INVISIBLE by Andrew Grant

January 7, 2019

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Paul McGrath came from a well to do family with his father wanting him to enter the family business. Paul rebelled against the idea desiring to make things happen on his own. He consequently joined the army where he made it to the top of his military intelligence team.

After many years he felt that he had to return home to make things right with his father with whom he had become estranged. He returned and found that his father had passed away, but not until there was a fight with the partner his father had taken into his business since Paul did not want in. The fight had resulted in a court battle in which Paul’s father had seemingly come out ahead until a critical piece of evidence went missing.

The case was postponed indefinitely pending finding the missing evidence and that is the prelude to our interesting story. The police suggest to Paul that he take a job in the courthouse and look for the evidence. They insist that it could not have been stolen due to the very tight procedures in place protecting property used in litigation and must be someplace in the court facilities.

Paul does get a job at the court house and immediately gets pulled into becoming Robin Hood through helping other people with their own problems with court findings. In all probability Mr Grant has created an individual that can be used in other novels and has requisite skills to take on a myriad of work.

The novel is well done, describing Paul and the other people that take part in the story allowing the reader to get to know them and their place in the tale. If Grant is setting up Paul McGrath as a future principal character, the novels featuring him will be welcome and awaited.

1/19 Paul Lane

INVISIBLE by Andrew Grant. Ballantine Books (January 8, 2019). ISBN 978-0525619598. 320p.

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

THE ONE YOU FIGHT FOR by Roni Loren

January 3, 2019

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The Ones Who Got Away, Book 3

From the publisher:

How hard would you fight for the one you love?

Taryn Landry was there that awful night fourteen years ago when Long Acre changed from the name of a town to the title of a national tragedy. Everyone knows she lost her younger sister. No one knows it was her fault.

Since then, psychology professor Taryn has dedicated her life’s work to preventing something like that from ever happening again. Falling in love was never part of the plan…

Shaw Miller has spent more than a decade dealing with the fallout of his brother’s horrific actions. After losing everything―his chance at Olympic gold, his family, almost his sanity―he’s changed his name, his look, and he’s finally starting a new life. As long as he keeps a low profile and his identity secret, everything will be okay, right?

When the world and everyone you know defines you by one catastrophic tragedy…
How do you find your happy ending?

The Ones Who Got Away Series:
The Ones Who Got Away (Book 1)
The One You Can’t Forget (Book 2)
The One You Fight For (Book 3)

“Another stunning and moving addition to her series about survivors of the shooting… Truly exceptional.” – Booklist

“Loren’s gripping third look into the lives of survivors of a mass shooting will leave readers breathless… A must-read for fans of contemporary romance.” – Publishers Weekly

“Loren continues her breathtaking The Ones Who Got Away series…deftly and elegantly explores guilt and forgiveness as Taryn learns to truly open her heart to Shaw and his love. Extraordinary. ” – Kirkus

I am loving this series and as you can see by the blurbs above, I’m not alone. Loren takes a really difficult subject, a school shooting at a high school, and follows three (so far) of the surviving girls and in this case, the brother of the shooter as well.

It is not always an easy read – I was deeply affected by the Parkland school shooting that was just a few miles from my home. But Loren handles the difficult subject matter with great sensitivity and care.

An excellent addition to the series. There is a fourth book planned.

01/19 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE ONE YOU FIGHT FOR by Roni Loren. Sourcebooks Casablanca (January 1, 2019). ISBN 978-1492651468. 384p.

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THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE CLOAK by Deon Meyer

January 2, 2019

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A short book, a novella written by the South African author Deon Meyer and featuring detectives Benny Griessel with his partner Vaughn Cupido.

The two are described replete with their usual back and forth kidding and the setting in Capetown. The plot involves the murder of a woman, originally an American, currently living in London and visiting South Africa for the first time. She has been found dead, her body naked and draped across a rock.

Benny and Vaughn are assigned the case and involve the up to date scientific methods utilized by modern police departments to work it. A pleasant side bar to the detective work is Benny’s financial problems in buying an engagement ring for his live in girl friend. We get to the end of the novel with a solution which utilizes Mr Meyer’s knowledge of the art world.

The story is entertaining, easy enough to read in a few pleasant hours, but far from Deon Meyer’s normal novels featuring Benny and Vaughn. The author has already introduced his audience to his main characters so that there is no surprise in their investigations. But there is nothing in the telling of the story that makes it anything but a pleasant way to spend a few spare hours. Those readers familiar with the detectives should certainly continue to seek out future books involving them, and the entertaining style invite back new readers not enthralled with them.

1/19 Paul Lane

THE WOMAN IN THE BLUE CLOAK by Deon Meyer. Hodder & Stoughton (October 4, 2018). ISBN 978-1529309263. 160p.

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Win the January ’19 bookshelf of signed thrillers!

January 1, 2019

Happy New Year and welcome to the January bookshelf of signed thrillers! As 2019 kicks off, I want to let you all know how much your support means to me. My regular readers who come back all the time to read reviews, share your thoughts and of course, try to win some books! New readers who find the site through their friends or social media. I appreciate every one of you, and welcome you all.

This month the International Thriller Writers have provided some excellent thrillers for you to win. To enter, go to the Win Books page. More books will be added throughout the month, so check back often.

Best of luck!

DAUGHTER OF WAR by Brad Taylor: Former Special Forces Officer and New York Times bestselling author Brad Taylor delivers a heart-pounding thriller featuring Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill as they come face to face with a conspiracy where nothing is as it seems.

OUT OF THE DARK by Gregg Hurwitz: When darkness closes in―he’s your last, best hope. Evan Smoak returns in Gregg Hurwitz’s #1 international bestselling Orphan X series.

THE RULE OF LAW by John Lescroart: Attorney Dismas Hardy finds himself in the unlikely position of having to defend his faithful longtime assistant, Phyllis, from being charged as an accessory to murder at the same time her brother is released from prison.

INVISIBLE by Andrew Grant: An army veteran and intelligence agent goes undercover as a janitor at a federal courthouse to pursue his own brand of justice when the trial of his father’s killer becomes subject to jury tampering.

THE CONSPIRACY by Kat Martin: Never mind that Harper Winston is gorgeous, Chase Garrett, owner of Maximum Security, isn’t happy when she hires him to find her missing brother; the Winston family is famously hand-and-glove with dark-and-dirty business, and this assignment will take him all the way to the jungles of South America

THE VOID PROTOCOL by F. Paul Wilson: A conclusion to the trilogy that began with Panacea and The God Gene follows the transformations of a confiscated, mysterious technology that has been slowly changing the world throughout the decades since World War II.

THE NIGHT AGENT by Matthew Quirk: An idealistic young FBI agent is forced to question everything and trust no one in order to stop a Russian mole in the White House.

DARK STREETS, COLD SUBURBS by Aimee Hix: Sometimes home is the most dangerous place of all.In a heart-pounding mystery featuring apprentice PI Willa Pennington, a long-standing cold case turns hot in a hurry.

ALL THE WAY DOWN by Eric Beetner: Dale is a crooked cop. It started slow, but grew like a cancer and now he can’t get out from under the thumb of Tat, a would-be kingpin in every vice he can turn a profit with.

FLAMINGO COAST by Martin Jay Weiss: After Special Agent Jennifer Morton is fired from the IRS, she pursues a fat-cat financial felon that has fled to an island with no extradition laws.

THE WIDOWS by Jess Montgomery: Vowing revenge against her sheriff husband’s killers in 1924 Ohio, Lily offers help to a fellow widow and uncovers dangerous evidence revealing her husband’s corrupt secret life and the complexities that triggered his death. A first novel.

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 how you to enter this month’s contest.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Happy New Year 2019!

December 31, 2018

365 new books?

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy new year filled with love, joy and lots of good reads!

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Posted by Stacy Alesi

Virgin River Series by Robyn Carr

December 30, 2018

I started reading this series on Christmas Eve and I’m up to book 7 and going strong. I’ve read some of Carr’s books in the Grace Valley series, which are related, (rather like Macomber’s series) but then I read that Netflix is turning this into a TV series so I wanted to read them first.

I am really enjoying these books and looking forward to the Netflix series.

“Welcome to Virgin River, a rugged outpost deep in California’s redwood forests built by men of honor for the women they love. Pull up a chair at Jack’s Bar, catch up on the local gossip, order Preacher’s meatloaf and relax. These people will do anything to help one another, strangers welcome—and you won’t be a stranger for long.”

A Note from Robyn on Virgin River and Netflix

Here’s the series order: https://www.goodreads.com/series/41475-virgin-river

Some of the cast has been announced

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LOVE IN CATALINA COVE by Brenda Jackson

December 29, 2018

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Catalina Cove Series, Book 1

From the publisher:

In her brand-new series, Brenda Jackson welcomes you to Catalina Cove, where even the biggest heartbreaks can be healed…

In the wake of a devastating teen pregnancy that left her childless and heartbroken, Vashti Alcindor left Catalina Cove, Louisiana, with no plans to return. Now, over a decade later, Vashti reluctantly finds herself back in her hometown after inheriting her aunt’s B and B. Her homecoming gets off to a rocky start when the new sheriff, Sawyer Grisham, pulls her over for speeding, and things go downhill from there.

The B and B, a place she’d always found refuge in when it seemed like the whole world was against her, has fallen into disrepair. When a surprising benefactor encourages Vashti to reopen the B and B, Vashti embraces a fresh start, and soon old hurts begin to fade as she makes new memories with the town—and its handsome sheriff…

But some pasts are too big to escape, and when a bombshell of a secret changes everything she thought was true, Vashti is left reeling. With Sawyer and his teenage daughter determined to see her through the storm, though, she’s learning family isn’t always a matter of blood—sometimes it’s a matter of heart.

Am I finally getting the hang of reading a series in order? Maybe?

Getting a traffic ticket is the meet-cute here. The sparks fly between them and as much as they try and fight it, ultimately they can’t.

A charming small seaside town makes for a lovely setting. I just wish some old aunt would leave me her bed & breakfast but that is not my lot in life. It works in many Hallmark movies and romance novels though, and it certainly works here. I liked the Creole heroine but I wish there was a bit more reference to the culture, maybe that will come in further books in the series.

I really cared about these characters and I wanted them to get together. I loved the relationship Sawyer had with his daughter and that Vashti had with her as well. There are some really good twists in the story – one I saw coming but the other was quite the shocker.

I didn’t care as much for the sex scenes, I don’t think they were especially well done or believable. Writing about sex is not easy and in this case, I would have preferred a lot less of it (which is really not like me!)

Despite that, it was a very good read and I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series.

12/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

LOVE IN CATALINA COVE by Brenda Jackson. HQN; Original edition (October 30, 2018). ISBN 978-1335005649. 480p.

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Best Books of 2018: Paul Lane

December 28, 2018

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Heads You Win by Jeffrey Archer: The author pens a monumental novel combining two possible scenarios. Alexander Karpenko, born in Russia has to flee his native land due to his involvement in the murder of a man molesting his mother. Leaving he gets to a port where two ships are soon sailing. One to the United States and the other to England. Archer gives us two tales told side by side both quite interesting. One details Alexander becoming a successful businessman and the other a politician.

The Fox by Frederick Forsyth: Forsyth is not a rapid writer of novels, but his skill and care are evidenced by the attraction his books hold for many readers. “The Fox” describes the use of a young very skilled hacker of computers in helping to turn the tables on a Chinese attempt to attack the United States and their allies.

The Reckoning by John Grisham: No presentation of best books in any given year would be complete without the addition of one by Grisham. Never disappointing, always interesting and always one to just grab and hold the reader.

Cyber Attack by Tim Washburn: We have come into an age where the computer will be paramount in almost all of our lives. There are many books written about a war or battles fought by computers. Cyber Attack, I believe, is probably among the best. It is impossible to read the novel without the thought that Washburn has a wakeup call in mind for us.

Red War by Vince Flynn & Kyle Mills: Flynn passed away several years ago, but Kyle Mills, a fine author in his own right, has been granted the rights to continue to use the character of Mitch Rapp created by Flynn. The book incorporated the same theme of constant action in an unending progression used by the original author.

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason: A great love story told within the midst of World War One. The salient feature is the excellent job of bringing the two main characters to life and becoming real people in the minds of the reader.

Safe Houses by Dan Fesperman: A fictionalized account of the beginnings of the CIA, told through the eyes of Helen Abell, who finds herself one of the lone women in the midst of what is a men’s club.

A Double Life by Flynn Berry: The author’s second novel and one also heralding her place in the forefront of the literary world. Claire had become a doctor working in London when she decided to try and find her father. Her search and the results of that search comprise an ending of the book that is a superb portrait of a psychopath in action.

A Long Time Coming by Aaron Elkins: A well done two sided novel and one that is engrossing to say the least. First it involves the theft of two pieces of priceless art, and secondly, it is a laymans introduction to the world of art, its valuation process, selling and buying.

THE FIRST FAMILY by Michael Palmer & Daniel Palmer: Michael Palmer was recently deceased but his son appears to be taking on the task of giving us the same type of medically based novels as his father did. Daniel Palmer has inherited his father’s literary skills and the reader is treated to a great story.

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THE DUKE THAT I MARRY by Cathy Maxwell

December 27, 2018

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The Spinster Heiresses, Book 3

From the publisher:

Once upon a time there were three young ladies who, despite their fortunes, had been on the marriage mart a bit too long. They were known as “the Spinster Heiresses” . . .

Is it wrong for a woman to want more?

Not if she is a Spinster Heiress. They do not settle. Any young miss would be very lucky to find herself promised to a man like the Duke of Camberly. However, Miss Willa Reverly has watched her friends marry for love. Camberly may be the prize of the season, but she will not be “sold” to any man. She wants his devotion or she wants nothing at all.

When is a Marriage of Convenience inconvenient?

Newly named to the ducal title, Matthew Addison is determined to discover the secrets behind Mayfield, the bankrupt estate he has inherited. He doesn’t have time to coddle a headstrong heiress who is determined to ditch him over something as silly as “love.” Little does he know that his questions will place her in jeopardy. Now he must do what he must to save them both.

Could it be that in running from danger they might be racing headlong into a truly unexpected fate: falling in love?

This is a terrific addition (conclusion?) to a series I’m really enjoying. Feminism continues to rear its head in Regency England somehow, and I don’t mind a bit.

The characters spring to life on the page and I love the humor. This is a very sexy book and I enjoyed that as well. Another winner from Maxwell.

11/18 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™

THE DUKE THAT I MARRY by Cathy Maxwell. Avon (November 27, 2018). ISBN 978-0062655783. 352p.

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THE LAST TRUE COWBOY by Laura Drake

December 26, 2018

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Chestnut Creek, Book 1

From the publisher:

The award-winning author who “writes real cowboys with heart and soul” (Carolyn Brown, New York Timesbestselling author) welcomes you to Unforgiven, New Mexico, a small western town filled with love and second chances!

This cowboy’s got one last chance to prove himself.

Carly Beauchamp has loved cowboy Austin Davis since first grade. Ask anyone in their dusty, backwater New Mexico town of Unforgiven, and they’ll say “Carly and Austin” the way some say “big trucks and country boys.” But after years of waiting for a wedding ring, Carly’s done with being a rodeo widow . . .

Austin never meant to put his career on the circuit before Carly. She’s always been his future, his one and only. But now that she’s moved on, he’s beginning to see where he went wrong, and he’ll do anything to win her back. The only thing is, Carly’s suddenly acting differently, and she’s definitely hiding a secret-one that will test the depth of their love and open up a whole new world of possibilities.

My love affair with cowboy romances continues. I loved how these characters changed and grew. There were major mistakes made, and consequences that had to dealt with. There were times when I wondered if Carly and Austin would find their happily ever after as the tension was really high at times, which always makes for a good ending.

I really liked how they both had to learn from their mistakes and find a way to forgive each other and make a life together. The hard stuff in life is what makes the good stuff that much sweeter.

I’m looking forward to the next book in this new series.

12/18 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™

THE LAST TRUE COWBOY by Laura Draken. Forever (December 4, 2018). ISBN: 978-1538746431. 336p.

Kindle

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