Sunday 30 September 2018

#BookReview Och blomstren dö (And the flowers die) by Rebecka Edgren Aldén (SWE/ENG) @edgrenalden @norstedts

Och blomstren dö by Rebecka Edgren Aldén
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Gloria följer med sin nye pojkvän Adam till hans familjs skärgårdshus för några lugna dagar i värmen. De har helt olika bakgrund, men båda har minnen från ön Adam har alltid semestrat på Ekudden, medan Gloria tillbringade ett par somrar på ön i tidiga tonåren då hennes mamma hyrde ett hus med sitt feministiska kollektiv.

Hon känner sig inte helt välkommen på Ekudden, och redan första kvällen kommer hon på kant med Adams familj. Det är också något märkligt med stämningen bland öns bofasta. De är uppdelade i två läger som inte talar med varandra. Under sina promenader på ön får hon dessutom känslan av att vara iakttagen.

Allt detta väcker obehagliga minnen och frågor. Vad är det hennes mamma velat dölja under alla år? Och vad hände egentligen den där sista sommaren på ön när 16-årige Jimmy dog? En dag går Gloria förbi kollektivhuset, som stått övergivet i tjugo år. Där gör hon en fasansfull upptäckt, som hon snart förstår har med hennes förflutna att göra.

Och blomstren dö är en psykologisk thriller om mörka hemligheter, lojalitet och val på liv och död.

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OCH BLOMSTREN DÖ är en fantastisk thriller som äger rum på en idyllisk svensk ö. För er som är nyfikna är bokens titel från en rad i en svensk psalm. Och ja det spelar en roll i berättelsen. Det är ett tag sedan jag läste den här boken, men det är en bok som jag fortfarande kommer ihåg klart. Det är en bok vars handlingen fångade mitt intresse från första sidan. 

Gloria trodde att hon skulle ha några mysiga dagar på ön med sin nya pojkvän, men det allra första mötet med Adams familj går inte lika bra som hon hade hoppats. Det finns två grupperingar på ön och Adams familj är mycket rik och inte så vänlig med de mindre lyckade. Gloria själv har ett mycket fläckigt förflutet. Hon växte upp utan att veta vem hennes pappa var och hennes mamma bodde i några år i en feministisk kollektiv just på denna ö.

Hon önskar snart att hon inte hade kommit till ön. Adams familj består av en massa snobbar, och det finns många konstiga människor på ön. Sedan gör hon en fasansfull upptäckt i det gamla huset där hon och hennes mamma bodde i för flera år sedan. Snart kommer mörka hemligheter att avslöjas ...

OCH BLOMSTREN DÖ är den första boken jag har läst av Rebecka Edgren Aldén. men jag vill läsa fler böcker av henne. Jag älskar thrillers var handling utspelas på idylliska ställen som t.ex. en liten ö där alla känner varandra. Det är en jättebra bok, och jag rekommenderar det varmt.

Tack till Norstedts för recensionexemplaret!


ENGLISH REVIEW

Gloria accompanies her new boyfriend Adam to his family's archipelago house for a few cool days in the heat. They have quite different backgrounds, but both have memories from the island. Adam always has a holiday in Ekudden, while Gloria spent a few summers on the island in her early teens when her mother rented a house with her feminist collective.

She does not feel very welcome at Ekudden, and already the first evening she gets at odds with Adam's family. There is also something strange about the atmosphere among the residents of the island. They are divided into two camps that do not speak to each other. During her walks on the island, she also gets the feeling of being watched.

All this raises unpleasant memories and questions. What's that her mother has been hidden for years? And what really happened that last summer on the island when 16-year-old Jimmy died? One day Gloria goes past the collective house, which has been abandoned for twenty years. There she makes a horrendous discovery, which she soon understands has something to do with her past.

And the flower die is a psychological thriller about dark secrets, loyalty, and choices of life and death.


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AND THE FLOWERS DIE is one fabulous thriller that takes place on an idyllic Swedish island. For those of you that are curious is the title of the book from a line in a Swedish psalm. And, yes it plays a role in the story. It's been a while since I read this book, but it's a book that I still remember clearly. The book story is one that caught my interest from the very start.

Gloria thought she would have some great days on the island with her new boyfriend, but the very first meeting with Adam's family goes not as well as she had hoped. There are two sides on the island and Adam's family is very rich and not that friendly with the less fortuned. Gloria herself has a very checkered past, growing up without knowing her father and her mother living for some years in a feminist collective.

She soon wishes she had not come to the island. Adam's family is a bunch of snobs, and there are very strange people on the island. Then, she makes a horrific discovery at the old house where she and her mother lived years ago. Soon dark secrets will be revealed...

AND THE FLOWERS DIE is the first book I've read by Rebecka Edgren Aldén. but I want to read. I love thrillers set on idyllic places like a small island where everyone knows each other. It's a great book, and I recommend it warmly.

Thanks to Norstedts for the review copy!

#BookReview Under My Skin by Lisa Unger @lisaunger @HarperCollins @FreshFiction

Under My Skin by Lisa Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What if the nightmares are actually memories?

It's been a year since Poppy's husband, Jack, was brutally murdered during his morning run through Manhattan's Riverside Park. In the immediate aftermath, Poppy spiraled into an oblivion of grief, disappearing for several days only to turn up ragged and confused wearing a tight red dress she didn't recognize. What happened to Poppy during those lost days? And more importantly, what happened to Jack? The case was never solved, and Poppy has finally begun to move on. But those lost days have never stopped haunting her. Poppy starts having nightmares and blackouts--there are periods of time she can't remember, and she's unable to tell the difference between what is real and what she's imagining. When she begins to sense that someone is following her, Poppy is plunged into a game of cat and mouse, determined to unravel the mystery around her husband's death. But can she handle the truth about what really happened?


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It's been a year since Poppy lost her husband, Jack, who was brutally murdered during a run through Manhattan's Riverside Park. She has never truly gotten over his death. And stranger still is the fact that Poppy disappeared after the funeral and later shows up in a tight red dress before collapsing. Poppy doesn't have a clue to what happened to her during those days, and the murder of Jack is still unsolved. Poppy is having nightmares and blackouts, and she has problems telling the difference between what is real and what's not. And now, she feels that she's being followed. Could it be all the pills she's taking or is someone actually following her?

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Saturday 29 September 2018

#BookReview The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher @FreshFiction @BerkleyPub

The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A captivating novel following the exploits of Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, the forgotten and rebellious daughter of one of America's greatest political dynasties. 

London, 1938. The effervescent "It girl" of London society since her father was named the ambassador, Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy moves in rarified circles, rubbing satin-covered elbows with some of the 20th century's most powerful figures. Eager to escape the watchful eye of her strict mother, Rose, the antics of her older brothers, Jack and Joe, and the erratic behavior of her sister Rosemary, Kick is ready to strike out on her own and is soon swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire. But their love is forbidden, as Kick's devout Catholic family and Billy's staunchly Protestant one would never approve their match. When war breaks like a tidal wave across her world, Billy is ripped from her arms as the Kennedys are forced to return to the States. Kick gets work as a journalist and joins the Red Cross to get back to England, where she will have to decide where her true loyalties lie--with family or with love...

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I've long had an interest with the Kennedy family and this book about Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy was one that I had been looking forward to reading for a long time. Kick, the next oldest daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy is one of the lesser known Kennedys. Her life and death have been overshadowed by her famous brothers. Kick's life was cut short, but she managed much during her short life. However, much came at a great cost. In the 1930s, her father Joe was the ambassador in London and Kick loved her life there. She had great friends and she also met the love of her life Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire. But, Kick came from a devout Catholic family and Billy was Protestant. Neither could compromise their faith. She would lose her family and his family would never accept that Billy converted nor that their future children would be raised Catholics. And, then England is drawn into WW2 in the middle of this emotional turmoil. Will they ever be together?

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

#BookReview The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo @AlyssInWnderlnd @StMartinsPress @FreshFiction

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel: A Story of Sleepy Hollow by Alyssa Palombo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When Ichabod Crane arrives in the spooky little village of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolmaster, Katrina Van Tassel is instantly drawn to him. Through their shared love of books and music, they form a friendship that quickly develops into romance. Ichabod knows that as an itinerant schoolteacher of little social standing, he has nothing to offer the wealthy Katrina – unlike her childhood friend-turned-enemy, Brom Van Brunt, who is the suitor Katrina’s father favors.

But when romance gives way to passion, Ichabod and Katrina embark on a secret love affair, sneaking away into the woods after dark to be together – all while praying they do not catch sight of Sleepy Hollow’s legendary Headless Horseman. That is, until All Hallows’s Eve, when Ichabod suddenly disappears, leaving Katrina alone and in a perilous position.

Enlisting the help of her friend – and rumored witch – Charlotte Jansen, Katrina seeks the truth of Ichabod Crane’s disappearance, investigating the forest around Sleepy Hollow using unconventional – often magical – means. What they find forces Katrina to question everything she once knew, and to wonder if the Headless Horseman is perhaps more than just a story after all. In Alyssa Palombo's The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel nothing is as it seems, and love is a thing even death won't erase.

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I have never read THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Washington Irving. I have seen Tim Burton's movie Sleepy Hollow and parts of the TV series Sleepy Hollow. So, my knowledge of the story of Sleepy Hollow is based on that. Which made this story feel pretty different and slightly less paranormal from what I expected. Not that the story lacks a supernatural angle, for which I'm grateful since I love some magic in a story.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Thursday 27 September 2018

#CoverCrush The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Historical Fiction Reader came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!
Pam Jenoff’s breakout novel The Orphan’s Tale was an instant New York Times bestseller and has now sold over 350,000 copies and counting! Following up on this incredible success is a remarkable story of friendship and courage centered around three women and a ring of female spies during World War II. Based on true events, this is perfect for fans of The Alice Network and Lilac Girls.

1946, Manhattan.

Grace Healy is rebuilding her life after losing her husband during the war. One morning while passing through Grand Central Terminal on her way to work, she finds an abandoned suitcase tucked beneath a bench. Unable to resist her own curiosity, Grace opens the suitcase, where she discovers a dozen photographs--each of a different woman. In a moment of impulse, Grace takes the photographs and quickly leaves the station.

Grace soon learns that the suitcase belonged to a woman named Eleanor Trigg, leader of a ring of female secret agents who were deployed out of London during the war. Twelve of these women were sent to Occupied Europe as couriers and radio operators to aid the resistance, but they never returned home--their fates a mystery. Setting out to learn the truth behind the women in the photographs, Grace finds herself drawn to a young mother-turned-agent named Marie, whose daring mission overseas reveals a remarkable story of friendship, valor, and betrayal.

Vividly rendered and inspired by true events, New York Times bestselling author Pam Jenoff shines the light on the incredible heroics of the brave women of the war, and weaves a mesmerizing tale of courage, sisterhood, and the great strength of women to survive in the hardest of circumstances.
Thoughts:

The cover for The Lost Girls is spectacular. The woman standing in the clocktower, looking out (or at someone? Since she isn't directly looking out). And the planes. The cover truly has a WW2 feeling. 

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages





Tuesday 25 September 2018

#BookReview Bilder av henne (Pieces of Her) by Karin Slaughter (SWE/ENG) @SlaughterKarin

Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Mamma. Hjälte. Lögnare. Mördare. Tänk om den du känner bäst visar sig vara en främling?

Andrea vet allt om sin mamma Laura: Hon vet att hon har bott hela sitt liv i den lilla kuststaden Belle Isle, där alla känner alla. Hon vet att hennes mamma inte har några som helst hemligheter. För vi känner ju alla våra mödrar utan och innan. Eller -

Men en dag, under en vanlig shoppingtur i gallerian, tar bådas liv en våldsam vändning. En ung man attackerar utan förvarning flera människor och Laura är den som oskadliggör honom på ett oroväckande kallblodigt sätt. Med ens riktas polisens misstankar från mannen mot Laura. Har Andreas mamma gjort sig skyldig till mord? Vem är hon egentligen?

Andrea tvingas ge sig av på jakt efter svar. Ett sökande som för henne över hela USA och trettio år tillbaka i tiden, till en tid när Laura hade ett annat namn och levde ett helt annat liv.


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BILDER AV HENNE är en otroligt bra thriller, en nervkittlande thriller med härliga överraskningar. Jag hade svårt att sluta läsa när jag väl började läsa boken och jag fann både Andreas och Lauras berättelser lika intressanta. Början av boken är så otroligt bra. Andra fyller år och hennes mamma och hon är på lunch i en galleria. Plötsligt öppnar en man upp eld och Andrea bevittnar hur hennes mamma oskadliggör honom. Vem är hennes mamma egentligen? Hur kan hon utan problem ta sig an en beväpnad man? Och är faran verkligen över? Som om detta inte är illa nog verkar polisen se hennes mammas gärning inte som ett hjältedåd utan som något misstänksamt...

Karin Slaughter har seglat upp i topp listan på favoritförfattare. Jag har ännu inte hunnit läsa mer än några av Slaughters böcker, men det gör mig bara glad för jag har så mycket kvar att läsa. BILDER AV HENNE är den allra nyaste Slaughter boken som släpps och den är fantastiskt bra. En tjock härlig bok som jag bara inte kunde sluta läsa. Man får följa både Andrea in nutid när hon försöker ta reda på mer om sin mor samt den unga Laura trettio år tidigare. Vad hände egentligen för trettio år sedan?

Jag slukade boken med hull och hår! Läs den, den är fantastiskt bra!

Tack HarperCollins Nordic för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

What if the person you thought you knew best turns out to be someone you never knew at all ...?

Andrea knows everything about her mother, Laura. She knows she’s spent her whole life in the small beachside town of Belle Isle; she knows she’s never wanted anything more than to live a quiet life as a pillar of the community; she knows she’s never kept a secret in her life. Because we all know our mothers, don’t we?

But all that changes when a trip to the mall explodes into violence and Andrea suddenly sees a completely different side to Laura. Because it turns out that before Laura was Laura, she was someone completely different. For nearly thirty years she’s been hiding from her previous identity, lying low in the hope that no one would ever find her. But now she’s been exposed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

The police want answers and Laura’s innocence is on the line, but she won’t speak to anyone, including her own daughter. Andrea is on a desperate journey following the breadcrumb trail of her mother’s past. And if she can’t uncover the secrets hidden there, there may be no future for either one of them...


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PIECES OF HER is an incredibly good thriller, with many delightful twist and turns. I could hardly stop reading when I started to read the book and I found both Andreas and Laura's stories to be equally interesting. The beginning of the book is so amazingly good. It's Andreas birthday and her mother and she is out for lunch. Suddenly a man opens fire and Andrea witnesses how her mother disarms him. Who is her mom? How can she, without a problem, take on an armed man? And is the danger really over? As if this is not bad enough, the police seem to see her moms' act not as a act of heroism but as something suspicious ...

Karin Slaughter has sailed up in the top list of my favorite writers. I have not yet read more than handful of Slaughter's books, but I'm just glad I have so much left to read. PIECES OF HER is the newest Slaughter book that is released and it is amazingly good. A thick lovely book that I just could not stop reading. You follow Andrea in the present time as she tries to find out more about her mother as well as the young Laura thirty years earlier. What really to Laura that made her leave her old life behind?

This book caught me hooked line and sinker! Read it, it's fantastic!

Thanks HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!

Monday 24 September 2018

#BookReview Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall @GrandCentralPub

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Sasha disappears, Ellen fears the worst. Then long-buried secrets resurface, Ellen realizes she may not know Sasha -- or what she's capable of -- at all.

2005: 17 year old Ellen falls under the spell of glamorous newcomer, Sasha. As Ellen is welcomed into Sasha's family, she doesn't see the darkness that lies beneath their musical, bohemian lifestyle. At a New Year's Eve party, events come to a dramatic head, resulting in a court case (in which Ellen is a key witness) that means family life at the Corner House will never be the same again.

2018: Now 30, Ellen and Sasha are still entwined in each other's lives and sharing a flat in London. When Sasha disappears, Ellen fears the worst. She has gone missing like this before and the police won't take it seriously, but long-buried events in their shared past mean that Ellen has good reason to be frightened - not only for Sasha, but also for herself. Finding out the truth about what really happened on New Year's Eve twelve years ago puts Ellen in terrible danger, and forces her to confront not only the past, but how well she really knows her best frien
d.

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I read FREIND REQUEST by Laura Marshall last year and it was a smashing thriller. Would Marshall be able to repeat this achievement? Is THREE LITTLE LIES just as good? To be frank, not quite. It's still a good book. However, storywise didn't it capture my interest in the same way and the ending felt a bit too expected.

Still, the writing is good, there is a flow to the story that I love and the story never bores me. The change between different characters was a great move especially since I found Ellen to be a bit too naive for my taste. The story is set both in 2005 (and forward) and 2017 (the blurb says 2018, but the book says 2017). However, Ellen never felt like a grown-up to me in 2017. Like she never truly grew up. Also, that she was so blind when it came to Sasha made me a bit annoyed. They even lived together and still, she seemed so clueless.

What I found most interesting with the story was just the mystery of what really happened in 2006. I wanted to know the truth. And, even though I never truly felt connected to Ellen and the rest of the characters so did I feel that my curiosity kept me going. I just wished the ending had been a bit more of a surprise. It felt a bit flat, to be honest. Too predictable.

THREE LITTLE LIES is a book that just didn't rock my socks. It fails to be truly thrilling, however, the writing is good. It's the story that just fails to grab me, which is a bummer because I really liked FRIEND REQUEST. I hope the next Laura Marshall book will appeal more to me.

I want to thank Grant Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Three Little Lies by Laura Marshall

Saturday 22 September 2018

#BookReview A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd @CharlesToddBks @WmMorrowBooks @FreshFiction

A Forgotten Place by Charles Todd
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though the Great War has ended, Bess Crawford finds herself caught in deadly circumstances on a remote Welsh headland in this tenth entry from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author.

The fighting has ended, the Armistice signed, but the war has left wounds that are still agonizingly raw. Battlefield Nurse Bess Crawford has been assigned to a clinic for amputees, and the Welsh patients worry her. She does her best to help them, but it’s clear that they have nothing to go home to, in a valley where only the fit can work in the coal pits. When they are released, she fears that peace will do what war couldn’t—take their lives.

Their officer, Captain Williams, writes to describe their despair, and his own at trying to save his men. Bess feels compelled to look into their situation, but the Army and the clinic can do nothing. Requesting leave, she quietly travels to Wales, and that bleak coal mining village, but she is too late.

Captain Williams’ sister tells Bess he has left the valley. Bess is afraid he intends to kill himself. She follows him to an isolated, storm-battered peninsula—a harsh and forgotten place where secrets and death go hand in hand. Deserted by her frightened driver, Bess is stranded among strangers suspicious of outsiders. She quickly discovers these villagers are hiding something, and she’s learned too much to be allowed to leave. What’s more, no one in England knows where she is.

Why is there no Constable out here? And who is the mysterious Ellen? Captain Williams and his brother’s widow are her only allies, and Bess must take care not to put them at risk as she tries to find answers. But there is a murderer here who is driven to kill again and again. And the next person in his sights is Simon Brandon, searching for Bess and unaware of his danger...


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I've read almost all the books in the Bess Crawford series and it's always with nice to get a new book in my hands. In A FORGOTTEN PLACE by Charles Todd, one would think now that the Great War is over that life would be easier for Bess. That her work as a nurse would be less demanding. However, there are still a lot of wounded soldiers, many of whom have lost limbs. In this book, Bess is worried about her Welsh patients. Their spirits seem to be broken. With the loss of limbs, they have no job to go back to home. Bess receives a letter from their officer, Captain Williams, who writes about the soldier's despair after they have left the hospital. Bess worries so much that she decides to travel to Wales during her leave and she doesn't tell anyone about her plans. At the village, she learns the captain has moved on and is now living with his brother's widow. Afraid that he will kill himself, Bess makes the decision to follow him to the isolated peninsula where he has settled. However, soon she finds herself stranded there...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Thursday 20 September 2018

#CoverCrush Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Historical Fiction Reader came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!

The runaway bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. This sweeping new novel, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline’s mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I.

It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia’s Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller’s daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya’s letters suddenly stop coming she fears the worst for her best friend.

From the turbulent streets of St. Petersburg to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian émigrés who live there, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history.

Thoughts:

I love the bright colors from the red umbrella that matches the font to the red and green coats that the women wear. That the background is a bit muted, a bit faded also makes the women walking more in focus and that works so well when it comes to this cover. 

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages





Wednesday 19 September 2018

#BookReview The Other Sister by Sarah Zettel @GrandCentralPub

The Other Sister by Sarah Zettel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two sisters. One murder plan.
Geraldine Monroe is the bad sister. Reckless and troubled, she ran away shortly after the mysterious death of their mother twenty years ago.

Marie, on the other hand, has always been the good sister. She is the obedient daughter and a loving mother to her son.

Now Geraldine has come home, for good it seems, and no one--not the aunts or uncles or cousins--really knows why. The most suspicious of all is Martin Monroe, the father who rules the extended family and their small town with a poisonous combination of money and coldheartedness. But even he doesn't realize what the truth is: that the sisters have become allies in a plot to kill him.

Bound by blood and a need to right the past, Geraldine and Marie set their plan in motion. When old secrets and new fears clash, everyone is pushed to the breaking point . . . and the sisters will learn that they can't trust anyone, not even each other.


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One thing is sure, nothing is at it seems in this book. As the story progresses do we learn more about Geraldine and Marie's childhood. About how their father poisoned their life, not to mention their mother's life. We also learn that not everything is what it seems that the characters in this book have deep dark secrets. THE OTHER SISTER is a book about a very dysfunctional family. Martin Monroe is not a man you feel a bit sympathy for, vice versa actually. He's rotten to the core. And, his daughters are planning his downfall. Will they succeed? Or are the secrets they keep from each other to great for them to work together?

THE OTHER SISTER was an interesting book, although I felt it was a bit uneven. Sometimes it captured my attention and other times I felt that it dragged on a bit and I wished I had connected much more with the sisters. I feel that it was good enough to read and I wanted the ending, wanted to know how it all would end. And, yet I felt a bit disconnected with it, the story never really took flight. I wanted to feel more for Geraldine and Marie. It's a good book. Just not really thrilling.

THE OTHER SISTER is a book that I felt worked on some levels for me. I liked the last part the most when the big confrontation between the sisters and their father occurs. The story had its ups and downs, and ultimately I felt that it's an OK book. I have to admit that there were moments at first when I doubt that I would finish the book, but it got better as the story progressed. So, I'm glad that I did not give up because I did end up enjoying the book, despite all the ups and downs.

I want to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

The Other Sister by Sarah Zettel

Tuesday 18 September 2018

#BookReview Creature by Hunter Shea @flametreepress

Creature by Hunter Shea
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The monsters live inside of Kate Woodson. Chronic pain and a host of autoimmune diseases have robbed her of a normal, happy life. Her husband Andrew’s surprise of their dream Maine lake cottage for the summer is the gift of a lifetime. It’s beautiful, remote, idyllic, a place to heal. But they are not alone. Something is in the woods, screeching in the darkness, banging on the house, leaving animals for dead. Just like her body, Kate’s cottage becomes her prison. She and Andrew must fight to survive the creature that lurks in the dead of night.

FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launching in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

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This is actually a love story. Yup, a Hunter Shea love story. So, of course, that means that something will go absolutely wrong. Not in the usual kind of love story way, in a more bloody way. This is also a book that demands patience. Pretty much all the action, all the carnage happens at the end. But, there are, of course, hints along the way that something is wrong that something WILL GO wrong.

The star of the book is for me, is not any human, it's Buttons or But-But that he's so lovey called by his humans. This adorable old beagle is the one that I worried most about while reading the book. It is a horror book, and God knows that no one is safe, especially not pets when it comes to horror books. So, I had some moments of angst for poor But-But...

As a horror book is this not as scary as THE JERSEY DEVIL, my favorite Hunter Shea book. However, the author's note after the book explains why this is such a personal book for Shea. The knowledge that the theme of this book is very personal for the author made me look back at the story with much more understanding. That is why I wrote that this is a love story. The heart of the story is the love between two humans (and a dog) and the knowledge that time is limited for their love.

I will end this review by saying that I have had a couple of days to reflect on the book and I've come to the conclusion that had I read it with little less hope of being really horrified or creeped out had I perhaps liked the story a bit more. Part of what made me a bit disappointed was that I figured out the twist quite early on. And, that just took away part of the enjoyment for me. The horror part did just not rock my boat.

I want to thank Flame Tree Press for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Monday 17 September 2018

#BlogTour The Hangman’s Hold by Michael Wood @MichaelHWood @KillerReads

The Hangman’s Hold by Michael Wood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Your life is in his hands.

In the gripping new serial killer thriller from Michael Wood, Matilda Darke faces a vicious killer pursuing his own brand of lethal justice. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons and Helen Fields.

There’s a killer in your house.
The Hangman waits in the darkness of your living room. As soon as you get home, he will kill you – hang you by the neck – and make you pay for all the crimes you have tried desperately to forget.

He knows your darkest secrets.
The police are running out of time. DCI Matilda Darke is facing her worst nightmare: a serial killer pursuing his own brand of lethal justice, whose campaign of violence is spreading fear throughout the city.

And he is closer than you think.
As the body count rises, Matilda is personally targeted and even her most trusted colleagues fall under suspicion. But can she keep those closest to her from harm? Or is it already too late?


**********

I read last year A ROOM FULL OF KILLERS, book three in the DCI Matilda Darke Series. And I loved it and I have since then been looking forward to reading the next book. So, I was thrilled when I finally got a copy of THE HANGMAN'S HOLD. I have yet read the first two books, but I hope to remedy that one day.

THE HANGMAN'S HOLD is a thrilling new book, where Matilda and her team has to catch a murderer that is going after people that have previously done something criminal. The case will become very personal for Matilda when she discovers that a close friend knows one of the victims. Matilda has to face the fact that the killer is out to set a score, but who is this person? How do you catch a killer that does seem to be one step ahead all the time and doesn't leave a trace? It will be a hard case to solve.

I'm a latecomer to this series, but one thing I like about the books (that I have read) is how easy it is to get to know the characters. It's been a while since I read A ROOM FULL OF KILLERS and it's not always easy to remember all the characters and past events when you read a lot of books. However, I did feel that the more I read in this book, the more I started to remember. It helps a lot that the characters are so fleshed out and likable.

As for the case. It's a tricky one. Sometimes you have a lot of suspects, but in this case, did it feel like the police had a hard time finding out the identity of the killer. It was a bit of an "oh" moment for me when I started to realize where the story was going when it came to the identity of the killer. I love moments like that.

THE HANGMAN'S HOLD can be read as a stand-alone, however, the risk is that you will feel the need to get the previous books and marathon read them...

Thursday 13 September 2018

#CoverCrush More Deadly than the Male by Graeme Davis

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Historical Fiction Reader came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!



A darkly luminous new anthology collecting the most terrifying horror stories by renowned female authors, presenting anew these forgotten classics to the modern reader.

Readers are well aware that Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein: few know how many other tales of terror she created. In addition to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote some surprisingly effective horror stories. The year after Little Women appeared, Louisa May Alcott published one of the first mummy tales. These ladies weren’t alone. From the earliest days of Gothic and horror fiction, women were exploring the frontiers of fear, dreaming dark dreams that will still keep you up at night.

More Deadly than the Male includes unexpected horror tales by Louisa May Alcott and Harriet Beecher Stowe, and forgotten writers like Mary Cholmondely and Charlotte Riddell, whose work deserves a modern audience. Readers will be drawn in by the familiar names and intrigued by their rare stories.

In The Beckside Boggle, Alice Rea brings a common piece of English folklore to hair-raising life, while Helene Blavatsky, best known as the founder of the spiritualist Theosophical Society, paints a picture of A Witch’s Den as vivid as any vision conjured up by the great pulp writers. Edith Wharton’s great novel The Age of Innocence won her the Pulitzer prize, yet her horror stories are known only to a comparative few.

Readers will discover lost and forgotten women who wrote horror every bit as effectively as their male contemporaries. They will learn about their lives and careers, the challenges they faced as women working in a male-dominated field, the way they overcame those challenges, and the way they approached the genre—which was often subtler, more psychological, and more disturbing.

Thoughts:
Instantly eye-catching! The red color really draws your eyes and the woman on the cover really suits the book's theme: An anthology of horror stories by female authors. Love the little details, from the houses behind the woman to how the bottom half of the woman dissolves into a dark cloud (or smoke oh or perhaps fog)...

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages





Wednesday 12 September 2018

#BookReview Annars skjuter jägaren mig (I Am Your Judge) by Nele Neuhaus @NeleNeuhaus @albertbonniers (SWE/ENG)

Annars skjuter jägaren mig by Nele Neuhaus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SWEDISH REVIEW

Bröllopsresan är planerad över jul och nyår. Äntligen ska kriminalinspektör Pia Kirchhoff, hemligt nygift, få sin välförtjänta semester. Men dagarna innan resan nås hon av ett telefonsamtal som får planerna att gå om intet. I det lilla samhället Eschborn utanför Frankfurt har en äldre kvinna skjutits ihjäl av en okänd gärningsman. Kort därpå inträffar ytterligare ett liknande mord: en kvinna skjuts ihjäl genom köksfönstret. Inget av offren hade några fiender. Varför måste just de dö? Trycket på utredningen ökar snabbt. Pia Kirchhoff och hennes chef Oliver von Bodenstein söker efter en mördare som tycks välja sina offer godtyckligt – och de kommer en mänsklig tragedi på spåren.

**********

ANNARS SKJUTER JÄGAREN MIG är den senaste boken utgiven i Nele Neuhaus serie om poliserna Oliver von Bodenstein och Pia Kirchhoff. Innan jag började läsa denna bok så tog jag mig an de två tidigare publicerade böckerna och de var fantastiska. Först var jag lite förbryllad över vissa saker när jag läste SNÖVIT MÅSTE DÖ. Men så kollade jag upp boken och såg att de första böckerna har inte publicerats på svenska och att SNÖVIT MÅSTE DÖ är bok nummer fyra i serien. Det förklarade så mycket. Nu hoppas jag att de tidigare böckerna kommer på svenska en vacker dag.

ANNARS SKJUTER JÄGAREN MIG är en grymt bra kriminalare. Skytten verkar inte ha något som helst motiv när han skjuter människor och det lamslår hela staden. Oliver von Bodenstein och Pia Kirchhoff försöker få fram något som binder offren tillsammans samtidigt som pressen att lösa fallet ökar varje dag. När som helst kan någon ny människa falla offer.

Nele Neuhaus har klivit rakt in i min lista på favoritförfattare. Jag bara älskar hennes böcker. De tre jag har läst har alla hållit samma höga kvalité och jag är imponerade över hur hon lyckas få till berättelserna varje gång på ett så sätt att man misstänker ett flertal personer. Jag blev så förtjust i serien att jag beställde den enda bok jag kunde få tag på på Engelska, The Ice Queen, bok tre i serien. Nu hoppas jag bara att fler böcker i Bodenstein & Kirchhoff serien kommer att översättas till svenska eller engelska. Skulle inte heller ha något emot att se böckerna som film.

Tack till Albert Bonniers Förlag för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Police Detective Pia Kirchhoff is about to leave on her long-delayed honeymoon when she receives a phone call. An elderly woman has been shot and killed while walking her dog. A short while later another murder is committed and the modus operandi is eerily similar - a woman is killed by a bullet that smashes through her kitchen window ... and in both cases the same weapon fired the shot. Two more murders follow in short order. None of the victims had enemies and no one knows why they were singled out. As fear of the Taunus Sniper grows among the local residents, the pressure rises on Detective Kirchhoff. She and her partner, Oliver von Bodenstein, search for a suspect who appears to murder at will, but as the investigation progresses, the police officers uncover a human tragedy.

I am Your Judge is tightly plotted, and delivers surprise twists at every turn with a story that is ripped from the headlines.

**********

I AM YOUR JUDGE is the latest book published here in Sweden. It's the seventh book in the Bodenstein & Kirchhoff series. Before I started to read this book, did I take on the two previously published (Swedish) books and they were fabulous. I was at first a bit confused when I read SNOW WHITE MUST DIE. It felt like I started to read a story in the middle, liked I had missed the beginning. However, I learned that this was because SNOW WHITE MUST DIE is book four. The first three books haven't been published in Sweden. It explained a lot. I hope to see them published in Swedish some day.

I AM YOUR JUDGE is a fantastic crime novel. We have lone gunman that seems to kill people without any rhyme or reason. He just shoots people and the citizens in the city are afraid to go out. Oliver von Bodenstein and Pia Kirchhoff are working hard to find something that binds the people killed together. They are under a lot of stress. Any day can someone new be shot.

Nele Neuhaus has stepped right into my list of favorite authors. I just love her books. All the books I have read so far (three) has held the same high standard and I'm impressed how she managed to write the stories in such a way that I always suspect a lot of people. I was so thrilled with the books that I ordered the only book I could find translated into English that I had yet to read. And that's THE ICE QUEEN, book three in the series. I hope more books will be translated into Swedish or English. I wouldn't mind either to see the books turned into movies or mini-series.

Thanks to Albert Bonniers Förlag for the review copy!

Tuesday 11 September 2018

#BookReview Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus @NeleNeuhaus @MinotaurBooks @StMartinsPress

Bad Wolf by Nele Neuhaus
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

She looked at herself in the mirror, touched her fingertips to the little red hood on her head, and laughed. The dress was a real dirndl, with a short skirt and apron. Papa had plaited her hair into two braids, and she really looked exactly like Little Red Riding Hood in her fairy-tale book.

He always brought presents—it was a secret that she and Papa shared, because he never brought anything for the others. Only for her. She was his favorite.

The door opened, and she uttered a frightened cry when she saw the wolf. But then she had to laugh. It wasn’t a real wolf after all; it was only Papa, who had put on a costume. How lovely it was that she was the only one to share this secret with Papa. Too bad she could never remember anything afterward.


On a hot June day, the body of a sixteen-year-old girl washes up on a riverbank outside of Frankfurt. She has been brutally murdered and shows signs of long-term abuse, but no one comes forward with any information as to her identity. Even weeks later, the local police have not been able to find out who she is. Then a new case comes in: A popular television host is attacked, raped, and locked in the trunk of her own car. She survives, barely, and is able to supply only vague hints to the police, having to do with her recent investigations into an organization whose members are from the highest echelons of society, and the potential uncovering of a shocking history they’d prefer to keep from the public eye. 

As the two cases collide, Inspectors Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein dig deep into the past and underneath the veneer of bourgeois society to come up against a terrible secret that is about to impact their personal lives as well. It is almost too late for a person very close to Pia before she and Oliver finally track down the big bad wolf...

**********

If there is one series that I wholeheartedly recommend reading if you are a fan of crime novels is it this one. I simply adore the Bodenstein & Kirchhoff books. So far, have I read 3 books, and all of them are 5-star books. This is the second book I read. The only sad thing is that not all the books are translated into English (nor Swedish). However, Lucky me have one more unread book to read, THE ICE QUEEN!

What I loved about the first book I read, SNOW WHITE MUST DIE, was that there was so much going on. Both when it comes to the case as Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein private lives. The same thing can I say about BAD WOLF. I'm always intrigued by stories that take a while before you started to see a pattern. Like a puzzle, you slowly start to put the pieces together and as the story progresses you start to realize the truth. In this case, you have quite early one a feeling of dread.

BAD WOLF is a fantastic crime novel. Nele Neuhaus has such a fabulous ability to write that I get so engrossed in what is going on that I just devour her books. I found this book to be a bit hard to read, not because of the writing, but because of the subject. 

It's not the monster under the bed that is frightening, it's the one walking in plain sight out in the sun. It's the bad wolf that is hiding in plain sight that we should be wary of...    

Monday 10 September 2018

#BookReview Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe @JWolfeAuthor @GrandCentralPub

Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been watched all my life. I'm used to being stared at. Observed. Followed.

Fame and obsession collide in this darkly twisted novel from an incredible new voice in suspense.


SOMEONE IS WATCHING
Washed up teen star Liv Hendricks quit acting after her beloved younger sister inexplicably disappeared following a Hollywood party gone wrong. Liv barely escaped with her life, and her sister was never heard from again. But all this time, someone's been waiting patiently to finish what was started...

FOUR MISSING GIRLS
Now fifteen years later, broke and desperate, Liv is forced to return to the spotlight. She crowdfunds a webseries in which she'll pose as a real-life private detective--a nod to the show she starred on as a teen. When a mysterious donor challenges her to investigate a series of disappearances outside a town made famous by the horror movies filmed there, Liv has no choice but to accept.

FOLLOW THE WHITE WOLF
Liv is given a cryptic first clue: Follow the white wolf. And now a darker game is about to begin. Through social media, someone is leaving breadcrumbs to follow. As Liv makes increasingly disturbing discoveries, her show explodes in popularity. A rapt internet audience is eager to watch it all--perhaps even at the cost of Liv's own life...

Filled with provocative twists and turns as the line between plot and reality blurs in this inventive tour-de-force from breakout writer Jennifer Wolfe.

**********

This book needs to be made into a movie (or preferable a miniseries). I read A LOT of thrillers, but honestly, few really catches my attention in a way that makes me totally absorbed. WATCH THE GIRLS is one of them. Seriously, I just absolutely loved this book. It got everything I like, dysfunctional families, missing people, creepy little town, people with wolf masks, orgies ... yeah, I bet you're interested now? ;)

Seriously, I always hope to be entertained when I read a thriller, and often at least the books will keep me engrossed and interested. But, to truly capture my interest like this book did. It was like watching a movie. It was so well written that I could picture the story in my head. The characters came to life, the creepy forest, the little town, etc.

Now, I will not give away the story, no spoilers from me. I will just say this. I love the twist and turns this story took. I love the ambiguous ending (well I hated it too, the part of me that wanted closure). I love the dynamic relationship between Liv and Gemma. It's just such a wonderful thriller. And, they need to make it into a miniseries (with good actors)!

I want to thank Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Saturday 8 September 2018

#BookReview The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White @WmMorrowBooks

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the New York Times bestselling authors of The Forgotten Room comes a captivating historical mystery, infused with romance, that links the lives of three women across a century—two deep in the past, one in the present—to the doomed passenger liner, RMS Lusitania.

May 2013
Her finances are in dire straits and bestselling author Sarah Blake is struggling to find a big idea for her next book. Desperate, she breaks the one promise she made to her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother and opens an old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather, who died when the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in 1915. What she discovers there could change history. Sarah embarks on an ambitious journey to England to enlist the help of John Langford, a recently disgraced Member of Parliament whose family archives might contain the only key to the long-ago catastrophe. . . .

April 1915
Southern belle Caroline Telfair Hochstetter’s marriage is in crisis. Her formerly attentive industrialist husband, Gilbert, has become remote, pre-occupied with business . . . and something else that she can’t quite put a finger on. She’s hoping a trip to London in Lusitania’s lavish first-class accommodations will help them reconnect—but she can’t ignore the spark she feels for her old friend, Robert Langford, who turns out to be on the same voyage. Feeling restless and longing for a different existence, Caroline is determined to stop being a bystander, and take charge of her own life. . . .

Tessa Fairweather is traveling second-class on the Lusitania, returning home to Devon. Or at least, that’s her story. Tessa has never left the United States and her English accent is a hasty fake. She’s really Tennessee Schaff, the daughter of a roving con man, and she can steal and forge just about anything. But she’s had enough. Her partner has promised that if they can pull off this one last heist aboard the Lusitania, they’ll finally leave the game behind. Tess desperately wants to believe that, but Tess has the uneasy feeling there’s something about this job that isn’t as it seems. . . .

As the Lusitania steams toward its fate, three women work against time to unravel a plot that will change the course of their own lives . . . and history itself.


**********

THE GLASS OCEAN is a joined project by authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig and Karen White. It's a book about the fate of three women. Two of the women were on board the doomed passenger Line, RMS Lusitania. Although they differ in class. While Caroline Telfair Hochstetter is traveling in first class is Tessa Fairweather traveling in second class. But, both women's lives will intertwine...

Years later bestselling author Sarah Blake breaks her promise to her mother and often the old chest that belonged to her great-grandfather. He died when RMS Lusitania sank after a hit from a German U-Boat in 1915. What she finds makes her travel from the US to England. There she obtains the help from John Langford to find out more about what she found in the chest...

I'm a fan of Beatriz William, have read almost all of her books. So far, haven't I read that many books by Lauren Willig and Karen White. I was, therefore, curious to see how this joint collaboration would work out for me. I would say it's a book that for me felt a bit predictable, and I struggled a bit with the storylines from 1915. It's a risk while reading a book with a dual storyline that you will find yourself more taken with one of them. In this case, there are three women's stories we are following and I found Caroline's storyline to be the one I had the hardest time enjoying. It could be the fact that she suddenly out of the blue started to have feelings for another man while at the same time being in love with her husband. I just couldn't find myself truly enjoying this triangle drama. I found Tess's story, and her character to be more much interesting and engaging to read about. Especially as her story started to mix more and more with Caroline's. And it's Tess interaction with Caroline that makes Caroline a bit more interesting to read about.

Then we have Sarah Blake. Without a doubt was it the modern storyline that I liked the best. I enjoyed her hunt for the truth. Her growing closeness to John Langford. Sarah for me was the character I found I liked so much that I almost groaned when it was time to go back to the 1915s. Although there is one event, one so totally frustrating towards the end of the book. That typical "let's throw in a predictable problem between Sarah and John," that almost made me scream with annoyance. I had myself a face-palm moment there.

 Still, I liked the ending. And, part of me wanted more. I had wanted to learn more about what happened after RMS Lusitania sank, not just snippets at the end. And, I loved that Beatriz Williams threw in a connection to her own books in that there were two ladies on the ship with a familiar surname...

I want to thank William Morrow for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!

Friday 7 September 2018

#BookReview A Steep Price Robert Dugoni @robertdugoni @amazonpub

A Steep Price by Robert Dugoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni’s thrilling series continues as Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite is plunged into a case of family secrets and murder…
Called in to consult after a young woman disappears, Tracy Crosswhite has the uneasy feeling that this is no ordinary missing-persons case. When the body turns up in an abandoned well, Tracy’s suspicions are confirmed. Estranged from her family, the victim had balked at an arranged marriage and had planned to attend graduate school. But someone cut her dreams short.

Solving the mystery behind the murder isn’t Tracy’s only challenge. The detective is keeping a secret of her own: she’s pregnant. And now her biggest fear seems to be coming true when a new detective arrives to replace her. Meanwhile, Tracy’s colleague Vic Fazzio is about to take a fall after his investigation into the murder of a local community activist turns violent and leaves an invaluable witness dead.
Two careers are on the line. And when more deadly secrets emerge, jobs might not be the only things at risk.

*********

A STEEP PRICE is one of the best books I have read in this series. There was just something really engrossing about the mystery of the missing woman. I especially liked that the readers also got the missing woman's POV.

While Tracy is busy with the missing woman case is Vic Fazzio dealing with the murder of a local community activist. The investigations take a deadly turn and it could mean the end of Vic's career. Last, but not least is the fact that Tracy is pregnant and trying to hide it. She gets pretty pissed off when a new female cop arrives takes one look at Tracy and sees that she's pregnant. Could this mean that someone higher up knows about Tracy's condition and is planning on replacing her?

A STEEP PRICE is an engrossing new book in the Tracy Crosswhite series. I especially enjoyed the personal stuff in this book. It really made me feel for the characters as they both have to deal with police business as well as personal problems. This book really hit the spot for me and I can't wait to read the next one!

I want to thank Thomas & Mercer for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

Thursday 6 September 2018

#BookReview Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson @ucrosspop25 @VikingBooks @penguinusa @FreshFiction

Depth of Winter by Craig Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The new novel in Craig Johnson's beloved New York Timesbestselling Longmire series.

Welcome to Walt Longmire's worst nightmare. In Craig Johnson's latest mystery, Depth of Winter, an international hit man and the head of one of the most vicious drug cartels in Mexico has kidnapped Walt's beloved daughter, Cady, to auction her off to his worst enemies, of which there are many. The American government is of limited help and the Mexican one even less. Walt heads into the one-hundred-and-ten degree heat of the Northern Mexican desert alone, one man against an army.

**********

I pretty much threw myself into DEPTH OF WINTER, the latest Longmire book, when I got a copy of it. The best time of the year is when a new Walt Longmire book is released. I was thrilled that this book returns to the vendetta story arch. Walt Longmire is once again facing off the man that has caused him and his family lots of grievances over the years. If you have read the previous book do you already know this since the man in question kidnapped Walts daughter Cady at the end of that book. Walt will do anything to get Cady back! The only drawback is that there was not very much space over for Henry Standing-Bear and Vic Moretti as Walt used new resources to find Cady in Mexico. Still, they are there when Walt needs them.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION

#CoverCrush The Ghost Clause by Howard Norman

For new visitors do I want to explain that Cover Crush is something that my friend Erin over at Historical Fiction Reader came up with and I adopted the idea together with some other friends. And, now we try to put up a Cover Crush every week. You can check below my pick of the week for their choices this week!


Simon Inescort is no longer bodily present in his marriage. It’s been several months since he keeled over the rail of a Nova Scotia–bound ferry, a massive heart attack to blame. Simon's widow, Lorca Pell, has sold their farmhouse to newlyweds Zachary and Muriel—after revealing that the deed contains a “ghost clause,” an actual legal clause, not unheard of in Vermont, allowing for reimbursement if a recently purchased home turns out to be haunted.

In fact, Simon finds himself still at home: “Every waking moment, I'm astonished I have any consciousness . . . What am I to call myself now, a revenant?” He spends time replaying his marriage in his own mind, as if in poignant reel-to-reel, while also engaging in occasionally intimate observation of the new homeowners. But soon the crisis of a missing child, a local eleven-year-old, threatens the tenuous domestic equilibrium, as the weight of the case falls to Zachary, a rookie private detective with the Green Mountain Agency. 

The Ghost Clause is a heartrending, affirming portrait of two marriages—one in its afterlife, one new and erotically charged—and of the Vermont village life that sustains and remakes them.

Thoughts:
It's the cat that did it for me. I have a black cat and I just love how the cat is lying there on books and just looks at you. Also look at all the books...

Check out what my friends have picked for Cover Crush's this week:

Stephanie @ Layered Pages





#BlogTour All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo @DoloresRedondoM @ed_pr

All This I Will Give to You by Dolores Redondo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All This I Will Give To You by Dolores Redondo is out now, published by Amazon Crossing


The award-winning, international bestselling page-burner about the secrets and lies of one man that lead another into a treacherous house of strangers…

When novelist Manuel Ortigosa learns that his husband, Álvaro, has been killed in a car crash, it comes as a devastating shock. It won’t be the last. He’s now arrived in Galicia. It’s where Álvaro died. It’s where the case has already been quickly closed as a tragic accident. It’s also where Álvaro hid his secrets.

The man to whom Manuel was married for fifteen years was not the unassuming man he knew.

Álvaro’s trail leads Manuel deep into one of Spain’s most powerful and guarded families. Behind the walls of their forbidding estate, Manuel is nothing but an unwelcome and dangerous intruder. Then he finds two allies: a stubbornly suspicious police lieutenant and Álvaro’s old friend—and private confessor—from seminary school. Together they’re collecting the pieces of Álvaro’s past, his double life, and his mysterious death.

But in the shadows of nobility and privilege, Manuel is about to unravel a web of corruption and deception that could be as fatal a trap for him as it was for the man he loved.


**********

A couple of month's ago did I listen to all the books in the Baztán trilogy by Dolores Redondo. I was so captivated by them that it was with quite a lot of sadness that I finished the last book. So, when I learned that there was a new book translated into English to read was I thrilled and hoped to a chance to read it soon. So, I was happy to get the chance to be part of the blog tour for the book. 

I have to admit that what I most wanted was a continuation to the last book in the Baztán trilogy since the ending left me feeling that the story wasn't really finished. Not that I wasn't looking forward to reading this book. I was definitely thrilled to have a new Redondo book to read.

ALL THIS I WILL GIVE TO YOU is a gripping mystery book. It's a thick book and you have to have patient reading it. The story slowly unfurls along the way and you learn more and more about Álvaro and his quite dysfunctional family along the way. Manuel has a lot to take in, not only has he lost the man he loves, he learns that Álvaro had a lot of secrets. And, the more Manuel dig into Álvaro's death, the surer he is that something is wrong. What really happened the night Álvaro died? Why is his family acting so weird and why did Álvaro ever tell him about his family

ALL THIS I WILL GIVE TO YOU is a slow-paced book. Never boring, just very detailed and closing the book felt a bit like saying goodbye to new friends. I felt the need to not rush the story, I wanted to really take in the details. Manuel is such a wonderful man, a bit lost now that his rock Álvaro is gone. He slowly realizes that Álvaro has taken care of a lot in his life, and he only realizes it now that he's gone. There is a flashback in the story to how they met and is such a wonderful and romantic story. Also, the very ending of the book almost had me in tears. It was so perfect!

I will end this review by saying that if you want a really well-written mystery novel, then I recommend ALL THIS I WILL GIVE TO YOU. I can't wait to read more books from Dolores Redondo. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Dolores Redondo studied law and the culinary arts before writing The Baztán Trilogy, a 1.5 million copy bestselling crime series set in the Basque Pyrenees which has been translated into more than 35 languages and adapted for film. Redondo has been nominated for the CWA International Dagger Award three times and was awarded the 2016 Premio Planeta – one of Spain’s most distinguished literary awards – for All This I Will Give to You. The book has also been optioned for film and translated into 18 languages to date and is published for the first time in English by Amazon Crossing.


Wednesday 5 September 2018

#BookReview The Things We Don't Say by Ella Carey @Ella_Carey @AmazonPub

The Things We Don't Say by Ella Carey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A beguiling painting holds the secrets of a woman’s past and calls into question everything she thought she knew about the man she loved…

Nearly sixty years ago, renowned London artist Patrick Adams painted his most famous work: a portrait of his beloved Emma Temple, a fellow bohemian with whom he shared his life. Years after Patrick’s death, ninety-year-old Emma still has the painting hanging over her bed at their country home as a testament to their love.

To Emma’s granddaughter, Laura, the portrait is also a symbol of so much to come. The masterpiece is serving as collateral to pay Laura’s tuition at a prestigious music school. Then the impossible happens when an appraiser claims the painting is a fraud. For Laura, the accusation jeopardizes her future. For Emma, it casts doubt on everything she believed about her relationship with Patrick. Laura is determined to prove that Patrick did indeed paint the portrait. Both her grandmother’s and Patrick’s legacies are worth fighting for.

As the stories of two women entwine, it’s time for Emma to summon up the past—even at the risk of revealing its unspoken secrets.


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THE THINGS WE DON'T SAY is an engrossing historical fiction novel. There are two different storylines. Just the way I like it when it comes to historical fiction novels. In the 80s is young Emma shocked to learn that the famous painting of her grandmother may be fake. This could mean the end of her music career as she is using the painting as a collateral to pay for her prestigious music school.

This book brought to mind Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell as well as Dora Carrington & Lytton Strachey. Why? Well, Laura was a painter and her sister wrote (hence Woolf and Bell) and Dora Carrington was a painter that was in love with the homosexual Lytton Strachey. And, in this book was Emma in love with Patrick, who was homosexual. Yes, I also thought about the relationship between Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin.

The book was interesting, I liked both storylines. However, I felt that the storyline in the 80s was slightly more interesting. But, that's probably because I was so curious to learn more about why the appraiser thinks it's a fake painting. Of course, it's not like you get to know why right away. Instead, you learn more about Emma's life with Patrick. We also learn more about Laura, who I would say idolizes her grandmother so much that she tries to imitate her life by having a gay best friend/"love interest". Then, we have Emma's mother who turned away from the art life completely. Which makes Emma more eager to embrace it. Anyway, let's just say that these women really need to sit down and talk it over.

THE THINGS WE DON'T SAY (you get the reason for the title while reading the book) is a great historical fiction and I recommend it warmly!

I want to thank Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!