It’s the summer of 1956, and a brood of cicadas descends upon Providence, Georgia. It’s a natural event with supernatural repercussions, and unhinges the life of Analeise Newell, an eleven-year-old piano prodigy. Amidst this emergence, dark obsessions are stirred, uncanny gifts provoked, and secrets unearthed.
During a visit to Mistletoe, a plantation owned by the wealthy Mayfield family, Analeise encounters Cordelia Mayfield and her daughter Marlissa, both of whom possess an otherworldly beauty. A whisper and an act of violence perpetrated during this visit by Mrs. Mayfield all converge to kindle Analeise’s fascination with the Mayfields.
Analeise’s burgeoning obsession with the Mayfield family overshadows her own seemingly ordinary life, culminating in dangerous games and manipulation, and setting off a chain of cataclysmic events with life-altering consequences—all unfolding to the maddening whir of a cicada song.
Review
Analeise is a young girl growing up in Providence, Georgia. She loves bugs and is called the Bug Girl at school. She doesn’t mind. She knows she is different. But, when she visits the Mistletoe plantation, she realizes just how different her life is.
This is a rare, coming of age story. Analeise is prodigy on the piano and her good friend, Etta Mae, can sing like no other. Then, there is the family called Mayfield. They are wealthy and seem to have the perfect life. But something is just not right. Analiese is completely captivated and drawn to this family. And this fascination may just be her undoing!
Robert Gwaltney weaves and unique tale full of suspense, secrets and intrigue. This story leaves you wanting more!
Need a heart felt, dramatic, southern novel…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
About The Author:
Robert Gwaltney, a writer of southern fiction, is a graduate of Florida State University. He resides in Atlanta Georgia with his partner, where he is an active member of the Atlanta literary community. By day, he serves as Vice President of Easter Seals North Georgia, Inc., Children Services, a non-profit supporting children with disabilities and other special needs. Robert’s work has appeared in such publications as The Signal Mountain Review and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. Robert also serves as Prose Editor for The Blue Mountain Review. https://robertlgwaltney.com/
“Gwaltney’s Southern Gothic, THE CICADA TREE mesmerizes and seduces, the language redolent and deadly, the characters steeped in secrets and madness, and the whole of it an enthralling and perfect read. Easily my favorite book of the year.”
—Kim Taylor Blakemore, bestselling author of AFTER ALICE FELL
This is Southern Gothic with a vengeance—a dark blast of family secrets, strained loyalties, and bitter betrayals. We follow young Analeise Newell with fear and hope, dreading what may happen to her even as we turn the pages. Robert Gwaltney is a writer to watch.” –Christopher Swann, author of Never Turn Back (Crooked Lane Books)
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Little Deadly Secretscomes a page-turning psychological thriller that weaves an ancient family mystery with tense drama. A book club pick perfect for fans of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere, Laura Dave’s The Last Thing He Told Me, Lisa Jewell, and Ruth Ware.
April 1910. Women’s rights activist Alvera Fields mysteriously vanishes from her home one night, leaving her newborn baby and husband behind, the case never solved.
April 2021. On the anniversary of her great-great-grandmother’s disappearance, Alvera’s namesake Vera Portman vanishes in an eerily similar manner.
Six months later, the police recover a girl’s body. While the family waits in the horror of finding out if it’s Vera, Felicity Portman clings to hope that her missing teenage daughter is still alive. Despite all odds, Felicity senses a link between the decades-apart cases–a mother feels such things in her bones. But all suspicion points to the last person who saw Vera alive: Felicity’s sister-in-law, Marin.
Marin, with her troubled past. Marin, the poor woman who married into the rich family. Marin, the only one who knows Felicity’s darkest secret.
As Felicity makes a shocking discovery in Vera’s journal, she questions who her daughter really is. The deeper she digs, the more she’s ensnared in the same mysteries that claimed their ancestor in a terribly slow ruin.
“An emotionally charged mystery of how a mother must lose her daughter to find herself. Chilling from the first page. Gripping until the last.” – reader review
Review
Felicity’s daughter is missing! She has been missing for quite some time. The odds are…something terrible has happened to Vera. But, Felicity will not give up hope. She continues to search and dig deeper. When she finds Vera’s journal, Felicity knows her secret is out!
Felicity has a huge secret. Only a select few in the family actually know the truth. But, Vera discovers her hidden secret and disappears. Now, Felicity must do her best to stay sane and keep her family together.
This is definitely a roller coaster ride. I felt Felicity’s terror all the way to my bones. And when all the secrets start to be revealed and then all the truths are uncovered…it brings about new terror and what will happen next!
The narrators were superb! Absolutely the best!
***SPOILER***
Let me just say…if my daughter pulled what this girl pulled…I would not be as calm as Felicity! And I definitely would not be as understanding. Vera absolutely destroyed Felicity!
Need an emotional mystery/thriller from start to finish….THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Powerful and haunting . . . an intimate and unforgettable tale that transports the reader to the heart of Imperial Russia.” —Chanel Cleeton, New York Timesbestselling author of The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba
This sweeping novel takes readers behind palace walls to see the end of Imperial Russia through the eyes of Olga Nikolaevna Romanov, the first daughter of the last tsar
Grand Duchess Olga Romanov comes of age amid a shifting tide for the great dynasties of Europe. But even as unrest simmers in the capital, Olga is content to live within the confines of the sheltered life her parents have built for her and her three sisters: hiding from the world on account of their mother’s ill health, their brother Alexei’s secret affliction, and rising controversy over Father Grigori Rasputin, the priest on whom the tsarina has come to rely. Olga’s only escape from the seclusion of Alexander Palace comes from the grand tea parties her aunt hosts amid the shadow court of Saint Petersburg—a world of opulent ballrooms, scandalous flirtation, and whispered conversation.
But as war approaches, the palaces of Russia are transformed. Olga and her sisters trade their gowns for nursing habits, assisting in surgeries and tending to the wounded bodies and minds of Russia’s military officers. As troubling rumors about her parents trickle in from the front, Olga dares to hope that a budding romance might survive whatever the future may hold. But when tensions run high and supplies run low, the controversy over Rasputin grows into fiery protest, and calls for revolution threaten to end three hundred years of Romanov rule.
At turns glittering and harrowing, The Last Grand Duchess is a story about dynasty, duty, and love, but above all, it’s the story of a family who would choose devotion to each other over everything—including their lives.
Looking for more historical fiction from Bryn Turnbull? Don’t miss The Woman Before Wallis. For fans of The Paris Wife and The Crown, this stunning novel tells the true story of the American divorcée who captured Prince Edward’s heart before he abdicated his throne for Wallis Simpson.
Review
This novel follows one of Nicholas’ daughters, Olga. She is a normal young lady with love interests and hidden secrets. She is very sheltered and the only time she is outside the palace without her family is when she is at her aunt’s lavish tea parties or when she is nursing the wounded soldiers.
After her father’s abdication, Olga realizes her life will never be the same. She also understands the terrible danger her father’s decisions has placed her and her family.
Give me a book about the Romanovs and I will almost be guaranteed to love it! And this book has a different take! It was more about the Romanovs as a family. This made their tragic death more appalling and heartbreaking.
This also shows the tragedy of Tsar Nicholas’ reign. How removed from the Russian people he really was. I knew a great deal of this. But Bryn Turnbull makes it so real. And I felt the loss of this royal family deep in my heart.
Need a fantastic book about the last royal family of Russia…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
This audiobook includes a bonus conversation between the author and Jack Carr.
The New York Times best-selling series returns when Orphan X faces his most challenging mission ever in Gregg Hurwitz’s Dark Horse.
Evan Smoak is a man with many identities and a challenging past. As Orphan X, he was a government assassin for the off-the-books Orphan Program. After he broke with the Program, he adopted a new name and a new mission – The Nowhere Man, helping the most desperate in their times of trouble. Having just survived an attack on his life, and the complete devastation of his base of operations, as well as his complicated (and deepening) relationship with his neighbor Mia Hall, Evan isn’t interested in taking on a new mission. But one finds him anyway.
Aragon Urrea is a kingpin of a major drug-dealing operation in South Texas. He’s also the patron of the local area – suppling employment in legitimate operations, providing help to the helpless, a rough justice to the downtrodden, and a future to a people normally with little hope. He’s complicated – a not completely good man, who does bad things for often good reasons. However, for all his money and power, he is helpless when one of the most vicious cartels kidnaps his innocent 18-year-old daughter, spiriting her away into the armored complex that is their headquarters in Mexico. With no other way to rescue his daughter, he turns to The Nowhere Man.
Now not only must Evan figure out how to get into the impregnable fortress of a heavily armed, deeply paranoid cartel leader, but he must decide if he should help a very bad man – no matter how just the cause.
Review
Evan, The Nowhere Man or Orphan X, has been asked to find the 18 year old daughter of a major drug lord. She is missing and presumed kidnapped. But, as Evan begins to penetrate the cartel, he realizes there is more to this than he first thought.
I have been a fan of Ophan X or Evan since the very beginning. He just keeps getting better and better. He knows he has limitations in the “feelings” department but the reader just can’t help but know he is one of the good guys. This book brings out all of his strengths and weaknesses. I fell for him all over again.
This story had me cringing, gasping and wringing my hands. Plus, the narrator is one of my favorites, Scott Brick. He has an outstandingly deep voice. He is the perfect voice for Evan.
This is the best Orphan X Book yet! Usually by now, I am bored with a series. But this book was over the top! You can read this as a stand alone, but there is not much of a back story for Evan in this one. So, I do recommend reading some of the others first, just to get a feel about Evan. He is a special breed!
I would love to see this made into a tv series. This would be an amazing to binge watch!
Need a fantastic shoot’em up thriller which will have you in the edge of your seat…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
When busy trauma surgeon Dr. Kyle Chandler goes to a medical symposium in London, he agrees to two innocent meetings for his friend Ian Griffin, who runs a private investigation firm. During his time in England, Dr. Chandler stumbles on a mysterious system of illegal smuggling to the United States. How could the smuggling of products in bulk wine carriers have anything to do with the shipping of French antiques? As Kyle continues his investigation, he soon realizes he faces a powerful, complex network involving organized crime. At the same time, escalating threats to him reveal the truth-and the truth nearly costs him his life.
Review
Dr. Kyle Chandler is a trauma surgeon. He has been asked to attend a symposium in London. However, a friend, Ian Griffin, has implored him to look into a mystery while he is there. It appears that there may be a smuggling ring going on involving priceless antiques. The further Kyle digs into this mystery the more dangerous it becomes.
I did find that this novel a has a good many mundane details. Just a minor issue. But, the story itself is very unique and creative. I enjoyed the complexity of the mystery. And Dr. Chandler is very intelligent and, I want to say, suave and debonair. This novel had a Sherlock Holmes feel to it. A good man on a hunt for answers!
Need an all around good mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
Hyacinth Dawson’s life runs like clockwork – and she likes it that way. Spreadsheets, lists, and plans have never failed her, and now they’re going to help her get her bridal shop on the popular reality TV show All Dressed in White. But it won’t happen unless she can land a celebrity client…maybe one of those new NHL players in town.
Enter Robbie McTavish, a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants Scottish defenseman who can’t help but meddle when he spies a bride in Hyacinth’s shop wearing a completely wrong dress for her figure. Robbie’s family just happens to own the Scottish Highlands’ premier wedding venue, and he knows his way around bustled trains and buttercream frosting – even if his help seems to be less than welcome.
When a video of his infuriating interference goes viral, the TV producers decide to film at Hyacinth’s shop – as long as her “associate” Robbie is part of the package. Opposites might attract, but as far as Hyacinth’s concerned, no amount of chemistry is worth the way this particular plus-one threatens to blow up her carefully laid plans….
Review
Hyacinth has big plans. She owns a bridal shop in her small town. But, she wants to expand into wedding dress design. So, she must get on the show Dressed in White. She needs a famous celebrity to help worm her way onto the show. When Robbie McTavish, NHL player, walks into her shop with an ice cream cone and ruins a dress, she is livid. She doesn’t make the best impression, but then again, neither does Robbie. So, needless to say, the budding romance does not get off to the best of starts.
Being the southern girl I am…I am shocked that I have missed this team of authors. They nailed the southern culture and charm. When they talked about the egg bowl and McCarty pottery, I knew they were the real deal!
This is a charming romance with all the twists and turns. The fights, the joys and the funny quips are not to be missed! Add in these wonderful characters and the lovely southern town and you have a novel everyone will want to enjoy! NAILED IT!
The narrator, Courtney Patterson, did a wonderful job. Now, I was a bit worried at the beginning. Robbie is Scottish. But, she handled his accent like a pro, in my opinion. I have not heard too many Scottish accents in my day, but Courtney seems to have mastered it!
Need a good southern romance…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Pastry chef Tessa Montgomery knows what everyone in Blossom Glen says about her. Spinster. Ice Queen. Such a shame. It’s enough to make a woman bake her troubles away, dreaming of Parisian delicacies while she makes bread at her mother’s struggling boulangerie. That is, it is until Tessa’s mortal enemy — deliciously handsome (if arrogant) chef Leo Castorini, who owns the restaurant next door — proposes a business plan…to get married.
Leo knows that the Castorinis and the Montgomerys hate each other, but a marriage might just force these stubborn families to work together and blend their businesses for success. The deal is simple: Tessa and Leo marry, live together for six months, and then go their separate ways. Easy peasy.
It’s a sweetheart deal where everyone gets what they want — until feelings between the faux newlyweds start seriously complicating the mix. Have they discovered the perfect recipe for success…or is disaster on the way?
Review
Leo’s family restaurant is struggling. Tessa’s family bakery is struggling. But, Leo has a plan. He wants to “pretend” to marry Tessa. However, these two families hate each other for something which happened years and years ago. Will Leo’s plan work? Can he and Tessa save their businesses? Or will the feud continue until all is lost?
I just adored these characters. I fell hook, line and sinker for Leo! He is hot and perfectly sweet, especially when it comes to Tessa! I loved the way these two characters go about trying to protect their family. Got to keep the feud intact! These two try really hard not to have feelings for each other, but sometimes you just need to quit fighting it!
Virginia Rose is a wonderful narrator. She really did a superb job with the quirks and cute comments.
Need a sweet romance with great characters…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
It’s mid-May in the tiny northwoods Wisconsin town of Loon Lake, and the fish are biting. But walleye isn’t the only thing on the hook.
There are rumors that a precious vein of nickel and copper is buried on the property of wealthy Grace McDonough, and the drilling is about to begin. But not if environmentalist Pete Ferris can help it. When Grace’s 24-year-old son, Noah, is caught in a sordid sex crime, police chief Lew Ferris makes the arrest. But a day later, Lew is stricken when her brother, Pete, turns up dead, a bloody pry bar found in the woods nearby. Then, Grace’s body is discovered in a car at the bottom of a river — and Noah has vanished.
Lew puts out a statewide APB, but before long, Noah is also found murdered on the McDonough property. It’s beginning to look like mother and son were killed by the same person. And when Lew learns that her brother had planned to file a lawsuit to prevent drilling for the sulfide mine, a key piece of the puzzle suddenly falls into place. Lew is beginning to close in on the truth. But has the killer set his bait again, angling for his biggest catch yet?
Review
Lew is the police chief of the tiny Wisconsin town of Loon Lake. And she has a mess on her hands. There are very few murders in her small town and now she has 3 to deal with, and one is her own brother. But, Lew is not to be beat. She has to keep her head in the game and this is hard to do because her emotions are all over the place.
This is a very quick read. It has quite a few twists and turns. I especially enjoyed the twist involving Grace and her weird son, Noah. I wanted to jerk both of them bald headed! Don’t you just love a story which creates this type of reaction! This one definitely does. And the biggest feeling of rage is the one surrounding Pete’s wife…all I have to say is WOW! She is a piece of work!
The narrator, Whitney Dykhouse, really did a great job. Great cadence and emotion. Perfect for this murder mystery!
Need a good, quick story with a kick…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Leigh Fletcher: happily married stepmum to two gorgeous boys goes missing on Monday. Her husband Mark says he knows nothing of her whereabouts. She simply went to work and just never came home. Their family is shattered.
Kai Janssen: married to wealthy Dutch businessman, Daan, vanishes the same week. Kai left their luxurious penthouse and glamourous world without a backward glance. She seemingly evaporated into thin air. Daan is distraught.
DC Clements knows that people disappear all the time – far too frequently. Most run away from things, some run towards, others are taken but find their way back. A sad few never return. These two women are from very different worlds, their disappearances are unlikely to be connected. And yet, at a gut level, the DC believes they might be.
How could these women walk away from their families, husbands and homes willingly? Clements is determined to unearth the truth, no matter how shocking and devastating it may be.
Author Bio:
Adele Parks was born in Teesside, North-East England. Her first novel, Playing Away, was published in 2000 and since then she’s had 20 international bestsellers, translated into twenty-six languages. She’s been an Ambassador for The Reading Agency and a judge for the Costa. She’s lived in Italy, Botswana and London, and is now settled in Guildford, Surrey, with her husband, teenage son and cat.
I am engulfed in emptiness. I’m not in my bed. I am not in any bed.
In the instant my eyes flutter open I know there is some-thing wrong. Seriously wrong. It’s dark. I’m suspended in a threatening, airless blackness. I’m lying down but am dis-orientated because I’m on a cold concrete floor. A floor that looks as though it’s waiting to be tiled, but something immediately suggests to me it never will be. My mind is lazy and unable to process why I think this. I can’t remember when I last slept on a floor, a million years ago when I was a student and would bunk in on another student’s room if I was too drunk to get home. I try to sit up; my limbs feel heavy, my head sore. I try to stand up but as I do so, I am yanked back down, my left hand is tethered. Chained. I hear the rattle of the chain at the same time as I feel the cold tug. Am I dreaming? My head pulses, swells and then bursts, I close my eyes again, my lids are like sandpaper scratching, I open them for a second time, giving them a chance to adjust to the darkness. Is it my dizziness that’s leaving everything unfamiliar? Shaky? I feel slow, behind myself.
How much did I have to drink last night? I try to remember. I can’t. And then—this is terrifying—I realize I can’t remember last night at all. I feel sick. I can smell vomit, suggesting I have already been sick. I should not be waking to the smell of vomit. Where is the smell of my husband’s early morning breath? There is no smell of toast from the kitchen, no traces of the Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin room spray that I sometimes wake to. I’m somewhere dusty, not damp, a little overwarm. Am I in a hospital? No. What sort of hospital makes patients lie on the floor, chains them? There are no sounds. My boys are not arguing in the kitchen, the TV is not blaring, no doors opening, slamming, no demands, “Mum, where are my football shorts?” I wait, sometimes I wake to something more serene. Sometimes it is Radio 4 and the smell of coffee.
Nothing.
Alarm and horror flood through my body. My organs and limbs turn to liquid and I can’t coordinate my movements. None of us are that naive anymore. The news doesn’t always enlighten or inform, often it terrifies. My foggy mind realizes I must have been drugged. I have been abducted. The terrible thing that you read about that happens to someone else—someone other—has happened to me.
Panicked, I tug hard at the chain, there’s no give. I scramble about in the darkness. Trying to understand my environment. I can’t move far because of the chain, which is attached to a radiator at one end and through a zip tie that is tight around my wrist on the other. The chain is about a meter long. As my eyes adjust, I see that I am in a room that is about three meters long by just over two, like a standard guest room. The walls are manila. It is clean and bare. I am not in a derelict warehouse or abandoned cottage. It’s bland to the state of anonymous. I imagine that is the point. I could be anywhere. There’s no furniture in the room. None at all. Not a bed, a mattress, a lamp. Nothing to soften or comfort. Just a plastic bucket. I realize what this is intended for and my stomach heaves. I can see the outline of a door and a boarded-up window. I can’t reach the door as it’s in the far corner, or the window as that’s at the end of the wall opposite the one with the radiator I am chained to.
I go to check the time, but my Fitbit has been removed. Not knowing what time it is, or even what day it is for sure, sends spikes of isolation and confusion through my body. Still, I have my voice. I can shout and maybe attract attention. I fleetingly consider that shouting will attract the attention of whoever it is that brought me here. He could do a lot worse to me that chain me up, but I have no choice.
“Help! Help me! Help!” My voice shatters the dead unnatural silence. I yell over and over again until I become hoarse. The pain in my tender head intensifies.
No one comes.
No one responds.
The silence stretches. I stop yelling and listen. Hoping to hear something, cars in the distance, people in the street, bird-song, as the light has started to eke around the boarded window. A new day, but which day is it? Nothing. It’s like I’m in a vacuum. Then, I hear footsteps coming toward the door.
“Please, please let me out,” I whimper. I’m crying now. I’m not sure when I started crying. Tears and mucus pour down my face. I don’t want to be weak. I want to be strong, brave, resistant. That’s what you imagine you’ll be in a situation like this but it’s beyond me. It’s a ludicrous fantasy. I am just terrified. I will beg, plead, implore. Anything to stay safe. Any-thing. “Please, please don’t hurt me. Please.”
Then I hear the distinct sound of the keystrokes of an old-fashioned typewriter being pounded. A sort of shuffling rat-tat-tat. Slow, precise. Like a hostile countdown. Next, the hurried juddering whirl of paper being forcefully pulled out of the machine’s roller. It is incongruous, this passé sound is the domain of busy newspaper rooms in decades gone by. Who has a typewriter anymore? There is rustling, as the piece of paper is pushed beneath the door. I stretch to reach it, but it is tantalizingly out of my grasp. I lie on the floor and carefully, oh so slowly, edge it nearer with my toes until I can drag it close enough to snatch it up.
Augusta Podos has just landed her dream job, working in collections at a local museum, Harlowe House, located in the charming seaside town of Tynemouth, Massachussetts. Determined to tell the stories of the local community, she throws herself into her work–and finds an oblique mention of a mysterious woman, Margaret, who may have been part of the Harlowe family, but is reduced to a footnote. Fascinated by this strange omission, Augusta becomes obsessed with discovering who Margaret was, what happened to her, and why her family scrubbed her from historical records. But as she does, strange incidents begin plaguing Harlowe House and Augusta herself. Are they connected with Margaret, and what do they mean?
Tynemouth, 1872. Margaret Harlowe is the beautiful daughter of a wealthy shipping family, and she should have many prospects–but her fascination with herbs and spellwork has made her a pariah, with whispers of “witch” dogging her steps. Increasingly drawn to the darker, forbidden practices of her craft, Margaret finds herself caught up with a local man, Jack Pryce, and the temptation of these darker ways threatens to pull her under completely.
As the incidents in the present day escalate, Augusta finds herself drawn more and more deeply into Margaret’s world, and a shocking revelation sheds further light on Margaret and Augusta’s shared past. And as Margaret’s sinister purpose becomes clear, Augusta must uncover the secret of Margaret’s fate–before the woman who calls to her across the centuries claims Augusta’s own life.
Review
Augusta is tired of her job as a guide at the historical jail. When her dream job comes open at Harlowe House, she jumps at the chance. Harlowe House was once owned by a shipping magnate. He had a daughter named Margaret. But, as Augusta begins to delve into her life, she discovers a very strange history indeed. Augusta begins to find herself pulled into some strange visions and she discovers a shared past.
Augusta is a character I adored. Basically because she comes into her own in this book. She develops a backbone and discovers what she wants. But Margaret has some sinister plans. Is Augusta strong enough to fight this off??? You need to read this to find out!
I am a huge fan of Hester Fox! She never disappoints! And this book is one of my favorites! I am not a big fantasy reader. But give me a ghost story or a witch story and I am all over it! This book has both! Add in the historical aspect and you have a winner!
Need a good witch/ghost story to keep you reading well into the night…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Author Bio
Hester Fox is a full-time writer and mother, with a background in museum work and historical archaeology. A native New-Englander, she now lives in rural Virginia with her husband and their son.
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