The Bookseller’s Secret : A Novel of Nancy Mitford and WWII Michelle Gable On Sale Date: August 17, 2021 9781525806469 Trade Paperback $16.99 USD 400 pages
ABOUT THE BOOK:
From New York Times bestselling author Michelle Gable comes a dual-narrative set at the famed Heywood Hill Bookshop in London about a struggling American writer on the hunt for a rumored lost manuscript written by the iconic Nancy Mitford—bookseller, spy, author, and aristocrat—during World War II.
In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.
Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.
Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
MICHELLE GABLE is the New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment, I’ll See You in Paris, The Book of Summer, and The Summer I Met Jack. She attended The College of William & Mary, where she majored in accounting, and spent twenty years working in finance before becoming a full-time writer. She grew up in San Diego and lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, with her husband and two daughters. Find her at michellegable.com or on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest, @MGableWriter.
Hughes offers up a contemporary mystery/thriller with a strong helping of historical fiction and romance. . . . An enjoyable globe-trotting adventure and investigation.” —Kirkus Reviews “A sharp, engrossing international thriller with twists that will keep you turning pages.” —Lindsay Cameron, award-winning author of BIGLAW and Just One Look
She thinks he’s either a stalker, a nutcase, or a harmlessly eccentric Oxford professor. He thinks she’s the long-lost descendant of Henry VIII’s last Queen, Katherine Parr. Amy is living a cautious life as a London private banker to wealthy oil sheikhs, but her quiet solitude is upended by the sudden appearance of two people: a half-sister who is virtually a stranger to her, and Oxford don Leo. Both need something from Amy, who has been emotionally frozen for years and isn’t sure she has anything left to give. She also harbors deep secrets—as does Leo. Even so, the two join forces to investigate the mystery of Queen Katherine’s lost baby, and soon long-suppressed emotions start to surface—and enemies start to close in. As they crisscross Europe in a quest for answers, Amy and Leo find themselves in danger of losing control of their secrets, their hearts—and maybe even their lives.
Review
Amy is approached by a strange man, Leo, during her lunch break. He is determined she is the long lost relative to Katherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII. He refuses to take no for an answer. He continues to find Amy wherever she is. It is completely unnerving. Then strange things start to happen and she and Leo have to team up to find out exactly what is going on.
I loved Leo and Amy, especially Amy. She is snarky and plays her part well! I also enjoyed the mystery and the intrigue throughout this tale. Heck, half the time you have no idea who the main characters really are. Is he really a professor? Is she really a banker? WHAT?!? The answer is…read this book and find out!
I fluctuated between 4 and 5 stars. Basically because there are several places which it just seems a bit far fetched. But, I decided on 5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It’s not perfect but it is captivating, especially with all the different cities and countries which the author travels the reader to!
Need just an all around good novel which takes you on a wild ride…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
“Engrossing and romantic, with an edge of nostalgia, THE STEAL took me on a Parisian adventure I absolutely loved!”
—Rebecca Zanetti, New York Times Bestseller
The Steal, a faced-paced and fun new romantic caper from New York Times bestselling author M.J. Rose and international bestselling author C.W. Gortner is available now!
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend—until they’re stolen.
Ania Throne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval—and plunges her on an unexpected hunt that challenges everything she believes.
Jerome Curtis thinks he’s seen it all, especially when it comes to crime. Until he’s hired to investigate the loss of Ania Thorne’s collection, his every skill put to the test as he chases after a mysterious master-mind responsible for some of the costliest heists in history—and finds himself in a tangled web with a woman he really shouldn’t fall in love with.
From the fabled Carlton Hotel to the elegant boulevards of Paris, Ania and Jerome must race against time to catch a thief before the thief catches them. With everything on the line, can they solve the steal or will the steal take more than diamonds from them?
Review
Ania is jeweler to the stars. She is in Cannes for the film festival when all her jewels are stolen. It is up to Jerome to find out who did this and save Ania’s livelihood.
This story has a little bit of everything, intrigue, history, intensity and a touch of romance! Perfect for a one sitting read! I enjoyed the old Hollywood feel. Elizabeth Taylor and several others made this seem so real and authentic. Add Jerome and Ania connection with the setting of France and you have a wonderful tale!
Need a quick, easy, intriguing novella! This is it! Grab your copy today!
I turn to the two people slumped on chairs by an empty table. A man and a woman, both looking queasy. The man holds an ice pack to his face, but when he looks up at my approach, he lets out a gasp of recognition. “Curtis?”
It takes a moment before I place him. “Darcy? What the hell . . .?”
“I could say the same.” He rises unsteadily to his feet, all six foot three of him. I didn’t recognize him at first because he’s put on at least twenty pounds since I last saw him in ’48. He thrusts out his hand. “Of all the joints in France,” he quips in a faux-Bogart drawl.
I feel how clammy his palm is. “Quite the coincidence. How’d you end up in this mess?”
John Darcy was one of the operatives on my team after the war. While our unexpected reunion is startling, I’m glad to see him. He was always honest. Reliable. And dedicated. Whenever we got word of a potential target, he didn’t let up until we had the
monster out of his bolt-hole and in a jail cell. No one will ever give him a medal for it—what we did after the war remains top-secret—but if anyone deserves one, it’s Darcy. He took down more of those mass-murdering fascists than anyone else. And if our unit hadn’t been shut down, he wouldn’t have stopped.
“I need to pay my bills,” he says, putting the ice pack back to his forehead. “You know how it goes. Thorne & Company pays me well, and ex-grunts aren’t exactly rolling in dough.” He winces. “Can you believe that sonofabitch hit me with chloroform?” “Chloroform? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I could smell it. Still can. Like cotton candy. Bastard.”
“Damn,” I say.
He chuckles. “My head feels like I got hit by a truck. Better than a bullet, I suppose. But, yeah, damn is right. I didn’t see a thing.” He eases back down on his chair. “And you?” “Insurance,” I say. He meets my eyes. He gets it. This isn’t the time or place for long winded explanations. Besides, he knows as well as I do that’s the least of what I do. Insurance is my cover. My skills go far beyond it. Like his.
I turn my attention to the woman. “I’m from Lambert Securities, Thorne & Company’s insurance firm. Do you speak any English, Miss . . .?”
She nods. “Sylvia Morton. I’m Miss Thorne’s personal assistant.”
“Did you see the culprit, Miss Morton?”
“Yes. He—he came in after Mr. Darcy delivered the cases. We were waiting for—”
“Our boss,” Darcy cuts in. He swallows. “Ania Thorne. She’s the only one with the codes.”
“Codes?” I understand what he means, but I want to hear it from him.
“Yeah. You know. Numeric codes. Each case has one. Unique, no two alike. She always unlocks the cases herself. But before she got here, he hit me with the chloroform.”
“And then?” I return my gaze to the woman, who casts a worried look at John. It’s obvious to me they’re involved somehow and trying to hide it. The boss’s personal assistant and the security detail making nookie . . . Not what you’d call professional behavior.
“He just walked in.” Her voice is barely a whisper. “He had a gun. He pointed me into that corner and took the cases.”
“Six minutes,” Darcy says. “The bastard did it in six goddamn minutes!” “Did he say anything?” I ask her.
She shakes her head.
“What was he wearing?”
“All black. A mask. Like . . . like a ski mask. Gloves.”
“What kind of gloves?”
She hesitates. “Normal? They were black, too. I’m sorry, it happened so fast …” Normal. Black. Not what I’m hoping to hear.
One of the Leopard’s signature stunts is flaunting leopard-print gloves during his heists; it’s how he earned his moniker and captured public attention. But it’s been six years since his last job in London, and that went very wrong. He’s kept a low profile since, but only because he made his first mistake. To me, this new heist bears his trademarks: Fast. Efficient. Executed to perfection. All witnesses left alive.
About M.J. Rose
M.J. Rose grew up in New York City mostly in the labyrinthine galleries of the Metropolitan Museum, the dark tunnels and lush gardens of Central Park and reading her mother’s favorite books before she was allowed. She believes mystery and magic are all around us but we are too often too busy to notice… Books that exaggerate mystery and magic draw attention to it and remind us to look for it and revel in it.
Rose is a the Co-President and founding member of International Thriller Writers and the founder of the first marketing company for authors: AuthorBuzz. She runs the blog, Museum of Mysteries.
In 1998, her first novel Lip Service was the first e-book and the first self-published novel chosen by the LiteraryGuild/Doubleday Book Club as well as the first e-book to go on to be published by a mainstream New York publishing house.
Rose has been profiled in Time magazine, Forbes, The New York Times, Business 2.0, Working Woman, Newsweek, and New York Magazine.
She has appeared on The Today Show, Fox News, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, and features on her have appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, including USAToday, Stern, L’Official, Poets and Writers, and Publishers Weekly.
Rose graduated from Syracuse University and spent the ’80s in advertising. She was the Creative Director of Rosenfeld Sirowitz and Lawson and she has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
C.W. Gortner holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis on Renaissance Studies from the New College of California and a degree in fashion marketing. In his extensive travels to research his books, he has experienced life in a Spanish castle and danced in a Tudor great hall. Half-Spanish by birth, his novels have been translated in over 20 languages to date.
C.W. enjoys talking to book groups. To schedule a chat or find out more about his work
“Chevy Stevens is a brilliant and unique talent and Dark Roads is an instant classic. My hat’s off to her.” (C. J. Box, number one New York Times best-selling author of Long Range)
The Cold Creek Highway stretches close to five hundred miles through British Columbia’s rugged wilderness to the west coast. Isolated and vast, it has become a prime hunting ground for predators. For decades, young women traveling the road have gone missing. Motorists and hitchhikers, those passing through or living in one of the small towns scattered along the region, have fallen prey time and again. And no killer or abductor who has stalked the highway has ever been brought to justice.
Hailey McBride calls Cold Creek home. Her father taught her to respect nature, how to live and survive off the land, and to never travel the highway alone. Now he’s gone, leaving her a teenage orphan in the care of her aunt whose police officer husband uses his badge as a means to bully and control Hailey. Overwhelmed by grief and forbidden to work, socialize, or date, Hailey vanishes into the mountainous terrain, hoping everyone will believe she’s left town. Rumors spread that she was taken by the highway killer – who’s claimed another victim over the summer.
One year later, Beth Chevalier arrives in Cold Creek, where her sister Amber lived – and where she was murdered. Estranged from her parents and seeking closure, Beth takes a waitressing job at the local diner, just as Amber did, desperate to understand what happened to her and why. But Beth’s search for answers puts a target on her back – and threatens to reveal the truth behind Hailey’s disappearance….
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press
Review
Hailey’s father has recently passed away. She is now living with her aunt and her husband. Her husband, Vaughn, is the local cop with a hard reputation. He makes Hailey’s life almost unbearable with all his rules. Then he starts to make other suggestions. Hailey knows she must get out. But she does a little investigating on her own and discovers Vaughn has a huge secret.
Hailey is positive that Vaughn is the one behind the missing girls. She discovers quite a few secrets on his computer. Hailey, with the help of her good friend, takes off to the live wilderness to hide. Then, she discovers a body!
Wow! This is true Chevy Stevens! I was so wrapped up in this mystery. And then when you find out who, what, when and where…GEEZ! No one can create intensity and tension quite like Chevy Stevens!
This audiobook is narrated by Angela Dawe, Brittany Presley and Isabella Star LeBlanc. And these ladies did a fantastic job. They absolutely had the perfect tone and intensity.
Need an intense, fast paced thriller you will not want to put down…THIS IS IT!
I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review
Nicola Harrison’s The Show Girl gives a glimpse of the glamorous world of the Ziegfeld Follies, through the eyes of a young midwestern woman who comes to New York City to find her destiny as a Ziegfeld Follies star.
It’s 1927 when Olive McCormick moves from Minneapolis to New York City determined to become a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. Extremely talented as a singer and dancer, it takes every bit of perseverance to finally make it on stage. And once she does, all the glamour and excitement is everything she imagined and more—even worth all the sacrifices she has had to make along the way.
Then she meets Archie Carmichael. Handsome, wealthy—the only man she’s ever met who seems to accept her modern ways—her independent nature and passion for success. But once she accepts his proposal of marriage he starts to change his tune, and Olive must decide if she is willing to reveal a devastating secret and sacrifice the life she loves for the man she loves.
Review
Olive has always dreamed of the stage. She ends up having to postpone her dream due to an extenuating circumstance. As soon as she is able, she heads to NYC to take Ziegfeld up on his previous offer. Through determination and hard work, Olive becomes one of the best show girls around. Then she meets Archie!
Archie is a very wealthy man. He and Olive hit it off quickly. They soon become engaged. But, Olive has a terrible secret. She is not quick to share and it devastates their relationship.
I enjoyed so many things about this novel. I loved the setting of NYC during the prohibition. But the best thing…is the Ziegfeld Follies! I have read a few books set during this time but this one is the best. I loved learning about how the showgirls survived and worked. Add the setting with the wonderful character, Olive…and you have a fantastic book! Don’t forget her secret….you will have to read this to find out!
Need a fabulous historical fiction…THIS IS IT!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
Born in England, Nicola Harrison moved to CA where she received a BA in Literature at UCLA before moving to NYC and earning an MFA in creative writing at Stony Brook. She is a member of The Writers Room, has short stories published in The Southampton Review and Glimmer Train and articles in Los Angeles Magazine and Orange Coast Magazine. She was the fashion and style staff writer for Forbes, had a weekly column at Lucky Magazine and is the founder of a personal styling business, Harrison Style. www.NicolaHarrison.com
“Harrison creates a heady mix of history, drama and romance in a seductive novel guaranteed to transport the reader to a different place and time.” –Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of All the Way We Say Goodbye
“In The Show Girl, author Nicola Harrison paints her characters with such a precise brush and sympathetic strokes that they live long after the last page.” –Betsy Carter, bestselling author of Lost Souls at The Neptune Inn
“Nicola Harrison brilliantly captures the last gasp of the roaring twenties in this indelible story of love and ambition.” –Jamie Brenner, author of Blush
“Harrison beautifully portrays the trials and tribulations of a Ziegfeld Follies dancer in her new novel, which is brimming with juicy details of Roaring Twenties New York City. Fans of City of Girls will adore this exploration of love and ambition.” –Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
“Harrison has created a heroine so complex and endearing, so utterly fearless and full of life, that readers will not be able to forget her. THE SHOW GIRL is a story as intricate and dazzling as one of Ziegfeld’s legendary revues.” –Lynda Cohen Loigman, USA Today bestselling author of The Two-Family House and The Wartime Sisters
“A delicious and entertaining exploration of the life of a Ziegfield girl with Harrison’s trademark ability to plunge the reader deep into the experiences of her characters. The Show Girl is a fast-paced and engaging read that will leave readers giving a standing ovation to Olive and to all women who choose to live life on their own terms.” –Susie Orman Schnall, author of The Subway Girls and We Came Here to Shine
“Harrison has written an energetic, propulsive, delightful book.” -Amy Poeppel, author of Small Admissions
From romance author Tif Marcelo comes a heartwarming story about taking a second chance on love at a family-owned couples resort.
Heart Resort, a private resort in the Outer Banks, is a romantic getaway for couples but a hotbed of family drama for its proprietors, the Puso family. Brandon Puso, the youngest of the four siblings, prefers life on his own as a licensed contractor in DC after a falling-out with his eldest brother.
After a hurricane plows through the Outer Banks, Brandon has a change of heart. He returns to the resort to help with the grand reopening but encounters his big sister’s best friend, designer Geneva Harris, who’s there to do the same thing. But Geneva and Brandon have a secret. Years ago, they had a secret romance that ended in heartbreak.
With the resort’s future at stake, Brandon and Geneva decide to put the past aside and to keep peace with the family. But as their mutual attraction heats up, they have to decide if history will repeat itself—or if this time, love gets a second chance.
Review
Brandon and Geneva have known each other forever. Geneva is best friends with his sister. So, these two do everything they can to keep their past romance, which crashed and burned, a secret. But, when they come together for a family business venture…the chemistry is just too much to hide!
There is just something about Tif Marcelo’s characters. They are always just a bit more unique than you expect. And this story is no different. I adore Brandon. He has family issues and he is trying so hard to fit back in where he belongs. Then there is Geneva. She is hardworking but a tad bit insecure about herself.
These two characters get together…after a few hits and misses…and they end up helping each other see their real potential.
I just love a story which is truly inspiring and encouraging! Need a quick, easy, heartwarming read…THIS IS IT!
I received this novel from the author for a honest review.
Celebrate life’s journeys with the beloved author whose stories of life and love touched the world. Together for the first time in one collection, 15 short stories by best-selling author Rosamunde Pilcher.
A Place Like Home is a collection of Rosamunde Pilcher’s most enduring short stories, never before published in audiobook form. The collection contains 15 stories, which range from “The Holiday”, in which a wife surprises her husband of 25 years with a holiday full of Mediterranean sunshine, red rocks, and blue seas in an effort to rekindle the romance they had before children; “The Eye of Love”, which takes the listener to the bright spring sunshine and sparkling waves of a Northumbrian village where old flames meet again; and “A Place Like Home”, where a lonely young woman goes to recuperate in a Scottish countryside after a brief illness. Each is the perfect slice of romance written with warmth and passion featuring wonderfully memorable, smart, and feisty female characters that will transport the listener to another time and place….
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press
Review
I am notorious for not reading the blurb of a book. I look at the cover and the author. That’s about it. I sometimes scan the blurb just to make sure it is what I think it is. Well, I didn’t do that with this book. I started it…enjoyed it…then got lost. I thought, “who are these cats?” when the stories changed. It took me about three short stories to finally read the blurb! 🤦🏻♀️
These are wonderfully crafted and well written stories. They take you all over the globe and create such a warm feeling inside your heart! I enjoyed each and every one.
There are quite a few narrators which read different selections. Each one excels in their jobs! The narrators really added so much to these stories.
Need a heartwarming selection of stories which just make you feel good…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!
I received this Collection from the publisher for a honest review.
She was Emily Dickinson’s maid, her confidante, her betrayer… and the savior of her legacy.
An evocative new novel about Emily Dickinson’s longtime maid, Irish immigrant Margaret Maher, whose bond with the poet ensured Dickinson’s work would live on, from the USA Today bestselling author of Flight of the Sparrow, Amy Belding Brown.
Massachusetts, 1869. Margaret Maher has never been one to settle down. At twenty-seven, she’s never met a man who has tempted her enough to relinquish her independence to a matrimonial fate, and she hasn’t stayed in one place for long since her family fled the potato famine a decade ago.
When Maggie accepts a temporary position at the illustrious Dickinson family home in Amherst, it’s only to save money for her upcoming trip West to join her brothers in California. Maggie never imagines she will form a life-altering friendship with the eccentric, brilliant Miss Emily or that she’ll stay at the Homestead for the next thirty years.
In this richly drawn novel, Amy Belding Brown explores what it is to be an outsider looking in, and she sheds light on one of Dickinson’s closest confidantes—perhaps the person who knew the mysterious poet best—whose quiet act changed history and continues to influence literature to this very day.
Review
Emily Dickinson is an eccentric young lady. Her father hires a new maid, Maggie, to help around the house. Maggie is determined to move to California to be with her brothers. She is saving money but it will take her quite a while to accrue what she needs. So, when Mr. Dickinson comes in with his lucrative offer, Maggie is still hesitant. However, he is very insistent. Maggie ends up staying her whole life with Emily. Maggie and Emily develop a strange relationship. And it is a relationship which no one can sever.
Maggie is a character I enjoy. She is just a plain, hardworking woman. But she has dreams and the intelligence to achieve them. Then there is Emily. Emily is completely fascinating. She is creative and emotional but she is also sometimes cruel.
This story has a lot of mundane details in it. I enjoyed the history and the story around Emily. Just did not have enough “meat” in the content. Now, this is just my opinion.
If you love real historical people that are eccentric…you will enjoy this one! Grab your copy today!
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
A Scotland Yard detective tracks a serial killer from London to New York City
Christmastime in London. When three seemingly unconnected victims are murdered with matching sequential Roman numerals carved into their foreheads, Metropolitan Police Commander Austin Grant finds his answer in one of the last places he’d expect: the Holy Bible. Each of the deaths correspond to a transgression of one of the Ten Commandments, and Grant must find the killer before the remaining Commandments are commemorated with homicides.
Unfortunately for Grant, the next victim with a number on their forehead turns up not in London, but across the pond at the iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, turning this English murder case into a transatlantic manhunt spanning two global metropolises, each with its own rich history and culture. Commander Grant must team up with a charming NYPD detective named John Frankel, as well as his own estranged daughter Rachel—a cunning investigative reporter with conflicting feelings about her father.
The Last Commandment is the third novel by acclaimed screenwriter and producer Scott Shepherd, whose decades of television writing experience shine through in the swift pace and character-driven storytelling of this devilishly fun, page-turning mystery. Flipping the “buddy cop” story on its head with a touch of Old Testament fatalism, this twisty tale leads from the seedy back-alleys of Piccadilly to the Grande Dame hotels of Midtown Manhattan and back again.
Review
This is a story which has you captivated all the way through. It all begins with the murder of a rock star in England and is quickly followed by two more. But the killer does not stay there. He travels across the pond to continue his agenda with a murder in NYC. His agenda…The Ten Commandments!
Scotland Yard Detective Austin Grant is on his last case. He is retiring at the end of the year. So he fully intends to wrap up this case quickly. But, he must team up with NYC detective John Frankel.
I love the characters in this tale, especially Austin Grant. He is humble and that comes across well. Not every author can create a character like this and maintain him all the way through. But Scott Shepherd did! I cannot wait for his next book! I am anxious to see what kind of twisted story he comes up with next!
Need a good murder mystery…OH BOY! This is it! Grab your copy today.
Oh! Fun times were had in July! A friend of mine and I took a trip to south Mississippi for a quick weekend get away! We hit two of the best bookstores in the state…Turnrow Books in Greenwood, MS and Square Books in Oxford.
Plus, Hubby and I had a date day…I had to get a mammogram…GO GET YOURS TODAY! IT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE! So, we stopped at Jim’s Place for lunch. If you have never had Saganaki…you are missing out!
reecaspieces 