Friday 56: Tennessee Bride by Rosanne Bittner

He held her more firmly. "You will not die, Emma. I will not let you die."

Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Title: Tennessee Bride
Author: Rosanne Bittner 
ISBN: 9780445206342
Publisher: warner books/1998
Pages: 384

Sixteen year old Emma Simms, born in a small village in the Tennessee mountains. Her mother dies in childbirth and Emma is now all alone with her cruel stepfather, Luke Simms.

Tommy Decker, a lecherous neighbor attempts to rape Emma, but she manages to escape and gives Tommy the beating of his life. Tommy is angered and swears she will pay for it. Meanwhile, Luke decides to sell Emma to Sam Gates, a man who uses the women he bought to service men in his saloon in Knoxville. 

But Emma has always been under the watchful eye of River Joe, a white man, who was taken in by the Cherokee when he was only five years old after his parents were attacked by a band of white marauders- his mother raped and both parents killed. By the time he comes for her, Emma has been sold to Hank Toole, and is on her way to Sam Gates. River Joe manages to rescue Emma, and they return to his people's village, at the top of the mountain.

However, their problems are far from over. Sam Gates is anxious to retrieve Emma and Tommy Decker is even more so. Emma and River Joe are afraid of their past coming back to haunt them, and the Cherokee people. Will they ever be free from their past?

It paints a realistic portrait of what women had to go through in those times, and how life was hard for the Native Americans. They were treated unjustly, which is well depicted in this novel.

Once a Duchess by Elizabeth Boyce

Cut off. Alexander had finally done it. She’d wondered, with her pittance of an allowance coming later and later every quarter, whether this was where it was headed. She scanned the letter again, searching for any sign of filial affection. There was none. Rather, she detected anger behind his words. Her present situation could only refer to her being divorced. If he truly felt no obligation to support his divorced sister, why had it taken him nearly three years to say so?

Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Once a Duchess by Elizabeth Boyce

Duchess Isabelle Fairfax is wrongfully accused of infidelity by her particularly awful mother-in-law and ceremoniously divorced then cut off without a penny by both her former husband, Duke of Monthwaite and by her own brother. But she is not one to give up and works as a cook in inn in a remote village. Marshal Lockwood, the Duke stops at that inn and finds her working there. Marshal is surprised to know that his ex-wife is a wonderful cook. He starts having serious doubts about her infidelity as he had expected her to be living comfortably with that other person. He writes to Isabelle’s brother and encourages him to take his sister back. Her brother decides that the solution to everyone’s problems is to get Isabelle married off as soon as possible. Isabelle has no other option and agrees.

Isabelle and Marshal have been manipulated by his mother. Marshal realizes it and makes it all right. He publicly apologises for divorcing her wrongfully. They discover they have still something going between them and try to right the wrongs done to them. 

Elizabeth Boyce has covered a difficult subject of divorce in the 19th century. The story may have some misgivings but the topic covered was very relevant of that period. 

Musing Mondays: Mini reviews of Erotica Novels

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

This time I thought of posting a couple of Mini Reviews of two erotica novels by the same author. 

  The Virgin Concubine by Shayla Black

  The Virgin Hostage by Shayla Black

The Virgin Concubine by Shayla Black: Three brother following an ancient tradition have to marry the same woman. Rafe and Kade bring Piper to Bezakistan. Their eldest brother Tal, the sheikh has known Piper via email and phone. He has not met her before. Without her knowing, all three marry her in their country's way. And she finds herself in bed with all three!! She is not averse to it. (What else do you expect in an Erotica?!!) 

Now Khalil al Bashir has long coveted his cousin’s rule. He can't get it if their wife falls in love with them. So he has to find a way to kill her!!

Forget the sex scenes, the story line started out good but fizzled in the middle. Kade the youngest, is the hotheaded brother. Rafe is the caring, intellectual kind. Tal, the sheikh has some issues and can't allow himself to fall in love.

The Virgin Hostage by Shayla Black: Kinley Kohl is kidnapped just before her nuptials to Greg Jansen. Dominic Anthony has to avenge his sister’s murder. Brothers, Law and Riley Anders help him kidnap Kinley Kohl, taking her to the wilds of Alaska. They discover that Kinley Kohl is also a victim and now they have to protect her as well. 

They fall for her and she reciprocates. So we find all four in bed!! Having a memorable time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am not sure what made me pick one and then read another one by the same author. I must say, my curiosity was satisfied and no, I am going to pick more erotica. Give me Historical romance any time. Or better, CRIME FICTION. And POETRY!!!

Friday 56: Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham

       Without warning he jerked away, pushing her to the floor.

      "What in----" Gunfire erupted, and the dull smack of a bullet striking the carriage filled her ears. 

Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Silken Promises by Lisa Bingham

Here we have a con artist as our heroine and the hero is a U.S. marshal who has been on hot her trail for years. Ten years ago, 13 year old Fiona McFee had seen Jacob Grey, butt naked and tied up in a field of foxtails. Being a daughter of an Irish conman, she refuses to release him and he swears to catch up with her. Although he traces her but the father-daughter duo are always one step ahead and do not get caught. 

 Jacob wants to catch a counterfeiter and has an offer to change her life for the better. He promises a full pardon for both her and her father if she agrees to poses as a wealthy British widow and play poker like an ace on a tourist train heading West. (She is very good with cards).

She has no choice not to agree as he has her father as a hostage. However, turning her into a sophisticated widow is easier said than done. She has the wrong accent and her manners are sadly lacking! He writes a letter to his sister but two elderly spinster sisters intercept the letter and arrive at the hotel to help!

They do succeed where Jacob had failed but they are so feisty that Jacob does know how to deal with them. Both the spinster sisters steal our heart with their amusing and eccentric ways. There is danger, death, deceit and trouble along the way. There is not a single dull moment in the novel. I quite liked the tailor too who use to work with dynamite before his tailoring days!

That cover is totally misplaced  but the novel is rollicking fun.

Chilled to the Bone by Quentin Bates

Gunna stamped the snow from her boots and flinched as the overpowering heat of the hotel's lobby hit her like a slap in the face. The door whispered shut behind her as she looked around, spying a man wearing a grey suit and a worried look by the reception desk. He immediately hurried over to her.

'You're from the police?' He asked in a voice laden with drama but kept so low as to be almost a murmur.

'That's me. Look like a copper, do I?' Gunna replied brightly, shooting out a hand for the man to grasp and shake limply. 'Gunnhildur Gísladóttir. And you are?'

'Yngvi Jónsson, I'm the duty manager. Where are the rest of you?'

'Only me to start with. Can you show me what's happened?'

Title: Chilled to the Bone 

Author: Quentin Bates

ISBN:9781472100849

Publisher: C R Crime/2013

Pages: 266

Chilled To The Bone is the third in the series and is a stand alone novel. Gunnhildur Gisladottir (Gunna) arrives at one of Reykjavik’s smartest hotels where a middle aged shipowner is found dead, tied to the bed, naked. There has to be discreet investigation. Gunna discovers a bondage society and the people exploited by it are too embarrassed to come out in the open. Then there is another case of a laptop going missing. As it belongs to Govt officials, they want it to be found as soon as possible. The police force is not too keen to search for that laptop but Gunna finds out that these two cases may be related.

Hekla is the one involved in the bondage ring and she has an invalid husband, two small kids and a step daughter to care for. Then there is Baddo, who has recently got out of prison in the Baltics and is hired by someone to find the laptop. He is resourceful and as a reluctant hoodlum works great for the reader. Wecannot hate Hekla or Baddo. 

Police Sergeant Gunnhildur Gisladottir is a no-nonsense, witty and intelligent woman who tries to well balance the demands of her professional and personal life. She is calm and collected and very professional. Gunnhildur’s private life is not so smooth as her son, Gisli, had made two women pregnant and has conveniently gone to the sea, leaving his mother to deal with the mess. 

There is much detailing about the streets as well as the hotels of Reykjavik. The characters are interesting and the novel has a good pace. One of the best thrillers I read in 2014!

Musing Monday: Mini reviews of two historical romances

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about something related to reading/books each week…...

I am going post mini reviews of two historical romances:

Winter Heart by Jane Bonander 

This novel speaks about horrors of mental institutions in 19th century America. Dinah Odell has been put in one such institution by her greedy uncle. Daisy, a dying nurse at Trenway, helps Dinah escape and take her place caring for a mentally unstable girl at a ranch in California. Tristan Fletcher is a rancher. Dinah has to care for his sister Emily. Dinah is in hiding from her uncle and Tristan has been too scarred in his past to contemplate a serious relationship with anyone. But they are both drawn to each other. Will their past lives drive them apart?

The Officer and the Bostoner by Rose Gordon 

Set in 1845 Texas, it is a fast paced Western Historical Romance. Allison Pierson, a well to do Bostoner, is stranded in a military fort in Indian Territory while travelling to meet her fiance. Captain Wes Tucker insists she must marry to be able to stay safely in the fort. Having no other choice, she agrees to   marry him. Allison falls in in love with Wes and he with her. Her fiance turns up, wants her to be with him or he will destroy Wes. (Now her fiance has always lied about her father owing him money but the reverse is true. Allison is unaware of all this). She agrees as she she does not want Wes to be hurt. Wes learns the truth, is wealthy in his own right and goes to confront her greedy fiance. 

Scandal's Child by Sherrill Bodine

“You cannot seek love, you cannot consciously decide to love. Instead love finds you and pierces your heart before you even realize what’s happening.”

~~~Posted for The Friday 56, which is hosted by Freda's Voice

Scandal's Child by Sherrill Bodine 

Kat Thistlewait's twin brother Jacko and younger sister, Mariah are making their society debut. Kat is told by godmother, Lady Tutwilliger to behave as a proper lady as the Thistlewait siblings are always getting into trouble. 

When Jacko does not turn up for his debut, Kat dreses up as a male and goes looking for him. She turns up at the inn he has been staying and the inn keeper, mistaking her for her twin brother leads her to Jacko's room where she falls asleep waiting for him. French nobleman Jules Devereaux, enters that room by mistake and undresses to sleep. Just then Lady Tutwilliger enters that room with Jacko's friends and Mariah. 

Found thus, Jules Devereaux offers to marry Kat. Lady Tutwilliger recognises the Frenchmen  and is delighted with the match. Kat is not keen to marry him but goes along with the plan. 

I liked Kat, her twin Jacko and Lady Tutwilliger along with Jules Devereaux's step grandmother Sybilla. Best part was Kat impersonating Jacko and killing the villain in a duel. There are too many characters but the fun element remains intact till the end.

Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton

'She's been watching us for a while now.'
   'Go on, Tom.'
   'Sometimes it's like she's always there, behind a pile of stones, in the shadow at the bottom of the tower, under one of the old graves. She's good at hiding.'
    'She must be."
    'Sometimes she gets very close, before you have any idea. You'll be thinking about something else when one of her voices jumps out at you and, for a second, she catches you out. She really makes you think it's your brother, or your mum, hiding around the corner.'

Title: Blood Harvest
Author: S. J. Bolton
ISBN: 9780312600518
Publisher: Bantam Press/2010
Pages: 421

In a small Lancashire village, the Fletchers have just moved into a new house very near to the moor. Their house is built on the ground that used to be part of the abbey, and overlooks the graveyard. The Fletchers have three young children, Tom (10), Joe(6) and Millie (2). Tom is bullied by older boys at his school and has visions of a young girl among the graves and fields. 

One day, due to heavy rains, one of graves collapses and two extra bodies are found in that grave which should have contained only one body of a infant girl. The two bodies found belong to two girls, one of which had gone missing and the other supposedly burnt in a fire. Harry is the new vicar who gets involved in the village activities. He is close to the Fletcher children too. Evie is a psychiatrist treating unstable Gillian, the mother of the child who was supposed to be burnt in the fire. Gillian is always roaming about in the moors trying to find her little girl. 

Tom somehow believes that the mysterious person he sees is involved with the deaths. He knows that his brother Joe too can see that girl but is not willing to share it with Tom. We find Millie too knows the The Girl. Tom is paranoid about saving his sister from being taken away. Harry, the vicar, too hears voices in the church. 

Who is this Girl? How is she connected with the killing of the infant girls? Why is she after Millie? Bolton has woven a wonderful story about paranoia, with the suspense element being intact. Very atmospheric and I totally liked the way the brothers care for their younger sister. For one so young, they know how to protect her and also protect each other. The supernatural element enhances the the novel. 

The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry

Tom Sagan gripped the gun. He’d thought about this moment for the past year, debating the pros and cons, finally deciding that one pro outweighed all cons.

He simply did not want to live any longer. He brought the barrel to his temple. The metal touched his skin.

He closed his eyes and tightened his finger on the trigger, imagining how his obituary would start. Tuesday, March 5, former investigative journalist Tom Sagan took his own life at his parents’ home in Mount Dora, Florida.

The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry

The novel opens with Tom Sagan trying to commit suicide. But finds out that his estranged daughter has been kidnapped. In order to save her, he is told to get his father's body exhumed and take out something which was buried with him. He does that and finds out that he is one of "the Levite” a keeper of a special Jewish treasure that has ties back to the days of Columbus and his voyages to the Americas. He traverses all through Europe, America, Jamaica and South America.

Tom Sagan is depicted as a loser who had been stripped of his Pulitzer because of a story gone wrong. None of his former associates wish to be seen in his company. Alle, his daughter, is not a likable character. She is more into the villain, Zacariah Simon than her father, Tom Sagan. Bene Rowe, a Jamaican has negative shades. Yet he redeems himself at the end. 

The novel has incorporated historical facts with story telling quiet well. Steve Berry has a wonderful imagination. He has retold the Christopher Columbus voyage very convincingly. It works great as thriller. Some might think the historical portions didactic but I found those interesting. 

Tahoe Trap by Todd Borg

"He doesn't like smelling dead people, either. Makes him sad."
"Likes to find them alive, huh?"
"Yeah. That makes him happy."

Title: Tahoe Trap
Author: Todd Borg

• ISBN: 9781931296205
• Publisher: Thriller Press/2012)
• Pages: 351

Private detective Owen McKenna gets an early morning call from a ten year old boy who says he has been kidnapped. Own informs the local police and goes looking out for the boy along with his Great Dane, Spot. They find the boy in a forest near the mountains near the Lake Tahoe. Paco, has escaped from the two hired killers.

He had watched his foster mother Cassie being killed by them. Now they are looking for him to kill him. No one knows why anyone is after Paco who is an illegal immigrant. 

Owen McKenna meets everyone with whom Paco's foster mother Cassie had business relations. He gets insights about the boy. But can't fathom who could possibly want to kill him. McKenna decides to set Paco as bait to trap the killers. That means Paco might get killed before the killers get caught. 

Paco is shown to withdrawn and unable to accept friendly overtures. But Paco slowly bonds with Owen's dog, Spot. Paco might be withdrawn but no one wants him to sent back to Mexico. 

Tahoe Trap has that human element which touches the reader. The descriptions of the place is very vivid. The  characters are well drawn out. The pace is good and the plot keeps us hooked.

Tahoe Trap is book 10 in the Tahoe series but stands alone.

Arctic Fire by Paul Byers

Title: Arctic Fire
Author: Paul Byers
ISBN: 9780615504070
Publisher: Fortress/2011
Pages: 377

When there is a water shortage, Nigel Cain decides to get it from Arctic in the shape of Massive icebergs. He builds a 5-star hotel and casino in an iceberg and invites the media and important people to witness the event. He hires Gabriel Pike, an Engineer to make it viable.

Pike feels privileged but after sometime, he finds sinister going on's in the form of a double homicide. Now Pike's main work is to save his own skin along with others.

The novel was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up pace after some time. Cain's madness can only be controlled by Pike. And he does it with aplomb. Then there is this question of man trying to play God by controlling nature. The novel makes us think. 

With a cover like that, Arctic Fire beckons one to pick it up. The premise is not for everyone. However, once one picks it up, he/she will not leave it halfway through. 

Teaser Tuesday: The Nesting Dolls by Gail Bowen

We were with the girls in seconds. “What’s going on?” I said.

Gracie was the first to speak. “That woman just gave her baby to Isobel.”


Title: The Nesting Dolls
Author: Gail Bowen
ISBN: 9780771012754
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart/2010
Pages: 336

It might sound strange but, this 12th Joane Kilburn novel is my first. Although it might appear that some parts are missing but It is a stand alone one. Here she is married to Zack Shreve, and they are both happy with her adopted daughter Taylor. With Christmas around the corner, everything looks bright and happy. But a young woman enters their life, and leaves her infant son with Isobel Wainberg, Taylor's best friend, and disappears. Everyone is looking for her wanting to know her motive of leaving the baby boy. But she is found dead, after being raped. No one has seen her in the vicinity, and no one knows who she is. 

It turns out that she was the daughter of Delia Wainberg, Isobel's mother. Zack, Delia, and Noah, are old college friends, yet Noah and Zack do not know Delia's past. The baby is much loved by all and Delia is anguished to find her long lost daughter dead. Abby has left the baby in Delia;s care but Nadine, her partner to wants the child. Zack is representing Deila and Joanne thinks Nadine too deserves a chance. 

The novel sometimes gets off the mark but it has a good pace. The complications of relationships is well depicted. And the suspense holds good till the end. I liked the title and the characters. Another good crime fiction novel!!

Teaser Tuesday: If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell

"So what does all this mean? I have to go through life talking to ghosts now?"

He shrugged. "After that boy, you never mentioned anything else. I thought maybe you are ok."
~Page 237

Title: If Walls Could Talk
Author: Juliet Blackwell
ISBN: 9780451231819
Publisher: Obsidian Mystery/2010
Pages: 316

Melanie Turner is escaping her past and comes to San Fransisco Bay Area to her parents. Her mother passes away and she takes over her father's construction business. And she is well known for remodeling old houses. However, she has plans to get away from all this and go to Paris.  

She is helping out one of her friend in renovating one of his house that he plans to sell. after the renovation. And something goes horribly wrong. Matt, her friend had invited his friends to half demolish the house before renovating and it ends up in a murder. No one knows who killed that man, who is the partner of Matt but Mel does not like him. Kenneth dies in her arms and that somehow makes her see him as a ghost. A ghost which is confused, and does not know what happened but wants her help in finding out his killer.

Mel has no lead except for an old box, which contains obsolete papers. Yet there are attacks, directly related to the crime. She knows she has to nail the killer, especially when Matt is arrested for it. Mel has never liked Kenneth, yet she does everything to nab his killer. And she finds dark dealings, which involves almost everyone....

It is a cozy mystery and has a good story line. Mel is very likeable. Although she professes to leave for Paris soon, she has too many entanglements to just let go. I look forward to read more by the author..

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Title: The Heir
Author: Grace Burrowes
ISBN: 9781402244346
Publisher:  Sourcebooks/2010
Pages: 448

In this historical romance, I liked some of the  secondary characters rather well.  With an independent minded heroine, the housekeeper Anna Seaton, there are some good dialogues between her and Gayle Windham, earl of Westhaven, son and heir to the duke of Moreland. He is trying to escape the machinations of his father to get him married. He chooses to live in his London house in the sweltering heat and is literally hit by Anna, who thinks he has designs for a housemaid. When she realizes her mistake, she tends to him, taking care of all his needs. Inevitably they are attracted to each other but Anna has her secrets and she refuses to marry him. Gayle Windham is determined to marry her..

As romances go, it is good. At places it does not seem very smooth but the storyline keeps our interest alive. His brothers are kind of weird but they do lighten it up. The duke too is lovable in his own way. And Morgan, the housemaid wins our heart. I liked Anna and of course, Gayle. Their chemistry is good. What more does one need from a romance? For all those romance lovers, who don't mind steamy scenes, it is a good read, for a cold winter day or night...

Sunday Salon: Miss Hildreth Wore Brown: Anecdotes of a Southern Belle by Olivia deBelle Byrd

A few days later, as I was leaving for the outer mall, my husband asked me to pick him up some slacks. "What color?" I asked.
"Blue and brown ought to do it," he answered.
"Marine blue, navy blue, dark blue, chocolate brown, mocha brown, latte brown?" I queried.
Through clenched teeth he replied, "I just want blue and brown." Men, why do they always have to complicate things?
~ Page 106


Title: Miss Hildreth Wore Brown-Anecdotes of a Southern Belle
Author: Olivia deBelle Byrd
ISBN: 9781600377488
Publisher Morgan James/2010
Pages: 157

This book defies description! With hilarious reflections, it is shows us the life and attitude of  Southern women. They are in no way fazed by anything and take it in their stride. And the scandals they come across are explained in scandalous ways by those belles! 

The characters jump out the pages, and stay with us. I chuckled through this book. Pausing and savouring certain quirks. I had posted about that coffee episode some days back. There are more with the author trying her best to get her children married, and one where she buys clothes for her daughter. The thong episode is hilarious and reading this book, I almost fell from my chair, many a times.

A light, breezy read, and in no way the characters are larger than life. They are real people and it seems we have met a few like them in our lives. Anyone who wants a good chuckle, ought to read this book.

We're getting dressed for Christmas party, and I looked down at my husband's feet. "You have on a blue sock and a brown sock," I pointed out.
"I do not," he said
"Yes, you do. I'm looking at your feet." I insisted.
Looking down he smugly replied, "I have on a marine blue sock and a mocha brown sock."
~Page 107

A-Z Wednesday: The Journey of Om by Chandru Bhojwani

Title: The Journey of Om
Author: Chandru Bhojwani
ISBN: 9788122310917
Publisher: Cedar Books/2010
Pages: 287

When Om's girlfriend betrays him, he is devastated. His whole world falls apart around him and he is unable to cope. It takes a toll on him physically as well emotionally. Getting drunk seems to be the only option. He is on the verge of becoming an alcoholic.

In desperation Om turns to his friends, Mona and Arun. They do try to help him but they too have their own set of problems. And each one has to deal with it alone. All this time, Om is pining for Preeti, unable to let go of his thoughts about her.

The Journey of Om actually speaks about everyone's journey. Each one of us has gone through heart breaks, at times feeling we can't recover from it. It touches us at some level. Om can't get over Preeti, Mona desperately wants to marry and settle down, Arun too betrays Rakhi, the girl he loves, in a fit of rage and drunken bout. Here we see Om's conflict, to support his friend or tell Rakhi, all about Arun's betrayal. Om, Mona, Arun and Jim's lives are all tied up in some way or the other. How does Om cope? For that matter, Mona and Arun?

I liked Bhojwani's way of writing. His prose is very readable. The chapters go back and forth but I didn't have any problem about continuity. He has shown the complex and conflicting emotions flitting in our mind very well. The pace is good too, and the ending....well, it is on the reader to think what he wants. With wit, great narration and told in simplistic language, everyone one will connect with the characters. So much so that I wanted to hurl the book at one point. Because I felt the author is a voyeur of our minds!

Teaser Tuesdays: Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

Two pieces of pressed sheet-metal — no grips, even — and a slightly off-center cylinder. It looks like something that began life as a starter pistol at a track meet. For a second it makes me feel better about there being 350 million handguns in the United States. Then I see the bright brass ends of the bullets and am reminded how little it takes to kill someone.

I should throw it out. Bend the barrel and drop it down a storm drain.

Instead, I slip it into the back pocket of my scrub pants.

Title: Beat the Reaper
Author: Josh Bazell
ISBN: 9780316032223
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company/2008
Pages: 320

From back cover:

Dr. Peter Brown is an intern at Manhattan's worst hospital, with a talent for medicine, a shift from hell, and a past he'd prefer to keep hidden. Whether it's a blocked circumflex artery or a plan to land a massive malpractice suit, he knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

My views:

It is about an intern who has a past, being a hitman and all that. After few years of that, he ends up sudying medicine, to heal people. He has tried his best to hide his past but it catches up with him. But our man is not one take anything lying down. He knows how to save himself from any kind of situation.

Despite being very graphic, it is hilarious, taking the story of crime, blood and gore to new heights. I liked the various nicknames of the mobsters and Peter's knowledge about most things..be it about mobsters, medical sciences or/and Physics!. The various scientific explanations made it a very interesting read. Beat the Reaper is a good debut novel and throughly enjoyable with good, racy pace. The action simply takes us in. Peter has to fight how to Beat the Reaper....that is, keep death at bay!

TSS: The Journey Home by Michael Baron

Title: The Journey Home
Author: Michael Baron
ISBN: 9780981956862
Publisher: Mass Market Paperback/2010
Pages: 176

The Journey Home takes the reader into a journey of three people who are totally unconnected. Joseph comes out of sleep and doesn't remember who he is. Yet he can feel his wife calling out to him and has to go to her although he doesn't know where and how. He meets Will, a 17-year-old boy, who offers him to take Joseph anywhere he wants to go.

Warren seems to have lost his mother to Alzheimer's. He has a lot of personal problems, what with a lost job and being in midst of a divorce. Still he knows that he has to coax his mother out of it. He takes pains and cooks for her, her own recipes over the years.

Antoinette, Warren's mother, in her lucid moments, only wants to lie in bed and dream of her husband to come to her.

All these characters are lost in their own ways and have to find a way to come into terms with themselves. They have find their comfort zones, their safe havens. THe reader gets totally involved with their thought processes. THese seemingly unconnected people somehow come together, finding peace at last.

It is a very short novel, seems a bit slow at times but it makes the reader think. Baron has done a good job with the ending. And the best part of the book, are the recipes, and the cooking by Warren, which he does out of love for his mother. Each ones, feelings, desires, pains have been brought forward very well.

TSS: The Widow's Season by Laura Brodie

Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead three months when she saw him in the grocery store.

Title: The Widow's Season
Author: Laura Brodie
ISBN: 9780425227657
Publisher: Berkeley Books/2009
Pages: 303

Sarah is 39 years old with a history of miscarriages behind her. Her husband David is presumed dead while kayaking. His body was never found. When she sees him in that grocery store, she starts thinking about other times when she had seen him and now wonders that he might be alive. On Halloween night David turns up at their home and gives her an explanation as why he decided to disappear. She wants to believe him. She even helps him getting things while he is in the hiding. For her he is very much alive.

She sees it a way of righting everything that had gone wrong in their marriage. She doesn't tell anyone about her meetings with David. She stops questioning if he is fantasy or real. In the mean time David's brother Nate turns out to be good friend. Both realise that they have always been attracted towards each other. Sarah doesn't know how David would react to that. And when David finds out, Sarah has to let go of one of the two men.

Accepting the loss of a loved one is not easy. Sarah learns it as we go along. Her meetings with other widows too do nothing to ease her feelings.What is the truth about David? The reader gets to know that in the last few pages. Sarah feelings are so tangible. Her grief, loss and emotions jump out of the book. And she knows she has to do the right thing. In a way, David helps her do that. For a debut, it is good book. Brodie is worth checking out.

Thanks to the author for my copy.

Dead Floating Lovers by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli

"You mean, you think the bones belong to your ex...or whatever he still is...husband?"

Title: Dead Floating Lovers
Author: Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli
ISBN: 9780738712659
Publisher: Midnight Ink/2009
Pages: 324

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Back Cover:
Springtime in northern Michigan: a picture-perfect scene. Until struggling mystery writer Emily Kincaid gets a visit from her foul-weather friend Deputy Dolly, who frantically demands Emily's help. Sandy Lake's receding waters have revealed a bullet-pierced skull, along with a keepsake that could mean serious trouble for a man Dolly once loved.

As another set of bones surfaces, Emily finds herself wading through Dolly's painful past, digging into Leetsville's dark history, and dodging threats from an outraged Odawa Indian-who may be protecting more than just sacred land. Now, Emily and Dolly are deadset on solving the crime whether it breaks their hearts . . . or costs them their lives.
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Emily Kincaid is a struggling mystery writer. Her novel has got rejections slips and her money is fast running out. She works as a part time reporter and knows that soon she has to take some hard decisions regarding her life. When Deputy Dolly turns up for her help, she is skeptical. They were never good friends. Yet Emily is compelled to go with her to Sandy Lake, where they find a bullet ridden skull along with what Dolly says is wedding present to her from her absentee husband Chet. Unlike her, Dolly hides that keepsake and only then reports her findings. She has to save Chet. When another skeleton is found, Dolly and Emily go finding out clues without much success. Emily discovers Dolly's painful past.

Odawa Indians claim that one of the bodies belongs to them and should be handed over to them for a proper Indian burial. Emily and Dolly know that there is more to it, the Indians are hiding something and both have to get to the bottom of it even if that might hurt both of them. Even when Emily's life is threatened, Leetsville's dark history has to come out, no matter what.

Dolly might seem high handed yet she endears herself due to her very painful past. Her husband had left her 13 years ago, yet she claims him to be her only family. Emily too is almost forced to take a bad decision regarding her life. Both Dolly and Emily make a great team. They are brusque with each other yet the bonding is apparant to the reader. The novel drags at places, dwelling too much on Emily's personal life. The ending is good and just right.