Mayhem in the Mountains by Jane Loeb Rubin #BookReview #historicalfiction

A Gilded City Series Book 4

Book Blurb:

1924 in the Catskills sizzled with chaos. The region’s turbulent history during that era could easily have erased any trace of the Borscht Belt’s grand hotels. Prohibition fueled bootleggers and whiskey stills—Dutch Schultz ran an underground distillery in nearby Ulster County. Meanwhile, the Ku Klux Klan stormed north after WWI, targeting new immigrants they viewed as threats to the American way of life. Amid the turmoil, the Isaacson family stood their ground, fiercely defending their land, livelihoods, and each other.

My Review:

As if WWI wasn’t hard enough, the 20s and 30s were fraught with poor laws, the American way of life was changing radically, prohibition fueled mobsters and bootleggers, and the return of soldiers were looking for a gentle return to society amid flooded employment.

Deep in the heart of the Catskill Mountains of New York, chaos reigned supreme and gave rise to the influx of the Ku Klux Klan looking to target the mass of immigrants fleeing massive destruction of Europe.

It was the Isaacson family who put down roots, determined to make a go of their little farm, defend the land, and watch each other’s backs. The Jews moved their chickens out of Harlem, but Papa managed to supplement their meager income with his side hussle—the best whiskey east of the Mississippi.

But, it would appear, he’s not the only one vying for that distinction. Still, when Dutch Schultz needs a way to hide and move his inventory, he’s discovered the perfect way to do so.

The Isaacson family has stayed tight and careful and it’s discovered that it’s the youngest, a girl, not the sons, who show the greatest propensity for carrying on the fine family recipe. She’s even discovered how to make it her own and has become quite popular among the population. Still, as careful as they are, the revenuers find their hidey-hole and a shoot out does not go well for Papa.

I loved the relationship between Ella and her Papa; there is genuine affection. The other children all have their separate interests, but it’s Ella who is the obvious heir apparent. Smart, brazen, she can work out transport details and negotiate well with Dutch. Each of the main characters gets their own chapters, so they are well developed and easy to engage.

There were several passages, however, that lagged the dynamic storytelling and slowed the tension building a bit. I suspected a fox in the hen house from the beginning, however, and the twist following a strong climax was not wholly unsuspected.

Yes, there is the romance circling the main plot, but then that is no mystery. The narrative turns atmospheric, highlights medical practices back then, and manages a strong and satisfying finish. If you enjoy historical fiction, or learning about the distillation of spirits, and the migration of the KKK north, this will be of interest.

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: Jewish Literature, Jewish Literature & Fiction, Women’s Crime Fiction
Publisher: Level Best Books – Historia
Publication Date: June 9, 2026 – Happy Release Day!

Title Link(s):

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

The Author: A cancer diagnosis unveiling a genetic defect, together with a lifelong fascination with the history of medicine, propelled Jane Loeb Rubin to put pen to paper. In 2009, Jane, then a healthcare executive, first poured her energy into raising research dollars for ovarian cancer while learning more about her familial roots. Her research led her to Mathilda (Tillie), her great-grandmother, who arrived in New York City in 1866 at sixteen, married a man twelve years her senior, and later died of ‘a woman’s disease.’ Then, the trail ran cold. With limited facts, she was determined to give Tillie an exciting fictional life of her own. Jane was left imagining Tillie’s life, her fight with terminal disease, and the circumstances surrounding her death.

Her research of the history of New York City, its ultra-conservative reproductive laws, and the state of medicine during that era has culminated in a suspenseful, fast-paced, award-winning three-book historical series. Her engaging characters are confronted with the shifting role of midwives, the dangers of pregnancy, the infamous Blackwell’s Workhouse, and the perilous road to financial success. In the Hands of Women, 5/23 (Level Best Books) and its prequel, Threadbare, 5/24 (Level Best Books), have been enjoyed by fans of historical fiction. Over There, the third in the trilogy (6/25 Level Best Books), will transport members of the Isaacson family into the hospitals of France in World War 1, challenging the family values they dearly cherish.

Jane’s other publications include an essay memoir, Almost a Princess, My Life as a Two-Time Cancer Survivor (2009 Next Generation – Finalist), and multiple magazine articles. She writes a monthly blog, Musings, reflecting on her post-healthcare career experiences and writing journey.

Jane lives with her husband, David, an attorney, in Northern New Jersey. Between them, they have five adult children and seven grandchildren.

#TuesdayBookBlog

Growing Wild in the Shade by Jean Grainger – #BookReview – Women’s Detective Fiction – #happyreleaseday

Growing Wild in the Shade by Jean Grainger

A Mags Munroe Story (The Mags Munroe Series Book 2)

Book Blurb:

If you want to disappear, start again, make a new life, a small Irish village is probably not the wisest place to go, since anonymity is not something we do well here.

The arrival of someone new is always a cause for twitching curtains and whispered conversations.

But here, like everywhere, people have their secrets, and as the local sergeant I’m expected to have my eyes peeled for anything unusual.

And I do.
Usually.
Until I don’t, and the consequences are potentially fatal.

My Review:

Once past St. Patrick’s Day, if you need an “Irish fix” there is none better than picking up a Jean Grainger book. The author has that understated ability for placing you in the center of the Irish village set in the book you are reading—in this instance—Ballycarrick, Ireland.

It’s a book filled with characters, the MC being Mags Munroe, a newly promoted Sargeant in the local Garda. She has taken on the duty of coaching her community, settle conflicts, prejudices, and little offenses. She is married to Kieran, an independent roofer. Also prominent is Mags mother and Delia, newly minted Garda and also a Traveller, which is the main focus of this narrative.

As always, however, there are several under-plot threads one being her mother’s new love life and Mags own grapple with menopause. Her husband is living in fear of her being hurt again, last time seriously and they must come to terms with that aspect of her job.

It sounds like the little town of Ballycarrick is torn right down the middle regarding moving the Travellers from an area for which they’ve long been occupants without benefit of ownership. There are those who would move them to the area of another family of Travellers who are not so carefully or cleanly law-abiding. The Travellers are looked down on in any case and this provides an opportunity for proselytizing. Some good arguments here that sound as if they’d be the same for many of similar situations around the globe.

“She is only the monkey; Joanna Burke is the organ grinder.”

It is the everyday life though that the author manages to wheedle out of the pages, the little struggles, triumphs, and solutions brought about through thoughtful consensus. It is life in every village, every city—human life with bits of candor and clarity–and that iconic Irish sense of humor.

I received an advance copy of this book from the author that in no way influenced this review. These are my unbiased thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four point Five Stars

Book Details:

Genre: Women’s Detective Fiction, Women’s Crime Fiction, Women’s Literary Fiction
ISBN: ‎1914958012
ASIN: B09VCLSQX6
Print Length: 246 pages
Publication Date: Happy release! July 18, 2022
Source: Author request

Title Link(s):

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Jean Grainger - author — Jean Grainger – author

The Author: USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR

SELECTED BY BOOKBUB READERS IN TOP 19 OF HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS.

WINNER OF THE 2016 AUTHOR’S CIRCLE HISTORICAL NOVEL OF EXCELLENCE

Hello and thanks for taking time out to check out my page. If you’re wondering what you’re getting with my books then think of the late great Maeve Binchy but sometimes with a historical twist. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1971 and I come from a large family of storytellers, so much so that we had to have ‘The Talking Spoon’, only the person holding the spoon could talk!

I have worked as a history lecturer at University, a teacher of English, History and Drama in secondary school, a playwright, and a tour guide of my beloved Ireland. I am married to the lovely Diarmuid and we have four children. We live in a 200 year old stone cottage in Mid-Cork with my family and the world’s smallest dogs, called Scrappy and Scoobi..

My experiences leading groups, mainly from the United States, led me to write my first novel, ‘The Tour’. My observances of the often funny, sometimes sad but always interesting events on tours fascinated me. People really did confide the most extraordinary things, the safety of strangers I suppose. It’s a fictional story set on a tour bus but many of the characters are based on people I met over the years.

[truncated]

My current series, The Queenstown Series, centres on twelve year old Harp Devereaux and her mother Rose and the first book opens on the day Titanic sails from Queenstown, Co Cork on her last fateful journey. It is a bestselling series and people really seem to connect to the precocious Harp and her hard-working mother as they battle to survive in a society where conforming and playing by the rules was paramount. It is so far a three book series, The West’s Awake, and The Harp and the Rose being the next two books but I’m currently writing book four.

Many of the people who have reviewed my books have said that you get to know the characters and really become attached to them, that’s wonderful for me to hear because that’s how I feel about them too. I grew up on Maeve Binchy and Deirdre Purcell and I aspired to being like them. If you buy one of my books I’m very grateful and I really hope you enjoy it. If you do, or even if you don’t, please take the time to post a review. Writing is a source of constant contentment to me and I am so fortunate to have the time and the inclination to do it, but to read a review written by a reader really does make my day.

Poison Pen (Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting Mysteries Book 1) by Sheila Lowe – #BookReview – #DomesticThrillers

Poison Pen by Sheila Lowe

Rosepoint Publishing: Five Stars

Book Blurb:

“IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED.”

Those were the words on the suicide note found near Lindsey Alexander’s body. The police say it is an apparent suicide. Case closed.

Or is it?

Ivan, Lindsey’s partner, disagrees. He hires forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose to poke around.

Motives for murder begin to pile up. Lindsey had made powerful enemies. Soon, a brutal attempt on Ivan’s life confirms Claudia’s fears.

A desperate enemy is lurking.
There is a massive target on Claudia’s back.

Claudia must join forces with intense LAPD detective Joel Jovanic to survive. They must stop the killer before the killer destroys her.

If you loved Simon McLeave’s A DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series, you would most certainly love Sheila Lowe’s masterfully written forensic mystery thriller series.

His Review:

“Handwriting is similar to body language and tone of voice in that it reveals a lot of information about the writer.” Much scientific research has gone into this area of study. Handwriting can identify the writer and many of their mental characteristics. Claudia is an expert in that field. Could a suicide note supposedly written by the deceased actually have been written by another?

Ms. Lowe identifies the study of handwriting with the acumen of an investigator or artist painting a portrait of the author by the sample. Comparing the suicide note to known examples of the victim’s handwriting can quickly expose that a crime was committed. The topic goes much deeper however. Handwriting actually exposes various idiosyncrasies hidden in the psyche of the writer.

When a crime has been committed, the perpetrator will try to alter his/her handwriting. What better way than to print in block letters rather than write a note? Not a bad plan except for one little problem.

This particular note was uncharacteristic of the deceased. Unlike DNA or other clues, handwriting does not have a national database or another repository of historical evidence to draw from. I was impressed by the author’s description of the lengths a good handwriting analyst must go to; the types of letters, flowery curlicues, or rigidity, clearly identify a particular personality.

I suggest anyone with a desire to become a detective read this tome. It illuminates basic personality characteristics and styles the average person would never consider. Kudos to the author! Engaging and entertaining. 5 stars from CE Williams

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

Book Details:

Genre: Domestic Thrillers, Women’s Crime Fiction, Mystery Series
Publisher: Write Choice Ink
ASIN: B08WQ36GFP
Print Length: 350 pages
Publication Date: February 22, 2021
Source: Publisher and NetGalley
Title Link: Poison Pen [Amazon]
Barnes and Noble

The Author: Sheila Lowe writes stories of psychological suspense that put ordinary people into extraordinary circumstances. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose in the award-winning Forensic Handwriting series, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting expert who testifies in court cases. She also writes the Beyond the Veil paranormal suspense series and nonfiction books about handwriting and personality.