Month: September 2019

Escapes Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Contemporary, MysteryLeave a comment

Escapes Can Be Murder: A Girl and Her Dog Cozy Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries Book 18)Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Charlie Parker Mysteries #18
Publication Date: 6/23/19
Number of Pages: 234

Another great addition to the Charlie Parker series – I think it is one of my favorites so far. I would like to see more of Drake in the investigations – he’s very laid back with his wife getting arrested and having guns pointed at her. No, that isn’t a sexist comment – I’d feel the same way if Charlie were a male. I also hated that there wasn’t a complete resolution to the case – I hope that maybe we’ll see that resolution in the next book, but at the end of this book, it was mostly left hanging.

During a flying job in a remote area of Maine, Charlie and Drake are approached by a very frail old man who wants them to fly him to his son’s cabin just north of where their helicopter is currently based. After the old man explains that the cabin doesn’t have any access by vehicle and that his son has to hike out several miles before he can reach any kind of road. The old man is very ill and couldn’t make the hike, so they agree to take him up there – and then return to pick him up.

The old man ends up wanting to hire Charlie’s investigative agency to find evidence to clear his son of a ten-year-old charge of jury tampering. It is his dying wish to have his son cleared of those charges and Charlie just can’t refuse.

As Charlie begins to investigate, she suspects there is more to the case than just jury tampering. Then, there is a murder of a high-profile judge, are the two cases related? Why would someone want to frame her client? Who really tampered with the jury? Why? Was it politically motivated?

This story is filled with lots of twists and turns and a good mystery. The writing is excellent and the descriptions are so vivid you feel as if you could drive around in Albuquerque and find your way.

I will say that I have a complaint about the ebook formatting. There is no table of contents included so that I can easily move back and forth between chapters. It has nothing to do with the excellent writing in the book, but it is annoying nonetheless.

Christmas Hope by Caroline Warfield

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, World War I Era (1914-1920)4 Comments

Christmas HopeBarbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Standalone
Publication Date: 10/15/19
Number of Pages: 208

It is official, I’m an idiot. I don’t normally read books past the 1890s and I don’t go out of my way to read Christmas books – so, I almost passed this one by. That would have been a big mistake – because I think it might be the very best book I’ve read all year. This isn’t just a Christmas romance, it is an EPIC love story. It portrays two people facing the hardships and horrors of war, yet finding peace and love with each other.

Corporal Henry William Wheatley was sick of war, the smell of blood and death, losing friends and fellow soldiers, he was tired of the constant damp, darkness, and rain. His soul was weary, yet he knew he had to do his best to train and protect the men in his squad, the men – boys really, some of them – for whom he was responsible. One day as he was heading down the Somme River, he was trying to clean the dirt and grime from the bible his grandmother had sent over with him – and the bible dropped into the river and floated downstream. He saw a woman fish the bible out of the river and continue down a side stream. Since she couldn’t hear him calling to her, he had the boatman follow her.

Rosemarie Legrand lived in les hortillonnages, the floating gardens of Amiens. It is a tangled maze of islands and canals in the river. She had a little cottage there and she could travel into Amiens in her barque if she needed to go there. But she only went if she had to do so. Her husband had accused her of being a Nazi sympathizer just before he was killed – simply because she had saved a young boys life. Now, with her husband dead, her sister-in-law won’t let it rest. She had found that boy floating in the river at about the same place she’d found the bible today – things seemed to get stuck there.

Rosemarie was certainly surprised to see yet another barque dock at her landing – this one with a tall, handsome military man in it. It was his bible she’d found. They spent time talking and since he could never dry the book in the nasty, wet trenches, she kept it to dry it for him. Through all of the battles and horrors of the war, Henry would always manage to find his way back to Rosemarie’s little cottage.

This author’s research and grasp of the facts of whatever period she’s writing about is outstanding. Her descriptions of the battles and conditions surrounding Henry and Rosemarie will tear your heart out and make you hold your breath. You might wonder how in the world that could create a wonderful Christmas story and a wonderful love story – just know that it does. During Henry’s deepest, darkest battles and struggles on the front lines, memories of Rosemarie and her son Marcel give him hope and bring a little light into his darkness.

It is a beautiful tale of love, steadfastness, resilience, and perseverance. I loved getting to know Henry, Rosemarie, and Marcel and I hope you will as well.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.