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Book Review: The Stolen Child (DCI Hanlon Book 1) by Alex Coombs @AlexHowardCrime @rararesources  @BoldwoodBooks

 

The Stolen Child
(DCI Hanlon Book 1)
by Alex Coombs

 

Amazon  / B&N / GP

Meet DI Hanlon. A woman with a habit of breaking the rules and a fierce loyalty to the few people she respects.
Her boss, Corrigan. Looks like a street copper promoted above his ability. Underestimate him at your peril.Enver Demirel. Known in the boxing ring as Iron Hand. Now soft and gone to seed. But he would do anything for Hanlon. When the kidnap of a 12-year-old boy blows the case of some missing children wide apart, the finger is pointing at the heart of the Met.

Corrigan sends in the only cop in his team who is incorruptible enough to handle it – Hanlon.

And then he sends Demirel to spy on her…

 

Once you start the DI Hanlon series, you won’t be able to put it down. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan, and Mark Dawson.

This book was previously published as Time To Die by Alex Howard

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Hanlon was careful with words. She weighed them carefully before she used them, like a miser with money

She ran her eyes over him speculatively like a butcher eyeing a piece of meat of dubious quality, and Enver straightened his back into a more erect posture.

He still had an out-of-date mental image of himself as being in terrific shape, if a little overweight… Like in a dream he’d run as fast as he could, yet seemed to be going nowhere. He’d misjudged totally how quickly he could move; he’d only just managed to break into a speedy waddle.

My Review:

 

This was an intense, riveting, and propulsive read with several distinct storylines that were constantly gathering steam toward a devastating convergence. Alex Coombs is a first-class scrivener with exceptionally strong word voodoo. His superb writing and top-shelf storytelling featured cleverly crafted story threads that were woven with exacting word choices that kept the varied emotional tones at the perfect pitch while crackling with tension. The crimes and issues involved were totally unconscionable and had me cringing and flinching, yet I couldn’t have stopped reading if my hair had been on fire. I was quickly sucked into an ever-darkening vortex during the first few lines of page one, and it never abated.

Each addition to the large cast of diverse characters was uniquely etched and oddly compelling with brain-tickling descriptions and observations. The enigmatic and fiercely composed DI Hanlon was a conundrum for everyone and I am completely enthralled with her, as I do revere and adore a kickass chick. So imagine my glee to have three more volumes of her exploits already loaded on my beloved Kindle. Score!

I also gained a new entry to my Brit Words and Phrases list with navvy, which Mr. Google tells me is a laborer employed in the excavation or construction.

 

About the Author

Amazon
Goodreads
Website
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Alex Coombs studied Arabic at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities and went on to work in adult education and then retrained to be a chef. He has written four well-reviewed crime novels as Alex Howard.  Sign up for his newsletter at : http://bit.ly/AlexCoombsNewsletter

 

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Book Review: AFTERSHOCK (Dr. Jessie Teska Mystery, #2) by Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell @drjudymelinek

AFTERSHOCK
Dr. Jessie Teska Mystery, #2
by Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP

ISBN: 9781335147295

Publication Date: January 19, 2020

Publisher: Hanover Square Press

 

When an earthquake strikes San Francisco, forensics expert Jessie Teska faces her biggest threat yet in this explosive new mystery from the New York Times bestselling authors of Working Stiff and First Cut.

At first glance, the death appears to be an accident. The body is located on a construction site under what looks like a collapsed beam. But when Dr. Jessie Teska arrives on the scene, she notices the tell-tale signs of a staged death. The victim has been murdered. A rising star in the San Francisco forensics world, Jessie is ready to unravel the case, help bring the murderer to justice, and prevent him from potentially striking again.

But when a major earthquake strikes San Francisco right at Halloween, Jessie and the rest of the city are left reeling. And even if she emerges from the rubble, there’s no guaranteeing she’ll make it out alive.

With their trademark blend of propulsive prose, deft plotting, and mordant humor, this electrifying new installment in the Jessie Teska Mystery series offers the highest stakes yet.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

A steel band cover of “Don’t Fear the Reaper” makes for a lousy way to lurch awake. Couple of months back, some clown of a coworker got a hold of my cell phone while I was busy in the autopsy suite, and reprogrammed the ringtone for incoming calls from the Medical Examiner Operations and Investigation Dispatch Communications Center. I keep forgetting to fix it.

 

Oskar had nervous eyes under bushy brows, small nostrils in a mousy nose, and bluish stubble against a complexion like an altar candle. He impressed me as a man who climbed out of bed every morning wound up three turns too tight.

 

My Review:

 

This was an active, nonstop, wryly written, and superbly crafted tale that was shrewdly paced, cunningly plotted, and cast with a wide variety of curiously compelling characters. I had great difficulty putting my Kindle down for those senseless interruptions that dared to interfere with my perusal such as thirst, hunger, dying batteries, and need for sleep.

The busy storylines were written from the first-person POV of the brilliant and hard-working medical examiner Jessie Teska, M.D., and were taut with intrigue and pernicious conflicts with arrogant and egregious detectives and lawyers who didn’t have the good sense to listen to her sagacious theories and perceptive observations. I wanted to kick them in the shins for her. Lashing of amusing and clever wit cropped up to balance the emotional tone, which I always appreciate. This is my second time reading this dynamic duo’s exceptional wordcraft and I am so enamored with their mad skills that I have added them to my list of favorites and will be eagerly awaiting Dr. Teska’s next case.

About the Authors

Judy Melinek & T.J. Mitchell are the New York Times bestselling co-authors of Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner, and the novel First Cut. Dr. Melinek studied at Harvard and UCLA, was a medical examiner in San Francisco for nine years, and today works as a forensic pathologist in Oakland and as CEO of PathologyExpert Inc. T.J. Mitchell, her husband, is a writer with an English degree from Harvard, and worked in the film industry before becoming a full-time stay-at-home dad to their children.

SOCIAL

TWITTER: Judy: @drjudymelinek  TJ: @TJMitchellWS

FB: @DrWorkingStiff

Insta: Judy: @drjudymelinek

Goodreads

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Book Review:  The Little Swiss Ski Chalet (Romantic Escapes #7) by Julie Caplin @JulieCaplin @rararesources 

The Little Swiss Ski Chalet
(Romantic Escapes #7)
by Julie Caplin

Amazon  / B&N /  GP

It’s time to pack your bags and head to the breathtaking, snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Alps for velvety hot chocolates, delicious cheeses, and a gorgeous love story…

Food technician Minna has always believed that chocolate will solve everything – and it’s just what she needs when her latest relationship mishap goes viral!

So with her bags packed and a new determination to sort her life out, Minna decides to drown her sorrows with the best hot chocolate in the world at her godmother’s cozy Swiss chalet.

Chocolate: yes. Romance: no. Until she has a run-in on an Alpine train with a mysterious but oh-so-gorgeous stranger…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

No one would have described the woman as softly-spoken; her words boomed out like a foghorn with the volume turned to max.

 

There was a coach tour of Japanese people ahead of them, who were buying chocolate like it was going out of style, with huge smiles on their faces, and they weren’t alone: everyone seemed to have shopping baskets piled high. It was like a horde of locusts whipping through, as if this was the last chocolate on the planet, but the thing that struck Mina was that everyone was smiling… It was the simplest equation. Chocolate = happiness. The whole shop was filled with joy.

 

‘… if you don’t want me to kiss you…’ His eyes flashing with sincerity moved over her face with a desperate urgency. ‘Speak now or forever hold your peace.’ ‘Who needs peace?’

My Review:

 

All aboard the cheese and chocolate train!

This book should come with a warning label as it has done irreparable harm to my diet with constant mention of the most delectable coronary causing meals heavily laden with heart-stopping and calorie-rich ingredients such as cheese, and deathly delicious chocolate. The characters had a shared passion and ungodly talent for food and cooking. I lost track of how many trips I made to the snack cabinet hoping to find a few lost Hershey’s kisses or some other wayward remnant of forbidden holiday treats. The slowly evolving storylines were relatable and entertaining with amusing observations, a Swiss travelogue, and unique character personalities written with an international flair. My personal favorite was Amelie, I simply adored her.

About the Author

Julie Caplin, formerly a PR director, swanned around Europe for many years taking top food and drink writers on press trips (junkets) sampling the gastronomic delights of various cities in Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, Copenhagen, and Switzerland. It was a tough job but someone had to do it.

These trips have provided the inspiration and settings for her Romantic Escapes series which have been translated into fifteen different languages.

The first book in the seven-strong series, The Little Café in Copenhagen, was shortlisted for a Romantic Novel of the Year Award.

Social Media Links –

@JulieCaplin Twitter

https://www.facebook.com/JulieCaplinAuthor/

Instagram @juliecaplinauthor

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Book Review:  Deadly Whispers in Lower Dimblebrook by Julie Butterfield @juliebeewriter@rararesources  @BoldwoodBooks

Deadly Whispers in Lower Dimblebrook
by Julie Butterfield

 

Amazon  / B&N / Kobo / GP/

When Isabelle Darby moves to the delightfully cozy village of Lower Dimblebrook, she’s searching for peace and quiet as well as a chance to escape from heartbreak. After making friends with Fiona Lambourne, another newcomer to the village, Issie is left reeling when tragedy strikes and Fiona is murdered, the second wife Anthony Lambourne has lost in unfortunate circumstances. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the local gossips insist that Fiona had been embroiled in an affair before her death, something which Issie knows not to be the case. Determined to clear her friend’s reputation and solve the mystery of the rumors, Issie takes on both the gossips and the handsome but stern DI Wainwright, making both friends and enemies along the way!

 

My Rating:

My Review:

 

This was an engaging, fun, light, and slowly evolving tale that took a winding path with several twists and false leads. Being the first of a new series we were introduced to a quaint little village full of uniquely quirky characters that were humorously and entertainingly depicted in an instantly knowable manner while in the midst of a murder investigation that appeared to be going nowhere. The new detective assigned to the area was confounded by the village ways and the lightning-fast and oddly powerful gossip mill, which somehow always the author’s writing style, wry wit, and leisurely and meandering pace, it was just what I needed.

 

About the Author

Julie Butterfield belongs to the rather large group of ‘always wanted to write’ authors who finally found the time to sit down and put pen to paper – or rather fingers to keyboard.

She wrote her first book purely for pleasure and was very surprised to discover that so many people enjoyed the story and wanted more, so she decided to carry on writing.
It has to be pointed out that her first novel, ‘Did I Mention I Won The Lottery’ is a complete work of fiction and she did not, in fact, receive millions in her bank account and forget to mention it to her husband – even though he still asks her every day if she has anything to tell him!

Social Media Links –

@juliebeewriter

www.Juliebutterfield.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/juliebeewriter

 

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Book Review: Until We Are Lost by Leslie Archer @TLCBookTours

Until We Are Lost
by Leslie Archer

Amazon | GP | B&N

Hardcover: 414 Pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (February 2, 2021)

When Tara Peary’s twin sister Sophie goes missing, Tara dives into New York’s underbelly to find her. Sophie is the one person who’s ever truly understood her, and Tara knows her sister isn’t the only one who needs help.

Tara is also on the run emotionally from her complicated childhood. Her memories are threatening to overwhelm her emotions and derail the hunt for Sophie. A psychotherapist keeps her afloat, but when Tara begins dating her therapist’s young tech-millionaire neighbor, she risks losing the only lifelines she has left.

The more Tara uncovers about her sister’s disappearance and the dark side of the rich elite, the less certain of the truth she becomes. As Tara reaches the center of the mystery, spanning from her childhood home in Georgia to a Southern California beach, she has to decide whether the truth is a price she’s willing to pay.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I don’t seem to work and play well with others. Stupidity gets on my nerves.

 

Seasons change, but not in Hollywood. It’s as if time didn’t move on there, and all the plastic surgery was a desperate attempt to make sure it remained that way.

 

Maybe to distinguish herself from other evangelists, she made exorcisms her specialty… Whether the exorcisms worked, I couldn’t say. But they did appear to, which, in religion, is the same thing.

 

I am like nested Russian dolls, she thinks, each part of me inside the other, going deeper and deeper, darker and darker. Tara shivers then, and she knows the meaning of someone walking on her grave.

My Review:

 

This was an intense and challenging read, which was evidenced in the fact that it took me three times longer to read it than any other book of the same length as I needed to periodically put my Kindle down and seek out a pleasant distraction. The storylines were throbbing with tension, angst, conflict, and inner turmoil; yet written with incredible insight and painful awareness.

I was intrigued and repelled Tara’s disturbing family history as her parents were odious. Her zealot mother was the worst type of loathsome hypocrite; I despised her before I even knew the half of it. All the characters, even the secondary ones, were complicated, dark, and deeply twisted, yet so compellingly written they viciously stabbed at my curiosity. Very few were even likable beings with the dog Hickory being the only one that truly was, and he didn’t fare so well.

I learned two new words and phrases used by Tara’s evangelical faith healer mother to describe myself, I am “resolutely apostate” and apparently have a “Jezebel spirit.” Amen!

About Leslie Archer

Leslie Archer is the nom de plume of a New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty-five novels.

Connect with Leslie

Website 

 

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Book Review: Escape With Me (The O’Callaghans #3) by Kristen Proby  @Handbagjunkie

Escape With Me
(The O’Callaghans #3)
by Kristen Proby 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP/ Kobo

From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Kristen Proby comes ESCAPE WITH ME, an all-new stand-alone novel in her beloved WITH ME IN SEATTLE SERIES!

Keegan O’Callaghan has been told he’s married to his pub. It’s true. He’s happiest when he’s pulling taps and filling drink orders, so long as he can keep an eye on his family and ensure that all is well. Bringing a woman into his life for anything but a pleasant, short-term romp isn’t even on his radar.

Until she comes running through his door, soaking wet and in a princess gown.

Isabella Harris ran out on her wedding, and she’s not even a little bit sorry. She may have loved her groom a long time ago, but standing there about to take her vows, she realizes it’s not right. And that’s all she needs to know. Four hours later, she finds herself on a tiny island outside of Seattle, walking into a random Irish Pub and locking eyes with the sexiest bartender she’s ever seen. But now what? She’s alone and broke, with only a wedding dress to her name.

Despite the undeniable attraction between them, Keegan can see that Izzy’s scared and alone. The job offer he extends is only until she gets back on her feet–he has no intention of keeping her.

But sometimes Fate has other plans…

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… you don’t deserve to be the back-burner girl…You’re a front and center, rolling boil kind of girl.

 

Women. I can’t go a day without her, yet sometimes, I want to tumble her right into the sea.

 

“I can totally keep a secret,” she says, but I know better. “If you tell anyone, you won’t be my favorite anymore.” The smile leaves her face. “Well, that’s just mean.”

My Review:

 

This was a fun and engaging read while pleasantly low on conflict or angst. I enjoyed the delightful respite! The characters were endearing and hard-working and the storylines were relatable, easy to follow and detailed with amusing descriptions and scenarios.   I have enjoyed the books in the series I’ve been lucky enough to obtain, although I am a fairly recent convert to Ms. Proby’s coven, I have a lot of catching up to do!

 

 

About the Author

Kristen Proby has published more than forty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self-publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion and Romancing Manhattan Series.

Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two cats.

Connect with Kristen

 

Website: https://www.kristenprobyauthor.com/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2kBRdpj

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2BD4vfq

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BooksByKristenProby/

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/684662744993031/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristenproby/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Handbagjunkie

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristen-proby

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/handbagjunkie/

Book+Main: https://bit.ly/30ImsmP

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Book Review: Chasing The Sun (Angel Sands #7) by Carrie Elks @CarrieElks

CHASING THE SUN
(Angel Sands #7)
by  Carrie Elks

Genre: Small Town, Contemporary Romance
Release Date – January 20, 2021
Cover Designed by Najla Qamber
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AMAZON

READ FOR FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED

 

A whirlwind is coming to Angel Sands…

Take a vacation from taking vacations. That’s Lydia Paxton’s plan when she arrives in Angel Sands to celebrate her baby niece’s christening. Organizing trips of a lifetime for her exclusive New York clientele has taken its toll. Now she just wants to kick back, relax, and spend time with her family.

But, as her sister tells her, Lydia always leaves devastation in her wake.

This time, the devastation goes by the name of Jackson Lewis.

As soon as he sets eyes on her, Jackson knows Lydia’s trouble with a capital T. The problem is, the attraction between them is off the scale.

It’s a good thing Jackson swore off relationships years ago. He’s certain he has it all under control. Until this confirmed workaholic finds himself the foster father of a stray dog and playing hooky from work thanks to Lydia’s influence.

And at night, she’s curled up next to him in his bed.

Now the clock is ticking. They have twelve days together and then she’ll be gone. All they have to do is NOT fall in love with each other.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

He has that little lost boy, bad boy combination women can’t resist. Women want to save him and ravage him at the same time.

Jackson wasn’t one for talking, especially not deeply. In the days she’d spent with him, she’d learned more from his silences than his sentences.

She was his kind of crazy.

Home wasn’t a town or a city or any physical location. It was the thing that filled your soul. The place in your heart filled with the people you love.

 

My Review:

 

Although I haven’t been lucky enough to read them all, this has been such a fun series with lovable characters, low angst, relatable issues, and engaging storytelling that continues on into each standalone installment. The couples are earnest, likable, and endearing people whom I would enjoy knowing.   The writing is easy to follow and enjoyable to read. Sigh, I can only hope Ms. Elks continues this series into perpetuity and decides to write a tale for every resident in this small beach town.

 

Excerpt

Flipping her hair over one shoulder, he brushed his lips against her neck. “Does that help?” he murmured softly.

That brief touch made her shiver. “Not really.”

He chuckled against her skin, kissing his way up to below her ear, his breath hot against her sensitive flesh. “How about this?” he asked, sliding his mouth to her jaw.

She wanted to turn, to capture his lips with hers, but he was holding her too tightly.

“Or this?” He ran his fingers through her thick hair, his gaze catching hers. His eyes were dark, needy, and sent a shot of electricity through her veins.

Pushing the straps of her dress down past her shoulders, his fingers teased her skin as he pressed his warm lips against hers. He took his time as he kissed her, his movements slow and sure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Elks Headshot

Carrie Elks writes contemporary romance with a sizzling edge. Her first book, Fix You, has been translated into eight languages and made a surprise appearance on Big Brother in Brazil. Luckily for her, it wasn’t voted out. Carrie lives with her husband, two lovely children, and a larger-than-life black pug called Plato. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found baking, drinking an occasional (!) glass of wine, or chatting on social media.

FACEBOOK PAGE

FACEBOOK GROUP

TWITTER

INSTAGRAM

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Book Review: High Treason at the Grand Hotel (Fiona Figg Mystery #2) by Kelly Oliver @TLCBookTours @KellyOliverBook

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High Treason at the Grand Hotel
(Fiona Figg Mystery #2)
by Kelly Oliver

Amazon | B & N | IndieBound | GP 

 Publisher: Historia (January 5, 2021)
Paperback: 276 pages

Paris. 1917. Never underestimate the power of a good hat… or a sharp hatpin.

Sent by the War Office to follow the notorious Black Panther, file clerk turned secret agent Fiona Figg is under strict orders not to get too close and not to wear any of her usual “get-ups.”

But what self-respecting British spy can resist a good disguise?

Within hours of her arrival in Paris, Fiona is up to her fake eyebrows in missing maids, jewel thieves, double agents, and high treason.

When Fiona is found dressed as a bellboy holding a bloody paperknife over the body of a dead countess, it’s not just her career that’s on the block.

Her next date might be with Madame Guillotine.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I needed to straighten my desk and get my files in order. My father liked to say, outward order conceals inward turmoil. If so, my soul must be a cyclone. And if the reverse were true, the slobs in this office had the souls of monks.

 

Sitting behind his mammoth wooden desk, eyelids flicking, the petite Captain Hall looked like a turtle encased in its shell.

 

The only thing an admirer ever gave me was a head cold.

 

“If anything, the war teaches us to savor the moment.” She tightened the strings on her purse. Maybe she had a point. “Think of all those unfortunate women on the Titanic who waved away the dessert cart.” She winked.

My Review:

 

The headstrong and quick-witted filing clerk turned intrepid wartime spy Fiona Figg’s second adventure has her hopping to the continent and sampling the wares of Paris, which even in the straits of WWI was bustling far merrier than dreary old London. Fiona ignored all the dire warnings and sharp orders given to her to leave her “costumes” at home and packed more disguises in her luggage than actual clothing, so she couldn’t let them go to waste now could she? Her adoring visits to the costume shop remind me of the highly amusing yet bungling Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies.

She was to keep a low profile and merely gather information, no way! There was no holding her back as she was soon embroiled in several murders, thrown in a filthy jail cell with horrible men, and took on a side hobby of tracking a jewel thief and possible serial killer in her spare time when not hobnobbing with Mata Hari. I aspire to her bold level of daredevil audaciousness!

I have enjoyed Ms. Oliver’s wry humor and clever storytelling, she has amused and kept me well entertained for several days. I am now even more enamored with historical cozy mysteries after reading the first two of her series and am looking forward to the next planned installment when the Feisty Fiona Figg will be off to Austria behind enemy lines to meet the King and Queen at a royal ball. How thrilling!

My curiosity was further tipped by information tucked into the Afterward about several of the characters in the books being notables and real-life figures of the time. So, of course, a visit to my friend Mr. Google was required and I fell down an ever-familiar rabbit hole while looking up the infamous Mata Hari. Funny how that happens… Yet another case of amusing fiction leading me into an interesting history lesson.

 

About Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

Find out more about Kelly at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Book Review: Betrayal at Ravenswick (Fiona Figg Mystery #1) by Kelly Oliver @TLCBookTours @KellyOliverBook

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Betrayal at Ravenswick
(Fiona Figg Mystery #1)
by Kelly Oliver

•Publisher: Historia (March 10, 2020)
Paperback: 240 pages

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound

 

What’s the best way to purge an unfaithful husband?

Become a spy for British Intelligence, of course.

Desperate to get out of London and determined to help the war effort, Fiona Figg volunteers to go undercover.

It keeps her from thinking about Andrew, her philandering husband.

At Ravenswick Abbey a charming South African war correspondent has tongues wagging.

His friends say he’s a crack huntsman. The War Office is convinced he’s a traitor. Fiona thinks he’s a pompous prig.

What sort of name is Fredrick Fredricks anyway?

Too bad Fiona doesn’t own a Wolseley pith helmet. At Ravenswick a murderer is on the prowl, and it’s not just the big-game hunter who’s ready to pounce.

Reader’s Favorite Award for Best Historical Novel

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Mr. Knox flashed a toothy smile, the kind that made nuns blush.

When Ernest laughed he sounded like a goose taking flight.

I admired the rose bushes, wishing I had a green thumb. I was too much of a city girl to grow anything except my hair…

In my opinion, her husband’s wandering eye seemed more in line with male maladies best cured by poison.

I could hear my father’s voice in my head, “Stiff upper lip, my girl, that’s the English way.” Wouldn’t he be surprised to see a mustache sprouting from mine?

The reflection in the mirror didn’t seem to belong to me, but to some long-lost twin, who looked like me but lived a parallel life more exciting than my own.

 

 

My Review:

 

This was my first time reading Kelly Oliver and I had to wonder, what took me so long? This was an enjoyable and entertaining historical cozy mystery set in 1914 England during WWI and written from the first-person POV of a female file clerk turned working in the War Office who was sent on a spy mission and having the time of her life. Just what a newly divorced woman shot of a philandering husband would need to relocate her identity and self-confidence. The entertaining storylines were rather complicated with a large cast of unusual and untrustworthy characters, but I enjoyed the chase and her multiple missteps.

While there wasn’t a vile cliffhanger to rankle and stir my ire, the tale did not fully resolve and will continue on through subsequent installments. I can live with that since I have the next volume locked on loaded on my beloved Kindle.

I obtained two new items to add to my ever-growing Brit Words and Phrases list with a rum do which is a messy circumstance plagued with bad luck, poor fortune, or deliberate sabotage. And a hair receiver, which Mr. Google informed me, along with colorful examples, was a small pot or jar with a hole in the top that was used in the Victorian era and was typically made of ceramic, bronze, or crystal. It was kept on the dressing table to store their personal hair after being collected from brushes and combs. Said hair was used in jewelry and art – umm, no thank you.

About Kelly Oliver

Kelly Oliver grew up in the Northwest, Montana, Idaho, and Washington states. Her maternal grandfather was a forest ranger committed to saving the trees, and her paternal grandfather was a logger hell-bent on cutting them down. On both sides, her ancestors were some of the first settlers in Northern Idaho. In her own unlikely story, Kelly went from eating a steady diet of wild game shot by her dad to becoming a vegetarian while studying philosophy and pondering animal minds. Competing with peers who’d come from private schools and posh families “back East,” Kelly’s working-class backwoods grit has served her well. And much to her parent’s surprise, she’s managed to feed and clothe herself as a professional philosopher.

When she’s not writing mysteries, Kelly Oliver is a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She earned her B.A. from Gonzaga University and her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. She is the author of thirteen scholarly books, ten anthologies, and over 100 articles, including work on campus rape, reproductive technologies, women and the media, film noir, and Alfred Hitchcock. Her work has been translated into seven languages, and she has published an op-ed on loving our pets in The New York Times. She has been interviewed on ABC television news, the Canadian Broadcasting Network, and various radio programs.

Kelly lives in Nashville with her husband, Benigno Trigo, and her furry family, Mischief and Mayhem.

Find out more about Kelly at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Book Review: Did My Love Life Shrink in the Wash? (The Callaghan Sisters #3) by Kristen Bailey @mrsbaileywrites @Bookouture 

Did My Love Life Shrink in the Wash?
(The Callaghan Sisters #3)
by Kristen Bailey

 

Amazon  / B&N / Apple / GP/ Kobo

Sure, my bedroom gets lots of action. It’s called snoring.

Will and I didn’t have a clue what we were signing up for. It turns out that there are loads we weren’t warned about:

1) You’ll spend more time spooning your child’s cuddly donkey than your own boyfriend.
2) Communication with your other half will be via post-it notes on the fridge, mainly telling him to buy more milk.
3) If you make the mistake of going to a nightclub you’ll nod off, drool, and be woken up by an angry bouncer.
4) In the middle of the night you’ll be begging Siri for advice on getting your baby to sleep. (Whale music doesn’t work.)
5) Sex is something that happened in another dimension.

But even if I feel like I’m waiting for my motherhood powers to come in the post, at least I’ve got Will. Our old life – festivals, sambuca shots, an actual sex life – might be a distant memory, but we can get through anything together, can’t we?

At least that’s what I thought until, one day, Will walked out on us… If I’m on my own (apart from Siri, obviously) can I do this whole parenting thing? Or I am destined to lose my sanity one sleepless night at a time?

A totally hilarious and absolutely relatable tale for anyone who has survived parenthood purely on microwave meals and wished for an IV drip of coffee to get them through! This uplifting page-turner will make your belly ache with laughter. Perfect for fans of Why Mummy Drinks, Sophie Ranald, and Sophie Kinsella.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Another wave of pain strikes me and I bellow out some feral crescendo through the ward. Wolves in London Zoo howl back in reply.

 

Midhusband Joe continues to talk from in between my arched legs. His face and the giant lamp down there are slightly disconcerting, like he’s mining for something.

 

And who calls a baby Leonard? That’s just cruel… And he wasn’t good-looking. Face like a cabbage. She’s just inviting that kid to be beaten up when he’s older.

 

‘Do the stretch marks ever fade?’ I ask. ‘Mine are dark red, I look like a tiger.’ ‘Own them. They’re your new warrior stripes.

 

Swimming?’ ‘Then I’d have to do my bikini line.’ ‘No, you don’t. I swim at the lido near Emma’s and there’s a lady who goes out with full pits and fanny. It sprouts out like alfalfa.’

 

‘Sean also looks like the sort of man who wears bad shorts in summer. Am I right?’ ‘Cargo, knee-length. Sometimes the ones with the zips so he can add some length if the weather gets cooler.’ ‘If you married that, I’d voice my objections at your wedding, just so you know.’

My Review:

 

Maternity, birth, and baby issues aren’t my jam and topics I typically avoid in my book selections.   But I couldn’t seem to pass this one up as I had read and delighted in the previous books in this series.   Needless to say, I have few regrets after diving into this riotously amusing tale and am just as enamored with this author’s clever wit and irreverent humor as I was before. I cackled and giggle-snorted at the outrageous scenarios and sharp visuals her wily and cunning selections of words conjured in my cranium. My face is actually a bit tired from smirking. As there are five oddly captivating and quirky sisters in this family, I will be eagerly awaiting the next sister’s odyssey.

And, score! I have two new additions to my Brit Words and Phrases list with norks – which are a woman’s breasts; and gubbins – which is a multitasker of a word as it has several meanings which include scraps, useless bits and pieces, gadgetry, and a foolish person. For most women of my age, norks are generally gubbins.

About the Author

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Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen also writes. She has had short fiction published in several publications including Mslexia & Riptide. Her first two novels, Souper Mum and Second Helpings were published in 2016. In 2019, she was long-listed in the Comedy Women in Print Prize and has since joined the Bookouture family. She hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love, and family.

You can find out more about her on Twitter (@mrsbaileywrites), Instagram (@kristenbaileywrites), and Facebook.