war fiction – Rosepoint Publishing

Iwo, 26 Charlie by P T Deutermann – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

World War II Navy #10

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

T. Deutermann is a contemporary master of World War II military fiction: writing about the lives, deaths, dreams, fears, and combat experiences of sailors and soldiers, generals and grunts, captains and snipers, pilots and submariners, who served in the Pacific theatre war against Japan.

The island of Iwo Jima was the epic land and sea battle that produced one of the iconic images of WWII: the Marines raising the American flag on Mount Surabachi, an active volcano that was the site of intense hand-to-hand combat. In this gripping novel, Deutermann follows a young gunnery liaison officer, Lee Bishop, who during the ferocious battle for the island is pulled from his station aboard the USS Nevada to serve on-shore as a spotter, calling in coordinates for the ship to target with missiles.

But Bishop is completely unready for what he will witness and experience: a literal hell, during which 26,000 Americans are killed in a fight to the very last man, which culminates in the blistering, sulphurous tunnels of Surabachi itself, where an entire platoon of Marines is held captive. Iwo, 26 Charlie is a dramatic, utterly authentic novel by an award-winning writer.

His Review:

One of the most iconic images of the battle of Iwo Jima and World War II is the raising of our flag on Mount Suribachi. This is one of our country’s proudest moments during the war in the Pacific. This achievement took a lot longer than the citizens of our country knew. Most battles the U.S. Marines fight are in concert with the U.S. Navy. This is one of those stories.

There is a rivalry between these two branches of the U.S. military and also a bond of brotherhood. Lieutenant Lee Bishop goes onto the island with the intention to assist in firepower from the naval bombardment to “soften up” the island prior to the marine’s landing effort. The Japanese had prepared the island for the war with a myriad of caves and fortifications to thwart any attempt to occupy the island.

Lieutenant Bishop goes in to assist in fire control and direction to destroy the Japanese fortifications. His call name is IWO, 26 Charlie. The Japanese are extremely adept at killing any spotter who comes onto the island. The life expectancy of a spotter is estimated at 24 hours. The Japanese come out at night and kill anyone who is not fully awake or vigilant.

The USS Nevada has a myriad of weapons systems including 14-inch guns. Their fire control includes a rudimentary analog computer. Grids are utilized to give accurate coordinates for the placement of the ordinance. Most shells fired at the island were the 5-inch and 8-inch explosive types. The effect on the Japanese emplacements was generally minimal due to the excellent design and construction of the emplacements.

Anyone interested in the history of the Second World War will find this novel both interesting and amazing. I could not put the book down and I am sure most history buffs will have the same problem, which is a very one to have when reading! 5 stars – CE Williams

Last year I read The Last Palatine and found it absolutely riveting. I’ll be looking for anything released by this author going forward. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical World War II Fiction, WWII Historical Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: St Martin’s Press
ASIN: B0BQGFM2HK
Print Length: 288 pages
Publication Date: November 28, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

The Author: Peter Deutermann was born in Boston in 1941. His father was in the Navy, so he subsequently lived all over the United States and also in Argentina. He graduated from the naval academy in 1963 and served in the navy for 26 years, rising to the rank of Captain. While in the navy, he published one textbook on naval operations and several professional articles in navy-oriented journals. He held three commands: a Swiftboat in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, a guided missile destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet, and a destroyer squadron based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. His last tour of duty was as the division director for chemical, biological, and radiological weapons arms control negotiations on the staff of the Joint Chiefs in Washington, DC.

He retired from active duty in 1989 and began his fiction-writing career. He has published twenty novels since 1992, all with St. Martins Press, including the just-released World War II navy novel, entitled The Commodore, and the Washington thriller, The Red Swan. He has completed his 21st novel, entitled The Iceman, a World War II navy submarine story, scheduled for publication in August, 2018. See all the books on his website at http://www.ptdeutermann.com

In addition to a BS in naval engineering, Mr. Deutermann holds an MA in public administration from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. He is also a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in London. He is married and has two children. Mr. Deutermann and his wife of 50 years live in Rockingham County, in the Piedmont of North Carolina, on their family pony farm.

#TuesdayBookBlog

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn – #AudiobookReview – #ThrowbackThursday

Best Literature & Fiction

Book Blurb:

New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
An NPR’s Best Book of the Year
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick!
The 2017 Girly Book Club Book of the Year!
A Summer Book Pick from Good Housekeeping, Parade, Library Journal, Goodreads, Liz and Lisa, and BookBub
In this enthralling novel from New York Times bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the “Queen of Spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads.

My Review:

In gobbling up the books written by this author, it was inevitable I would chance on this audiobook. I’ve come to love the heroic women of both WWI and WWII (most read of the latter lately) and figured this would be the same. To a large degree, it was.

Written using the real-life memories of Alice Dubois from WWI, The Alice Network uses her story and expands to include a character of the second world war, Charlie—not a hero—but one looking for her long-lost cousin, Rose.

From a well-to-do family, Charlie is being whisked out of the US to take care of her “little problem” in 1947. She comes to feel she cares more about discovering what happened to Rose than eliminating the problem that appears greatly more her family’s embarrassment than would seem her own. Having frittered her college experience away being a spoiled, immature girl who slept around until it caught up with her, she is suddenly overwhelmed with the feeling she must know what happened when her cousin got caught up during the war years. Now that she is in France, it may be her own chance to find her.

When Charlie escapes the clutches of her mother, she blunders into the home of Eve using the few clues she has. Eve, now a senior and veteran of the Network named after her superior in the war during which she was groomed and proved an exceptional plant in France to spy on the Germans.
Eve’s backstory is revealed slowly when she and Charlie team with Finn, a Scotsman who has been employed by Eve to help her oversee her house and to a large extent herself. She proves a hard-drinking, extremely colorful, and outspoken profane leader as they first find Rose, then proceed to look for the profiteer who so cruelly ended Eve’s war experience.

Yeah, I didn’t like Charlie’s character at all and was at a bit of a loss as to the intensity of emotion regarding her cousin (well, okay—like a sister to her). Eve was twisted, said to experience PTSD, certainly could have been. Her experience was tension-filled and violent.

The conclusion was a bit much, predictable regarding Charlie, but at least satisfying regarding Eve. The book is a long one, but the narrator does a terrific job, and it’s really not too hard to breeze through—especially those chronicles involving Eve.

Am I the last to read or listen to this one? I see it was quite popular and as always with these stories, many disliked as well as appreciated at least the research and the story of the network. Have you already enjoyed this book? Did you love it?

A bit of a departure from my last Kate Quinn, The Diamond Eye, I downloaded a copy of this audiobook from my local well-stocked library. These are my honest thoughts.

Book Details:

Genre: Military Historical Fiction, War Fiction, Espionage Thrillers
Publisher: HarperAudio
ASIN: B06Y4DMCTD
Listening Length: 15 hrs 7 mins
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Publication Date: June 6, 2017
Source: Local Library (Audiobook Selections)
Title Link: The Alice Network [Amazon]

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

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,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.

The Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld is an experienced audiobook narrator and voice-over actress based in New York City. Raised in New Zealand and France, she is highly skilled with accents and dialects, and many of her books have been narrated entirely in accents other than her own. In addition to audiobooks, Saskia’s voice can be heard in animation, video games, and commercials. She attributes her love and understanding of reading books aloud to coming from a large family where audiobooks were the only way to get through car rides without fighting! Visit saskiamaarleveld.com to learn more.

#ThrowbackThursday

Snapshot by Don Keith and George Wallace – #BookReview – #SeaStories

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

(The Hunter Killer Series Book 8)

Book Blurb:

When an international crisis erupts in eastern Russia, the US Navy must race to avoid a nuclear apocalypse.

The Sea of Okhotsk north of the Japanese Home Islands is a cold and unforgiving place. Its icy, dark waters can change from a glass-smooth calm into a raging maelstrom in a heartbeat. The shores surrounding the sea, home to Siberian tigers and prowling wolf packs, are equally forbidding. Far from Mother Russia, beyond Siberia, it is a mostly forgotten land—even though it is the home of the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.

It is here that the Children of the Gulags, descendants of Stalin’s infamous prison camps and long-time inhabitants of this harsh land, have slowly maneuvered into position. Their leaders are convinced they can now carve out and lay claim to a homeland of their own. But they must fan the flames of international tension among the Chinese, North Koreans, the Russians, NATO, and the Americans. Pitting them all against each other as the Children attempt to wrest away their new nation from Russia.

Thrust into a simmering conflict that threatens to spill over into nuclear Armageddon, head of US Naval Intelligence Admiral Jon Ward is faced with the impossible task of keeping the peace between nations. Forced into a game of intrigue and sinister political maneuvering, he must utilize the stealthy US submarines, SEALs, and other US assets to extinguish a conflict at the edge of the world—all while trying to give hope to an historically oppressed people in their own dreams of freedom.

Admiral Ward is about to face the toughest mission of his career..and one wrong move could ignite a nuclear war.

His Review:

The “Silent Service” utilizes vessels which ply the sea in secret. Clandestine voyages are essential for the security and safety of every country. Russia has a very sophisticated submarine service. Their equipment and ships are comparable to the United States in many respects. This novel touches upon these services.

The Sea of Okhotsk is considered by Russia to be within their sovereign territory. The United States maintains the 12 mile limit and considers any water beyond the 12 mile limit of any country to be international waters. Russia considers their limit to be 150 miles from their shores. The above-mentioned sea is totally surrounded by Russian lands and is therefore considered part of Mother Russia. Our submarines go into these waters often to monitor our potential enemy.

Henrietta Foster is the Commander of the submarine Gato which routinely enters this sea to protect U.S. interests and to monitor Russian shipping. Russia is not happy about this event. Gato wants to identify some of the more modern anti-submarine warfare systems aboard the Russian submarines. Acoustical equipment can identify most ships around the world by the sounds of the machinery and equipment on the craft.

The Seventh Fleet sends in a task force to test the responses of the Russians. The potential for catastrophic responses by both sides is always a factor. These writers illuminate the problem very well and the novel presents the ever-present danger. I found this book intriguing and exciting as the situation unfolded. I recommend it to anyone interested in world affairs and naval tactics. 5 stars – CE Williams

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Book Details:

Genre: Sea Stories, War & Military Action Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: Severn River Publishing
ASIN: B0B1F79QP1
Print Length: 345 pages
Publication Date: May 16, 2023
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Authors: [Don Keith] For a complete bio and a list of Don’s books, visit http://www.donkeith.com. Join Don’s mailing list for bonus content and HUNTER KILLER SERIES book updates: https://bit.ly/3otCajd Click FOLLOW for instant notification of new releases. Or visit http://www.wallace-keith.com

Award-winning and best-selling author Don Keith has lived in the South all his life and is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in Broadcast and Film. As a broadcast journalist, he won awards from the Associated Press and United Press International for news writing and reporting and was also the first winner of Troy University’s Hector Award for innovation in broadcast journalism. As an on-the-air broadcaster, Don was twice named Billboard Magazine “Radio Personality of the Year.” His first novel, THE FOREVER SEASON, received the Alabama Library Association’s “Fiction of the Year” award. He has since published more than thirty-five books, fiction and non-fiction, including several nationally best-selling thrillers. One of them, FIRING POINT, was the basis for the hit motion picture HUNTER KILLER, starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman.

His writing has also appeared in such publications as The Washington Post, CQ Magazine, The American Legion Magazine, The K9YA Telegraph, and The Irish Times. He has also appeared on scores of TV shows from Fox Nation to Blaze TV to CSPAN’s “Book TV.” He is also a partner in a film production company, Fig Tree Media Group, and was writer and producer of the documentary COLORS OF CHARACTER, based on his biography, DREAM ON. He also has written several scripts and has other projects in various stages of pre-production for movies and television.

Don frequently conducts seminars and writing workshops around the country and is an in-demand public speaker.

Among other topics, Don has written extensively about World War II history. He sponsors the UNTOLD MILLIONS Project, an effort to encourage the capture and publication of eyewitness accounts of major historical events such as the Great Depression, World War II and other wars, the space program, the Civil Rights struggle, and more. The project web site is http://www.untoldmillions.net.

Don lives in Indian Springs Village, Alabama, with his wife, Charlene. Contact him at don@donkeith.com. Don’s web site is www.donkeith.com.

George Wallace [Goodreads] Born and raised in Eastern Ohio, Commander Wallace received his commission in the US Navy and a degree in engineering from The Ohio State University. After the obligatory and memorable interview with Admiral Rickover, he was accepted into the nuclear power and submarine communities. He served on two of Admiral Rickover’s famous “Forty One for Freedom”, the USS John Adams SSBN 620 and the USS Woodrow Wilson SSBN 624, during which time he made nine one-hundred-day deterrent patrols through the height of the Cold War.

Commander Wallace served as Executive Officer on the Sturgeon class nuclear attack submarine Spadefish. Spadefish and all her sisters were decommissioned during the downsizing that occurred in the 1990′s. The passing of that great ship served as the inspiration for “Final Bearing.”

Commander Wallace then commanded the Los Angeles class nuclear attack submarine USS Houston SSN 713 from February 1990 to August 1992. During this tour of duty he worked extensively with the SEAL community developing SEAL/submarine tactics. Under his command, the Houston was awarded the CIA Meritorious Unit Citation.

Commander George Wallace retired to the civilian business world in 1995, after twenty-two years of service on nuclear submarines.

Commander Wallace lives with his wife, Penny, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Happy Mother's Day

Hellhound, Take Me Home by Stu Lane – #BookReview – #warfiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

Singapore,1942. Ken Hazel, an Australian soldier, is captured during the Japanese invasion and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Japan where years of hard labour, torture and hardship await.

Australia, 1944. Ken’s wife, Ann, a young nurse and mother, encounters an escaped Japanese prisoner of war, Hito Egami, hiding out in the Australian bush. Against all her instincts, Ann takes in Hito and shelters him from the authorities.

Soon, an opportunity presents itself to both of them. For Ann, it is a chance to free Ken from captivity. For Hito, it is to return home and be reunited with his family. This leads to a dangerous journey over thousands of miles against the cataclysmic backdrop of World War Two, with Hito hated by the Allies as an enemy soldier, and by his fellow countrymen for being a coward.

For both Ann and Hito, a perilous and nail-biting adventure lies ahead…

His Review:

No matter what side you are on, war and propaganda indoctrination are the same. The enemy is heartless and ruthless and will show no mercy. As a soldier in the Emperor of Japans’ military it is better to follow the “Path of Bushido” (to die in battle or commit suicide rather than be captured by the enemy). The Battle of New Guinea was such a battle. Torrential downpours and excessive heat were a daily occurrence and yet fresh water was very scarce.

Ken Hazel and his platoon are part of the military divisions assigned with the mission of defending New Guinea at all costs. The Japanese juggernaut was taking the peninsula and this Australian platoon were tasked with stopping them. At this point in the war the Japanese seemed almost impossible to stop. Ken’s platoon is over-run and he and some of the others are taken hostage. They are shipped to prisoner of war camps in Japan and forced to do slave labor with minimum food and drink.

Hitoshi Egami (Hito) is a Japanese soldier who is captured by the Aussies during one of the battles and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Australia. The prisoners of war receive Red Cross packages and occasional letters from home. However, as a Japanese they are required to attempt to escape and not remain in an enemy prisoner of war camp. The Japanese POW’s find that the Australians are not as they were led to believe during basic training.

During a prison escape, Hito is discovered by Ann, an Australian woman who helps him. She discovers that her husband Ken is in a POW camp called Naoetsu POW camp in Japan. She decides to devise a plan to get Hito back to Japan to help her husband. Hito’s brother Noriaki is the camp commandant at the Naoetsu camp. Ann is a trained nurse and volunteers to help and smuggles Hito back to Japan.

Hito did not die for the Emperor nor did he commit harikari. He is a discredit to his family and his brother has no use for him. Trying to assist Ken in getting out of the camp ends in a tragedy. Noriaki hates his brother for bringing dishonor to the family. CE Williams

I highly recommend this WW II saga. It is well written and entertaining. The ends to which Ann works with the military and smuggles Hito back to Japan is astounding. 5 stars – CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: War & Military Action Fiction, War Fiction, Action Thriller Fiction
ASIN: B07TMG2V22
Print Length: 306 pages
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link: Hellhound, Take Me Home [Amazon]

The Author: Hi to all goodreads members, I hope you are well.
My book, ‘Hellhound, Take Me Home’ has just been added to goodreads so with doing that, thought I should also add a bit about me.
I live in the East Midlands region of the UK. ‘Hellhound’ is my second published book. The first, Trolling Jemma Harvey’ was published in 2016 and is available as an e-book on Amazon right now.

The idea for ‘Hellhound, Take Me Home’ gradually formulated in my mind after reading Bill Bryson’s ‘Down Under’ (which is one of the best books I’ve ever read, definitely recommend it!)
In this, he describes an incident that occurred in Australia during World War II known as the Cowra breakout. A large group of Japanese POW’s escaped from their prison camp and fled into the Australian bush. Eventually, all of the escapees were re-captured. However, in my mind I had the thoughts of ‘What if one of them was never captured?, What if one of them was taken in by an Australian woman? And what if her husband is already a prisoner of the Japanese?
I built on the possibilities these questions raised, added various strands to it as I went along and the end result is the book now available on goodreads.
If you choose to read this book, then I hope you enjoy it. Any feedback is gratefully received and I am happy to answer any questions that you yourself have following the reading of this book.
Best wishes,
Stu Lane

Hunting the Hangman by Howard Linskey – A #BookReview – #warfiction – #TBT

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

With a plot that echoes The Day of the Jackal and The Eagle Has Landed, Hunting the Hangman is a thrilling tale of courage, resilience and betrayal that reads like a classic World War II thriller. In 1942 two men, trained by the British SOE, parachuted back into their native Czechoslovakia with one sole objective: to kill the man ruling their homeland. Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik risked everything for their country. Their attempt on Reinhard Heydrich’s life was one of the single most dramatic events of World War II, and had horrific consequences for thousands of innocent people. Heydrich was a man so evil even fellow SS officers referred to him as the “Blond Beast.” In Prague, he was known as the Hangman. Hitler, who dubbed him “The Man with the Iron Heart,” considered Heydrich his heir, and entrusted him with the implementation of the “Final Solution” to the Jewish “problem:” the systematic murder of 11 million people.

His Review:

The Third Reich is in control of the majority of Europe. Nazi general Reinhard Heydrich is the Reich’s Protector of Prague and all of Czechoslovakia; a cold -blooded killer who considers every Czech to be a sub-human. He is considered directly in line to govern if Hitler is killed.

Members of the Czech army in exile, Josef Gabcik and Jan Kubis are being trained to go back into their country and wipe out this menace. Early in 1942 this is a very dangerous mission and is calculated to be almost a suicide endeavor. The odds of returning from the mission are extremely low. These brave men volunteer to give something back to their home country.

This book shows the efficiency of the German SS and security forces. The killing and destruction of entire villages is one of their fear tactics. Adapted from some of the tactics of the Romans, the object is to completely remove the village leaving no stone or brick upon another. Follow this up with plowing and removing any detritus and the end result is a bare field where once a thriving village stood.

Training Strategic Operation agents was a brutal and unforgiving exercise. The object was to create someone who would accomplish his/her mission or die trying. There is no excuse when the price of failure is complete physical suffering and then death. Many of the captured were so savagely mutilated that their identity was difficult to establish.

General Heydrich was a methodical, sadistic and egocentric commander. He had no patience for those who could not complete his commands. When Germans were killed by foreign operatives the retribution was sometimes a hundred to one. In some areas entire villages were taken out and killed; men, women and children! No one was left to relate the reason for the entire destruction of the village!

The arrogance and personal feeling of invincibility of General Heydrich was his ultimate undoing. But can the SOE assassins complete the mission and survive? This author has done an excellent job of supplying the answer. The weakest link in any capture of a clandestine operator will often become the undoing of the entire group. This superbly written novel shows the lengths that patriots will go to in order to help attain freedom for their countrymen. I couldn’t stop reading! 5 stars – CE Willliams

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from NetGalley. These are my honest opinions.

Book Details:

Genre: Military Historical Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: No Exit; First Edition
ISBN : 1843449501
ASIN : B088F26YSF
Print Length: 321 pages
Publication Date: May 25, 2017
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Hunting the Hangman [Amazon]

Also find the book at these locations:

Barnes and Noble
Kobo

The Author: [Howard Linskey-Goodreads] A bit about me and my books. I am an author with Penguin Random House. My latest book, ‘Alice Teale Is Missing’ features detectives Beth Winter and Lucas Black, as they work together to investigate the mysterious disappearance of seventeen-year-old-Alice.

I am also the author of a series of books set in the north east of England, featuring journalists Tom Carney & Helen Norton with detective Ian Bradshaw, who all appear in ‘The Chosen Ones’, ‘The Search’, ‘Behind Dead Eyes’ and ‘No Name Lane’.

I don’t only write crime fiction though. My two historical novels are set in WW2. ‘Hunting the Hangman’ tells the true story of the assassination of Nazi General, Reinhard Heydrich, and ‘Ungentlemanly Warfare’ is a novel featuring SOE agents, Harry Walsh and Emma Stirling and OSS agent, Sam Cooper. They are published in the UK (No Exit) and are coming to the US thanks to Kensington Books.

My earlier novels, the David Blake books, have been optioned for TV by Harry Potter producer, David Barron. The Times newspaper voted ‘The Drop’ one of its Top Five Thrillers of the Year and ‘The Damage’ one of its Top Summer Reads. Both books broke into the top five Amazon Kindle chart.

I’m honoured to be the ghost writer of ‘Surviving Hell’ which tells the true story of former Para, Nick Dunn, one of the Chennai Six, who were wrongfully imprisoned in India for years, having committed no crime.

On a far lighter note, I am also the writer behind ‘The Little Book Of Pintfulness’ a mindfulness spoof, which comprehensively proves that life is just better with beer. Please read responsibly.

Prior to becoming a full-time author, I led a series of different lives with a number of jobs, including barman, journalist, catering manager and marketing manager for a celebrity chef, as well as in a variety of sales and account management roles. I can confirm that writing books definitely beats working for a living.

I started writing many moons ago and was first published in the Newcastle United football fanzine, ‘The Mag’. I then became a journalist and wrote for regional newspapers. I have also written for magazines and web sites and was once the English Premier League football correspondent for a Malaysian magazine. I’ve stopped all of that nonsense now, preferring to make up stuff instead and call myself an author.

I’m originally from Ferryhill in County Durham but, like most of the people I grew up with, I left the north east in search of work and never quite made it back. I am now settled in Hertfordshire with my lovely wife Alison and wonderful daughter Erin.

I’m still a long-suffering Newcastle United fan and can only assume that Mike Ashley is a punishment inflicted upon us for all of the crimes we committed in our past lives.

I am represented by the best Literary Agent in the UK, Phil Patterson at Marjacq. Sandra Sawicka looks after my foreign rights there. If you are Brad Pitt and you wish to play David Blake in a movie then Leah Middleton takes care of Film and TV rights:

Marjacq Scripts Ltd
The Space
235 High Holborn
London WC1V 7LE

+44 (0) 20 7935 9499
F +44 (0) 20 7935 9115
enquiries@marjacq.com

The German Client: A Bacci Pagano Investigation #6 by Bruno Morchio – a #BookReview – International Mystery & Crime

Bestselling Italian author Bruno Morchio releases his debut for English readers.

Book Blurb:

Private investigator Bacci Pagano can’t resist taking the bait when his new client dangles a check with too many zeros. He should have known that where there’s bait, there’s always a hook.

In a hospital corridor, private investigator Bacci Pagano is keeping watch over Jasmìne Kilamba. If she lives, her testimony will shatter a notorious human trafficking ring. Seemingly out of nowhere, he is approached by an elderly German named Kurt Hessen who is searching for his Italian half-brother. Despite his better judgment, Pagano accepts the job. So many things, good and evil, happened when the Nazis occupied Genoa in 1944, what did it matter now? But it matters very much to someone and Pagano finds himself plunged into a world of old secrets and new lies in this wartime thriller where the bill for the sins of the past has come due . . . with interest.

Originally published in Italian as Rossoamaro, The German Client elegantly intertwines a wartime thriller about Nazi-occupied Genoa with the gritty realism of Pagano’s current investigation in what La Repubblica called “a masterful tale.”

Nominated for a National Book Award, The German Client spent five weeks on the Corriere della Sera best seller list and won the Azzeccagarbugli Prize for Best Mystery.

His Review:

A WWII mystery wrapped up in a modern-day saga. Italy is in the latter days of the war and has been demoted from a German Ally to an occupied country with the Germans refusing to withdraw. Italy and its’ people are forced to assist the Third Reich in any way they can. The characters are well developed and the collaborators are feared and hated by the average populace. Check-points are manned with German military who have very itchy trigger fingers.

Kurt Hessen is a late war baby who is suffering from a terminal disease. He is looking for a brother he did not know he had. Detective Pagano is hired by Kurt to find this long-lost brother. Apparently, there is a sizable family inheritance that should go to the only surviving son of Mr. Hessen. Should the brother not be found, the money will go back to the state.

The author skillfully weaves the story through two time periods. It is masterfully done and I found myself appreciating the drama between a young Italian girl and an older German officer. Weaving the nearly 65 year split between the end of the war and current day adds to the mystery. The topper is the fact that the last name of the young girl is not known to the detective. Detective Pagano refuses the assignment outright but the dying man is insistent. He grudgingly takes on the task.

A real eye-opener is the continued mistrust of the protagonists and the former members of the resistance. In 1944 the war for Italy was coming to an end. The Germans were not going to retreat quietly. Secrets of the resistance and the partisans are raw wounds that carry forth to this day. Because of the animosity there is no real assistance from the population to help solve the mystery. Every bit of information is dragged out from those that remember. Many simply refuse to discuss the case or the time period.

The ending is a surprise that I did not see coming! The flow of the story reminds me of a taffy pull. Just when you think you have an inkling of an outcome the author skillfully changes direction. The ending is totally unexpected. The destruction of cities and industries by the Allied bombing made me sympathetic to the plight of the Italians.

The only quibble I had was the continuous use of places existing during WWII with no map or way to identify the locality. I suggest that anyone with a desire to learn history and feel the pain of war on the civilian population read this book. It is emotive and you will not be disappointed. Thanks to Chiara from Kazabo Publishing for my complementary copy. These are my honest and unbiased opinions. 4.5 stars – CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: International Mystery & Crime, War Fiction, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Kazabo Publishing

ASIN : B082LZL7WG

Print Length: 204 pages
Publication Date: February 17, 2020
Source: Publisher request
Title Links: The German Client [Amazon]

Also find the book at these locations:

Barnes and Noble
Kobo

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Bacci Pagano, “the noir detective with the heart of gold,” is Bruno’s signature creation. Bacci is an Italian institution. Featured in over 15 novels, Vanity Fair called Pagano, “one of Italy’s most beloved characters.” In the words of one major Italian newspaper, “Bacci Pagano is a fixture in the Italian imagination. One grows fond of Bacci. After reading a few of these novels, you find you can no longer do without him.”

Bruno Morchio lives in Genoa, Italy, where he worked as a psychologist. He has won two literary prizes for the mystery genre, the Azzeccagarbugli and the Lomellina in Giallo Prizes, and was a finalist for the Bancarella, the Scerbanenco and the Romiti Prizes.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/bruno.morchio

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.brunomorchio.com

Beneath a Blazing Sky (Bold Women of the 20th Century Book 1) by Amanda Hughes – a #BookReview

“For readers who like history with a bit of a love story.”

Our Shared Review-Five Stars

Book Blurb:

The dawning of the Twentieth Century and it is a world in chaos.
Raised on Coney Island among scoundrels, cheats, and dreamers, Piper Albrecht is apprenticed to violence at an early age. Not until she is rescued by her aunt and moves to the elegant Upper East Side of Manhattan does she experience a different life, the life of a well-educated, forward-thinking young woman. But the roller coaster ride is far from over. After building the most fashionable millinery house in America, Piper spearheads relief efforts in Belgium during The Great War, bringing food to civilians trapped behind enemy lines. Once again, she is immersed in turmoil, misery, and violence. Partnering with her is Bret Collier, a charismatic adventurer, who hides not only his past but his future. She is drawn to his easy charm and cavalier exterior, but this American is not who he appears to be.
Choosing the right path can mean life or death for Piper, and she must move swiftly because the war is intensifying, and her entire world is on fire.
Join Amanda Hughes with another host of unforgettable characters on a wild ride in Beneath the Blazing Sky.

Piper Albrecht started life as a scrapper and she remained thus. Growing up on Coney Island, she learned to live and thrive among chaos, popcorn and sea odors, thieves and cheats. She learned a lot working the crowds to sell her peanuts with McKinley, the little Capuchin monkey on her shoulder. The youngest of the siblings, she worked the crowd pretty much on her own, her mother having relinquished her time and talents elsewhere. School was not a big priority, but learning how to fight those who would steal her meager income was. She had plans. Right up until the day at age eleven she shot the man who would have killed her mother.

She’d been caught in other scrapes. This time was serious and it took a lot of work to keep her from reform school. Her aunt Tilly (childless) and her husband would take her in. Piper becomes an Eliza Doolittle of Manhatten and Tilly has a lot of work cut out for her. Tilly, however, is heavily embroiled in the Suffrage Movement and sees an opportunity to inspire Piper.

The Suffrage Movement extended over decades and proved a huge battle within the US evoking many bold women to stand up for the right to vote alongside the men. The author recreates those tension-filled early times in the movement when rallies and speeches often turned ugly and violent. (Part of the problem was that it was thought women involved in the movement were also a part of temperance, so it was assumed if they got the right to vote, they’d vote to ban alcohol.)

While Piper finds her natural path into successful adulthood, she also discovers she is not always the pilot of her pathway. When she is thrust into a role, not of her choosing, Piper manages to intelligently handle the circumstances. Innocently stranded in Belgium during the Great War, she is borne into the movement to deliver goods to those scattered following the German invasion and in doing so is partnered with Bret Collier. Bret is an American adventurer who carefully hides his past. The work is dismal, exhausting, and fraught with constant heart-pounding vigilance, but is rewarding.

“In East Africa, there is a saying: ‘When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers’…”

The author is an amazing storyteller with an easy emotive writing style, weaving the years of Piper as she evolves from an Eliza Doolittle character to a fashionable force in society to one of the women working the relief for those in the rear zone (those predominantly women and children) of war.

Bottom Line:

I’ve followed the Bold Women series for some time and am always astonished at the unsung women and stories the author manages to pull together to create her strong female protagonists, performing anonymously unacknowledged but important roles achieved in history. Although a series, each is a standalone story within the time period, pulling from chronicles as it adds a touch of spice, sense of the period environment, and a touch of romance that never overwhelms the main well-plotted tale.

One of my favorite authors, I can download a novel from Amanda Hughes and know I’ll get a gripping, immersive narrative with a strong sense of little known but fascinating history with engaging, well-developed characters. Strongly recommended.

His Thoughts

Piper Albrect is a young girl growing up on Coney Island. She has to fight to keep her place in society. Young and small in stature she is fearless in a fight. Her Jewish heritage is often denigrated but does not change her perspective.

Amanda Hughes has captured the essence of what it was like to be a young girl in that environment. Following the evolution of Piper is a joy! She hawks peanuts and has a monkey as her constant companion. Everyone at that time struggled to stay alive and Piper is no exception. Her mother’s questionable character results in a serious confrontation and she is sent to live with well to do relatives. Her entire life is changed.

The lifestyle of her aunt is far different than the one in which she has been living. The housekeepers in Tilly’s home are scornful and dismissive. Piper is pulled from the life she lived into a life of comfort. The handling of the transition from ragtag to entitled is masterfully done by Amanda. I could imagine the struggle and shock endured by this young lady.

World War One was a very stressful time in United States history. We did not want to become involved in that war and remained neutral for much of it. Meanwhile, Herbert Hoover was working tirelessly to help the people of Belgium survive. All of the animals and crops are commandeered by the Germans to fuel their war machine. Piper and her family become involved in helping the citizens of Belgium survive. Thanks to her upbringing she is well trained for her years in WWI.

Romance is built into this novel and it is fun to realize that rich or poor, we all have our trials. Piper is no exception. The novel takes us through some of these and the reader will identify with many of the trials and setbacks. Being in a foreign country during war time is dangerous and life can be elusive. The narrative makes the reader appreciate the calmer years between conflict.

As you read this novel, you will be embroiled in a world over a century old, but still very pertinent in today’s world. 5 stars CE Williams

Book Details:

Genre: Military Historical Fiction, US Historical Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: Lillis & Jaymes
ASIN: B08BTR4PYR
Print Length: 334 pages
Publication Date: To be Released July 9, 2020
Source: Direct Author Request
Title Available for Pre-Order: Beneath a Blazing Sky [Amazon]

The Author: Bestselling and award-winning author, Amanda Hughes is a “Walter Mitty”, spending more time in heroic daydreams than the real world. At last, she found an outlet writing adventures about bold women through the centuries. Well known for her genre-busting books, she is the winner of the Gems National Medal for Writing, featured in USA Today and is nominated for the 2017 Minnesota Book Award. Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, and when she isn’t off tilting windmills, she lives and writes in Minnesota. Don’t miss these page-turning novels for readers who like historical fiction with a just bit of a love story. All of her books are stand-alone and can be read in any order.