SUNRISE ON HALF MOON BAY by Robyn Carr

June 20, 2020

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From the publisher:

Sometimes the happiness we’re looking for has been there all along…

Adele and Justine have never been close. Born twenty years apart, Justine was already an adult when Addie was born. The sisters love each other but they don’t really know each other.

When Addie dropped out of university to care for their ailing parents, Justine, a successful lawyer, covered the expenses. It was the best arrangement at the time but now that their parents are gone, the future has changed dramatically for both women.

Addie had great plans for her life but has been worn down by the pressures of being a caregiver and doesn’t know how to live for herself. And Justine’s success has come at a price. Her marriage is falling apart despite her best efforts.

Neither woman knows how to start life over but both realize they can and must support each other the way only sisters can. Together they find the strength to accept their failures and overcome their challenges. Happiness is within reach, if only they have the courage to fight for it.

Set in the stunning coastal town of Half Moon Bay, California, Robyn Carr’s new novel examines the joys of sisterhood and the importance of embracing change.

I haven’t read a new Robyn Carr book in what feels like a long time. I love her series, and when I discovered her, I read all of her series books and a few standalones. I recently watched the Netflix series based on her Virgin River books, and it was a bit of a disappointment. I loved those books and I thought enough time had passed so that I wouldn’t notice any egregious changes. I was wrong. But I was very happy to find this new standalone book.

Carr’s books fall into the romance and/or women’s fiction genres, and while this one has a bit of romance (I think most women’s fiction books do) that is not the focus. Instead, it is on the sisters and their relationship with each other. It is understandable that they are not especially close due to the twenty year age difference. Addie is the younger sister and has spent many years taking care of her sick parents. Once they pass, she is at a bit of a loss as to what to do with her life. She is still young, but never finished college.

Justine is a successful, workaholic lawyer, has children who are cared for by their stay-at-home dad. He works a bit in sales, but their income is largely based on Justine’s career. This has worked for them, until Addie spots her brother-in-law making out with a woman that is definitely not her sister. Justine is forced to face her husband’s infidelity and hires a private detective to find proof.

The sisters end up living together and form a new relationship and that twenty year difference doesn’t seem so important anymore. I enjoyed watching them grow and change, and was very glad for their happy endings. Carr is just a terrific storyteller. This was a quick read, and I recommend it.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

SUNRISE ON HALF MOON BAY by Robyn Carr. MIRA; Original edition (April 14, 2020). ISBN 978-0778309482. 336 pages.

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WHEN YOU WISH UPON A ROGUE by Anna Bennett

June 20, 2020

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Debutante Diaries, Book 3

From the publisher:

A New York Times Book Review Summer Read Pick!

Once upon a time in Anna Bennett’s When You Wish Upon a Rogue, three young ladies vowed to record their first London seasons and to fill in the gaps of their educations.

She knows what she wants.

Miss Sophie Kendall is happiest arranging the secret meetings of the Debutante Underground, a group of women who come together to discuss the weekly advice column The Debutante’s Revenge. What makes Sophie most unhappy is her impending march down the aisle to a man she does not love. But her family’s finances are in increasingly dire straits.

He makes an offer she can’t refuse.

Henry Reese, Earl of Warshire, hasn’t slept in weeks. Desperate to escape his manor house and its haunting memories, he heads for one of his abandoned London properties. There he meets a beautiful, intriguing woman―trespassing. Reese is far less interested in Sophie’s search for a secret meeting spot than he is in her surprising ability to soothe his demons. So he strikes a bargain with her: his shop in exchange for spending one night a week with him.

Is this love for real―or just a dream?

Sophie never expected this to happen. But she cannot deny the fire Reese sparks in her―and soon their shared desire burns bright. Sophie is irrevocably promised to another. But maybe these two ill-fated lovers can find a way to risk it all―all the way to happily ever after…

This author was new to me and once again I find myself reading a new series out of order. I poked around and found the first book in this series, The Duke Is But a Dream, hiding on my Kindle so I will read that one next. This was a good read even though I definitely knew I was missing information.

Sophie’s family has arranged a marriage for her to a nice looking man, but she feels nothing for him. She has been putting him off but agrees to announce their betrothal before the season ends. Her father drinks and has lost quite a bit of money leaving her family in dire straights. This marriage is the way to fix that and Sophie feels that responsibility keenly.

Sophie and her friends run a newspaper column discussing various women’s issues of the day. Sophie also runs a women’s group, when they discuss the weekly column. The group has been growing and they need a larger space. This is a secret group, known only to the women who go as men would shut it down immediately. Sophie finds an empty store nearby and meets the owner. He has some serious health issues that sound like PTSD, of course, undiagnosed and untreated. He suffers from insomnia, but spending time with Sophie allows him to sleep. He makes her a deal; she must spend the night with him once a week and then she can use the space she needs.

This was a definite stretch for me to accept this premise, but I did and it was a good story. There is a bit of sex, some humor, and interesting characters. Nothing really new here but why reinvent the wheel when it works perfectly well. At least well enough for me to read more from this author.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

WHEN YOU WISH UPON A ROGUE by Anna Bennett. St. Martin’s Paperbacks (May 26, 2020). ISBN 978-1250199508. 336 pages.

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DANCE AWAY WITH ME by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

June 19, 2020

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From the publisher:

At long last, the legendary New York Times bestselling author returns with a heartfelt novel of womanhood, a wild heart, and the healing power of love.

Run, run, as fast as you can!

When life throws her one setback too many, midwife and young widow Tess Hartsong takes off for Runaway Mountain. In this small town high in the Tennessee mountains, surrounded by nature, she hopes to outrun her heartbreak and find the solace she needs to heal.

But instead of peace and quiet, she encounters an enigmatic artist with a craving for solitude, a fairy-tale sprite with too many secrets, a helpless infant, a passel of curious teens, and a town suspicious of outsiders, especially one as headstrong as Tess. Just as headstrong is Ian North, a difficult, gifted man with a tortured soul—a man who makes Tess question everything.

In running away to this new life, Tess wonders— Has she lost herself . . . or has she found her future?

It has been way too long since Susan Elizabeth Phillips has graced us with a book, and the book she finally delivered is terrific, albeit different than her usual; no Chicago Stars, not much in the way of laughs either, but strong characters living their lives, no matter how complicated, and taking us along for the ride.

This is a small town romance of sorts. Tess has lost her husband quite young, and when she finds a cottage to rent on Runaway Mountain, she feels like it must be fate. She deals with her grief by blasting her music and dancing like a maniac, in the yard of her cottage. When Ian, the prickly artist living nearby complains, Tess somehow forms a friendship with his wife. Or at least the women who she assumes is his wife, especially since she’s pregnant.

In her former life, before she lost her husband, Tess was a certified nurse-midwife. She has no interest in doing that again so she takes a part-time job as a barista in the small cafe in town. There she meets the odd assortment of townsfolk, and that is where the little bit of humor is derived. But this is a more serious book, and it takes a dark turn. There are difficult subjects explored here; death, grief, abuse, survivalists, and more.

I don’t want to say much more and spoil it, just know that this is not a light and fluffy read in the least, even though there is a happy ending. I hope we don’t have to wait another two years for a new SEP book.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

DANCE AWAY WITH ME by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. William Morrow (June 9, 2020). ISBN 978-0062973054. 400 pages.

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CORONAVIRUS DIARY: June 18, 2020

June 18, 2020

Anniversary Edition

Today is my wedding anniversary. We are celebrating 39 years together, the last several months of which have been spent at home. It is a different way of celebrating an anniversary for sure. I don’t go out if I can help it, so no card. Sorry, Hallmark, this pandemic must be affecting the greeting card business. Gifts are easily bought online. But for many years we have been making what we consider to be a large purchase for the house or each other. A big screen TV. An alarm system. Apple watches. iPads. Tickets to a Broadway show. A trip. Things that felt like luxuries to us.

This year, we are not doing that. We are not really buying anything. For one thing, no one has job security and it feels foolish to squander money when we are not sure if or when our income will change. There will be no going out to a fancy restaurant. Covid numbers have been spiking in Florida, especially in my neck of the woods, since our idiot governor and greedy county commissioners have pushed businesses to re-open. People are happy to be out and are not socially distancing and many aren’t wearing masks. I won’t go anywhere. We did takeout once since this whole mess started, for Mother’s Day. I’ll be cooking for our anniversary. I like to cook, it is my happy place.

June has long been a month of celebrations for my family, and I’m happy to say there are more reasons than ever to celebrate. Larry’s birthday kicks off the month, followed by our anniversary, Father’s Day, my daughter-in-law’s birthday and her and my son’s anniversary. Their first (!) anniversary is this month, and they are not taking the trip they had planned. I’m hoping we can Facetime or Zoom or something at some point this month, and celebrate together the only safe way we can. I will be working on arranging that.

Teenagers!

Larry and I met in college. My roommates were friendly with his roommates, and we hung out a lot as a group. Within a few weeks, we started hanging out as a couple, and once we did, we became inseparable. We both fell pretty fast, and that was it for both of us. Within about six weeks, he told me he was falling in love with me. He was 19, I had just turned 17, and we’ve been together ever since. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years, of course, but honestly, it’s mostly been good. Sometimes, really great, like the birth of our children. Sometimes, really awful, like when Larry had some pain in his arm and a couple of days later had a quadruple bypass. He was 47 years old.

That was a big turning point for us. There’s nothing like a scare like that to make you rethink your priorities. To stop taking each other for granted. To appreciate every day you have together. Yes, every day isn’t like that but I like to think most days are. Larry’s always been a very easy going guy, rarely complains about anything, and it takes a lot to get him angry. On the other hand, I’m quick to anger (but also to forgive,) and I am definitely more, shall we say, a difficult personality. That said, he is always there for me no matter what, and I like to think I am always there for him as well. He probably wouldn’t disagree (no complaining, remember?)

I didn’t know how to cook when we first met. My mother was a single mom and worked and didn’t like cooking much. She made great chicken soup and chopped liver (from her mother-in-law’s recipes) but everyday dinners were either stew (I still hate any kind of potted meat to this day) or some sort of protein broiled until it was indistinguishable from any other kind of protein. Canned veggies. Instant mashed potatoes. You get the idea. I liked to bake, and she had a Good Housekeeping Cookbook that I would pore over. Once in a while, she would let me loose in the kitchen (she also hated messes and I am a very messy cook!)

When I met Larry, he didn’t really cook either but had grown up with a mom who was an amazing cook, and just by being around her, he picked up quite a bit. My mother-in-law gave me some simple recipes, and eventually, I learned how to cook. Larry was always supportive and somehow he always liked everything I made. It took me a long time to figure out that the only way to know if he really liked something was to ask him if I should make it again. Then, occasionally, he would say, “nah.”

Larry has made me laugh just about every day since we’ve been together. He can talk me down when I’m ready to jump. He has supported me and encouraged me in every way possible, no matter what. Want to stay home with the kids and live on one income? Sure! Want to work full time and go back to college, too? No problem! Need to drive 4 hours each way across the state to take a two-hour class? Why not! He has driven me to Tampa and Orlando for classes and conferences and has made it feel like we were taking a little vacation.

My favorite driving story is about when we were in college. I always wanted to go to school in Florida, but because I graduated high school early, my parents wanted me to stay in NY for a year, and that worked out because that is where I met Larry. He was going to transfer to a school in Florida, so he waited a semester for me to be able to transfer, too. He went to the Florida Institute of Technology and I went to the University of Miami. I didn’t have a car, but he had an old clunker. He drove down to Coral Gables every Thursday night to pick me up and brought me back to Jensen Beach to spend the weekend with him. Then on Sunday night, he drove me back to school. Once in a while, he stayed with me in Miami, but that was rare as he had a class on Friday. That was a five hour round trip drive twice a weekend. I always tease him that he wouldn’t do it today, but secretly I know he would.

During this pandemic, he has done all the shopping for stuff we couldn’t get delivered. He drove me to the oral surgeon and waited in the car (in 80+ degree weather!) while I had my surgery, just in case I wasn’t feeling well enough to drive home after. He calms me down when I see incredibly stupid people doing incredibly dangerous stuff on the news and I start yelling at the TV.

When we got married, I told him he would have one set of in-laws (my mom and her husband) and one set of “out-laws” (my father & his wife; turned out to be prophetic, we severed that relationship over 25 years ago.) Larry was a wonderful son-in-law, incredibly kind and patient with my mother (who was also a difficult personality,) and my step-father was his best friend. And I couldn’t have picked a better father for my children.

He’s not perfect, and God knows I’m certainly not, but he is perfect for me. To be honest, I don’t know how I got this lucky but I know that I am.

As always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

 

 

 

 

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BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner

June 17, 2020

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From the publisher:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A deliciously funny, remarkably poignant, and simply unputdownable novel about the power of friendship, the lure of frenemies, and the importance of making peace with yourself through all life’s ups and down. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good in Bed and Best Friends Forever, Big Summer is the perfect escape with one of the most lovable heroines to come to the page in years.

Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.

A sparkling novel about the complexities of female relationships, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.

I’m not sure why, but two of my most favorite and reliable summer beach read authors have thrown a murder into the mix. First Mary Kay Andrews did it in Hello, Summer and now Weiner has as well. Is this a new trend? Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing gory here, and no one in their right mind would think of this as a thriller, and I even have a hard time thinking of this as romantic suspense, but there is a body, (which the publisher neglected to include in their synopsis,) so I feel I’ve done my job.

Drue and Daphne were unlikely friends in school; Drue was the uber-popular rich girl, and Daphne was the overweight girl with a few societal outcast type friends. Like high school for many people.  Think “Mean Girls.” Except this is the age of social media, so when Daphne has a very public meltdown in a bar and finally stands up to the mean girl, someone videos it and it goes viral. Just like that Daphne has a new career path as a social media influencer for plus size girls. She also cuts off all contact with Drue.

Years later Daphne is shocked when Drue reaches out and asks her to be her maid of honor. Drue still has that pull over Daphne, and she reluctantly agrees, assuming she will get some great social media numbers if she is posting pictures from the society wedding of the summer. But then that pesky body shows up, changing everyone’s plans.

Weiner has once again given us a great story with believable characters and a typical beach read setting on Cape Cod. I must admit, as a plus-size reader, it is always fun (and usually quite rare) to find a protagonist who looks like me. This is a fast read, often funny, and yes, Daphne also is a romantic heroine who gets her happily ever after. If you are braving the beach, tuck this into your beach bag and enjoy! (I have turned into a complete agoraphobic, and I enjoyed it in my own backyard.)

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

BIG SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner. Atria Books (May 5, 2020). ISBN 978-1501133510. 368 pages.

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REBORN YESTERDAY by Tessa Bailey

June 15, 2020

Phenomenal Fate, Book 1

From the publisher:

A timeless love story with bite.

It was a night like any other for funeral home director Ginny Lynn, until the exceptionally handsome—and unfortunately deceased—young man on her embalming table sat up, opened his emerald eyes and changed the course of her life forever, making her feel quite fluttery while he was at it.

Humans aren’t supposed to know Jonas Cantrell, or any vampire, exists. It’s kind of a major rule. Despite his instantaneous bond with perfectly peculiar Ginny, he has no choice but to erase her memories of their one and only meeting.

That was the plan. Before a reluctant Jonas can wipe Ginny’s mind clean, she reveals a secret that brings their worlds crashing together. Human and vampire. Past and present. Darkness and light. And while their love is strictly forbidden, it might be the only thing that can save them…

I have to begin this review by stating that if there is a contest for most beautiful book cover of 2020 then Reborn Yesterday has my vote. Yes, I know the cliché about not judging a book by its cover, but as soon as I saw the enchanting cover art for this title I was sold even before reading the synopsis. In the end though, I found Reborn Yesterday to be a somewhat underwhelming paranormal romance.

The plot itself is fairly straight forward. Mortician Ginny meets vampire Jonas when he ends up in her morgue after a prank gone wrong. They quickly fall in love, but Jonas has enemies who do not want him and Ginny to get their happily ever after. The key statement there is “quickly fall in love”. For me that ended up being the most disappointing element of this title. I feel that Bailey relied a little too heavily on the idea that Ginny and Jonas were “mates”. This is not my favorite element of paranormal romances as it makes it difficult to feel invested in the couple. There was a complete lack of tension or banter between Ginny and Jonas, instead the reader must simply accept that they are madly in love.

Even if the central romance fell a little flat for me, Bailey does a good job of creating a compelling cast of side character. Jonas’ vampire roommates Elias and Tucker, as well as Slayer Roksana. It looks like Bailey plans on giving all three their own books and those characters piqued my interest enough that I would check out future titles in the series. In Reborn Yesterday it seems like Bailey did not get to fully develop the Coney Island setting or the vampire lore for her world, so I also hope to see those elements more fully realized in future installments. Overall, a quirky paranormal that lacks a compelling central romance.

6/2020 Caitlin Brisson

REBORN YESTERDAY by Tessa Bailey. IngramSpark (March 4, 2020). ISBN  9781087857527. 383 pages.

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SPECIAL MEANS by Andrew Ceroni

June 14, 2020

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From the publisher:

CIA agents must play catch-up in time to stop powerful men in Homeland Security and the Defense Department from staging the overthrow of the President and his administration!

Riveting! Escalating gang violence in Denver, Colorado, and in other large cities in the nation captures the attention of the first term President. He wants a solution, and he wants it NOW. Legislation would take years. The Director of Homeland Security suggests that the remedy to the deteriorating situation may be a highly classified program deep within the charter of the Federal Emergency Management Agency-FEMA, known as Annex K. This deep-black program, nicknamed STARDUST, would be executed beneath the heaviest cloak of utmost secrecy and without the knowledge or informed consent of Congress.

When the CIA sends Agent Dave McClure to Denver to investigate inexplicable lethal violence being waged with advanced military weaponry against organized street gangs, McClure discovers that what has been unleashed is a sinister solution far worse than the problem. He unearths a nightmarish plot to do much more than eliminate gangs in America – rather, an attempt to seize the military district of Washington and overthrow the federal government. McClure’s own life is now at especially high risk. The CIA must act quickly and with overwhelming force. The clock is ticking!

Remembering the series of motion pictures starring Charles Bronson about a self-appointed vigilante hunting criminals and executing them will provide a bit of background about Andrew Ceroni’s latest novel. The United States has reached a point at which criminal gangsters and gangs are running wild with no apparent means of controlling them.

A newly elected president calls a meeting of carefully selected advisors and has a group formed composed of highly skilled military. Their mission would be to hunt down and summarily execute gangs. No arrest, no trial, no hearings. When the group is activated, functioning crime does go down in certain areas of the country. The population is ecstatic about what is going on as it is apparent that this vigilante group is doing what the police cannot come to grips with due to the many regulations hindering their work.

Dave McClure, an agent with the CIA who has appeared in prior novels by Ceroni, is sent to investigate. He finds clues to a group of skilled warriors that are plotting to stage a coup and take over the U.S. government. He alerts his supervisors who begin to mobilize forces to go after them. McClure and his fellow agents begin work to find out where the group is hiding and what their plans include. The leadership of the rogue warriors includes a four-star U.S. Army general and does involve highly trained people. Yes, you guessed it, the group formed by the seemingly benevolent actions of the president has changed their course of action to now want to take over the country with them as the leadership.

McClure finds out where the rogue group is, and what they are planning and the CIA sets up a task force to thwart their plans. Along the way, McClure’s wife is threatened with kidnapping and being held to keep her husband from continuing with his plans.

The novel is easy to read, nothing strenuous to grasp, and a feel-good work for the readers. It’s an all-nighter due to the continuous action outlined and the interest of the reader to keep abreast of things. It would be easy to continue to look for and read future books by Ceroni and that is my recommendation after finishing this one.

NOTE: The main character in Special Means works for the CIA. He does domestic assignments. The CIA only handles overseas stuff. I know – but that’s where the author put him. Thanks for reading, Paul.

6/2020 Paul Lane

SPECIAL MEANS by Andrew Ceroni. Outskirts Press (April 18, 2020). ISBN: 978-1977225764. 342 pages.

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THE NEW GUY by Kathryn Freeman

June 13, 2020

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Kathryn Freeman Romcom Collection Series, Book 1

From the publisher:

Sam Huxton doesn’t do one-night stands, especially not with men she’s just met! But the hot guy at the bar was hard to resist and one night is all they share – no names, no numbers, just some much needed fun…

Until the same guy walks into Sam’s life the next day as her new employee.  Sam never mixes business with pleasure and makes it clear an office fling with Ryan is off-limits.  But after-hours…one thing can lead to another. Can Sam trust her heart and her business with the new guy?

This book starts off with a one night stand but turns it on its head. They don’t even exchange names so the next morning when Sam gets to work, she is shocked to find her new software developer is none other than her one night stand. Ryan, too, is shocked, having assumed Sam was a man. Sam quickly decides that one and done will work for her, and she’s a total professional.

Ryan has a lot of baggage and quickly becomes the office curmudgeon. He is not big on the we-are-all-one-family, kumbaya kind of workplace and takes himself off to work alone in the meeting room. Sam’s ex has taken off and started his own company that is directly competing with hers, and she is in a panic as are her investors.

Can Ryan save her company? Can they get past the sexual chemistry between them and keep it work only? None of these premises are new, but these sorts of tropes work for a reason. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE NEW GUY by Kathryn Freeman. HarperImpulse (March 5, 2020). ISBN 978-0008365820. 400 p.

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SEA OF SPIES by Alex Gerlis

June 12, 2020

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The Richard Prince Thrillers, Book 2

From the publisher:

A nest of espionage. A break for the border. A race to survive.

The Allies are desperate to stop neutral Turkey supplying vital materials to the Nazis – materials which could help them win the war. But then a British agent makes a fatal mistake, and disappears in Istanbul.

In England, detective turned spy Richard Prince – back from a clandestine mission in Nazi-occupied Europe – is hunting for his lost son. Before long he is drawn into a dangerous follow-up operation, posing as a journalist in Turkey.

The mission soon goes wrong. Out of touch with London and stranded hundreds of miles behind enemy lines, Prince will have to find evidence of the Turks secret trade with the Nazis, as well as a way out.

Chances of survival? Low. Chance of completing his mission? Prince will do whatever it takes.

An astounding WWII espionage thriller from a modern master of the genre, Sea of Spies is a triumph, perfect for fans of Alan Furst, John le Carré and Robert Harris.

The second book about the WWII adventures of Richard Prince, a successful police detective in England transformed into a spy by MI6. In book one, he was dropped behind the lines in Europe and completes a dangerous mission awaiting the next assignment.

Gerlis’s second book simply increases the level of excitement to a pitch that forces the reader to read as quickly as possible and gasping, finally lay the novel down knowing that it will be difficult to patiently await book three.

The story involves Richard being sent to Istanbul charged with finding the source of shipping the metal chromium to Nazi Germany. This material is used in the manufacture of stainless steel and important in the production of tanks and many other military weapons. Turkey remains neutral during the early period of the war but does ship chromium to Germany and hides the fact from England in order to disguise their lack of neutrality. Prince is charged with finding the source of these shipments and obtaining evidence of them which when presented to the Turkish foreign minister should cause a halt to the export.

The novel brings Richard into Turkey and from there into Greece and Munich in Germany, as well as neutral Switzerland as he develops proof of the exports and fights to bring the information back to his handlers in London. There it will be used as a tool to coerce Turkey into stopping their shipments to Germany.

The adventures are depicted with a great deal of insight into the manner that could very well have been an actuality of such a trip during wartime conditions. Richard, if caught by the Nazis, will be executed and knowingly faces this every step of the way. Gerlis does not bring in any superhuman ability of his protagonist, but has him painstakingly and cautiously planning and executing every move in his assignment and his trips through a world in the midst of war.

6/2020 Paul Lane

SEA OF SPIES by Alex Gerlis. Canelo Action (June 11, 2020). ISBN: 978-1542094030. 301 p.

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FLASHBACK by T. R. Davis

June 11, 2020

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Flashpoint, Book 1

From the publisher:

Sarah is a thirteen year old girl who starts experiencing memories that are thousands of years old.

She is initially confused when vivid memories from an unknown woman suddenly manifest within her mind when she’s threatened with danger. She uses the knowledge in those memories to help her get out of trouble.

But a DNA swab exposing a unique gene has brought her to the attention of a company that specializes in genetic research. Sarah eagerly seizes the chance for a better life and the fact that she must share her memories as a condition of being accepted in a research project doesn’t raise any red flags for her. Not yet.

Over time, Sarah discovers she is a direct descendant of Innogen, a woman who lived during the time of the Roman invasion of The British Isles. Despite the excitement and confusion this knowledge engenders, Sarah is enjoying the life of a typical teenage girl, including a budding romance, when she realizes that many of her new friends also have ancestral memories. Sarah suspects the project’s probing questions mask a hidden agenda and that the students’ memories are central to a secret goal, but what is it?

What Sarah doesn’t know is that the company doesn’t exactly have the best interests of their young charges in mind. They have a more sinister purpose, and they don’t mind if it costs a few students their lives along the way.

Flashback is a well-done story about the possibility of “Ancestral Memory” being passed down via genetic transfer. It deals with a science fiction theme in which descendants of historically famous people could be found with the aid of the mapping of the human genome. The events occurring in the life of the ancestor might be available as memories in the current generation.

Sarah is a thirteen-year-old orphan that has been moved frequently through the uncaring foster care system in Canada. She has had no parents to love and has only the prospect of more of the same. At the opening of the story, an anthropological expedition has unearthed the burial ground of three people in England; two males and one female. By judicious process of elimination, the female is found to be that of Boudica who was a warrior Queen of her tribe living in England during the first century A.D. She led her people in battles against the invading Roman armies enjoying some success holding off the conquerors at many points.

The leader of the expedition finding the remains contacts a company that is looking into the genetic analysis of possibly famous people. The firm investigating the DNA found on the bodies and does actually find a prospect living today that might be a possibility to carry Ancestral memories of Boudica and her life.

Sarah does have the genetic disposition to carry such memories. She is contacted by the company investigating these memories and taken into a school that they sponsor. When Sarah is encouraged to accept her memories, she first thinks she is daydreaming but then begins to react as a warrior would when facing physical violence without any training in the martial arts.

T.R. Davis does not overly dwell on the science he writes about but does explain in layman’s terms the possibility of genome mapping supplying many benefits for the human race. These do include better information to fight disease, physical deformities, and other maladies plaguing mankind. The reader is given enough information to understand what the author needs understood to tell his story. A fast read and one that does grab the reader’s attention and keeps it until the end. Certainly guaranteeing that Davis’ next books will be looked for and enjoyed.

6/2020 Paul Lane

FLASHBACK by T. R. Davis. T.R. Davis (April 30, 2020). ISBN: 978-1775382560. 426 p.

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