#recommendedreading – Page 80 – Rosepoint Publishing

Songbird (Jax Diamond Mysteries Book 1) by Gail Meath –#BookReview – #historicalmysteries

Book Blurb:

Meet Jax Diamond, a sharp, sophisticated, skilled, no-nonsense private detective. Or is he? Glued to his side is his canine partner, Ace, a fierce and unrelenting German Shepherd whose mere presence terrorizes criminals into submission. Well, maybe not.

But the two of them are a whole lot smarter than they look. And they have their hands full when a playwright’s death is declared natural causes, and his new manuscript worth a million bucks is missing.

Laura Graystone, a beautiful rising Broadway star, is dragged into the heart of their investigation, and she’s none too happy about it. Especially when danger first strikes, and she needs to rely on her own ingenuity to save their hides.

Join Jax, Laura and Ace on a fun yet deadly ride during the Roaring Twenties that takes twists and turns, and a race against time to find the real murderer before he/she/they stop them permanently.

My Review:

I was absolutely taken by this gorgeous book cover and I love the period of the twenties. Women were just beginning to break out, jazz, blues, and the Charleston were the rage, prohibition in 1920 caused the rise of “speakeasies” (illegal taverns). A very colorful time in American history. And, of course, I enjoy historical fiction.

Laura Graystone is the songbird, rising quickly in the musical theatre. She has the opportunity of filling the limelight when the production’s leading lady is mysteriously murdered.

Jax Diamond (what a perfect name!) is the PI, former detective, who is sure that the death of a playwright who has written a musical especially with her talent and voice in mind dies with what looks like natural causes. Not.

The first book in the series, we are gradually introduced to their backgrounds and the twenties atmosphere of New York. Jax has a formidable looking GSD he named Ace and the dog figures prominently in the storyline (which, of course, I also enjoy). Jax is multi-talented and mysterious—not revealing all about himself.

The author has tried to keep the authentic feeling of the period with both the speech (vernacular), and the sights and sounds of the prohibition era, including historic Coney Island. There are subtle sub-plots and twists and turns that keeps the reader pursuing justice.

There is a romance between the two with a cautious exploration of their relationship. Jax, however, lost his usual cool persona when there was a perceived threat to Laura, which seemed an over reaction to the situation.

The copy I received from NetGalley seemed to be an uncorrected proof as there were so many edit misses it sometimes slowed the read to visually correct either missing words, punctuation, or words used incorrectly. Otherwise, I found the storyline interesting, well-plotted and fast-paced, the characters well on their way to development, and the conclusion fitting.

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: Three point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Cozy Animal Mystery
ASIN: B09HMRCVCL
Print Length: 212 pages
Publication Date: November 11, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Indie Bookstore

The Author: Award-winning author Gail Meath writes historical romance novels that will whisk you away to another time and place in history where you will meet fascinating characters, both fictional and real, who will capture your heart and soul. Meath loves writing about little or unknown people, places and events in history, rather than relying on the typical stories and settings.

The subgenres of her books vary from action-packed westerns, plot twisting murder mysteries and biographies of powerful women who defied the strict rules of society fighting for the freedom of their countries. Her romances may exclude steamy sexual scenes, yet the intensity between heroine and hero will satisfy your deepest fantasies.

Outside of writing, she spends loads of time with her husband, children and grandchildren. http://www.gailmeath.com

Enjoy Your Weekend!

Count to Three by T R Ragan – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

For a private investigator on the trail of a missing girl, every second counts in a gripping thriller by New York Times bestselling author T.R. Ragan.

On her first day of kindergarten, five-year-old Tinsley disappeared without a trace…

Five agonizing years later, her divorced mother, Dani Callahan, is a private investigator. She and Quinn Sullivan, a promising young assistant determined to prove herself, are devoted to helping others find missing loved ones. And for Dani, finding Tinsley is still a never-ending obsession.

Their newest case is Ali Cross, a teenager who vanished off a Sacramento street while walking home. A troubled boy’s eyewitness testimony to Ali’s abduction provides their only clues. And as their search for Ali gets underway, new information about Tinsley’s disappearance begins to surface too.

As their investigations lead down two twisting paths, disturbing secrets are revealed and new victims find themselves in mortal danger. Time is running out, and the hunt is only getting grimmer.

His Review:

Dani considered herself a very good mother. So how had her daughter Tinsley disappeared so quickly? She had gone to elementary school to pick her up and she had been taken by another woman five minutes earlier. How could that be possible? Now the most important case of her young private investigator career was the recovery of her own daughter.

Ali is preparing to go into school and is abducted right outside the building. Quinn observes her being pushed into a white van but is unable to reach her in time to stop the abduction. Frantic searches are begun for both Tinsley and Ali. They have fallen off the face of the earth.

TR Regan has a great way of spinning a yarn. I found myself immediately invested in the struggles of Dani and Ali. The deeper into the investigation Dani goes, the more frustrated as a reader I became. Having someone disappear in broad daylight in downtown Sacramento seems incredible but certainly possible. Sacramento is a big city and people tend to mind their own business.

Missing persons are not always on the top of the investigator’s agenda. Murder and other violent crimes take center stage. The young senior in high school could have simply run away from an abusive home life. The cases soon go on the back burner of the investigators task list. Meanwhile the victims are suspended in the animation that is these types of crimes.

The perpetrators are two very different types of criminal but the resultant angst is very similar. As a reader I found myself wound up in the investigation and becoming very angry at the criminals. TR wraps them in the confusing morass that is their psyches.

Read this book and enjoy the way TR Ragan develops her villains. You will not be disappointed. 5 stars – CE Williams

We’ve both read T R Ragan books in two different series now and have never failed to love them (see our links to previous reviews below). We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions (this time). Currently on pre-order.

Book Details:

Genre: Kidnapping Thrillers, Women Sleuths
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
ISBN: ‎ 1542093945
ASIN: B08LD3LNS6
Print Length: 283 pages
Publication Date: December 14, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Count to Three [Amazon]

The Author: T.R. Ragan (Theresa Ragan) has sold over three million books and is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling mystery and thriller author.

Readers interested in signing up for a monthly newsletter or getting their name in a TR RAGAN book should check out her website at http://www.trragan.com

Facebook • Twitter • Instagram: @trraganauthor

LIZZY GARDNER SERIES
Abducted
Dead Weight
A Dark Mind
Obsessed
Almost Dead
Evil Never Dies

FAITH MCMANN TRILOGY
Furious
Outrage
Wrath

JESSIE COLE SERIES
Her Last Day (My 4.5 star review here)
Deadly Recall
Deranged
Buried Deep (My 5 star review here)

SAWYER BROOKS SERIES
Don’t Make a Sound – 6/20
Out of Her Mind – 11/20
No Going Back – 1/21 (His 5 star review here)

Unwitting (Erica Rosen MD Trilogy Book 2) by Deven Greene – #BookReview – #medicalthrillers – @DGreeneauthor

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Dr. Erica Rosen’s world is turned upside down after a suicide bomber explodes amidst a large crowd entering Oracle Park baseball stadium, near her San Francisco home. Many are killed or injured, and police have no leads in solving the case.

Erica becomes involved after a teacher of young autistic men calls her. The teacher believes her students are involved in the bombing but is afraid to contact law enforcement. She reaches out to Erica, who has experience with special needs children.

Erica arrives at the school but finds the police already there and a young autistic man doing a jigsaw puzzle, oblivious to his murdered teacher on the floor. The young man has information about the mastermind behind the bombing but has limited ability to speak. Erica is determined to protect him, prevent further bombings, and find his missing classmates.

His Review:

Deven Greene has masterfully written an intriguing novel of terrorist intrigue in the “City by the Bay.”

Dr. Erica Rosen is a very empathetic pediatrician and is director of the county pediatric clinic in San Francisco. Her patients come from all economic classes and are never turned away. The clinic is robust and her days are hectic from 9 AM until 6 PM.

She also does some work with clinics treating autistic individuals from sixteen to twenty-one. One of the clinics is called Bright Lights and works with non-violent young men. Their reaction to new and frightening situations is with a seemingly non-awareness of what is happening. She has been called to the clinic by its’ director. When she arrives, the clinic is crawling with police and the director is dead.

Suspected is a young man who is sitting at a table putting together a puzzle seemingly oblivious to the event that occurred. Don Brock had been hired to help train the young men in the facility. All except the young man at the table were missing. Who would do such a thing?

San Francisco’s Oracle Park had just had a suicide bomber kill or wound a number of baseball enthusiasts. Very little is left to identify the bomber or glean a motive. Concourse cameras revealed a young man blithefully walking with little concern of what was to happen.

The resultant investigation is an integral part of the story. Other bombings are tied to the young men who had been residents of Bright Lights. The story is woven with Dr. Rosen and her husband’s life and family. The cohesiveness of the family unit and relationship between the generations add an endearing quality to the story and an odd juxtaposition to the tragic events that occurred.

CE Williams I received Book 1, Unnatural, of the Erica Rosen MD Trilogy and thoroughly enjoyed her debut novel. I highly recommend her sophomore novel as an exciting mystery but also as a glance into the dynamic of a typical Chinese refugee family. Available Now! 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Medical Thrillers, Genetic Engineering Science Fiction eBooks
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
ASIN: B09CFHJDBR
Print Length: October 21, 2021
Publication Date: 248 pages
Source: Direct author contact
Title Link: Unwitting [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble

The Author: Fiction writer Deven Greene lives in the San Francisco Bay area. Ever since childhood, the author has been interested in science. After working as a biochemist, Deven went back to school and became a pathologist. When writing fiction, the author usually incorporates elements of medicine or science. Deven has penned several short stories. Unnatural, Erica Rosen MD Trilogy Book 1 is the first novel the author has published. The two sequels are in the works.

Find Ms Green on Twitter
And on her website

A Christmas Legacy: A Novel by Anne Perry – #BookReview – Historical Mystery

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Thomas and Charlotte Pitt’s former maid takes a new job as Christmas approaches—but not everyone in the household may survive the holidays in this tension-filled novel from bestselling author Anne Perry.

After leaving her position with Charlotte and Thomas Pitt to get married, Gracie thought her days as a maid were behind her. But when her good friend’s daughter, Millie, turns up on her doorstep just before the holidays, frantic because things are going missing from the kitchen in the household she serves, Gracie knows she has to find out what is happening. Millie, whose mother died years before, can’t risk being accused of theft and getting thrown out on the street, with no character references for a new position.

So Gracie takes on Millie’s job herself, claiming Millie is sick and needs a few days to recuperate. At first, it seems that all is normal in the household, even if the couple’s elderly granny keeps entirely to her bedroom upstairs. But Gracie begins to realize that Granny is suffering from neglect—and rather than helping her, the husband and wife have decided she isn’t dying fast enough.

His Review:

Orphans and runaways lived a very difficult life in big cities at the turn of the century. Either they are placed in strict government-run children’s homes or are left to fend for themselves on the streets. Many freeze to death or die of malnutrition. The very wealthy take them in and provide room and board and little if any compensation. They are given specific jobs and are expected always to be available.

A young lady knocks on Gracie Tallman’s door and asks for help. She is sick with a cold and cannot accomplish her work. Gracie replaces her and helps in the job while she recuperates. Without a reference from another family or maintaining her job, however, all will be lost. I found the life in the city to be extremely eye opening. How could people have such little regard for the health of young orphaned children?

Every aspect of life in the rich person’s manor is closely monitored by the wife of the landlord. How dare the people living in livery expect more than a warm bed and a paltry diet! The offspring of the very wealthy expect everyone to provide all luxuries for them without recompense or even a simple thank you. Just being allowed to live in the luxury in which they are born should command total loyalty.

The end result of Ms. Perry’s writing is a glimpse into a totally different world of excess and poverty, the entitled and their servants. Even an older person may be hidden away while the family hopes for a quick death to speed the execution of the will and acquisition of the properties. The heirs themselves then quickly become objects of disdain and hate. Currently on pre-order. 5 stars – CE Williams

It’s been some time since we’ve read an Anne Perry book. Back in 2017, I enjoyed An Echo of Murder. This time I thought the CE might enjoy the historical aspect of her writing style. He did. We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mysteries, Historical Mystery, Historical British Fiction
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: ‎ 059315939X
ASIN: B08VSKGJG3
Print Length: 192 pages
Publication Date: November 9, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: A Christmas Legacy [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

Anne Perry - Author Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Happy Autumn Weekend to you from Rosepoint Publishing

These Silent Woods: A Novel by Kimi Cunningham Grant –#BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

“The thing about grace is that you don’t deserve it. You can’t earn it. You can only accept it. Or not.”

Book Blurb:

A father and daughter living in the remote Appalachian mountains must reckon with the ghosts of their past in Kimi Cunningham Grant’s These Silent Woods, a mesmerizing novel of suspense.

No electricity, no family, no connection to the outside world.

For eight years, Cooper and his young daughter, Finch, have lived in isolation in a remote cabin in the northern Appalachian woods. And that’s exactly the way Cooper wants it, because he’s got a lot to hide. Finch has been raised on the books filling the cabin’s shelves and the beautiful but brutal code of life in the wilderness. But she’s starting to push back against the sheltered life Cooper has created for her—and he’s still haunted by the painful truth of what it took to get them there.

The only people who know they exist are a mysterious local hermit named Scotland, and Cooper’s old friend, Jake, who visits each winter to bring them food and supplies. But this year, Jake doesn’t show up, setting off an irreversible chain of events that reveals just how precarious their situation really is. Suddenly, the boundaries of their safe haven have blurred—and when a stranger wanders into their woods, Finch’s growing obsession with her could put them all in danger. After a shocking disappearance threatens to upend the only life Finch has ever known, Cooper is forced to decide whether to keep hiding—or finally face the sins of his past.

Vividly atmospheric and masterfully tense, These Silent Woods is a poignant story of survival, sacrifice, and how far a father will go when faced with losing it all.

My Review:

Not sure how I bumbled into this one. It’s not lost on me—Finch—(in this case) the young daughter and relationship of father-daughter of classic Harper Lee fame. (And I must admit difficulty in separating the name from this narrative.) This gripping literary novel, of course, only borrows the unusual name. There is the strongly bonded connection but is otherwise quite the opposite in character and plot.

Cooper and Finch have lived in severe isolation in the Appalachian woods. Off the grid, off the track, off almost any public connection. But there are two: Jake, Cooper’s former army buddy and the owner of the cabin, and Scotland. And then two events happen almost simultaneously that will have a strong, irreversible impact on their sheltered lives. First, this is the first year in eight that Jake has not shown up with a laundry list of household essentials; groceries, supplies they cannot grow or sustain themselves. And in his stead is Jake’s sister, Marie.

And then there is the discovery of a beautiful young woman on their land next to national forestry land wielding a camera.

Scotland has always been a problem. From the beginning. Popping up at odd times, a nuisance, a pseudo-neighbor who watches, sees, and knows all about Cooper and Finch. His secret, their history. Cooper finds the man detestable while Finch loves him and is always delighted to see him. The two have a special connection.

Finch is precocious. A natural in the woods, schooled at home by her dad, she has never set foot in a store or a school. Knows only what she has gleaned from nature and the books in the cabin.

But their sanctuary is careening to an exposé and soon decisions must be made. Cooper is torn. For eight years he has protected, nurtured, and cherished his daughter and this moral choice is tearing him apart. The very essence of his teachings tested. Can he abandon all that now to continue a life that can’t be reconciled to the decision or bow to it and change possibly lose her?

Cooper made some bad decisions. He can’t afford for them to be discovered or all is lost. It’s a rather slow suspenseful building of the conundrum, a calamity of timing. Raw, emotional, tension-filled, with no apparent solution.

The author is a master storyteller, weaving her well-developed characters through Cooper’s POV, his wartime experience and trauma, the loss of Jake, his wife, the sacrifices he has made. He will NOT lose his daughter as well. Heartbreaking turmoil and beauty in the prose. The decision is made.

And then taken out of his hands.

The conclusion whips the mind around, at a loss to understand what just happened. And while I understand what did happen, I’m not totally understanding the why. Nor was it more fully explained to my satisfaction in the epilogue, which settled most loose strings (though perhaps it was enough for many readers). My mind is still reeling. Currently on pre-order. Queue up for yours!

A novel worthy of many a book club debate and one that will stick with you for some time. Most heartily recommended.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley (thank you!) that in no way influenced this review, nor could they warn of the impact. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Contemporary Literary Fiction, Coming of Age Fiction
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: ‎ 1250793394
ASIN: B08R2JNYLX
Print Length: 279 pages
Publication Date: November 16 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Kimi Cunningham Grant is the author of two books. Silver Like Dust is a memoir chronicling her Japanese-American grandparents and their internment during World War II. Her second book, Fallen Mountains, is a literary mystery set in a small town in Pennsylvania, where fracking has just begun. Kimi is a two-time winner of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Poetry and a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship in creative nonfiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in Fathom, Literary Mama, RATTLE, Poet Lore, and Whitefish Review. She studied English at Bucknell University and Messiah College. She lives, writes, and teaches in Pennsylvania. You can find her at https://www.kimicunninghamgrant.com.

The Pilot’s Daughter by Meredith Jaeger – #BookReview – #HistoricalWWIIFiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The glitzy days of 1920s New York meet the devastation of those left behind in World War II in a new, delectable historical novel from USA Today bestselling author Meredith Jaeger.

In the final months of World War II, San Francisco newspaper secretary Ellie Morgan should be planning her wedding and subsequent exit from the newsroom into domestic life. Instead, Ellie, who harbors dreams of having her own column, is using all the skills she’s learned as a would-be reporter to try to uncover any scrap of evidence that her missing pilot father is still alive. But when she discovers a stack of love letters from a woman who is not her mother in his possessions, her already fragile world goes into a tailspin, and she vows to find out the truth about the father she loves—and the woman who loved him back.

When Ellie arrives on her aunt Iris’s doorstep, clutching a stack of letters and uttering a name Iris hasn’t heard in decades, Iris is terrified. She’s hidden her past as a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl from her family, and her experiences in New York City in the 1920s could reveal much more than the origin of her brother-in-law’s alleged affair. Iris’s heady days in the spotlight weren’t enough to outshine the darker underbelly of Jazz Age New York, and she’s spent the past twenty years believing that her actions in those days led to murder.

Together the two women embark on a cross-country mission to find the truth in the City That Never Sleeps, a journey that just might shatter everything they thought they knew—not only about the past but about their own futures.

Inspired by a true Jazz Age murder cold case that captivated the nation, and the fact that more than 72,000 Americans still remain unaccounted for from World War II, The Pilot’s Daughter is a page-turning exploration of the stories we tell ourselves and of how well we can truly know those we love.

His Review:

This excellent book shows the contrasts of women’s lives between the 1920’s and the second world war years. First Lieutenant William A. Morgan went down with his plane in the Adriatic Sea. His daughter Ellie received the dreaded letter from the War Department and subsequently his belongings. She was in denial regarding his death and felt he was more probably missing in action.

While checking through the box of his effects she comes upon a packet of letters addressed to Ms. Lillian Dell. The letters allude to their daughter and love for each other! Ellie is flabbergasted to think that her father may have had another family in New York! She and her aunt Iris set out for New York to solve the mystery. Iris had been one of the headliners in the Ziegfield Follies in the early twenties. Iris had left the city and returned to San Francisco after a very dangerous entanglement with a married man.

The author melds the experiences and lives of both ladies with the hand of an artist. I appreciated the experiences of both Ellie and her aunt Iris. They have a very close family bond while Ellie and her mother are not close at all. The trip to New York is exciting and holds some danger for aunt Iris. The diving back between the experiences of the 1920’s and mid 1940’s provides a clear view of the change of respect that women received before and after WWII.

I highly recommend this book as a treatise on the social change that occurred in this country as a result of the war and the need to have women more closely involved in the development and production of aircraft and weapons during the war. 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction, Women’s Detective Fiction
Publisher: Dutton
ISBN: ‎ 0593185897
ASIN: B08VWZP9PJ
Print Length: 351 pages
Publication Date: November 2, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: The Pilot’s Daughter [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Meredith Jaeger is the USA Today bestselling author of THE PILOT’S DAUGHTER, BOARDWALK SUMMER and THE DRESSMAKER’S DOWRY. She’s a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where she was raised by a Swiss father and an American mother. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Meredith wrote her debut novel, THE DRESSMAKER’S DOWRY, while working for a San Francisco startup.

THE PILOT’S DAUGHTER has been called “unputdownable” (NYT bestselling author Sally Hepworth) “stirring and powerful” (NYT bestselling author Fiona Davis) and “historical fiction at its finest” (NYT bestselling author Lori Nelson Spielman).

Meredith lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, their young daughter and crazy rescue dog.

When The Skies Cry: Heartwarming Dog Fiction (Books for Dog Lovers Book 2) by Steve N Lee –#BookReview – Pet Dogs

Happy Release Day!

Are you ready to get into the mind and reasoning of a dog?

Book Blurb:

Sometimes, the one you’re saving is really saving you.

Harley loses everything when his master dies — his home, his best friend, his reason for living. Day after day, he trudges the streets, trembling from the biting cold, whimpering from the gnawing hunger.

Across town, Rachel has an alimony hearing looming and a make-or-break deadline hurtling toward her, yet they aren’t her biggest worries — her autistic son has withdrawn so far into his own private world, he barely acknowledges she even exists.

Luckily, the magic of life is in the surprises no one ever sees coming…

My Review:

When The Skies Cry is the second in the Dog Lovers book series and you’ll be glad to know the author does not resort to anthropomorphics in his descriptions of Harley. No, the POV from Harley is probably just what the canine might actually be thinking, rather than the emotions and thoughts we attribute to them.

This story revolves around Rachel and her son Wesley who is on the extreme side of the autism spectrum. Too much for the father, Rachel is struggling with Wes on her own, including home schooling. It isn’t until Harley comes into their lives, however, that there is a dramatic change in Wes—for the good. And any change in Wes is an improvement.

Rachel is blessed with having Izzy as a friend/tenant who is immediately drawn to Harley as well but first the fear is trying to have a dog and then the fear is losing him. Meanwhile, Harley appears to have found his “new purpose.” He likes to work after all and he is very, very smart and very well trained for his former owner’s service needs.

The storyline marks Wes’s remarkable improvements at the same time tragedy strikes. I had to chuckle at one point when a brief reference to Kai from Book 1 surfaces in the narrative. There is the confusion by Harley to the changes in the household and how he puzzles through the appropriate response to solve the problem as he has interpreted it.

I was a bit surprised by the twist in the conclusion—not wholly on board with the way it was wrapped up—but in the meantime an immersive story with engaging characters. A sweet novel once again championing the bond between man (or woman) and the canine species who has been learning how to perceive and handle their humans for a long time now. They learned how to communicate. Now it’s up to us to figure out what they are saying. I really enjoyed As the Stars Fall (Book 1) and was happy to add to my “Books for Dog Lovers” list. You will too. Recommended and available now at your favorite retailer.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Pet Dogs, British Contemporary Literature, British & Irish Literary Fiction
Publisher: Blue Zoo
ASIN: B08MBF9NHM
Print Length: 474 pages
Publication Date: October 22, 2021 (Today!)
Source: Direct author connection

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Steve N Lee has three passions: anti-heroes, animals, and travel. To date, he’s visited 60 countries and has adopted five homeless cats, but he’s yet to prowl the streets in the dead of night to beat up bad guys (though he still daydreams about doing so, but who doesn’t?).

In pursuit of adventure, he’s cage-dived with great white sharks, sparred with a monk at a Shaolin temple, and explored exotic locales such as Machu Picchu, Pompeii, and the Great Wall of China.

Fortunately, his passions fuel his fiction. He loves to pepper his action-packed thrillers with the exotic places he’s explored and the unusual encounters he’s experienced, while his dog stories glow with the love and companionship that will warm the heart of any animal lover.

He lives in the North of England with his partner, Ania, the great-granddaughter of the 1924 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and two stray black cats who visited their garden one day and liked it so much, they moved into the house. Luckily, they graciously allowed Steve and Ania to carry on living there, even allowing Steve to continue paying the mortgage to give him a sense of purpose. If you don’t read Steve’s books, the cats will not be happy — they like their house so need Steve to keep paying for it!

http://stevenleebooks.com/

Enjoy Your Weekend!

The Curse of Morton Abbey by Clarissa Harwood – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Solicitor Vaughan Springthorpe knows perfectly well that Sir Peter Spencer’s offer of employment seems too good to be true: he hires her sight unseen, offering a suspiciously large salary to prepare the sale of Morton Abbey, his crumbling Yorkshire estate. But few people in late-Victorian England will entrust their legal affairs to a woman, and Vaughan is desperate to prove herself.

Once at Morton, Vaughan discovers that someone is determined to drive her away. An intruder tries to enter her bedroom at night, gunshots are fired outside her window, and an eerie crying echoes from the uninhabited second floor. Even Netherton, the nearest village, seems odd: the picturesque houses and perfect-looking families are haunted by dark secrets connected to Morton Abbey itself.

To complete her work and solve the mystery at the heart of Morton, Vaughan needs the help of Joe Dixon, the handsome gardener, and Nicholas Spencer, her employer’s irascible invalid brother. But with her questions diverted, her progress thwarted, and her sleep disrupted by the crying, will Vaughan escape Morton Abbey with her sanity intact or be cursed by the secrets within?

His Review:

Her mother was incensed! How could her youngest daughter with a physical disability leave to be an assistant to the heir of Morton Abbey? Wouldn’t it be better for her to live with her sister and help with her older sister’s child rearing and other household tasks? Having been trained by her father though, Vaughn Springthorpe is no shrinking violet, and she has no intention of being a house servant the rest of her life despite her mother’s objections when she leaves for the new position.

Morton Abbey is situated in a remote area of the moors. She caught the correct train only to discover there is no carriage or transportation waiting for her. Finally, an old worn horse drawn carriage arrived at the station to take her to the Abbey. No one seemed eager to assist her into the vehicle or encourage her to the property. Finally, they grudgingly assist her into the carriage and loaded her luggage.

Ms. Harwood spins a very descriptive yarn about the plight of a young lady at the turn of the 19^th century into the 20^th. Her description of the Abbey is depressing as the estate certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Shabby and showing disrepair, it seems the last place a young invalid should seek employment. The well-developed characters working in the Manor are less than welcoming. One would expect a more cordial welcome after the long journey.

They were expecting a young male solicitor, not an unlicensed young lady! Vaughn is very well qualified, however, being the product of on-the-job training by her father. Her employer, Sir Peter Spencer, is the eldest son and has gone through the family’s money and is looking to sell the property. His younger brother has a number of frailties and is sequestered in a part of the structure.

I enjoyed the twists and turns of the characters as the story developed. The story moves quickly and held my interest throughout the book. Recommended! 5 stars – CE Williams

We received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are his honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Gothic Romances, Gothic Romance, Gothic Fiction
ASIN: B097Q9TF46
Print Length: 361 pages
Publication Date: October 26, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Links: The Curse of Morton Abbey [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: Clarissa Harwood is the author of three historical novels. Publishers Weekly called her first novel, IMPOSSIBLE SAINTS, “a rich debut.” Her second novel, BEAR NO MALICE, won the Editor’s Choice award from the Historical Novel Society, and Kirkus Reviews praised it as “a smart and highly civilized tale about love, temptation, and second chances.”

Clarissa holds a PhD in English Literature with a specialization in Nineteenth-Century British Literature. In addition to being a proud member of the Historical Novel Society, Clarissa is a part-time university instructor and full-time grammar nerd who loves to explain the difference between restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Born and raised on the Canadian prairies, she currently lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and three neurotic cats.

To learn more, visit http://www.clarissaharwood.com