So much tension in this one! The Nazis are quickly taking over and everyone is a little paranoid and terrified. There are shortages, blackouts, and murders.
The wife of one of the Nazi lawyers is found murdered. Brutally so. CI Horst Schenke is following the law and doing his investigation. He is already suspicious in the eyes of his superiors for not registering for the Nazi party.
When another body comes up he thinks they may be looking at something truly evil. But who is to be trusted? No one.
This was a tense read. Not only are the Nazis making life impossible for everyone in the country, but they fight among themselves just as cruelly. It was amazing to see someone stand up to them and get some sort of justice.
Alison Marshall is twenty-nine and has been running from her past for most of those years. A foster kid who doesn’t even know who her parents are. She’s worked hard and has invested wisely all while trying to find a place she fits in.
Palmetto Island may be the place she is looking for. Small and the islanders are friendly for the most part. She even manages to make a friend. When she finds a small beach cottage in her price range, she buys it. And then finds a human bone.
A journalist from Miami shows up looking for information on a cult in the area and hopes of finding out what happened to his little sister years ago. When her friend’s child is found missing, things get weird.
And that was an issue for me. A lot of the storyline felt shallow and not finished. There was a bit of an unbelievable factor to the wrap-up as well.
We’re back in Emerald Cove, Florida with Chloe and friends. Chloe is mixing drinks when she looks up to see a plane and a banner. The banner reads I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON! What in the world? She and her guy are not even at that point yet. So what does this mean?
The question continues when she finds a bouquet of lilacs and a not-so-cheap bottle of her favorite wine. Does she have a secret admirer?
Surely her ex-fiance in Chicago hasn’t decided that after all this time he wants her back. She is not interested in going back and can’t figure out what he could be doing. But, yes, he has come to town for a convention for accountants and is determined to win her back, or so it seems. And when he is found floating in the lake with her photo in his hand, suspicious minds want to know.
None of this makes any sense to her. And when Rip becomes a suspect, she is determined to find out who is behind this. But with all the sketchy people in this story, she may end up dead herself.
Ready for your new read? Ellie Alexander brings us a brand new book!
Welcome to the town of Cascata on California’s Lost Coast. And meet book editor Emily Bryant who is still confused as to why she is there. Her grandmother has left her entire Victorian mansion and her book collection to Emily. But Emily is confused. She has memories of her grandmother and her mother that are good. But for some reason, after her mother got cancer and they moved, Emily’s father would never take her back or mention the past. Something awful must have happened between the adults.
The stipulation in the will means that Emily will have to edit a box of old manuscripts in order to inherit.
She isn’t thrilled, to say the least. But as she reads the manuscripts she finds they are different from what she is used to seeing.
Whenever she makes a change in the manuscript it happens in real life! Yes, there is magic here! For a short bit, this is great. She can fix everyone’s problems with a red pen. Only something goes wrong and now her edits are having the opposite effect.
And now her family’s past is coming out and unfortunately, she can’t edit that.
Things are going crazy but her saving grace may be the last manuscript. Can she right some wrongs without ruining everything?
I am a fan of Ellie Alexander and this is definitely a series I could read! I hope there is a number two coming up!
NetGalley/March 29th, 2022 by Sweet Lemon Press LLC
From the author who gave us The Lost Village comes another suspenseful and twisted tale!
I wanted this the minute it was on my radar. The Lost Village was such a good scary story.
This one did not disappoint! It had a mystery, an old house, secrets, suspicious deaths, and a very different protagonist. Eleanor has been working hard to keep her controlling and maybe crazy grandmother, Vivianne, at a distance. Lately, she has been receiving odd messages and calls from her and when she goes around for Sunday dinner, instead of a snarky Vivianne, a faceless person was stabbing her grandmother with scissors.
It isn’t like she can assist the police very much. Eleanor has prosopagnosia. Face blindness-when a person is unable to recognize even their own face. So the killer walked right by her. Does she know them? Who would know she would be unable to recognize them?
The horror of the situation has taken over everything in her life. Leaving her anxious and unsure of those around her.
After the death, she is told her grandmother left her a house. A huge estate located in Sweden. Way back in the woods. Supposedly her grandfather died in this house and it has remained closed since.
But Eleanor is determined to find answers so she and her boyfriend, Sebastian, pack up and head to the house. But her Aunt Veronika soon shows up insisting the house is hers. And then the odd things begin. Shadows, whispers, people who aren’t at all who they claim to be, and a secret that will blow your mind!
My heart was in the zone the entire time I read this book. I suspected every one of them but did not expect that ending.
This is another great novel full of horrible people, things and full of suspense! Don’t read this one in the dark!
I have read all of the Stone Barrington books. This one has Stone and Dino being interrupted by Lance Cabot at dinner. Lance needs a favor. A safe house for a congressional witness. And right now, if you please.
Of course, Stone hops in a plane with a beautiful former model who is about to be divorced from a Texas senator. A real peach of a guy.The only problem is this witness pretty much does what she wants. As we follow them to almost all of the homes Stone owns, they of course tumble into bed and the bad guys come and beat him up and Joan saves the day.
Of all of the books in this series I would say this was my least favorite. Very shallow. More like a fun romp through the lives of the rich and messy.
Rose Hamilton is boarding the train to meet her Uncle and her brother for tea. Rose is at odds with her life at the moment. World War II has everyone on edge. She is still healing from being dismissed from military service and is engaged/not engaged to a truly narcissistic man. When she happens to see in the paper an advertisement for a companion to a young child. The job would be accompanying the child to Australia where his family will meet him and give him a good home.
On a whim, she stops in to apply for the job. She meets Vivian who is in very poor health and needs to be sure someone she can trust will care for a five-year-old Walter. A shy little boy whose mother has died and whose father is unknown. Walter tugs at her heartstrings hard. And she immediately knows she will take the job.
Walter and Rose board a ship during a scary time. With ships being bombed and enemy ships around, not to mention the seasickness.
Being on the ship in such close quarters Rose has become quite fond of Walter and him of her. When they finally land no one is there to meet them. When a hand shows up he deposits them in the pouring rain at a house with no one home. Or is there? What is wrong with these people? And why is his Uncle Max so distant and not in the least expecting them?
Secrets and family. Can one child and one rather headstrong woman change them all? Or will more misunderstandings cause her a broken heart?
Jenny Ashcroft writes so well you feel fully immersed in whatever world she has created. The colors of the Australian sky, the smells of the ocean liner, the heat so hot you can feel it.
A beautiful historical fiction novel that will move you to tears!
If you haven’t read The Boy From The Woods, well why not? It was a great story that left us longing to hear more about the mysterious Wilde. As a young child, he was found living alone in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey. Headlines called him a feral child and no one knew who he was or where he came from.
Wilde has no memories of how he got there and who he is. As he makes friends with another child, David, adults get involved. And that means Hester, Laila, Matthew, and Rola. And they are all back.
Wilde has done a DNA test and posted it to a website. He gets a hit. 100% match. A father. Wilde tracks him down and they meet. But this man knows nothing about a son or who he slept with years ago. And when Wilde goes back, the entire family is gone. Just gone.
As he continues his search he finds a secret community that is handling online trolls a bit differently. And when they start to die, Wilde needs to find out why and who.
In his usual tight-lipped fashion, Coben spins webs in every direction, leaving us questioning everyone and everything we thought we knew. This one wrapped up nicely. Ancestry sites are being used in all types of cases now and it’s hard to stay hidden for very long. But even with the DNA, he has given it his own spin.
NetGalley/ March 15th, 2022 by Grand Central Publishing
Ellen Alpsten’s stunning new novel, The Tsarina’s Daughter, is the dramatic story of Elizabeth, daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great, who ruled Russia during an extraordinary life marked by love, danger, passion and scandal.
I love Historical Fiction. This book took a true story and added in what could have been said or happen.
This is the story of the Romanovs. Peter and Catherine, herself not his first wife, but a former serf. The lovely Tsarevna Elizabeth and her sister are the only children left of their union. And they were born before the couple wed, so yes they are illegitimate. The only son was executed for treason and his infant son banished.
While she is adored and has an embarrassment of riches, nothing actually belongs to her. Everything can change without notice. And when Peter dies, Catherine rules. But not for long and she isn’t very good at it and trusts people who would see them all dead.
When Catherine dies, Elizabeth is pretty much banished and penniless. But she does have the support and loyalty of the soldiers and people of Russia. When the crown is turned over to an infant, Elizabeth will find herself out in the cold and in mortal danger. Elizabeth has a decision to make. Remove an innocent child and rule herself or be executed for treason. And while she abhors bloodshed, she will be fine with banishing you to Siberia.
I love Elizabeth. She went from spoiled and carefree to a warrior. There was so much opulence and overindulgence here it was embarrassing. The Imperial Court was full of snakes in waiting. Everyone looking to move up a notch and not caring how they did it. Elizabeth was such a courageous and sly heroine and I adored her and this book!
NetGalley/March 15th, 2022 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Four teens in the 1980’s are all living in the last days of the USSR. However, none have the exact same experiences.
Told by Anya, whose parents have a dacha and an apple orchard and food to eat. Best friend Milka has nothing but an abusive step-father and whatever she can find to eat. Together with their friends, Trifonov and Lopatin, they make the best of the situations they are in. They may fight and bicker but they have each other’s back.
There is a heavy influence going on with Chekhov and his The Cherry Orchard. Anya’s parents talk of the collapse of the government and how bad things are going to be and have been since WWII. There seems to be a great divide in this country. Those who have it all and those who don’t. Even after the fall, there is so much more food and luxuries, however, only a few can afford them.
When an unspeakable event turns their lives upside down their friendships fade. Anya will move to the US and marry a good man and not return for 20 years. And when she does, not much has changed, just the players.
This was a very good story. Fiction, but not. Russia is such a secretive place and we know very little firsthand about life there. And they have their perceptions of other countries as well. This beautiful book made me laugh, it made me cry and I would read it all over again. These women were strong and made something out of nothing. I was very impressed.
In The Beginning Man Tried Ascending To Heaven via The Tower Of Babel. Now He Tries To Elevate His Existence Using Hallucinogenic Drugs. And, Since The 20th Century, He Continually Voyages Into Outer Space Using Spacecrafts. Prayer Thru Christ Is The Only Way To Reach Heaven.
Pirate Patty Reviews 