Book Review: Critical Alliance

 

Critical Alliance

by Elizabeth Goddard

Pub Date 05 Jul 2022 |

 Revell 

 Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers 

I am reviewing a copy of Critical Alliance through Revell and Netgalley :

I am reviewing a copy of Critical Alliance through Revell and Netgalley:

Mackenzie Hanson was able to find a successful career as a professor of cybersecurity at a Michigan university, due to her special set of skills, which has allowed her to put her criminal past behind her.  After a long ago partner in crime delivers a cryptic message about her father's tech company being under cyberattack, she heads for Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches, and hopefully save lives.

Alex Knight is a diplomatic Security Services special agent, who is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. Even as he is trying to relax, Alex finds himself drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage that all have one thing in common--a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.

After the situation turns deadly,Alex and Mackenzie will have to work together to find the answers they need--before someone silences Mackenzie for good.

I give Critical Alliance five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Book Swap

 

The Book Swap

by J.E. Rowney

Pub Date 26 Aug 2022 

 BooksGoSocial 

Mystery & Thrillers

I am reviewing a copy of The Book Swap through BooksGoSocial and Netgalley:

Laura who is newly separated is living back home with her Mum.  Her days are spent reading and escaping from the realities of her new life alone - until that life suddenly becomes more complicated than she could ever have imagined.

After a note is received from an online book swap, one that contains a chilling note, Laura has to overcome her own fears to help a stranger.

But first she has to Uncover just exactly who is it that needs to be saved, and from what.

I give The Book Swap five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Premonition at Withers Farm

 

The Premonition at Withers Farm

by Jaime Jo Wright

Pub Date 11 Oct 2022 

 Bethany House,  Bethany House Publishers

 Christian  |  Mystery & Thrillers  |  Romance 

I am reviewing a copy of The Premonition at Withers Farm through Bethany House and Netgalley:

1910 Michigan Perliett Van Hilton is a self-proclaimed rural healer, leaving the local doctor convinced she practices quackery. It doesn't help that her mother is a spiritualist who regularly offers her services to connect the living with their dearly departed. When Perliett is targeted by a superstitious killer, she must rely on both the local doctor and an intriguing newcomer for assistance.

Molly Wasziak's life had not gone the way she dreamed. in the present day.  After several miscarriage,  Molly is adapting to her husband's purchase of a peculiar old farm. A search for a family tree pulls Molly deep into a century-old murder case and a web of deception, all made more mysterious by the disturbing shadows and sounds inside the farmhouse.

Perilett fights for her life, and Molly seeks renewed purpose for hers as she uncovers the records of the dead. Will their voices be heard, or will time forever silence their truths?

I give The Premonition at  Withers Farm five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Reviee: The Life of Crime

 

The Life of Crime

Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators

by Martin Edwards

Pub Date 16 Aug 2022 | Archive Date 22 Nov 2022

 Harper 360,  Collins Crime Club

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Nonfiction (Adult)

I am reviewing a copy of The Life of Crime through Harper 360, Collins Crime Club and Netgalley:

The Life of Crime is the first major history of Crime fiction in half a century.

Martin Edwards is a multi award winning crime novelist as well as the President of of the Detection Club, archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association and series consultant to the British Library’s highly successful series of crime classics, and therefore uniquely qualified to write this book. 

Martin Edwards has been a widely respected genre commentator for more than thirty years, winning the CWA Diamond Dagger for making a significant contribution to crime writing in 2020, when he also compiled and published Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club and the novel Mortmain Hall. His critically acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder (Collins Crime Club, 2015) was a landmark study of Detective Fiction between the wars.

The Life of Crime comes from a lifetime of reading and enjoying all types of crime fiction, old and new, from around the world. In what will surely be regarded as his magnum opus, he has thrown himself  undaunted into the breadth and complexity of the genre to write an authoritative  as well as a readable study of its development and evolution of crime fiction.

I give The Life of Crime five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Bob Dylan Albums

 

The Bob Dylan Albums

Second Edition

by Anthony Varesi

Pub Date 01 Nov 2022 

 Guernica Editions 

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Entertainment 

I am reviewing a copy of The Bob Dylan Albums through Guernica Editions and Netgalley:

Bob Dylan has a body of work he created that is unparalleled in popular music.  As a songwriter and as a singer, Dylan expanded the boundaries for song.  Anthony Varesi analyzes the massive Dylan canon through a detailed discussion of each of the artist’s officially released albums, in this substantially updated second edition.  

The Bob Dylan Albums follow Bob Dylan's career chronologically  from 1962’s Bob Dylan through to 2021’s Bootleg Series release Springtime in New York. All of Dylan’s studio albums, live albums, collections and archival releases are examined in the text and in the detailed, annotated, cross-referenced discography, as are Dylan’s notable soundtrack contributions, side projects and benefit concert appearances.

The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums explores the reoccurring themes in Dylan’s songs, the influence of other artists on Dylan’s music, and the ongoing relevance of Dylan’s work. In the process.

I give The Bob Dylan Thomas Albums five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Two Sisters of Fayetteville

 

Two Sisters of Fayetteville

by Tamar Anolic

Pub Date 01 Oct 2022

 Kindle/ Amazon 

 Christian  |  Teens & YA  |  Women's Fiction

I am reviewing a copy of Two Sisters of Fayetteville through Kindle/Amazon and Netgalley:

Joanna Upshaw who is seventeen along with her sixteen year old sister Hannah, are two of twelve siblings in an insular, conservative, and evangelical Christian family- same as the Duggars, whose reality show they watch on TV.   Joanna is exhausted by the demands of helping her mother with the housework and childcare attendant in such a large family. She is also beginning to realize that she doesn’t measure up to her parents’ vision of a perfect Christian woman- or to any of their strict rules.

Joanna is closest to her sister Hannah, the one that shares her fatigue and anxiety. Both of them have spent their whole lives learning that their highest calling is to marry and have as many children as possible. However, as Joanna watches Hannah and two of their brothers court with the intention of marrying, she questions whether she is capable of doing the same, especially as her parents shoo her marriage prospects away one at a time. Afraid of becoming the old maid that never amounts to anything, Joanna finally makes plans to get away from her parents forever.

I give Two Sisters of Fayetteville five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Deliberate Cruelty

 

Deliberate Cruelty

Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century

by Roseanne Montillo

Pub Date 01 Nov 2022

 Atria Books 

 True Crime 

I am reviewing a copy of Deliberate Cruelty through Atria Books and Netgalley:

Ann Woodward shot her husband, banking heir Billy Woodward, in the middle of the night in 1955, changing her life forever Though she claimed she thought he was a prowler, few believed the woman who had risen from charismatic showgirl to popular socialite. Everyone had something to say about the scorching scandal afflicting one of the most rich and famous families of New York City, but no one was more obsessed with the tale than Truman Capote. 

Truman Capote acclaimed for his best selling nonfiction book In Cold Blood, Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him.  Truman Capote was looking for new material and followed the scandal from beginning to end. Like Ann, he too had ascended from nobody to toast of the town, but he always felt like an outsider, even among the exclusive coterie of high society women who adored him.

I am reviewing a copy of Deliberate Cruelty five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Finding Us

 

Finding Us

A Mother’s Memoir of Braving Mental Illness with her Young Daughter

by Kristin Rohman Rehkamp

Pub Date 15 Oct 2022

 Atmosphere Press 

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  Health, Mind & Body 

I am reviewing a copy of Finding Us through Atmosphere Press and Netgalley:

Kristin found herself terrified she would loose her daughter, she was unable to breathe her chest hurt, and she was experiencing loss of sensation in limbs, dizziness, and disorientation…all rolling up to a state of terror she had never before witnessed. It was September 16, 2020 and her life changed, suddenly and without warning, with her daughter’s onset of a panic disorder.

Living with mental illness is not an easy journey, and it is not an easy one, it’s  messy and it’s complicated and it doesn’t affect only the person with the disability but their loved ones as well.  Despite the best of efforts, it is an experience that those dealing with it cannot control, but instead bravely learn to live with, learn from, and feasibly teach others.

Kristin Roham Rehkamp shares her story to educate and bring visibility to what living with a child braving a mental illness looks like and feels like.   It is her hope that sharing her story in Finding Us  helps to normalize the mental health conversation, while providing others comfort and support in knowing their unique challenges and journeys are understood.

I give Finding Us five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Out of the Ashes

 

Out of the Ashes

A Story of Recovery and Hope

by Sallie Crotty

Narrated by Kimberly Austin

Pub Date 30 Sep 2022 |

Greenleaf Book Group

 Biographies & Memoirs 

I graciously received a copy of Out of the Ashes from Greenleaf Book Group for my honest review which is a follows:

Out of the Ashes Is a story of great bravery as well as insight, a powerful tale of a midlife descent into debilitating despair, she brings the reader on a deeply personal journey. She reveals her struggles, time spent in a psychiatric ward, and how lacking a clear diagnosis almost led to her death. She also describes how proper care and receiving the right diagnosis and treatment can provide hope, stability, and a path to happiness.

This book is a no holds barred look at one woman’s struggle with mental health.  And serves as a reminder that we need to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness.  In this book Sallie Crotty provides hope for the many individuals diagnosed every year, their loved ones, and anyone interested in learning more about the lives of those who live with mental illness.

I give Out of the Ashes five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review, Jesus, Love & Tacos

 

Jesus, Love, & Tacos

A Spicy Take on Lordship, Community, and Mission

by Carrie Stephens

Pub Date 11 Oct 2022 

 Abilene Christian University Press & Leafwood Publishers,  Leafwood Publishers

 Christian  |  Religion & Spirituality 

I am reviewing a copy of Jesus, Love, & Tacos through Leafwood Publishers and Netgalley:

Carrie Stephens offers  words of hope from the heart of God in Jesus, Love, & Tacos as she uses vibrant metaphors and comical self-deprecation to tell the story of lordship, community, and mission. These three ancient values will offer you help and hope as they shape your spiritual life, define how to gather in unity, and lead you to God’s missional love in action.

While facing fear, sickness, and increasing polarization, Carrie provides a fresh encounter with the lordship of Jesus to right-size your expectations and transform your view of your life.

Looking at the examples of the early Church you’ll find yourself brave enough to swallow your insecurities and forge ahead into the sometimes-painful world of the Church where healing and life happen through God’s faithfulness.

In a world of never ending neediness and suffering reconsider the call to missional living afresh. Living with a mission will reinvigorate your connection to God and others, where you’ll find unexpected meaning and surprising opportunities.

In these pages you will find plates of truth and grace, and you’ll reconnect with a God beyond your comprehension who is intimately involved in the details of your life.

I give Jesus, Love & Tacos five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Blood & Ink

 

Blood & Ink

The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime

by Joe Pompeo

Pub Date 13 Sep 2022 | Archive Date 08 Nov 2022

 William Morrow 

 History  |  Nonfiction (Adult)  |  True Crime 

I am reviewing copy of Blood & Ink through William Morrow and Netgalley:

On a warm but partly cloudy mid morning day on September.16.1922, Pearl Bahmer and Ray Scneider found the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.

The murder of the Reverend Edward Hall who was a prominent clergyman whose wife Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover’s lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history—a veritable crime of the century.

The local authorities failed to secure any indictments, it took a crusade by the editor of a circulation-hungry Hearst tabloid to revive the case and bring it to trial at last.

Blood & Ink freshly chronicles what remains one of the most electrifying but forgotten murder mysteries in U.S. history. It also traces the birth of American tabloid journalism, pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder. 

I give Blood and Ink five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Real Enid Blyton

 

The Real Enid Blyton

by Nadia Cohen

Pub Date 30 Oct 2022

 Pen & Sword,  Pen & Sword History

 Biographies & Memoirs  |  History  |  Nonfiction (Adult) 

I am reviewing a copy of The Real Enid Blyton through Pen & Sword and Netgalley:

Enid Blyton was the most profiling Children’s author in history.  She was a remarkable woman who wrote hundreds of books in a career spanning forty years, even her razor sharp mind could never have predicted her enormous global audience. Now, fifty years after her death, Enid remains a phenomenon, with sales outstripping every rival.

Both parents and teachers lobbied against Enid’s books, complaining they were simplistic, repetitive and littered with sexist and snobbish undertones. Blatant racist slurs were particularly shockingly; foreign and working class characters were treated with a distain that horrifies modern readers. But regardless of the criticism, Enid worked until she could not physically write another word, famously producing thousands of words a day hunched over her manual typewriter.

Enid imagined a more remarkable innocent world, where children roamed unsupervised, and problems were solved with midnight feasts or glorious picnics with lashings of ginger beer.   Smugglers, thieves, spies and kidnappers were thwarted by fearless gangs who easily outwitted the police, while popular schoolgirls scored winning goals in nail-biting lacrosse matches.

Enid made sure her image was crafted so that her fans only knew of this sunny persona, but behind the scenes, she weaved elaborate stories to conceal infidelities, betrayals and unconventional friendships, lied about her childhood and never fully recovered from her parent’s marriage collapsing.  She grew up convinced that her beloved father abandoned her for someone he loved more, and few could ever measure up to her impossible standards.

Enid was a complex and immature woman who was plagued by insecurities and haunted by a dark past. She was prone to bursts of furious temper, yet was a shrewd businesswoman years ahead of her time. She may not have been particularly likeable, and her stories infuriatingly unimaginative, but she left a vast literary legacy to generations of children.

I give the Real Enid Blyton five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Little Donkey

 

The Little Donkey

by Gerda Marie Scheidl

Date 18 Oct 2022 

 NorthSouth Books Inc.,  NorthSouth Books

 Children's Fiction  |  Christian 

I am reviewing a copy of The Little Donkey through Northsouth Books and Netgalley:

In this gentle and sweet retelling of the Christmas story, a little donkey sets out on a long journey to Bethlehem.

Along the way he is teased by a Camel and laughed out by other animals.  As he begins to stumble and feel worthless, he begins to stumble and loose heart until a great light guides him to his destination. There he is rewarded for his courage and faith, and learns that the new king loves all creatures.

Reading this sweet little book to the Child or Children in your life would make a great addition to your Christmas Tradition.

I give The Little Donkey five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!