#NewBooks – Page 3 – Rosepoint Publishing

To Catch a Spy by Mark ONeill #BookReview #HeistCrime

Book Blurb:

“A worthy sequel to the classic.” ― Harlan Coben

Estate approved sequel to the novel To Catch a Thief by David Dodge and 1955 Academy Award-winning film by Alfred Hitchcock

It’s been a year since John Robie, notorious Riviera jewel thief, proved his innocence by catching a copycat burglar. And it’s been a year since John has seen Francie Stevens, the adventurous socialite who not only saw through his disguise, but helped him catch the copycat. Now Francie is returning to the Riviera for its first-ever Fashion Week as a model for a top French designer, and John plans on rekindling their romance. But there’s a problem. While helping a friend, John chases down a mysterious courier, whose ruthless associates now want John dead. To make matters worse, when Francie arrives, she has a boyfriend in tow, and tells John that she wants nothing to do with him.

John has to figure out why he’s a hunted man, and why Francie is acting suspiciously. Digging deeper, he discovers a spy ring with evil intent. As John works unofficially to gather evidence, a question begins to haunt him―could Francie Stevens be a spy? With his enemies closing in, John turns to his cat burglar skills to try to save his life and expose the traitors. To survive, he has to catch the spies before they catch―and kill―a retired thief!

His Review:

John Robie is a very accomplished individual. He has trained as an acrobat in the circus and has maintained his climbing abilities throughout his life. He is an ex-patriot living on the French Riviera and has honed his craft as a jewel thief. He frequents the posh hotels and other places where the rich and famous go to play.

Francie Stevens is a young lady learning the modeling trade. She is very lovely and picks up the business fairly well. Some of the designers decide to use her in the upcoming fashion shows and she is quickly becoming famous. Many designers wish to engage her to promote their designs. She is new to the business and eager to please.

Francie has an off/again, on/again affair with John, and although they seem to hit it off, they soon part ways. She is lured by wealthy designers who want her to help with their clandestine activities. She does not know she is being used, but many of the designers are engaged in many nefarious activities. Francie is unknowingly drawn into this world and she is dragged into the world of espionage.

This story is well written and follows the format of a story written nearly a century earlier. The plot has many twists and will keep any reader glued to the outcome. The characters are particularly well developed. The French Resistance during WWII honed the skills of many of the participants. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

I read To Catch a Thief by David Dodge in January. While this author has been given approval to write this sequel by his estate and did an admiral job, there was a certain writing style to the original by David Dodge that I just didn’t quite find in this novel. The book will catch and hold your interest and attention but if you’ve read the original concept, (especially recently) might note a perceptible difference.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. Any opinion expressed here is my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Heist Crime, Heist Thrillers, International Mystery & Crime
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN: ‎ 146422501X
ASIN: B0D1XMV53C
Print Length: 366 pages
Publication Date: April 1, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

Mark ONeill - author — Author photo courtesy Goodreads author page

The Author: No bio

Winter Reading — AI generated by Freepik.com

Rosepoint Reviews – November Recap – Look Out, Here Comes the Snow and Ice

Rosepoint Reviews - November Recap

UGH! Not a fan of this time of year, the temps already plunging to the low teens with a “feels like” of 3 degrees. (Yeah, the Chicago wind.)

As I mentioned last month, in quick succession, we celebrated our daughter’s birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and if you celebrate Thanksgiving hope it was a good one and everyone is back home safe. All the cooking is getting to me and I’m beginning to check out the TV dinners in the grocery store. Problem with so many of those, of course, is all the stuff they put in the food, including Carrageenan (especially in pumpkin pie) and it really messes up my system. Of course, the CE loves his pumpkin pie and even homemade with evaporated milk contains the miserable stuff.

So, for me, Thanksgiving also kicks off the beginning of the Christmas holiday decorations. Usually have much of it done within a few days of Thanksgiving, but as our son is still here, I’m waiting a bit. It appears he’s got a house and will be moving out next week (it’s been a real struggle in a seller’s market). Of course, it’s also so cold I have no incentive to get the lights up outside either.

We celebrated Punkin’s first year with us. She’s beginning to blossom into a real dog, showing some personality. She’s doing better with potty time, adores her walks now with the CE and he is gradually allowing her more latitude, allowing her off-leash when they return to our yard. She takes in all the “messages” and then winds up to whiz into the house through the open door coming to a screeching stop and sliding on the laminate floor into her portable kennel.

Love those audiobooks at my local library, so many opportunities to listen to the books, otherwise, I’m busy morning to evening and don’t get that much reading time on my cell phone. Must admit they appear to be overtaking reading. Still, sources include NetGalley, as well as author and publisher requests and I’ve been mining Goodreads recommendations and blog reviews to find interesting books.

November reflected the blow to either reading or listening with only eleven titles. As always, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Publishing - November Recap

Summit’s Edge by Sara Driscoll
Waking Up in Vegas by J E Rowney
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (audiobook)
A Slay Ride Together With You by Vicki Delany (audiobook)
Yesterday’s Paper: The Knocknashee Story by Jean Grainger
Ruthless Tide by Al Roker (audiobook)
Dead Men Wag No Tails by Sarah Fox (CE review)
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (audiobook)
Omens by Kelley Armstrong (audiobook)
Sea of Death by Mark Nolan (buddy review with the CE)
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny (audiobook)

Did you vote in the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2024? I wrote regarding the Choice Awards back in November. December 1 (that’s today!) is the last day to vote for your choice of the final round nominees. I see several of my reviewed novels made the final cut: Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty for Readers’ Favorite Fiction, The Women by Kristin Hannah for Favorite Historical Fiction and Favorite Audiobook, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston for Favorite Mystery and Thriller, and Murder Road by Simone St James for Favorite Horror. Let me know if you found one of your favorites among the finalists.

Favorite Book of the Month

We posted three five-star reviews in November: Summit’s Edge, Yesterday’s Paper, and Sea of Death. Of course, each of these novels has radically different genres and Mark Nolan’s books are always a favorite. But then so are Jean Grainger’s and Sara Driscoll’s. The CE loves that Nolan’s books are fast-paced and action packed. I love that Grainger is pushing her boundaries with her historical novels and Driscoll’s books have my favorite dogs. Yeah, you’re right…it has to be:

Favorite for November – Summit’s Edge by Sara Driscoll

My Reading Challenges page…Reading Challenges page—always something that keeps me from catching up that page. My Goodreads Challenge is at 122 towards a goal of 130 for 94%. If we can manage our usual monthly number, should just make it.

Welcome to my new subscribers! And I always appreciate those of you who continue to monitor, read, and comment on my posts. Hope this recap finds you well and looking forward to the holidays!

Happy Autumn Sunday!

Waking Up in Vegas by J E Rowney #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

in West Mountain United States Travel Books

Book Blurb:

Five best friends. One unforgettable bachelorette weekend. A Vegas adventure that will change their lives forever.

Jess has always been the responsible one, the planner. But for her bachelorette party in Las Vegas, she’s ready to let loose with her four best friends. VIP passes, exclusive clubs, and a weekend of carefree fun – what could possibly go wrong?

Everything, as it turns out.

When Jess wakes up in a bathtub full of ice with no memory of the night before, she knows something has gone terribly amiss. Her maid of honor and best friend Rachel is missing, and the other girls are scattered around their luxurious suite in various states of disarray. As they piece together the events of their lost night, they uncover a web of secrets that threatens to unravel their tight-knit group.

In the glittering, high-stakes world of Las Vegas, Jess and her friends must confront their deepest insecurities, question their trust in each other, and navigate the complex dynamics of female friendship. With each revelation, they’re forced to reevaluate not just their weekend, but their entire lives.

“Waking Up In Vegas” is an addictive psychological thriller that will resonate with anyone who’s ever tested the bonds of friendship. It’s about the choices we make, the secrets we keep, and the strength we find in each other when the chips are down.

Perfect for fans of “The Hangover” meets “Gone Girl,” this is one bachelorette party you won’t want to miss.

My Review:

What could have been one of “those” women fiction novels, and certainly starts as if it will with the bachelorette weekend plans orchestrated by Rachel, this one veers in the thriller direction rather quickly. Jess, the bride for whom all the plans have been laid, wakes the morning following their inaugural night out in Vegas in a tub of ice water.

OOPS! I’m wondering if she’s also missing a kidney, but this isn’t that type of thriller. It doesn’t take long before Jess takes in the destruction of the hotel suite but does take a little longer to find three of the others, Rachel being among the missing. The common denominator between them all, found in various bazaar conditions, is that none of them have any memory of the night before. So what happened? And where is Rachel?

They are a tight-knit group of five, with the last addition of Olivia. Lisa is handcuffed to a Bellagio employee and the other two are in equally outrageous circumstances. After some deliberation, they begin to pool what little memories each have of the night before. Jess thought Rachel’s constant attention to her phone with Cynthia, the party coordinator, felt suspicious and they determined their first consideration had to be to find Rachel.

As the day wears on, each character is described, developed, and the reader engaged. They investigate each new clue, where they went, what they did, and where it could have led to Rachel’s disappearance.

In the meantime, Vegas is first depicted as the exciting spectacle it is with lights, sounds, and most especially the searing heat, varying little between night and day, and then the somewhat dark, sinister crush of humanity in the underbelly. Each nuance adds to the tension and lays on another level of psychological stress. Trust each other? Trust Jess’s fiance’s warning? What kind of hold does Cynthia have over Rachel? Trust no one, including the police?

I have to admit I tired of some redundant angst but was also thrown by several twists that headed off in a totally different direction than I’d imagined and discovered there was no way I could second guess this one. That and the final denoument in conclusion provided a satisfying ending. Certainly unusual and well paced after a leisurely start and kept interest but I’d have my reservations with the way lessons are bestowed.

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: West Mountain United States Travel Books, Travel, Heist Thrillers
ASIN: B0DG9NL9S9
Print Length: 280 pages
Publication Date: October 25, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

J E Rowney - author — J E Rowney – author

The Author: “Gaslight” is a gripping novel that tells the story of a young woman named Ella, who becomes convinced that she is being gaslit by her partner. As she struggles to uncover the truth, she is forced to confront the dark secrets that lie hidden in her own past.

Rowney’s writing style is known for being fast-paced and suspenseful, with a focus on building tension and keeping readers on the edge of their seats. She is skilled at creating complex, multidimensional characters and weaving together intricate plots that keep readers guessing until the very end.

In addition to her work as a writer, Rowney is also an advocate for mental health awareness and works to support mental health charities. This theme is often present in her books, which explore the impact of trauma and mental illness on the lives of her characters.

Overall, J.E. Rowney is a talented author who has gained a following for her gripping psychological thrillers. “Gaslight” is just one example of her ability to create unforgettable stories that leave readers on the edge of their seats.

Ms. Rowney says: “I always dreamed of being a writer, until I realised that I was. Then I started to write.”

You can find out more about JE Rowney on her website at jerowney.com, or follow @jerowneywriter on social media and @jerowney on TikTok

#TuesdayBookBlog

What Have You Done?: A Novel by Shari Lapena #AudiobookReview #psychologicalthriller

As any parent with a teenager knows, they can sometimes become people you realize you don’t even know. When did that happen?

Book Blurb:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

Dark · Addictive · Twisty · Chilling · Domestic Suspense

Nothing ever happens in sleepy little Fairhill, Vermont. But this morning that will change. And one innocent question could be deadly. What have you done?

The teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in the old graveyard. The parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school. Everyone knows everyone. Curtains rarely twitch. Front doors are left unlocked.

But Diana Brewer isn’t lying safely in her bed where she belongs. Instead she lies in a hayfield, circled by vultures, discovered by a local farmer.

How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects, a place of fear and paranoia.

Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers.

My Review:

The author uses the discovery of the horrific death of a young female teenager to set up a plot filled with multiple POVs, including the paranormal POV of the victim, to complete the picture of the small Vermont town shaken to its core. Diana Brewer was well known and loved by classmates and adults alike. She was sweet, generous, and kind. Who could do this to her?

The reader is introduced to her mother, her friends, and the teachers with whom she’s thought close. Additionally, Diana works at a Home Depot where she is creeped out by a customer paying unusual and unsolicited attention. As the narrative progresses, it becomes apparent there might be several persons of interest.

Riley and Evan were close and Riley appears most distraught, finally revealing a scene Evan was not aware of.

Gradually, the reader is additional info on a lecherous teacher and the itinerant worker who frequented her station at her job. Yes, it does ramp up the tension, creates further suspense, and awaits the next revelation. It is her boyfriend who appears most needy, clingy, controlling. But it’s also readily apparent he didn’t do it. The author manages to string out bits of his last night with her revealing just enough to keep you hanging in there with him. But if not him. Who?

I enjoyed the narrators doing a great job and the dialogue, even providing little gems of prose gleaned occasionally. I particularly liked the reference to some parents regarding their teenagers with “willful ignorance” and wondered if I was, occasionally, guilty of the same thing.

It is well-plotted, a bit slow paced, but overall entertaining and kept me listening, not just from morbid curiosity but also to confirm I was on the right track with guessing the culprit, and whoa! That shocker in the conclusion did, but once again got the same twist into psychotic as the last Lapena I listened to, Everyone Here is Lying.

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: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B0CNF9S93X
Listening Length: 8 hrs 49 mins
Narrators: January LaVoy, Jorjeana Marie, Barrett Leddy
Publication Date: July 30, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: What Have You Done? Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Add to Goodreads

The Author: Shari Lapena is the internationally bestselling author of the thrillers The Couple Next Door, A Stranger in the House, An Unwanted Guest, Someone We Know, The End of Her, Not a Happy Family and Everyone Here is Lying which have all been Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers. Her books have been sold in forty territories around the world. She lives in Toronto.

Have a good one

Battle Annie by Trish MacEnulty #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

The Queen of Hell’s Kitchen

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

No woman in Hell’s Kitchen is as tough as Battle Annie. Known as the sweetheart of the notorious Gopher gang, Annie makes a living as a brick hurler and brawler, always working for the highest bidder during the railroad strikes of the 1890s. An orphaned girl named Cora endures the brutal life of a guttersnipe on the street. Her only hope for survival is serving as Annie’s helper during the brawls.

After an encounter with the famous socialist Eugene Debs, Annie has second thoughts about hurling bricks against striking workers. Those second thoughts lead to trouble when a rival comes for Annie’s throne and a powerful railroad executive wants more from Annie than he’s paid for. When she’s falsely accused of murder, Annie flees New York with Cora in tow. Hiding in plain sight, they pass themselves off as a respectable milliner and her orphaned niece. But eventually Annie’s past catches up to her and she must run again or face the electric chair. Cora will need to shed the trappings of her new life in order to save Annie, but Hell’s Kitchen is in her blood. Without anyone around to guide her, will she abandon Annie and return to a desperate life in the rookery where she was once a guttersnipe? And will Annie be executed for a crime she didn’t commit?

My Review:

Absolutely loved this unique novel showcasing Battle Annie (Annie Walsh), who becomes queen of the Battle Row Ladies (Lady Gophers) Social and Athletic Club of Hell’s Kitchen of New York. She organized other women of the streets in the job of brawling—throwing bricks and creating general mayhem. Annie sells her business to the highest bidder in the battle between the unions and the railroad barons. She learned from the best, her pa, convicted and sent to prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Annie has a smart, fighting spirit and living in the rookeries has organized a gang of hundreds of women. They speak in a special lingo.

Life takes a risky turn when she meets Eugene Debs, honorary member of the union.

“Mr. Debs, you can’t squeeze blood out of turnip and you can’t squeeze pity out of a tenement rat..”

“Annie, I do have to present myself in a certain way to accomplish union business, but believe this: While there is a lower class I am in it, while there is a criminal element I am of it, while there is a soul in prison I am not free.”

He talks her into brawling for the union side against Webb and the railroad. Webb proves to be a powerful enemy, particularly when she refuses his favors. Discovery of his body leads the police back to Annie. With the help of Debs, she manages to escape, taking with her one of her guttersnipes, Cora, desperate for Annie’s food, protection, and street knowledge.

Relocated to Baltimore, she has a new name and assumes the role of respectable society lady. And that disguise works well years enough that Cora grows into a beautiful young woman and has learned to love the new respectable society their successful millinery has brought.

“The main rules here are never swear, never get angry, always be cheerful.”

POVs switch from Annie to Cora and Cora divulges she’s on the search for her sister—separated when they hit the streets.

But can the Pinkerton’s be far behind?

No sag in this narrative. It’s descriptive of both locations to the point where it’s easier to breathe once out of the slums of Hell’s Kitchen. I loved the support characters in Baltimore, and both Annie and Cora are well-developed, defined in their roles. Humorous to watch how awkwardly Annie assumes the role of milliner and devoted aunt to Cora who quickly discovers she loves the new well-heeled society. Very well-researched and further explained in Author’s Notes following a satisfying conclusion.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you can’t help but love this one and if you don’t, it’s an absorbing and entertaining story. You’ll enjoy it either way.

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.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Historical Mysteries
ASIN: B0D3J28Q2S
Print Length: 212 pages
Publication Date: September 3, 2024 Happy Publication Day!
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Trish MacEnulty grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and earned degrees from the University of Florida and Florida State University. For 20 years, she lived in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was a Professor of English at Johnson & Wales University, teaching writing and film classes. She now lives in Florida with her husband, cat, and two dogs and teaches journalism. In addition to her historical novels, she has written novels, stories, plays, and a memoir under the name “Pat MacEnulty.” She currently writes book reviews and features for The Historical Novel Review.

Check out her website for book club visits, reader guides for her historical fiction, upcoming events, book news and more: https://trishmacenulty.com.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Reviews – August Recap – Books, Covid, and Dogs

Rosepoint Reviews-August Recap

Just when we had a stretch of mild weather, beautiful temps for everything I wanted to do outside, I went grocery shopping. A few days later, I came down with Covid—whichever variety is currently going around, I guess, and a few days after that, the CE came down with it. Here we’ve gotten all through ’20, ’21, ’22, and ’23, then got caught. Definitely laid me low for two weeks and then another two weeks still lacking any energy and short on stamina. Fortunately, our son didn’t catch it for another few days, so he was able to see we had something to eat. Well, I covered that saga in my reviews posted both the eleventh and the thirteenth.

Also fortunate that our son was able to double down and take care of his own dog, a mini-Aussie-Jack Russell and ours as well. Punkin is always careful to make sure Cooper remembers the house is hers, but Cooper made herself at home early on. Cooper (Remember the puppy?) It is a year last August our daughter surprised us with her. I was missing Frosty so much—but more than that—the joy and companionship a dog brings to the household. Cooper grew into approximately 35 lbs of exuberant and energetic watch dog and indefatigable ball retriever. She tries so hard to talk, but I haven’t quite understood a word yet.

So obviously, not a lot of activity on the blog in August, although I did get some reading done. I’m still getting books from NetGalley as well as author and publisher requests, and my local library. Two novels were given a DNF this month (not included in the list below), one from the CE and one from myself and both at just about 25%. Just didn’t click with either of us, totally unusual. As always, links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Reviews - August Recap

The Blind Devotion of Imogene by David Putnam
On Wahoo Reef by Tim W Jackson
The Broken Truth by Reavis Wortham (CE review)
Zephyr Trails by Nicki Ehrlich
Appalachian Song by Michelle Shocklee
Echoes of Memory by Sara Driscoll (audiobook)
Big Love and War Horse by Shallen Anne Chitwood
Hillbilly Elegy by J D Vance (audiobook)
Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

I really enjoyed Hillbilly Elegy but waffled on five stars. The CE gave The Broken Truth five stars, so I must bow to his choice.

**Favorites for August – The Broken Truth by Reavis Wortham**

My Reading Challenges page…

Reading Challenges page—at this point woefully behind schedule and forced to reduce the Goodreads Challenge from 150 to 130. The CE is reducing his reading and reviewing and I still owe two reviews to Goodreads.

Love my new subscribers—welcome! Thank you to those of you who continue to monitor, read, and comment on my posts. I appreciate you!

Enjoy Your Sunday

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.

Reading or Listening with Covid #BookReviews #TuesdayBookBlog

As mentioned last Sunday, day nine of the Covid infection, it was thought I might have lost several pounds. My son brought out his scale and discovered I had—ten pounds. He kept saying it looked like that, but was both a surprise and rather shocking to see him right. Loss of ten pounds in nine days? I knew I was getting weaker, but didn’t imagine. In the meantime, the CE lost…maybe eight? (He wasn’t sure.) And our son has now tested positive for it as well.

However, it’s been a long time since I could just lay around and read (or listen—when my eyes wouldn’t cooperate), and I’ve definitely chalked up a number of books. Both of the following were great reads and the first, The Blind Devotion of Imogene: The Misadventures of Imogene Taylor by David Putnam was an absolute hoot. The second, On Wahoo Reef, a Blacktip Island Novel, is the second in the series by Tim W Jackson. I read Blacktip Island back in October 2016 and loved it—unique plot, quirky well-developed characters.

The Blind Devotion of Imogene

Book Blurb:

In 1973, Imogene Taylor is seventy-five years old, on parole for murder, and works at a store that sells dented canned goods. Twelve years earlier, she went to prison for killing her love-of-her-life-husband, Wayne. She called it an accident. The judge and jury called it murder. Imogene’s parole agent is constantly on her case, looking to send her back to prison.

During her time in prison, Imogene had to vent her angst at someone and sent the sitting Presidents (during the ten years in prison) threatening letters bringing her to the attention of the Secret Service. She does extensive research and writes a novel, Peekaboo POTUS, about the assassination of a US President. She sends the book “over the transom” to one publisher. The publisher, after being unable to contact Imogene, comes looking for her.

The Cigar, an organized crime gangster, walks into Dentco, where Imogene works, and extorts the store for protection money. Pay up or get firebombed. The entire strip center is under this threat.

At the same time, Imogene’s neighbor dies of natural causes and leaves a hoarder’s mess to his daughter, Suzanne. Imogene helps Suz clear out a pyramid of boxes filled with junk in the garage. At the bottom of the pile, they find a box with a dead woman who has been hidden for many years.

Imogene must dodge an overzealous parole agent while dealing with a dead woman in the neighbor’s garage. She’s on parole for murder, so she can’t report it to the police. No one would believe her. Imogene and Suz think the woman in the box is Suz’s long-estranged mother. Rather than reveal Suz’s father as the probable killer, Imogene convinces Suz to bury her mom under the avocado tree in the backyard. Until Thelma, Suz’s mother, appears after reading the obituary.

It’s a race to uncover the real killer as Imogene dodges gangsters, family members, and a publisher on her quest to find the truth.

My Thoughts:

Oh my God. This whacked-out book…it’s a first for me.

A 75-year-old protagonist recently released from prison for killing her husband? (It was an accident!)

Imogene is out on parole working at Dentco. Yes, it sells dented goods, is situated in a less fortunate area of the city, and she has to stay on the good side of her parole officer for one more year—she needs this job! Something the parole officer is working very hard to keep from happening.

Imogene is one of those people who seem to attract mayhem. Trouble finds her no matter how innocent she is. Part of the problem stems from the time she spent in prison penning threatening letters to POTUS, eventually writing a book she called Peekaboo POTUS. It gets their attention and a coveted place on the “crazy” list.

Separate is the introduction to “The Cigar”, a local street thug bent on providing “protection” to those already struggling shop owners in the grimy strip center. Imogene has several friends, her next-door neighbor for one, and Ange, her erstwhile philosophical bunkmate in prison who still intrudes often into Imogene’s ear.

This thing may go over the top more than once, but it provides some hilarious scenes, quirky characters, outrageous dialogue, unexpected twists, and relief from laying in bed with the flu. 5 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Publisher: Level Best Books
ASIN: B0CYHQ3N5M
Listening Length: 282 pages
Publication Date: July 9, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): The Blind Devotion of Imogene [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble

The Author: Visit Davidputnambooks.com and also check out “David Putnam”‘s Bruno Johnson series.

D.W. Putnam is a pen name for David Putnam.

On Wahoo Reef: A Blacktip Island Novel

Book Blurb:

Northern Exposure meets Margaritaville in this comic Caribbean romp.

Wally Breight’s a miserable-in-his-job P.R. executive who dreams of escaping to happily-ever-after in the Caribbean. When he stumbles across a run-down scuba diving operation for sale on Blacktip Island, he snaps it up and settles into paradise. But paradise has other ideas. His dive boat’s a lemon. His business partner proves the age of piracy isn’t dead. Scuba guests are scarce. And a free-spirited dive mistress might party him into an early grave. If Wally can’t get a handle on paradise, pronto, he’ll be leaving Blacktip Island faster than a coconut in a hurricane.

My Thoughts:

It’s those thirties when many men take stock of their lives, bored, and don’t like what they see. But Wally Breight has given up his career, home in the US, and security to snap up a diving business on this Blacktip Island.

Typical of the author, he plunges his main character into hot water immediately when reality of the floundering business hits home. It’s not like even the boat is sea worthy, but he does manage to find two employees that skip soon as they’re paid for greener waters. The man is pathetically naïve and what money he brings to the business begins to sift through his fingers like…(um) water.

I love the characters! They are strange and unpredictable, the circumstances outrageous, the decisions…stupid less than well considered. What’s with this guy?

It’s pure escapism. Fun, simple, fast read, descriptions of the island almost have you packing for tropical climes (I said almost). Looking for something different, light-hearted, and twisty fun? Those who enjoy action, adventure, root for the underdog type tales, this is for you. 4.5 stars

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense Action Fiction, Crime Action & Adventure, Mystery Action Fiction
Publisher: Devonshire House Press
ASIN: B0CW1HM6H6
Print Length: 249 pages
Publication Date: May 17, 2024
Source: Author
Title: On Wahoo Reef [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble

The Author: Tim W. Jackson started kindergarten in Indonesia, graduated high school in Egypt and was educated everywhere in between. His first taste of scuba diving came at the age of six when he sneaked breaths off his dad’s double-hose regulator in the deep end of the pool. Later, as a former journalist armed with a newly-minted master’s degree in creative writing, he discovered he was qualified to be a bartender, a waiter or a PhD student. Instead he chose Secret Option D: run off to the Cayman Islands to work as a scuba instructor and boat captain by day and write fiction at night. Two decades later, he still wishes that was half as interesting as it sounds. Or even a quarter . . .

Jackson is the award-winning author of the comic Caribbean novels Blacktip Island and The Secret of Rosalita Flats, as well as The Blacktip Times humor blog. His “Tales from Blacktip Island” short stories have been published in literary journals worldwide. He is currently concocting his next Blacktip Island novel and still enjoys scuba diving with his dad’s old double-hose reg.

If you’d like to stalk Tim online, visit his website (www.timwjackson.com), the Blacktip Times (www.blacktipisland.com) or follow him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/timwjacksonauthor/) and Twitter (@timwjax).