reecaspieces

Overview

This program features multicast narration.

One girl murdered…another one missing…and a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in When I’m Dead, the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter’s best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery—her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

Review

Rowan and her husband have been called away to investigate a murder. Rowan is the medical examiner and her husband is a detective. The girl murdered is the same age as their daughter. When Rowan arrives home, her daughter is missing. This is a twist neither parent can handle.

Rowan has a past. This is how she ended up in this crime ridden town. And now she knows she is paying for the sins of her past. Her daughter has been taken and Rowan knows it is payback, or is it?!?!

The way this author weaves in the killer is very entertaining. I knew the killer wasn’t any of the suspects. Anybody reading this book would know it. That is part of the plot. So, when the killer is unveiled, it is such a vague character, as a reader, you go “oh there he/she is!” I love when I am kept guessing, even when I don’t really have a chance. (A clue is probably in there and I just missed it)

I have said this before and I will say it again…I LOVE when an audio book is a production. It made this book for me. This book is a bit slow in the set up. But, with all the narrators keeping the characters real, this story turned out to be a pretty good read.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

A long-lost treasure, a deadly chase, and a magnificent beast of legends

For almost three hundred years, people have searched for one of the greatest treasures in history—the lost gold of the Scottish Jacobites. Following his father’s death and a brazen late-night break-in at the United States Naval Academy, Lieutenant Carter Porter, his life and career in tatters, unwittingly joins the quest.

In Scotland, Hassie Douglass, a spirited young employee of a luxury inn situated on the picturesque shores of Loch Ness, thinks her prayers have been answered when she stumbles across four old gold coins that may be part of the Jacobite treasure. But she can’t tell anybody how she really found them; they would think she had lost her mind. Who would believe she followed a strange, ethereal voice emanating from the loch? Struggling to accept what she heard, she can’t deny that the gold in her hand is real.

The allure of such a valuable cache draws evil, like the moth to a flame. No sooner does Carter receive a strange bequest from his late father and Hassie’s find is publicized than a shadowy, well-armed group of mercenaries attacks each of them. Soon, Carter’s and Hassie’s fates are joined, and their survival depends on solving more than one ancient mystery while facing their worst nightmares.

Blending historical fact and Scottish legend within an action-packed adventure, Treasures of the Lochs is an exciting, powerful story of faith, friendship, and redemption.

Review

Hassie is a young girl working hard for an Inn on the shores of Loch Ness. Her grandfather has been rushed to the hospital, something they cannot afford, and is deathly sick. She thinks her stars are about to change when she finds four gold coins on the shores of the loch. But, this draws all the unsavory characters out of the woodwork and now her life is in danger.

Parts of this book are so good and parts are not. I enjoyed the story for the most part. And yes, there is a good bit of imagination and mystical element…I mean it is Loch Ness. So, Nessy does have to make an appearance. I also love the history surrounding the gold and Scotland. That being said, the dialogue between the characters is too dramatic and seems canned.

The narrator, Laura Darrell, did a pretty good job. There were a few places I felt it was overly dramatic, but that could have been the writing style, as I mentioned above.

The background photo is the one I took of Urquhart Castle from Loch Ness. So, to say I loved the setting of this book is an understatement. I knew everything this author talked about. Sure do wish I had found some gold!

Need a tale set in Scotland…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Overview

This program is read by Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith Crawley in Downton Abbey. It also includes a dedication, author’s note, and two afterwords, all read by the author, as well as two songs by the Sydney Women’s Vocal Orchestra with clips from both songs throughout the narration.

A phenomenal novel of resilience and survival from bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Heather Morris.

In the midst of World War II, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.

Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the Vyner Brookemerchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the Vyner Brooke lies broken on the seabed.

After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination.

Sisters under the Rising Sun is a story of women in war: a novel of sisterhood, bravery and friendship in the darkest of circumstances, from the multimillion-copy bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey and Three Sisters.

Review

Nesta and Norah terrifying escape from Singapore is almost over…or so they think. They are on a cargo ship leaving this horrible situation when their ship is bombed from the air. They spend 24 hours in the ocean when they finally reach a remote island. They are then captured by the Japanese and held in their notorious POW camps.

It is so hard to believe this happened and it is amazing, as brutal as it was, that any of the women survived. These women were put through hell on earth but by sheer luck, determination, intelligence and compassion, they withstood all this brutality.

This is not my favorite Heather Morris book. That would be Cilka’s Journey . But, I did learn a lot in this book. It is very well researched. It is just slow in places.

The narrator, Laura Carmichael, did an incredible job. As most of you know, a big trigger for me is when a narrator has to sing. Most narrators are not singers. Laura did an pretty bang up job on that part. Still not my favorite when a narrator has to burst out in song. But this one handled it like a champ.

Need a novel of resilience…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Chirp

Overview

Beware the blackbirds…

It’s Halloween in Vermont, winter is coming, and five humans, two dogs, and a cat are a crowd in Mercy Carr’s small cabin. She needs more room—and she knows just the place: Grackle Tree Farm, with thirty acres of woods and wetlands and a Victorian manor to die for. They say it’s haunted by the ghosts of missing children and lost poets and a murderer or two, but Mercy loves it anyway. Even when Elvis finds a dead body in the library.

There’s something about Grackle Tree Farm that people are willing to kill for—and Mercy needs to figure out what before they move in. A coded letter found on the victim points to a hidden treasure that may be worth a fortune—if it’s real. She and Captain Thrasher conduct a search of the old place—and end up at the wrong end of a Glock. A masked man shoots Thrasher, and she and Elvis must take him down before he murders them all. Under fire, she and Elvis manage to run the guy off, but not before they are wounded, leaving Thrasher fighting for his life in the hospital, Mercy on crutches, and Elvis on the mend.

Now it’s up to Mercy and Troy and the dogs to track down the masked murderer in a county overflowing with leaf peepers, Halloween revelers, and treasure hunters and bring him to justice before he strikes again and the treasure is lost forever, along with the good name of Grackle Tree Farm….

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books.

Review

Mercy thinks she has found the perfect house for her and her new husband. Only thing is, it is said to be haunted by ghosts of missing children and poets. So, you would think she would change her mind when one of her dogs, Elvis, finds a dead body in the library. But, no! She wants the house more than ever.

I loved Mercy! She does not back down and she has a smart head on her shoulders. Plus, she is a huge dog lover. And the dogs play a big part in this book.

This is not as creepy as I like for my fall reads…but it has a creepy house and I am all about a good old haunting…well maybe it is not THAT haunted but it sure has a history. I enjoyed the history surrounding this house and the mysterious letters and, of course, the family drama! Can’t have family drama without a lot of ancient secrets…and this tale is full of secrets!

I am very familiar with the narrator, Kathleen McInerney. She is one of my favorites. She has the perfect intonation, especially when things get a little intense!

Need a good fall read with a creepy house…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

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Chirp