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Book Review: Mystery on Hidden Lane (Eve Mallow Mystery #1) by Clare Chase

Mystery on Hidden Lane
(Eve Mallow Mystery #1)
by Clare Chase

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

 

Meet Eve Mallow: an American far from home, a professional busybody… and an amateur detective?

Seasoned obituary writer Eve Mallow has a new assignment: to tell the life story of famed musician Bernard Fitzpatrick. A chance to spend a few days in the sweet little village of Saxford St Peter, walking the country lanes with her beloved dachshund Gus and meeting new people sounds like a dream. But it turns out that Bernard’s life was much less interesting than his death. On the day she arrives, news breaks that the charismatic cellist was the victim of a grisly murder. Could this quaint English village be hiding a dark secret?

As Eve starts to interview Bernard’s friends and colleagues, she finds that he’d ruffled a few feathers. In fact, from the keepers of the Cross Keys Inn to his own staff at High House, there’s barely a person in town who doesn’t have some reason to hate him… is one of the friendly villagers a cold-blooded killer?

Eve hoped Saxford St Peter would be the perfect escape from her busy city life. But there is darkness even in the most sunlit of settings. And when a second body is found, Eve becomes certain that one of the people she’s met must be the murderer. She has never done any detective work before… but is there something in her notes that can crack the case?

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My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… she reached down to ruffle Gus’s fur as he looked up at her, no doubt after another treat… ‘No, Gus – no more. Because I love you and I’m taking care of your health.’ For a moment she imagined how it would be if the roles were reversed, and Gus was in a position to ration her cake intake at the teashop. It didn’t bear thinking about.

 

Can’t blame you for not trusting DI Palmer. You have to chivvy him if you want something in a hurry. When Simon had that horse stolen, he had all the urgency of a dormouse on Valium.

 

 My Review:

 

I enjoy cozy mysteries for a change of pace between my habitual reads of women’s fiction and thrillers as they are almost medicinal as they generally allow me the novel experience of sustaining a consistent pulse rate and blood pressure at normal levels. This slowly developing tale was rather complex for a cozy and entertained and amused me with the quirkiness of the characters and originality of the plotlines.

 

So, a Londoner arrives in a small village to write a celebrity obituary for her part-time job. Who knew there was such a thing as a celebrity obituary writer? But the character of Eve was perfect for the task as she was a full-on natural-born snoop who was eaten up with curiosity, oozed diplomacy, and easily put others at ease while she finagled and finessed interesting bits of information out of them. Eve was highly observant and spent endless hours researching everyone, even those on the fringes. She was also apparently in love with my beloved Mr. Google. And yes – I do know that my love is unrequited and that he cheats on me relentlessly, sigh…   Regardless, Eve arrived in the small village to interview her subject’s peeps only to learn that her assignment had not only died but had been murdered, which was her first, but I have a feeling it won’t be her last.

 

I adored Eve! She talked aloud to her little dog Gus and sought his opinion as well as assigned him thoughts, motivations, and emotions. I reveled in these anthropomorphized bits as I do the same with my fur babies who, of course, are feline geniuses and possible serial killers/ninjas. The storylines were heaving with colorful and amusing descriptions, copiously noted details, and possible suspects. Eve kept track of her carefully curated details on spreadsheets and was quickly befriended by Viv, a gifted baker who conjured divine cakes, whom I loved just as much as Eve because, well, cake, and, she was good fun and had pink hair.   I am eager to read the next book in the series, which is locked and loaded on my impatiently idling Kindle.

 

I picked up two new clever bits and bobs for my Brit List with playing away – being unfaithful to a partner, and chivvy – pushing or nagging someone repeatedly to do something.

 

About the Author

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Clare Chase writes women sleuth mysteries. After graduating from London University with a degree in English Literature, Clare moved to Cambridge and has lived there ever since. She’s fascinated by the city’s contrasts and contradictions, which feed into her writing. She’s worked in diverse settings – from the 800-year-old University to one of the local prisons – and lived everywhere from the house of a Lord to a slug-infested flat. The terrace she now occupies, with her husband and teenage children, presents a good happy medium.

As well as writing, Clare loves family time, art and architecture, cooking, and of course, reading other people’s books.

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Book Review: The Widow’s Mite by Allie Cresswell

 

The Widow’s Mite
by Allie Cresswell

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA 

 

Minnie Price married late in life. Now she is widowed. And starving.


No one suspects this respectable church-goer can barely keep body and soul together. Why would they, while she resides in the magnificent home she shared with Peter?


Her friends and neighbors are oblivious to her plight and her adult stepchildren have their own reasons to make things worse rather than better. But she is thrown a lifeline when an associate of her late husband arrives with news of an investment about which her step-children know nothing.
Can she release the funds before she finds herself homeless and destitute?

Fans of ‘The Hoarder’s Widow’ will enjoy this sequel, but it reads equally well as a standalone.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… her mind was still on the ashes. She imagined some flunkey heaving them out of a bucket on to the ground, a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, his shirt not tucked in. Perhaps they’d be mixed with someone else’s. She didn’t like to think of Peter being part of a medley of other dead people. She had never visited the garden of remembrance. It might be a desolate, litter-strewn corner; unkempt, unvisited.

 

… she had a dry sense of humour, an ability to make everyday things amusing. Today she spoke of a new volunteer at the charity shop who had already jammed the till twice and rubbed a donor up the wrong way by suggesting the paperback books he had brought in were ‘filth.’

 

Truth be told, the project Maisie suggests appalls him, (an image assaults him, fleeting though vivid, of his mother laundering the rags of hoboes and asylum-seekers, and combing the lice from the matted beards of down-and-outs,) but he would rather die than say so. Dilemma turns him thin-lipped and rheumy-eyed; his thinning hair reveals a scaly flair-up of psoriasis on the narrow dome of his head.

 

She leafed through the brochures. ‘I’ve never been to Morocco,’ she mused, ‘I expect it’s similar to Egypt, though. The young men are beautiful – there’s no other word to describe them – but by the time they’re forty over-exposure to the sun and inadequate dentistry turns them all into goblins

 

Jessica perches on the end of Amy’s lounger and eats the olives which have been put there for Amy to enjoy. She does not think she has ever seen such an elderly person before but in her experience the older a person is the more likely they are to have both the time and the wisdom to answer her questions. ‘Tell me about the olden days,’ she says to Amy, ‘when you were alive.’

 

My Review:

 

I adored this well-crafted and entertaining tale, it was cleverly written with frequent sneaky slices of delightfully wry humor deftly tucked in which often found me rereading them twice or more while giggle-snorting or smirking with each perusal. This was my first exposure to Ms. Cresswell’s writing and I was quickly impressed by her fluid style. The story flowed with a smooth and seamless quality with writing that was often emotive, highly insightful, and perceptively observant.   Her character development was top shelf with each cast member being enticingly quirked and uniquely flawed yet curiously interesting and accessible, regardless of their different walks of life and mannerisms.

I picked up two new items for my Brit List with trews for trousers, and three-line whip – a political term for a strict edict to attend and vote the party line or suffer the consequences. The character referenced was certainly at the mastery level of those – both the decrees and the consequences.

About the Author

Allie Cresswell was born in Stockport, UK and began writing fiction as soon as she could hold a pencil.

She did a BA in English Literature at Birmingham University and an MA at Queen Mary College, London.

She has been a print-buyer, a pub landlady, a book-keeper, run a B & B and a group of boutique holiday cottages. Nowadays Allie writes full time having retired from teaching literature to lifelong learners.

She has two grown-up children, two granddaughters, two grandsons and two cockapoos but just one husband – Tim. They live in Cumbria, NW England.

The Widow’s Mite is her tenth novel.

You can contact her via her website at www.allie-cresswell.com

Social Media Links 

https://www.facebook.com/alliescribbler/

www.allie-cresswell.com

 

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Book Review: A Mother’s Secret by Minna Howard

 

A Mother’s Secret
by Minna Howard

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

B&N / GP / Kobo / Apple

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Verity seems to have it all. A beautiful home, two grown-up sons and a husband who has always been her rock. But one day, the doorbell rings. And it changes Verity’s life forever.
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Saskia has nowhere else to go. Before she died, her mother left her with her father’s name and nothing else. The only way for Saskia to take care of herself – and her unborn baby – is to find the father she never knew. And the family that didn’t know she existed.

This family secret means the end of everything they’ve ever known. But could it also be the chance for a new beginning?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Delia, who had not had to earn her living for years, had little idea how most people’s lives worked and how they could not escape their jobs whenever the mood took them and expect to find them still there when they returned.

 

She knew it sounded incredulous especially as Toby found it difficult to imagine his father having a sex life before marriage and then probably only having it twice to make him and his brother.

 

She said you had a summer romance, a “piece of magic” she called it, resulting in me.

 

 My Review:

 

I was happily bumping along, curious and invested in this slowly developing and unpredictable family drama and found the storylines seemed to be coming together toward a pleasant outcome, then it just – stopped.   Say what?!? Grrrr, I need an ending, a nice tidy little bow… it doesn’t have to be bright and shiny but I do prefer a sense of closure, which was reflected in my overall rating. But that is just one of my quirks, I had otherwise enjoyed the storylines and writing style.

 

The characters were an odd mixture of earnest, annoying, petty, endearing, selfish, spoiled, testy, arrogant, and driven; like most groupings in fact. The writing was emotive, engaging, peppered with sneaky wryly amusing insights and observations, and easy to follow while the characters’ concerns were relatable and relevant, and although the circumstances were somewhat unusual, the issues were not uncommon. However, the abruptness of the ending, I just cannot forgive it, but I’m petty like that.

 

I did pick up a new phrase for my Brit List with gardening leave – which is a term for when an employee resigns or is terminated from their position and told not to return but still receives pay for a specific amount of time. I’d like some of that, although I tend to dish the dirt rather than play in it. 😉

About the Author

Twitter

Minna has had an exciting career in fashion journalism and now writes full time, whilst enjoying time with her grandsons and working as an occasional film and TV extra. She lives in London.
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Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

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Book Review: You’ve Got My Number by Angela Barton

 

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You’ve Got My Number
by Angela Barton

 

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / 

Apple/ Google

 

Three isn’t always a magic number … 


There are three reasons Tess Fenton should be happy. One, her job at the Blue Olive deli may be dull, but at least she gets to work with her best friend. Two, she lives in a cozy cottage in the pretty village of Halston. Three, she’s in love with her boyfriend, Blake. 

Isn’t she? 

Because, despite their history, Blake continues to be the puzzle piece in Tess’s life that doesn’t quite fit. And when she meets intriguing local artist Daniel Cavanagh, it soon becomes apparent that, for Tess, love isn’t as easy as one, two, three … 

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

… her mind awash with thoughts of how to finish with Blake. Perhaps she should explain in the Star Trek terminology he was familiar with. ‘I need space, this is the final frontier.’

 

Tess remembered she’d been mumbling expletives in panic. ‘Nothing that a pint can’t put right,’ she replied, trying to sound unfazed. ‘I’m waiting for a girlfriend. She’s late.’ Great! Now she sounded like a possessive alcoholic lesbian who suffered from a mild dose of Tourette’s. This wasn’t going well.

 

‘I suppose you could try internet dating.’ Tess couldn’t believe how her mouth was taking control of this conversation instead of her brain. What was she doing trying to enrol him at a dating agency? ‘Too scary. I’ve had friends who have dabbled in it. Apparently the odds are good, but the goods are odd!’

 

Recently he’d been pestering her to move in with him, but she’d no intention of leaving Halston. She couldn’t imagine sharing a house with his numerous diecast models and action figures of Captain Kirk and an army of Klingons. Models of the Starship Enterprise decorated any flat surface and it didn’t help that a poster of Mr Spock looked down on her whenever she sat on Blake’s toilet.

 

When it came to men, her friend’s attention span was as temporary as a bruise.

  

My Review:

 

I checked it three times to be sure, and this is the second time I have smirked my way through one of Angela Barton’s cleverly amusing missives, I adore her unique style of witty levity and wry humor. Her endearing characters were realistically drawn, imperfect, and quite entertaining to delve into, as were her pleasantly engaging and well-crafted storylines. I am eager to see what she conjures next and wonder if she can best her creation of a confused elder’s prideful explanation of her son’s gift of a “dignified camera,” (digital). ~ Snort! Not like I’ve ever made such a gaff – oh no, not me!

About the Author

 Angela Barton lives in Nottingham and is a member of Nottingham Writers’ Studio and the Romantic Novelists’ Association. She has written three novels, all of which have passed through the RNA’s New Writers’ Scheme and are now published.
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Her first novel was published in 2018. Its genre is historical fiction set in France, telling the story of how a farming family survived through WW2. Angela’s second and third books are contemporary women’s fiction. Now busy writing her fourth book, also set in France during wartime, Angela’s new passion is to research real-life happenings and create fictional characters that live through these extraordinary events. Along with other authors, Angela has helped to create two Facebook groups for book lovers. Apricot Plots and Love Forties Fiction.

Social Media Links 

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/authorangela.barton.3

Twitter: https://twitter.com/angebarton

Website: https://angelabarton.net

Instagram: angelacbarton

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Book Review: Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Before She Knew Him
by Peter Swanson

 

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N/ HarperCollins

 320 pages

William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 25, 2020)

 

Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door

From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder . . .

Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?

The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

“I was sure it was schizophrenia,” her mother said, driving Hen back to upstate New York, “because of your uncle. But turns out you’re just batshit crazy like everyone else in this family.” She’d laughed, then apologized. It was what she did.

 

Matthew tried hard to discern if he was actually handsome, but found it hard to do. All men looked alike to him. They either had fox faces or pig faces.

 

He walked the short distance to the steps that led to Hen’s porch, then stopped. “Can I come up?” he asked, and Hen thought of vampires, how they needed to be invited in.  

 

 My Review:

 

Holy arboretum, Batman – that was a gnarly and dreadfully diseased family tree that made the roots of my contaminated ancestry appear glossy with vitality. This tautly written missive was my introduction to the twisted and formidable brilliance of Peter Swanson and I was absorbed, enthralled, riveted, and transfixed. The little pea in my brain was on fire with wild synapses firing and misfiring in all directions while I conjured my paltry theories.

I must confess to my cranial inferiority and bow to the master as I never could have put this ingenious plot together. What a clever trickster! The duplicitous Mr. Swanson took me down a dark and convoluted road, although I don’t seem to mind being made a fool. In fact, I’d do it all over again, and plan to, as soon as possible. Mr. Swanson seems to have a rabid fangirl on his hands.

I was provided with a review copy of this diabolically clever thriller by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

About the Author

Peter Swanson is the author of five novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and his most recent, Before She Knew Him. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine. He lives outside of Boston, where he is at work on his next novel.
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Find out more about Peter on his website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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Book Review: Dead to Her by Sarah Pinborough

 Dead to Her
by Sarah Pinborough

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU /

B&N / HarperCollins / 

GP / Kobo / Apple

400 pages
William Morrow (February 11, 2020)

For fans of Liane Moriarty, Liv Constantine and Lisa Jewell, a twisty psychological thriller about a savvy second wife who will do almost anything to come out on top from the New York Times bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes.

Marriage can be murder…

SOMETHING OLD

Marcie’s affair with Jason Maddox catapulted her into the world of the elite.

Old money, old ties, old secrets. Marcie may have married into this world—

but she’ll never be part of it.

SOMETHING NEW

Then Jason’s boss brings back a new wife from his trip to London.

Young, attractive, reckless—nobody can take their eyes off Keisha.

Including Marcie’s husband.

SOMETHING YOU CAN NEVER, EVER UNDO…

Some people would kill for the life Marcie has—what will she do to keep it?

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Be her friend, Jason had said. Like it was that easy. Men knew nothing about the tricky waters of mutual mistrust women swam in.

 

It was a shark pool, and the women were the worst. Bored and half-drunk most of the time. What else was there to do but bitch, judge, and gossip about one another between charity events?

 

I don’t think badly of you for it, because I totally get why you did it, but if you marry a man for his money, sweetheart, you will always end up earning it.

 

What was it Mama used to say? Her pearls of wisdom on the world? Money, sex, and power are the father, the son, and the holy ghost of life, honey.   Just remember that. And women can get all three if they’re not stupid.   So don’t be stupid.

 

And as if there are no gays in the army… I mean seriously They all work out, and they all wear uniforms.   The army is basically the goddamn Village People.

 

My Review:

 

Sarah Pinborough is ingeniously clever and divinely gifted with the word voodoo. I lost myself in her riveting storytelling and hissed my resentment at any unfortunate and inopportune interruption to my perusal. I was enthralled and so thoroughly absorbed I found myself more than a bit disoriented when I looked up from my book and realized I wasn’t actually living in the sweltering Georgia heat while swilling drinks with or experiencing the stink-eye from with the elite Southern blue blood society of Savannah.   The narrative was so flawlessly transportive I clearly heard their drawling accents, creaking floorboards, the revving of their engines, and the clinking ice cubes – surely that wasn’t all in my head!

 

This was a twisty, unpredictable, and monstrously compelling tale that oozed intrigue while taut with tension that seemed to be continually and miraculously ratcheting up to an unbearable and apparently exponential level while cast with a full slate of quirky yet thoroughly vile characters. I have but two parting words and a request for this gifted scribe. More, please!

I was provided with a review copy of this brilliantly crafted thriller by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins. 

About the Author

Sarah Pinborough is the number one Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes, and more than twenty other novels and novellas, including The Death House and a young adult thriller, 13 Minutes. She has also written for the BBC. She lives in England.

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

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Book Review, Giveaway: From Thailand with Love by Camilla Isley

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From Thailand with Love

by Camilla Isley

 Amazon / B&N / Apple / 

Kobo / Google Play

 

All Logan has to do is to get the gold and get the girl. Easy, right?

Travel photographer Winter Knowles and archeology professor Logan Spencer dislike each other at first sight. Stuck together on a wild island, these two unwilling teammates will bicker and banter their way through a laugh-packed treasure hunt.

After years of searching, a new mapping technology has given Logan a clue to the location of the legendary Lost City of Gold. A discovery that could make his career. So the last thing he needs on this life-changing expedition is for his team to get distracted by a pair of long legs.

When Winter accepted the assignment on a tropical island she didn’t sign up for a brooding team leader who’d clearly prefer to run a boys-only club. Never one to back down from a challenge, Winter is ready to show him she’s no damsel in distress.

But when a treasure like no other is uncovered and ruthless enemies will want to keep it for themselves, it’ll be up to the two of them to save the day. Left alone to fight in the jungle, they will soon discover their lives might not be the only thing at stake—their hearts could be too.

Get ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

A fun read packed with danger, action, romance, and comedy.

From Thailand with Love is part of a series of interconnected romantic comedies but can be read as a standalone novel as all the other books in the First Comes Love series.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I can’t help not liking the man; he honestly gives me the creeps… he’s retained all his military bearing: buzz cut shorter at the sides, lean muscled body, and a hard face marked by a livid white slash. The ominous scar cuts from his left eyebrow to halfway down his cheek. And he probably enjoys frightening children with it in his spare time.

 

I try to resist, but quickly give in. Grabbing the ever-present camera dangling from my neck, I stealthily snap a few shots of my sweaty, muscular colleagues. Then I check the results on the small screen on the back of the device, and chuckle to myself. These pictures would look great on an erotica novel, probably one called something like: “Taken in the Jungle by the Three Archeologists.” 

 

I’m not getting out of this tub for anything in the world. “I’ve ordered dinner,” Logan says. I don’t reply. “Burgers and champagne.” Okay, now he’s got my attention.

 

Did I overshare? Maybe I overshared. But when I’m nervous, I talk. When I’m tired, I talk. When I’m both, I crash into TMI land like a cannonball.

  

My Review:

 

This tale was more action-adventure than I was expecting but thankfully there was also a bevy of amusing accidents and observations as well as a budding romance to put a smirk on my face. I enjoy Ms. Isley’s deft writing style, wry humor, and colorfully written character descriptions. This busy volume to the series features an archeological expedition finding peril in the hot and sticky jungle filled with ravenous insects, and I’m still feeling itchy and dehydrated just from the highly evocative descriptions alone – I’m so suggestible!

About the Author

Camilla is an engineer turned writer after she quit her job to follow her husband on an adventure abroad.

She’s a cat lover, coffee addict, and shoe hoarder. Besides writing, she loves reading—duh!—cooking, watching bad TV, and going to the movies—popcorn, please. She’s a bit of a foodie, nothing too serious. A keen traveler, Camilla knows mosquitoes play a role in the ecosystem, and she doesn’t want to starve all those frog princes out there, but she could really live without them.

Social Media Links –

https://www.facebook.com/camillaisley/

https://twitter.com/camillaisley

https://www.instagram.com/camillaisley/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14135080.Camilla_Isley

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/camilla-isley

https://www.pinterest.com/camillaisley/

Giveaway

Win a From Thailand With Love Tote Bag

(Open Internationally)

*Terms and Conditions –  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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Book Review: The Lucky One by Lori Rader-Day

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 The Lucky One
by Lori Rader-Day

Amazon US / UK / CA / AU / 

B&N / HarperCollins

 400 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks (February 18, 2020)

“This might well be my favorite Rader-Day so far: a brilliant premise intriguingly developed, totally believable characters and a climax that took my breath away.”  — Ann Cleeves, New York Times bestselling author of The Shetland and Vera Series  

From the author of the Edgar Award®-nominated Under A Dark Sky comes an unforgettable, chilling novel about a young woman who recognizes the man who kidnapped her as a child, setting off a search for justice, and into danger.

Most people who go missing are never found. But Alice was the lucky one…

As a child, Alice was stolen from her backyard in a tiny Indiana community, but against the odds, her policeman father tracked her down within twenty-four hours and rescued her from harm. In the aftermath of the crime, her family decided to move to Chicago and close the door on that horrible day.

Yet Alice hasn’t forgotten. She devotes her spare time volunteering for a website called The Doe Pages scrolling through pages upon pages of unidentified people, searching for clues that could help reunite families with their missing loved ones. When a face appears on Alice’s screen that she recognizes, she’s stunned to realize it’s the same man who kidnapped her decades ago. The post is deleted as quickly as it appeared, leaving Alice with more questions than answers.

Embarking on a search for the truth, she enlists the help of friends from The Doe Pages to connect the dots and find her kidnapper before he hurts someone else. Then Alice crosses paths with Merrily Cruz, another woman who’s been hunting for answers of her own. Together, they begin to unravel a dark, painful web of lies that will change what they thought they knew—and could cost them everything.

Twisting and compulsively readable, The Lucky One explores the lies we tell ourselves to feel safe.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

A cake of angels and beauty itself, chocolate on top of chocolate, like a last request before execution. Merrily had passed out in a food coma in her old room and had to borrow the twinset and skirt from her mom’s closet for work… Merrily looked like a giraffe dressed for church, but she still looked better than the women in the front office any day of the week. Fact.

 

“I turned thirty. Thirty.” … Thirty was a monster. She’d been pursued by it and now here it sat in her lap, breathing its stink on her. Her age would ruin everything, if not this year, then soon.

 

“There’s my Alice in Wonderland.” Alice got up and met him for a hug. He couldn’t swing her off her feet anymore, but the old nickname never failed to shrink her to fit the tiny door of childhood.

 

Every sweet thing about Uncle Jim, Jimmy could ruin like a funhouse mirror. She liked to think that Jimmy was adopted, some changeling JimBig and his ex-wife had found and taken home.

 

Merrily had always wished for a baby brother or sister, but she needn’t have bothered. Her own mother provided all the mischief she could handle… Why were the grown-ups in her life so damaged and needy?

 

My Review:

 

This gripping, tautly written, and twisty book had me in knots and frequently chewing on my lips and picking at my ragged cuticles, which were merely the early clues that this was going to be a 5-Star read. Each character was oddly compelling although deeply flawed and not all that admirable. Neither of the two main characters, Merrily and Alice, were among the sharpest tools in the shed and I frequently wanted to schedule each of them a colonoscopy to search for their misplaced craniums.

 

The storylines were shrewdly crafted, cunningly paced, and riveting with intrigue while fraught with tension, family secrets, and impending peril. This was my first experience with the diabolically clever storytelling of Lori Rader-Day and in my expert analysis – she may well be a high priestess of the word voodoo as I was totally sucked into her vortex, tumbled around, and spit back out hours later feeling rather stunned, dazed, and pleasantly amazed.

I was provided with a review copy of this cleverly crafted missive by TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins.

About the Author

Lori Rader-Day is the author of Under a Dark Sky, The Day I Died, Little Pretty Things, and The Black Hour. She is a three-time Mary Higgins Clark Award nominee, winning the award in 2016. Lori lives in Chicago.

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

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Book Review: A Country Dilemma by Sasha Morgan

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A Country Dilemma
by Sasha Morgan

Amazon / Kobo / Apple / B&N

For Christie Newbury, moving to the Cotswolds as the new owner of The Templar, a quaint countryside inn, was supposed to be a dream come true. But then her husband drops a bombshell that turns her life upside down.

Architect Daniel James has just one month to find the perfect home. When his search takes him to the village of Treweham, his instant attraction to the Templar’s beautiful – and newly single – owner is a distraction he can’t afford.

Christie needs an expert’s eye. Daniel needs a place to stay. It’s only a business deal – but it has never been more tempting to mix business with pleasure…

Welcome back to Treweham, a village of scandal and secrets.

Perfect for fans of Holly Martin and Debbie Johnson.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

The moment Christie’s eyes met Stephen Newbury’s, the attraction was instant. Across a hectic, rowdy pub packed to the rafters with rugby players and hen parties, they homed in on each other like radars. When their gazes locked, time stood still. Stephen’s pint glass hovered mid-drink, whilst Christie halted, her conversation abruptly stopped. An urge between the two pulled like a magnetic force, bringing them together in the thick of the crowds.

 

Being dead didn’t make you a saint.

 

My Review:

 

I am mourning the end of this series as I have reveled in Ms. Morgan’s active, quickly paced, and snappy storylines as well as her delectable hits of spice and amusing humor. This installment was more angsty and tautly wound than the first two as several of the main characters were dealing with difficult issues and major transitions, and floundering a bit with uncertainty. The issues were significant and relevant and the engaging storylines were well-paced, thoughtfully crafted, and insightfully and observantly detailed. I adored these endearing characters and am reluctant to bid them farewell.

 

In addition to providing me with top-notch reading entertainment, Ms. Morgan has been a prolific source for my Brit Words and Phrases List with yet three more additions: Scouser – a native of Liverpool; barm cakes – a soft, round, and somewhat flat bread roll which are often sold in fish and chip shops; and under the cosh – in a difficult situation.

Sasha lives in a rural, coastal village in Lancashire with her husband and Labrador dog. She has always written stories from a very young age and finds her fictional world so much more exciting than the real one.

Follow Aria

Website: www.ariafiction.com

Twitter: @aria_fiction

Facebook: @ariafiction

Instagram: @ariafiction

 

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Book Review, Giveaway: A Springtime to Remember by Lucy Coleman

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A Springtime to Remember
by Lucy Coleman

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Apple

 

Let Lucy Coleman transport you to glorious, sun-drenched France, for the perfect feel-good read. Paris and the Palace of Versailles have always meant a lot to TV producer Lexie. Her grandma Viv spent a year there, but her adventures and memories were never discussed, and Lexie has long wondered why they were a family secret.

When work presents the perfect excuse to spend Springtime in Versailles, Lexie delves into Viv’s old diaries and scrapbooks, and with the help of handsome interpreter Ronan, she is soon learning more about the characters that tend to the magnificent gardens, now and in the past.

In amongst the beauty and splendor of the French countryside, a story of lost love, rivalry and tragedy unfold. Can Lexie and Ronan right the wrongs of the past, and will France play its tricks on them both before Lexie has to go home? Will this truly be a Springtime to Remember…?

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

I’ve lost my pride a few times over the years and it does shake your confidence, but the lessons I learnt were invaluable. Hardest of all though is when a family member turns on you – it’s a hurt that never goes away.

 

I swear if Jake fell out of a plane he’d land on his feet and walk away without breaking a sweat.

 

‘I knew this house needed something,’ Ronan says, slipping his arm around my waist and squeezing, ‘but I didn’t realise what it needed was YOU.’

 

I’ve been in limbo, I guess… I’ve been living my life one day at a time for so long now that it’s become second nature to me. I stopped noticing what was around me because without her here it feels like a shell.

 

To life, love and laughter. May we all be blessed with all three.

 

My Review:

 

Lucy Coleman’s background in interior design was readily apparent throughout this tale, as her narrative was rich with lush descriptions of every scene. I would imagine when touring and attempting to capture the opulence and extravagance of Versailles, her professional eye for detail could well have put her in danger of a massive cranial explosion as I nearly short-circuited during an all too brief tour many years ago. The storylines were slow to develop, intricately detailed, and rife with family drama, dead ends, and angsty misconceptions while a sweet romance was gradually blossoming and several underlying mysteries kept poking and taunting my curiosity. And what clever twists those threads turned out to be once unraveled. Lucy Coleman has a hidden side of sly and clever trickster lurking behind her sweet smile, which pleases me to no end.   😉

 

About the Author

From interior designer to author, Linn B. Halton – who also writes under the pen name of Lucy Coleman – says ‘it’s been a fantastic journey!’

Linn is the bestselling author of more than a dozen novels – including Summer on the Italian Lakes, Snowflakes over Holly Cove, The French Adventure and A Cottage in the Country. She is represented by Sara Keane of the Keane Kataria Literary Agency.

When she’s not writing or spending time with the family, she’s either upcycling furniture, working in the garden, or practicing Tai Chi.

Living in Coed Duon in the Welsh Valleys with her ‘rock’, Lawrence, and gorgeous Bengal cat Ziggy, she is an eternal romantic.

Linn is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and the SoA and writes feel-good, uplifting novels about life, love, and relationships.

Social Media Links –

Website: http://lucycolemanromance.com/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LucyColemanauth

Giveaway

 Win a signed paperback of ‘A French Adventure’ and a metal leaf bookmark.

(Open INT)

*Terms and Conditions –  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then I reserve the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will be passed to the giveaway organizer and used only for the fulfillment of the prize, after which time I will delete the data.  I am not responsible for dispatch or delivery of the prize.

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