#suspense – Rosepoint Publishing

The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner #AudiobookReview #HistoricalFiction

Book Blurb:

April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.

Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.

The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.

From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.

My Review:

My first experience with this author and I’m sure an excellent entry into her beautifully crafted writing style.

Sophie Whalen is a young Irish emigrant who answered an ad in a desperate attempt to escape her squalid circumstances into which she’d fallen since arriving in New York. The tiny tenement lacking running water or bathroom facilities is shared with several other women.

The ad seeks a pseudo-mother for his five-year-old so he can appear to be a happily married sales member of his insurance company. She is successful in her bid and finds herself traveling from New York to San Francisco to live with Martin and Kat. The five-year-old is reticent and silent at first, Martin Hocking remains aloof after a quick court wedding the day she arrives, but the house is beautiful and she is made comfortable.

It’s not long before she bonds with Kat, who is precocious and adorable. Sophie hoped that she’d learn to love Martin, but he has not changed in his remote stance toward her and she realizes that it won’t happen.

Then she has a surprise visitor. It doesn’t take long in the conversation before Sophie realizes she’s been in a sham of a marriage and that her good-looking husband is no one she ever knew. Belinda is pregnant. Martin isn’t just cold and remote; he’s evil and apparently dangerous, and together they plot their escape.

Before either can take any measures, however, the big 1906 earthquake happens, throwing them into a world of death, destruction, fires, and desperate attempts to escape the city for a return to Belinda’s quarters in a nearby city.

Along the way, they discover another woman with deep ties to Martin and Kat.

The author is quite the storyteller and weaves an intricate tale of friendship, deception, mystery, and suspense. There is a space in about one half(?) of the book that sagged just a bit for me, became a bit repetitive, and lost the previous pace. Still, it managed a wild denouement at the end and made for a satisfying climax.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B089P13956
Listening Length: 10 hrs 39 mins
Narrators: Alana Kerr Collins, Jason Culp
Publication Date: February 2, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Susan Meissner is the USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction with more than three-quarters of a million books in print in eighteen languages. Her novels include The Nature of Fragile Things, starred review Publishers Weekly; The Last Year of the War, a Library Reads and Real Simple top pick; As Bright as Heaven, starred review from Library Journal; Secrets of a Charmed Life, a 2015 Goodreads Choice award finalist; and A Fall of Marigolds, named to Booklist’s Top Ten women’s fiction titles for 2014. She is also RITA finalist and Christy Award and Carol Award winner. A California native, she attended Point Loma Nazarene University and is also a writing workshop volunteer for Words Alive, a San Diego non-profit dedicated to helping at-risk youth foster a love for reading and writing.

Visit Susan at her website: https://susanmeissnerauthor.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/susanmeissnerauthor/ on Twitter at @SusanMeissner or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/susan.meissner

Audiobooks with headphones — Graphic books and coffee courtesy Freepik.com

Rosepoint Reviews – October Recap – Can Holiday Books Be Around the Corner?

Rosepoint Reviews - October Recap

October harkens not just a change of season or weather for us, but personally, the mad dash to the end of the year beginning with our daughter’s birthday the middle of October. Then it’s on to Halloween, followed in quick succession with Thanksgiving in November and Christmas and end of year holidays.

Our trip to southern Illinois for her birthday found us exploring a botanical garden in Springfield, somewhat disappointing with not only the size but end of season flower displays. Usually, we love botanical gardens this time of year as they yield some interesting seeds (shush!), but there weren’t many of those yet either. We loved the bell tower though, the sound much like an active cathedral. Unusual trees—but unfortunately no name plates to tell us what they were. Also, our granddaughter arrived with her family to celebrate her mother’s birthday so we got to see our great-grandchildren. Good grief, have they grown!!

The CE and I joined the “Summer Sizzle” promo at our Y, attended extra exercise classes and were awarded our free t-shirts. Keeping with the social interaction, the Y also started a Bingo get-together once a month, using the holiday theme (Halloween for October, of course) for prizes and lunch (pumpkin pie—I suspect we’ll also have the pie again in November). Lunch was delicious and the Bingo (although it gave me flashbacks to the years I worked the Bingo kitchen for our kids’ high school bands) was fun.

October 8^th marked our second year with our little rescue Pomeranian, Punkin, now seven years old. She’s pretty much housebroken at this point. She’s allowed me to pet her a couple times—but not approach her unbidden. Unfortunately, she’ll likely never understand what a toy is. She enjoys going outside now—but only when she’s ready. Also, she’s decided my treadmill is a good place to relax. At least it gets some use.

Well, needless to say, I didn’t get a lot of clean-up done on my garden—still trying for one last harvest, but with the consistent cool weather, nothing is ripening. That’s the end of the garden this year. (sad face)

Also, as you might have guessed, October saw more audiobooks than ebooks. We reviewed a total of thirteen books in October—for the first time the majority in audiobook form–with the CE contributing two (ebooks). As always, the major source of our books is the library (audiobooks as well as ebooks), NetGalley, author and publisher requests. The links on titles are to our reviews that include purchase information.

Rosepoint Reviews - November Recap

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver (audiobook)
Asa James by Jodi Lew-Smith (CE review)
After You by Jojo Moyes
Our Souls at Night by Ken Haruf (book club-audiobook)
Imposter Syndrome by Andrew Mayne (CE review)
Crime Writer by Vinnie Hansen
The Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel (audiobook)
Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand (audiobook)
The Night Fire by Michael Connelly (audiobook)
I Know How This Ends by Holly Smale (audiobook)
Every Last One by Carolyn Arnold
Allied Flames by Jean Grainer
The Intruder by Freida McFadden (audiobook)

Favorite Book of the Month

The CE gave five stars to Asa James, one of only two he read in October. I did enjoy several books, but only one to the extent of five stars—and that is Michael Connelly’s book, The Night Fire.

Favorite for October – The Night Fire by Michael Connelly

My Reading Challenges page…Another extremely busy month. Family, traveling, the last of the outdoor activities for the season. I’ll try to catch up with Challenges next month.

Yes, I’m still behind on catching up on reviews and my Goodreads landing page shows 159 of a goal of 150, so I’m at 105% of the challenge. I’ll have to catch the others up to figure out what I need to do to win the challenges for Audiobooks, Historical Fiction, and NetGalley, although I suspect the Audiobooks Challenge has been met.

Holiday Books

Are They Just Printed Hallmark Romances?

Yes, the holidays are quickly gaining on us and I usually have a spate of blogging buddies who read and review Christmas or holiday books—not something I usually read! So I wanted to include a shout-out to those who do. There are so many different kinds of holiday novels from romance to cozy mysteries that I thought it would be fun to highlight a few that I run across beginning with the post by Carla at Carla Loves to Read. You might find a whole new reason to check out a holiday book. Please read her blog tour review of Missing at Christmas by Deena Alexander.

Thank you sooo much for your visits and comments. I do appreciate your comments and apologize if I’m slow to respond. Keep those likes and comments coming—and I thank you for each and every one!

Happy Autumn Weekend to you from Rosepoint Publishing

The Intruder by Freida McFadden #AudiobookReview #PsychologicalThrillers

#2 this week

Book Blurb:

There’s someone at your front door—should you let them in? Find out in a riveting new thriller from global sensation and #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Housemaid, Freida McFadden!

Who knows what the storm will blow in…

Casey’s cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane. Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. But she’s a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window.

She’s young. She’s alone. And she’s covered in blood.

The girl won’t explain where she came from, or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. And when Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse.

The girl has a dark secret. One she’ll kill to keep. And if Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

In this taut, deadly tale of survival and desperation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Freida McFadden explores how far one girl will go to save herself.

My Review:

I love books with a creepy factor. This one checks that box, though maybe not entirely for the reason you are thinking.

I’m beginning to worry about McFadden’s mind though, she appears to excel in the sick and twisted. At the beginning of the book, it can be assumed Casey is a normally intelligent person, but then she lets a young girl into her cabin in the woods during a massive storm who’s cover in blood. (Yeah, I know, don’t get me started.)

You only think that the girl has a secret. That’s because you are still sifting through the first two-thirds of the book. You have to wonder why a young woman with a decent education and a formerly appropriate job is out of work and in the woods. The back and forth gets you closer to the truth.

The girl with all the blood? Yeah, we’ll get to it. Interesting character development here, but can you allow yourself to lend sympathy with either character? Maybe not. The men, peripheral, support characters give you just enough background to think, “run, Forest, run.”

You might have caught on to the author’s tricks, her twists. The novels are well plotted and paced, engaging and entertaining. Might be compelled to just keep reading. But what you absolutely know you can count on is that one last zinger (really, you expected that?), the one you may not have seen coming. Good for you. This one caught me by surprise.

Again. (Kudos to the narrators for keeping the suspense going.)

Yeah, I’m beginning to catch on, having read two recently, The Housemaid’s Secret and The Boyfriend in August this year. There’s just something about watching a train wreck…

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Domestic Thrillers
Publisher: Dreamscape Media
ASIN: B0F94KB253
Listening Length: 8 hrs 19 mins
Narrator: Joe Hempel, Patricia Santomasso, Tina Wolstencroft
Publication Date: October 7, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links:

Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: #1 New York Times, Amazon Charts, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Sunday Times, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author Freida McFadden is a physician who has penned multiple bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. Freida’s work has been selected as one of Amazon Editors’ best books of the year, she is the winner of the International Thriller Writers Award for best paperback, and she is a Goodreads Choice Award winner. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages.

Freida lives with her family and cat in a centuries-old three-story home overlooking the ocean, with staircases that creak and moan with each step, and nobody could hear you if you scream. Unless you scream really loudly, maybe.

To hear Freida talk about herself more in the third person, check out her website freidamcfadden.

Halloween

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Book Blurb:

The first installment in Jeffery Deaver’s Colter Shaw series. The son of a survivalist family, Colter Shaw is an expert tracker. Now he makes a living as a “reward seeker,” traveling the country to help police solve crimes and locate missing persons for private citizens. “You’ve been abandoned. Escape if you can. Or die with dignity.” Hired by the father of a young woman who has gone missing in Silicon Valley, Shaw’s search takes him into the dark heart of America’s cutthroat billion-dollar video-game industry. When another person goes missing, Shaw must Is a madman bringing a twisted video game to life? Encountering eccentric designers, trigger-happy gamers, and ruthless tech titans, Shaw soon learns that he isn’t the only one on the someone is on his trail and closing fast….Named a Crime Novel of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, The Never Game proves once more why “Deaver is a genius when it comes to manipulation and deception” (Associated Press). [Goodreads blurb]

My Review:

OMG! Are you an older person with no concept of those crazy games the kids play on their devices with all kinds of paraphernalia so they are capable of speaking to other players on the other side of the world as they wipe out all the baddies with blasters?

I joined that club some years ago and have never caught up, at one point even trying to look into a “mature” game I could likewise play.

Not going to happen.

The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver — The Never Game – US cover

The Never Game featuring Colter Shaw plunks you square into that scene and explains it in a suspenseful mystery. Mercy! Shaw is not your average game player. He was raised off-grid with his brother and sister with their survivalist parents but with keen knowledge of his environment. Now he uses his skills as a gifted forensic tracker.

Shaw is making a living “finding” people and largely taps into an apparently lucrative rewards market. He lives in a Winnebago and has a small but effective support group. It’s fun the way he works “the percentages” whether or not the mission or question is viable. In this, the first in a new series, he is drawn into the gaming world.

Okay, I loved all the insights he discovers and explains, most of which blew me away. Did I retain any of it? You know I didn’t, but it was sure fun to read. There are theories and premises that, unfortunately in the six years it’s been since this was published, are eerily becoming the world in which we now live. AI scares the devil out of me, while fascinating me as well.

Is there any romance? Just a touch for those who need that in their novels. Have you heard of The Whisper Man? (The Whispering Man?) I have. There was a 2019 movie, right? And I believe another is coming to your screens soon. Well, there is an interesting and popular game with the same basic idea…and it’s incorporated into the narrative.

Don’t take my word for it. This is a book you might have missed but shouldn’t have. Check it out.

The CE read a Deaver novella in January of this year, Downstate, and greatly enjoy it. I’m gonna have to start paying more attention. Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Crime Thrillers, Mysteries, Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Audio
ASIN: B07N317FK9
Listening Length: 11 hrs 20 mins
Narrator: Kaleo Griffith
Publication Date: May 14, 2019
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)

Title Links: Amazon-US

Amazon-UK

The Author: Jeffery Deaver is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into over twenty-five languages. He has served two terms as president of Mystery Writers of America, and was recently named a Grand Master of MWA, whose ranks include Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Mary Higgins Clark and Walter Mosely.

The author of over forty novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, and a lyricist of a country-western album, he’s received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His “The Bodies Left Behind” was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller “The Broken Window” and a stand-alone, “Edge,” were also nominated for that prize. “The Garden of Beasts” won the Steel Dagger from the Crime Writers Association in England. He’s also been nominated for eight Edgar Awards by the MWA.

Deaver has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, the Strand Magazine’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Raymond Chandler Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy.

October

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci #AudiobookReview #suspensefiction

Editors’ pick Best Books of the Year 2024

Book Blurb:

Set in the tumultuous year of 1968 in southern Virginia, a racially-charged murder case sets a duo of white and Black lawyers against a deeply unfair system as they work to defend their wrongfully-accused Black defendants in this courtroom drama from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci.

Jack Lee is a white lawyer from Freeman County, Virginia, who has never done anything to push back against racism, until he decides to represent Jerome Washington, a Black man charged with brutally killing an elderly and wealthy white couple. Doubting his decision, Lee fears that his legal skills may not be enough to prevail in a case where the odds are already stacked against both him and his client. And he quickly finds himself out of his depth when he realizes that what is at stake is far greater than the outcome of a murder trial.

Desiree DuBose is a Black lawyer from Chicago who has devoted her life to furthering the causes of justice and equality for everyone. She comes to Freeman County and enters a fractious and unwieldy partnership with Lee in a legal battle against the best prosecutor in the Commonwealth. Yet DuBose is also aware that powerful outside forces are at work to blunt the victories achieved by the Civil Rights era.

Lee and DuBose could not be more dissimilar. On their own, neither one can stop the prosecution’s deliberate march towards a guilty verdict and the electric chair. But together, the pair fight for what once seemed impossible: a chance for a fair trial and true justice.

Over a decade in the writing, A Calamity of Souls breathes richly imagined and detailed life into a bygone era, taking the listener through a world that will seem both foreign and familiar.

My Review:

I borrowed this audiobook from my local library because of the author’s name with whom I was familiar having read and enjoyed previous books, the last a thriller, The 6:20 Man. This novel, however, is a far cry from the others. It’s a serious indictment of the time (1968) and place (Virginia), although certainly not a new story, nor unfortunately one that has appreciably changed since then.

Jack Lee, a white attorney, attempts to take on the defense of Jerome, a young black Vietnam War veteran in the killing of Jerome’s elderly white employers. The author wastes little time in developing his characters sympathetically and the reader almost immediately connects with both.

Jack has never before endeavored to take on such a sensational trial, much less one that will engender strong personal and political repercussions, including from his own family who raised him with a lack of overt prejudice and quickly realize he’s in way above his head and is in deep doo-do.

It is then that he is approached by Desiree DuBose, a Black lawyer from Chicago. She is well known for her expertise in the courtroom as well as her efforts in the fight for racial equality.

The novel crafts a thought-provoking, emotional legal thriller as well as a family drama. Steeped in historical perspective and well developed characters, the narrative deeply dives into the fight to protect and salvage their client as well as battle a corrupt and flawed justice system. If Jerome didn’t kill the elderly couple, who did?

A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci — A Calamity of Souls – UK cover

The tension ratchets up throughout the storyline, often boiling over in heated controversial racial injustice arguments by Desiree. Both main characters are well developed and despite, or perhaps because of, an extreme difference in backgrounds appear to work well together. They begin to develop a grudging respect for each other.

The author pulls no punches in using malicious characters and the language, dialogue, and slurs reflect the time and place. It’s an intensive look back on an ugly system with an emotionally spirited plea in and between the lines to look at it again.

The Author’s Note will explain a lot of the decisions he made in the writing of this literary fiction effort which certainly takes a raw turn. It’s a hard read as well as lengthy, but take the time to read or listen to the informative explanation, which may answer your question.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The narrators did an amazing job of representing a cross-section of souls. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Action Thriller & Suspense Fiction, Mystery Action & Adventure, Crime Thrillers
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ASIN: B0CKNL91V1
Listening Length: 14 hrs 28 mins
Narrators: David Baldacci, MacLeod Andrews, Sisi Aisha Johnson, Kiiri Sandy, Cary Hite
Publication Date: April 16, 2024
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: David Baldacci has been writing since childhood, when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories. (Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she’d given him the notebook to keep him quiet, “because every mom needs a break now and then.”)

David published his first novel, ABSOLUTE POWER, in 1996. The feature film adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 50 novels for adults; all have been national and international bestsellers and several have been adapted for film and television. His novels have been translated into over 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. David has also published seven novels for younger readers.

David is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy programs across the United States.

Have a good week! — AI generated graphic courtesy Gemini Flash 2.5

The Arrangement by Kiersten Modglin #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Arrangement Novels Book 1

Book Blurb:

Ainsley Greenburg is a fixer. It’s what she prides herself on.

So when Ainsley realizes her marriage is at its breaking point, she makes a decision to repair it, no matter the cost. Approaching her husband to propose the arrangement is supposed to be the hard part, but Peter agrees to the salacious plan almost immediately.

The rules are simple:

They will each date someone new once a week.
They will never discuss what happens on the dates.

Soon, though, the rules are broken, turning terrible mistakes into unspeakable consequences.

When the only person they can count on to keep their darkest secret is each other, new questions and deceits surface. Can they truly trust the person they share a life with, or will the vicious lies that have mounted over the years destroy everything they’ve built?

Once, Peter and Ainsley vowed to stand together forever, but as they push boundaries of deception, suspicion, and temptation, each begins to wonder if ’til death do us part may come sooner than they’d intended.

My Review:

Maybe I don’t get out that much and apparently not in the loop, didn’t realize “open marriages” were still a thing (just plain old affairs now?). Back in the Navy, they called them “key clubs,” something the CE and I never would have subscribed to. We’ve been married much longer than Peter and Ainsley and wouldn’t have given a key club any consideration even then.

In this case, it’s an online dating service, proposed by Ainsley (which also surprised me). She explained “the rules” she created to Peter and he agreed. She thought the whole thing would work to light a fire under their sadly fading excitement with each other. They have three children, for heaven’s sake, and they couldn’t work out a date night for the two of them? You’ve no doubt read something about this in the blurb. But aren’t rules meant to be broken?

My first experience with this author, so I wasn’t prepared for the lengths she’d go to for twists.

This book is short and fairly fast paced, so after an introduction to the main characters and the reason for their perceived predictament, the plot pace ramped up pretty quick. I must admit that I was caught off-guard more than once, hitting a new level of surprise.

How could this simple idea go so far off the rails? I did appreciate the character of Peter, not so much Ainsley. But then Peter gets caught up in Ainsley’s drama and things go a little nuts. Or a lot nuts. Just suspend belief. I was left with questions, no answers, and now I realize it was Book 1. Duh.

Definitely not a plot I’ve read very often and certainly not quite this wild. You can’t say the characters aren’t engaging, the idea entertaining, until it gets to the creepy point. Maybe I’m easily entertained, but it did keep me listening to two talented narrators. It’s one you might enjoy as well, although I’m vacillating on reading Book 2.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thrillers, Suspense Thrillers
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC
ASIN: B091BDFT57
Listening Length: 5 hrs 42 mins
Narrators: George Newbern, Sarah Mollo-Christensen
Publication Date: June 29, 2021
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK

The Author: KIERSTEN MODGLIN is a #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her books have sold over two million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Kiersten is a member of International Thriller Writers, Novelists, Inc., and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She is a KDP Select All-Star and a recipient of ThrillerFix’s Best Psychological Thriller Award, Suspense Magazine’s Best Book of 2021 Award, a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Overall Book of 2021. Kiersten grew up in rural western Kentucky and later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she now lives with her family. Kiersten’s readers across the world lovingly refer to her as “KMod.” A binge-watching expert, psychology fanatic, and indoor enthusiast, Kiersten enjoys rainy days spent with her favorite people and evenings with her nose in a book.

#ThrowbackThursday

Wild Instinct: A Novel by T Jefferson Parker #BookReview #MurderThrillers

Book Blurb:

The hunt for the truth is the deadliest game.

Former Marine sniper Lew Gale, now a detective with the Orange County California Sheriff’s Department, is assigned to track and shoot a mountain lion that has killed a man in the rugged country east of Laguna Beach, California. The victim is Bennet Tarlow, a rich developer and man-about-town in upscale coastal Orange County.

The investigation takes a chilling turn when Lew and his new partner, Daniela Mendez, discover that Bennet was dead long before the lion got to him. And while he might have been the first to die, he certainly will not be the last.

At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

His Review:

Bennet Tarlow III is shot dead and the most influential person in Texas must be avenged! His grieving sons are fighting over his substantial fortune and must never turn their backs on another family member.

This story focuses on the greed and corruption that come when spoiled offspring scramble for the position of heir. The father has written a will and it defines the child he wants to become his heir. His sons and daughters care about their father’s riches but particularly where they stand in the heir position. A story about family greed and discord.

I found the tale a bit of a ring road with danger to each sibling at every turn! Can their father mean so little to the heirs? Read and experience the calamity! 3 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Three Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Murder Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN-13: ‎978-1250907929
ASIN: B0DPV1B3LP
Print Length: 336 pages
Publication Date: November 11, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: T. Jefferson Parker is the bestselling author of 28 crime novels, including Edgar Award-winners “Silent Joe” and “California Girl.” Parker’s latest work, “The Rescue”, explores the strength of the human-animal bond and how far we will go to protect what we love.

Parker was born in L.A. and grew up in Southern California. He studied English at UC Irvine and worked as a newspaper reporter for five years while writing his first book, “Laguna Heat” on evenings and weekends. HBO made “Laguna Heat” into one of its first original television movies in 1987.

Although the “T” is part of his legal name it does not stand for a name. It is a decorative initial put there by his parents, who once told him they thought T. Jefferson Parker would look good on the White House door.

Parker lives in north San Diego County, and enjoys fishing, hiking and just about anything outdoors.

http://www.tjeffersonparker.com

Twitter: TJParkerauthor

https://www.goodreads.com/tjeffersonparker

Summertime reading — Gemini-generated AI graphic

Two Audiobooks Mini-Reviews – Never Lie by Freida McFadden and Women of War by Suzanne Cope

Well, dang, so easy to listen to audiobooks and I’ve gotten woefully behind on reviews, so I’m posting shortened versions. (Links on individual covers are to Amazon.)

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

Best of #BookTok
Hollywood Upstairs Press
November 8, 2022
Narrator: Leslie Howard

Three Stars

No, no, and no. Too many problems for me here to more than okay the book. Okay…the equivalent of a C or 3 stars. So, I get the unreliable narrator, but as the twists began heaping upon twists, it was making less and less sense. I hate feeling like I have a ring in my nose and am being led on a road that won’t particularly go anywhere.

The newlyweds are searching for a home and are supposed to meet their agent with an impending snowstorm. It’s a walloping big house with a history and has been vacant for some time, cold, dirty, but if I remember right has utilities on? Supposed to set the chill-raising stage.

Who is really worse, Tricia or Ethan? I couldn’t engage in either, but then Tricia finds hidden tapes of a previous (psychiatrist) owner and begins listening and, yeah, I listened.

Things are pushing disbelief, twists that leave the reader trying to reconcile with previous hints. Salient plot points are repeated—we got it the first time. Some of the dialogue had you wondering if the characters actually listened to each other—a little disjointed. And I wasn’t crazy about the ending. Another I breathed a sigh of relief that it was over.

Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis by Suzanne Cope

Penguin Audio
April 29, 2025
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld

Three Stars

It’s obvious a ton of research went into this book which features four women of the Italian resistance, Carla, Bianca, Teresa, and Anita.

It helps that the chapters were kept fairly short, but also created confusion as they alternated between the main characters. There were times I lost track which life was currently being told. While each woman was amazing in their own right, it read much like a history book, not a novel, and became too easy for me to tune out.

I’ve read a number of books regarding the huge strides made by women during the war, pushing abilities far beyond the kitchen and astounding most with their successful exploits. Those were encapsulated in thrilling fiction storylines. This is the first I’ve read regarding their Italian counterparts and I must say was quite eye-opening but read more like a document.

I’m aware there were many more women equally engaged risking their lives for the cause, for which I’m grateful and awe struck as I have a hard time trying to imagine if I could have been that brave.

This book was narrated by one of my favorite narrators, Ms. Maarleveld, who is capable of switching languages back and forth with the blink of an eye. She is always a pleasure to listen to but couldn’t quite make a text type book into a suspenseful novel.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to these books. Any opinion expressed here is my own.

#Audiobooks