Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Bad River by Marc Cameron


 In the Inupiaq village of Wainwright on the Arctic Ocean, two teenagers discover a frozen body in the permafrost wall of their family’s cellar. They recognize the face through the ice. It is the face of a young woman who went missing—two years ago . . .


In South Dakota, Arliss Cutter searches for answers surrounding his brother’s mysterious death. But his visit only raises more questions without any leads. Until he returns to Alaska—and learns that his brother had something in common with the frozen body in the ice cellar . . .

Inside the young woman’s pocket is a fossilized animal tooth—similar to the one Arliss’s brother picked up on a trip to South Dakota. A bizarre coincidence? Or are the two connected somehow? Before Arliss can figure it out, his brother’s widow and children become the targets of a brutal home invasion. Arliss arrives on the scene in time to save them—but his actions trigger a larger investigation that puts his own neck on the line. From South Dakota to Anchorage to the Inupiaq villages of the Arctic, Arliss follows this bloodstained trail of clues to a remote lodge on the banks of the Kobuk River. Here, in this unforgiving wilderness, he will find the answers he seeks. Here, in this untamed, often violent land, he will come face to face with the terrible truth—and the man behind his brother’s murder . . .

Pick up your copy here...



A retired Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal, Marc Cameron spent nearly thirty years in law enforcement. His assignments have taken him from Alaska to Manhattan, Canada to Mexico and dozens of points in between. He holds a second degree black belt in Jujitsu and is a certified scuba diver and man-tracker.

An avid adventure motorcyclist, Cameron's books heavily feature bikes and bikers--from OSI Agent Jericho Quinn's beloved BMW GS to Harley Davidsons, Royal Enfields, Ducatis and...most everything on two wheels.

Cameron lives in the Alaska with his wife, blue heeler dog, and BMW GS motorcycle. Visit him at: www.marccameronbooks.com

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Puzzle Me A Murder by Roz Noonan

 

Down-on-her-luck Alice had hoped to retire before turning sixty-five, not struggle to keep her cozy home and dependable job. But even after divorce leaves her golden years a mess, the pieces always come together with a little help from her friends—a fun-loving crew who thrive on jigsaws over coffee, cocktails, and gossip. So, when it’s time to defend close confidant Ruby Milliner, she springs into action. Only, in this case, supporting Ruby means proving she didn’t murder her cheating husband!

Ruby never wanted to kill George, although anger can make a person say questionable—and incriminating—things. And scheming, deceitful George made 
a lot of people angry. A quick investigation reveals the man was blackmailing whoever he could for a quick payday, from his mistress to the most prominent residents in town . . .

Alice dives into a secret search to exonerate Ruby, fiercely committed to cracking the crime and patching up torn relationships along the way. Despite using her unassuming persona to fly under the radar, slimming down a massive suspect list and restoring peace to West Hazel is a real gamble. Because if successful, Alice will meet a vengeful killer whose game she doesn’t yet know how to play.

Pick up your copy here...



ROSALIND NOONAN is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author published by Kensington Books and Crooked Lane. Her most recent publications include PRETTY, NASTY, LOVELY, AND THEN SHE WAS GONE, and WHERE THE LOST GIRLS GO. In 2015 her Christmas chicklit novel CHARMING CHRISTMAS was made into a movie that aired on the Hallmark channel.

Noonan grew up in suburban Maryland on the outskirts of Washington, D.C. After graduating from Wagner College in Staten Island, she remained in New York City where she was an editor at one of the country's leading book publishing houses. Noonan currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, a retired police detective, and two children. Although she sometimes misses the rapid pulse of New York City, she enjoys writing in the shade of towering two-hundred year old Douglas fir trees. Visit RosalindNoonanBooks.com for more information.

Monday, August 26, 2024

Hollow Out The Dark by James Wade

 

Veteran of the Great War, Jesse Cole is grateful for the quiet life he now leads. But when his closest friend runs afoul of local criminals, Frog and Squirrel Fenley, Jesse is forced to spin his moral compass and enter a violent and volatile underworld. There he encounters corrupt lawmen, hired assassins, and a dark family secret that will upend all he once knew.

Complicating matters are Texas Ranger Amon Atkins--who arrives to investigate the Fenleys just as their empire is threatened by a deadly new competition--and the green-eyed, raven-haired Adaline, a love Jesse thought he'd lost forever.

With resources scarce and winter falling hard on the town, a desperate Jesse must choose between the law and the lawless and find a way to survive while still protecting the people he loves.

A heart-pounding tale full of plot-twisting revelations, Hollow Out the Dark brings readers into a whiskey-fueled world where everyone has a secret, and love everlasting balances on the edge of a knife.

Pick up your copy here...



James Wade lives and writes in the Texas Hill Country with his wife and daughter. He is the author of "Beasts of the Earth," a winner of the 2023 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel, "River, Sing Out" and the critically-acclaimed debut novel "All Things Left Wild," a winner of the prestigious 2021 MPIBA Reading the West Award for Debut Fiction, and a recipient of the 2021 Spur Award for Best Historical Novel from the Western Writers of America.

Friday, August 23, 2024

All the Missing Girls by Linda Hurtado Bond


 


As a crime reporter for a Tampa TV news station, Mari Alvarez knows when an investigation enters dangerous territory. But with her estranged sister missing and almost no information to go on, Mari can’t trust anyone but herself to find the truth. Now she has just 48 hours to sneak into Cuba undetected, track down her sister…and pray to her orisha that she’s not too late.

This is nothing like reporting in her neighborhood, though--a place she knows like the back of her hand. In Havana she has no contacts and only an ice-cold trail of cryptic clues. When Detective Tony Garcia offers to help, Mari puts aside her instincts and tries to let someone in. But soon they’re caught in a maze of lies, deception, and an undercurrent of the island’s own witchcraft, a sinister Brujería.

Every lead draws Mari further into this world of shadows, especially when her sister isn’t the only young woman who’s gone missing. Each step pushes Mari and Tony toward a revelation they never saw coming. And as they close in on the horrifying truth, one thing becomes clear…no one will let them leave Cuba alive.

Pick up your copy here...


Linda Hurtado Bond is an award-winning journalist for Tampa's Fox 13 by day and author of romantic thrillers by night. She has won 13 Emmy awards, numerous Society of Professional Journalist and Associated Press awards, as well as a Florida Bar and an Edward R. Murrow award. A breast cancer survivor, she’s also active in the Tampa community with The American Cancer Society, Hooked on Hope, and The Shoot for a Cure, raising money and awareness any chance she gets. She’s the mother of five, four athletes and an adopted son from Cuba. She has passion for world travel, classic movies and solving a good mystery. 

My thoughts...
Looking for a mystery? I found your next mystery for you. Bond has a whole series for you to kick back and enjoy. This was a fast read and I can't wait for the next book.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Controlled Burn by Brooke Martin

 

What if life’s fires can not only be controlled but can also spur new life? In Controlled Burn, Emmy-winning news anchor and reporter Brooke Martin helps readers navigate their own fires with purpose and emerge stronger than before.

Confronted with a fatal diagnosis for their unborn baby girl, Brooke Martin and her husband faced an unimaginable choice, grappling with how to move forward amid a sea of unanswerable questions. Yet, in the midst of unspeakable grief, Brooke’s faith and vulnerability not only laid the foundation for her own healing but also for a global movement toward resilience and recovery.

Controlled Burn: Rising From the Ashes to Forge an Unshakable Faith weaves together invaluable advice, spiritual insights, and raw truths learned from Brooke Martin’s greatest trials, offering readers guidance to walk through life’s fires and come out unburned. Whether in pregnancy, the workplace, marriage, or otherwise, we are bound to experience suffering in life. How we respond can be the difference between our destruction and our growth.

In Controlled Burn, Brooke Martin will guide readers in:

  • healing and moving forward after tragedy or hardship
  • gaining a better understanding of their natural talents and gifts
  • listening for God’s voice in times of adversity and recognizing suffering as an invitation to grow closer to Him
  • shifting their perspective of pain into a period of self-growth
  • discovering how to use their own experiences to help others in similar circumstances
Controlled Burn proves that miracles can happen when we are willing to surrender ourselves to God and walk into the fire with faith.

Pick up your copy here...


Brooke Martin is an EMMY-winning news anchor turned author and speaker. For 15 years, Brooke told the community’s stories never knowing she would one day be compelled to tell her own. After the fatal diagnosis and death of their daughter, Emma Noelle, Brooke has worked to show others how life’s fires can bring new growth, greater beauty, and everlasting hope. Brooke lives in Zionsville, Indiana with her husband Cole and two children, Max and Marlowe. 

My thoughts...
This is the perfect book for everyone. Hard times come and having this book is like having a best friend with you all the time. It would make the best book to give to friends going through a rough patch. It has so many great points.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

It Wasn't Roaring it was Weeping by Lisa Jo Baker

 

Born White in the heart of Zululand during the racial apartheid, Lisa-Jo Baker longed to write a new future for her children—a longing that set her on a journey to understand where she fit into a story of violence and faith, history and race. Before marriage and motherhood, she came to the United States to study to become a human rights advocate. When she naïvely walked right into America’s own turbulent racial landscape, Baker experienced the kind of painful awakening that is both individual and universal, personal and social. Yet years would go by before she traced this American trauma back to her own South African past.

Baker was a teenager when her mother died of cancer, leaving her with her father. Though they shared a language of faith and justice, she often feared him, unaware that his fierce temper had deep roots in a family’s and a nation’s pain. Decades later, old wounds reopened when she found herself spiraling into a terrifying version of her father, screaming herself hoarse at her son. Only then did Baker realize that to go forward—to refuse to repeat the sins of our fathers—we must first go back.

With a story that stretches from South Africa’s outback to Washington, D.C., It Wasn’t Roaring, It Was Weeping is a courageous look at inherited hurts and prejudices, and a hope-filled example for all who feel lost in life or worried that they’re too off course to make the necessary corrections. Baker’s story shows that it’s never too late to be free.

Pick up your copy here...


LISA-JO BAKER is a bestselling author with a BA in English/prelaw from Gordon College and a JD from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Lisa-Jo has lived and worked on three continents in the human rights field and subsequently spent nearly a decade leading the online community of women called (in)courage as their editor in chief and community manager. Originally from South Africa, Lisa-Jo now lives just outside Washington, D.C., where she met and fell in love with her husband in the summer of ’96. Their story together spans decades, languages, countries, books, three very opinionated children, and one dog.

Monday, August 19, 2024

Mademoiselle Eiffel by Aimie Runyan


 Claire Eiffel, the beautiful, brilliant eldest daughter of the illustrious architect Gustave Eiffel, is doted upon with an education envied by many sons of the upper classes, and entirely out of the reach of most daughters. Claire’s idyllic childhood ends abruptly when, at fourteen, her mother passes away. It’s soon made clear that Gustave expects Claire to fill her mother’s place as caregiver to the younger children and as manager of their home.

As she proves her competence, Claire’s importance to her father grows. She accompanies him on his travels and becomes his confidante and private secretary. She learns her father’s architectural trade and becomes indispensable to his work. But when his bright young protégé, Adolphe Salles, takes up more of Gustave’s time, Claire resents being pushed aside.

Slowly, the animosity between Claire and Adolphe turns to friendship…and then to something more. After their marriage in 1885 preserves the Eiffel legacy, they are privileged by the biggest commission of Eiffel’s career: a great iron tower dominating the 1889 World’s Fair to demonstrate the leading role of Paris in the world of art and architecture. Now hostess to the scientific elite, such as Thomas Edison, Claire is under the watchful eye not only of her family and father’s circle, but also the world.

When Gustave Eiffel’s involvement in a disastrous endeavor to build a canal in Panama ends in his imprisonment, it is up to Claire to secure her father’s freedom but also preserve the hard-won family legacy.

Claire Eiffel’s story of love, devotion, and the frantic pursuit to preserve her family’s legacy is not only an inspired reflection of real personages and historical events, but a hymn to the iconic tower that dominates the City of Lights.
Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                     Amazon.com: Mademoiselle Eiffel: A Novel: 9780063329287: Runyan, Aimie K.: Books

Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history’s unsung heroines. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors’ Choice selection, as a three-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Aimie is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. Her next books, The Castle Keepers (in collaboration with J'nell Ciesielski and Rachel McMillan) and A Bakery in Paris will release in 2023 from Harper Collins. Also from Harper Collins, Aimie's contemporary Women's Fiction debut, The Memory of Lavender and Sage, will release in early 2024. She lives in Colorado with her amazing husband, two (usually) adorable children, two (always) adorable kitties, and a dragon. To learn more about Aimie, please visit www.aimiekrunyan.com. 
My Thoughts...
Going to Paris in on my bucket list and so that made this a must read for me. Claire was a hard character to figure out at times I wish Runyan had shared more about Claires feelings of anger and hard mood at times. She was a very hard character to understand. But the story was very interesting other than that.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Friday, August 16, 2024

It's all Relative by Rachel Magee


 Shakespeare's famous comedy, A Midsummer Night's Dream, gets a modern retelling in a lighthearted women's fiction novel that proves 'the course of true love' (and the merging of families, for that matter) 'never did run smooth.'

Helena's a "fly by the seat of her pants" kind of girl. Amelia's got her perfect life planned down to the minute. How will they ever get through their parents' wedding--let alone a life as stepsisters--without ripping each other apart?

Twenty-seven-year-old Helena Crosby is over her mom Nora's wedding--and it hasn't even happened yet. For months, Helena's been dreading the day she and Nora would become part of The Perfects, aka the Maddox family, led by oldest perfect daughter Amelia. Her complete opposite in every way, Amelia owns a house, runs her father's architecture firm, and is engaged to her also perfect (and dreamy) fiancé Gage, all before the age of thirty. Helena has no idea how she's going to fit into this family with their fancy traditions and strict timetables. Thankfully, her best friend Landon is joining the festivities as her emotional support plus one--and the perfect buffer between her and her new family.

Amelia Maddox has spent months planning the perfect wedding week for her dad Steve and his bride-to-be Nora. She'd planned for every consistency . . . except for her new free spirited stepsister's deadly shellfish allergy, her brother's insistence on blowing up his life, and an unexpected guest on Helena's arm. A guest she hasn't seen in years. A guest who held her heart years before her fiancé Gage ever did . . . her ex Landon Blake. But no matter--Amelia's kept the Maddox family together since her mother died a few years ago. She's not going to be thrown by Landon's deep blue eyes and sun-bronzed forearms and the way he makes her feel all warm and cozy, like she's come home to herself. Nope. She has duties to attend to: being the best daughter, sister, fiancée, boss, and wedding coordinator. And she's going to bring her Eldest Daughter Energy to it all and push down those inconvenient feelings, no matter what.

Through a whirlwind week of wedding activities and a few near disasters, both Amelia and Helena realize that sometimes the blueprints for the perfect family and relationship look better on paper than in real life--and that family isn't only made of the people you're born with. Family is also made of the people we choose over and over again.

Pick up your copy here...


Rachel wrote her first novel when she was twelve and entered it into a contest for young author/illustrators. Unfortunately, the judges weren’t impressed with her stick figures. So she dropped the dream of becoming a world famous illustrator and stuck to spinning stories. When she’s not busy working on her latest book, she loves to travel with her family and friends. By far, her favorite destination is the beach, which tends to work its way into most of her stories. Between vacations, you can find her at home in The Woodlands, TX with her wonderful husband, their two adventurous kids and a couple of spirited pets, all of whom share Rachel’s love of the ocean. Well, except the cat and dog. They’re both afraid of water. Find out more about what Rachel has been up to at rachelmageebooks.com. 

My Thoughts...
This was my first book by Magee and I enjoyed it, I would say this is a fast, fun, light read. A great beach read for the summer.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Thursday, August 15, 2024

The Woman Who Lied by Claire Douglas

 

Emilia has a dream life. But someone knows the truth . . .

Emilia Ward lives in suburban London with her husband, their young son, and a teenager from her first marriage. Emilia is an ordinary mom—and she’s also the bestselling author of the Miranda Moody detective novels.

But when writing her tenth—and most difficult—book, life takes a disturbing turn: an incident mimicking the plot of one of her novels occurs in real life. Just an unsettling coincidence, right?

Until it happens again. And again.

Then someone she knows dies in the same way as a victim in the book she's currently writing.

Why is someone doing this?

What do they want?

How could they possibly know what she’s thinking—and writing?

Is Emilia and her family next?

Pick up your copy here....


Claire Douglas is the Sunday Times number one bestselling author of eight stand alone novels: The Sisters (2015), Local Girl Missing (2016), Last Seen Alive (2017), Do Not Disturb (2018), Then She Vanishes (2019) and Just Like The Other Girls (2020). Her seventh, The Couple At No 9 (2021) was an Amazon number one bestseller, a number three Sunday Times bestseller and most recently hit number one on Germany's Der Spiegel paperback bestsellers chart. The Girls Who Disappeared was a Richard and Judy book club pick for Autumn 2022 and was an instant number one Sunday Times bestseller. Her books have sold over a million copies in the UK and have been published worldwide.

Her most recent, THE WOMAN WHO LIED will be published on July 6th 2023.

You can find Claire on Twitter at @DougieClaire, Instagram as clairedouglasauthor, or visit her Facebook page clairedouglasauthor. 


My thoughts...
I was pulled in from the first chapter. Secrets Check, Great plot Check, well done characters Check. What more could I want from a Douglas book. I recommend this one.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

The Forever Dog life by Karen Becker GIVEAWAY!


 In this beautifully illustrated guide, the authors of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Forever Dog show how to create a thriving, sustainable lifestyle and environment to help your dog live a longer, happier, and healthier life

In The Forever Dog, Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Becker explained that your dog’s longevity starts with proper nourishment. In The Forever Dog Life, they offer simple ways you can help your dog live longer and better from the inside-out and outside-in, including easy-to-follow tools, recipes, and tips.

Learn to prepare healthy, homemade meals your dog will love, with more than 120 nutritionally packed recipes for delicious food bowls, fresh food toppers that supercharge any type of pet food, and nourishing broths and stews that entice the pickiest of eaters. And don’t forget DIY training treats, cookies, jerkies, and chews. Accompanying the recipes are science-rich tips for the best ingredients, food hacks, and tools to use in the kitchen.

But food is only one aspect of a dog’s good health. The Forever Dog Life teaches you how to make your home as healthy as possible, with practical instructions for creating your own non-toxic DIY cleaners, natural disinfectants, and lawn care solutions that can easily replace hazardous chemical-based products that negatively impact our pet’s health. Also included are all-natural recipes for body care, including shampoos and conditioners, skin rinses, oral and ear care, and chemical-free flea and tick solutions. Habib and Becker make it easy to incorporate their science-backed tips into your home, so your dog (and cat!) can live a long, happy, and healthy life.

Filled with wonderful stories and fantastic canines, The Forever Dog Life makes the world a safer, healthier, and happier place for animals. Backed by science and filled with photographs and four-color instructions, it is the ultimate handbook to help your dogs and cats live their best life. 

Pick up your copy here...



Veterinarian Karen Shaw Becker’s deliberate, common sense approach to creating vibrant health for companion animals has been embraced by millions of pet lovers around the world, making her the most followed vet on social media. She has spent her career as a small animal clinician, empowering animal guardians to make intentional lifestyle decisions to enhance the wellbeing of their animals. Dr. Becker also writes and lectures extensively and serves as a wellness consultant for a variety of health-oriented organizations. She is the first veterinarian to give a TEDx talk on species appropriate nutrition, which has been a lifelong passion of hers. In 2023 she received the Stange Award for outstanding professional achievement in veterinary medicine, the highest award granted by the Iowa State College of Veterinary Medicine.

My thoughts...
This was such an interesting, cookbook. Calling it that, I think that's right it has lots of recipes and a few safe cleaning tips and recipes so it not only food. I'm sure my dog is going to love it.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Best, First, and last by Amy Matthews GIVEAWAY!


 Three generations of women set out to heal their broken hearts on a grand adventure of hiking the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu in this stirring, spirited, and ultimately joyful journey of love and self discovery for fans of Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver…


When twenty-five-year-old Heather Russo breaks up with her boyfriend—
again—she can’t figure out if she’s to blame or he is. Either way, she’s miserable, and working at home via Zoom meetings is only making it worse. What’s more, all the women in her family are struggling. Mom Sandy is convinced she’s wasted her life and is nursing a giant grudge against Heather’s father, whom she’s now divorcing. Grandmother Bonnie is reeling with the grief of losing her third husband, and is carrying his urn everywhere she goes, even the supermarket. The bottom has fallen out of their lives so abruptly, the trio is clinging to any handhold they can—and slowly but surely losing their grip . . .

Inspired by a friend’s adventurous grandson, and determined not to spend her 70th birthday wallowing, Bonnie is ready to take extreme measures. Even if it means dragging her beloved girls along by the hair, they’re going to hike the Incan Trail to Machu Picchu! Of course, their emotional baggage gets packed with their lightweight jackets, but as they make the trek, the women also talk, sharing stories and secrets that have been festering for far too long. With every arduous step toward the famed summit, each woman sheds some of the past and its pain, and opens up to the extraordinary possibilities of the present—and a future that just might include a new happily ever after.

Pick up your copy here...

Amy T. Matthews is a novelist and an academic. Her new book Someone Else’s Bucket List will be out May 2023 – it’s a tear-jerking, heartwarming story of sisterly love. Amy’s first novel, End of the Night Girl, won the Adelaide Festival Unpublished Manuscript Award and was long-listed for The Australian/Vogel literary award, and short-listed for the Nita B Kibble Dobbie Award and the Colin Roderick Award. She has published short stories in collections including Best Australian Stories and co-edited three collections of short stories and poetry. Amy is Senior Lecturer and Discipline Lead in Creative Writing at Flinders University, Deputy Director of Assemblage Centre for Creative Arts, and a former Chair and long serving board member of Writers SA; she is also an Associate Member of the JM Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice.

Monday, August 12, 2024

In a League of Her Own By Kaia Alderson


 From the author of Sisters in Arms comes the incredible, untold story of Effa Manley, a black businesswoman in the male dominated baseball industry, and, currently, the only woman inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1930s, New York City

An ambitious Harlem woman’s husband upends her social climbing when he buys a Negro Leagues baseball team and appoints her as the team’s business manager. Overnight, Effa Manley goes from 125th Street’s civil rights champion to an interloper in the boys’ club that is professional baseball. 

Navigating her way through gentlemen’s agreement contracts, the very public flirtatious antics of superstar Satchel Paige, and a sports world that would much rather see this woman back in her “place” at home, Effa ultimately whips her team, the Newark Eagles, into the Negro Leagues Champions of 1946. But how long will she get to enjoy the fruits of her success before Major League Baseball tears it all apart?

Based on the incredible life of Effa Manley, an unforgettable and inspiring story about a woman with a dream who wound up with a baseball team. 
Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                     Amazon.com: In a League of Her Own: A Novel: 9780063228382: Alderson, Kaia: Books
Kaia Alderson is a historical women’s fiction author with a passion for discovering “hidden figures” in African-American women’s history. Her debut historical women’s fiction novel Sisters In Arms will be published by William Morrow/HarperCollins in 2021. Kaia holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in sociology from Spelman College and Master’s of Education degree in media/ instructional technology from the University of West Georgia. She is an alumna of the creative writing workshops presented by Callaloo Journal, Voices of Our Nation (VONA), Hurston/Wright Foundation, Kweli Journal, and The Second City.

Friday, August 9, 2024

The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz


 Anna Williams-Bonner has taken care of business. That is to say, she’s taken care of her husband, bestselling novelist Jacob Finch Bonner, and laid to rest those anonymous accusations of plagiarism that so tormented him. Now she is living the contented life of a literary widow, enjoying her husband’s royalty checks in perpetuity, but for the second time in her life, a work of fiction intercedes, and this time it’s her own debut novel, The Afterword. After all, how hard can it really be to write a universally lauded bestseller?


But when Anna publishes her book and indulges in her own literary acclaim, she begins to receive excerpts of a novel she never expected to see again, a novel that should no longer exist. That it does means something has gone very wrong, and someone out there knows far too much: about her late brother, her late husband, and just possibly... Anna, herself. What does this person want and what are they prepared to do? She has come too far, and worked too hard, to lose what she values most: the sole and uncontested right to her own story. And she is, by any standard, a master storyteller.

With her signature wit and sardonic humor, Jean Hanff Korelitz gives readers an antihero to root for while illuminating and satirizing the world of publishing in this deliciously fun and suspenseful read.

Pick up your copy here...


Jean Hanff Korelitz is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels THE PLOT (The 2021 Tonight Show Summer Reads pick), YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN (adapted for HBO as "The Undoing" by David E. Kelley, and starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant and Donald Sutherland), ADMISSION (adapted as the 2013 film starring Tina Fey), THE DEVIL AND WEBSTER, THE WHITE ROSE, THE SABBATHDAY RIVER and A JURY OF HER PEERS. A new novel, THE LATECOMER, will be published on May 31st, 2022. Her company BOOKTHEWRITER hosts "Pop-Up Book Groups" in person in NYC and online, where small groups of readers can discuss new books with their authors. www.bookthewriter.com

My Thoughts...
I really enjoyed the Plot and most of the time the sequel is not half as good. This one was better than the Plot.
This author is the most creative storyteller. This is not one to be missed.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Thursday, August 8, 2024

One Big Happy Family by Jamie Day


 Could this reunion be the death of them?


The Precipice is a legendary, family-owned hotel on the rocky coast of Maine. With the recent passing of their father, the Bishop sisters--Iris, Vicki, and Faith--have come for the weekend to claim it. But with a hurricane looming and each of the Bishop sisters harboring dangerous secrets, there's murder in the air-- and not everyone who checks into the Precipice will be checking out.

Each sister wants what is rightfully hers, and in the mix is the Precipe's nineteen-year-old chambermaid Charley Kelley: smart, resilient, older than her years, and in desperate straits.

The arrival of the Bishop sisters could spell disaster for Charley. Will they close the hotel? Fire her? Discover her habit of pilfering from guests? Or even worse, learn that she's using a guest room to hide a woman on the run.

With razor-sharp wit, heart, thrills, and twists, Jamie Day's ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY delivers a unique brand of summertime suspense.

Pick up your copy here...

Jamie Day has no Picture (more than likely Ghost writer)

Jamie Day lives in one of those picture-perfect, coastal New England towns you see in the movies. And just like the movies, Jamie has two children and an adorable dog to fawn over. When not writing or reading, Jamie enjoys yoga, the ocean, cooking, and long walks on the beach with the dog, or the kids, or sometimes both.

My Thoughts...
This was not at all what I expected. But I do enjoy a good thriller this one was somewhat predictable, and it seems like I have read one that was similar to this one. I did like the ending really well.
Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.