Beneath Devils Bridge by Loreth Anne White-A Book Review

 

A Book Review

Beneath Devils Bridge is a compelling mystery that had my attention from page one.  In this story the author weaves a tale about a ambitious podcaster, Trinity  Scott, who is interviewing a condemned murderer. She wants to tell the story of a 24 year old murder of a 14  year old girl in a small town in British Columbia.  The  story flips between the present day story of the podcaster and her quest for the truth and the crime that took place 24 years in the past.  The murderer Clayton Jay Pelley confessed to the crime and is now serving a life sentence, but is that all there is to the story.  When Trinity starts to dig into the past the members of the small town community are not anxious to help her uncover what really happened.

Characters

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book is the way the author developed the characters as the story progressed.  Here is a short synopsis of some of the main characters.

 Trinity Scott

 Trinity is an interesting character.  She is a podcaster who is very ambitious.  She researches cold cases and features them  on her podcasts.  At first glance you feel that her interest in this case is purely to have a great podcast.  But is that completely true or does she have some ulterior motive?

Leena Rai

Leena Rae is the murder victim in this mystery.  She is a fourteen year old girl who wants very much to belong, but she is very plain, shy and awkward.  She is often bullied and made fun of by others in her class.  On a cold November night she is brutally murdered on her way home from a "secret" bonfire in the small town of Twin Falls.  The circumstances of her murder are covered up by the people in the village till podcaster Trinity Scott brings up the case 24 years later.

Rachel Walczak

Rachel is the lead detective on the case and also the mother of one of Leena's classmates.  When she and the other detective start interviewing the students after the murder they both feel something is being hidden from them, but when a teacher confesses the case is quickly closed.

My Thoughts on the Book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I like the way it was written giving both Trinity's and Rachel's perspective.  The book really pulls you in and has several twist and turns that I did  not anticipate.  It also has a lesson to be learned on what happens when bullying becomes the norm and a small town sticks together to hide the truth.

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Before She Disappeared by Lisa Gardner – A Book Review

Before She Disappeared introduces us to Frankie Elkin, an ordinary woman and recovering alcoholic who has more regrets than belongings, more sad stories than happy ones. To cope with them, she has devoted her life to finding missing people the rest of the world has given up on. This seems too often to happen to minorities. 

When the police have given up, when the public no longer remembers, when the media has never bothered to care, Frankie starts looking. For no money, no recognition, and most of the time, no help. Why does she do it? 

Maybe the question shouldn't be why am I doing this, but why isn't everyone looking?

                                                        ~Frankie Elkin

Synopsis

Frankie gets her new cases from online research; from national chat rooms where family members and concerned neighbors compare notes on various missing persons cases. There are too many such cases for local resources to handle, so Frankie, and others like her, step into the vacuum. 

Available now
on Amazon

Frankie's new case, the basis of this story, brings her to Mattapan, a Boston neighborhood with a rough reputation.  She is searching for Angelique Badeau, a Haitian teenager who vanished from her high school months earlier and has never been found. The Boston PD did search for Angel for awhile, but is just about convinced that she is basically a runaway who doesn't want to be found.  Angel's family believes differently.

As Frankie begins to ask questions, she discovers that someone doesn't want them answered. As she takes risks to discover the truth, Frankie might become the next person to go missing. 

Summary

Lisa Gardner has written 23 suspense novels to date, including this one just published in 2021. Her novels are well written and enjoyable to read.

*Reviewer's Note: Lisa Gardner, best-selling author of suspense novels in both her FBI Profiler Series and her D.D. Warren Series, appears to have begun a new series with this Frankie Elkin thriller.  Before She Disappeared is listed as a Frankie Elkin Novel Book 1.  One Step Too Far (a Frankie Elkin Novel Book 2) will be released on January 18, 2022. It is available for 'Pre-Order' here.

*More Reviews of Lisa Gardner Books on ReviewThisReviews.com

• Catch Me
• Right Behind You

Book Review of "Before She Disappeared" written by 

~Wednesday Elf

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Book Review: Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

In this tale we meet a variety of people who are living the best they are able after the Second Conflict. The Second Conflict which was also called "The Fall",  "The Reformation", and most commonly, "The Big Stupid". Nana said that some called it the Rapture. Her grandchild is only seven years old and doesn't remember a time before it. Regardless of the name, it was an event that set everyone back to zero in relation to technology, created massive weather events, and left people living hard lives trying to survive.

Wolf Road is an apocalyptic psychological thriller. It will not be eveyone's cup of tea.   The villain (or villains?) in this story function along the lines of Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs or Colin Stanton in Bone Collector.

Nana

"My house, girl" she said "you just a guest here till your parents come back. Pray that it be soon"

Nana was caring for her 7 year old grandchild because her daughter had run off with a man. They had run off to look for gold in  the north. Nana lived in a shack that she had built and rebuilt with Grandpa. He was killed in the Second Conflict and left Nana to fend for herself during these hard times. Now she also had to care for a child. A sassy, disrespectful child. 

Our introduction to Nana is brief as a thunderhead roared into their small town which was situation in the valley between the hills. 

Seven-year-old Girl a.k.a Elka

A seven year old child was arguing with Nana after being told to go collect pine resin. During their argument it was clear that conflict between the two was not a one-time thing. The child continued to refuse and Nana left the house with the final words "Don't you follow me. I don't even want to look at you no more."

While Nana was gone, the thunderhead rolled into town; terrifying the little girl who shouted for her grandmother to return. She hid under the table and before she knew it, both she and the table were in the air, being carried off in the storm. When she landed, she had no clue where she was or how to return to Nana's shack. But terrified, tired, and hungry she set off to find her way back.

Trapper a.k.a Kreagar

The man found a little girl eating his meat that was hanging on drying racks outside of his hut. She ran and hid but he tracked her (probably very easily given his skill living off the land). When she woke, with her head wrapped in a bandage from being knocked unconscious with the butt of his gun she noted

He sat on a chair by the door, staing at me with eyes like the devil. Shotgun rested against his leg, his hat on his knee. He must a' fallen asleep, his face was all covered in streaks of black dirt. "Where'd you come from?" he said. His voice had a breath of kindness to it.

 The little girl referred to him as Trapper. He was "the strangest I'd met" and after he couldn't locate Nana (did he really try?), he named the girl Elka (she could not remember her real name) and trained her how to hunt and trap.  It was not until much later that she learned his name was Kreagar and the grotesque things he was accused of doing.      

Magistrate Lyon

Magistrate Lyon is after Kreagar. She is the law, such as it is during those times. And she rides with a posse. They ride horseback from town to town and posted black and white printed wanted flyers everywhere. Magistrate Lyon wants justice. She wants revenge. 

Penelope

During and after an apocalypse, it is not safe for a young lady. Elka figures it is especially unsafe for a pretty, feminine, delicate girl who doesn't know her way around the woods. Who has absolutely no outdoors skills. A girl like Penelope. However, Elka learns that Penelope has other life-saving skills such as reading and quick-thinking in situations that involve people. 

The two very young ladies have a love-hate relationship and take care of each other (mostly) while both are fleeing danger and while Elka is on the road north to find her parents. Based on the one letter she had received from them, and the letter she had Nana read to her over and over, she pictured her parents living a happy life on their gold claim and her singularly focused plan was to join them. 

Wolf Road 

This story kept me interested with it's blend of apocalyptic fiction with hints of old western. I wasn't sure if I were reading about future events or events that occurred in the past. Even though I was unsure, it worked for me. The characters were unique and easy to imagine. Each one both villain and hero. So much so that it was hard to know who to root for at times.

Due to the pollution and weather related to whatever occurred during the Damn Stupid, there was a slight element of fantasy. Or was it? It is hard to say what would happen when the environment is polluted following bombings.

This was Elka's coming of age story. Where she survives childhood and begins making adult decisions for her life. During a time that she struggles with understanding whether or not she was Trapper's adopted daughter or Kreager's evil accomplice. She has great difficulty understanding those two as the same man. And difficulty deciding how to manage the situation.

This story is about nature versus nurture. Are children born with their instincts and desires, or do we train those things into them? Are evil people inherently evil? Or taught to be evil? Are those who are taught to be evil able to overcome it? 

Elka struggles with these things until the very last pages.

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Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars Book Review

I will start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed the book The Pull of the Stars by Irish Canadian author Emma Donoghue. My book club chose it and when I first picked it up to read, I had forgotten that it was about a pandemic. It is a story of the Great Flu or the 1918 Influenza, which we now call the Spanish Flu. As it turns out, it was good and it was doubly interesting because of the current pandemic.

Set in Ireland in 1918, it tells a fictional story based on the very real world of a midwife working in a Dublin hospital who is assigned to the maternity fever ward. Not much bigger than a closet, this ward is where they quarantine pregnant women who are stricken with influenza. 

We meet a young midwife named Julia Powers who finds herself alone on her shift with the responsibility for all of the care of these sick, pregnant women.  She is at times aided by one of two women. Firstly, Doctor Kathleen Lynn, who is based on a real historical figure and who is wanted by the Dublin police because she was involved in the 1916 Irish Uprising. Secondly, she is assisted by a young volunteer from an orphanage named Bridie Sweeney who has absolutely no training or education but is quick on her feet and ready to do whatever is required of her.

Included within the story is a peek at the science of the time with regard to the flu and midwifery. It is a visit to the Dublin of the times where they were struggling with not just the flu but the devastation caused by World War I and the 1916 Uprising. Along the way, it also shares a look at some of the Irish societal injustices that existed at the time.  

The book is eerily similar to the current world situation even though we have the advantage of modern day science. Amongst other similarities are the facts that some still managed to question the value of wearing masks and others recommended taking weird remedies.

The Pull of the Stars is a page turner, a non-stop story that happens mostly during one long shift in the hospital during which Powers, sometimes aided by Doctor Lynn and/or Bridie, go from crisis to crisis to crisis. 

The timing of the writing of this book may have been a bit unfortunate though it was written before the current pandemic. After all, who wants to read a story based on a pandemic when they are living through one? However, the timing was not deliberate. Donoghue started writing the story in 2018 and the manuscript was sent to the publishers in March of 2020. 

After possibly a brief moment of hesitation because of the subject matter, the book drew me in and it became interesting to see, as the author says, "the way it mirrors our current situation."  The Guardian says, it is "a beautifully modulated historical novel."  I agree.

Reading this book now is different than it might have been before, for sure. NPR says, "The fourth wall of fiction is broken here. The pandemic spreads out beyond the pages into whatever rooms we are quarantined in." 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Do I recommend The Pull of the Stars? Yes, I do. I highly recommend it. It is a fast moving account of life in a maternity fever ward with parallels to the current world situation.  Anyone who enjoys historical fiction, has an interest in Ireland and/or midwifery will enjoy this book.  

I think NPR gives another good reason to pick up this book when they say that that Donoghue has "given us our first pandemic caregiver novel - an engrossing and inadvertently topical story about health care workers inside small rooms fighting to preserve life." 

I say, don't miss it. Order your copy from Amazon now by clicking right here.

See you 

at the book store!

Brenda
Treasures By Brenda

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Reviewing Her Last Breath by Hilary Davidson

Today I'm going to review a book that is set for release on 1st July 2021 which I was able to read prior to release as part of the First Reads for Amazon Prime Readers. 

One of the things that made me choose this book to read was in the blurb about it, "On the day of her sister Caroline’s funeral, Deirdre Crawley receives a message her sister wrote before she died: If you’re reading this, I’m already dead." That hook was irresistible for me so I downloaded the book and settled down for what I hoped would be a great read, I have to say I have very mixed feelings about this book. 

I have never heard of the author before so I had no expectations. I actually read the book in one sitting and two of the things I loved about the book were the plot and the way that the pandemic was handled. I mention the pandemic because the book was based in NY and it's the first book I've read where it's even mentioned - it has been done so in a way that is easy to miss, but to me added another dimension and makes me surprised at the biggest failing this book has. 

As I said the plot was great and I would recommend reading it just because I did enjoy the plot, but the characters were another story. They seemed very one-dimensional. Even with a character that wasn't very fleshed out, there were a few things that Diedre said that just didn't seem in line with other things. 

I, personally, think one of the best characters in the book was Theo, the person who Diedre's sister claimed had killed her. If this book was a first draft I would have given it really high marks, but as a completed book it's disappointing. 

I don't usually like to write book reviews that I have mixed feelings about, but this author shows amazing talent. I see so many glimpses in this book that tell me she can write and I truly believe that she could have made these characters more real to me. 

If you like suspenseful thrillers do I still think you'd enjoy the plot lines of this book, but if you are more into sinking your teeth into the characters then you may want to pass. I will definitely be happy to read this author again though as I did see a lot of promise in the pages. 

I should clarify it's not that I disliked the characters, I reviewed a book called Girls Night Out where I really didn't like the characters, but they definitely seemed real to me. In this particular book it's that I couldn't envisage these characters as being real. When I read a book I can almost see things happening in my mind like I'm watching a movie - this time the characters wouldn't appear clearly for me.

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Anxious People by Fredrik Backman – A Book Review

Fredrik Backman is an absolutely delightful writer from Sweden. He writes about people in a special way that portrays who they are, what they are and who and what they appear to be, yet often are not. He describes their hurts and grievances, secrets and passions in a way the reader can relate. Oh, yes, the reader thinks, I recognize this character in my brother, father, best friend, maybe even myself.

Backman's stories take place in Sweden, but it could be anywhere, as people are the same all over. 

Synopsis

Available on Amazon

In Anxious People, we meet a group of people who are attending an apartment open house. Then a failed bank robber bursts in and takes them hostage.  The captives range from a retired couple who hunt down fixer-uppers, a wealthy banker who only cared about making money and can't relate to people, a young couple about to have their first baby and an 87-year-old woman. Then there is the mystery man in the bathroom and the flustered, but still-ready-to-make-a- deal real estate agent. Even the bank robber has issues. 

Add in the authorities trying to negotiate the hostages release. The main ones are a father and son who both work for the local police department. They fluster each other and take care of each other.

As the book progresses, we learn who the bank robber is (who failed to rob the bank because it is a cashless bank) and why an attempt was made.  We are given some backgrounds on the people who became hostages. We hear about the police involvement.  The story goes back and forth between what is happening during the hostage situation in the apartment to the individual people and what brought them to this open house on New Year's Eve (a strange day to have an Open House, for sure) to the interviews the police try to conduct with the witnesses after their release. All through this they try to figure out what happened to the bank robber who was no where to be found after releasing the hostages.

As The Story Begins.... in the Author's Words

A bank robbery, a hostage drama, a stairwell full of police officers on their way to storm an apartment.  It was easy to get to this point, Much easier than you might think. All it took was one single really bad idea. 

This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots. So it needs saying from the outset that it's always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is.  Especially if you have other people you are trying to be a reasonably good human being for.

One single really bad idea. That's all it takes.

There is also the part about how ten years ago a man was standing on a bridge. This seems to be a non sequitur, because this is a story about a bank robber and a hostage situation and the people involved. So why does the author keep bringing up the bridge throughout the story? 

Summary

So, to summarize, we have a charming novel about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common then they ever imaged. Oh, and don't forget the bridge! 

If you have read any of Fredrik Backman's previous books, two of which have been reviewed here on ReviewThisReviews, you will be drawn to Anxious People immediately because they were such delightful reads. This one is the same – a very enjoyable read; a book you can't put down to the final page; a book whose ending is as delightful (and surprising) as the rest.

Backman's books are so good that when I finish the last paragraph on the last page, I feel a strong pull to return to page one and begin the book all over again. It's that hard to leave this world of words that is so humorous, compassionate and wise. 

More...

Trio of Fredrik Backman Books

For your future reading after you finish Anxious People, check out these other Backman book reviews on ReviewThisReviews.

• A Man Called Ove reviewed by Treasures by Brenda
• My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry, reviewed by Wednesday Elf

Anxious People, a book review written by

~Wednesday Elf

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The Joanna Brady Mystery Series – Book Reviews.

The Brady Novel of Suspense series is written by J.A. Jance, the New York Times bestselling author of the J.P. Beaumont series and the Ali Reynolds series, plus five interrelated thrillers about the Walker Family.

The Joanna Brady series are filled with beloved characters, small-town charm, vivid history, intriguing mystery, all with the scenic Arizona desert as a backdrop.

~ Quote from the book jacket of Book #18 'Field of Bones'

Joanna Brady (main character) 

Desert Heat - Book 1 in the Joanna Brady Series

When the series begins in “Desert Heat”, Joanna is a young widow with a 9-year-old daughter (Jenny). Her husband Andy, a police detective in Bisbee, Arizona, was running for sheriff when he was killed by a hit man sent by the Mexican Drug Cartel he had been investigating. Encouraged to run for the office in his place, Joanna, who is also the daughter of a former Bisbee Sheriff, may have originally been elected on a sympathy vote, but she goes on to prove herself as a boots-on-the ground law enforcement officer. 

Cochise County in SE Arizona is 80 x 80 miles square with the southernmost county line the international border with Mexico and the eastern country line the state line with New Mexico. The stories in this series of books take place in and around the town of Bisbee, AZ and throughout the 6400 square miles of the sheriff's office domain.  As you can imagine, this large of a territory to police produces a wide variety of crimes which often have to be investigated under extreme conditions of difficult 4-wheel drive locations and desert weather.

Each book begins with a Prologue which sets the scene for the storyline and introduces you to one or more of the characters. Sometimes the character is a victim; sometimes it's the protagonist whose identity we learn as the story progresses.

Another interesting thing about this continuing series is quite often when a new character is introduced in one book, we find that character appearing in subsequent books. We meet the character in one book and when they appear in later books, the author gives a brief summary of who they are as a reminder to the reader. It is a great way to keep track of who they are and what parts they played. From book to book, the characters all become very familiar to the reader. It also becomes a good way to know what happened to that character we first met, and what they are doing now. 

*Note: It's rather like your new neighbors who just moved to town. They are strangers at first, but after awhile they become familiar friends. 

The storylines in the Joanna Brady series may have murder and mayhem, but they are also filled with family life, interactions with friends and neighbors, introductions to new babies and the latest dog or cat or horse. After all, the sheriff, the deputies and detectives and support staff of the Cochise County Sheriff's Department are also people with family lives that exist outside of work. The stories also give fascinating descriptions to the countryside of southeastern Arizona filled with both desert and mountain areas complete with the sizzling heat of desert summers and the cold of mountain winters. 

Summary

If you enjoy novels of suspense with a good story-line which also gives you the back-story of the interesting characters, you will enjoy this Joanna Brady book series. 

Book #19 in the Joanna Brady Novels of Suspense

List of Joanna Brady Books:

Joanna Brady, a deputy sheriff's widow, daughter of a former town sheriff, and now elected sheriff in Cochise County, Arizona.

1. Desert Heat(1993)
2. Tombstone Courage (1994)
3. Shoot, Don't Shoot (1995)
4. Dead to Rights (1996)
5. Skeleton Canyon (1997)
6. Rattlesnake Crossing (1998)
7. Outlaw Mountain (1999)
8. Devil's Claw (2000)
9. Paradise Lost (2001)
10. Partner in Crime (2002)
11. Exit Wounds (2003)
12. Dead Wrong (2006)
13. Damage Control (2008)
14. Fire and Ice (2009)
15. Judgment Call (2012)
16. Remains of Innocence (2014)
17. Downfall (2016)
18. Field of Bones (2018)
19. Missing and Endangered (2021)

*Reviewer's Note:  Author J.A. (Judith) Jance grew up in Bisbee, Arizona, a small copper mining town in SE Arizona. I find it interesting that she bases her stories in a real town. one she is so familiar with, and includes real location descriptions. It makes the fiction stories appear very real as if they are happening right now, along with giving you a bit of history of the town and the area. It's a history lesson, a murder mystery, and a suspenseful story, all with interesting characters  who, although fictional, seem like people you have always known. 

I highly recommend the 'Brady Novels of Suspense' series by J.A. Jance.

Related Links:

Book Review of the Ali Reynolds Series by J. A. Jance

(c) The Joanna Brady Mystery Series book review written by Wednesday Elf

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The Widow and the Highlander Book Review

The Widow and the Highlander by Martha Keyes is the first book in the Tales from the Highlands series.  After I finished the first book, I immediately wished to move to the second book in the series. It isn't that Keyes didn't wrap up the first novel.  She did. It was simply that I wasn't ready to move on from the story. 

You know you have found a wonderful series of books when you hate the idea of starting a different book by another author. Unfortunately for me, the second book in Tales from the Highlands has not yet been released. 

It is doubtful the I will forget the MacKinnon clan and I have added the The Enemy and Miss Innes (Tales from the Highlands Book 2) to my wishlist so I will know as soon as it is released. I am certain, no matter what else I have started reading, I will move back to this series to continue reading about Catherine and her sister, Elizabeth.

I highly recommend this historical fiction and I am certain I will enjoy the entire series once it is published. 

The Widow and the Highlander Synopsis
Historical Fiction - Scotland 1762

 The Widow and the Highlander
(Tales from the Highlands Book 1)Check Price Christina isn't certain what to do next!  She is actually relieved, perhaps even happy, to be a new widow.  After her abusive husband, Gordon, dies due to illness, she finds she can breathe again. That is, until his cousin, Angus MacKinnon, "suggests" she marry him.  Angus and several of his family members had taken up residence at Dunverlockie after the funeral, and don't plan to leave.

Because Christina's father invested deeply in Dunverlockie, he made MacKinnon sign a will that would legally transfer ownership of the estate to Christina if Gordon died before a child was born, Christina now solely owns Dunverlockie.  That does not bode well with the MacKinnon clan and they are determined to regain control of the estate one way or another.

The MacKinnons had originally established ownership of Dunverlockie after Gordons' father betrayed a friend, then set back and watched him executed for treason.  MacKinnon's reward for turning him in as a traitor to the crown, was Dunverlockie.

Christina was not married to Gordon at the time of the execution.  In fact, she would have been a child.  Therefore, she did not know the family that had been removed from the home.  What she did know, was that the MacKinnons were a vicious clan and she didn't wish to remain a part of their family.  However, she had her own siblings to consider and she needed the income Dunverlocke provided.  When she suspected she was being poisoned, she knew she had to do something whether she wanted to or not. After all, aside from her own sister, she didn't know who was an ally and who was an enemy inside or outside of the castle.

 The Widow and the Highlander (Tales from the Highlands Book 1)Check Price

 

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Book Review of The Golden Cup: A Cornwall Family Saga

 

Image by falco from Pixabay 

The Mysterious Photograph

This family saga by Marcia Millett is set on the north coast of Cornwall. It begins and ends with an American man who brings a letter and photograph to Mrs. Honor Trevannion, better known to her family as Mutt. She is a widow who had returned to her husband Huber's family home, Paradise, after his death in India, bringing his two young children, Bruno and Emma. Only Bruno and Mutt knew Mutt and Emma weren't who they were supposed to be. Huber's family had never met his wife. The reader knows from almost the beginning something is fishy. Because of the letters. 

Mutt and Bruno were knowingly living a lie that affected everyone around them. The American with the photograph, Dan Crosby, led all those affected by the lie unknowingly to the truth. He was seeking news of his great-aunt Madeleine Grosjean. 

As the story begins Mutt was recovering from an infected broken ankle and was in bed.  Mousie, a close family friend and  her nurse, did not let Dan in to see her. He left the letter and photo and said he'd return the next weekend.

Why Deceive?

Mutt (Madeleine) had assumed the identity of Honor Travannion suddenly in 1946. She and Honor had been nurses together in India when Honor, her husband Huber, and their young daughter Emma had died of an illness. They had been planning to go back to America and had the papers to leave. Emma was the same age as Madeleine's daughter Lottie. 

There was much civil unrest and it was likely that foreigners who remained might die in the violence. To protect herself, her child Lottie, and Honor and Huber's child Bruno, Madeleine made the quick decision to use the papers to get all of them safely out of the country. Lottie became Emma. She was too young to remember being Lottie. They returned to Bruno's family and home in Cornwall. Madeleine lived with the constant fear of being discovered. 

Bruno already loved Mutt and Emma (Lottie). They and their parents had  been like family to each other in India, so it made sense for them to stay together. But both Mutt and Bruno knew they had a secret they had to keep. That's pretty hard for a five-year-year old, but he said nothing except when he and Mutt were together. 

By the time the American arrived with the photo, Emma and Bruno had grown up. Emma was married with a grown daughter, Joss. Bruno was separated from his wife. Mutt was on her deathbed. And Joss, had read the letters. 

The Letters

Mutt had been lonely after moving to Cornwall. She missed the company of her sister Vivian. The photo the American had brought was the picture of a double wedding in which Madeleine and Vivian were the brides. Vivian lived in America with her husband and family.

 

In her loneliness, Mutt began to write to her. Writing the letters helped her connect to her past self, but she realized she should not mail them.So they piled up where she had hidden them in her desk.

 After the American came, she remembered them and asked Joss to find them. She didn't ask Joss to read them, but she couldn't resist. The letters told the entire story. Then she let Bruno know she had read them and that he needed to read them. They had determined Emma should never know, but things don't always play out as planned. 

Should You Read This Book?

If you like well-developed characters and the fun of unraveling family threads and motivations, you probably will enjoy The Golden Cup. But be ready to spend some time getting the characters sorted out. It's a bit confusing at first because there is a large cast of characters in Cornwall. They are all important to the plot. I'm glad I didn't let the beginning bog me down and discourage me from reading further. All in all it was a very satisfying book. I'd enjoying walking along the paths around Paradise to to Bruno's Lookout with Joss, Mousie, and Bruno. There are also a few romantic threads that have readers hoping they work out. 

The setting is gorgeous. It made me want to visit the Cornwall coast. It's obvious that all who live at Paradise, the family home, and on the rest of the family estate, love their land and the beauty around them. 

However some of the younger generation and Emma's husband, an outsider, would be willing to trade it for more wealth. That makes the legalities of everyone's identity important when Mutt finally dies and the search for her will ensues. Most agree on who should inherit what, but the real issue is the amount of inheritance tax. Everyone worries about what they might have to sell to pay the tax and who might lose their homes. 

As I read, I got to know a solid family bound together by shared history even where there was no blood connection. Even when the secret was exposed, it did not break their connection. Out of tragedy love survived, sacrificed, and nourished. And one wonders what would have happened if Madeleine had not become Honor.

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Timeless Treasure by MaryLu Tyndall Reviewed

The book, Timeless Treasure by MaryLu Tyndall, took me by surprise! 

I have read several books by Tyndall and always loved them.  She is one of my favorite authors because I know I can depend on her for a great story with clean content. However, Timeless Treasure is more than a great story.  It is an exceptional historical fiction that I would highly recommend.

When I read historical fiction, I want historical accuracy.  Tyndall certainly did her "homework" for Timeless Treasure.  The story is based on a real pirate, Stede Bonnet, who was executed in 1718.  The author built a romantic story around Bonnet's real life with a fictitious tale of why he turned to pirating even though he was a well educated, wealthy landowner, married and with children. 

So many things in Bonnet's real life story seem unexpected, contradictory, perhaps even unbelievable, but they were true.  He was factually known as "The Gentleman Pirate" because of his own behavior, yet his association with Blackbeard, who was certainly no gentleman, is well documented. It should also be noted that he knew nothing about sailing prior to becoming a pirate.

The fictional suggestion that he was in love with someone other than his wife and wished to secure a separate fortune to support their life together, would be a plausible explanation for why a wealthy gentleman would turn pirate. Thus the reason this book is exceptional! 

 

Timeless Treasure Synopsis

 Chapter One takes place present day and introduces us to a decedent of Stede Bonnet.  Lexie Cain has just returned from her mother's funeral to a home where she is no longer welcome since it belongs to her step-father.  She is there only to retrieve an ancestral chest containing photos, school papers, a scrapbook, and some old letters. Flipping through the letters she discovers they were written by Bonnet. Those letters change the course of her life.

The opening paragraphs of chapter two introduce us to Stede Bonnet and the woman he loves, Melody, at the burial site of his firstborn son. We discover just how bereaved, miserable and unhappy Stede is with his life.  When Melody informs him that her father is moving her family away from Barbados to Charles Town, a city in the colony of Carolina, Stede's desperation intensifies. He must do something to change the course of his life.

Current day Lexie Cain moves to Charleston in the hopes of finding buried pirate treasure.  She gets a job in the local museum, takes the first "Bonnet" letter to a college history professor for authentication, and then finds herself the target of criminals.

As Lexie reads through the letters with the professor, Barret Johnson, we are all hearing Bonnet's tales of piracy, his longing for a life with Melody, and his plans for a happy future together.  In spite of the fact that we know from the beginning that Bonnet is hung, we hold on to the hope that it was somehow not him that was executed. That he somehow managed to find the happiness he so desperately sought.

_______________________

 

There is no way I will tell you more of the story, yet there is so much more than this brief introduction of the book, including the romance that develops between Lexie & Barrett.  

I would never wish to ruin this marvelous book for anyone else.  You deserve to be able to "walk" through this adventure for yourself.  It would be dastardly indeed for me to rob you of this experience and I refuse to do that.  After all, I am no pirate!

 Timeless TreasureCheck Price

 

Books by MaryLu Tyndall Previously Reviewed

The Liberty Bride

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Timeless Treasure by MaryLu Tyndall Reviewed by:

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Book Review - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel by Kim Michele Richardson

Have you ever read a book that makes it hard to start another book because you have a hard time moving on from the characters that you just finished reading about? Or a book that was so good that you read it at least one more time? The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: A Novel is one of those books for me. I have started reading it for a second time. This novel, inspired by historical programs and people, includes issues of remote Appalachian living in the 1930s, literacy, poverty, spinsterhood, and the impact of having a different skin color. This is the personal story of one woman's life. A woman who is both astonishingly brave and who is as uncertain as most of the rest of us.

Historical Fiction Review on ReviewThisReviews.com

I was hooked from the opening paragraph:

"The librarian and her mule spotted it at the same time. The creature's ears shot up, and it came to a stop so sudden its front hooves skidded out, the pannier slipping off, spilling out the librarian's books. An eddy of dirt and debris lifted, stinging the woman's eyes. The mule struggled to look upward, backward, anywhere other than at the thing in front of it."    -- The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Cussy Mary Carter lived with her father in their one-room log house in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky. Her mother had passed away and her father was desperate to find a husband for his grown daughter. While his goal of her being a respectful woman and safe as someone's wife, it did not fit with her chosen career of librarian. A pack horse librarian to be exact.

From 1935 to 1943, The Pack Horse Library Project ran through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (part of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. The WPA focused on work relief programs). Librarians were hired to circulate books to families on their routes. The routes were up to 18 - 20 miles per day and the librarians rode these routes on horseback. The routes were often rugged and dangerous but the librarians were determined.

Cussy Mary was devoted to the families along her route. All of her families. Those who were avid readers as well as hesitant readers. She was often the only outside contact families would have for long periods of time. She was a hero to these families.

She was also a pariah. Cussy Mary was one of Kentucky's Blue People. I had never heard of this family group who (partly due to geographical region and partly genetic) had noticeably blue skin. Superstitious people in the region blamed the blue people for bad things that happened. These people were shunned, ignored, or abused. The opening of this story includes a victim of a hanging.

When testing and a possible "cure" for Cussy Mary's colored skin is offered she finds that fitting in may or may not be as easy as the doctor would lead her to believe. She has some difficult decisions to make. 

From the Author:

After the end of the novel, Kim Michele Richardson includes very interesting information in her Author's Notes.  She writes:

"I've modified one historical date in the story so I could include relevant information about medical aspects and discoveries"

In other words, The Pack Horse Project was not ongoing when the "cure" for Cussy Mary's blue skin was discovered. 

At times, when I notice that an author adjusted factual information in order to create a more interesting story I am a bit disappointed. But in this case, I was not bothered.  In fact, I was very interested by the information about the causes and cure of the congenital disease. I am still amazed that prior to this book, I had never heard of either the Pack Horse Project librarians or the Blue Fugates of Kentucky and the things they experienced in their daily lives. 

Other Recommendations:

The ReviewThis! contributors clearly love to read. Click our Book Reviews tab at the top of this page to see all our collective book reviews.

A few other historic fiction reviews I have written are: Galway Bay (a must-read that begins in Ireland during the potato famine),  Chesapeake (a James Michener tale that is set on the Chesapeake Bay and spans 400 years), and Nickel's Luck (a cast of fictional characters living in the real town of Indianola, Texas in the 1800s. Indianola is no more and I bawled learning the history of that town and it's people). 

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The Last Mrs Parrish - A Book Review

The Last Mrs Parrish by Liv Constantine is a book about Amber, Daphne & Jackson.   It's a book where entitlement leads to manipulation and manipulation has its consequences.

I love that I've discovered a new author in Liv Constantine she (or I should say they) captures Amber's character really well and as you're reading it you so want Daphne to find out.   As the twist comes you almost want to read it again to see how one of the characters (with your fresh information) isn't actually the person you thought.

This kept me up reading late into the night even though I knew I had work the next day there was just no way I could put it up!  Amber reminded me a little of Tom Ripley and I found the duplicity of the novel absolutely delicious, I would never have known that this was a debut novel.

After reading the book I discovered that Liv Constantine was actually two sisters writing as a partnership, luckily they have written a few more books which will definitely be added to my long, must-read list.

I'll leave you with this, Amber's father really should have warned her to beware of the green-eyed monster that calls itself envy.

I read this as part of my Kindle Unlimited membership and I thoroughly recommend this if you're a voracious reader, I think of it as a library card for Amazon!

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