Review: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (October 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439152802
• ISBN-13: 978-1439152805

Book Description

 1959 England. Laurel Nicolson is sixteen years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.

Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress, living in London. She returns to Green Acres for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday and finds herself overwhelmed by memories and questions she has not thought about for decades. She decides to find out the truth about the events of that summer day and lay to rest her own feelings of guilt. One photograph, of her mother and a woman Laurel has never met, called Vivian, is her first clue.

The Secret Keeper explores longings and dreams, the lengths some people go to fulfill them, and the strange consequences they sometimes have. It is a story of lovers, friends, dreamers and schemers, play-acting and deception told against a backdrop of events that changed the world.


About The Author

 Kate Morton, a native Australian, holds degrees in dramatic art and English literature. She lives with her family in Brisbane, Australia.


My Review

I have loved Kate Morton's books that I have read so far.  The Secret Keeper is definitely not my favorite of the lot.   It is well written but I found the story to be slow and predictable.  While I related to Laurel I did not relate to Dorothy at all. 

If you enjoy novels that take place during World War II London then you will probably enjoy the book.  I just found that it was missing the magic of Kate Morton's other books.  Perhaps I was expecting too much.

Kate Morton has a beautiful flowing writing style so the book is very enjoyable just not one of the best stories ever.  

Review: Bad Little Falls (Mike Bowditch #3) by Paul Doiron

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (August 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312558481
• ISBN-13: 978-0312558482

 
Book Description

 Maine game warden Mike Bowditch has been sent into exile, transferred by his superiors to a remote outpost on the Canadian border. When a blizzard descends on the coast, Bowditch is called to the rustic cabin of a terrified couple. A raving and half-frozen man has appeared at their door, claiming his friend is lost in the storm.

But what starts as a rescue mission in the wilderness soon becomes a baffling murder investigation. The dead man is a notorious drug dealer, and state police detectives suspect it was his own friend who killed him. Bowditch isn’t so sure, but his vow not to interfere in the case is tested when he finds himself powerfully attracted to a beautiful woman with a dark past and a troubled young son. The boy seems to know something about what really happened in the blizzard, but he is keeping his secrets locked in a cryptic notebook, and Mike fears for the safety of the strange child.

Meanwhile, an anonymous tormentor has decided to make the new warden’s life a living hell. Alone and outgunned, Bowditch turns for assistance to his old friend, the legendary bush pilot Charley Stevens. But in this snowbound landscape -— where smugglers wage blood feuds by night -— help seems very far away indeed. If Bowditch is going to catch a killer, he must survive on his own wits and discover strength he never knew he possessed.


About the Author

 Paul Doiron is an award-winning journalist and the author of the Mike Bowditch series of crime novels, including The Poacher's Son, which won the the Barry Award and the Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel and was nominated for an Edgar Award, an Anthony Award, a Macavity Award, and a Thriller Award for Best First Novel, and the Maine Literary Award for "Best Fiction of 2010." PopMatters named it to its Best Fiction of 2010 list.

His second book in the Mike Bowditch series, Trespasser, won the Maine Literary Award for crime fiction, was an American Booksellers Association Indie Bestseller and has been called a "masterpiece of high-octane narrative" by Booklist.


My Review

 Paul Doiron is an amazing mystery author.  His writing style captures the reader from the first few words.  I love this series by Paul Doiron and I loved this book.  Doiron knows what makes people tick and he knows Maine.  Maine is so realistically represented in each of his novels.  Mike Bowditch becomes more human, more likeable, more fascinating with each novel.  You want to know what happens to Bowditch next. 

Excellent storytelling by Paul Doiron.  If you haven't been introduced to the Mike Bowditch series yet don't delay any longer.  Cannot wait for the next one!

Happy Thanksgiving Fellow Canadians!

Giveaway: In The Next Room: Giveaway: The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli

In The Next Room: Giveaway: The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli: I absolutely had to take advantage of the opportunity to give away a copy of The Forgetting Tree by Tatjana Soli , as it is an incredibly...

Review: Mistletoe, Merriment and Murder by Sara Rosett

About the Book

Super organizer Ellie Avery could really use some Christmas cheer when Gabrielle Matheson, a grinchy professional rival, sets up shop in the same small Georgia town. But before the halls are even halfway decked with holly, someone uses Ellie's terrifically tasteless white elephant swap gift as ...a murder weapon! Ellie's now a suspect. Besides playing Mrs. Santa for her Air Force pilot husband and their two kids, shielding her eyes from the garishly over-decorated house down the street, and helping a client who's a hardcore hoarder, Ellie also has to solve this ho-ho-homicide ...and find a killer who wishes her a very deadly Christmas.

About the Author
 
 A native Texan, Sara is the author of the Ellie Avery mystery series and the On The Run travel thrillers. As a military spouse, Sara has moved around the country (frequently!) and traveled internationally, which inspired her latest travel thrillers. Publishers Weekly called Sara's books, "satisfying," "well-executed," and "sparkling."

Sara loves all things bookish, considers dark chocolate a daily requirement, and is on a quest for the best bruschetta. Connect with Sara at www.SaraRosett.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Goodreads.

 
My Review

Book 7 in the Ellie Avery:  Mom Zone Mystery series by Sara Rosett is a great read! Ellie is an organizer extraordinaire and who doesn't need more help organizing!  I love all the tips included in this series...lots of great ideas.  Plus you get a great mystery thrown in as well.

Christmas is coming...but not a lot of goodwill is in the air with recent neighbour and competitor organizer Gabrielle Matheson coming to town and trying to steal Ellie's clients! When Gabrielle's sister Jean is murdered, Ellie is the prime suspect.

Mirroring Sara Rosett's life, this series revolves around Ellie's life as a military wife.  Great insights into a world many of never see!

Great story and another winner from novelist Sara Rosett!

Review: A Wanted Man by Lee Child

• File Size: 2007 KB
• Print Length: 417 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0385344333
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (September 11, 2012)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007GCY8FS

About the Book

Reacher is back! A Wanted Man is a new masterpiece of suspense—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child.

Four people in a car, hoping to make Chicago by morning. One man driving, eyes on the road. Another man next to him, telling stories that don’t add up. A woman in the back, silent and worried. And next to her, a huge man with a broken nose, hitching a ride east to Virginia.

An hour behind them, a man lies stabbed to death in an old pumping station. He was seen going in with two others, but he never came out. He has been executed, the knife work professional, the killers vanished. Within minutes, the police are notified. Within hours, the FBI descends, laying claim to the victim without ever saying who he was or why he was there.

All Reacher wanted was a ride to Virginia. All he did was stick out his thumb. But he soon discovers he has hitched more than a ride. He has tied himself to a massive conspiracy that makes him a threat—to both sides at once.

In Lee Child’s white-hot thriller, nothing is what it seems, and nobody is telling the truth. As the tension rises, the twists come fast and furious, keeping readers guessing and gasping until the explosive finale.

A single story arc: 61 HOURS, WORTH DYING FOR and now A WANTED MAN. Simply a man trying to get to a warm, sexy voice he heard over the phone lines coming from Virginia..

About the Author

Lee Child is the author of seventeen Jack Reacher thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot, and The Hard Way, and the #1 bestsellers The Affair, Worth Dying For, 61 Hours, Gone Tomorrow, Bad Luck and Trouble, and Nothing to Lose, as well as the short stories “Second Son” and “Deep Down.” His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and Nero awards for Best Novel. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in more than forty territories. All titles have been optioned for major motion pictures. A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City, where he is at work on his next thriller, Never Go Back.


My Review

Always thrilled when a new Jack Reacher thriller by Lee Child is released!  And I was not disappointed.   Excellent read that was hard to put down.  Plausible mystery that really makes you think about what is going on in the world currently.  I'm thinking it's going to take Reacher a few more books to get to Virginia..it's taken a few books already and he still has a ways to go!

Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway: Death on a Longship by Marsali Taylor

• File Size: 793 KB
• Print Length: 272 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Attica Books (August 15, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B008YU7TKC

Book Description

When she talks her way into a job skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, a place she hasn't set foot on since she ran away as a teenager to pursue her dreams of sailing. When a dead woman turns up on the boat’s deck, Cass, her past and her family come under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Cass must call on all her local knowledge of Shetland, the wisdom gained from years of sailing, and her glamorous, French opera singer mother to clear herself and her family of suspicion - and to catch the killer before Cass becomes the next victim.

About The Author

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland’s scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.   

About The Giveaway

Marsali is giving away THREE prizes; a copy of Death on a Longship at each blog stop on her tour, a 1st place grand prize giveaway at the end of the tour of some silver Viking-inspired jewelry from the Shetland Islands, and a 2nd place $15 Amazon gift card. 

1)      To win a book: leave a comment on this blog post to be entered to win a book (open internationally for ebook or the US, UK, and Canada for a print book). Be sure to leave your email address in the comments so we can contact you if you’re the lucky winner. This giveaway ends five days after the post goes live.

2)      To win Viking-inspired Jewelry OR a $15 Amazon gift card: Click the link to go to the contest’s website and enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of the post. A first and second place lucky winner will be selected on October 1st. First place person gets to choose which grand prize he/she wants. The second place person gets the remaining grand prize. Open to every country.

http://www.marsalitaylor.co.uk/index.html 





My Review

You cannot go wrong with this delight of mystery!  It is available for $4.99 in the Amazon Kindle store.  You also have a chance to win your copy by leaving a comment below including your email.  It would be extra nice if you followed me as well if you don't already!  

The heroine of Death on a Longship is sailing obsessed!  I must confess that I have never been on a sailboat but the author brings sailing to life for the reader.  I saw a lot of sailboats on a recent trip to Florida and I must say that it looked very inviting!

The author, Marsali Taylor, also brings the Shetland Islands to life for the reader.  I cannot wait to visit Scotland some day and the Shetland Islands are definitely on my list!  The book has a murder, Vikings, Hollywood movies, oil money, wind farms and suspense!  Wind farms are a very current topic these days...I love it when authors keep things current and relevant to today's issues as well as presenting us with a mystery to solve.

Plenty of twists to keep the reader interested!  Try to win a copy below....