Category: 9/10

#BookReview A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry @ambroseparry @canongatebooks @PGCBooks #ACorruptionofBlood #RavenFisherSimpsonSeries #AmbroseParry

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview A Corruption of Blood by Ambrose Parry @ambroseparry @canongatebooks @PGCBooks #ACorruptionofBlood #RavenFisherSimpsonSeries #AmbroseParry Title: A Corruption of Blood

Author: Ambrose Parry

Series: Raven Fisher and Simpson #3

Published by: Canongate Books Ltd on Oct. 19, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Edinburgh. This city will bleed you dry.

Dr Will Raven is a man seldom shocked by human remains, but even he is disturbed by the contents of a package washed up at the Port of Leith. Stranger still, a man Raven has long detested is pleading for his help to escape the hangman.

Back in the townhouse of Dr James Simpson, Sarah Fisher has set her sights on learning to practise medicine. Almost everyone seems intent on dissuading her from this ambition, but when word reaches her that a woman has recently obtained a medical degree despite her gender, Sarah decides to seek her out.

Raven’s efforts to prove his former adversary’s innocence are failing and he desperately needs Sarah’s help. Putting their feelings for one another aside, their investigations take them to both extremes of Edinburgh’s social divide, where they discover that wealth and status cannot alter a fate written in the blood.

Review:

Menacing, gripping, and addictive!

A Corruption of Blood is a vivid, unsettling tale that takes us back to Edinburgh and into the lives of Dr Will Raven and Sarah Fisher as they find themselves wrapped up in not only the suspicious death of one of the wealthiest men in the Scottish Lowlands, Sir Ainsley Douglas but also the case of a murdered infant that may, in fact, only be the start of a bigger more heinous murder spree than anyone could have imagined.

The prose is descriptive and tense. The characters are intelligent, curious, and committed. And the plot is a compelling tale of life, loss, secrets, friendship, courtship, abuse, revenge, manipulation, deception, greed, violence, early medicine, and murder.

Overall, A Corruption of Blood is another atmospheric, gritty, intricate novel by Parry that is a fantastic addition to the Raven, Fisher, Simpson series, and I can’t wait to read whatever this dynamic writing duo manages to come up with next.

 

 

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 providing me with 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.

Goodreads

#BookReview Three Sisters by Heather Morris @StMartinsPress #ThreeSisters #HeatherMorrisAuthor #TheTattooistofAuschwitz #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview Three Sisters by Heather Morris @StMartinsPress #ThreeSisters #HeatherMorrisAuthor #TheTattooistofAuschwitz #StMartinsPress #SMPInfluencers Title: Three Sisters

Author: Heather Morris

Series: The Tattooist of Auschwitz #3

Published by: St. Martin's Press on Oct. 5, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: St. Martin's Press

Book Rating: 9/10

From Heather Morris, the New York Times bestselling author of the multi-million copy bestseller The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey: a story of family, courage, and resilience, inspired by a true story.

Against all odds, three Slovakian sisters have survived years of imprisonment in the most notorious death camp in Nazi Germany: Auschwitz. Livia, Magda, and Cibi have clung together, nearly died from starvation and overwork, and the brutal whims of the guards in this place of horror. But now, the allies are closing in and the sisters have one last hurdle to face: the death march from Auschwitz, as the Nazis try to erase any evidence of the prisoners held there. Due to a last minute stroke of luck, the three of them are able to escape formation and hide in the woods for days before being rescued.

And this is where the story begins. From there, the three sisters travel to Israel, to their new home, but the battle for freedom takes on new forms. Livia, Magda, and Cibi must face the ghosts of their past–and some secrets that they have kept from each other–to find true peace and happiness.

Inspired by a true story, and with events that overlap with those of Lale, Gita, and Cilka, The Three Sisters will hold a place in readers’ hearts and minds as they experience what true courage really is.

Review:

Pensive, heartwrenching, and exceptionally absorbing!

Three Sisters is an evocative, beautifully written, touching tale predominantly set during WWII that takes you into the lives of the Meller sisters, three young Jewish women from Slovakia who, through remarkable perseverance and a long-held promise, manage to bind together to survive hell on earth, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and somehow still manage to go on to marry, have children, and live out the rest of their days in Tel Aviv surrounded by love.

The prose is haunting and insightful. The characters are vulnerable, strong, and brave. And the plot is a poignant tale of life, loss, love, survival, family, sacrifice, courage, selflessness, the unimaginable horrors of war, and the special bond between sisters.

Overall, Three Sisters is another thought-provoking, immersive, moving tale by Morris that does a remarkable job of reminding us of an atrocity that should never be forgotten, and the incredible ability for humanity to love and still be kind, compassionate, and resilient even in the face of unimaginable evil.

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

 

About Heather Morris

HEATHER MORRIS is a native of New Zealand, now resident in Australia. For several years, while working in a large public hospital in Melbourne, she studied and wrote screenplays, one of which was optioned by an Academy Award-winning screenwriter in the US. In 2003, Heather was introduced to an elderly gentleman who ‘might just have a story worth telling’. The day she met Lale Sokolov changed both their lives. Their friendship grew and Lale embarked on a journey of self-scrutiny, entrusting the innermost details of his life during the Holocaust to her. Heather originally wrote Lale’s story as a screenplay – which ranked high in international competitions – before reshaping it into her debut novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Photo by Tina Smigielski.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | YouTube

#BookReview These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant @kimicgrant @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #KimiCunninghamGrant #TheseSilentWoods #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant @kimicgrant @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress #KimiCunninghamGrant #TheseSilentWoods #MinotaurInfluencers #SMPInfluencers Title: These Silent Woods

Author: Kimi Cunningham Grant

Published by: Minotaur Books on Aug. 10, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 288

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Minotaur Books

Book Rating: 9/10

Private Investigator Sharon McCone goes undercover to investigate the murders of two Indigenous women in remote Northern California in this gripping, atmospheric mystery in the New York Times bestselling series.  

When the bodies of two Indigenous women are found in the wilderness of northern California, it is only the latest horrific development in a string of similar crimes in the area. Despite all evidence to the contrary, officials rule the deaths isolated incidents, which soon join the ranks of countless other unsolved cases quickly dismissed by law enforcement.
 
In a town where too many injustices are tolerated or brushed under the rug, only a few people remain who refuse to let a killer walk free. But Private Investigator Sharon McCone is one of those few. She is hired by an organization called Crimes against Indigenous Sisters to go undercover in Meruk County—a community rife with secrets, lies, and corruption—to expose the truth.
 
In an isolated cabin in the freezing, treacherous woods, McCone must work quickly to unravel a mystery that is rooted in profound evil—before she becomes the killer’s next target.

Review:

Subtle, forbidding, and incredibly atmospheric!

These Silent Woods is a heart-tugging, engrossing, suspenseful thriller that takes you into the life of Cooper, a former, scarred Army Ranger who, after losing his fiancee in a tragic accident, flees with his baby daughter Finch to the Appalachian wilderness where they live a content but solitary existence, until one day a young hiker wanders across their path, violence strikes and everything he has tried to protect and keep hidden for the past eight years finally must come to light.

The prose is vivid and rich. The characters are complex, flawed, and vulnerable. And the plot is a sobering tale of tragedy, heartbreak, guilt, redemption, survival, hope, PTSD, and the all-encompassing, unconditional love a parent has for their child.

Overall, These Silent Woods is a tight, engrossing, reflective thriller by Grant that was, honestly, not at all what I was expecting and yet so much more than I ever could have imagined, and I highly recommend it.

This novel is available on October 26, 2021.

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

 

About Kimi Cunningham Grant

Kimi Cunningham Grant is the author of Fallen Mountains, Silver Like Dust, and These Silent Woods. Kimi is a two-time winner of a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Prize in Poetry and a recipient of a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowship in creative nonfiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in Fathom, Literary Mama, RATTLE, Poet Lore, and Whitefish Review. She lives, writes, and teaches in Pennsylvania.

Photo by Ann Bickel.

Website | Instagram

#BookReview The Christmas Village (Somerset Lake #2) by Annie Rains @AnnieRainsBooks @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #AnnieRains #TheChristmasVillage #SomersetLakeSeries

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Christmas Village (Somerset Lake #2) by Annie Rains @AnnieRainsBooks @ReadForeverPub @GrandCentralPub #ReadForever #ReadForeverPub #ReadForever2021 #AnnieRains #TheChristmasVillage #SomersetLakeSeries Title: The Christmas Village

Author: Annie Rains

Series: Somerset Lake #2

Published by: Forever on Oct. 12, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Forever

Book Rating: 9/10

USA Today bestselling author Annie Rains delivers a tender trade paperback romance that will appeal to readers with its warmth and bestselling themes!

Lucy Hannigan has inherited her mother’s bulldog, Bella, and her childhood home, the only pink house on Gingerbread Lane. With the holidays coming up, the pressure is on to decorate the house for the annual lights competition and maintain her parent’s winning streak. But Lucy already has her hands full as a midwife and a new landlord-to her ex-fiance.

When Miles Bruno is suddenly asked to move out of his rental home, he’s grateful to Lucy for taking him on as a tenant. But their broken-off engagement doesn’t make it easy to live next door. Sparks still fly between them, and he’d give anything to get back in Lucy’s good graces. But to do that will take much more than just tree trimming and house decorating and contest winning. Will one wildly grand romantic gesture on Christmas Eve finally soften her heart?

Review:

Cosy, spirited, and heartwarming!

The Christmas Village is a quaint, beguiling tale featuring the hardworking, ruggedly handsome Deputy Miles Bruno who broke his high school girlfriend’s heart ten years ago when he suddenly cancelled their engagement and dumped her out of the blue, and the loyal, caring Lucy Hannigan who, after inheriting her late mother’s house and bills, may finally have to put her heartache aside and allow the one man she’s never quite forgotten back into her home and heart.

The prose is charming and light. The characters are lonely, thoughtful, and friendly. And the plot is an enchanting tale full of tender moments, friendship, family, community, self-discovery, merry preparations, furry companions, and a touch of romance!

Overall, The Christmas Village is a clean, festive, uplifting, wintery treat by Rains that is a wonderful addition to the Somerset Lake series and is sure to have you believing in the magic of Christmas and daydreaming of snowflakes, twinkling lights, decorated trees, and scrumptious chocolatey treats.

 

This book is available now.

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

       

 

 

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

 

About Annie Rains

Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes small town love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children.Annie Rains is a USA Today bestselling contemporary romance author who writes small town love stories set in fictional places in her home state of North Carolina. When Annie isn’t writing, she’s living out her own happily ever after with her husband and three children.

Photograph courtesy of Read-Forever Website.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Bookbub

#BookReview Midnight in the Snow by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheSecretPath #KarenSwan

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview Midnight in the Snow by Karen Swan @KarenSwan1 @PGCBooks @panmacmillan #TheSecretPath #KarenSwan Title: Midnight in the Snow

Author: Karen Swan

Published by: Pan Macmillan on Oct. 1, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 464

Format: Paperback

Source: Publishers Group Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a wonderfully romantic novel from Karen Swan, bestselling author of The Secret Path, The Christmas Party, and Together by Christmas.

Midnight in the Snow is the story of a forbidden attraction in the dramatic surroundings of the snow-covered Austrian Alps, by Canadian and international bestseller Karen Swan.

It’s the red carpet life for filmmaker Clover Phillips. Her documentary on surfer Cory Allbright is winning awards around the globe for shining a spotlight on life after his tragic accident. Now she’s free to choose her next subject.

But everything changes when Cory is found dead and his widow needs answers. Clover makes a promise to find out the truth about what happened the day his life fell apart, turning her attention to the man responsible, disgraced surfing champion Kit Foley. Rejected by the sport he loves, he’s starting over as a snowboarder in the Austrian Alps. Kit wants nothing to do with the film but his new sponsor has other ideas. Soon Clover and her team are shadowing him on the slopes and in the chalet.

It’s dislike at first sight but boundaries become dangerously blurred as Clover finds herself drawn into Kit’s power games. Each of them vie for control over the project – until a revelation blows Kit’s secretive past wide open. Finally Clover has her answers, and the material for her explosive new film. Kit Foley is everything she ever said he was… Isn’t he?

Review:

Absorbing, intense, and delightfully addictive!

Midnight in the Snow is an intriguing, atmospheric tale set predominantly in the Austrian Alps that immerses you into the life of documentary filmmaker Clover Philips as she searches for answers from the one man, Kit Foley, whose reputation proceeds him, has seamlessly moved on to conquer a new sport, and remarkably still seems to have nothing to say about that one fateful decision he made that cost his fellow professional surfer his health, livelihood, and eventually his life.

The writing is effortless and smooth. The characters are multilayered, withdrawn, infuriating, and dedicated. And the plot is an entertaining mix of hope, heart, angst, drama, and mystery.

Midnight in the Snow is, ultimately, a story about relationships, competitive rivalry, adventure, heartbreak, scandal, secrets, guilt, grief, expectations, and protecting those you love that highlights just how relentless and unscrupulous the media can be. It is a wonderfully alluring tale that sweeps you away to the snowy mountains of Europe, charms, satisfies, and, at least for me, kept me up way past my bedtime to finish.

This novel is available now.

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

            

 

 

 

Thank you to Publishers Group Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Karen Swan

Karen Swan began her career in fashion journalism before giving it all up to raise her three children and a puppy, and to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer. She lives in the forest outside Sussex, England, writing her books in a treehouse overlooking the Downs.

An internationally bestselling author, her numerous books include The Rome Affair, The Paris Secret, Christmas Under the Stars, and The Christmas Secret. 

Photograph by Alexander James

Facebook

#BookReview A Little Christmas Spirit by Sheila Roberts @_Sheila_Roberts @uplitreads @HarlequinBooks #ALittleChristmasSpirit #SheilaRoberts #UplitReads #gifted

Published on by Zoe3 Comments
#BookReview A Little Christmas Spirit by Sheila Roberts @_Sheila_Roberts @uplitreads @HarlequinBooks #ALittleChristmasSpirit #SheilaRoberts #UplitReads #gifted Title: A Little Christmas Spirit

Author: Sheila Roberts

Published by: MIRA on Sep. 28, 2021

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction

Pages: 320

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Uplit Reads

Book Rating: 9/10

Single mom Lexie Bell hopes to make this first Christmas in their new home special for her six-year-old son, Brock. Festive lights and homemade fudge, check. Friendly neighbors? Uh, no. The reclusive widower next door is more grinchy than nice. But maybe he just needs a reminder of what matters most. At least sharing some holiday cheer with him will distract her from her own lack of romance…

Stanley Mann lost his Christmas spirit when he lost his wife and he sees no point in looking for it. Until she shows up in his dreams and informs him it’s time to ditch his scroogey attitude. Stanley digs in his heels, but she’s determined to haunt him until he wakes up and rediscovers the joys of the season. He can start by being a little more neighborly to the single mom next door. In spite of his protests, he’s soon making snowmen and decorating Christmas trees. How will it all end?

Merrily, of course. A certain Christmas ghost is going to make sure of that!

Review:

Bighearted, festive, and uplifting!

A Little Christmas Spirit is an amusing, tender tale set in the quaint town of Fairwood, Washington, that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Lexie Bell, a young single mother whose main focus is raising her son and making their first Christmas in their new home as memorable as possible, and Stanley Mann, an elderly widow who prefers his own company and is still struggling to adapt to living each day without the love of his life.

The prose is light and sweet. The characters are lonely, considerate, and kind. And the plot, using a back-and-forth, past/present style, is a delightfully touching tale about life, loss, love, marriage, parenthood, family, friendship, a touch of romance, happiness, and grief.

Overall, A Little Christmas Spirit is another cosy, uplifting, delightfully enchanting story by Roberts that reminds us to surround ourselves with those we love, especially during the holidays, and to always live life 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 Uplit Reads for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Sheila Roberts

Sheila Roberts is happily married and lives in the Pacific Northwest. Her books are best-sellers, and have been made into movies for the Lifetime and Hallmark channels. When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences or hanging out with her hubby or girlfriends, she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.

Photography courtesy of Author's Website.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

#BookReview The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #TheStolenHours #AllenEskens #MulhollandBooks

Published on by Zoe1 Comment
#BookReview The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens @aeskens @mulhollandbooks @HBGCanada #TheStolenHours #AllenEskens #MulhollandBooks Title: The Stolen Hours

Author: Allen Eskens

Published by: Mulholland Books on Sep 7, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover

Source: HBG Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

Lila Nash is on the verge of landing her dream job—working as a prosecutor under the Hennepin County Attorney—and has settled into a happy life with her boyfriend, Joe Talbert. But when a woman is pulled from the Mississippi River, barely alive, things in the office take a personal turn.
 
The police believe the woman’s assailant is local photographer Gavin Spenser, but the case quickly flounders as the evidence wears thin. It seems Gavin saw this investigation coming—and no one can imagine how carefully he has prepared.

The more determined Lila is to put Gavin behind bars, the more elusive justice becomes. Battling a vindictive new boss and haunted by the ghosts of her own unspeakable attack, which she’s kept a dark secret for eight long years, Lila knows the clock is ticking down. In a race against an evil mastermind, it will take everything Lila’s got to outsmart a killer—and to escape the dark hold of her own past.

Review:

Sharp, riveting, and creepy!

In this latest novel by Eskens, The Stolen Hours, he transports us to Hennepin County and into the life of Lila Nash, a young prosecutor with a haunted, troubled past, who under the guidance of the tough, veteran prosecutor Andi Fitch takes on the assault and attempted murder case of bridesmaid, Sadie Vaub, putting her front and centre in the sightline of Gavin Spencer, a wedding photographer with a penchant for details and a long history of sadistic violence.

The prose is fluid and tight. The characters are vulnerable, persistent, and meticulous. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine quickly into a gripping tale full of twists, turns, surprises, deception, cruelty, obsession, manipulation, power, privilege, politics, mayhem, violence, and murder.

Allen Eskens is one of those authors that every time I pick up one of his books, I absolutely love it, and yet for some reason he seems to fly under the mainstream radar. I don’t know why. He’s one of my favourite authors, and once again, with The Stolen Hours, he’s written a tense, crafty, cunning thriller that I highly recommend and, in my opinion, shouldn’t be missed.

This book is available now.

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

           

 

 

Thank you to HBG Canada for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Allen Eskens

Allen Eskens is the USA Today-bestselling author of The Life We Bury, The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, the Deep Dark Descending and The Shadows We Hide. He is the recipient of the Barry Award, Rosebud Award, Minnesota Book Award, and the Silver Falchion Award and has been a finalist for the Edgar Award, Thriller Award, and Anthony Award. His work had been published in 21 languages and his debut novel, The Life We Bury is being developed for a feature film.

Allen lives with his wife, Joely, in greater Minnesota and is represented by Amy Cloughley of Kimberley Cameron and Associates, and is published by both Seventh Street Books and Mulholland/Little Brown.

Photograph courtesy of Author's Goodreads Page.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #TheNightSheDisappeared #LisaJewell

Published on by Zoe2 Comments
#BookReview The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell @lisajewelluk @AtriaBooks @SimonSchusterCA #TheNightSheDisappeared #LisaJewell Title: The Night She Disappeared

Author: Lisa Jewell

Published by: Atria Books on Sep. 7, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 416

Format: ARC, Paperback

Source: Simon & Schuster Canada

Book Rating: 9/10

2017: 19-year-old Tallulah is going out on a date, leaving her baby with her mother, Kim.

Kim watches her daughter leave and, as late evening turns into night, which turns into early morning, she waits for her return. And waits.

The next morning, Kim phones Tallulah’s friends who tell her that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place.

She never returns.

2019: Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head-teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree.

‘DIG HERE’ . . .

A cold case, an abandoned mansion, family trauma and dark secrets lie at the heart of Lisa Jewell’s remarkable new novel.

Review:

Well-crafted, addictive, and sinister!

The Night She Disappeared is a creepy, clever, compulsive mystery that takes you into the life of Kim Knox as her world suddenly gets turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Tallulah, goes out one night to the pub and vanishes without a trace, and suspiciously no one present at the ”Dark Place” afterparty seems to have heard or seen anything.

The writing is intricate and twisty. The characters are distraught, troubled, and vulnerable. And the plot told from multiple perspectives and alternating between timelines quickly unravels into a menacing tale of manipulation, obsession, jealousy, secrets, unforeseen twists, well-timed surprises, violence, and complex relationships.

Overall, when I think about all the thrillers I’ve loved, at least one or two of Lisa Jewell’s books always come to mind, and this latest title, The Night She Disappeared, will certainly now be included on that list. It has everything I look for in a good thriller, nice intensity, great drama, and a storyline that not only keeps me guessing and on edge from start to finish but steadily makes me more and more unnerved as the story unfolds.

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

 

About Lisa Jewell

Lisa Jewell is the internationally bestselling author of sixteen novels, including the New York Times bestseller Then She Was Gone, as well as I Found You, The Girls in the Garden, and The House We Grew Up In. In total, her novels have sold more than two million copies across the English-speaking world and her work has also been translated into sixteen languages so far. Lisa lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Photograph by Andrew Whitton.

Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

#BookReview The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer @jsantlofer @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheLastMonaLisa #JonathanSantlofer #bookmarkedbylandmark

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview The Last Mona Lisa by Jonathan Santlofer @jsantlofer @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #TheLastMonaLisa #JonathanSantlofer #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: The Last Mona Lisa

Author: Jonathan Santlofer

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Aug. 17, 2021

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 400

Format: Hardcover

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

August, 1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincent Peruggia. Exactly what happens in the two years before its recovery is a mystery. Many replicas of the Mona Lisa exist, and more than one historian has wondered if the painting now in the Louvre is a fake, switched in 1911.

Present day: art professor Luke Perrone digs for the truth behind his most famous ancestor: Peruggia. His search attracts an Interpol detective with something to prove and an unfamiliar but curiously helpful woman. Soon, Luke tumbles deep into the world of art and forgery, a land of obsession and danger.

A gripping novel exploring the 1911 theft and the present underbelly of the art world, The Last Mona Lisa is a suspenseful tale, tapping into our universal fascination with da Vinci’s enigma, why people are driven to possess certain works of art, and our fascination with the authentic and the fake.

Review:

Rich, absorbing, and remarkably atmospheric!

The Last Mona Lisa is an alluring, fascinating tale predominantly set in Paris during 1911, as well as present-day Florence, that takes us into the lives of Vincent Peruggia, a young man who, after losing his wife suddenly to illness, will do whatever it takes to earn enough money to be reunited with his son, as well as his great-grandson Luke Perrone, an art historian who is consumed with all things Mona Lisa who heads to Italy to find his great grandfather’s long-lost journal to discover once and for all why he stole the painting, where it was kept for the two years before it was returned, and ultimately, before everyone who knows about the journal, including himself, ends up dead, finally discover whether the original or merely a fake is now actually hanging in the infamous museum.

The writing is polished and descriptive. The characters are flawed, vulnerable, and driven. And the plot, alternating between timelines, unravels and intertwines quickly into an ominous tale of life, loss, family, self-discovery, secrets, lies, deception, greed, friendship, heartbreak, addiction, obsession, murder, as well as the beautiful, intricate details involved in creating, forging, and restoring artwork.

Overall, The Last Mona Lisa is an evocative, immersive, thrilling novel by Santlofer that’s not only a love letter to Renaissance art and the cities of Florence and Paris but a suspenseful tale steeped in historical fact and compelling fiction that I absolutely devoured and highly recommend.

This book 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 an exchange for an honest review.

 

About Jonathan Santlofer

Jonathan Santlofer is a writer and artist. His debut novel, THE DEATH ARTIST, was an international bestseller translated into 17 languages, a People Magazine "Page-Turner of the Week" and is currently in development at Fox, along with his second and third novels. His fourth novel, ANATOMY OF FEAR, won the Nero Award for best crime novel of 2009. Jonathan created the Crime Fiction Academy as The Center for Fiction. As an artist, Jonathan has been making replications of famous paintings for wealthy clients for more than 20 years.

Photo by Clarke Tolton.

Website | Facebook | Instagram

#BookReview In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead @ashleywinstead @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #InMyDreamsIHoldaKnife #AshleyWinstead #bookmarkedbylandmark

Published on by ZoeLeave a comment
#BookReview In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead @ashleywinstead @Sourcebooks @sbkslandmark #InMyDreamsIHoldaKnife #AshleyWinstead #bookmarkedbylandmark Title: In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

Author: Ashley Winstead

Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark on Aug. 3, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 368

Format: ARC, eBook

Source: Sourcebooks Landmark

Book Rating: 9/10

Six friends.
One college reunion.
One unsolved murder.

A college reunion turns dark and deadly in this chilling and propulsive suspense novel about six friends, one unsolved murder, and the dark secrets they’ve been hiding from each other—and themselves—for a decade.

Ten years after graduation, Jessica Miller has planned her triumphant return to southern, elite Duquette University, down to the envious whispers that are sure to follow in her wake. Everyone is going to see the girl she wants them to see—confident, beautiful, indifferent—not the girl she was when she left campus, back when Heather’s murder fractured everything, including the tight bond linking the six friends she’d been closest to since freshman year. Ten years ago, everything fell apart, including the dreams she worked for her whole life—and her relationship with the one person she wasn’t supposed to love.

But not everyone is ready to move on. Not everyone left Duquette ten years ago, and not everyone can let Heather’s murder go unsolved. Someone is determined to trap the real killer, to make the guilty pay. When the six friends are reunited, they will be forced to confront what happened that night—and the years’ worth of secrets each of them would do anything to keep hidden.

Told in racing dual timelines, with a dark campus setting and a darker look at friendship, love, obsession, and ambition, In My Dreams I Hold A Knife is an addictive, propulsive read you won’t be able to put down.

Review:

Creepy, unpredictable, and exceptionally gripping!

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife transports you into the life of successful NYC consultant, Jessica Miller, as she heads to her ten-year reunion at Duquette University, where the past will collide with the present, long-buried secrets will finally be unearthed, and the senseless murder of her roommate and fellow member of the East House Seven clique will finally be solved.

The writing is meticulous and tight. The characterization is spot on with a cast of characters that are insecure, self-involved, and secretive. And the plot using flashbacks and a back-and-forth, past/present style intertwines and unravels effortlessly into a machiavellian tale of manipulation, deception, lies, drama, callousness, jealousy, secrets, revelations, hatred, mayhem, and murder.

Overall, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife is a clever, sinister, fabulous debut by Winstead that kept me guessing from the very first page and left me chilled, entertained, pleasantly surprised, and eager to read whatever her remarkably devious mind manages to come up with next. 

 

This novel is available now.

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

              

 

 

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

 

About Ashley Winstead

Ashley Winstead holds a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature from Southern Methodist University and a B.A. in English and Art History from Vanderbilt University. She lives in Houston, TX, where she drinks red wine and dreams up novels.

Photo by Luis Noble.

Website | Goodreads | Instagram