I just have to say that this book was LONG and not as interesting as all of the hype about it. I started the book seven months ago, and it took me months to actually read enough to get interested in it. I kept reading, hoping that it would get better. After over 200 pages, it finally did improve. The book’s general plot is a girt named Beth attends an eclipse rally, gets raped there and Laura who witnesses part of the rape goes to court to testify for her against the wealthy and powerful James Balcombe. Kit, Laura’s husband, tries to dissuade her from testifying, but to no avail. The result of her testimony is what most of the book is really about. The problem is that the book goes from 1999 to 2015, back and forth, back and forth, so you really have to pay attention to the dates and that is very off-putting. The other problem with the book is that the plot drags. It could have definitely been a much shorter book, told the same story with the same conflicts with the characters and might have actually been a good book that was worth reading. As it was, I cannot recommend it because in the end, it was just another tale about rape and the aftermath, with a lot of fluff thrown in about eclipses. Ho-hum!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

 

 

Available on June 26, 2018 from your favorite local bookseller

Maggie is living clandestinely in a little town called Devon that is more like a resort town than a neighborhood. She works as the make-up artist at The Inn, where many of the rich and famous come to vacation. She is actually in hiding from her real self, a mother who ran a stop sign and killed her young daughter in the accident. The resulting publicity destroyed her marriage to Edward Cooper, so she has changed her name and run to Devon as her haven. The action increases when Edward comes to Devon, intent on starting a new business there and running The Inn, since he has become the new owner. This is the main story line. There are many others, like the mom who won’t tell her son who his father is and the son who is subsequently arrested for hacking. The whole story has one theme, that of reconciliation. I had to keep reading to find out what happens with Maggie and Edward; it was such a great and satisfying book! The ending was a surprise, one that you won’t see coming. The events of the story were so realistic and soul-stirring that it made me want to make sure that all of my relationships are straight and that there is nothing between me and those I love.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Available now at your favorite local bookseller

Dana, Tawny and Harper return to the lake where they spent a month of summer each year as they were growing up. They are there because the death of their beloved Grannie Annie has drawn them there. Each young woman returns home reluctantly and with a lot of secrets that they don’t really want to share. The secrets are a center of the story, but the author does such a good job of writing about the characters and the current action that it does not take away from the real story, which is one of reconciliation and love between siblings. I loved each character and how well they were portrayed, but my absolutely favorite character was Zed. Having spent most of his life with Grannie Annie, he still speaks her wisdom and in many ways represents her. She is the main character who has died but is still present, in the restaurant and cabins and store that she started, in the quotes that the sisters keep being reminded of, and especially in the quotes that they sisters keep being reminded of. This is a heart-warming story of reconciliation and the conquest of bitterness.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

 

Available at your favorite bookseller on April 9, 2018!

The newest thriller by Debra Webb will have you speechless and ready to go back and read the book again, to look for all of the clues that you missed the first time. Detective Olivia Newhouse and her partner, Detective Walter Duncan have settled into a routine and know each other pretty well, or at least they think they do. Both have secrets, terrible secrets that they don’t dare share until the time is right. And when will that be? Meanwhile, they are seeking the whereabouts of pedophile Joseph Fanning, a felon who is now out of prison and who has disappeared. Following all of the clues and questioning all of his previous victims, the two persistent detectives are determined to find out what happened to the evil man who once terrorized children. Is he now a victim himself? The action is non-stop and the revelation of the truth is mind-blowing! Debra Webb never disappoints, and although the theme of this book is a dark one, it will capture and hold you from the beginning to the very satisfying end.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Calla is a hard-working file clerk for whom everything seems to be going wrong. Her beloved father has died, her wicked stepmother has run up debt using Calla’s name, her car has just quit on her. Then she meets Ian, one of the executives at the Dixon Contracting firm where she clerks. Due to a mixup, she ends up sending him flowers, and the romance begins. Neither Calla nor Ian totally trusts themselves to love someone else, so their falling in love is slow and easy. My favorite scene was Thanksgiving dinner with Annabelle, Ian’s grandmother. I also loved that they went on missions trips for holidays instead of buying a lot of gifts or other traditions that are normally followed. It is in Haiti that Calla really finds herself and a part of her life that she knows she wants. Without giving away what happens, there is a lot of conflict between the two, and it looks a lot like they may not be able to overcome it. This was a really delightful, short novel!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Olivia is a psychologist who treats veterans with PTSD. One of her vets seems to be afraid for his life, and then just after talking to her ends up dead. When a special FBI team is called in, Olivia knows that this is a lot more than an ordinary mugging, but she doesn’’t have the necessary security clearance for them to tell her what’s going on. Later, when someone takes a shot at her, Rick and his team know that she is now a target and has to put her in a safe space so that they can continue to investigate. The heated feelings between Olivia and Rick simmer just below the surface throughout this fascinating book. The action is non-stop and the investigation itself has enough details to be very believable. Good, clean read!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

To be honest, I am a fan of Phillip Margolin, but especially his books that have twists and turns and lots of red herrings. This is it! This book has a lot of characters and many are potential suspects. When the book begins, two women are dead and one has escaped alive. But there is someone lurking, ready to take another victim. Oregon police think that they have arrested the perpetrator when they take lawyer Alex Mason into custody. But is he really the criminal? There are others still out there, and the women of the city may not be safe yet. Mason hires renowned criminal attorney Regina Barrister. In turn, Regina has hired a bright new intern, Robin Lockwood. Robin suspects that Regina is beginning to suffer from dementia. Will this affect her ability to defend Mason? The entire book is a series of twists and turns and so. much action that it is a great, gripping read. Only Margolin can lead the reader down a primrose path straight into the arms of a killer that no one suspects!

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Jane Tennison is a probationer with the police in London and is working hard to become a detective. Her character is portrayed realistically; she is a young woman on her own for the first time in her life and is making decisions that could affect her career and the lives of others. She is clever and witty, so the book is entertaining. Jane inadvertently comes across evidence that there could be a bank robbery about to happen, so she helps the police department set up an important sting to catch all of the would-be thieves. Jane befriends several people in her section, DCI Bradfield, who is her supervisor and Kath Morgan, another probationer like her. All of the characters are so lifelike that reading the book was like watching a movie. And at the end of the book, you certainly want to know more about how Jane makes out in life and if she ever becomes the detective that she wants to be. Filled with humor and wit, this is a must-read for those who enjoy British mysteries.

Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

With fast-paced action both in and outside the courtroom, this book shows a return of John Grisham to the kind of book that made him famous and draws readers to his novels.  Mark, Todd and Zola are law students in a school that doesn’t really prepare them to take the bar exam, but it has resulted in hundreds of thousands of debt for each of them.  After their best friend Gordy commits suicide, the three remaining friends set out to use what they have learned in school to make a living and to expose the evil of a bank and a law school scam that has captured thousands in their grasp.  The three friends are lovable and realistic characters, all with different personal issues and talents.  My favorite character was Zola Maal who has a family from Senegal that is about to be deported for being illegal.  Thus, the author also tackles the current events issue of illegal immigration.  Grisham paints a sympathetic picture of a family minding their own business in the U.S. that is suddenly in danger of being ripped away from all that they have known for years.  Mark is the character who is most intellectual, thinking through all of the problems with their plan to scam others and talking the others into following his plan.  Todd is the comic relief character, more at home on a beach with a lot of girls around than in a courtroom.  I loved that Grisham returned to the roots of his writing in this book, drawing the reader into a puzzling matrix of a law school/bank scam and the real issue of debt after graduation.  Having read all of his earlier novels, I am very pleased that this one was equally satisfying in its action, character portrayal and twisted plot.

I obtained a copy of this book from a local library and my review is an honest one without remuneration from any entity.