Tag: intrigue

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The Hudson Collection (On Central Park Book #2): (Historical Fiction with Mystery and Romance Set in 1920’s New York City) 

334 pages Bethany House Publishers June 4,2024 publication date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Step into the beguiling world of 1926 New York and discover the power of resilience, friendship, and love from award-winning author Jocelyn Green.

Elsa Reisner’s lifelong dream of working as an ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History is fading as the job begins to drain her passion. But fate takes an unexpected turn when she is assigned to catalog the bequest of a recently deceased patron whose Gothic country mansion holds secrets and treasures waiting to be discovered.

As Elsa delves into her task, she forms an unlikely bond with the estate’s delightful gardener and her daughter, as well as an architectural salvage dealer who still bears scars from the Great War. Together, they embark on a thrilling treasure hunt for a missing relic intended to safeguard the servants’ futures before the estate is sold. At the same time, Elsa’s body seems to betray her with new symptoms from a childhood disease that isn’t through with her yet.

With the brooding veteran and her handsome colleague joining the search, Elsa must navigate the tangled web of secrets and hidden motives along with the changing state of her health. As her deadline looms ever closer, will she be able to secure a new life for her friends before the estate slips from their grasp?

MY THOUGHTS

I always find it a treat to read a Joycelyn Green book. She’s written on many different subjects, and I’ve found them all fascinating.
Taking place in 1926 New York you get a real feel for the sights and day to day activities of the time period.


The author really brings this Central Park series to life.
I’m not a bird watcher but I do enjoy seeing pretty birds when I’m out and about. I learned so much about birds from this book, the information was fascinating.


Due to a recent death a wealthy family leaves a vast bird collection to the American Museum of Natural History. Elsa Reisner, Ornithologist is tasked with finding a magnificent bird collection in the spellbinding Gothic mansion. While searching secrets are revealed. You can feel the tension rising as you read, very intriguing and suspenseful.


There is so much going on in the book, things I’ve never seen mentioned in a historical fiction book before. Our main character had polio as a child, and it has affected her mobility.

There is an aging gardener with a special needs daughter. These are good people, people who are there for Elsa.
The focus is on Elsa as she does a very important search and the consequences of this search. The book had me spellbound as I read. Recommended.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jocelyn Green is a former journalist who puts her investigative skills to work in writing both nonfiction and historical fiction to inspire faith and courage.

Her books have finaled in the Christy Awards and Inspirational Readers Choice Awards, and have won gold from the Military Writers Society of America and the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.

Complex and nuanced characters, rich historical detail and twisting plots make her novels immersive experiences. Her fiction has been praised by Historical Novel Society, Romantic Times, Library Journal, historians specializing in her novels’ time periods, as well as popular and acclaimed authors Laura Frantz, Lori Benton, Jody Hedlund, Sarah Sundin, Joanne Bischof, Julie Lessman, and more.

Jocelyn loves Broadway musicals, the color red, Toblerone chocolate bars, Mexican food, and well-done documentaries. She lives in Iowa with her husband, two children, and two cats she should have named Catticus Finch and Purrman Meowville.

Visit her at jocelyngreen.com, and receive a free gift when joining her e-newsletter mailing list at jocelyngreen.com/subscribe.

Thank you for stopping in.

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While the City Sleeps (The Women of Midtown): (Gilded Age Christian Historical Romance Fiction Set in New York City)

352 pages Bethany House publishers February 13,2024 publish date

ABOUT THE BOOK

Amid the hushed city, two hearts must navigate danger and deception, bound by a love that outshines the stars.

Katherine Schneider’s life as a dentist in 1913 New York is upended when a patient reveals details of a deadly plot while under the influence of laughing gas. As she is plunged into danger, she seeks help from the dashing Lieutenant Jonathan Birch, a police officer she has long admired from afar.

Jonathan has harbored powerful feelings toward Katherine for years but never acted on them, knowing his dark history is something she could never abide. Now, with her safety on the line, he works alongside her through the nights as they unravel the criminal conspiracy that threatens her . . . even as he keeps his deepest secrets hidden at all costs.

MY THOUGHTS

This is now my favorite book by this author as it has absolutely blown me away. So much happening in the book, it’s pretty much nonstop action and I swear at one point I was sweating and holding my breath because of the danger. Danger, intrigue and a fascinating story taking place quite a bit at night while the city sleeps.

We get to visit the underground subway and get an up close and personal view of the different functions of the NYC police department and the danger they put themselves into. The story made me think of my son as he’s an officer as well. Just like in this time period many people don’t respect LEO’s.

Touching on many subjects such as bomb making, and the mafia I found the book utterly fascinating. I will say the addition of the owl and her babies added a special touch to the story.

Many things in the book are based on actual past history which I am always glad to read about and learn from. The characters are well suited for each other. Nighttime NY city life vividly brough to life like you haven’t seen in a historical fiction before. This needs to be your next read.

Pub Date 13 Feb 2024
I was given a complimentary copy of the book.
All opinions expressed are my own opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Camden is best known for her historical novels set in gilded age America featuring clever heroines and richly layered storylines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award, and she lives in Florida with her husband who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books.

Have a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping in.

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Thank you to my friend Susan for this awesome tag. Check out her blog here

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Finding Us (Pictures of the Heart Book #2) releasing tomorrow. Get swept away on an intriguing journey of love,loss,hope and restored faith. Tracie Peterson author

291 pages July 25,2023 publish date Bethany House publisher

Grab a copy here

About The Book

One candid photograph will change the lives of four people forever.

While taking photographs at an exposition in Seattle in 1909, Camera Girl Eleanor Bennett snaps an image of a woman in widow’s clothes with deep sorrow etched in her expression and a young infant in her arms.

Eleanor longs to study botany at the University of Washington and soon becomes fast friends with botanist Bill Reed, but she can’t stop thinking about the widow in the photograph. She is stunned to learn Bill recognizes the woman as the sister-in-law he believed lost in a shipwreck.

As Eleanor and Bill hunt for Amelia Reed to reunite her with her grief-stricken husband, they must stand together to face the danger that follows and learn to trust that God will direct their paths.   

My Thoughts

Finding Us, is the second book in the Pictures of the Heart series by Tracie Peterson. Now Tracie has some calling her the “Queen of Historical fiction.” I can rightly see how she would have earned this nickname. I’ve been reading her books right from the start when she was published with Barbour books and knew she would go far in the publishing world.

Her books take ahold of you, and you get lost in the fictional world she is portraying. The first book in this series focused more on cameras and taking pictures and selling them at an exposition in Seattle in the early 1900’s. Now this one does the same thing as it continues the series but not as much as the first.


“Women and children first” they said effectively removing Amelia Reed, heavily pregnant from her husband as she’s helped into a lifeboat when the ship, she’s on with her husband starts to sink. When the lifeboat is found capsized, she must have drowned.
A chance meeting at the exposition has want to be botanist Camera Girl Eleanor Bennett meeting botanist Bill Reed when she snaps his photo.

As they get to know each other their mutual fascination with botany brings them together. As Eleanor snaps pictures of others at the expo she sees a sight that she won’t soon forget. A woman in widow’s weeds, with a haunted look on her face with a newborn baby. The woman agrees to have her picture taken so she can have a picture of her young baby.

Remarking to Bill about this memorable woman she shows the picture to Bill who is astounded saying this is his sister-in-law. This starts the process of trying to relocate the woman despite many obstacles and through dangerous situations.
The book is a tale of love, loss and restored faith.


I found the book to be very enjoyable and realistic and greatly look forward to more books by this author.

Pub Date: 25 Jul 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie’s web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com

Thank you for stopping in, I hope you have a wonderful day.

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Release Day Review-The Cairo Curse, A Freddie and Grace Mystery #2 by Pepper Basham

320 pages Barbour Publishing February 01, 2023 publish date

About The Book

Clue meets Indiana Jones with a fiction-loving twist only Grace Percy can provide.
 
Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley have already experienced their fair-share of suspense, but when a honeymoon trip takes a detour to the mystical land of Egypt, not even Grace with her fiction-loving mind is prepared for the dangers in store. From an assortment of untrustworthy adventure-seekers to a newly discovered tomb with a murderous secret, Frederick and Grace must lean on each other to navigate their dangerous surroundings. As the suspects mount in an antiquities’ heist of ancient proportions, will Frederick and Grace’s attempts to solve the mystery lead to another death among the sands?
 
The Cairo’s Curse is a delightful sequel to The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham in the Freddie and Grace Mystery series.

Grab A Copy Here

The Series Here

Book 1 Here

Will the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them?

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she will trust in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future. 
 

My Thoughts

"My darling, I have high hopes that not every scene in our future will be experienced with such life-threatening adventures."

If you enjoy high adventure, not quite knowing what the next page holds and breathtaking descriptions of Egypt that will have you believing you're there with the characters, you're going to love this book. Fraught with danger around every corner, suspense, romance and humor.
Before you read this one though do yourself a huge favor and grab "The Mistletoe Countess " to read which starts this series out. You're going to love it and it'll give you Freddie and Grace's backstory.
This may just be more of a honeymoon than Poor Freddie imagined. I hope you're ready for an adventure filled with camels, tombs, a jewel thief, and exciting digs. I don't read many books taking place in Egypt, this is only the second one I can think of, and it was an intriguing read.

Pub Date 01 Feb 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The Author

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her nineteenth novel, Authentically Izzy, debuts in November with Thomas Nelson. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook & Instagram.

You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at http://www.pepperdbasham.com

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