#USAtodaybestsellingauthor – Rosepoint Publishing

The Astral Library: A Novel by Kate Quinn #AudiobookReview #MagicalRealismFiction

in Magical Realism Fiction

Book Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn comes a gorgeously written fantastical adventure which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures. Beautifully performed by award winning narrator, Saskia Maarleveld.

Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned one lesson from her barren childhood in the foster-care system: unlike people, books will never let you down. Working three dead-end jobs to make ends meet and knowing college is a pipe dream, Alix takes nightly refuge in the high-vaulted reading room at the Boston Public Library, escaping into her favorite fantasy novels and dreaming of far-off lands. Until the day she stumbles through a hidden door and meets the Librarian: the ageless, acerbic guardian of a hidden library where the desperate and the lost escape to new lives…inside their favorite books.

The Librarian takes a dazzled Alix under her wing, but before she can escape into the pages of her new life, a shadowy enemy emerges to threaten everyone the Astral Library has ever helped protect. Aided by a dashing costume-shop owner, Alix and the Librarian flee through the Regency drawing rooms of Jane Austen to the back alleys of Sherlock Holmes and the champagne-soaked parties of The Great Gatsby as danger draws inexorably closer. But who does their enemy really wish to destroy—Alix, the Librarian, or the Library itself? Includes a bonus conversation with Kate Quinn, Saskia Maarleveld, and Tessa Woodward (editor of The Astral Library).

My Review:

From the creative mind and the commanding master of her craft comes the author from a whole new direction no one saw coming. I devoured her 20^th Century books and looked for more—jumped on this one and noted Saskia Maarleveld as narrator. An absolute powerhouse of audiobooks. And a departure from anything I expected. Note to Self: Must read the book blurb in addition to author and narrator.

Stretching my chops as a reader into fantasy, a genre heaven knows I don’t often do.

But, hey, we’re talking Kate Quinn and I must admit it is an uncommon and unique experience. Written well, haven’t you put yourself in a book? FMC Alexandria “Alix” Watson has learned to do that. Within the Boston Public Library, she often escaped her fierce struggle for survival as a foster care kid. But this time, she also happens upon a hidden door that opens to another library, a librarian, and books. These books are different.

Alix is a great character, full of the feisty intelligence we are used to in a female protagonist from a Quinn novel. There are some strong support characters as well. Appreciated the fashion descriptions of the different periods; the sights and sounds all come alive under Quinn’s pen.

I loved escaping to Boston. Drank in the historic atmosphere, the buildings, the people, food and drink, then to be whisked away to London or…? Alix is not the only one who has found a refuge from tedious lives, however. Having made a choice to escape into the book of their choice, some may not have turned out to be the glorious and safe haven they expected.

The antagonist appears to be the library board, which is ready to change the rules, and it’s a fight Alix eagerly tackles. The storytelling blurred just a bit for me there. There is a modicum of romance and the character of the Astral librarian is a hoot. I loved the shout-out to the various authors of the classic novels. It’s a prose-filled exploration of simultaneous alternate lives.

Heavy into fantasy, metaphysical, and Quinn books, you’ll enjoy the departure of her famously popular historical fiction novels. I enjoyed it, but must admit it won’t be my favorite Quinn book.

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 Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Magical Realism Fiction, Fantasy Action & Adventure, #Literary Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Narrator: Kate Quinn, Saskia Maarleveld
Release Date: February 17, 2026

Title Links:

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

The Author: Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” “The Diamond Eye,” and “The Briar Club.” She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including “The Phoenix Crown” with Janie Chang and “Ribbons of Scarlet” with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb. “The Astral Library,” releasing in 2026, is her first foray into magical realism. Kate and her husband now live in Maryland with their two rescue dogs.

audiobooks — Graphic courtesy combination Canva and Freepik.com

Murder in an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O’Connor #BookReview #ReadingIrelandMonth26

An Irish Village Mystery Book 3

Book Blurb:

After joining the police force of her small Irish village, a local woman must investigate the murder of a stranger in this cozy mystery novel.

After solving two murders in the County Cork village of Kilbane, Siobhán O’Sullivan has accepted her calling and decided to join the Garda Síochána. The O’Sullivan clan couldn’t be prouder, but there’s no time to celebrate as she’s already on another case, summoned by the local priest who just found a dead man in the St. Mary’s graveyard—aboveground.

He’s a stranger, but the priest has heard talk of an American tourist in town, searching for his Irish ancestor. As Siobhán begins to dig for a motive among the gnarled roots of the victim’s family tree, she will need to stay two steps ahead of the killer or end up with more than one foot in the grave.

I am reviewing this book for Reading Ireland Month, one of my go-to authors for the occasion. It is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books. Please use the hashtags #readingirelandmonth26 or #begorrathon if you choose to participate.

My Review:

Yes, a favorite series (and I’ve read a number of her other series as well) I like the newly minted Garda Siobhán O’Sullivan (shi-vawn). In my typical fashion, out of the twelve in this series, I’ve managed to jump all over the place and in this episode back to Book 3, prior to Garda O’Sullivan and DS Macdara Flannery getting together…permanently. My last Murder at an Irish Bakery from October 2022.

Murder in an Irish Churchyard by Carlene O'Connor — Murder in an Irish Churchyard – UK cover

Before the shine is off the uniform, Garda O’Sullivan is called out to a body found in the churchyard on top of the ground—not underneath it. The storyline kicks off quite a rant against Americans. Those searching for their roots (an old story). The group presents quite a wide variety of characters, some sympathetic, some not.

I was a bit surprised to read the vitriol, surprising because I understood the author divides her time between both countries. While the Americans are presented with a typically perceived boorishness, they also presented an interesting cross-section of personalities.

I like the character of Siobhán, who is smart, albeit a bit lacking in confidence right now—given her lack of experience in her new role, but she uses her intuition and gains ground where even the grudging Macdara has to acknowledge her growth as a Garda.

Following the protocol of a cozy, there is lovely, cold atmosphere, wise-cracking and polite drinking, lots of food, and freshly baked brown bread—I could almost smell it. The Irish sense of humor does manifest often.

“He was a bullet of a man, with all gun and no powder.”

I’m not sure I enjoyed the role of the brutish, ignorant Americans, but I did enjoy the growth of Siobhán and thought the plot moved along at a decent pace, well-plotted.

“When around Americans, the Irish accent was a weaponizable trait.”

Yeah, gotta admit that much is true. I hear my grandfather when I hear that lilt.

And, I do appreciate the little quotables:

“Entitlement should be one of the seven deadly sins.”

If you’re a fan of this author, you may enjoy this one, as did I (although admittedly wasn’t thrilled with the depiction of Americans) but will continue reading her books. They are clean and clever, fast and easy reads.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Small Town & Rural Fiction, Amateur Sleuth Mysteries
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publication Date: February 27, 2018

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. She writes the bestselling IRISH VILLAGE MYSTERIES, the HOME TO IRELAND series, and the new COUNTY KERRY MYSTERIES. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, and optioned for television. Readers can find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086525205106 or through her website: http://www.carleneoconnor.net

Reading Ireland Month

The Snow Lies Deep by Paula Munier #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

A Mercy Carr Mystery Book 7

Book Blurb:

Mercy and Troy are looking forward to baby Felicity’s first holiday season, and they’re determined to make it a Christmas to remember. At Northshire’s annual Solstice Soirée, hosted by Northshire’s finest and funded by Mercy’s billionaire pal Feinberg, Amy’s little girl Helena is sitting on Santa Claus’s lap. She’s telling him she’d like a Bitty Baby doll just like little Felicity when the bearded man leaps up, thrusts the toddler at her mother Amy, and staggers away from the festivities. He disappears into the woods. By the time Elvis and Mercy find him, Santa Claus aka the town mayor, is lying on his back, dead. A yule log made of oak sits on his chest, burning bright, a beacon of light on the darkest day of the year.

This strange murder is the first of a series of similar Solstice-themed killings targeting the town’s most prominent citizens. Beloved family friend Lillian Jenkins, the grande dame of Northshire, could be next. Mercy and Troy and the dogs must team up with Thrasher and Harrington to capture The Yuletide Killer before he strikes again, this time far closer to home.

My Review:

I’ve been a fan of the author and this series since the first Mercy Carr mystery I stumbled across, the last one being Home at Night (#5) read and reviewed in July 2023. (Dang! I missed number six!) And I greatly enjoyed them all, so grabbed this one as soon as I saw it offered on NetGalley.

Last I read, Mercy and Troy (her game warden hubby) had bought an old Victorian called Grackle Tree Farm as they were expecting to expand their family beyond their respective working dogs, Elvis (the Malinois) and Suzy Bear (the Newfoundland). “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

I still trip over that name every time I see it printed, but this installment has the couple looking forward to baby Felicity’s first Christmas. They are preparing for the Solstice Soirée, as well as other activities, including choirs and Santa.

Unfortunately, Elvis finds Santa (the town’s mayor) dead in the woods with a Yule log burning on his chest. It’s followed shortly by the second murder, and soon the Druid-inspired celebration and ensuing village festivities are not looking so jolly.

I still love those dogs, complementary to each other, and look forward to their contributions to the plot line. However, this novel, meant to be a Christmas-themed narrative, tries to keep the spirit of the season at the forefront.

“As she spoke, she was struck by the contrasts that marked their lives: crime and crib, poaching and playtime, murder and motherhood…a seemingly random and yet eternal cycle of hope and despair, happiness and sorrow, light and dark.“

The storyline appears to put the domestic themes in front of the mystery. Mercy tends to find babysitters easily enough when she wants to dash off on another clue in the murders. (So much for “just being a mom” now.) Also, while I was fascinated with the Druid folklore and practices, I became a bit disillusioned that the antagonists reverted to the Russian oligarch thing. (There’s gotta be other bad guys out there.)

“The neo-pagan legend recounted the story of two brothers, the Holly King and the Oak King, and their endless battle of the seasons. The Holly King ruled winter…the winter solstice marked the victory of the Oak King…until the summer solstice when the Holly King won the crown…”

I do enjoy the author’s writing style, which includes quotables and prose:

“May the log burn,
May the wheel turn,
May evil spurn,
May the Sun return.”

While I was a bit disappointed in this installment, I look forward to the next, and indeed will go back and see if I can find the one I missed.

“The past is prologue.”

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

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Cozy Animal Mystery, Cozy Animal Mysteries, Police Procedurals
Publisher: Minotaur Books
ISBN: 978-1250389992
ASIN: B0DPTMPYYZ
Print Length: 308 pages
Publication Date: December 2, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: PAULA MUNIER is a literary agent and the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A BORROWING OF BONES, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and was recently named the Dog Writers Association of America’s Dogwise Book of the Year. The second, BLIND SEARCH, pubbed in November 2019. The third, THE HIDING PLACE, will debut in March 2021.

Paula was inspired to write the series by the hero working dogs she met through Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescues, Newfoundland/retriever mix Bear, Great Pyrenees/Australian cattle dog mix Bliss, and Malinois mix Blondie, and a lifelong passion for crime fiction.

Paula also written three popular books on writing: PLOT PERFECT, THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS, and WRITING WITH QUIET HANDS, as well as the acclaimed memoir FIXING FREDDIE: A True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle, and HAPPIER EVERY DAY: Simple ways to bring more peace, contentment and joy into your life.

She lives in New England with her family, her three rescue dogs, and a rescue torbie tabby named Ursula. Find Paula at http://www.paulamunier.com.

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

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 Winemaker’s Wife by Kristin Harmel #AudiobookReview #ThrowbackThursday

Book Blurb:

From the author of the “engrossing” (People) and “poignant” (Booklist) international best seller The Room on Rue Amélie comes a remarkable and moving story of love, danger, and betrayal: two women in France in the darkest days of World War II and another in present-day America on a quest to uncover the secret that connects them.

At the dawn of the Second World War, Inès is the young wife of Michel, owner of the House of Chauveau, a small champagne winery nestled among rolling vineyards near Reims, France. Marrying into a storied champagne empire was supposed to be a dream come true, but Inès feels increasingly isolated, purposely left out of the business by her husband; his chef de cave, Theo; and Theo’s wife, Sarah.

But these disappointments pale in comparison to the increasing danger from German forces pouring across the border. At first, it’s merely the Nazi weinführer coming to demand the choicest champagne for Hitler’s cronies, but soon, there are rumors of Jewish townspeople being rounded up and sent east to an unspeakable fate. The war is on their doorstep, and no one in Inès’s life is safe – least of all Sarah, whose father is Jewish, or Michel, who has recklessly begun hiding munitions for the Résistance in the champagne caves. Inès realizes she has to do something to help.

Sarah feels as lost as Inès does, but she doesn’t have much else in common with Michel’s young wife. Inès seems to have it made, not least of all because as a Catholic, she’s “safe.” Sarah, on the other hand, is terrified about the fate of her parents – and about her own future as the Germans begin to rid the Champagne region of Jews. When Sarah makes a dangerous decision to follow her heart in a desperate bid to find some meaning in the ruin, it endangers the lives of all those she cares about – and the champagne house they’ve all worked so hard to save.

In the present, Liv Kent has just lost her job – and her marriage. Her wealthy but aloof Grandma Edith, sensing that Liv needs a change of scenery before she hits rock bottom, insists that Liv accompany her on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive – and some difficult but important information to share with her granddaughter. As Liv begins to uncover long-buried family secrets, she finds herself slowly coming back to life. When past and present intertwine at last, she may finally find a way forward, along a difficult road that leads straight to the winding caves beneath the House of Chauveau.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale and Kate Quinn’s The Alice Network, The Winemaker’s Wife is an evocative and gorgeously wrought novel that examines how the choices we make in our darkest hours can profoundly change our lives – and how hope can come from the places we least expect.

My Review:

Well, I really enjoyed the description of the Champagne area of France during WWII. The characters not so much, but then one of the characters becomes the main thrust of the switch between time periods and the book takes off.

Liv is the granddaughter who accompanies Grandma Edith back to France where it’s anticipated she’ll reveal a secret too large to divulge in the US. Since the blurb covers pretty much the entire story, there is little to speak of the storyline, although the characters (both WWII and contemporary) still suffer under heavily weighted romance threads, which quickly become tedious.

I enjoyed the historical aspects of the Champagne area under German occupation as well and their need to enjoy the fruits of the French countryside. Loved the information regarding the massive tunnel system and the stashes of wine and champagne. The resistance, mentioned in the blurb, gets very little elaboration beyond what is already noted and it would have been nice to have had a little more of their exploits.

The contemporary story has Liv embroiled in an “instalove” situation as well, and the romance angle seems to overshadow the earlier time plot of the Germans in occupied wine country.

Can you say twisty? There were quite a number of them, crafting a narrative that quickly layers complexity. I didn’t understand Grandma Edith’s gnarly attitude or her relationship with Liv, and with all the affairs going on in, wasn’t crazy about the WWII generation.

Having read The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau in September, I thought I’d try another of the author’s novels. I think I see a common plot device here using an octogenarian in present day with historical time line sub-plot. I found that narrative strangely compelling, almost more so than this one.

If you can overlook all the romance entanglements, there is a story there and the plot moves at an even pace. Extensive research is obvious and the denouement satisfies sufficiently to add back a star.

Many thanks to my local library for providing me with the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. The narrators do quite the job with accents and added authenticity. The thoughts expressed here are my own.

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: World War II & Holocaust Historical Fiction, World War II Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
ASIN: B07NJFDHYH
Listening Length: 11 hrs 32 mins
Narrators: Robin Eller, Lisa Flanagan, Madeleine Maby
Publication Date: August 13, 2019
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

The Author: Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling, USA Today bestselling, and #1 international bestselling author of The Paris Daughter, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Winemaker’s Wife, and a dozen other novels that have been translated into more than 30 languages and are sold all over the world.

Kristin has been writing professionally since the age of 16, when she began her career as a sportswriter, covering Major League Baseball and NHL hockey for a local magazine in Tampa Bay, Florida in the late 1990s. In addition to a long magazine writing career, primarily writing and reporting for PEOPLE magazine (as well as articles published in numerous other magazines, including American Baby, Men’s Health, Woman’s Day, and more), Kristin was also a frequent contributor to the national television morning show The Daily Buzz. She sold her first novel in 2004, and it debuted in February 2006.

Kristin was born just outside Boston, Massachusetts and spent her childhood there, as well as in Worthington, Ohio, and St. Petersburg, Florida. After graduating with a degree in journalism (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of Florida, she spent time living in Paris and Los Angeles and now lives in Orlando, with her husband and young son. She is also the co-founder and co-host of the popular weekly web show and podcast Friends & Fiction.

Solid Gold Murder by Ellen Byron #AudiobookReview #cozymystery

Golden Motel Mystery #2

Book Blurb:

Dee Stern’s Golden Motel-of-the-Mountains promises a tranquil getaway for outdoor lovers in the scenic Californian village of Foundgold. But when Dee accidentally triggers a modern gold rush, she suddenly turns her peaceful retreat into a hotspot for mayhem and murder . . .

With the summer season looming, former Hollywood sitcom writer Dee Stern has one small goal—scrubbing her motel’s unflattering moniker as the “Murder Motel.” Dee and ex-husband-turned-business-partner Jeff Cornetta are excited to introduce a family-friendly panning activity complete with fool’s gold just in time for the peak tourist months. Except neither could have anticipated the discovery of a real gold nugget or the ensuing social media frenzy. In a flash, the viral sensation draws grizzled prospectors, wide-eyed adventurers, and trend-chasing thrill seekers to the abandoned mines scattered around the woods . . .

The instant popularity proves great for business, but it also attracts a group of out-of-touch Silicon Valley techies with dreams of striking it rich—again. Dee finds herself particularly annoyed by the insufferably smug Sylvan Burr, a retired CEO who sold his startup before age 30 and won’t let anyone forget it. But things take a sinister turn when Sylvan meets a grim fate at the bottom of a mineshaft, leaving Dee at the center of a deadly mystery that could end her days as a motelier. And while Sylvan had plenty of enemies, Dee suddenly faces adversaries rooting against her own success. Now, with her life and the future of the Golden Motel hanging by a thread, Dee must unearth a minefield of suspects and outwit a greedy killer before she finally digs herself too deep . . .

My Review:

Another new series in which I managed to pick up in Book 2, but read it like a standalone. In this installment, Dee and ex-husband Jeff motel partner have successfully concluded their brainstorming session with the idea of having a gold panning experience.

Touted as a family-friendly experience and expecting to salt the sluice with some fool’s gold for fun, their brilliant idea turns viral when a real gold nugget is discovered.

Hoping the whole panning idea would smother the nickname of “Murder Motel,” the place suddenly swarmed with paying motel guests also attracting the wrong kind of tourists. When one is found dead, it definitely doesn’t help their rep. Especially when the death is obviously not a natural one.

Some of her guests are serious gold hunters, while others just want to soak up the tree-dotted mountainscape, the clear pine air, the quaint tiny town of Foundgold and Goldgone. Goodness, a lovely cross-section of characters, including Bud the bear, and an old hound dog named Nugget, left behind by the late owner.

It’s an easy, laid back mystery, as much character driven as mystery plot, the characters and setting accounting for much of the charm of the book, particularly the conversations, dialogue between the exes. There are bits of humor interwoven through the plot. Of course, the deceased was a nasty guy with lots of people who’d want to see him at the bottom of an abandoned mine and not moving.

There are twists and turns and lots of theories bantered around, all designed to throw you off the trail. Enjoyable little cozy escape from the everyday, and includes the requisite denouement you may not have seen coming.

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth Mysteries, Cozy Mysteries
Publisher: Tantor Media
ASIN: B0DVMHQQ3L
Listening Length: 7 hrs 23 mins
Narrator: Amy Melissa Bentley
Publication Date: August 5, 2025
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Links: Amazon-US
Amazon-UK
Barnes & Noble
Kobo

Ellen Byron - author — Ellen Byron – author

The Author: Ellen is the USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of the Vintage Cookbook Mysteries, Cajun Country Mysteries, and Catering Hall Mysteries (under the pen name Maria DiRico). Her mysteries have won multiple Agatha Awards for Best Contemporary Novel and Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery Lefty awards from the Left Coast Crime conference. Bayou Book Thief, her first Vintage Cookbook Mystery, was also nominated for an Anthony award. A Very Woodsy Murder, debuting in July 2024, will be the first book in her new Golden Motel Mystery series, which is inspired by her former career as a sitcom writer.

Ellen’s TV credits include Wings, Just Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents; she’s written over 200 magazine articles; her published plays include the award-winning Graceland and Asleep on the Wind. She is a native New Yorker who lives in Los Angeles and attributes her fascination with Louisiana to her college years at New Orleans’ Tulane University. She also worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. Have an early copy of Martha’s first book, ENTERTAINING? Ellen’s standing right next to her in the group shot.

Happy Thursday

Two Audiobooks Mini-Reviews – The Housemaid’s Secret and The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden #psychologicalthrillers

Two Audiobooks Mini-Reviews by Freida McFadden

Well, I’m not sure how, but I seem to be caught up in Freida McFadden books, this time The Housemaid’s Secret, a Goodreads Choice Award Winner released February 20, 2023, and The Boyfriend a #1 Amazon Best Seller in Crime Thrillers released October 1, 2024. (Links on individual covers are to Amazon.)

Member of Goodreads since March 2012, McFadden is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and Amazon Charts bestselling author Freida McFadden is a practicing physician specializing in brain injury who has penned multiple Kindle bestselling psychological thrillers and medical humor novels. She lives with her family and possessed 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. [Goodreads]
https://www.freidamcfadden.com/

The Housemaid’s Secret

ASIN: B0BSVFGW4M
Date Released: February 20, 2023
Narrator: Lauryn Allman
Publisher: Hachette UK – Bookouture
Three point Five Stars

My Thoughts

Okay, wait a minute. Haven’t I read this before? Or certainly something very similar. But this one is definitely written in McFadden style.

Millie has definitely come up in the housecleaning world, securing employment for an uber rich couple in a penthouse apartment in the Upper West Side of New York. It’s a good trick if you can do it as you know in your heart that Millie has some secrets that must be kept mum for now.

Douglas is not too bad for a super rich guy, but wife Wendy keeps to herself and her room is off-limits. Douglas relays anything that Wendy needs or wants and except for a few meals, the sources for which are pretty darn exclusive, and odd bits of uh ohs, it’s not a bad gig.

Needless to say, whether or not she’s been told to leave Wendy alone to rest peacefully, she just can’t seem to do it, and it gradually flips the plot to one you no doubt saw coming. I only thought I did, but remember, this is a McFadden novel.

So yes, the twists will kick in. Maybe it’s a good thing that Millie has a hot Italian groundskeeper on the side with an even more super hot boyfriend, rich lawyer type guy that’s crazy about her. I don’t know what circles she was in when their paths crossed, but he’d love to have her move into his sweet apartment by Central Park and take good care of him.

Are you following along?

It’s that final twist that finally got me and I had to throw my hands up. Talk about not seeing that coming! Well, after that, you have to try another just to see if this one was a fluke, yes? So, I did.

The Boyfriend.

The Boyfriend

ASIN: B0D3QNT4T2
Date released: October 1, 2024
Narrators: Victoria Connolly, and Robb Moreira
Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press
Four Stars

My Thoughts

Oh my goodness, the characters in this book! How many times did I want to slap the FMC, Sydney, up the side of her head? Is it possible to be that obtuse? Then the other POV in this one, Tom, reaches back to the birth of his problem with women. How could he be that fake with Sydney and she not see through that façade?

Tom, supreme creep that he is, really keeps the storyline moving, doesn’t he? Something fascinating about a truly sick and twisted individual that the reader has to keep reading to confirm just how nutsy he is. Not like his teen years were filled with academic accolades. He was head over heels in love with Daisy and his best friend’s name is Slug, if that gives you any clues. I must say, however, that Slug had such significant character development that little vignettes that included him were enough to turn your stomach.

Meanwhile, poor little Sydney plods along in her own little world, just adrift and off course. So frustrating to be forced along on some of her dumber decisions and then watch her crash and burn. Of course, that hasn’t taught her anything, so she gets to hit the repeat button.

Yeah, it’s twisty. And just crazy enough that it edged over The Housemaid’s Secret for me. Also, glad I listened to the audiobook and didn’t read it. Those voices gave it quite the spice.

Frieda McFadden fan? Then you may enjoy this one. I’m not sure—there appears to be quite the division of opinion, but you can’t fault it for being both engaging and entertaining.

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

Have a good one