#pawsome – Page 3 – Rosepoint Publishing

Chasing Justice: A Thrilling K-9 Suspense by Kathleen Donnelly #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

National Forest K-9 Book 1

Book Blurb:

A former marine learns to love again in this suspenseful, action-packed K-9 search and rescue from Kathleen Donnelly

After losing her military K-9, former marine Maya Thompson swears she’ll never work with dogs again. But when she returns home to Colorado and accepts a job with US Forest Service law enforcement, fate brings K-9 Juniper into her life just as another tragedy unfolds.

Juniper, a beautiful two-year-old Malinois, isn’t the only new addition to Maya’s life. Josh Colten, the local deputy sheriff, insists on helping with her new case. Handsome and mysterious, he’s all anyone in town can talk about, but Maya can’t let herself like him, let alone trust him.

When Maya’s grandfather goes missing amid a growing drug war, Maya must put her faith in Josh, and her own battered instincts, to find him. But there’s a web of secrets tying her grandfather to the tragedy that brought Juniper into her life—secrets someone would kill to keep hidden.

My Review:

I love it when I find a new author and book series I can really get into. This is one that hooks immediately and keeps a reader’s attention throughout.

Not my first book regarding a female National Park employee as I’ve read most and loved Nevada Barr’s park ranger Anna Pigeon series, the last one being A Superior Death. Whereas Anna Pigeon is appointed to different US parks, however, Maya Thompson is solidly assigned to the US Forest Service in Colorado. (And, of course, I do miss the Pigeon series narrator Barbara Rosenblat but I chose to read, not listen, to this novel.) Also, I do love and have read most of Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 books, the last being Gathering Mist. It’s hard to beat a Timber Creek K-9 installment.

Maya lost her K-9 while she was in the service in Afghanistan and swore she’d never go through that loss again, but circumstances found her the owner of Justice, a young, brilliant, and energetic Malinois. Oh yeah, and Maya has returned home with PTSD.

Maya returned to the area where her grandfather is the local sheriff. Also, you guessed it, there is a new deputy in town, Josh Colten, handsome and available who tends to set her heart tingling. Again—something she swore off of after returning home.

They end up in a high profile drug case that allows the spotlight on Juniper often and Maya’s demonstration of how to manage a high energy, high prey drive animal. The forest is atmospheric and adds a deep dimension to the scene.

Malinois parachuting from airplane. — **Fun fact about the Belgian Malinois:**
🐕🦺 **They can skydive!**
Belgian Malinois are so smart, athletic, and brave that military and police units often train them to parachute out of airplanes alongside their handlers. Some have been part of high-profile special ops missions! Basically, they’re like the Navy SEALs of the dog world. AI generated fun fact from ChatGPT. AI generated photo courtesy Gemini.

I like both characters, Maya and Josh, but I’m not in love. Her military service gives her an edge of experience in combat, she’s sharp, intelligent, and can strategize well with her service dog. Josh is not exactly battle hardened but carries baggage of his own. So, yes, I loved the dog and the personality she is given. I noted a few edit misses and tend to tire a bit with repeated (romance) issues, but enjoyed the premise, the plot, the dog, and the pace enough to go look for Book 2—and found it. Look for Hunting the Truth shortly.

Thanks to my local library for the loan and providing me the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own. If you enjoy animal, dog stories, this is a good series to start and I can recommend them.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Animal Fiction, Police Romance, Cozy Animal Mysteries
Publisher: Carina Press
ASIN: B097YJ2FD3
Print Length: 351 pages
Publication Date: May 24, 2022
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Award-winning author, Kathleen Donnelly is a handler for a private narcotics K-9 detection company. She enjoys using her experience to craft realism into her fictional stories. Kathleen loves the beauty of the mountains, which inspired her choice of setting for her series. She lives near the Colorado foothills with her husband and her four-legged co-workers.

Visit Kathleen on her website at http://www.kathleendonnelly.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/AuthorKathleenDonnelly/, follow her on Twitter @KatK9writer or find her on Instagram @authorkathleendonnelly.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Watchers by Dean Koontz #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

On his thirty-sixth birthday, Travis Cornell hikes into the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains. But his path is soon blocked by a bedraggled Golden Retriever who will let him go no further into the dark woods.

That morning, Travis had been desperate to find some happiness in his lonely, seemingly cursed life. What he finds is a dog of alarming intelligence that soon leads him into a relentless storm of mankind’s darkest creation…

My Review:

Yeah, so I’ll admit it—the cover got me first—and then, despite my son’s admonition about my reading choices (“Koontz is a horror writer, mom”), I grab a Koontz book when I see one.

Watchers by Dean Koontz — Watchers cover posted on Goodreads

Well, mercy, first we are introduced to Travis and the golden retriever (Koontz’ favorite dog) whom he later names Einstein. Travis is an ex-Delta Force now reduced to a lonely, lost soul without much that’ll get him up in the morning. Whether PTSD or the losses he’s suffered and, inexplicably, blames himself (it’s a curse), he’s lost any macho he ever had.

It’s the dog that saves him from a lonely walk in a deserted forest that hides an unnamed monster. Explaining to the dog that he can’t keep him (he’s cursed), he notices this is not your average dog at the outset. Yeah, he keeps him.

In the meantime, we are introduced to Nora, and it’s pretty obvious this will be a romantic match—these two severely damaged persons are made for each other. Nora, never having had a pet is not put off by the dog or his size and quickly realizes that he must be special.

So, wait…

Have you read this? It’s not like it’s a new book and there was quite some sentiment about it. Admittedly, there were a few problems that even I discerned.

Still, I got so involved in the storyline that I couldn’t stop flipping pages. Yeah, I read it—this was not one of my audiobooks. So, I’m flipping pages, and I just LOVE this dog. Unfortunately, he has a history, and the history is trying to catch up with him.

He’s a lab dog. I don’t mean Labrador—I mean laboratory. And the same lab that spawned him also spawned his opposite. Not a dog—but a brutal, nasty animal. Travis (even Travis) realizes this is not a dog he can return to the lab. Poor doggy.

Also, did I mention there’s a hit man out there on a mission?

If you haven’t read it, I don’t want to spoil it for you. You’ll just have to trust me. It’s a wild ride whether or not you have to suspend some disbelief. Just go with it and enjoy the story.

I received the eBook loan from my local library for the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own. I do enjoy a Dean Koontz doggy story! Recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Ghost Suspense, US Horror Fiction, Horror Suspense
Publisher: Berkley (reprint edition)
ISBN: 0425221806
ASIN: B001974DG0
Print Length: 402 pages
Publication Date: May 6, 2008
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Dean Koontz, the author of many #1 New York Times bestsellers, lives in Southern California with his wife, Gerda, their golden retriever, Elsa, and the enduring spirits of their goldens, Trixie and Anna.

Beautiful Ugly: A Novel by Alice Feeney #AudiobookReview #DomesticThrillers

Editors’ pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

Author Grady Green is having the worst best day of his life.

Grady calls his wife to share some exciting news as she is driving home. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, get out of the car, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by the cliff edge the headlights are on, the driver door is open, her phone is still there. . . but his wife has disappeared.

A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He can’t sleep, and he can’t write, so he travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.

My Review:

Boy, howdy, I do get tired of damaged narrators. Grady Green is a narcissistic author whose wife apparently disappeared the very day he was over the moon with the news he’d landed New York bestseller status. He couldn’t wait to tell her, but the journalist stopped her car on the way home to check out someone in the road and was never seen again. Yeah. They found her car.

Grady is a mess. The loss of his wife appears to put the kibosh on his writing skills. He’s hit the wall and struggling with everything, staring down the laptop as it continues to cool its jets. That’s when his publisher mentions she has a cabin on an island in which he could sequester himself peacefully and just write.

And I gotta admit. I was hooked in this first part. He’s almost sympathetic. The cabin is nice. Very nice. The view of the water and the area surreal. His dog Columbo loves it. The only problem is the people of the little village—too small to have much—they are a tight bunch who heave a big sigh when tourist season is over—for them it’s over—and he’s not a particularly welcome guest.

It’s weird then that things begin to manifest—seeing his wife. Is sure he sees his wife. Or maybe not. The deeper into his history, the less sympathy I felt, and there were really no support characters that grabbed me. Pretty unlikable all round. Except for Columbo.

The storyline became complex, and the more so, the more incredulous or implausible it became as well. Yeah, twists that didn’t make sense. I had to shake my head…wait, what?

The author built suspense alright and kept this reader turning pages, and it was getting pretty far out there until the one big one in the denouement. To the point of almost being funny. Really? Okay, Karma is a b*tch.

Fan of Feeney? You may very well find this one a thriller you’ll enjoy. You can’t say it isn’t entertaining.

I also read and enjoyed Good Bad Girl a couple years ago, along with a couple others, but find this author still a bit inconsistent for me. 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: Domestic Thrillers, Family Life Fiction, Psychological Thrillers
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
ASIN: B0D3QS21DQ
Listening Length: 9 hrs 19 mins
Narrator: Richard Armitage, Tuppence Middleton
Publication Date: January 14, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Alice Feeney is a New York Times million-copy bestselling author of novels including His & Hers, Sometimes I Lie, Rock Paper Scissors and Daisy Darker. Her books have been translated into over thirty-five languages, and have been optioned for major screen adaptations, with His & Hers currently in production for Netflix, produced by Jessica Chastain, and starring Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal.

Alice was a BBC journalist for fifteen years. Her seventh novel, Beautiful Ugly, will be published around the world in January 2025.

You can follow Alice on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter. To find out the latest book and TV news, or to sign up for Alice’s free newsletter, please visit alicefeeney dot com

Happy Thursday

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

An atmospheric tale of life and love in a Depression-era traveling circus.

Nonagenarian Jacob Jankowski reflects back on his wild and wondrous days with a circus. It’s the Depression Era and Jacob, finding himself parentless and penniless, joins the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets the freaks, grifters, and misfits that populate this world. Jacob introduces us to Marlena, beautiful star of the equestrian act; to August, her charismatic but twisted husband (and the circus’ animal trainer); and to Rosie, a seemingly untrainable elephant.

Beautifully written, with a luminous sense of time and place, Water for Elephants tells of love in a world in which love’s a luxury few can afford.

My Review:

Oh, wow. I loved this audiobook. Two narrators; the young one and the nonagenarian. They were wonderful!

No doubt everyone knew about this book except myself that not only became a movie but a successful Broadway production. The prologue sets up the 90-something with his memories of the years with the Benzini Brothers—the Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It’s hard core exposé behind the scenes are probably what most people view as the reality of not only the animals but the persons involved from trainers to clowns.

And it’s not a pretty picture.

Jacob Jankowski is ready to sit his final exam as a veterinary student when his parents are killed and he discovers they pulled out all their financial stops to get him through school, leaving nothing upon their death. Indeed, the bank will take everything. With no where to live, no obvious means of support, and a bankrupt economy as well with few options, he hops aboard the first train he sees. It’s a circus train and it’s 1931.

Now, and throughout the novel, the reader is flipped from the twenty-something to the ninety-something reliving those years with the circus and his attraction to Marlena, the wife of the sadistic ringmaster owner-operator August. The introduction of Rosie the elephant comes late into the book just about the time I was beginning to wonder when she would appear.

The author weaves a raw, emotional story of the young man as he gradually meets and gets to know the characters of the circus and the animals whom he is now charged with their care. The compelling characters are outstanding, well developed, come alive through the voices and their varied positions within the circus.

No, I never saw the 2011 movie with Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson, and Christopher Waltz, but now that it’s on my radar, I will. I’m a big fan of both Witherspoon (who performed all her own stunts) and Waltz, an amazing actor who nails his parts so convincingly you want to kill him bare-handed.

Yes, it’s frankly honest, can be cruel and disturbing. But the tale it tells is mesmerizing, page-turning, and tension-filled right up until the rewarding denouement. If you haven’t had the opportunity to read or listen (the latter of which I’d highly recommend), now is the time. Already read it? Did you love it? Or not. I’d love to know.

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

Book Details:

Genre: 20^th Century Historical Romance, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher:
HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
ASIN: B000G12CEK
Listening Length: 11 hrs 26 mins
Narrator:
David LeDoux, John Randolph Jones
Publication Date: May 24, 2006
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Water for Elephants – Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Sara lives in America with her husband, three children, two dogs, two cats, three goats, and a horse. She already has her eye on another horse and a donkey. [Amazon author page]

Sara Gruen is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of five novels: AT THE WATER’S EDGE, APE HOUSE, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, RIDING LESSONS, and FLYING CHANGES. Her works have been translated into forty-three languages, and have sold more than ten million copies worldwide. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was adapted into a major motion picture in 2011 starring Reese Witherspoon, Rob Pattinson, and Christoph Waltz, and then into a smash Broadway musical, currently running at the Imperial Theatre, written by Rick Elice and PigPen Theatre Co. and directed by Jessica Stone.

She lives in Western North Carolina with her husband and three sons, along with their dogs, cats, horses, birds, and the world’s fussiest goat. [Goodreads author page]

#ThrowbackThursday

Rosepoint Publishing Reviews – February Recap – March Holds a Spring Promise

Rosepoint Publishing Reviews - February Recap

I loved it for a while, but alas, the AI freebies are over (used my free credits) both on Canva and Gemini. Now I’m back to sampling Freepik—without much luck. The background of the bookcase below is a sample, but obviously not very close to my description of the picture I’d envisioned. Must admit, Gemini came closer to creating the images I wanted, but it too is bye-bye. I used to try to use only those pictures I originated, my pictures or designs. That’s no longer working. Got a source you like? What is your favorite go-to for images?

February is a short one and it flew by. I used to love March. Spring. Warmer weather. New growth, babies. Promise. Of course, for me, it’s also birthday month and as usual the body is saying one thing and the mind another. It’s a clash of wills but it may be the body who wins and both the CE and I are beginning to make more of those dreaded trips to the doc. We used to joke we’d need a car only for groceries and doctor visits. Ugh. Not so funny anymore, but that’s where some of our reading time went.

I’m still using Goodreads to find good audiobooks, as well as blogger buddy suggestions. My library has most of what I look for but it’s amazing the number of books that are on waiting lists despite having numerous copies. Of course, I still find books at NetGalley, as well as author and publisher requests.

We managed ten reviews between us in February that included four audiobooks. As always, the links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase or source information.

Rosepoint Publishing Review - February Recap — Background bookcase courtesy Freepik.com AI

You Have Gone Too Far by Carlene O’Connor
The Friday Afternoon Club by Griffin Dunne (audiobook)
This American Woman by Zarna Garg
Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung (audiobook)
From Here to the Great Unknown: A Memoir by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough (audiobook)
Valley of the Wolves by Brock Farrow (CE review)
Guardian of the Crossroads by Melanie Forde
To Catch a Spy by Mark ONeill (CE review)
Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima
Audition by Barbara Walters (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

WOW, it was a tough one this month! A number of them could have been five-star reads from either of us, but despite a small issue that may have knocked off a half-star, the story was still outstanding. Included in the month—several memoirs! In particular though, This American Woman—super, Guardian of the Crossroads—excellent, and Gathering Mist—love the dogs—really ticked off all the boxes. Zarna Garg has an amazing view of issues—some alien to mine but always with a sense of humor. Melanie Forde definitely pushed outside of her familiar family sagas. This one deeper, darker than I’d seen before and it worked, leaving me slack-jawed. Most readers have sampled Margaret Mizushima’s books. Always good, fast paced, and informative. So which one gets the coveted Rosepoint nod?

Favorite for February – Guardian of the Crossroads by Melanie Forde

My Reading Challenges page…

My Goodreads Challenge is currently at 33 of a 2025 goal of 125. No, keeping up with my Challenge page wasn’t a New Year’s resolution. I’ll get to it…

Welcome to my new subscribers! So glad you joined this group. I hope you found a book or two that appealed to you here, and I’m always looking for your suggestions! And to all my readers, have a beautiful March!

It's so hard to choose! — Gemini-generated AI image

Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery

Rosepoint Rating: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Secrets hide within the fog deep in the mossy forests of the Pacific Northwest in this ninth thrilling installment in award-winning author Margaret Mizushima’s Timber Creek K-9 mystery series.

Deputy Mattie Wray, formerly Mattie Cobb, is summoned to Washington’s Olympic peninsula for an urgent search and rescue mission to find a celebrity’s missing child. With only a week left before her wedding, Mattie is hesitant to leave Timber Creek, but her K-9 partner Robo’s tracking skills are needed.

Dense forest, chilling rain, and unfriendly locals hamper their efforts, and soon Mattie suspects something more sinister than a lost child is at play. When one of the SAR dogs becomes ill, her fiancé, Cole Walker, suspects poison. Fearing for Mattie’s and Robo’s safety, Cole joins the search and rescue team as veterinary support.

Secrets that have lain hidden within the rugged terrain come to light, and when it is uncovered that the missing child was kidnapped, the search becomes a full-blown crime scene investigation, forcing Mattie, Robo, and Cole into a desperate search to find the missing child before it’s too late.

My Review:

I love mysteries and crime thrillers and throw in an awesome service dog and I’m there. This is one of my favorite K-9 series and this installment becomes a page turner very quickly.

With one week to go before her wedding to Cole, a veterinarian, Maddie is called in to fly to the northwest in Washington state to find a missing child. The change in climate is a shock, cold, windy, and buckets of rain with the attendant saturated soil and underbrush and difficult not only for ground trackers but scent trackers as well. The atmospheric description really sets up the scene and becomes a strong integral part of the plot.

This is one reason I enjoy these books so much. You learn so much about canines, their atheleticism, and learning capacity. It’s such a part of the prep for search or take down, however, the info is easily slipped in and just adds the wow factor rather than slowing the pace.

When one of the other search dogs becomes sick, it’s apparent that he might have been poisoned and Cole makes arrangements to join her. Together with the search teams and local search and rescue, they form the grid and begin methodically canvassing the area which includes interviews with off-the-grid residents.

The tension ramps up as the search intensifies. There are a number of support characters and the parents present a divided and suspicious countenance. The story turns to a darker subject than I ever remember being used before and the climax is hard and fast.

The writing style throughout is engaging with no slack in the storyline. Robo shines as a masterful SAR dog, intuitive, smart, and protective. Love the action scenes. Heartily recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Police Procedurals, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
ASIN: B0CRTG7JRQ
Print Length: 252 pages
Publication Date: October 8, 2024
Source: Local Library

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Margaret Mizushima writes the award winning and internationally published Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries. She serves as past president of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America and was elected 2019 Writer of the Year by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Active in the writing community, she is also a member of Sisters in Crime, Northern Colorado Writers, and Women Writing the West. She and her husband recently moved from Colorado to a home in the Pacific Northwest. Find her on Facebook/AuthorMargaretMizushima, Twitter @margmizu, Instagram @margmizu, and her website http://www.margaretmizushima.com.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Guardian of the Crossroads: A Novel by Melanie Forde #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

Catherine Devine briefly becomes a minor celebrity in Fauquier County, Virginia, when she saves a child from an oncoming truck. Cate is an unlikely heroine, stuck in a dead-end job as a school crossing guard and part-time art teacher. Stalled in her early forties, she lacks sufficient faith in herself to craft any plans—grand or small. But Cate harbors an extraordinary secret—she occasionally experiences psychokinesis. As she ponders just how she stopped that truck, she comes to believe her mind can move more than just physical objects. Perhaps she can move time itself. Melanie Forde’s riveting sixth novel takes readers on a journey of discovery as Cate explores not only her paranormal quirks but artistic talents that can heal old wounds. Accompanying her on this journey is her faithful wolfhound, Hecuba, an old soul who has always considered her mistress someone very, very special—perhaps even a goddess.

My Review:

This is not an author who churns out one series installment every six months. Ms. Forde takes her time to deliver a complex plot line and crafts a spellbinding literary novel.

Thoughtful storylines may take a bit longer to build but are rewarded by deeply moving and thoughtful characters wrestling with life and circumstances the best they can with the gifts they were born with. Such is the story of Catherine Devine of Fauquier County, Virginia.

The author generates a raw and emotional main character in Catherine who, following the extraordinary save of a young girl from being killed by a run-a-way vehicle in her school crosswalk, begins to question her ability to have moved that fast and effectively. As Cate begins to reflect on obscure memories in her life, she instigates a plan to solve what might be an act of psychokinesis.

Essentially without family, Cate does have a few friends but she begins an earnest investigation into her abilities and consults a professional. Single, her closest ally is a giant wolfhound named Hecuba. I loved this character! I could picture and invest in her.

In the study of her background, Cate comes across her old paintings, something she’d loved years ago and was very good at.

There is one very dark, ugly, but powerful painting she comes across that stirs strong emotions and she realizes that is the direction she must follow. She also remembers the catharsis her artistic abilities brought her and dives back into it with abandon, wondering what secrets she has long repressed will be revealed.

Yikes! The storyline turns dark, a startling surprise for me. Definitely caught off-guard, the plot becomes so compelling, you’ll have to follow to the denouement.

“The law of unintended consequences.”

It’s an intelligent and sensitive writing style that pulls in the reader. The themes examine the loss of familial trust, sexual deviation, paranormal and kinesis abilities, along with Greek mythology.

“…physical abuse breaks bones. Sexual abuse breaks the spirit.”

The author is a powerful storyteller. This is one of those stories that is laid out carefully, quietly, and then bestows a “wow” mystical factor at the end when the readers’ mind catches up. Whether or not you believe in paranormal or psychokinesis abilities, the narrative will leave you satisfied.

I greatly enjoyed The Quarry’s Girl, my last read by this author. Each of her novels is totally unique. I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. While there were some edit misses, they will be corrected. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Literature & Fiction
Publisher: D Street Books, a division of Mountain Lake Press
ISBN: 1959307436
ASIN: B0DSQ98DL1
Print Length: 471 pages
Publication Date: January 9, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: For most of her writing career, Melanie Forde ghosted on international security issues. She published her first novel, Hillwilla, in 2014, followed by On the Hillwilla Road in 2015. Her West Virginia trilogy culminates in Reinventing Hillwilla, 2018. Twenty years in the making, her Irish-American family saga, Decanted Truths, was also released in 2018. In 2022, Forde mined the stories about her French Canadian ancestors, to publish another period novel and family saga, The Quarryman’s Girl. Legends about the goddess Hecate were the starting point for her sixth novel. Published in 2024, Guardian of the Crossroads combines paranormal, psychological and literary themes.

AI generated Irish Wolfhound courtesy Freepik.com

The Sideways Life of Denny Voss: A Novel by Holly Kennedy #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

“You’re about as useful as a screen door on a submarine, aren’t you?”

Book Blurb:

In this poignant and funny novel, a man who is defined by his limitations sets out to fight a murder charge—and discovers unexpected truths about himself, his family, and the world at large.

On the surface, Denny Voss’s life in rural Minnesota is a quiet one. At thirty years old, he lives at home with his elderly mother and his beloved blind and deaf Saint Bernard, George. He cleans up roadkill to help pay the bills. Though his prospects are limited by a developmental delay—the result of an accident at birth—Denny has always felt that he has “a good life.”

So how did he wind up being charged with the murder of a mayoral candidate—after crashing a sled full of guns into a tree?

As Denny awaits trial, his court-appointed therapist walks him through the events of the past year. Denny’s had other scuffles with the law, the first for kidnapping a neighbor’s cantankerous goose. And then there was the time he accidentally assisted in a bank robbery. It seems like whenever Denny tries to do the right thing, chaos ensues.

Untangling the events around the murder reveals even more painful truths about his family’s past. He’s always been surrounded by people who love him, but now it’s up to Denny to set his life on a new course.

My Review:

OMG y’all, I’ve done it again! Perhaps it wasn’t the blurb. Maybe I didn’t pay enough attention to it? No, it might have been the average five stars from eighteen members posting reviews on NetGalley did me in.

Denny Voss is neurodiverse. That is, he is developmentally challenged, has an IQ of 72 as a result of problems with his premature birth, and has been raised by his Nana-Jo (grandmother). At thirty he finds himself in the slammer on a murder charge.

How did this happen?

Although he will adamantly maintain he is NOT developmentally disabled (he “has 72”), it takes him (his POV) over 330 pages to explain what happened. Of course, there are some things he’d rather not divulge, so that takes a while.

If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to be in the mind of a challenged person, this novel might be of interest to you.

If you’ve ever had a challenged relative and wondered what that person thought, this novel might be of interest to you.

If you’ve ever had to work, be associated with, or are in some way friends with a challenged person, this novel might be of interest to you.

If you just plain enjoy good literary fiction, (friendship fiction), this novel will be of interest to you.

I am in absolute awe of Argus, Denny’s cousin, who lives in 8A opposite the 8B side of the duplex where Denny and Nana-Jo live. Argus can make me ashamed of the lack of patience I might exhibit, and especially as I get older, the need to hurry things along with slower or confused thinking—I don’t have all day! But Argus took lessons from Job. And he always has the perfect comeback for Denny, with kindness, patience, and love.

His grandmother has to be a saint in waiting. She is also kind, patient, returning endless discourse by Denny with thoughtful and loving answers.

Denny, on the whole, is one very lucky man. Because of those strong kind and loving relationships, he is also kind, thoughtful to others. He works with Argus at DOT picking up roadkill. He and Argus have a system worked out. There are well developed support characters, too, most gleaned from little thoughtful and compassionate gestures he’s made to others.

The frustration of getting inside Denny’s head is that as he has so carefully worked out the problem, the solution almost makes sense until he gets to the execution of his plan. I got as annoyed with him as I do my sister—sometimes you just can’t get through—or when you do it’s become unrecognizable.

It’s the repeats that might get a reader—but is unfortunately so often part of a challenged person. Sad how often I saw my sister in so many ways as Denny, though she is clearly not as developmentally disabled as Denny. (But she has a lot more trouble with dexterity than Denny.)

It’s an emotional story that lands a solid punch to the gut. Softening the pathos are the short bursts of humor, twists you won’t see coming, and an eye opening view of the baffling world in which they live.

Tesky, as with some cozy mysteries is despicable. Lydia, another character on the antagonist side of the story, sometimes dropped my jaw at her blatant raw reactions to Denny.

Argus had a T-shirt for every day of the week—for months it seems—each with appropriate sayings:

“Honk if you love Jesus, text while driving if you want to meet him.

Running late is my cardio.”

But, if Denny didn’t kill Tesky, who did? That’s the fun of the book isn’t it?

His new to lawyering lady is sweet, caring, and persistent. She has taken on Dr. Harland to assist in the process of securing Denny’s story, which is teasingly slow. I also enjoyed George the St. Bernard. What a great group of characters!

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Humorous Fiction, Friendship Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
ASIN: B0D9PBRHMG
Print Length: 335 pages
Publication Date: April 8, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK | Barnes & Noble

The Author: Born and raised in Canada, Holly Kennedy currently lives near the Rocky Mountains in Alberta with her family and their Newfoundland dog, Wallace. She is the author of four novels and her books have been translated into multiple languages. When she’s not writing, you’ll typically find her reading, spending time with family, or (her not-so-secret obsession) watching true crime TV shows like Dateline. To find out more visit her website at http://www.hollykennedy.com or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.