Romance and Caring at Christmas

Finn, once a successful chef, is now a cab driver hoping to make enough to keep a roof over his head. He’s not delighted when he’s sent to pick up Callie, an ancient, wheelchair-bound lady with dementia. He just wants to get rid of a troublesome fare, but Callie takes a liking to him. Soon she’s calling him for all her rides even if sometimes she forgets to pay him.

Sydney, Callie’s granddaughter, is a first year associate at a cutthroat legal firm. She’s done good work, but now the stakes are higher. The firm is planning to downsize. She’s told that she’s not on the list to be fired, but that is contingent on winning a lawsuit for a major client. The fact that’s it’s probably not winnable raises the stakes.

Callie wants to care for her grandmother, but she’s pressed on all sides feeling responsibility to both Callie and her law firm. Finn is a likable character. He doesn’t want to be saddled with the responsibility for Callie, but she reminds him of his mother, who he treated badly in her last days, and he can’t break his tie to Callie.

This is a heartwarming Christmas story. There is romance at the end between Sydney and Finn, but it’s not the main point of the story. This is a story about caring and responsibility and the rewards for doing what is right.

I highly recommend reading the Author’s Note at the end. She focuses on current research on what makes us happy and surprisingly, or perhaps not, finds major parallels to the Bible.

I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for this review.

Falling in Love at a Regency Christmas – with a Younger Man

Elizabeth, Lady Overfield, feels she is ready to marry again. Her first marriage to an abusive alcoholic ended badly, but that was years ago. She believes that her heart has healed, and she’s ready to try again. What she doesn’t count on is falling in love with Colin, Lord Hodges. He’s nine years younger than she and in Regency England that was simply not done.

Meeting at a Christmas gathering with Elizabeth’s family, they are drawn to each other, but the kiss when they tumbled from a sled is unexpected and devastatingly important. Unable to face defying convention, they both start the London season looking for other marriage partners, but it’s not as simple as it seems to disregard their attraction.

This is a rather delightful story of manners in Regency England. The background, including the strictures of society, are historically accurate. The characters include ones you love and the villains you love to hate. Colin and Elizabeth grow in understand and courage through the story. Other characters, such as Colin’s mother, show their true colors. You can’t help cheering when she’s forced to face reality.

The book has a restrained pace. There is considerably more conversation than action. However, the action that does occur is well within the confines of the period and upper class manners.

This is the fifth book in the Westcott series. I did find it difficult to keep all the characters straight in the beginning, but when Colin and Elizabeth became the center of the story, it was easier. If you like romance in the tradition of Jane Austen, this is a book you’ll enjoy. While it’s possible to read as a standalone, I think it would be easier to follow if you read more of the series.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Old Secrets Lead to Murder

Nina Fischer and her sister Jan were adopted as children by their uncle, a district court judge. The girl’s mother abandoned them in a tent city when she went off with yet another man for alcohol and drugs. Nina loves her adoptive father, but she has to be herself. She chose a career as a photographer and poet, although he wanted her to be a lawyer. Sill he was supportive, and she’s living in his house as she tries to make her career work.

One night she’s alone in the house working in the darkroom. When she finishes, she thinks she hears a cry. She searches the house and finds her father dead on the study floor with a gun near his hand. She was alone. They had argued. Now she finds her self the primary suspect.

Nina goes from one situation where she’s violently attacked to another. The police and her male friends, Rick and Aaron, want her to leave the detective work to others, but Nina is convinced that they won’t work hard enough to solve the murder. I found her falling into dangerous situations on a regular basis a little over the top. She has trust issues from the way she was abandoned as child, but rushing headlong into danger happened too frequently to be believable.

The book is Christian fiction. The characters discuss their issues with trusting God, but it isn’t preachy. I found Nina and Aaron’s discussions of God quite realistic.

The book is fast paced and the plot presents a puzzle it’s not easy to solve until the end. If you enjoy a thriller with a Christian background, this is a good read.

I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for this review.

Romance on a British Warship During the War of 1812

Emaline Baratt preferred her painting to rushing into marriage. Her father, however, had different ideas. He believed that the only appropriate life for a young woman was marriage and the sooner the better. Because of her resistance, he packed her off to Brighton, England to live with her wealthy aunt.

Emaline delayed returning to Baltimore as long as possible, but with the death of her aunt, she must return. She is the center of attraction, particularly for young officers, when she returns on one of her father’s ships.

This is the era of the War of 1812. When a British warship sights the ship, they open fire. Emaline is taken prisoner. She decides the best way to save herself is to pretend British sympathy. Therefore, she is given her freedom to tend to the wounded. She also receives the Captain’s attention because of her art.

One of the young officers, Lieutenant Owen Masters is both attracted and repulsed by her. He’s an American spy and while he’s drawn to Emmaline, he can’t risk his cover.

This is the sixth book in the Daughters of the Mayflower series. As with the others, it is a romance with a background of a period in American history. The history is well researched and over the six books we get a picture of the struggles of the young American republic.

The characters are typical for a romance novel. Owen and Emaline are attracted but try to fight their blooming interest. The book has adventure, but it’s mostly in the first and last chapters. For me, the middle sagged a little. I recommend this book if you enjoy romance with a realistic historic background.

I received this book from Barbour Books for this review.

Death Mars Sister Jane’s Christmas Fox Hunt

The Christmas Hunt is one of the high points of the central Virginia fox hunting season. Although a blizzard threatens, Sister Jane, the hunt master, is determined to have at least an abbreviated run before the snow starts.

A topic concerning the community is the plan by a major energy company to run a pipeline through the area. As a result the riders are not all happy when Gregory Luckham, president of the energy company is invited to join the hunt. Being Virginia, most people are polite, but one of the land owners whose land lies in the path of the pipeline, is furious about Luckham’s inclusion in the hunt.

The hunt starts well, but the blizzard comes up more quickly than expected. The riders race back to their trailers, but one horse arrives without a rider. Luckham is missing. The search is on, but instead of the missing man, they find another corpse.

I always enjoy Brown’s Sister Jane stories. The area is beautiful, and if you’re a horse lover, the descriptions of horses, dogs and the rides across the area are delightful. The books are filled with quirky humans, such as much married Aunt Daniella who drinks bourbon and has the history of the area down pat, and animals like the horses, dogs, and foxes who converse with each other.

My only reservation about this book is that unless you’re into fox hunting, or just love horses, there are too many descriptions of fox hunts. Detection is done, but it takes second place to the descriptions of the hunting season. Still, I enjoyed the book and recommend it to lovers of horses and mysteries.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Legal Compensation for a Terrorist Attack

Hana Abboud is an Arab Christian from Israel practicing international law in Atlanta, Georgia. Jakob Brodsky, a secular Jewish lawyer, takes on cases no one else will touch. Ben Neuman comes to him about an incident that happened six years ago. His wife was killed in a terrorist attack in Israel and his daughter severely injured.

No other attorney wants to take the case, but Hana’s law firm is big enough to bank roll some of the expenses. They agree to be co-counsel on the case if Hana accepts the lead. Hana is convinced by Ben’s daughter. She wants to see the girl get justice.

Hana and Jakob travel to Israel to research the case. They hire Daud Hasan, an Arab Christian investigator. Daud seems to know all the right people. The trio works well together, but the danger is everywhere. Jakob learns about it first hand when he is severely beaten outside a friend’s apartment in Atlanta.

This is a fast paced international legal thriller. The plot is compelling. Getting compensation for people killed or injured in a terrorist attack is an interesting idea. The legal aspects are presented in easily understandable language.

The best part of the book is the description of life in Israel under the constant threat of terrorist attacks. The descriptions of areas around Jerusalem are excellent. The characters are compelling. I particularly liked Hana. She is brave enough to tackle the case although she fears the terrorists.She is supported by her faith which she lives everyday.

The story has romance, but it’s not the driving force in the narrative. It’s nice to read about romantic love without the sexual advances.

I highly recommend this book. It’s timely and well worth a read. It makes you think about the effects of terrorism on ordinary lives.

I received this book from BookLook Bloggers for this review.

Erotic Fantasy Turned on it’s Head for Feminists

Fantasies can be fun. This book has some remarkably funny short erotic stories, but it also gives you food for thought. How many of us have seethed because the guy standing with us pushes the elevator button after we do –just to make sure we really did it? Not erotica, but a great take on reality.

This book is diverse in it’s content covering the workplace, parenting, pop culture, and a bow to classical literature with Romeo and Juliet, among other topics. I particularly liked the section with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

This is a great book to read by yourself when you need cheering up. It’s also good if you’re angry at the way the world is treating you. Lots of good reinforcement here. I think it’s particularly good to share with friends. It was written by friends talking about the things that pissed them off. It can be a great way to get into a discussion with your feminist friends or colleagues.

I enjoyed the book. It’s very quick to read the first time, but like ice cream or chocolate to really enjoy it you need to got back for more.

I received this book from Dutton for this review.

Buried Secrets can Take a Long Time to Explode

Dr Woodrow Wilson Hastings falls to his death on I-25 unleashing the secrets of his past in WWII. At Dr. Hastings funeral, Peter and Frank, his sons, have a confrontation. Peter calls Frank a bastard saying his father brought him home from France. This is an old taunt. Peter has always been the golden boy, football hero and now Pan Am pilot. Frank is known in his home town as a loser always getting in trouble. Now he’s married, writes for a small newspaper, and is working on a novel.

In the process of cleaning out Dr. Hasting’s house, some old drawings and letters are found. Frank is tried of being called a bastard. He wants to know the truth and wants to find his mother. He leaves for France to trace his identity.

At the same time, Peter is caught up in a hijacking. He tries to intervene and is shot. His family fears he’s dead. The ordeals experienced by the two brothers change their lives and the lives of other family members. Relationships will never be the same again.

This is a well written book. The characters grow through their experiences. Frank particularly becomes more the person he was destined to be. However, it’s a slow read filled with anecdotes about the boys early lives, experiences during WWII, Frank’s experiences in Vietnam, and background on the wives and families. All this is interesting, but it’s unclear until the end how all the pieces fit together. The ending itself is satisfying, but you have to work at getting there.

I received this book from PR by the Book for this review.

Murder During the Christmas Play

Behind the scenes, Suzanne and Tony, co-owners of the Cacklebury Club along with Petra the chef, are watching one of the final rehearsals of the Kindred Players version of A Christmas Carol. The play is going well, Toni is learning how to dim the lights, and raise the curtain, when Scrooge, played by Adam Sharp, one of Kindred, Minnesota;s, least favorite residents, is embraced by the ghost of Christmas Past. The ghost flits off, but Adam doesn’t move. Suzanne suddenly realizes he’s dead and chases the ghost which almost makes her the second victim.

When Suzanne tells her fiance, Sam, about the murder, he’s adamant. Suzanne should not investigate. She agrees it’s unwise, but when her friend, Missy, introduces Amber, Sheriff Doogie’s number one suspect, she believes she has to help. Amber was Adam Sharp’s secretary. She quit because he was sexually harassing her.

Other suspects are found, and now Suzanne is thoroughly engaged and can’t help asking questions to try determine who the murderer is.

This is not an action packed book. Suzanne’s method is to go about her daily life and ask questions. If you enjoy the details of a rather delightful cafe, this is a fun read. If you want serious sleuthing, this is not for you. I found the plot rather slow, and the rationale for the killing unsatisfying. The ending did have a dramatic scene, but for me it didn’t relieve the slow start.

I received this book from Penguin’s First to Read for this review

A Con-artist and a Lawyer Solve a Mystery in 1920s New York

Elizabeth learned her grifter ways from her father. Now she’s fallen in love with Gideon Bates, a straight-laced lawyer. Planning to marry Gideon, Elizabeth must learn to navigate upper class society in New York in the 1920s. She has an able mentor in Gideon's mother, but she isn’t finding it easy.

The only friend she’s found is Priscilla Knight, a young widow. In fact, Priscilla has recently been widowed for the second time. Her beloved first husband left her with two young daughters and a sizable fortune. When a distraught widow, her pastor encouraged her to wed a fellow parishioner, Endicott Knight. Although Priscilla thought Endicott was wealthy, she has learned since his death that she is penniless.

Elizabeth and Gideon both want to help the young widow, but each thinks their talents are the best choice to see justice done. Gideon wants to use the law, but Elizabeth thinks her grifter skills will be more effective.

I love historical romances with a mystery. This one is well researched. The author makes the 1920s come to life. The characters are perfect for the story. I enjoyed the way Elizabeth and Gideon interacted. It wasn’t clear that their romance would survive their diverse approaches to Priscilla’s problem, but that made for fascinating reading.

If you like romance and mystery in a historical setting, this is a good read.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

A Victorian Christmas Mystery

Worm, a river orphan, is now living in the women’s clinic founded by Harriet Monk. Although Harriet doesn’t appear in the story we get a taste of life at the clinic run by Harriet’s friend Claudine, a wealthy woman who spends much of her time at the clinic.

While out walking, Worm spots a beautiful woman with light on her hair. He can’t stop looking at her. When two men accost her and take her away with them, Worm is worried that she’s in trouble. Back at the clinic he tells Squeaky, a reformed pimp now the clinic accountant. Squeaky doesn’t want to get involved. He’s unsure whether the lady needs rescue or is running a scam of her own. He tries to distract Worm by telling him about Christmas which ends with them planning a Christmas for the clinic.

Worm is thrilled about having Christmas at the clinic, but it doesn’t make him forget about the lady. He sets off to rescue her, but is relieved when Squeaky catches up with him. Together they try to solve the mystery.

This is a lovely Christmas story. Worm is the perfect child to learn about the holiday. He hangs on Squeaky’s every word. Squeaky is also a delightful character. He grew up without a family and while he knows about Christmas, he’s not sure everything he’s telling Worm is accurate.

The plot involving Eloise, the woman, is somewhat confusing. The relationship to Christmas is tenuous which makes it seem disjointed from the rest of the story. However, the ending is satisfying and the interactions between Worm and Squeaky make you feel good about

Christmas.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Dumped by Her Fiance, Maggie Finds a New Life

Maggie is preparing to marry Brett, her business partner. The wedding day is set and Maggie is out partying with her girl friends when Brett calls and breaks the engagement. Shocked and hurt, Maggie gets her revenge by forcing Brett to buy her out or she’ll sell to a competitor.

Maggie thinks she can hang out in the city and recover, but her sister Eve has a better idea. Solace Island is an excellent place to recover. The Rosemary and Time cottage is perfect. Maggie does feel more relaxed. Meeting her neighbor, Luke Benson, makes the island even more attractive. Life is looking up when Maggie experiences an accident that could have killed her. Even with Luke trying to keep her safe, things are frightening. But it’s unclear why someone is after her.

This book starts out as a typical romance: jilted girl meets hunky guy and they begin to get it together. However, about half way through the book the suspense builds. I didn’t care for the early part of the novel. There were amusing moments, but it was too stereotypical boy meets girl. The second half of the novel moved faster and the mystery of who was targeting Maggie got more interesting. I recommend this only if you like suspense heavily laced with romance.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Murder in Brighton with a Bumbling Group of Cops

A. G. Crystal, a well known critic, has arrived in Brighton to evaluate a play that he already finds distasteful, but that’s not the only thing Crystal plans to do in Brighton. In 1951, he witnessed a bank heist. Something has been nagging at him about the robbery, and now he wants to tell Inspector Steine. Steine is the hero of a famous gang shootout, the Middle Street Massacre, but in reality he’s no hero. He ate ice cream while letting the gangs kill

each other.

Steine wants to believe that after the massacre crime was wiped out in Brighton. Thus he turns a blind eye to new cases as he works on his radio broadcasts. His sidekick Sargent Brunswick wants to chase criminals, going undercover, but Steine discourages him. Enter Constable Twitten. He’s fresh out of the police academy and full of theories. He wants to solve crimes, but runs afoul of Steine’s laissez faire work ethic.

Twitten is assigned to sit with Crystal opening night of the play for protection. While waiting for the play to begin, Crystal begins to tell him about what he’s remembered about the bank robbery. Before he can get to the crucial point, when the lights go down, he’s shot in the head. Was it because he was planning to pan the play, or because of his recovered memories of the bank heist?

As a mystery, this is quite good. The plot is convoluted with plenty of twists and turns and a satisfying ending. The police characters are designed to amusing, like the Keystone Kops. At times they are, but I found the farcical interactions wearing after awhile. It was hard to stay interested in the main plot.

If you enjoy comical police adventures, you’ll enjoy this book, but be prepared to get tired of their antics.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

Midsummer Night’s Dream Staged in a Garden with the Added Spice of Murder

When a troop of players plans to stage Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Coeur-de-la-Mer Priory Hall garden that is normally closed to the public, Pru is excited. She has always wanted to examine the garden at close range. She becomes even more enthusiastic when the gardener at Coeur-de-la-Mer quits because he can’t stand the people trampling on his plants, and she is asked to take over his responsibilities.

The job starts well. Pru is responsible for set design as well as maintaining the garden. Luckily she has a new helper Hal Noakes who is able to pick up the slack at Greenoak as well as at the Priory Hall. Pru enjoys the players with the exception of the young man playing Lysander. He’s lazy, difficult and thinks he’s God’s gift to women. When he becomes the victim of an allergic reaction that turns out to be murder, Pru and her detective husband, Christopher, have to find the killer before the play is ruined.

As usual, Marty Wingate writes a fun mystery with a beautiful setting. The country house gardens are perfect for Midsummer Night’s Dream. I love the descriptions of the plants and how Pru chooses the plants for the stage sets.

It helps to be familiar with Midsummer Night’s Dream. There are a great many characters and at first the dual names are challenging, but the author tries to help by often using just the character’s name. Although the cast list is long, the story sorts out the bit players and after the first couple of chapters it’s easy to remember who’s who.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries in a great setting, this is a good one.

I received this book from Net Galley for this review.

A Game Gone Wrong

Grayson Thibodeaux’s company, Game’s On You, designs psychological games to test people sometimes for a hiring decision, sometimes for team building. The company is so good that even Grayson’s ex-wife Anna Belle’s company hires them to build a game determine which of four contestants should win a promotion.

The fact that Anna Belle is one of the players disturbs Grayson, but his partner, Colton York convinces him to do it because money is good. The only problem is that Anna Belle dies during the game and Grayson is the prime suspect.

Because the murder happens early in the book, the focus is on finding the killer. The detectives, Brandon and Danielle, use interviews to determine what happened. This is not an action packed story but the use of interviews gives us a chance to get to know all the suspects. Personally, I enjoy this type of mystery. As the clues come out, it gives you a chance to play detective.

The characters are good. Grayson is conflicted. He loves his wife, but she treated him badly in the divorce, and he’s having trouble forgiving her. Pam, his assistant, is smart and somewhat pushy, but she’s exactly what he needs to keep going. Brandon is a good character with sturdy faith. I liked the way he wouldn’t take the easy answer of Grayson’s guilt. His partner, Danielle, is not likable. She has a grudge against Grayson and it clouds her judgment.

My favorite character was Monique, Anna Belle’s mother. She is on Grayson’s side and talks intelligently to him about her daughter. I liked her strong faith and that she was able to express her feelings so clearly.

I recommend this book. If you like psychological mysteries, this is a good one.

I received this book from Barbour Publishing for this review.