SAY YES TO THE DUKE by Eloisa James

June 10, 2020

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The Wildes of Lindow Castle, Book 5

From the publisher:

A shy wallflower meets her dream man–or does she?–in the next book in New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James’ Wildes of Lindow series.

Miss Viola Astley is so painfully shy that she’s horrified by the mere idea of dancing with a stranger; her upcoming London debut feels like a nightmare.

So she’s overjoyed to meet handsome, quiet vicar with no interest in polite society — but just when she catches his attention, her reputation is compromised by a duke.

Devin Lucas Augustus Elstan, Duke of Wynter, will stop at nothing to marry Viola, including marrying a woman whom he believes to be in love with another man.

A vicar, no less.

Devin knows he’s no saint, but he’s used to conquest, and he’s determined to win Viola’s heart.

Viola has already said Yes to his proposal, but now he wants her unruly heart…and he won’t accept No for an answer.

Eloisa James is one of my favorite historical romance writers and this book is the perfect example of why she remains so. Viola is beyond demure, she tends to vomit in social situations, never a good thing. In point of fact, at one of her first balls, she tried to hide by escaping through a servant’s entrance but instead, ran smack into a sexual liaison right there in the hallway. The gentleman exploded, yelling at the woman he was with and at Viola. She did not handle that well at all and is quite frightened by his demeanor.

The new vicar seems just her type. Good looking to be sure, but gentle and kind, and Viola decides he is the man for her. Unfortunately, he is engaged to a very loud, very determined woman, but Viola thinks she would make a much better wife for the vicar. There really is no way to tell what he thinks, of course, as he is kind to everyone, even his completely overbearing future mother-in-law.

The Duke of Wynter has determined it is time for him to take a bride to act as his duchess. He is not looking for a love match; in fact, he hopes they will have the heir and the spare and then live separate lives. Until he meets Viola. He brings out a different side of her, and although she believes herself to be in love with the Vicar, she is definitely enjoying spending time with the Duke, which confuses her.

James excels at the witty banter the genre is known for, and this book is no exception. Sweet and funny, this is another excellent addition to her latest series. I loved it.

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

SAY YES TO THE DUKE by Eloisa James. Avon (May 19, 2020). ISBN 978-0062878069. 400 p.

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THE MARRIAGE GAME by Sara Desai

June 9, 2020

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From the publisher:

One of Oprah Magazine’s Most Anticipated Romances of 2020

A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he’s forced to share his space with the owner’s beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

This has got to be one of the best romance debuts I’ve ever read!

Sam is a man shouldering a lot of guilt. His sister is in a wheelchair after a possible altercation with her ex-husband, a prominent surgeon, and Sam’s mentor. Theirs was an arranged marriage, and Sam is the one who introduced them. The surgeon denies all, but Sam is bound to avenge his sister. Meanwhile, he feels like a failure as a son and a brother, and his way to deal with the guilt is to push away his family, his career, and his culture.

Like Layla, Sam is Desi-American, a term that was new to me. Their families are from India, and while they live in San Francisco, like most of us they brought with them their culture and their food. In fact, Layla’s parents own a Michelin starred restaurant, but it is struggling in their new location in a business district.

Layla has been living in New York, working at a job she doesn’t particularly like, and dating an Instagram influencer. Until she catches him doing blow off the bodies of two naked supermodels. She goes nuts, a video of her throwing his stuff off a balcony goes viral, she loses her job, her home, and her dignity. It’s time to move back with her family where she feels safe.

Layla tells her parents she wants to open her own business and they are eager to help. Her father tells her she can have the office above the restaurant, rent-free. He will let the new tenant know the deal is off. Layla eagerly accepts, except before her father can tell the new tenant to look elsewhere, he has a heart attack and is hospitalized.

In the only plot point in this book that I had a real issue with, Layla’s father gets a pacemaker but for some unknown reason is put into a medically induced coma. It’s convenient for the plot but makes no sense to anyone who has ever dealt with or had a family member deal with any sort of heart condition, especially a pacemaker. But it really is a minor thing, and I was so drawn into this story I tried to overlook it. (I guess I didn’t totally succeed because now I’m complaining about it!)

Sam is the new tenant, he has given up the practice of medicine since his sister’s accident and is now a corporate vulture. His company helps other companies downsize, and he spends his days firing people. His moral center is slightly askew at this point, but at least he still has one, unlike his partner and friends.

Sam and Layla immediately butt heads over the office. Then Layla is shocked when a young man arrives looking for her. He tells her he has set up a meeting with her father through a dating site. Apparently, her father put up her profile on an arranged marriage type dating site, sifted through hundreds of responses, and selected a list of ten men for Layla to meet. Sam agrees to help her with the dates she is going to have, and they make a game of it. If she marries, she will leave and he gets the office.

Enemies to lovers is always a popular trope in romance, and this one is done exceedingly well. Throwing in a big, extended, nosy family and the arranged marriage with its parade of kooky suitors adds a lot of laughs to this heartwarming and sexy story. I got so caught up in the story and with these characters that when the boy-loses-girl part came along, I could barely read it. I swear I had one eye closed! I kept putting it down and picking it back up because it was so painful to read. I was able to talk myself off the ledge and back into the book because it is a romance, and I knew the happy ending was coming.

I love it when I get that caught up in a book. I love learning about cultures that are different from my own. I especially love learning how many cultures are more similar than different – their foods and religious practices may differ, but family is still family and that is pretty much the same everywhere.

I loved this debut novel, and I hope everyone reading this will pick up this book and love it as much as I did. It is sweet and sexy and funny and a total escapist read. Don’t miss it!

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE MARRIAGE GAME by Sara Desai. Berkley; 1 edition (June 9, 2020). ISBN 978-0593100561. 352 pages.

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THE HOUSE GUEST by Mark Edwards

June 7, 2020

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From the publisher:

A perfect summer. A perfect stranger. A perfect nightmare.

When British twenty-somethings Ruth and Adam are offered the chance to spend the summer housesitting in New York, they can’t say no. Young, in love and on the cusp of professional success, they feel as if luck is finally on their side.

So the moment that Eden turns up on the doorstep, drenched from a summer storm, it seems only right to share a bit of that good fortune. Beautiful and charismatic, Eden claims to be a friend of the homeowners, who told her she could stay whenever she was in New York.

They know you’re not supposed to talk to strangers—let alone invite them into your home—but after all, Eden’s only a stranger until they get to know her.

As suspicions creep in that Eden may not be who she claims to be, they begin to wonder if they’ve made a terrible mistake…

The House Guest is the chilling new psychological thriller from the three million copy bestselling author of Here to Stay and Follow You Home.

Ruth and Adam are a young British couple living in New York on a temporary basis. Ruth is an actress and has had the luck to find a role in a play being done in New York. She also has starred in a short film which got her rave reviews and a good reputation as an up and coming actress.

Adam is a playwright but he hasn’t had any luck in selling a play so far. He is going to try his luck in New York writing during the time that Ruth is busy with her show and making contacts while doing so.

The couple took advantage of coming over to New York from London on a transatlantic cruise. On board, they had a tremendous piece of good luck when they met Jack and Mona, a couple about a generation older than they are and quite financially successful. Jack and Mona are not staying in New York but are immediately leaving for a retreat in New Mexico. The couple own a house in New York City and after striking up a rapport with Ruth and Adam, ask them to house sit while they are away. A fabulous deal for the British couple and they jump to it with gratitude.

On the first Monday that they are in the house, and in the midst of a very rainy day, a young lady knocks at the door indicating that she is very friendly with Jack and Mona and that she has come to stay at their house. She says that they have offered to allow her to stay at their home whenever she is in New York. When Eden, the arrival, seems to know everything about Jack and Mona and appearing that she is what she says she is, Ruth and Adam decide that they have to let her stay. The worst part is that since Jack and Mona are at a retreat, they cannot be contacted to get their okay with Eden staying at the house. The situation seems like Eden has told the truth and she would readily have been accepted by Jack and Mona.

The situation crashes when Ruth disappears one morning along with Eden and there is no word from her for three days. Adam calls the police but is advised that they will do nothing since many people do walk away from bad relationships with no notice.

Edwards takes us through the search for Ruth and while doing so, Adam meets a man who wants to help him. That individual claims that Eden is also involved with the disappearance of his daughter and if Adam joins him in the search for both Ruth and his child, it may be easier and allow two to work on any clues that the duo comes up with.

The presentation of the characters is well done and as events unfold the reader will definitely stay glued to the book and make a note to get future novels by Mark Edwards. Certainly, a five-star story with a well thought out plot.

6/2020 Paul Lane

THE HOUSE GUEST by Mark Edwards. Thomas & Mercer (June 3, 2020). ISBN: 978-1542094030. 301 p.

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THE CACTUS by Sarah Haywood

June 6, 2020

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From the publisher:

In this charming and poignant debut, one woman’s unconventional journey to finding love means learning to embrace the unexpected.

For Susan Green, messy emotions don’t fit into the equation of her perfectly ordered life. She has a flat that is ideal for one, a job that suits her passion for logic, and an “interpersonal arrangement” that provides cultural and other, more intimate, benefits. But suddenly confronted with the loss of her mother and the news that she is about to become a mother herself, Susan’s greatest fear is realized. She is losing control.

Enter Rob, the dubious but well-meaning friend of her indolent brother. As Susan’s due date draws near and her dismantled world falls further into a tailspin, Susan finds an unlikely ally in Rob. She might have a chance at finding real love and learning to love herself, if only she can figure out how to let go.

A REESE WITHERSPOON x HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK

New York Times Bestseller

“Fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will love The Cactus.” —Red magazine

This book has been lurking on my Kindle for well over a year, but I’m sorry to say it got lost in the shuffle until the paperback came out. Then I read that it was a Reese Witherspoon pick, and there is a series deal with Netflix. That put it right back on my radar.

I do love finding a debut this good; it gives me a new author to add to my “must-read” list. This is the era of the charming novel, like the above mentioned Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, and Ellie and the Harp Maker. Books that are heartwarming, with quirky protagonists who may or may not be “on the spectrum,” but who do live by their own rules. Susan Green is one of these characters.

When Susan’s mother passes away, she is shocked to find out that her mother had recently made a will, giving her younger brother a life interest in the family home. That means he can live there for as long as he wants, forever if he wants, before they can sell and Susan would get half the proceeds of that sale. She starts digging and decides that her brother, always her nemesis, has now reached a new low. She is shocked to find his friend Rob has also moved into her mother’s home, and things go downhill from there.

Although she is a law school graduate, Susan has never taken the bar and works in a different field, in the same job she’s held for many years. She is a creature of habit, loves following the rules of society as she perceives them, and is quick to point out deficiencies in everyone else. She is prickly for sure, but we can’t help but feel empathy for her as well. Perhaps she is right about her brother and the will was coerced, but we are never quite sure. This is a dysfunctional family story but there is the sweetest hint of romance as well.

Set in England, this story is filled with dry wit and humor, making me laugh out loud many times. It is also emotional and at times, heart-wrenching, and we can’t help but be drawn to these characters even though I was not always sure who to root for. But it doesn’t matter, I was immersed in this world and sorry to have to leave it. An excellent debut, especially for fans of British chick-lit (if that’s still a thing?) I loved it.

5/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

THE CACTUS by Sarah Haywood. Park Row; First Time Trade edition (May 7, 2019). ISBN 978-0778369073. 384 p.

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THE VOTER FILE by David Pepper

June 5, 2020

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Jack Sharpe Series, Book 3

From the publisher:

“Pepper comes through again with this clever tale of how cyber sabotage of elections, coupled with highly concentrated ownership of traditional media operations, can undermine American democracy.”–President Bill Clinton

A twisty, one-step-ahead-of-the-headlines political thriller featuring a rogue reporter who investigates election meddling of epic proportions written by the ultimate insider.

Investigative reporter Jack Sharpe is down to his last chance. Fired from his high-profile gig with a national news channel, his only lead is a phone full of messages from a grad student named Tori Justice, who swears she’s observed an impossible result in a local election. Sharpe is sure she’s mistaken…but what if she isn’t?

Sharpe learns that the most important tool in any election is the voter file: the database that keeps track of all voters in a district, and shapes a campaign’s game plan for victory. If one person were to gain control of an entire party’s voter file, they could manipulate the outcome of virtually every election in America. Sharpe discovers this has happened–and that the person behind the hack is determined to turn American politics upside down.

The more he digs, the more Sharpe is forced to question the values–and viability–of the country he loves and a president he admired. And soon it becomes clear that not just his career is in jeopardy…so is his life.

The concept of fixing elections is probably as old as the election process itself where a majority of votes for a candidate or a solution will cause that person or solution to become the winning result. David Pepper has come up with a method that he ties in with scientific study of each and every person voting in a district, working to bring in voters probably voting as the study demands and allowing those opposed to fade away. Pepper’s explanation of the method he describes does apparently have the possibility to turn an election by working to make sure that voters in favor of their desires do come into the casting of votes.

Jack Sharpe was an ace reporter who has lost his job when he apparently violated his newspaper’s policies of political correctness. He has been blackballed by his former employers and cannot find another job due to the stigma he is under. Out of the blue, he is contacted by Tori Justice, a graduate student who swears she has evidence of an election being fixed. Jack agrees to meet her, studies the data that Tori has gathered, and finds that the impossible has happened when a man elected was not even expected to come close.

Tori explains that the most important tool in any election is the “Voter File.” Via computer analysis, habits of every person eligible to vote are cataloged and able to be analyzed for probable voting habits. While involved in getting more information, a long term plot is described which involves massive interference by foreign interests in order to set lucrative deals for themselves by bringing in their own selected candidates. These candidates are obviously bought and paid for and stand to gain much more money when they take office.

A very mesmerizing novel that could be a real wake up call if the methods described by Pepper prove feasible. The book ends at a point that illustrates the probability of further novels involving Jack and Tori. In the meanwhile “The Voter File” is a mark of literary excellence.

6/2020 Paul Lane

THE VOTER FILE by David Pepper. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (June 2, 2020). ISBN: 978-0593083932. 432 pages.

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ASK ME ANYTHING by P.Z. Reizin

June 4, 2020

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From the publisher:

From the author of Happiness for Humans, a romantic comedy for the technology age: a young woman unlucky in love gets a little help from the most unlikely of places to find her perfect match.

Wouldn’t it be great if everyone had a team of smart machines to handle all the messy emotional stuff? When you consider how many quadrillions of hours of human drudgery have been eradicated by the invention of only the dishwasher, the washing machine and (ahem) the fridge freezer, is it absurd to imagine a scenario in which household appliances bring the same — yes! — genius to bear on the slow-motion car crash that is (for many young people) the romantic side of their lives? If they are content to leave their dishes, dirty linen and food refrigeration to smart technology, how much of a stretch is it for machines to take care of their emotional needs?
Chloe and Daisy Parsloe only have each other, since Daisy’s dad left for sunnier climes and a new family. But now Daisy is in her early thirties, she’s not doing brilliantly at work, her love life is haphazard (to put it kindly) and her elderly mum seems to be losing her mind . . . Daisy is also the proud possessor of a smart fridge, which keeps trying to help Daisy sort out her life by sending her texts to tell her that she’s out of milk, or that the pasta salad has gone out of date. What Daisy doesn’t know is that her smart fridge, like her smart toothbrush, microwave, tv, fitness tracker, and laptop all want to help her smooth out her chaotic existence — and help her mother, Mrs. Parsloe, stay independently living at home. Operation Daisy is about to make both the Parsloes’ lives much, much happier.

The premise of Reizin’s new novel (Happiness for Humans) is that our “smart” household appliances, in this case, a refrigerator-freezer, a microwave, a TV, and so forth, are conspiring to help Daisy, a young single woman who has had a run of bad luck with men. Normally these appliances merely report back to their factories about the lifestyle of the person they live with so targeted ads will be more effective. But the refrigerator has gone rogue, and is not only helping Daisy, but also her mum, who is suffering from the early stages of dementia. Eventually, Daisy and her mum’s doctor find themselves sharing breakfasts, and in a sharp turn near the end of the book, a life together. Paranoia about smart appliances spying on us is a real thing, and this book feeds into that fear, albeit in a rakish, humorous way, but unfortunately, the human characters don’t quite come to life.

Verdict: For readers who enjoy technology in their romances, like The Plus One, by Sarah Archer or Bad Bachelor by Stephanie London. P.Z. Reizin also writes as Paul Reizin.

©Library Journal, 2020

6/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch

ASK ME ANYTHING by P.Z. Reizin. Grand Central Publishing (June 2, 2020). ISBN 978-1538726983. 368p.

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Guest Blogger: Paul D. Marks

June 3, 2020

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I am delighted to welcome Paul D. Marks to the blog!

From the publisher:

Bobby Saxon lives in a world that isn’t quite ready for him. He’s the only white musician in an otherwise all-black swing band at the famous Club Alabam in Los Angeles during World War II–and that isn’t the only unique thing about him…

And if that isn’t enough to deal with, in order to get a permanent gig with the band, Bobby must first solve a murder that one of the band members is falsely accused of in that racially prejudiced society.

Character is Conflict

by Paul D. Marks

The engine of fiction is conflict. Without it you have no story—or at best you have a boring story. Even Disney movies have it. Conflict can be internal or external. It can literally be a physical obstacle that stands in the way of the character: a mountain, a storm, an earthquake, or even a society that disapproves of that character. Or it can be a psychological obstacle, a fear, a belief, a weakness that the hero needs to overcome or conquer. Often it’s another person standing in the way of the character getting what they want. Or a combination of all of them. It’s what makes us root for the character. We want to see them overcome those obstacles.

The question then becomes what will the character do in order to achieve their goals? How far will they go? What will they sacrifice?

In The Blues Don’t Care, my mystery-thriller set on the Los Angeles home front during World War II, Bobby Saxon is a young man with two major goals in life. One of them is to get a gig with the house band at the famous Club Alabam on Central Avenue, but in order to do so he must first solve the murder one of the band members is accused of. And, if he gets the gig he’ll be the only white member in the band.

As much as anything, Bobby wants to play with the band at the Alabam. What is he willing to do to achieve that goal? He also has to deal with being the only white member of the band as well trying to solve the murder.  So, will Bobby become a detective of sorts, putting his life on the line to try to solve the crime? Will he do it because it’s the right thing to do or simply because he wants the gig? What’s he willing to sacrifice to be in the band and to be the man he wants to be? Or will he find that it’s all just too damn hard and give up? And these aren’t the only conflicts that life throws Bobby’s way.

In a mystery or thriller there’s the basic conflict of trying to solve the crime and the obstacles in the way of achieving that. And there are the conflicts within the character that stand in the way of achieving those goals. But there’s also the bigger picture of the story, the zeitgeist of the times and how that plays into the story and on the character. I often set my stories in the midst of real events such as World War II in this case. I like to explore how my characters react to both larger real world events happening around them and to the more direct and personal conflicts that confront them. I like to challenge them, and in the case of Bobby I wanted to test him by putting up roadblocks that would show what he’s made of.

I’ve always been drawn to characters who are outsiders, people who don’t fit into society or who are dinosaurs that have outlived their time. These are characters that are at odds with the world around them, that don’t fit into society. They struggle to get by in the world they live in. They often go against the stereotypes of how they’re supposed to be. So, they have conflict in achieving their goals, but also in terms of fitting into society. Internal conflicts and external conflicts. Sometimes they’re people who are ahead of their time and are rebelling against the norms of society. Others are trying to get by and hide who they really are in order to survive within the narrow confines of a particular society.

Bobby is an outsider on several levels. He’s a white musician trying to get a gig with a black band. But he doesn’t fit into the mainstream either. He doesn’t do what society expects of him. At a time when most men his age are enlisting in the military, he isn’t…and for a very good reason. By putting Bobby in the middle of several conflicts, I’m able to reveal who Bobby is and what makes him tick. And then hope that, even if the reader isn’t like Bobby, they can identify with him on a human level.

Having multiple levels and layers of conflict makes the story more exciting. And by taking on those conflicts we learn more about the character—what they are willing to do, how far they will go, what they will sacrifice. Characters are the choices they make and conflict and how they react to it helps define the character.

Paul D Marks is the Shamus Award-Winning author of “The Blues Don’t Care,” partially set at the Club Alabam and Dunbar Hotel in L.A. during World War II. www.PaulDMarks.com

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FAIR WARNING by Michael Connelly

June 2, 2020

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Jack McEvoy Series, Book 3

An Amazon Best Book of June 2020!

From the publisher:

The hero of The Poet and The Scarecrow is back in the new thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Michael Connelly. Jack McEvoy, the journalist who never backs down, tracks a serial killer who has been operating completely under the radar–until now.
Veteran reporter Jack McEvoy has taken down killers before, but when a woman he had a one-night stand with is murdered in a particularly brutal way, McEvoy realizes he might be facing a criminal mind unlike any he’s ever encountered.
Jack investigates–against the warnings of the police and his own editor–and makes a shocking discovery that connects the crime to other mysterious deaths across the country. Undetected by law enforcement, a vicious killer has been hunting women, using genetic data to select and stalk his targets.
Uncovering the murkiest corners of the dark web, Jack races to find and protect the last source who can lead him to his quarry. But the killer has already chosen his next target, and he’s ready to strike.
Terrifying and unputdownable, Fair Warning shows once again why “Michael Connelly has earned his place in the pantheon of great crime fiction writers” (Chicago Sun-Times).

It seems like Jack McEvoy, Connelly’s journalist hero, (alter ego?) appears roughly every dozen years or so. The Poet came out in 1996, The Scarecrow in 2009, and now this new McEvoy story in 2020. Let me start off by saying it was worth the wait.

A bit of background on one of my favorite writers. Connelly generally puts out a book a year, and for most of the years since 1996 those books have been stories built around Harry Bosch, then later on alternated with Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer,) until he brought them both together. He also started a new series featuring a female protagonist, Renee Ballard, a few years ago, but after the first book he folded her in with Bosch. McEvoy stands on his own, except that he has made brief appearances in a couple of Bosch books, and one of the Bosch books, The Narrows, was a sequel to The Poet, a McEvoy book. Basically, Connelly gives his fans these little Easter eggs of characters making brief appearances in different series, and it is  kind of wonderful. To be truthful, I was hoping for a glimpse of either Bosch or Haller as this book is set in Los Angeles but it was not to be. Or I blinked and missed it, which is always a possibility! Anyway, if you are interested in all of Connelly’s books in order, with references to series characters, here you go: https://www.michaelconnelly.com/series/

“Fair Warning” is the name of the online news publication where McEvoy is now working. It is a consumer watchdog type of journalism that often partners up with newspapers like the Los Angeles Times. When McEvoy is questioned about the murder of a woman he had a one night stand with several months earlier, his journalistic interest is piqued. His background is in crime writing but his new employer wants him to stick to their mission. But as soon as McEvoy starts digging, he realizes there is a consumer story of interest here in the companies doing DNA research for the public and privacy. It’s a bit of a stretch, but his editor gives him a bit of time to bring the story home.

McEvoy starts digging, along with one of his co-workers, and then hooks up with his ex, a retired FBI profiler. Between the three of them, they soon realize that the murder that started this whole thing is possibly tied to several others around the country. And DNA privacy laws are at the heart of the whole mess.

As usual, Connelly gives us an unputdownable book with intriguing characters, a familiar setting, and a fast-paced, twisty storyline with a shocker of an ending. If you’ve never read Connelly, this is as good a place to start as any. In my humble opinion, Connelly remains the premier crime writer of our time. Don’t miss this book.

5/2020 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

FAIR WARNING by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown and Company (May 26, 2020). ISBN 978-0316539425. 416 p.

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Win the June 2020 bookshelf of signed thrillers!

June 1, 2020

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Hello, my lovely readers! 

I am so happy to be able to offer you a new contest for June with some terrific thrillers, sure to help you escape the nightmare we are living in. Spend some time in someone else’s nightmare, it will make your life seem positively idyllic!

Please check back, I have a feeling more titles might show up…

RIVIERA GOLD by Laurie R. King: Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes, Book 16. Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes turn the Riviera upside down to crack their most captivating case yet in the New York Times bestselling series that Lee Child called “the most sustained feat of imagination in mystery fiction today.”

ONE LAST LIE by Paul Doiron: Mike Bowditch Mysteries, Book 11. When his beloved mentor disappears amid the discovery of an antique badge, Mike Bowditch investigates the presumed death of an undercover warden before the cold case is upended by dangerous secrets and a daughter’s return.

THE GIRL FROM WIDOW HILLS by Megan Miranda: From the New York Times bestselling author of “The Last House Guest”-a Reese’s Book Club pick-comes a riveting new novel of psychological suspense about a young woman plagued by night terrors after a childhood trauma who wakes one evening to find a corpse at her feet.

HOME BEFORE DARK by Riley Sager: Twenty-five years after her father published a wildly popular nonfiction book based on her family’s rushed exit from a haunted Victorian estate, naysayer Maggie inherits the house and begins renovations, only to make a number of disturbing discoveries.

You can win autographed copies of these books! If you are new to the site, each month I run a contest in conjunction with the International Thriller Writers organization. We put together a list of books from debut authors to bestsellers, so you can win some of your favorites and find some new favorites.

What makes this contest really special is that all of the books (except eBooks) are signed by the author! Books with multiple authors will be signed by at least one of the authors.

Penguin Random House books for giveaway were provided by the publisher. #PRHpartner

Don’t forget, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on all these books and authors, and how you can enter this month’s contest.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

2 Comments | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

CORONAVIRUS DIARY: May 30, 2020

May 30, 2020

In early March, as the news that the pandemic was spreading like wildfire, I was first afraid for my son and daughter-in-law. They live in Brooklyn and commute to work via public transportation. Daniel was supposed to be in Miami for a week-long conference, along with several members of his team. He had planned to extend his trip through the weekend and spend some time at home with us. A few days before the trip, the conference was canceled.

Things started moving pretty quickly after that. He was told to start working from home and I was relieved to hear that. But my daughter-in-law, Miriam, is a speech pathologist in a New York City public elementary school, and Mayor DiBlasio was hesitant to shut down the schools. He waited and waited. I read online that the teachers’ union was planning a sickout but before that happened, DiBlasio finally shut it down. That was a big relief, but I still worried until a few weeks had passed and neither one of them got sick. Miriam started working with her students online, and Daniel continued working from home, and they were as safe as I could hope for.

Meanwhile, a woman from NY had flown to Florida, bringing the virus with her, and Miami was under the gun. I knew it was only a matter of time for it to reach Palm Beach County, where I live. My employer, a small private university, was struggling to figure out how to handle this pandemic like all colleges were. When I woke up with a sore throat and a headache one morning in mid-March, I felt compelled to stay home. There was so much uncertainty, no one really knew much other than how easily this virus was spreading. I worked from home that Thursday and Friday and on Monday, the university started shutting down. I have not been back there since.

One of the things I kept worrying about was having a dental emergency. Were dentists even working? My boss has a friend who’s a dentist and she had to shut down her practice. She got a job as a cashier in a supermarket. So I tried not to worry about it, and just worried about everything else.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband went to Costco in the morning during senior hour. He came home and basically slept for the rest of the day. By early that evening, he was running a low-grade fever, just under a 100. Needless to say, I was freaking out. I gave him Tylenol every four hours and he offered to sleep in the guest room. I refused, thinking if he had Covid-19 then I probably did too. I was pretty sure he had it. What else could it be?

Of course, this was a Friday. I was up all night. I kept touching him, trying to judge if he was still feverish. He felt cool to me but I still couldn’t sleep. I don’t know how he did, I was hovering over him all night. I was a nervous wreck. In the morning, his fever was gone and he said he felt fine. He decided he must have had the 24-hour flu, which I thought he was making up. Turns out there is such a thing but I still wasn’t sure. The next day, he realized his lower leg was all red. On Monday morning, I called the doctor and they asked him to come in. He had ascending cellulitis, which he has had several times in the past, most recently earlier this year after a hike. He was prescribed a strong antibiotic, and I was able to sleep again.

Meanwhile, I noticed one of my teeth seemed loose. Not really a tooth, a crown. I had a loose crown. I decided to live with it and see how it went. Maybe it would reattach itself somehow. Shockingly, that did not happen. If I’m not supposed to touch my face, how am I supposed to let someone else do it??? After a couple of weeks of rinsing with salt water and Listerine, I finally called the dentist. To my surprise, they were open. In fact, they had just reopened that day. I scheduled an appointment for a few days later.

My dentist’s office is in a strip shopping center. His building is a few steps up, with a long, wide wooden deck that runs the length of the building. They had moved several chairs outside, leaving them six feet apart. There was a nurse sitting at a table right outside the door, wearing all the protective gear. She took my temperature, asked me a dozen questions like had I lost my sense of smell or taste, had I traveled anywhere, etc. Finally, she said I could go inside or wait outside. Out I stayed.

When I went in, the tech took an x-ray of my tooth and my dentist came in. They all wore gloves and gowns and masks. He showed me the x-ray and the x-ray taken the year before. I didn’t just have a loose crown. The tooth under the crown was broken, and there was significant bone loss. He said I would need oral surgery to remove the tooth, need a bone graft, and eventually, when that healed, an implant and a new crown. They scheduled me an appointment with an oral surgeon who came to their office on Fridays. That doctor took a panoramic x-ray and a bunch of pictures of my mouth. He had me watch a video on how they do bone grafts and implants and was ready to pull the tooth. He said it could be an emergency. Or not. I chose not and told him I needed to think about all this.

Me & Judy

My BFF Judy also uses my dentist. Her son had an infection in a tooth, and our dentist sent him to an oral surgeon in a local orthodontist’s office. I knew that orthodontist, and it was a terrible practice. They had the lovely habit of sucking down all the child’s insurance money and then would start “phase 2” and then “phase 3” of braces. They did it to my daughter, and I didn’t go back there for phase 2. A friend was going to take her son there and I told her what happened. She took him anyway, and the same thing happened to her child. I was not surprised to learn that Judy’s son had a big problem with his mouth. After spending thousands of dollars. She made her way to the top oral surgeon in the area, and it took him months to fix what the other guy had wrought. So even though the oral surgeon I had seen wasn’t the same guy that messed up, I just wasn’t all that comfortable with him. I have dental insurance, but it’s not great and caps out at a $1000. I knew this process was going to cost at least twice that, and I talked it over with my husband. Off I went to the top guy who doesn’t take insurance.

That was a completely different experience. They required me to wear a mask, and to call from the car when I arrived. I never saw another patient while I was there. I was able to get my x-rays and pictures sent over to him. They did a complete medical history. What? The other guy didn’t ask me anything. The doctor told me because I take anti-inflammatories for arthritis, it could prevent the bone graft from working. I might be able to get an implant, or I might end up needing a bridge. I immediately switched my Aleve to Tylenol, and I’m hoping that will help. While I was there, he put some numbing stuff around the loose crown and pulled it. A little piece of broken tooth came with it. It actually felt better after he did that. He said the movement was irritating my gums. My appointment for the surgery was for the next week, but before that, they made me come in and have a test for Covid-19. The doctor did it right in the office. It was negative – yay!

I am going in today for the tooth to be pulled. I’m not sure exactly what else will happen, all I know is that I have a prescription for antibiotics and Tylenol with codeine. I am writing this about an hour before I go, but it won’t post until Saturday. If I feel up to it, I will update when I can.

Also, if I’m loopy on pain killers, I may not be able to update my blog on the first of June with the new contest. I will try, but it may be a day or two late. Stay tuned.

Happier times

Finally, I just want to talk a bit about privilege. I started this public diary as a way to document my experience during these unprecedented times. I know I am incredibly lucky that I have been able to work from home for all these months. My husband has been furloughed, but only for brief amounts of time. One week in May. One day a week for June. I don’t know anyone personally who has gotten the Covid-19 virus, much less died from it. I have excellent medical insurance and decent dental insurance. I can wear a mask and no one is going to bother me about it. I have good wifi and access to entertainment. I have literally thousands of books on my Kindle. I have an amazing husband and daughter to share my quarantine with, so I am not alone. I have a beautiful, sweet cat that I can cuddle. I have toilet paper and paper towels. I can have my food delivered if I choose, (and I know that I have gained weight during this quarantine – I am living in carb central!) I am running out of disinfectant wipes, but I have several gallons of bleach so I can make my own if I need to. I am privileged as f*** and extremely grateful, and guilty, about it.

As always, thanks for reading and stay safe!

 

 

 

 

5 Comments | Ramblings | Permalink
Posted by Stacy Alesi

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