#nottobemissed – Page 21 – Rosepoint Publishing

Dead West by Matt Goldman – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

The Nils Shapiro Series, Book 4

Editors’ pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

In the words of Lee Child on Gone to Dust, “I want more of Nils Shapiro.” New York Times-bestselling and Emmy Award-winning author Matt Goldman happily obliges by bringing the Minneapolis private detective back for another thrilling, standalone adventure in Dead West.

Nils Shapiro accepts what appears to be an easy, lucrative job: find out if Beverly Mayer’s grandson is foolishly throwing away his trust fund in Hollywood, especially now, in the wake of his fiancée’s tragic death. However, that easy job becomes much more complicated once Nils arrives in Los Angeles, a disorienting place where the sunshine hides dark secrets.

Nils quickly suspects that Ebben Mayer’s fiancée was murdered, and that Ebben himself may have been the target. As Nils moves into Ebben’s inner circle, he discovers that everyone in Ebben’s professional life―his agent, manager, a screenwriter, a producer―seem to have dubious motives at best.

With Nils’ friend Jameson White, who has come to Los Angeles to deal with demons of his own, acting as Ebben’s bodyguard, Nils sets out to find a killer before it’s too late.

My Review:

Well, hang on, bc it doesn’t take long with this sometimes over-the-top audiobook narrator to promise a wild ride!

Apparently the normal setting for this ex-cop now private detective is Minneapolis, Minnesota, a complete world away from SoCal. Like a NorCal native plunked into the moss-draped trees of the south, it’s a culture shock—very much what happens to Nils Shapiro when he travels to Hollywood to check on the grandson of matriarch Beverly Mayer. I love a good storyline peppered with humor throughout and this narrative pushes that button often.

Grandson, Ebben Mayer’s financée was obviously murdered, but perhaps she was not the intended target. As Nils talks, pretty much non-stop, investigative steps are explained and easily followed but the complex mystery isn’t so easily solved. The characters are well developed and the LA basin becomes a moving visceral part of the well-plotted and paced tale.

I really enjoyed the Minnesotan as he valiantly tries to understand the LA mentality, come to terms with time on the road rather than miles and of course the suntanned beautiful people and their quirky Hollywood culture.

New author and series for me, but I guess if you have to bumble into the one-off (an MC definitely out of his normal haunt) as I did, you might well enjoy it too! Guess I’ll have to go find one where he works a case in his own backyard so I can compare.

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

Book Details:

Genre: Jewish Literature, Private Investigator Mysteries, Jewish Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
ISBN-10: ‎ 1250191343
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250191342
ASIN: B0844J45RJ
Listening Length: 8 hrs 5 mins
Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
Publication Date: August 4, 2020
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Dead West [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

The Author: Matt Goldman is New York Times Best Selling author and Emmy Award winning TV writer. He has been nominated for a Shamus Award and is a Nero Award Finalist. His TV credits include Seinfeld, Ellen, and The New Adventures of Old Christine.

The Narrator: Bronson Alcott Pinchot (born May 20, 1959) is an American actor and narrator of many novels. He has appeared in several feature films, including Risky Business, Beverly Hills Cop (and reprising his popular supporting role in Beverly Hills Cop III), The First Wives Club, True Romance, Courage Under Fire and It’s My Party. Pinchot is probably best known for his role in the ABC family sitcom Perfect Strangers as Balki Bartokomous from the (fictional) Greek-like island of Mypos.

#ThrowbackThursday

The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen – #BookReview – #OrganizedCrimeThrillers

Book Blurb:

A determined reporter and a reluctant FBI agent face off against fascist elements in this gripping historical thriller set in World War II-era Boston.

Reporter Anne Lemire writes the Rumor Clinic, a newspaper column that disproves the many harmful rumors floating around town, some of them spread by Axis spies and others just gossip mixed with fear and ignorance. Tired of chasing silly rumors about Rosie Riveters’ safety on the job, she wants to write about something bigger.

Special Agent Devon Mulvey, one of the few Catholics at the FBI, spends his weekdays preventing industrial sabotage and his Sundays spying on clerics with suspect loyalties―and he spends his evenings wooing the many lonely women whose husbands are off at war.

When Anne’s story about Nazi propaganda intersects with Devon’s investigation into the death of a factory worker, the two are led down a dangerous trail of espionage, organized crime, and domestic fascism―one that implicates their own tangled pasts and threatens to engulf the city in violence.

With vibrant historical atmosphere and a riveting mystery that illuminates still-timely issues about disinformation and power, Thomas Mullen delivers another powerful thriller.

His Review:

Anne is a reporter for the Boston Star when she should be home keeping house and making babies! This was the attitude of most Americans at the start of WWII, but she was attempting to expose gun thefts and smuggling around the area. The major German immigrant population in the area felt that America should have allied with Germany, not England, during the War.

Anne discovers a case of M-1 rifles in a warehouse obviously stolen from a nearby military base. She is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and expose the culprits! This does not set well with the editor of her paper and most of the citizens of Boston. Their opinions are that she should be writing for the local gossip column and not reporting on such matters.

Thomas Mullen has written a very convincing tale of intrigue and espionage during the war. Some of the richer people in the area were making handsome profits by stealing and selling weapons to other countries. Anti-Semitism is rampant and Jew as well as German nationals and Japanese are restricted from working in Allied war industries.

The segregation of these people along with blacks who want to work in war related industries keeps the workforce mostly white males. However, the need to increase production seems to be stifling production and the war effort. Yes, although the Jews are a major population being decimated by Hitler, they are seen as money grubbing profiters during the war.

This book uncovers the long perceived notion of non-patriotism by these ethnic groups and the paranoia that was rampant in America during WWII. The book is well written and a very engaging and entertaining read. 4.5 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 point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Organized Crime Thrillers, Historical Thrillers, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN-10: ‎ 1250842778
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250842770
ASIN: B0C1X7FHM6
Print Length: 368 pages
Publication Date: February 27, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Thomas Mullen is the author of Darktown, an NPR Best Book of the Year, which has been shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Southern Book Prize, the Indies Choice Book Award, has been nominated for two Crime Writers Association Dagger Awards, and is being developed for television by Sony Pictures with executive producer Jamie Foxx; The Last Town on Earth, which was named Best Debut Novel of 2006 by USA Today and was awarded the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for excellence in historical fiction; The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers; and The Revisionists. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and sons.

Christmas tree

Up on the Woof Top by Spencer Quinn – #AudiobookReview – #AnimalFiction

Chet and Bernie Mysteries, Book 14

Book Blurb:

Chet the dog, “the most lovable narrator in all of crime fiction” (Boston Globe) and his human partner Bernie Little find themselves high in the mountains this holiday season to help Dame Ariadne Carlisle, a renowned author of bestselling Christmas mysteries, find Rudy, her lead reindeer and good luck charm, who has gone missing.

At Kringle Ranch, Dame Ariadne’s expansive mountain spread, Chet discovers that he is not fond of reindeer. But the case turns out to be about much more than reindeer after Dame Ariadne’s personal assistant takes a long fall into Devil’s Purse, a deep mountain gorge. When our duo discovers that someone very close to Dame Ariadne was murdered in that same spot decades earlier, they start looking into that long ago unsolved crime.

But as they reach into the past, the past is also reaching out for them. Can they unlock the secrets of Dame Ariadne’s life before they too end up at the bottom of the gorge? Is Rudy somehow the key?

Up on the Woof Top is a brand-new holiday adventure in Spencer Quinn’s delightful New York Times and USA Today bestselling series that the Los Angeles Times called “nothing short of masterful.”

My Review:

I’d forgotten the fun of listening to Chet (the dog) interpret his life with Bernie as they go about business in the Little Detective Agency. Chet is a police test failure. Chet very much, like all good dogs, lives in the present, although he does have a good memory for his history with Bernie and loves him like no other.

It’s the dog’s thoughts and memories from previous jobs that are called to mind, often humorously, as only a dog might view the world. While we humans tend to anthropomorphize our pets, the pets tend to view their human in terms of pack mentality. Hopefully, the human is alpha. In this case, Chet often reminds the reader how smart Bernie is. That’s good, because their new job is to find the missing pet reindeer of an aging author. Bernie’s client, Ariadne Carlisle, is experiencing writer’s block—a no-no for an author and it’s the reindeer who serves as her muse.

It’s Christmas time in the Colorado mountains, the author’s main theme. She owns Kringle Ranch and Rudy is one of nine reindeer. She figures surely Chet with his sensitive nose, will be able to find Rudy—money is no object.

When Chet and Bernie find her personal assistant at the bottom of a gorge, however, the case swings into an unsolved murder case—that of Carlisle’s only real love. The plot line has changed. But that isn’t the only surprise. There are twists and some amazing well-developed characters who provide a fast-paced multi-layered storyline. Things are changing.

There are moments of give and take between man and dog that melt the heart and act like a balm for those (like myself) who have recently lost their own fur baby. The serious is interspersed with Chet’s comic pearls of wit and wisdom as he navigates the mysterious and often confusing world of his human and those with whom they meet on their missions. If you haven’t checked out one of these uniquely narrated mystery installments, this would be a good one to start.

I’ve enjoyed the books I’ve read or listened to (not in any order), the last one The Dog Who Knew Too Much last year. Jim Frangione does a great job of narration. 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, Animal Cozy Mysteries, Private Investigator Mysteries
Publisher: Recorded Books
ASIN: B0C5P9QKV2
Listening Length: 8 hrs 13 mins
Narrator: Jim Frangione
Publication Date: October 17, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: Up on the Woof Top [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Spencer Quinn lives on Cape Cod with his dog, Audrey. He is currently working on the next Chet and Bernie novel.

(Spencer Quinn is a pseudonym of author Peter Abrahams.)

Happy Thursday!

Ghost Team by Paul Heatley – #BookReview – #militarythrillers

A Tom Rollins Thriller Book 11

in War & Military

Rosepoint Publishing: Five stars

Book Blurb:

Tom goes up against a powerful militia. Turns out they’re the least of his problems.

Tom Rollins gets news that an old Army buddy, Adam Lineker, has killed himself. But at the funeral, another friend confides that he doesn’t believe the suicide story – he thinks Adam was murdered.

Sticking around the small town of Samson to investigate, Tom goes up against the disinterested and hostile sheriff, and finds an ally in Adam’s therapist, herself an ex-deputy.

Tom soon discovers that Samson has a lot of unsavory elements. A militia is based nearby, and they’re intimidating the townsfolk. Mysterious strangers are tailing Tom and watching his every move.

But how does all this connect back to Adam? What was he involved in?

As he digs for the truth, Tom comes under increasing pressure from the militia. Undaunted, he pushes back. And only then realizes there are bigger players involved and the bloodthirsty and well-armed militia may actually be the least of his problems.

But Tom presses on, determined to find out what really happened to Adam. And when he does, there’ll be hell to pay.

His Review:

A military squad is pinned down in a trench in Afghanistan. Lorne Henkle, Adam’s buddy, is badly wounded by an RPG. He begs Adam to leave him and save himself. The U.S. military protocol is never to leave a fellow soldier behind. Despite begging from his buddy to leave him, Adam will have none of it.

That was a number of years ago. The pair have gone back home and are trying to make a life for their families. The road block is that the Taliban have sworn a blood oath to avenge their fellow soldiers killed by this pair!

The small town of Samson was very peaceful until the drug lord chose this location for the control center of his drug operations. Adam and Lorne became a real thorn in his side, but he has a convenient hit squad that should make quick work of eliminating the problem.

The squad of nine people is not expected to have a problem with them and they will take over the town as soon as the two are eliminated. The local sheriff seems incapable or unwilling to reduce the threat. He is close to retirement and is not going to die by trying to save these two American veterans!

This book is very well written and points out the problems faced by many veterans who come back home to a family that has changed and a community that could not give a flying farkle for them. The drug gang hit squad will not allow the town to be protected nor the business plan to fail but they did not count on special operations veterans! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 5 stars – CE Williams

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

Book Details:

Genre: Military Thrillers, War & Military Action Fiction, Action Thriller Fiction
Publisher: Inkubator Books
ASIN: B0CNYCJYH6
Print Length: 304 pages
Publication Date: December 3, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): Ghost Team [Amazon]

The Author: Paul Heatley‘s books have been published by the likes of All Due Respect, Inkubator Books, Close To The Bone, and more. His short stories have appeared online and in print for publications such as Thuglit, Horror Sleaze Trash, Spelk, Near to the Knuckle, Shotgun Honey, the Crime Factory, and the Flash Fiction Offensive, among others.

His website can be found at PaulHeatley.com.

Christmas tree

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell – #AudiobookReview – #Suspense

in Women Sleuth Mysteries (Audiobooks)
Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense (Kindle)

Rosepoint Publishing: Five stars

Book Blurb:

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author known for her “superb pacing, twisted characters, and captivating prose” (BuzzFeed), Lisa Jewell returns with a scintillating new psychological thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular true crime podcast.

Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins.

A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.

Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation to keep making the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize that Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has inveigled her way into Alix’s life—and into her home.

But, as quickly as she arrived, Josie disappears. Only then does Alix discover that Josie has left a terrible and terrifying legacy in her wake, and that Alix has become the subject of her own true crime podcast, with her life and her family’s lives under mortal threat.

Who is Josie Fair? And what has she done?

My Review:

Talk about unreliable narrators! The hair goes up on the back of your neck almost at the beginning of his immersive, compelling audiobook.

Two women both celebrating their forty-fifth birthday at a local restaurant to celebrate the occasion. Josie Fair notices the happy conversation from the other table and introduces herself to Alix Summer. They also discover they were born at the same hospital—“birthday twins.”

Both women have vastly different stories, but Josie is aware of Alix, a renown podcaster. Josie has hit the wall with her life—looking to completely change her story and she sees an opportunity with Alix, who is currently winding down her podcast thread—looking for a new subject.

Alix is interested, though wary—fascinated but repulsed at the same time by Josie. Still, she sees a possible successful podcast thread. Follow a woman in her prime as she reinvents herself, the steps she takes. What is her backstory? How did she get here?

The reader was put on alert at the beginning. None of this is true, right?

Has either woman been truly successful at finding the right man, career, or motherhood? Perhaps Josie engineered her life, the marriage with a much older man, responsible for her now estranged children. As her story escalates, the plot line turns dark and Josie successfully invades Alix’s family. Aren’t they almost as dysfunctional, Alix’s husband being an alcoholic?

But no, not as damaged as the toxic relationship between Josie and her husband or her kids who have searing stories of disturbing family events of their own.

The well-plotted and fast-paced narrative veers sharply off the original intent of following a woman overcoming a life of abuse and control. The atmosphere is menacing, traumatic, manipulative—and Alix lost control of it some time ago.

The characters are well-developed. It becomes shocking to realize where this is going. Or, think you know where it’s going. Both Alix and the reader lose control of the situation at this point. I couldn’t begin to get into the terrifying mind of Josie. She is warped.

The conclusion lets fly with another twist and comes as a gut punch.

Oh no!

I can’t believe this is my first book by this author. I’ll certainly be on the lookout for another of these psychological thrillers. Totally disturbing, out of my realm of thinking and dark.

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

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense, Women Sleuth Mysteries, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B0BHFBQ76G
Listening Length: 10 hrs 20 mins
Narrators: Lisa Jewell, Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey, Alix Dunmore, Elliot Fitzpatrick, Thomas Judd, Dominic Thorburn, Nicola Walker, Jenny Walser
Publication Date: August 8, 2023
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: None of This Is True [Amazon]
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: LISA JEWELL was born in London in 1968.

Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the best-selling debut novel of 1999. Since then she has written another twenty novels, most recently a number of dark psychological thrillers, including The Girls, Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, The Family Remains and The Night She Disappeared, all of which were Richard & Judy Book Club picks.

Lisa is a New York Times and Sunday Times number one bestselling author who has been published worldwide in over thirty languages. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.

Happy Thursday!

Rivers of Wrath by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret – Book 3

in Historical Irish Fiction

Book Blurb:

When Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret rolls into a sleepy Irish seaside town, their eccentric and theatrical presence stirs up a flurry of excitement—the public clamouring to buy tickets for the greatest show in Ireland.

Set against the backdrop of a relentless war for Ireland’s freedom, the stakes are higher than ever for Peter Cullen and his troupe as they try to stay out of the conflict. But as they soon discover, that’s a luxury nobody can afford. As well as fighting the forces of occupation, some people are using this time of chaos to settle old scores, and it seems the cabaret has gathered some sinister enemies. With danger lurking around every corner, Peter must fight to protect all he’s worked so hard to build.

Rivers of Wrath is the third book in the Cullen’s Celtic Cabaret Series.

My Review:

Ah, the Roaring Twenties and the continuing saga of Cullen’s Cabaret. The performers are lead by Peter, one of the original members who include Nick, Enzo, and Two Soups. May married Peter and they are expecting their first child. She found her niche in administration while Peter continues to orchestrate the program.

This episode clamps down on much of the troubles of the time, the mayhem created by the Black and Tans. May’s brother, David, has never been the same since his return from the war. Peter’s sister Maggie joins the cabaret and they finally acknowledge Nick’s aristocratic status with an extended visit to Brockleton, the estate he inherited and accepted effectively blocking his cousin Harvey from controlling the property. Aida makes an extreme sacrifice.

From escalating political tensions to interpersonal tensions between members of the cabaret, the storyline builds the tension and adds twists and turns the reader doesn’t expect.

There continues to be deceit and deception while the plot veers into left-center field. Impossible to predict the author’s next move, only that her well plotted narratives will reveal an emotive, heart-rending conclusion in Book 4—whether or not it’s the avenue you’d prefer traveling.

Such a dark and immersive departure from her loving, supportive family dramas, this one digs deeper into the darker side of the deadly struggles between the Irish and the English and paints a stark realistic picture of Ireland during the twenties.

I thoroughly enjoyed Book 2, A Beautiful Ferocity that ended with a cliff-hanger and knew Book 3 was going to get serious. Then I received a review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Irish Fiction, Historical British & Irish Literature, Women’s Sagas
ASIN: B0CJFVCLHR
Print Length: 312 pages
Publication Date: November 28, 2023
Source: Author
Title Links: Rivers of Wrath [Amazon-US]
Amazon-UK

The Author: JEAN GRAINGER – USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[Truncated]

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Mission Target by Mark Nolan – #BookReview – #FinancialThrillers

(Jake Wolfe Thriller Book 7)

Book Blurb:

A mysterious criminal syndicate is importing massive quantities of a strange new drug that causes many users to drop dead, and there’s no antidote. Jake Wolfe discovers that the powerful drug is being used as a weapon, deployed by a hostile foreign entity fighting a secret war against US citizens.

It’s a race against time to hunt down and stop the conspirators threatening mass murder, but if anyone can possibly search and destroy the mission target, it has to be Jake and his highly intelligent K-9, Cody.

As the two Marine veterans get pulled deeper into a secret conspiracy, Jake becomes a target himself, and he’s shocked to discover the acts of treason involve people he never would have suspected.

Jake has tried to leave his secret work as an assassin behind him, but when duty calls, he once again takes up the fight.

Grab your copy of Mission Target and come along with America’s outlaw operatives, Jake and Cody, for a fast-paced and pulse-pounding action-filled thriller you can’t put down until the final page.

Mission Target is part of a series, but may be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

His Review:

Jake and his dog Cody receive a high-value target request from Washington. He is to eliminate a foreign agent who can cause irreparable harm to the intelligence community of the United States. After 9/11, the pressure on the covert community has become great and the duo needs to act quickly. They would have preferred being on Jake’s yacht in California.

The target has been mixing illegal chemicals into a pill that kills those who take it. War is fought on many fronts including signal intelligence, electrical intelligence, and clandestine operations. Our country was never in more danger than from this underworld group of killers. Profit is the motive and the fools who take the drugs are incidental casualties of the operation.

Stopping drug smuggling is very difficult. The criminals are highly sophisticated and well-versed in their line of work. Eliminating them is often the only way to slow the flow of illegal drugs into the country. Jake and his “devil dog” Cody are in constant danger because the bad guys are aware of their identities. Kill or be killed is often the only option.

Jake is committed to one woman, a veterinarian who is known simply as Dr. Sarah. She enjoys her relationship with her Marine veteran boyfriend and his faithful dog. She agrees to spend a few days with Jake and Cody off the coast of Sausalito, California but their nautical sojourn turns into a nightmare.

I am a fan of Nolan’s books and this one did not disappoint. At times my imagination is stretched because some of the situations would have required a security classification from the government. These scenarios, however, add a spice to these books. 5 stars – CE Williams

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

Book Details:

Genre: Financial Thrillers, Mystery Action Fiction, Assassination Thrillers
ASIN: B0CJR3SFS1
Print Length: 416 pages
Publication Date: October 31, 2023
Source: Author
Title Link(s): Mission Target [Amazon]

The Author: Mark Nolan is an Amazon Bestselling Author and Kindle Unlimited All-Star. He enjoys hearing from readers, and is hard at work writing his next novel about Jake and Cody.

Subscribe to his reader newsletter at marknolan dot com for updates, specials, and news.

Click FOLLOW under Mark’s author photo, and Amazon will notify you when a new book is available.

http://www.marknolan.com/

Rosepoint Reviews – November Recap – Welcome Holly Jolly Season!

Rosepoint Reviews - November Recap

The snow on Halloween this year was a wake-up call that summer is over, fall is flirting with winter, and the holiday season isn’t far behind. I have always enjoyed the holiday season, particularly when our kids were little and we were able to see the excitement and enjoy the anticipation all over again through their eyes; too soon grown and the responsibilities of adulthood overshadow those innocent years.

The shift, of course, happens now from reading, reviewing, and blogging to Christmas lists, wrapping, delivering, decorating, cards (yes, I still snail mail), menu items, grocery shopping and food prep. I used to do a lot of baking and made large Christmas trays for those close, both relatives and co-workers. Not anymore. Do you still bake?

Thankfully, Punkin the Pom is bonding well to the CE. He still can’t pick her up though is getting her to follow him out on the secured deck and she is about 50/50 doing her bathroom duties outside. That’s a big one and yesterday he got a harness on her! Still running at the sight of a leash, but we continue to hope we’ll eventually be able to get her out on walks and have her totally housebroken.

Between visits to the local vet with Punkin and the transition to holiday mentality, we did manage to read and review eighteen books in November—because one post included seven short synopses of audiobooks backlogged for review, including one Christmas-themed audiobook. Looking now to line up a couple more at least for the season but perhaps not in a cozy mystery genre. (And as always, links below are to reviews that include purchase or source info.)

November Recap

Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh (audiobook)
Cruel Lessons by Randy Overbeck (CE review)
Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
The Stolen Coast by Dwyer Murphy (audiobook)
More Than a Hashtag by Penny Poulsen (5* CE review)
The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen (5* review)
The Lost Van Gogh by Jonathan Santlofer (CE review)
Invisible No More by Scott Pitoniak and Rick Burton (5* CE review)
Blue Ridge by Peter Malone
Trans-Mongolian Express by David L Robbins (CE review)
Mission Churchill by Alex Abella (CE review)

I also posted a group audiobook review, catching up on all those backlogged reviews—a number that surprised me when I added them up.

Audiobooks! Listen, Not Read, the Most Recent #NYTimesBestseller – included in the post are:

Favorite Book of the Month

The CE turned in two five-star reviews and I also had two, though once again, my vote wins: The Crossing: Harry Bosch, Book 18 by Michael Connelly also an Amazon Editors’ pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. Pretty hard to compete against two of the most widely accepted bows to excellence, his Bosch series combined with contribution by Mickey Haller. The whole thing is neatly wrapped by TV’s Bosch Titus Welliver.

Book of the Month for November—The Crossing

My Reading Challenges page… I have 141 books of a goal of 145 in Goodreads (at this point two books ahead of schedule) and at a 98% feedback ratio in NetGalley. My Reading Challenges page is suffering from neglect–again.

I never stop appreciating those who read and comment, and as always, welcome my new subscribers!