Month: July 2021

As a preface to this review, I have to say I read my first Sandra Brown novel while I was in nursing school and she quickly became a favorite. I am now a 29-year veteran of my nursing career, and she is still at the top of my “must read” list. I don’t need to read the back of the book to see if I’m going to like it…when Sandra Brown releases a new book, I already know I’m going to LOVE it!

The year is 1920 and Prohibition has just gone into effect, shortly after the war’s end. Laurel Plummer and her husband Derby, an Army soldier, have gathered up all of their meager belongings, along with their infant daughter and packed them into their used Model T for a journey to Derby’s fathers homestead in southwest Texas. Upon their arrival to a home that’s little more than a shack, Laurel realizes that Irv, Derby’s father, didn’t know about her and Pearl. That evening, an unexpected event brings sudden change to the fledgling family…

Thatcher Hutton is riding a train as a boxcar hobo along with three other men, whom he knows are prepared to jump him during the night. Biding his time, with darkness as a cover, he leaps off the train, and finds himself in the middle of nowhere. After a nap, he starts walking hoping to find a town nearby. Soon he stumbles onto the property where Laurel is staying, and she gives him some water and directions into town. Thatcher barely settles into town and finds some work when Doc Driscoll’s pregnant wife goes missing, and Thatcher is accused of involvement in the disappearance.

Laurel quickly catches on to her father-in-law’s moonshine distillery and sales, hidden by his ‘local handyman’ status and decides to help him expand the business. Under the guise of selling homemade pies to area families and establishments, Laurel & Irv rapidly expand their clientele, much to the displeasure of other bootlegging families in town. Soon, the unrest spills over into violence as each family scrambles to destroy those who threaten their success. And Laurel must fight her ongoing attraction to Thatcher, a man now on the opposite side of the law…

I couldn’t put it down! Sandra Brown weaves her magic into every page of this novel and has created rich, in-depth characters and vivid, colorful prose that brings a long gone era back to life as each page is turned – I would love to see this become a screenplay. Give it a read, you will NOT be disappointed…that’s a promise!! 

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an objective review. 

Anna Malone, Seattle TV news reporter, is abruptly pulled from a deep sleep by a ringing phone. Groggy, presumably from too many drinks at dinner last night, she fuzzily tries to piece together the evening, uncomfortable as it was, as she shakes off sleep.  Several minutes later, the phone rings again.  When Anna answers, it’s her married lover, Dr. Russ Knoll on the phone. He’s asking if Anna has heard from Courtney – she appears to be missing…

Courtney is Russ’s wife, and the three had been out to dinner last evening to celebrate the completion of a feature story that Anna had filmed on Courtney, a deaf author, hoping to break into the big time with a new fiction series. Throughout their covert relationship, Russ has assured Anna that his marriage is over, and that he and Courtney were planning to split amicably in the near future. Now, she has seemingly disappeared, and Anna can’t remember much of anything from last night’s dinner – and knows the investigation is just beginning…

As the days pass, news of Anna’s & Russ’s affair comes to light, and both are quickly vilified by the press. Talk Show Host Sally Justice is particularly virulent in her defamation of Anna’s character as she takes to the airwaves each night in an effort to sway public opinion.  Desperate to remember the events of that fateful evening, Anna turns to a renowned hypnotist in hopes of regaining her memory…and then things really go sideways…

This is vintage Kevin O’Brien! The ending took me completely by surprise and was not what I was expecting at all! Make sure you’ve got time set aside to read when you pick this one up – it’s a wild ride – and will keep you frantically turning pages until the last is turned! 

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley & Kensington Books in exchange for an objective review.  Do you love to read?? Visit Netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Much to my surprise and delight, St. Martin’s Press granted me a sneak peek at the next novel in the Sunshine Vicram series! (At least I hope and pray it’s planned to be a series!) 

Sunshine Vicram is the Sheriff for the small, sleepy town of Del Sol, New Mexico, where a typical day involves a complaint about ‘Doug the Flasher’ and perhaps a wayward rooster, but today is very different. As Sunshine suffers through a blind date arranged by her parents and plots their demise, she receives a call from her Deputy regarding an unwanted visitor. Calling in all the troops, she flees her date in search of a marauding raccoon. 

Meanwhile, over at the Roadhouse Bar and Grill, there’s been a stabbing, leaving one man critically injured, and Levi Ravinder, Sunshine’s longtime crush, also injured after being struck by a fleeing pick up truck. The Ravinder family is well known in the area for their criminal exploits and were also believed to be involved in Sunshine’s kidnapping many years ago – an ordeal she has very little memory of.  While Levi seems to be law abiding and has turned the Ravinders’ moonshine business into a legitimate, profitable business, Sunshine still fears the unknown – and the possibility that Levi may have been involved in her captivity, which left her pregnant. 

As Sunshine and her crew begin their investigation, Sun’s teenaged daughter Aurora is conducting her own investigation. Over the last several decades, people who have stayed at the local boarding house in Del Sol have mysteriously gone missing – those disappearances were never solved. Auri suspects that the elderly Mrs. Fairborn, who confesses to every crime in town in elaborate detail, just might be the killer.

As events heat up and a child goes missing, Del Sol is anything but sleepy, as Sun, her team, and a deputized Levi race to find the answers to the goings-on around town – in doing so, Sunshine finally finds some answers of her own…

Oh my goodness, I loved this book even more than they last one! With plenty of suspense and mayhem, yet laugh-out-load funny, this book will keep you flipping pages right to the end, and then desperately wanting more! Bring out a bottle of Chardonnay as you enjoy this incredible, 5-star read!! 

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley & Gallery Books in exchange for an objective review.  Do you love to read?? Visit Netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Savannah Nicoll is a young woman who has just entered the Federal Witness Protection Program after her testimony implicated a member of a well-connected family in her hometown of Houston.  Despite threats against her safety, she felt the need to do the right thing, and in doing so, has lost the only life she’s ever had. Now, as she is trying to settle into the small town of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, all she can see are the potential threats in the people she sees around her. 

While attending a fundraiser in the city, Savannah’s mother is startled when someone approaches from behind, only to whisper that her daughter will be dead by Monday. Fearful for Savannah’s safety, yet not knowing her whereabouts or how to reach her, she turns to a free-lance investigator for help. 

Kyle Roche accepts the terms offered by Savannah’s mother, and immediately sets out to find out Savannah’s location. With the assistance of a close friend and expert hacker (I was picturing Penelope from Criminal Minds for this character), he ascertains her whereabouts, and sets out to intercept her before the potential assassins do. He makes contact and gains her trust in the nick of time, and both narrowly escape Savannah’s home with their lives. Now on the run, Kyle is determined to discover who leaked her location to the killers. He also begins to realize that there is something off about Savannah and that she may have her own agenda…

This book takes off like a rocket, reminiscent of the movie ‘Speed’ and had me flipping pages well into the night just to get to the ‘whys’ of how each character behaved as the story evolved. The ending is satisfying, the action plentiful, and well it’s more than a bit far-fetched, it made for an engaging read! I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from #Netgalley & Bookouture in exchange for an objective review.