The Tenth Trail Mark by Joe Looby #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog #WarFiction

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

A WWII STORY OF COURAGE AND LOVE
For fans of The Nightingale, Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and Band of Brothers

In the dead of night, Adirondack woodsman Johnnie Grey leads the legendary 10th Mountain Division up an ice cliff the Germans call unconquerable—a linchpin of the brutal Gothic Line. One slip means oblivion. One victory could rip the German front wide open and help liberate Italy.

Johnnie’s survival instincts—honed hunting through blizzards and the Great Depression to feed his family—are his greatest weapon. But his heart belongs to Ellie, the West Virginia farm girl who slips a silver St. Andrew’s Cross around his neck: a trail mark of love meant to guide him home.

Now, under a relentless “ring of fire” artillery barrage, Johnnie must gamble everything on a wild, audacious plan.

Inspired by true events, The Tenth Trail Mark is a sweeping novel of courage, sacrifice, and a love strong enough to light even the darkest ascent.

His Review:

The Adirondacks are a mountain range that held back the early settlers in most areas of the east coast of the United States. Life was very difficult and even the kids were expected to contribute to the family’s food. Johnnie Grey is born in the summer of 1923 and hunts every day for game to help with this need. He becomes very good at reading game trails and finding squirrels and other game for the table.

Prior to the United States entering the Second World War, the former site of the 1932 Olympics near Lake Placid, New York, was the playground of Johnnie and his new best friend Darby. Darby was from a well-to-do family but was a fast friend of Johnnie’s. Together they learned the art of skiing and mountaineering. A former 1932 Olympic national skier, Rolf Monson, taught them the basics of skiing. In 1938, the National Ski Patrol was formed by Charles “Minnie” Minot. Johnnie became a member of the Ski Patrol as an extension of his mountain upbringing.

Germany began to make demands of the countries of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway to provide personnel and supplies for their military moving eastward. The greatest ally was the weather in these countries. At 45 degrees below zero, the fuels in the transports and tanks froze and the military was stalled. Johnnie tried to go to Canada to join the military and fight Hitler. Instead, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and together with Darby was able to send his dollar-a-day salary home to help with his struggling family.

The 10^th Mountain Division was formed utilizing ski patrollers and others who understood how to navigate and function in the cruel winter conditions of the cold New York winters of Lake Placid. In September of 1942, Johnnie Grey was one of 10,000 to 14,000 men who volunteered for this specialized training. Training was at Camp Hale in the Colorado Rockies. Elevation was very high and winter very brutal.

The 10^th Mountain Division was instrumental in winning the war in Europe. This book is an excellent review of the hardships faced and overcome by a very special group of American soldiers. 5 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.

Book Details:

Genre: War & Military Action Fiction, War Fiction
Publisher: 10TH Mountain Films, LLC
ISBN-13: 979-8999130198
ASIN: B0FD84QY86
Print Length: 272 pages
Publication Date: June 13, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US | Amazon-UK

The Author: Joe Looby, an avid hiker, skier, and veteran, writes with inspiration from his late father—a decorated WWII 10th Mountain Division soldier awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart at the Battle of Mount Belvedere. He lives near Charleston, SC, and often returns to Lake Placid, NY.

Mature man with glasses reading a book on his cell phone. — AI graphic courtesy Gemini

In Too Deep: A Reacher Novel by Lee child and Andrew Child #BookReview #suspenseaction fiction

Jack Reacher Book 29

in Suspense Action Fiction

Book Blurb:

The gripping new Jack Reacher thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child

Reacher had no idea where he was. No idea how he had gotten there. But someone must have brought him. And shackled him. And whoever had done those things was going to rue the day. That was for damn sure.

Jack Reacher wakes up alone, in the dark, handcuffed to a makeshift bed. His right arm has suffered some major damage. His few possessions are gone. He has no memory of getting there.

The last thing Reacher can recall is the car he hitched a ride in getting run off the road. The driver was killed.

His captors assume Reacher was the driver’s accomplice and patch up his wounds as they plan to make him talk.

A plan that will backfire spectacularly . . .

His Review:

Being in a car accident after hitch hiking and then suffering from amnesia does not make for a good witness. Jack Reacher cannot remember the accident nor anything else that happened before the accident. Being trussed up like a wild animal does not jog his memory. He remains silent because he cannot remember anything from the incident.

The central theme of this novel is a very large payday for whomever can disrupt a criminal activity and eliminate some very bad individuals. The plot is further complicated by the fact that the criminals include a couple of law enforcement individuals who are looking for a rich, early retirement.

As the plot thickens, distrust expands between the various divisions of law enforcement and the perps. Jack Reacher’s loyalty and voracity are questioned! The prize continues to grow and the death count continues to rise. Who among the various law enforcement agencies can be trusted? C E Williams Reading this book was a delight and a very complex affair. Enjoy! 4.5 stars – CE Williams

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

Rosepoint Publishing: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Suspense Action Fiction, War & Military Action Fiction, Action Thriller Fiction
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ASIN: B0CR2Z9KKD
Print Length: pages
Publication Date: October 22, 2024
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. He was born in Coventry, raised in Birmingham, and now lives in New York. It is said one of his novels featuring his hero Jack Reacher is sold somewhere in the world every nine seconds. His books consistently achieve the number-one slot on bestseller lists around the world and have sold over one hundred million copies. Two blockbusting Jack Reacher movies have been made so far. He is the recipient of many awards, most recently Author of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards. He was appointed CBE in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Happy Autumn Sunday!

What the River of the Cherokee Did Not Tell: Jonathan’s Story by James Short – #BookReview – #TuesdayBookBlog

What the River of the Cherokee Did Not Tell

Book Blurb:

Jonathan Asher hides in a hollowed log with his sister while his family’s cabin on the River of the Cherokee burns. There is complete darkness. Outside, a boy’s voice promises, “I’ll come back for you.”

This early memory haunts Jonathan Asher as he comes of age in the epic decade leading into the American Revolution.

Raised at the Asher Trading Post, his world changes with a blood payment for his life to the Seneca.

He takes to the road, first as an itinerant preacher, too young to be not led into temptation,

Then as a peddler and vagabond traveling through a country increasingly at war with itself.

His fortune turns. He becomes a merchant, smuggler, and friend of a fellow smuggler, Benedict Arnold,

And the beloved of a girl who wants to hear every story in the world.

Under the cover of a war profiteer, he offers to spy for the Continental Army in New York.

And before Jonathan becomes the avenger that he believes he must be, the boy, now a man, keeps the promise made on the River of the Cherokee.

My Review:

I enjoy books regarding the Revolutionary War and always appreciate the efforts of our great-greats back then to survive a war no one thought the colonies capable. This novel presents a tough scenario that hooks and leads into the story of Jonathan Asher as his brother enabled his survival first from Native American attack and later as a privateer.

My problem is that my interest lagged. I kept reading, waiting for the direction expected only to discover it wasn’t going there.

Jonathan first discovers God, then the realization of his lack of religious education. As a boy, he ventures where his nose points and discovers ways of living as a peddler and odd jobs. When he is introduced to Benedict Arnold, he discovers many more ways of survival—that of a merchant, smuggler, privateer, and later as a war profiteer.

Not that he’s happy with himself by working the latter. Through the latter, he is recruited to spy for the Continental Army in New York. He takes that job as a way of pursuing the vengeance he has sworn to avenge the torture and death of his beloved.

I’m not sure where the espionage comes in as most of the narrative focuses on his efforts at finding the three men responsible for her ultimate painful death.

He has, however, in the space of Book 1, managed to find one of the men. His older brother appears to be haunting him as well as he appears to surface at most agreeable times, though that thread does not end happily.

And then…”to be continued” appears. Well, talk about cliffhangers. Unfortunately, I was not able to engage sufficiently with Jonathan. The war is ugly and it would appear nothing changes from war to war; there are always those who would profit from the suffering of the many. I’m sure this odyssey will appeal to Revolutionary War buffs, the saga apparently continuing in Jonathan’s efforts to seek the remaining two of the three and there are still years of war to survive. Just not for me.

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

Rosepoint Rating: Three-point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: US Historical Fiction, War & Military Action Fiction, Action & Adventure Romance Fiction
ASIN: B09TQ1Q7ZP
Print Length:368 pages
Publication Date: June 1, 2022
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link(s): What the River of the Cherokee Did Not Tell [Amazon]

The Author: For me, one of the great pleasures of writing is having a character come out of your head and begin to speak with a mind of its own. I’ve written WHERE FORTUNE LIES, a time-slip novel where the vehicle to the past is the human heart, which may be just as magical as stones or gems or other methods of transportation. As for my curriculum vitae, I graduated from UCLA with a bachelors in Spanish taking a circuitous route through the University of Santa Cruz and the University of Barcelona. In an alternate universe where my life has gone wrong, I would be devoting the time of my long prison sentence to translating Don Quixote into English. I’ve run my own business selling Spanish language gift items. I am married with two grown daughters.