Category: 8.5/10

#BookReview The Offing by Roz Nay @roznay1 @PenguinRandomCA #TheOffing #RozNay #PenguinReads

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#BookReview The Offing by Roz Nay @roznay1 @PenguinRandomCA #TheOffing #RozNay #PenguinReads Title: The Offing

Author: Roz Nay

Published by: Viking on May 28, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 360

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Two young women are trapped in a deadly chase through the beautiful, dangerous waters around Australia in the new thriller from the bestselling author of Our Little Secret—perfect for fans of The Woman in Cabin 10 and The Drowning Woman.

Ivy is in trouble. A recent break-up has left her humiliated and raw, so when her best friend, Regan, offers her a month-long escape in the form of a trip to Australia, it feels like a lifeline, one that Ivy grabs with both hands.

Regan is everything Ivy’s not—confident, free-spirited, charismatic—and a natural at backpacker fun. But Ivy is drawn to a calmer type of holiday, so when she spots an ad for crewmembers on a small yacht being sailed by a doting father and his daughter, the girls decide to take the job. Together with a handsome third crewmember, they set off north into tropical heat, but it’s not long before doubts start to creep in. Are the girls simply claustrophobic on the boat, or have they stumbled into something they don’t understand?

Tensions rise as the past threatens to catch up with them, and dark secrets emerge that will change everything. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game on land and at sea, this fast-paced, twisty thriller keeps you guessing until the very last page.

Review:

Ominous, intense, and addictive!

The Offing is an eerily gripping tale that sweeps you away to Australia and into the lives of Ivy and Regan, two troubled American friends who, after taking jobs as crew members on a ship owned by a middle-aged man and his young daughter, suddenly discover that they are not the only ones trying to escape the recent past, everyone on the boat has something to hide, and danger is much closer than they think.

The prose is sharp and crisp. The characters are secretive, determined, and multilayered. And the plot unfolds and unravels quickly into a foreboding tale of lies, secrets, abuse, deception, drama, manipulation, friendship, desperation, revenge, violence, and murder.

Overall, The Offing is another dark, taut, unnerving thriller by Nay that did a wonderful job of keeping me mystified, surprised, and guessing from start to finish while at the same time reminding me that everything is not always what it seems.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Roz Nay

Roz Nay grew up in England and studied at Oxford University. She has been published in The Antigonish Review and the anthology Refuge. Roz has worked as an underwater fish counter in Africa, a snowboard videographer in Vermont, and a high school teacher in both the UK and Australia. She now lives in British Columbia, Canada, with her husband and two children. Our Little Secret is her first novel.

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#BookReview The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheLastTwelveMiles #ErikaRobuck #bookmarkedbylandmark

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#BookReview The Last Twelve Miles by Erika Robuck @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheLastTwelveMiles #ErikaRobuck #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Last Twelve Miles

Author: Erika Robuck

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Jun. 4, 2024

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Paperback

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Two real, brilliant women on opposite sides of the law, in a deadly game of cat and mouse…

1926. Washington, D.C.

The Coast Guard is losing the Prohibition Rum War, but they have a new, secret weapon to crack smuggler codes, intercept traffic, and destroy the rum trade one skiff at a time. That secret weapon is a 5’2″ mastermind in heels, who also happens to be a wife and mother: Mrs. Elizebeth Smith Friedman, one half of the husband-and-wife pair who invented cryptanalysis.

Bahamas

Cleo Lythogoe, The Bahama Queen, announces her retirement while regaling the thugs at the bar with tales of murder and mayhem on the high seas. Marie Waite, listening in, knows an opportunity when she hears it, and she wants the crown for herself so badly she can taste it. So begins Marie’s plan to rise as rumrunner royalty long enough to get her family in the black. But the more sophisticated her operation grows, the more she appears on the radar of the feds.

Meanwhile, Elizebeth is the only codebreaker battling scores of smugglers. Despite the strain of solving thousands of intercepted messages, traveling the country, and testifying in court, Elizabeth’s work becomes personal—especially when she discovers the identity of her premier adversary is the notorious Marie Waite.

From the glamorous world of D.C. Intelligence to the sultry shores of the Straits of Florida, The Last Twelve Miles is based on the true story of two women masterminds trying to outwit each other in a dangerous and fascinating high stakes game.

Review:

Fascinating, compelling, and fresh!

The Last Twelve Miles is an evocative, intriguing tale that sweeps you between Washington D.C. and the Bahamas during 1926 and into the lives of two women; Elizabeth Friedman, a talented codebreaker tasked with intercepting and deciphering messages to take down the most enterprising of smugglers, and Marie Waits, a mother of two who decides to take over the rum-running business from her husband and build it into something bigger and better than ever before.

The prose is expressive and rich. The characters are complex, intelligent, and driven. And the plot is a well-paced, entertaining mix of life, loss, love, justice, power, family, sacrifice, danger, corruption, politics, and ruthless ambition.

Overall, The Last Twelve Miles is an intricate, vivid, satisfying tale by Robuck inspired by real-life events that does a lovely job of interweaving historical facts and compelling fiction into an engaging tale that is atmospheric and highly absorbing.

 

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

 

About Erika Robuck

Erika Robuck is the national bestselling author of historical fiction including SISTERS OF NIGHT AND FOG, THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, and HEMINGWAY’S GIRL. Her articles have appeared in Writer Unboxed, Crime Reads, and Writer's Digest, and she has been named the Maryland Writer’s Association’s Notable Writer of April 2024.

A boating enthusiast, amateur historian, and teacher, she resides in Annapolis with her husband and three sons.

Photo by Nick Woodall.

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#BookReview The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean @SimonSchusterCA #TheReturnOfEllieBlack #EmikoJean #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean @SimonSchusterCA #TheReturnOfEllieBlack #EmikoJean #SimonSchusterCA Title: The Return of Ellie Black

Author: Emiko Jean

Published by: Simon & Schuster on May 7, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s life is turned upside down when she gets the call Ellie Black, a girl who disappeared years earlier, has resurfaced in the woods of Washington state—but Ellie’s reappearance leaves Chelsey with more questions than answers.

It’s been twenty years since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister vanished when they were teenagers, and ever since she’s been searching: for signs, for closure, for other missing girls. But happy endings are rare in Chelsey’s line of work.

Then a glimmer: local teenager Ellie Black, who disappeared without a trace two years earlier, has been found alive in the woods of Washington State.

But something is not right with Ellie. She won’t say where she’s been, or who she’s protecting, and it’s up to Chelsey to find the answers. She needs to get to the bottom of what happened to Ellie: for herself, and for the memory of her sister, but mostly for the next girl who could be taken—and who, unlike Ellie, might never return.

The debut thriller from New York Times bestselling author Emiko Jean, The Return of Ellie Black is both a feminist tour de force about the embers of hope that burn in the aftermath of tragedy and a twisty page-turner that will shock and surprise you right up until the final page.

Review:

Intricate, compelling, and sharp!

The Return of Ellie Black is a well-paced, ominous tale that takes you into the life of Detective Chelsey Calhoun as the past suddenly collides with the present when an investigation into the sudden reappearance of the missing teen Ellie Black shockingly uncovers years of tragedy, dark secrets, and perversion.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are layered, secretive, and persistent. And the plot, told from multiple perspectives and in a back-and-forth style, is an engrossing tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, deduction, depravity, mayhem, manipulation, and abuse.

Overall, The Return of Ellie Black is a relentless, suspenseful, tortuous thriller by Jean that keeps you guessing from start to finish and is an eerie reminder that evil can live easily amongst us, simply hidden behind masks of normality.

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 Emiko Jean

Emiko Jean is the New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Tokyo Dreaming and Tokyo Ever After, a Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine pick, as well as the novel Mika in Real Life, which was a Good Morning America Book Club pick. She lives in Washington with her husband and two kids.

Photograph © Katy Weaver Photography.

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#BlogTour #BookReview Playing for Freedom: The Journey of a Young Afghan Girl by Zarifa Adiba & Anne Chaon (translated by Susanna Lea Associates) @AmazonPub @OverTheRiverPR #PlayingForFreedom #ZarifaAdiba #AmazonCrossing #OTRPR

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#BlogTour #BookReview Playing for Freedom: The Journey of a Young Afghan Girl by Zarifa Adiba & Anne Chaon (translated by Susanna Lea Associates) @AmazonPub @OverTheRiverPR #PlayingForFreedom #ZarifaAdiba #AmazonCrossing #OTRPR Title: Playing for Freedom: The Journey of a Young Afghan Girl

Author: Zarifa Adiba, Anne Chaon

Published by: Amazon Crossing on Apr. 16, 2024

Genres: Nonfiction

Pages: 205

Format: Paperback

Source: Amazon Publishing, OTRPR

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A passionate musician growing up in the war-torn streets of Kabul takes her forbidden talents abroad in this triumphant memoir from debut author Zarifa Adiba.

As an Afghan girl, Zarifa Adiba has big, unfathomable dreams. Her family is poor, her country mired in conflict. Walking to school in Kabul, Zarifa has to navigate suicide bombers.

But Zarifa perseveres, nurturing her passion for music despite its “sinful” nature under Taliban law. At sixteen she gains admission to the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, and at eighteen she becomes the lead violist, co-conductor, and spokesperson for Zohra, the first all-female orchestra in the Muslim world.

Despite Zarifa’s accomplishments—which include a stunning performance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland—her future in music demands a reckoning with her life back home. Many of the girls in Zohra are forced to marry, but Zarifa yearns to study, travel, and explore her independence. Her so-called “bad girl” identity puts her at odds with her culture and her family.

Playing for Freedom is the deeply compelling story of a woman who dares to compose a masterpiece even with all odds stacked against her.

Review:

Honest, informative, and inspiring!

Playing for Freedom is the insightful, intriguing story of Zarifa Adiba’s personal hardships, struggles, successes and accomplishments as a woman and musician born and raised in a country that is riddled with oppression, war and strict religious rule.

The writing is genuine and perceptive. And the novel is an introspective, compelling tale of one woman’s life from being a child raised in a blended family to believing in herself, taking chances, and following her dreams.

Overall, Playing for Freedom is a forthright, passionate, absorbing tale by Adiba that covers such an abundance of themes that, as a fellow woman, it was easy to root for her, appreciate, and be thoroughly captivated by her story.

 

This book is available now.

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

     

 

 

Thank you to OTRPR and Amazon Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Anne Chaon

Anne Chaon is a journalist and former correspondent for the Agence France-Presse. She was based in Kabul, Afghanistan, from June 2016 to September 2018 and again in June 2021.

About Zarifa Adiba

Zarifa Adiba is the lead violist and co-conductor of Zohra, Afghanistan’s first (and only) all-female orchestra. She studied at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music, the only music education entity in Afghanistan in 2017. She is currently studying International Politics at both Bard College and American University of Central Asia. She is an activist for girls and education and has participated in several panels, including at the World Economic Forum in 2017. Playing for Freedom is her first book.

 

#BookReview The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer @mikkibrammer @StMartinsPress #TheCollectedRegretsOfClover #MikkiBrammer #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer @mikkibrammer @StMartinsPress #TheCollectedRegretsOfClover #MikkiBrammer #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Collected Regrets of Clover

Author: Mikki Brammer

Published by: St. Martin's Press on May 21, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance, General Fiction

Pages: 336

Format: Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

What’s the point of giving someone a beautiful death if you can’t give yourself a beautiful life?

From the day she watched her kindergarten teacher drop dead during a dramatic telling of Peter Rabbit, Clover Brooks has felt a stronger connection with the dying than she has with the living. After the beloved grandfather who raised her dies alone while she is traveling, Clover becomes a death doula in New York City, dedicating her life to ushering people peacefully through their end-of-life process.

Clover spends so much time with the dying that she has no life of her own, until the final wishes of a feisty old woman send Clover on a trip across the country to uncover a forgotten love story––and perhaps, her own happy ending. As she finds herself struggling to navigate the uncharted roads of romance and friendship, Clover is forced to examine what she really wants, and whether she’ll have the courage to go after it.

Probing, clever, and hopeful, The Collected Regrets of Clover is perfect for readers of The Midnight Library and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine as it turns the normally taboo subject of death into a reason to celebrate life.

Review:

Absorbing, heartfelt, and sweet!

The Collected Regrets of Clover is a heartwarming, compelling tale that takes you on a journey into the life of Clover Brooks, a death doula who after helping many people pass into the next life and compiling and reviewing a list of their regrets, finally discovers the importance of taking chances, embracing change, and finding contentment.

The prose is light and hopeful. The characters are complex, authentic, and supportive. And the plot is a delightful tale about life, loss, family, kindness, love, self-discovery, happiness, romance, grief, death, and moving on.

Overall, The Collected Regrets of Clover is a tender, uplifting, nostalgic tale by Brammer, complete with strong, endearing characters, a touching storyline, and an insightful look into remorse and the unbreakable ties that bind us to those we love.

 

This book is available in paperback now. 

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

 

       

 

 

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

 

About Mikki Brammer

Mikki Brammer is an Australian journalist based in New York City, by way of France and Spain. She writes about design, architecture and art for publications such as Architectural Digest, Dwell and ELLE Decor. The Collected Regrets of Clover is her debut novel.

Photo Credit: Mark Wickens

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#BookReview The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves @tgarvisgraves @StMartinsPress #TheTrailOfLostHearts #TraceyGarvisGraves #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

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#BookReview The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves @tgarvisgraves @StMartinsPress #TheTrailOfLostHearts #TraceyGarvisGraves #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: The Trail of Lost Hearts

Author: Tracey Garvis Graves

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Mar. 26, 2024

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 304

Format: Hardcover

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 8.5/10

New York Times bestselling author Tracey Garvis Graves takes readers on a life affirming journey, where two lost souls find the unexpected courage to love again.

Thirty-four-year-old Wren Waters believes that if you pay attention, the universe will send you exactly what you need. But her worldview shatters when the universe delivers two life-altering blows she didn’t see coming, and all she wants to do is put the whole heartbreaking mess behind her. No one is more surprised than Wren when she discovers that geocaching―the outdoor activity of using GPS to look for hidden objects―is the only thing getting her out of bed and out of her head. She decides that a weeklong solo quest geocaching in Oregon is exactly what she needs to take back control of her life.

Enter Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist searching for distraction as he struggles with a life-altering blow of his own. Though Wren initially rebuffs Marshall’s attempt at hiker small talk, she’s beyond grateful when he rescues her from a horrifying encounter farther down the trail. In the interest of safety, Marshall suggests partnering up to look for additional caches. Wren’s no longer quite so trusting of the universe―or men in general―but her inner circle might argue that a smart, charismatic psychologist isn’t the worst thing the universe could place in her path.

What begins as a platonic road trip gradually blossoms into something deeper, and the more Wren learns about Marshall, the more she wants to know. Now all she can do is hope that the universe gets it right this time.

Review:

Heartwarming, sweet, and uplifting!

The Trail of Lost Hearts is a heartfelt, tender tale that takes you into the lives of Wren, a young woman whose life gets turned upside down when she suffers an extreme loss she never saw coming, and Marshall, a clinical psychologist who is still struggling to recover from a devastating tragedy and loss of his own.

The prose is light and hopeful. The characters are lonely, kind, and respectful. And the plot is a reflective, engaging tale about life, loss, family, friendship, relationships, attraction, grief, happiness, self-discovery, mental health, taking chances, new beginnings, and unconditional love.

Overall, The Trail of Lost Hearts is a sentimental, charming, heart-tugging tale by Graves that reminds you that life is complicated, love can be messy, and things often happen for a reason.

 

This book is available now. 

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following link.

 

       

 

 

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

 

About Tracey Garvis Graves

Tracey Garvis Graves is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into thirty-five languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, Cherish, Heart-Shaped Hack, White-Hot Hack, The Girl He Used to Know, and Heard It in a Love Song. She is hard at work on her next book.

Photo courtesy of Author's Website.

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#BookReview Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack @CEMcKenzie1 @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #EveryTimeIGoOnVacationSomeoneDies #TheVacationMysteries #CatherineMack

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#BookReview Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack @CEMcKenzie1 @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #MinotaurInfluencers #EveryTimeIGoOnVacationSomeoneDies #TheVacationMysteries #CatherineMack Title: Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies

Author: Catherine Mack

Series: The Vacation Mysteries #1

Published by: Minotaur Books on Apr. 30, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 352

Format: Hardcover

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Ten days, eight suspects, six cities, five authors, three bodies . . . one trip to die for.

All that bestselling author Eleanor Dash wants is to get through her book tour in Italy and kill off her main character, Connor Smith, in the next in her Vacation Mysteries series―is that too much to ask?

Clearly, because when an attempt is made on the real Connor’s life―the handsome but infuriating con man she got mixed up with ten years ago and now can’t get out of her life―Eleanor’s enlisted to help solve the case.

Contending with literary competitors, rabid fans, a stalker―and even her ex, Oliver, who turns up unexpectedly―theories are bandied about, and rivalries, rifts, and broken hearts are revealed. But who’s really trying to get away with murder?

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the irresistible and hilarious series debut from Catherine Mack, introducing bestselling fictional author Eleanor Dash on her Italian book tour that turns into a real-life murder mystery, as her life starts to imitate the world in her books.

Review:

Atmospheric, witty, and highly entertaining!

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is a charming, captivating tale that transports you to Rome, Italy and into the life of Eleanor Dash, a successful author who, after being sent on a tour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the publication of the first book in her bestselling series with an eclectic group of people that includes authors, fans, a stalker, and an ex, finds herself unexpectedly tied up in a murder investigation with a multitude of suspects when it quickly becomes apparent that someone in their group is determined to kill off the real-life persona of the main character from her books.

The writing style is humorous and light. The characters are sharp, quirky, and impulsive. And the plot, told using a mixture of narration and footnotes, is a pacey whodunit full of family, friendship, danger, mystique, oddball situations, hilarious mishaps, red herrings, amateur sleuthing, lies, secrets, deception, deduction, attraction, revelations, and new beginnings.

Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies is the first book in The Vacation Mysteries series by Mack, and if you enjoy a charming mystery with idyllic settings, unique characters, and a touch of romance, then this novel is the perfect choice.

 

This book is available now.

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

          

 

 

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

 

About Catherine Mack

CATHERINE MACK (she/her) is the pseudonym for the USA Today and Globe & Mail bestselling author of over a dozen novels. Her books are approaching two million copies sold worldwide and have been translated into multiple languages including French, German, Portuguese, and Polish. Television rights to Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies and its forthcoming sequels sold in a major auction to Fox TV for development into a series, with Mack writing the pilot script. A dual Canadian and US citizen, she splits her time between Canada and various warmer locations in the US.

Photo Credit: Fany Ducharme

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#BookReview Extinction by Douglas Preston @ForgeReads #Extinction #DouglasPreston #ForgeBooks #ForgeReads

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#BookReview Extinction by Douglas Preston @ForgeReads #Extinction #DouglasPreston #ForgeBooks #ForgeReads Title: Extinction

Author: Douglas Preston

Published by: Forge Books on Apr. 23, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Science Fiction

Pages: 384

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Forge Books

Book Rating: 8.5/10

Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths, Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire’s son and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the perpetrators.

As killings mount and the valley is evacuated, Cash and Colcord must confront an ancient, intelligent, and malevolent presence at Erebus, bent not on resurrection—but extinction.

Review:

Menacing, creative, and creepy!

Extinction is a fast-paced, addictive thriller that sees Colorado CBI Agent Frankie Cash heading to the exclusive Erebus Resort to investigate the disappearance of two honeymooners, Mark and Gloria Gunnerson, but while it seems at first glance to be a case of kidnapping and possible murder, it quickly becomes apparent that something a lot more sinister is underway in this speciality facility where science and genome editing have managed to bring some of the most beloved prehistoric mammals back to life.

The writing is crisp and polished. The characters are complex, astute, and tenacious. And the plot is an eerie tale full of twists, turns, secrets, deduction, mayhem, experimentation, power, grandiose delusions, violence, and murder.

Overall, Extinction is an intense, enthralling, disturbing page-turner by Preston that is a scary reminder that advances in science can be good or bad depending on how someone chooses to use them.

 

This book is available now.

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

             

 

 

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

 

About Douglas Preston

DOUGLAS PRESTON has published forty books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which over thirty have been New York Times bestsellers, a half-dozen reaching the #1 position. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series of thrillers. He also writes nonfiction pieces for the New Yorker Magazine. He worked as an editor at the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He is president emeritus of the Authors Guild and serves on the Advisory Board of the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe.

Photo Credit: Deborah Feingold

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#BookReview A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke @SimonSchusterCA #AShortWalkThroughAWideWorld #DouglasWesterbeke #SimonSchusterCA

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#BookReview A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke @SimonSchusterCA #AShortWalkThroughAWideWorld #DouglasWesterbeke #SimonSchusterCA Title: A Short Walk Through a Wide World

Author: Douglas Westerbeke

Published by: Simon & Schuster Canada on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction

Pages: 400

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue meets Life of Pi in this dazzlingly epic debut that charts the incredible, adventurous life of one woman as she journeys the globe trying to outrun a mysterious curse that will destroy her if she stops moving.

Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.

When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.

From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s…

Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.

Review:

Poignant, hopeful, and creative!

A Short Walk Through a Wide World is an immersive, evocative tale that sweeps you away to Paris during 1885 and into the life of nine-year-old Aubry Tourvel who, after throwing her beloved wooden puzzle ball into a well, becomes inflicted with a mysterious disease that seems to only be healed by never staying in one place for more than a few days and thus begins a lifetime adventure that sees her looping the globe multiple times while experiencing such wondrous things as fishing in Greece, love on the Trans-Siberian Railroad, and the joy of perusing unimaginably vast libraries where time and space don’t even exist in order to stay alive.

The prose is vivid and rich. The characters are vulnerable, conflicted, and burdened. And the plot is a enigmatic, absorbing tale of life, love, loss, family, friendship, self-identity, magical realism, solitude, and joy.

Overall, A Short Walk Through a Wide World is a mystifying, impactful, hopeful debut by Westerbeke that combines a contemplative imagination with the magic of the supernatural to weave a heart-tugging, bittersweet tale steeped in an abundance of loneliness, optimism, tenderness, and pain.

 

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 Douglas Westerbeke

Douglas Westerbeke is a librarian who lives in Ohio and works at one of the largest libraries in the US. He has spent the last decade on the local panel of the International Dublin Literary Award, which inspired him to write his own book.

Photograph by Roan.

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#BookReview The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher @sfletcherauthor @PenguinRandomCA #SusanFletcher #TheNightInQuestion #PenguinReads

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#BookReview The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher @sfletcherauthor @PenguinRandomCA #SusanFletcher #TheNightInQuestion #PenguinReads Title: The Night in Question

Author: Susan Fletcher

Published by: Doubleday Canada on Apr. 2, 2024

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 440

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Penguin Random House Canada

Book Rating: 8.5/10

A lyrical and emotionally engaging novel infused with mystery and wisdom about love, friendship, and the power of forgiveness.

Florrie Butterfield—eighty-seven, one-legged, and of cheerful disposition—believes there can’t be any more adventures or surprises in life to experience. Yet one midsummer’s evening, there’s an accident at Babbington Hall—the adult residence where she lives—so shocking and strange that Florrie is suspicious; is this really an accident? Or is she being lied to? Is she, in fact, living alongside a potential murderer? In her efforts to learn the truth, Florrie is forced to look back on her own life, with all its passions and regrets; she must confront her own bloody secret—and, at last, forgive herself. Above all, Florrie learns, through the help of her new friend, Stanhope, that you’re never too old to have the life you’ve always dreamed of. When it comes to love, it’s never too late.

Readers of moving fiction about late-in-life second chances such as Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry will love this un-putdownable book.

Review:

Poignant, satisfying, and mysterious!

The Night in Question is a charming, tender tale that takes you into the life of eighty-seven-year-old Florrie Butterfield, a feisty resident of Babbington Hall who, after witnessing the facility’s young manager fall from a third-floor window, takes it upon herself to recruit another fellow resident to help her prove that it was not an attempted suicide after all but rather a more sinister plan that had actually been in the works for a very long time.

The writing style is sentimental and heartfelt. The characters are quirky, determined, and intriguing. And the plot is a well-paced, compelling whodunit full of red herrings, amateur sleuthing, tricky situations, awkward moments, troubled pasts, deduction, danger, and vengeance.

Overall, The Night in Question is a cosy, satisfying, entertaining read by Fletcher that was such a delight to read with all its intricacies, drama, and endearing characters.

 

This novel is available now.

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

         

 

 

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Susan Fletcher

SUSAN FLETCHER is a British novelist. Her debut, Eve Green, won the 2004 Whitbread First Novel Award, the Betty Trask Prize, the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award and the Richard and Judy Summer Read in 2005. It was also shortlisted for the LA Times First Novel Award. Her other novels include Oystercatchers (longlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize), Witch Light (shortlisted for the John Llewellyn-Rhys Award and the Writer’s Guild Best Fiction Award) and A Little In Love (winner of 2016 North East Children's Book Award). Susan is the current Fellow at the University of Worcester as part of the Royal Literary Fund's fellowship scheme. She lives in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England.

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