DEADLY EVER AFTER (2021)

Deadly Ever After by Eva Gates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

FIRST LINE: "Is there anything more perfect than a day at the beach?" 

THE STORY: How could anything go wrong with an opening line like that? Plenty as it turns out. Librarian Lucy Richardson is finally getting engaged to Conner McNeil, dentist and mayor of a small community on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Family and friends are gathering on the beach to celebrate when Richard Eric Lewiston the Third and his overbearing mother crash the party for the sole purpose of convincing Lucy to marry 'Ricky' instead!

From there it isn't long until a body appears and the happenings in this quiet little town again force Lucy into the role of amateur detective (for the 8th time in the series). The suspects pile on and with twists, turns, and a little humor, eventually good triumphs over evil.

WHAT I THOUGHT: I always say I'm not a cozy mystery reader but this is my second by this author in the past year! I love the idea that Lucy's library and home is in a lighthouse. Eva Gates knows what her readers want and gives it to us in a well-written way that doesn't talk down to readers but includes us in the fun. Along the way she works in the names of books and bits of information the reader will recognize. It's not a unique approach but it's well-done here. The book club is reading "The Hound of the Baskervilles", by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and there are shout-outs to fellow cozy writers Ellen Bryon and Essie Lang as well. P.S. In this 8th entry in the series, there is still Charles Dickens (the cat) and now a dog (Fluffy) just to cause added confusion!

BOTTOM LINE: There is nothing more delightful than an enjoyable cozy series. I'm guessing that starting at the beginning with #1 and getting to know the characters would be even more fun. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for cozy mystery readers!

DISCLAIMER: A copy of "Deadly Ever After" was provided to me by Crooked Lane Books/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (May 11, 2021)
ISBN-10: 1643855883
ISBN-13: 978-1643855882

THE AUTHOR: Eva Gates is also known as Canadian crime writer Vicki Delany, "one of Canada's most prolific and varied crime writers." You might want to check out some of her other series: Sherlock Holmes Bookshop; Year Round Christmas Mysteries; Klondike Gold Rush; and novels of Gothic suspense. "Having taken early retirement from her job as a systems analyst, Vicki enjoys the rural life in Prince Edward County, Ontario." 

View all my reviews

OUTSIDER (2020)

Outsider (Kate Burkholder #12) by Linda Castillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On a day when summer heat and humidity has finally arrived, reading a story where everyone is snowed in seems the perfect choice to cool off. And if you haven't been following the series, book #12 in the Kate Burkholder series can be read as a standalone.

Starting with a bang, the story is off and running. A policewoman from the big city, who can't think of any place safe to run from dirty cops, seeks out her old friend Police Chief Kate Burkholder, who runs the Police Department in Painters Mill, a tiny community in northwest Ohio where many residents are Amish. Kate herself grew up Amish but left the order.

In a massive snowstorm on a back road in Painters Mill, the wounded Gina crashes her car. An Amish family out for a sleigh ride comes across the damaged half buried car and begins a search for the driver. Helping those in need is the Amish way.

FIRST LINE: "She'd always known they would come for her."

WHAT I THOUGHT: The first Kate Burkholder story I discovered was Her Last Breath #5 (Jul 17, 2015). The I quickly devoured Sworn to Silence #1 (July 21, 2015) and Pray for Silence #2 (July 26, 2015). Then I stopped because I found the crimes against the Amish, especially the young women, too overwhelming. But because the series is so popular, I decided to try again. I'm glad I did. Although violence and death occur, there is more than enough life and happiness to balance the story. The reader knows just enough of what is coming to anxiously keep turning the page.

All the characters are well-established so that you care what happens to them with, of course, the exception of the villains.

Although the narrative shifts from third person to first person, it is done seamlessly. There were red herrings along the way that added to the tension.

One of the delightful things about this series is the author's inclusion of Amish language and customs.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.This entry filled in a lot of backstory for Kate and how she left her Amish family and became a police officer in Columbus. The ending ensures there will be a #13 entry in the series!

Disclaimer: A copy of Outsider was provided to me by Minotaur Books/Net Galley for an honest review.

Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (July 7, 2020)
ISBN-10: 125014289X
ISBN-13: 978-1250142894

Originally from Ohio where her Amish thrillers are set, Linda Castillo knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer--and penned her first novel at the age of thirteen.  She's published thirty books for three New York publishing houses and won numerous industry awards, including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, the Golden Heart, the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, and a nomination for the prestigious Rita. (from her website)

WEEK AT THE SHORE (2020)

A Week at the Shore by Barbara Delinsky
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Can you really go home again? And what will you find there?

Mallory left home some 20 years ago after a tragic accident. Unmarried but with a thirteen year old daughter, she has built a successful life for herself as a photographer of real estate in New York City. Between a phone call warning about her father's worsening dementia and Joy's begging to meet her grandfather, Mallory agrees to "A Week at the Shore."

Besides a story filled with complications, there is much that readers can relate to their own lives. And, of course, there is a renewed love story.

The perfect Chic-Lit book to take along to the beach this summer.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early release in exchange for my honest review. Due to be published May 19, 2020.

THE STOLEN MARRIAGE: A NOVEL 2017

The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first book I have been able to finish in quite a while. Definitely a beach read but it was hard to put down. Something happens in every chapter that makes you want to turn just one more page.

THE FIRST LINE: "It's a terrible feeling, being despised."

THE STORY: Tess and Vincent have loved each other all their lives and plan to marry, but one fateful weekend changes everything. Tess ends up marrying another man and moving to Hickory, North Carolina where she endures a loveless marriage. How she finds herself during the polio epidemic of 1944 is historically fascinating.

WHAT I THOUGHT: This is my second Diane Chamberlain and it appears that her formula is similar. Her chic-lit stories feature young women allowing secrets to complicate their lives. This plot has everything but the kitchen sink, but you'll keep reading until all the secrets are revealed. My lack of enthusiasm is a minority. Other readers adore everything Dian Chamberlain has written.

Historical fiction is not my first choice but this book incorporates an event that actually happened.

"In June 1944, the citizens of Hickory built a hospital in 54 hours to save their children from the worst polio outbreak that had ever hit the United States. Looking back now, even knowing the results – 13 wards erected, doctors and nurses flocking in by the dozens, hundreds of patients treated and released, with only 12 deaths, one of the country’s lowest-ever rates for polio – the enormity of the undertaking still bewilders." (Charles D. Dixon, Hickory NC)

As a matter of fact, I found myself talking about this to my book group mostly because of the historical aspects. I have called Diane Chamberlain's work 'Nancy Drew stories for adults' but that isn't fair. I was drawn into the story because so many of the outrageous things mirrored parts of my own life and many other women. Besides when I was growing up, I read every Nancy Drew I could find. It's good to know that there are tons of other titles waiting for me to pick up!

Title: The Stolen Marriage

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Genre: Women's Fiction

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

No. of Pages: 384

Copyright: October 3, 2017

ISBN-10: 1250087279

ISBN-13: 978-1250087270

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for an honest review.

DIANE CHAMBERLAIN is the international bestselling author of more than 25 novels published in more than twenty languages, including The Broken String and The Silent Sister. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her shelties, Keeper and Cole.

SILENT SISTER (2014)

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although she has written quite a few books, this is the first time I have read Diane Chamberlain. Scanning the descriptions of her stories, it seems to me that they all feature young women who have secrets complicating their lives.

More suspense than thriller, Chamberlain's work has been referred to as chic-lit. In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has come home to New Bern, North Carolina to handle her beloved father's affairs after his sudden and unexpected death. Although her troubled brother Danny lives off-the-grid in the community, he won't help. Having lost her mother years earlier and a sister who committed suicide in the past, Riley feels very much alone and overwhelmed.

As she goes about trying to make sense of all the bit and pieces of her father's life, she begins to discover facts that are at odds with the life and family she thought she knew.

The reader is drawn in and it's hard to put the book down until the truth is exposed. Suspension of disbelief is helpful in stories such as this and not every question is answered at the end, but Diane Chamberlain writes a darn good story. I can't wait to read another!

Bottom Line: The book caught and captured my interest immediately and I finished it in just a couple of days. It's definitely a worthy beach read (for next year since it doesn't come out until October 4, 2014) or perfect for a cold winter night in front of the fire.

Title: Silent Sister
Author: Diane Chamberlain
Genre: Suspense, Mystery
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250010713
No. of Pages: 352 pages
Copyright: October 7, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: NetGalley

DISCLOSURE: Invited by NetGalley to request and receive this title for an honest review.

DIANE CHAMBERLAIN is the international bestselling author of twenty-two novels. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her shelties, Keeper and Cole. (Source: Amazon)

Emma Straub's New Book Out May 29, 2014

Emma Straub made her debut with Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures in 2012. Apparently I liked the book but not too much since I only gave it 2/5 stars. That doesn't sound right to me now.

On May 29th her new novel The Vacationers is available and I'm adding it to my list of summer reads especially since the following sites have mentioned it on their lists of May Reads:

Harpers Bazaar Hot List

FlavorWire

PopSugar

Bustle

Bookish

Book Riot

From Entertainment Weekly July 1, 2011

It shouldn't surprise anyone that, when I get my new issue of Entertainment Weekly, I go directly to the 'book' section. And today had a couple of interesting surprises. Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, which I just read and liked, has debuted at #7 on the Publishers Weekly, week of June 15-21, 2011, Fiction Top Ten list.

 The next item to attract my attention was Mark Adams' Turn Right at Machu Picchu, about the ancient city built high in the Peruvian Andes. It turns out that this is the 100th anniversary of its 'discovery' by the Yale professor who became the prototype for Indiana Jones. EW gave the book a B+ but as a kid who seriously considered archeology as a career and was the 5th grade expert on the Incas, I am definitely reading this.

Finally I was fascinated by the featured review of Once Upon a River by Michigan author Bonnie Jo Campbell. A resident of Kalamazoo, she tells the story of a young woman's journey in such a unique way that the reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, ""Fact is Campbell is a bard, a full-throated singer whose melodies are odes to farms and water and livestock and fishing rods and rifles, and to hardworking folks who know the value of life as well as the randomness of life's troubles."