#BookReview Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally @CConnallyAuthor @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #ActLikeALadyThinkLikeALord #LadyPetraInquires #CelesteConnally #SMPInfluencers

#BookReview Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord by Celeste Connally @CConnallyAuthor @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #ActLikeALadyThinkLikeALord #LadyPetraInquires #CelesteConnally #SMPInfluencers Title: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord

Author: Celeste Connally

Series: Lady Petra Inquires #1

Published by: Minotaur Books on Nov. 14, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8/10

Bridgerton meets Agatha Christie in Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord, a dazzling first entry in a terrific new Regency-era mystery series with a feminist spin.

When Lady Petra Forsyth’s fiancé and soulmate dies just weeks ahead of their wedding, she makes the shocking proclamation—in front of London’s loosest lips—that she will never remarry. A woman of independent means, Petra sees no reason to cede her wealth and freedom to any man now that the love of her life has passed, nor does she intend to become confined to her country home. Instead, she uses her title to gain access to elite spaces and enjoy the best of society without expectations.

But when ballroom gossip suggests that a longtime friend has died of “melancholia” while in the care of a questionable physician, Petra vows to use her status to dig deeper—uncovering a private asylum where men pay to have their wives and daughters locked away, or worse. Just as Lady Petra has reason to believe her friend is not dead, but a prisoner, her own headstrong actions and thirst for independence are used to put her own freedom in jeopardy.


Review:

Atmospheric, witty, and mysterious!

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is an engaging, amusing tale set in London during 1815 that features Lady Petra Forsyth, a young, independent woman who, after losing her fiancé and declaring she will never marry, finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery when she begins to notice an unusual amount of high society wives disappearing and a servant who knows too much turns up dead.

The writing style is rich and light. The characters are adventurous, plucky and resourceful. And the plot is a well-paced, immersive tale full of red herrings, tricky situations, amateur sleuthing, awkward moments, danger, deduction, duplicity, attraction, and friendship.

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord is a compelling, suspenseful, highly entertaining tale by Connally that is not only a wonderful start to the Lady Petra Inquires series but, in my opinion, a great choice for anyone who’s looking for a historical mystery that’s not only lighthearted but playful.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Celeste Connally

CELESTE CONNALLY is an Agatha Award nominee, and a former freelance writer and editor. A lifelong devotee of historical novels and adaptations fueled by her passion for history—plus weekly doses of PBS Masterpiece—Celeste loves reading and writing about women from the past who didn’t always do as they were told.

#BookReview The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell @MaxwellJessa @SimonSchusterCA #TheGoldenSpoon #JessaMaxwell #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell @MaxwellJessa @SimonSchusterCA #TheGoldenSpoon #JessaMaxwell #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Golden Spoon

Author: Jessa Maxwell

Published by: Atria Books on Mar. 7, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8/10

For six amateur bakers, competing in Bake Week is a dream come true.

When they arrive at Grafton Manor to compete, they’re ready to do whatever it takes to win the ultimate The Golden Spoon.

But for the show’s famous host, Betsy Martin, Bake Week is more than just a competition. Grafton Manor is her family’s home and legacy – and Bake Week is her life’s work. It’s imperative that both continue to succeed.

But as the competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s small acts of sabotage. Someone switching sugar for salt. A hob turned far too high.

But when a body is discovered, it’s clear that for someone in the competition, The Golden Spoon is a prize worth killing for…


Review:

Fast-paced, atmospheric, and cosy!

The Golden Spoon is a crafty, ominous tale that sweeps you away to a dilapidated manor in Vermont where six contestants from all walks of life have gathered to film and compete in the reality TV show “Bake Week,” but in a group like this, where tensions are high, secrets are rife, winning is everything, and everyone has a hidden agenda, death is definitely not out of the question.

The prose is crafty and light. The characters are self-obsessed, quirky, and secretive. And the plot is an enticing, suspenseful mix of twists, turns, secrets, manipulation, sabotage, revelations, revenge, confessions, malicious intentions, and murder.

Overall, The Golden Spoon is a mysterious, amusing, satisfying treat by Maxwell that had just the right amount of suspicious personalities, zany antics, and abundance of drama to keep me engaged and entertained from start to finish.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jessa Maxwell

Jessa Maxwell is the author of The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This. She is also the author and illustrator of five picture books for children. Her comics and cartoons have been published in The New Yorker and The New York Times and her writing has been published in Slate, Marie Claire, and many others. She now lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island with her husband, two cats and three-legged dog.

Photo by Stephanie Ewens.

#BookReview The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner @k_faulkner @SimonSchusterCA #TheOtherMothers #KatherineFaulkner #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner @k_faulkner @SimonSchusterCA #TheOtherMothers #KatherineFaulkner #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Other Mothers

Author: Katherine Faulkner

Published by: Gallery Books on Dec. 5, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The author of the “twisty, fast-paced” (The Sunday Times, London) Greenwich Park returns with a fresh and deftly paced thriller about murder, class, and motherhood in an exclusive London community.

When a young nanny is found dead in mysterious circumstances, new mom, Tash, is intrigued. She has been searching for a story to launch her career as a freelance journalist. But she has also been searching for something else—new friends to help her navigate motherhood.

She sees them at her son’s new playgroup. The other mothers. A group of sleek, sophisticated women who live in a neighborhood of tree-lined avenues and stunning houses. The sort of mothers Tash herself would like to be. When the mothers welcome her into their circle, Tash discovers the kind of life she has always dreamt of—their elegant London townhouses a far cry from her cramped basement flat and endless bills. She is quickly swept up into their wealthy world via coffees, cocktails, and playdates.

But when another young woman is found dead, it’s clear there’s much more to the community than meets the eye. The more Tash investigates, the more she’s led uncomfortably close to the other mothers. Are these women really her friends? Or is there another, more dangerous reason why she has been so quickly accepted into their exclusive world? Who, exactly, is investigating who?


Review:

Fast-paced, twisty, and captivating!

The Other Mothers is a brisk, suspenseful thriller that introduces us to Tash, a wife, mother and journalist who, after learning of the death of a local nanny, decides to investigate the case by befriending the mothers she’s always envied in the hopes of discovering what really happened, and Sophie, a young woman who gets in over her head when she gets a little too close to the members of the family she’s working for and discovers secrets that they’re willing to do anything to protect.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are manipulative, cunning, and vulnerable. And the plot, told through alternating perspectives, is a tortuously menacing tale full of danger, deception, adultery, jealousy, manipulation, friendship, motherhood, class division, secrets, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, The Other Mothers is a cleverly plotted, unnerving, intricate page-turner by Faulkner that is surprisingly the first novel I’ve read by this author, but which will undoubtedly not be my last.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

        

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Katherine Faulkner

Katherine Faulkner, an award-winning journalist, studied history at Cambridge. She has worked as an investigative reporter and an editor and was formerly the joint Head of News at The Times (London). She lives in London, where she grew up, with her husband and two daughters. She is the author of The Other Mothers and Greenwich Park.

Photo by Katherine Faulkner.

#BookReview Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry @ambroseparry @canongatebooks @PGCBooks #VoicesoftheDead #RavenFisherSimpsonSeries #AmbroseParry #PGCBooks

#BookReview Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry @ambroseparry @canongatebooks @PGCBooks #VoicesoftheDead #RavenFisherSimpsonSeries #AmbroseParry #PGCBooks Title: Voices of the Dead

Author: Ambrose Parry

Series: Raven Fisher and Simpson #4

Published by: Canongate Books Ltd on Sep. 26, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

EDINBURGH, 1853.
In a city of science, discovery can be deadly . . .

In a time of unprecedented scientific discovery, the public’s appetite for wonder has seen a resurgence of interest in mesmerism, spiritualism and other unexplained phenomena.

Dr Will Raven is wary of the shadowlands that lie between progress and quackery, but Sarah Fisher can’t afford to be so picky. Frustrated in her medical ambitions, she sees opportunity in a new therapeutic field not already closed off to women.

Raven has enough on his hands as it is. Body parts have been found at Surgeons’ Hall, and they’re not anatomy specimens. In a city still haunted by the crimes of Burke and Hare, he is tasked with heading off a scandal.

When further human remains are found, Raven is able to identify a prime suspect, and the hunt is on before he kills again. Unfortunately, the individual he seeks happens to be an accomplished actor, a man of a thousand faces and a renowned master of disguise.

With the lines between science and spectacle dangerously blurred, the stage is set for a grand and deadly illusion . . .


Review:

Atmospheric, absorbing, and intriguing!

Voices of the Dead is a mysterious, engaging tale that takes us back to Edinburgh during 1853 and into the lives of both Dr Will Raven, who finds a reprieve from family life when he is called to Surgeon’s Hall regarding the discovery of a severed foot and a missing professor, and Sarah Fisher who after stumbling into the world of mesmerism temporarily contemplates specializing in the field when her frustration over the fact her gender will never allow her to become the qualified doctor she wishes be has her looking for something more.

The prose is tense and tight. The characters are determined, reliable, and loyal. And the plot is a menacing tale full of twists, turns, revelations, insecurities, life, duty, friendship, misdirection, trickery, and murder.

Overall, Voices of the Dead is another complex, sophisticated, perilous tale in the Raven, Fisher, Simpson series by the Parry duo that does a wonderful job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into a suspenseful mystery that is not only captivating but highly entertaining.

 

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Ambrose Parry

Ambrose Parry is a pseudonym for a collaboration between Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman. The couple are married and live in Scotland. Chris Brookmyre is the international bestselling and multi-award-winning author of over twenty novels. Dr Marisa Haetzman is a consultant anaesthetist of twenty years' experience, whose research for her Master's degree in the History of Medicine uncovered the material upon which this series, which begun with The Way of All Flesh, is based. The Way of all Flesh was longlisted for both the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award and the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

#BookReview The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose @NitaProse @PenguinCanada #TheMysteryGuest #NitaProse #PenguinReads #PenguinCanada

#BookReview The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose @NitaProse @PenguinCanada #TheMysteryGuest #NitaProse #PenguinReads #PenguinCanada Title: The Mystery Guest

Author: Nita Prose

Series: Molly the Maid #2

Published by: Viking on Nov. 28, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

When an acclaimed author dies at the Regency Grand Hotel, it’s up to a fastidious maid to uncover the truth, no matter how dirty—in a standalone novel featuring Molly Gray, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid, a Good Morning America Book Club Pick.

Molly Gray is not like anyone else. With her flair for cleaning and proper etiquette, she has risen through the ranks of the glorious five-star Regency Grand Hotel to become the esteemed Head Maid. But just as her life reaches a pinnacle state of perfection, her world is turned upside down when J.D. Grimthorpe, the world-renowned mystery author, drops dead—very dead—on the hotel’s tea room floor.

When Detective Stark, Molly’s old foe, investigates the author’s unexpected demise, it becomes clear that this death was murder most foul. Suspects abound, and everyone wants to who killed J.D. Grimthorpe? Was it Lily, the new Maid-in-Training? Or was it Serena, the author’s secretary? Could Mr. Preston, the hotel’s beloved doorman, be hiding something? And is Molly really as innocent as she seems?

As the case threatens the hotel’s pristine reputation, Molly knows she alone holds the key to unlocking the killer’s identity. But that key is buried deep in her past—because long ago, she knew J.D. Grimthorpe. Molly begins to comb her memory for clues, revisiting her childhood and the mysterious Grimthorpe mansion where she and her dearly departed Gran once worked side by side. With the entire hotel under investigation, Molly must solve the mystery post-haste. If there’s one thing Molly knows for sure, it’s that dirty secrets don’t stay buried forever…


Review:

Lighthearted, quirky, and mysterious!

In this latest novel in the Molly the Maid series, The Mystery Guest, we head back to the prestigious Regency Hotel and into the life of maid extraordinaire Molly Gray as she once again finds herself unexpectedly tied up in a murder investigation when the famed author J.D. Granthorpe collapses dead in the Grand Tearoom while making a surprising announcement, and it quickly comes to light he had ties to her past.

The writing is smooth and fluid. The characters are playful, unique, and clever. And the plot is a well-paced, suspenseful tale full of misdirection, deduction, clues, secrets, mishaps, friendship, nostalgia, neurodivergence, amateur sleuthing, and red herrings.

Overall, The Mystery Guest is another captivating, amusing, enjoyable treat by Prose that had just the right amount of suspicious personalities, appealing characters, and abundance of drama to not only keep me engaged and entertained from start to finish but excited to read whatever escapades Molly manages to get mixed up in next.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

             

 

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing me with a copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Nita Prose

NITA PROSE is a longtime editor, serving many bestselling authors and their books. She lives in Toronto, Canada, in a house that is only moderately clean.…

Photo by Dahlia Katz Photography.

#BookReview The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish @louise_candlish @SimonSchusterCA #TheOnlySuspect #LouiseCandlish #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview The Only Suspect by Louise Candlish @louise_candlish @SimonSchusterCA #TheOnlySuspect #LouiseCandlish #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Only Suspect

Author: Louise Candlish

Published by: Simon & Schuster on Apr. 18, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

From the internationally bestselling author of The Other Passenger and The Heights comes a new explosive thriller about obsession and deadly secrets.

There’s the obvious story. And then there’s the truth.

Alex lives a comfortable life with his wife, Beth, in the leafy suburb of Silver Vale. Fine, so he’s not the most extroverted guy on the street, he prefers to keep himself to himself, but he’s a good husband and an easy-going neighbour.

That’s until Beth announces the creation of a nature trail on a local site that’s been disused for decades, and suddenly Alex is a changed man. Now he’s always watching. Questioning. Struggling to hide his dread…

As the landscapers get to work, a secret threatens to surface from years ago, back in Alex’s twenties when he got entangled with a seductive young woman called Marina, who threw both their lives into turmoil.

And who sparked a police hunt for a murder suspect that was never quite what it seemed.

It still isn’t.


Review:

Gripping, twisty, and suspenseful!

The Only Suspect is a tortuous domestic thriller that transports you between present day and 1995 and into the lives of both Alex, a husband who seemingly has it all until the development of a local nature trail causes him to become stressed and more secretive and erratic, and Rick, a twenty-something young man enjoying the single life in Camden until he obsessively falls for an enigmatic woman who might not be exactly whom she appears to be.

The prose is tight and edgy. The characters are secretive, consumed, and troubled. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, builds and unravels into a compelling tale full of drama, deception, lies, jealousy, obsession, manipulation, infidelity, and the complex, toxic relationship that can exist between friends.

Overall, The Only Suspect is a nostalgic, devious, unnerving page-turner by Candlish that does a wonderful job of keeping you guessing from start to finish and highlighting just how easily people can sometimes allow themselves to be psychologically and emotionally manipulated.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

      

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Louise Candlish

Louise Candlish is the Sunday Times (London) bestselling author of fourteen novels. Our House, a #1 bestseller, won the Crime & Thriller Book of the Year at the 2019 British Book Awards, was longlisted for the 2019 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and was shortlisted for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. It is now in development for a major TV series with Red Planet Pictures, producers of Death in Paradise. Louise lives in London with her husband and daughter.

Photo by Jonny Ring.

#BookReview Past Lying by Val McDermid @valmcdermid @PGCBooks #PastLying #InspectorKarenPirie #ValMcDermid #PGCBooks

#BookReview Past Lying by Val McDermid @valmcdermid @PGCBooks #PastLying #InspectorKarenPirie #ValMcDermid #PGCBooks Title: Past Lying

Author: Val McDermid

Series: Inspector Karen Pirie #7

Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press on Nov. 14, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 464

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

In this superb new addition to Val McDermid’s masterful crime series, DCI Karen Pirie returns in a propulsive thriller of deceit and vengeance, set against the disquiet of a global pandemic

Britain’s reigning “Queen of Crime” (The Scotsman), Val McDermid is the award-winning, internationally bestselling author of over thirty novels. The long-awaited seventh novel in the acclaimed series that has captivated audiences for twenty years, both on the page and now in the Edgar Award–nominated ITV/BritBox show, Past Lying is a full tilt novel of ego, retribution, deceit, and just how far one will go to settle the score.

It’s April 2020 and Edinburgh is in lockdown. It would seem like a strange time for a cold case to go hot—the streets all but empty, an hour’s outdoor exercise the maximum allowed—but a mere pandemic doesn’t mean crime takes a holiday. When a source at the National Library contacts DCI Karen Pirie’s team about documents in the archive of a recently deceased crime novelist, it seems it’s game on again. At the center of it, a novel: two crime novelists facing off over a chessboard. But it quickly emerges that their real-life competition is drawing blood. What unspools is a twisted game of betrayal and revenge, and as Karen and her team attempt to disentangle fact from fiction, it becomes clear that their investigation is more complicated than they ever imagined.

A tense, atmospheric page-turner, Past Lying reaffirms McDermid as one of the most talented crime writers of her generation.


Review:

Sharp, intricate, and gripping!

Past Lying is a well-paced, enthralling police procedural that sees Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie and her HCU team investigating the case of a missing woman during the deserted streets of lockdown when an archivist stumbles on an unpublished manuscript of a recently deceased author that seems to represent life imitating art involving two authors and the perfect crime.

The writing is compelling and tight. The characters are intelligent, multilayered, and persistent. And the plot, set during the COVID pandemic, is an intense, mysterious tale filled with twists, turns, deception, infidelity, revenge, jealousy, red herrings, suspicious personalities, lies, secrets, deduction, greed, and murder.

Overall, Past Lying is another complex, intriguing, atmospheric addition to the Karen Pirie series by McDermid that ultimately left me surprised, engrossed, and undoubtedly confident that this is still a must-read series for me.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to PGC Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Val McDermid

Val McDermid is a No. 1 bestseller whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages, and have sold over eleven million copies.

She has won many awards internationally, including the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel of the year and the LA Times Book of the Year Award. She was inducted into the ITV3 Crime Thriller Awards Hall of Fame in 2009 and was the recipient of the CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger for 2010. In 2011 she received the Lambda Literary Foundation Pioneer Award.

She writes full time and divides her time between Cheshire and Edinburgh.

#BookReview My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #MyDarlingGirl #JenniferMcMahon #SimonSchusterCA

#BookReview My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon @ScoutPressBooks @SimonSchusterCA #MyDarlingGirl #JenniferMcMahon #SimonSchusterCA Title: My Darling Girl

Author: Jennifer McMahon

Published by: Scout Press on Oct. 3, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family.

Alison has never been a fan of Christmas. But with it right around the corner and her husband busily decorating their cozy Vermont home, she has no choice but to face it. Then she gets the call.

Mavis, Alison’s estranged mother, has been diagnosed with cancer and has only weeks to live. She wants to spend her remaining days with her daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. But Alison grew up with her mother’s alcoholism and violent abuse and is reluctant to unearth these traumatic memories. Still, she eventually agrees to take in Mavis, hoping that she and her mother could finally heal and have the relationship she’s always dreamed of.

But when mysterious and otherworldly things start happening upon Mavis’s arrival, Alison begins to suspect her mother is not quite who she seems. And as the holiday festivities turn into a nightmare, she must confront just how far she is willing to go to protect her family.


Review:

Atmospheric, menacing, and dark!

My Darling Girl is an eerie, gripping, multi-generational story that transports you to Vermont and into the life of Alison O’Connor, who after surviving a traumatic childhood littered with unpredictability and abuse, is wary of having her terminally ill mother come home to die but is determined to do whatever it takes to protect those she loves from the charming yet pure evil that seems to be lingering nearby while she’s living under their roof.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are multilayered, vulnerable, and troubled. And the plot, told in a back-and-forth style, is an unsettling tale of life, loss, tragedy, desperation, familial drama, secrets, tortured souls, supernatural phenomena, and the complex relationships that exist between mothers and daughters.

Overall, My Darling Girl is a haunting, ominous, chilling tale that kept me engaged and intrigued from start to finish and is undoubtedly once again another unique, creative, frightening tale by McMahon.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jennifer McMahon

Jennifer McMahon is the author of nine novels, including the New York Times bestsellers Promise Not to Tell and The Winter People. She lives in Vermont with her partner, Drea, and their daughter, Zella.

Photograph by Zella McMahon.

#BookReview The Edge by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #The620ManSeries #TheEdge #GCPInsider

#BookReview The Edge by David Baldacci @davidbaldacci @GrandCentralPub #DavidBaldacci #The620ManSeries #TheEdge #GCPInsider Title: The Edge

Author: David Baldacci

Series: The 6:20 Man #2

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 14, 2023

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 9/10

The 6:20 Man is back, dropped by his handlers into a small coastal town in Maine to solve the murder of a CIA agent who knew America’s dirtiest secrets—can Travis Devine uncover the truth before his time runs out?
 
When CIA operative Jenny Sikwell is murdered in rural Maine, government officials have immediate concerns over national security. Her laptop and phone were full of state secrets that, in the wrong hands, endanger the lives of countless operatives. In need of someone who can solve the murder quickly and retrieve the missing information, the U.S. government knows just the chameleon they can call on.
 
Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine spent his time in the military preparing to take on any scenario, followed by his short-lived business career chasing shadows in the deepest halls of power, so his analytical mind makes him particularly well-suited for complex, high-stakes tasks. Taking down the world’s largest financial conspiracy proved his value, and in comparison, this case looks straightforward. Except small towns hold secrets and Devine finds himself an outsider again.
 
Devine must ingratiate himself with locals who have trusted each other their whole lives, and who distrust outsiders just as much. Dak, Jenny’s brother, who’s working to revitalize the town. Earl, the retired lobsterman who found Jenny’s body. And Alex, Jenny’s sister with a dark past of her own. As Devine gets to know the residents of Potter, Maine, answers seem to appear and then transform into more questions. There’s a long history of secrets and those who will stop at nothing to keep them from being exposed. Leaving Devine with no idea who he can trust… and who wants him dead.


Review:

Dark, meticulous, and menacing!

The Edge is a fast-paced, addictive thriller that sees Ex-Army Ranger Travis Devine heading to Maine to investigate the death of CIA operative Jenny Sikwell, but while it seems at first glance to be a straightforward case of murder, it quickly becomes apparent that something a lot more sinister is underway that has strong ties to the past and a ruthlessly vicious event that occurred more than decade ago.

The writing is edgy and crisp. The characters are secretive, multilayered, and persistent. And the plot is an intense, mysterious tale filled with twists, turns, mayhem, deception, suspicious personalities, lies, secrets, tragic loss, and murder.

David Baldacci has written some amazing characters over the years that I’ve absolutely loved, like Will Robbie and Jessica Reel, and now Travis Devine has easily joined that list. The Edge is a riveting, pacey, action-packed thrill ride that has just the right amount of suspense, well-drawn characterization, and creative storyline to make it a satisfying, highly entertaining addition to The 6:20 Man series that I honestly can’t get enough of.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or one of the following links.

             

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About David Baldacci

David Baldacci is a global #1 bestselling author, and one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 130 million worldwide sales. His works have been adapted for both feature film and television. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. Still a resident of his native Virginia, he invites you to visit him at DavidBaldacci.com and his foundation at WishYouWellFoundation.org.

Photograph by Allen Jones.

#BookReview Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #LastNightattheHollywoodCanteen #SarahJames #bookmarkedbylandmark

#BookReview Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen by Sarah James @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #LastNightattheHollywoodCanteen #SarahJames #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen

Author: Sarah James

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Nov. 7, 2023

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8/10

Perhaps the best place in 1943 Hollywood to see the stars is the Hollywood Canteen, a club for servicemen staffed exclusively by those in show business. Murder mystery playwright Annie Laurence, new in town after a devastating breakup, definitely hopes to rub elbows with the right stars. Maybe then she can get her movie made.

But Hollywood proves to be more than tinsel and glamour. When despised film critic Fiona Farris is found dead in the Canteen kitchen, Annie realizes any one of the Canteen’s luminous volunteers could be guilty of the crime. To catch the killer, Annie falls in with Fiona’s friends, a bitter and cynical group―each as uniquely unhappy in their life and career as Annie is in hers―that call themselves the Ambassador’s Club.

Solving a murder in real life, it turns out, is a lot harder than writing one for the stage. And by involving herself in the secrets and lies of the Ambassador’s Club, Annie just might have put a target on her own back.


Review:

Tense, suspenseful, and fun!

Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is a scheming, twisty whodunit that sweeps you away to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s Golden Age and into the life of Annie Laurence, a New York playwright who, after a devastating breakup and the end of her show, heads to LA to start a new life writing for the movies only to find herself quickly in a world of trouble when one of her new friends, a famous critic who seems to have had a little bit of dirt on everyone is found murdered and everybody seems to have had at least one reason to want her dead.

The writing is witty and tight. The characters are ambitious, self-obsessed, and vulnerable. And the plot is an enticing mix of lies, secrets, drama, duplicity, manipulation, mayhem, substance abuse, movie-making, amateur sleuthing, and murder.

Overall, Last Night at the Hollywood Canteen is a menacing, nostalgic, highly entertaining tale by James that is the perfect choice for fans of 1940s Tinseltown mysteries that have an abundance of quirky characters, Hollywood legends, and straight-up detective work.

 

This novel is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sarah James

Sarah James is the author of twisty homefront historical mysteries. Her debut novel THE WOMAN WITH TWO SHADOWS was an international best-seller. Her second novel, LAST NIGHT AT THE HOLLYWOOD CANTEEN, is forthcoming from Sourcebooks.

In addition to writing historical fiction, Sarah is a humor writer and editor of Slackjaw, Medium's largest humor publication. She has also contributed to Baseball Prospectus, Reductress, Pittsburgh City Paper, CrimeReads, and more.

Sarah is a graduate of the USC MFA Writing for Screen and Television program, and received a BA in American Studies from Fordham University. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her cat, Lucille.

Photo: Matt Mahaffey