, and the lead perpetrator wounds up in very bad shape. Nelson is given the opportunity to take care of the bully permanently but is relieved of the duty when it is taken care of without him.

When he confronts the gang again, it is in defense of Kate. She leaves the building, but not before calling him “handsome.” Nobody ever called him that before.

The McKenna name is very big in the valley. Nelson [nicknamed Nails] tries to distance himself from his father and live his own life. Unfortunately, most of the town works for his family.

The perp that attacked the woman will cause a show down and the town is going to pin it on Nails. He is given a bag of money and told to leave town and never come back. Nelson throws everything he owns in the back seat of his pride and joy, an early 1990s Ford LTD, and leaves. Kate has hidden under his clothes in the back seat. He allows her to stay in the car as he heads south to Florida.

Kate appreciates the way that Nails protected her from the others. She wants to stay with him, the only man who has stood up for her in her entire life. The relationship between Nails and Kate begins on the road to Florida.

C E Williams This book is a fast-moving read and the characters make you admire them. Enjoy! 4 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. These are my own opinions.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ASIN: B0C39XZR6N
Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: April 16, 2034
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Brian lives in Georgia but he dreams of Parma. [Amazon]

Author’s website

Christmas typewriter

To Slip the Bonds of Earth by Amanda Flower – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

While not as famous as her older siblings Wilbur and Orville, the celebrated inventors of flight, Katharine Wright is equally inventive – especially when it comes to solving crimes – in USA Today bestselling author Amanda Flower’s radiant new historical mystery series inspired by the real sister of the Wright Brothers.

December 1903: While Wilbur and Orville Wright’s flying machine is quite literally taking off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with its historic fifty-seven second flight, their sister Katharine is back home in Dayton, Ohio, running the bicycle shop, teaching Latin, and looking after the family. A Latin teacher and suffragette, Katharine is fiercely independent, intellectual, and the only Wright sibling to finish college. But at twenty-nine, she’s frustrated by the gender inequality in academia and is looking for a new challenge. She never suspects it will be sleuthing…

Returning home to Dayton, Wilbur and Orville accept an invitation to a friend’s party. Nervous about leaving their as-yet-unpatented flyer plans unattended, Wilbur decides to bring them to the festivities . . . where they are stolen right out from under his nose. As always, it’s Katharine’s job to problem solve—and in this case, crime-solve.

As she sets out to uncover the thief among their circle of friends, Katharine soon gets more than she bargained for: She finds her number one suspect dead with a letter opener lodged in his chest. It seems the patent is the least of her brothers’ worries. They have a far more earthbound concern—prison. Now Katharine will have to keep her feet on the ground and put all her skills to work to make sure Wilbur and Orville are free to fly another day.

My Review:

Living in the shadow of her two upcoming famous brothers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, isn’t easy, especially for a woman at the turn of the century. Katherine is also the youngest of the Wright children in a progressive patriarchal household. Losing her mother at the age of fifteen has catapulted her into the role of household manager and caretaker as well as manager of their bicycle shop.

Back when women were thought to be best left uneducated, she was privileged to attend and graduate from Oberlin College. Her education and smarts have created a strong-willed woman at twenty-nine who is fiercely independent. She also teaches Latin at the local school in competition with a male teacher with less expertise in the language arts.

When her brothers triumphantly return from Kitty Hawk, they do not receive quite the accolades expected. When Wilbur decides to keep his unpatented plans with his wing-warping notes with him to a party, they go missing about the same time as the assumed main culprit is found murdered. As the problem solver, it falls on her to discover the truth.

For most of the book, Katherine is a solid intelligent woman and at times I found her grating though she becomes a bit clumsy near the conclusion. She could be both impressive and sad at the same time, assumed dedicated and accepting of the Wright family and home for life.

I enjoyed the historical tidbits of early flight interwoven into the storyline along with Katherine’s investigation of both the murder and the theft, drawn to a satisfying conclusion.

An easy, entertaining read, well-plotted and paced. 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: Biographical Fiction, Historical Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Books
ASIN: B0CGN3RCCL
Print Length: 301 pages
Publication Date: March 26, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Amanda Flower is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author of over thirty-five mystery novels. Her novels have received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Romantic Times, and she had been featured in USA Today, First for Women, and Woman’s World. She currently writes for Penguin-Random House (Berkley), Kensington, Hallmark Publishing, Crooked Lane Books, and Sourcebooks. In addition to being a writer, she was a librarian for fifteen years. Today, Flower and her husband own a farm and recording studio, and they live in Northeast Ohio with their two adorable cats.