Diva by Daisy Goldwin

 New York Times bestselling author Daisy Goodwin returns with a story of the scandalous love affair between the most celebrated opera singer of all time and one of the richest men in the world.

In the glittering and ruthlessly competitive world of opera, Maria Callas was known simply as la divina: the divine one. With her glorious voice, instinctive flair for the dramatic and striking beauty, she was the toast of the grandest opera houses in the world. But her fame was hard won: raised in Nazi-occupied Greece by a mother who mercilessly exploited her golden voice, she learned early in life to protect herself from those who would use her for their own ends.

When she met the fabulously rich Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, for the first time in her life, she believed she’d found someone who saw the woman within the legendary soprano. She fell desperately in love. He introduced her to a life of unbelievable luxury, showering her with jewels and sojourns in the most fashionable international watering holes with celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

And then suddenly, it was over. The international press announced that Aristotle Onassis would marry the most famous woman in the world, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, leaving Maria to pick up the pieces.

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Amazon.com: Diva: A Novel: 9781250279927: Goodwin, Daisy: Books

When I was eighteen I went to Cambridge University to study history. MY first assignment was Queen Victoria and the media. I went to the library to consult her Diaries. She wrote sixty two million words in her life time and as I pulled out the first leather bound volume I felt overwhelmed by its size and weight. But then it fell open at the entry for 3rd Nov 1839, " I saw me dearest Albert who was all wet in his white cashmere breeches with nothing on underneath." As I laughed out loud, the other readers looked at me in disapproval. Queen Victoria, I decided then, was not the boot faced old bag with a bonnet I had imagined, but a woman after my own heart.

All my novels have been set in the Victorian era: The American Heiress is about a dollar princess called Cora Cash who marriesan English duke; The Fortune Hunter is the story of Sisi, the beautiful Austrian Empress who came to England to hunt - in the novel Sisi meets Victoria. I enjoyed writing this encounter so much - Victoria"s voice came so easily to me, that I decided that my next next novel would be about the young Victoria. But as I started writing it, I thought it would make a great tv drama, which is how I ended up writing the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, as well as my novel Victoria, a novel of a young Queen.

When I am not immersed in the nineteenth century, I live in London with three dogs, two daughters and a husband.

The Royal Game by Linda Keir

 American pop singer Jennie Jensen is ready to marry the love of her life, England's Prince Hugh, but someone is determined to keep her from becoming a princess--any way they can. To give her fairy tale a happy ending, she'll have to play the royal game.

Jennie Jensen is touring Europe, already living her dream, when Prince Hugh of Wales--the future King of England--appears at a gig and requests his favorite song. He's already smitten and soon, so is she. After a secretive, whirlwind romance, Hugh proposes, and when Jennie accepts, her world changes overnight. She's still learning to navigate the minefield of constant scrutiny, barbed social interactions, and royal protocol (there are rules about pantyhose), as she learns that not everyone in England is excited about the prospect of an American princess.

When Jennie receives a threatening note, she can't help but see the parallels between herself and another young woman who struggled to adjust to royal life: Hugh's mother, Princess Penelope, who was killed in a mysterious plane crash. And as the threats to Jennie grow more serious, she digs into Penelope's past, discovering a woman who also suspected someone in the palace was out to get her. Was Penelope murdered? And is Jennie next? With the eyes of a nation on her as the royal wedding approaches, she's in a race against time to save her marriage ... and her own life.

Both a charming love story and a thrilling mystery, The Royal Game reveals one woman's determination to find happily ever after--on her own terms.

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The Royal Game: A Novel: Linda Keir: 9798212631075: Amazon.com: Books

Linda Keir is the pen name of Linda Joffe Hull and Keir Graff. Their four novels together are: The Royal Game, The Three Mrs. Wrights, Drowning with Others, and The Swing of Things. Independently, they have published over a dozen novels. You can find them on Instagram at @lindajhull and @keirgraff.

The Girl With Three Birthdays by Patti Eddington

 Patti Eddington always knew she was adopted, and her beloved parents seemed amenable enough to questions—but she never wanted to hurt them by expressing curiosity, so she didn’t. The story of her mother cutting off and dying her hair when she was a toddler? She thought it was eccentric and funny, nothing more. When she discovered at fifteen that her birthday wasn’t actually her birthday? She believed it when her mother said she’d changed it to protect her from the “nosy old biddies” who might try to discover her identity.

It wasn’t until decades later, when a genealogy test led Patti to her biological family (including an aunt with a shocking story) and the discovery of yet another birthday, that she really began to integrate what she thought she knew about her origins. Determined to know the truth, she finally petitioned a court to unseal records that had been locked up for almost sixty years—and began to put the pieces of her past together, bit by painstaking bit.

Framed by a brief but poignant 1963 “Report of Investigation” based on a caseworker’s one-day visit to Patti’s childhood home, The Girl With Three Birthdays tells the story of an adoptee who always believed she was the answer to a couple’s seventeen-year journey to become parents, until a manila envelope from a rural county court arrived and caused her to question . . . everything.

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The Girl with Three Birthdays: An Adopted Daughter’s Memoir of Tiaras, Tough Truths, and Tall Tales: Eddington, Patti: 9781647426507: Amazon.com: Books

Patti Eddington is a newspaper and magazine journalist whose favorite job ever was interviewing the famous authors who came through town on book tours. She never dreamed of writing about her life because she was too busy helping build her husband’s veterinary practice, caring for her animal obsessed daughter—whose favorite childhood toy was an inflatable tick—and learning to tap dance. Then fate, and a DNA test, led her to a story she felt compelled to tell. Today, the mid-century modern design enthusiast and former dance teacher enjoys being dragged on walks by her ridiculous three-legged dog, David, and watching the egrets and bald eagles from her deck on a beautiful bayou in Spring Lake, Michigan.

Here For It by Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston

 We all long to do life together with people who really "get" us. Amy Weatherly and Jess Johnston, bestselling authors and founders of the wildly popular "Sister, I Am with You" online community, simplify some of the trickier aspects of friendship and give readers practical ways to deepen the friendships they already have.

Making friends as an adult is hard! It's weird and it's tricky and it can feel overwhelming. Maintaining those friendships and taking them to a deeper level can be even harder. Just as Amy and Jess gave readers a road map for finding real, authentic relationships with I'll Be There (But I'll Be Wearing Sweatpants), they now provide a toolkit for building up and building on those friendships. Here For It (The Good, the Bad, and the Queso) will dig deeper into the hows and whys of doing life together in a culture that constantly tries to keep us separate. Readers will learn how to

• distinguish between different types of friendships and recognize when a seasonal relationship has run its course;
• understand the importance of self-awareness, healthy confrontation, and differing love languages in friendship; and
• maintain long-distance friendships, foster real relationships with your neighbors, and establish traditions that strengthen your connections.

With this new book, Amy and Jess give readers the tools they need to continue laying a strong foundation and building relationships that are steady, secure, and made to withstand whatever life throws their way.

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Here For It (the Good, the Bad, and the Queso): The How-To Guide for Deepening Your Friendships and Doing Life Together: Weatherly, Amy, Johnston, Jess: 9781400226832: Amazon.com: Books

Amy Weatherly is a Texas girl through and through, which is where she lives with her husband, three kids, and two rescue dogs—Lou and Brewster. She is passionate about helping women embrace courage, confidence, and purpose for their life, and she does it with a quick wit and down-to-earth sense of humor. She has written for The Today Show, Good Morning America, Yahoo.com and Love What Matters. 

My Thoughts...

A Must read! Wow! This was such a well done book. I felt like I was sitting with two friends sharing stories. Its very relatable and an easy read. I have to say I recommend this one.

5 stars two times!
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Klara's Truth by Susan Weissbach

It is May 2014, and Dr. Klara Lieberman—forty-nine, single, professor of archaeology at a small liberal arts college in Maine, a contained person living a contained life—has just received a letter from her estranged mother, Bessie, that will dramatically change her life. Her father, she learns—the man who has been absent from her life for the last forty-three years, and about whom she has long been desperate for information—is dead. Has been for many years, in fact, which Bessie clearly knew. But now the Polish government is giving financial reparations for land it stole from its Jewish citizens during WWII, and Bessie wants the money. Klara has little interest in the money—but she does want answers about her father. She flies to Warsaw, determined to learn more.

In Poland, Klara begins to piece together her father’s, and her own, story. She also connects with extended family, begins a romantic relationship, and discovers her calling: repairing the hundreds of forgotten, and mostly destroyed, pre-War Jewish cemeteries in Poland. Along the way, she becomes a more integrated, embodied, and interpersonally connected individual—one with the tools to make peace with her past and, for the first time in her life, build purposefully toward a bigger future. 

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Klara's Truth: A Novel: Weissbach Friedman, Susan: 9781647426101: Amazon.com: Books

Susan Weissbach (Friedman) is a psychotherapist with a specialty in women’s issues, family therapy, and trauma-focused therapy. A graduate of Hamilton College, Boston University’s MSW/MPH program, and the Ackerman Institute for Couples and Families, she is also EMDRIA certified and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), and has been a practicing clinician for more than twenty-five years (she is not accepting new clients). Originally from Long Island, she now lives in Westchester County, New York, where she enjoys practicing yoga and mindfulness, going for walks in nature, listening to music, and spending time near the ocean. Susan has been married to her husband for thirty years and has two daughters in their twenties. Klara’s Truth is her first novel.

The Story of David and Goliath by Pia Imperial

 

Share the Biblical tale of David and Goliath with your little one and celebrate bravery and faith together!

Simple and biblically accurate text introduces readers to the most beloved stories of the Bible. David and Goliathis the perfect gift for parents and other caretakers to share their love of Christ and faith in courage with their young ones year-round.

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The Story of David and Goliath: A Parable of Courage and Faith (Little Bible Stories): Imperial, Pia, Gledhill, Carly: 9780593523346: Amazon.com: Books

Pia Imperial lives in Connecticut with her loving husband. She has two grandchildren to whom she reads the Little Bible Stories.

Neena Lee is Seeing Things by Sheila Athens

 When a travel writer haunted by old ghosts comes face to face with a new one—who just happens to be one of the most famous men in the world—she has no choice but to dig into his past … and her own.

Fifty-six-year-old Neena Lee is determined to revive her career as a travel writer. Trouble is, the upstart editor at the travel magazine where she works has fired everyone else over the age of forty. Worse yet, Neena is still plagued by the panic attacks she’s been suffering since her brother’s death.

Despite her fragile condition, Neena’s flatlining bank account means she must go back to work. When the baby-faced editor finally offers her an assignment, she jumps at the chance. Even better: She’s being sent to the remote barrier island off the coast of Georgia where John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Carolyn Bessette pulled off a secret, paparazzi-free wedding.

But when Neena arrives at the tiny church on Cumberland Island where the fairytale wedding took place, she’s shocked to see John F. Kennedy, Jr. himself waiting for her in the back pew…even though he’s been dead for almost twenty-five years. Though Neena is sure she’s hallucinating, John begs her to hear him out—and to help him reunite with his wife.

Thanks to John’s continued presence and trademark charisma, one mission soon leads to another, and soon Neena has befriended a dead man. Nevertheless, she knows she needs to get back to her real life if she’s going to save her job, her reputation, and her home.

But the more Neena interacts with John, the more he pushes her to confront her own demons—encouraging her to worry less about not having saved her brother…and more about saving herself.

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Neena Lee Is Seeing Things: Athens, Sheila: 9798989164714: Amazon.com: Books

Sheila Athens writes smart women's fiction with a hint of romance. Her books are set in that quirky part of Florida where the South meets the Sunshine State. She loves quiet spaces, eccentric people and the little band of Writer Hikers she walks with on a weekly basis. After growing up in the Ozarks, she moved to Florida--sight unseen--with the man who would become her husband. 

My Thoughts...

Suzy Approved always has the best book on her tours. This one did not disappoint. A new author with a good story.
Now to find out if this author has any more books out...
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey

 Maggie is fine. She’s doing really good, actually. Sure, she’s broke, her graduate thesis on something obscure is going nowhere, and her marriage only lasted 608 days, but at the ripe old age of twenty-nine, Maggie is determined to embrace her new life as a Surprisingly Young Divorcée™.

Now she has time to take up nine hobbies, eat hamburgers at 4 am, and “get back out there” sex-wise. With the support of her tough-loving academic advisor, Merris; her newly divorced friend, Amy; and her group chat (naturally), Maggie barrels through her first year of single life, intermittently dating, occasionally waking up on the floor and asking herself tough questions along the way.

Laugh-out-loud funny and filled with sharp observations, Really Good, Actually is a tender and bittersweet comedy that lays bare the uncertainties of modern love, friendship, and our search for that thing we like to call “happiness”. This is a remarkable debut from an unforgettable new voice in fiction.

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                     Really Good, Actually: A Novel: Heisey, Monica: 9780063235410: Amazon.com: Books

Monica Heisey is an essayist, comedian, and screenwriter from Toronto. Her writing has been published in The New Yorker, the New York Times, Vogue, Elle, The Guardian, Glamour, New York Magazine, and VICE, among others. She has written for television shows like Schitt's Creek, Workin' Moms, and Everything I Know About Love. She lives in London.

Change your Diet Change your Mind by Georgia Ede

 Are you struggling with attention problems, mood swings, food obsession, or depression? Whatever the issue, you have far more control over your thoughts, feelings, and behavior than you realize. Although medications may bring some relief, in Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind, Dr. Georgia Ede reveals that the most powerful way to change brain chemistry is with food, because that’s where brain chemicals come from in the first place.

 
In this provocative, illuminating guide, Dr. Ede explains why nearly everything we think we know about brain-healthy diets is wrong. We've been told the way to protect our brains is with superfoods, supplements, and plant-based diets rich in whole grains and legumes, but the science tells a different story: not only do these strategies often fail, but some can even work against us. The truth about brain food is that meat is not dangerous, vegan diets are not healthier, and antioxidants are not the answer.
 
Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind will empower you to:

• understand how unscientific research methods drive fickle nutrition headlines and illogical dietary guidelines
• weigh the risks and benefits of your favorite foods so you can make your own informed choices about what to eat
• evaluate yourself for signs of insulin resistance—the silent metabolic disease that robs your brain of the energy it needs to thrive
• improve your mental health with a choice of moderate-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets that you can personalize to your food preferences and health goals

Drawing on a wide range of scientific disciplines including biochemistry, neuroscience, and botany, Dr. Ede will ignite your curiosity about the fascinating world of food and its role in nourishing, protecting, and energizing your brain.

Pick up your copy here...

Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Powerful Plan to Improve Mood, Overcome Anxiety, and Protect Memory for a Lifetime of Optimal Mental Health: Ede M.D., Dr. Georgia: 9781538739075: Amazon.com: Books

Dr. Georgia Ede is a Harvard-trained psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and metabolic psychiatry. Her twenty-five years of experience include twelve years at Smith College and Harvard University Health Services, where she was the first to offer nutrition-based therapies as an alternative to psychiatric medication. Dr. Ede speaks internationally about nutrition science and dietary approaches to psychiatric conditions, and developed the first and only medically accredited Ketogenic Diets for Mental Health Clinician Training Program. In 2022, she co-authored the first inpatient study of the ketogenic diet for serious mental illness, and was named a recipient of the Baszucki Brain Research Fund’s Metabolic Mind Award. You will find many helpful free articles about nutrition and mental health on her website DiagnosisDiet.

Georgia lives in the northeast corner of Massachusetts with her partner Suzi Smith, who illustrates all of her articles, books, and presentations. 

My Thoughts...

This was a very interesting and complex read. I learned so much and I am making a lot of changes. This is a must read and one that I plan to share with many friends.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

 

Once Upon a Divorce by Betsy St. Amant

 What happens when the author of happily-ever-after romances gets divorced? As a divorce survivor and single mom, Betsy St. Amant Haddox--known for her charming rom-coms--shares her own raw, unfiltered story of what happens after the fairy tale ends. Complete with plenty of what-not-to-do tales, Once Upon a Divorce features what she learned on her bumbling journey to wholeness.

In her humorous, vulnerable, and authentic way, Betsy recounts how she navigated her ex-husband's abandonment and the seeming silence from heaven that followed. She takes readers through the thorny path of figuring out life as a single mother, healing from loss, and finding God to be faithful through it all. Once Upon a Divorce proves that the end of a marriage isn't the end of the story.
Christian women will embrace this book because it helps them feel seen and validated amid their own relationship storms. And they will appreciate the biblical perspective Betsy brings as she tackles divorce and its aftermath from a Christian perspective, not a "girl power" one.

Join Betsy as she shares heartfelt advice for the "now what?" chapter--advice learned firsthand on acceptance, forgiveness, and the hard-won truth of hoping for more, while being content right where you are.

Pick up your copy here...

Once Upon a Divorce: Walking with God After "The End": Haddox, Betsy: 9780825447983: Amazon.com: Books

Betsy St. Amant is the multi-published, award-winning author of many romantic comedies, including Tacos for Two, The Key to Love, and over twenty other romance novels and novellas. This is her first nonfiction book. She has a degree in communications and a passion for seeing women restored to truth. Betsy is remarried and lives in north Louisiana with her family. Find out more at betsystamant.com.

The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold

 Shaken by her parents' divorce and discouraged by the growing chasm between herself and her serious boyfriend, Nikki Werner seeks solace at her uncle's farm in a small Missouri hamlet. She'll spend the summer there, picking up the pieces of her shattered present so she can plan a better future. But what awaits her at the ancestral farm is a past she barely knows.

Among her late grandmother's belongings, Nikki finds an old notebook filled with handwritten German recipes and wise sayings pulled from the book of Proverbs. With each recipe she makes, she invites locals to the family table to hear their stories about the town's history, her ancestors--and her estranged father.

What started as a cathartic way to connect to her heritage soon becomes the means through which she learns how the women before her endured--with the help of their cooking prowess. Nikki realizes how delicious streusel with a healthy dollop of faith can serve as a guide to heal wounds of the past. 

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The Divine Proverb of Streusel: (Moving Contemporary Fiction and Family Saga Filled with Cooking and Small Town Community): Sara Brunsvold: 9780800742997: Amazon.com: Books

Sara Brunsvold creates stories that speak hope, truth, and life. Influenced by humble women of God who find his fingerprints in the everyday, she does the same in her life and her storytelling. Sara’s recognitions include the 2020 ACFW Genesis Award for Contemporary Fiction. She lives with her family near Kansas City, Missouri, where she can often be spotted writing at a park or library. Learn more at www.sarabrunsvold.com. 

This was such a healing read. It was my first book by Brunsvold. I will say it is very well written and I felt all the feels. Chapter thirty-four had a recipe for Crumb cake, and I had to make it. This is a must-read friends.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Cold Threat by Nancy Mehl

 Twenty years ago, several people were murdered in Des Moines, and the only evidence left behind was a snowman ornament hanging ominously on a tree in the victims' front lawns. With a suspect behind bars, the killings have come to an end--or so everyone thought. But now crimes with a similar MO are happening in a small Iowa town, and a local detective believes the killer is back and ready to strike again.

With little time left on the clock before they have another murder on their hands, private investigators River Ryland and Tony St. Clair must work alongside Tony's detective father to find evidence that will uncover an evil that has survived far too long. As the danger mounts and the suspect closes in, it will take all they have to catch a killer--before he catches one of them.

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Cold Threat: (An FBI Profiler Thriller Romantic Suspense Series) (Ryland & St. Clair): Nancy Mehl: 9780764240461: Amazon.com: Books

Nancy Mehl lives in Missouri, with her husband Norman, and her puggle, Watson. She's authored over fifty books and is currently at work on a new FBI suspense series for Bethany House Publishing.

All of Nancy's novels have an added touch - something for your spirit as well as your soul. "I welcome the opportunity to share my faith through my writing," Nancy says. "It's a part of me and of everything I think or do. God is number one in my life. I wouldn't be writing at all if I didn't believe that this is what He's called me to do. I hope everyone who reads my books will walk away with the most important message I can give them: God is good, and He loves you more than you can imagine. He has a good plan especially for your life, and there is nothing you can't overcome with His help."

You can find out more about Nancy by visiting her Web site at: www.nancymehl.com. She also is active on the Suspense Sisters: www.suspensesisters.blogspot.com and on FaceBook! 

My Thoughts...

This is a must read. I read book 1 but this can be read as a standalone. I love the amount of suspense Mehl gives in this book. I highly recommend it.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

The Racher's Love Song by Makenna Lee

 

He’s been there. Done that.

So why does his heart hope this time will be different?

Ranch foreman Travis Taylor doesn't have time for opera singers on vacation. Especially bubbly beautiful ones like Lizzy Dalton. His heart was once by a country music diva—ignoring the warning signs this time around is a no-go. And the baby with special needs Lizzy is fostering only evokes the lingering trauma of losing Travis’s own baby brother. But Lizzy’s kisses, and the infant's sweet smile, make him dream of a family and happily-ever-after. Unless Travis's emotional armor—perfectly designed to protect him from heartbreak—sabotages it first.

From Harlequin Special Edition: Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

The Women of Dalton Ranch

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The Rancher's Love Song (The Women of Dalton Ranch, 1): Lee, Makenna: 9781335594525: Amazon.com: Books

Makenna Lee is an award-winning romance author living in the Texas Hill Country with her real-life hero and their two children, one of whom has Down syndrome and inspired her first Harlequin book, A Sheriff’s Star. She writes heartwarming contemporary romance that celebrates real-life challenges and the power of love and acceptance. She has been known to make people laugh and cry in the same book. Makenna is often drinking coffee with a cat on her lap while writing, reading, or plotting a new story. You might also find her studying herbal medicine or listening to Celtic music. Her wish is to write books that touch your heart, making you feel, think, and dream. You can visit Makenna at www.makennalee.com.

When the Jessamine Grows by Donna Everhart

 Talk of impending war is a steady drumbeat throughout North Carolina, though Joetta McBride pays it little heed. She and her husband, Ennis, have built a modest but happy life for themselves, raising two sons, fifteen-year-old Henry, and eleven-year-old Robert, on their small subsistence farm. They do not support the Confederacy’s position on slavery, but Joetta considers her family to be neutral, believing this is simply not their fight.

Her opinion is not favored by many in their community, including Joetta’s own father-in-law, Rudean. A staunch Confederate supporter, he fills his grandsons’ heads with stories about the glory of battle and the Southern cause until one night Henry runs off to join the war. At Joetta’s frantic insistence, Ennis leaves to find their son and bring him home.

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: When the Jessamine Grows: 9781496740700: Everhart, Donna: Books

Donna Everhart is the USA Today bestselling author of vivid, authentic Southern fiction, including the Southeastern Library Association Award-winning The Road to Bittersweet, the Indie Next Pick, Amazon Spotlight/Debut Pick, The Education of Dixie Dupree, The Forgiving Kind, and The Moonshiner’s Daughter. Her fifth novel, The Saints of Swallow Hill is out now.

Born and raised in Raleigh, North Carolina, she now lives with her husband just an hour away in the Sandhills area of the state. Please visit her online at DonnaEverhart.com.

My Thoughts...

I could not put this book down. Everhart always writes books that I learn so much from each page. This is a must read. I highly recommend this one.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Movie Stars Shine Brightest In the Dark by Jillian Thomadesn

 Roberta Hobbs is back again, solving crimes in St. Louis, Missouri. This time, she’s investigating the sudden death of ultra-famous movie star Cecilia Cinvenue – whose Ferrari dived over a cliff in a nearby industrial town.

What would bring Cecilia to St. Louis and why did she tell a bystander that someone was chasing her?

No sooner does Hobbs begin her investigation than she’s caught in the case’s many twists and turns. It seems that everyone within Cecilia’s Hollywood inner circle could be a suspect, as the star had no shortage of secrets and detractors.

The more Hobbs works the case, the more well-hidden truths about Hollywood become evident...and Hobbs soon realizes that even beautiful, talented movie stars have skeletons lurking just beneath the surface.

Pick up your copy here...

Movie Stars Shine Brightest in the Dark (Roberta Hobbs Detective Series): Thomadsen, Jillian: 9798868393907: Amazon.com: Books

I wrote my first book, Wollack the Witch, at age 7. Needless to say, this book is exactly what one would expect from a second grader. All 20 pages were little more than an anthology of girls names from the 80s...but it was a start.

​

I went to college in the mid-90s and there I wrote my second book. I had always thought of Universities as a petri dish for revolution and social change. At the time, UVA was brimming with tailgates, football games, Greek life and social clubs...basically everyone else's vision of college. So, instead of adapting to my environment like most students, I holed up in the library and wrote an 800-page political satire about our nation's obsession with political scandal. Amazingly, I found an agent for this book but she wasn't able to sell it to any publishers.

​

Fast forward twenty years. A former Wall Street exec and a mother of three, I made sure I still found time to write. In April 2018, I published a dual-narrative suspense novel about a family that disappears under mysterious circumstances. This novel, All the Hidden Pieces, won the 2020 Missouri Author Project award. The subtext involves parenting a child with dyslexia -- a topic I know quite a bit about.

In December 2023, I published a follow-up in the series, entitled Movie Stars Shine Brightest in the Dark. In this novel, when ultra-famous movie star Cecilia Cinvenue dies in a sudden car accident, St. Louis Detective Roberta Hobbs is tasked with leading the case, and her investigation leads her to long-hidden truths about Hollywood as well as issues within Hobbs' own family. There are many twists and turns in the book, all leading up to a surprise ending.

Death Under A Little Sky by Stig Abell

 

 In this widely praised debut crime thriller, a high-flying detective leaves London for a fresh start in the countryside—only to find himself on familiar ground hunting for a dangerous killer.

When Jake Jackson inherits his reclusive uncle’s property in the country, the detective seizes the opportunity for a new life away from the hustle of London.

The new home in this charming rural idyll is beautiful and the surroundings are stunning. While the locals are a bit eccentric, they’re also friendly and invite the newcomer to join their annual treasure hunt.

When a young woman’s bones are discovered, Jake finds himself pulled back into the role of detective, and on the trail of a dangerous killer hiding within this most unlikely of settings.

Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                    Amazon.com: Death Under a Little Sky: A Novel: 9780063380998: Abell, Stig: Books

Stephen "Stig" Paul Abell is an English journalist, newspaper editor and radio presenter. He currently co-presents the Monday to Thursday breakfast show on Times Radio with Aasmah Mir.

Abell was from 2016 to 2020 editor of The Times Literary Supplement and from 2013 to 2016 managing editor of The Sun. He was formerly a fiction reviewer at The Spectator and reviewer at Telegraph Media Group as well as The Times Literary Supplement. He was also a presenter on LBC Radio.

Abell educated at Loughborough Grammar School, and went on to graduate with a double first in English from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

In September 2001, Abell joined the Press Complaints Commission as a complaints officer; he completed other roles at the PCC including press officer, assistant director and deputy director before being appointed Director of the PCC on 19 December 2010. In August 2013, Abell joined The Sun as managing editor, his role until the end of April 2016.

In March 2014, Abell started co-presenting a show on LBC Radio alongside Sky News television presenter Kay Burley from 8am to 11am on Sundays. Burley was the main presenter while Abell reviewed the papers and added political comment.

From August 2014, the show was co-presented by Abell and LBC's Petrie Hosken. In January 2015, he was given his own show from 8 am to 10 am on Sundays. From April 2016, Abell moved to the afternoon slot on Sundays of 3 pm to 6 pm.

Abell has been heavily criticized for publishing an article in 2015 by Katie Hopkins. The article argued for "gunships sending these boats back to their own country", and described migrants as "like cockroaches". It concluded that Britain should "force migrants back to their shores and burn the boats".

In May 2016, Abell became the editor of The Times Literary Supplement, succeeding Sir Peter Stothard, who had edited the newspaper for the previous 14 years. He held the post until June 2020, when he was succeeded by Martin Ivens.