Historical fiction of the highest order . . . an absolute joy of a book, warm and romantic, and with so much to say about the lives of women in the years following World War I.”—Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
A timeless comedy of manners—refreshing as a summer breeze and bracing as the British seaside—about a generation of young women facing the seismic changes brought on by war and dreaming of the boundless possibilities of their future, from the bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel. Despite having only weeks to find a permanent home, Constance is swept up in the social whirl of Hazelbourne-on-Sea after she rescues the local baronet’s daughter, Poppy Wirrall, from a social faux pas.
Poppy wears trousers, operates a taxi and delivery service to employ local women, and runs a ladies’ motorcycle club (to which she plans to add flying lessons). She and her friends enthusiastically welcome Constance into their circle. And then there is Harris, Poppy’s recalcitrant but handsome brother—a fighter pilot recently wounded in battle—who warms in Constance’s presence. But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.
Whip-smart and utterly transportive, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club is historical fiction of the highest order: an unforgettable coming-of-age story, a tender romance, and a portrait of a nation on the brink of change
Review
Poppy runs a taxi and delivery service and hopes to add flying lessons soon. She employs local women. But now that the men are home from the Great War, everyone expects women to go back to worrying about manners and clothes. But, Poppy refuses to relinquish what little freedom she has uncovered.
Oh! These characters are so great! I just love Poppy! But honestly, it takes all of these young characters to make this story entertaining. Each character, Poppy, Iris, Constance and Harris, have a great story surrounding them. The way these people learn to ignore the noise, so to speak, just made this book so wonderful! Talk about non-conformity!
Need an adorable tale about strong women…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt returns with a tantalizing, courageous story about mothers and daughters, guilt and innocence, and the lengths we go for love.
As a teenager, for a moment, Ella Fitchburg found love—yearning, breathless love—that consumed both her and her boyfriend, Jude, as they wandered the streets of New York City together. But her glorious life was pulled out from beneath her after she was accused of trying to murder Jude’s father, an imperious superior court judge. When she learns she’s pregnant shortly after receiving a long prison sentence, she reluctantly decides to give up the child.
Ella is released from prison after serving only six years and is desperate to turn the page on a new life, but she can’t seem to let go of her past. With only an address as a possible lead, she moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get her daughter back. Hiding her identity and living in a constant state of deception, she finds that what she’s been searching for all along is a way to uncover—and live with—the truth. Yet a central mystery endures: neither Jude nor Ella can remember the events leading up to the attempted murder—that fateful night which led to Ella’s conviction.
For fans of Miranda Cowley Heller’s The Paper Palace and Allegra Goodman’s Sam, Caroline Leavitt’s Days of Wonder is a gripping high-drama page-turner about the elusive nature of redemption and the profound reach of love.
Review
Ella has been accused of attempted murder and put in prison as a teenager. She has lost her boyfriend and her child. Luckily someone found her case and discovered how railroaded she was during her interrogation by the police. So, she has been released early. She moves to Ann Arbor, MI to start her new life. Things do not go as well as she plans.
There are places in this story where you know what is about to happen so you have to stop a minute and catch your breath. Ella is so mistreated by life and her struggles are so real it will rip your heart out.
Now, did I know what actually occurred during her murder confession…YES! Did I also know who caused all of this before the author told me…YES! This is the only reason for the 4 star rating. I saw everything coming a mile away. Plus, the ending is a bit “tied up in a pretty bow” But dang! This tale is good!
Need a story which will take your heart from top to bottom and back again…THIS IS IT!
I received this novel from the author for a honest review.
Disturbing the Dead is the latest in a unique series with one foot in the 1860s and the other in the present day. The Rip Through Time crime novels are a genre-blending, atmospheric romp from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.
Victorian Scotland is becoming less strange to modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson. Though inhabiting someone else’s body will always be unsettling, even if her employers know that she’s not actually housemaid Catriona Mitchell, ever since the night both of them were attacked in the same dark alley 150 years apart. Mallory likes her job as assistant to undertaker/medical examiner Dr. Duncan Gray, and is developing true friends—and feelings—in this century.
So, understanding the Victorian fascination with death, Mallory isn’t that surprised when she and her friends are invited to a mummy unwrapping at the home of Sir Alastair Christie. When their host is missing when it comes time to unwrap the mummy, Gray and Mallory are asked to step in. And upon closer inspection, it’s not a mummy they’ve unwrapped, but a much more modern body.
A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.
Review
Mallory Atkinson, a modern day detective, has found herself in 1860s Scotland. She has been invited to a mummy unwrapping party. Only to discover it is not a mummy…but a recently murdered body!
Let me preface this with I have been extremely sick this week. And I believe this is why I could not get into this book as well as I did with The Poisoner’s Ring. I kept zoning out during this one.
There is no better place to time travel to than 1800 Scotland. I love reading about the idiosyncrasies in this time period. I also enjoyed all the different situations Mallory found herself in. She would have to remind herself exactly where she was. But, she is on the case and she IS going to find the murderer!
The narrator, Kate Handford, did a very good job with all the voices.
Need a good time travel novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
THE LIBRARY THIEF Author: Kuchenga Shenjé Publication Date: May 6, 2024 ISBN: 9781335909695 Hardcover Publisher: Hanover Square Press Price $29.99
Book Summary: The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can’t be contained. A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence’s father had her hair hot- combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame—and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester. Intercepting her father’s latest commission, Florence talks her way into the remote, forbidding Rose Hall to restore its collection of rare books. Lord Francis Belfield’s library is old and full of secrets—but none so intriguing as the whispers about his late wife. Then one night, the library is broken into. Strangely, all the priceless tomes remain untouched. Florence is puzzled, until she discovers a half-burned book in the fireplace. She realizes with horror that someone has found and set fire to the secret diary of Lord Belfield’s wife–which may hold the clue to her fate… Evocative, arresting and tightly plotted, The Library Thief is at once a propulsive Gothic mystery and a striking exploration of race, gender and self-discovery in Victorian England.
Author Bio:
KUCHENGA SHENJÉ is a writer, journalist, and speaker with work on many media platforms, including gal-dem, British Vogue and Netflix. She has contributed short stories and essays to several anthologies, most notably It’s Not OK to Feel Blue (and Other Lies), Who’s Loving You and Loud Black Girls. Owing to a lifelong obsession with books and the written word, Kuchenga studied creative writing at the Open University. Her work is focused on the perils of loving, being loved and women living out loud throughout the ages. The Library Thief is the ultimate marriage of her passions for history, mystery and rebels. She currently resides in Manchester, where she is determined to continue living a life worth writing about.
The story starts with a scandal that I thought would end my life. Fortunately, my scandal didn’t kill anyone. In fact, it pales in comparison with what I went on to discover at Rose Hall.
Thus far, the way I see it, in any good life you need to die several times to really lead a life worth living. There are little deaths and there are big deaths. My tale has both—and the real tragedy would be if this story were to die with me.
I was lying when I swore I would take this secret to my grave. I had no right to promise that.
*
Granger’s Bookbinders,
143 Long Millgate,
Manchester,
Rose Hall,
Lancashire,
November 20, 1896
Dear Mr. Granger,
I trust this note finds you in good health and that business is as steady as when last we met some years ago.
I write to you with an unusual commission. I will not trouble you here with the details of my current circumstances. Since the untimely death of my beloved wife, Lady Persephone, it seems the fates are in conspiracy against me. Suffice it to say that I find myself now in need of your excellent services and on a far grander scale than before.
The library at Rose Hall is, as you are aware, extensive. I am proud of the rarity and quality of the books it now houses, a collection that I have painstakingly curated over many years. I now find myself in the unhappy position of seeking a buyer for my collection. Many of the books, due to their age and mishandling by less cautious owners, are badly in need of restoration. There are perhaps some two hundred such artifacts. The nature of my circumstances make it necessary that this work be carried out to the highest quality and with the greatest rapidity. Since no bookbinder in the North West possesses skills equal to yours, I thought of you at once.
Please inform me as soon as you are able whether it is within your means to accept such a commission.
Your obliged and affectionate friend,
Lord F. Belfield
1
I fell in love with the feel of the cotton before I fell in love with the books. Leather felt too masculine and reptilian. Cloth was so much warmer and didn’t slip out of my hands as easily. As a child I played underneath the tables and made toy families from the scraps that fell at my father’s boots.
He would never talk to me about where the cloth we used came from, nor the contents of the books we worked on. There were a lot of things my father wouldn’t tell me, and rather than keeping me ignorant, his silence made me more curious. And fortunately, I was surrounded by the means to nourish that curiosity.
Most of the time we spent together as I grew up was in silence, folding, beveling and smoothing. I sometimes wished my fingers could be as thick as his; he didn’t grimace when schooling leather and cloth into precise lines under his digital tutelage. I tried to be like my father, but all the books he left lying around gave me opinions.
* * *
I arrived at the front door of Rose Hall looking more ragged than I would have liked. My breath was far from fresh, and the hair pins and clips I had used to imprison the frizzier strands had been loosened by the bumps of the rickety carriage. I had been dropped at the top of a tree-lined drive that was at least a quarter mile long, if not more. The December mists obscured my vision, and I could only just make out the shape of a grand house, the likes of which I had only really seen on biscuit tins in the windows of Manchester’s new department store, though I had imagined them as I read Brontë, Austen and Radcliffe. Even with the curls of mist in the air, I could tell this was a very English dwelling. As I approached it my feet slipped and shifted on the gravel, unused to navigating such terrain after only walking on cobbled streets and across wooden floors.
Lord Francis Belfield of Rose Hall had been my father’s long-standing customer. He was the only man I’d ever seen look luxurious without any air of pomposity. The men of Manchester were not known for wearing velvet, so the sheen of his jackets always marked him out as distinguished. It felt completely fitting that Rose Hall was an ode to symmetry and a more tasteful example of the grandiosity of the mid-eighteenth century. It was an early Georgian home of Lancashire sandstone. Even though my father hadn’t mentioned it, the period of the building’s erection and the mercantile success of Lord Francis Belfield were all I needed to know to deduce that the building and its grounds had been purchased with plantation wealth.
I knocked on the forest-green door and left my suitcases on the ground, hoping that looked more elegant than being strained down by the weight of my clothes, books and binding tools. In my pocket, my fingers found the folds of Lord Belfield’s letter. I inhaled, recalling once more the story I had so carefully rehearsed.
The door opened and a pair of prominent blue eyes glared at me through the crack. “Well?”
“Miss Florence Granger for Lord Francis Belfield, please.”
I took in the lines, too many for the face of someone who was still clearly a young man. The hand holding the door open was rough and calloused.
“He is expecting me,” I added.
“No ’e is not.”
I blinked, having not expected resistance this soon.
“I assure you I arrive here at the request of Lord Belfield himself. I am from Granger’s of Manchester.”
The door widened and there stood a long-limbed boy of no more than twenty. His movements were almost feline. The way he handled the door without effort despite its apparent heaviness was quite a marvel.
“We are bookbinders. I’ve been sent to care for your master’s collection.” I retrieved the letter from the pocket of my coat and held it out.
He made no move to take it, but instead chewed his bottom lip, realizing there was truth to my words but clearly unconvinced by me. A female tradesperson at the door to Rose Hall was probably not a common occurrence.
“Young man, I excuse you of your impertinence, but I have been traveling for some hours and would like to rest,” I told him, trying a sterner approach. “Please fetch your master.”
“’E don’t rise before midday most days anymore. You can wait in the kitchens, if you like.”
Now it was my turn to falter. I had no way of assessing how appropriate this was. Should I be seated in the parlor? If I allowed myself to be taken to the kitchens, was I aligning myself with the downstairs staff? I was an artisan, not a servant. But a sharp ripple through my stomach made the decision for me.
“Very well, so long as your offer comes with a cup of tea.” I sighed and crouched down to pick up my suitcases.
“No, m’lady. I’ll tek those.”
He ushered me into the reception hall, lifting my bags up to his sides as if they weighed nothing at all. The door chuffed itself closed behind us with a low groan. The darkness of the perimeter indicated that there was no draft coming through, nor a single sliver of light. A curtain hung to the right of it and the man gave it a sharp tug. It concealed the entrance entirely once pulled across, an odd choice. It gave the sense of being sealed into the house somehow—not being able to see where one could escape.
Stepping into the hall, I was compelled to look up. It was a huge atrium, with dark green textured walls and candles placed at regular intervals which gave the illusion of a warm, close space. He led me over a black-tiled floor, underneath a vast yet delicate brass chandelier aglow with coppery bulbs. At the back of the hall, under the bifurcated staircase, he opened a hidden door which led down to the kitchen. Before I had reached the bottom the herbaceous and deeply woody smells of the kitchen came wafting up to greet me. It was divine. But when we reached the flagstoned room I saw there was nothing on the stove; I could only imagine that months of cooking in a room with such small windows had baked the scent into the walls.
I was seated at a wooden table facing an array of copper pans and white jugs with the high windows behind me. It was clearly a kitchen intended for many staff, but there was none of the expected bustle. Where was everyone? I shifted uncomfortably as I cast about for something to say, before realizing that I didn’t know the young man’s name.
“What is your name?”
“Wesley.”
“Wesley what?”
He gave me a strange look. “Bacchus. Wesley Bacchus. I’m the footman.”
He was telling me that as a footman, his surname did not matter. Of course there was no reason that I, as a craftswoman, should know the intricacies of these hierarchies, but I sat in silence, not wanting to betray myself further by speaking again.
I was grateful when the cook came in some minutes later—from a pantry, I imagined—but she barely looked in my direction, merely banging a pan of water onto the stove. My stomach growled something fierce when she entered, almost as if my belly knew that I was meeting the person in charge of feeding the house.
I waited for her to acknowledge me, while Wesley continued to look on with a smile playing about his lips. But she only retrieved a mug and a caddy, before placing a steaming tea in front of me with a snort. My shoulders slumped. I hadn’t expected to be treated as a lady, but had hoped for at least some respect. Would my father have received such a poor greeting? I sipped the tea, grateful for its sweetness and warmth as the cook clattered about with her back to me. As I finished, she returned to the table with a thick slice of ham sandwiched between two slices of bread. There was also a large apple on the plate and in her other hand was a pewter cup of water. She’d clearly heard my stomach. But her face showed no compassion as she laid the blessed offering on the table.
With one last assessing glance at me, Wesley left, and the cook returned to the stove, making it clear she had no intention of speaking to me. I decided I could forget my manners just as she had hers, and devoured the most delicious meal I’d had in weeks. Salty ham on pillowy bread, with a delightfully sour apple and water that tasted like it came from the purest spring to cleanse my palate. After greedily wiping the crumbs off the plate with one of my fingers, I took out A Christmas Carol from my coat pocket and started reading until the words on the page began to blur. The beast of a carriage I had traveled in overnight had creaked with the strain of being drawn up even the slightest incline. Combined with the cold that jolted me from slumber, I had only been able to sleep in fits and bursts.
I awoke, suddenly, with my head on my crossed arms in front of me and my wrist soaking wet from my dribble. The plate and pewter cup had been taken away and Wesley was standing above me, a mocking smile about his thickish lips.
“I’m sorry to wake you, Miss. Lord Belfield says he’ll see you now.”
Wesley led me back upstairs, and down a corridor. As we passed a tall, gilded mirror, I stopped, horrified by my reflection. My hair, after only days left to its own devices, was now once again completely untamed. My eyes were bloodshot with fatigue and my skin was pale, making my freckles stand out. Hastily, I tried to force my frizzed hair back beneath its pins as Wesley stopped too. He watched me with amusement until I had done the best I could, and we continued on our way.
I thought back to the last time I had seen Lord Francis Belfield. His best features were his long fingers, which were always encased in tight kid gloves that he never took off. Oh, and the smell of him! Rich pepper with a botanical soapy undertone, which always impressed me. Not in a way that would make me swoon. He’s not the kind of man a girl like me is meant to fall in love with. No, what I felt was awe. A man of his fortune had surely seen more of the world than most. He’d have tales of Saint Petersburg, Constantinople and Siam. If only I could ask him. The need to convince him of my employability made doing so inappropriate.
The door opened onto the parlor, and immediately I could see that the man I remembered from our shop was very different from the man who sat in front of me. He was wearing a turmeric-colored silk waistcoat embroidered with indigo plants, paired with dark trousers. He had clearly dressed hastily, and a thread toward the bottom of his trousers was loose and trailing on the floor by his feet. I inhaled deeply but could not catch the spiced vegetal scent that usually accompanied his presence. He was much thinner than when I had last seen him, and his eyes drooped as if he had suffered many a sleepless night. He stood up from his seat to shake my hand but returned to it quickly as if he couldn’t bear to hold himself up for too long.
“My name is Florence Granger, sir,” I began, but he waved a hand.
“Yes, yes, I remember you. But why has your father sent you all this way without an escort? It must have been a frightful journey.”
“Oh, no, Lord Belfield. The journey was fine.” I cleared my throat to make space for the bigger lie. “My father sent me to complete the work on your collection that you requested.”
He looked at me aggrieved. Offended, even. The way his forehead crumpled made me more aware of the thinning hair at his temples. Even disheveled, he was no less handsome. However, I pondered whether he might feel a sense of loss for the way he used to look. On my previous viewings of him, he looked like someone who was used to being seen and spoken of as a very handsome “young” man. Although he wasn’t superbly weathered, he now had the face of a man who had endured. A sad wisdom brought the tops of his eyelids a little lower. His jawline was a bit less tenderly set because his teeth were more used to being gritted together from stress. I supposed it was grief. He had lost his wife less than a year before, after all, leaving him with only his son.
“Why on earth would he do that? This hasn’t even been discussed. Had he accepted the commission, I would have had the books sent to Manchester.”
Ah. This I had not considered. I remembered the words on the letter. I was sure that it was an invitation to stay and restore the library. My mouth was dry as I prepared my next lie.
A recent widow’s plan to spend the summer in Cape Cod hiding from her interfering family is upended when she discovers her beach house has an unexpected guest, and the secret she’s been keeping about her marriage threatens to be exposed. Perfect beach reading for fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Emily Henry.
70 year old widow Cecilia Lapthorne can’t bear the prospect of a family party to celebrate her birthday and the memory of her husband, famous artist Cameron Lapthorne. They had a toxic marriage but stayed together for the children, and bound by a big secret. She runs away to the Cape Cod seashore cottage she owned with Cameron–it’s where they first fell in love–but she hasn’t returned since she discovered him cheating on her there (for the first time). No one in her family knows about it, so she will be perfectly, delightfully alone for the summer.
Except struggling artist Lily has been secretly crashing on the sofa of the seashore cottage for the last couple of weeks. Unable to make rent after dropping out of medical school to pursue her dreams of becoming an artist and working as a housekeeper in Cecilia’s Cape Cod enclave, she’s been illicitly camping at the cottage. Which isn’t a problem as it’s been unoccupied for years…until Cecilia unexpectedly shows up.
After the drama of discovering she has an unexpected house-guest has faded, Cecilia decides she’ll get along just fine with Lily for the summer. They form a tentative and powerful bond, based on shared love of art, but also the vulnerabilities they both share with each other. And when Todd, Cecilia’s beloved grandson (and the man who broke Lily’s heart in college) tracks her to the cottage, the three of them settle in for a summer of self-discovery, self-belief and second chances.
Review
Cecilia’s husband has passed away. She discovers he did not sell their Cape Cod home like he told her that he did! She has terrible memories of this home and she wants it gone. She leaves her birthday party…that she never wanted…and takes off to the cape. She soon discovers that she has and unexpected house guest, Lily.
Lily is such a sweet woman. She has given up medical school because it was just not for her. She moves to the cape and is cleaning houses and pursuing her art. She has been living in this abandoned cottage that she is being paid to keep up. No one is living there, so who will know! When Cecilia shows up and damages all of her husband’s paintings except one, Lily knows she must come clean.
This is one of my favorite times of the year…When all the new beach reads are released. Sarah Morgan is one of my favorite Christmas authors and yes, she writes books for the summer too!
This is such a good tale. It’s about family secrets, family drama and strength to overcome! Add in the wonderful characters and the location and you have an all around good tale!
Need a story to give you all the feels…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review
Author Bio:
Sarah Morgan is a USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She has sold more than 21 million copies of her books and her trademark humour and warmth have gained her fans across the globe. Sarah lives with her family near London, England, where the rain frequently keeps her trapped in her office. Visit her at http://www.sarahmorgan.com
This program includes a bonus conversation between the author and narrator.
“Narrator Kathleen McInerney exudes beach-read energy in this entertaining audiobook.”—AudioFileon The Homewreckers
Book your summer escape with a “mesmerizing mix of mystery and romance” (Publishers Weekly, starred) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Homewreckers and The Newcomer.
Welcome to the St. Cecelia, a landmark hotel on the coast of Georgia, where traditions run deep and scandals run even deeper. . . .
Everyone refers to the St. Cecelia as “the Saint.” If you grew up coming here, you were “a Saint.” If you came from the wrong side of the river, you were “an Ain’t.” Traci Eddings was one of those outsiders whose family wasn’t rich enough or connected enough to vacation here. But she could work here. One fateful summer she did, and married the boss’s son. Now, she’s the widowed owner of the hotel, determined to see it return to its glory days, even as staff shortages and financial troubles threaten to ruin it. Plus, her greedy and unscrupulous brother-in-law wants to make sure she fails. Enlisting a motley crew of recently hired summer help—including the daughter of her estranged best friend—Traci has one summer season to turn it around. But new information about a long-ago drowning at the hotel threatens to come to light, and the tragic death of one of their own brings Traci to the brink of despair.
Traci Eddings has her back against the pink-painted wall of this beloved institution. And it will take all the wits and guts she has to see wrongs put to right, to see guilty parties put in their place, and maybe even to find a new romance along the way. Told with Mary Kay Andrew’s warmth, humor, knack for twists, and eye for delicious detail about human nature, Summers at the Saint is a beach listen with depth and heart.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.
Review
Traci Eddings was an “ain’t” but she married into The Saint. Then her husband was tragically killed in a plane crash. This left Traci running the St Cecelia, a resort on the coast of Georgia. Now, strange things are happening and her niece has been killed. Traci is not going down without a fight.
Talk about great characters! This book is full of them. And some of them I want to beat with a muddy stick!
Then there are all the plot twists! You have family drama, assault, murder and theft, all in one novel! Everyone needs to start their summer with Mary Kay Andrews! You will not be sorry!
The narrator is Kathleen McInerney. She narrates all of MKA books and she does a fantastic job!
Need a fabulous book to take to the beach or to just read wherever…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
A young Southern woman sets out on a journey of self-discovery as the infamous 1925 Scopes Trial tests her faith and her marriage in this moving novel from the author of Time After Time and The Irresistible Henry House.
“Lisa Grunwald is a national treasure. . . . An essential American story from a master craftsman.”—Adriana Trigiani, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Left Undone
I had never questioned a miracle, witnessed a gunfight, or seen a dead body. . . . I had thought I knew exactly what I wanted and what I didn’t. Before the summer was over, all that and much more would change.
Annabel Hayes—born, baptized, and orphaned in the sleepy conservative town of Dayton, Tennessee—is thrilled to find herself falling quickly and deeply in love with George Craig, a sophisticated attorney newly arrived from Knoxville. But before the end of their first year of marriage, their lives are beset by losses. The strain on their relationship is only intensified when John T. Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution at the local high school.
Foreshadowing today’s culture wars, the trial against Scopes is a spectacle unlike any the country has seen. William Jennings Bryan—a revered Southern politician—joins the prosecution, pitting himself and his faith against the renowned defense attorney Clarence Darrow. Journalists descend in a frenzy, thrusting the town and its citizens into the national spotlight. And when George joins the team defending Scopes, Annabel begins to question both her beliefs and her vows.
As the ongoing trial divides neighbor against neighbor, it also divides the Craigs in unexpected ways. But in the midst of these conflicts—one waged in an open courtroom, the other behind closed doors—Annabel will discover that the path to her own evolution begins with the courage to think for herself.
Review
Annabel was orphaned at the age of 16. She proceeded to work at the local hotel in Dayton, Tennessee. She meets and falls madly in love with a lawyer named George Craig.
George is an up and coming lawyer in Dayton. he takes on a murder case, and wins. But then something happens! You will have to read this to find out! It sends George into a spiral. But, then along comes the John T. Scopes case. John has been arrested for teaching evolution. This gives George new life.
There is so much I had forgotten about this case! I enjoyed this novel because it brought it all back to the front! Lord how things have changed and how they have not. We are still trying to fight what we teach our kids in school.
And Annabel definitely comes into her own and I loved her.
Need a good historical fiction tale…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
When a techno-terrorist group threatens to break encryptions on a global scale, a CIA officer must take matters into his own hands to save a world held hostage.
A massive security breach in China. CIA operations compromised in Turkey. Undercover ops breaking down the world over. A techno-terrorist group dubbed “Archon” has unleashed a terrifying new technology that can break any encryption. Humanity’s secrets are about to be laid bare, and global order tilts toward chaos.
Up against a doomsday clock, CIA officer Colt McShane hatches a desperate plan: infiltrate Archon, capture one of the terrorist group’s leaders, and force them to divulge the kill switch. But when Colt arrives just in time to see his target assassinated, he realizes that the stakes have been raised. Someone else is killing the terrorists and targeting their technology. And the question is: are they friends, or a new, and even more dangerous, enemy?
Aided by the beautiful and mysterious Ava Klein—an operator in a covert organization known only as Trinity—Colt must stay one step ahead of all who want him dead: international terrorists, government agents, police. Even those he once called friends can no longer be trusted.
Because in a world where power is built on a foundation of secrets, unlimited truth is the most destructive force of all…
USA Today Bestselling author Andrew Watts teams up with Dale M. Nelson to bring you another chapter in The Firewall Spies, a technothriller series that mixes the political espionage of Jason Matthews with the thrills and adventure of Mark Greaney.
Review
Colt is a CIA operative. He is going to have to infiltrate a terrorist group. He must succeed or more lives will be lost and the USA office of president will be compromised.
Now, this is an espionage thriller. This usually means there is quite a bit of set up to the story. This part might have been better for me if I had read the others in this series first. It is a long, slow start to this tale. BUT, and this is a capital BUT! The last half of this novel moves like lightning. AND! Now I am really worried all of this could happen🤦🏻♀️!
The narrator, Michael Wolfe, is probably the reason I stuck with this book.
Need a good espionage thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
A small town in coastal Maine is shaken to its core by a serial killer in this crime novel from Peter Nichols, bestselling author of The Rocks
In scenic Granite Harbor, life has continued on—quiet and serene—for decades. That is until a local teenager is found brutally murdered in the Settlement, the town’s historic archaeological site. Alex Brangwen, adjusting to life as a single father with a failed career as a novelist, is the town’s sole detective. This is his first murder case and, as both a parent and detective, Alex knows the people of Granite Harbor are looking to him to catch the killer and temper the fear that has descended over the town.
Isabel, a single mother attempting to support her family while healing from her own demons, finds herself in the middle of the case when she begins working at the Settlement. Her son, Ethan, and Alex’s daughter, Sophie, were best friends with the victim. When a second teenager is found murdered, the body left in the same manner as the first victim, both parents are terrified that their child may be next. As Alex and Isabel race to find the killer in their midst, the town’s secrets—past and present—begin bubbling to the surface, threatening to unravel the tight-knit community.
At once a binge-worthy thriller and a captivating portrait of the social fabric of a small town, Granite Harbor evokes the atmosphere of HBO’s Mare of Easttown with a villain reminiscent of Thomas Harris’s Silence of the Lambs.
Review
In Granite Harbor Maine, a local teenager has been found brutally murdered. Enter Alex Brangwen! He is a failed novelist turned detective. He is determined to find out who has destroyed his peaceful town.
Alex is a character which is not as tough as you would expect a police detective to be. I mean…he was a novelist in a past life. He also lets his ex-wife run over him. Until…he doesn’t. When his own daughter goes missing, he is a bear!
This story is a bit slow, especially in the beginning…I mean you have got to have a good set up… right?!?! And these characters really pull you in to this guessing game! And to be honest, I did not figure out who the killer was until the author wanted me to know.
Now, this has some pretty gruesome scenes in this tale. So, if that is a trigger…you have been warned.
The narrator, Peter Ganim, is one of my favorites. He has been a narrator of quite a few books I have enjoyed.
Need a good thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
When a techno-terrorist group threatens to break encryptions on a global scale, a CIA officer must take matters into his own hands to save a world held hostage.
A massive security breach in China. CIA operations compromised in Turkey. Undercover ops breaking down the world over. A techno-terrorist group dubbed “Archon” has unleashed a terrifying new technology that can break any encryption. Humanity’s secrets are about to be laid bare, and global order tilts toward chaos.
Up against a doomsday clock, CIA officer Colt McShane hatches a desperate plan: infiltrate Archon, capture one of the terrorist group’s leaders, and force them to divulge the kill switch. But when Colt arrives just in time to see his target assassinated, he realizes that the stakes have been raised. Someone else is killing the terrorists and targeting their technology. And the question is: are they friends, or a new, and even more dangerous, enemy?
Aided by the beautiful and mysterious Ava Klein—an operator in a covert organization known only as Trinity—Colt must stay one step ahead of all who want him dead: international terrorists, government agents, police. Even those he once called friends can no longer be trusted.
Because in a world where power is built on a foundation of secrets, unlimited truth is the most destructive force of all…
USA Today Bestselling author Andrew Watts teams up with Dale M. Nelson to bring you another chapter in The Firewall Spies, a technothriller series that mixes the political espionage of Jason Matthews with the thrills and adventure of Mark Greaney.
Review
Colt is a CIA operative. He is going to have to infiltrate a terrorist group. He must succeed or more lives will be lost and the USA office of president will be compromised.
Now, this is an espionage thriller. This usually means there is quite a bit of set up to the story. This part might have been better for me if I had read the others in this series first. It is a long, slow start to this tale. BUT, and this is a capital BUT! The last half of this novel moves like lightning. AND! Now I am really worried all of this could happen🤦🏻♀️!
The narrator, Michael Wolfe, is probably the reason I stuck with this book.
Need a good espionage thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
reecaspieces 