Category: 8.5/10

#BookReview Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham @drgillham @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #ShadowsofBerlin #DavidRGilllham #bookmarkedbylandmark

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#BookReview Shadows of Berlin by David R. Gillham @drgillham @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #ShadowsofBerlin #DavidRGilllham #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: Shadows of Berlin

Author: David R. Gillham

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Apr. 5, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 416

Format: Hardcover

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A captivating novel of a Berlin girl on the run from the guilt of her past and the boy from Brooklyn who loves her.
 
1955 in New York City: the city of instant coffee, bagels at Katz’s Deli, new-fangled TVs.  But in the Perlman’s walk-up in Chelsea, the past is as close as the present. Rachel came to Manhattan in a wave of displaced Jews who managed to survive the horrors of war. Her Uncle Fritz fleeing with her, Rachel hoped to find freedom from her pain in New York and in the arms of her new American husband, Aaron.
 
But this child of Berlin and daughter of an artist cannot seem to outrun her guilt in the role of American housewife, not until she can shed the ghosts of her past.  And when Uncle Fritz discovers, in a dreary midtown pawn shop, the most shocking portrait that her mother had ever painted,  Rachel’s memories begin to terrorize her, forcing her to face the choices she made to stay alive—choices that might be her undoing.

Review:

Pensive, heart-tugging, and immersive!

Shadows of Berlin is a vivid, absorbing tale that sweeps you away to NYC during 1955 and into the life of Rachel Perlman, a young Jewish woman who, after escaping to America after the war, struggles to overcome the nightmares that plague her often, come to terms with the loss of her talented mother, live an everyday life with a husband who is different but adores her deeply, and ultimately forgive herself for the things she did in order to survive.

The prose is rich and expressive. The characters are scarred, resilient, and brave. And the plot, using flashbacks and a back-and-forth style, is an enthralling tale about life, love, strength, deception, injustice, hope, guilt, grief, loss, shame, survival, moving on, and the aftermath of war.

Overall, Shadows of Berlin is a poignant, memorable, intriguing tale by Gillham that does a lovely job of reminding us that the effects of war continue to resonate long after the final weapon is drawn and does a beautiful job of highlighting that humanity can not only be barbaric and cruel but also incredibly courageous and strong.

 

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 David R. Gillham

David R. Gillham is the New York Times bestselling author of City of Women and the author of Annelies: A Novel of Anne Frank.

He studied screenwriting at the University of Southern California before transitioning into fiction. After moving to New York City, Gillham spent more than a decade in the book business, and he now lives with his family in Western Massachusetts.

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#BookReview The Shadow House by Anna Downes @WhatAnnaWrote @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #TheShadowHouse #AnnaDownes #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Shadow House by Anna Downes @WhatAnnaWrote @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #TheShadowHouse #AnnaDownes #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: The Shadow House

Author: Anna Downes

Published by: Minotaur Books on Apr. 5, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A HOUSE WITH DEADLY SECRETS.

A MOTHER WHO’LL RISK EVERYTHING TO BRING THEM TO LIGHT.

Alex, a single mother-of-two, is determined to make a fresh start for her and her children. In an effort to escape her troubled past, she seeks refuge in a rural community. Pine Ridge is idyllic; the surrounding forests are beautiful and the locals welcoming. Mostly.

But Alex finds that she may have disturbed barely hidden secrets in her new home. As a chain of bizarre events is set off, events eerily familiar to those who have lived there for years, Alex realizes that she and her family might be in greater danger than ever before. And that the only way to protect them all is to confront the shadows lurking in Pine Ridge.

Review:

Simmering, dark, and chilling!

The Shadow House is an eerie, enthralling thriller that takes you into the life of Alex Ives and her two children as they relocate to the Pine Ridge ecovillage in order to escape an abusive home, only to find themselves surrounded by witch tales, disturbing deliveries, creepy dolls, splatters of blood, and an unexplained disappearance that lingers and still haunts.

The prose is tight and menacing. The characters are scarred, hesitant, and vulnerable. And the plot told from differing points of view is a sinister tale of life, loss, deception, isolation, secrets, lies, intimidation, familial drama, relationship dynamics, and swirling emotions.

Overall, The Shadow House is an intricate, ominous, twisty tale by Downes that had just the right pace, mood, atmosphere, and surprises to keep me entertained and guessing right up to the very last page.

 

This book is available now.

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

              

 

 

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

 

About Anna Downes

ANNA DOWNES was born and raised in Sheffield, UK, but now lives just north of Sydney, Australia with her husband and two children. She worked as an actress before turning her attention to writing and appeared in BBC TV shows such as Eastenders, Casualty, Holby City, and Dalziel and Pascoe, as well as a long-running stage production of "The Dresser" in London's West End. She has degrees from both Manchester University (Drama) and RADA (Acting). She has been published in the Zodiac Literary Review, shortlisted for the Sydney Writers Room Short Story Prize and longlisted for the Margaret River Short Story Competition. The Safe Place was inspired by Anna’s experiences working as a live-in housekeeper on a remote French estate in 2009-10.

Photo by Ona Janzen.

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#BookReview Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #EdgeoftheGrave #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks

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#BookReview Edge of the Grave by Robbie Morrison @robbiegmorrison @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #EdgeoftheGrave #RobbieMorrison #PGCBooks Title: Edge of the Grave

Author: Robbie Morrison

Series: Jimmy Dreghorn #1

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Feb. 14, 2022

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Glasgow, 1932.

When the son-in-law of one of the city’s wealthiest families is found floating in the River Clyde with his throat cut, it falls to Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn to lead the murder case – despite sharing a troubled history of his own with the victim’s widow.

From the flying fists and flashing blades of Glasgow’s gangland underworld, to the backstabbing upper echelons of government and big business, Dreghorn will have to dig deep into Glasgow society to find out who wanted the man dead and why.

All the while, a sadistic murderer stalks the post-war city leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. As the case deepens, will Dreghorn find the killer – or lose his own life in the process?

Scottish Peaky Blinders meets a tartan Untouchables, Edge of the Grave is the searing first book in a standout new historical crime series. If you like William McIlvanney or Denise Mina, you’ll love this.

Review:

Gritty, evocative, and absorbing!

Edge of the Grave is a riveting, slightly gothic tale set in Glasgow in the 1930s at a time when the city was bustling, shipbuilding was the booming industry, poverty was rampant, religious segregation was common, and for retired WWI vet, Detective Jimmy Dreghorn and his fierce partner Archie McDaid ongoing gang violence and vicious murders had to be solved by pounding the pavement, using hunches, intuition, instincts, intelligence, and a little roughing up as needed.

The prose is raw and intense. The characters are complex, flawed, and resourceful. And the plot, including all the subplots, seamlessly intertwine and unravel into a gripping tale of life, loss, duty, deception, manipulation, greed, corruption, mayhem, and the realities of policing in the early twentieth century.

Overall, Edge of the Grave is a dark, menacing, promising debut by Morrison that does a beautiful job of interweaving historical times and compelling fiction into a sinister, suspenseful mystery that is deliciously atmospheric and 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 Robbie Morrison

Robbie Morrison was born in Helensburgh, Scotland, and grew up in the Renton, Coatbridge, Linwood and Houston. On both sides, his family connection to shipbuilding in Glasgow and the surrounding areas stretches back four generations and is a source of inspiration for the Jimmy Dreghorn series. He sold his first script to publishers DC Thomson in Dundee at the age of twenty-three. One of the most respected writers in the UK comics industry, Edge of the Grave is his first novel.

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#BookReview Summer Nights with a Cowboy (Kittredge Ranch #3) by Caitlin Crews @megancrane @smpromance @StMartinsPress #SummerNightswithaCowboy #CaitlinCrews #KittredgeRanch #smpromance #smpinfluencers

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#BookReview Summer Nights with a Cowboy (Kittredge Ranch #3) by Caitlin Crews @megancrane @smpromance @StMartinsPress #SummerNightswithaCowboy #CaitlinCrews #KittredgeRanch #smpromance #smpinfluencers Title: Summer Nights with a Cowboy

Author: Caitlin Crews

Series: Kittredge Ranch #3

Published by: St. Martin's Griffin on Mar. 29, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

He doesn’t believe in love…

Traveling nurse Janie Atwood has come to Cold River to uncover old family secrets and maybe, if she’s lucky, find a new home. That the gorgeous, glowering sheriff next door thinks her caring for his elderly neighbor is a nefarious scheme is a bonus. Having never been anything but a good girl, Janie finds Zack Kittredge’s simmering suspicion an excellent reason to try being a little dangerous instead…

She doesn’t believe in squandering it…

Sheriff Zack Kittredge is okay with being… intense. He takes his loner status as seriously as he takes his responsibilities to protect Cold River. And he thinks cheerful Janie might be a threat to the town. But the more he gets to know her, the more he faces the truth―she’s brighter than sunshine and he’s like a moth to her flame. When Janie suggests he could use a few charm school lessons, he surprises them both by accepting. He doesn’t need help. But it’s clear he might need her…

Because the only thing hotter than the summer sun in the Rockies is the forbidden passion that burns between them…

Review:

Hopeful, angsty, and tender!

Summer Nights with a Cowboy is an engaging, heartwarming tale that takes you into the life of the tough and broody Sheriff Zack Kittredge as he struggles with the demands of protecting the town, handling his familial responsibilities, pressures, and troubles from the past, and an unfortunate attraction to his neighbour’s new live-in nurse, the clumsy yet exceptionally pretty Jane Atwood who seems to be harbouring a few secrets of her own.

The writing is sweet and light. The characters are wary, kind, and endearing. And the plot is a charming, feel-good tale full of friendship, community, drama, family, chemistry, secrets, acceptance, intrigue, introspection, romance, and love.

Overall, Summer Nights with a Cowboy is another fabulous addition to the Kittredge Ranch series by Crews, complete with intriguing characters, an entertaining storyline, and the dreamy, happy-ever-after ending.

 

This book is available now.

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

            

 

 

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

 

About Caitlin Crews

USA Today-bestselling, RITA-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Caitlin Crews has written more than seventy-five books, including Frenemies, Princess from the Past, A Royal Without Rules, and Undone by the Sultan's Touch. She has won fans with her romance, Harlequin Presents, women's fiction, chick lit, and work-for-hire young adult novels, many of which she writes as Megan Crane (including the dystopian Viking romance Edge series). These days her focus is on contemporary romance in all its forms, from small town heat to international glamour, cowboys to bikers to military men and beyond.

Crews has taught creative writing classes in places like UCLA Extension's prestigious Writers' Program, gives assorted workshops on occasion, and attempts to make use of the MA and PhD in English Literature she received from the University of York in York, England. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with a husband who draws comics and animation storyboards, and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.

Photo by Courtney Lindberg Photography.

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#BookReview The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser @jessicastrawser @StMartinsPress #TheNextThingYouKnow #JessicaStrawser #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Next Thing You Know by Jessica Strawser @jessicastrawser @StMartinsPress #TheNextThingYouKnow #JessicaStrawser #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Next Thing You Know

Author: Jessica Strawser

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 22, 2022

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 352

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A musician facing the untimely end of his career. An end-of-life doula with everything, and nothing, to lose. A Star Is Born meets Me Before You in this powerful novel by the author of A Million Reasons Why.

As an end-of-life doula, Nova Huston’s job—her calling, her purpose, her life—is to help terminally ill people make peace with their impending death. Unlike her business partner, who swears by her system of checklists, free-spirited Nova doesn’t shy away from difficult clients: the ones who are heartbreakingly young, or prickly, or desperate for a caregiver or companion.

When Mason Shaylor shows up at her door, Nova doesn’t recognize him as the indie-favorite singer-songwriter who recently vanished from the public eye. She knows only what he’s told her: That life as he knows it is over. His deteriorating condition makes playing his guitar physically impossible—as far as Mason is concerned, he might as well be dead already.

Except he doesn’t know how to say goodbye.

Helping him is Nova’s biggest challenge yet. She knows she should keep clients at arm’s length. But she and Mason have more in common than anyone could guess… and meeting him might turn out to be the hardest, best thing that’s ever happened to them both.

The Next Thing You Know is an emotional, resonant story about the power of human connection, love when you least expect it, hope against the odds, and what it really takes to live life with no regrets.

Review:

Poignant, hopeful, and sweet!

The Next Thing You Know is a tender, moving tale that immerses you into the life of grief-stricken, end-of-life doula Nova Huston as she navigates the shock, heartache, sorrow, guilt, regret, blame, secrets, and questions that come to life after the sudden death of musician Mason Shaylor a man who started as a client but quickly became something a lot more.

The prose is sensitive and smooth. The characters are multilayered, genuine, and conflicted. And the plot is an absorbing tale about life, loss, love, grief, family, friendship, introspection, heartbreak, romance, and the intricacies of end-of-life care.

Overall, The Next Thing You Know is an intense, compelling, touching tale by Strawser that does a lovely job of highlighting just how powerful love is and reminds us to always savour every moment because life can often change in a heartbeat.

 

This book 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 for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jessica Strawser

JESSICA STRAWSER (she/her) is the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You, Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month selection), Forget You Know Me, and A Million Reasons Why. She is Editor-at-Large for Writer’s Digest, and her work has appeared in The New York Times' Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and other fine venues. She lives with her husband and two children in Cincinnati.

Photo by Corrie Schaffeld.

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#BookReview The Match by Harlan Coben @harlancoben @GrandCentralPub #TheMatch #HarlanCoben #WildeSeries #GrandCentralPub

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#BookReview The Match by Harlan Coben @harlancoben @GrandCentralPub #TheMatch #HarlanCoben #WildeSeries #GrandCentralPub Title: The Match

Author: Harlan Coben

Series: Wilde #2

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Mar. 15, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

From the creator of the #1 hit Netflix series Stay Close comes a gripping new thriller in which Wilde follows a tip that may finally reveal the truth behind his abandonment—only to end up in the sights of a ruthless killer.

After months away, Wilde has returned to the Ramapo Mountains in the wake of a failed bid at domesticity that confirms what he’s known all along: He belongs on his own, free from the comforts and constraints of modern life.

Suddenly, a DNA match on an online ancestry database brings Wilde closer to his past than he’s ever dreamed, and finally gives Wilde the opening he needs to track down his father. But meeting the man brings up more questions than answers. So Wilde reaches out to his last, most desperate lead, a second cousin who disappears as quickly as he resurfaces, having experienced an epic fall from grace that can only be described as a waking nightmare.

Was his cousin’s downfall a long time coming? Or was he the victim of a conspiracy as cunning as it is complex? And how does it all connect to the man once known as The Stranger, a treacherous fugitive with a growing following whose mission and methods have only turned more dangerous with time?

Review:

Action-packed, ominous, and twisty!

The Match is an engrossing, fast-paced thrill ride that takes you back into the life of Wilde from The Boy from the Woods now a grown man and unexpectedly embroiled in a mess of vigilante violence, online trolls, and the cutthroat world of reality tv when he submits his DNA to a genealogy website and matches with an unassuming man who could be his father and a potential cousin who turns out to be a missing, disgraced reality star.

The writing is brisk and tight. The characters are intelligent, steadfast, and reliable. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it immerses you into a sinister tale full of twists, turns, mayhem, chaos, danger, suspicious personalities, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Match is another menacing, edgy, satisfying tale by Coben that highlights just how fine the line between right and wrong truly is and is a good reminder that sometimes there are no limits to the lengths that people will go for fame and fortune.

 

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 providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben is a #1 NewYorkTimes bestselling author and one of the world's leading storytellers. His suspense novels are published in forty-five languages and have been number one bestsellers in more than a dozen countries, with seventy-five million books in print worldwide. His Myron Bolitar series has earned the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards, and many of his books have been developed into Netflix series, including his adaptation of The Stranger, headlined by Richard Armitage, and The Woods. He lives in New Jersey.

Photo by Claudio Marinesco.

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#BookReview The Day He Left by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheDayHeLeft #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison

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#BookReview The Day He Left by Frederick Weisel @PPPress #TheDayHeLeft #ViolentCrimeInvestigationsTeamSeries #FrederickWeisel #inkedinpoison Title: The Day He Left

Author: Frederick Weisel

Series: Violent Crime Investigations Team #2

Published by: Poisoned Pen Press on Mar. 1, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Poisoned Pen Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

After he was gone, the only things left behind were secrets

Annie has fallen out of the habit of listening to her husband. She and Paul have been married for a long time; it’s easy to nod as he drones on, responding to his voice while completely ignoring every word he says. That becomes a problem, of course, when Paul disappears and the police have questions. Was Paul having issues at work? Is there any reason to think he might harm himself? Annie doesn’t know.

But someone does.

An unsettling photo found amongst Paul’s things turns the investigation toward his job as a middle school teacher and a troubled girl who is hiding secrets of her own. But what exactly happened to Paul on the day he left for work and never made it to the classroom? Is his disappearance related to a local heroin trafficking operation? As Eddie Mahler and the members of the Santa Rosa Violent Crime Investigations Team rush to find the teacher, they discover the members of his family have hidden lives of their own, and that Paul may not have been running away but toward something that could ruin his career and marriage–and even cost his life.

Review:

Menacing, intricate, and engrossing!

In this enthralling second instalment in the VCI Team series, The Day He Left, Detective Eddie Mahler and the VCI team find themselves immersed in a new high-stakes case involving a missing middle-school teacher who is either a victim of infidelity, slander, and misfortune or a predator who enjoys preying on his vulnerable students.

The writing is edgy and tight. The characters are multilayered, meticulous, and persistent. And the plot is a fast-paced, electrifying tale full of twists, turns, familial drama, red herrings, manipulation, secrets, deception, mayhem, danger, and murder.

Overall, The Day He Left is another sinister, addictive, thrilling addition to what is quickly becoming a must-read series for me, with its flawed, complex characters, great pace, and consistent sense of urgency that I can’t seem to get enough of.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Frederick Weisel

Frederick Weisel has been a writer and editor for more than 30 years. He graduated from Antioch College and has an MA in Victorian Literature and History from the University of Leicester in England. His short stories were awarded an Artists Fellowship from the Massachusetts Arts and Humanities Foundation, and his articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Christian Science Monitor.

The Silenced Women is his debut novel. He is currently at work on the third novel in the VCI series. He lives with his wife in Santa Rosa, California, and shares a birthday with his favorite author, Raymond Chandler.

Photo by Rob Martel.

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#BookReview The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen @greerkh @StMartinsPress #TheGoldenCouple #GreerHendricks #SarahPekkanen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen @greerkh @StMartinsPress #TheGoldenCouple #GreerHendricks #SarahPekkanen #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Golden Couple

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 8, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 336

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The next electrifying novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author duo behind The Wife Between Us.

Wealthy Washington suburbanites Marissa and Matthew Bishop seem to have it all—until Marissa is unfaithful. Beneath their veneer of perfection is a relationship riven by work and a lack of intimacy. She wants to repair things for the sake of their eight-year-old son and because she loves her husband. Enter Avery Chambers.

Avery is a therapist who lost her professional license. Still, it doesn’t stop her from counseling those in crisis, though they have to adhere to her unorthodox methods. And the Bishops are desperate.

When they glide through Avery’s door and Marissa reveals her infidelity, all three are set on a collision course. Because the biggest secrets in the room are still hidden, and it’s no longer simply a marriage that’s in danger.

Review:

Twisty, cunning, and complex!

The Golden Couple is a brisk, unpredictable psychological thriller that delves into the question of how well do you really know anyone and highlights just how many secrets and lies people keep from and tell to those who are supposed to be closest to them.

The prose is tight and intense. The characters are secretive, intrusive, and deceptive. And the plot told from multiple perspectives unravels and intertwines effortlessly into an ominous tale filled with suspicious personalities, shocking revelations, malicious behaviours, deception, manipulation, secrets, power, and mayhem.

Overall, The Golden Couple is a tortuous, sinister, unnerving tale by Hendricks and Pekkanen that kept me guessing from the very first page and was deliciously surprising, relentless and brimming with misdirection.

 

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are the number one New York Times bestselling authors of THE WIFE BETWEEN US, AN ANONYMOUS GIRL, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and THE GOLDEN COUPLE.

Prior to becoming a novelist, Greer obtained her master's degree in journalism at Columbia University and spent two decades as an editor at Simon & Schuster. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Allure, Publishers Weekly and other publications.

Sarah is also the author of eight internationally and USA Today bestselling solo novels. A former investigative journalist and award-winning feature writer, her work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, and many other publications.

Photo by Bill Miles.

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#BookReview One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle @RebeccaASerle @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OneItalianSummer #RebeccaSerle

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#BookReview One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle @RebeccaASerle @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #OneItalianSummer #RebeccaSerle Title: One Italian Summer

Author: Rebecca Serle

Published by: Atria Books on Mar. 1, 2022

Genres: Women's Fiction

Pages: 272

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer right before she met Katy’s father. Katy has been waiting years for Carol to take her, and now she is faced with embarking on the adventure alone.

But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliffsides, delightful residents, and, of course, delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life.

And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back. Over the course of one Italian summer, Katy gets to know Carol, not as her mother, but as the young woman before her. She is not exactly who Katy imagined she might be, however, and soon Katy must reconcile the mother who knew everything with the young woman who does not yet have a clue.

Review:

Charming, touching, and hopeful!

One Italian Summer is a tender, uplifting tale that takes you into the life of grief-stricken Katy Silver as she embarks on a journey to Positano, Italy, the place her mother loved, and where she will have a chance to revisit the past, face some truths she’d rather not, discover her true self, and start to come to grips with moving on without the one person who has always been her everything.

The prose is heartfelt and smooth. The characters are multilayered, conflicted, and genuine. And the plot is an absorbing tale about life, loss, love, grief, family, friendship, marriage, relationship dynamics, introspection, heartbreak, and the special bonds that exist between a mother and daughter, all interwoven with a thread of magical realism.

Overall, One Italian Summer is one of those books that tugs at the heartstrings, makes you dream of sandy beaches, lazy days, and crystal blue water, and reminds you that love is powerful and everlasting, and that life should always be lived to the fullest.

 

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 providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Rebecca Serle

Rebecca Serle is the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years, The Dinner List, and the young adult novels The Edge of Falling and When You Were Mine. Serle also developed the hit TV adaptation Famous in Love, based on her YA series of the same name. She is a graduate of USC and The New School and lives in Los Angeles.

Photo by Ann Molen.

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#BookReview Diablo Mesa by Preston & Child @GrandCentralPub #DiabloMesa #PrestonChild #NoraKelly #GrandCentralPub

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#BookReview Diablo Mesa by Preston & Child @GrandCentralPub #DiabloMesa #PrestonChild #NoraKelly #GrandCentralPub Title: Diablo Mesa

Series: Nora Kelly #3

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Feb. 15, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 8.5/10

#1 New York Times bestselling authors Preston & Child continue with the wildly popular series featuring archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Corrie Swanson. 

Lucas Tappan, a wealthy and eccentric billionaire and founder of Icarus Space Systems, approaches the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute with an outlandish proposal—to finance a careful, scientific excavation of the Roswell Incident site, where a UFO is alleged to have crashed in 1947. A skeptical Nora Kelly, to her great annoyance, is tasked with the job. 

Nora’s excavation immediately uncovers two murder victims buried at the site, faces and hands obliterated with acid to erase their identities. Special Agent Corrie Swanson is assigned to the case. As Nora’s excavation proceeds, uncovering things both bizarre and seemingly inexplicable, Corrie’s homicide investigation throws open a Pandora’s box of espionage and violence, uncovering bloody traces of a powerful force that will stop at nothing to protect its secrets—and that threatens to engulf them all in an unimaginable fate.

Review:

Menacing, tortuous, and action-packed!

In this third instalment in the Nora Kelly series, Diablo Mesa, Preston & Child have written an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride that sees archaeologist Nora Kelly and FBI Agent Cora Swanson teaming up once again when after reluctantly being convinced to work for billionaire Lucas Tappan on a new dig at the 1947 crash site of a potentially otherworldly aircraft in the New Mexico desert, Nora uncovers two murdered bodies and something even more surprising that the government has not only been hiding for decades but is still willing to do whatever it takes, even kill, to continue to keep a secret.

The writing is taut and tight. The characters are hesitant, intelligent, and persistent. And the plot is a menacing tale full of twists, turns, violence, deception, corruption, mayhem, danger, deduction, power, manipulation, murder, and a sliver of the supernatural.

Overall, Diablo Mesa is another suspenseful, fast-paced, exciting mystery by Preston & Child that, with its well-drawn characterization, creative storyline, and thrilling conclusion, is sure to be a big hit with longtime fans of this dynamic writing duo.

 

This novel is available now.

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

           

 

 

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

 

About Preston & Child

Douglas Preston has published thirty-six books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which twenty-nine have been New York Times bestsellers. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He writes about archaeology and anthropology for the New Yorker Magazine, and he worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He currently serves as President of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.

Lincoln Child is the New York Times bestselling author of The Forgotten Room, The Third Gate, Terminal Freeze, Deep Storm, Death Match, and Utopia, as well as coauthor, with Douglas Preston, of numerous New York Times bestsellers, most recently Crimson Shore. He lives with his wife and daughter in Morristown, New Jersey.

Photo courtesy of Authors' Website.

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